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I never thought there would come a day when I would say this about a manufacturer skin, but I'm actually enjoying the .290 Sony 4.3 firmware better than CM 10.2 (And I've been a militant CM supporter/user since version 6.1 -- 4 years ago in the Froyo days). Is it just me or do the Sony firmware builds feel noticeably faster? Also the battery life seems to be improved vs CM and the keyboard is sized more appropriately, etc. etc. The small apps are a nifty feature.
Now I never had stability problems with CM 10.2 so it's not about that; CM 10.2 is rock solid, maybe even slightly more stable than the Stock sony firmware but the Sony firmware seems so so much faster! What say you XDA friends? Do you agree? Am I insane?
brashmadcap said:
I never thought there would come a day when I would say this about a manufacturer skin, but I'm actually enjoying the .290 Sony 4.3 firmware better than CM 10.2 (And I've been a militant CM supporter/user since version 6.1 -- 4 years ago in the Froyo days). Is it just me or do the Sony firmware builds feel noticeably faster? Also the battery life seems to be improved vs CM and the keyboard is sized more appropriately, etc. etc. The small apps are a nifty feature.
Now I never had stability problems with CM 10.2 so it's not about that; CM 10.2 is rock solid, maybe even slightly more stable than the Stock sony firmware but the Sony firmware seems so so much faster! What say you XDA friends? Do you agree? Am I insane?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you're, definitely, not insane and you're not alone on this! Exactly, my feelings. I've never thought that one day I'll start liking one manufacturer's skin/UI better than stock Android. But, it happened. And as a result, I've purchased the Xperia Z Ultra. Couldn't be happier more. It's the best phone I've ever owned.
I have to say/admit that I've faced more stability issues on CM more than Sony's firmwares. And for speed : Yes, it's definitely faster! IMHO, Sony's software engineers are done an excellent job for optimizing the software in the best possible way. There is zero lag, zero glitches etc. Just, very buttery smooth experience.
After the Mr. Kazuo Hirai's becoming the presiden and the CEO of Sony, many things have been changed fundamentally and noticeably. They got their innovation back as it was in 90s and 80s and one more time, started to make some unique products (QX10/QX100, first mirrorless Full-Frame camera except Leica : A7/A7r etc.) like walkman back in the day.
Hopefully, they'll keep this momentum and innovation as long as they can and we will benefit/enjoy of these great products.
Cheers,
Tarkan
brashmadcap said:
I never thought there would come a day when I would say this about a manufacturer skin, but I'm actually enjoying the .290 Sony 4.3 firmware better than CM 10.2 (And I've been a militant CM supporter/user since version 6.1 -- 4 years ago in the Froyo days). Is it just me or do the Sony firmware builds feel noticeably faster? Also the battery life seems to be improved vs CM and the keyboard is sized more appropriately, etc. etc. The small apps are a nifty feature.
Now I never had stability problems with CM 10.2 so it's not about that; CM 10.2 is rock solid, maybe even slightly more stable than the Stock sony firmware but the Sony firmware seems so so much faster! What say you XDA friends? Do you agree? Am I insane?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you're right, sony have done it right!
They've allowed you to keep the fluidity of stock android and have given you customization that dont slow the phone down
I couldnt be happier with my Z Ultra
It used to be that the smartphone SoC was very limited in terms of capability so a clean ROM is the better choice. But with rapid development and less bloat on Sony's UI (+cool design) and slower Android upgrade it is clearly better now. So yeah, not that much reason should i jump to CM ROM again (unlike previous RAZR MAXX of mine) for now Maybe if the Android 5.0 come out in the future i guess but for now no..
brashmadcap said:
I never thought there would come a day when I would say this about a manufacturer skin, but I'm actually enjoying the .290 Sony 4.3 firmware better than CM 10.2 (And I've been a militant CM supporter/user since version 6.1 -- 4 years ago in the Froyo days). Is it just me or do the Sony firmware builds feel noticeably faster? Also the battery life seems to be improved vs CM and the keyboard is sized more appropriately, etc. etc. The small apps are a nifty feature.
Now I never had stability problems with CM 10.2 so it's not about that; CM 10.2 is rock solid, maybe even slightly more stable than the Stock sony firmware but the Sony firmware seems so so much faster! What say you XDA friends? Do you agree? Am I insane?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Concur! I've had this device for about three months, & I really enjoy it also! I purchased it with the Sony UI in mind and sure enough it did not disappoint. I wasn't upset to see the Google edition released so soon after I bought this one. This is really the longest I've ever went without root also, as most prior phones did not make the 30 day mark.
I honestly would be happy with root access on the stock Sony Rom, however with all the confusion of root methods / model numbers / TA partitions / possibility of losing LTE, I'm just really trying to be patient. I kept in mind that buying such a large (under the radar phone) my slow my ability to tinker with it, but it's beginning to a bit of a hassle without root.
