Gear S purchase - Samsung Gear S

I'm wanting to buy the gear s but I have a few concerns regarding it. Firstly I've heard there's a connectivity issue with it. Is this a big issue? Secondly I've heard contradicting comments regarding apps. Is there a lot or a few? Thirdly how good is the battery life and will a anti glare screen protector help in outdoors use? That's all I can think of for now. Any help is greatly appreciated.

- Works on Samsung phone and no issue with samsung phone
- many apps but not really popular apps. Enough for basic things only
- battery easily one day and until 2 or 3 days.
- auto brightness so no issue outdoor, watch adjust screen bright.

dersie said:
- Works on Samsung phone and no issue with samsung phone
- many apps but not really popular apps. Enough for basic things only
- battery easily one day and until 2 or 3 days.
- auto brightness so no issue outdoor, watch adjust screen bright.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply
I guess the last question I have is are there any games for it? I know that many think its dumb to game on your watch and it really isn't a big deal to me but I'd still like to know. Thanks for your help though I'll be buying the gear s for sure.

There are some Games in the store. I do not remember well and my S won't connect after the last Samsung update. Remember that Samsung can broke your watch use at any time

I want to use it stand alone..but its a deal breaker cause it not support for whatsapp n telegram app alone..?
Sent from my SM-N9208 using Tapatalk

Most of things in Samsung Store are .......... watchfaces. There's not many usefull apps for watch - just typical like Opera (mobile data from sim/blu thetrething), Calc, Timer/Stoper, flashlight, map HERE + S features like S Health. There is few games. Most apps are not FREE, the is no trial like in Google Play, I speedn 10€ for apps, watchesfaces, launchers and I use only one paid thing - Big Icon Launcher).
But fufure of Gear S looks more very bright - Gear S and Lollipop. http://forum.xda-developers.com/gear-s/development/dev-gear-s-android-port-t3177740
---------- Post added at 01:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:48 PM ----------
naimmkassim said:
I want to use it stand alone..but its a deal breaker cause it not support for whatsapp n telegram app alone..
Sent from my SM-N9208 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With Lolipop will more posibiltes like first Gear - Tizen was very limited but on Jelly Bean u got amost 100% comptabily with your fav apps form smartphone.

