Hey guys,
I'm thinking of buying this beast because of the camera capabilities (i want to hold off buying a DSLR a little longer), but also because of the spec to price ratio. As i've began researching, i found that it has numerous problems: bad GPS signal, burn in, LCD bleed . These things are scaring me, also i've noticed that a lot of US owners have all these problems, but only some EU owners have it.
My questions are :
1. Do EU owners have these problems too, and how many of you have it?
2. Is it still worth it? I've been searching a package deal with B&O "friend" but didn't find any. Only the LG G5 at around 460EUR. Did you receive headphones in your packaging?
3. Is the brick charger (wall charger) truly QC 3.0 compatible? As i saw its only 9V at 1.8Amps.
4. Are you happy with it? What don't you like about it?
Thanks in advanced.
Best regards,
Cristian
charris said:
Hey guys,
I'm thinking of buying this beast because of the camera capabilities (i want to hold off buying a DSLR a little longer), but also because of the spec to price ratio. As i've began researching, i found that it has numerous problems: bad GPS signal, burn in, LCD bleed . These things are scaring me, also i've noticed that a lot of US owners have all these problems, but only some EU owners have it.
My questions are :
1. Do EU owners have these problems too, and how many of you have it?
2. Is it still worth it? I've been searching a package deal with B&O "friend" but didn't find any. Only the LG G5 at around 460EUR. Did you receive headphones in your packaging?
3. Is the brick charger (wall charger) truly QC 3.0 compatible? As i saw its only 9V at 1.8Amps.
4. Are you happy with it? What don't you like about it?
Thanks in advanced.
Best regards,
Cristian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) T-Mobile was the first to sell the G5 so that's probably why there are more cases in us then in Europe. The only problem i Have is a bit of light bleeding. Also do not confuse burn-in (which is an oled display thing) with the image retention, they can seem similar but are differents.
2) Yep, here in italy on a famous site it costs around 400 euros, afaik there are no bundle with that module. I bought it in a shop and there were headphones.
3) Nope is QC 2.0
4) Yes, i'm happy with it, the only problem is the battery life, but the possibility to swap the battery is a great plus.
Killua96 said:
1) T-Mobile was the first to sell the G5 so that's probably why there are more cases in us then in Europe. The only problem i Have is a bit of light bleeding. Also do not confuse burn-in (which is an oled display thing) with the image retention, they can seem similar but are differents.
2) Yep, here in italy on a famous site it costs around 400 euros, afaik there are no bundle with that module. I bought it in a shop and there were headphones.
3) Nope is QC 2.0
4) Yes, i'm happy with it, the only problem is the battery life, but the possibility to swap the battery is a great plus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. How old is your G5? Did u try to loosen the screw from where u have the light bleed? Did you buy a QC 3.0 brick?
charris said:
Thanks for the reply. How old is your G5? Did u try to loosen the screw from where u have the light bleed? Did you buy a QC 3.0 brick?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it the 3rd of june, according to the serial it is from april.
Nope i haven't tried to loose that screw.
Nope, i don't need QC when i Have 2 more batterys
Its a good phone but......
i got it almost a week now and i just love it...no problems so far and the battery life is almost the same as my oneplus x was...so yeah i think it was a good buy especially for the camera
I have G5 for 2-3 months or so, I switched from Nexus 5 (regular, not 5X). What I love:
- camera - is great, I don't have many chances to test it though, but in that I take was great. N5 don't stand a chance
- speed - it's crazy fast
- battery - a lot of ppl complain about it, but for me is great. I can easly go through day and have 50% at the evening. I think it is because of great sleep mode, N5 was terrible, I always must charge it at the evening. Also battery life on 3G is great
- fast charge
What I don't like:
- lack of suport - don't get me wrong, you can root it and instal xposed, but AOSP would be nice. But to be true, only thing I'm missing is working "always on" display on custom dpi.
Build quality is ok to me, but I don't like it feel of it. It's not cheap materials, but it feels little bit fragile and I was affraid of camera lenses. Spigen Slim Armor is perfect to me.
My other choice was S7, and if I would be buying phone again, it also would be G5. I don't regret this choice.
I have for 5 months the EU model, no problem at all so far, no bleeding, no quality problems beside a small alignment problem with the battery cover when I swipe my finger I can feel it is not 100:% smooth with the rest of the body.
Other than that no problems at all and I sold my s7 after keeping both for 2 weeks testing which one to keep.
If the reason you want the G5 is to postpone your DSLR , then you have two options: V20 or G5. Assuming the V20 will not be release anytime soon in EU then G5 is your best choice.
I upgraded my G2 mainly for the camera. I was reading and watching videos like crazy trying to choose between the S7 Edge and the G5.
Eventually I chose the G5, bought it in Austria (H850) for ~650Euros 5 months ago.
It's not a perfect phone, far from it, but it also doesn't have any big issues.. it's the little things. Camera wise, it is awesome!
Why I chose the G5:
ISO: S7 max - 800, G5 max - 3200.
Exposure: S7 max - 10 seconds, G5 max - 30 seconds.
Wide angle: S7 doesn't have one, G5 is rocking one.
Sensor ratio: S7 uses a cr*ppy 4:3 , G5 is 16:9. Which just makes more sense to me as every screen I own is 16:9 (TVs, phones, monitors).