I recently accepted the 4.3 update, & the speed and mellow performance was noticed immediately. I was trying to stay on 4.2 as I had read different threads saying it was able to be rooted as oppose to 4.3 .290 but as of recently that seems to have changed now... This whole phone's process seems extremely confusing, and I'm tired of reading different contradicting threads .....and it's never a good idea to start playing with your phone when your frustrated & uninformed so I guess I'll just hang out a bit longer until things seem clearer....
I am with you guys.
Although on Note 2 I did not go with any AOSP except from the usual testing, but always came back to stock because of Spen features.
With the Ultra, this stock rom is so light, smooth and plus I keep the phone features plus it has been designed better to use the larger screen...I am VERY impressed with the Sony Rom so I dont see myself flashing anything but Sony based Roms.
I enjoy my phone now more than just using it to flash new stuff trying to get it to be better
Ah after I try a lot of custom ROM
monxDIFIED is my daily ROM
It is Sony base because I prefer stock app
FM Radio
Stock Camera
If I can install two stock app in CM base ROM like Carbon ROM
I may think using CM base ROM as my daily drive
That's common and you are not alone. I too am using the Stock 4.3 without any intention of flashing other ROMs (I do really love flashing as I had nearly flashed every Android phone I have ever owned)
I'm back on stock after a day on GPe. I love AOSP and the GPe ROM is amazing, but I tend to always end up back on stock again. Not sure what it is, but it's solid as a rock, and I know exactly how it works and what it does. No surprises. I feel safe using it, so I guess that's why? Xposed has also changed the way I use ROMs. No longer do I have to flash ROMs if I want a weird feature, I just install a module. I feel like I don't have to flash anything these days, except for when I want a different environment/UI.
In not that tired of Sony's UI quite yet (but I'm slowly getting there), but I'll probably migrate to the GPe full time down the road. BUT, official 4.4 is on its way, so it'll be really exciting to see how it'll be.
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
LordManhattan said:
I'm back on stock after a day on GPe. I love AOSP and the GPe ROM is amazing, but I tend to always end up back on stock again. Not sure what it is, but it's solid as a rock, and I know exactly how it works and what it does. No surprises. I feel safe using it, so I guess that's why? Xposed has also changed the way I use ROMs. No longer do I have to flash ROMs if I want a weird feature, I just install a module. I feel like I don't have to flash anything these days, except for when I want a different environment/UI.
In not that tired of Sony's UI quite yet (but I'm slowly getting there), but I'll probably migrate to the GPe full time down the road. BUT, official 4.4 is on its way, so it'll be really exciting to see how it'll be.
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im back running stock UI as well (own rom with Dogg tweaks), and am more or less happy with it.
Cant wait for 4.4 stock (not here today yet)
I had a Nexus 7 and I ran AOKP, I had an Nexus 4 and I ran AOKP, I had a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and I ran CyanogenMod. Today I switched to Sony Xperia Z Ultra and I don't want to switch to AOSP. It never happened before, but I feel like Stock ROM is good
my galaxy tab is always on another rom, after that i had asus padfone, which had no development at all. and z ultra makes me not want to change to another rom at all. loving the stock, dunno why. I'm still on 4.2 and for me it's pretty smooth and fluid already i dont even need to upgrade.
Recently get an OTA for 4.3, but there's no way to root it in a simple way. tempting to root using jackie's way or flashing monx but im still too lazy to do it, still enjoyin my current 4.2 haha
I think sony did a good job here
I'm with you too dude. For me it's close enough to stock not to piss me off, their skin is simple and black base (better for battery), and I like some of the bloatware too.
I have deleted a lot, but that's another thing I like, I was able to delete or freeze most of what I didn't want without needing root. On touchwizz practically nothing could be deleted without root.
For me, Sony have worked it really well, bugs aside, and 290 is perfect IMHO except bluetooth.
I love cm, don't get me wrong, I just don't need it as much with Sony as I did with Samsung.
Sent from my C6833 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Same here, actually i'm still on 4.2.2. Still amazed with stock rom, looks good and stays smooth and fast. I can endless opening apps, not any hick up. OOM works unnoticed, and don't need to restart device. On my old LG 3d i changed roms and kernels continously. My son his tab2 flashed a hour after purchase. My Acer A700 running CM10.1 unfortunately my daughter jumped on screen i need to order new screen/digitizer.
But i'm surpised with myself that i'm still on stock and don't want to flash. Only reason for me to flash would be working miracast with my LG 55LM750S.
I'm back on the GPe ROM I was bored yesterday, so the only thing to do when i'm bored is to install or flash something. I'm still amazed how everything is running so smooth and i have still to find a bug. I haven't found a single one. I find it funny that we went from AOSP ROMs that had their fair share of problems, to a AOSP ROM that is perfect like THAT.
I guess i'll keep using GPe for now, but i find some small things to be a little annoying. The volume is rather strange. It can be really quiet on one level, and be really loud on the next one, which makes it very annoying since i have to try to find the sweet spot. The stock ROM is much better at this. The quick toggles are also quite bad. Why do i have to press and HOLD to activate/deactivate a feature? Why can't i just tap a toggle like on CM? One tap on AOSP will open the settings for that feature, and someone at Google should be shot in the face. Well, that's about it really
I agree, been on and off Cm9-10 for years with some stints on Samsung's JB, but these ROMs rock. Only complaint is WIFI is a bit flakey. I don't even have a reason to root.
