Related
Ah, Pandora has opened another box!
The Samsung Galaxy S III
(And its potential problems)
So given the history of Samsung phones, since the release of their Galaxy S + the many variations thereof, we can expect a whole bunch of things to go wrong (very wrong) with this new device. Samsung has not really proved any competency in neither quality control (QC) nor customer service (CS). In fact they have been rather disastrous in both these regards. So where does it leave us? I leaves us with a very high probability that many...many things could go bad in their new "flag-ship". (100 year Titanic anniversary?)
So I bet a beer that at least two of the following things will be broken or problematic:
8MP Camera will suffer from "pink-spot syndrome" and we will not get any camera-firmware updates that is of any improvement. Why? Because Samsung doesn't know who produces their cameras and "never knows what comes in the box". So they will put the blame on their own subsidiary company who makes (cheap copies) of the Sony camera-sensors (CMOS) and try to pass them off as their own Samsung. If indeed the camera-sensor is good they will blame Fujitsu (who will probably provide the camera processing module.)
.
Night time photography will suck, because flash is poorly designed in combination with camera, and without flash the video-mode will just not cut it in low-light areas. Auto-focus problems!
.
You will want to protect your new phone with a protective housing, since it will be neither water-proofed, nor shock protected by design. Then you will find your friends not wanting to call you because the phones advanced noise-cancellation (NC) circuitry has not been properly tuned to accommodate for a protective housing, essentially putting the circuitry in "tilt" mode, causing a wide variety of problems extending from unbelievably annoying echos for the person who calls you, or for you, or too low volume, or just generally bad sound for any or both sides of the conversation. (Who said that you actually wanna talk on your phone?). The list can go on...
.
Weird unevenly colored areas (yellow tint) on your screen.
.
Extremely poor battery life. 4 CPU cores and only god know how many other internal application processors (modem, graphics, MHL, NFC, PMIC) constantly sitting on edge trying wake up as soon as it "hears" or "sees" something, will drain battery whether Sam like it or not.
.
Poor GPS reception, because Samsung QC technicians only tried it from their perfect office, so didn't bother to tune the GPS configuration files to make them fix fast in any geographical location.
.
Will easily grease, scratch or crack screen, since not using hardened Gorilla Glass nor oleo-phobic treatment.
.
Will automatically shut-down in humid, hot (or cold) climates.
.
Will have a very buggy baseband (radio) firmware, if it is based on a new and widely-untested chip like the Intel XG-716. Causing dropped calls, poor reception and/or other data-problems. In worst case to being able to properly receive or send SMS.
.
Will still have a stock SMS sending limit of only 10 multiple-SMS's.
.
Will be very difficult to root. Was rooted by Chainfire before entering market!
.
Will not provide for unbrickable mod or booting OS from external source.
.
Will keep all internal chips and documentation secret so that none other than some corrupt Samsung Service/Company representative can repair your phone. All chips are available in the Service Manual.
.
Have poor Wifi connection, because of interfering RF circuitry that is too complicated, even for Samsung technicians to handle.
.
When having any problem at all, you will be offered to send your phone for service that may take up to 2 months for returning back in your hands. (Usually with no improvement.) The true Samsung Take-it-or-leave-it CS policy. "It's your own fault, since you didn't have to buy this phone."
.
Causing the Linux Kernel developer society a nightmare, by introducing new and poorly written hardware drivers, without providing proper specifications (because of 13), often written by inexperienced programmers.
Well that pretty much sums it up. Did I forget something? I'm sure I did, any time Samsung releases something amazing, there will be problems we cannot imagine.
Oh, I think I forgot to say that I like (some) Samsung devices...because I don't have a choice, now that not even my old Nokia is Nokia anymore.
So what can you do, to protect yourself?
BEFORE BUYING, DO THIS:
Have your shop representative put a protective cover on your phone. Then have a friend that you can call and who can call you in various noisy and silent situations.
Take pictures in many different and low-light conditions. (All cameras work great in bright conditions, but many suck in low-light without flash.) Try the low-light focus on near and far objects. Does it focus easily?
Take some pictures of a "natural" and evenly white or bright gray wall. Check pictures for "pink-spot".
Take some photos with flash and check the resulting colors.
AFTER BUYING, DO THIS:
Take many, many high-resolution pictures of the inside of your phone, and post them somewhere here on XDA, so that we can help you when your phone eventually goes dead or "funny"!
Here's Supercurio's internal summary:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uHMkJwXFqVT3Di2JwILUnNCsqa8styA8T3y4RtTpcv8/edit?pli=1
E:V:A said:
Will easily grease, scratch or crack screen, since not using hardened Gorilla Glass nor oleo-phobic treatment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, SGS2 will have gorilla glass 2
If i wanted a decent picture I would use a proper camera as phone cameras in general are crap?
So you bet that a camera in a phone will be bad in low light? We have a real Sherlock here!
I also bet that the camera's picture quality will not be as good as my Nikon 1's picture quality. PM me for the shipping address where you can ship the beers.
In serious terms, I think there were not any serious problems with SGS2? SGS1 had problems with GPS and crappy file system. I think my Transformer Prime has worse problem after the latest update. Web browser gets stuck at loading web sites and then comes the "Browser has stopped" dialog, and you can continue normally when the "Wait" button is clicked. It is really annoying.
lol. Garbage.
dude , u wan nice picture and high mp , get a nikon D4... lol
why xda exist ? bcuz of dev... why ppl start dev roms ? trying to make it even better and more customization... what we get from custom rom ? tonnes of it.. battery life... tweaks and etc... what do u expect from a phone ? can your current phone fly ? can it cook for u ? lol...get a life dude.. is just a phone , dont buy if u dont like it...or shall i say , dont use any smartphone.. ur expectation is too high , or maybe u should get 1 50years later...
nonsense thread... someone pls close it.. zzz
Extremely poor battery life. 4 CPU cores and only god know how many other internal application processors (modem, graphics, MHL, NFC, PMIC) constantly sitting on edge trying wake up as soon as it "hears" or "sees" something, will drain battery whether Sam like it or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is samsung the only player with quad cores? s3 can turn off all the cores individually and it would save the battery much better. samsung knows how to handle it.
He came from the future... wow!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Rytkonen said:
...In serious terms, I think there were not any serious problems with SGS2? SGS1 had problems ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have both phones and the only true success has been the original GT-I9100, never had any problem and still take great pictures. The i9100, however, is a real piece of crap. It should never have left the production line! Camera sucks in all aspects apart from bright sunny day. And the echo problem is still annoying the hell out of everyone. SEC never fixed either of these issues. In fact they still pretend they don't exist. I didn't bother to link to any of the hundreds of threads here on XDA about these problems.
bala_gamer said:
...Samsung knows how to handle it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha! We will see about that, but I certainly hope so.