Resolution: S7 merely scratches 9MP when using 16:9, G5 almost doubles it with 16MP.
IR Blaster: S7 doesn't have one, G5 has it.
Removable battery is plus and minus.. It's smaller, but removable. I bought the battery+external charger kit from Amazon for 30$ and it's great to have, a must buy if you like going on trips.
Don't get it for the "friends" it was bound to fail, get it for the phone.
What I don't like:
Screen could be brighter, I hate the curved screen (all of them) as it prevents me from applying a good tempered glass screen protector.
Even when using a rectangle glass protector..something is off in the bottom right corner and it always opens a bit there.
Other than that, the phone is fast, reliable, battery is not bad nor stunning (I get around 3.5-4 hours SOT with about 30 hours of battery time).
And yes, supplied charger is 2.0 (which is also very fast), I don't think there were earphones in the box..
Related
really torn between these two devices ,
am talking about AOSP or CM on z5c , is AOSP working well on it ?
the 5x display is not that great , is the z5c display any better ?
any suggestion is appreciated .
I have just been evaluating the two side my side for the past fortnight trying to decide which to keep.
Hightlights of the z5c have been its size, speaker quality, and overall build quality. Micro SD slot is handy and waterproofness is nice to have. However I have found the camera to be very disappointing and slow to use and the results average. Also the smaller screen size can make operating Xperia keyboard and text input frustrating at times.. I dont htink the screen is as good as the one the Nexus but maybe thats just me. Excellent battery life. I have only tried Sony factory ROM and was not aware that others such as CM are available yet?
Highights of the Nexus 5x have been the crisp clean Marshmallow interface, good screen and excellent point and shoot camera. Screen is not as repsonsive as x5c when it needs to dim in a dark environment. It has a Terrific keyboard that is really accurate and easy to use. along with best fingerprint reader I have used. Downsides to it are its plasticy design with protruding lens which makes me reluctant to put it down on its back on a desk. even though I know the lens will not contact the desk. A Google Adopted TPU case fixed this though. But as soon as you encase it no-one will have any idea it is a google phone. Speaker is crappy and poor sound quality compered to z5c. USB C power cables are orphans and mean you cannot use existing A cables existing devices most people have. Couple this with a mediocre battery life can be problematic. Biggest downside for me though is its size. Too big too put into from jeans pocket and protrudes an inch or so out the top of shirt pocket.
So I ended up selling my 5x and keeping the z5c. My hope is that Sony will do something in the marshmallow update to improve the point and shoot usabilty of the camera. Hope this helps.
logger said:
I have just been evaluating the two side my side for the past fortnight trying to decide which to keep.
Hightlights of the z5c have been its size, speaker quality, and overall build quality. Micro SD slot is handy and waterproofness is nice to have. However I have found the camera to be very disappointing and slow to use and the results average. Also the smaller screen size can make operating Xperia keyboard and text input frustrating at times.. I dont htink the screen is as good as the one the Nexus but maybe thats just me. Excellent battery life. I have only tried Sony factory ROM and was not aware that others such as CM are available yet?
Highights of the Nexus 5x have been the crisp clean Marshmallow interface, good screen and excellent point and shoot camera. Screen is not as repsonsive as x5c when it needs to dim in a dark environment. It has a Terrific keyboard that is really accurate and easy to use. along with best fingerprint reader I have used. Downsides to it are its plasticy design with protruding lens which makes me reluctant to put it down on its back on a desk. even though I know the lens will not contact the desk. A Google Adopted TPU case fixed this though. But as soon as you encase it no-one will have any idea it is a google phone. Speaker is crappy and poor sound quality compered to z5c. USB C power cables are orphans and mean you cannot use existing A cables existing devices most people have. Couple this with a mediocre battery life can be problematic. Biggest downside for me though is its size. Too big too put into from jeans pocket and protrudes an inch or so out the top of shirt pocket.
So I ended up selling my 5x and keeping the z5c. My hope is that Sony will do something in the marshmallow update to improve the point and shoot usabilty of the camera. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks a lot , very helpful ,
and yes there is an AOSP 5.1.1 rom available for the z5c , no CM yet ( can't imagine it will be long before a release , given sony has released the binaries ) ,
here you go :
http://fxpblog.co/aosp/aosp-5-1/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z5-compact/orig-development/aosp-builds-z5c-t3226266
I haven't tested the 5x yet, but have the z5c for about two weeks now and in my opinion there are two main issues with the z5c:
First the display colors really seem to be washed out, the black is more a really dark grey than a black (I don't know if this is due to a defect screen or if this is the case for all z5c's), also the display resolution of 720p isn't really enough for me as I clearly can see the edges of round app icons for example even when I'm farther away from the screen.
Also the increase of the phone temperature during prolonged use really bothers me, but that's a known issue of the Snapdragon 810. The camera is just okay, I honestly expected more, especially in low light conditions. But as far as is understand this is rather a post-processing issue than an hardware issue, I hope this improves with Marshmallow.
Two plus points are good battery live (maybe also due to the relatively low res screen) and the overall speed of the phone, which really has improved since the last firmware update.
