Database Users

If I don't need a hugely powerful phone, have I made the right choice?

Hi all,
When the N4 was announced I had my GNex up for sale within the hour, sold within two! The more I read about the Nexus 4, the more I am unsure it is actually for me. I do not play games and generally use my phone for browsing the net/forums, google currents, bit of music and social networking (Facebook etc.)
I am now unsure whether I have made the right choice, and whether I should snap-up another Nexus while people are selling them off cheap on the forums ready for the N4 upgrade.
I was hoping for upgrades in the following areas
Build quality... this is one area where I am fairly sure I would be happy! N4 looks great!
Screen quality... again, a fairly significant upgrade to me me as the Gnex screen always looked a little washed out and dull when sat alongside other handsets (One X, S3, S2 etc.)
Battery Life... Was hoping for this but am now unsure. Gnex seemed to heat up quite a lot and was looking forward to getting rid of that. it now seems that the N4 may have the same issues and reports of screen on time in the region of 3 hours do not seem that much of a step up from the Gnex
Processor... Whilst a speed boost would be welcomed, as I only use the phone for some casual browsing and not gaming I am unsure how much difference I will see.
Camera... Again was hoping for a major boost, but seems to be a minor incremental boost at best!
Any thoughts? Anyone else in the same position as me and wondering what to do? Price difference is in the region of £100-120 if I were to purchase like for like accessories etc.
Cheers,
Michael

The fact that it's "Nexus" also means you get a standard, Android experience, along with guaranteed quick updates (up until the point where the OS won't run smoothly on the device I guess; which should take a while). Other vendors for the most part offer updates slowly, and choose to make the general UI... non-standard (which usually has more downsides)

yeah... am only comparing the two nexus devices as that is all I would buy... love the specs of the S3 and can be picked up mint for about the same price as a new Nexus 4, but couldn't live without the updates

Literally everything is improved. You'll love it no matter what.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

One thing I wouldn't worry ahbout is battery life,
once the obvious software problems are fixed battery life is going to be good because:
-The battery at 2100mAh is pretty large
-IPS panels are allot more power efficient then Amoled screens, especially if your main use is web browsing
-The S4pro is the most efficient ARM quad-core and is the only one which allows to clock its cores independently
-There will be custom Kernels that allow undervolting and other features that improve battery life

I'm not a gamer either, but that didn't stopped me from getting this I personally think you won't regret getting it, but if you don't like it, you can always just return it and get something else
Swyped on my Galaxy Nexus running AOKP with Franco Kernel

wurzelsepp3 said:
One thing I wouldn't worry ahbout is battery life,
once the obvious software problems are fixed battery life is going to be good because:
-The battery at 2100mAh is pretty large
-IPS panels are allot more power efficient then Amoled screens, especially if your main use is web browsing
-The S4pro is the most efficient ARM quad-core and is the only one which allows to clock its cores independently
-There will be custom Kernels that allow undervolting and other features that improve battery life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much of a difference will custom kernels and ROMs make to the battery life? Roughly? 10% or more?
I know my current Galaxy 3 gives me an improvement of almost 30% with custom firmware, but that's because of removing the samsung bloatware.

I try to get the fastest, most powerful phone or computer out there that's at a reasonable price. By reasonable I mean most power per dollar. The people that say they don't need a super fast phone or computer are usually the ones complaining that Web pages open slow or it keeps freezing and slowing down. The better hardware you get, the longer you will be satisfied with the device. And for this price with this hardware/software? You gotta jump on it. You may not need a phone that could run crysis but if you could get it for the same or cheaper price as a lesser spec'd phone, wouldn't you?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

cyberkid2002 said:
I was hoping for upgrades in the following areas
Build quality... this is one area where I am fairly sure I would be happy! N4 looks great! I think we're going to love the build quality. I've said for a couple of years now that if Google could put out a Nexus device that felt like the iPhone 4/4S in the hand, then they'd really be on to something. I believe that's what LG has done here.
Screen quality... again, a fairly significant upgrade to me me as the Gnex screen always looked a little washed out and dull when sat alongside other handsets (One X, S3, S2 etc.) IMO, the screen is going to be great. From everything I've read, the screen is just a slight notch below the One X...so that would make it fantastic. And every review I've read that compared it to the GNex screen says that it's MUCH better and much easier to see outdoors in sunlight. This is a major upgrade.
Battery Life... Was hoping for this but am now unsure. Gnex seemed to heat up quite a lot and was looking forward to getting rid of that. it now seems that the N4 may have the same issues and reports of screen on time in the region of 3 hours do not seem that much of a step up from the Gnex. Again, this is something we'll have to wait and see (as everyone's day-to-day use is different), but I've seen a couple of reviews that say the Nexus 4 gets about the same, or just below, the battery life of the S3. If that's the case, then (for me at least), I'm golden. Yesterday I got 5 hours screen-on time on my S3 (50% brightness, stock rooted ROM, power save turned off, etc.) and I still had 23% battery life left. That's pretty darn good!
Processor... Whilst a speed boost would be welcomed, as I only use the phone for some casual browsing and not gaming I am unsure how much difference I will see. I think you'll see a major boost, even if you don't need it. Apps will open faster and things will just be snappier. I'd much rather have more performance than I need rather than the other way around.
Camera... Again was hoping for a major boost, but seems to be a minor incremental boost at best! This is the one place where I have to really disagree. The camera is VERY important to me (I use it daily in my job) and the shots I've seen seem to show the camera is a MAJOR upgrade over the GNex. While I didn't find the GNex camera to be awful, it certainly couldn't hold a candle to my S3 camera. If this camera is anywhere near as good as the S3, I'm going to be very pleased.
Any thoughts? Anyone else in the same position as me and wondering what to do? Price difference is in the region of £100-120 if I were to purchase like for like accessories etc.
Cheers,
Michael
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Click to collapse
See my replies above. I believe you've made a great decision. :good:

Engadget has had the most negative response to the battery life of anyone, and they still got 3 minutes longer out of the Nexus 4 than the Galaxy Nexus. Assuming they never fix whatever was causing the poor battery life, you'll see the same as what you get on your Galaxy Nexus.

Over a week and still in love...

