Database Users

[Q] Should I buy a Nexus 4 with it being almost a year old?

I've been debating buying a Nexus 4 for awhile. At this point, do you guys still think its worth it? I've heard rumors that they might be coming out with a new model this year, plus we have the GS4 and the HTCOne coming out very shortly. Do you guys think its worth the money? I really like the OS, no carrier stuff in it. Plus I'm off contract with ATT, so I dont have to worry about that, ill have good service.
-Thanks

I would still buy it. The N5 is still a rumour and anyway regardless if it does come out you'll always get OS updates before Samsung and HTC.

Maybe wait for a while for the much rumoured Motorola x? Nexus 4 is worth the money. You get what you paid for. Except for sd card and battery life, everything about this is excellent! I am overlooking the camera cuz no one should expect a dslr quality image from a mobile phone.
I am very happy with my nexus 4. Whoever I show it to, is really pleased with design of this device. They have never heard of this phone. In fact the nexus line. Imho, if you look for features on a smartphone go for Samsung, if you look for pure stock experience with updates and support go for nexus 4.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Just buy it For example, look at the galaxy nexus its been 2 years since its release and its still going strong
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Nexus 4 was released in November. Today it's the 1st of April. Yep, almost a year, only some 7 months short..

Hmm OK, I'll probably pick one up then. I'm just tired of always purchasing the newest handsets to have the features, i just want them when they come out lol. Plus i really like how smooth the android experience is with how google sets up their phones. Are they really heavy by chance?

And I also don't think nexus 5 will support sd card, instead more storage size will be available along with cloud
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Behemyth said:
Hmm OK, I'll probably pick one up then. I'm just tired of always purchasing the newest handsets to have the features, i just want them when they come out lol. Plus i really like how smooth the android experience is with how google sets up their phones. Are they really heavy by chance?
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Heavy?????? I wouldn't say so at 139 grams.

It is hard to me to get any other android phone these days. I used to work at sprint and hated that they weren't going to have nexus 4, galaxy nexus was just too old at the time and with no voice and data...
I have used gs3 and one x plenty, neither work as well as stock android. Touch wiz is buggy and takes away core features while adding new ones that don't work too well, aside from being very laggy compared to stock.
Sense is not bad, but multitasking on it is horrific, even if you root it.
Both aren't great with software updates, HTC ones never come and Samsung ones end up buggy in most cases.
Motorola ui thus far is too inferior to even consider. Point is, no thing really compared to stock in my opinion. You may see much better benchmarks on gs4 but I doubt day to day it'd prove as stable and smooth as n4.
So, to me... Yes, worth the money, specially considering you'd get one for less than $400 with no contract! My only major issue with n4 is the antenna, it is subpar compared to other devices, same was for gn.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

a year old lol its not even 5 month old yet came out the back end of November 2012

What I suggest is find a decently spec phone from sprint and put AOSP on the device and tweak the hell out of it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Yeah, i just bought one. I hear the camera is pretty bad, but i never take pictures. I'm sure if i need to it will work for me. Everything else I've heard is positive. Can't wait to get it. I'm going to be going from LTE to HSPA again though, that should still be plenty fast for me.

lol @ almost a year old. April 13th will be 5 months. And yes i would suggest it if you like stock android. If your more into skins and bloat, go for the HTC one or the S4 at nearly double the price.

Yeah, that's my fault. I thought they came out last summer, didn't know they were that new yet. I'm just tired of all the manufacturers screwing with the phones, and the constant problems. Plus the fact that you never see updates, ever. I have a OneX now, and im so tired of how sluggish and slow it is. Plus i have constant problems with it anymore.
Just hoping this is a good move. I can't wait to get it and start using it.

Behemyth said:
Yeah, that's my fault. I thought they came out last summer, didn't know they were that new yet. I'm just tired of all the manufacturers screwing with the phones, and the constant problems. Plus the fact that you never see updates, ever. I have a OneX now, and im so tired of how sluggish and slow it is. Plus i have constant problems with it anymore.
Just hoping this is a good move. I can't wait to get it and start using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
updates are immediately, you will never regret a Nexus phone

I've asked myself the same questions as yourself before buying myself the nexus 4.
First, looking at timeline of nexus device releases, I've noticed it releases one at every year. So i assume the next nexus phone will only be here by November-December 2013 even if it will be announced at the May Google I/O.
Galaxy S4 is indeed a great device specwise (even better if you can get the 8 core version). But for me, it's still not a Nexus device, the build quality must be inferior to the current Nexus 4 (based on S3), looks exactly like the S3 which is EXTREMELY popular device (not unique), and the Nexus 4 is much more affordable priced.
HTC One, the only thing that will attract me over the nexus 4 is the full aluminum body. Not a Sense fan. That's it.
So with all those, i ended up with the Nexus 4 and I don't regret it.

