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Hello there,
After much inquiry, I've become undecided about this phone. I have been looking for a 4.7-5in phone with a good and snappy camera, battery, USA bands, and micro sd support, and the z5 compact seems to fit the bill. However, I keep reading problems about this device mainly concerning its software and camera. I really like the device given all it has to offer but I'm just not inclined to dish out $500+ on a device that has a problematic camera i.e. blurred edges caused by software or hardware, no warranty (here in the USA), over-heating, sony ui, etc. I currently have an LG G4 which absolutely meets my needs but like I said, I'm looking for a smaller phone for traveling and one hand handling.
So my question for those who own the Z5c, is it really THAT bad and will the firmware update fix the purported problems of this device? I'm concerned about the blurry edges being a hardware issue and perhaps Sony is just covering their tracks by saying that an "update" will fix that problem. If you have updated your device, could you post a sample of the fixed camera or at least let us know here?
Really appreciate your time and input!
Coming from the z1 compact and z3 compact, although I loved those phones I did find the camera sub par, and the external speaker volume too low and muffled, the front and back screens were finger print magnets and easily scratched.
But I love the compact series and put my hope and money back into the z5-compact.
Had mine for 2 weeks now (Arctic white) and I love the new design, the no finger print frosted rear glass and the front screen also just doesn't seem to attract finger prints either!, improved and much louder external speakers, the camera has improved dramatically. I have none of the reported issues of blurred edges, slow camera opening etc it's all good. Oh and the fingerprint scanner is awesome!
I love this phone to death it's perfect in my eyes. It will be hard to part with this when it comes time to upgrade to the z6 compact ☺
Woza72 said:
Coming from the z1 compact and z3 compact, although I loved those phones I did find the camera sub par, and the external speaker volume too low and muffled, the front and back screens were finger print magnets and easily scratched.
But I love the compact series and put my hope and money back into the z5-compact.
Had mine for 2 weeks now (Arctic white) and I love the new design, the no finger print frosted rear glass and the front screen also just doesn't seem to attract finger prints either!, improved and much louder external speakers, the camera has improved dramatically. I have none of the reported issues of blurred edges, slow camera opening etc it's all good. Oh and the fingerprint scanner is awesome!
I love this phone to death it's perfect in my eyes. It will be hard to part with this when it comes time to upgrade to the z6 compact ☺
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the software seem good and fast? No stutters or lag?
Thanks
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
Notchr302 said:
Does the software seem good and fast? No stutters or lag?
Thanks
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There were stutters and lags, but since the last update they all are gone.
Drakorcarnis0 said:
There were stutters and lags, but since the last update they all are gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm so confused because some say there is still lag after the update. Ugh lol
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
I am one of those who would say that the lags are gone after the update. And whatever that guy said, I agree wholeheartedly. This phone is a beast. I also come from a Z3 Compact and I am loving the Z5c. Especially the camera
It was a little stuttery straight out of the box but I downloaded Sony PC companion (just googled it) and then downloaded the latest firmware 32.0.A.6.152 (it took a couple of hours, which by all reports is normal) then updated my phone.
Happy to report it is buttery smooth with no stutters or lags all super fast.
Interesting to see that the pre installed photo analyzer app (Sony) which was reportedly causing some lag, had disappeared in the latest firmware.
I hope this has helped you with your decision.
Cheers
Do you still have the blurry edges or has it been fixed?
moist_line said:
Do you still have the blurry edges or has it been fixed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
99% sure it's good. You be the judge. Just a quick picture, tried to place items on every edge/corner.
I'm sitting at the park, it's dusk and a little cloudy. No flash, superior auto, 8mp.
I've had the Z5C for a week now and I can't comment too much on certain details because this is my very first Android phone - I am coming straight from a Nokia 808. The phone is compact, slick-looking, seems incredibly fast to me and I am liking the Android experience as a whole, although a few things Symbian had were simpler and more elegant (changing phone profiles, searching for contacts under phone, for instance).
The one issue I have, and that is a big one and it is so big of an issue that I registered today on XDA to ask for help, is the extremely poor photo/camera quality. I cannot understand what is going on here. This is a $600 2015 brand new release phone. Something must be wrong either with the software or hardware on my phone, which sucks since I purchased it for US operation (no warranty). I do not know how to express in words how disappointed I am with the camera. Let's just say that my 2012 Nokia 808 takes photos comparable to my SLR system. I was expecting at least equivalent photo quality from a modern/newer phone.
OldSkewler said:
I've had the Z5C for a week now and I can't comment too much on certain details because this is my very first Android phone - I am coming straight from a Nokia 808. The phone is compact, slick-looking, seems incredibly fast to me and I am liking the Android experience as a whole, although a few things Symbian had were simpler and more elegant (changing phone profiles, searching for contacts under phone, for instance).
The one issue I have, and that is a big one and it is so big of an issue that I registered today on XDA to ask for help, is the extremely poor photo/camera quality. I cannot understand what is going on here. This is a $600 2015 brand new release phone. Something must be wrong either with the software or hardware on my phone, which sucks since I purchased it for US operation (no warranty). I do not know how to express in words how disappointed I am with the camera. Let's just say that my 2012 Nokia 808 takes photos comparable to my SLR system. I was expecting at least equivalent photo quality from a modern/newer phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are your thoughts on the quick photo I posted? All standard settings in quite average light? Do you see any of the issues you are experiencing on your phone?
Woza72 said:
What are your thoughts on the quick photo I posted? All standard settings in quite average light? Do you see any of the issues you are experiencing on your phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the resolution posted, I dont see any issues. What I see on my photos is some sort of sharpening which causes details to be lost when zooming in. And believe me, I am not even remotely pixel-peeking, just basic cropping for creative purposes.
I'll try to post some sample photos to illustrate what I am facing here.
Cheers,
BB
OldSkewler said:
The one issue I have, and that is a big one and it is so big of an issue that I registered today on XDA to ask for help, is the extremely poor photo/camera quality. I cannot understand what is going on here. This is a $600 2015 brand new release phone. Something must be wrong either with the software or hardware on my phone, which sucks since I purchased it for US operation (no warranty). I do not know how to express in words how disappointed I am with the camera. Let's just say that my 2012 Nokia 808 takes photos comparable to my SLR system. I was expecting at least equivalent photo quality from a modern/newer phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you haven't already, you might want to check the main Xperia Z5 subforum about this issue, specifically this thread where they talk about the camera, and the best settings for particular lighting. It could be you have a defective camera though, and if so, I feel for ya since I also imported my device.
