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I'd like to share my thoughts on moving to the Titan from my Focus over this past weekend.
My I was one (as most here probably) that added a 32GB microSD card to my Focus. It has performed flawlessly over the last year that I have owned it with very few exceptions.
The main reasons I switched:
(1) Size matters - The 4.7" screen
(2) The build quality (so far) - The unibody aluminum build feels great in the hand
(3) The upgraded spec's (less the reduction of memory)
I should say that I do have a peeve on why Windows Phones (or any phone) don't have a microSD slot in today's world. In a world where your phone is going to be your "one in all" device, a memory card slot should be a no brainer.
Display:I was a little weary about moving from the SAMOLED screen to the S-LCD screen. Let me give you peace of mind on this one. This screen is absolutely beautiful. It doesn't have the deep blacks like the Focus but the other colors pop and seem more realistic. Also, my impression is that the display is more crisp than the SAMOLED.
Memory:As noted above, the lack of a microSD slot is really a shame for this phone. I'm going to live with it until someone cracks this baby open to confirm that it doesn't have a slot under the cover somewhere. But, alas, I heard rumors of this being a SS memory chip instead. On the bright side, this does make it run faster if it is a memory chip.
Build
The body on this is made of solid aluminum. The feel when it is in your hand is one that makes you know it was built with care. I know they stated in press releases that they are going to minimize this type of build in the future, I just hope they just remember to have enough real substance there to "feel" like quality and not plastic.
One note on the body. When removing the back cover to access the battery and sim card slot the ENTIRE aluminum case around the screen and everything comes off, too. So, you end up with two pieces. One that includes the screen and components, the other the aluminum casing. It was odd to remove it the first time.
There are more reasons like...
- notification LED's (i missed this from my Tilt2)
- battery life (woohoo! almost all day on a charge now)
- noise cancelling mic's
- faux 4G (you can tell the speed difference) [waiting to see about this throttling bit]
Things I don't like...
- Lack of accessories (come on Otterbox)
- With the larger screen, I wish I could update the number of columns from 2 to either 3 or 4. This phone has the space to do it and it would be a great update to have. (I know, this is OS and not phone but the screen size makes it an option now)
- The headset plug doesn't fit as far into the phone jack and so it looks like it's not plugged all the way in when it actually is. (maybe this is a preference instead that it go in until the jacket hits the phone)
One last thing about the size of the phone. The phone, surprisingly, is not that much bigger that the Focus. I was thinking going from 4.0 to 4.7 that it would be huge to hold in the hand but it really is a non-issue in general.
Anyway, I'm still transfering my goodies and reinstalling apps. Will post if anyon has any questions...
Cyber
My progression:
Old Junk -> Tilt -> Tilt 2 -> Captivate -> Focus -> Titan
cyberstrategist said:
I'd like to share my thoughts on moving to the Titan from my Focus over this past weekend.
My I was one (as most here probably) that added a 32GB microSD card to my Focus. It has performed flawlessly over the last year that I have owned it with very few exceptions.
The main reasons I switch:
(1) Size matters - The 4.7" screen
(2) The build quality (so far) - The unibody aluminum build feels great in the hand
(3) The upgraded spec's (less the reduction of memory)
I should say that I do have a peeve on why Windows Phones (or any phone) don't have a microSD slot in today's world. In a world where your phone is going to be your "one in all" device, a memory card slot should be a no brainer.
Display:I was a little weary about moving from the SAMOLED screen to the S-LCD screen. Let me give you peace of mind on this one. This screen is absolutely beautiful. It doesn't have the deep blacks like the Focus but the other colors pop and seem more realistic. Also, my impression is that the display is more crisp than the SAMOLED.
Memory:As noted above, the lack of a microSD slot is really a shame for this phone. I'm going to live with it until someone cracks this baby open to confirm that it doesn't have a slot under the cover somewhere. But, alas, I heard rumors of this being a SS memory chip instead. On the bright side, this does make it run faster if it is a memory chip.
Build
The body on this is made of solid aluminum. The feel when it is in your hand is one that makes you know it was built with care. I know they stated in press releases that they are going to minimize this type of build in the future, I just hope they just remember to have enough real substance there to "feel" like quality and not plastic.
One note on the body. When removing the back cover to access the battery and sim card slot the ENTIRE aluminum case around the screen and everything comes off, too. So, you end up with two pieces. One that includes the screen and components, the other the aluminum casing. It was odd to remove it the first time.
There are more reasons like...
- notification LED's (i missed this from my Tilt2)
- battery life (woohoo! almost all day on a charge now)
- noice cancelling mic's
- faux 4G (you can tell the speed difference) [waiting to see about this throttling bit]
Things I don't like...
- Lack of accessories (come on Otterbox)
- With the larger screen, I wish I could update the number of columns from 2 to either 3 or 4. This phone has the space to do it and it would be a great update to have. (I know, this is OS and not phone but the screen size makes it an option now)
- The headset jack doesn't fit as far into the phone and so it looks like it's not plugged all the way in when it actually is. (maybe this is a preference instead that it go in until the jacket hits the phone)
One last thing about the size of the phone. The phone, surprisingly, is not that much bigger that the Focus. I was thinking going from 4.0 to 4.7 that it would be huge to hold in the hand but it really is a non-issue in general.
Anyway, I'm still transfering my goodies and reinstalling apps. Will post if anyon has any questions...
Cyber
My progression:
Old Junk -> Tilt -> Tilt 2 -> Captivate -> Focus -> Titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats on your new phone
Have you noticed any ghosting on the screen or any lag in the OS/games ?
I have not noticed any ghosting or lag at this point. I've had it only a couple days now and will add some more apps tonight to test it some more. So far, though, I have been pleased with the phone.
Storage
You said you had a 32GB card in your Focus. What are you doing about your music/videos. I have a bunch of music that isn't in Zune Pass. Tried the Sky Drive option, but it isn't that great.
bennyj71 said:
You said you had a 32GB card in your Focus. What are you doing about your music/videos. I have a bunch of music that isn't in Zune Pass. Tried the Sky Drive option, but it isn't that great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't yet decided on this. I'm not one to put my personal items in the cloud knowing it's not all that secure just yet (if it ever will be). So I'm manually manipulating what's on the phone vs not. It's tedious at times but until I know my data is secured enough [military encryption maybe?] then I may start doing it...
I switched too. I am missing my dark blue I used on my Focus. Can't unlock yet since Chevron has no tokens right now. If I can get screen capture, my color blue and unlock the internet sharing without that annoying AT&T notice I will be a happy camper.
MaziarAmiri said:
Congrats on your new phone
Have you noticed any ghosting on the screen or any lag in the OS/games ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I notice ghosting.
OP: Sounds like we have similar experiences making the same switch from Focus > Titan!
drokkon said:
I notice ghosting.
OP: Sounds like we have similar experiences making the same switch from Focus > Titan!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a specific ghosting scenario that makes it stand out most? I can tet it on my Titan and see what I come up with...
cyberstrategist said:
Do you have a specific ghosting scenario that makes it stand out most? I can tet it on my Titan and see what I come up with...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually quite simple: the full program list on a black theme should do it. When you scroll, the words quite clearly "stretch" or blur slightly, and they blur in the opposite direction (eg - downward blur when the font is moving up), which leads me to agree with those who call it "ghosting." It's subtle enough that someone could easily convince me that this is an "effect" and intended by the UI.
That said, I don't notice it one bit. I also don't notice any pixellation on the large screen and prefer the natural (eg - less saturated) colors of the screen as compared to the Focus.
All in all, the screen is beautiful and I have zero complaints.
drokkon said:
It's actually quite simple: the full program list on a black theme should do it. When you scroll, the words quite clearly "stretch" or blur slightly, and they blur in the opposite direction (eg - downward blur when the font is moving up), which leads me to agree with those who call it "ghosting." It's subtle enough that someone could easily convince me that this is an "effect" and intended by the UI.
That said, I don't notice it one bit. I also don't notice any pixellation on the large screen and prefer the natural (eg - less saturated) colors of the screen as compared to the Focus.
All in all, the screen is beautiful and I have zero complaints.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will +1 that!
I also upgraded from a Focus to a Titan.
I like everything about the phone (finally got LED notifications again, large screen, beautiful build, slim design, light weight, GREAT call quality, better reception so far, no more fingerprint smudges all over the back, love the sound-enhancer, and over-all faster).
The only thing that really gets me so far is the lack of an Super AMOLED screen. Putting it next to my Focus, the difference is so obvious. If this phone had a Super AMOLED it would be perfect...
hg23 said:
I also upgraded from a Focus to a Titan.