I have both a C6833 and Tablet Z.
Sent from my C6833 using xda app-developers app
With my ex Galaxy S3 I went from stock to CM in like 4/6 months, and from there I just wanted to change phone like every day.
I guess I just want this to be my phone for a long time, therefore I'll wait to transform it to see if the stock rom satisfies me long enough to get to the official 4.4.2 update.
Which, I bet will be the last "quick" update.
After that I'm sure we will see 4.5, but at a super slow pace.
Anyway, I need time to install and backup everything to begin trying the GPe, and with a 6yo daughter and a 40days son I really don't have much left... XD
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
fastest83 said:
With my ex Galaxy S3 I went from stock to CM in like 4/6 months, and from there I just wanted to change phone like every day.
I guess I just want this to be my phone for a long time, therefore I'll wait to transform it to see if the stock rom satisfies me long enough to get to the official 4.4.2 update.
Which, I bet will be the last "quick" update.
After that I'm sure we will see 4.5, but at a super slow pace.
Anyway, I need time to install and backup everything to begin trying the GPe, and with a 6yo daughter and a 40days son I really don't have much left... XD
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats! I guess that's why we haven't really seen you around here that much lately, but you have a brand new boy in your house now so that's expected
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
LordManhattan said:
Congrats! I guess that's why we haven't really seen you around here that much lately, but you have a brand new boy in your house now so that's expected
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I try to keep up with everything but now even Tapatalk is against me (meaning the new interface is fugly as hell).
Anyway, I'm curious, does the GPe support multiple users like on the Nexus 7? It is a fantastic feature as it keeps my daughter within the fence of her few apps...
That may be a feature I'd be interested in...
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
fastest83 said:
Thanks! I try to keep up with everything but now even Tapatalk is against me (meaning the new interface is fugly as hell).
Anyway, I'm curious, does the GPe support multiple users like on the Nexus 7? It is a fantastic feature as it keeps my daughter within the fence of her few apps...
That may be a feature I'd be interested in...
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, i have no idea. I think it "pops up" when you activate tablet mode. I know that CM supports it though, but since GPe build is strictly made for the ZU, Sony may have removed the feature (i can't prove it though).
Just a word on my own experience regarding the upgrading of my Nexus 10.
Actually I have two because one was stolen and then returned to me - but after I replaced it.
Both of my tablets with 4.4 installed have been great. They did everything I wanted without any problem. Why did I bother to upgrade to Lolipop? Well because I love gadgets and the latest technology.
As soon as I went to 5.0, there was a huge deterioration in the quality of the wireless connection. I had my other non-upgraded Nexus to compare with and it was clear that there was a big speed difference, connection difficulties, and sometime wireless dropouts.
I was very pleased when 5.01 was released because I had read that this owuld fix the wireless problems.
It didn't. Exactly the same problems. No improvement at all - and I had my 4.4 tablet to compare with.
Last weekend, I finally found the time to revert to 4.4 using the WugFresh Nexus toolkit.
Absolutely brilliantly easy to do. Took about 20 minutes and I was restored to 4.4.
There has been an immediate improvement in the performance of the tablet so far as wireless connectivity is concerned. It's like night and day.
Frankly, I'm puzzled as to what benefits there are from a Lolipop upgrade. It's certainly not the next big thing, by any stroke of the imagination.
I understand that 5.02 will be released in sometime this month. I suppose that I will try it out but generally I would advise people to stay with 4.4. It is a well developed mature OS. Is there a need to change?
The upgrade quality is quite hit and miss by what I'm reading. Both my Oneplus one and Nexus 10 run a custom build of 5.0.1 and I haven't encountered any problems that are being reported everywhere. I wish with tech troubleshooting there was a "one size fits all" solution but that's utopian thinking. I've upgraded and am finding the tweaks in the functionality quite useful, but the main reason for the upgrade has been the looks. You could try a custom ROM based on 5.0.2 seeing that you're familiar with the rooting toolkit anyways
I think battery life on my nexus 10 has taken a slight hit but it's nothing that I would revert back to 4.4 for. Oneplus one just runs like a nuclear reactor with any ROM
I sideloaded 5.0 via Wugfresh shortly after it came out and then reverted to 4.4 two days later.I had no special problems aside from the unavailability of Xposed framework, which is a deal-breaker for me. I have 4.4 set up the way I like it (including many "Lollipop" UI elements) and didn't find anything in 5.x that would justify giving that up.
ace9988 said:
The upgrade quality is quite hit and miss by what I'm reading. Both my Oneplus one and Nexus 10 run a custom build of 5.0.1 and I haven't encountered any problems that are being reported everywhere. I wish with tech troubleshooting there was a "one size fits all" solution but that's utopian thinking. I've upgraded and am finding the tweaks in the functionality quite useful, but the main reason for the upgrade has been the looks. You could try a custom ROM based on 5.0.2 seeing that you're familiar with the rooting toolkit anyways
I think battery life on my nexus 10 has taken a slight hit but it's nothing that I would revert back to 4.4 for. Oneplus one just runs like a nuclear reactor with any ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. I just want a standard rom - rooted. Improved looks would be nice but if it means sacrificing connectivity then I'll stick with 4.4.
