Database Users

1 year with XSP

Hi all XSP users
in just a few days, it will be 1 year since i own this phone. here i'm trying to give a sort of review-ish view and opinion about this phone
So without further ado, allow me to start (please forgive me for any inappropriate or ineligible english since its not my main language)
1 year ago i was looking for a replacement for my samsung galaxy gio which has become obsolete (hardware wise especially) because it cannot keep up with my demands. so at that time i was searching for a phone that meets my budget (cant go on a spending spree at that time) but still packs a can of whoop-ass.
at that time in my country was the time where 3 high spec phones launches samsung galaxy s4, sony xperia Z, and oppo find 5. all of them were top of the class. too bad they were all above my budget
other brand like HTC has no interesting line up for me, LG has some not bad spec phone but none to my liking.
Lo and behold i found out about the xperia SP about 2 weeks before the event. at the price it was offered, no other phone can match XSP specs, camera wise, processor wise (at that time of course). i bought the phone without hesitation.
my review
Size
for me this phone hits the sweet spot for size. although i can still held 5,5 inch phone without problem, but this phone is nice to grasp
screen size
screen size is adequate for me, although sometimes feel a little too small. too bad its not IPS
camera
one of the downfall for XSP for me. the camera quality is quite bad, my dads nokia x5 can even shot almost if not sometimes better images. though in my opinion since 4.3 update and using xperia M ported camera its a little bit better, i still wish it was better
processor
one of the best performance processor for midrange phone at that time and still is today IMO.
GPU
same, one of the best for playing games on a midrange phone
RAM
this is the ultimate donwfall for me in XSP. we were promoted with a 1GB RAM for XSP but how much did we get?? just a freakin' 768 ram.
thats downright false advertising. no amount of excuse and logic can justify a 1GB ram on spec sheet and only 768 in reality. this is what tied down our XSP from becoming the Beast that it could've and should've been.
although after 4.3 update the RAM increased to 848, it's still a long way from 1GB. even lenovo can put 900+MB on their 1GB RAM phone, so i am truly dissapointed at sony for this one.
My Experience
okay, hardware review aside, now im going to share how the phone feels for my daily usage
my XSP is LB, but i root it. i'll split this part to pre 4.3 and 4.3
PRE 4.3
the phone before the 4.3 update was so-so performance wise for me. mind you im a gamer, and understanding that our XSP have adreno 320 it should be handle all graphics intensive game, so i installed many heavy game. real boxing, real racing, asphalt 8, modern combat 4, NFS, chaos rings. all of that game should've played flawlessly if not for that darn RAM. you cant even browse and listen to walkman without the walkman suddenly stop. you gotta change the ram management and dalvik to help ease the RAM management, n i think that sucks. because if im not an xda member and dont root my phone, how else am i gonna improve XSP performance. there were slight regret buying this phone at that moment, but i cant change my phone again. no phone pique my interest yet again.
POST 4.3
post 4.3 update the phones performance got better a little bit since the increase in RAM but, performance wise its still so-so. if i have to give it a score before 4.3 was 7 and now it was 7.5. but luckily 4.3 update brings more than just bigger RAM it brings loads of things, from social camera, updated media apps, themes, so updating to 4.3 was like having a new phone all over again.
Conclusion
im still happy with this phone, eventhough theres major flaw (RAM)
so, will i still use this phone? YES
is it still one of the strongest budget mid range phone right now? YES (IMO, compared with other brand like samsung, LG, HTC, lenovo, OPPO)
will u still suggest this phone to friend of relatives? if they're not going to root it, NO, if they're going to root it then YES
well thats what i think about our beloved XSP
please share your opinion about this :good:

You don't need 500 MB of ram to run one game.
I love my SP,I recommend moving to a custom ROM to increase performance
Also,it's surprisingly strong. I dropped my phone on the asphalt and it slided few meters and it's fine (few scratches) !

darkkfruit said:
You don't need 500 MB of ram to run one game.
I love my SP,I recommend moving to a custom ROM to increase performance
Also,it's surprisingly strong. I dropped my phone on the asphalt and it slided few meters and it's fine (few scratches) !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well u need it if you want to play real racing 3 with default graphics. had not for rr3 graphics apps and reducing it to low, that game was quite a disaster to play for more than 15 minutes.
no, im not thinking of using custom ROM. im not going to unlock my bootloader

pavapizza said:
well u need it if you want to play real racing 3 with default graphics. had not for rr3 graphics apps and reducing it to low, that game was quite a disaster to play for more than 15 minutes.
no, im not thinking of using custom ROM. im not going to unlock my bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to unlock bootloader.:laugh:

You can find a list with locked bootloaders here.
Press CTRL F and type LB then search at the Stock Based roms. You will find 9 ROMs that do not require UBL

Klaudas said:
You don't need to unlock bootloader.:laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
darkkfruit said:
You can find a list with locked bootloaders here.
Press CTRL F and type LB then search at the Stock Based roms. You will find 9 ROMs that do not require UBL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh yeah, forgot that there are ROMs that doesn't need unlocked bootloader. but still, I dont want to use custom ROM. its not that I lost hope for this phonr that I don't want to try custom ROM, its the opposite actually. I like this phone and its stock ROM. That's why I only do minor tweaks.