Its not even halfway to a year old. Its not outdated hardware. S4 Pro is still one of Qualcomms fastest chips. and the Snapdragon 600 uses the same gpu "Adreno 320"

Almost a year? N4 might be too complicated for you.
And yeah google will release another nexus phone...probably 7months from. The N4 is still the best android phone out and it is the best out of the box android device I've used in 4yrs of android by far.

Its blazing fast despite using an older soc. Faster as there's hardly any overlay on it. Next phone will probably be the X phone which will rumoured boasts the S800 which will be fast but the N4 is no slouch.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

0rigin said:
Nexus 4 was released in November. Today it's the 1st of April. Yep, almost a year, only some 7 months short..
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And most people didn't get their until January!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

I fear Motorola will abandon this phone.

I really want to get this Moto X because I loved the 1st gen so much, but I feel like we will get screwed over when it's time for Android N and Android O. I'm not sure if I should go Moto X for the next two years or Nexus 6p. I'm coming from a Nexus 5 as my daily driver and I love the Nexus advantage man. Opinions?

Prestige_DOPE said:
I really want to get this Moto X because I loved the 1st gen so much, but I feel like we will get screwed over when it's time for Android N and Android O. I'm not sure if I should go Moto X for the next two years or Nexus 6p. I'm coming from a Nexus 5 as my daily driver and I love the Nexus advantage man. Opinions?
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Click to collapse
Nexus guaranteed. Any other phone its up in the air. If you really care about immediate updates and bug fixes then its nexus. If updated are secondary or you can wait then moto. Plus anything can happen.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

monkeypaws said:
Nexus guaranteed. Any other phone its up in the air. If you really care about immediate updates and bug fixes then its nexus. If updated are secondary or you can wait then moto. Plus anything can happen.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see how anyone could not have the latest update right away. I get so excited for new features I can't sit back and watch. Motorola claimed to be able to send get updates out faster due to no carriers but that doesn't guarantee support for the coming years its depressing this just hit me.

Really your preference, they are both solid devices. The better performer is the 6p, the moto x is a pretty close second. There's really no evidence comparing the two devices just yet, if that matters to you then wait a few more days until YouTubers post some comparison videos so you can get a closer look. Motorola is usually a month behind nexus devices for updates, but remember they are two to three months faster than your typical Samsung, lg etc..

playerone_ said:
Really your preference, they are both solid devices. The better performer is the 6p, the moto x is a pretty close second. There's really no evidence comparing the two devices just yet, if that matters to you then wait a few more days until YouTubers post some comparison videos so you can get a closer look. Motorola is usually a month behind nexus devices for updates, but remember they are two to three months faster than your typical Samsung, lg etc..
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Click to collapse
This is exactly the reason I went with moto instead of nexus. I also use my sd card (64gb) which I can't use in a nexus. They both run stock Android and are the best contenders right now for quick updates. Anyone else is going to be lagging behind or left behind.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

I really want marshmallow right now because of the memory merge feature sdcard will become internal memory no need to separate things anymore.

george241312 said:
I really want marshmallow right now because of the memory merge feature sdcard will become internal memory no need to separate things anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Soon.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Think we're forgetting the benefit of being able to unlock the bootloader and easily load ROMS with the MXPE. This will allow the unit to endure long past other limited phones that were not unlockable or rootable. Before the MXPE I owned a Note 3. And in the last month I installed a lollipop ROM that was side loadable and that really boosted its lifespan and useability. I owned that phone for two years which could easily have lengthened that useability to another year or better. I came pretty close to not even purchasing the MXPE due to this fact but I figured a unlocked BL phone along with the improved camera on the MXPE made it wise to upgrade at this time. Not too many phones anymore can be unlocked and that, to me, is a huge factor-allowing for future upgrades regardless what the carrier or Moto does.

Our bootloader is unlocked. Motorola has been good about releasing sources so far. We already have one or two ROMs for our device. I'm waiting for CM official to be released, personally. I think the chances of us getting these updates are decent, at least from the community development standpoint. Officially, I'm a little concerned beyond M, but I won't be staying on stock that much longer.

But how do you guys feel on staying on a older version of Android when the new one gets released? Does it bother you any?

