Related
The Evo 3D is a worthy upgrade to the 4G....speedwise predominantly. No doubt this thing moves faster than any modded 4G Rom I ever used on my 4G.
My issue with the 4G was the poor indoor camera pics.
The perplexing thing to me is that HTC...knowing that it had a deficient camera on the 4G , made no improvements in the 3D camera.....in a device named after it's camera!
After 3 days of playing with various settings I can say that unfortunately the indoor pics just equal the 4G. (I'm being...kind. Many say they're worse).
HTC is dead last (compared to the major smartphone manufacturers: Sony, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung) in camera quality.
I'd communicated with HTC about this last fall. They responded positively. But unfortunately nothing materialized.
I use this feature a lot and had hopes.
Ah well...its still fun using this otherwise...as I will for at least 30 days.
(Fanboys: I know: quit trolling; get a real camera; good riddance lol; whatever).
Its my take on the 3D...based on my expectations. Most don't care about camera functionality as I do...so be it.
Yeah I'm holding off on getting the E3D and I'll probably wait for a better device. It looks like they also didn't fix build quality issues (crooked screen, jiggly camera button, no protection for the back camera).
gqstatus0685 said:
Yeah I'm holding off on getting the E3D and I'll probably wait for a better device. It looks like they also didn't fix build quality issues (crooked screen, jiggly camera button, no protection for the back camera).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ehh it really isn't that bad. My screen is straight, my camera button is fine and idk about the back camera since I just haven't looked. I know all other phones from HTC have had a plastic thing over them. And if they improve the 3vo in the future ill just drop my phone and get a new one for $100
Also someone said something about an app that took better quality pics then the pre-installed one.
I don't know if I recommend getting another device unless camera quality is a premium priority...or speaker volume maybe.
3D is way cool...and the device flies...I mean faster than girlfriends TBolt, Sensation...whatever.
You need to try a application called vignette... Pics look so much better..... Always made my 4th pics much better.
Sent in 3D
Yeah...I've tried them all. They do decent patch jobs.
blacksuntzu said:
You need to try a application called vignette... Pics look so much better..... Always made my 4th pics much better.
Sent in 3D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this urge to abandon the m8 and go for the Galaxy s5. Mainly because I've read online about the gs5's wonderful camera and the fact that it's lighter than the m8 with pretty much the same specs.
I think the gs5 will be better to hold because of its texture and weight plus I've also read online that the screen is the best screen out there even under sunlight.
Has anyone spent any time with this phone? Anyone in a similar boat as me and has come back to the M8?
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Have you ever held a Samsung Galaxy phone before....scratch that...have you ever dropped a Samsung Galaxy phone before. I've done both and will not buy that cheap plastic crap ever again.
They feel light and cheap. My GS4 LCD and glass broke from a waist hight drop onto the floor while in a TPU case with a glass screen protector on it.
Never again.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
androidbuff123 said:
I have this urge to abandon the m8 and go for the Galaxy s5. Mainly because I've read online about the gs5's wonderful camera and the fact that it's lighter than the m8 with pretty much the same specs.
I think the gs5 will be better to hold because of its texture and weight plus I've also read online that the screen is the best screen out there even under sunlight.
Has anyone spent any time with this phone? Anyone in a similar boat as me and has come back to the M8?
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I preordered the gs5 and after one day traded for the M8. Main reason was that the gs5 bootloader is locked down and I cant stand touchwiz. The phone felt cheap, too light, cheap back, same old slow touchgiz and cool features disabled for US models. The phone did have awesome camera but is not needed really since most people just post pictures online and pictures are always downsized anyways. I find the better light capture of the M8 more useable than the higher pixel count. The m8's front 5MP is also very useful for you selfie users. The other cool thing the samsung had is the water resistance.
Other than that the HTC is way better, just having open bootloader and Sense is the best reason to stay. Also sound quality both speakers and headphone are way better. I would never ever think about going back to a cheap feeling touchgiz phone again.
Good replies both of you.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
My wife had the GS5 and I had the M8 as new customers to AT&T and my wife did everything in her power to rid herself of the GS5 and pleaded I exchange it for the(in her words) phone with the speakers in the front,this phone has such a shi**y speaker and I can't stand to use it..It's been 3 weeks since the switch and I have yet to hear her say one bad thing about the M8..That means a lot to me because my wife doesn't really give 2 s**** about the best phone technology.All she knew was her phone sounded like crap and she didn't want to deal with it anymore.She's even using pie controls now(mind blown) Can't get her into BlinkFeed though,such a shame.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I'm considering trading for a local galaxy s5 for my m8.. The camera is just not cutting it..I thought It would be good enough but it isn't..I will miss the build quality and speakers but I'm pretty fixed on going ahead
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
touchwiz for me was the best reason to stay away, and the lockdown bootloader was another deal breaker for me.
as far as the M8 goes i havent found anything wrong with it, people complain about the camera but for me it does the job, if i want better pics ill buy a camera and not a phone.
chizler said:
touchwiz for me was the best reason to stay away, and the lockdown bootloader was another deal breaker for me.
as far as the M8 goes i havent found anything wrong with it, people complain about the camera but for me it does the job, if i want better pics ill buy a camera and not a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah the camera is just fine for me as well..Sure it's not as good as others but the difference between the 2 is pretty minimal when compared to just using a half decent camera to begin with...Selfies though on the M8 will pretty much destroy anything the GS5 can do.But for regular photo's it gets the job done
There is two fundamentally different strategies with cameras here. Samsung can afford to invest in camera because that's all it has to offer besides the same hardware speeds and Android skinned experience. HTC gave people what the need in everyday life (plus a 5mp selfie cam), with some new tech to improve the pixels. It comes down to they both gotta make money also. HTC went the high build quality with r&d in cam and less features (gimmicks) and Samsung has high features and high camera and lacks in build on purpose.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:59 PM ----------
Also add marketing in the Samsung bucket
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I was just actually considering it myself but to tell you the truth, there is nothing Negative I can actually say about the M8. Maybe it's just the phone junkie in me wanting to try it out but I have been in love with how smooth Sense is. I usually can't stand TouchWiz but then I install Nova Launcher and my experience is right back positive with the Samsung interface. With the M8 it's so smooth out the box, this is the only device that I haven't I installed Nova Launcher on and I'm very impressed. Might calm my phone tech ways down and stick with the M8.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
If you are buying a phone for the camera, either go Nokia (sure it's WP, but no one can touch their cams), or LG. I had the G2, and the cam was amazing, and I can only imagine what the G3 brings. I have had every phone released in the past 4 years, and by far the G2 blew every other away. Samsung has gotten fat and lazy and better watch what's coming from behind.
Yea I think the HTC camera is truly unappreciated. It truly is pretty decent now that I'm testing it under low light condition. It is kinda heavy though especially with a skinny TPU case even though the case is pretty light. 160 grams is already on the high side.
I'm also not liking the fact that though HTC says the screen is 5 inches, it is only so when viewing media in full screen.
The screen measures about 4.5 inches without considering the black band for the on screen buttons. Oh why did HTC do that!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
I had the Galaxy S5 before I had this M8 and I didn't like it at all and I usually like Samsung phones but this one I did not like at all. To laggy, felt slow, glitches, and not much changes from the S4. I'm happy with my M8 it's way better than the S5 in my opinion. And my dad had the Galaxy S4 and wanted to get the S5 but after he saw it's not much changes he got the M8 also and he loves it.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Troll thread smells like a troll.
Seriously though, its silly to ask such a question in the M8 forum. Obviously, most of us here bought the M8 because we prefer the M8; and you aren't going to get too many responses to the contrary in this forum. Ask the same question in the GS5 forums, and you will get a lot of the opposite responses.
As to how I came to decide: I was highly interested in the M8, but decided to wait and see what the GS5 would bring. Also, since I wasn't up for a subsidized device upgrade until May anyway, it was not an issue waiting for the GS5 release. I soundly decided on the M8 for the following reasons:
M8:
- Much better speakers, and front facing
- Much better body design
- Bootloader unlockable
- Camera is better in low light, where I take most of my photos
GS5:
- Bootloader locked down
- Cheap plastic body. I don't hate it as much as others. I actually prefer the "dimpled" texture to the previous smooth plastic, which looked super cheesy. But it simply is not even on the same playing field as the M8's gorgeous metal unibody
- Some might say the body finish on the M8 is too easily scratched. And the GS5 is to some extent waterproof. So the GS5 may have a slight advantage in the durability department
- I don't despise TouchWiz as much as others. Its actually come a long way, and I haven't actually minded it too much on my Tab Pro 8.4. But Sense is simply a cut above in both looks and functionality
- Camera is better in well lit situations
- Has the heart beat sensor and fingerprint reader. But I don't think I would use these much, and they seem gimmicky, and also reportedly are finicky to use based on reviews.
While I was mostly decided when going to the AT&T store, I did try to give the GS5 a fair look and one last chance. It just felt super cheap and crappy compared to the M8, laggy in comparison, and TouchWiz was annoying alongside Sense. It was never much of a contest to begin with. But holding them both in hand closed the deal.
---------- Post added at 10:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 AM ----------
androidbuff123 said:
Mainly because I've read online about the gs5's wonderful camera and the fact that it's lighter than the m8 with pretty much the same specs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AnandTech has the best (objective, detailed, and most technical) smartphone camera analyses I've read. Most review websites will just say "we like the camera better", or "the pics look better" without giving much, if any, technical explanation or objective reasoning.