I like everything about the phone (finally got LED notifications again, large screen, beautiful build, slim design, light weight, GREAT call quality, better reception so far, no more fingerprint smudges all over the back, love the sound-enhancer, and over-all faster).
The only thing that really gets me so far is the lack of an Super AMOLED screen. Putting it next to my Focus, the difference is so obvious. If this phone had a Super AMOLED it would be perfect...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DO you get led notifcations for sms? Thats what im missing from my titan
meandu229 said:
DO you get led notifcations for sms? Thats what im missing from my titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll post about it once I get a text, still haven't gotten one yet
meandu229 said:
DO you get led notifcations for sms? Thats what im missing from my titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hg23 said:
I'll post about it once I get a text, still haven't gotten one yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LED notification for SMS and emails - isn't built in for WP7 yet. There are no apps either that can do it.
However, this is a requested and highly voted feature for next update. I think you guys should vote for it too!
Got my Titan yesterday. Wow. I haven't thought about touching my Focus since I powered up the Titan. I synced my apps and music and now I have 600megs free. :[ I'm really gonna have to trim some fat as that is just music and apps. Other than that the phone is awesome.
On a side note, there is a big difference in performance using older SIM cards. I have two Titans. I have a two month old SIM in mine. My nephew has a 1 year old SIM. His phone keep losing signal, and was unable to connect websites on multiple tries. I thought it was his phone, so I swap my SIM and everything was blazing. I'm getting another as the newest ones are slightly slimmer than mine.
Hope this helps you guys out.
Sent from my PI39100 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
I can confirm the LED appears to only indicate power charging. Interesting about the SIM card. I'll see if my old one makes a difference.
Sent from my TITAN
I also upgraded from a focus to a titan. But on my titan the camera button stopped working after <24 hours of use and I have to send it in to HTC for repairs. But even with the short amount of usage time (I used the phone almost exclusively as the power in my area had been out for four days) the build quality and speed were phenomenal. I was also surprised at how well the titan fit into various pockets and how the nice the screen was.
hg23 said:
I can confirm the LED appears to only indicate power charging. Interesting about the SIM card. I'll see if my old one makes a difference.
Sent from my TITAN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LED also blinks on missed calls.
I decided to get an Alpha as the prices in Switzerland, where I live, are fairly low for unlocked, brand-new devices, and my ageing Nexus 4 was in a dire need of replacement. Today I received my brand new, unlocked "dazzling white" Alpha!
This is my first non-Nexus android. I decided not to install the Google Now launcher on it immediately and give TouchWiz a try, just to see what it's like.
I've been playing with it for a couple of hours, and setting everything up, so here are my first impressions and troubles.
1. It looks lovely, it's so thin, metallic frame, beautiful soft back plastic. Great stuff.
2. The phone is obviously much more capable speed-wise than my Nexus 4, but it's not as fluid as the Nexus 4 (which had Lollipop 5.0.2). Some apps are really choppy, such as Hangouts. It's a strange overall experience: some things load very quickly, but it's not polished and the choppy-ness can be fairly annoying, especially when it causes it to miss touch inputs.
3. Certain apps cannot be uninstalled (e.g. Dropbox, which I don't use). They can only be disabled. On a bright note, Facebook is not installed and while the phone has some bloatware, it's not excessive. So far I ignored all the pre-installed apps (none seem useful at a glance), but I'll look at them more in detail when I get a chance.
4. The fingerprint scanner is not anywhere as bad as I believed it would be. Ok swiping is not as convenient as simply pushing the button, but otherwise it recognises my finger in one or two attempts. So far never worse than that.
5. The battery is obviously very small and I think this phone will last through a full day only with light use. I'll report back after a few days, but so far it went from 56% to 12% alarmingly fast - also, of course, I was installing and setting up stuff on it.
6. The camera seems ok. Indoor shots are so-so. The live-view in HDR more is nice, the focus indicator is nice, the interface is simple and clear. Overall colour balance is good. While I personally use a DSLR for anything more serious, the phone's camera is good to have for impromptu situations. For that, I think it would be adequate. It's certainly better than the Nexus 4 camera.
7. I'm not mad about the colours used by TouchWiz, especially that dirty green, and the drop-down settings are a bit too busy for my liking. This is fairly minor stuff. Otherwise everything seems to work by and large similarly to a Nexus phone.
8. I cannot find a method to swipe away all the notifications. Which is strange, especially since TouchWiz does have a way to close all the recent apps, which is very useful (and not even Lollipop has this feature).
9. I quite like the Samsung keyboard. It's got a little row of numbers on top, which I find very useful. The word suggestions are good. The best feature - I configured two languages on it, and if you "code-switch" (i.e. mix languages when typing) it will display suggestions and corrections appropriately. Without manually changing the language. Great stuff, very Blackberry-ish.
10. It doesn't work with the "Android file transfer" OSX application. At all. It's as if the phone is not connected, and there's no "enable USB file transfer" option on the phone, as on a Nexus device. I'll try later on Windows.
11. Bluetooth is off by default when booting the phone, and it doesn't remember the last enabled state. I don't understand why.
12. It has a lot of horrible "music" ringtones and just one that sounds remotely like a phone.
13. It was a pain to connect it to my LG watch. It just didn't work - reboots, reinstalls, re-pairs etc did nothing. That is, until I factory-reset the watch, then it worked.
14. I thought I wouldn't like the hardware Back and Recents buttons, and I thought I'd like the Home button. It's the other way around - got used pretty quickly to Back/Recents, but I'm not impressed with the Home button. It's a bit fiddly, it moves around a little and doesn't feel as precise and satisfying to press. The side buttons (power/volume) are great though.
15. The call quality is very good, better than the Nexus 4.
16. The screen is great, with good colours, great blacks and contrast level. It's punchy without being in-your-face. My previous OLED screen experience was with the Nexus Galaxy (also made by Samsung), and the Alpha definitely has a better screen, mostly because of the better white (still just a bit blue-ish) and no obvious residual pattern on a uniform background. The resolution is good. I can see the fine-graining on the display if I focus on it (pentile? or diamond?), but it doesn't bother me. Outdoor visibility in bright light is ok but not great, as in, adequate to make a phone call but not ideal for browsing the web for extended periods of time.
I'll post an update in a few days, once certain things such as the battery life are clearer. So far, the phone is above expectations.
It a great phone, you gonna love it.
For clearing all notifications there is a button named clear all that appears on the bar above them.
Sent from my SM-G850F
tileeq said:
For clearing all notifications there is a button named clear all that appears on the bar above them.
Sent from my SM-G850F
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah thank you so much, now I see it
Completely unrelated to the notifications - I got to play today with the new S6 and S6 Edge. They are very nice but I don't regret buying the Alpha (for half the price of the 32Gb S6). The one thing I like more about the Alpha is, weirdly, the back panel. I just love the soft plastic on the Alpha. The glass on the S6 seemed quite slippery and I wasn't so sure about its aesthetics. From the front and side though, they look fantastic - in my humble opinion, better than the iPhones. Well done Samsung!
To add to my initial impressions: the fingerprint reader on the Alpha is actually quite excellent, at least with my fingers. The huge majority of time it will unlock from the first attempt. I'm quite impressed, considering that, given all the comments and the reviews, I never expected to use the feature.
I played some more with the camera and it's actually quite decent. Up to dark-ish scenes, where the noise just takes over.
One small gripe with the "blocking mode", which is very useful to me (I used to install Bedside Buddy when I had KitKat on the Nexus, and then Lollipop introduced a similar feature): the LED notification is still shown even when otherwise the phone doesn't (correctly) make a notification sound. Yes, easily fixable by leaving it face-down on the night stand, but it seems like an oversight. Or perhaps I didn't configure something correctly?
symphara, Ive been there, My nexus(4)? was fading fast so i went for the Galaxy Alpha in December. i know I have not rgretted it
at all. For the battery thats in there it will give me 2 days on one charge. but, yah..I agree with all the points you've given
Galaxy Alpha 850W gets two thumbs up. im still gonna look into the 2500 mAh battery though
As promised, here's an update to my original post, having used the phone for a couple of weeks now.
1. Battery life is better than expected and actually good, at least for my use. So far it hasn't died on me, not even after fairly extensive daily use (navigation/web). The power saving mode noticeably reduces the power drain without worsening performance too much. To date I was never in a situation where I had to use the "ultra" power saving mode. A quick example: in 24 hours, out of which 11 were in flight mode, it went from 100% to 63%, with moderate-light use. It charges very quickly. Mine doesn't heat up, no matter what I do.
