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I love my S2 and now that it seems to have moved on, I thought I'd ask you guys if you have any recommendations on where to go next....
What phones out there stack up?
If you will remove touchwiz and install a custom rom, you will like the s4. s5 doesn't have much good rom development yet (mostly stock based roms).
For value, get the one plus one and if you can't get it, buy a nexus 5 (still perfectly fine for everyday use). The moto g 2014 is also very good too.
For best specs and probably best phone of 2014, I personally recommend the note 4. It feels premium and everything about it is awesome.
If you like front spacing speakers, get a htc one m8. Best speakers by far but average camera.
For best battery, I recommend s5 or one plus one. They both have large batteries and they last long too (due to 1080p screen resolution). S5 has ultra power saving mode, oneplus one doesn't. But on software side, oneplus one is superior).
If you like stock android right out of the box, the moto x 2014 is a no brainer. (Yes, not the nexus 6) However, not many developers have this phone yet.
For the best skinned interface, people (afaik) recommend an lg g2 or lg g3. Both getting cheaper and becoming a favourite for custom rom or kernel developers (like dorimanx for lg g2).
gsstudios said:
If you will remove touchwiz and install a custom rom, you will like the s4. s5 doesn't have much good rom development yet (mostly stock based roms).
For value, get the one plus one and if you can't get it, buy a nexus 5 (still perfectly fine for everyday use). The moto g 2014 is also very good too.
For best specs and probably best phone of 2014, I personally recommend the note 4. It feels premium and everything about it is awesome.
If you like front spacing speakers, get a htc one m8. Best speakers by far but average camera.
For best battery, I recommend s5 or one plus one. They both have large batteries and they last long too (due to 1080p screen resolution). S5 has ultra power saving mode, oneplus one doesn't. But on software side, oneplus one is superior).
If you like stock android right out of the box, the moto x 2014 is a no brainer. (Yes, not the nexus 6) However, not many developers have this phone yet.
For the best skinned interface, people (afaik) recommend an lg g2 or lg g3. Both getting cheaper and becoming a favourite for custom rom or kernel developers (like dorimanx for lg g2).
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Thanks mate that was really helpful!
If you like the size of the S2, you can try the sony xperia z1 compact or xperia z3 compact.
But i will my S2 till it dies. For me it is still fast enough with a custom rom :silly: And the devives with a snapdragen S400 (which has 4 cortex a7 cores) aren't really faster than our beloved S2 with 2 cortex a9 cores. Both has a clockrate ~1,2 ghz und the instruction per clock hasn't been improved.
I recently bought the THL 2015 and since there are battery production faults I'm am again searching for a new phone. But before I buy one again I want to know whether there are problems with this phone or other reasons to absolutely not buy this phone. How is the software support from Xiaomi for de Redmi Note 2 and has the hardware any problems?
Thanks!
Well, i just have one month with this device, and I never have had a xiaomi, but i can tell you my experience. First of all, i dont like how miui launcher looks like, but you can fix it installing a new one. Beside of this, miui has some nice features like a lock button in notification area, the posibility of unlock your phone with volume buttons, the phone vibrate when you are making a call and they answer so you dont have to put it over your ear, etc. But, something bad about miui is its bad Ram memory management. And about hardware, its a nice phone, but it doesnt have premium materials, and it isnt the best looking phone, but its helio x10 and 2gb of ram make a nice combination for just 150 EU. The only thing I dont like of this phone, is the lack of gorilla glass in screen, it seems that could be broken if you arent carefull. So, in my final opinion, its worth 150 EU, but the strong fact of this phone is its processor, so if it isnt what youre looking for, you better look for another one
adaltavo said:
Well, i just have one month with this device, and I never have had a xiaomi, but i can tell you my experience. First of all, i dont like how miui launcher looks like, but you can fix it installing a new one. Beside of this, miui has some nice features like a lock button in notification area, the posibility of unlock your phone with volume buttons, the phone vibrate when you are making a call and they answer so you dont have to put it over your ear, etc. But, something bad about miui is its bad Ram memory management. And about hardware, its a nice phone, but it doesnt have premium materials, and it isnt the best looking phone, but its helio x10 and 2gb of ram make a nice combination for just 150 EU. The only thing I dont like of this phone, is the lack of gorilla glass in screen, it seems that could be broken if you arent carefull. So, in my final opinion, its worth 150 EU, but the strong fact of this phone is its processor, so if it isnt what youre looking for, you better look for another one
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There is only one developper on this phone so this is the problem
I am also a former THL 2015 user and changed to this smartphone and I like it much more than the THL 2015 (dark grey - currently with Delirium AOSP v3).
