z3 or z4 Tablet?? Help - Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact Q&A, Help & Troubleshooti

Hey, so im in the market for a tablet. I really like the specs of the z4 but the size of the compact z3. Was wondering peoples thoughts on this. I have a desktop at home and just want a tablet to take on the go. .My main concern is the hardware of the z3 being old compared to the z4. What is the speed comparison between the two. Performance wise is it a huge leap in the z4?? Thank you

@killuminati206
The Z3 compact tablet has a very slick form factor, there aren't many others in the market considering the weight and slimness. The h/w in my opinion is more than enough to perform reasonable multitasking. The only downside compared to Z4 tablet that I foresee is that the Z4 might get few more Android updates. IMO, the current .291 firmware is very stable and with a 64gb or more microsd, this can handle and store more than what you might require. Also note that at present the z3 compact tablet is at least 200-300$ lesser than the Z4 tab

gauthamsv said:
@killuminati206
The Z3 compact tablet has a very slick form factor, there aren't many others in the market considering the weight and slimness. The h/w in my opinion is more than enough to perform reasonable multitasking. The only downside compared to Z4 tablet that I foresee is that the Z4 might get few more Android updates. IMO, the current .291 firmware is very stable and with a 64gb or more microsd, this can handle and store more than what you might require. Also note that at present the z3 compact tablet is at least 200-300$ lesser than the Z4 tab
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Click to collapse
Thanks for your input. Im really leaning towards the z3. I just want to make sure performance is on par. It has the snapdragon 801 and thats pretty old. Plus im hoping sony will be revealing a new tablet on september 1st.

I absolutely love my Z3. But if you want a custom rom you're looking at 5.1.1, none of the 6.x roms seem to work very well. Stock rom is staying at 6.0.1, Marshmallow and this device isn't getting 7.x (lack of support from Qualcomm for this chipset).
If you can live with the above, the form factor of the z3 compact is awesome and battery life is great. I carry this thing everywhere.

Levistras said:
I absolutely love my Z3. But if you want a custom rom you're looking at 5.1.1, none of the 6.x roms seem to work very well. Stock rom is staying at 6.0.1, Marshmallow and this device isn't getting 7.x (lack of support from Qualcomm for this chipset).
If you can live with the above, the form factor of the z3 compact is awesome and battery life is great. I carry this thing everywhere.
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Click to collapse
I just placed my order. My main concern is performance compared to new chipsets. I will be doing no gaming and will be replacing my phone. I hope i made the right choice. Any how is root easy for a newbie? Any recommendations for rom with best performance and battery life?

I have no idea about dev but how hard is to get RemixOs on this tablet? I don't see the advantage of CM instead of Stock on this tablet but RemixOS would be great.

killuminati206 said:
I just placed my order. My main concern is performance compared to new chipsets. I will be doing no gaming and will be replacing my phone. I hope i made the right choice. Any how is root easy for a newbie? Any recommendations for rom with best performance and battery life?
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Click to collapse
Best battery life seems to be stock. If rooted you can run some cpu clock tools to jack it up a bit but, I wouldn't... especially if you expect to use it for a couple years. Go with stock and root it if you want to use Apps2SD.
there's a few rooting threads around, like this one http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-tablet-compact/general/how-to-root-easy-t3115418

Related

This is possibly my dream tablet; how 'dev-friendly' is it?

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

Is it worth buying Aqua m4 nowadays?

