Database Users

Z1 experience coming from Galaxy S3

I recently changed to a Z1 from a Galaxy S3 primarily for the camera and secondarily for waterproofing.
No phone is perfect, so here are my own personal opinions on what I liked and didn't like about the Z1, in case it is useful for anyone else coming from a Samsung Galaxy as you might have a similar experience.
Take them for what they are, you may disagree and haven't thought of these as cons/pros, but this what my own experience has been.
First, the cons:
- The notification LED is useless, at least on my black. It is hidden inside the earpiece, so only appears at maximum brightness when you are looking at the Z1 from the right angle. Maximum brightness is also about 1/4 that on the S3 - I can't see it outside in broad daylight for example. This means I am often turning on the phone to check for messages.
- Sound is very quiet. I've been using Android for years - was an Xperia X10 fan boy back in the day - and this is one of the quietest phones I've used. The quality seems good, but for notifications, combined with the dull LED as above, means it's already frustrating missing messages.
- The usable area of the 5" screen is LESS than the 4.8" screen of the S3. This is because the soft-keys take a lot of room at the bottom. I have compared them side-by-side. The bezel area is also huge.
- I hit the soft-keys by mistake often and end up switching apps or bouncing to the home screen. I'm sure this is just a matter of getting used to it. But so far I miss the physical home button a lot. Even if asthetically it "looks better" without one, it's actually quite useful to have another button to wake up the phone.
- The screen is dull and has a very small colour gamut. It is disappointing. For reading text it is fine. The AMOLED of the S3 is streets ahead in gamut coverage. That's with the S3 set to the "Professional Photo" profile which is decently calibrated, rather than the over-saturated Standard setting it has out of the box. I would not use it to review my photos (stick with the iPad for better integration with Lightroom anyway).
- The phone is HUGE for less screen area than a S3.
- There is far less ROM customisation for Z1's than S3, no surprise as I remember having the same experience on the X10. Going to an S and then S2 afterwards blew my mind how much more customisation there was. Rooting the S3 took 10 minutes after I first opened the box having not read up in advance. I guess the Z1 can be done in the same time once you know what you're doing, but the information is vague, the forums have different information all over the place, and it feels like a lot of rooting or flashing is sort of hopeful that it works. Information seems in posts scattered around rather than helpful and up-to-date guides. There are many more people in the Z1 forums complaining of boot loops or stuck phones.
Now having said all those negatives, here are the pros, of which there are some really good ones:
- The camera IS fantastic. Having used the S3, S4 and various other smartphones this is truly a brilliant camera. Yes, there are cons, such as pixel peeping shows patterns from the software processing. And 20mp looks like about 10mp up-sampled. But the colours are great and the dynamic range is surprisingly good.
- I love the ability to hold the camera button to wake the Z1 and instantly open the camera. This is very useful.
- Waterproofing gives me lot of peace of mind when travelling. I was very nervous when using a previous phone in Europe last November during rain and trying to look up maps.
- The battery life is incredible compared to the S3. I don't have figures or stats but I think it's roughly twice as good. I'm very impressed with this, given how large the screen is in particular.
- The Xperia software seems to be more useful than the gimmicky stuff Samsung puts in their Galaxy range. For example, the auto-triggered Sleep pattern to turn off sync, Wifi when you plug in the charger after 10pm is really neat. (For anyone who hasn't used this, you can customise the trigger, time range and actions that occur).
- It feels like a higher quality device. Also more precious and delicate. Definitely more "premium" as I've heard it said.
- The wifi signal is slightly stronger on 802.11n.
I'm sure there are other pros and cons. These are the ones that mattered to me personally, your mileage may and is likely to completely differ

S3 to Z1
I went to the 4G (2GB Ram) version of the S3 and back whilst my Z1 was being replaced.
you forgot to mention one Massive crucial point,
the S3 felt like a Lag-Fest compared to the Z1 with it's S800 processor and Adreno 330 GPU.
Also much of the Screen issues can be resolved by calibrating the colour and white balance,
and theres no comparison between Quality of the Z1's 1080P panel with 441 PPI compared to a 720P panel with 306 PPI (with some Pixels noticeable)
regards

I too just upgraded from S3 to Z1
Lag fest, true that. Only thing that I miss is the AMOLED display.
S3- Lags (stock ROM, AOSP ROM's are somewhat fast)
Can be used as frying pan, 1080p video fps drops when scenes become too complex (like shooting ocean waves), Gallery sucks, samsung apps are resource hungry. Newer games lag a lot (sometimes quits )

halleyrokz said:
Lag fest, true that. Only thing that I miss is the AMOLED display.
S3- Lags (stock ROM, AOSP ROM's are somewhat fast)
Can be used as frying pan, 1080p video fps drops when scenes become too complex (like shooting ocean waves), Gallery sucks, samsung apps are resource hungry. Newer games lag a lot (sometimes quits )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto

Interested in buying this phone also, coming from the s2, tho I'm worrying about the sound quality of this phone, is it really that bad?

uchechris said:
Interested in buying this phone also, coming from the s2, tho I'm worrying about the sound quality of this phone, is it really that bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the speakerphone is better than the S2/S3,
you can always try it in the shops and hear for yourself, make sure you turn on ClearAudio+ and Dynamic Normaliser on,
If you want the Best speakerphone quality ... theres only one choice at the moment HTC One.
regards

raziel123 said:
the speakerphone is better than the S2/S3,
you can always try it in the shops and hear for yourself, make sure you turn on ClearAudio+ and Dynamic Normaliser on,
If you want the Best speakerphone quality ... theres only one choice at the moment HTC One.
regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I see, never try sony phones before and I wanna give it a try....done with samsung since battery is an issue and overheating , i don't wanna do HTC due to its camera.....iphones is a no , so imma do sony , might get the Z1 international since the Z1s don't have 4.4 kitkat and has a locked boot loader :/

uchechris said:
Interested in buying this phone also, coming from the s2, tho I'm worrying about the sound quality of this phone, is it really that bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The loudspeaker is quieter and the earpiece is harder to hear people on call.
However I prefer listening to music with the same headphones plugged into this vs S2 or S3. The Z1 has a warmer sound to the music and I think captures the very low bass just slightly better than the S3. This is without the enhancements turned on. I find the enhancements a bit over the top, like applying HDR to every photo, it doesn't suit everything.
So I enjoy music more - but the loudspeaker is quieter which is annoying for conference calls at work.
I've heard it explained as quieter due to the waterproofing, which is understandable.

awojtas said:
The loudspeaker is quieter and the earpiece is harder to hear people on call.
However I prefer listening to music with the same headphones plugged into this vs S2 or S3. The Z1 has a warmer sound to the music and I think captures the very low bass just slightly better than the S3. This is without the enhancements turned on. I find the enhancements a bit over the top, like applying HDR to every photo, it doesn't suit everything.
So I enjoy music more - but the loudspeaker is quieter which is annoying for conference calls at work.
I've heard it explained as quieter due to the waterproofing, which is understandable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know I actually find the earpiece louder than most phones I used in the past. I thought it was quiet at first as well until I realized that I am holding up to my ear wrong. I find anyone that also used my phone kinda does the same thing. Most of the time the earpiece is usually in the middle of the bezel of the edge and the screen. But because the earpiece is the very top of the phone you have to remember to slide the phone down and make sure the speaker is right at the ear canal. I still do that sometimes but I find it very clear and loud once its position correctly.
Maybe its just me...

I also came from the S3 and agree regarding the notification LED and the soft-keys. The LED on the S3 was perfect (the Z, too), however the Z1's is definitely harder to see. I solved the soft-key issue by switching on pie controls in xposed/gravity box and deactivating the Android soft keys. I can easily use the phone single-handed, tapping the pie keys with the thumb.
I quickly got used to the less explosive colors (which imho are far too saturated on the S3/4) and enjoy the better handling in bright sunlight compared to the S3.
My biggest con is the phone's size. It's so large I don't want to put it into a flip-cover, which would make it even bigger. On the other hand the naked phone is a bit difficult to hold because it's quite slippery.

sumerland said:
I also came from the S3 and agree regarding the notification LED and the soft-keys. The LED on the S3 was perfect (the Z, too), however the Z1's is definitely harder to see. I solved the soft-key issue by switching on pie controls in xposed/gravity box and deactivating the Android soft keys. I can easily use the phone single-handed, tapping the pie keys with the thumb.
I quickly got used to the less explosive colors (which imho are far too saturated on the S3/4) and enjoy the better handling in bright sunlight compared to the S3.
My biggest con is the phone's size. It's so large I don't want to put it into a flip-cover, which would make it even bigger. On the other hand the naked phone is a bit difficult to hold because it's quite slippery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using this case,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Case-mate-B...F8&qid=1401215095&sr=1-3&keywords=casemate+z1
I've had the black one for months now, pretty good,
regards

S7E - Is it still worth it

After returning my faulty phone, Im looking at a replacement tomorrow... looking at HTC 10 / LG G5 or S7 Edge)... Ive heard alot of mixed reviews about the Edge... really bad cheap sounding speaker, poor battery life.. as well as differences between the ICOCELL and SONY camera sensors..
I live in UK, so we have the European version, which has the EXYNOS SOC..
Do all Exynos versions have the ICOCELL sensor.. and 820 have the SONY... or do they vary from device to device....
Under the Current BTU 601 BPH OS, is there still any difference in the 2 sensors worth worrying about
Thanks all