Prestige_DOPE said:
But how do you guys feel on staying on a older version of Android when the new one gets released? Does it bother you any?
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Well...not all new versions of operating systems are better than their predecessors... ie. Windows 8.
Now I am one who usually is a bleeding-edge technology user but with that comes the whole bugs issue. There are those who are a bit more conservative. These guys do not mind waiting for a more perfected solution. You sound like you are a bleeding-edge kind of guy and that is a very frustrating position to be in when there is something new and you can not have it due to your choice of phone/manufacturer. In that case I feel your pain. But for me the MXPE seems to be the the best balance in the regard.

Prestige_DOPE said:
But how do you guys feel on staying on a older version of Android when the new one gets released? Does it bother you any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought this phone rather than a Nexus because of its SD. That's more important to me than waiting a month or two for M. Now, if a new Android version drops in a year and Moto denies MXPE owners the upgrade, I'll grit my teeth and think about moving back to Samsung. I'll admit, it would shock me though...
<rant>Headslap for Googler who nixed SD for the Nexus. Stupid.</rant>

george241312 said:
I really want marshmallow right now because of the memory merge feature sdcard will become internal memory no need to separate things anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Prepare ur UHS-II card.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

In my honest opinion I don't think Motorola will abandon this device, they have put a lot of emphasis on their definition of the word "pure" and what it entails. Also, like a few people have stated, you can significantly increase the lifespan by easily unlocking the bootloader and installing custom roms. Once cyanogenmod rolls out a stable release they are usually followed by nightly updates, literally almost every night for a long, long time. My LG G2 has been getting nightly updates since 2013.

playerone_ said:
In my honest opinion I don't think Motorola will abandon this device, they have put a lot of emphasis on their definition of the word "pure" and what it entails. Also, like a few people have stated, you can significantly increase the lifespan by easily unlocking the bootloader and installing custom roms. Once cyanogenmod rolls out a stable release they are usually followed by nightly updates, literally almost every night for a long, long time. My LG G2 has been getting nightly updates since 2013.
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Click to collapse
It's all fun cool until their new flagship comes out. We'll see how they treat the 2014 Pure edition.

Prestige_DOPE said:
It's all fun cool until their new flagship comes out. We'll see how they treat the 2014 Pure edition.
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Click to collapse
This was the driving point for me leaving Samsung after the s3. Samsung would not even push any otas of the newest version of Android until their newest flagship with that update was released and had enough time in the light. They also hardly updated it to the newest version of touchwiz that the new flagship had, almost forcing those users to upgrade to get those features.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

monkeypaws said:
This was the driving point for me leaving Samsung after the s3. Samsung would not even push any otas of the newest version of Android until their newest flagship with that update was released and had enough time in the light. They also hardly updated it to the newest version of touchwiz that the new flagship had, almost forcing those users to upgrade to get those features.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EXACTLY and to think... Carriers expected us to keep a phone for 2 years at that time.

Prestige_DOPE said:
But how do you guys feel on staying on a older version of Android when the new one gets released? Does it bother you any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This depends on the version I am left with. My G2 was left on a very buggy version Lollipop. I elected to stay on KitKat due to better battery life and overall better performance of the phone. I like to be on the latest version if it is better but am satisfied staying on an older version if it does everything I need. Granted, I am not a gamer and use my phone mostly for voice calls, emails, Tapatalk, web surfing as needed, and text messages.

None of the Android phones are getting updates on a schedule sufficient to come anywhere close to mitigating security vulnerabilities. Not even Nexus. Most phones are likely infected with malware, even Nexus. All it takes is one of hundreds of infected apps, still up for download from the Google Play Store.
This aspect of the Android ecosystem is shameful. Evidently, there is not enough money in the business model to do a good job at this. Google made a big PR release promising better updates for all including cheap Android One devices, and ratcheted the promises up further after the first Stagefright exploit hit the news, and what really came of all the promises? Not much. A little better update performance for the few big names already known for better (but still pathetic) update performance.
So since security is already nonexistent, and updates will never resolve that, the only remaining reason to care is fault corrections (aka bug fixes) and features/support. The XT1575 is not perfect but it does OK in those two categories for me at 5.1.1, no worse than other phones I've had. I'll take an OTA to get LTE Band 12 /VoLTE when it comes, but otherwise don't see a compelling reason to care much about updates since the security vulns are going to be there anyway, and updates always introduce at least as many faults as they fix.
As for long-term support: This whole thing converges on a 2 year life cycle. You run into rapidly diminishing returns after that, it's not worth it to keep the phone going after 2 years. (Spent a lot of time and money keeping phones going past 2 years, believe me it's not worth it, chunk it and get a new one after 2 years.) So who cares if updates stop somewhere after a year?