On the Redmi Note 2 they use a similar glass like gorilla glas (dragontrail glass) but you can also buy a screen protection (Makibes Toughened Glass 0.33mm Screen Protector Film Cover Arc Edge For XIAOMI Redmi Note 2, very nice ~5$).
And as @adaltavo mentioned miui is not to everyones taste (has some ios feel to it and I missed the app drawer).
Differences to the THL 2015:
- from my point of view it didn't got as hot as the THL 2015
- no touch id (maybe if you wait a little longer you can buy the Redmi Note 2 Pro which features a touch ID - that's what the rumours say)
- Redmi Note 2 has better sound quality
- LED which features more than a red color xD
- better main camera (focuses better and better quality, similar speed to the THL 2015 to catch a picture)
- features "fast charging" (use a 5V 2A charger)
- Android L (THL 2015 has Kitkat) (I like Android L - I got used to it)
- ...
Hmm, as far as I am aware at least my phone Redmi Note 2 Prime does not support fast charging (the soc should support it, but obviously not enabled). For me the most serious issue is battery life.
Which rom are you using?
Just my 2 cents: I changed the MIUI with an AOSP ROM and I am satisfied.
The phone is great for the money and I don't have a cheap feeling especially having the great feature to replace completely the cover.
I found very few phones with that feature + 2 sims + external sd card ...
Thanks for your opinions. Since I have received a spare battery I will continue to use my THL 2015 for a while and wait for the Mi5 or the next generation of the Redmi Note. Or if the battery dies before any of those phones get released I will probably buy this one. I personally like MIUI so this isn't a problem and as for the battery life: I have an external power bank so I can charge it during the day if the battery gets to low. As you said there are a lot of good features like the dual sim and the external sd card slot so I guess for the price it is a good phone. Thanks a lot!
droidaem said:
Which rom are you using?
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Hello, well similar battery performance on all roms I have tried. I think like no more than 4.5 hours on WiFi, and no more 3.5 hrs 3G mostly web browsing. I am not sure what is sucking the battery so much, as MTK HELIO X10 is used in so many devices and battery seem ok on them. So it's either that, or the screen which in my case is TYANMA.
Try 5.10.22 dev ROM. I keep recommending it as it has been the best update so far. Just yesterday I got 6:17 SOT on wifi, and that's with watching streams on Twitch for a good chunk of time.
Sent from my Redmi Note 2
it's a good phone. not the best, but considering 150euro...
the most important feature i want from this phone is removable battery and external sd.
i figure the fixed battery is just a strategy feature they use to force you to change your device every 2 years(the battery will wear out). and in my opinion, an extra battery is always better than a bank.
the most disappointing about this phone is the battery life. it seems X10 is not that easy to handle. so if you get this phone, the rom i highly recommended is the 10.22. it has the best Soc control so far.
and now i am looking for a good battery life ASOP rom.
and in addition, there seems to be a seal problem at the front, which makes the front cam easy to have dust inside. not big problem since i barely use the from cam.
I agree with you man and I would add that the ability to replace completely the body is another feature non easy at all to find in a smartphone. if you don't break/scratch the screen you can replace battery and back cover and have a brand new phone when you want !
Yeah, but the thing is the replaceable battery phone is so rare these days. So I can almost see my day of compromise...
You see, I am used to be a milestone fan, If you know what I mean....