This is interesting because I'm just making some wild speculations based historical facts. And guess, what!? I really hope I'm wrong on all points.
Well thank goodness for the thousands of early adopter beta testers. There's No Way, Samsung could beta test a phone with that many people using it before release . Of course there will be issues that's what firmware updates correct .....or not.
The device is only as good is one person's expectations of it.
The more OCD you are, the more problems you will find
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
From supercurio's analysis the GS3 seems to have the best of GS2+GNex+GS1, with also a very cool audio chip...
We just need to test it directly and see
EDIT: wtf is the proprietary driver extfat? Used for?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
simone201 said:
From supercurio's analysis the GS3 seems to have the best of GS2+GNex+GS1, with also a very cool audio chip...
We just need to test it directly and see
EDIT: wtf is the proprietary driver extfat? Used for?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
native support for exfat file systems, so no more worries about 4gb file size limit in fat32
One more useless post to ruin our day. Xda is a developers site to solve any existing problems, not for trolling. BTW i don't have all the problems above so shut your mouth up because people are still going to get the Samsung Galaxy S3 anyway
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
bala_gamer said:
native support for exfat file systems, so no more worries about 4gb file size limit in fat32
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh thank god, now i can see my FullHD movies into the new GS3!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
After a second reading, this is garbage. No sense in this post
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
a67543210 said:
After a second reading, this is garbage. No sense in this post
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah no sense in your post. So why did you post lol.
Anyone know if you can use pop up play while watching another video?
Sent from my iPad 2 using Tapatalk
Man.. the galaxy sII surpasses dozens of other phones with a plethora of advantages. This is the first time I've heard that phone be described as a piece of crap.. that's just silly. Also- not sure why the OP started a thread bashing a phone that we don't even have yet and hoping he's wrong about it all. Weird.
*for the record* I don't have the issues the Op complains about, nor do my friends NOT want to call me. Everything is gravy over here.. sounds like personal problems.
sent from my Galaxy SII
So The Pink Spot is still there and the camera focus doesn't always work!
But it's not only a spot anymore, its the whole damn thing! Oh, then there's the Wifi Connection problems.
What's next?
E:V:A said:
So The Pink Spot is still there and the camera focus doesn't always work!
But it's not only a spot anymore, its the whole damn thing! Oh, then there's the Wifi Connection problems.
What's next?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shouldn't get any phone. You expect too much. All phones will have problems, regardless.
Hello I'm having the hardest time deciding if I should wait to upgrade since the galaxy s5 and htc one/two are right around the corner or if I should just get the G2 for Christmas. The G2 seems like a great phone but it also seems to have it's fair share of issues, I'm worried that something much better might come out within a month or two. Anyway just looking for advice thanks!
luke10702 said:
Hello I'm having the hardest time deciding if I should wait to upgrade since the galaxy s5 and htc one/two are right around the corner or if I should just get the G2 for Christmas. The G2 seems like a great phone but it also seems to have it's fair share of issues, I'm worried that something much better might come out within a month or two. Anyway just looking for advice thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are the issues that concern you?
Seriously what issues?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
robogo1982 said:
What are the issues that concern you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been reading through some of the forums and heard that external speakerphone has very low decibel levels,camera video is poor quality due to shaky focus, and the knock-ON feature doesn't work reliably. One other thing that concerns me is android development behind the phone since it's not that popular. Also the design could be better but the screen is gorgeous.
My 2c. There is no perfect phone. IPhone, Samsung, lg, HTC, they all have their quirks and disappointments. But it's matter of if you can find a way to overcome it.
Camera is fantastic. And you being here means you are willing to do more than just complain. Root, remove bloat, update camera app. Knock 3 times instead of 2.
And personally if you do more than just play with your phone, ie use for work. Custom ROM other than modified stock ROM will just be way too buggy.
My honest opinion is that they are really 3 viable Android phones out there. The Sony Z, nexus5 and G2. After having gone through several Samsung phones, I'll never buy another Samsung.
Between the 3 above get the lg if battery life is important to you. Because that is the only thing you absolutely cannot change.
After
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app
insang-droid said:
My 2c. There is no perfect phone. IPhone, Samsung, lg, HTC, they all have their quirks and disappointments. But it's matter of if you can find a way to overcome it.
Camera is fantastic. And you being here means you are willing to do more than just complain. Root, remove bloat, update camera app. Knock 3 times instead of 2.
And personally if you do more than just play with your phone, ie use for work. Custom ROM other than modified stock ROM will just be way too buggy.
My honest opinion is that they are really 3 viable Android phones out there. The Sony Z, nexus5 and G2. After having gone through several Samsung phones, I'll never buy another Samsung.
Between the 3 above get the lg if battery life is important to you. Because that is the only thing you absolutely cannot change.
After
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are all good points, just one more question then, if roms you think will be too buggy how is lg at updating to the latest version of android?
LG G2 is an outstanding choice for now, IMHO.
I realized that no matter how attractive a new phone's reviews or announcements get, there would always be a few minor issues or dislikes rising up after a couple of weeks hands-on playing. Phones are not designed by end users and LG team got to stick with their budgets and timeline.
G2 camera appeared very impressive me. "Optical" image stabilizer is a bonus point making the difference - simply with default app and settings, it can make awesome low-light/indoor photos. I was able to take a few decent photos when lights were really dim. Read some posts about its focusing speed as capturing moving objects in low lighting; no chance to try that yet but that task sounded quite a challenge to any phone cameras.
The only two issues caught my attention in daily uses are the screen flickering happening in certain places caused by the so called content adaptive back-lighting, and the brightness sensor output. Both are only noticeable in low-light settings and easy to work around them. Some said the content adaptive lighting is due to JB 4.22 OS. Hope a firmware/OS update will soon refine the g2.
Improve Photos on LG G2 Photos with Jishnu’s Camera Mod
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48490991#post48490991
LG G2 Screen Brightness PROBLEM .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slwkFhpiYbs
Brightness sensor readings
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48490991#post48490991
G2 feels an ambitious and strong strike from LG. As a flagship model, the design and implementation could be further polished if bosses gave the team more time to work on it, well then we probably had to pay more bucks for having one...
harmonyxda said:
LG G2 is an outstanding choice for now, IMHO.
I realized that no matter how attractive a new phone's reviews or announcements get, there would always be a few minor issues or dislikes rising up after a couple of weeks hands-on playing. Phones are not designed by end users and LG team got to stick with their budgets and timeline.