If the audio is SO important for u, the best of these three is the HTC 10, who has dedicated audio chips for every speaker, the G5 and the S7e use the integrated SoC for audio, and in my experience the S7 sucks so hard in both speakers and headphones (it's like trying to play games with and w/o graphic card)...
THe batery life is indeed good, but remember that depends on use, and actually there are severals threads here to see which exact build gives u better battery life (u can get that one w/o lose warranty if u use odin)
The camera sensor is not dependant of the processor, there are snapdragon with sony and isocell sensors, and exynos with sony and isocell sensors... and as I remember, theres no way to know which one u will get, both a friend and me buy the phone tghe same day on the same place and I got a sony sensor and he got a isocell

Is it still worth it? Definitely but it depends on what your priorities are
Audio - The speaker by itself is pretty poor but I don't care much for it, it does the job if I am showing off a funny video etc and I couldn't care less about playing music out loud on a smartphone speaker. If you ever decide to root, you can mimic the HTC 10 and iPhone 7 setup by having the speakerphone play music, which does indeed make a big difference. Headphone audio on the Edge is good, but Samsung have limited the output power as usual. Again, if you ever decide to root, you can fix this. It's powerful enough to drive my M50x nicely. Still, it is no HTC 10 or V10
Battery life - Good with older firmware (Feb/March). Mediocre with newer firmware (April onwards). The september firmware has good battery drain in active use but the standby time sucks in my opinion. I've stayed on March firmware for the longest time because it has the best battery life. The latest update adds a new gallery that I don't care for and Samsung Cloud which in my limited usage, has sucked lol.
You either have a Sony sensor or a Samsung one. There is a comparison thread somewhere here and quite honestly, the differences between the two are so minuscule that there is so reason to worry about it. http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s7-isocell-vs-sony-sensor-camera-680266/ nothing to worry about

Thanks for these great answers, youve helped alot... as Most, not all, but most YouTube and written reviewers are paid BS
The 4 proirities i look for in a phone are Camera > Audio > Battery Life > Screen Size
TBH, I dont care about the output of a single speaker, as long as it rings/sms loud enough to hear when Im outdoors... Im not that bothered whether its thin and reedy sounding.... however, I do value headphone audio.. I rip in Flac or WMA.. as MP3 is yseless,. even the higher quality LAME encoder is no match for Flac.
Great news on the Camera though... I know on release day.. the ICOCELL images werent great.. but its good to read theyre now equally good

Camera wise, all three devices exchange blows. Anandtech actually thinks the HTC 10 camera is the best, when it comes to raw photo quality. That isn't the entire story though. The S7/Edge still has the fastest auto focus and capture time which is very important with moving objects. The G5 of course has two camera's and I've heard nothing but great things about the standard and wide angle camera. The HTC 10 suffers from blur on the edges of it's photos and have seen many complaints about that. The front camera module on the S7 is fixed focus, so selfies too close can look horrible.
Audio - HTC 10 is king here, no debate about that one. The G5 seems to be a love hate thing with some saying the G5 isn't good unless you have the B & O module attachment. The S7/Edge Exynos is good though, certainly better than the Snapdragon model. If you have cans/IEMS that are hard to drive, an unrooted S7/Edge may be a problem, but nothing is stopping you from testing the audio and sending it back if it really really bothers you.
Battery life - Better than the HTC 10 and G5 even on the poor firmware. Nothing more to say about that here.
Screen - S7/Edge wins here again, plenty of tests show the phone has great colour accuracy etc, well in basic mode it does lol. Screen size of course is your preference.

Reviews of the OnePlus 5 from Real Users

My question is, can I get some real reviews from real users, not the YouTube paid reviews. Some people should have it for about 2 weeks now, and I wanna hear what you think. I've read where the camera is horrible, and others say it's OK. I'm buying the phone this Thursday, or next Thursday and am looking for some honesty.
How I typically use my phone is all day, everyday. It's a bit of an ADD thing where I have to keep myself busy. Games, XDA, more games. I play VainGlory a lot, and it's pretty heavy on my phone. Does anyone else play this, and how does the 5 perform while playing?
Can anyone post some pictures they took of scenery, buildings, etc... I'll post some of mine taken from my Nexus 6P, edited in Snapseed. The camera is a big point for me.
Please and thank you!!