I have to say that while I had 5.01 installed, I did get the impression that it was really just about looks.
I found the double entry screen - swipe to reveal pin screen - and then pin code to access - very lumpy and unnecessary.
I suppose that I will try 5.02 when it arrives but I'll be quick to revert if there is any deterioration in existing 4.4 functionality.
I expect that 5.XX is really just intended to work correctly the new 64bit gen of devices
It sure is a mystery why there are such a variety of experiences switching to lollipop. Mine has been all positive, and the improvement in smoothness alone was worth it. In KK there was such a jitter or stutter that was most noticeable when scrolling through screens or app drawer. It's either gone or barely there at times. Which makes sense, there were supposed performance improvements in 5.0.
If you're unsure about upgrading don't assume your experience will be like anyone else's. It's worth it if your N10 likes the taste of lollipops better than kit kats. You can always make a nandroid backup before trying.
I too reverted to 4.4: WiFi issues on lollipop are a deal breaker, and being able to use xposed (pie controls plus a few minor tweaks) on 4.4 is a nice plus.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
I had these same issues tried everything to sort the slow WiFi and the constant drop outs ,just by chance I changed the channel on the router and bingo! It cured all the issues I was having so something worth trying before giving up on lollipop.
I was hoping that 5.02 would fix the WiFi problems - it didn't. My tablet is downgrading to 4.4.4
Saw too many negative comments, and didn't want to lose xposed modules. Never upgraded!
P.S.
Lollipop is the Vista/Windows ME of Android!
Dead Cookies leave no trails...
Same issues for me. A few times a day I get dropouts, then authentication problem on my WiFi, but after a reboot it connects without any hicks. Worst update ever. I'm also thinking of going back to 4.4.4.
I have both Nexus 5 and Nexus 10. Been installed CM-Nightly build regularly. Only Nexus 10 experienced wifi issues. Just like mentioned here from different members, dropouts and authentication errors. Toggle wifi on/off will have it up awhile.
I live with this problems since 5.01 out. With now 5.1 on horizon, I hope we will have this issue fixed. Otherwise, I am going back to 4.4 in Nexus 10.
hornedfiend said:
Same issues for me. A few times a day I get dropouts, then authentication problem on my WiFi, but after a reboot it connects without any hicks. Worst update ever. I'm also thinking of going back to 4.4.4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no experience with flashing on sony devices but I have on just about everything else. Any particular version (google play or stock) that I should pick over the other for flashing roms and potentially (hopefully) marshmallow? Any stock version numbers I should make sure I am not on to avoid being unable to get past rooting security, etc? Thanks in advance!
I would recommend you to get the Non-Gpe version over the gpe version because there are more developers supporting ROM development for the Non-Gpe version. And also there are GPE ROMs for Non-Gpe version. So there is no specific need to get the GPE version.
Sent from my Xperia Z Ultra C6802
Also, be sure to get one with an unlockable bootloader, or else you're screwed, so you should pretty much stay away from carrier version of it. Gaining root on an unlocked bootloader isn't an issue. Just flash or hootboot a kernel with recovery (since Sony devices do not have an integrated recovery), and flash SuperSU. That's it.
Other than that, nothing particular you should look out for. The GPe version might get 6.0 soon (we have no idea if it'll actually get upgraded to 6.0), and we'll be able to easily port it over to our regular Ultra. There are also AOSP 6.0 builds out there, but they are not daily driver material yet.
Ive flashed,rooted and romed a ton to. I just recently got the z ultra. To me its hands down the best device ive owned. Ive had htc,note,note2,3,and 4,lg g3 and 4,tablets of the same above....z ultra is just as snappy. That being said,the cons are,its kinda fragile,dont stick it in your back pocket then jump in a car/truck. Well,not fragile,huge..sweet display.
As far as flashing its definitely different. No stock recovery. Not to worry though,nut made a installer for pc that will flash duel recoveries philz touch/twrp. And installs SU. Like the ever helpful kloas said dont buy a carrier locked device. Att,verizon,T-mobile. International version,bought from Amazon or the like. Sony allows bootloader unlocking. Devs also made a nifty lil tool for that. It wont come unlocked but its either allowed or not. This can be found within the dialer. You wont be disappointed with the phone. Even if u did get a locked bootloader one,its still able to gain root and flash roms. Im sticking with the z ultra till the price drops on the nexus 6. Good luck
harley1rocker said:
Ive flashed,rooted and romed a ton to. I just recently got the z ultra. To me its hands down the best device ive owned. Ive had htc,note,note2,3,and 4,lg g3 and 4,tablets of the same above....z ultra is just as snappy. That being said,the cons are,its kinda fragile,dont stick it in your back pocket then jump in a car/truck. Well,not fragile,huge..sweet display.