2. The fingerprint scanner works reliably only when swiping vertically. It's very unreliable if I try to register oblique swipes. This makes it impractical to use with only one hand, and unlock with my thumb. I need to hold the phone with one hand and unlock with the other. Clearly TouchID (which I tried) and perhaps the new S6 sensor (which I haven't tried) are better. TouchID for sure works in varying directions and is suitable for one-handed unlock.
3. GPS location tracking is not as good as expected. It has significant problems in cities. On the train it can get location lock only close to the window. Location updating is not smooth when moving at speed. Compared to my iPad, when used side-by-side, the difference in the quality of implementation (speed of lock, smoothness of update, precision) is very large.
4. The camera is only good in good light. The performance degrades steadily with the amount of available light, to the point where it is terrible in low light (e.g. city night shots, intimate restaurant). The camera app is very good in my opinion. I am particularly impressed with the panorama shots: easy to take, very fast processing, good stitching.
5. Performance is a mixed bag, and for me, not quite satisfactory. For some things it's clearly fast - it records 60fps full HD beautifully, it plays Hearthstone very well (smoother than the 2014 Nexus 7 with Lollipop!), it downloads and installs things very fast, etc. Other applications and use-cases are not so lucky.
Chrome frequently staggers, to the point of not accepting scroll input for periods of nearly 1 second now and again. App switching is always slow. Google Maps is fairly slow and often jerky. Performance does seem to degrade over time, so periodic closures of apps are needed. It's good that it provides a "close all" option.
The worst thing is that overall the phone does not give an even, smooth performance. In my opinion, Nexus 4 with Lollipop gives a better overall software experience even if it cannot satisfy performance-hungry applications (which the Galaxy Alpha can), but it's much more fluid overall. My wife's Nexus 5, which I think is inferior to the Alpha in terms of CPU, gives a significantly better overall software experience - it's faster to do pretty much anything, and very fluid.
I am waiting with considerable interest the Lollipop update on this phone. If it elevates the software experience closer to the level of the Nexus, it would make the phone very enjoyable to use. As it stands, the hardware feels premium but the software experience definitely gives a feel of a low-mid range device to me. Considering what I paid for it, it's still not a bad deal, but it falls well short of the intended Samsung near-flagship positioning. Interestingly, mutatis mutandis, the old Nexus 5 does almost everything better than the Alpha, including better low-light camera performance.
I forgot to mention something else. Bluetooth is terrible. I'm not sure if it's my phone, or all share this problem. Range is less than 2 (two) meters of line-of-sight. It does not work "through" me - e.g. if I put the phone in my back pocket, it will not maintain connection to my LG Android Wear wrist watch, when on my wrist. It I have the phone in my one of my trousers' side pocket, as I walk, it will interrupt headphone audio with each step. It's pretty terrible.
First off, I am not a technical guy. So this review is purely based hand on feel of this device. Since there are not much online reviews around, Hope this helps to address some concerns u may have before taking the plunge. Cheers!
Unboxing,
Nothing out of the ordinary..
Cheap headset, 850mah charger (WTF Sony..), usb cable. Some menu and paper.
Build quality,
Very pleased. Though plastic, it really doesn't feel cheap AT ALL. Everything is solid, no creaking whatsoever. Very comfortable in the hand. Especially when its not as wide as other 6' incher. One thing I notice.. Normally when we hold a phone, it will be more to the bottom. Even though the weight is evenly distribute, Its a tall phone. So, it can feel "top heavy" and tip over if u do not hold properly..I got the white version, I think it makes the bezel-less display stands out. Buttons are clicky enough, minus my camera button.. The flap covering the nano sim and sd slot is very very flimsy though but fits securely. Just dun play with it too often....
Screen,
Fantastic built quality. I cant see individual pixels even up-close. Good viewing angle. Bright, even in bright daylight with the sun shining directly on it. Screen has a oleophobic coating so it really smooooth. Very responsive to the touch.
One thing that seriously bug me though is the colour calibration. Its is extremely washed out by default. (I read there are 2 different supplier for the screen with different quality.) U will have to play with the white balance to really find the suitable colour combo. I tried playing the same video, photos on other devices to confirm my findings. Even after some tweaking, colours are still a little off as the contrast is slightly on the lower side. Seriously, I almost flipped when I first played the sample landscape video, Its the worst I have ever seen.. there's no colour at all.. everything looks pale. Hopefully an update will solve this issue. Another strange behaviour I notice is the white balance setting. After a reboot, white balance will go back to factory default. Only when u open up the white balance app, the settings are applied. The settings do sticks, but just not applied automatically after a reboot.
Camera, I am not a very trigger happy person...
This is one area I think Sony keeps screwing up.... Most photos on Superior Auto are overly overly overly exposed. Leaving washed out and pale colours. Details are there though. Noises fortunately are keep very low in dim light. Performance are pretty much the same on both the front and back camera. Manual mode produce more accurate pics with some manual adjustments. Ironically, I find that the stock google camera from playstore produce better results. So I think it is Sony that is messing up their processing algorithm.. I not tried tried video yet......
They have a dedicated 2 step camera button. I think mine is kinda faulty. Its difficult to press to focus, impossible to follow through to take the shot. I have to use my nails to really press the button. I have to check this out on the other sets in the store.
Battery,
So far pretty good.. I brought it home and charge up to full with a 1.5A charger. Took around 2.5-3 hrs from 30% to 100%, a little too long I thought. After around 8hrs up time, Wifi on, Lte on, 2hr 55min screen on time, I am at 49%. Pretty good I would say.
Phone,
Not thoroughly tested.... Fatal flaw..... see below.
Speaker,
Extremely loud! The single speaker is located at the bottom grill and its front facing. Hooray!! Sounds came out quite decent and clear without distortion even at max.. Its..really.. loud...
Performance,
Really snappy in real life usage. Have not experience any lag or slowdown yet.. I am currently using S4 i9506(a S800 version), Z ultra and Z3TC. This "mid-ranger" beats all of them with an average of 46000 on antutu 64bit test.... Average FPS in Epic Citadel is 43.3. Quadrant standard is at around 20000. Device stayed relatively cool throughout without abnormal overheating experienced.
GPS,
No Issue. Position lock on GMaps in less than 5 sec cold start.
So far, I am happy!
Just my 2cents worth.
Edit - After one day, I notice that the screen will flicker whenever its trying to load a video preview. Happens everytime in facebook and the default album app.
Another serious flaw is that when I make a phone call, the microphone is activated at the earpiece's side rather than at the mountpiece. Making hearing on the other end very soft and a giant pain in the ass... Ironically, on my virgin call, I found this out when I called Sony to complain about my camera button and they couldnt hear me properly.. Seriously... Sony WTF...?????
Factory reset solved the above problem.
F U Sony, after 2nd call, the mic problem is back!
Where did you buy this at
New updates on review are in the 2nd post. Thanks for reading!
Hey everyone! Many of you know me from other threads or some Q&A, but I wanted to share my experience with the Nexus 6P. I do have a thread where you can ask me anything to try or test out on the device, to help answer some questions. I am a front end developer, UX/UI designer, and business owner. This review is based on how I use the phone and where the phone either shines or fails to perform to my needs. The #hype is real on this device and I am hoping to provide you some feedback that removes the bias of #hype and focuses on the device. Hope you find this helpful and thanks for reading!
Introduction
The Nexus 6P is probably the one device I was so excited to get since the iPhone 4. From reading every possible hands on review, watching every YouTube video, and being on the forums trying to calculate shipping dates. This phone has generated so much buzz that I finally felt so excited to get a device. Compared to last year, nothing was "omfg must have". The Nexus 6P filled that hope.
Ergonomics & Hardware
There is no need for me to get into the specs, we all know them or they are easily available elsewhere. This review is about how the specs of the phone play to the hardware and software to make OUR experience the best. The Nexus 6P has some amazing hardware. I got the 32gb Aluminum (long live #aluminati!) version. It is such a delight to hold. The device feels fantastic in my hands, and I have average size hands for a 5'10" individual. I am coming from a Moto X Pure, Note 5, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone 6, and Nexus 6 over the past year. Yes, I change phones frequently...mostly for entertainment or variety. Unlike the iPhones, Note 5, and Nexus 6 - The 6P feels stable in my hands, easy to hold, my thumb can reach across the screen without slipping and the weight of the device does help me balance it for one handed use. Where iPhones were so light and thin, the ergonomics sucked to hold; the 6P thickness actually helps in one handed use. The width of the device is not so wide, like the 2014 N6, that one handed use is easy and 2 handed use works just fine as well.