Still loving mine as well. The size, build, fit, look... It's perfect for me. I get lots of comments on it.
I can overlook the minor software quirks. I figure once Sony leaves it behind I'll move over to CM which will be nice n stable by that time!

cyapalmpos said:
Still loving mine as well. The size, build, fit, look... It's perfect for me. I get lots of comments on it.
I can overlook the minor software quirks. I figure once Sony leaves it behind I'll move over to CM which will be nice n stable by that time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, i may also do that when sony has abandoned our phone and no longer supports it. But right now im loving this phone the way it is with all the flaws. Still an excellent rocking phone :good:

Actually, the XSP does have 1Gb of RAM. The amount that you think missing is actually dedicated to the GPU
(kinda like a PC's Graphics card with its own chip and RAM, only here we have 2 in 1 chip, both CPU and GPU)
Other than that, a very reliable review, mate!

cnkhanh said:
Actually, the XSP does have 1Gb of RAM. The amount that you think missing is actually dedicated to the GPU
(kinda like a PC's Graphics card with its own chip and RAM, only here we have 2 in 1 chip, both CPU and GPU)
Other than that, a very reliable review, mate!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so does that mean our GPU memory decreases now, since after 4.3 our device memory increase?
(btw not a sarcastic question, i really do want to know :good

pavapizza said:
so does that mean our GPU memory decreases now, since after 4.3 our device memory increase?
(btw not a sarcastic question, i really do want to know :good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting question, maybe there is also some shared memory now. Or our GPU memory is decreased . Want to know .

Th3Duck said:
Interesting question, maybe there is also some shared memory now. Or our GPU memory is decreased . Want to know .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone has 1024mb of ram but only 839mb is usable because the GPU uses that 185mb that we can't use
Sent from my C5303 using XDA Free mobile app

Please tell me camera quality of SP? I'm gonna buy this tomorrow

I have 2 questions
1-how is the battery life after one year?
2-how often do you charge your phone

eranda84 said:
Please tell me camera quality of SP? I'm gonna buy this tomorrow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the camera is decent. Pictures tend to have a lot of noise. But outdoor picture can still look very beautiful though. If u buy this consider using 3rd party camera app, like camera 360 or lenovo super camera.
ironshadow2 said:
I have 2 questions
1-how is the battery life after one year?
2-how often do you charge your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Battery life is still not bad i think. Im an active user, i chat n play game. If i only chat, n email, n browsing, this phone can last 12+ hours. You can force it to 20+ hours too if u solely use it for chat. Mind you the provider im using has ****ty coverage so that probably factors.
2. I charge it every night. If i unplug at, say 6am, then probably i charge again at 10 or 11 pm. usually i play games at 8 or 9pm, before charge so i can reduce the battery percentage.

noahvt said:
This phone has 1024mb of ram but only 839mb is usable because the GPU uses that 185mb that we can't use
Sent from my C5303 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what i want to know. like i said before 4.3 our memory device is 760, does that mean our GPU can use the other 240mb?
if it can does that mean our GPU memory actually decreases after 4.3, since our device memory got increase to 840mb?

pavapizza said:
thats what i want to know. like i said before 4.3 our memory device is 760, does that mean our GPU can use the other 240mb?
if it can does that mean our GPU memory actually decreases after 4.3, since our device memory got increase to 840mb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They reserved more for GPU in Android 4.1.2 maybe due to Sony thinking it is vital like what they do on the Xperia Z. But after custom ROMs like CM shows that their RAM is north of 800MB, Sony releases more RAM for other purposes.

Nice post, guy! Since I bought XSP I just use it for listening to music, suffering the web, and I don't like to play game on mobile (PC too ). So I think it's actually good enough for my need.

I've been using XSP for almost 1 year too, now I think the RAM is getting not enough to use, maybe it's time to buy a new phone with 2G+ RAM.

quilipham said:
Nice post, guy! Since I bought XSP I just use it for listening to music, suffering the web, and I don't like to play game on mobile (PC too ). So I think it's actually good enough for my need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well if someday you decide to play games, just know that this phone can play almost any game flawlessly
TinaSA said:
I've been using XSP for almost 1 year too, now I think the RAM is getting not enough to use, maybe it's time to buy a new phone with 2G+ RAM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, me too. been setting my eye for the new g3 or HTC e8. or maybe xperia z3 lol

what's you don't like in Z2 & How is the 3GB RAM Performance ?

Hi
what's you don't like in Z2 & How is the 3GB RAM Performance ?
[1] mention & explain the things that you don't like in this phone , the bad things as you see..
[2] also give me a quick review about the 3 GB memory, how much free memory for user apps is available & [3] how is the performance when you switch between heavy apps ?
[4] S5 or Z2 :3 ?!!
please give some attention to these questions ... thank you very much

i dont like that the phone sounds hollow and the fact its intentionaly slowed or made worse than the Z3 (it is capable of doing the same as Z3 but sony makes it only able to reach half(unless you run a custom rom)
performance is epic, no problems at all aside asphalt 8 only app/game with any lag, rest of the games i play sit happy at 59fps

nice,,,
waiting for more comments

Envious_Data said:
i dont like that the phone sounds hollow and the fact its intentionaly slowed or made worse than the Z3 (it is capable of doing the same as Z3 but sony makes it only able to reach half(unless you run a custom rom)
performance is epic, no problems at all aside asphalt 8 only app/game with any lag, rest of the games i play sit happy at 59fps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congratulations, you've just completely lost your credibility!
Do you have evidence that the phone is "intentionally made slow" or it's just your shallow and limited thoughts?
Perhaps, you're trying to be a "hero", coming out with bizarre conspiracy theories that hold no water.
Maybe, you need to watch what you say and instead of spewing factless and defaming terms.

i think he want to say that the cpu is 2.3 GHz but its actual clock is much lower than this as with (i don't know if all) some samsung devices.
for example , my galaxy s2 is running too slow under medium load, but when i use custom kernel or over clock apps to run my cpu at its normal 1.2 GHz , the phone becomes fast very Obviously ! (battery drain, heat now & that's normal)
--------- this is what i know, but it maybe wrong !--------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
please lee480, tell me your feedback about the things i asked especially the memory performance

Adelm2013x said:
i think he want to say that the cpu is 2.3 GHz but its actual clock is much lower than this as with (i don't know if all) some samsung devices.
for example , my galaxy s2 is running too slow under medium load, but when i use custom kernel or over clock apps to run my cpu at its normal 1.2 GHz , the phone becomes fast very Obviously ! (battery drain, heat now & that's normal)
--------- this is what i know, but it maybe wrong !--------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
please lee480, tell me your feedback about the things i asked especially the memory performance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, if you're rooted and install a CPU manager app, you can see their stock configuration, the max clock is 2265Mhz if i'm not wrong, and the minumum clock it's ~ 1190Mhz
so, even the Stock* ROMs don't let the CPU frequency fall to the minimum values
Screens:
http://imgur.com/iuY6w0z
http://imgur.com/UQvAQ6n

nice info.
thanks bro.