I had both phones at the same time. Here are my thoughts:
Z5 Compact
+ I prefer the phone size much better
+ I play ingress, so prefer the better battery life and single handed use
+ I have a couple of external battery packs, which quick charge the Z5C
+ Waterproof
+ Really like that Sony went with regular micro-USB connector unlike the Z3C
+ Expandable memory. This can become expanded internal memory in Marshmallow
+ I love Tap to Wake
+ It is a sexy looking device
- Thicker than the N5X
- Not thrilled that the volume rocker is below the power button
- Surely majority of folks don't use the wrist strap feature?! It's a dust collector for me.
- Typing an issue on a smaller keyboard
- Voice recognition is iffy
- I hate that I don't have the option to turn off the notification light at when charging at night (always have to remember to place the phone facedown)
- Run hot under heavy use, but I use a case to avoid the slipper glass on the back anyway
Nexus 5X
+ Clean UI
+ Fast updates
+ Better fingerprint sensor
+ Thin and light
+ Better typing experience
+ Ambient display
- Too large for single-handed use
- Camera pops out like a nipple - could be seen as a positive
- USB-C means new expense on cables and charger (consider the added expenses here)
- My external chargers will work with N5X, but will not charge as quick as a licensed Qualcomm Quickcharge phone
- The vibration motor is a lot harsher than the Z5C. Not a fan.
- The mono speaker seems to be facing the back, but there is no opening on the back, so sound is kinda muffled.
- What's the deal with the giant bezel?!
- No expanded memory support
- The internal specs are lower (808 vs 810 in Z5C, and Adreno 418 vs 430 in Z5C). The Z5C guts are actually in the Nexus 6P, but with 3GB RAM.
I ended up returning the Nexus 5X primarily because of the size and having to make sure I have a USB-C cable handy in case I run through the battery. Even when I had the phone charging while I was playing ingress, the phone battery was discharging faster than recharging.
The Z5C is very comfortable to use. I do have an itch for a completely bloat free UI, with Marshmallow. Once unlock and root processes eventually get released/cleaned-up, the Z5C will be take a bigger bite into the Nexus 5X's main selling point.
N5X advantages:
- Camera (for photos) is in another league, look at the camera samples, the photos are very sharp compared to all Sony Z cameras.
- Fast updates.
- Stock clean Android (only Google apps that can be disabled) / Camera2 API / probably…not sure: Google Now Always ON / etc
Z5C adv:
- Battery life (If N5X battery life is less than 50% better than N5 battery, then it still really sux).
- Size (subjective)
- SoC 810 is much better.
- Long battery life when gaming.
- Some General hardware~ (mic quality / screen quality / etc).
Sent from my E5823
Finally i bought the 5x due to no AOSP roms available yet on z5c ,
thanks everyone .
So, I had nexus 5x for 1.5 month, got 5x after beloved Sony z5c international with fingerprint reader and wrist strap due to switching to verizon from ATT and it was cheapest of the semi-decent phones. I regret both.
1. While its compatible, and verizon sim works, i barely get signal 3G LTE to none while my other friends right next to me with iphones and samsung phones get high speed full bars 4g lte, so must be poor antenna or not fully compatible with verizon as claimed. And mind you its after hours on the phone with verizon i got it to even work. When i try send emails most times it flashes message every 1-2 seconds "no connection" "retry" then "connected", that creates multiple drafts when im trying to send email, nuisance to say the least. Or messages I thought were sent stuck in limbo, shown sent on device, but when login to email account from pc it isnt sent or even in drafts, so its on a device stuck, not sent even when connected while shown as sent on device.
2. giant phone not one handed. And no wrist strap hook!
3. Poor photo quality, no depth, poor resolution, only way to focus camera is to take 1 shot only then it tries to focus, any other way it would normally work on z5c with green to red focus window is not available. I tweaked it a bit using camera MX but even so, mediocre original software & hardware.
3. Pricy and no expansion memory, i got 32gb, and OS + apps already took over 20gb, and mind you i only have very few brain games and productivity apps like docsToGo that do not take much space, rest is android os itself upfront.
4. Not waterproof or resistant. Even when water droplet hits center of screen it acts out thinking its my finger, z5c did not react same way to water at all, it ignored it mostly, only responding to finger.
5. google keyboard is horrible, not even arrows to move coursor right or left within text, and gokeyboard became commercialized with adds so.. i didnt find better alternative, and you have to be precise getting it into right spot to insert extra words in between especially at the beginning of paragraph.
6. New Android version lost too many good features gaining none. Like little menu on the bottom right to close all open apps at once, gone! Now you have to manually close each app. specific to z5c mini apps like calculator, browser that can be used simultaneously with other apps window in window, shown both at once of course not included, and nothing similar available.
7. Battery life poor. I had about 5hours browsing no video out of it before it hits 20% mark from 100%, with video even faster. While usb c helps charge faster, true, but it doesnt help battery life , and no wireless charging, adapters just came to market, i do not think ill keep phone long enough to try if it works.
8. Back to memory expansion, so forget microsd, but even usb wont work. I have samsung duo usb3 to micro usb, so attempt 1 was to use anker adapter with my samsung usbduo drive and it didnt even register the drive. So i went ahead and bought an app to register usb c drive, didnt work. attempt 2 after shelling out for the nexus 5x compatible app, bought usb c flash drive guess what, only registers with that app, and even then cant just browse folders and files, open, work with file, save, ..no. you would have to copy to phone then work with file, save to phone only, and only then copy or move back to usb c drive. Really! So i scrapped that plan, went cloud, and got rid of usb c drive.