Adrift98 said:
If you haven't already, you might want to check the main Xperia Z5 subforum about this issue, specifically this thread where they talk about the camera, and the best settings for particular lighting. It could be you have a defective camera though, and if so, I feel for ya since I also imported my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly how my photos look like! Thanks for linking me to this thread, even though what I learned from it is not exactly great news!
OldSkewler said:
Exactly how my photos look like! Thanks for linking me to this thread, even though what I learned from it is not exactly great news!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem for me. It's a very expansive phone and you have to read pages of forums to understand how to make the most of it.
But still, the camera to me is a complete disaster. The app is cheap, very laggy, menus are terrible and the most improtant part, it takes poor photos.
Oversharpened and zooming in a tiny bit on a 23Mp pictures is just horrible.
The photo shared a few post back in the park is just awful too, sorry bro no offense, but it's not a defective camera it's just what is sold.
When you come from other brands, you are automatically disapointed.
P.S. videos are quite amazing though, especially in 60fps and the management of the edit app of videos is very good too.
I just switched to the nexus 5X, and there are no comparaison. Much much simpler, you don't need to test every little setting to take a good pic and zooming in is incredible, the best.
Yet I really loved the compact shape and overall build quality of the z5 device.
Comments non related to the camera is : the system is quite good as it is very similar to stock android but a little disappointed too by the performance.
I don't speak about lags and everything as it is quite fluid, but it just takes time to open or reload apps compared to my other devices.
I am still keeping the device to see if there will be improvement (there should be a major camera app update this month) but i don't believe in miracles, i don't think that will solve the pictures quality.
If you know how to use it (8mp at SA for darker scenarios, 23mp manual for bright daylight) it's been reviewed in a number of places as the best camera currently on the market. It's interesting to me how polarizing the camera is for people though. People either think it's the second coming, or the antichrist. I imagine that the improvements to the software promised with the Marshmallow update will go a long way to getting a lot of naysayers to give it a second look.
Adrift98 said:
If you know how to use it (8mp at SA for darker scenarios, 23mp manual for bright daylight) it's been reviewed in a number of places as the best camera currently on the market.
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Click to collapse
That is a very interesting perspective on the topic; so basically it boils down to misuse by users! And I suspect this is from someone that has never even tried the phone!
Let me propose the exact opposite, and I suspect a portion (if not majority) of people complaining about the imaging performance on these Z5 phones are actually far from amateur photographers and do understand what is achievable and should be expected in terms o quality. There is no way to slice this or put a twist on it, and I don't care about DXO ratings.
OldSkewler said:
That is a very interesting perspective on the topic; so basically it boils down to misuse by users! And I suspect this is from someone that has never even tried the phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's certainly been by those who've tried the phone. By the looks of it you didn't get too far into that thread I previously recommended, but Timaustin2000 and a few others in that thread really turned the tone around with their investigations on the ability of the camera, and comparison shots. They've even had an influential effect on reviewers. So for instance, it wasn't till TimAustin pointed out to the reviewers at Android Authority that they were crippling the phone by using the 23mp in low light scenarios that they took into consideration the supersampling of the 8mp default settings. From there a number of other reviewers, bloggers, vloggers, and the like took a second look at the camera in the phone and tested appropriately with often very very positive results (many of these reviews and videos are also mentioned in that thread).
Let me propose the exact opposite, and I suspect a portion (if not majority) of people complaining about the imaging performance on these Z5 phones are actually far from amateur photographers and do understand what is achievable and should be expected in terms o quality. There is no way to slice this or put a twist on it, and I don't care about DXO ratings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the recent reviews that I've been reading and watching, that doesn't appear to be the case, but of course, you're free to come to your own conclusions.
Haven't had much experience with the Z5C camera yet, only had it for a week.
But one thing, it takes so long to open. This is my 1St Android phone, been an ios user for around 4.5 years & the iPhones were just easier to access their camera. Slide up, click camera & it opened. On the Z5C, you press & hold the camera button, feel it vibrate, let it go... & wait.
After a second or so, the screen goes black, then the camera opens, then the screen starts to set itself up.
Just tried then & it was around 4 seconds.
I love the phone so far, but it seems to really struggle with normal usage.
By normal usage, for me, I mean it lags. Playing YouTube videos, it lags, I'm in Oz & we have an online streaming movie/TV service called Stan.... It doesn't work on the Z5.
Switching between tasks can give the phone a heart attack. For example, I was playing Clash Of Clans & some one tried to call me, the box popped down, I clicked answer & nothing happened.
I clicked answer two or three more times, before clicking back to the home screen, the phone call went to message bank while my phone locked up, went black & I had to wait around 30 seconds for it to sort itself out.
Even typing this it lags every now & then.
8 Ball Pool is laggy... If messages pop while playing, it gets even worse.
I do love the phone, I am enjoying Android (I miss a few ios advantages), but I just wish that the phone didn't feel like it was made with enough Ram to run the OS & one app at a time.
Oh... The audio is quiet, it doesn't go as loud as my iPhone 4 did, with my Bose head set & it lacks the same bass, but does sound alright.
The included Sony ear plugs are uncomfortable, have no sound advantages, have annoying different length ear cords & no volume control.
No supplied quick charger.
The back of the phone tends to get quite hot.
Sid3wayz said:
Haven't had much experience with the Z5C camera yet, only had it for a week.
But one thing, it takes so long to open. This is my 1St Android phone, been an ios user for around 4.5 years & the iPhones were just easier to access their camera. Slide up, click camera & it opened. On the Z5C, you press & hold the camera button, feel it vibrate, let it go... & wait.
After a second or so, the screen goes black, then the camera opens, then the screen starts to set itself up.
Just tried then & it was around 4 seconds.
I love the phone so far, but it seems to really struggle with normal usage.