G2 camera appeared very impressive me. "Optical" image stabilizer is a bonus point making the difference - simply with default app and settings, it can make awesome low-light/indoor photos. I was able to take a few decent photos when lights were really dim. Read some posts about its focusing speed as capturing moving objects in low lighting; no chance to try that yet but that task sounded quite a challenge to any phone cameras.
The only two issues caught my attention in daily uses are the screen flickering happening in certain places caused by the so called content adaptive back-lighting, and the brightness sensor output. Both are only noticeable in low-light settings and easy to work around them. Some said the content adaptive lighting is due to JB 4.22 OS. Hope a firmware/OS update will soon refine the g2.
Improve Photos on LG G2 Photos with Jishnu’s Camera Mod
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48490991#post48490991
LG G2 Screen Brightness PROBLEM .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slwkFhpiYbs
Brightness sensor readings
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48490991#post48490991
G2 feels an ambitious and strong strike from LG. As a flagship model, the design and implementation could be further polished if bosses gave the team more time to work on it, well then we probably had to pay more bucks for having one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So are you trying to say i should wait? or buy? I'm feeling the vibe from both from what you said, which was very interesting.
luke10702 said:
Hello I'm having the hardest time deciding if I should wait to upgrade since the galaxy s5 and htc one/two are right around the corner or if I should just get the G2 for Christmas. The G2 seems like a great phone but it also seems to have it's fair share of issues, I'm worried that something much better might come out within a month or two. Anyway just looking for advice thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was in the same boat as you 2 weeks ago, but AT&T changing their prices on the family plan forced me to get the LG G2. Some of the concerns I had before getting it are somewhat still there, especially the camera performance in low light. I haven't had any battery drain issues yet and so far battery life has been fantastic. back buttons aren't that bad, the placement makes sense sometimes, especially when you are on a call. knock on/off feature is great as well but as others have said, it doesn't work 100% of the time. Overall, it's a fantastic phone & i'm glad I got it.
Don't torture yourself by waiting. This phone is a beast...AND I've yet to install a custom ROM!
luke10702 said:
I've been reading through some of the forums and heard that external speakerphone has very low decibel levels,camera video is poor quality due to shaky focus, and the knock-ON feature doesn't work reliably. One other thing that concerns me is android development behind the phone since it's not that popular. Also the design could be better but the screen is gorgeous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the speaker is a little bit tinny, but it's not that quiet, I'd say it's fine. Camera video focus problems happen occasionally, nothing that a camera firmware update won't fix. Knock On works fine when you get the hang of it. This phone has a bunch of ROMs, but to be honest - you don't really need them. I got this phone and I left it completely stock and just rooted it - it's THAT good.
What's wrong with the design? I think it's a good looking phone.
robogo1982 said:
Yes, the speaker is a little bit tinny, but it's not that quiet, I'd say it's fine. Camera video focus problems happen occasionally, nothing that a camera firmware update won't fix. Knock On works fine when you get the hang of it. This phone has a bunch of ROMs, but to be honest - you don't really need them. I got this phone and I left it completely stock and just rooted it - it's THAT good.
What's wrong with the design? I think it's a good looking phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it seems like it's an amazing phone but how do you think it will compete going into 2014??
robogo1982 said:
Yes, the speaker is a little bit tinny, but it's not that quiet, I'd say it's fine. Camera video focus problems happen occasionally, nothing that a camera firmware update won't fix. Knock On works fine when you get the hang of it. This phone has a bunch of ROMs, but to be honest - you don't really need them. I got this phone and I left it completely stock and just rooted it - it's THAT good.
What's wrong with the design? I think it's a good looking phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here stock rooted; was thinking about a prettier launcher replacement but like to stay with some of the stock features. Always use the knock on without touching the power button now - very convenient design.
Increase speaker volume - two xda posts about an easy fix by editing the file snd_soc_msm_Taiko:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2442883
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2482750
I just push the back button to increase in-call volume to max when needed.
---------- Post added at 03:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:07 PM ----------
luke10702 said:
So are you trying to say i should wait? or buy? I'm feeling the vibe from both from what you said, which was very interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was just purely experience sharing for your reference. You'll get a great phone in either case.
My plan-renewal credit was available since July but htc one or s4 didn't make the urge for me to upgrade the phone, until last month I grabbed the G2 with a price tag of $50.
So, after two weeks of use, I am still loving the phone overall. I do however have some nitpicks that I would like to share here, just for edification.
(1) The automation software that Sony has written is buggy and I mean really buggy. My main issue is that the state changes don't return the phone back to the way it was before the automated state went into effect. For example, NIGHT silences everything, but if I was silent before and I take the phone off the charger in the middle of the night, it turns sounds back on.
(2) Bluetooth - My bluetooth module crashes EVERY time I am in the car and connected. If I'm on a call, it goes in and out at least once. I would say it is the car's bluetooth, but I've never had this happen with other phones.
(3) Wi-Fi - My wifi connection at work has been spotty, but now I sit directly under an access point. The Z2 contines to go in and out of service for no reason. It still may be the connection at work, as it doesn't happen on my home network. But, I find it quite strange.
(4) Docked - The wake-up screen doesn't switch to vertical when the phone is docked. The home screen does.
(5) Phone screen - Not sure who laid the screen out, but it is too easy to engage the phone pad screen, which in turn starts dialing numbers. The sensor doesn't seem to recognize my big face on it, so it doesn't turn off while in a call. DO NOT LIKE.
(6) Autodimming Feature - doesn't really work as advertised. If I'm in a dark room, I don't need the screen to be full on. And yet, it does.
(7) 4K camera recording shut off AND manual camera (20MP) gets an over heating after a few pictures.
now, the good part...
(1) Screen is great for everything, I don't know what people are complaining about. No it isn't flame on strong like a Galaxy S5, but it works and very well, for whatever I need.
(2) Battery life and performance are phenomenal
(3) Simple Android skin.
(4) Camera quality is fantastic. Even in a dark room I got great pictures.
Thanks for info. Looking at bright side, most of your problems should be solved with software update.
I love everything about this phone except one thing :
I have T-Mobile and before this I had Nexus 5 and mostly I had LTE almost ever where but with this phone that percentage is lowered now and rather than having 90% of LTE everywhere I have like 50% LTE everywhere and mostly H+, I don't know why or maybe that's how's this phone or maybe if they release a better radio or firmware if fix the problem, I hope for it.