lee480 said:
Congratulations, you've just completely lost your credibility!
Do you have evidence that the phone is "intentionally made slow" or it's just your shallow and limited thoughts?
Perhaps, you're trying to be a "hero", coming out with bizarre conspiracy theories that hold no water.
Maybe, you need to watch what you say and instead of spewing factless and defaming terms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
explain this to me
Z3 - S801 AC, almost everything else the same as Z2
and yet Z2 cant get the same battery life and performance, somehow users of Z3 getting almost 8 hours of Screen on time and yet quite a few users showing they are finding it hard to get 6 hours
and performance is just strange, as of later firmwares the device doesnt get hot but monitoring my cpu and it just doesnt scale up at all so performance in some games is poor, e.g asphalt 8, sometimes real racing 3,
and then there is this, if you flash older firmwares it isnt that hard to hit 7 - 8 hours of SOT
i think its a tad suspicious that as you go through newer firmwares battery life gets worse till you hit .28 which makes it better
unless there is something else that is going on im sticking to my word,
there are a couple RCs i know who have Z3s and one that has both a Z2 and Z3 and yet they claim its easy to get around 6 hours SOT or more of Screen on time and no matter what i do and the Z2 users find it hard to pass that with a stock firmware and even the same with modified
i think that's just odd and there really isn't much other explanation
I'm not going to reply any reply post of this.
you can ask some of these Z3 owners your Self.

Performance is great like the entire Z2 !!
Just love it ^^
3GB is very good to let the device run smoothly with the light Sony UI and not ram eating touchwiz.
But dont use your phone as a game console, it is a phone !!

I can agree with Envious_Data here. It's not a conspiracy theory, its the sad truth.. Everytime a new flagship comes, the old flagship is made to look bad by giving buggy fw updates.. Then after a few months when the new flagship has made the sales as per their target estimation, they fix the buggy fw.. Its done to make the old flagship look dull so that it forces you to go for the new flagship which doesn't have such issues.. And this is not only done by sony, its done by all oem's.. You can look at the history by looking at what happened to Xperia S, Z, Sammy S3,S4,Note2,etc.. I'm just giving an example, there have been too many phones that I can't remember right now.. And yes, Z3 users easily get 6-8hrs of sot with 2 days of extreme usage.. While Z2 users get 4-5h sot on avg with medium usage for 2 days.. I get 6h sot with 19th time like once in 4 or 5 cycles from 100-0 despite my usage being very same.. It was like this on 4.4.4 167fw, same on every other fw except 4.4.2 initial fw..

Then we have two exceptional and unorthodox cases. Simple. Z2 and Z3 shares close to 100% similar firmware. You can easily look through the kernel source code which is shared between both the Z2 and Z3 and I do not see any codes that's pertaining to intentionally screwing up the system. You can easily find other people posting that their battery life and performance has improved, including me. Now, we have two exceptional ones.
Especially so, if you lack any hard evidence; codes and drivers that points to intentionally slowing down performance by 50% (I have no idea how you got that percentage) and purposefully draining battery, please stop making noise. Currently, your claim is nothing. It doesn't hold water at all.
Perhaps, it's time to lower down your ego and drop this baseless claims. It looks bad on XDA and especially you.
P. S. I have the Xperia Z; performance and RAM management has greatly improved on lollipop. Do you have the Xperia Z? No?
Yes, there's an initial battery drain, but as usual with all Android upgrades, it gets better overtime. Lol
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app

lee480 said:
Then we have two exceptional and unorthodox cases. Simple. Z2 and Z3 shares close to 100% similar firmware. You can easily look through the kernel source code which is shared between both the Z2 and Z3 and I do not see any codes that's pertaining to intentionally screwing up the system. You can easily find other people posting that their battery life and performance has improved, including me. Now, we have two exceptional ones.
Especially so, if you lack any hard evidence; codes and drivers that points to intentionally slowing down performance by 50% (I have no idea how you got that percentage) and purposefully draining battery, please stop making noise. Currently, your claim is nothing. It doesn't hold water at all.
Perhaps, it's time to lower down your ego and drop this baseless claims. It looks bad on XDA and especially you.
P. S. I have the Xperia Z; performance and RAM management has greatly improved on lollipop. Do you have the Xperia Z? No?
Yes, there's an initial battery drain, but as usual with all Android upgrades, it gets better overtime. Lol
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Agree with you bro @lee480
Btw keep in mind people, that Sony make thier devices better and better and comparing devices is useless like compare the coming Z4 by an old X10i.. Totally useless, so keep realistic !!

I tiny thing that i want to add here peeps. is that Z2 is older so..simply the phone battery itself is getting weaker after the higher charging cycles every day or 2.(talking to the ppl who took thier z2's when they first got out to the stores(i mean yes,almost 1 year passed for me also)).Rly no point for arguing here.Still loving my z2 and i think it will wtill rock the world for 1 or 2 more years ( : It definitely worth every cent.

how are the camera & how much free memory you get when you just turn on the phone now (regardless how much social media apps running)....

Im a regular user. I dont see any problems with my Z2. Im loving every bit of it. For me its not slow, I never experience lags unlike Samsung phones (former S4/S5 user) even debloated. Though the phone heats up fast, esp when playing games and using camera. Sound is kinda soft even with sound mods. Im using eXistenz rom by niaboc. I guess thats all of it. I love my phone, its like a mini TV with a crisp display.