Slippery - Or should I say, lack thereof? The metal on the phone has a slight grip to it. Similar to that of the Moto X Pure (minus the rubber), but it stays in my hand. Those of you worried about the metal frame and possibly being slippery like the iPhones or even Nexus 6; have no fear.
Metal & Screen - Every version (color) will probably differ. I can only speak for the aluminum version. I have barely put the device down and I have zero fingerprints on the back. Oils do not absorb into the metal to look dirty. The only area where fingerprints are obvious is where they should be...on the screen. Which brings me to the glass of the screen. The glass, in the first hours, felt good but over the ongoing use it has been a little tough for me to slide my fingers over. Could be me or maybe I just need to put the damn phone down. The glass is beautiful and seems strong, but I ordered a glass screen protector to help with fingerprints and always feeling smooth to the touch.
There is a lip around the edge. The metal lip seems to be that of 0.2mm, give or take. It's extremely subtle, but obvious it is there to the touch. If that is something that would bother you, the glass screen protectors seem to hit the correct dimensions in thickness to flatten the surface out entirely. I can imagine the lip probably makes applying a glass screen protector even easier due to form fitting vs aligning.
Buttons and Fingerprint Sensors
The buttons are metal and solid. They don't wiggle around, which drove me insane on my iPhone and Moto X Pure. You can tell they were built well. The home button has a texture to identify easily and works quite well. The click in on volume and home buttons have a easily identifying feedback so you know you are pushing them. As silly as it may sound, the Moto X Pure failed in that area. Where the buttons were so easy to push and lack of feedback on press, there were nights where I would watch a YouTube clip and accidentally click the volume in and piss off the lady.
The fingerprint sensor is like every other reviewer has put it. Extremely fast and reliable. I programmed my index and middle fingers on both hands to the fingerprint sensor. I love that I can pull my phone out of my pocket and its ready to go without awkward thumb bending on the front to reach. Only gripe here on the UX is the inability to unlock the device with my fingerprint when it's laying on my desk. It's not a huge deal to some, but I am at a desk non stop. There is a solution, in Android Marshmallow for this though. I setup certain areas as my "trusted" areas. My car, for example, is a trusted connection and the phone does not require to unlock. I did the same for the bluetooth on my work desk. Solves the issue, but leaves the phone open to access if that worries you.
Notification Light
I love notification lights. This one is simple and great. Not buried into the speaker. Obvious pulsing and colors. Just make sure you turn it on! My phone had it disabled. To enable, go to settings > Notifications > Pulse Notification Light. This is one of my favorite features, for as simple and dumb as it may sound.
Speed and Battery
This phone is lightning fast for me. It was built to work fluidly with Android M and it does exactly that. I haven't ran into any hiccups, crashing, issues and everything just...works! Not sure when I was last able to say that about an Android device. This is the first Android I don't have the "want or need" to begin installing greenify, sleep, and other apps that help chill the phone out and not drain the battery. App switching is smooth, RAM usage has stayed consistently at 1.5gb and the camera opens without stutter or lag for me. I frequently find something I wish to take a picture of and it just opens without delay. More on the camera further down.
The battery is great. The synergy with Android M, Doze, and the Nexus 6p - the battery life for me has been phenomenal. It's too early to reveal screenshots, but just in my general use today I have only used 9% of my battery. I have sent numerous emails, taken some pictures, showed off the device, used Google Maps for navigation, and listened to a Play Music Radio Station on the drive to work. I am happy to say that I am sure battery life won't be a big complaint amongst users. If you use your device so intensively, the rapid charging is rapid. Not as fast as my Moto X Pure, but pretty darn fast. It won't let you down.
Battery life screenshots attached in this post. I am impressed by the battery on this device.
Camera
I ****ing love this camera. The pictures are beautiful, detailed, and vibrant with colors. I take a lot of pictures with my devices and generally, my family will ask me to use my phone (whatever it may be at the time) to take those perfect shots. The focus, ISO, exposure and color has not let me down at all. I was able to get some amazing night shots, with the improved camera here. Lack of OIS isn't missed much on pictures, but at 4k video recording it would have been very helpful. In general, the camera is reliable and great quality. The pictures you may want to take at a bar or night environment will probably come out better than that of any other phone...with or without a flash. Samples attached of a couple night shots I posted elsewhere.
I did install a camera app called FV-5. It gives you far more control over the camera and has made some pictures really incredible. I have to tinker with it more and learn about some settings, but the face detection, focus and more on the app really allows the hardware to shine. Hopefully they update it quickly with more support for the 6P camera hardware features.
Connectivity
The most important part of the phone. I have Verizon and some areas in my house or office will be weaker than others. Where my Moto X Pure wasn't getting the best signal, I do see a slight stronger signal on the 6P. Nothing much though and wouldn't bank on it improving your past experiences substantially. WiFi speeds are great. I attached a screenshot of my speeds at home, on WiFi, with the 6P.
Bluetooth and Car
I use my phone in the car all the time. If this one aspect of a phone is flawed, then it goes back. I was concerned at first, because the phone and car would not connect. I was worried it was related to Android M. After I turned off bluetooth and turned it back on - it connected and paired, finally. I was most worried at this point.
Since then, I have gotten in and out of my car and the transition and connection to bluetooth has been seamless and quick. Where my Moto X Pure and iPhones took about 30 seconds to finally connect to the car and have a 3s gap where I miss conversation; The 6P seems to connect and transition the audio instantly. I hope it stays that way!
In the End?
I love this phone. It does live up to the #hype. Without any bias to my excitement to have it, this phone has pretty much hit every aspect of feature I would want out of a mobile device. The best part is IT JUST WORKS. That used to be my argument for Apple devices, but I can now say the same for Android. Sorry if that disappoints some of you... This is also the first android device where I don't feel the need to unlock or root. I will unlock and root because it's a Nexus and I like to develop/test ROMS out. However, those of you who felt you had to rely on unlocking and rooting to tinker settings, you may find that you won't have that urge to do so anymore. If anything, I'll do it for TWRP.
Where I would normally plan on switching devices every few months or 6 months, I can see myself keeping this device for a year to 2 years. Just won't tell the lady that or else I'll hear it when I want to upgrade to next years Nexus line...
Lastly, in the day using it, I have had many people ask me, "Hey, what phone is that?". While I don't care for being known to have the latest and greatest, it's fun showing it off. I can't wait to see some Frosties or Graphites in the wild, but for you folks with #aluminati...stand proud and shine. I hope this helped provide some honest insight and answer some questions.
Thanks folks!
Note: The only changes I made to the pictures was reduce the size of them. They were too large to upload, but no post edits were done for enhancements.
***UPDATES***
Blue Tint / Hue: I got our second device today and first thing I looked for was the blue tint/hue. I am surprised to say that there really isn't much of one on the second device. It's the exact same 32gb aluminum. That being said, I still never notice it on the first device and personally don't find it worth the effort to replace.
Bluetooth Issues: Some bluetooth connectivity issues have began to show their faces. I think it has to do with Android 6.0 and NOT the 6P, but we'll see.
Car: Mazda3 2014 Grand Touring, updated to most recent software
Symptoms: "Google Now" isn't working when connected. It seems that the device is depending on the vehicles microphone for any input and the vehicle microphone only triggers on button press. My other devices in the past year did not have this problem, including iPhone's "Hey Siri".
Resolution: Pending
Speakers: This is purely based on opinion, but I love the speakers on the 6P. I find them to sound rich and some great tones for a phone. I DO prefer them to my Moto X Pure, don't shoot me. Really though, speakers are great. I watched a movie last night from the device, for about 30 minutes, and no pops, crackles, stutters at all. Was pleased.
I did notice on speakers, that the volume range is a bit wonky. The low to mid setting for speakers in media playback was quite hard to hear. At 75% it was what I expect at medium. At 100% it was too loud. Food for thought, but hopefully this is addressed in software updates or use Viper.
What accessories are you using?
I love to accessorize my devices. I usually run my phone naked, to display all of it's beauty and engineering. Project Fi did send me a 50% off the ADOPTED case, which I ordered. Can't beat $10.81 with free shipping on a Google official case.
Screen Protectors:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016XZLFD6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014UNPYEE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01
These haven't arrived yet. One gets in Tuesday. I will test it out to make sure it does not block any sensors along with making the lip feel flush. Will report back on these.