Thanks for the info/initial impressions. As already mentioned, most of your problems seem to be due to software issues that could well be fixed in the future. However, the overheating issue concerns me a lot. What if it's a design fault and no ROM updates are going to fully solve it... Idk...
vctrdnl said:
Thanks for the info/initial impressions. As already mentioned, most of your problems seem to be due to software issues that could well be fixed in the future. However, the overheating issue concerns me a lot. What if it's a design fault and no ROM updates are going to fully solve it... Idk...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had the phone for more than a week and I have to say I love it. I can confirm a few niggles here and there, but nothing deal breaking and I can see myself living with the phone for the next few years. I agree with many that the real killer issue here is overheating. While initially restricted to 4k recording, it seems that the issue is more widespread than this, and today it happened to me recording 1080p at 60fps as well as 4k recording. Only a few minutes in each time. No each time the phone did not feel particularly hot, so I suspect this is predominenty related to the threshold set for the software to go in safe mode so that could be fixed if that was inadequate calibration.
Saying that, I find it difficult to believe that an issue like this could not have been picked up during testing... Certainly makes it looked like they did fry up a few phones during development for them to be so overly (?) cautious on this...
I have the same problem with the spotty wifi. It can drop and go back to LTE all of a sudden with no apparent reason. And it has the tendency to lose mobile connection while I'm traveling on the train, I don't get this with my S3. Fortunately I'm sure Sony can fix these issues buy upgrading the radio and software updates. It's just a matter of whether they will take notice.
Sent from my non-Apple device via XDA App
You know I think Sony makes bad radio antenna. cause Xperia SP is also having issues of dropping signals right now with it's latest update.
Once I went out for skiing and I was using Xperia Z and my two friends had HTC Evo 3D and GS3, they both got h+ yet I only got edge which kinda sucked.
Well, Ive had the phone for a week today
I haven't had the same issues as the OP,
the automation software I do have issues with as in night mode it does not turn off notifications and the picture viewer starts, but the way I have got round this is to go to flight mode at night
No problems whatsoever with Bluetooth connections in my S-0max, Freelander or Jag XF, all working perfectly
no problems with wifi, but I did have to uncheck the "Avoid Poor Connections" in advanced wifi setting
no issues with phone pad random dialling or catching it
agree with camera quality, screen quality and noise cancelling headphones are great (but are awful in my ipad, terrible quality on that)
would agree the sound levels are too low, needs an update to increase volume choices
Warkman said:
Well, Ive had the phone for a week today
I haven't had the same issues as the OP,
the automation software I do have issues with as in night mode it does not turn off notifications and the picture viewer starts, but the way I have got round this is to go to flight mode at night
No problems whatsoever with Bluetooth connections in my S-0max, Freelander or Jag XF, all working perfectly
no problems with wifi, but I did have to uncheck the "Avoid Poor Connections" in advanced wifi setting
no issues with phone pad random dialling or catching it
agree with camera quality, screen quality and noise cancelling headphones are great (but are awful in my ipad, terrible quality on that)
would agree the sound levels are too low, needs an update to increase volume choices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad I get to pick mine up today. I will say that when I had the z1 that it had low signal issues where it would cycle between LTE, HSPA and no signal in areas where other att phones stay locked on one or two bars of LTE. I'm hopeful this one will be a bit better, but we'll see.
Had my Z2 since Tuesday, It's going back!! Only for a replacement though as I love it.
Reason for going back, the gap is present on the top right on the phone.
other problems I have is the camera. Amazing results but I keep getting overheating message and shutdowns, and the keyboard is a nightmare, keep missing the space bar, but this is no big issue.
The good things, well just about everything else. The speakers are amazing, the screen is absolutely gorgeous, and it is not dim, I spend most of the day with it on auto with slider at the lowest setting. The mrs says it's ugly and looks old, I do not agree with this, it's gorgeous, and looks sleek and elegant.
Would I recommend, hell yeah!!
One further note, when you place it on the stand at night and go sleep, don't leave the bloody vibrate on, man, I sh*t myself and so did the Mrs, followed by me getting a bit of verbal!!!
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
jayc1980 said:
Had my Z2 since Tuesday, It's going back!! Only for a replacement though as I love it.
Reason for going back, the gap is present on the top right on the phone.
other problems I have is the camera. Amazing results but I keep getting overheating message and shutdowns, and the keyboard is a nightmare, keep missing the space bar, but this is no big issue.
The good things, well just about everything else. The speakers are amazing, the screen is absolutely gorgeous, and it is not dim, I spend most of the day with it on auto with slider at the lowest setting. The mrs says it's ugly and looks old, I do not agree with this, it's gorgeous, and looks sleek and elegant.
Would I recommend, hell yeah!!
One further note, when you place it on the stand at night and go sleep, don't leave the bloody vibrate on, man, I sh*t myself and so did the Mrs, followed by me getting a bit of verbal!!!
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Iam thinking of buying this phone asap
Sent From S4 I9500 Crash Rom Final 4.4.2
paras said:
Iam thinking of buying this phone asap
Sent From S4 I9500 Crash Rom Final 4.4.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would too, but the overheating issues are a turn off. hoping the second batch of Z2s would not have such problems
SexyIceCream said:
i would too, but the overheating issues are a turn off. hoping the second batch of Z2s would not have such problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But then z3 would be announced
Sent From S4 I9500 Crash Rom Final 4.4.2
paras said:
But then z3 would be announced
Sent From S4 I9500 Crash Rom Final 4.4.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol..perhaps a s5 would be the better choice then...but i am really tired of the design language being used by them come on, sony! lets hope the overheating can be solved through a software update
I've had mine since the 17th of April and I haven't experienced most of the problems the OP listed. I've had the 4k over heating force closing camera app but that was only on the first day because I was already using the camera for ages before testing 4k. Since then it's never happened again. Never happened with 1080p video at any point even 60fps.
No problems with lte or wifi. Don't use bluetooth much so can't comment there. Automodes work OK for me. Well it's just the night mode I used so no extensive testing done there.
Z2 rocks, put it this way, I've spent a lot of time criticising most of the Sony Ericsson and Sony devices I've owned but the z2 ain't gonna join that list.
The display is class leading, whites may not be the whitest but they're white enough. The colour reproduction is spot on despite the vibrancy unlike you know who. Performance is boss too. Only notice frame drops in games when the phone gets very hot after prolonged periods.
Sound quality is great too and I for one don't have any problems with notifications. I hear them from the living room when I'm outside. I also like the fact that it automatically adjusts the sound volume depending on what you're doing. It's loudest during gaming. I think that's good because I can just leave the phone on full volume and it automatically takes care of everything. No need to keep adjusting the volume. Another thing I discovered is that you can zoom in on any video you record with the device, not just 4k. Obviously not as much detail is preserved but it's great nonetheless.
The camera for me is the real star of the show. Not really a superior auto man because historically that produced the worst results possible especially with the Z. Not this time though. Manual for me is still king but superior auto has been greatly improved and you can be happy using it. It actually does a better job at white balance under artificial lighting. Something I hope is addressed in manual mode with software updates.