As far as flashing its definitely different. No stock recovery. Not to worry though,nut made a installer for pc that will flash duel recoveries philz touch/twrp. And installs SU. Like the ever helpful kloas said dont buy a carrier locked device. Att,verizon,T-mobile. International version,bought from Amazon or the like. Sony allows bootloader unlocking. Devs also made a nifty lil tool for that. It wont come unlocked but its either allowed or not. This can be found within the dialer. You wont be disappointed with the phone. Even if u did get a locked bootloader one,its still able to gain root and flash roms. Im sticking with the z ultra till the price drops on the nexus 6. Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just ordered mine. C6833 off amazon. Pretty excited for it to show up. I had the nexus 6 and was never really satisfied with its performance. Then I got a lumia 1520 for kicks, loved the size, and wanted something equally big or bigger in android. I really like the stock dpi of the non-gpe version. About time a manufacturer realizes were not buying bigger phones to have the same screen real estate, just bigger. I want more space, more icons, more content.
loudog3114 said:
Just ordered mine. C6833 off amazon. Pretty excited for it to show up. I had the nexus 6 and was never really satisfied with its performance. Then I got a lumia 1520 for kicks, loved the size, and wanted something equally big or bigger in android. I really like the stock dpi of the non-gpe version. About time a manufacturer realizes were not buying bigger phones to have the same screen real estate, just bigger. I want more space, more icons, more content.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ZU deff has that. The nexus 6 was the phone i wanted. Ended up with this giant. And love it. When you first get the phone there tools that do all the work for you. Like,backing up TA. Gaining root and at the same time installs 2 recoveries. Theres a tool for unlocking the bootloader as well as flashing. Root, recovery and unlocked BL. All u need!!!!\m/
Out of the box the Nexus 6 looks like its made for your grandfather to use. 4 Icons wide on the desktop, and everything super big. Changing the DPI on it is a must. I ran mine at 460, which bumped the google launcher up to 6 icons, wide.
The Z4 Tablet is possibly my dream tablet, it has a great screen, microSD slot, good battery life and it seems dev-friendly.
I've got no Sony experience and I see surprisingly little custom ROM development. How 'dev-friendly' is this tablet? Does Sony provide source codes, drivers? Are they easy in unlocking bootloaders and flashing stuff like radios? Does it seem likely custom post-Marshmallow ROMs will be cooked in 1,5-2 years from now on?
do some research!
e.g. here "Anybody work on root?" much off topic posts unfortunately
there are two section with the title "Development" here ...
look at the phones: Z3+ and Z5 (nearly the same sources)
and all you need with almost useful documentation in SONY's Developer world:
http://developer.sonymobile.com/
DHGE said:
e.g. here "Anybody work on root?" much off topic posts unfortunately
there are two section with the title "Development" here ...
look at the phones: Z3+ and Z5 (nearly the same sources)
and all you need with almost useful documentation in SONY's Developer world:
http://developer.sonymobile.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I admit my question was a bit lazy, but it'd be pretty easy for people like you with lots of experience/knowledge on this Sony platform to give me a general idea.
I ordered a Z4T, but while reading this subforom while waiting for the shipment, things start to itch me a bit.
I'll anwer my own questions the way I see it now: Sony is pretty developer-friendly by providing source code and build instructions, but it's pretty buggy and there are very few developers doing stuff for the Z4T. I guess it's because of the bad availability of the device and the relatively small user base. The people @ FXP build ROMs, but I haven't heard much about how useful these builds are. If anything, I heard people downgrading from the 5.1.1 build. Rooting is only possible by unlocking the bootloader and flashing @AndroPlus' custom kernel. His current TWRP build has a bug that makes it impossible to restore a device backup.
Sony provides the option for unlocking the bootloader, but you'll completely lose your warranty. Furthermore, the TA partition will be irreverably changed and you'll lose functionality.
Marhsmallow has been announced, so there's that.
SONY's devices are good compromise for me
@jelbo
Good summary!
My opinion:
The SONY devices are good hardware. I like them because they are water resistant since I lost a phone after cycling in heavy rain.
I have a Tablet xperia Z with CyanogenMod on it. Android 5.1
The start with that 3rd party ROM was slow and it was quite buggy. Also battery life was worse than with stock ROM.
I have a SAMSUNG Galxy S5 phone. They have Knox-protection on their devices. Quite evil compared to SONY. Because it was released with Kitkat I could root it via exploit and keep Knox untriggered. I could get CyanogenMod, even Marshmallow Alphas for the phone. But the drivers are not that good and the battery life with stock is very good (up to four days for me).
So I will keep that phone on stock and I used Titanium Backup to get rid of SAMSUNG's bloatware.