Car Charger:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0146FK3G0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01
There is a great thread, somewhere in accessories about Car Chargers. If you have lots of questions about it or need specifics, most have been answered there. I will say that RAPID CHARGING from this charger DOES WORK. Confirmed. I was able to charge up from 60% to 100% on a short drive home. It works great and the spare USB slot is appreciated.
Extra USB-C Cable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010VFFSL4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
Braided, heavy duty and feels very solid/premium. Length is great and I am using it with a Moto X Pure charging block. Rapid charging works and it's a great cable.
Car Mount:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VEAF6SG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00
This is the first car mount I have tried. I am picky about how things are in my car and I like it clean. Since my CD slot is at the bottom of the front dash, this fits quite well. It doesn't shake much and gets the job done.
Con: The piece that holds the phone expands and snaps back to default when you remove the device. It's not the easiest to use. You also can't center your device because the "arms" that hold the phone will press the volume/power key. This thing looks like it was built for an iPhone or LG G3+ type phone. Food for thought.
SPEAKERS VOLUME VIDEO:
***UPDATE TO OP 11/03***
Hey everyone! So after a week of use, I have some updates to the review. I have pasted the updates below, so you don't have to jump back to OP.
Battery
This seems to be one of the most discussed topics and quite a sensitive one! Some users are experiencing incredible SoT while others are not. Ultimately, it will boil down to what apps you have installed along with your connectivity. If your LTE connection is weak, your phone's battery will reflect that. There are many factors to take into consideration with battery, so please understand it is literally per individual basis!
Disclaimer: I haven't received any OTA updates yet. There have been 3 thus far and probably address some of the issues I have.
Over the weekend, I noticed my battery life not lasting as long as I would like. Almost seemed that every 5 minutes I was on the phone, I would lose roughly 3%-5%. This raised some questions so I started diving into the possible issues.
Symptoms:
Phone near fingerprint sensor would get warm during phone calls
Bluetooth constantly scanning
WiFi active during Doze/Sleep
WiFi scanning
GPS on
Solution:
Disabled Bluetooth and WiFi scanning passively
WiFi Advanced settings, disabled WiFi on during sleep
GPS was set to battery saving, but wasn't working. Simply turn off GPS, turn it back on, and check battery saving (this was an odd one)
With those adjustments, I have now noticed my battery in DOZE would lose roughly 2% over 4 hours. I'll get some screenshots and update the OP when they are available. Still testing. Battery life after the fixes are substantially better, however, my device is still getting warm while on calls where our second 6P does NOT. Due to this, a replacement has been overnighted to me. When that arrives, I will be unlocking/rooting to have some more fun with reporting to everyone.
VEHICLE BLUETOOTH
So, either this is new in Android M or my car is losing it's AI mind (or lack thereof), but I have figured out what it's doing. When placing a call through the device or the car, the phone will go into a "dialing" status. While it's in "dialing" status, the car will continue to play my music. When someone on the other end of the call picks up, the audio will switch to the phone. It hasn't been easy adjusting to this and I do wish I would just hear the dial tone, but everything else works great in car.
SCREEN PROTECTOR
I just received one of my screen protectors. I will apply it this evening, record it and share the link here for everyone to see. First impressions are that it misses the "edge to edge" by a slight amount. There is a lip on the edge of the device. My hope was the glass would extend from lip to lip. Not the case here, but still worth a shot. The glass DOES protrude above the lip. Glass thickness is slightly thicker than the other posted above, according to specs. That one arrives today, hopefully!
If something like that will bother you, I don't recommend the Yoozon glass. Video will come soon and you can see for yourself and decide which may be best for you, if any.
FINGERPRINT SENSOR
Still works like a charm. I hope they have an update that allows you to use a little more of the edge of your fingers, similar to Sammies or Apple. Other than that, it's reliable and fast even if your finger has moisture. Good stuff Huawei.
More to come soon, but hope this provides you more info and helps!
Thank you for the excellent review.
Excellent review and agree with everything you have said this is one of the best phones I have owned and I have owned a lot of them.
Thanks for the review! I'm currently test-driving a Moto X Pure, and have a week or so left to return it, which means if I want to get the Nexus 6P I'll have to go back to my old LG G2 for several weeks until Huawei gets its butt in gear and starts pumping out more 64gb models. What's your take on the 6P vs. the X Pure?
Chief85 said:
Thanks for the review! I'm currently test-driving a Moto X Pure, and have a week or so left to return it, which means if I want to get the Nexus 6P I'll have to go back to my old LG G2 for several weeks until Huawei gets its butt in gear and starts pumping out more 64gb models. What's your take on the 6P vs. the X Pure?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! Seeing that I literally just came from the Moto X Pure to the 6P, I can say that I have not looked back or regret doing so. I gave my X Pure to my business partner (he was on a 2014 model still). There is a noticeable height difference, but I like it. It actually places the volume rocker and power button in the right spot for my thumb. Unless you did Moto Maker and like that super unique look, I'd pick the 6P hands down.
Great review! Thanks for sharing.
tehpud said:
Hey everyone! Many of you know me from other threads or some Q&A, but I wanted to share my experience with the Nexus 6P. I do have a thread where you can ask me anything to try or test out on the device, to help answer some questions. I am a front end developer, UX/UI designer, and business owner. This review is based on how I use the phone and where the phone either shines or fails to perform to my needs. The #hype is real on this device and I am hoping to provide you some feedback that removes the bias of #hype and focuses on the device. Hope you find this helpful and thanks for reading!
Introduction
The Nexus 6P is probably the one device I was so excited to get since the iPhone 4. From reading every possible hands on review, watching every YouTube video, and being on the forums trying to calculate shipping dates. This phone has generated so much buzz that I finally felt so excited to get a device. Compared to last year, nothing was "omfg must have". The Nexus 6P filled that hope.
Ergonomics & Hardware
There is no need for me to get into the specs, we all know them or they are easily available elsewhere. This review is about how the specs of the phone play to the hardware and software to make OUR experience the best. The Nexus 6P has some amazing hardware. I got the 32gb Aluminum (long live #aluminati!) version. It is such a delight to hold. The device feels fantastic in my hands, and I have average size hands for a 5'10" individual. I am coming from a Moto X Pure, Note 5, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone 6, and Nexus 6 over the past year. Yes, I change phones frequently...mostly for entertainment or variety. Unlike the iPhones, Note 5, and Nexus 6 - The 6P feels stable in my hands, easy to hold, my thumb can reach across the screen without slipping and the weight of the device does help me balance it for one handed use. Where iPhones were so light and thin, the ergonomics sucked to hold; the 6P thickness actually helps in one handed use. The width of the device is not so wide, like the 2014 N6, that one handed use is easy and 2 handed use works just fine as well.
Slippery - Or should I say, lack thereof? The metal on the phone has a slight grip to it. Similar to that of the Moto X Pure (minus the rubber), but it stays in my hand. Those of you worried about the metal frame and possibly being slippery like the iPhones or even Nexus 6; have no fear.
Metal & Screen - Every version (color) will probably differ. I can only speak for the aluminum version. I have barely put the device down and I have zero fingerprints on the back. Oils do not absorb into the metal to look dirty. The only area where fingerprints are obvious is where they should be...on the screen. Which brings me to the glass of the screen. The glass, in the first hours, felt good but over the ongoing use it has been a little tough for me to slide my fingers over. Could be me or maybe I just need to put the damn phone down. The glass is beautiful and seems strong, but I ordered a glass screen protector to help with fingerprints and always feeling smooth to the touch.
There is a lip around the edge. The metal lip seems to be that of 0.2mm, give or take. It's extremely subtle, but obvious it is there to the touch. If that is something that would bother you, the glass screen protectors seem to hit the correct dimensions in thickness to flatten the surface out entirely. I can imagine the lip probably makes applying a glass screen protector even easier due to form fitting vs aligning.
Buttons and Fingerprint Sensors
The buttons are metal and solid. They don't wiggle around, which drove me insane on my iPhone and Moto X Pure. You can tell they were built well. The home button has a texture to identify easily and works quite well. The click in on volume and home buttons have a easily identifying feedback so you know you are pushing them. As silly as it may sound, the Moto X Pure failed in that area. Where the buttons were so easy to push and lack of feedback on press, there were nights where I would watch a YouTube clip and accidentally click the volume in and piss off the lady.
The fingerprint sensor is like every other reviewer has put it. Extremely fast and reliable. I programmed my index and middle fingers on both hands to the fingerprint sensor. I love that I can pull my phone out of my pocket and its ready to go without awkward thumb bending on the front to reach. Only gripe here on the UX is the inability to unlock the device with my fingerprint when it's laying on my desk. It's not a huge deal to some, but I am at a desk non stop. There is a solution, in Android Marshmallow for this though. I setup certain areas as my "trusted" areas. My car, for example, is a trusted connection and the phone does not require to unlock. I did the same for the bluetooth on my work desk. Solves the issue, but leaves the phone open to access if that worries you.