After owning it for one year now, these are the points I would like to see improved on my next phone:
1. This gets hot very quickly during gameplay and in camera mode. Next time I would look into a metal phone and see some heat tests before purchasing.
2. The camera on auto mode isn't so great, the focus isn't good on auto. And I know everyone says use manual, but sometimes you want to quickly snap a photo and not worry.
3. The bezels are too big, I understand that it's good for front facing speakers, but if you don't use your phone for listening via speakers, then it's a waste and makes it bulky.
4. Charging is slow compared to new devices with quick charge 2.0 and other technologies.
But all in all, it is a good device. The battery lasts a good length, it doesn't start lagging over time and the interface is near stock android.
I would recommend this over the s5 for sure, if you are looking into other phones, I would take the s6, g4 and z3 as the phones over this one. Otherwise it holds up against other models.

I love the look, the notification light and the button placement.
It runs like a champ and i have found no difference in smoothness of experience compared to my old nexus 5 (bought on release day). The only issue is heat, it runs fine on heavy titles like real racing at max settings but candy crush soda saga heats the cpu to 60c compared to idle of 39c. Not extremely warm like my g3's screen but still warm.

You all speak of heat issues, but be aware that for newest generations of smartphones, the issues are much more worse (I'm thinking especially of S810 powered phones).
The challenge for manufacters is now to find solutions to efficiently drain away the heat and to adjust adequately the thermal management of so powerful hot chips in so small devices.

Man, there's a whole lot of tinfoil in this thread.

everyone has his own desire..this phone is good and its really capable .if anyone have an overheating issues go pick S4 and check it out....Z2 is a really good device with good price and if you are facing charging issues buy a 2.0 charger it wont hurt trust me .

Buying advice: Asus ZenFone 2

I am in the market for a new cell phone to replace my current Samsung Galaxy SIII Mini. Given my budget, I have nearly settled on the Asus ZenFone 2. At $299 for an upper-middle tier cell phone with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, it seems like a solid bet. The only real downfall I have discovered from my research thus far is the ZenUI which overlays the stock Android experience and the massive amount of bloatware that comes pre-installed on the phone.
If I were able to safely get rid of the bloatware and make the phone more like a pure stock Android experience, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
I consider myself fairly able to work with technology, although I have never actually rooted, flashed, or otherwise modded a cell phone. So, I am looking for some guidance. Do you think the ZenFone2 warrants a purchase in spite of the concerns outlined? If no, do you have any suitable reocmmendations in that budget range? More importantly, do you think I would be able to modify the phone to get rid of bloatware and make it a more stock Android experience?
Sorry if this questions has been asked previously. As I mentioned, I am very new to this, certainly new to the forums, and just looking for guidance. Thanks!

Bloatware thing is overblown, you can disable every single preinstalled app on the phone. The performance is amazing, this is a lag free phone. However, I do no recommend this phone simply based on the battery life, its terrible. There is no way around it.

yumms said:
Bloatware thing is overblown, you can disable every single preinstalled app on the phone. The performance is amazing, this is a lag free phone. However, I do no recommend this phone simply based on the battery life, its terrible. There is no way around it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not as concerned about the battery life as I am generally near a charger. But, do you think the battery issues might be address through an Android update (I hear 5.1.1 is coming soon to Asus) or even a root/mod like Cyanogenmod?

dchadjohnson said:
I'm not as concerned about the battery life as I am generally near a charger. But, do you think the battery issues might be address through an Android update (I hear 5.1.1 is coming soon to Asus) or even a root/mod like Cyanogenmod?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life is little fixed for me on this new updates,it's not that bad,but just wait for 5.1.1 update or Android M 6.0 update,zenfone 2 will shine for sure
---------- Post added at 04:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:35 PM ----------
and btw don't install Cm 12.1,i tried it and it's worse than asus stock rom,trust me...

The only bad thing about the phone (550ML) is the battery backup and the memory usage.
Except that, it is good.
Depending where you are, i could advice your to buy the redmi note 2, lower price, more powerfull, pictures a bit better in low light environment, sound better, 5 hours SOT and not three like this phone, lower and brighter screen...

I bought the WW version of the phone you are considering, after upgrading from a S4. Unlike a lot here on XDA, I have left it at stock, with 64gig of storage and 4gig of ram who cares about the bloatware. With Auto Start Manager you can disable anything you want to anyway. It does what I want it to do and I am not stuck to the carrier's software update schedule as I was with the S4.

I've had ZenFone 2 for about 1 month now. My previous phone was first gen Moto G.
ZenUI is surprisingly good. I usually have Google Now launcher or Nova Launcher but I've been sticking with ZenUI. The bloat is only a minor inconvenience.
As for performance: the phone is a beast! Astonishing considering the price. I have 1.8ghz 4gig ram version.
The screen is good. It doesn't get dim enough and so is not ideal for nighttime use. I tried to use rootdim to no avail. I use phone at min brightness for most of day.
Battery life is poor! Struggle to get 3hrs screen on time. I'm a medium to heavy user. Have to charge it twice a day. Hoping this can be improved with 5.1.1. If, not then might consider one plus one.

m98221 said:
I've had ZenFone 2 for about 1 month now. My previous phone was first gen Moto G.
ZenUI is surprisingly good. I usually have Google Now launcher or Nova Launcher but I've been sticking with ZenUI. The bloat is only a minor inconvenience.
As for performance: the phone is a beast! Astonishing considering the price. I have 1.8ghz 4gig ram version.
The screen is good. It doesn't get dim enough and so is not ideal for nighttime use. I tried to use rootdim to no avail. I use phone at min brightness for most of day.
Battery life is poor! Struggle to get 3hrs screen on time. I'm a medium to heavy user. Have to charge it twice a day. Hoping this can be improved with 5.1.1. If, not then might consider one plus one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use lux light as it dims the screen to great nighttime viewing and I get decent screen time and I'm a heavy user as well
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using XDA Free mobile app

I have never experienced the poor battery life others complain of on this phone.
Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk

corrsea said:
I have never experienced the poor battery life others complain of on this phone.
Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah me too, I get battery backup around 5 hrs easily and the only thing I dont like is memory management and blaotwares that's all but as someone said earlier you can disable and I did around 13 apps xD
Camera and performace and battery is very good. Waiting for 5.1.1'

[/COLOR]and btw don't install Cm 12.1,i tried it and it's worse than asus stock rom,trust me...[/QUOTE]
Well what people need to understand is that ALL of the AOSP roms for the zenfone 2 are in BETA STAGES! Meaning its not 100% stable. Not the devs fault as they are doing there best to get it to a stable release.
As for recommending the phone to OP. Yes I do, is in my list its one of the top phones for 300 and under this year. Now its not perfect(battery, junk bloat, screen brightness, screen to body ratio) but for the 4gb model if you tweak and make it yours you will love the speed and its flagship experience at a mid level price point.