Prestige_DOPE said:
I don't see how anyone could not have the latest update right away. I get so excited for new features I can't sit back and watch. Motorola claimed to be able to send get updates out faster due to no carriers but that doesn't guarantee support for the coming years its depressing this just hit me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't jump on the newest Android versions immediately, for two reasons.
1). Compatibility issues.
For example, you have a new major version of Android out that changes the way some UI elements are displayed. Not every app you have installed will be updated to support that on day 1. A fully-functional-but-slightly-older phone beats a bleeding-edge-mostly-functional phone.
2). You lose root.
This isn't an issue on an unlocked bootloader phone like the MXPE. But to date, most Android phones have locked bootloaders, and only got root through discovering some exploit. A new version of Android means potentially losing root, and potentially requiring the dev community to find another exploit to gain root. A rooted-but-slightly-older phone beats an unrooted-and-carrier-bloatware-loaded phone.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

The Year 2016.. Are You Kool With Your Current Device?

Hello All..
Can you believe 2016 is here..
My Note 4 running the Rapture ROM is ( and will continue to be.. ) Heaven On Earth for me as far as, my needs in a Cellular Device are concerned..
But.. what about you? does the S7 with it's possible return to having a Micro-SD Card slot and the incredible Snapdragon 820 CPU Engine give you justification to invest another $700.00 - $800.00 into the Latest & Greatest?
Have Mid-Level devices reached a point that , they have enough horsepower to suit your needs?
For You.. Has your Galaxy Note 4 run it's course?

RaiderWill said:
Hello All..
Can you believe 2016 is here..
My Note 4 running the Rapture ROM is ( and will continue to be.. ) Heaven On Earth for me as far as, my needs in a Cellular Device are concerned..
But.. what about you? does the S7 with it's possible return to having a Micro-SD Card slot and the incredible Snapdragon 820 CPU Engine give you justification to invest another $700.00 - $800.00 into the Latest & Greatest?
Have Mid-Level devices reached a point that , they have enough horsepower to suit your needs?
For You.. Has your Galaxy Note 4 run it's course?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm good with my note 3 and 4 atm, note 3 on darth stalker and note 4 on kyubi rom dx heavy debloat. I used to go years in between devices before the note line became popular, now with the note 6s sure return to sdcard I'll most likely support it when it releases.
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

honestly yes I enjoy my note 4 and the DOK2 firmware has made my T3 feel much better than DOG did. I am planning to keep it until dev stops for it. I am starting to worry about my tablet Z though it is getting real slow after its update to 5.1.1
as far as the S7 goes no.. TBH and I cant believe I am saying this but until companies like Sammy and Sony and HTC provide updates for devices as long as that A company it will be hard for me to justify spending that much on a device.
Thankfully the devs keep many devices alive but still manufactures should in a sense stand behind there products and make people want to say YES my next device will be from X I have had great experience with them. My original T got the 5.0.1 update and it turned into a turd. That made me very concerned for the future of our phone, thankfully DOK2 which should have been here sooner did improve things for everyone on T and T3 from what I have gathered so far

No I hate android but I hate OS X more. I wish I would have taken more coding classes when I was younger so I could develop Windows Phone Apps. I LOVE the WP system and just how they designed everything.
If I didnt have a side job that required me to use Android or OS X I wold be rockin the WP.

No no no. This piece of garbage is last Samsung bloat ware I will own. Vanilla Android is the answer for me from now on. I know I know, root, de bloat and custom rom and it's great. No it isn't. Stop fooling yourselves. Samsung is as bad as Apple. Give me my pure Android please.

Yes

If there is no microSD in the next Note, which there probably won't be, then I'll be moving on to a larger screen phone. Huawei has been showing off their 6" Mate 8 which should be announced at CES in a couple of weeks, and it looks good. They seem to making an effort to try and get their products into the US, and their recent products have been well designed.

loveubuntu said:
No no no. This piece of garbage is last Samsung bloat ware I will own. Vanilla Android is the answer for me from now on. I know I know, root, de bloat and custom rom and it's great. No it isn't. Stop fooling yourselves. Samsung is as bad as Apple. Give me my pure Android please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen. Loving my nexus 6P
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

i will be holding out till the sd820s start rolling. The sd810 just does not feel like much of an upgrade. However it will be a nexus or surface phone that i am going to swap to. Till then i will flip flop between cm and tw roms till i find something that suits me.