My takeaway from AnandTech's review of the GS5 is that its better in well lit situations, while clearly loses out in low light. GS5 is more MP, which is of course an advantage if you will be blowing up or cropping the images. So a lot of it comes down to how you use the camera. But I would not say the GS5 camera is superior across the board.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7903/samsung-galaxy-s-5-review/2
As far as the weight, the difference is only 0.53 ounces or 15 grams. I don't see why this would matter in any way. In your pocket, you will not even feel the difference. If you think this will fatigue you more to hold up an extra half ounce, you probably need to exercise more (do a bunch of 12-ounce curls!).
redpoint73 said:
Troll thread smells like a troll.
Seriously though, its silly to ask such a question in the M8 forum. Obviously, most of us here bought the M8 because we prefer the M8; and you aren't going to get too many responses to the contrary in this forum. Ask the same question in the GS5 forums, and you will get a lot of the opposite responses.
As to how I came to decide: I was highly interested in the M8, but decided to wait and see what the GS5 would bring. Also, since I wasn't up for a subsidized device upgrade until May anyway, it was not an issue waiting for the GS5 release. I soundly decided on the M8 for the following reasons:
M8:
- Much better speakers, and front facing
- Much better body design
- Bootloader unlockable
- Camera is better in low light, where I take most of my photos
GS5:
- Bootloader locked down
- Cheap plastic body. I don't hate it as much as others. I actually prefer the "dimpled" texture to the previous smooth plastic, which looked super cheesy. But it simply is not even on the same playing field as the M8's gorgeous metal unibody
- Some might say the body finish on the M8 is too easily scratched. And the GS5 is to some extent waterproof. So the GS5 may have a slight advantage in the durability department
- I don't despise TouchWiz as much as others. Its actually come a long way, and I haven't actually minded it too much on my Tab Pro 8.4. But Sense is simply a cut above in both looks and functionality
- Camera is better in well lit situations
- Has the heart beat sensor and fingerprint reader. But I don't think I would use these much, and they seem gimmicky, and also reportedly are finicky to use based on reviews.
While I was mostly decided when going to the AT&T store, I did try to give the GS5 a fair look and one last chance. It just felt super cheap and crappy compared to the M8, laggy in comparison, and TouchWiz was annoying alongside Sense. It was never much of a contest to begin with. But holding them both in hand closed the deal.
---------- Post added at 10:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 AM ----------
AnandTech has the best (objective, detailed, and most technical) smartphone camera analyses I've read. Most review websites will just say "we like the camera better", or "the pics look better" without giving much, if any, technical explanation or objective reasoning.
My takeaway from AnandTech's review of the GS5 is that its better in well lit situations, while clearly loses out in low light. GS5 is more MP, which is of course an advantage if you will be blowing up or cropping the images. So a lot of it comes down to how you use the camera. But I would not say the GS5 camera is superior across the board.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7903/samsung-galaxy-s-5-review/2
As far as the weight, the difference is only 0.53 ounces or 15 grams. I don't see why this would matter in any way. In your pocket, you will not even feel the difference. If you think this will fatigue you more to hold up an extra half ounce, you probably need to exercise more (do a bunch of 12-ounce curls!).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your post is insulting, informative and helpful all at the same time ?
Thanks.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
I went from the Galaxy S2, S3, S4 then to the S5. I did not mind the plastic feel of the Galaxies. I actually prefer it for the weight. I never had a problem damaging my phone since I always had a case on it. Anyways, I bought the S5 and returned it in a week. Let me tell you why..
1. Locked boot loader and no root.. This was a VERY big deal and was the main reason why switching to the M8
> Cannot remove bloatware. I tried disabling and hiding some of the apps but it still bothered me.
> Got sick of checking the forums every hour in hope for someone unlocking the boot loader or getting root
2. Finger print unlocking sucks.. Most of the time I had to enter in my PIN after so many failures when I actually needed the phone. If I concentrated, it would work half the time.
> Heart rate monitor is useless.
3. A little too wide for me and it did not feel comfortable holding with one hand. Holding the M8 feels great and I like the feel of the curve
4. Laggy as hell.. Even with a higher cpu clockrate than the M8, it felt laggy even switching from one window to another!
5. Last but not least.. Same sh*t like all the other Galaxies. I felt I was in 2009 with the S5 with looks and appeal.
my 2 cents.
Wow. I just read Anandtech's review of both the M8 and the Galaxy S5. Holy cow! The M8 beats the S5 in pretty much all tests. (barring daylight camera tests of course)
It's amazing to learn really how REFINED HTC's design is overall.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
androidbuff123 said:
I have this urge to abandon the m8 and go for the Galaxy s5. Mainly because I've read online about the gs5's wonderful camera and the fact that it's lighter than the m8 with pretty much the same specs.
I think the gs5 will be better to hold because of its texture and weight plus I've also read online that the screen is the best screen out there even under sunlight.
Has anyone spent any time with this phone? Anyone in a similar boat as me and has come back to the M8?
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just jumped ship from the S5 to the M8 last night. This was a hard choice to make and I'm still not sure I made the right one yet. First off, I think I could have got a bad device because of touch sounds not working...and yes the volume is up and the proper boxes are ticked. I am trying so hard to like this phone and I think my main problem is being used to touchwiz.
Don't get me wrong, there is a ton to like about the M8, but there is also a ton to dislike. My reason for jumping ship is because of no root and locked bootloader.
No bashing me please lol!
Samsung could easily do something similar to HTCDev but they have proven time and time again (by action) that they don't care about developers (unless you buy a GPE or developer edition, but why should you have to?)
And build quality. It makes me wonder why the Galaxy Series is where it is instead of HTC being in that spot.
I actually prefer the S5. I had it but wanted to try the M8 do I traded it but I prefer the S5. It really is a matter of opinion.
I prefer the S5 because it's grippier, the M8 is kinda slippery. I also prefer the UI believe it or not, sense is kinda boring but it performs flawlessly.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
I hope moderators leave this here because I certainly would have liked to have known this information before I made the move and it is directed for M9 owners.
It is not meant to say the G4 is a clear winner it just describes the trade-offs between the two.
I was having network reliability issues with my M9. I was running the very historically reliable Bad Boys ROM and tried reverting back to Stock Rooted. It greatly improved reliability. But I lost Tether.
I go to so much trouble to get tether it might be cheaper to just buy it
One thing that has also nagged me is if you look at M9 reviews on Sprint.Com you'll see a ton of folks saying under cons "Camera and Dropped Calls" (like 1 out of every 3 reviews, even on positive reviews).
Anyway I thought I'd try a G4. Ever since browsing a Sprint Store once all the phones were out I was rather drooling over the Larger Screen phones with razor thin bezels.
I was gonna buy a G4 on Swappa or Ebay for around $420.00 (I'd only buy sealed new phone). But I was worried it would be no better reliability wise and would not be able to return it.
There was also an issue with Bad Screens on early batches of G4's and I was concerned about quick swap with 14 days or warranty swap after and if I bought on swappa or ebay it may be part of that early batch.
If I could get it for $420.00-ish (some have bought them for under $400) and sell M9 for $350.00-ish it would cost me under $100.00 to swap.
So I need to value time and headaches and went to bestbuy. They had it for $650.00 (gulp). They matched Sprint $600.00 (no contract of course).
Then I said fine and then they hand me a $100.00 bestbuy giftcard, great. I also qualify for 2nd Battery, External Battery Charger and Leather Back Cover promotion (don't care that much about any of those things except maybe for resale later).
They also let me cherry pick the latest build date they had and there was quite a wide range.
Now to the phone comparison.
The G4 Screen is FANTASTIC. I don't know why so many reviews say you won't see a difference. It is drop dead gorgeous. The difference between M9 and G4 is about the same as the difference between the M8 and M7.
It's only a fraction taller and fraction wider and weight about the same. It feels much lighter. I think it's because it's curved and weight is over a larger area (i.e. less dense).
I was VERY worried about the G4 speaker. But is VERY good. I mostly care for speaker when using it to Navigate. It cuts through much better. Samsung S5 speaker was muffled compared to M8.
The buttons on the back of the G4 are GREAT. It is so nice having no buttons on any edge. I can't tell you how many times I've picked up the M9/M8 or took it out of the ProClip holder or out of my pocket and did something to it, I didn't want to do.
No buttons get hit on G4 either while in my pocket (no case).
I could care less about the leather backs for G4. They are not grippy enough. I added egrip to the hard shell back and it feels great (as I did my M8/M9/M7).
I have a hunch the hard shell cover helps with the speak and acts as speaker itself where the leather would absorb sound.
By default G4 maps double click volume down to take a picture. And I mapped double click up to turn on flashlight (I'd never map that on M9, it would get accidently turned on in my pocket, guaranteed).
There is no "S-Off" and no unlocked bootloader (and there might never be) on G4. But there is root on the G4 and you need a Dev to reroot each release and that vulnerability may get closed !! You must use ADB each time.
I think GSM versions have bootloader unlocked. Overall very little development.
Network reliability wise I think it is better than the M9. But it has not solved all my issues. Some of them are just plain Sprint and the new modes these modern devices run in.
Battery might be slightly worse on G4. Hard to say because I'm still fiddling with it a lot.
LG does screen brightness right. ON all other phones I've tried have to choose between fixed desired setting and auto.