Related

Mate 10 pro insights and user experience

Hello everyone,
I consider buying Mate 10 pro and I am torn by many of the posts here about the phone / live review results.
After reading many good reviews I have now few doubts and would like to make a post that will gather your (those who own Mate 10 / pro) experience with the phone.
I am obvisouly aware there are already reports on such topics in the live review section but I believe (and hope) that stuff have changed due to the AI learning the user
daily uses and Huawei updates.
Few key features / questions I personally would love to hear from you about are:
Always on display - does it still working only with huawei native apps?
Lock screen notification - after unlocking does the notification dismiss from the lock screen?
Lags / over heat - Do you encounter them on daily use? how smooth the experience is compare to other flasgships?
Youtube + message app bug - there is a post on the forum about the phone locking it self if you get message when you view youtube in full window mode, did it
got fixed with update?
Does the bluetooth / gps / wifi work well?
its just a few points I would love answers to but you welcome to offer any insight about the phone, cons and pros after using it for a while.
Have a wonderful day =)
yotam2010 said:
Hello everyone,
I consider buying Mate 10 pro and I am torn by many of the posts here about the phone / live review results.
After reading many good reviews I have now few doubts and would like to make a post that will gather your (those who own Mate 10 / pro) experience with the phone.
I am obvisouly aware there are already reports on such topics in the live review section but I believe (and hope) that stuff have changed due to the AI learning the user
daily uses and Huawei updates.
Few key features / questions I personally would love to hear from you about are:
Always on display - does it still working only with huawei native apps?
Lock screen notification - after unlocking does the notification dismiss from the lock screen?
Lags / over heat - Do you encounter them on daily use? how smooth the experience is compare to other flasgships?
Youtube + message app bug - there is a post on the forum about the phone locking it self if you get message when you view youtube in full window mode, did it
got fixed with update?
Does the bluetooth / gps / wifi work well?
its just a few points I would love answers to but you welcome to offer any insight about the phone, cons and pros after using it for a while.
Have a wonderful day =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Yes, so far only works with Huawei apps
2)Yes
3)Never encountered these issues, no lag or overheating here, not even when charging.
4)Never had this problem
5)All working fine here (5Ghz wifi too). GPS is fast and accurate. I don't use Bluetooth very often, but i did some tests with file transfer and headset, no problem here.
I could answer from the 3rd point
No overheat at all and performance is really good only some minor stutter every now and then like every Android phone
GPS and wifi and Bluetooth are always working correctly for me
I don't encounter YouTube problem at all.
---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------
I want to update that I just received firmware 128 from a couple of hours ago and till now even any small stutter is gone :laugh::good:
Pretoriano80 said:
1) Yes, so far only works with Huawei apps
2)Yes
3)Never encountered these issues, no lag or overheating here, not even when charging.
4)Never had this problem
5)All working fine here (5Ghz wifi too). GPS is fast and accurate. I don't use Bluetooth very often, but i did some tests with file transfer and headset, no problem here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mohamad Gahed said:
I could answer from the 3rd point
No overheat at all and performance is really good only some minor stutter every now and then like every Android phone
GPS and wifi and Bluetooth are always working correctly for me
I don't encounter YouTube problem at all.
---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------
I want to update that I just received firmware 128 from a couple of hours ago and till now even any small stutter is gone :laugh::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you both for your answers, gives me some comfort!
Sadly, I believe there is no current "perfect" phone in the market and I am having real trouble deciding if to go for the Galaxy S8, htc u11+ or Huawei mate 10 pro.
Is there any bugs / cons on Huawei mate 10 pro software that should be highlighted in your opinion?
Honestly I understand your question and in the same time, I'm bored about these questions...
Phone is very great... Best phone I have ever had...
Not overheating incredible battery life and marvelous experience... For me.
Of course, it isn't perfect. As any phone..
Read reviews and decide...
Cheers
I'm curious about something, does the Pro support using the fingerprint sensor as navigation, similar to the standard Mate 10 and the Honor View 10?
It'd probably be a little more unorthodox as it's located on the back but that's possibly the only way I'd consider getting it even. Not an AMOLED fan.
Sammae7 said:
I'm curious about something, does the Pro support using the fingerprint sensor as navigation, similar to the standard Mate 10 and the Honor View 10?
It'd probably be a little more unorthodox as it's located on the back but that's possibly the only way I'd consider getting it even. Not an AMOLED fan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does, to scroll in the gallerie, and open and close notification/shorcuts tray
Sammae7 said:
Not an AMOLED fan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF !!!! Oo I've always been in love with amoled
yotam2010 said:
Always on display - does it still working only with huawei native apps?
Lock screen notification - after unlocking does the notification dismiss from the lock screen?
Lags / over heat - Do you encounter them on daily use? how smooth the experience is compare to other flasgships?
Youtube + message app bug - there is a post on the forum about the phone locking it self if you get message when you view youtube in full window mode, did it got fixed with update?
Does the bluetooth / gps / wifi work well?
its just a few points I would love answers to but you welcome to offer any insight about the phone, cons and pros after using it for a while.
Have a wonderful day =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's my first Huawei, and I've read a lot also before buying it, and I've been happily surprised:
3- I never got it hot (netflix for hours ....). I got it "warm" and I insist on warm because it really wasn't hot (especially compared to my previous phones) once when I was doing google Duo + fast charging. And about the lags, nope.
4- Never got this issue.
5- Bluetooth, wifi (5ghz, 2,4ghz, hotspot...). For the GPS I only used it in Hong-Kong atm, and with the ****ing density of buildings, it was not really accurate, but not worse than the other phones. Once outside the city it was working very well.
For the other things :
- The rear camera is very good ! I will need a tripod for night shoots, because in night mode (or manual) you can increase the shutter time.
- I really like EMUI (usually I always flash cyanogen/lineage)
- The infrared : I noticed that I use it all the time to control my AC and TV ^^
- The sound could be better : you easily block it with your hands, and what they call "stereo" ... is quite bad because the other speaker is not as loud as the one at the bottom.
yotam2010 said:
Thank you both for your answers, gives me some comfort!
Sadly, I believe there is no current "perfect" phone in the market and I am having real trouble deciding if to go for the Galaxy S8, htc u11+ or Huawei mate 10 pro.
Is there any bugs / cons on Huawei mate 10 pro software that should be highlighted in your opinion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you like snappy smooth phones don't go for the Sammy from my opinion
I was always a Samsung user for many years till the s7edge and then switched to Mate 9 then now mate 10 pro
While Samsung phones are great but they can't be compared to Huawei in 2 things mainly the battery life and speed/smoothness of operation and animations ect..
---------- Post added at 06:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:04 AM ----------
Sammae7 said:
I'm curious about something, does the Pro support using the fingerprint sensor as navigation, similar to the standard Mate 10 and the Honor View 10?
It'd probably be a little more unorthodox as it's located on the back but that's possibly the only way I'd consider getting it even. Not an AMOLED fan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No the fingerprint scanner does not do all the functions as the normal mate 10 but we have something called navigation dock and it's floating anywhere you like on screen and it do the same exactly so you can hide the keys and make use of all this great 18:9 screen :laugh:
Mohamad Gahed said:
No the fingerprint scanner does not do all the functions as the normal mate 10 but we have something called navigation dock and it's floating anywhere you like on screen and it do the same exactly so you can hide the keys and make use of all this great 18:9 screen :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, I forgot to mention it : the navigation dock is a GREAT idea ! no screen surface wasted ! I love it.
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
I love the phone. I compared it to top of the line Samsungs at the store and I like the way it looks/feels better. Also Samsungs have ridiculously long shape and have much smaller battery.
Overall impression:
-- Very appealing to look at and hold. It is a bit slippery without a case because both sides are glass, but it comes with a very thin transparent soft plastic case which gives it a much better grip.
-- Camera blows my previous phone out of the water but not as good as a consumer grade DSLR. Low light pictures are sharp and crisp.
-- No headphone jack but comes with a pair of USB-C phones in the box.
This is my second HUAWEI device (first one was Honor Note 8 and it got stolen). I keep coming back to Huawei because of excellent build quality and very long battery life.
Always on display - does it still working only with huawei native apps?
- Mine does not have an always-on display.
Lock screen notification - after unlocking does the notification dismiss from the lock screen?
I have not seen such notification. I touch the fingerprint circle on the back side and it immediately shows icon screen or whatever app was open last.
Lags / over heat - Do you encounter them on daily use? how smooth the experience is compare to other flasgships?
Mine is always cool to the touch. I would not know what happens during intense videogames as I don't play em.
Youtube + message app bug - there is a post on the forum about the phone locking it self if you get message when you view youtube in full window mode, did it
got fixed with update?
Will try it and update.
Does the bluetooth / gps / wifi work well?
Bluetooth and GPS do. For me Wifi does not work well with 2.4 Ghz routers, although I get 120 Mbps on the 5 Ghz band. It looks like no one else has this issue so I will try to return and replace the phone with identical one. Also it appears to be a software glitch so might be fixed with an update.