I currently own OP5 and previous phone was Pixel XL.
If a camera is a big point for you, there are better options for sure such as Pixel , iPhone and U11.
If gaming, then this phone will perform way better than 6p or any other phone. 835 CPU, GPU and 8 RAM means solid performance.
Camera is great in good lighting; mediocre in low light. 1080 Video good and 4K video average.
Battery life for me has been incredible! Fast charging is awesome too.
OP5 is a fantastic phone and I would recommend to anyone. I say this even though I plan on returning OP5 and going back to my Pixel XL. Why? Camera and smoother overall experience in Pixel. OP5 is faster for sure.
I hope this helps. It was not an easy decision for me.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

I don't take too many videos, but I definitely like having the option of taking a good one. Gaming is a big selling point for me as well. As for the camera... I'm kind of hoping that some sort of fix is released in an update for whatever the issue is.
It definitely helps though. The price is also a factor, as I'm thinking I'll be able to sell my 6p for 325-350, with all the cases I have and the pretty awesome condition I've kept it in.
I've also haven't had a *new* phone in years. Last one I had was S6 Edge and I ended up having to give it to my Now Ex-girlfriends mom since it was on her plan and we broke up. I had it for like 3 weeks. So, a new phone under warranty would be pretty sweet to have.
Im going to buy it, I made up my mind. If anything, and the camera is way worse than my 6p and they don't release an update I can just sell it, right? Yup.
Bye-bye Nexus.

I'll break up a short review into a few sections.
Design - 9/10
I really like the build quality. The phone looks very similar to a certain device, but I don't mind this. The matte black color looks great and the device, while a bit thin, is the perfect weight (although I am going to buy a case as soon as they become available.) Although I do wish the camera was in the center because when you lay the device down, the protruding camera lens is what your device lays on and makes the device not lay completely flat. The good news is the camera lends is made out of sapphire so durability is there.
Performance | Daily Tasks - 9/10
I have read all about the "Jello effect." This does appear on my device, but it's very minimal and I don't see it as a problem. I did recently watch a video where it was a lot worse in that video. People on social media tend to be hive-mind associated so a lot of negativity tends to spread like wildfire while the positive items are left out of the spotlight. I think the device is extremely snappy and I have noticed the phone doesn't even get warm while playing Pokemon Go for long spurts at a time. No sluggish performance at all.
Wireless Connectivity | WiFi | 4G - 8/10
Cellular Performance
This aspect is generally very important to me. When I compare it to my brother's GS8 on T-Mobile US, we both have a consistent experience in strong signal areas. The OP5 doesn't support 4x4 MIMO on the 4G/LTE side, but it does support 256QAM and 3xCA which is more than enough for the typical power user. Overall, my brother's S8 tends to get slightly less than 10% more speeds on LTE than I do (for comparison, I hit 115Mbps in a spot whereas the GS8 hit 125Mbps.) However, I will note that edge-of-signal, the S8 does win outright. In a few areas where LTE signal is weak (sub -120dBm RSRP), the OnePlus 5 will tend to drop to HSPA or even Edge whereas the S8 will maintain a usable signal. In other words, VoLTE'ers, you may experience more dropped calls when venturing about in weak LTE areas.
WiFi Performance
The OP5 supports 2x2 MIMO and wireless AC so 5Ghz networks is vastly improved over the OP3/OP3T in regards to WiFi coverage/performance. In comparison, I can pull up to 540mbps in a corner of my house on the OP5 whereas the OP3T will only be able to pull 32mbps on the same network. Oneplus has really went above and beyond in terms of WiFi antenna design and has consistently matched the GS8's WiFi performance (Note: I do not have Gigabit internet so I wan't able to test higher-end speeds.)
Battery - 9/10
I am coming from a Le Pro3 (which is one of the best devices for battery), and I'm not too concerned with what I'm getting on the OP5. I am consistently getting through the typical work-day with around 30-40% juice left after a few hours of screen time. If I need a quick charge, Dash charging is there. I will mention that I wish Dash Charging wasn't so proprietary. Because almost all of my current chargers are Qualcomm QC which aren't compatible with the Oneplus. Although it'll still charge the device, just not rapidly like Dash would.
Camera - 7/10
I am not a photographer by any means and a good camera doesn't necessarily sell me on a device by itself. I will say though that while the pictures are not as good as what you'd get on the GS8, they are pretty good shots and I honestly can't see people looking at your facebook pictures and thinking "wow, whatever camera took this picture sucks." I am quite content with the camera because it is better than a mid-range device, but worse than a flagship.
Software/Customization - 10/10
This is the main reason I went with the OnePlus device. Oxygen OS is so smooth and AOSP-like. The nearly bloatless experience and ability to change the theme/accents of your device are amazing. That, and I know the community will be behind some massive developments for this device so I can satisfy my flashing urges as they come up. It all just works.
Sound/Speakers - 9/10
I would have preferred stereo speaker setup, instead of mono speaker. Still, I would say I have been very impressed with the mono speaker on the bottom with the amount of quality and loud sounds that come from it. Music in the car over Bluetooth/Android Auto also works great and is very clear sounding. I actually flashed the Viper/Arise sound mod and disabled it shortly after because stock sounds that good (I don't play around with the Viper/Arise settings too much, so maybe I can improve it but to me there's not much left to be desired.) Voice Calls, people are loud and clear.
Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend the product to a friend!