I will be going back to nexus. Got the note 4 on a whim, its a good phone for normal people. But I regret getting it. I hate how Samsung makes 8 versions of the same phone. Development it always so fragmented.
Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

loveubuntu said:
No no no. This piece of garbage is last Samsung bloat ware I will own. Vanilla Android is the answer for me from now on. I know I know, root, de bloat and custom rom and it's great. No it isn't. Stop fooling yourselves. Samsung is as bad as Apple. Give me my pure Android please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing more boring than vanilla android is iOS. Like watching paint dry.

sadoway said:
I will be going back to nexus. Got the note 4 on a whim, its a good phone for normal people. But I regret getting it. I hate how Samsung makes 8 versions of the same phone. Development it always so fragmented.
Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this 100%. I personally dont think it should take an act of god to flash international or unlocked firmwares/roms. I would love to turn my carrier note 4 into an unlocked and get the international update from Sammy not one that goes threw T-mobile

dkb218 said:
The only thing more boring than vanilla android is iOS. Like watching paint dry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You see, I was once young and foolish. just kidding. To each their own I guess and you and your kind are probably why these manufacturers keep pumping bloat ware ridden phones every other month. I don't look for an operating system to excite me. Give me an OS that runs smoothly, conserves power, and is easily upgradeable, let me be in charge of excitement. I will make it exciting.

Im good on stock 5.0.1 COG2 rooted and debloated running good and no issues. Wanted to try DOK2 but seems like to many issues and root is not up to par in my opinion..Happy New Year

Yeah I plan on staying with my note 4. I like my IR blaster for 1. Also the time are cool my 128 gb sd. And basically I'm not that impressed with the new devices out there . I also see so many new cases out there to tally change the look of my device. . So all I'm getting is the gear S that's al I need .

Yep until note 6 comes out with sd card slot. If not i am going elsewhere.
Sent from my SM-N910T using xda premium

I am for two reasons: 1. Lack of better options, and 2. I just got a warranty replacement this past week and being more selective about the apps I install, running a new ROM, a fresh battery and my trusty 128 GB micro SD have increased my overall opinion of the device.
It is a bit disappointing that there's still no competition for the N4 with a micro SD and removable battery (well, arguably the LG V10 I suppose) at this point, but I'm pretty happy with the refurb N4 that I just received.

The Note 5 failure was helpful to my perspective. Last month, my wife took over my Note 4 and I could have bought anything I wanted- I looked hard and long, and bought another Note 4.
I think we've hit a wall. I don't see another smartphone on the horizon worth diving into my wallet for. The only thing that will perk my interest is a screen over 6 inches on a unit with a removable battery and SD options.

Still loving my Note 4, and still nothing that entices me to upgrade. There's a rumor of a 6 inch variant of the S7. If that happens, I think the Note 6 would also be 6". That would be nice, but I'm not sure it's enough to make me want to upgrade. These phones are expensive, so an upgrade has to have substantial improvements. My Note 4 still has a long life ahead of it I think.

Right now I'm running [DOK2] TEKXodus HYBRID N4 URv5 12/03 NOTE5/EDGE/S6/N4 LOLLIPOP 5.1.1 > TEKHDway! Rom and I'm loving it. Best Rom for the Note 4 910t I would say (In My Opinion).
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

Is the Note 4 the last great dev friendly Samsung phone for the near future?

The S7 and S7 edge has a locked bootloader for US versions, and conceivably the same for the upcoming Note 6. S6, S6 edge, note 5 have no removable storage/batteries.
Awesome development on the Note 4 here, and if we possibly get Android N, I can't see myself leaving the Note 4 for a long time.
Btw, seems like LG G5 has an unlockable bootloader but it's not possible to load a custom recovery. Not good. Seems like preventing customization is becoming a trend with the newer US phones. Of course there's still the Nexus but the hardware is only ok IMHO

I'm actively looking for a dual OS phone, contract ends Cyber Monday so I got some time. so far the only decent one I've seen is the Meizu Pro 5 n can't remember exactly why but something about it kept me looking elsewhere lol

I'm keeping both of my note 4's until i know for sure if the N6 bootloader is locked or not. I plan to stay on the N4 and continuing making roms as long as I can and until I have to upgrade my phone due to it being too outdated.

The Note 4, the last great phone Samsung ever made.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA-Developers mobile app

tx_dbs_tx said:
I'm keeping both of my note 4's until i know for sure if the N6 bootloader is locked or not. I plan to stay on the N4 and continuing making roms as long as I can and until I have to upgrade my phone due to it being too outdated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeay!! Thanks for giving us hope tx.
I have no desire to switch phones anytime soon. I love my note 4. It does everything I need it to do and when the battery dies I'll get a new one and the phone will be new again.