Wow, using it over a week now and loving this phone even more....
Long stretch from my Galaxy S5, why didn't this phone come before I bought my S5 LOL
No battery issues here, getting more out of this phone then my S5 and better after the last OTA update. For anyone who's having battery issues, there are several features to disable to get the most out of your battery, do a search on google, there's a ton of people who's increased battery life by taking these steps.
As for the bloatware, I usually root my phone but I don't see the reason too with this one even with all the bloatware, most you can disable. The PC Link is a godsend, wow, every phone should have this feature. Speed wise, I've got mine on Balance mode and it's lightning speed, you can go all out and draw a bit more speed by using the Performance mode but you'll sacrifice some battery life, I didn't notice a whole lot of battery drain in that mode, may go back just to get that extra speed.
The only real gripe I have with this phone is the ability to sync effectively with Outlook, I keep my contacts and schedule on Outlook and with the S5 Samsung Kies was a nice free option to do so. Wish ASUS had a similar app to sync Outlook. The best way I found so far to do this is SyncDroid, worth the $4 to get my contacts synced alone. Calendar I just use Google Calendar Sync seems to do the job. But still prefer to stick with one PC app that does it altogether. If anyone out there found a better (Free) option then SyncDroid, please let me know. I won't use Outlook.com, I find it a pain and somewhat glitchy. Outlook is a pretty widely used app and I think this should be mandatory for all Android phones, this to me would make Android the ultimate mobile device. I paranoid about syncing my entire contact list and calendar via online/cloud etc. I prefer to do it locally with my pc.
This truly is an amazing product for the price, screen is not as bright as my S5 SuperAmoled but I'll take the performance, size, memory over screen hands down, big deal, it's a bit hard to see under sunlight but honestly, I don't use it under direct sunlight that much to ditch the phone. Asus has made excellent effort to keep OTA's coming, which is more then what I can say for Samsung phones. I don't think this phone is going away anytime soon, the only store that sells this phone in our city can't keep this thing in stock, they are constantly sold out, that's a good thing, if it sells that well, Asus will continue to support this phone. The hardware in the phone has great potential for future improvements, Android OS updates will just keep making it better.
Let's just hope the built in battery (which is my other gripe) will last. I hate built in batteries, gives me Iphone jitters I hope the battery is easily replaceable. But Samsung's new flagship has also gone this route. I saw the Zenfone 2 takedown and it seems relative straight forward so battery replacement is doable, would be nice to see companies start making 4000mAh or 5000mAh batteries for this phone
For all who are having intermittent issues and giving up, just be a little patient, this is a brand new phone, there will always be issues, happens to flagship phones, Asus is doing very well getting OTA's to us to fix these problems and I'm confident there will be more to come, growing pains. And please, don't knock this phone because it's not up to par with your Iphone 6 or S6 or phones that are twice/three times the price, it's like giving a Honda Civic a bad review because it doesn't compare to your Audi or Mercedes, how much did your Mercedes cost compared to your Civic, come on, let's be realistic.
Good luck with your new ZF2!

The problem is large amount of zen2 having defective battery. It causes high battery drain or randomly shutdown issue. I also have my battery replaced from service center. Otherwise, this fone perform very well with its price

Sorry I didn't read whole post...I just want to know how much SOT are you getting?

tuilalnvinh said:
The problem is large amount of zen2 having defective battery. It causes high battery drain or randomly shutdown issue. I also have my battery replaced from service center. Otherwise, this fone perform very well with its price
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Sorry to hear you're having that luck, with any phone there are defective units, I've only read a handful who's had battery issues, which version do you have? ie. North America, China etc.

SRV Rockable said:
Sorry I didn't read whole post...I just want to know how much SOT are you getting?
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I haven't really measured using the battery usage. I go by normal use through out the day comparing it with my S5, I'll go through a day running my typical apps, texting, surfing and emailing and the odd calls. I'll end up with about 60-70% battery life by about 9 pm from about 8 am, that's when I sit down and plug it in to charge, I consider pretty good considering I was getting about 30-40% with my Galaxy S5 using it the same way. Not sure if that helps.

Minim3 said:
Sorry to hear you're having that luck, with any phone there are defective units, I've only read a handful who's had battery issues, which version do you have? ie. North America, China etc.
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It's a taiwan version, i had issue with it after 2 weeks of using. I also see people report error from other versions too in zentalk

I've used mine for a bit over a day and I'm impressed. Performance is great, build quality seems great too. I've read some reviews that state the phone feels cheap, but to me it feels and looks better than Samsung S4 or S5.
I have no problem reaching the power button on top, it feels easier than pressing the power button on the side of my old 4.7" Blu Life Play phone, as I don't have to change the grip to reach the power button.
Battery life is a concern though. Yesterday I spent the day applying updates, rooting, instalar all my apps and tweaking all config options. The charge did not last me the day. Hopefully today it'll fare better today after all customization and setup is done.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

Minim3 said:
I haven't really measured using the battery usage. I go by normal use through out the day comparing it with my S5, I'll go through a day running my typical apps, texting, surfing and emailing and the odd calls. I'll end up with about 60-70% battery life by about 9 pm from about 8 am, that's when I sit down and plug it in to charge, I consider pretty good considering I was getting about 30-40% with my Galaxy S5 using it the same way. Not sure if that helps.
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Click to collapse
i have no problem with battery too, with a normal use, some calls, web browsing, whatsapp and facebook i still have more than 50% at home at night, a great improvement since my samsung s3
i also tested the display on some hours, and it should last 5/6 hours of continuos web browsing

onesky said:
i have no problem with battery too, with a normal use, some calls, web browsing, whatsapp and facebook i still have more than 50% at home at night, a great improvement since my samsung s3
i also tested the display on some hours, and it should last 5/6 hours of continuos web browsing
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Click to collapse
I've been reading a lot of reviews for the ZF2 seems like the CN versions have more problems, I wonder if they got some duds. And also, I've noticed that the ZE551 CN versions have different configurations, maybe that's the problem.

Sorry to bring up an older post, but I see a lot of people loving this phone, and some haters (There's always haters)....I have an iphone 6 now after being on Android for a long time, and I'm about fed up with iOS...All of the things people say about iOS are true...locked down...Boring...Ect... That's a different topic for a different day..
My question is, how is the screen? Lots of people have complained about brightness, or lack there of. Also, camera, is it at least average? I'm looking to go about 300 on a phone and there's a few choices out there, but none seem as powerful as the Zenfone 2 with 4gb of ram, 64gb storage. It seems a little more future proof than the OPO, so I'm thinking of getting it....
Will I be disappointed coming from the Nexus line, then iPhone 6?

smokinjoe2122 said:
Sorry to bring up an older post, but I see a lot of people loving this phone, and some haters (There's always haters)....I have an iphone 6 now after being on Android for a long time, and I'm about fed up with iOS...All of the things people say about iOS are true...locked down...Boring...Ect... That's a different topic for a different day..
My question is, how is the screen? Lots of people have complained about brightness, or lack there of. Also, camera, is it at least average? I'm looking to go about 300 on a phone and there's a few choices out there, but none seem as powerful as the Zenfone 2 with 4gb of ram, 64gb storage. It seems a little more future proof than the OPO, so I'm thinking of getting it....
Will I be disappointed coming from the Nexus line, then iPhone 6?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have little patience to wait little more for 5.1 to come up (which most people dont have and hence judging things wrongly) then its worth having for sure..

I came from a G2 and iphone 6. I still have an iPad. I couldn't be happier to be honest
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

I came from an HTC m7 and I love my new ZenFone 2. I have the 4gb/64gb model and it is superb. I also was worried about screen brightness, but I haven't found it bad at all.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using XDA Free mobile app

smokinjoe2122 said:
Sorry to bring up an older post, but I see a lot of people loving this phone, and some haters (There's always haters)....I have an iphone 6 now after being on Android for a long time, and I'm about fed up with iOS...All of the things people say about iOS are true...locked down...Boring...Ect... That's a different topic for a different day..
My question is, how is the screen? Lots of people have complained about brightness, or lack there of. Also, camera, is it at least average? I'm looking to go about 300 on a phone and there's a few choices out there, but none seem as powerful as the Zenfone 2 with 4gb of ram, 64gb storage. It seems a little more future proof than the OPO, so I'm thinking of getting it....
Will I be disappointed coming from the Nexus line, then iPhone 6?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had mine now about 3 weeks and I think that the phone is great for the price. The camera is OK, certainly not iPhone 6 good, but reasonable, especially when you use alternate camera apps. The screen is fine, but once again, I'm indoors most of the day, so no issue. Max brightness outside is not so great the one or two times I've used it.
I think that the phone is a work in progress and that a lot of the deficiencies that you see people griping about will be addressed with future Android updates. On the plus side, Asus had been sending out updates frequently so they seem committed to making this phone better.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input guys...Really having a hard time between this and the OPO....I still have until the end of the month to make my choice, but I'm leaning towards this phone...Really can't go wrong for $300 per the specs, and I like that Asus is continually updating this phone....