Well, many people have already give you a help but here it goes another one. This phone is just amazing. For this price you only have OP2 or Moto X to compete (both are a little bit expensive).
My battery reach to 4.30h SOT and i have always wifi, bt and 4g on. Play about 1h games, lots of browsing and social networks. 30m talking. In the end of day still have my battery around 25%. Not bad but with 5.1.1 hope this improve. There is very little bloatware and you can remove them or disable easily.
The bad things is the screen body ratio is bsd and make the phone biggest, the camera is not brilliant, the power button on top, the screen brightness.
But every phones have pros and cons so, for me, this is the best for the price
Already bought another for my sister and i recommend alot. Very happy user

Kambz1994 said:
and btw don't install Cm 12.1,i tried it and it's worse than asus stock rom,trust me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strongly disagree with that, it is improving daily and imho already surpasses the ASUS stock firmware. CM has given me a new found love for and enjoyment of this excellent phone.

Delgadovsky said:
Well, many people have already give you a help but here it goes another one. This phone is just amazing. For this price you only have OP2 or Moto X to compete (both are a little bit expensive).
My battery reach to 4.30h SOT and i have always wifi, bt and 4g on. Play about 1h games, lots of browsing and social networks. 30m talking. In the end of day still have my battery around 25%. Not bad but with 5.1.1 hope this improve. There is very little bloatware and you can remove them or disable easily.
The bad things is the screen body ratio is bsd and make the phone biggest, the camera is not brilliant, the power button on top, the screen brightness.
But every phones have pros and cons so, for me, this is the best for the price
Already bought another for my sister and i recommend alot. Very happy user
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get more than 5 hrs xD

See xD

903tex said:
[/COLOR]and btw don't install Cm 12.1,i tried it and it's worse than asus stock rom,trust me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well what people need to understand is that ALL of the AOSP roms for the zenfone 2 are in BETA STAGES! Meaning its not 100% stable. Not the devs fault as they are doing there best to get it to a stable release.
As for recommending the phone to OP. Yes I do, is in my list its one of the top phones for 300 and under this year. Now its not perfect(battery, junk bloat, screen brightness, screen to body ratio) but for the 4gb model if you tweak and make it yours you will love the speed and its flagship experience at a mid level price point.[/QUOTE]
Lol, cm12.1 and aosp roms are in beta version so they need time to be stable. They aren't ridiculous noob

If you're not a hardcore gamer, then better wait for the Zenfone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) variant with Snapdragon 615 and 3GB RAM. I had almost decided to buy the ZE550ML, although I was apprehensive about the battery life, when I read about the new model. It costs marginally higher than the ZE550ML, but should have better battery if somewhat less performance. Plus 3GB RAM should still take care of the ZenUI bloat.

Gustapo said:
If you're not a hardcore gamer, then better wait for the Zenfone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) variant with Snapdragon 615 and 3GB RAM. I had almost decided to buy the ZE550ML, although I was apprehensive about the battery life, when I read about the new model. It costs marginally higher than the ZE550ML, but should have better battery if somewhat less performance. Plus 3GB RAM should still take care of the ZenUI bloat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2 Gb ram is enough for gaming if you know how to use phone

ASUS ZenFone2 is a great phone!
Okay, so I'm a bit biased...but this phone is actually really good! (I came from a Nexus). Battery life is really dependent on your location, signal, usage scenarios, etc. But I'm on T-Mo in the Bay Area where signal isn't the best, I use the phone for work and have gotten through an entire day 7-10PM with at least 20% left. Bloatware can be disabled on the latest firmware.

Yeah, I've disabled 23 bloatwares xD

Is This Phone Still Worth the Buy?

I'm still interested in this phone, but I can't find a whole lot of information on it after early fall.
Anyone that have one still recommend it?
Any major issues to look out for if I purchased one now?
Not interested in rooting or modding. Really like it for the specs and price.
Thanks!

Well, I for one regret buying it. I think OPO was much better phone. My OP2 is slow and often crashes and couple days ago my clock alarm didn't work which why I overslept. Often have to do hard boot to get it work again.
I don't know is it hardware issue, haven't tried rooting and flashing other ROMs yet, but many people has reported the phone being slow.

It is a bit slow using original os, unfortunately. This will probably be alleviated a bit by Marshmallow when it is released. It's unfortunate that this phone isn't just using ordinary cyanogenmod, since using the current builds of cm13 makes this phone really snappy but with a few bugs and missing features as of now.
Skickat från min ONE A2003 via Tapatalk

I'm currently running my OP+2 with OOS 2.2.0 and Boeffla Kernel. Runs like a charm. Pretty good Battery life (keeps me through the day with 6 - 7 hours SOT), has an amazing camera, fingerprint works pretty good too. Overall performance is great for me. I don't think you can get a Better device for this price.
Most of the problems everyone is talking about are resulting from wrong usage. Main problems i recognized through the Forums are Facebook+its Messenger, bull**** like Greenify and stuff and wrong expectations about a handheld device that isnt build to be a gaming console (with the right Kernel and Settings it can be ).
But if you are not sure about it and dont want to root and tinker around with the device better wait for another device. Here in Germany you can get a Galaxy S6 for the same price when its on sale somewhere. Maybe such a mainstream device is better for you then.
Hope i could help.

yes.