Any annoying software bugs? (Particularly UK users)

Hi guys and girls,
I'm looking at getting a new phone soon and my choices I've narrowed it down to, for different reasons, are these:
Google Pixel 2 XL - good battery life, great camera, pure android
OnePlus 5T - good battery life, good development scene
Huawei Mate 10 Pro - can get a good deal on it, great battery, great camera
Cons of the Mate 10 Pro all revolve around EMUI. Bugs/features I've heard about so far are these:
Non-push notifications not working
No notification drawer on lock screen
Quick reply actions etc not always working
These all seem really annoying and are things I wouldn't have a problem with on the Pixel 2. I could root, and install AOSP, but that would just have different bugs, and I'd lose the AI which is obviously a big feature of this phone, plus the camera quality would be lost.
So I'm looking for any users who have either had these issues fixed, or know workarounds, or have any other little bugs that I should know about.
Thanks
samwhiteUK said:
Hi guys and girls,
I'm looking at getting a new phone soon and my choices I've narrowed it down to, for different reasons, are these:
Google Pixel 2 XL - good battery life, great camera, pure android
OnePlus 5T - good battery life, good development scene
Huawei Mate 10 Pro - can get a good deal on it, great battery, great camera
Cons of the Mate 10 Pro all revolve around EMUI. Bugs/features I've heard about so far are these:
Non-push notifications not working
No notification drawer on lock screen
Quick reply actions etc not always working
These all seem really annoying and are things I wouldn't have a problem with on the Pixel 2. I could root, and install AOSP, but that would just have different bugs, and I'd lose the AI which is obviously a big feature of this phone, plus the camera quality would be lost.
So I'm looking for any users who have either had these issues fixed, or know workarounds, or have any other little bugs that I should know about.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Scrolling Widgets not working. Very annoying.
Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
Mario_Wiznycia said:
Scrolling Widgets not working. Very annoying.
Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Not a big widget user, but annoying to know things like that are broken. Do you think that once the phone is released in the states, support will be better? Pretty big market
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
samwhiteUK said:
Thanks. Not a big widget user, but annoying to know things like that are broken. Do you think that once the phone is released in the states, support will be better? Pretty big market
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its difficult to say, it seems like a simple fix for Huawei, so don't know why it's taken so long to sort out.
Mario_Wiznycia said:
Its difficult to say, it seems like a simple fix for Huawei, so don't know why it's taken so long to sort out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And that's the sort of thing I'm concerned about. They are a massive manufacturer and therefore you'd think that issues like this should be sorted at release. I understand that Oreo is still new and all manufacturers will have issues, but this would be my first Huawei phone and I'd like it to be in good shape! And a good experience.
Audio switches from bluetooth to loudspeaker after some time.
Call quality is very bad due to the AI chip.
Since these issues are there since release, I wouldn't recommend that you buy the Mate 10 Pro.
12 pages of bluetooth issues on German forums: https://www.android-hilfe.de/forum/...0-pro-android-8-bluetooth-problem.853624.html
The two issues stopping me from buying this now are what I've heard that third party apps don't show notifications on the lockscreen always on display and the LED works spordically.
Pretty important that I know I have notification considering this is a communications device I would say.
Also there are reports about poor wifi and cell signal.