Just have been proposed in carrier offer several modest budget phones, among them I like Aqua m4 and Huawei p9 lite.
When compared p9 lite seems to prevail in almost any aspect, except one: water resistance
Indeed, imagine, what gain from better hardware if when it accidentally drops into e.g. sink then it becomes just a brick?
However when in forums here I keep reading about Aqua's cumbersome issues, Sony's user-unfriendly and unkind bullying like attitude (in stock MarshMallow blocked SD internal storage expansion despite built in storage is remarkably small),
in practice water resistance appears very dubious,
problems with famous overheating which often bricks phones,
WiFi battery drain etc,
then the above points makes me think twice.
In fact carrier consultant defended Aqua's quality saying the main hardware issues, like overheating, were present just in initial distribution line,
after numerous consumers feedback the manufacturer improved Aqua's deficiencies and now the model is mature enough and rock solid stable.
Would you share this view our rather you would prefer p9 lite?
Warmly thanks for any of your advice, in advance!
i will prefer P9 Lite, new device and maybe new OS (Nougat) :laugh:
I prefer Xperia M4 Aqua
ioy said:
Just have been proposed in carrier offer several modest budget phones, among them I like Aqua m4 and Huawei p9 lite.
When compared p9 lite seems to prevail in almost any aspect, except one: water resistance
Indeed, imagine, what gain from better hardware if when it accidentally drops into e.g. sink then it becomes just a brick?
However when in forums here I'm keep reading about Aqua's cumbersome issues, Sony's user-unfriendly and unkind bullying like attitude (in stock MarshMallow blocked SD internal storage expansion despite built in storage is remarkably small),
in practice water resistance appears very dubious,
problems with famous overheating which often bricks phones,
WiFi battery drain etc,
then the above points makes me think twice.
In fact carrier consultant defended Aqua's quality saying the main hardware issues, like overheating, were present just in initial distribution line,
after numerous consumers feedback the manufacturer improved Aqua's deficiencies and now the model is mature enough and rock solid stable.
Would you share this view our rather you would prefer p9 lite?
Warmly thanks for any of your advice, in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's worth considering that most of the issues are gone. I rarely get phone to heat (Never actually heated on marshmallow) nor battery drain on wifi since I did clean update not like some users who say otherwise. It's awesome phone just lack of storage kills it try to buy 16gb one
tomcis147 said:
It's awesome phone just lack of storage kills it try to buy 16gb one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What if the carrier proposition doesn't include such Aqua version?
And also greater SD: does it accept,
and what about Android MM's internal memory expanding into SD, does it work at last in Aqua?
Why in Android MarshMallow specifically it doesn't heat up at all?
I hate the M4 Aqua because there are no custom ROMs for it.
But there are no ROMs for the P9 Lite (yet) either.
If installing a custom ROM is your thing, then i would choose neither.
If on the other hand you do not care about custom ROMs then i would choose the Huawei for it's better specs (for me screen resolution is most important difference) , unless you live in a place where you get wet often and you need the water proofing the M4 Aqua offers.
maXDAmn said:
i will prefer P9 Lite, new device and maybe new OS (Nougat) :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the new device, much better hardware, dual SIM, however NOT WATERPROOF
Is Nougat the new system version so important?
In fact the newest software usually is very buggy, it needs time to mature through painstaking consumer feedback
ioy said:
Yes the new device, much better hardware, dual SIM, however NOT WATERPROOF
Is Nougat the new system version so important?
In fact the newest software usually is very buggy, it needs time to mature through painstaking consumer feedback
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The newest software is not always very buggy. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is not. The Marshmallow for my M4 Aqua runs without any problem for me.
The newest software is not always very buggy. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And sometimes it offers worse functionality, is Nougat really better and why?
Waancho said:
The Marshmallow for my M4 Aqua runs without any problem for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you rooted, modded, the phone, have you it with unlocked bootloader and custom recovery?
papak.p said:
I prefer Xperia M4 Aqua
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please, write more
ioy said:
Have you rooted, modded, the phone, have you it with unlocked bootloader and custom recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have unlocked bootloader, custom recovery, that's it.
Don't you need root?
KittyKat FreeTab1001
Waancho said:
I hate the M4 Aqua because there are no custom ROMs for it.
If on the other hand you do not care about custom ROMs then i would choose the Huawei for it's better specs (for me screen resolution is most important difference)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android stock system modding should suffice, making ROOT, trimming the bloatware, installing some system controlling suites (e.g. 3C tools, LBE) not to mention Xposed with some very innovative modules
And are there custom kernels for Aqua here?
Why is screen resolution so important for you?
It seems the "HD-ready" 720x1280px on 5inch display is
hardly discernable from FullHD 1080x1920px,
can you see the difference, honestly, can you indeed
perceive it by your own eyes and isn't it just a placebo?
Maybe someone needs it for reading through magnifying glass
And probably higher screen resolution drains battery faster.

Buying a Z5 Compact to use with LineageOS - good or bad idea?