I think OPO is better now because of the official Cyanogen it have , I have experimented a lot of custom ROM's nowdays , for me H2O is better than OOS , but it's for China and it's customers .. Every H2O OS I installed had the same problem with notifications , for example Whatsapp and Facebook messenger notification came in few minutes after the message was sent to me, or they appeared just after I used the applications .. So I don't recommend H2O os at moment , I hope for a major update of OxigenOS , or that the official Cyanogenmod will come soon , after a better ROM this phone will be stunning, better than OPO :good:

I originally wanted to buy the OPO, but it was out of stock so I got the 2 instead.
I love it, it is a huge step up from my Moto G 2014. Love OxygenOS with the Boeffla Kernel only about 5 hours SOT.
I thought the fingerprint reader was going to be gimmicky, almost 99% accurate. Could not fault the phone atm.
In love with the design, get a nice Dbrand.

I think no. If I could by an other phone today, I would go to a LG G4 or a Nexus 6P. Damn, look at OnePlus Company, no sources, Fingerprint / Laser Autofocus drivers no released yet. I really don't understand OnePlus orientation regarding the open source side of Android. I know they will (I REALLY HOPE) release their sources for CM13, but for now, all I see is that we have a ""semi"" CM13 (But don't say what I've don't said, @regalstreak and all others developers have maid a wonderful job). Furthermore, I asked Carl Pei on his twitter why sources are not release yet, well.... no answer. Very nice for an opened company Anyway. Mate, if you still have the choice, go for an other phone.
Even my old LG G2 already has Android 6.0.1.

Still really pleased with mine after 4 months. For the money I don't think you can do much better, personally.

If you're talking about community support I afraid not. But talking about stock rom, I'm satisfied with custom kernel installed, generally smooth experience relying on it's powerful hardware at least. But of course there are quite a number of competitive phones on similar price range like 5x g4 or stylex.
So it depends on your need. I personally take a lot of snapshot(photo I mean) g4 might be better but I'm still pleased with opt.

I have one and I love it, the only real problem I have is with oxygenos, it's pretty buggy and a bit slow. That hopefully will be fixed with software updates. The fingerprint scanner/home button is very responsive and everything works well for me.
In my opinion it is worth it, I would totally recommend it.

benj! said:
Still really pleased with mine after 4 months. For the money I don't think you can do much better, personally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In France, LG G4 dropped at 350 Euros, (~381$), and for me, the G4 is far away compared to the OnePlus Two:
-SDCard slot,
-Camera,
-Great specs,
-Great community support... (CM13, fast update from LG)
Yes, the OnePlus Two is a great phone, but not the flasgship killer claimed by OnePlus. But at the end, user is the one who chooses, so.... just my personal opinion!
Oh yeah, @Chopzzay makes me think about it: fingerprint is one of the most funny thing on this phone, it works for randomly: sometimes every time, some times, I have to do it two or three times before it works. Very disappointed about it.

For me I would say it's pretty much the only flagship dual sim card phone, there really was no other choice since I don't want to be dragging two phones with me all the time to be reached both on my private and business number.
But as a single sim user, it's a completely different situation I recon.
Skickat från min ONE A2003 via Tapatalk

casual_kikoo said:
In France, LG G4 dropped at 350 Euros, (~381$), and for me, the G4 is far away compared to the OnePlus Two:
-SDCard slot,
-Camera,
-Great specs,
-Great community support... (CM13, fast update from LG)
Yes, the OnePlus Two is a great phone, but not the flasgship killer claimed by OnePlus. But at the end, user is the one who chooses, so.... just my personal opinion!
Oh yeah, @Chopzzay makes me think about it: fingerprint is one of the most funny thing on this phone, it works for randomly: sometimes every time, some times, I have to do it two or three times before it works. Very disappointed about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course g4 will be better only if you only name the pros.
Screen resolution is debatable, less battery, less performance and working on adreno 418... That's a choice, not a pro, personally i love that Oneplus 2 has a FullHD display and not a QHD, i could bought LG G4, Moto x pure, or whatever 500uds or less. I decided Oneplus 2 and im very happy with my decisión. Thanks god i didnt belive the overheating rumors, they are exagerated, my nexus 5 got hotter.
*was between the same devices. My decisión was LG G4 or Oneplus 2. Moto X it was my third choice.
I choose the op2 because of this:
-Full HD screen : more battery and less GPU demanding
-SoC: 810 vs 808. That means ram lpddr4 vs lpddr3, adreno 418 (qHD) vs adreno 430 (FHD).
About heating, because of the rumors oneplus throttle the devices too fast, if you edited the thermal file with boeffla kernel you could have awesome performance, for more info about throttle pm me.
-Fingerprint scanner. Works perfect, if you know how to scan. You have to scan your finger in every side of it, so it will work perfectly.
-XDA community, not too much for no but it will grow up. Oneplus is contacting devs from XDA, that must be a good thing. Op2 will grow a lot when official marshmallow get released.
-Capacitive buttons, so it does not take space from the screen
-Alert slider is useful, but lg g4 volume buttons are very nice too.
-4gb vs 3gb, its not a real life difference but maybe it will be.
EDIT:- Better battery life. 3300mah vs 3000mah, also fhd vs qhd must make a difference.
About nfc, for almost 2 years i never used it on my nexus 5, so its not a problem for me.*
Hope you can decide for the best, come with us*[emoji6]
Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk

I have an edge plus and use my opt way more then the edge + lol....love this device, don't know why all the hate, Jesus....
Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk

I was really thinking of buying op2 but after seeing so much reviews about heating, more than six months has passed since launch and problem still exist and plus little support for community development from company i doubt i will buy this mobile. I may go for nexus 6p

abhi0502 said:
I was really thinking of buying op2 but after seeing so much reviews about heating, more than six months has passed since launch and problem still exist and plus little support for community development from company i doubt i will buy this mobile. I may go for nexus 6p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About heating, nexus 6p has the same soc. And this phone doesn't overheat. I use it with modified thermal and it doesn't throttle even after 30m+ of heavy gaming.
Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk

I own a OPT and can't recommend it. It's the worst phone (beside the a Nokia Lumia 520) I've ever used in the last few years.
The hardware is good, the specs are looking great but the software is really crap. and the speaker volume is really really low so I can't hear any calls or messages.