Pixel 3 vs S9

I’ve got a Pixel 2 and was weighing the pros & cons of upgrading to a Pixel 3 vs the S9 and was curious if anyone has any comments on this.
On paper, the S9 seems to be a better phone with a great screen and SD support but was wondering what the practical differences are. It’s been a while since I’ve owned a Samsung phone and it always seemed there were little quirks that would drive you nuts. In many ways the Pixel 2 is sooo boring, everything seems to work or at least I’ve had no major problems.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 and have ordered a Pixel 3. The S9 is a nice phone but I am irritated by all the Samsung stuff installed which I never use. I keep getting notifications about Samsung app updates and I usually haven't a clue about the app concerned. It's as if there are two layers of software and services - Google and Samsung and the Samsung layer keeps fighting with the Google layer. I suppose in real terms it doesn't matter and you just use the apps you want to use. I just don't like it there is a whole ecosystem there in which I have no interest but can't get rid of. There are even two app stores, the Play Store and the Samsung Store. The default cloud service is Samsung and your phone settings, photos etc. are backed up to Samsung by default. You can, of course, install Google Drive and have things baked up to the Google cloud but it's up to you to switch off the Samsung syncing. Photos go into the Samsung Gallery app and while you can install Google Photos your photos don't sync with the Google Photos app unless you open the app after taking some photos and then they appear. You delete a photo from the Gallery and it is still in Google Photos. You delete it from Google Photos and it's still in Samsung Gallery. If you set up the S9 to save your photos to an SD card then Google Photos can't delete them to save space. Lots and lots of things like this. If you are remotely OCD you won't be happy.
Im stepping away from Sammy for a little. Tired of same thing. Plus some things just give errors, like google maps... Samsung has this problem.... I love the phones tho, best of everything in them. Like I said i just phone something new.
My grape with Pix 3 is that the screen is small. I dont care for speakers. Oddly to say this but i wish Little pixel had a notch.
I did not order mine yet as i want to play with both sizes and see if I can commit to either. I really hope i will like Pixel 3 display.
thats why i cant stand samsung phones.. love the hardware, but the software is just bloated with tons of stuff that someone like me.. slightly minimalistic, and OCD, cant stand. i even bought an unlocked galaxy phone and still all the stock samsung crap just kept fighting. the pixel 3, is far better, sure maybe not as fancy with the curved screen, or whatever, but simple, and easy is better in my opinion. also, all the edge functions from the galaxy, now have edge apps to use on the pixel.
Personal opinion here:
Had an s8 before and agree with what everyone said. Brilliant phone and amazing hardware however the software experience wasn't the best. Hate the fact there were loads of apps I couldn't get rid of and because of it most experiences weren't seamless as they should. Ended up rooting it and installing a rom that didn't have a lot of bloat but some problems still persisted as there isn't lineageos for the s8 and I much prefer vanilla android .
Have had a pixel 3 for 3 weeks now and I can tell you this is the best Android experience I've had up until now. Everything is super smooth and the Google integration is flawless . The camera is brilliant and the no frills os just works as it should. I think the only downside is the battery life but hey,can't have it all!
I came from an S8 and I love the Pixel 3 Experience so far. I also owned a OnePlus 6T - which I returned.
The camera is fantastic (especially noticeable to me when the subject is in motion).
Battery life is fine (4+hrs SOT over 17 hours to 5%), way better than my 2 year old S8.
I like the simplicity of Pure Android
I do really miss a ringer button in the notification shade, though I am sure I will get used to the change
I also HATE that they (Google) opted for their own proprietary charging - makes it more like Apple and harder to switch (I have a bunch of chargers that fast charged my S8, 6T and every other phone I've owned that don't work the same on the P3). HATE THIS.
After only a few days, I miss the 6T launcher - very Pixel-esque BUT better gesture controls. I miss the 6T's battery life too. I really didn't like having a hardware switch for changing between ringer modes. That and lack of wireless charging, a so-so camera and a couple of other issues led me to try the Pixel.
ckelly33 said:
I also HATE that they (Google) opted for their own proprietary charging - makes it more like Apple and harder to switch (I have a bunch of chargers that fast charged my S8, 6T and every other phone I've owned that don't work the same on the P3). HATE THIS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair, Google is using Power Delivery which is a USB spec. The others are the ones using proprietary technology: "Qualcomm has its Quick Charge technology in a number of handsets. OPPO and OnePlus offer varieties of VOOC. MediaTek has Pump Express." Source: https://www.androidauthority.com/usb-power-delivery-806266/.
Apparently the new Quick Charge 4.0 is PD compliant though - so if Samsung moves to that in years to come (I think they still use 2.0 in their phones) then QC4.0 chargers will be more 'universal'
Are you sure you have chargers that fast charge Samsung and OnePlus? Not that I've looked hard, but I haven't seen chargers that do both Quick Charge and VOOC (Dash Charge)
Could be wrong but I sent that 6T back to it's maker.
piccit said:
To be fair, Google is using Power Delivery which is a USB spec. The others are the ones using proprietary technology: "Qualcomm has its Quick Charge technology in a number of handsets. OPPO and OnePlus offer varieties of VOOC. MediaTek has Pump Express." Source: https://www.androidauthority.com/usb-power-delivery-806266/.
Apparently the new Quick Charge 4.0 is PD compliant though - so if Samsung moves to that in years to come (I think they still use 2.0 in their phones) then QC4.0 chargers will be more 'universal'
Are you sure you have chargers that fast charge Samsung and OnePlus? Not that I've looked hard, but I haven't seen chargers that do both Quick Charge and VOOC (Dash Charge)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
I was having the same debate with myself on what phone to get. I also really like the s9s hardware, but I just can't freakin stand Samsung's bloat infested annoying software. If Samsung had made an android one S9 I would have been all over that.
Went with the pixel 3 and really like it, but miss the sd card and headphone jack.
I had those phones too. I keep on trying to get rid of my S9 by switching to pixel2xl, op6, op6t, pixel3xl but I always return to S9 for many reasons:
* VR
* perfect size (for me)
* everyday use is just simpler than stock android (example: slide left or right to sms or call)
* amazing speakers
* dolby atmos and general sound experience
* dual Bluetooth headsets support (rare but useful for me)
* outdoor screen visibility
* flashing custom roms and kernels simpler than on Slot A/B phones
* all features (I need) are already builtin and only need root to be enabled by csc (network monitor+firewall, call recording, unknown numbers recognition...)
* wonderful camera
* s-health and its assistance
* with root, most of the bloatware can be removed
...etc
We can be angry toward samsung as we wish but we can also acknowledge that they also have really good practical flagships.
googy_anas said:
I had those phones too. I keep on trying to get rid of my S9 by switching to pixel2xl, op6, op6t, pixel3xl but I always return to S9 for many reasons:
* VR
* perfect size (for me)
* everyday use is just simpler than stock android (example: slide left or right to sms or call)
* amazing speakers
* dolby atmos and general sound experience
* dual Bluetooth headsets support (rare but useful for me)
* outdoor screen visibility
* flashing custom roms and kernels simpler than on Slot A/B phones
* all features (I need) are already builtin and only need root to be enabled by csc (network monitor+firewall, call recording, unknown numbers recognition...)