As for photo quality, it's fantastic at 8mp. Sure you can't zoom in as much as with 20.7mp but the quality is much better in ever respect. Detail preservation, colour reproduction, dynamic range etc. Fantastic job done here by Sony. They've certainly joined Nokia in the premier league of smartphone cams. If the lumia 1020 is an incredible 5mp camera, think of the z2 as an incredible 8mp camera.
Took me a while to get used to the size of the phone though but I'm over that now. Z starting to look an feel small now lol!
All in all, it's not only by far and away the best effort from Sony, it's the best smartphone ever built. It's monolithic rectangular design might not be everyone's cup of tea especial those who like to grip their phones but I love it and hope Sony never changes it. To give you some perspective, I absolutely hated the xperia arc design. That's just me I know. The m8 might feel more premium but I think it's butt ugly with those juvenile speaker grills. I actually prefer the s5's look if not feel.
There's more to talk about especially the noise cancelling genius. Works like a charm and does exactly what it claims to do.
It's also pretty solid and rugged. I've dropped mine a few times and it's shown no damage at all. I'm glad Sony went back to the original z design and put a plastic edge around the aluminum frame. My mates z1 is already showing signs of age but the z still looks fab. I think z2 will stand the test of time much like the z did.
For the bad, the phone is way too slippery hence why I've dropped it a lot. It even slides off surfaces on its own lol.
The camera also tries to force the bokeh effect on you. If you have anything that remotely looks dominant and central to the scene, the camera tends to blur out a bit objects in the background. IPhone 5s does this too but is sort of annoying especially when the z2 has a dedicated shooting mode for this. Admittedly one that's not the most accurate. Well even m8 with its secondary depth sensor is inaccurate so let's not take the high ground here.
To avoid rambling on, this is one phone I'll gladly recommend to anyone who isn't worried about size. For those of you that are, just wait for the z2 compact.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
zodiac100 said:
I've had mine since the 17th of April and I haven't experienced most of the problems the OP listed. I've had the 4k over heating force closing camera app but that was only on the first day because I was already using the camera for ages before testing 4k. Since then it's never happened again. Never happened with 1080p video at any point even 60fps.
No problems with lte or wifi. Don't use bluetooth much so can't comment there. Automodes work OK for me. Well it's just the night mode I used so no extensive testing done there.
Z2 rocks, put it this way, I've spent a lot of time criticising most of the Sony Ericsson and Sony devices I've owned but the z2 ain't gonna join that list.
The display is class leading, whites may not be the whitest but they're white enough. The colour reproduction is spot on despite the vibrancy unlike you know who. Performance is boss too. Only notice frame drops in games when the phone gets very hot after prolonged periods.
Sound quality is great too and I for one don't have any problems with notifications. I hear them from the living room when I'm outside. I also like the fact that it automatically adjusts the sound volume depending on what you're doing. It's loudest during gaming. I think that's good because I can just leave the phone on full volume and it automatically takes care of everything. No need to keep adjusting the volume. Another thing I discovered is that you can zoom in on any video you record with the device, not just 4k. Obviously not as much detail is preserved but it's great nonetheless.
The camera for me is the real star of the show. Not really a superior auto man because historically that produced the worst results possible especially with the Z. Not this time though. Manual for me is still king but superior auto has been greatly improved and you can be happy using it. It actually does a better job at white balance under artificial lighting. Something I hope is addressed in manual mode with software updates.
As for photo quality, it's fantastic at 8mp. Sure you can't zoom in as much as with 20.7mp but the quality is much better in ever respect. Detail preservation, colour reproduction, dynamic range etc. Fantastic job done here by Sony. They've certainly joined Nokia in the premier league of smartphone cams. If the lumia 1020 is an incredible 5mp camera, think of the z2 as an incredible 8mp camera.
Took me a while to get used to the size of the phone though but I'm over that now. Z starting to look an feel small now lol!
All in all, it's not only by far and away the best effort from Sony, it's the best smartphone ever built. It's monolithic rectangular design might not be everyone's cup of tea especial those who like to grip their phones but I love it and hope Sony never changes it. To give you some perspective, I absolutely hated the xperia arc design. That's just me I know. The m8 might feel more premium but I think it's butt ugly with those juvenile speaker grills. I actually prefer the s5's look if not feel.
There's more to talk about especially the noise cancelling genius. Works like a charm and does exactly what it claims to do.
It's also pretty solid and rugged. I've dropped mine a few times and it's shown no damage at all. I'm glad Sony went back to the original z design and put a plastic edge around the aluminum frame. My mates z1 is already showing signs of age but the z still looks fab. I think z2 will stand the test of time much like the z did.
For the bad, the phone is way too slippery hence why I've dropped it a lot. It even slides off surfaces on its own lol.
The camera also tries to force the bokeh effect on you. If you have anything that remotely looks dominant and central to the scene, the camera tends to blur out a bit objects in the background. IPhone 5s does this too but is sort of annoying especially when the z2 has a dedicated shooting mode for this. Admittedly one that's not the most accurate. Well even m8 with its secondary depth sensor is inaccurate so let's not take the high ground here.
To avoid rambling on, this is one phone I'll gladly recommend to anyone who isn't worried about size. For those of you that are, just wait for the z2 compact.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your input! but btw, when you mean you haven't faced the overheating for 4k, was it at least 5 minutes? i fully intend to use the z2 for an upcoming concert, so at least 5 mins of 4k would be awesome(for cropping/zooming in) :good:
SexyIceCream said:
thanks for your input! but btw, when you mean you haven't faced the overheating for 4k, was it at least 5 minutes? i fully intend to use the z2 for an upcoming concert, so at least 5 mins of 4k would be awesome(for cropping/zooming in) :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before replying, I started another 4k video to see what happened. It recorded for 5mins 22 seconds and then forced closed. Mind you I've been using the phone all morning so was already a bit hot. I think it all depends on the temperature of the phone. If cool, you can probably record for longer. You can though zoom into any video you record. I would suggest using 1080 at 60fps at the concert or just make sure your device is cool before recording in 4k.
I think it's a threshold Sony set for it. If that's correct then removing or increasing this threshold may result in people pushing it too far and damaging their devices.
If it's not a threshold then who knows, there maybe a fix released at some point. Don't forget, the z2 really hasn't got going yet. Sony is still struggling to make it widely available so we may have to wait a few months for any fixes.
I'll wait for the device to cool down completely and retry. I'll come back to you then.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
zodiac100 said:
Before replying, I started another 4k video to see what happened. It recorded for 5mins 22 seconds and then forced closed. Mind you I've been using the phone all morning so was already a bit hot. I think it all depends on the temperature of the phone. If cool, you can probably record for longer. You can though zoom into any video you record. I would suggest using 1080 at 60fps at the concert or just make sure your device is cool before recording in 4k.