By normal usage, for me, I mean it lags. Playing YouTube videos, it lags, I'm in Oz & we have an online streaming movie/TV service called Stan.... It doesn't work on the Z5.
Switching between tasks can give the phone a heart attack. For example, I was playing Clash Of Clans & some one tried to call me, the box popped down, I clicked answer & nothing happened.
I clicked answer two or three more times, before clicking back to the home screen, the phone call went to message bank while my phone locked up, went black & I had to wait around 30 seconds for it to sort itself out.
Even typing this it lags every now & then.
8 Ball Pool is laggy... If messages pop while playing, it gets even worse.
I do love the phone, I am enjoying Android (I miss a few ios advantages), but I just wish that the phone didn't feel like it was made with enough Ram to run the OS & one app at a time.
Oh... The audio is quiet, it doesn't go as loud as my iPhone 4 did, with my Bose head set & it lacks the same bass, but does sound alright.
The included Sony ear plugs are uncomfortable, have no sound advantages, have annoying different length ear cords & no volume control.
No supplied quick charger.
The back of the phone tends to get quite hot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Previous iPhone only user here too. Have you updated to the latest firmware? My camera takes about 2 seconds to come up pressing the side button since the update. Further improvements are expected with the Marshmallow update.
Also, I have no lag since the latest firmware, but I'm also using the Nova Launcher which you can get for free in the Play Store (not sure if that makes any difference or not).
I also have a problem with the volume, especially from the front speakers. Thought having two speakers instead of one, as I did on my iPhone 2G, 3G, 4S. and 6S would make it louder, but it's not. Still, honestly, I don't find it much quieter than those devices either. the 6S was maybe a tick louder, but not by much. I still want more punch from the front speakers, and I'm hoping that's something I can fix by doing some sort of ROM tweak. If not, I suppose I can live with it, but its the biggest disappointment about the device for me, not because its so much quieter than my iPhone devices, but because it doesn't stand head and shoulders above them.
I don't know about you, but my Sony ear plugs are way way wayyyyy more comfortable than my iPhone headphones. In fact, they're the most comfortable in-ear headphones I've ever worn. The different length on the cords I don't really have much issue with, since I usually drape the longest cord behind my head to my right ear (which is how I'm assuming they're meant to be worn). I will admit that they seem slightly cheap-ish, and I was hoping that where the volume button was (which I DO have on my pair) also had a mic so I could answer in-coming calls, but overall, I think they're pretty okay. Again, they're much more comfortable than the headphones that came with my iPhones. As far as loudness in the headphones is concerned, they're loud enough, but I definitely wouldn't mind if they were louder. I'll probably end up getting some sort of thin amp/dac like the dragonfly or the Aqua to boost the volume. Shame I have to do that, but oh well.
Again, its interesting to me how varied people's reactions are to this device. I'm FAR more happier with this device than I am my previous iPhones. Its not perfect, but it hits so many of the checkboxes for me that its hard to complain.
Edit: Oh, also, I got a quick charger with my device, but I bought the Taiwan version, so maybe that accounts for the difference in headphones and charger.
Lastly, after the initial setup, and especially after the update, my phone doesn't get very hot. Maybe I'm not using the same intensive programs that you are, though. The phone gets a little warm with Candy Crush and Asphalt 8, but my iPhone 6S also got pretty hot just using the camera (which is something my mother noticed when I handed her the phone to see some pictures).
I read a lot of reviews and opinions here about the Z5C that are from people that were or still are using a Sony device. The Z5C is usually compared in terms of the Z3C or even the Z1C. Those comparisons are good if you own those devices, but I have no prior contact with Sony. My current device is a Moto G (1st Gen).
So I'd like to know what people who had no prior contact, or at least not in the past years, with Sony say about the phone. How does it feel and how much "crap" is on a Sony phone compared to a Nexus or Motorola phone? How good/bad are the Sony-Apps ? What "oddities" do Sony phones have?
Thanks for your opinions.
I came from a Moto G (2nd Gen) to the Z5C which is my first Sony phone. So a similar path to what you are considering. It comes with way more "crap" on in than the Motorola did. Where my Moto G (2nd Gen) might have had 5 Motorola utilities, the Z5C has maybe 30. Many of them are app/tools that seemingly connect you into the Sony Sphere. PlayStation stuff, Dinosaur images pop up in the camera you can stamp on your photos and super cheesy Japanese schoolgirl emoticons for your text input.
If you like the clean native Google apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Photos messaging and so on you will find yourself having to disable the Sony versions.
One oddity my Z3C has is that is is fussy about which micro USB cable will charge it. So if like me you have a collection of micro USB cables and chargers from previous phone they may not all work. I guess this may be due to tighter tolerances required water proofing the charge port. Not a biggy but worth knowing.
I find the Xperia Keyboard gesture input (aka Swype input) to be a PITA. Miss rate is too high and deleting errors is tedious. Shame becuase it works very well on other phones.
Small size is great. Can easily slip it in a front trouser pocket.
BUT I have yet to feel "vibrate on for calls" when it is my pocket. When someone does call when Z5C in pocket when I am doing somehting noisey like mowing a lawn, I dont feel the vinration alert, it seemingly wakes the phone and thereafter movement leads to random screen presses. So when I eventually retrieve it form my pocket an hour later the screen is still on and it is in some weird screen such as the camera or emerg dialer. Perhpas I am missing something here though. Oh and definitely don't buy it for the camera if you are expecting a point and shoot with a high % of great shots.
That's my thoughts.
Coming from a nexus 5, I love this phone! Never charge it from the mains only from my car every day(1 hour commute each way) and it keeps going strong! Pretty quick and feels good.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Coming from Samsung S3
This Z5 is very bad...unstable sw, no optimization, really slow...bleah! I think i will never buy again a sony device. Oh...customer care is bad too.
Camera is slow and poor quality, GPS is very inaccurate, BT disconnet and reconnect every 15 secs (i think the problem is trhow but i can't disable it...)
So...i'm not a satisfied user..
Thank you all for your replies.
logger said:
I came from a Moto G (2nd Gen) to the Z5C which is my first Sony phone. So a similar path to what you are considering. It comes with way more "crap" on in than the Motorola did. Where my Moto G (2nd Gen) might have had 5 Motorola utilities, the Z5C has maybe 30. Many of them are app/tools that seemingly connect you into the Sony Sphere. PlayStation stuff, Dinosaur images pop up in the camera you can stamp on your photos and super cheesy Japanese schoolgirl emoticons for your text input.