* wonderful camera
* s-health and its assistance
* with root, most of the bloatware can be removed
...etc
We can be angry toward samsung as we wish but we can also acknowledge that they also have really good practical flagships.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stopped rooting but this above explanation is a reflection of my experience as well, so not repeating. It's just that I use the bigger plus or notes for bigger battery & screen. I keep coming back to Samsung for nitpicking stuff, even though I do not like Samsung for several other reasons.
scgf said:
I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 and have ordered a Pixel 3. The S9 is a nice phone but I am irritated by all the Samsung stuff installed which I never use. I keep getting notifications about Samsung app updates and I usually haven't a clue about the app concerned. It's as if there are two layers of software and services - Google and Samsung and the Samsung layer keeps fighting with the Google layer. I suppose in real terms it doesn't matter and you just use the apps you want to use. I just don't like it there is a whole ecosystem there in which I have no interest but can't get rid of. There are even two app stores, the Play Store and the Samsung Store. The default cloud service is Samsung and your phone settings, photos etc. are backed up to Samsung by default. You can, of course, install Google Drive and have things baked up to the Google cloud but it's up to you to switch off the Samsung syncing. Photos go into the Samsung Gallery app and while you can install Google Photos your photos don't sync with the Google Photos app unless you open the app after taking some photos and then they appear. You delete a photo from the Gallery and it is still in Google Photos. You delete it from Google Photos and it's still in Samsung Gallery. If you set up the S9 to save your photos to an SD card then Google Photos can't delete them to save space. Lots and lots of things like this. If you are remotely OCD you won't be happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you serious about how backing up to Google works on a Samsung phone? That really sucks. I'm even happier now that I don't have a Samsung phone.
jimv1983 said:
Are you serious about how backing up to Google works on a Samsung phone? That really sucks. I'm even happier now that I don't have a Samsung phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that the google photos app didn't sync only if opened is because it was hibernated by the system as it was detected as a high battery consuming app !
Also, the same gallery vs google photos double use happened to me on Oneplus6 and on every phone which has its own dedicated gallery app.
If you want to fully benefit from google photos app, just use it exclusively and don't forget to exclude it from battery optimization (battery impact?). Simple as that.
googy_anas said:
I think that the google photos app didn't sync only if opened is because it was hibernated by the system as it was detected as a high battery consuming app !
Also, the same gallery vs google photos double use happened to me on Oneplus6 and on every phone which has its own dedicated gallery app.
If you want to fully benefit from google photos app, just use it exclusively and don't forget to exclude it from battery optimization (battery impact?). Simple as that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never had Google Photos consume a lot of battery. Glad I have a Pixel 2 XL.
While rooting is a solution to the Samsung crapware, it trips the Knox flag and therefore voids your warranty. I've done my share of rooting and ROM installs on other devices, but those were either out of warranty or able to be restored back to a stock config to maintain warranty.
It's nice to have a phone where rooting and all that isn't necessary because it doesn't have much/any extraneous crap.
As I said, if Samsung had made a GPE/Android One version of the S9 I would have bought it over the pixel 3 for sure.
Hopefully the pixel 4 will bring back the jack and the SD card, keep the stereo speakers, and further reduce the bezels with no notch on the non-xl.
I currently have a s9+SM-G965U1 and on the fence about trading it for a pixel 3 xl. I love the s9 hardware, but hate the software side of it.
If I find a good enough sale on black Friday, or cyber Monday for a pixel 3 xl I think I'll pull the trigger on the switch
ckelly33 said:
After only a few days, I miss the 6T launcher - very Pixel-esque BUT better gesture controls. I miss the 6T's battery life too. I really didn't like having a hardware switch for changing between ringer modes. That and lack of wireless charging, a so-so camera and a couple of other issues led me to try the Pixel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed an app called Fluid Navigation on my Pixel 3. It replaces the Android Pie navigation with something much better and does not have any on-screen controls. You just swipe like on the iPhone XS. The big benefit is that you gain the extra screen space previously taken up with the Pie navigation controls. It requires an adb command to allow it to write to the system but once this has been done you can use it and switch back and forth very easily should you wish to. Lots of optins - a quick flick up from the bottom of the screen takes you home, a flick up and hold momentarily shows open apps. A swipe from the right edge goes back and a swipe and hold allows you to switch between the two most recent apps. All swipes are configurable. I have turned off audio feedback and just use haptic feedback. Very nice.
I have S8 at the moment and thinking if it is worth to switch to Pixel 3. I always liked pure Android but with Pixel 3 as it is I have a lot of doubts. I would like to the Pixel camera but overall hardware design is not nice with bad screen to body ratio and all the issues with RAM management people are complaining scare me. I suppose that Google is going to fix it at some point in time - probably later than sooner, but it should not be present at all for Android flagship.
So is it really worth to switch or not?
scgf said:
I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 and have ordered a Pixel 3. The S9 is a nice phone but I am irritated by all the Samsung stuff installed which I never use. I keep getting notifications about Samsung app updates and I usually haven't a clue about the app concerned. It's as if there are two layers of software and services - Google and Samsung and the Samsung layer keeps fighting with the Google layer. I suppose in real terms it doesn't matter and you just use the apps you want to use. I just don't like it there is a whole ecosystem there in which I have no interest but can't get rid of. There are even two app stores, the Play Store and the Samsung Store. The default cloud service is Samsung and your phone settings, photos etc. are backed up to Samsung by default. You can, of course, install Google Drive and have things baked up to the Google cloud but it's up to you to switch off the Samsung syncing. Photos go into the Samsung Gallery app and while you can install Google Photos your photos don't sync with the Google Photos app unless you open the app after taking some photos and then they appear. You delete a photo from the Gallery and it is still in Google Photos. You delete it from Google Photos and it's still in Samsung Gallery. If you set up the S9 to save your photos to an SD card then Google Photos can't delete them to save space. Lots and lots of things like this. If you are remotely OCD you won't be happy.
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Click to collapse
Get the pixel 3. I just got it and I am Soo happy to be free of all the Samsung crapwear on my old s7 edge. I totally agree with you about the double ecosystem thing.
I had a s9 before..and the double apps from Samsung kill me..why do I need a email app if Gmail is included..why I need a calendar app (s-planer) if you can use Google calendar..why I need a Samsung photos app if Google photos is included..i could wrote forever more examples for this..now with the pixels 3 it feels so pure and homecoming..also the updates.. everyone say why Android phones had such a bad update circle for the software..I don't understand people why they buy other non Google phones ..
Just my 2 cents