Z5C vs XC

Hello, friends.
I'm a user of a Z3C (had a Z1C before that). Now that Nougat isn't available anymore for our phone, I was wondering if I should buy a Z5C or a XC.
I'm not a stock user. I use a lot of mods and custom stuff on my phone. Stock isn't for me. I know that Z5C is more powerful and more affordable that a XC, but it only has one more year of support.
Would you recommend upgrading (at all)? And if yes, which of the models
I was thinking about waiting for the new Nexus phone...but damn, that price! Also took into consideration a Nexus 5X or a Samsung S7...I don't want a big phone, nor to sell my kidneys for a phone.

Man I was in the same situation as you deciding between Z5c and Xc. I had a Nextbit Robin for around 3 months. Worse decision ever. Don't get me wrong the Robin is nice, looks great and high specs but the poorly optimised software from Nextbit is just awful. Huge problems with audio playback (3.5mm).
So I was looking for a new Android device. The two models that got my attention was Z5c and Xc. Having already used the Xc from family member I liked it. It did everything the Nextbit Robin did but BETTER! Audio playback is the biggest feature for me. Works perfectly. However I decided to go for the Xperia Z5 Compact due to being waterproof, better specs. Also something to note with Xc is that the back will get scratched easily due to the material finish which is cheap plastic and very glossy. No matter even if you are the most careful person looking after your gadgets.
Here in the UK I got ordered the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact Yellow for £179. Black out of stock and the retailer don't stock White variant. So being a guy this will be my first yellow phone LOL. Hope women out in public see my new flashy phone and get attracted to me LOL but if gay men do then I need to run LOL
My Z5c arrives tomorrow (06/10/2016). I can post my feedback tomorrow if you want. Also I ain't fussed about updates eg Android N, L etc LOL. Within a year or so there probably be Z6c or something along the lines.

I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!

doriandiaconu said:
I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any games you'd like me to try out?

Having just upgraded from my Z3 Compact to a Z5 Compact, I must say, you will not be disappointed! It is noticeably faster and battery life has been better even. I'm using XPower 4 as my ROM, rooted, bootloader unlocked, DRM-fixed, thermal-patched, xposed, amplify, greenify, etc. Basically the exact same setup I had under SliMM 3.x on my Z3 Compact, all backed up with Titanium Backup and restored onto my Z5 Compact. Every xposed module works exactly as before, and overall I was back up and running in no time. I feel that the X Compact is a slightly less high-end device compared to the Z5 Compact, it lacks waterproof rating, fingerprint sensor (as long as you import your Z5c), and the really cool looking speaker design.

MiracleMiah said:
Any games you'd like me to try out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not much of a gamer. But I am a update freak

MiracleMiah said:
Here in the UK I got ordered the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact Yellow for £179.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get it for £179? Is this new or second hand?

pelago said:
Where did you get it for £179? Is this new or second hand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I received mine today and it's looks new!
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/so...47868-_-blank-_-blank#contractType=paymonthly
So far it's showing out of stock now but keep any eye on stock level then click Pay & Go option on right side of the page.

MiracleMiah said:
I received mine today and it's looks new!
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/so...47868-_-blank-_-blank#contractType=paymonthly
So far it's showing out of stock now but keep any eye on stock level then click Pay & Go option on right side of the page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I already bought one a couple of weeks ago, £289, from Giffgaff, in black, definitely brand new, but £179 (especially if it really is in new condition) is a bargain.

doriandiaconu said:
I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right I got the device today. So far so good. Everything setup and updated to the latest version. The phone is amazing. Fast and smooth using the OS. Love the build quality and the camera, I'm in love with that. Been taking some photos of family and I love the quality and the amount of manual tweaking you can do.
I have played some games such as Spider-Man, Asphalt etc on it and I noticed after like 15 minutes the back get's slightly hot but nothing too extreme.
However one downside I noticed is the speakers volume is weird. If I play music (on max) it will be loud but after 1 second will go quiet. It's like some sort of auto audio kick in. I did some research and on Sony forums, staff member said after 45 minutes it should be fine. Some users state charge phone to 100%. So will try these method and see how it goes.
Any other Z5 Compact owners notice the issue with the speakers?
---------- Post added at 05:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 PM ----------
pelago said:
Well, I already bought one a couple of weeks ago, £289, from Giffgaff, in black, definitely brand new, but £179 (especially if it really is in new condition) is a bargain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes indeed what a bargain! Did you notice the speaker volume output level was low on first day?

MiracleMiah said:
Right I got the device today. So far so good. Everything setup and updated to the latest version. The phone is amazing. Fast and smooth using the OS. Love the build quality and the camera, I'm in love with that. Been taking some photos of family and I love the quality and the amount of manual tweaking you can do.
I have played some games such as Spider-Man, Asphalt etc on it and I noticed after like 15 minutes the back get's slightly hot but nothing too extreme.
However one downside I noticed is the speakers volume is weird. If I play music (on max) it will be loud but after 1 second will go quiet. It's like some sort of auto audio kick in. I did some research and on Sony forums, staff member said after 45 minutes it should be fine. Some users state charge phone to 100%. So will try these method and see how it goes.
Any other Z5 Compact owners notice the issue with the speakers?
---------- Post added at 05:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 PM ----------
Yes indeed what a bargain! Did you notice the speaker volume output level was low on first day?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
happen to me randomly sometime alot (usually when i play games top speakers become really quiet), i think its hardware bug. because i had it in all stock versions 5.1.1-6.0- 6.1
besides that and the heat and low RAM ( CSR 2 and Modern Combat 5: took all the 2GB RAM)phone has good battery great
GFX almost 200% faster, from XC