For me, the battery is no worse than any other phone that I have ever used. I can get 2 full days of moderate usage on a single charge. Mind you, I have Greenify running, and also 360 Security, both of which have battery saving features. Wakelock Detector will show you which apps/services are using up your juice - and you can "Freeze" the system apps that you don't need (with great caution). For example, I have frozen the system launcher (I use Nova), the Google Keyboard (I use SwiftKey), and the Documents app (which I don't need). I may yet freeze some more when I am feeling a bit braver....
DarthJabba9 said:
For me, the battery is no worse than any other phone that I have ever used. I can get 2 full days of moderate usage on a single charge. Mind you, I have Greenify running, and also 360 Security, both of which have battery saving features. Wakelock Detector will show you which apps/services are using up your juice - and you can "Freeze" the system apps that you don't need (with great caution). For example, I have frozen the system launcher (I use Nova), the Google Keyboard (I use SwiftKey), and the Documents app (which I don't need). I may yet freeze some more when I am feeling a bit braver....
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so which rom do you use right now? i am pretty much like to try it
MIUI V7 5.11.5 from MIUI France - http://www.needrom.com/download/miui-v7-5-11-5-redmi-note-2/
thanks a lot dude. i will try it soon.
it's france miui so i assume it is with gapps already?
sunbriel said:
Try 5.10.22 dev ROM. I keep recommending it as it has been the best update so far. Just yesterday I got 6:17 SOT on wifi, and that's with watching streams on Twitch for a good chunk of time.
Sent from my Redmi Note 2
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Better than any of the 5.11.xx updates? I see a lot of people saying good things about the 5.11.5
man0315 said:
thanks a lot dude. i will try it soon.
it's france miui so i assume it is with gapps already?
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Yes, it has gapps.
Probably the lack of NFC, that is, if you use it.
Oh, and I really don't think the red buttons look all that good. But a great phone otherwise.
Hi guys, I'm Hosso, sorry my poor English
Please let me know how is this phone in real life? Many mixed reviews are confusing me. Also please understand that I live in Mongolia and when I purchase something from US it will take 3-4 weeks to get here and purchase is not good/faulty then impossible to return, so I have to be very careful.
My current phone is Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and it is dying. When I compare SGNote 3 and Oneplus X in GSMArena I see almost same specs such as Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330. I installed Cyanogenmod on my SGNote 3 when CM was available and still with CM ever since.
I want a phone with good battery life, good camera and good GPS, because I do lots of traveling, hiking, camping and taking outdoor pictures. But this time I can spend only $250-$350.
If software is only an issue on Oneplus X then how is it perform in CM? I've been using all my previous phones with CM, I have very good experience with CM, if all problems is related to Oxygen OS then I'm happy to install CM. But how stable is current CM?
My current choices are below, if you were me which one would you choose? Also if there are any other recommendation please let me know.
- Oneplus X (Good price, looks nice, to me small is really good, for one handed use in cycling, driving, hiking etc. But unknown to this brand and there are so many mixed reviews are scaring me, specs are outdated) $249
- Nexus 5X (Looks nice, smaller, fingerprint scanner but mixed reviews, medium spec) $349
- Nexus 6 (Water resistant, good reviews but discontinued, too big) $349
I hope I find my solution here and I think this is the best community in the internet
Thank you guys.
Hosso
hbayar_morph said:
Hi guys, I'm Hosso, sorry my poor English
Please let me know how is this phone in real life? Many mixed reviews are confusing me. Also please understand that I live in Mongolia and when I purchase something from US it will take 3-4 weeks to get here and purchase is not good/faulty then impossible to return, so I have to be very careful.
My current phone is Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and it is dying. When I compare SGNote 3 and Oneplus X in GSMArena I see almost same specs such as Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330. I installed Cyanogenmod on my SGNote 3 when CM was available and still with CM ever since.
I want a phone with good battery life, good camera and good GPS, because I do lots of traveling, hiking, camping and taking outdoor pictures. But this time I can spend only $250-$350.