On the G4 you can choose Auto AND choose how bright you want auto to be. DUH, why can't anyone else get that right !!
OMJ has tweaked his roms for a lower auto setting. But I can choose what ever I want when I want.
It still fits in my ProClip I bought for the M7 (has small width adjustment). Now at Max.
I was using my wifes M8 last night and I can't believe how quickly you get used to a wider keyboard. M8 really felt old generation.
Tether. There is a hack being used on S5/S6/G3/G4 to simply add ",dun" to your APN's to get Native tether (much easier than HTC phones that store this in SQLite).
You don't even need root on the G4 (you usually do). This does not work when roaming though !! Or more correctly does not work on EV-Do (which sprint no longer uses). It only works on eHRPD or LTE.
both Native and Wifi Tether Router work on G4 (no roaming). Roaming tether works on Bad Boys M9.
I really miss M8/M9 blinkfeed (my wife is hooked too). Yes I know about the port but I don't want to hack up the phone (Especially with no TWRP ;( ) and it is still limited functionality.
HTC could probably make more money just selling Blinkfeed as a standalone App than selling phones
I don't miss Sense 7. LG is much better than Samsung Touch Wise. LG is a little like Samsung with less Business look and feel and more Cartoon Kiddie look and feel like their dialer.
The Camera in the G4 is AMAZING. The M9 an absolute joke (in comparison). Optical Stabilization with Laser Focusing (no, not laser precise, but actually uses a laser to focus).
I don't understand why the 20 mega pixel camera in the M9 is so bad (in comparison). It must just have a crappy lens on it.
One big let down is G4 has no UMS (USB Mass Storage) mode for the USB SD Card access. M9 does. That really stinks. For example if you rename say a ROM from the PC over MTP it copies the file down to the PC renames it and copies it back.
There are references to "Mess Storage" in G4 specs but it does not have "USB Mass Storage" mode (it does not come up as a disk drive like a USB Stick would).
One annoyance on Sense is the mysterious missing widget. It happens to me and my wife on M8. Somehow it gets dragged off. Even with a lock pattern on the phone.
Problem is when a call comes in and you have Bluetooth the phone is unlocked in your pocket (or pocket book).
Can't tell you how many times I pull M8/M9 out of my pocket and the camera is running or getting hot in my pocket because something started up.
I have very few widgets and no special apps that start things up.
One really nice thing on LG is you can drag an Icon to Remove or Uninstall, Iove this. Don't have to dig through settings Apps or Play Store to clean up.
Given that my network issues are mostly Sprint my justification has diminished to get the G4 in the first place. But I just don't think I can give up the Camera and the Screen.
I have a wireless backcover (3rd party) and charger coming for the G4 (LG only makes a wireless case at the moment). All phones should have built in wireless charging, period.
G4 has a split screen but it's limited to only some apps. Not sure how useful it will be.
G4 soft navigation buttons work betterthan M9. By default they do not AutoHide and you can choose which apps will invoke AutoHide. You can also customize it a bit.
There are a couple apps that always autohide you can't turn off like camera.
The Quick Drag down menus are little better on HTC.
The Notification LED is much better on G4 (much larger). M9/M8 is too small and sometimes you need to be on top of it to see it.
It comes down to Unlocked Bootloader/S-Off, Blinkfeed, USM on M9 vs Camera, Screen, Rear Buttons, Wireless Charge on G4.
The lack of unlocked bootloader implies a loss of community as well
Probably gonna sell the M9 but there will be features I really miss.
HTC will have to have a hell of phone next year to pull me back. I would have considered Samsung again, but the lack of SD Card was a deal breaker and I need a min of 64GB and have 128GB now. That would be a $900 phone from Samsung with 128GB and no UMS mode either. But Samsung does include wireless charging in their phones now. Screens are great too. But the "Edge" versions seem fragile. I don't think the speakers are as good from what I've read.
I hope this helps some folks in future choices and future feature requests from any phone manufacturer. Sure would be nice to have the best of both. And they are both good phones. But the needle is leaning towards G4 at the moment.
We'll see where the needle is come next spring. I will definitely wait for all the phones to come out before buying. I will surely buy another come spring, I always do and if this phone is still that good I'll give it to my wife and get a G5.
Update 9/24/2015:
The root world outside of HTC is getting pretty ugly.
After going through one update and getting root back on G4, I sure do miss HTC Unlocked Bootloader (and S-Off Bonus).
It went smooth and did it dirty. I was lucky and it was a fair amount of work (involves booting Linux off a USB stick).
I have learned that G4's DO record they have been rooted, but it is not visible in Recovery or Bootloader. You have to dig for it in a file (that cannot be modified easily \persist\rct.cfg)
So I was incorrect above of saying you can restore back to factory on G4 being undetectable.
But it gets worse, a few people have tripped a Security Alert. Sometimes by seeming innocent changes while rooted (one person changed their DPI setting and tripped it).
It is unknown for sure, but even a factory reset (even if unrooted) might trip Security Alert. And it's very difficult to fix.
There are things like the RUU (called TOT), but much more difficult to apply.
Rooting from scratch yourself is, pretty complex, compared to TWRP doing it for you.
I still love the G4 hardware. But I do miss the Unlocked Bootloader of HTC's.
Had I known the risks on G4, I may have elected to go no root at all (since it can get tether without root non-roaming) or go with a Samsung (tons of developers over there)
I'm glad my wife will be keeping one HTC phone in the family and the Ut-Oh replacement M9 is running excellent (root only).
I hope HTC releases a more competitive piece of hardware next spring.
Also I've had my eye on Samsung Forums. Even though they successfully run TWRP. It is not safe to Factory Reset (not sure if this is true on all models or carriers).
They may lose Data/Voice if they do.
There is some sort of Key stored in Data and that Key cannot be regenerated once Rooted (that's my understanding/guess).
G4 does have an official unlocked bootloader in European models, hope is USA will be added. A lot of folks are doubtful though.
If you really value root, stick with HTC for now.
Root is not critical for me, but it sure is uneasy not having a Nandroid backup.
man...I really hate long winded posts, usually will skim but I did read it all
sorry to see ya go, maybe another time on another awesome HTC yes I am a HTC fanboy...from reading your post, nothing looks alluring to me. I do believe HTC needs to step it up or they will fold. This new A9 they are about to announce will be a joke. Hopefully M10 or whatever it's called will wow everyone. If I wasn't such a fan, I'd go w/ the Nexus 6.
good luck!
OMJ said:
man...I really hate long winded posts, usually will skim but I did read it all
sorry to see ya go, maybe another time on another awesome HTC yes I am a HTC fanboy...from reading your post, nothing looks alluring to me. I do believe HTC needs to step it up or they will fold. This new A9 they are about to announce will be a joke. Hopefully M10 or whatever it's called will wow everyone. If I wasn't such a fan, I'd go w/ the Nexus 6.
good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your comments.
Not being on the M9 hurts most because of not being in the same community as folks like you.
Sooner or later we will hopefully converge on the same device again. I tried Samsung last year after initial M8 and came back to M8 (which my wife has now) and then M9.
The lack of unlocked bootloader might eat at me overtime. I keep thinking I really don't even need root. But just yesterday I received a Bose Souchtouch Speaker and found an "AirPlay" emulator in PlayStore that requires root !
The risk of losing root or not being on latest android because devs were not able to reroot make me uneasy. If a boot loader unlock is not found we may eventually lose root (assuming you want to be on latest Android because developers will move on).
One thing I have figured out networking wise. When on LTE the phone must switch to eHRPD to take the call. If you are on marginal signal switching can take a long time. It takes so long to switch the call goes to Voice Mail before it's done switching. If I leave the phone in CDMA mode it does not have to switch and fights to maintain a compatible voice connection even on a weak connection. And will always ring within couple of rings (usually immediately). When on weak LTE/eHRPD it's a crap shoot on how long it takes (it will eventually switch). This is not sprints fault due coverage. It's just some rooms at work are weak signal on all carriers.
The lack of Voice over LTE is a good part of the problem that might be fixed say in 5 years. I have not tried WIFI Calling yet. It was dreadful on M8/M9 (switching from Cell to WIFI or WIFI to Cell was sloppy and slow enough to not be reliable, I'm not expecting G4 to be better, it's mostly the same tech under the hood).
I work in a phone store, so I am always always always researching the best "best" phone. Usually I rely on a few factors, root, bootloader unlocking ease, rom development and lastly features. You can have a crappy phone, but it has a great deal of development, or have an iphone with IOS.
The M8 and M9 are my current devices since my G3 crapped out on me. I feel that the G4 is not my go to phone since LG is gutting the G4 to make the nexus. The biggest question I can ask you is, do you want a development scene that will last the lifetime of the device or do you want a device with building development?
LG, in my experience has had a really slow development process. Now a quick disclaimer, I am not judging any developer, nor saying you should or should not get a particular device, but generally, HTC, moto and all nexus branded devices have the quickest root/unlock and development. You can essentially consider CM nightlies a "farm" status for minor bug fixes and flavored AOSP roms and stock alternatives. As for moving to the G4, it is stupidly close to the new nexus from LG, which I am very much waiting for. My M9 has been a disappointment not by development, but by a crappy radio and piss poor firmware not fully tested.