9. When plug in to pc have to manually each time select transfer files or it will only charge by default, havent found way to change that either.
10. Camera and fingerprint reader so close, guess where your fingerprint lands most times? Yup, keep wiping the camera lense.
11. Cherry on top, doesnt come with usb c to usb 2.0 or usb 3.0 cable, google store omitted that just saying charger and usb c cable, so as you discover that fact and jumping to look for a cable thats never seems available in google store site, your return time slot is closing down on you ..14 days..and you cant even test it with pc plugged in..
So, good stuff..fingerprint scanner works, usb c charge faster by 2x time.. that is about it.
Contacted google store and since its over 14 days = nonrefundable.
Conclusion, I am going back to AT&T and my beloved z5c! Yes, it doesnt have usb c and older (better version of android).. but guess what small, waterproof, has wriststrap to phone not just case, faster, better camera, better photos album layout, keyboard, LTE 4G without hangs and drops, same fingerprint scanner, and if i left out anything else, its there, on that sweet small device.
Perhaps someone else might find 5x mediocre good enough and cheap enough but for me I am ok going back to proven to be better for same price!
Edit: I didn't read the dates or the whole tread. I need sleep.
Hello,
I'm facing the same thing for a few days now; I'm hesitating between picking up a Nexus 5X or a Z5C, the first one has the advantage of frequent updates and clean Android experience but a relatively big screen while the second one has an ideal screen but I've heard about lots of overheating problems related to it.
So since it's 2016 and both phones are running Marshmallow, can you guys give me a quick update on your experiences now ? Thanks
Mephistorium said:
Hello,
I'm facing the same thing for a few days now; I'm hesitating between picking up a Nexus 5X or a Z5C, the first one has the advantage of frequent updates and clean Android experience but a relatively big screen while the second one has an ideal screen but I've heard about lots of overheating problems related to it.
So since it's 2016 and both phones are running Marshmallow, can you guys give me a quick update on your experiences now ? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Sony ui is still full of bugs but marshmallow performs at a decent level. Still nothing to compete with it in its size class.
Mephistorium said:
Hello,
I'm facing the same thing for a few days now; I'm hesitating between picking up a Nexus 5X or a Z5C, the first one has the advantage of frequent updates and clean Android experience but a relatively big screen while the second one has an ideal screen but I've heard about lots of overheating problems related to it.
So since it's 2016 and both phones are running Marshmallow, can you guys give me a quick update on your experiences now ? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The z5c is a great phone, its just the battery life isn't the best in my opinion......you ever consider thinking of the Z3C? Im sure its a no since its been 2 years passed.
Thanks a lot for your feedback, As you said: the thing is that the Z5C has nothing to compete against in the small flagship category, if the battery lasts for a day on average use then I'm fine also the phone doesn't overheat from normal use as I've been reading all over the internet.
Regarding the Z3C, I think I can consider it if it's not too far from the Z5C performance, any feedback on that could be helpful!
Mephistorium said:
Thanks a lot for your feedback, As you said: the thing is that the Z5C has nothing to compete against in the small flagship category, if the battery lasts for a day on average use then I'm fine also the phone doesn't overheat from normal use as I've been reading all over the internet.
Regarding the Z3C, I think I can consider it if it's not too far from the Z5C performance, any feedback on that could be helpful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Z3c edges out slightly better in performance and dev support. BUT it has side charging port and flaps, not the most practical. It's all about your price range really.
Thanks a lot! Actually I have a bit of money on the side so I can get the Z5C, and in Europe the difference between the Z5C and the Z3C is like 60 dollars, the nexus 5x is the cheapest of all three phones
Mephistorium said:
Thanks a lot! Actually I have a bit of money on the side so I can get the Z5C, and in Europe the difference between the Z5C and the Z3C is like 60 dollars, the nexus 5x is the cheapest of all three phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just like guy from above said, its all about your price/how much you can afford, ppl mainly go for nexus 5x for fast updates (pretty much it). If you not picky on the year, Z3C is your best bet if you want performance and best battery life and plus theres a unique developer at the Z3C forum that has been making the Z3C a perfect phone for anyone. The reason I got the Z5C is because I had screen issues on the Z3C and plus i was still in love of the compact series of the xperia. Z5C is doing fine for me
uchechris said:
Just like guy from above said, its all about your price/how much you can afford, ppl mainly go for nexus 5x for fast updates (pretty much it). If you not picky on the year, Z3C is your best bet if you want performance and best battery life and plus theres a unique developer at the Z3C forum that has been making the Z3C a perfect phone for anyone. The reason I got the Z5C is because I had screen issues on the Z3C and plus i was still in love of the compact series of the xperia. Z5C is doing fine for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thanks a lot, I do trust your ways around phones, so I've ordered a Z3C with a magnetic charger ( to avoid trouble with slot flaps ) think it's my best bet as you said.
Thanks again
Mephistorium said:
Well thanks a lot, I do trust your ways around phones, so I've ordered a Z3C with a magnetic charger ( to avoid trouble with slot flaps ) think it's my best bet as you said.