Notification Light
I love notification lights. This one is simple and great. Not buried into the speaker. Obvious pulsing and colors. Just make sure you turn it on! My phone had it disabled. To enable, go to settings > Notifications > Pulse Notification Light. This is one of my favorite features, for as simple and dumb as it may sound.
Speed and Battery
This phone is lightning fast for me. It was built to work fluidly with Android M and it does exactly that. I haven't ran into any hiccups, crashing, issues and everything just...works! Not sure when I was last able to say that about an Android device. This is the first Android I don't have the "want or need" to begin installing greenify, sleep, and other apps that help chill the phone out and not drain the battery. App switching is smooth, RAM usage has stayed consistently at 1.5gb and the camera opens without stutter or lag for me. I frequently find something I wish to take a picture of and it just opens without delay. More on the camera further down.
The battery is great. The synergy with Android M, Doze, and the Nexus 6p - the battery life for me has been phenomenal. It's too early to reveal screenshots, but just in my general use today I have only used 9% of my battery. I have sent numerous emails, taken some pictures, showed off the device, used Google Maps for navigation, and listened to a Play Music Radio Station on the drive to work. I am happy to say that I am sure battery life won't be a big complaint amongst users. If you use your device so intensively, the rapid charging is rapid. Not as fast as my Moto X Pure, but pretty darn fast. It won't let you down.
Camera
I ****ing love this camera. The pictures are beautiful, detailed, and vibrant with colors. I take a lot of pictures with my devices and generally, my family will ask me to use my phone (whatever it may be at the time) to take those perfect shots. The focus, ISO, exposure and color has not let me down at all. I was able to get some amazing night shots, with the improved camera here. Lack of OIS isn't missed much on pictures, but at 4k video recording it would have been very helpful. In general, the camera is reliable and great quality. The pictures you may want to take at a bar or night environment will probably come out better than that of any other phone...with or without a flash. Samples attached of a couple night shots I posted elsewhere.
I did install a camera app called FV-5. It gives you far more control over the camera and has made some pictures really incredible. I have to tinker with it more and learn about some settings, but the face detection, focus and more on the app really allows the hardware to shine. Hopefully they update it quickly with more support for the 6P camera hardware features.
Connectivity
The most important part of the phone. I have Verizon and some areas in my house or office will be weaker than others. Where my Moto X Pure wasn't getting the best signal, I do see a slight stronger signal on the 6P. Nothing much though and wouldn't bank on it improving your past experiences substantially. WiFi speeds are great. I attached a screenshot of my speeds at home, on WiFi, with the 6P.
Bluetooth and Car
I use my phone in the car all the time. If this one aspect of a phone is flawed, then it goes back. I was concerned at first, because the phone and car would not connect. I was worried it was related to Android M. After I turned off bluetooth and turned it back on - it connected and paired, finally. I was most worried at this point.
Since then, I have gotten in and out of my car and the transition and connection to bluetooth has been seamless and quick. Where my Moto X Pure and iPhones took about 30 seconds to finally connect to the car and have a 3s gap where I miss conversation; The 6P seems to connect and transition the audio instantly. I hope it stays that way!
In the End?
I love this phone. It does live up to the #hype. Without any bias to my excitement to have it, this phone has pretty much hit every aspect of feature I would want out of a mobile device. The best part is IT JUST WORKS. That used to be my argument for Apple devices, but I can now say the same for Android. Sorry if that disappoints some of you... This is also the first android device where I don't feel the need to unlock or root. I will unlock and root because it's a Nexus and I like to develop/test ROMS out. However, those of you who felt you had to rely on unlocking and rooting to tinker settings, you may find that you won't have that urge to do so anymore. If anything, I'll do it for TWRP.
Where I would normally plan on switching devices every few months or 6 months, I can see myself keeping this device for a year to 2 years. Just won't tell the lady that or else I'll hear it when I want to upgrade to next years Nexus line...
Lastly, in the day using it, I have had many people ask me, "Hey, what phone is that?". While I don't care for being known to have the latest and greatest, it's fun showing it off. I can't wait to see some Frosties or Graphites in the wild, but for you folks with #aluminati...stand proud and shine. I hope this helped provide some honest insight and answer some questions.
Thanks folks!
Note: The only changes I made to the pictures was reduce the size of them. They were too large to upload, but no post edits were done for enhancements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a fantastic cat sir
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
I think it is a very good review. Granted, I have only had my phone for just now 24 hours and only completed full set up early this AM.
Can't speak about the battery yet as it is too early to tell and it has been on and off charger. I anticipate tonight forward I can get a better read.
Camera is one of the best and I REALLY like the Moto X 2015 Pure. I think N6P may trump it as a few low light pics came out great. At very least is on par with Apple 6S Plus which I also own.
Fingerprint scanner is phenomenal and IS faster than Apple 6S Plus, which I thought was fast. N6P trumps it.
Now, I don't necessarily agree with connectivity on LTE: I STILL think MOTO has better radios and at work I have very sketchy connectivity. I do notice my Nexus 6 and even when I owned the Moto X 2015 Pure, it would grab a weaker signal and have faster data connections moreso than the Nexus 6P. I had to keep toggling airplane mode on the Nexus 6P to get signals. So, I think it is OK but MOTO still has better radios IMHO.
Furthermore, I also think the processor is a "tad" slower than Nexus 6. The Nexus 6 seems to fly and is speedier (both Nexus 6 and N6P are decrypted as well). Granted, I perceive no lag on the N6P, but I definitely feel a controlled movement.
Good review, but my thoughts differ from yours a bit.
My Nexus 6P just arrived. Initial impression? The screen on my Moto X Pure is better (brighter, better whites, less graininess up close). Also, the speakers on the Moto X Pure are better. The Moto X Pure is also a little smaller and easier to grip with the rubber back. My Moto X Pure has very clicky and solid buttons, so maybe that's just a flaw in your particular Moto X.
I'm actually shocked because I fully expected to fall in love with the 6P immediately and ditch the Moto X Pure based on the stellar reviews I have been seeing, but now I'm thinking this is going to be a tougher decision than I thought, and I might actually end up returning the 6P!
Chief85 said:
Thanks for the review! I'm currently test-driving a Moto X Pure, and have a week or so left to return it, which means if I want to get the Nexus 6P I'll have to go back to my old LG G2 for several weeks until Huawei gets its butt in gear and starts pumping out more 64gb models. What's your take on the 6P vs. the X Pure?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in exactly same boat. Have till Nov. 13. Great review OP. You make me really want one and if they were readily available I probably would have it.
tehpud said:
Hey everyone! Many of you know me from other threads or some Q&A, but I wanted to share my experience with the Nexus 6P. I do have a thread where you can ask me anything to try or test out on the device, to help answer some questions. I am a front end developer, UX/UI designer, and business owner. This review is based on how I use the phone and where the phone either shines or fails to perform to my needs. The #hype is real on this device and I am hoping to provide you some feedback that removes the bias of #hype and focuses on the device. Hope you find this helpful and thanks for reading!
Introduction
The Nexus 6P is probably the one device I was so excited to get since the iPhone 4. From reading every possible hands on review, watching every YouTube video, and being on the forums trying to calculate shipping dates. This phone has generated so much buzz that I finally felt so excited to get a device. Compared to last year, nothing was "omfg must have". The Nexus 6P filled that hope.
Ergonomics & Hardware
There is no need for me to get into the specs, we all know them or they are easily available elsewhere. This review is about how the specs of the phone play to the hardware and software to make OUR experience the best. The Nexus 6P has some amazing hardware. I got the 32gb Aluminum (long live #aluminati!) version. It is such a delight to hold. The device feels fantastic in my hands, and I have average size hands for a 5'10" individual. I am coming from a Moto X Pure, Note 5, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone 6, and Nexus 6 over the past year. Yes, I change phones frequently...mostly for entertainment or variety. Unlike the iPhones, Note 5, and Nexus 6 - The 6P feels stable in my hands, easy to hold, my thumb can reach across the screen without slipping and the weight of the device does help me balance it for one handed use. Where iPhones were so light and thin, the ergonomics sucked to hold; the 6P thickness actually helps in one handed use. The width of the device is not so wide, like the 2014 N6, that one handed use is easy and 2 handed use works just fine as well.