I want my M9 to be awesome. And I really have OMJ and Viper Rom devs for all their hard work to support the rom. As of right now, we're struggling to find a cure for no camera for the HTC CM12.1 rom. I am stuck waiting for the phone I want to have cm12, for my older one which has better service, and generally a 100% perfect rom. (Sprint HTC M8 on Candy5 is truly amazing).
While I agree the M9 is a failure, the future device you would want to get if you want quick and easy, go nexus, if you want moderately fast, go HTC. Samsung has proven to be extremely hard to root these days. The S5 had a $13k bounty just for root. Good luck in whatever you do end up getting.
Coming from another M9er with radio issues, I have considered this same jump to the Nexus but I just don't want something that big. I wish they'd have just made a new Nexus 5.
If the new Nexus is 5/5.5" then I'd likely move as while I like Sense, I have no love for Blinkfeed (it's far left homescreen and gets used max once or twice every few days) and I HATE that HTC is now updating everything in the Play Store, including crap I don't want updated (like Sense Home) so I have to be careful to never "update all" and am forced to go one by one.
GL with the G4 @mswlogo sincerely hope it works out for you
I have been loyal to HTC for years starting with the TP1 running Windows Mobile with MightyRom which was the bomb at the time. Then TP2, evo 4G, evo 3d, evo LTE, M7, M8 & now M9. The m9 is my 8th consecutive HTC phone. Part of me wanted to try something new this year especially since Samsung upped it's build quality on the S6 (was thinking about getting an S6 edge) or a G4 maybe a note 5. The M9 was not ready for release it was plagued with radio issues on release to the point where LTE was pretty much useless as apps were firewalled and 3G would dump to 1X make your data experience almost non-usable.
While I can understand your reasons for changing, I don't see the point of coming here to rant. Most of what you were stating is already well known. HTC has never been strong in the radio department and on the hardware level signals were always a little lower than than most of the Samsung devices from my personal testing. The camera HTC dropped the ball 2 years in a row starting with the M7 so when they decided to ditch ultrapixel they were behind and I'm sure they had to scramble since the previous 2 years were scrapped and they had to start over.
It really comes down to opinion and if you wanna go with a G4 good for you, I think it's a great phone. That said my M9 has the best speakers, best build quality, arguably best UI (sense is well liked for me), full control of bootloader with s-off, SD card support (I don't use), Two-Tone metal which I really like and keeps me from switching since all these things are important to me especially the speakers. All winners in my book. Sure the camera isn't the best but I don't really care, it's good enough for me I don't take that many pictures anyway. You could get into things like this on any phone it's just an opinion.
To me the M9 is a good phone, that said HTC could have done a better job this year since really this phone is nothing more than an M8 with better specs and new camera. Other than that there isn't much difference. I don't know why people got so up in arms this year, no different than apple releasing a iphone 5 and then an iphone 5s. If you didn't like the M9 I don't know why you got one for, the only thing that was not documented before release was the half-baked radio causing data issues which we all know Sprint's network still struggles vs some of the others in most areas. The latest software update fixed most the issues and I haven't had too many problems with mine since.
In this day and age with leaks and so many well written reviews with videos there is just no reason you can't make a good decision before hand. Most the things you mentioned were well covered before release, so to act surprised once you get it I just don't understand. This RF comparison was done well over a year ago so when the M9 came out I never expected it to have an awesome radio. Now if you actually have a defective radio, that is another issue and of course is frustrating.
I'm sure if I got a Galaxy S6 edge, a note 5 or a G4 I would come here as well and tell you things I like better and of course things I miss about HTC but this is an M9 section of the forum to discuss the M9, not glorify LG or really any other phone. Enjoy your G4, it's a great phone maybe we will see you next year if the M10 turns out to be a winner.
Bad Boyz rom is awesome btw which is another reason I want to keep this phone. Thanks OMJ
I've had HTC phones since about 5 models before the one you listed. So don't tell me what should know before hand. I also I said it turns out to not be the radio. Also in testing the M9 radio is technically supposed to be top dog compared to other top brands. Many of these phones have the same radio and firmware and only difference is antenna implementation.
I was fine with first year of ultra pixel. It was a reasonable choice. Since then it's a joke. I use the camera a lot. M9/M8 is just bad compared to competition. It's usable but no comparison. When I saw 20mega pixel, I thought finally we'll be back with of the rest, no we are NOT and didn't know that really until now.
What really stinks is the photo files are so big they often won't send over mms.
Because I wanted to see if it was the radio causing issues I tried the G4. But it turns out the screen and camera are the main reasons I'm keeping it, not the radio.
I love the htc speakers, but the G4 speaker surprises me.
I don't consider my post a rant. Just sharing my experience with long time fellow htc owners and I've been an HTC owner longer than most here, including you and I upgrade every year.
HTC had to drop the ball big time to make me even look. The long term prospects for HTC are also a factor. we may all be looking for another brand soon. It will take miracle to save them in my opinion.
So I was giving a preview
By the way a lot of former hard core developers are in the samsung forums.
Yes HTC is king of unlocked boot loader. But with carriers and apps watching for root and tether, unlocking isn't all that will be need in the future. So HTC's nitch is becoming less of a make break deal.
That's what I hate about people wanting 20+ Mb cameras. I just don't get it, its a camera on a phone which you may upload to social media and send through MMS. You are not going to make a poster size print from a phone camera. Nowadays you need to edit the picture to reduce the size of the file just to send. I personally think the M9 takes great pictures.
schmeggy929 said:
That's what I hate about people wanting 20+ Mb cameras. I just don't get it, its a camera on a phone which you may upload to social media and send through MMS. You are not going to make a poster size print from a phone camera. Nowadays you need to edit the picture to reduce the size of the file just to send. I personally think the M9 takes great pictures.
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Click to collapse
M9 takes ok pictures. But it's really not even close to Samsung or LG or Apple. Not even in the same ball park.
One huge issue is the M9 is a slow lens. So if your subject isn't moving or you can hold steady and you have enough light, you can get an ok shot (I've had 3 M8's, M9, M7, S5 and G4).
But with the G4 or S5/S6/etc. you just snap it and you get the shot WAY more often than an M9.
And occasionally it is worth cropping a smartphone photo. But M9 photos really look like crap if you zoom them.
And sometimes you do snag a special moment with a smartphone and it's so nice if it's decent Often M9 is ONLY good enough to view on an M9 screen.
Well I like to save photos for viewing on large screen computer (e.g. Flickr).
This is a sample, and this is still severely down sampled. The quality is frame-able at 8x10.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/701/20556046883_d99e7aea8e_h_d.jpg
schmeggy929 said:
That's what I hate about people wanting 20+ Mb cameras. I just don't get it, its a camera on a phone which you may upload to social media and send through MMS. You are not going to make a poster size print from a phone camera. Nowadays you need to edit the picture to reduce the size of the file just to send. I personally think the M9 takes great pictures.
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Click to collapse
My pictures turn out just fine as well, I really don't understand why people complain. My M8 took great low light shots, sure the resolution was too low but they were fine for social media or MMS like you said. If you are doing professional photos you won't be using a phone camera anyway. The G4 has a better camera, whooohoooo! Who cares, not like you are posting raw image format when sharing on facebook or wherever you are sharing. I like my M9 for several reasons, if you don't like it there is a million other great phones to pick from. Camera quality for all the flagship phones is very well documented, so to get a flagship phone only to complain about the camera when none of this is new information makes no sense.
Sim-X said:
My pictures turn out just fine as well, I really don't understand why people complain. My M8 took great low light shots, sure the resolution was too low but they were fine for social media or MMS like you said. If you are doing professional photos you won't be using a phone camera anyway. The G4 has a better camera, whooohoooo! Who cares, not like you are posting raw image format when sharing on facebook or wherever you are sharing. I like my M9 for several reasons, if you don't like it there is a million other great phones to pick from. Camera quality for all the flagship phones is very well documented, so to get a flagship phone only to complain about the camera when none of this is new information makes no sense.
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The M9 was SUPPOSED to have a decent camera. Then the software update was SUPPOSED to fix it. Never happened in my opinion. So it was NOT known "up front" the camera was gonna remain a dud of a camera. Much lower resolution cameras do much better. I prefer the M7 camera to the M8 or M9 camera. At least it could do something in low light other cameras can struggle with. M7 also had OIS (yes that was known when announced, that should have been a hint that something is not quite right with HTC and cameras). The dual mics in the M7 for large dynamic range were also fantastic (later removed due to patent infringements) .
Many folks don't just MMS pics. They like to share them and often end up on a larger screen. M9 pics always look dull and look like they came from a flip phone (often because of blur due to slow lens) when you view them on a large computer screen, the G4's do not.
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mswlogo said:
The M9 was SUPPOSED to have a decent camera. Then the software update was SUPPOSED to fix it. Never happened in my opinion. So it was NOT known "up front" the camera was gonna remain a dud of a camera. Much lower resolution cameras do much better. I prefer the M7 camera to the M8 or M9 camera. At least it could do something in low light other cameras can struggle with. M7 also had OIS (yes that was known when announced, that should have been a hint that something is not quite right with HTC and cameras). The dual mics in the M7 for large dynamic range were also fantastic (later removed due to patent infringements) .
Many folks don't just MMS pics. They like to share them and often end up on a larger screen. M9 pics always look dull and look like they came from a flip phone (often because of blur due to slow lens) when you view them on a large computer screen, the G4's do not.