ATM, XC no backup TA so for any root user better to get Z5c plus it got waterproof. Z5c can be a very good phone but really need heavy modding and quite trouble, it's a phone that root is a must. Stock is completely useless.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z5/development/mod-smartemperaturex-best-balanced-s810-t3438890
Just make sure you guys flash the SmartTempX v1.61 thermal mod for gaming bcoz v1.7/1.8 got slow charge bug.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z5-compact/development/rom-xpower-v1-0-aroma-debloat-custom-t3371100
Remember to install greenify to free up memory bcoz 2GB ram isn't enough for this device and debloat the rom by yourself. Suggested to flash XPower V3/V4 rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony-themes-apps/sonyz5-family-unlocked-xz-xc-camera-t3463148
http://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony-themes-apps/mod-cyberian-camera-t3267271/page203
Originally, I want to upgrade to XC for the camera since camera is the most important part to me. Stock Z5c cam is just way below my expectation but after used stock mod cam and photo quality been much improved, so the plan pushed back a bit now. Will stick with Z5c in this year, next year might get XC when price lower.

MiracleMiah said:
However one downside I noticed is the speakers volume is weird. If I play music (on max) it will be loud but after 1 second will go quiet. It's like some sort of auto audio kick in. I did some research and on Sony forums, staff member said after 45 minutes it should be fine. Some users state charge phone to 100%. So will try these method and see how it goes.
Any other Z5 Compact owners notice the issue with the speakers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the same thing to me on day one. Next day it was okay. That was 6 months ago and so far so good

I'm a Z5C owner thinking of buying XC. Because I'm sick and tired of this phone.
The one and only option for obtaining Z5C is buying it in a store with a moneyback policy. Most of the phones have overheating and battery drain problems. If you are lucky to get a phone without these issues then you get an awesome smartphone. And if you get the same as others... well, there's moneyback for you.
These issues can't be fixed with any software tweaks, the best way to improve the situation is flashing 5.1 which makes the phone heat much less and allows it to last a day of minor usage which is a great improvement over charging twice a day with Marshmallow. No hope for improvements in Nougat.
I hate Sony for making potentially awesome phones and not paying attention to quality. Z5C could be perfect.

jufofu said:
These issues can't be fixed with any software tweaks, the best way to improve the situation is flashing 5.1 which makes the phone heat much less and allows it to last a day of minor usage which is a great improvement over charging twice a day with Marshmallow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally disagreed. Do you real root and try? I've got nightmare battery drain at idle with 5.1.1 stock .152/.200 and battery problem completely fixed with XPower rom. I don't think 5.1.1 heat much less too.

TheEndHK said:
Totally disagreed. Do you real root and try? I've got nightmare battery drain at idle with 5.1.1 stock .152/.200 and battery problem completely fixed with XPower rom. I don't think 5.1.1 heat much less too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I did. But all the tweaking just made it a little bit cooler, still as hot as my gf. Even after I severely limited the frequencies it became very slow but didn't stop overheating. 10-15 minutes in Chrome made it extremely hot and drained a few percent of battery charge.
After I downgraded it to 5.1.1 it doesn't even need tweaking anymore. Yes, the battery life still is mediocre at best, and it gets warm from usage, but it lasts twice longer and doesn't throttle down the CPU anymore.

jufofu said:
Of course I did. But all the tweaking just made it a little bit cooler, still as hot as my gf. Even after I severely limited the frequencies it became very slow but didn't stop overheating. 10-15 minutes in Chrome made it extremely hot and drained a few percent of battery charge.
After I downgraded it to 5.1.1 it doesn't even need tweaking anymore. Yes, the battery life still is mediocre at best, and it gets warm from usage, but it lasts twice longer and doesn't throttle down the CPU anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do u try water cool your gf?
It's weird the heat appeared same to me in both 5.1.1 and 6.0.1(.253 is more hot than .224) but Sony MM I believe got some memory leaks so 5.1.1 is real faster during in my experiences(bluetooth and wifi is also faster and more stable). But I can't fix the radio active bug in .152/.200 and just keep draining battery, XPower V3/V4 real fixed that.
Plus camera is more important to me, both photo/video much better in MM with mod cam.

TheEndHK said:
Do u try water cool your gf?
It's weird the heat appeared same to me in both 5.1.1 and 6.0.1(.253 is more hot than .224) but Sony MM I believe got some memory leaks so 5.1.1 is real faster during in my experiences(bluetooth and wifi is also faster and more stable). But I can't fix the radio active bug in .152/.200 and just keep draining battery, XPower V3/V4 real fixed that.
Plus camera is more important to me, both photo/video much better in MM with mod cam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I tried, didn't help, she's still hot. Will try again. And again.
I'm going to flash the latest MM firmware now and see if anything has changed. If it hasn't I'll flash LP back.
I have to reflash the phone anyway because I got into a bootloop on LP after a few days of using it.

Update;
Reporting back.. Totally love this phone. I'd say get this over the XC Compact. For me the Z5c better build quality and finish. It's been such a smooth experience. Making calls, texting, apps & games.
It put's shame on Nextbit Robin which I had (now sold).

MiracleMiah said:
Update;
Reporting back.. Totally love this phone. I'd say get this over the XC Compact. For me the Z5c better build quality and finish. It's been such a smooth experience. Making calls, texting, apps & games.
It put's shame on Nextbit Robin which I had (now sold).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What make you change your idea vote for Z5c now?
http://phandroid.com/2016/09/21/htc-bolt-photo/
Keep an eye on new mid range of HTC Bolt. Some suggested a smaller size and cheaper ver of HTC10, not sure 4.7" or 5" at this time if 4.7" can be a good replacement of Z5c and XC.