I had the same choice to .and and went for the ZenFone 2. I have had it for 4 weeks now and have had no regrets. This phone performs flawlessly in my opinion.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using XDA Free mobile app

Had mine for 4weeks now....am so LOVING it...
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

i have no problem with battery, It's a taiwan version.
over 2 months and still in love.

smokinjoe2122 said:
Thanks for the input guys...Really having a hard time between this and the OPO....I still have until the end of the month to make my choice, but I'm leaning towards this phone...Really can't go wrong for $300 per the specs, and I like that Asus is continually updating this phone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from a Nexus 5 and was considering the same two phones as you. Decided to go with the zenfone 2 based on Asus being more reputable and customer friendly from what i read. So far its been great. I did root (which is super easy via one click) and used titanium to freeze all the unwanted apps. Haven't experienced any lag. Camera wont be as good as the Iphone, but definitely better than my nexus 5. I dont game on it because I dont see the point of gaming on a phone, but i did run hearthstone flawlessly. To me, the build quality is nice. comparable to Galaxy s4/5, so im not sure why so many reviews bring it up as a major con. at $300 this phone is awesome. And once Asus pushed out 5.1 it should shine even more, as 5.1 bumps android up to 64bit, and this has a 64bit chipset.

This phone is way better than I expected for $299. I'm coming from an LG G2, and I'm not missing anything. You can spend 3x this much on a phone and you won't end up with much more.
Honestly my biggest nit-pick is the power button placement, but double-tap-to-wake/sleep is far more convenient than any possible hardware switch. Battery life is a touch lower than I'm used to, but QC 2 is really great.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

Bye bye zenfone 2

Ok, this is a completely personal opinion. I'm normally a lurker in that I've used xda for years with various devices. However, never have I been more disappointed with a phone then with the zenfone 2. My decision to leave behind the device and android is simply on my experience.
For me I made the purchase whilst in Hong Kong. I moved to windows phone last year and couldn't fault it's speed, usage, memory management or battery life. My 1320 held a charge for days and days. Simply fab.
But whilst in HK I saw, numerous times, the advert for the zenfone 2. It looked good and with the 64gb and 4gb ram combo I just thought wow. So I went for a look and a play. It wasn't an impulse purchase, I took my time over a number of days, plus did my research on the device where reviews said it was a great flagship killer. Fantastic, plus the price in HK was great. So I got one. I added a zenwatch to accompany it.
But, and here's the rub for me. I've had this now for just under 2 months. Despite a large battery, 3000 mah, the sot is pathetic. I've read all the guides, have greenify, rooted the device, used boot manager and xposed, disabled and changed the wakelocks and alarms and its still pathetic. Most of all when you spend out on a device I feel strongly that you shouldn't need to do all of this just to get decent use out of it. The fact that the android OS is still a battery eater just baffles me. The speculation and promise of 5.1.1 just carries on, and whilst there now an abundance of customs coming out I must ask, why can't the manufacturers just listen to its market??!!
So, whilst many people will probably be haters and winner why I've posted this, simply I think those researching about this device should see this opinion. This is also from someone who used android for years, has used iOS and is no stranger to custom ROMs.
The zenfone 2 could be a winner. Emphasis on could. But it's system abuses the battery rather than showing what can be achieved. The camera is average, and on the whole has been a real disappointment.
In conclusion, I respect you all sticking by it, totally respect the devs for bringing cm, paranoid, slim and all the other customs to the device. I truly do. For me it just shouldn't be this way.
So I'm now going to run off, hide, and return once and for all to to windows phone.
Cheers.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using XDA Forums

bay91 said:
Ok, this is a completely personal opinion. I'm normally a lurker in that I've used xda for years with various devices. However, never have I been more disappointed with a phone then with the zenfone 2. My decision to leave behind the device and android is simply on my experience.
For me I made the purchase whilst in Hong Kong. I moved to windows phone last year and couldn't fault it's speed, usage, memory management or battery life. My 1320 held a charge for days and days. Simply fab.
But whilst in HK I saw, numerous times, the advert for the zenfone 2. It looked good and with the 64gb and 4gb ram combo I just thought wow. So I went for a look and a play. It wasn't an impulse purchase, I took my time over a number of days, plus did my research on the device where reviews said it was a great flagship killer. Fantastic, plus the price in HK was great. So I got one. I added a zenwatch to accompany it.
But, and here's the rub for me. I've had this now for just under 2 months. Despite a large battery, 3000 mah, the sot is pathetic. I've read all the guides, have greenify, rooted the device, used boot manager and xposed, disabled and changed the wakelocks and alarms and its still pathetic. Most of all when you spend out on a device I feel strongly that you shouldn't need to do all of this just to get decent use out of it. The fact that the android OS is still a battery eater just baffles me. The speculation and promise of 5.1.1 just carries on, and whilst there now an abundance of customs coming out I must ask, why can't the manufacturers just listen to its market??!!
So, whilst many people will probably be haters and winner why I've posted this, simply I think those researching about this device should see this opinion. This is also from someone who used android for years, has used iOS and is no stranger to custom ROMs.
The zenfone 2 could be a winner. Emphasis on could. But it's system abuses the battery rather than showing what can be achieved. The camera is average, and on the whole has been a real disappointment.
In conclusion, I respect you all sticking by it, totally respect the devs for bringing cm, paranoid, slim and all the other customs to the device. I truly do. For me it just shouldn't be this way.
So I'm now going to run off, hide, and return once and for all to to windows phone.
Cheers.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using XDA Forums
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, i respect your opinion, but forgot something very important.
windows phone, Iphone, Android high gamma (samsung, sony, Lg) 600/1000 USD
Asus Zenfone2 299 USD
good luck !!!

Lumia 930, less cost than zenfone 2, let alone if I went 640xl.
But for me, buying a smart phone shouldn't need so much modding to make it work great.
IPhone. Been there once, never again. At the end of the day I don't need a million apps. I need my stable free, plus battery life so I can use my device for work and play. I can't get that on the zenfone I'm afraid, well not without a charger always in my pocket
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using XDA Forums

Good luck! The Asus Zenfone 2 is one of the most confusing devices, I've come across. It's battery life has been receiving mixed reviews, and has been the main reason why I'm still waiting for 5.1 or CM12 beta to be released for it, before I buy. I read in one of the reviews that even for a single piece of zf2, the battery performance is not consistent. The delay in releasing 5.1 by Asus is also frustrating. x-(

i have no problem with battery, with normal usage no need charge during day. 2 sims, 4g always on and many social apps in background.

You can run win7, so more powerfull, more handy and battery life fantaztic compared to netbook and is only a chiper phone so what more?

When you invest on something and it doesn't give the required result, it really feels terrible. Right now, this is the situation with ZF2 users. But still, I have hope on ASUS that they will give 5.1.1 update soon. Hope for the Best!