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I wouldn't call it a dud...IMO, it is a decent camera, not the best, but decent...and that's all I care about when it comes to a camera on a smartphone. All phones have their pros & cons (same w/ carriers)...the M9 (and all HTC devices) pros far out weight the cons.
I've been a loooong time HTC fan, they are the ONLY manufacturer I've used...I don't plan to switch unless they fold or stop innovating...
-Apache, Touch, Diamond, EVO 4G, EVO 3D, EVO LTE, M7, M8, M9
OMJ said:
I wouldn't call it a dud...IMO, it is a decent camera, not the best, but decent...and that's all I care about when it comes to a camera on a smartphone. All phones have their pros & cons (same w/ carriers)...the M9 (and all HTC devices) pros far out weight the cons.
I've been a loooong time HTC fan, they are the ONLY manufacturer I've used...I don't plan to switch unless they fold or stop innovating...
-Apache, Touch, Diamond, EVO 4G, EVO 3D, EVO LTE, M7, M8, M9
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Click to collapse
I feel the same the way. Decent camera I agree. I have set up a couple of GS6 for friends and although better camera I still just don't like touchwiz. Yes the GS6 got a better camera this year, who cares. The 0.69 megapixel facebook timeline pictures I don't think people are going to be comparing. If you take pictures for a living, I don't think it will be with an LG phone my goodness.
Not sure how anyone could have expected a "wow" camera this year to beat out Sammy or Apple. If you prefer a G4 good for you, have yourself a cookie. I'm not going to head over to the G4 forum anytime soon why I like my M9 better than the G4.
OMJ said:
I wouldn't call it a dud...IMO, it is a decent camera, not the best, but decent...and that's all I care about when it comes to a camera on a smartphone. All phones have their pros & cons (same w/ carriers)...the M9 (and all HTC devices) pros far out weight the cons.
I've been a loooong time HTC fan, they are the ONLY manufacturer I've used...I don't plan to switch unless they fold or stop innovating...
-Apache, Touch, Diamond, EVO 4G, EVO 3D, EVO LTE, M7, M8, M9
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Click to collapse
Seriously. I've been on HTC for a eons (for long time they were the only choice) I thought the camera was "ok" too. Until I gave the G4 a real spin.
I still have the M9. And I was playing around with both cameras (M9 and G4).
See the attach photo. It's decorative wall switch plate. The room is not brightly lit and neither camera had the flash on full automatic.
The G4 allows 8x Digital Zoom but the M9 is capped lower (I think 4x digital zoom).
So I "zoomed" the M9 on computer to match field of view of the G4 so that it is also at 8x.
Granted this is an extreme stress test. But it shows how massively different the cameras are. Note the M9 is supposed to 20 mega pixel, the G4 is 16.
I pay a good chunk of change for the upgrade every year. And I expect incremental improvements (including the camera). HTC is just not keeping pace.
I LOVE many features of the M9. USM mode of an SD Card is huge for me. Unlocked bootloader is huge. Good development is sometime more important than I admit sometimes (i.e. closet flash-holic)
So it is torture giving those things up. It's also torture seeing HTC tank, because if they were ok financially, I'm sure they would catch up on some the things they are lacking in.
For some snaps I really don't care that much. But for some, I think, oh I wish I had my real camera with me (a Sony Nex 7 formally a Canon 5D-II but I downgraded to the Nex-7 for weight).
For those moments the M9 is often so disappointing. For the G4, it's a pleasant surprise (so was the Samsung S5).
By the way M7,M8,M9 actually do fine on Video. Because that it's only about 1-2 mega pixel per frame (it's down sampled). And HTC has had good Mics, especially early M7's.
There is other times I'm trying to take a macro shot for a circuit board or mechanical issue at work. The higher the quality the better. Most of the time the M9 will get the job done. But higher quality is a real bonus and sometimes can make the difference of capturing what I need or not. So the camera has a wide range applications for me. I knew I was going backwards on camera going back to M8 from S5, but forward on many other things I missed. One huge issue on Samsung's is you trip Knox on Rooting and you are screwed on warranty. And I have been turned away by sprint techs for a rooted phone (that had issues nothing to do with root).
The picture below is just trying to show you the DIFFERENCE. I'm sure part of it is due to OIS on one vs the other.
I'll try M7,M8,M9,G4 soon with it hand held vs tripod-ish and see the difference. I'm curious to see myself. I bet the M7 camera looks similar to M9 (hand held). This test has probably been done. But I'm not sure is M7,M8,M9 has been done in one sitting.
That photo below is telling the M9 is doing about equivalent of 1/4 the mega pixel the G4 is doing (about 4 mega pixel - i.e. at least half the resolution in x and y).
The lens on the M9 is 2 stops slower. The M9 lacks OIS and that accounts for around another stop. 3 Stops is huge on a lot of shots. That's mostly what we are seeing here.
mswlogo said:
Seriously. I've been on HTC for a eons (for long time they were the only choice) I thought the camera was "ok" too. Until I gave the G4 a real spin.
I still have the M9. And I was playing around with both cameras (M9 and G4).
See the attach photo. It's decorative wall switch plate. The room is not brightly lit and neither camera had the flash on full automatic.
The G4 allows 8x Digital Zoom but the M9 is capped lower (I think 4x digital zoom).
So I "zoomed" the M9 on computer to match field of view of the G4 so that it is also at 8x.
Granted this is an extreme stress test. But it shows how massively different the cameras are. Note the M9 is supposed to 20 mega pixel, the G4 is 16.
I pay a good chunk of change for the upgrade every year. And I expect incremental improvements (including the camera). HTC is just not keeping pace.
I LOVE many features of the M9. USM mode of an SD Card is huge for me. Unlocked bootloader is huge. Good development is sometime more important than I admit sometimes (i.e. closet flash-holic)
So it is torture giving those things up. It's also torture seeing HTC tank, because if they were ok financially, I'm sure they would catch up on some the things they are lacking in.
For some snaps I really don't care that much. But for some, I think, oh I wish I had my real camera with me (a Sony Nex 7 formally a Canon 5D-II but I downgraded to the Nex-7 for weight).
For those moments the M9 is often so disappointing. For the G4, it's a pleasant surprise (so was the Samsung S5).
By the way M7,M8,M9 actually do fine on Video. Because that it's only about 1-2 mega pixel per frame (it's down sampled). And HTC has had good Mics, especially early M7's.
There is other times I'm trying to take a macro shot for a circuit board or mechanical issue at work. The higher the quality the better. Most of the time the M9 will get the job done. But higher quality is a real bonus and sometimes can make the difference of capturing what I need or not. So the camera has a wide range applications for me. I knew I was going backwards on camera going back to M8 from S5, but forward on many other things I missed. One huge issue on Samsung's is you trip Knox on Rooting and you are screwed on warranty. And I have been turned away by sprint techs for a rooted phone (that had issues nothing to do with root).
The picture below is just trying to show you the DIFFERENCE. I'm sure part of it is due to OIS on one vs the other.
I'll try M7,M8,M9,G4 soon with it hand held vs tripod-ish and see the difference. I'm curious to see myself. I bet the M7 camera looks similar to M9 (hand held). This test has probably been done. But I'm not sure is M7,M8,M9 has been done in one sitting.
That photo below is telling the M9 is doing about equivalent of 1/4 the mega pixel the G4 is doing (about 4 mega pixel - i.e. at least half the resolution in x and y).
The lens on the M9 is 2 stops slower. The M9 lacks OIS and that accounts for around another stop. 3 Stops is huge on a lot of shots. That's mostly what we are seeing here.
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Click to collapse
You must have some serious shake going on there buddy. I have never seen my M9 take a picture that blurry even zoomed.
Thats maxed zoomed focused on cisco boxes about 30 feet away
schmeggy929 said:
You must have some serious shake going on there buddy. I have never seen my M9 take a picture that blurry even zoomed.
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You'd don't even know what I'm taking about that. That is Zoomed 8x so you can SEE the difference !! I zoomed it enough to show (exaggerate if you want) the difference in the cameras.
You skipped the text and just looked at the picture or you didn't understand what I did.
All photos will look like Sh$t if you zoom them enough.
All photos will look "ok" if you zoom them out enough. HTC counts on you never looking at the photo off the phone and never cropping it (and they are often right and you are proof).
The reason the HTC looks like crap is, it bumped the ISO up to 1000 because of the F/2.2 lens. The G4 bumped up to 300.
Turns out they both exposed at 1/10 sec.
schmeggy929 said:
Thats maxed zoomed focused on cisco boxes about 30 feet away
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That's because the HTC caps the Max Zoom at half (4x) of what G4 does.
I zoomed the HTC photo on the computer to match the Max zoom on the G4 (8x).
I zoomed the HTC photo another 2x for a EQUAL comparison.
G4 isn't afraid for the user to see 8x zoom on their 16 mega pixel sensor. HTC is afraid for you too see beyond 4x on their 20 mega pixel.
There is absolutely no comparison between the two. We are not talking close or even trade-offs.
I'm NOT suggesting every one needs 8x. I'm just using it as a tool to show the difference on the SAME playing field.
On normal photos the difference will end up being a burry shot or extremely grainy (i.e. dull).
With EXCESS light. The difference in lens and OIS becomes moot.
So outdoors during the day the M9 might be a closer match (I doubt it but it will be closer).
As soon as you go above ISO-200 and/or slower than 1/60 exposer (which is extremely often) the difference becomes huge.