Slippery - Or should I say, lack thereof? The metal on the phone has a slight grip to it. Similar to that of the Moto X Pure (minus the rubber), but it stays in my hand. Those of you worried about the metal frame and possibly being slippery like the iPhones or even Nexus 6; have no fear.
Metal & Screen - Every version (color) will probably differ. I can only speak for the aluminum version. I have barely put the device down and I have zero fingerprints on the back. Oils do not absorb into the metal to look dirty. The only area where fingerprints are obvious is where they should be...on the screen. Which brings me to the glass of the screen. The glass, in the first hours, felt good but over the ongoing use it has been a little tough for me to slide my fingers over. Could be me or maybe I just need to put the damn phone down. The glass is beautiful and seems strong, but I ordered a glass screen protector to help with fingerprints and always feeling smooth to the touch.
There is a lip around the edge. The metal lip seems to be that of 0.2mm, give or take. It's extremely subtle, but obvious it is there to the touch. If that is something that would bother you, the glass screen protectors seem to hit the correct dimensions in thickness to flatten the surface out entirely. I can imagine the lip probably makes applying a glass screen protector even easier due to form fitting vs aligning.
Buttons and Fingerprint Sensors
The buttons are metal and solid. They don't wiggle around, which drove me insane on my iPhone and Moto X Pure. You can tell they were built well. The home button has a texture to identify easily and works quite well. The click in on volume and home buttons have a easily identifying feedback so you know you are pushing them. As silly as it may sound, the Moto X Pure failed in that area. Where the buttons were so easy to push and lack of feedback on press, there were nights where I would watch a YouTube clip and accidentally click the volume in and piss off the lady.
The fingerprint sensor is like every other reviewer has put it. Extremely fast and reliable. I programmed my index and middle fingers on both hands to the fingerprint sensor. I love that I can pull my phone out of my pocket and its ready to go without awkward thumb bending on the front to reach. Only gripe here on the UX is the inability to unlock the device with my fingerprint when it's laying on my desk. It's not a huge deal to some, but I am at a desk non stop. There is a solution, in Android Marshmallow for this though. I setup certain areas as my "trusted" areas. My car, for example, is a trusted connection and the phone does not require to unlock. I did the same for the bluetooth on my work desk. Solves the issue, but leaves the phone open to access if that worries you.
Notification Light
I love notification lights. This one is simple and great. Not buried into the speaker. Obvious pulsing and colors. Just make sure you turn it on! My phone had it disabled. To enable, go to settings > Notifications > Pulse Notification Light. This is one of my favorite features, for as simple and dumb as it may sound.
Speed and Battery
This phone is lightning fast for me. It was built to work fluidly with Android M and it does exactly that. I haven't ran into any hiccups, crashing, issues and everything just...works! Not sure when I was last able to say that about an Android device. This is the first Android I don't have the "want or need" to begin installing greenify, sleep, and other apps that help chill the phone out and not drain the battery. App switching is smooth, RAM usage has stayed consistently at 1.5gb and the camera opens without stutter or lag for me. I frequently find something I wish to take a picture of and it just opens without delay. More on the camera further down.
The battery is great. The synergy with Android M, Doze, and the Nexus 6p - the battery life for me has been phenomenal. It's too early to reveal screenshots, but just in my general use today I have only used 9% of my battery. I have sent numerous emails, taken some pictures, showed off the device, used Google Maps for navigation, and listened to a Play Music Radio Station on the drive to work. I am happy to say that I am sure battery life won't be a big complaint amongst users. If you use your device so intensively, the rapid charging is rapid. Not as fast as my Moto X Pure, but pretty darn fast. It won't let you down.
Camera
I ****ing love this camera. The pictures are beautiful, detailed, and vibrant with colors. I take a lot of pictures with my devices and generally, my family will ask me to use my phone (whatever it may be at the time) to take those perfect shots. The focus, ISO, exposure and color has not let me down at all. I was able to get some amazing night shots, with the improved camera here. Lack of OIS isn't missed much on pictures, but at 4k video recording it would have been very helpful. In general, the camera is reliable and great quality. The pictures you may want to take at a bar or night environment will probably come out better than that of any other phone...with or without a flash. Samples attached of a couple night shots I posted elsewhere.
I did install a camera app called FV-5. It gives you far more control over the camera and has made some pictures really incredible. I have to tinker with it more and learn about some settings, but the face detection, focus and more on the app really allows the hardware to shine. Hopefully they update it quickly with more support for the 6P camera hardware features.
Connectivity
The most important part of the phone. I have Verizon and some areas in my house or office will be weaker than others. Where my Moto X Pure wasn't getting the best signal, I do see a slight stronger signal on the 6P. Nothing much though and wouldn't bank on it improving your past experiences substantially. WiFi speeds are great. I attached a screenshot of my speeds at home, on WiFi, with the 6P.
Bluetooth and Car
I use my phone in the car all the time. If this one aspect of a phone is flawed, then it goes back. I was concerned at first, because the phone and car would not connect. I was worried it was related to Android M. After I turned off bluetooth and turned it back on - it connected and paired, finally. I was most worried at this point.
Since then, I have gotten in and out of my car and the transition and connection to bluetooth has been seamless and quick. Where my Moto X Pure and iPhones took about 30 seconds to finally connect to the car and have a 3s gap where I miss conversation; The 6P seems to connect and transition the audio instantly. I hope it stays that way!
In the End?
I love this phone. It does live up to the #hype. Without any bias to my excitement to have it, this phone has pretty much hit every aspect of feature I would want out of a mobile device. The best part is IT JUST WORKS. That used to be my argument for Apple devices, but I can now say the same for Android. Sorry if that disappoints some of you... This is also the first android device where I don't feel the need to unlock or root. I will unlock and root because it's a Nexus and I like to develop/test ROMS out. However, those of you who felt you had to rely on unlocking and rooting to tinker settings, you may find that you won't have that urge to do so anymore. If anything, I'll do it for TWRP.
Where I would normally plan on switching devices every few months or 6 months, I can see myself keeping this device for a year to 2 years. Just won't tell the lady that or else I'll hear it when I want to upgrade to next years Nexus line...
Lastly, in the day using it, I have had many people ask me, "Hey, what phone is that?". While I don't care for being known to have the latest and greatest, it's fun showing it off. I can't wait to see some Frosties or Graphites in the wild, but for you folks with #aluminati...stand proud and shine. I hope this helped provide some honest insight and answer some questions.
Thanks folks!
Note: The only changes I made to the pictures was reduce the size of them. They were too large to upload, but no post edits were done for enhancements.
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Is that a Huawei watch?
bullshark888 said:
Is that a Huawei watch?
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Yup!
tehpud said:
Yup!
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I am still debating this or the 360, maybe wait for the black Friday.
bullshark888 said:
I am still debating this or the 360, maybe wait for the black Friday.
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I would wait for Black Friday tbh. I am probably going to return it and wait for the Moto 360 Sport. I already have a nice watch, but need something that I can use while I work out.
Was there really a need to start a new thread about reviews?
Now that is what I call a fantastic review
Very nice review. Thank you for taking the time and sharing. I think I know my next device after mapping this against the Moto X Pure.
Does VoLTE work on Verizon with the 6p? If not, does it have dual radios to let you call on CDMA and still use LTE data?
jmileti said:
I am in exactly same boat. Have till Nov. 13. Great review OP. You make me really want one and if they were readily available I probably would have it.
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Very frustrating! If only I could hold both at the same time...
Here's a light review of the phone from Clove:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbFeUoVyT9Q&feature=youtu.be
Preorders up today as well.
Unboxing vid. Looks like they went with a nicer packaging this time.