This is the best phone ever! Its Limitless!

deeken said:
Yeay!! Thanks for giving us hope tx.
I have no desire to switch phones anytime soon. I love my note 4. It does everything I need it to do and when the battery dies I'll get a new one and the phone will be new again.
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Click to collapse
i have been pondering this question since first getting the note 4 . I love everything about it, but after lollipop caused touch screen issues and battery discharge, i thought i might have to go all in for something else- tried the G4 which was def a beast but it cant stand up to this powerhouse and with marsh 6.0 falling from the heavens... everything has been fixed, including the lack of response in the screen(entire top/left corner). if i have to i will buy note 4 replacements until the software starts falling short

I have a good idea. For those of us who want to stick with the N4 due to the locked bootloaders on the new devices, just put insurance on your line and keep using the N4. By the time your N4 finally dies or if you lose or break it, you can get a insurance replacement and most likely will be given a N5 or whichever device is comparable and available at the time. Most likely there won't be anymore refurbished N4's by then. The deductable is still cheaper than the 2-year new contract prices of new high-end smartphones and cheaper than paying out installments for those who do that. So it will all work out for the better if you just wait it out and see how devices & bootloaders turn out.

My wife just got a new Note 5 for a broken Note 3!
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

kcsween said:
The Note 4, the last great phone Samsung ever made.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So my wife's note 4 died and our insurance gave her a note 5. She admits she is non-techie and only uses basic functions and yet she still misses the note 4 functions and hardware (custom rom, IR). Long live the Note 4 and roms from tx_dbs_tx!!

You guys are lucky my note 4 stopped working and they replaced my phone with another note 4 . It took 3 days to come to the sprint store it was refurbished too
Sent from my SM-N920P using XDA-Developers mobile app

A replaceable batter is a must! On heavy use days I have to swap out batteries by mid-afternoon. Not to mention the fact that by the end of year one your original battery doesn't last as long as it used to. I've always had to get a new battery or two before needing a new phone.
Sent from my SM-N920P using XDA-Developers mobile app

tx_dbs_tx said:
I'm keeping both of my note 4's until i know for sure if the N6 bootloader is locked or not. I plan to stay on the N4 and continuing making roms as long as I can and until I have to upgrade my phone due to it being too outdated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you, a few months ago I upgraded from my Note 2 to the Note 4 and other than missing the dual modem (LTE while using calls), this is the best Android phone I have had. I plan to stick with it until theres no life left as I cant stand the stock OS's (other than the ones you touch) so I cant see myself ever using a stock phone.
If they begin to lock the bootloaders everywhere, this will royally suck for Android. The best thing about Android is the freedom so I hope these asshole manufacturers and carriers listen to their customers before they are no longer customers.

The bootloaders can be unlocked with a little time and effort. However, there is only a very small number of people with the skills to to it. My advice would be to research these talented people and support their efforts in advance

tx_dbs_tx said:
The bootloaders can be unlocked with a little time and effort. However, there is only a very small number of people with the skills to to it. My advice would be to research these talented people and support their efforts in advance
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Click to collapse
I think I am either getting a developer edition of whatever phone is available at the time or move to the Nexus and use vanilla AOSP.
sent from my droid

I find this article to be quite amusing:
http://www.sammobile.com/2016/05/10/the-galaxy-note-4-is-not-the-last-great-note-samsung-ever-made/

beezar said:
I find this article to be quite amusing:
http://www.sammobile.com/2016/05/10/the-galaxy-note-4-is-not-the-last-great-note-samsung-ever-made/
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Interesting read, I personally didn't know the EXTSDCARD changes and sealed the battery. Dumb dumb dumb, hopefully Samsung figures out in time for my upgrade or I'm buying a Nexus.
sent from my droid

Long story short, I updated my old note 4 from OB7 five weeks ago to marshmallow, and hated it. My replacement note 4 from Sprint had marshmallow on it, so went to 5.1.1 OG5, due to that being all I could downgrade to, and hated it as well.
After 5 weeks of being miserable, I finally made it back to OB7 via a custom rom and OB7 modem, but still on OG5 bootloader.
So, due to me not liking either 5.1.1 or 6.0.1, I will keep my note 4 until I am forced off of it, due to network changes. I will then migrate to Apple.
I didn't like the last two versions of android, so I have zero faith in Android N and being able to root a sprint note 6.

qwash6563 said:
Long story short, I updated my old note 4 from OB7 five weeks ago to marshmallow, and hated it. My replacement note 4 from Sprint had marshmallow on it, so went to 5.1.1 OG5, due to that being all I could downgrade to, and hated it as well.
After 5 weeks of being miserable, I finally made it back to OB7 via a custom rom and OB7 modem, but still on OG5 bootloader.
So, due to me not liking either 5.1.1 or 6.0.1, I will keep my note 4 until I am forced off of it, due to network changes. I will then migrate to Apple.
I didn't like the last two versions of android, so I have zero faith in Android N and being able to root a sprint note 6.
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Why go to Apple? That's the worst thing you could do. You couldn't pay me to use those overpriced pieces of trash.
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What is the Future of this phone as of now ?