If you like the clean native Google apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Photos messaging and so on you will find yourself having to disable the Sony versions.
One oddity my Z3C has is that is is fussy about which micro USB cable will charge it. So if like me you have a collection of micro USB cables and chargers from previous phone they may not all work. I guess this may be due to tighter tolerances required water proofing the charge port. Not a biggy but worth knowing.
I find the Xperia Keyboard gesture input (aka Swype input) to be a PITA. Miss rate is too high and deleting errors is tedious. Shame becuase it works very well on other phones.
Small size is great. Can easily slip it in a front trouser pocket.
BUT I have yet to feel "vibrate on for calls" when it is my pocket. When someone does call when Z5C in pocket when I am doing somehting noisey like mowing a lawn, I dont feel the vinration alert, it seemingly wakes the phone and thereafter movement leads to random screen presses. So when I eventually retrieve it form my pocket an hour later the screen is still on and it is in some weird screen such as the camera or emerg dialer. Perhpas I am missing something here though. Oh and definitely don't buy it for the camera if you are expecting a point and shoot with a high % of great shots.
That's my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually never use the original cables since I have set up a "charging station". Which cables does the Z5C not accept? Is there a pattern?
And I'm not buying this for the camera, I have a DSLR for that
Tuonorosso said:
Coming from Samsung S3
This Z5 is very bad...unstable sw, no optimization, really slow...bleah! I think i will never buy again a sony device. Oh...customer care is bad too.
Camera is slow and poor quality, GPS is very inaccurate, BT disconnet and reconnect every 15 secs (i think the problem is trhow but i can't disable it...)
So...i'm not a satisfied user..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have the newest firmware ? AFAIK a few things should have been fixed with the latest update. What experience do you have with the customer care ?
ricostuart said:
Coming from a nexus 5, I love this phone! Never charge it from the mains only from my car every day(1 hour commute each way) and it keeps going strong! Pretty quick and feels good.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How was the Z5C in terms of "snappiness" compared to the Nexus ?
nazgoul said:
Do you have the newest firmware ? AFAIK a few things should have been fixed with the latest update. What experience do you have with the customer care ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, last fw: 32.0.A.6.152
Customer care have reset the phone 4 times. Each trial did not resolve the problem. In the end they told me to bring it to service but they had no idea of the repair time and they not given me any temporary phone.
My phone has only one month and i need it for work...i can't stay weeks without it. For a 600$ phone i think this is unacceptable.
At this time i have the same initial problems...
I hope in Marshmallow ...
Coming from Moto G first Gen (falcon)
Coming from Moto G 1st Gen. This is my first Sony Phone.
I am loving the Z5C.
Few things to note that that will give you an idea between the two phones
1. The flash on the moto g is noticeably brighter and warmer. Idc about cameras, but I find I use the flashlight a lot
2. The chip on the Z5C does feel much faster. Not sure how to describe it other than the UI on the Z5C being more "fluid"
3. The chip on the Z5C does get noticeably warm (but not hot) on the back under certain loads. E.g. running long sessions of RDP or installing lots of apps in quick succession or recording 4K video. Under normal use like browsing the web or watching youtube it does not get warm.
4. The camera is way better than the Moto G
5. The hardware feels really solid. It feels dense. I like it
6. The battery life is significantly better. At my usage, the Moto G will die at about 8pm or 9pm (taking off the charge at 7am). I have yet to kill the Z5C in a single day in my normal use
(my normal use usually has a few hours of music, and at least 4 hours of screen time)
7. The stereo speakers are much nicer, but the stereo effect is small, and they aren't not as loud as the moto g's single speaker
8. The max brightness of the Z5C's screen is about the same as the one on the Moto G. The min brightness is on the Z5C is lower though.
9 The physical dimensions of the Z5C is smaller in width and height. The Z5C does feel thicker because of its more boxy shape though
In terms of bloatware, there is quite a bit. I have a lot of apps disabled from settings or hidden (I use Apex)
There are some features that sony added that are nice though.
1. Built in screen recording
2. "Small Apps" - a bit like floating widgets
3. Nice audio optimizations that make my music experience nicer
4. Being able to customize the quick settings in the notification center
5. Battery percentage in the status bar (this is important to me )
6. The screen colours can be calibrated to your liking
Other things to consider
- The fingerprint sensor is pretty bad, but that could be just my fingers.
- The phone is really slippery compared to the Moto G. A case is highly recommended.
- Stamina mode - I havent tested if this has a positive effect on battery life, but i'm letting the placebo effect take place
- The microsd slot is nice for future proofing, although given that I had a 8GB moto g, and the Z5C comes with 32GB, Im not going to need a microsd in the near future.
- Water proofing
- Of the 32GB, about 10GB is taken up by the android system, and thus we cannot use for our own stuff
- I found the volume button placement on the Z5C wierd until I got used to it in less than a week. Unless you actively need access to it all the time, its not annoying
- I find that everything on screen is too large for my liking, so I have my DPI set to 280, the same as what I had on my Moto G
In response to some of the things said above:
- Bluetooth works fine for me. It has never lost connection to my Microsoft Band when I needed them to be connected
- I've used my Z5C with 3 different usb cables, none of them have a problem.
- Camera does launch slow if Photo Analyser Service is not disabled. The camera launches quite fast now (but admittedly not as fast as say an iPhone 6s)
- The GPS locks quicker than the Moto G, and has yet to be inaccurate for me.
I am really looking forward to Marshmallow
I hope that answers your questions. Sorry for long response lol
I have both nexus 6p and z5 compact. Previously had nexus 6.
I went for the z5c as it had wifi calling, and is a pretty small but powerful phone.
Notables, z5c is under-clocked, could be because heat dissipation on small device yielded unsatisfactory result, could be another one of those battery optimisation things.
It also seems to be on a conservative or power save profile, making it slow to start, but if you launch a game it gets into gear.
It was stuttering even with the OTAs of which i had received two, just a few days ago, even with factory resets it did not go away.