Man the phones on point. I went hard on my op5 & have yet to hit 34 °c I play the phone for long stretches so not worrying about my phone getting to hot is my favorite upgrade so far. The battery for sure last longer than the 3t but the 3t charges about 10 minutes faster

My phone was delivered on the Friday after the key note and have used this as my daily driver. My most recent phone was the Samsung s7e, but gave to my wife as I found it too slow (and I really wanted to try a one plus 5).
Initial impressions are similar to the (honest) reviews:
1. Damn this thing is quick
2. Damn the fingerprint reader is quick
3. Damn that charges quick
3. Oh, the camera isn't quite as good as it was hyped
I think it looks "fine" (i.e I couldn't care less what it looks like).
Battery life has been good, at least comparable to a 6 month old SGS7e (I bought that second hand) but not as good as my old Sony z3c.
The camera is good, don't get me wrong, and it can take better shots than the Samsung, but it's not as consistent. Low light isn't as good (but again, the Samsung is a very high bar). I'd say that 90% of my photos come out fine first time. It's very quick to take photos though (if Oneplus wanted a "speed" theme to come through in this device then they certainly succeeded)
1080p video is very good. Surprisingly good. Ok 4k recording lacks stabilisation, but hey, do people bother to record in this resolution? (I suppose that do, but I sure as hell don't). They've also said that 4k EIS will come in an update.
The screen is very good. Having had the S6 and S7e, I've experienced excellent screens (i.e. high resolution) but really don't see the point for 99% of the time (I played with vr for a couple of days about 12 months ago so I really do mean 99%). 1080p is absolutely great for a 5.5" screen.
My only complaints have been:
1. Jelly (yes, either I'm susceptible to seeing it or my device has it)
2. Camera not as good as hyped
3. Some vague software oddities which I'm sure will be sorted (notification issues with eBay)
I'll post up some photos...

Some photos #shotonaoneplus

The best thing about OnePlus 5 is support from this community. I ordered on the conference day and there was TWRP and root solution available before this phone even arrived to my home. Another great thing is overall performance, clean OS, no bloatware.
Time for bad things. It is always bad sign when the company behind any device lies to you. They lie about camera peformance, they lie about screen issues... I wonder what will be next. Had I waited few days and seen how OnePlus acts, I would not buy it again.
Still I have it, so let's talk about user experience. I am switching to OnePlus 5 from my 4 years old OPPO Find 7, so this is my point of reference.
Form factor. The phone is a bit slippery and uncomfortable to grip. It has some sort of additional sharp line on the edge, and I ordered a cover to make it feel better. Other than this, it looks great and sexy. Shame it is not original design, but it is still good if you don't care about such things (I personally don't).
Screen. Screen has great colors and real blacks. It doesn't have the best resolution but just looks better than 2K IPS of Find 7. Use some dark wallpaper and you will be in heaven. At the same time you have this jelly effect and before I got used to it, it felt wrong. If you are motion sick, you should stay away from this phone.
Camera. The only good thing I can say about camera is its tonal range. You get all the colors instead of washed whites when you shot something with high contrast. At the same time I have seen way more details on the Find 7, which is four years old than on the OnePlus 5. Maybe it is poor compression of images, maybe it is some de-noising algorithm... anyway when you zoom in, you will see only blur in the image. Also, the telephoto camera is almost never used indoors (easy to check - cover one lens and see yourself which lens your phone is using) and used outdoor only when light is perfect (hello sun). When you click this magical 2x zoom in your camera app you will newer know whether you are doing software zoom loosing even more details or actual optical zoom... which even in best case is software-processed.
OS. Is great. Clean, fast android. Easy to root, easy to mod.
Battery life. Mixed. It will give you a full day, easily, but also drops significantly when you don't use the phone. Still, you have the DaSH/VOOC fast charge, so that's not a big issue.
Summary - this phone is great when you love messing with your phone, you are going to try custom rooms, you need root and great community support. It should be your choice if you with to have hardware that has enough power to stay with you for years. If you are looking for "clearer photos" look somewhere else. This is outward lie, and camera peformance is just average. It is also not a device for you if you must have the latest technology in hand or a very decent screen.
It is also not a steal anymore. You pay a bit less than premium range and you get a bit less then premium quality. Consider what you are looking for, and if your boxes are matched go for it.

ab7casper said:
How I typically use my phone is all day, everyday. It's a bit of an ADD thing where I have to keep myself busy. Games, XDA, more games. I play VainGlory a lot, and it's pretty heavy on my phone. Does anyone else play this, and how does the 5 perform while playing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never played that game but I play some games (the Idolmaster rhythm games) that are pretty heavy and made my Nexus 6 very sad. They run very smoothly at highest settings on the 1+5, and thanks to the massive amounts of ram, I can switch between several games with no problem.
The one complaint I have is the placement of the speaker. If you are playing a game landscape orientation your hand will keep covering it. Big problem when playing rhythm games.