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your welcome, be sure to go to the Z3C forum if you have additional questions, its really a good phone. I recommend flashing this rom to make your phone very unique but before doing that, you need root and recovery, thank God its easier to do it without unlocking the boot loader, just zoom in that forum for all of your questions, I wish you the best of luck!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/development/rom-slimm-t3359831
Mephistorium said:
Well thanks a lot, I do trust your ways around phones, so I've ordered a Z3C with a magnetic charger ( to avoid trouble with slot flaps ) think it's my best bet as you said.
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suggest you cancel the z3c order. The Z3/Z3c is easy to has touch issue after 12~16 months, the touch panel life cycle is short, my friend Z3 got screen problem right after his warranty expired a few days(exactly 12 months passed) and he fuxked up and switched to Iphone, he was a Sony fans with only SE/Sony phones used in his life.
I admit Z3c got better software development, battery and thermal control. However, the camera on Z3c is worse than Z1c/Z5c. But if you only want a cheap compact and don't care buy another one after 1~2 years then Z3c is still a good choice.
TheEndHK said:
I suggest you cancel the z3c order. The Z3/Z3c is easy to has touch issue after 12~16 months, the touch panel life cycle is short, my friend Z3 got screen problem right after his warranty expired a few days(exactly 12 months passed) and he fuxked up and switched to Iphone, he was a Sony fans with only SE/Sony phones used in his life.
I admit Z3c got better software development, battery and thermal control. However, the camera on Z3c is worse than Z1c/Z5c. But if you only want a cheap compact and don't care buy another one after 1~2 years then Z3c is still a good choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello and sorry I was on vacation )
Thank you very much though as (un)lucky as I am, I've returned the z3c via amazon but then I'm back looking, maybe I only have the z5c or something like htc m8 to go after.
I'm looking to move on from the Z3v in the near future. I'm curious what phones others have moved on to. I'm looking at the Moto G4 Plus possibly with 4GB RAM and 64 GB on board.
I'm trying to keep my budget to <$300. Any ideas?
tbtregenza said:
I'm looking to move on from the Z3v in the near future. I'm curious what phones others have moved on to. I'm looking at the Moto G4 Plus possibly with 4GB RAM and 64 GB on board.
I'm trying to keep my budget to <$300. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I moved onto the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, but that was because of a BOGO deal last year.
Are you locked down to Verizon or do you have another carrier? If I were you being on Verizon, I'd take advantage of this offer today: https://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/moto-z-play-droid/
The Moto Z is a truly modular phone that LG failed for its G5 to become. This is the Play version, but I'd rather much prefer the Force version as it has a bigger battery, better camera, and shatterproof screen tech. Either version comes with 32GBs, which isn't a problem to deal with when you can have expandable memory. It's not waterproof like the Z3v, but it's still splash resistant so I think streaming it in the sink won't do any harm if you want a quick clean. lol
GigaSPX said:
I moved onto the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, but that was because of a BOGO deal last year.
Are you locked down to Verizon or do you have another carrier? If I were you being on Verizon, I'd take advantage of this offer today: https://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/moto-z-play-droid/
The Moto Z is a truly modular phone that LG failed for its G5 to become. This is the Play version, but I'd rather much prefer the Force version as it has a bigger battery, better camera, and shatterproof screen tech. Either version comes with 32GBs, which isn't a problem to deal with when you can have expandable memory. It's not waterproof like the Z3v, but it's still splash resistant so I think streaming it in the sink won't do any harm if you want a quick clean. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate the response. I have an S7 for work which I really like, and I'm tracking the Edge on Swappa. I do like this phone. Unfortunately, I am locked to VZ, and that Moto Z Play Droid offer, which I was on the verge of ordering yesterday, is for new lines only...so regular price is $17/mo ($408 total) and that is just too rich for what I consider a "compromise" phone. I can get a mint condition S7 on Swappa for $330 or so, which is clearly superior.
tbtregenza said:
Appreciate the response. I have an S7 for work which I really like, and I'm tracking the Edge on Swappa. I do like this phone. Unfortunately, I am locked to VZ, and that Moto Z Play Droid offer, which I was on the verge of ordering yesterday, is for new lines only...so regular price is $17/mo ($408 total) and that is just too rich for what I consider a "compromise" phone. I can get a mint condition S7 on Swappa for $330 or so, which is clearly superior.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, it's always those fine print words that gets you. I forgot to even think that you have to get a new line to take advantage of the discounted price. If I read and knew about it, I wouldn't have recommended it to you.
For a mint condition S7, that's pretty good for $330. The flat version allows you better accessorizing like tempered glass and more variety of cases. Definitely make a go for it.
I tried out the LG G6 for a week. Then, I got on Ebay and I ordered a new, in box Z3v. Why? Because this phone cannot be beat. I'd move to AT&T and get a newer Xperia if it wasn't such a hassle or cost so much. After my screen kept registering a touch (after 3 years of working fine) I had to replace my original Z3v. I could keep the LG G6. It just wasn't $600 worth of improvement. In fact, the lack of the front facing stereo speakers was so annoying that that's what did it in for me. Maybe it was faster (I couldn't notice). Maybe it was on a newer Android version (There were a few neat improvements there.) Maybe it had a better camera (Again, after using Xposed to set my default auto to 20MP - I couldn't notice it.) Maybe it has better resolution (It must just be me but I couldn't see any improvement from full 1080 on the Z3v versus the LG G6. Maybe my eyes just can't see pixels any smaller than 1080).