NEW Samsung Tab S5e 10.5inch AMOLED with Android 9 Pie

Finally, something to upgrade from my original Android 6 Tab S 10.5! I'm guessing this quick Tab S5e release so soon after the Tab S4 is probably because the Tab S4 hasn't been a big hit. I also believe the inclusion of a fingerprint sensor is definitely an upgrade from the Tab S4 anyway. I just don't see where they put the fingerprint sensor. Is it in the same place as the Tab S1 10.5, or is it in the place where the Tab S2 and Tab S3 have it. Anyway, I'm standing by for this one to be available.
https://news.samsung.com/us/samsung...2057&cjevent=5cf141ec312a11e983ae00ef0a1c0e14
Update: Apparently the fingerprint sensor in in the side power button. Interesting...
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
DaWeav said:
Finally, something to upgrade from my original Android 6 Tab S 10.5! I'm guessing this quick Tab S5e release so soon after the Tab S4 is probably because the Tab S4 hasn't been a big hit. I also believe the inclusion of a fingerprint sensor is definitely an upgrade from the Tab S4 anyway. I just don't see where they put the fingerprint sensor. Is it in the same place as the Tab S1 10.5, or is it in the place where the Tab S2 and Tab S3 have it. Anyway, I'm standing by for this one to be available.
https://news.samsung.com/us/samsung...2057&cjevent=5cf141ec312a11e983ae00ef0a1c0e14
Update: Apparently the fingerprint sensor in in the side power button. Interesting...
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it were not for the provision of cameras in vertical format it would be a good option.
This looks to be on my list. Have been looking at the S4 but at odds with the price. Fingers crossed it ticks all the boxes (camera position not an issue for me) and can get a keyboard for it and i will probably go for it.
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
But it has no headphone jack. Blah. I'd rather wait and buy a used Tab S4 than reward Samsung bean counters for such stupid behavior.
I am happy with my tabs t800, the motherboard is starting to fail but for $ 40 on AliExpress I have a tablet for 4 more years ?
I have to admit, i have had my T800 since pretty much launch. Its been used daily and took everything i have thrown at it (and it still does). Makes me wonder if a brand new S4 would offer the same?. Its one of those products that never really gets matched, so a good replacement is probably pie in the sky. Nothing lasts forever.
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
Does the Tab S5e have UFS or eMMC storage?
I have the Tab S 8.4"; and I was looking for a larger device: Tab S4 is too expensive for 4G ram. I was wondering if I should wait for this to come out or get a refurbished Tab S 10.5 from Amazon.
stigslim said:
I have to admit, i have had my T800 since pretty much launch. Its been used daily and took everything i have thrown at it (and it still does). Makes me wonder if a brand new S4 would offer the same?. Its one of those products that never really gets matched, so a good replacement is probably pie in the sky. Nothing lasts forever.
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case I do not plan to change it, if one day I die I change the motherboard .. it is easy to change and cheap ($ 40), also when the developers fix the camera failure lineageos we will have 15.1 and 16. I now have RRemix 7.1.2 and I'm perfect.
---------- Post added at 03:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:22 AM ----------
Shubhamkar said:
Does the Tab S5e have UFS or eMMC storage?
I have the Tab S 8.4"; and I was looking for a larger device: Tab S4 is too expensive for 4G ram. I was wondering if I should wait for this to come out or get a refurbished Tab S 10.5 from Amazon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have UFS .. But I would not even think about it ... precisely the big problem with the tabs is the failure in the EMMC.
The only real issue i have with my Tab S is performance. Still running everything as stock, would you recommend Rooting and a custom Rom?. stick to what i have if i can make it a bit sharper, just seems a bit tired.
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---------- Post added at 11:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 AM ----------
lytoh said:
In my case I do not plan to change it, if one day I die I change the motherboard .. it is easy to change and cheap ($ 40), also when the developers fix the camera failure lineageos we will have 15.1 and 16. I now have RRemix 7.1.2 and I'm perfect.
---------- Post added at 03:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:22 AM ----------
I should have UFS .. But I would not even think about it ... precisely the big problem with the tabs is the failure in the EMMC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the repost, just curious as to what you think?
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
stigslim said:
The only real issue i have with my Tab S is performance. Still running everything as stock, would you recommend Rooting and a custom Rom?. stick to what i have if i can make it a bit sharper, just seems a bit tired.
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My performance issues stemmed from Firefox. I replaced it with a Chromium-based browser - Brave Browser specifically - and I'm good with interactive-1.3GHz.
You can try rooting, uninstalling the bloat (Knox, Hancom, Kids Mode and some more), tweak your Low Memory Killer (the default LMK for Marshmallow keeps a significant ram unused). When you occasionally need high performance, you can change the cpu governer to performance, or userspace with 900Hz as low. Note that both of these will consume a ton of battery when the device is idle.
In my experience, I tried Nougat custom ROM, but still preferred the stability (Xodo in particular) and camera of the stock ROM, besides the fact that the stock rom rotates the screen in under 2 sec, while custom ROMs require about 3 sec for screen rotation.
I also discovered that if you have the exynos chipset with BIG.little, then the per-clock performance (and overall power consumption) of the BIG cores is about 50% more than the little cores. And I am currently happy with the little cores alone! It's also the case, that I keep the device plugged in like a laptop. So, the device isn't going to get out-dated any time in the next 2 years either, for the basic use cases of reading and browsing!
Shubhamkar said:
My performance issues stemmed from Firefox. I replaced it with a Chromium-based browser - Brave Browser specifically - and I'm good with interactive-1.3GHz.
You can try rooting, uninstalling the bloat (Knox, Hancom, Kids Mode and some more), tweak your Low Memory Killer (the default LMK for Marshmallow keeps a significant ram unused). When you occasionally need high performance, you can change the cpu governer to performance, or userspace with 900Hz as low. Note that both of these will consume a ton of battery when the device is idle.
In my experience, I tried Nougat custom ROM, but still preferred the stability (Xodo in particular) and camera of the stock ROM, besides the fact that the stock rom rotates the screen in under 2 sec, while custom ROMs require about 3 sec for screen rotation.