If software is only an issue on Oneplus X then how is it perform in CM? I've been using all my previous phones with CM, I have very good experience with CM, if all problems is related to Oxygen OS then I'm happy to install CM. But how stable is current CM?
My current choices are below, if you were me which one would you choose? Also if there are any other recommendation please let me know.
- Oneplus X (Good price, looks nice, to me small is really good, for one handed use in cycling, driving, hiking etc. But unknown to this brand and there are so many mixed reviews are scaring me, specs are outdated) $249
- Nexus 5X (Looks nice, smaller, fingerprint scanner but mixed reviews, medium spec) $349
- Nexus 6 (Water resistant, good reviews but discontinued, too big) $349
I hope I find my solution here and I think this is the best community in the internet
Thank you guys.
Hosso
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Why is your note 3 dying? Perhaps its better for you to buy a new battery (or other parts). Because in performance it will be almost the same.
My experience with opx is that it's the best < 140x70 mm with 5" device for me. Close followed is xiaomi mi4, but lack of amoled and design quality (aluminum trims) made me go for opx. My sot is stable around 6 hours with stock oos and root.
Mi4c has better battery life and better camera (when not tweaked). Mi5 has better hardware.
Huawei is an alternative too.
But both are less custom roms capable!
OPX has a tons of alternatives!
PS : it doesn't come from the US...
Well to be honest this OPX device maybe is not the best spec phone ever, but im my opinion for its price its a master piece, ther way it performs is absolutely great in every situation. From my view the important thing was to have a device with a good GPS, this phone is awesome at that, and of course, I wont use my phone to gaming but to work, that is the main point.
Everything depends on your necessities, mines are absolutely fulfilled with this phone.
Positive points are, overall performance and multitasking, its very fast 0 lag from my experience.
As negative I have some too, im honest, The gyroscope is not 100% precise, but nothing important just some little degrees.
And another point is that the back glass can get little scratches very easy.
I cant say nothign about that the gaming is bad cause I dont buy this device for gaming , instead of that I would have bough a gtx 970 for that purpose.
And the most important thing, and what for what I finallly decided to buy this phone, the magnificent team of independent developers, specially this community that bring us many possibilites and tweak our phones to be even more satisfied with them
Kéno40 said:
Mi4c has better battery life and better camera (when not tweaked). Mi5 has better hardware.
Huawei is an alternative too.
But both are less custom roms capable!
OPX has a tons of alternatives!
PS : it doesn't come from the US...
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Mi4C has touchscreen problems and no custom kernels. But a better CPU.
winesh said:
Why is your note 3 dying? Perhaps its better for you to buy a new battery (or other parts). Because in performance it will be almost the same.
My experience with opx is that it's the best < 140x70 mm with 5" device for me. Close followed is xiaomi mi4, but lack of amoled and design quality (aluminum trims) made me go for opx. My sot is stable around 6 hours with stock oos and root.
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Thank you guys for taking time to answers my questions to help me make my decision. I just ordered onyx OPX .
About my Note 3, last summer I have dropped it into the river. Technician said he fixed it but it is acting weirdly since then, specially last 2 months, such as randomly restarts, freezes etc, so annoying. And I'm starting to like small phones, after using my girlfriend's Galaxy S5, it is so easy to use when I'm in active situations
Considering buying one of these. They're fairly cheap second hand in perfect condition. And hardware seems decent enough. Right now i have a z3c which i've like a lot. But i thought i'd try just a slightly bigger phone. 4.8" would be perfect, but that's not really an option. But i'm concerned about development, if this phone is going to have a decent user base for development.
I do see that there's already a kernel available so you can root and all that without loosing drm features. So that's cool.
Same question here - how are you owners feeling after having it for a year? Would you keep it or go with something like a Nexus 5X or similar?
I have two months with my Xperia X already, and no regrets. Phone is performing really good, I only wish the fingerprint scanner was more accurate or in a different position, but besides that I'm really happy with the phone. Also, we're getting Android Nougat in november, that's gonna be a big improvement to what's good already.