I think it's a threshold Sony set for it. If that's correct then removing or increasing this threshold may result in people pushing it too far and damaging their devices.
If it's not a threshold then who knows, there maybe a fix released at some point. Don't forget, the z2 really hasn't got going yet. Sony is still struggling to make it widely available so we may have to wait a few months for any fixes.
I'll wait for the device to cool down completely and retry. I'll come back to you then.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks loads! haha if it would really take months, the Z3 would be out already(as said by another member above) i still think their 6 months refresh rate is a tad too fast but oh well
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 11:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------
SexyIceCream said:
thanks loads! haha if it would really take months, the Z3 would be out already(as said by another member above) i still think their 6 months refresh rate is a tad too fast but oh well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the 6 month cycle is disgusting. Nobody benefits from this. Not consumers and not Sony. With all the delays I doubt we'll see z3 until next year. I think z2 compact and possibly z2 ultra are more likely later this year. Sony would just have absolutely no justification for pushing the z3 in September. Even if they do, it'll just be another rough sketch phone like the z1 was. One which I'll surely be skipping and would advise others to do so as well. 6 months is way too short a time to develop a phone. You'll end up with another unrefined rough sketch. Let's be honest, the z1 looks now like an early prototype of the z2. If it was a proper construct, they would have called it the z2. The z1 was the original z. The z1 was a child of pure greed on Sony's part. I'm sure most z1 users will be wishing they'd skipped that device. Doing think there were that many z users who wished they'd waited for the z1 though. We've seen what Sony has to offer for 2014 and you'll realistically have to wait at least a year to any meaningful improvements. Case in point, z2 and z1 have similar camera specs but z2 produces infinitely better results. Why? The z1's camera was just the hardware without the refinements needed. Like I said, it was a rough sketch of what Sony had to come. In my opinion h2 flagships from Sony are nothing but dishonest devices. Sony's basically selling early prototypes to consumers.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
Are you guys on the 2.55 or 2.69 firmware? Maybe the 2.69 has some changes to help with the overheating.
Hey everyone,
So, I've acquired my Z3 from Tmo on Oct 29th, the day it was released. Thus far, I've pretty happy with it. The battery is amazing, although I know it will last me over a day, or more, I'm stuck in my old habits of charging...which I am attempting to get used to better battery life. Anywho, here's my cons with this phone:
-I was using a Samsung Galaxy S3 (T999). The touch screen worked great. This phone though, I've had delays or my touches not being noticed. More so when I first turn the phone on to the lockscreen. If I give it about 10 seconds, it will respond to all touches.
-Along the same lines as the lockscreen not acknowledging all my touches, this also happens during various games or apps. Playing Arcane Legends, for instance, when I attempt to move, sometimes it doesn't. If I retry two or three times, it will then start working.
-I also get crackling sounds during calls, not all the time, but it is often enough. Also, when I have the touch sounds enabled and speakers plugged into it, it often also makes crackling sounds.
-Had many more settings to choose from when I was using Cyanogenmod 11 on my SGS3. I would figure this to be the case, but I do miss some settings, especially some Security-based ones. Maybe there are secret menus?
-I also wished that the LED was brighter... in my opinion it is really dim.
With all that being said, and knowing that Android L is on the way in a few months, I'm more than willing to wait to see is these issues are resolved. If not, I'll be getting a hold of Sony support to resolve these issues.
I'm curious if any of you have had these issues and if you've found workarounds.
As far as the pros, they outweigh the cons noted above. Battery is awesome, responsiveness if awesome, the overall experience is awesome. Works well with anything that I throw at it and its still goes beyond that.
Thanks,
Johnathan
Hey I haven't experienced any touch screen problems what so ever and I'm a heavy long time android user. Call quality is great as well. Not sure what's going on with yours
Sent from my D6616 using XDA Free mobile app
pezlomd said:
Hey I haven't experienced any touch screen problems what so ever and I'm a heavy long time android user. Call quality is great as well. Not sure what's going on with yours
Sent from my D6616 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pezlomd,
Thanks for the reply. Out of curiousity, what are your OS details:
-Android: 4.4.4
-Baseband version: 8974-AAAAANAZQ-00009-06
-Kernel version: 3.4.0-perf-g0ab9f9a (Fri Sep 5 07:22.38 2014
-Build number: 23.0.D.1.123:
Thanks,
Johnathan
Return it, sounds like you got a defective phone.
Elysian893 said:
Return it, sounds like you got a defective phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ugh... and after I got it the way I want it.
johnathanamber said:
Hey everyone,
So, I've acquired my Z3 from Tmo on Oct 29th, the day it was released. Thus far, I've pretty happy with it. The battery is amazing, although I know it will last me over a day, or more, I'm stuck in my old habits of charging...which I am attempting to get used to better battery life. Anywho, here's my cons with this phone:
-I was using a Samsung Galaxy S3 (T999). The touch screen worked great. This phone though, I've had delays or my touches not being noticed. More so when I first turn the phone on to the lockscreen. If I give it about 10 seconds, it will respond to all touches.
-Along the same lines as the lockscreen not acknowledging all my touches, this also happens during various games or apps. Playing Arcane Legends, for instance, when I attempt to move, sometimes it doesn't. If I retry two or three times, it will then start working.
-I also get crackling sounds during calls, not all the time, but it is often enough. Also, when I have the touch sounds enabled and speakers plugged into it, it often also makes crackling sounds.
-Had many more settings to choose from when I was using Cyanogenmod 11 on my SGS3. I would figure this to be the case, but I do miss some settings, especially some Security-based ones. Maybe there are secret menus?
-I also wished that the LED was brighter... in my opinion it is really dim.
With all that being said, and knowing that Android L is on the way in a few months, I'm more than willing to wait to see is these issues are resolved. If not, I'll be getting a hold of Sony support to resolve these issues.
I'm curious if any of you have had these issues and if you've found workarounds.
As far as the pros, they outweigh the cons noted above. Battery is awesome, responsiveness if awesome, the overall experience is awesome. Works well with anything that I throw at it and its still goes beyond that.
Thanks,
Johnathan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to also add, that as far as functionality of the phone itself, the rotating flaps for the exposed ports seems to be a little flimsy and can easily break. This worries me a bit that if they are accidentally snapped off due to slight mishandling... you'll lose your waterproofing.
Also, I don't like that the volume options when using the volume up and down buttons isn't more granular. For instance, when I wanted to increase the SMS notification volume, I had to go through Setting instead of having more volume options when the buttons are pressed. Did I miss a setting?
Considering getting it replaced to see if that's the issue with the touchness delay or crackling sounds.