I also discovered that if you have the exynos chipset with BIG.little, then the per-clock performance (and overall power consumption) of the BIG cores is about 50% more than the little cores. And I am currently happy with the little cores alone! It's also the case, that I keep the device plugged in like a laptop. So, the device isn't going to get out-dated any time in the next 2 years either, for the basic use cases of reading and browsing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not have any problem with the rotation in nougat .. and I use the Gcam for the photos I do not return to the stock ROM to me it goes better to me nougat in every way .. battery, performance etc.
---------- Post added at 03:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:01 PM ----------
stigslim said:
The only real issue i have with my Tab S is performance. Still running everything as stock, would you recommend Rooting and a custom Rom?. stick to what i have if i can make it a bit sharper, just seems a bit tired.
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 11:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 AM ----------
Sorry for the repost, just curious as to what you think?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do I think about lineage 15 and 16? has been said by the developers that are working on it (darkexistance)
lytoh said:
I do not have any problem with the rotation in nougat .. and I use the Gcam for the photos I do not return to the stock ROM to me it goes better to me nougat in every way .. battery, performance etc.
---------- Post added at 03:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:01 PM ----------
What do I think about lineage 15 and 16? has been said by the developers that are working on it (darkexistance)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes lineage is what I was thinking of. Cleaner Rom better performance is what I figured, is there anything in particular you would recommend?
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stigslim said:
Yes lineage is what I was thinking of. Cleaner Rom better performance is what I figured, is there anything in particular you would recommend?
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use RRemix which is based on lineage 7.1.2 but with more customization, to improve the sound use dolby atmos since it is a bit lower than the stock, for the camera I use Gcam, as Launcher I use Nova and I have the animations deactivated in options of developer, and the keyboard I use the Gboard in black. The gapps use the peak version without Google assistant that only consumes RAM .. This way I am very fluid and with more than 1.5gb free of RAM, in summary it is fluid with little battery consumption and without heating. Perfect.
Remix is ​​updated every 2 days with the improvements that come in lineageos and always has the latest security patch.
ROM:https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...om-resurrection-remix-n-sm-t800-wifi-t3606243
Extra to improve the sound of RR I recommend flashing for twrp dolby atmos, automatically disables the Audiofx and it shows a lot the improvement in quality and volume.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/zap18pcsu1c1zfd/dap_r6.5.zip
I also recommend using GCam has better quality than the RR stock.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/dl7p89wbr74tmp4/com.google.android.GoogleCamera-2.7.008.apk
---------- Post added at 04:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:28 PM ----------
lytoh said:
I use RRemix which is based on lineage 7.1.2 but with more customization, to improve the sound use dolby atmos since it is a bit lower than the stock, for the camera I use Gcam, as Launcher I use Nova and I have the animations deactivated in options of developer, and the keyboard I use the Gboard in black. The gapps use the peak version without Google assistant that only consumes RAM .. This way I am very fluid and with more than 1.5gb free of RAM, in summary it is fluid with little battery consumption and without heating. Perfect.
Remix is ​​updated every 2 days with the improvements that come in lineageos and always has the latest security patch.
ROM:https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...om-resurrection-remix-n-sm-t800-wifi-t3606243
Extra to improve the sound of RR I recommend flashing for twrp dolby atmos, automatically disables the Audiofx and it shows a lot the improvement in quality and volume.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/zap18pcsu1c1zfd/dap_r6.5.zip
I also recommend using GCam has better quality than the RR stock.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/dl7p89wbr74tmp4/com.google.android.GoogleCamera-2.7.008.apk
---------- Post added at 04:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:28 PM ----------
I leave a clip for you to see fluency ... logically in screen recording it does not look as good as in reality.
https://youtu.be/8r2_RJ-npck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that's more like it. Much snappier than my stock, thanks for the links. Will definitely be rooting and loading a better Rom.
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stigslim said:
Yes that's more like it. Much snappier than my stock, thanks for the links. Will definitely be rooting and loading a better Rom.
Sent from my ALP-L29 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you will not regret ?
lytoh said:
you will not regret [emoji6]
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Click to collapse
Can you help me out with Gapps?. Have rooted and flashed TRWP, downloaded the Rom to flash but not sure on the Gapps i need. Any helps good help, cheers.
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
I am waiting for a tablet from Samsung with a bigger display than 10.5". They pioneered 12" tablets (I am still sorely missing my Note Pro) and they have left this segment to Apple...
I liked the S4 (after the stupid 4:3 aspect ratio of the S2 and the S3) but the virtual buttons (which I don't mind at all by themselves) in the same 10.5" display size mean that the actual usable real estate is most of the times actually smaller than my Tab S 10.5 LTE.
About the S5e, I *hate* the metal back. Glass is OK, soft/rubberized polycarbonate (like in the S1) is the ideal, both in tablets and smartphones.
All in all, the S5e is a quite good tablet (good specs and features, great display and weight etc) at a pretty good price (especially in a few months) but due to its size and the metal back I am not getting it.
I am just glad that the S1 is unbelievably still going strong (acceptable performance, which were never really great anyway, and SOT still a tad over 4 hours after more than 4.5 years!).
If I were forced to replace it before something really suitable finally comes along I would most probably get an S4 or S5e, depending on their price at the moment.
stigslim said:
Can you help me out with Gapps?. Have rooted and flashed TRWP, downloaded the Rom to flash but not sure on the Gapps i need. Any helps good help, cheers.
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the gapps arm 7.1 micro.
Root for Galaxy Tab S5e?
I haven't had a Samsung Android device since I got my Google Nexus 10 in what, 2012 I think. Is there any chance there will be a forum page created and development started for my newly acquired Galaxy Tab S5e?
I'm really not used to having a non-rooted device! The bundled crapware alone makes me a bit crazy...
Thanks!
I just saw an S5e at Best Buy. The form factor is excellent. It sucks it doesn't have a headphone jack though. I can see myself buying one of these tablets if they work fine (someone already reported issues with WiFi antenna). It's about time. The Tab S is just too slow for anything but streaming video.