Asus released zenfone max today 5000 milli amp battery, I am afraid this is their answer to battery usage, not 5.1.1

I wonder what all people, who complain about SOT in ZF2, do when they're screen is on.
But our mileage varies, I guess. Never had a problem with battery life with the ZF2.

vegasdiceshooter said:
Asus released zenfone max today 5000 milli amp battery, I am afraid this is their answer to battery usage, not 5.1.1
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Just looked at it and I'm disappointed Asus put a Snapdragon 410 in the thing.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using XDA Free mobile app

I'm holding out hope for 5.1.1....but if we don't get it by September, mid to late, I'm going to take the hit, sell this, and get the Moto X Pure edition. Can't fault Asus with their continuous firmware updates, good on them for continuing to try. But with the constant news of major vulnerabilities in the various Android versions, I must have a device I know will be supported for a good long while, and Moto is now proving to be king with that regard.

Why people thinks is bad? now is summertime, in winter will not battery drain. If you work in cool place you will never expect battery issue...
Two day is not enough for a smart phone? How had to be supposed battery life? You say me that other smartphone is too long then zf2? Maybe 3 dayz?

Think people get a bit hung up on the battery life partly because of the way it is reporting it as android OS using a lot, rather than it actually being particularly bad. It certainly isn't fantastic battery life, and is quite variable depending how you use it, but I generally get through a day without recharging and get around 4 to 6 hours SOT. That's on performance mode with Max brightness too. Good enough, certainly better than my old iPhone 5 which used less juice when sleeping but drained fast when screen was on, especially texting, Facebook and camera. So I am OK with the zenfone (Mine is the 550 though). I also think general performance is satisfactory and the camera is passable. Considering the price, I don't think I can have any major complaints. I am still happily enjoying my zenfone everyday

obscuresword said:
Just looked at it and I'm disappointed Asus put a Snapdragon 410 in the thing.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using XDA Free mobile app
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And 720x1280 resolution, Adreno 306 to save battery... Can't have it all!

blazzer12 said:
And 720x1280 resolution, Adreno 306 to save battery... Can't have it all!
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You can if manufactures are thinking lol. Seriously, they could have used the Snapdragon 615 and kept the resolution the same for performance . Oh well at least it offers a better value (IMO) compared to the Moto G since it cost like $160.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using XDA Free mobile app

Everyone is entitled to their choice, and I certainly won't fault you for your decision to leave the Zenfone 2 behind.
I'm not a fan of Windows Phone myself, but I will agree it's more efficient than Android, and runs smoother on lower-end hardware. For me though, it just doesn't have the selection of apps I prefer, nor the customization of Android.
Either way, your concerns with the Zenfone 2 are justified, and I can understand why you are getting rid of it. I personally love it, but then again I can live with the battery

Personally I share the same sentiments on the ZenFone 2. I came from an Xperia T2 ultra Dual. 6 inch 720p display kitkat and 3000mAH battery and I have to say ZenFone 2 sucks in the battery life department but is flawless operation just rocks. I would get 2 days of battery on a single charge on the T2 ultra with light usage but the phone froze once in a while. Now with the ZenFone 2 551 2gb 16gb, with a 3000 mAH battery i hardly get 8hrs of life on 1 charge. Am forced to look for quick charge 2.0 car charger and travel charger. I left home at 12pm with a full battery and made 3 calls of 10minutes max, replied to this forum and about 30 mins of browsing and 2 and half hrs later it's at 59% WTF!
If it were the Xperia i would have been at 95-90 % on battery.
On a positive side the ZenFone is a performer minus the battery life issue.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

Ginuz said:
You can run win7, so more powerfull, more handy and battery life fantaztic compared to netbook and is only a chiper phone so what more?
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Maybe I don't understand.... You can run win7 on ZF2??? I'd be interested in that, could you give a link?
Never heard about someone succeeding to do it... Just lot of people willing to... The only solution I've heard about is chrooting linux distros... kinda dirty way to run an OS, in my opinion...

Not sure about anyone else but I've had no issues with mine either with battery or beat-up of lollipop (knock on wood). I've had tons of android phones and my last was the galaxy s5, this zf2 has exceeded all my expectations and the battery life is about the same as my s5. For the price, this phone packs a punch, if anyone wants the perfect phone then you'll probably be spending twice or three times the price and I'm sure you'll pick something wrong with that phone also but now it's an 800 dollar phone instead of 299 ?
Sent from my ZF2ze551 with TapaTalk

mnt27 said:
Maybe I don't understand.... You can run win7 on ZF2??? I'd be interested in that, could you give a link?
Never heard about someone succeeding to do it... Just lot of people willing to... The only solution I've heard about is chrooting linux distros... kinda dirty way to run an OS, in my opinion...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not natively, only in an emulator. Kind of like in vmware or virtualbox.

Note 4 or LG G4?

Hi Guys,
I know I am bound to face some bias here, since this is a Note 4 forum, but I am owner of an LG G4, previously G3 and Note 2 and 3, but have also bought a Note 4. Now, of course, I should just sell my LG G4, which I happen to like very, very much. I just can't stand the less than 3 hours screen on time, and am longing for some AMOLED, larger screen, and finger-print scanner goodness on the Note 4.
Still, before I sell away my G4, thought I'd post here and get some of your experiences/opinions on this topic, especially if you have by any chance made the same decision as me?
Thanks in advance for all your advice!

I have had both since June, and honestly it's a tough call. I really like that the G4 is fully up to date, and has Stagefright patched, and overall feels much faster and snappier than the Note 4 after deleting carrier bloat. It's also smaller and lighter and sits in the hand better for me. The only thing I like about the Note 4 is the bigger and AMOLED screen (much better colors to me plus no on-screen navigation taking up space). Also, the G4 camera does better in low light - it captures more detail. With the spare battery, the G4 is fine for me, as I always carried a spare battery for my Note 4, too.

siraltus said:
I have had both since June, and honestly it's a tough call. I really like that the G4 is fully up to date, and has Stagefright patched, and overall feels much faster and snappier than the Note 4 after deleting carrier bloat. It's also smaller and lighter and sits in the hand better for me. The only thing I like about the Note 4 is the bigger and AMOLED screen (much better colors to me plus no on-screen navigation taking up space). Also, the G4 camera does better in low light - it captures more detail. With the spare battery, the G4 is fine for me, as I always carried a spare battery for my Note 4, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha, thanks for chiming in bud! Have you rooted and custom ROM'd your Note 4? Wondering if that upped the performance on it, like the G4? I know Stagefright is also patched in Custom ROMs? Thanks again for your help!

ProFragger said:
Gotcha, thanks for chiming in bud! Have you rooted and custom ROM'd your Note 4? Wondering if that upped the performance on it, like the G4? I know Stagefright is also patched in Custom ROMs? Thanks again for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah, I'm on rooted, deodexed OG2 (5.0.1) ROM on T-Mobile, all bloatware deleted. It's fast, but not as fast as the G4. I'm sure that once 5.1.1 finally drops for it, whenever that will be, it will be as snappy as the G4, because people who got 5.1.1 (Sprint, and various international variants) report the performance improves vastly with the update.
Stagefright is not automatically patched in custom ROMs as they are based on the unpatched Samsung software, unless the ROM is AOSP/Cyanogen-based as far as I know. But maybe I'm wrong.