I have spent thousands on lens to gain 1-2 stops.
mswlogo said:
You'd don't even know what I'm taking about that. That is Zoomed 8x so you can SEE the difference !! I zoomed it enough to show (exaggerate if you want) the difference in the cameras.
You skipped the text and just looked at the picture or you didn't understand what I did.
All photos will look like Sh$t if you zoom them enough.
All photos will look "ok" if you zoom them out enough. HTC counts on you never looking at the photo off the phone and never cropping it (and they are often right and you are proof).
The reason the HTC looks like crap is, it bumped the ISO up to 1000 because of the F/2.2 lens. The G4 bumped up to 300.
Turns out they both exposed at 1/10 sec.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I did read what you did and understand you zoomed to to show the equivalent to the G4. Im sure you are correct and the camera is way better than the M9. Its just weird you zoomed out the M9 4 more times and wall switch plate is so blurry with no pixelating.
PC Mag has a review of the Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe here.
Those of you with the phone, what are your thoughts? This one review turns me off the phone.
ewingr said:
PC Mag has a review of the Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe here.
Those of you with the phone, what are your thoughts? This one review turns me off the phone.
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Click to collapse
PC Mag did indeed seem to test the Deluxe 5.7"/6/64 version; as for the "bloat":
1: this is a very subjective topic; most reviews are on the contrary, applauding ASUS for slimming ZenUI down, but I don't have the phone yet so can't say for myself. Some might like it, for others it might be too much. Again - the keyword is "subjective".
2: there are a lot of hands on reviews on youtube - do your research; don't base your opinion on just 1 review.
3: Hoping ASUS will release the bootloader unlock tool, custom roms should come quite fast, thus bloatware will no longer be an issue
I certainly don't intend to make a decision on one review.
Regarding YouTube 'reviews', I have found that most spend so much time just flicking the screen back and fourth and up and down...and don't very often offer much. I will likely take a look, but expect better info here in the forums.
I wonder if the reviewer used a note 7 or not because it does the same regarding warnings of: RAM, app closures, battery life, Samsung + and rebooting after being on for 7 days w/o a reboot.
He did. He rated the note 7 as the best smartphone he had ever used.
Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk
I did go check out YouTube reviews. After 4 that only talks about what features and specs it has, I decided that yes, YouTube reviews aren't much value.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYqIl3UxkY
Nice review if you don't mind the robot voice.
I'm just curious about the camera, on paper it should be good but how often have we seen that translate into crap in real life.
And of course dropping $1300 on a device with a BL that can't be unlocked is against my religion lol..need to see if Asus will be willing to allow an unlock.
And all of this sucks as I returned my note 7 and am now using a 2 year old note 4 so I need a new device ASAP.
Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk 2
RMXO said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYqIl3UxkY
Nice review if you don't mind the robot voice.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for linking that. It was a pretty good review.
force70 said:
I'm just curious about the camera, on paper it should be good but how often have we seen that translate into crap in real life.
And of course dropping $1300 on a device with a BL that can't be unlocked is against my religion lol..need to see if Asus will be willing to allow an unlock.
And all of this sucks as I returned my note 7 and am now using a 2 year old note 4 so I need a new device ASAP.
Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk 2
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Well, it has the same lens and sensor as the Sony Xperia X, and dxomark rated it an 88. That ties it as the highest ranked camera on a smartphone until the pixel is finally on the street, at a whopping 89.
https://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Sony-Xperia-X-Performance-Mobile-review-Impressive-results
https://www.google.com/amp/s/recombu.com/mobile/article/sony-xperia-x-camera-review/amp
Granted, there is a lot more to how well the camera takes pictures than just the hardware. But, given that the hardware has proven to be top of the line, it means this phone should take amazing images.
Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk
I can't say about the 64gb/4gbversion as I got the 256gb/6gb version but as with the Zenfone 2, you can uninstall most of the Asus apps. It's pretty quick and does everything I want.
Battery lasts a good day, tested it with video watching for about 6 hours and that off an OTG device with about 28% left.
Not really a photographer but the pictures are fine. Very good in bright light but fall down a bit in low light, as with most phones.
Call quality is fine, no problem with others hearing me or me them.
As I say, there may indeed be a difference between models but the one I have is great...
Like it a lot and would recommend.
Now that I have my phone, it is obvious that PC Mag review was very biased. This phone is 4.5/5 stars easy.
As i said the before on another thread, this phone is amazing , i got the 64g/6 version, i was going after the 256 one, but sadly it was sold out when i got there, it's no problem though , the version i have is more then enough and with the SD card included makes it more better. i do love the camera quality on this, including the 1920x1080 at 60 FPS, there is also 4k video as well.
And My Carrier signal is strong as well. Just hope now to get some custom roms into this phone when ASUS releases the sources, looking at the zenhone 2, seems they got a lot of it, so i hope the same here. There is things i can't control on here, like the LED notifications (none of the apps don't work from google play) and for some odd reason when you get a text message or e-mail, nothing lights the screen up, though i do get the sound or vibration from it, i had to get an APP for that and it works nicley with that.
Another review that is not particularly overly positive. Especially related to pictures in low light; and battery not all that great.
And one here from Toms Guide with pretty much the samenegative results. But this one goes into a lot more detail and covers a lot of the good in the phone.
ewingr said:
Another review that is not particularly overly positive. Especially related to pictures in low light; and battery not all that great.
And one here from Toms Guide with pretty much the samenegative results. But this one goes into a lot more detail and covers a lot of the good in the phone.
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Tomsguide review is the closest to explaining the phone in general terms along with it's shortcomings. I don't think it necessarily negative either. I've read and viewed quite a few reviews but my own experience after almost 2 weeks is that its a really good phone with the issues listed in the tomsguide review. For me battery life has been pretty good after bloat removal. Can't wait for root.
ewingr said:
Another review that is not particularly overly positive. Especially related to pictures in low light; and battery not all that great.
And one here from Toms Guide with pretty much the samenegative results. But this one goes into a lot more detail and covers a lot of the good in the phone.
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All these reviews are old and done before Asus released its Camera updates. For instance, the shutter Is super fast for me and photos look great, but I started out on updated phones. Asus has a another camera update getting ready to get pushed to my Special Edition. It is already available on their site so it should be getting pushed via OTA any day now. Don't judge the camera based on any review done before the US Release date, they are inaccurate. I need to go to the store and do a camera comparison with the other phones.
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Quoted from one of those reviews "The Bad:?*Poor camera performance for its price, fingerprint reader could not read one of my fingers for some reason, 1080p not ideal on such a large display, Zen UI needs refinements".
First off, the updates must've fixed a whole lot as I don't understand the poor camera reviews and I am sure other current owners would agree.
Fingerprint reader works perfect for me, so it was probably 'I.D.10-T' on the part of the reviewer.
This is my first experience with ZenUI and it is amazing in every aspect. Just a pleasure to use. I instantly installed a few updates for that too though so maybe that is the difference in our experiences.
Lastly, anyone who says you need more than a 1080p screen on a 5.7" phone is an utter moron falling for gimmicks. I have perfect eyesight and I cannot see a single pixel on this screen, no matter how close I look, and this display looks amazing. Anything with a higher resolution would only serve to drain the battery faster. The only possible benefit of higher resolution on this phone would be for VR. If VR is a non-factor for you, then ignore anyone who says you need a better resolution. Now I haven't tried out VR at all yet as I am just waiting to see whether the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift wins, so I don't actually know if you need more than 1080p. Higher resolution always means greater constraints on performance though so 1080p may even be better for VR on phones right now. Like I said though, I will defer to experienced VR users on that. Outside of VR, I assure you, higher than a 1080 resolution on a 5.7" phone will only serve to drain your battery faster.
Blues-n-Blazin said:
All these reviews are old and done before Asus released its Camera updates. For instance, the shutter Is super fast for me and photos look great, but I started out on updated phones. Asus has a another camera update getting ready to get pushed to my Special Edition. It is already available on their site so it should be getting pushed via OTA any day now. Don't judge the camera based on any review done before the US Release date, they are inaccurate. I need to go to the store and do a camera comparison with the other phones.
---------- Post added at 07:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:35 AM ----------
Quoted from one of those reviews "The Bad:?*Poor camera performance for its price, fingerprint reader could not read one of my fingers for some reason, 1080p not ideal on such a large display, Zen UI needs refinements".
First off, the updates must've fixed a whole lot as I don't understand the poor camera reviews and I am sure other current owners would agree.
Fingerprint reader works perfect for me, so it was probably 'I.D.10-T' on the part of the reviewer.
This is my first experience with ZenUI and it is amazing in every aspect. Just a pleasure to use. I instantly installed a few updates for that too though so maybe that is the difference in our experiences.
Lastly, anyone who says you need more than a 1080p screen on a 5.7" phone is an utter moron falling for gimmicks. I have perfect eyesight and I cannot see a single pixel on this screen, no matter how close I look, and this display looks amazing. Anything with a higher resolution would only serve to drain the battery faster. The only possible benefit of higher resolution on this phone would be for VR. If VR is a non-factor for you, then ignore anyone who says you need a better resolution. Now I haven't tried out VR at all yet as I am just waiting to see whether the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift wins, so I don't actually know if you need more than 1080p. Higher resolution always means greater constraints on performance though so 1080p may even be better for VR on phones right now. Like I said though, I will defer to experienced VR users on that. Outside of VR, I assure you, higher than a 1080 resolution on a 5.7" phone will only serve to drain your battery faster.