I used the sony PC companion to do a full firmware flash, not an incremental OTA and it became pretty smooth and slick to use again with all 0.5 speed animations and about 20 apps installed. I also disabled all of the original media apps and extra Sony stuff and use my own, poweramp and mxplayer is all i really need.
Pretty good experience to use now. Too bad about it using some sort of powersave profile even with stamina disabled. Good thing i have an nexus 6p to play with too.
you5urf said:
I used the sony PC companion to do a full firmware flash, not an incremental OTA and it became pretty smooth and slick to use again with all 0.5 speed animations and about 20 apps installed. I also disabled all of the original media apps and extra Sony stuff and use my own, poweramp and mxplayer is all i really need.
Pretty good experience to use now. Too bad about it using some sort of powersave profile even with stamina disabled. Good thing i have an nexus 6p to play with too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know how to disable throw?
Coming from the N5:
Disadvantages:
- Much less free RAM (N5X also has this issue, I think it's related to Android 64 bits).
- Much lower photo quality
Advantages:
- 200% or much more battery life.
- overall quality
- vídeo quality
Sent from my E5823
I am coming from the HTC One M7 which can be considered an old phone now I guess.
Good:
-Battery life finally gets me over the day and sometimes into the second.
-Better camera, but by far not great.
-Better display brightness
Bad:
-Sonys Android design looks like a toy. It lacks the beautiful HTC Sense look and features.
-Even with the latest firmware and fresh format its doesnt feel any fast than the old HTC One. Sense had a nicer flow overall.
-In general, switching between apps is not faster, once in the app, the processor surely shows its power. Antutu gave me 31k on HTC One and 62k on Z5C, so technically twice as fast.
-Having the phone in the front pockets of your jeans just looks stupid with the hard edges. The HTC one with its beautiful round design was basically invisible in your pocket.
The HTC One was far from perfect and had its issues, but my heart is still with that phone and I dont beleive I am gonna buy another Sony phone. I wanted a small powerful phone, but its not easy to like this phone I am afraid.
eivissa said:
I am coming from the HTC One M7 which can be considered an old phone now I guess.
Good:
-Battery life finally gets me over the day and sometimes into the second.
-Better camera, but by far not great.
-Better display brightness
Bad:
-Sonys Android design looks like a toy. It lacks the beautiful HTC Sense look and features.
-Even with the latest firmware and fresh format its doesnt feel any fast than the old HTC One. Sense had a nicer flow overall.
-In general, switching between apps is not faster, once in the app, the processor surely shows its power. Antutu gave me 31k on HTC One and 62k on Z5C, so technically twice as fast.
-Having the phone in the front pockets of your jeans just looks stupid with the hard edges. The HTC one with its beautiful round design was basically invisible in your pocket.
The HTC One was far from perfect and had its issues, but my heart is still with that phone and I dont beleive I am gonna buy another Sony phone. I wanted a small powerful phone, but its not easy to like this phone I am afraid.
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Click to collapse
I'm also coming from a HTC ONE M7 and I'm feeling exactly as you. I have had the phone for 5 days now and I'm seriously considering to sell it and keep using my M7 since I'm seeing the same things than you see.
I have great expectations for this phone but now that I have it, I'm a little bit disappointed...I don't know if it's cause I'm so use to my old phone or cause my old phone is sooo good that I don't see anything new or improved on the z5c...maybe expect for the waterproofing things.
I'll give it another week to see If I can fall in love with it...maybe when the custom roms start showing up I'll start to see the advantages of changing.
I've been used some HTC and got a Z1c and S6. Guys plz give sometime to this phone, my S6 also took a couple of months to improve before got satisfy result. I believe Android 6.0 will give a new life to this phone.
I've only experienced Apple's devices so I came over from an iPhone 3G, iPhone 4S and then an iPhone 6S. I absolutely LOVE this sucker. And I must have gotten very lucky because I haven't seen any of the issues that others have.
Pros:
1. Fascinated by the Android OS. There's just so much you can do with it! So much more freeing than Apple's IOS. They both have a few positive and negative quirks, but I'm not really missing IOS that much. I did miss the Safari left/right swipe browser initially, but found out about the Rbrowser app with built in ad-block and the swipe feature, and couldn't be happier.
2. The device is quick. Compared to my iPhone devices haven't experienced nearly as much lag even under load.
3. I love the camera and video. Takes far better pictures and video than any camera I've ever used before, and with the latest update, the menu selection is so easy to use. I think the side button to open the camera app is a genius. I also never experienced the blur issue that a lot of others complained about.
4. The size and look of the device totally compliments me. I find modern phones like the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6S way too big and clunky. This device is exactly the right size. Slightly larger than my old 4S, but still comfortable to hold, and type one handed with. I also absolutely love the sharp right angles on the phone. I dig the thickness of the Compact, and I love the bright punky yellow of the case color I selected.
5. The fingerprint scanner is so fun to use. I had one on the 6S that worked maybe slightly better, but that's only because there was more surface area to press, but still having a fingerprint reader makes me feel like a spy a bit.
6. I haven't had any issues with the heat of the phone. It gets warm, but after a month of use, I've never experienced it getting warmer than the 4S or the 6S even while playing graphic intensive games, using the GPS, or recording video. It never gets warm while browsing websites, or doing day to day smartphone things.
7. The device did have a little bit of bloatware, but then, so did Apple's devices. Removing/disabling the bloat was easy to do.
8. So far no unexpected surprises. The alarm works. the phone rings and vibrates as it ought. The apps all open fine. I get all my expected alerts and then some. Messaging works fine. The screen is bright and easy to read and watch. I love the little FM radio app (though I don't use it too much). Haven't had any issues with the GPS. Everything does what it's supposed to do.
Negatives:
1. Coming from devices with only one bottom speaker, I thought that having two front facing stereo speakers would make this device monster loud....it isn't. In fact, it's slightly quieter than the 6S (though louder than the 4S). That said, I do love the stereo effect, and I think having so many audio controls is awesome. I just wish the device was a bit louder. Hopefully when the device becomes rootable I can find a fix for that.
2. The boot up time on this device is pretty slow. From powered off, the 6S starts up in a matter of a couple seconds. It takes like half a minute or longer for the Z5 to start up. Course, this isn't much of an issue most of the time since the device doesn't usually need to be powered off or restarted.