I've had this phone about 3 months now and thought it was going to be good in the dev community but as im seeing now it seems all dev for this phone is dead or dying, so what hope is there that we will have any roms or new mods for this phone?Yes i understand about the locked bootloader but i was looking at the note 7 forum and they have roms for there phone and the note 7 came out after the 7 edge? i would just like to know in everyone's opinion should we be waiting and hoping for someone to break the codes and unlock our phones true potential or just shut my mouth and sit back and take what i've got and be happy with it. Don't get me wrong i commend the Echoe rom team and all the hard work they did for us and that should not be overlooked. All im saying is what do we need to get this phone poppin like all the other phones ?
Thanks
A New S7 Edge Owner

I guess all we could do is hang on to this one and trade it in or sell it when the S8 comes out and maybe we won't get screwed on the next model.

I was thinking about trading it for one of the new Google Pixel XL phones, but they aren't going to have an SD slot. I think I am still going to trade it for something else though... having a hard time figuring out what I want that's comparable.

If you're looking for a mod friendly device, you should look elsewhere. With a locked bootloader, you're not going to get much dev support. Having said that, I would say that the future of this phone is bright. I can honestly say that I see no reason for me to mess with the system. It's excellent as it is.

slayerh4x said:
I was thinking about trading it for one of the new Google Pixel XL phones, but they aren't going to have an SD slot. I think I am still going to trade it for something else though... having a hard time figuring out what I want that's comparable.
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The Google pixel will be a joke. You'll see iphone 7 Will be years ahead of it. And I'm a android guy
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Yea, hate to say it, but Google should stick to making software. Either that, or actually develop the production capacity to do your own manufacturing or at least quality control, instead of farming it out to random Chinese manufacturers. My only experience with Nexus is the Nexus 5, but that device was awful. In fact, I can't think of a single redeeming quality of that device.

I'm selling mine and going back to the Note 4

slayerh4x said:
I was thinking about trading it for one of the new Google Pixel XL phones, but they aren't going to have an SD slot. I think I am still going to trade it for something else though... having a hard time figuring out what I want that's comparable.
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The V20 seems like a nice alternative
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minhajmsd said:
The V20 seems like a nice alternative
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yeah. I'm thinking about the OnePlus 3, the support for that phone seems very good. Plus it is not too expensive. I wonder what my options are for switching phones, I don't think T Mobile will take back my phone and stop charging me my monthly device installment.

Yeah, I think you have to wait a bit more to be eligible for jump
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Wow you guys amaze me, I guess if it isnt made out of glass and metal with diamonds on it then its not worthy for you. I've had the nexus 5, 6 and 2013 7, and although this is a nice phone. Id take the functionality and stability of a nexus any day. You do not know what you are talking about if you really think this phone or an iphone is worlds ahead of a nexus. Yeah, the nexus 5 was cheap feeling, it was $350 brand new, and it was the most reliable phone I've ever had. And I've had a couple iphones, you guys either don't know what your doing or got a bad device.

Andromendous said:
Wow you guys amaze me, I guess if it isnt made out of glass and metal with diamonds on it then its not worthy for you. I've had the nexus 5, 6 and 2013 7, and although this is a nice phone. Id take the functionality and stability of a nexus any day. You do not know what you are talking about if you really think this phone or an iphone is worlds ahead of a nexus. Yeah, the nexus 5 was cheap feeling, it was $350 brand new, and it was the most reliable phone I've ever had. And I've had a couple iphones, you guys either don't know what your doing or got a bad device.
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I've been a nexus user since the Nexus 5 launched. and a CM user for years before then. the S7 edge is my first Samsung device (and only because I got it for free), because I have always felt the same way about Samsung as I do about apple. all hype, all trend, ignorant (non-power-user) fanbase. Samsung is literally the apple of Android, if you know what I mean. I'll never own another Samsung device after this one.