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I agree with that alot, those reviews seems before the update and the phone is amazing as well the camera ability, and what i said before with the 60 FPS recording makes it all more better. I wish i was able to get the speical edition in time , but i missed it sadly. No worries , i'm still happy with the 64/6 with my 128 GB SD Card, though that will be increase in the coming future hehe.
Darkdragontc said:
I agree with that alot, those reviews seems before the update and the phone is amazing as well the camera ability, and what i said before with the 60 FPS recording makes it all more better. I wish i was able to get the speical edition in time , but i missed it sadly. No worries , i'm still happy with the 64/6 with my 128 GB SD Card, though that will be increase in the coming future hehe.
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That one chipchick review was definitely dumb. Couldn't read one of my fingers? really? laughable... I have seen reviews of another phone (LG V20) where reviewers and users sh*t-talked it's fingerprint reader, realizing only later that they forgot to take the new protective plastic cover off of the button...
Don't get me started about the 1080p screen complainers... The Super AMOLED screen is one this year's best. What's worse about these reviewers is that phone makers listened to them when they complained last year about preferring 1080p over QHD because they struggled to find a big viewing difference and battery life was better on 1080p. phoneArena's first paragraph mentions that here. At this point it's more about Lazy reviewers and bragging rights than the actual facts.
I do seem to notice the shutter lag and low-light focus hunt on my phone's camera more than other people it seems, and I have the latest updates. Judging by others on here maybe it's just my phone, or I'm taking more low light pics. Quality is otherwise great in normal daytime usage.
Darkdragontc said:
I agree with that alot, those reviews seems before the update and the phone is amazing as well the camera ability, and what i said before with the 60 FPS recording makes it all more better. I wish i was able to get the speical edition in time , but i missed it sadly. No worries , i'm still happy with the 64/6 with my 128 GB SD Card, though that will be increase in the coming future hehe.
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Have you tried a 256GB card? The US Asus site says 128GB SD card limit and the global site says a 2TB max SD card size. So the question which is correct or did the US version just get gypped?
Blues-n-Blazin said:
Have you tried a 256GB card? The US Asus site says 128GB SD card limit and the global site says a 2TB max SD card size. So the question which is correct or did the US version just get gypped?
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Okay so upon investigation, it looks so far as the Taiwanese version (Asus' home country) was the one to get 2TB. US and India are both 128GB on their sites. I'm going to check a few more countries.
Edit: Japan got 2TB too, then again, they don't even have the 64GB SD820 version at all.
---------- Post added at 08:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:59 AM ----------
The Simple said:
That one chipchick review was definitely dumb. Couldn't read one of my fingers? really? laughable... I have seen reviews of another phone (LG V20) where reviewers and users sh*t-talked it's fingerprint reader, realizing only later that they forgot to take the new protective plastic cover off of the button...
Don't get me started about the 1080p screen complainers... The Super AMOLED screen is one this year's best. What's worse about these reviewers is that phone makers listened to them when they complained last year about preferring 1080p over QHD because they struggled to find a big viewing difference and battery life was better on 1080p. phoneArena's first paragraph mentions that here. At this point it's more about Lazy reviewers and bragging rights than the actual facts.
I do seem to notice the shutter lag and low-light focus hunt on my phone's camera more than other people it seems, and I have the latest updates. Judging by others on here maybe it's just my phone, or I'm taking more low light pics. Quality is otherwise great in normal daytime usage.
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When I click the shutter, my screen flashes a tenth of a second later. I never expected instantaneous on a phone though...I upgraded from a note 2 though and don't care about pictures that much. Is it supposed to be instantaneous? Asus just released another update to improve the camera further on their site and it should be getting pushed to our phones soon. Well it has been released for the SD821, but that means the SD820 should get posted soon, if not already. The OTA hasn't been pushed to my phone yet but I read somewhere that it could take a week to push the OTA after they release it.
I would like better pics in low light but I feel that is strictly software and should get better with updates. We will see.
Edit: actually I just went to the camera and it is actually instant when I hold the phone steady.
Hey what's up guys. I thought I would share my review of this super phone.
Please note that my review style is not for everyone, and there is profanity in this review. If you don't mind, come check it out!
Appreciate it.
20degrees said:
Appreciate it.
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Hope you enjoyed
Finally, a real review.
ChazzMatt said:
Finally, a real review.
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I hope that's a good thing! Thanks man
"Toyota Corolla," heh!
I've got to disagree with your assessment of the screen. I love the V30 screen, but it's still a clear second to the Note 8. I knew that going in, and it didn't stop me from purchasing my V30. I look at how bright and crystal clear it is when I have it mounted up in the car for navigation and keep thinking oooh, two weeks on. Playing videos are fine, but if I'm watching from an off angle (and this happens, in the morning if I'm showing my boys something over breakfast), or I might notice that skin tone is ever so slightly off while watching in a dark room, but whatever -- it's a great screen for my uses, certainly better than the Droid Turbo I'm coming from, I'm ok but props to Samsung for nailing theirs.
Also the rear camera -- you gave it some knocks, which may be deserved, but it takes photos as well as I need them to be taken, meaning solid results. But the wide angle lens -- let me tell you, I'm a picky camera shopper, and one reason I've been a fan of Panasonic's LX series cameras over the past 10 years is because of the great wide angle lens on those units. So many buyers seem to ask, "what's the max zoom?" but the real question is "how wide can I go?" This camera's wide lens will get the shot that others optically cannot.
The UI, eh, but I threw Nova and Google Now and Pixel Dialer on there, so it doesn't bother me. I love that LG long press feature. I love the Knock Code and the Knock Off feature. I miss my (non-stock Android) Moto actions for "twist for camera" and "chop for flashlight," but I'm getting along without.
Anyhow, your review I found a good summary. It's not just the information, but it's the enthusiasm a reviewer offers that gives the clearer indication if a product is worth somebody's time. That's why when I read these so-so reviews from ARS, Business Insider, Engadget, etc. and I shake my head. It's like these guys aren't about looking for a good phone that works well, they're stuck making all these comparisons, "is the screen BETTER THAN Samsung," "is the camera BETTER THAN iPhone," "is the UX BETTER THAN Pixel." Obviously the features need to measure up to some bar -- obviously the selfie cam on the V30 is a major disappointment but thankfully that's like no. zero on my "things I care about" list.
How about, are all these aspects ENJOYABLE and how well do they function as a PACKAGE -- you know, usability. For me the Note 8 was a contender but it is just a little too big, the V30 is a pleasure to hold. The Note cam has some cool features I'd like the V30 to have but the V30 has some cool features the Note doesn't.
Anyhow, great review, don't knock the Corolla too hard, one may have saved my life, but I know what you mean 'cause I didn't buy another.
Success100 said:
I hope that's a good thing! Thanks man
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Yes, and it nails that LG has its mojo back. They would be back more if they would treat the G series like Samsung treats the Galaxy S series (like a real top tier phone), but they made a great phone with the LG V30.
The LG V30 is contender for phone of the year -- another reviewer said that, and I agree. I'm not saying it's THE phone of the year, but I think it's in the top two. I wish LG had put in a better selfie camera, mostly so I wouldn't keep hearing people complain about it. I personally don't care. (And some in the forum have pointed out the default software settings on that selfie camera make it worse than it really is.)
I'm coming from the international version of the Droid Turbo, the Moto XT1225 (basically the smaller version of the Moto Nexus 6, but with bigger battery), but a long time LG fan and have owned several LG phones. But the last LG phone I cared about owning (size, specs) for daily driver was the LG G4. And I sold that to buy a third Moto XT1225.
The LG V30 makes me feel like when I heard the Moto XT1225 announced. I WANT this phone. I also want to root it, so waiting for the dev friendly LG V30 to be released in the U.S.
Nay Tyzon said:
"Toyota Corolla," heh!
I've got to disagree with your assessment of the screen. I love the V30 screen, but it's still a clear second to the Note 8. I knew that going in, and it didn't stop me from purchasing my V30. I look at how bright and crystal clear it is when I have it mounted up in the car for navigation and keep thinking oooh, two weeks on. Playing videos are fine, but if I'm watching from an off angle (and this happens, in the morning if I'm showing my boys something over breakfast), or I might notice that skin tone is ever so slightly off while watching in a dark room, but whatever -- it's a great screen for my uses, certainly better than the Droid Turbo I'm coming from, I'm ok but props to Samsung for nailing theirs.
Also the rear camera -- you gave it some knocks, which may be deserved, but it takes photos as well as I need them to be taken, meaning solid results. But the wide angle lens -- let me tell you, I'm a picky camera shopper, and one reason I've been a fan of Panasonic's LX series cameras over the past 10 years is because of the great wide angle lens on those units. So many buyers seem to ask, "what's the max zoom?" but the real question is "how wide can I go?" This camera's wide lens will get the shot that others optically cannot.
The UI, eh, but I threw Nova and Google Now and Pixel Dialer on there, so it doesn't bother me. I love that LG long press feature. I love the Knock Code and the Knock Off feature. I miss my (non-stock Android) Moto actions for "twist for camera" and "chop for flashlight," but I'm getting along without.