3. The iPhone 6S 3D touch is pretty amazing, and I can see them doing some cool things with it over time. There was nothing about it that was super amazing while I had it. No apps to really take too much of an advantage of it yet, but I can see that it'll be awesome to have some time down the road.
4. The voicemail was a bit odd to set up. I'm used to Apple's easy voicemail integration that just works out of the box. For this device I had to download and setup a "visual voicemail" system that I'm not used to, and that I found a bit annoying.
My first Android phone was a Sony xperia mini. Was worse than Motorola Milestone (gsm droid) that replaced it. I since moved onto Samsung original Galaxy S and then Galaxy Nexus. Then the original Moto X dev edition which is the same size as this Z5C. I love the form factor. Ever since the Nexus 6 which I have one of those, Moto is obsessed with phone size. The Nexus 6 was named Shamu for a reason. I am hoping the just under 5" phones are not s dying breed because this device is the perfect size for me. I also like the subtle tweaks Sony does with their ROM compared to vanilla stock. Its also a fast device and I like the build quality compared to the Samsung devices I have owned. Those are my thoughts anyway.
So my daydream headsets have arrived from the Verizon promo. So far I'm pretty impressed with the experience and the build quality. The pixel having only 1080p has made for a somewhat odd "looking through a screen door" view, but the motion and controls are great. I have never tried vr before so I have nothing to compare it to. I did compare the nexus 6 and moto z play with the pixel in the daydream headset (granted the nexus and moto were using cardboard app). The nexus shows a slightly better picture than the moto and the moto slightly better than the pixel despite the pixel and moto z play having the same resolution and the moto being half inch larger. The pixel however showed the best motion which should be no surprise because it's the only one with daydream support.
After an hour or so of farting around in vr I felt just an odd feeling with my eyes. Not a head ache but similar to the feeling of driving for hours on end. I believe this could be a result of the lower resolution. Anyway, I'm very pleased with my included with purchase daydream headset and will probably use it a few times a month as time permits and new apps and games come out.
I received mine today as well promo from Project Fi and I must say I am also very impressed. I played around with the YouTube VR as well as some games. Great quality, and super comfortable when wearing the headset. YouTube VR is probably my most favorite. Puts your right in the action of the video. Super sweet.
Kind of wish I got an XL but only when using daydream. And even then it really isn't an issue. I love my pixel and my daydream, and Google home, and Chromecast.... Yeah
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
I love Daydream so far. The low resolution is really noticeable if you look at it, but it's also easy to ignore if you don't, so.... My biggest complaint is that it's awkward to run existing VR (Cardboard) apps, since they won't show up in the Daydream Launcher. You have to put your phone in the headset, but not close it, wait for the NFC tag to launch Daydream, then switch back to your real launcher, run the app you want, close the headset, and finally put it on. Quite a ridiculous process just to launch an app! Someone needs to make a standard app launcher for Daydream.
Similarly, whenever a VR app asks for a permission, you can seemingly approve it with the Daydream remote, but then you have to remove the headset and approve it again by clicking on the screen. Very bizarre.
The Google Play Movies app is disappointing ,since you can't zoom or move the screen at all, forcing you to look straight ahead, instead of putting it on and staring up at the ceiling while lying in bed, which I enjoy doing with YouTube videos. I also wish it had the curved screen feature.
Hopefully things will continue to improve as time goes on. Most of the Cardboard apps seem to have been forgotten about and not updated in a year or more, and the Daydream controller is not compatible with whatever control mechanism Cardboard used (I guess it had a trigger button?), so many of those apps don't work well.
Just turn off NFC and you can use the cardboard apps to your heart's content. Also FYI you can use the USB A to C adapter and plug in an Xbox remote for truly nausea inducing gaming fun!
My concern is how incredibly hot the phone gets. I get worried every time I put it in the headset. And then it's only a matter of time before the "phone is getting too hot" message starts appearing.
My Pixel gets real warm in the Daydream gizmo, but certainly not "too hot to touch" as I saw one reviewer claim. Nothing to compare it to, so I don't know nothing about no screen door. I did take off my wet-apply matte screen protector because it made the image "grainy".
I played with it for awhile, looked at all the content that's available, etc. Pretty cool, but as far as I'm concerned it still belongs on the "gee whiz" pile. "Cool" only takes you so far, and I don't see any killer app for it at this point.
Actually, my 7-year old granddaughter is getting more use from the Daydream gizmo than I am.
Edit: Thx to tjarvis for that tip about turning off NFC to view Cardboard content; makes sense, but I hadn't thought it through.
360/3D video and games is the only killer apps for VR. The "big" screen apps (WSJ, CNN) is a joke, I rather read articles and watch 2D videos on my 24" monitor.
360 video is kind of fun to watch, but will the interest last?
I only tried 2 free VR games, so can't comment on the benefit of a real VR game over old fashion non-VR games.
My Pixel is so hot that Daydream app pops up a message saying it will slower the rendering, then the VR is so laggish that it is completely unusable. But I am using bluetooth earphone, I suspect the bluetooth earphone is drawing too much power in addition to VR.
Here's the deal!
Samsung is the last chance for VR to really take off. And for that to happen, the only way is to remove, (or at least greatly lessen) the screen door effect which is possible with a 4K Display. This year, VR has to give a serious punch to the market with: New occulus apps, an improved display (4K), and a sensational release such a whole VR movie for all audiences, and a very popular game. And they have to advertise the hell out of it.
That's how they can better compete with the iPhone and cover up a bit the disaster the Note 7 was last year.
-----
But if they don't go the "VR" way what will happen? (meaning no 4K screen, and improvement in their development for VR).
VR won't go any further. Don't count on google or Daydream. Google hits and misses since the Google Glass or any of their new software which come, change name and then disappear. Daydream is out since like what? 1 Year? And no one outside the tech community even have heard about it. Google doesn't have Apple's charisma when launching new products. Talking of Apple's they don't care about VR. They see it as a gimmick and think that it will disappear soon as 3D disappeared from TVs.