So - to make a long story short- I walk into to Verizon to turn in my LG G6 before I couldn't and they were like "why?" And I was like because it's worse than what I replaced. I got what I had had on Ebay for $120 and I'm perfectly happy with it. They were like "What was it?" And I said a Sony Z3v and they were like "Yeah, you Sony people love your phones, don't you."
Yes, yes we do.
The front facing stereo speakers, flawless performance and still excellent battery life are hard to walk away from. Keeping it until another phone with stereo front facing speakers is available. Too bad people gave this phone such a bad rap an Verizon didn't support it. It was/is the perhaps the best phone Verizon possibly ever carried.
Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk
pchain said:
The front facing stereo speakers, flawless performance and still excellent battery life are hard to walk away from. Keeping it until another phone with stereo front facing speakers is available. Too bad people gave this phone such a bad rap an Verizon didn't support it. It was/is the perhaps the best phone Verizon possibly ever carried.
Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk
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I'm a bit surprised you haven't moved on yet. Battery life still holding up as great as what you had before?
GigaSPX said:
I'm a bit surprised you haven't moved on yet. Battery life still holding up as great as what you had before?
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Actually I'm surprised I haven't moved on yet too! The battery life is still good... I'm still getting about 5 hours screen on time. My phone is no longer waterproof however as a couple of the flap/covers are missing...lol. My options are a little limited on Verizon for a replacement... don't like Samsung curved edge devices and Moto mods are not my thing. G6 looks OK but my Z3v still works perfectly fine so I'm not sure I want to give up yet. Hoping the Pixel 2 or Note 8 will trip my trigger. What do you have now?
Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk
pchain said:
Actually I'm surprised I haven't moved on yet too! The battery life is still good... I'm still getting about 5 hours screen on time. My phone is no longer waterproof however as a couple of the flap/covers are missing...lol. My options are a little limited on Verizon for a replacement... don't like Samsung curved edge devices and Moto mods are not my thing. G6 looks OK but my Z3v still works perfectly fine so I'm not sure I want to give up yet. Hoping the Pixel 2 or Note 8 will trip my trigger. What do you have now?
Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk
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I have the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The S8/S8+ curves are perfection because the S7 Edge's are way too curvey, but I guess I'll wait to upgrade later.
That's pretty great you still have 5 hours of SOT. I'm not getting anywhere near that unless I just watch movies on my S7 Edge because of how poorly optimized Samsung is with their software. I only find it problematic that the Z3v can't go into Marshmallow because the 801 chips are supposed to be able to do it. Doze mode is really helpful with that.
The Note 8 is a definite must with all its bells and whistles. The Pixel 2 is something I would have to see when they announce it because the Pixel 1's design language looks bland. The G6 seems like the reasonable upgrade from the Z3v, but the UI is different for my taste and you have to be weary of LG's bootloop issue.
I've moved on to the Note 8.
I have the S8+, but the edges and corners are too rounded. The extras, like the dual camera, more RAM and the Spen are great. I definitely love the form factor of the Note 8 over the S8+.
I am NOT a fan of the beveled edges! And the lack of stereo speakers is tough to take on such expensive models that are otherwise so feature rich.
Meanwhile, I am buying new batteries, adhesive gaskets and glass backs for both Z3Vs, which are in brand-new shape.
AddictedToGlass said:
I've moved on to the Note 8.
I have the S8+, but the edges and corners are too rounded. The extras, like the dual camera, more RAM and the Spen are great. I definitely love the form factor of the Note 8 over the S8+.
I am NOT a fan of the beveled edges! And the lack of stereo speakers is tough to take on such expensive models that are otherwise so feature rich.
Meanwhile, I am buying new batteries, adhesive gaskets and glass backs for both Z3Vs, which are in brand-new shape.
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Aha, I've moved onto the Note 8. Once on the Note, I don't think I could ever go back to another smartphone. The S Pen is a jewel and the form factor is definitely a step up above the S7 Edge I had before and the S8/S8+. Albeit it is quite a tall phone though.
My Z3V is just sitting on my desk, reverted to factory image and all. Why buy new parts in repairing it though?
The batteries have crapped out. To replace them is a nightmare that involves removing the glass back with a heat gun. On videos I've seen, the adhesive gasket is unsalvageable. And since the back is glass, I figure there is a good chance of breaking it.
The parts are cheap, and both of my Z3Vs are in perfect shape with their boxes.
I'm fondly recalling my z3v while I enjoy writing this post with the S pen on my Noto 8. Ressurection of the Z3V is really all about the stereo speakers!
I am thinking about buying one but am worried about battery.
What do you say?
I am also thinking about XZ Premium, but that one has low sound quality through headphone jack (typical sony).
Battery life depends on your personal usage. For me the battery on the Moto Z is lacking and I only get about 3 hours sot. That's tiny... But it charges very fast though. Battery life will only get worse with time, so unless you want use these battery mods and make the device as thick as a brick, then I don't think it's a good option.
EZY-E said:
I am thinking about buying one but am worried about battery.
What do you say?
I am also thinking about XZ Premium, but that one has low sound quality through headphone jack (typical sony).