Anyhow, your review I found a good summary. It's not just the information, but it's the enthusiasm a reviewer offers that gives the clearer indication if a product is worth somebody's time. That's why when I read these so-so reviews from ARS, Business Insider, Engadget, etc. and I shake my head. It's like these guys aren't about looking for a good phone that works well, they're stuck making all these comparisons, "is the screen BETTER THAN Samsung," "is the camera BETTER THAN iPhone," "is the UX BETTER THAN Pixel." Obviously the features need to measure up to some bar -- obviously the selfie cam on the V30 is a major disappointment but thankfully that's like no. zero on my "things I care about" list.
How about, are all these aspects ENJOYABLE and how well do they function as a PACKAGE -- you know, usability. For me the Note 8 was a contender but it is just a little too big, the V30 is a pleasure to hold. The Note cam has some cool features I'd like the V30 to have but the V30 has some cool features the Note doesn't.
Anyhow, great review, don't knock the Corolla too hard, one may have saved my life, but I know what you mean 'cause I didn't buy another.
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Thanks for responding. I have read some reports of some people having bad screens and I suppose it's completely plausible. My unit had a great screen. Also I think the rear camera, but the average just wants to point and shoot and have the phone spit out a good pic. They don't want to tinker with shutter speed, iso, metering methods, etc. The v30 capable is capable, but the software in my opinion don't maximze the camera hardware. Front camera is plain trash. The wide camera is awesome.
Also I appreciate those kind words. I will Never be one of those "tell them what they want to hear" reviewers. I have been lucky enough to land some pretty big deals from my tech reviews in the shorrt time I have been doing them, but no matter how high I go, my review style will always stay the same. Some hate it some love it.
Thanks for taking the time out to respond. I appreciate that **** man!
ChazzMatt said:
Yes, and it nails that LG has its mojo back. They would be back more if they would treat the G series like Samsung treats the Galaxy S series (like a real top tier phone), but they made a great phone with the LG V30.
The LG V30 is contender for phone of the year -- another reviewer said that, and I agree. I'm not saying it's THE phone of the year, but I think it's in the top two. I wish LG had put in a better selfie camera, mostly so I wouldn't keep hearing people complain about it. I personally don't care. (And some in the forum have pointed out the default software settings on that selfie camera make it worse than it really is.)
I'm coming from the international version of the Droid Turbo, the Moto XT1225 (basically the smaller version of the Moto Nexus 6, but with bigger battery), but a long time LG fan and have owned several LG phones. But the last LG phone I cared about owning (size, specs) for daily driver was the LG G4. And I sold that to buy a third Moto XT1225.
The LG V30 makes me feel like when I heard the Moto XT1225 announced. I WANT this phone. I also want to root it, so waiting for the dev friendly LG V30 to be released in the U.S.
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Totally agree! Thanks for responding!!!
I drive a Toyota Yaris. I think for me, the V30 might not be the best phone out there, but it's like my Yaris. It just suits me. I'm not keeping up with Joneses, I like my stuff to appeal to only myself.
I get why some people want the best car, the best phone, the best house, etc.
Me? I just want to be happy. If that means going against the flow, I'm cool with it.
I'm a girl obsessed with tech, I'm already looked at like I've got a third eye. Haha!
Septembersrain said:
I get why some people want the best car, the best phone, the best house, etc.
!
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Blasphemy!
The V30 IS the best phone!
Nay Tyzon said:
Blasphemy!
The V30 IS the best phone!
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Best is relevant to the person. That's more what I meant. They'll follow trends even if it's junk. Like the iPhone X for example.
Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk
I'm sorry, but this was a HORRIBLE review.
1. The screen is not that great. It has terrible off axis viewing. Tilt a white screen slightly and it will turn blue just a few degrees off axis. It also washes out in bright light.
2. You didn't say when you can and cannot use the Sabre DAC in the system. What is good about it and what is horrible. You also fail to mention that the MQA playback ability really does not work and all 44.1khz CD quality PCM is upconverted to 48khz with awful artifacts. You also should mention that the only way to play DSD on this device is to use the very basic stock LG Music Player
3. The camera HARDWARE on the rear facing camera is actually the best. It is the camera software that is not great. The jpg processing is horrible but raw photos are excellent. You really need to use manual mode to take advantage of the cameras. Also, you keep talking about the camera on the other phones being better. It is actually just the software. Install the Pixel 2 camera software on this phone and it is terrific.
4. Most of the complaints that you have are due to bundled software choices which are all changeable, not on the hardware which is not.
5. The promised wireless quick charging is UNUSABLE as there is no quick charger available the correctly outputs the necessary 15 watts to take advantage of it.
If you are going to review a phone, really learn the hardware features of the phone and really push them!!!!!
If we were all concerned with what others think, then we'd all be cursing our iPhone X's. I buy what appeals to me and am not loyal to any particular brand of phone. That is a bit different when it comes to cell companies though. Definitely can't complain about T-Mobile and I've got the magenta gear to represent.
The video gets a thumbs down from me for one reason. Keep your personal political opinions to yourself! I don't care if you agree with me or not. My opinions are mine and unless I ask you for yours, I couldn't care less! Political crap aside, the opinions expressed in the video seemed a bit... over the top. It's kind of ironic that 3 out of the 4 features he mentions that were the only features he liked about the V20 aren't in the V30/V30+. Like the V20, the screen V30/V30+ could also be better. Personally, I think he was a bit too hard on the V20 but that is just my opinion. He really didn't support his opinions very well, like with the V20 screen and device in general as a comparison. He might just like this phone a lot and there is nothing wrong with that. It doesn't seem to translate well into a review I would personally consider useful to helping me decide on whether or not a phone is for me.
Septembersrain said:
Best is relevant to the person. That's more what I meant. They'll follow trends even if it's junk. Like the iPhone X for example.
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Exactly.... That's exactly what I meant. I picked the best phone, leaving out the "for me"
To help the OP out with any reviews he does in the future. I would like to offer a good point of reference to further illustrate how I think reviews should be more focused.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j78lXtKd-5I
Although an unboxing, this videos fairly direct and to the point. He also supports his statements and opinions with reasons for them. "Shout out to AT&T for stealing the headphones!" That piece of humor fits with the theme of the video because it is related to what the subject of the video is all about. I can personally say I have had that happen to me more than once, friends, and others that have received a device at some point or another that were missing an accessory that was supposed to be in the box.
Every day, people are bombarded with political crap and some of us are just tired of it. Whether people are pro-Trump or anti-Trump isn't the point. If I wanted political views, there are plenty of videos on YouTube that represent even the most ridiculous views on all sides out there to watch. When I am looking for a video on a cell phone, I am only interested in seeing and hearing about the phone in a constructive way. This extends well beyond political views as well, at least for me and also falls along the lines of sneaky ad placement.
In most cases, people just want to see and hear about the subject, which is the V30 in your video, and why you like it or dislike it with reasons to support those conclusions. One of the reasons why I watch just about every review of something I want is to see if there is something someone else will notice about what I am interested in that I might not. Especially when that might affect my decision on whether or not I still want that particular thing.
...or you could just let the man do his reviews the way he wants to do his reviews, and you don't watch them.
You've spent a lot of words trying to get him conform to your ideal.
I enjoyed the review and ignored any political stuff.
I'm also not sure why he NEEDS to say certain audio files can only play through the stock LG audio player to take advantage of the quad DAC, when other premium phones don't have quad DAC at all.
It's like saying "it's a Porsche, but you're forced to buy premium gas." It sounds like a criticism which is irrelevant. Don't like using LG stock player? Will Samsung NOTE 8 have quad DAC with 3rd party players or ANY PLAYER? No? So, it doesn't matter then. LG supplies a quad DAC and the means to play the files. Maybe he LIKES the LG stock player. If you don't, make your own review.
Only if another popular premium phone has a feature the LG V30 does not have, is it relevant. Which is why most reviewers are forced to mention portrait view camera vs wide view cameras.
Nay Tyzon said:
...or you could just let the man do his reviews the way he wants to do his reviews, and you don't watch them.
You've spent a lot of words trying to get him conform to your ideal.
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It's not that I want him to conform to my views. We need more reviewers out there reviewing phones. Suggesting he leave out things that may alienate potential subscribers as well as providing a more in-depth explanation as to why something "sucks" would at the very least help those watching understand his point of view. It was just constructive feedback because I would like to see more people review phones outside of what YouTube currently has to offer.
ChazzMatt said:
I enjoyed the review and ignored any political stuff.
I'm also not sure why he NEEDS to say certain audio files can only play through the stock LG audio player to take advantage of the quad DAC, when other premium phones don't have quad DAC at all.
It's like saying "it's a Porsche, but you're forced to buy premium gas." It sounds like a criticism which is irrelevant. Don't like using LG stock player? Will Samsung NOTE 8 have quad DAC with 3rd party players or ANY PLAYER? No? So, it doesn't matter then. LG supplies a quad DAC and the means to play the files. Maybe he LIKES the LG stock player. If you don't, make your own review.
Only if another popular premium phone has a feature the LG V30 does not have, is it relevant. Which is why most reviewers are forced to mention portrait view camera vs wide view cameras.
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I definitely agree about the Portrait View I keep hearing so much about but couldn't care less about. Same with people pointing out how the selfie camera produces poor results. Those are two things I don't care about. However, for a less than ideal camera on the front, the Face Unlock for the V30 works exceptionally well. You don't need the best camera out there to give you the best results for Face Unlock.