Out of all of the devices out there that support LineageOS, the Z5 Compact looks the most appealing to me, because of the good audio quality, nice design/build, and reasonable size.
But is it foolish to purchase a Z5C with the intention of using it to run a custom ROMs?
Are people here using custom ROMs purely as a stopgap until they can get a newer phone that supports Oreo? I don't need or want the latest, greatest hardware, but ever since buying my first smartphone (a Nexus) I've become accustomed to using the latest software. Is the Z5 Compact a dead end in that regard? Or is it likely that I'll be using Android P and Q on this device in the next couple of years?
"But Strobelite, if you're worried about being able to use the latest version of Android, why don't you just get something by Motorola? Those have a healthy, active developer community. Or, you could just be a normal person, and buy a new phone."
If it runs GApps, I won't use it
Audio quality is important to me
The Motorola phones are ugly, in my opinion
Hi, since a few weeks I'm running on LineageOS 14.1 with my z5 Compact and I don't miss the stock rom at all. I didn't test all features yet (e.g. MHL), but I'm very satisfied until now. It's stable (didn't encounter any random reboot), fast and battery life is ok for me (I use Amplify and Greenify with xposed).
I only can recommend this and if you want to run without GApps, this is the way to go. I'm using Yalp store and it's even faster updating my apps than the original Play store.
Phone has FM Radio, SD card slot, fast and accurate GPS and enough power (LOS doesn't seem to run as hot as the stock rom (you can choose between performance profiles), so it's another plus for me).
Just try it and see if it works for you.
The only thing that annoyed me is the camera, the quality is just bad and sometimes it doesn't focus (or too late)
If you dont miss the camera then yes.
Strobelite said:
But is it foolish to purchase a Z5C with the intention of using it to run a custom ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can understand your problem but of course it is imo.
Z5 line has never been widely supported by developers and the Compact is the one with less roms now. You can imagine what kind of future it would have.
Luckily in the past we had great guys who made stock rom root/mods/DRM restoration but the AOSP scene is completely different. As always you lose some features with non-stock roms, usually Camera quality (because you lose closed source vendor optimizations/software) and minor ones.
There will be probably 1 or 2 roms for future android versions (thanks to projects like SLim rom, PAC, Resurrection,...) but there are already few mantainers, especially for the Z5c, and some aosp roms are also unofficially maintained by one person...
Sony lost people (and developers) appeal after the Z3 line and this gets reflected in custom rom support for the newer Xperia lines. If you really want the latest OS on your phone for the next 4 years you should go for something else imo.
Z5c is still great device, refined materials and with good battery but don't expect a forum support like Samsungs, Huaweis,... Unfortunately the old days where flagship phones were < 4,5" are gone.
Maybe you already know it but GSMarena has a great phone-finder search engine which can help you refine your search for compact products.

SHould I get this or XZ Premium?

Currently, there arent that many options for "cheap" Snapdragon 835 phones.
And only this phone and XZ premium have a decent Custom Roms.
Or should I just wait for Snapdragon 835 devices to get cheaper? THe 845 devices are around the corner.
shadowcore said:
Currently, there arent that many options for "cheap" Snapdragon 835 phones.
And only this phone and XZ premium have a decent Custom Roms.
Or should I just wait for Snapdragon 835 devices to get cheaper? THe 845 devices are around the corner.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you kidding me custom rom ? hahaha never buy any sony phone they are very hard to build
uditrawat said:
are you kidding me custom rom ? hahaha never buy any sony phone they are very hard to build
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm, Project Treble might give better solution on XZ1? I'm no dev but it should work easier for dev. The shame thing is that Sony phones are few and devs might have no interest in it anymore. But at least faster update might be on the cards because of Treble compatibility.
shadowcore said:
Currently, there arent that many options for "cheap" Snapdragon 835 phones.
And only this phone and XZ premium have a decent Custom Roms.
Or should I just wait for Snapdragon 835 devices to get cheaper? THe 845 devices are around the corner.
Click to expand...
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To OP, imo, with Treble is native on XZ1, might be more enticing to try in the long run. But in the end it's about what fits on your hands and what's the device feel for you. My XZ1 is only 2 days, previously deciding between this and XZP, and i chose XZ1 because of single metal build and easier disassembly, plus it's still not much bigger compared to my old mi4c, only taller.
hansip87 said:
Umm, Project Treble might give better solution on XZ1? I'm no dev but it should work easier for dev. The shame thing is that Sony phones are few and devs might have no interest in it anymore. But at least faster update might be on the cards because of Treble compatibility.
To OP, imo, with Treble is native on XZ1, might be more enticing to try in the long run. But in the end it's about what fits on your hands and what's the device feel for you. My XZ1 is only 2 days, previously deciding between this and XZP, and i chose XZ1 because of single metal build and easier disassembly, plus it's still not much bigger compared to my old mi4c, only taller.
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Sony is not the best for custom rom...
One plus, HTC, Samsung are better for this.
BTW Xz1 is a good device for stock use.
Sony has good stable stock rom. We have custom roms carbon os and aosp.
chrisftlse said:
Sony is not the best for custom rom...
One plus, HTC, Samsung are better for this.
BTW Xz1 is a good device for stock use.
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Better is a thing that is just based on a personal opinion. Samsung for a example is horrible when it comes to real custom ROM support thanks to lack of a fully Open Source archive for their Exynos SOC:s, which forces people basically to use cooked & modified stock ROMS 9 of 10 times.
And so on.
xFirefly93 said:
Better is a thing that is just based on a personal opinion. Samsung for a example is horrible when it comes to real custom ROM support thanks to lack of a fully Open Source archive for their Exynos SOC:s, which forces people basically to use cooked & modified stock ROMS 9 of 10 times.
And so on.
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It is partially true as just by throwing an eye on the different Custom Rom threads and you will see the huge difference between what is available.
Xz is good in term of cookers and rom
Xz1 is not
HTC is good (my preferred cooker Lee)
Samsung, you are right lacking open source but some rom are running well
One plus is good also
Excuse if I use "better" not appropriately (UK is not my natural/born language)
Nevertheless, I personally really enjoy xz1 as very very stable and good performances
I am very pleased with my XZ1. I'm debating the XZ2 Premium.