I currently own both. Staring at them right now and I can't decide which one to sell. I love them both because they each offer something different that the other doesn't. I am currently using my G4 because refreshing to hold. One of the most comfortable phones I have ever used. The other reason I'm using the G4 right now is because of battery life. Don't know what it is, but the G4 lasts a heck of a lot longer than the Note 4, bone stock and rooted. That's the one thing LG has always been good at, battery life. I remember when I had a G Pro that lasted 2 months on standby just sitting there with wifi and bluetooth on, emails were syncing and everything. Took 2 months to die. My G4 was up for 2 days straight last week when I got it and I got 5hrs of screen time. No video watching, just mostly work, texting, school(Schoology) and XDA.

siraltus said:
Oh yeah, I'm on rooted, deodexed OG2 (5.0.1) ROM on T-Mobile, all bloatware deleted. It's fast, but not as fast as the G4. I'm sure that once 5.1.1 finally drops for it, whenever that will be, it will be as snappy as the G4, because people who got 5.1.1 (Sprint, and various international variants) report the performance improves vastly with the update.
Stagefright is not automatically patched in custom ROMs as they are based on the unpatched Samsung software, unless the ROM is AOSP/Cyanogen-based as far as I know. But maybe I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know I am the noob to this community, but fairly certain, the 910T3 firmware especially comes with Android 5.1.1 Stock. I could be wrong though?
Jammol said:
I currently own both. Staring at them right now and I can't decide which one to sell. I love them both because they each offer something different that the other doesn't. I am currently using my G4 because refreshing to hold. One of the most comfortable phones I have ever used. The other reason I'm using the G4 right now is because of battery life. Don't know what it is, but the G4 lasts a heck of a lot longer than the Note 4, bone stock and rooted. That's the one thing LG has always been good at, battery life. I remember when I had a G Pro that lasted 2 months on standby just sitting there with wifi and bluetooth on, emails were syncing and everything. Took 2 months to die. My G4 was up for 2 days straight last week when I got it and I got 5hrs of screen time. No video watching, just mostly work, texting, school(Schoology) and XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jammol - Thank you for your response. I love my G4 in form factor and also looks too, I've got the Leather Back model. But my battery life is nowhere near what you said. On the G3, it was stock, debloated, Greenified, and I still could barely hit 4 hours of SOT. On the G4, rooted, debloated, not Greenified, I am barely able to hit 2.5 hours of SOT, and that is WITHOUT gaming, extensive videos and etc. Just WiFi most of the day and long conference calls for work. Example today: 5.5 hours on battery, 4 hours of calls, 1 hour 16 minutes SOT, WiFi, and no videos, I am at 51% already! Care to share your model/variant and battery set up?
Also, you forgot to mention the upside of your Note 4 ? Care to comment on it's performance and etc compared to the G4? Thanks!

ProFragger said:
I know I am the noob to this community, but fairly certain, the 910T3 firmware especially comes with Android 5.1.1 Stock. I could be wrong though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, and there is a "hybrid" 5.1.1 ROM that you can theoretically use on the T variant, but I don't know how stable/reliable it is, given the baseband and bootloader are different.
Pesronally, I only run deodexed stock ROMs that I modify myself to my liking, as I don't like all the extra garbage and ****ty themes that most XDA devs bake into their ROMs, so I'm **** out of luck until Samsung releases the official 5.1.1 update for the T variant.
EDIT: Apparently I am out of the loop. There is Xposed for Samsung for 5.1.1 now: http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/unofficial-xposed-samsung-lollipop-t3180960

siraltus said:
True, and there is a "hybrid" 5.1.1 ROM that you can theoretically use on the T variant, but I don't know how stable/reliable it is, given the baseband and bootloader are different.
Pesronally, I only run deodexed stock ROMs that I modify myself to my liking, as I don't like all the extra garbage and ****ty themes that most XDA devs bake into their ROMs, so I'm **** out of luck until Samsung releases the official 5.1.1 update for the T variant.
Plus, there is no Xposed for 5.1.1 on Samsung devices, which is a deal-breaker for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am super "noob" confused, @siraltus - I thought 910T3 comes with Official 5.1.1 from T-Mobile US/Sammy and TEKXodous comes with Xposed 5.1.1 installer, no?

ProFragger said:
I am super "noob" confused, @siraltus - I thought 910T3 comes with Official 5.1.1 from T-Mobile US/Sammy and TEKXodous comes with Xposed 5.1.1 installer, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, T3 comes with 5.1.1, but there is no offical 5.1.1 update for the regular T (not T3) variants, so we can only run a "hacked port" of 5.1.1 taken from the T3. The official update would include a T-variant baseband, bootloader, and other firmware bits (sbin, tz, etc.) that the phone needs matched up to the ROM version for trouble-free performance, the baseband being the most important.
As for Xposed, you're right - http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/unofficial-xposed-samsung-lollipop-t3180960 I had no idea.

ProFragger said:
I know I am the noob to this community, but fairly certain, the 910T3 firmware especially comes with Android 5.1.1 Stock. I could be wrong though?
Jammol - Thank you for your response. I love my G4 in form factor and also looks too, I've got the Leather Back model. But my battery life is nowhere near what you said. On the G3, it was stock, debloated, Greenified, and I still could barely hit 4 hours of SOT. On the G4, rooted, debloated, not Greenified, I am barely able to hit 2.5 hours of SOT, and that is WITHOUT gaming, extensive videos and etc. Just WiFi most of the day and long conference calls for work. Example today: 5.5 hours on battery, 4 hours of calls, 1 hour 16 minutes SOT, WiFi, and no videos, I am at 51% already! Care to share your model/variant and battery set up?
Also, you forgot to mention the upside of your Note 4 ? Care to comment on it's performance and etc compared to the G4? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I touch the Note 4 first:
I love it, I really do, but for me when a dev has to release a custom Rom to fix stupid little bugs, that's a huge turn off for me. TekHD Roms are the best so far for the Note 4 and that's what I run. I love my SPen, though I don't use it every single day; I do use it for 2 weeks straight every quarter because of my job. Beats walking around with my laptop or tablet getting readings from machines. AMOLED; I don't get the hype about the blacks. I'm black and I don't even like the colour black that much(LOL, that was a pun). The screen is indeed beautiful and I love it to death, but there's something about an LCD screen that just tickles my pickle!(another one). Last but not least...the amount of Roms; DAMN!
G4:
I think it's your calls that are killing your battery. I have the T-Mobile 8511 version and I turned off VoLTE/HD Voice. It kills battery so bad when you're on a call. I was losing 5% battery for just a 10-15 minute phone call with my wife. That's ridiculous so I turned it off. I am running stock rooted, no bloat removed(there really isn't any), and I use most of LG's apps that are on there. I was using xposed at one point but that was also affecting my battery so I got rid of it.