j0ff said:
Some photos #shotonaoneplus
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Click to collapse
Those are more than acceptable pics for a smartphone. I don't expect DSLR quality, and it looks like it could be an improvement over my 6p.
I really appreciate everyone's responses. They all are very insightful, and definitely put my mind at ease about the purchase.

ab7casper said:
Those are more than acceptable pics for a smartphone. I don't expect DSLR quality, and it looks like it could be an improvement over my 6p.
I really appreciate everyone's responses. They all are very insightful, and definitely put my mind at ease about the purchase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will be happy with it, I'm sure!
From the forums you might think it's nothing but problems, but overall it is still a really​ great phone. Keep in mind most of the folks who even know about this phone are the pickiest of the pickiest!

yubimusubi said:
You will be happy with it, I'm sure!
From the forums you might think it's nothing but problems, but overall it is still a really​ great phone. Keep in mind most of the folks who even know about this phone are the pickiest of the pickiest!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, true that. I might say that camera performance means a lot to me. But I have no actual "training" in being a photographer, or what is supposed to look like what. I just like taking pictures for myself, and I throw em up on Instagram. I use a lot of my pictures for wallpapers for my phone, mainly.
If anything, the better the phone is performing at games the better it would be for me, and this sounds like a beast. I'll be doubling my ram, and storage capacity so I'll be more than happy at that fact alone. Haha
Edit: I hope this post stays near the top for anyone on the fence about the purchase. I was just thinking about you're only hearing so many users complaining about the phone, but how many other users out there that are completely satisfied.

I bought it just an hour after the event, and I'm returning it tofay. I love taking pictures with my phone and I don't like op5 photos at all. I'm sending it back this week before the 14-day period is over, I'm moving to the S8 which I found at the same price...
I just hate how it deals with low-light and with colour, in particular in the details, which are just awful. I come from three and an half years with the Nexus 5, which had OIS and an awesome HDR. In this phone, HDR pics are way too noisy and sometimes colours look much worse than non-HDR photos.
Dual camera, horrible photos I'd say
I was really excited about this phone, so I'm very disappointed. I know they might fix it in the future, but I don't feel like trusting OnePlus seeing how they are dealing with the OP3 update and with the jelly effect
P.S. Sorry for bad English, I'm new to the forum world

giaesse said:
I bought it just an hour after the event, and I'm returning it tofay. I love taking pictures with my phone and I don't like op5 photos at all. I'm sending it back this week before the 14-day period is over, I'm moving to the S8 which I found at the same price...
I just hate how it deals with low-light and with colour, in particular in the details, which are just awful. I come from three and an half years with the Nexus 5, which had OIS and an awesome HDR. In this phone, HDR pics are way too noisy and sometimes colours look much worse than non-HDR photos.
Dual camera, horrible photos I'd say
I was really excited about this phone, so I'm very disappointed. I know they might fix it in the future, but I don't feel like trusting OnePlus seeing how they are dealing with the OP3 update and with the jelly effect
P.S. Sorry for bad English, I'm new to the forum world
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK have fun in the s8 forums. deuces

I love it ?
Camera can't complain needs few extra features I think there's always pro mode but I'm not cam savvy so just use normal mode sure it will be improved in updates , ?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

DoobyDroid said:
I love it ?
Camera can't complain needs few extra features I think there's always pro mode but I'm not cam savvy so just use normal mode sure it will be improved in updates , ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice pics

Here are some pics I couldn't update earlier. You can see how bad the camera works in some conditions (like in the tree in two of the photos, which looks very unreal). Also in low light HDR is too noisy and I had to take twice the photo in the square and still I couldn't get a sharp image. Also you can see some artifacts in the two road pics. This is what convinced me to send this phone back, I take lots of pics and my old Nexus 5 worked better in all of these conditions
Edit: I might sound crazy, but look at the details

DoobyDroid said:
I love it ?
Camera can't complain needs few extra features I think there's always pro mode but I'm not cam savvy so just use normal mode sure it will be improved in updates , ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured I would take one picture and edit in Snapseed to see how that pans out. I'm posting both the original and edited.
Honestly, I don't think I'll be upset at all for the quality. I like it. The pro mode will be fun as well to play with,

Had a great time in NY with it this past weekend.