SAMSUNG do not provide documentation and many of their SOCs are proprietary - no chance to do any development for these devices.
Long post short: SONY is very open and relatively easy to hack on their devices.
Better (now) in price and features than the Nexus devices IMO. I would never buy a device without any chance to do development on it.
I think the bug in TWRP will get fixed soon (has bitten me once).
Thanks for your kind reply
DHGE said:
@jelbo
Good summary!
My opinion:
The SONY devices are good hardware. I like them because they are water resistant since I lost a phone after cycling in heavy rain.
I have a Tablet xperia Z with CyanogenMod on it. Android 5.1
The start with that 3rd party ROM was slow and it was quite buggy. Also battery life was worse than with stock ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds familiar. In my experience with the last few phones I've had, AOSP-based ROMs were always a tad slower and less battery-friendly than stock or stock based ROMs. For example, the stock 'Google Play Edition' ROMs ran like a dream on my HTC One m7, but others were always less smooth / battery friendly.
So, for the Z4T I'm not partularly worried about the lack of 3rd party ROMs. I'll be fine with stock rooted. But for the longer term, because of the unpopularity, I think it's unlikely to see much going on in a year from now on and that kind of makes me doubt my purchase.
I have a SAMSUNG Galxy S5 phone. They have Knox-protection on their devices. Quite evil compared to SONY.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but not more evil than Sony I think. Samsung's bootloader unlock 'trips' Knox and it'll disable features like secure storage and services that depend on it. It's also irreversible. It's an awful lot like Sony's irreversible TA partition 'tripping'.
Because it was released with Kitkat I could root it via exploit and keep Knox untriggered. I could get CyanogenMod, even Marshmallow Alphas for the phone. But the drivers are not that good and the battery life with stock is very good (up to four days for me).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could root my Galaxy S6 using an exploit, without tripping Knox. I'm running 5.1.1 with an engineering bootloader, while still having my Knox untriggered. It's a luxury I'm not gonna have on the Z4T, unless an exploit will be found.
SAMSUNG do not provide documentation and many of their SOCs are proprietary - no chance to do any development for these devices.
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Yes, it's one of the reasons I want to avoid a Samsung as my new tablet. Exynos is a black box, so custom, stock-based ROMs will be the best you can get. BUT, I'm doubting now. Custom, stock-based ROMs are fine with me - as you mention, battery life is great. And on top of that, Samsung is so popular that lots of development is being done. I think chances are bigger to see the Marshmallow successor being ported for older Samsung devices than we'll see on this Sony Z4 Tablet in the future. But that's an assumption, I don't have Sony experience, but I see things re pretty dead here, even though the device was released quite a long time ago.
Long post short: SONY is very open and relatively easy to hack on their devices.
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I'm not really seeing that yet, but again, I've only looked at the Z4T now.
Better (now) in price and features than the Nexus devices IMO. I would never buy a device without any chance to do development on it.
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The microSD is an essential part for me. If the Pixel C would have had a microSD-slot I'd have chosen that. Development and future updates are a huge selling point for Nexus devices.
I think the bug in TWRP will get fixed soon (has bitten me once).
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Let's hope so.
Hopefully the Z4T will get some more love soon, as I have just sent my Pixel C back and taken a punt at a open box Amazon warehouse deal last night with 40% off the LTE
I love my Z3CT, Z3C and Ultra, which have had great support from the devs, so am expecting the Z4 to be the best hardware of the lot, but would also love a root method while keeping the bootloader locked for now.
Heres to hoping perhaps MM will lead to some kernel exploits.
scoobydu said:
[...] as I have just sent my Pixel C back [...]
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What made you return your Pixel C?
I love my Z3CT, Z3C and Ultra, which have had great support from the devs [...]
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Did it take a while to get to that point? Do you think the Z4T will have the same support?
jelbo said:
What made you return your Pixel C?
Did it take a while to get to that point? Do you think the Z4T will have the same support?
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Dont get me started on the Pixel C from Google UK pricing error on day 1 and their refusal for a week to refund or swapout 32g for 64g devices, due to their error; then I had a hardware fault with the screen not responding after 24hrs of use. I found their support just awful More issues were being reported in the xda forum and I decided I wasn't going to spend £550 to beta test for google. Nice solid device but heavier that the Z4 and sliding the keybard across the keyboard to remove it, just made me nervous of scratching something everytime I did it.
To be honest the Z4 forums are very quiet, but so were the pixel c's; as a few people were commenting.
I had to root my Z3 Tab by loading the Z3 phone firmware and rooting that, as that had a kernel vunerability and the kernel on the Z3 tab didn't.
Once the Z3 phone firmware was loaded and rooted, I could backup my TA partition and reload the Z3 tab firmware, rooted.
Its generally the phones that get root and the tabs have to utilise what they can, unless of course a dev has the tab.
The tab forums got much busier once the device had a less risky root method.
Sad to see that Nut hasn't got a recovery done, but I am assuming that due to root only being available by unlocking and losing TA, so limited testers, but haven't had time to read the history yet.