minhajmsd said:
The V20 seems like a nice alternative
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Do you think the bootloader will be unlocked? I'm still kinda new to Android and the first recent one I got was this S7 Edge. The V20 does look really nice though, hope it is released soon.
I also like the HTC 10 because there is a ton of stuff for it. The Viper rom looks awesome, pretty crazy they have OTA updates for the rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-10/development

slayerh4x said:
Do you think the bootloader will be unlocked? I'm still kinda new to Android and the first recent one I got was this S7 Edge. The V20 does look really nice though, hope it is released soon.
I also like the HTC 10 because there is a ton of stuff for it. The Viper rom looks awesome, pretty crazy they have OTA updates for the rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-10/development
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Typically LG doesn't lock their bootloaders, and since its going to be the same phone internationally its dev community may be loads better.
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A few developments in the last month:
Unified 935U based roms - This will be great as the unification of US rom development (and the ability to have VOLTE) will make life better for US S7 users as they will have the newest rom of the 5 options running.
Note 7 release: The Note 7's UI seems better (samsung has already started promised to unify the UI in android 7) and the rom has been ported (same chipset).
Enhanced T-mobile Support on international models: Wifi calling/Volte has now been ported to the International (935F) model, at least if rooted. I switched as the Exynos version is faster and has better battery life (and the gap is greater in rooted versions than stock) and a stronger development community including Note 7 ports.

rp3 said:
A few developments in the last month:
Unified 935U based roms - This will be great as the unification of US rom development (and the ability to have VOLTE) will make life better for US S7 users as they will have the newest rom of the 5 options running.
Note 7 release: The Note 7's UI seems better (samsung has already started promised to unify the UI in android 7) and the rom has been ported (same chipset).
Enhanced T-mobile Support on international models: Wifi calling/Volte has now been ported to the International (935F) model, at least if rooted. I switched as the Exynos version is faster and has better battery life (and the gap is greater in rooted versions than stock) and a stronger development community including Note 7 ports.
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so we should all get the Exynos version and call it a day is what you saying then ?

Icebluemale30 said:
so we should all get the Exynos version and call it a day is what you saying then ?
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Goodness no. If you root and just care about speed, battery and custom rom options on android 6/touchwiz (and don't care about US warranty support), I would say yes.
If you care about warranty support, want an unrooted phone (or the ability to root without tripping Knox), want to use Samsung Pay or like T-mobile's financing options, The US model is definitely the one. It also has more upside
Long Term, Samsung's Android 7 may see a boot-loader unlock option, which would jump start CM/kernel development (cutting the performance gap between the phones and giving people who like Samsung's industrial design but not their software design a good solution). Next month, there will be Nexus phones running SD820, which will continue the advantage Qualcomm based roms have in custom development.

I'm going to be patient. This is a book I've read before. The fact is that the S7 edge will have the bootloader unlocked eventually.

axne1 said:
I'm going to be patient. This is a book I've read before. The fact is that the S7 edge will have the bootloader unlocked eventually.
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i hope you are right i hate to get a new phone i really like my S7 Edge

axne1 said:
I'm going to be patient. This is a book I've read before. The fact is that the S7 edge will have the bootloader unlocked eventually.
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The only fact here is that nobody really knows what may or may not happen. Wishful thinking is one thing, but it is far from fact.
---------- Post added at 06:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:36 AM ----------
Andromendous said:
Wow you guys amaze me, I guess if it isnt made out of glass and metal with diamonds on it then its not worthy for you. I've had the nexus 5, 6 and 2013 7, and although this is a nice phone. Id take the functionality and stability of a nexus any day. You do not know what you are talking about if you really think this phone or an iphone is worlds ahead of a nexus. Yeah, the nexus 5 was cheap feeling, it was $350 brand new, and it was the most reliable phone I've ever had. And I've had a couple iphones, you guys either don't know what your doing or got a bad device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Nexus 5 was an awful device, with awful battery life, awful display, awful speaker, and awful camera. It was quick with stock Android, but it literally had no other redeeming qualities. Mine has been used as a paperweight, to keep papers from flying off my desk when my windows is open. I am not joking. I will take an Apple device over the Nexus 5 any day, and I can't stand Apple. And yes, I have an Apple device too. I have not had any other Nexus devices, and probably never will. Samsung devices have treated me very well over the years so I am sticking with them. And honestly, the GS7 is an excellent device all around, I couldn't care less about a locked bootloader. The days of spending hours/days flashing ROMs are behind me. I have more important things to do with my free time. So before you go off and make blanket statements such as "we don't know what we are doing," consider the fact that some of us don't share the same interests as you. The majority of the world wants a device that works out of the box and doesn't know what a bootloader is, much less that it can be locked or unlocked. You, and this community, are a tiny minority of smartphone users. And guess what, there are companies that cater to you as well. Don't be pissed at Samsung for delivering what their customers wanted.