I have to say that I love the phone. I have an s8+ too and I actually don't miss it at all. I bought the LG G6 last month an lasted 1 day with it and some would, well do argue that it's a better phone than the s8.
What I like: The performance. That phone is fast in every aspect. The best example I can give is the setup. I have 161 apps. It took 2 and a half hours to download on the s8+. Guess how fast it was on the OP5 25 minutes. I've never see that before.
The screen is fine, the camera is no prize winner but no slouch either. I'm sure SW updates can make it better. The sound is good.
What I don't like: So far it's that damn screen that flips to landscape for no reason.
I didn't think of returning the phone until I saw the thread with all the people whining about the most trivial things.
The way I see it is. If the camera really matters to you. S8+, Pixel XL, U11. If not, by all means. You cannot go wrong with this. 8gb of ram 128 GB of storage and this community. Your kids can use it 6 years from now it will still be a top contender.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Sony Xperia 1, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Sony Xperia 1 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

I received it today and after 2 hours I've sent it back. Horrible photos compared with my s10+, shaky videos,bad stabilisation, no volte calling possibility or Wifi call,terrible side sensor.
I've tried again with Sony because I like the design but again it's only smoke. Anyway great display

Sure?
https://youtu.be/2GepE25czo4
Enviado desde mi G8141 mediante Tapatalk

marko68 said:
I received it today and after 2 hours I've sent it back. Horrible photos compared with my s10+, shaky videos,bad stabilisation, no volte calling possibility or Wifi call,terrible side sensor.
I've tried again with Sony because I like the design but again it's only smoke. Anyway great display
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm i see later posts of you in what you supposedly "still" has the phone. And i see you posted the same about p20 pro and s10+... That take away all of you credibility

Ergonomic and productivity champion, full stop.
I seriously cannot go back to 18:9 anymore. Never used something quite like the Xperia 1. Video on top email at bottom with keyboard up, still plenty to read and write. Single hand grip is way better than XZ3, even with this tall screen, reaching the top for notification is no acrobatics at all.
Anyway, absolutely enjoying the 1, I'm evening considering to get the Xperia 10 Plus for my family now.

Sony always has a way of making desirable devices (Xperia S), but with crazy marketing decision. So after using my OnePlus5 for almost 2yrs I decided to buy into Sony's gimmick of 21:9 screen. Never held one in my hand before, but once I did, I really fall for it. The device feel so nice in your hand. The long narrow shape feel so good and secure! Haven't held a phone so secure for a while... and the screen! The screen is a beast! The screen is unbeatable watching 21:9 in Netflix, totally awesome experience. But, when you watch the normal 16:9 you will feel a little underwhelmed. The camera is also very nice. But for me personally, the size and shape and the screen is the best features of this phone. And actually I'm glad that when I pre-order the grey color went out, and I ended up getting the beautiful Sony Purple.

I bought it in black, it's really a jewel, ergonomic and light, very balance design but it looks very delicate and glides on smooth surfaces.
This phone really stands out for beauty and elegance. I really appreciate the bezel-less Chinese top look, but Sony is a step ahead. The bezels are shiny, it takes up the style of the old Z3 plus, this color ''reduces'' its thickness and adds an elegant mono-block look
A really nice comeback in Sony for me, I had been missing since XZPremium, beautiful one but did not last because frames were too square and big

Got the purple one since 19th june, so far the phone beyond my expectation and it's really good in my hand, i thought the size of phone makes it uncomfortable to hold but surprisingly very gewd.

marko68 said:
I received it today and after 2 hours I've sent it back. Horrible photos compared with my s10+, shaky videos,bad stabilisation, no volte calling possibility or Wifi call,terrible side sensor.
I've tried again with Sony because I like the design but again it's only smoke. Anyway great display
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you'd have surely known there was no volte calling/wifi calling before purchasing? Video capabilities are excellent and have been lauded in many reviews. As for your "it's only smoke" judgement, a tad harsh given that you only used it for 2 hours....still, what do you expect from a Samsung user?
I've had one for nearly 4 weeks now, it's the best Android phone I've used to date. Admittedly, I am a bit of a Sony fanboy but that is down to personal preference having used countless other phones from HTC, Motorola, Nokia, LG, even the awful Samsung down the years...I've been through them all. I've come to realise I like the Sony approach the best.
Great screen, very good photos if you know what you're doing, excellent video, I love the form factor which is almost the spiritual successor to my beloved XZ1. Nice weight and balance in the hand, the usual excellent audio capabilities as well. And none of that stupid curved screen sides, an utterly pointless feature/design aspect that will go down in history as being purely faddish.
Gotta say, loving this Xperia 1 as it is a great all rounder.