siraltus said:
Yes, T3 comes with 5.1.1, but there is no offical 5.1.1 update for the regular T (not T3) variants, so we can only run a "hacked port" of 5.1.1 taken from the T3. The official update would include a T-variant baseband, bootloader, and other firmware bits (sbin, tz, etc.) that the phone needs matched up to the ROM version for trouble-free performance, the baseband being the most important.
As for Xposed, you're right - http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/unofficial-xposed-samsung-lollipop-t3180960 I had no idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting bud... I haven't run across any threads saying that people are having trouble with the T variant phones on 5.1.1, maybe you've seen some? Otherwise, I am really not even sure which variant is "better" or to hope for tomorrow when I finally get the phone in hand ! Some say the T3 has a better GPS and feels smoother... I wonder if it's just big time placebo effect? Haha!
Jammol said:
I touch the Note 4 first:
I love it, I really do, but for me when a dev has to release a custom Rom to fix stupid little bugs, that's a huge turn off for me. TekHD Roms are the best so far for the Note 4 and that's what I run. I love my SPen, though I don't use it every single day; I do use it for 2 weeks straight every quarter because of my job. Beats walking around with my laptop or tablet getting readings from machines. AMOLED; I don't get the hype about the blacks. I'm black and I don't even like the colour black that much(LOL, that was a pun). The screen is indeed beautiful and I love it to death, but there's something about an LCD screen that just tickles my pickle!(another one). Last but not least...the amount of Roms; DAMN!
G4:
I think it's your calls that are killing your battery. I have the T-Mobile 8511 version and I turned off VoLTE/HD Voice. It kills battery so bad when you're on a call. I was losing 5% battery for just a 10-15 minute phone call with my wife. That's ridiculous so I turned it off. I am running stock rooted, no bloat removed(there really isn't any), and I use most of LG's apps that are on there. I was using xposed at one point but that was also affecting my battery so I got rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jammol, first of all, really funny response bud! I like a man who is able to take things lightly and joke around :good:! @TEKHD ROMs look like they absolutely, by far have the most users as demonstrated by it's Views and Responses! But, it's also possibly the most complicated ROM thread I have ever seen ! I really love the @TEKHD 's hard work, thank you friend! But I am not sure if it's the ROM for my needs, which, light, battery life, and just need enough tweaks to turn the Status Bar icon to Red, and change Toggle colors, and super bonus if Dialer could be black and red, and I am set! Wonder what kind of AnTuTu scores people get on that ROM?
Reading through, seems like Rapture maybe the best fit for my needs, but I just don't know. Care to share your experiences on different ROMs if you have tried those?
About the G4, I don't think AT&T offers VoLTE, but even if they do, I don't see an option to turn it off in the phone. Not to mention, how would it be working with my data off, any way?
Thanks again for your valuable input!

ProFragger said:
That's interesting bud... I haven't run across any threads saying that people are having trouble with the T variant phones on 5.1.1, maybe you've seen some? Otherwise, I am really not even sure which variant is "better" or to hope for tomorrow when I finally get the phone in hand ! Some say the T3 has a better GPS and feels smoother... I wonder if it's just big time placebo effect? Haha!
Jammol, first of all, really funny response bud! I like a man who is able to take things lightly and joke around :good:! @TEKHD ROMs look like they absolutely, by far have the most users as demonstrated by it's Views and Responses! But, it's also possibly the most complicated ROM thread I have ever seen ! I really love the @TEKHD 's hard work, thank you friend! But I am not sure if it's the ROM for my needs, which, light, battery life, and just need enough tweaks to turn the Status Bar icon to Red, and change Toggle colors, and super bonus if Dialer could be black and red, and I am set! Wonder what kind of AnTuTu scores people get on that ROM?
Reading through, seems like Rapture maybe the best fit for my needs, but I just don't know. Care to share your experiences on different ROMs if you have tried those?
About the G4, I don't think AT&T offers VoLTE, but even if they do, I don't see an option to turn it off in the phone. Not to mention, how would it be working with my data off, any way?
Thanks again for your valuable input!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I ask how come you turn off your data?
I've tried a lot of the other Roms as well but I always went back to Tek's Rom. He does have a very little customized one for the T and T3 models. It's pretty much stock with just a few tweaks to it. I've tried DynamicKat and Pop, both are really awesome but the customization is rather small on the Pop version. Rapture is already also pretty good as well as PopRocks. When it comes to AOSP/CM, I always went with CM12.1 or XenonHD which is AOSP but with a few CM tweaks.

Jammol said:
Can I ask how come you turn off your data?
I've tried a lot of the other Roms as well but I always went back to Tek's Rom. He does have a very little customized one for the T and T3 models. It's pretty much stock with just a few tweaks to it. I've tried DynamicKat and Pop, both are really awesome but the customization is rather small on the Pop version. Rapture is already also pretty good as well as PopRocks. When it comes to AOSP/CM, I always went with CM12.1 or XenonHD which is AOSP but with a few CM tweaks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I turn off data because: I am on WiFi, don't have unlimited data, and when not using data, I like to turn off the data radios to save power. Would you agree those are good reasons to turn it off?
I am so tempted to start off with Tek's ROM on my Note 4, but let's see what variant I end up with. What kind of screen on time's have you seen with the Note 4 and which ROM and Battery saving set ups? Some people hear swear by 5+ hours of SOT which would be a dream for me!

ProFragger said:
That's interesting bud... I haven't run across any threads saying that people are having trouble with the T variant phones on 5.1.1, maybe you've seen some? Otherwise, I am really not even sure which variant is "better" or to hope for tomorrow when I finally get the phone in hand ! Some say the T3 has a better GPS and feels smoother... I wonder if it's just big time placebo effect? Haha!4
Thanks again for your valuable input!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The T3 variant most likely exists because Samsung changed suppliers for one of the key parts, like the display controller, power management, or one of the radio chips (WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.) which required a separate version of the OS (different drivers, configuration). They did this with the Note 3 before - units manufactured after May 2014 had a different display controller chip that broke things like brightness control in custom ROMs and TWRP.
Functionally, they're most assuredly identical. I have had two T variants, one manufactured October 2014 and one manufactured April 2015 and my GPS has been rock-solid on both, so not sure why people are having issues. The T3 feels smoother not because it's a T3, but because it's running 5.1.1. People who had their international variants and Sprint variants updated to 5.1.1 reported it was much smoother after the update as well.

siraltus said:
The T3 variant most likely exists because Samsung changed suppliers for one of the key parts, like the display controller, power management, or one of the radio chips (WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.) which required a separate version of the OS (different drivers, configuration). They did this with the Note 3 before - units manufactured after May 2014 had a different display controller chip that broke things like brightness control in custom ROMs and TWRP.
Functionally, they're most assuredly identical. I have had two T variants, one manufactured October 2014 and one manufactured April 2015 and my GPS has been rock-solid on both, so not sure why people are having issues. The T3 feels smoother not because it's a T3, but because it's running 5.1.1. People who had their international variants and Sprint variants updated to 5.1.1 reported it was much smoother after the update as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the education again, bud. I can't believe the T variant folks haven't freaked out at T-Mobile yet for the lack of 5.1.1 upgrade! Wonder if ATT and sprint have given in their's?

I had this dilemma as well. When my wife broke her s4, I went and got g4 for her (she is a big fan of removable battery, so s6 was not considered, s5 did not make sense, and note is too big). I must say, i fell in love with it once I started setting it up and played with it for a bit. I liked it so much, that I got one myself 2 days later to replace my Note 3. And it was really great, I cannot complain. But. Ended up using Jump and getting Note 4.
So in my case:
- G4 has a great form factor. REALLY comfy to hold. 5.5 seems to be a sweet spot, still big but not too big. Slightly curved shape was great. +1 for g4
- camera is hands down better then N4. Its simply amazing. Manual mode blew my mind. Cant say enough about it. +1 for g4
- g4 felt really fluid. Stock, as is, without screwing with it. Has much less bloat. Happened to love UI a lot, its classier, for a lack of a better word (totally subjective of course). Loved the knock code functionality. N4 has fingerprint scanner, but one-hand unlock is really awkward and difficult in real-life use, so I have it turned off. Now that 5.1 is available for n4, things are better for sure, and there are custom roms star popping up, but if you compare phones as is, out of the box, again, +1 for g4
- Screen/picture quality. Using Sammys phones exclusively for last 5 years (starting from original galaxy), I am too spoiled by super amoled. as great as g4 LCD dispaly is, I found myself missing that extra "pop". +1 for n4
- battery life is not in a same league as n3/n4. By significant and noticable margin. Plus virtually no power saving functionality in OS. +1 for n4
- Sound quality better on N4 to my ears, lot of other people seem to feel this way as well. Also Samsung professional audio makes things like iRig for guitar possible. +1 for n4
- Dedicated vs. on-screen buttons. I am a huge fan of good ol' Home key and I am used to it a lot. +1 for N4
- Multitasking. Even though g4 has it, it has nothing on TW, especially on LP iteration of it, with a swap from a corner. +1 for N4
- I personally did not find myself missing s-pen a lot, but I suppose its still a +1 for N4
So, ultimately, better battery life, better screen/colors, better sound and to a lesser gegree physical keys/multitasking made me go back to Note. Miss G4 camera a lot though.)
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using XDA Free mobile app