Thanks,
Johnathan
johnathanamber said:
I'd like to also add, that as far as functionality of the phone itself, the rotating flaps for the exposed ports seems to be a little flimsy and can easily break. This worries me a bit that if they are accidentally snapped off due to slight mishandling... you'll lose your waterproofing.
Also, I don't like that the volume options when using the volume up and down buttons isn't more granular. For instance, when I wanted to increase the SMS notification volume, I had to go through Setting instead of having more volume options when the buttons are pressed. Did I miss a setting?
Considering getting it replaced to see if that's the issue with the touchness delay or crackling sounds.
Thanks,
Johnathan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone comes with an extra USB cover, won't lose anything. MicroSD/Sim shouldn't come off very often. I don't think you need be concerned.
Elysian893 said:
The phone comes with an extra USB cover, won't lose anything. MicroSD/Sim shouldn't come off very often. I don't think you need be concerned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Elysian893,
I am not concerned for my own experience, however I can see where this can be an issue.
Waiting for my DK48 magnetic dock to arrive, which will alleviate my concern.
Thanks,
Johnathan
Johnathan,
I've experienced some crackling/popping when on a call without using my headset. After a reboot though, it seems to have gone away. The last 2 days, my battery began lasting no more than 5-6 hours. I thought that it might have something to do with an app, so I began experimenting and found that the Sony Photo upload service was hanging, and also Lookout was scanning everything constantly. I uninstalled Lookout and disabled the Sony uploads and things seem to have returned to normal, although I will need another day or so to evaluate.
FWIW, here is my review I posted over the weekend:
___________________________________________
Never owned a Sony phone but now I "have a Sony for my Owny" (older folks will get this line)! I must say - I am in love with one caveat - that being a locked bootloader. Pretty disappointed in that however I was happy to read a page or 2 back that I will likely still be able to root which is really all I care about. That said, the bloatware on the D6616 is minimal, so aside from liking to try out new ROM's and removing ads, I guess I can live with that one "caveat".
The phone itself is gorgeous - in fact, I told my wife that it's almost as sexy as she is (yeah - I take my phone's pretty seriously )! I love its size - I had a OnePlus One which I was pretty happy with, but being an average size guy (that's being generous), I found it really difficult to use it with one hand. The Z3 has a slightly smaller screen size vs the OPO, but the overall build size is proportionally smaller as well, making it even more attractive size-wise. Of course, the other side of that coin is that the OPO has a non-slip back in the 64gb version which was really nice, however I see that wearing out over time. The Z3 is slippery meaning I will likely cover the beautiful beast with a case - but we'll see if I end up keeping a case on it. I've always been one to believe that if you have insurance and a beautiful device, covering that device with a case is counter-intuitive. I'm torn on the case thing - time will tell.
The phone is incredibly smooth and responsive, the speaker is pretty loud and sounds good, and the camera is arguably the best available on a phone. Not sure I like all the options the camera offers - many or pretty hokey - but the picture quality is just brilliant. Overall, this phone may last me more than a year which would beat my last two phones. You see, I have "NewPhone-itus" and it's a serious case!
If anyone has any questions - fire away and I will do my best to answer!
I'm surprised at the z3 hate on xda. With all the complaints about the camera, build quality, software issues, etc, I find myself getting paranoid looking for problems with the phone. The truth is that it's a pretty great phone so far. Great battery, great camera, fast and responsive, and yes, as sexy as shermcraigs wife ?. A week in and I'm happy with my trade from my m8.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
devarshi said:
I'm surprised at the z3 hate on xda. With all the complaints about the camera, build quality, software issues, etc, I find myself getting paranoid looking for problems with the phone. The truth is that it's a pretty great phone so far. Great battery, great camera, fast and responsive, and yes, as sexy as shermcraigs wife ?. A week in and I'm happy with my trade from my m8.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not that the phone itself is bad per say, its the lack of consistency/quality control. I am on my 4th one here due to various issues from indented frame to bad camera to light bleed to massive screen gaps. Thanks to T-Mobile 14 day policy I was able to through so many phones. A rep had to open 5-6 phones to give me a good one when I got my third only to find it has a massive ligh tleak on on side. The one I got today thank god is finally issueless so far at least. My local T-Mobile store is sending many back to Sony, they are actively opening boxes, checking for defects and returning before even giving to customers.
I have owned phones from practically every company, this is the first time I have had to return a phone, let alone 3. All companies have issues with initial batches but this was just too widespread. I am sure future batches will be rectified, its one of the down sides of immediately adopting a new model as soon as release.
abhinav.tella said:
Its not that the phone itself is bad per say, its the lack of consistency/quality control. I am on my 4th one here due to various issues from indented frame to bad camera to light bleed to massive screen gaps. Thanks to T-Mobile 14 day policy I was able to through so many phones. A rep had to open 5-6 phones to give me a good one when I got my third only to find it has a massive ligh tleak on on side. The one I got today thank god is finally issueless so far at least. My local T-Mobile store is sending many back to Sony, they are actively opening boxes, checking for defects and returning before even giving to customers.
I have owned phones from practically every company, this is the first time I have had to return a phone, let alone 3. All companies have issues with initial batches but this was just too widespread. I am sure future batches will be rectified, its one of the down sides of immediately adopting a new model as soon as release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you have to pay for restocking fee of $50?
ShermCraig said:
Johnathan,
I've experienced some crackling/popping when on a call without using my headset. After a reboot though, it seems to have gone away. The last 2 days, my battery began lasting no more than 5-6 hours. I thought that it might have something to do with an app, so I began experimenting and found that the Sony Photo upload service was hanging, and also Lookout was scanning everything constantly. I uninstalled Lookout and disabled the Sony uploads and things seem to have returned to normal, although I will need another day or so to evaluate.
FWIW, here is my review I posted over the weekend:
___________________________________________
Never owned a Sony phone but now I "have a Sony for my Owny" (older folks will get this line)! I must say - I am in love with one caveat - that being a locked bootloader. Pretty disappointed in that however I was happy to read a page or 2 back that I will likely still be able to root which is really all I care about. That said, the bloatware on the D6616 is minimal, so aside from liking to try out new ROM's and removing ads, I guess I can live with that one "caveat".
The phone itself is gorgeous - in fact, I told my wife that it's almost as sexy as she is (yeah - I take my phone's pretty seriously )! I love its size - I had a OnePlus One which I was pretty happy with, but being an average size guy (that's being generous), I found it really difficult to use it with one hand. The Z3 has a slightly smaller screen size vs the OPO, but the overall build size is proportionally smaller as well, making it even more attractive size-wise. Of course, the other side of that coin is that the OPO has a non-slip back in the 64gb version which was really nice, however I see that wearing out over time. The Z3 is slippery meaning I will likely cover the beautiful beast with a case - but we'll see if I end up keeping a case on it. I've always been one to believe that if you have insurance and a beautiful device, covering that device with a case is counter-intuitive. I'm torn on the case thing - time will tell.