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If you want a phone which can survive a dive in sweet water and you don't plan to use custom roms, go for the XZ Premium. It's got a bit faster CPU(not much, though ) and a 4k display ( too bad it's not AMOLED but only IPS ).
However, if you want a great development life for your phone, take the Moto Z. Our main developer ( @erfanoabdi ) is excellent and we already have completely working 8.1 Oreo-based roms thanks to him.
I personally don't have a reason to upgrade my Moto Z ( I was a device-switching maniac, changing phones every 3-6 months, looking for the best phone up until the moment I bought this one ). The only thing I kinda dislike is the front placement of the fingerprint sensor ( although it's logical since mods go on the back and the phone is just too thin to fit a sensor on the sides) .And that's it.
I'm a pretty picky person when it comes to phones and that is my only "complaint".
The phone is snappy, the display rocks, the camera is great and the development of the phone is spot-on.
As for battery life:
On a stock rom it will probably suck since 2650 mAh is what it is. However, once you get a custom rom on it and after you apply a full black theme like Swift Black for Substratum, the battery life is significantly increased( I get through a day on one charge with ease ) because of how AMOLED screens work.
I also don't know of any other flagship phone this thin ( at only 5.2 mm, it's as thick as an iPhone when you put a bulky case on ) .
In the end, it's all up to you.
Hi. I am also thinking of purchasing the Moto Z (2016). But I'm kind of scared regarding the Bluetooth/WiFi problem. Is this a "Nougat" bug or a hardware problem? Can anybody let me know. Thanks.
robjbw said:
Hi. I am also thinking of purchasing the Moto Z (2016). But I'm kind of scared regarding the Bluetooth/WiFi problem. Is this a "Nougat" bug or a hardware problem? Can anybody let me know. Thanks.
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What bug? Care to elaborate?
robjbw said:
Hi. I am also thinking of purchasing the Moto Z (2016). But I'm kind of scared regarding the Bluetooth/WiFi problem. Is this a "Nougat" bug or a hardware problem? Can anybody let me know. Thanks.
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It's a hardware problem. I also bought for someone else and had this hardware defect after 2 weeks. It was repaired though.
robjbw said:
Hi. I am also thinking of purchasing the Moto Z (2016). But I'm kind of scared regarding the Bluetooth/WiFi problem. Is this a "Nougat" bug or a hardware problem? Can anybody let me know. Thanks.
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I've noticed the WiFi is better after flashing an Oreo ROM.
EZY-E said:
I am thinking about buying one but am worried about battery.
What do you say?
I am also thinking about XZ Premium, but that one has low sound quality through headphone jack (typical sony).
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Hi.
The worst part of this phone for me is battery life. simply it's terrible. Most times 1.5 - 2 Hours of SOT!
Even with Battery MOD at best i get 3 Hours. (Consider the bulky and heaviness of Battery MOD)
The other parts of phone (Camera, Performance, Software) is petty solid and fine IMO.
Another thing that usually is important for me is the XDA Community is not active enough,
Don't get me wrong, there are some Professional developers for Moto Z but not many and your options for Custom ROMs usually limited to 1-2 ROMs.
I'm considering Xiaomi Mi A1 or OP5t for next year.
:highfive:
robjbw said:
Hi. I am also thinking of purchasing the Moto Z (2016). But I'm kind of scared regarding the Bluetooth/WiFi problem. Is this a "Nougat" bug or a hardware problem? Can anybody let me know. Thanks.
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What problems are you getting?
Depends on price IMO. Battery is meh but I carry battery pack with me to school so not a big problem. Not all that happy with camera coming from Nexus 5X. It is not terrible but the one on Nexus was better, other then that, speed and everything else is working fine. I still love the look of the phone. Will be keeping it for one more year and maybe think about replacement then.
It's a solid phone. I was using a 6p until it started bootlooping. There's a few Oreo 8.1 ROMs out there and moto mods work for the most part.
Go for the TurboPack or Mophie juice pack.
I found the wifi reception is better after installing an Oreo ROM.
On a good stock-based custom ROM with a good Kernel you can get decent SOT. With the original charger it is also very fast charged up again.
If you have the ability to Charge your phone at work/School then it wont be Problem.
But as mentioned before there are phones with better battery,
Also there are very few good ROMs for the Z which work 100% fine.
If you can pick it up for a good price, go for it. I got mine a year ago for about 250€
Today you can get it (used) for very good Prices considering it still has top notch Hardware.
FYI in my country under 400usd none can beat moto z at least in synthetic bench like antutu, geekbench etc.
Also the cam quite good coming from iphone 6.
If you can find secondhand that still have warranty it will be better as the price drop like a stone(release price over 65p usd)
I found a Metro PCS K20 Plus scattered in pieces down by the river one morning last summer. The screen had a million cracks, and it was just in terrible condition. I found the battery 25 feet or so from the phone... anyway, I put it all back together, and amazingly it worked, AND it was network unlocked! My phone had just been lost/stolen, so it was a welcome find. It's a snappy phone, more responsive than my BLADE Z MAX or Sensa LTE and the battery lasts forever. So I've wanted to get a new screen for it, but for the longest time they were around $60. Some were cheaper but with no frame and why glue a new screen to a busted up ... well, rest of the phone? But I was at Best Buy recently and I noticed that the Simple Mobile LG Grace looked a lot like the K20 Plus. After watching some repair videos of both phones I realized they were identical in design, except for silver highlights - not gold, and the LG Grace has less RAM & ROM, and weaker camera (but all these things can be swapped from the K20). So I went ahead and bought the LG Grace for $49.99, swapped out the motherboard, fingerprint sensor and camera and my now my K20 is brand new again! Also, a brand new higher capacity battery (2800 mAh instead of 2700 mAh). 100% working. So if you've got a busted screen, just buy an Lg Grace. It's the same amount as a new screen, plus you'll get a new body and free higher capacity battery. Took about an hour and very simple. Hope this helps someone out.