ProFragger said:
I turn off data because: I am on WiFi, don't have unlimited data, and when not using data, I like to turn off the data radios to save power. Would you agree those are good reasons to turn it off?
I am so tempted to start off with Tek's ROM on my Note 4, but let's see what variant I end up with. What kind of screen on time's have you seen with the Note 4 and which ROM and Battery saving set ups? Some people hear swear by 5+ hours of SOT which would be a dream for me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was just curious why you turned it off. That's a good thing to do to save battery. I recommend using Tek's Rom most definitely. I noticed you said let's see what variant you end up with; are you referring to T-Mobile T and T3 or carrier variants? Definitely go with T-Mobile because of the Roms.
Tek's Roms come with the Emotion Kernel. I always use Synapse to tweak the settings to balance out performance and battery. Right now I'm using Intelliactive; sleeps like a baby.
I see someone posted that the G4 has no battery saving settings. That's totally negative. You can turn on battery saver to kick in at 15% or higher than that. Sorry but the G4 lasts a lot longer than the N4 on pure stock no mods on both.
Functionality: Note 4(SPen)
Longevity: G4.
Camera: G4
Roms: Note 4(for now as G4 community is very small at the moment)
Performance: Both
Temperature: G4(BY FAR. Stays way cooler than the Note 4)
This is all based on Stock.
Update: I decided I'm going to take my G4 back to T-Mobile; not because anything is wrong with it and I don't like it, but because I rather have the money. Looking back on my post here I realized I really just got it because I wanted to scratch an itch of having a new device. Started using my Note 4 again starting yesterday and man I did miss it, even if I gotta charge it up before the end of the day! Lol. I'm a very impulsive person when it comes to smartphones, it's the only thing I don't mind shelling out a ton of money for but then later I think back about the amount of money and just would rather have it. I can always borrow my wife's and use hers for a few days if I get the itch.

Most def Note4

Note 4 is the right choice.
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

nib said:
I had this dilemma as well. When my wife broke her s4, I went and got g4 for her (she is a big fan of removable battery, so s6 was not considered, s5 did not make sense, and note is too big). I must say, i fell in love with it once I started setting it up and played with it for a bit. I liked it so much, that I got one myself 2 days later to replace my Note 3. And it was really great, I cannot complain. But. Ended up using Jump and getting Note 4.
So in my case:
- G4 has a great form factor. REALLY comfy to hold. 5.5 seems to be a sweet spot, still big but not too big. Slightly curved shape was great. +1 for g4
- camera is hands down better then N4. Its simply amazing. Manual mode blew my mind. Cant say enough about it. +1 for g4
- g4 felt really fluid. Stock, as is, without screwing with it. Has much less bloat. Happened to love UI a lot, its classier, for a lack of a better word (totally subjective of course). Loved the knock code functionality. N4 has fingerprint scanner, but one-hand unlock is really awkward and difficult in real-life use, so I have it turned off. Now that 5.1 is available for n4, things are better for sure, and there are custom roms star popping up, but if you compare phones as is, out of the box, again, +1 for g4
- Screen/picture quality. Using Sammys phones exclusively for last 5 years (starting from original galaxy), I am too spoiled by super amoled. as great as g4 LCD dispaly is, I found myself missing that extra "pop". +1 for n4
- battery life is not in a same league as n3/n4. By significant and noticable margin. Plus virtually no power saving functionality in OS. +1 for n4
- Sound quality better on N4 to my ears, lot of other people seem to feel this way as well. Also Samsung professional audio makes things like iRig for guitar possible. +1 for n4
- Dedicated vs. on-screen buttons. I am a huge fan of good ol' Home key and I am used to it a lot. +1 for N4
- Multitasking. Even though g4 has it, it has nothing on TW, especially on LP iteration of it, with a swap from a corner. +1 for N4
- I personally did not find myself missing s-pen a lot, but I suppose its still a +1 for N4
So, ultimately, better battery life, better screen/colors, better sound and to a lesser gegree physical keys/multitasking made me go back to Note. Miss G4 camera a lot though.)
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great analysis and break down Sir, and I mostly agree. I think for now, I will move on from the G4, and perhaps return to LG with the V10.
Jammol said:
Was just curious why you turned it off. That's a good thing to do to save battery. I recommend using Tek's Rom most definitely. I noticed you said let's see what variant you end up with; are you referring to T-Mobile T and T3 or carrier variants? Definitely go with T-Mobile because of the Roms.
Tek's Roms come with the Emotion Kernel. I always use Synapse to tweak the settings to balance out performance and battery. Right now I'm using Intelliactive; sleeps like a baby.
I see someone posted that the G4 has no battery saving settings. That's totally negative. You can turn on battery saver to kick in at 15% or higher than that. Sorry but the G4 lasts a lot longer than the N4 on pure stock no mods on both.
Functionality: Note 4(SPen)
Longevity: G4.
Camera: G4
Roms: Note 4(for now as G4 community is very small at the moment)
Performance: Both
Temperature: G4(BY FAR. Stays way cooler than the Note 4)
This is all based on Stock.
Update: I decided I'm going to take my G4 back to T-Mobile; not because anything is wrong with it and I don't like it, but because I rather have the money. Looking back on my post here I realized I really just got it because I wanted to scratch an itch of having a new device. Started using my Note 4 again starting yesterday and man I did miss it, even if I gotta charge it up before the end of the day! Lol. I'm a very impulsive person when it comes to smartphones, it's the only thing I don't mind shelling out a ton of money for but then later I think back about the amount of money and just would rather have it. I can always borrow my wife's and use hers for a few days if I get the itch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again buddy. I must be doing something wrong with Synapse, but whenever I try to overclock the phone, somehow, tried many different Governors like Lionheart, Performance and etc, the settings go right back to normal. Do you know what I am doing wrong?

ZF2 Owners, how is the device and is it still owrth getting in late 2015?

My current daily driver, a old OnePlus One is just deteriorating like crazy and I need to replace it... there are not any phones from 2015 that honestly grab my attention. Waiting some something big worth spending the big ones on...but in the mean time I need a driver to get me through the rest of the year. I'm having to charge and reboot my OPO 3+ times a day... so... I've been looking at the ZP2 as a low cost backup device.
My questions are...
How is the performance? Smooth?
How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
Much appreciated to anyone who can fill me in.