Sony just releases a phone with 4K Display but doesn't support VR cause they don't want it to compete with the PlaystationVR, which in its turn doesn't seem to be reliable after the mediocre titles announced for Playstation VR at E3 2017.
On the PC front, VR is completely absent. The HTC Vive and Occulus Rift can't sell. They both flopped hard. Samsung has sold way way more VR units then those two combined.
In fact, Samsung is the leader of the VR market with the Gear VR. Therefore, the fate of VR rests on their shoulder.
----
And that's why if Samsung releases the Note 8 as a Galaxsy S8+ with a Pen, (1440p Display), it will mean that they do not expect VR to take of, and will keep it as a fun gimmick in the side and that's it. And slowly VR will disappear.
As a fan of VR and believing that with the right content and approach, VR is a valuable entertainment and a great asset, especially if you travel a lot, and want to bring your "Home Media" with you anywhere you go.
So it would be a shame for Samsung to release the Note 8 without a 4K Display. A huge let down.
Do you really think they would do that with the Note 8 tho? the times where the Note line got spec update are long gone with the Note 5! They will wait for the S9 with new things like that.
chieco said:
Do you really think they would do that with the Note 8 tho? the times where the Note line got spec update are long gone with the Note 5! They will wait for the S9 with new things like that.
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Click to collapse
You got a point there. Who knows? But maybe they'd want to experiment with a 4k screen on the Note 8 first as they did with the Iris Scanner which appeared on the Note 7 first. Who knows what samsung is thinking. To tell you the truth, them trying to get a fingerprint scanner under a display is ridiculously pointless imo, but the greater audience seems more focused on these gimmicks instead of way more interesting improvements like Dual speakers for stereo output, or a 4k screen for VR.
nomailx said:
You got a point there. Who knows? But maybe they'd want to experiment with a 4k screen on the Note 8 first as they did with the Iris Scanner which appeared on the Note 7 first. Who knows what samsung is thinking. To tell you the truth, them trying to get a fingerprint scanner under a display is ridiculously pointless imo, but the greater audience seems more focused on these gimmicks instead of way more interesting improvements like Dual speakers for stereo output, or a 4k screen for VR.
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Click to collapse
Samsung is 100% not going to do any half baked experiments with the Note line anymore after what happened.
I love using the Gear VR for 2D stuff like Browsing looking at photos and watching videos. It does that very good imo. But when it comes to 360° stuff you are right the low resolution kills it. And would love a upgrade. But urself are talking about the greater audience and do you think they care about VR? I don't think so! Most of them don't even know what it is, don't use it or think it'S a gimmick.
chieco said:
Samsung is 100% not going to do any half baked experiments with the Note line anymore after what happened.
I love using the Gear VR for 2D stuff like Browsing looking at photos and watching videos. It does that very good imo. But when it comes to 360° stuff you are right the low resolution kills it. And would love a upgrade. But urself are talking about the greater audience and do you think they care about VR? I don't think so! Most of them don't even know what it is, don't use it or think it'S a gimmick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair, they are bringing the dual camera to the Note 8 instead of the Galaxy S8+. There goes the theory that the S like is the innovative line. A 4K screen is not a "half baked" feature. Sony did it, Samsung can do it.
But the best anwser would be that 4K would be an option. When using your phone normally for daily tasks, the phone would use a full hd or qhd resolution, and may automatically go to 4K when the phone is used with the Gear VR. So unless a user changes the settings himself, the phone will have a usual resolution.
No one can argue against the fact that to have more options available is better.
I Already started another thread trying to explain why imo a 4K Display is crucial for the future of VR and why the Galaxy Note 8 should keep its promise to include a 4K Display. (Link under Post Scriptum).
---- Then I realize that most people think that VR is just a gimmick and doesn't have its uses. Most users just picked up VR for 10 minutes, liked it and then forget about it. This would have been a completely different if that Display was 4K.
In this thread I will try to explain things that can be done with VR and thus show how these experiences would improve drastically with a 4K VR Display on your phone. This thread will aim to inform people who are not that familiar with technology and especially with VR, but still may be curious of what it can do.
1. Pocket Movie Theatre with true 3D Experience:
You remember when 3D tvs were "in"? And that period of time when movie companies started to release all their content in 3D for movie theatres. Well, there's a reason why 3D stood strong in Movie Theaters since then and not in the living room's Tv. The reason is simple. Movie theaters offer a "Focused" experience with a huge Screen, while the living room is more casual and most common 3D tv screen panels can't compete with the silver screen. VR can.
Most VR users only focus on 360 videos for VR or 3D-360 videos, but they mostly forget about an important alternative: Watching 3D Movies in a Virtual movie theater!
When I used the Gear VR with my Note 7, I was amazed how the experience of being in a Movie Theater was Vivid! BUT Don't get me wrong! Usually I hate watching 3D movies in movie theaters. It's dark, blurry, I hate it. And I hated it on my Asus laptop with a 3D Screen. Again, too dark. But when I tried to watch a 3D movie on the Gear VR, I truly liked it. I thought "now this is how 3D is supposed to be. VR is the gateway to true 3D". The "3D" experience makes sense only in VR. That's what you understand as soon as you try it.
Here's a link that can be helpful if you are interested: https://www.vrheads.com/how-watch-3d-movies-your-gear-vr
But still, something was missing. It was all there, but not quiet yet. I could still see individual pixels. This is called the "Screen-Door effect". Basically it means being able to differentiate pixels on the display. One thing was then obvious. The Display resolution of the Note 7 was not bad at all. But double it, and you'd have a better experience without the Screen Door Effect. 2K is not there yet. It gives you an idea what VR could be, but also states that "4K" is the resolution to start VR.
Here are some live examples on what I am talking about:
Here's a PC Game shot "Zoomed" and "Through its Lens" with the Occulus rift which renders around "2160 x 1200" resolution:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3yDMgiqqjI&index=7&list=PLVIzBp5A6H0pY5vktvnZomrUUK1de8zD9
Now, the exact same game, again shot "Zoomed" and "Through its Lens" with the Pimax 4K which offers 4K resolution:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlB5sCbezQM&index=6&list=PLVIzBp5A6H0pY5vktvnZomrUUK1de8zD9
Now you can easily imagine that when not zoomed you would hardly see any pixels on the Pimax 4K.