I have to say though that the Z4 is fantastic in comparison to the Pixel C and I am very glad I have reverted to the device that I know especially at £360 for the LTE version + keyboard on Amazon open box. First time using and the device is pristine. To be fair the Z4 is many iterations of getting it right and the Pixel is googles first try. Once its at Pixel C v4 it will probably be very good!
Heres to hoping MM is officially released soon, so the chances of rooting may get better.
from Nut
This is the reason why I didn't release XZDR for the Z3+/Z4/TabZ4 yet, too much difference with the Shinano and older device trees.
Edit:
That should be solved with 2.9 though...
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Seems the 64 bits is a material change, so things need to progress in 2.9 from my early readings.
scoobydu said:
Dont get me started on the Pixel C from Google UK pricing error on day 1 and their refusal for a week to refund or swapout 32g for 64g devices, due to their error; then I had a hardware fault with the screen not responding after 24hrs of use. I found their support just awful More issues were being reported in the xda forum and I decided I wasn't going to spend £550 to beta test for google. Nice solid device but heavier that the Z4 and sliding the keybard across the keyboard to remove it, just made me nervous of scratching something everytime I did it.
To be honest the Z4 forums are very quiet, but so were the pixel c's; as a few people were commenting.
I had to root my Z3 Tab by loading the Z3 phone firmware and rooting that, as that had a kernel vunerability and the kernel on the Z3 tab didn't.
Once the Z3 phone firmware was loaded and rooted, I could backup my TA partition and reload the Z3 tab firmware, rooted.
Its generally the phones that get root and the tabs have to utilise what they can, unless of course a dev has the tab.
The tab forums got much busier once the device had a less risky root method.
Sad to see that Nut hasn't got a recovery done, but I am assuming that due to root only being available by unlocking and losing TA, so limited testers, but haven't had time to read the history yet.
I have to say though that the Z4 is fantastic in comparison to the Pixel C and I am very glad I have reverted to the device that I know especially at £360 for the LTE version + keyboard on Amazon open box. First time using and the device is pristine. To be fair the Z4 is many iterations of getting it right and the Pixel is googles first try. Once its at Pixel C v4 it will probably be very good!
Heres to hoping MM is officially released soon, so the chances of rooting may get better.
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Thanks for your reply, good info. I'm glad to hear some reassuring comments on the Z4T. Looks like you had a great deal as well. In the Netherlands they're hard to get. I payed €635 for the WiFi model... I'm still doubting a little bit to go for a discounted Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 for €380 though. I read it'll even get Marshmallow in April. Price difference is pretty big and there's lots of stuff for it already.
I'll have a look in some Xperia phone subforums on XDA.
jelbo said:
Thanks for your reply, good info. I'm glad to hear some reassuring comments on the Z4T. Looks like you had a great deal as well. In the Netherlands they're hard to get. I payed €635 for the WiFi model... I'm still doubting a little bit to go for a discounted Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 for €380 though. I read it'll even get Marshmallow in April. Price difference is pretty big and there's lots of stuff for it already.
I'll have a look in some Xperia phone subforums on XDA.
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Yes there are no deals on the Z4 Tab in the UK and all the new prices are the same retail price.
Thats why I decided to take a chance on the Amazon one, as I could return it if it was damaged or anything; and normal 12 months warranty with Amazon.
For me I haven't had a Samsung since my Tab 7.7 and wouldn't personally have another, but each to their own. The devs were always complaining at Samsung not releasing all the source code to their SoC's, wheereas Sony seemed to be more dev friendly.
The Z3 Tab is fantastic if you didn't mind the 8inch, but I am hoping once the Z3+ root is forthcoming and general 64bit root/recovery is done, then we will have some progress; he says, not being able to help the devs on whats seems a lot of work.
jelbo said:
I've got no Sony experience and I see surprisingly little custom ROM development. How 'dev-friendly' is this tablet? Does Sony provide source codes, drivers? Are they easy in unlocking bootloaders and flashing stuff like radios? Does it seem likely custom post-Marshmallow ROMs will be cooked in 1,5-2 years from now on?
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It's a shame that such a good device is so low supported by free developers even though it seems it's more open by the Sony in comparison with Samsung.
I noticed that some people think in the thread that not so much users have this device. I have an old phone so called HTC desire HD which was released in the faraway 2010, it is excellent supported as it even has the contemporary android 6.0. I don't believe that there are more HTC decide HD users rather than xperia tablet z4 users. Moreover, I see as my comrade-users of our device crying ? everyday on a Russian 4pda.ru site, that we wait but there's no a good root method, there is no a good description or a video showing us how does the only custom ROM work. What works and what is broken. And just not seeing good news over the course of several months. Of course, I am very disappointed in dramatic fashion, but I hope The change will come.