Question Amazing Foldable

What a great little device the N2 is. Having bought Chinese phones in the past and been stung by the many notification issues and restrictions I was worried about buying this but so far - all good.
No issues at all (UK based) - all notifications working as expected, even Ring doorbell which I couldn't get working on a Vivo phone.
Banking apps working fine.
Battery life is amazing.
Only downside so far is my Galaxy Watch won't connect but that's no biggie.
Love the form factor and getting rid of my S23 Ultra (and watch !)
g_woodend said:
What a great little device the N2 is. Having bought Chinese phones in the past and been stung by the many notification issues and restrictions I was worried about buying this but so far - all good.
No issues at all (UK based) - all notifications working as expected, even Ring doorbell which I couldn't get working on a Vivo phone.
Banking apps working fine.
Battery life is amazing.
Only downside so far is my Galaxy Watch won't connect but that's no biggie.
Love the form factor and getting rid of my S23 Ultra (and watch !)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pertaining to galaxy watch, try the steps in my post to get it to work.. after that u have to check permissions and auto launch permissions..
Post in thread 'Which SmartWatch with Find N ?' https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/which-smartwatch-with-find-n.4564227/post-88443823
I though the N2 had the same notifications issue as the original N? i.e. only 5 custom apps?
I absolutely agree, a few little niggles, as expected with it being a Chinese rom, but no deal breakers, other maybe android auto, really miss listening to my podcasts, hoping against hope that they see how many are being used outside China and release a global rom 🫰

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