Google Pixel phone is a total disappointment for me in terms of price, and I don't see other cool yet cheap options, so I won't switch to another phone this year. Also, Xperia XZ is not precisely my taste, so I think I'll stick with my X until Sony releases new models, like april or may of 2017 or second generation, probably in september.
I only wish cyanogenmod could be developed for the Xperia X. The stock ROM is great but I also like Cyanogenmod ROMs a lot.
Feanux said:
Same question here - how are you owners feeling after having it for a year? Would you keep it or go with something like a Nexus 5X or similar?
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This phone has just been out for 5 months ._.
This phone does not deliver top-notch raw performance, but what it brings is a very enjoyable experience. Regular apps load in a flash (even more responsive than a Death Note 7), animations are fast and smooth at the same time. Thumbs up to Sony for having made such a fast MM rom.
Generally i will not change phones in less than 3 years. However if there is something that forces me to change my phone, i will still go for an XZ or something similar.
I will review this phone like the way i reviewed Shadow Warrior 2: "It's a good one, but buy it on a sale".
I was waiting for new 5" Nexus, but it's way overpriced, like X performance and XZ. I don't care about waterproofing, as any phone looses it sooner or later anyway. I'm glad that Sony put back the usb hole to normal place and it's still usb micro - no need to change all my cables. Battery is good and everything works well. Also waiting for Cyanogenmod, as even X have less bloatware, than Xperia series had before, it's still too much for me. The fingerprint location is perfect, I can't imagine how I should use the phone otherwise (a lot phones have power button in one and fingerprint in a second place).
I'll add to what others have said above.
Have had the phone for two months and love it as well. I tend to use my phones mostly for social media (fb, snapchat, instagram, etc.), productivity (google drive, google keep, etc.) and music (podcasts and deezer/spotify). The battery lasts me one and a half day on regular use, which is great. It's fast responsive and the interface is the closest I can get to vanilla android. I think that it really delivers for the price.
Other than that: the phone has a really nice look (I really like the glass face), the speakers are nice, and the camera performs well (although I'm disappointed it doesn't shoot RAW).
What I'm hoping for is that the dev community for it gets bigger or that CM releases a rom for it (was running CM on my previous phone - a GS3). But at least we're getting Nougat very soon, so I'm hopeful.
can anyone see any light through their finger print sensor cuz i see a little white glance of display light through the lock key
Used to be the Z3c user.
If you're pleased with Z3c, you will be happy using X. The X will delivers:
-Much faster performance
-Much faster and better camera
-Better build quality (I prefer metal back than glass black)
-Better design - thinner and not too many holes, flaps, and ports on the body
-Slightly worse battery life (It's really hard to match the Z3c in longevity)
El Brillantinas said:
I have two months with my Xperia X already, and no regrets. Phone is performing really good, I only wish the fingerprint scanner was more accurate or in a different position, but besides that I'm really happy with the phone. Also, we're getting Android Nougat in november, that's gonna be a big improvement to what's good already.
Google Pixel phone is a total disappointment for me in terms of price, and I don't see other cool yet cheap options, so I won't switch to another phone this year. Also, Xperia XZ is not precisely my taste, so I think I'll stick with my X until Sony releases new models, like april or may of 2017 or second generation, probably in september.
I only wish cyanogenmod could be developed for the Xperia X. The stock ROM is great but I also like Cyanogenmod ROMs a lot.
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Can anyone tell me about the fingerprint sensor being used in the US? I'm about to purchase the Xperia X tonight and I simply don't know whether to buy the international model here in the US or by the US model and flash the phone to enable the fingerprint sensor. Any help would be so greatly appreciated. By the way how do you all like the X? I was about to but the X Performance but I watched YouTube videos between the two and speed tests and the X came out on top and had better battery life. Am I doing the right thing by buying the X over the X performance? Thanks again.
The X Performance has a better camera and a faster processor.
The hardware for the XX is the same, except for the single sim / dual sim models. If you want fingerprint unlock you must flash an unbranded rom for e.g. the UK or Germany with Flashtool.