Thank you for attention!)
cut the drama
- you should not compare a phone to a tablet (numberwise)
- look into the fora for phones Z3+/Z4 and Z5
they have nearly identical SoCs, differences a sometimes build options
- there is a HUGE xperia cross devices forum here with tons of additional info
- the Z4 Tablet became available in June 2015
- the first sources from SONY showed up in .... June 2015
- I rooted the device in July - having done no Android programming or rooting before
- I ordered the device after researching (see below) and before there was root available because my findings showed that there would be sources and documentation from SONY so that if all else fails I would get later a custom rom or could even roll my own
- a video for "seeing" developing/hacking? Dream on...
- there is lots of documentation (even video) available, maybe no video on how to do a web search or an xda search
- searching (and reading and trying things out) worked for me - coming from SAMSUNG phones with no prior development experience on Android ... TRY IT
DHGE said:
- you should not compare a phone to a tablet (numberwise)
- look into the fora for phones Z3+/Z4 and Z5
they have nearly identical SoCs, differences a sometimes build options
- there is a HUGE xperia cross devices forum here with tons of additional info
- the Z4 Tablet became available in June 2015
- the first sources from SONY showed up in .... June 2015
- I rooted the device in July - having done no Android programming or rooting before
- I ordered the device after researching (see below) and before there was root available because my findings showed that there would be sources and documentation from SONY so that if all else fails I would get later a custom rom or could even roll my own
- a video for "seeing" developing/hacking? Dream on...
- there is lots of documentation (even video) available, maybe no video on how to do a web search or an xda search
- searching (and reading and trying things out) worked for me - coming from SAMSUNG phones with no prior development experience on Android ... TRY IT
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Good summary.
Small point, but the rooting element is by unlocking the bootloader, which not all will want to do. It is though an option that exists and we are thankful for those that have done so in order to progress the dev support.
I know it's all suppositions for now and nothing has been announced or can be confirmed but following Sony's support for its previous tablets, do you think the Z3 Tablet will get N ? I just bought one and although I already prepared myself to accept the fact that if N does reach the device, it will probably be its last major update, I could reconsider my purchase if you guys say "no way, period". It'd be a pity to miss the long awaited multi-windows update...
Thanks !
Not likely. With the impending release of the X series, our Z3TCs are now 4 generations old.
Considering these bad boys launched with JELLY BEAN (!!!) we're damn lucky to have marshmallow.
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smnc said:
Not likely. With the impending release of the X series, our Z3TCs are now 4 generations old.
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I wouldn't be so pessimistic. Xperia Z3 currently running as testing platform for N Developer Preview, most like it will receive N-update in the aftermath. And Z3 Tablet is younger than it's phone counterpart.
And we still have Z2-series, which are still receiving updates. And I highly doubt that Sony will simultaneously cut two generations of Z devices from updates
Yes, actually i'm 99% sure we will get it:
- Sony releases a line each 6 months so the X series doesn't make us "4 generations old"
- There is a N preview for the Z3 series, so they are working on android N for the Z3 (if not they would have released the preview for the Z5 or the X)
- If the Z3 recieves android N then we should get it too, because our tablet is from the Z3 line with the same processor very similar hardware and actually newer than the Z3 phones
- The Z1 got Lollipop but not Marhsmallow, the Z2 got Marshmallow (and it's very unlikely they get android N) so the Z3 it's going to stop in Android N.
The thing i don't have hope is for Android M
it's difficult to say that the tablet will get "N", but if the tablet get it, will be in 2017. only we have to wait..
Sorry for my english.
We certainly have the horsepower, but perhaps not the user base to justify it? So, let's yell real loud!
I would be sad if we don't official get N simply because the custom development of this device on XDA is one of the worst I've ever encountered. I noticed that this beautiful powerful device is really underrated in the Android community. Currently, even though several regions have already released Marshmallow for this device, nobody knows a reliable way to root it, nor can anybody confirm that it is successfully rooted on 6.0.1.
Furthermore, since NUTs XZDualRecovery development has stalled completely, I really don't know how long a bootloader locked root method will stay alive. On YouTube most of the videos of this tablet is about the unboxing after the release but that's all. I really like this tablet and it has received good reviews, but the popularity is pretty much non existent which I find it strange.
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ChiDi9901 said:
I would be sad if we don't official get N simply because the custom development of this device on XDA is one of the worst I've ever encountered. I noticed that this beautiful powerful device is really underrated in the Android community. Currently, even though several regions have already released Marshmallow for this device, nobody knows a reliable way to root it, nor can anybody confirm that it is successfully rooted on 6.0.1.
Furthermore, since NUTs XZDualRecovery development has stalled completely, I really don't know how long a bootloader locked root method will stay alive. On YouTube most of the videos of this tablet is about the unboxing after the release but that's all. I really like this tablet and it has received good reviews, but the popularity is pretty much non existent which I find it strange.
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I agree the development for this tablet is almost nonexistent, but you can have root on android M, you just need to flash 5.1 root with kingroot, install XZDualRecovery, flash prerooted zip of android M and done.
I really hope there will be an update to N. As of now, my tablet is completely stock and I hope to keep it that way. Just easier.
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Sony already confirmed Android N for this tablet.