Question Is the stock firmware buggy?

Okay, I might be pre-biased, but I have heard about Sony firmware being exceptionally buggy even after many updates. (By all means, this is not Sony-exclusive problem.)
Can people still using the stock firmware confirm whether it is acceptable for daily use? How often do you reboot the phone?
I was actually planning on buying the phone with the suspicion that I will have to install LineageOS right away. Is there any experince of running LineageOS on it? Do all the nice features, like 4k screen, work?
lockywolf said:
Okay, I might be pre-biased, but I have heard about Sony firmware being exceptionally buggy even after many updates. (By all means, this is not Sony-exclusive problem.)
Can people still using the stock firmware confirm whether it is acceptable for daily use? How often do you reboot the phone?
I was actually planning on buying the phone with the suspicion that I will have to install LineageOS right away. Is there any experince of running LineageOS on it? Do all the nice features, like 4k screen, work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there, I hope you're doing okay
Answering your question, yes, upgrading from a stock rom to a custom rom will make your experience a lot better. not only in performance, in battery , and customization
and even better if you root + stock rom, that's it. your phone value will increase because not only can you experience the latest Android 13 but you can also do multitasking work very smoothly
Also, battery consumption will be reduced twice, and you can customize it starting from the icons, status bar, and lockscreen. Not only that, you can also install root modules
i mean, you can also use xiaomi camera app on your sony phone camera
think about it with sony camera and xiaomi camera software
If you can do everything, i will consider not buying a new phone rather than saving that money and investing it to make more money and buy an iPhone, but still, Android is better
I hope you liked my reply
Please like it and follow me. I will be very apreciative. Thank you so much
lockywolf said:
Okay, I might be pre-biased, but I have heard about Sony firmware being exceptionally buggy even after many updates. (By all means, this is not Sony-exclusive problem.)
Can people still using the stock firmware confirm whether it is acceptable for daily use? How often do you reboot the phone?
I was actually planning on buying the phone with the suspicion that I will have to install LineageOS right away. Is there any experince of running LineageOS on it? Do all the nice features, like 4k screen, work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bro and also, there are more roms than lineagos, so think about it
follow this forum
Sony Xperia 1
The Sony Xperia 1 is a 6.5" phone with a 1644x3840p display. The Snapdragon 855 chipset is paired with 6GB of RAM and 64/128GB of storage. The main camera is 12+12+12MP and the selfie camera is 8MP. The battery has a 3330mAh capacity.
forum.xda-developers.com
It makes no sense to install a custom ROM on a phone like the Xperia 1 close to launch. All the unique features of the phone (mainly the cameras) are locked behind the Sony custom API that is used by the stock apps running on the Sony app framework.
So at the very least you will need a Magisk module that ports over the latest version of the app framework to any generic ROM, and then install the stock (camera) apps.
Personally, I find the stock ROM close enough to AOSP that I haven't felt a need to install any custom ROM for the past 5 years now. When you install a custom ROM you are simply trading Sony bugs for things like missing implementations, partial hardware support etc.
There is nothing buggy. It's close to the os pixels launch with, their custom version of AOSP.
Just has a few more apps for camera stuff.
As an owner of the major flagship devices, this is the best all around experience and the best camera.
I recently had a Xiaomi 13 pro and thought it'd camera was best, nah this beats it and the os is leagues better. I have a pixel 7 pro also and I honestly won't ever use it again in comparison and I have the best roms I could build for it.
And as the others have said lineage is not an immediate thing anyone should just flash, and it's one of a gazillion roms and definitely not the first ROM I would flash...

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