M1chiel said:
The X Performance has a better camera and a faster processor.
The hardware for the XX is the same, except for the single sim / dual sim models. If you want fingerprint unlock you must flash an unbranded rom for e.g. the UK or Germany with Flashtool.
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Do you mind posting a link to where I can find that flsdhtool for the fingerprint sensor? So I definitely need to buy the US version and not the international version? Thanks for your help!
More about Flashtool here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=920746
It includes a module called XperiFirm that allows you to flash many different firmwares.
Hi right now I have a Samsung s3 mini value edition (words cannot describe how bad it is), and I have a limited budget to buy a new phone. I can't get anywhere near enough for op3. I'm stuck between this and Moto G4 plus. I can only afford the 2gb ram Moto. Do you think it's worth spending the extra for this. Will the 2gb ram severely limit the Moto and will it be laggy. I've heard things about heating issues and cpu issues on this device, and support issues. Is the software support bad? Thanks
one plus 2 is great device, yes it has problem with heating coz of snapdragon 810.. but if root and install cm 14.1 nougat version, the problem is less.. how about xiaomi phone. is cheap and fast phone.. i suggest get redmi note 3... snapdragon 650 and 3g ram.. it also a lot of custom rom and development but the real problem is to unlock bootloader.. it quiet difficult
Hey bro, listen up!
It all depends on your personal preference.
But if u are asking me to choose from one of the devices you mentioned above, oneplus 2 would be the most obvious choice reason being it was a flagship device, so its got a hell lot more support than the moto g4. For the other departments like Screen quality, build quality, battery life might equivalent in both the devices but oneplus excells in sheer performance, good looks, low light camera performance. On the other hand, fast charging, expandable storage faster android updates may be the + points in moto g4. And regarding heating, the oneplus heats up like any other phone under heavy loads, i mean its just normal. Both the devices go upto 42-44 degrees if u r playing MC5 for about an hour.
Apart from these two devices, i would like you to go with none of 'em but Xiaomi redmi note 3 pro (3gb ram version). Its an excellent device with almost every feature in it pocket and will cost you same as the moto g4. Super good performance (snapdragon 650 is a beast) along with beefy battery which can give u 6-7 hours of sot even with heavy usage. Its got pretty good development support (2gb ram version is however not popular among devs) and a highly durable build quality. Moto g4 is simply no match for this dragon and it surely surpasses oneplus two overall. The only con i see in rn3 is the camera is on the weaker side but still its captures well in ample lighting conditions.
OnePlus 2 wud be my 1st choice, using it since last 1 year and i can say the development section is quite good, battery is decent display and usage is very smooth with negligible lag.
There was some heating issue but could be controlled with custom kernels.(ohh come on after all it had SD810 proccr, a little bit of heat issue is acceptable )
Still a happy owner of OnePlus 2
Thanks for all the replies . Unfortunately it doesn't look I'll be able to get a xiaomi because they are hard to get from China. Looks like the op2 will be the best choice then. Does it get decent support and updates from oneplus? I'll probably end up with custom roms eventually but it would be nice to know that the legit support is good.
Oneplus will officially support op2 until August 2017 atleast. And for xiaomi, u can try getting it from online sites like gearbest etc. They ship worldwide.
Thanks l. Gearbest looks good. As a last question, can any of you say how good the camera is between op2 and xiaomi note 3. (maybe the moto as well)
person123321 said:
Thanks l. Gearbest looks good. As a last question, can any of you say how good the camera is between op2 and xiaomi note 3. (maybe the moto as well)
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for me... camera is poor on op2 because i use cm13. on oxygen camera is far better. im not foto guy.. so thats okay with me.
person123321 said:
Thanks l. Gearbest looks good. As a last question, can any of you say how good the camera is between op2 and xiaomi note 3. (maybe the moto as well)
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RN3 camera are worst comparing to OP2.. OP2 are more better in low light
Sent from my Pixel XL using XDA-Developers mobile app