This shows how a 4K Display is the Milestone for VR. It's THE Resolution that once achieved, truly offers a decent VR experience all can embrace. Is it the ultimate? Of course not. 8K will be better, at 16k we won't see any pixels even when zooming etc... But 4K, even not the ultimate resolution that VR must reach to be perfect, is THE resolution that will validate VR and allow it to be mainstream. VR Should have started at 4K. It's safe to think that starting VR at 2K is premature and stained its capabilities.
With all that in mind, now maybe you could imagine an immersive 3D movie experience right in your pocket thanks to a 4K Display. And no movie theater or home tv system would even come close to compete with that experience.
----------------
2. Virtual Desktop
You already know how much technology tries to shrink the size of computing. And based on the past, everyone accepts that the future is "Stronger tech in smaller package". With the Snapdragon 835, smartphones now take a bolder step toward pc level computing. And one of the first steps came with Samsung's Dex. To come to my point, let's first see what Samsung achieved with Dex.
The Dex is simply a dock connected to a monitor in which when you insert your Galaxsy S8, it changes the basic android interface to a PC like interface and transmits the changed pc like interface to the monitor it is connect to, for a PC Like experience. A mouse and keyboard connected to the phone thanks to bluetooth are the last peripherals that allows a full "pc like" usage.
Link for more info about the Dex: https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/29/15104600/samsung-dex-galaxy-s8-dock-announced-price-release-date
My Point is, you don't need that. You can use your Gear VR as a monitor for your Phone. Many apps allow that. But wait. That's not all. There's more.
What if I told you that you could use a true Full Featured PC with Intel and Nvidia level performance on your phone already. And you could use your Gear VR as the biggest monitor ever. Yes, this is possible thanks to a new streaming service called "Liquidsky". This service offers you a "Streamed PC" available to you anywhere you go. Your Steam account, or Ubisoft account any other gaming account including your game library and any other Desktop application you like can be used thanks to this PC streaming service.
What this allows you to do is incredible. You truly don't need a laptop anymore. Just your phone and you're done. The streaming service uses its own server to compute and process your games and your interaction with the minimum latency, and streams you the screen which you can watch on your phone's display. Since the service also supports VR, you can actually play your game on a huge VR Screen, bigger than any gaming monitor. Imagine playing your game on a Movie Theater. Yes. GTA 5 on a movie theater. Knowing that 2K is less than decent to watch video content, wouldn't you want to have a 4K Display for a total immersion?
On the link above you can watch how to use Liquidsky on Android. In the video you will see that they can play GTA 5 on the smartphone, thanks to their streaming service. And sony has already jumped on the Streaming bandwagon already with their Playstation NOW! Service. It's only a matter of time that it will be available on Android. But IT IS avalaible on PC. Which again, you could use Liquidsky to stream Playstation NOW, and there you have it. PS3 games on your smartphone.
Sony Playstation Now: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/playstationnow/
Official Liquidsky website: https://liquidsky.com/
Liquidsky working on Android: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RQXRsrcObo
Any streaming service to come, like the one mentioned above, already is supporting, and will support, VR. So imagine playing your favorite PC or Playstation game thanks to your smartphone, on a gigantic Movie Theater size Screen on VR! With a 2K Display, the experience wouldn't be as neat and clear as a 4K Display. Any display on your smartphone short of 4K Resolution would make the experience "fun but tiring, not quiet there yet". 4K is THE resolution that would truly immerse you and make you forget that you are staring at a Virtual Screen.
3. Exclusive 4K Content for your Phone.
You realize that the two points I mentioned above are not even content directly aiming your smartphone. These are just the "side effects" of evolving smartphone technology toward VR capabilities. But there are so much more you can do just because your phone has a 4K Display. Here are basic VR and non VR features you can do with a 4K Display:
- Watching 4K 3D 360 or 180 degree videos. Way more immersive experience than what the common 2K content offers.
- Youtube's own 4K 3D, 4K 3D 360 Videos. If you think that 4K is niche, you should know that Youtube already jumped into 8K.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNdHaeBhT9Q
- Able to see 4K Videos and pictures you shot thanks to your device in their native resolution on your smartphone. About that here's a review where Erika tests the 4K Display on Sony's latest flagship, which unfortunately has an LCD screen which is terrible for VR. But still, even as it can't be used for VR, (at least not as effectively as an AMOLED Displays can), Erika reviews the Display and claims that "Yes your eyes are able to see the difference between 2k and 4K".
See it for yourself at the exact time of the Review: https://youtu.be/Hl28F5k20eg?t=536
- And of course the 4K VR gaming content that would soon enter the Android Playstore, as soon as Samsung stands behind the 4K Display.
------------ Bottom Line
4K Display is not just a gimmick. It could open the biggest and the sharpest window to what your phone could show you. It would definitely take off the VR experience drastically. And as I already told in my previous thread, Samsung, or any other phone company, MUST, SHOULD bring a 4K Amoled Display for VR as soon as possible, if they want VR to have a brighter future.
PS: Perviously mentioned Thread Link:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-7/how-to/note-8-4k-display-t3622730
Also some mentions and questions how 4K would affect the Battery and the latest Sony 4K display flagship:
- Some worry about the Battery life. Well, this can easily be fixed as sony did on their latest flagship xperia XZ Premium. The phone uses a Full HD display for the everyday use. It initiates 4K when video applications starts. These can be change in options of course.
Same could be done for any 4K Display Smartphone. Just use a normal resolution for casual use, and switch to 4K when using VR, or a video app. Of course, even those settings could be change.
- Talking of the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, it has a 4K LCD Display which creates problems for VR such as motion blurr thus making it hard to use. Yes, it's weird to see Sony bring up a 4K display while totally ignoring VR.
Here's a review of the phone here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl28F5k20eg&t
The issue is not creating a 4K display. The issue at hand is creating hardware that can process and render that massive detail onto a 4K display. THAT and that alone is why it started at 2k. Storage is not at par. Internet needs gigabit speeds at the least. And video cards neeed at least 4x improvement. While I agree 4K is a minimum requirement, 4k VR is just not here yet and hardware companies like Nvidia or intel are in no rush to release capable hardware. There’s no profit in rushing