The phone is incredibly smooth and responsive, the speaker is pretty loud and sounds good, and the camera is arguably the best available on a phone. Not sure I like all the options the camera offers - many or pretty hokey - but the picture quality is just brilliant. Overall, this phone may last me more than a year which would beat my last two phones. You see, I have "NewPhone-itus" and it's a serious case!
If anyone has any questions - fire away and I will do my best to answer!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would seriously doubt it - he was exchanging a bad unit,
not returning. Big difference.
jhun80 said:
But you have to pay for restocking fee of $50?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my D6616 using Tapatalk
jhun80 said:
But you have to pay for restocking fee of $50?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No fees, because its a defect and you are asking for the same model. Fee is only if you switch models.
abhinav.tella said:
No fees, because its a defect and you are asking for the same model. Fee is only if you switch models.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
really? because i used to have a black s4, and switch to white version but they charged me $50
jhun80 said:
really? because i used to have a black s4, and switch to white version but they charged me $50
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you do it within the first 14 days?
Maybe color change constitutes the equivalent of model change.
abhinav.tella said:
Did you do it within the first 14 days?
Maybe color change constitutes the equivalent of model change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup within 14days
I haven't experienced any lag with the touch screen, but I've experienced slow screen rotation.
jhun80 said:
yup within 14days
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My sister exchanged her white GS4 for another white one due to yellowish tint on top, they did it for free. I think because you just wanted a color change and there was no defect they charged you.
I have T-Mobile.
My only gripe is that there is no Group MMS built in. It really, really sucks. And it is causing me to return this phone in a few days. I can use Textra (or Google Hangouts) for Group MMS, but it will not send them out when WiFi Calling is enabled. I know there is a "WiFI Calling fix" option specifically for T-Mobile phones when using Textra, but all that does is disable WiFi when sending/receiving MMS messages and then re-enables it. That completely defeats the purpose of WiFI Calling if you're not going to have service in a certain area.
Group MMS is extremely important to me. For whatever reason, only stock messaging apps have the capability of utilizing T-Mobile's WiFi Calling to send/receive MMS. (SMS works fine).
My HTC One m7 had the ability to do it with its stock messaging app. So, for now, I have no choice but to return my phone, fight the $50 restocking fee, and go back to my paid off HTC One. I am speechless that this phone does not support it.
Hi all. I currently have an S7 provided by my company on Verizon here in Raleigh NC. but I am just not a Samsung guy.
Wasn't really considering this phone but after the price drop I stopped by the Sprint store tonight to check out the display models. They had 2 on hand. One black and one white. After all the negativity surrounding this phone I wasn't expecting much. I have to say that I came away very impressed. Both units were as speedy and smooth as any phone I have ever seen. On both units the camera launched quickly and took clear photos with plenty of detail in normal and mono mode. No lag, crashes or any other issues with the camera or any other apps. The build number had 16 in it and I know the build number 20 came out that a lot of people are calling a night and day difference. I guess my only concern at this point would be the compatibility with Verizon. Any issues there? I have seen some complaints scattered. Not sure if any of the updates addressed that. Also, how is the audio quality? I have to say the Verizon HD mode gives me really good call quality and I listen to a lot of music on the phone as well so that is important for me. That being said, the music quality on the Samsung is a sore spot. Much worse than my previous phones which have always been rooted and Rom'd with Viper audio.
Anyone have Viper working on an Essential? How is the call and music quality in general? Is Verizon as a carrier a deal breaker?
Thanks in advance.
chiadrum said:
Hi all. I currently have an S7 provided by my company on Verizon here in Raleigh NC. but I am just not a Samsung guy.
Wasn't really considering this phone but after the price drop I stopped by the Sprint store tonight to check out the display models. They had 2 on hand. One black and one white. After all the negativity surrounding this phone I wasn't expecting much. I have to say that I came away very impressed. Both units were as speedy and smooth as any phone I have ever seen. On both units the camera launched quickly and took clear photos with plenty of detail in normal and mono mode. No lag, crashes or any other issues with the camera or any other apps. The build number had 16 in it and I know the build number 20 came out that a lot of people are calling a night and day difference. I guess my only concern at this point would be the compatibility with Verizon. Any issues there? I have seen some complaints scattered. Not sure if any of the updates addressed that. Also, how is the audio quality? I have to say the Verizon HD mode gives me really good call quality and I listen to a lot of music on the phone as well so that is important for me. That being said, the music quality on the Samsung is a sore spot. Much worse than my previous phones which have always been rooted and Rom'd with Viper audio.
Anyone have Viper working on an Essential? How is the call and music quality in general? Is Verizon as a carrier a deal breaker?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would 100% recommend this phone, especially at its new price. I've been using it on Verizon since released, with no issue. HD voice /VoLTE working fine here. I had it fully functional and configured on my previous phone so I just popped my sim card in and enabled entrance lte in the settings and I was good to go.
The feel, size and build quality are unmatched in my opinion. I like the feel and size better then my Pixel 2 xl tbh. The camera is much better than it was initially, nothing amazing but pretty good overall. The steady updates have certainly been promising and essential has been very transparent with its user base. The biweekly AMAs have been great.
As far as audio, I read the included adapter is actually really high quality producing great sound. The little I used it out sounded great but I don't have any high end headphones any more.
QD2DC said:
I would 100% recommend this phone, especially at its new price. I've been using it on Verizon since released, with no issue. HD voice /VoLTE working fine here. I had it fully functional and configured on my previous phone so I just popped my sim card in and enabled entrance lte in the settings and I was good to go.
The feel, size and build quality are unmatched in my opinion. I like the feel and size better then my Pixel 2 xl tbh. The camera is much better than it was initially, nothing amazing but pretty good overall. The steady updates have certainly been promising and essential has been very transparent with its user base. The biweekly AMAs have been great.
As far as audio, I read the included adapter is actually really high quality producing great sound. The little I used it out sounded great but I don't have any high end headphones any more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, thanks for the information. That alleviates my fears for sure. Just wonder if I will wait for that Ocean color.
I have been using the PH-1 on Verizon for almost a week now with no issues. No phone is built like this one. Love have a big screen in the small form factor. Only thing I had to do was set up Google Voice for voicemail but that is no big deal and it is nice to get the voicemail in a text also.
Tech Crunch puts it up there with the best of them, after the updates.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/01/e...deal-in-smartphones-thanks-to-camera-updates/
thanks for the feedback guys, definitely going to pick one of these up