Thanks for posting your findings. I'm sure this will be handy for some. I have 2 of these that I passed down to my daughters and they are banged up as a result. I "upgraded" to the Stylo 4 but since the bootloader is completely locked up, I want my beloved K20 back. This phone blows the Stylo out of the water 100x.
@Travisholt92
ninjasinabag said:
@Travisholt92
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I already have a new screen, just need another rear camera and rear speaker then I can thoroughly test these pie builds. At least Bluetooth audio still works.
Screen - $28.99 USD
Bought a few of them over the years, works well!
Hi all,
For the last few months I've been waiting to upgrade my phone and I came to the conclusion that the mate 20 pro offer the best in term of price/value compared to P30 pro and S10/S10+.
I contacted an official Huawei retailer where I live and he told me the mate 20 pro is finally available with official warranty, I asked him about the screen gluegate issue and he told me many units were sold and there was no issues.
With that being said should I go for it and assume the newer batches don't have this issue?
In worst case scenario the screen will be replaced for free under warranty.
I purchased my Mate 20 Pro about a month and a half ago, and I've overall been very pleased with the device. I, too, bought the phone because it has everything I'm looking for in a smartphone at an affordable price.
Many have sung the praises of this phone and I concur. Overall, it's great. Battery performance amazing, the screen is beautiful to look at and the phone is snappy in every regard. I enjoy the stereo speakers of the phone, they're loud, clear and have some underlying bass, but they do not get as loud as the S9/S10 speakers. The earpiece is also significantly weaker than the bottom-firing one, delivering the high tones whereas the bottom-firing speaker has both louder volume and carries the bass.
The battery life is consistent and gets me around 7-8 hours of SOT with about 2 hours of off-screen Youtube Vanced playback. That's absolutely stellar. And when you eventually run out of battery after a long day or two, the supercharge charges the phone incredibly quickly, but the phone gets really warm in the process.
The optical fingerprint reader is good most of the time, but really finnicky at other times. I set up the 3D face unlock and never looked back, but having both options for unlocking the device makes it incredibly convenient.
The ergonomics of the device are great as well. The placement of the buttons is perfect, the phone feels good in the hand - and it's quite nice to look at as well.
At 750 USD which was the price I got the phone for, I'd say it's a great deal - especially when a S10+ is about 1000 USD. You aren't giving up much in terms of quality (screen and speaker quality) but you'll get amazing battery life in return and $250 to spend on whatever else you like.
Thanks a lot for the feedback
Well in terms of price it's around the S10E but way cheaper than S10+, I was thinking the E was my safest option but I'd give up a lot compared to mate 20 pro so the E is out of the way for me.
I assume u didn't face any problems regarding the screen green tint which is my biggest concern.
I think I'll go for the mate 20 pro and hope for the best, wish me luck.
I forgot to mention that only the exynos varient is available in my region for the S10 series. So I guess that's one more reason to get the mate 20.
I've had my Mate 20 Pro for about 3.5 weeks now and it's had absolutely no screen or build quality issues. If you go for the Twilight version, get a case as it's slippery without.
Sent from my Mate 20 Pro using Tapatalk
aindow said:
I've had my Mate 20 Pro for about 3.5 weeks now and it's had absolutely no screen or build quality issues. If you go for the Twilight version, get a case as it's slippery without.
Sent from my Mate 20 Pro using Tapatalk
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Thanks for the feedback.
I think i'm gonna get the black version, and i'm gonna buy a case either way.
I bough mine 2 weeks ago, new, a black unit with BOE (free app device info hw can tell you whether the screen is BOE or LG, supposedly LG screens are prone to having issues, personally, I think that was just early units) display for $690 on ebay. Very happy with the phone. Followed the guide to uninstall hisearch. Phone has updated since but hisearch didn't come back, it was so annoying trying to swipe down the notifications and accidentally triggering hisearch. Unlike my previous phones, typical cases don't seem to protect the screen well enough. I bought the official flip case (the one with the small window on the front cover) because I'm worried about the edges of the screen, regular cases don't seem to have a lip big enough to protect them well. It's a little inconvenient but worth the trade off IMO. It's a popular phone so there is a decent case selection and reviews of cases are easy to find.
If I could unlock the bootloader and root it, it would be perfect but even as is, it's a great phone. If you use a smartwatch, be prepared to dig deep into battery settings to enable push notifications. The supercharger works great but I prefer just regular charging. I haven't seen any proof that supercharging is bad, it's just my reasoning to charge it slower to preserve the great battery life in the long term. I don't change phones often so seeing how well newest gen cameras perform was a bit of a surprise.