For around $300 (or $200 for the 2GB version) there's nothing that offers better value or performance.
[*]How is the performance? Smooth?
Performance is great, especially if you multitask a lot or like having lots of browser tabs open. GPU is a bit old, same as iPhone 5s, but still good performer.
[*]How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
Speaker is weak. What can you expect from a tiny speaker?
[*]How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
This one's very good, better than most phones.
[*]How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Battery life will depend on what you with your phone. I get like 3 to 4 hours SOT, with at least 1 hour of waze, a lot of browsing, email and a bit of gaming. Stand by time is excellent.
[*]Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
Yes it is. I got root 5 minutes after having it in my hand. I unlocked it the next day unlock was available. Just don't use official unlock, as it seems to cause problems.
[*]How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
It's bright enough.
[*]How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
See for yourself in the dev section.
Locklear308 said:
My current daily driver, a old OnePlus One is just deteriorating like crazy and I need to replace it... there are not any phones from 2015 that honestly grab my attention. Waiting some something big worth spending the big ones on...but in the mean time I need a driver to get me through the rest of the year. I'm having to charge and reboot my OPO 3+ times a day... so... I've been looking at the ZP2 as a low cost backup device.
My questions are...
How is the performance? Smooth?
How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
Much appreciated to anyone who can fill me in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

Bought phone about 2 months ago and so far performance is pretty good. Could be a little better but considering the abuse I give my phone, not to bad. Speakers arnt to bad either. They are a little quite when I'm outside with my mates but, I am happy with them regardless as the quality is surprisingly good. For battery life, I get about a days usage, and that is with constant usage and a bit of YouTube. As for rooting and flashing ROMs and stuff, havnt tried it yet. Looks like its alot easier then it used to be, there is even a nice looking windows GUI tool now but still am to scared to try it lol. Screen is a really nice display. If u are in direct sunlight or just outside in general, the screen could be better. It is hard to see things in that environment but otherwise, it's super nice. As for dev support, from what i see, it's very active lol
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

glock24 said:
For around $300 (or $200 for the 2GB version) there's nothing that offers better value or performance.
[*]How is the performance? Smooth?
Performance is great, especially if you multitask a lot or like having lots of browser tabs open. GPU is a bit old, same as iPhone 5s, but still good performer.
[*]How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
Speaker is weak. What can you expect from a tiny speaker?
[*]How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
This one's very good, better than most phones.
[*]How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Battery life will depend on what you with your phone. I get like 3 to 4 hours SOT, with at least 1 hour of waze, a lot of browsing, email and a bit of gaming. Stand by time is excellent.
[*]Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
Yes it is. I got root 5 minutes after having it in my hand. I unlocked it the next day unlock was available. Just don't use official unlock, as it seems to cause problems.
[*]How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
It's bright enough.
[*]How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
See for yourself in the dev section.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thanks that is really helpful my friend. While I don't expect it to sound like the HTC M7-8-9 speakers, I just prefer my phones to...at least, not sound like they are exploding when my ringtone comes in lol.

The phone is nice and smooth on stock software, but I installed an AOSP ROM and let me tell you it is incredible now.
With stock, I'd generally get ~4-5 hours SOT without any tweaking (I was one of the lucky few, it seems) and now I get ~5-6 on the ROM.
The speaker is eh. Your ringtones will be recognisable; they won't sound absolutely disgusting, but the speakers aren't terribly great (however, audio over the headphone jack is fantastic. Just make sure you turn off the "audiowizard" software; it's pretty gross)
There are one-click tools to get root and bootloader unlock, and using both took me ~10 minutes.
The screen is pretty nice, but it's not great, admittedly. However, I really only notice its shortcomings when held next to a better screen (such as the one on my nexus 7), and it's still way preferable to most phone screens to me.
Dev support is alive and well, my friend!
Sent from my ASUS_Z00A using Tapatalk

Locklear308 said:
My current daily driver, a old OnePlus One is just deteriorating like crazy and I need to replace it... there are not any phones from 2015 that honestly grab my attention. Waiting some something big worth spending the big ones on...but in the mean time I need a driver to get me through the rest of the year. I'm having to charge and reboot my OPO 3+ times a day... so... I've been looking at the ZP2 as a low cost backup device.
My questions are...
How is the performance? Smooth?
How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
Much appreciated to anyone who can fill me in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Performance is pretty smooth, intel cpu is comparable to the snapdragon 801 in your OPO but with a better GPU
2. Speaker is small and kinda tinny. Not $20 walmart phone level but nothing particularly amazing.
3. Very very good actually. Very clean, little to no distortion/crosstalk. Check out GSMArena's measurements.
4. Standby is slightly better than average, screen drain is slightly worse than average. You will probably wind up getting slightly less battery than your OPO because OPO is better than most phones for battery life. ZF2 battery is just average.
5. Rooting is easier than most phones. Its actually easier than my nexus 7 on marshmallow! There are 1-click-root tools on this forum as well.
6. Screen is good. Accurate with good contrast. Its a bit dimmer at max brightness than other phones, and doesn't get dim as other phones at min brightness. Indoor use is absolutely fine.
7. Dev support is pretty good, better than a lot of phones, especially in this price range. Unofficial (right now) CM12, a lot of common custom roms have ports, and rumblings are that this phone may wind up with both official CM12 and CM13 in the future.

I have touch screen issues where it just stops working until I restart, and I've also had a bit of lag and crashing in day to day usage on the stock rom, without any overclocking.
It's an alright phone for the price, but I'd say phones like the Meizu Note 3 and the Redmi Note 3 have trumped it in terms of performance:value ratio.

I recommend reading this review, it's on a newer firmware that fixed most bugs present at launch and I found it to be unbiased, contrary to others.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-zenfone-2,4267.html
This other article illustrates the advantage of having 4GB of RAM and how Asus's Rom is not as bloated as people think:
http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=897
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

glock24 said:
I recommend reading this review, it's on a newer firmware that fixed most bugs present at launch and I found it to be unbiased, contrary to others.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-zenfone-2,4267.html
This other article illustrates the advantage of having 4GB of RAM and how Asus's Rom is not as bloated as people think:
http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=897
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate, I will check those out. I presume they will not matter too much however due to be never using the stock rom though, right?
Also, I see the ZE551ML at microcenter... Is this... an alright model to get? I don't see it really in the Roms section so I was worried.

xiaomi is doing better with the redmi note 3

there are several variants of the zf2, the 551 ML is actually the best choice since all custom roms support it. thing is it comes in several flavors: 16 gig /2 gigs ram, 64 gig /4 gigs ram, 16gig /4 gigs ram, 32 gig /4 gigs of ram, plus 2 different processor versions. they are all the 551 ML though so no matter which version you get, the roms will work. I personally own a 550ML and don't regret my choice, though I'm going to be selling it soon to get a 551 ML
Sent from my ASUS_Z008D using Tapatalk

kiettv12 said:
xiaomi is doing better with the redmi note 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My only issue with non US brand phones is finding dev support.

This phone is awesome. I switched from an S5 and to this phone love it. I would recommend getting the 4 gig version, it an handle pretty much anything. I can definitely say this phone is worth getting
How is the performance? Smooth? performs amazingly, no lags and very smooth.
How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone? I have had no issues with the sound. It is loud and audible. I listen to YouTube all the time
How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter) Not sure on this
How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly) This depends on usage but I usually charge mine every other day
Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it? Root is super easy to obtain. It took me less than 10 minutes
How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol The screen is great. It's vivid. the brightness is good outside
How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported. As far as I know it is still being supported.