VS. an iPhone 6 vid
VS. the Z5 Compact vid
i have bought yesterday the white x compact. unfortunately its a bit larger than the z3c. well im a bit disappointed but not because of the sd 650. the performance is quite good. its definately responsive and quick for a compact. but the bezel on the bottom is bigger than at the top. looks like a design fail. vibration motor is veeery strange imo. at start you dont feel him when typing but the faster you type the more the motor is vibrating. this behavior is very hard to accept. maybe for some people a minor thing but for me when i got used to my z3c this not ok. the whole left side beside the display has a gap between display and frame. on the right side there is no gap. dust and dirt wil again find a nice place there. this was the reason why i have replaced my white z3c with a black one after the motherboard was dead on the white one. it seems sony has not learned from their mistakes. fingerprint button has also gaps and looks like a bit deplaced but works very well. on the back side there you have gaps on top and bottom. i really do not understand sony. this phone costs 450€ and it seems they have no QA before packaging. camerawise i can see some improvements. focus is much faster than z3c. but the camera quality nowhere comparable to a galaxy s7. its ok but not that i would say wow. front cam is better than z3c. no softskin blur effect more but when it gets dark the front cam is not very good. generally i was expecting more from sonys camera system.
the best thing at this phone is the display. the black values and color reproduction is very good. looks like amoled but is probably a very good ips. but i think its displaying to much red. adjusting whitebalance helps. generally much better than z3c. due to the 2D glass curves it seems that display is almost printed regardless the 720p.
but there is also somehting that is causing me headache with the display. it seems that due to the curved glas the letter "P" is sometimes not very responsive. especially if you are trying to hit the letter from the right side throught the curved area of the display. from top no prob but from the side its sometimes not reacting. tested with google keyboard.
loudspeakers are a bit louder probably due to the lack of water resistance. they sound better.
the phone goes back as i have got massively used to have root. i'm still on kitkat with root and xposed and several changes through xposed. loosing all this to a non perfect phone makes no sense for 450€.
the biggest problem is that there are no smartphones at 4,6inch with good quality anymore. i was even thinking about iphone but no thanks. i dont want to be a slave of itunes and pay more than 750€ for a phone. SE is too small. z5c is overheating, bulky & too rectangle. A3 2016 is 4,7inch and therefor longer. could be ok. BUT it has no fuc*** notification LED. major fail by samsung as this is inacceptable in 2016. but generally the build quality by samsung has raised. the galaxy s7 in a size of 4,6inch would be perfect. im remembering the times with my galaxy s1. fantastic phone and it was undestroyable. well if you have any questions you can ask me until i have still the phone. currently im thinking of testing an s7. but i hate to to do strange things with my thumb just to be able to reach the back button on the bottom of the phone. the s4 mini was perfect size.
So you are returning the phone?
I will give this phone a try but your build quality comments concern me. I should have it this week, so I'm hoping I get a good one. Does the plastic, glossy shell feel as cheap as it looks?
True, it's sad that these phones are the only game in the 4.6" size. I kinda don't consider the 4.6" iPhone in this size class because its just as big as a 5" screen phone because of the home button. I'm hoping Samsung comes out with an S7 mini which I would get in a heartbeat.
uchosen said:
So you are returning the phone?
I will give this phone a try but your build quality comments concern me. I should have it this week, so I'm hoping I get a good one. Does the plastic, glossy shell feel as cheap as it looks?
True, it's sad that these phones are the only game in the 4.6" size. I kinda don't consider the 4.6" iPhone in this size class because its just as big as a 5" screen phone because of the home button. I'm hoping Samsung comes out with an S7 mini which I would get in a heartbeat.
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try it. the plastic glossy shell is not the problem. its nice to look at, looks a bit like ceramic and not so slippery as i thought but the build quality is again not the best. i hate the unsymetric gaps between frame. they just cant place the display equally into the frame. on the black (which is not true black, its more dark blue) you wont see them so much as on the white one.
i was hoping for a s7mini but it seems that samsung has changed the mini series into the A3 line which is really sad unfortunately in the stores theres always the anti thief thing on the back which prevents to get true feeling of the normal S7. i need to test if a S7 would somehow be operational with one hand for me. but i dont think so. :/
the display of my z3c is peeling of on the top left edge which was the reason iw as looking for a different phone. i need to repair this. sony would need to much time for this.
x10isrooted said:
..vibration motor is veeery strange imo. at start you dont feel him when typing but the faster you type the more the motor is vibrating. this behavior is very hard to accept...
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i didn't realize that with swift key. but you are right. if you set to system vibration you have that issue. but me, i am using swift key where you can set you individual vibration duration and that works like a charm.
x10isrooted said:
the whole left side beside the display has a gap between display and frame. on the right side there is no gap...
fingerprint button has also gaps and looks like a bit deplaced...
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on my xxc the gaps are all the same size and nothing is deplaced.
x10isrooted said:
..but there is also somehting that is causing me headache with the display. it seems that due to the curved glas the letter "P" is sometimes not very responsive. especially if you are trying to hit the letter from the right side throught the curved area of the display. from top no prob but from the side its sometimes not reacting. tested with google keyboard.
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can't confirm that too.
the 'p' works just fine. (swift key)
x10isrooted said:
the phone goes back as i have got massively used to have root. i'm still on kitkat with root and xposed and several changes through xposed. loosing all this to a non perfect phone makes no sense for 450€.
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i hope, root is just a question of time. i hope very soon. can't wait for it to make all my customisations i am used to.
i found a way posted here but its written so weird. i dont know if its reliable.
http://www.sadroid.com/root-sony-xperia-x-compact-5-minutes/
the individual vibration is the same. the often and quicker you are pressing a button the more the motor of the vibrator gets crazy. sound like a bee on Speed.
You must try to press the letter p probably from the right side. a bit through the curved glass. the galaxy s7 and z3 compact touchscreen is much more responsive and sensitive. for me it was often not reacting when i was not thinking to touch more precisely in the middle of the letter P. maybe a defect on my device but i think the whole touchscreen production will be affected by this. i have tested the Xperia X and it has the same behavior. i will have to test another device in store if this is the case there as well.
this website is untrusted. dont download anything from that. you will get a virus. nothing else. when a root is availbale someone will for sure post it here first. but i doubt that it will be soon. x compact has not the best specs. all the famous and talented devs have other phones currently. xxz0o was the person that developed a root for z3c after half a year i think.
ok. now i found the issue with the vibration. your duration seems to be set pretty long. i set it to 35ms and that works absolutely fine. but if you set it to f.e. 60ms you have that issue. but why would you like to have it that long?
i mean its obvious that it can be a prob. if your next press is in the range of the 60ms there is no other way for the phone to vibrate permanently. are other phones adjusting the vibration if you press faster than the setted duration?
but i am a slow writer. maybe i will never understand that problem. i just found that issue while pressing complete randomly on the keyboard. i could never write that fast.
jeah, as i thaught. the page is very weird. i would also only try a root from a page i know pretty good.
ohh. half a year? thats sad. but hope never dies.
i like the phone. maybe there are some others
x10isrooted said:
try it. the plastic glossy shell is not the problem. its nice to look at, looks a bit like ceramic and not so slippery as i thought but the build quality is again not the best. i hate the unsymetric gaps between frame. they just cant place the display equally into the frame. on the black (which is not true black, its more dark blue) you wont see them so much as on the white one.
i was hoping for a s7mini but it seems that samsung has changed the mini series into the A3 line which is really sad unfortunately in the stores theres always the anti thief thing on the back which prevents to get true feeling of the normal S7. i need to test if a S7 would somehow be operational with one hand for me. but i dont think so. :/
the display of my z3c is peeling of on the top left edge which was the reason iw as looking for a different phone. i need to repair this. sony would need to much time for this.
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The S7 mini would be perfect, but it will never be created. The S7 is about the same size as the iPhone 6, so if any of your friends have one, just try using it and you'll quickly realize how much harder it is to reach the top of the phone with your thumb. I'm sticking with my Z3C for another year to see if anyone (not just Sony) releases a 4.5-4.7" flagship device. The XC just doesn't meet my expectations for an "upgrade".
Phone Arena review:
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Sony-Xperia-X-Compact-Review_id4256
The AndroidCentral Review is up, one note the lack of a fingerprint scanner is US only, the rest of the world has the fingerprint scanner available!
http://m.androidcentral.com/sony-xperia-x-compact
All of these first reviews to be released seem to be very shallow in depth. They don't go into any real analysis of the phone and use very general statements to describe the user experience. In fact, these read more like unboxings than actual reviews. There's a lot of talk about what the phone looks like, the specs it comes with, and way too much of it sounds like they're reading a press release. If I was in the market for a new device. I'd wait another month for real reviews to be released.
Android Authority review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uullDQFq5W0
I sure do not have those build quality issues. gaps?! display is dead flush, heck everything is. I am very impressed with the build quality, very sturdy. I do not have trouble with coming in from the right and typing 'p' either, but if you display is not flush it would probably influence it. I am more than sure you were unlucky and got a bad apple (heh). as for the key vibration issue; if you type faster than the vibration delay is set, you are of cause going to have it vibrate all the time while typing, odd btw that you guys was set to 60ms mine was set to 25ms as default.
Hey everyone, just wanted some feedback regarding an issue I began having this week with my X Compact.
Issue: The phone is not as responsive during the unlocking process as it once was. I used to simply swipe to unlock and the phone would immediately unlock with a simple swiping motion. Now, the phone requires a harder swipe before it unlocks.
Any ideas?