quick info - i have owned and daily used s7, s8, s9 (1+ years) mi note2, redmi note 7, mi 5 and 10 other mid-range ones (2-3 months) in the past 7 or so years. i do not like the way samsung processes the images on their phones and the way their phone behaves as they always seem to lag. apart from this i consider all of the previous mentioned samsung's great phones and the rest good phones. btw has anyone noticed how fast even the low spec xiaomi's are ?
MAIN SUBJECT - XPERIA 1
For whoever is concerned:
I bought the phone NEW and the network and wi-fi were always disconnecting in no more than 2 minutes from the moment they were up and running. Sent it to repair and it came back with some SW update.
After 1 week of using it, only the test call dropped and the network got disconnected. It works and the signal is semi-stable with occasional drops in power but never did I see it disconnect, apart from the test call of course.
It is a nice phone and does not really feel outdated (if someone was thinking that NOT having the whole front side as a display might make it look outdated) it is well balanced in the hand and the width helps in having a VERY COMFORTABLE grip BUT the GLASS is more slippery than any phone I have touched. Probably 80% of these phones (with no case or decal) will probably get damaged because of it. (someone should start a thread with pics of broken Xperia 1 glass front or back). It is fast, very fast... faster than all the last Galaxy S10 to S7 (owned for at least 1 year 7-9 and i have access to the s10 daily. Also not "+" versions so please don't start) but I still have to see how it will fare in the long run. Battery is also good, I would get the same from my S9, but the S7... ow how I miss 3 days of running time....
Other things worth noting: Cameras, Notification LED, Camera button with 2step press, weird colors on front camera and bad quality, no-pin SIM tray.
Last thing, the FINGER PRINT sensor. Take note of this - "Couldn't process your fingerprint. Please try again." Is anyone else having issues with this ? I have my finger enrolled 5 times and i still cannot unlock it with the fingerprint in 7 out of 10 tries.
Best of luck to all who want to buy one and/or have bought one. I am not sure now, after 1 week if I want to change it.

I've been using this phone for over 2 months now and I feel I'm ready to share my opinion over this device.
After 9 years of using android phones, mostly Samsung, after considering my options I took the decision to buy this phone. The main decisional factor was that is has no notch, punch holes or any other thing in the display. Other reasons were the display both the aspect ratio and the technology used, and the last but not the least was the camera.
I'm going to share my experience over the main 3 points of my decision, was I expected, what I actually encountered.
Form Factor
I remember the day when Samsung came with the 18.5 displays and everyone were like the doom day is on and what not... The first day I had my note 8 I was stunned to see how much of a difference is there is content when reading and article or a book. When I got the Xperia 1 and boot it up, took the first look of the screen felt exactly the same. It's ideal for content.
The phone sits very well in the hand it has an ergonomic feeling, materials are premium. I had no issues with the grip of the phone and I have big hands... I could hold the note in hand but it's not the same, 1 hand operation on the xperia is more easier than on the note.
Another thing over the Samsung phones I would give a plus for not having curved displays. They look good but the first time I dropped the note on the ground it broke in the corners, the second time the same.... I dropped the Xperia 1 over 5 times on the ground and I could see the dent on the frame, but the display has no issue.... Kudos for this
For the form factor I would give 5 stars with no second look over it
Display
It's an immerse viewing experience.
Some say that the 4K over 2K resolution displays the human eye cannot see the difference. From my point of view this is not the truth, I moved my sd card from the note8 into the Xperia, I looked at the same photos on the note and on the Xperia, the look minimum twice as sharp, and this looking over the photos taken with the note8.
Colour reproduction is good, I took the white balance settings found on the anandtech review and went along with it.
Brightness is also ok, I didn't had a situation when I found myself unable to look at the phone in direct sunlight.
For the display I would give 5 stars also
Camera
Here is where I mostly disappointed with this device... It has a ton of features and everything, it has engines worked with professional teams, eye focus, burst shots, super slowmo, what ever else... Sony sensor’s are found in half of the phones around the world... You would say that the camera should be the strongest point of this phone... Also their marketing campaign is based on the cinematic capabilities of this phone..
I take around 1000 pictures with the phone in a month, I like taking pictures, I like playing with the camera of the most as much as I can. For me the camera is main feature of any mobile phone.
With the Xperia 1, the most annoying thing is the touch focus... I like playing with the focus, focusing on objects that are not in centre of the sensor, with the Xperia 1 this is almost impossible. I touch the screen on the object, the focus circle turns green the image is still in a blur... Try this 10 times, maybe one works.
Another issue with the camera is the burning of highlights due to the HDR failure... In sunny conditions I have to take 2-3 photos for maybe one to be good and not burned, or to go to manual mode...
The telephoto camera is some of a joke... The images look better on a regular phone with 2x digital zoom.
Now these are all mainly software issues but they are a part of the whole phone experience and sadly it makes this a very bad one... I know that if you study a scene and find the best spot and the best settings you can take very nice pictures but this should not be the case.. it's not a professional camera for the experienced ones only to use... The auto mode should do the job for a regular user but it doesn't
For the video camera I cannot give many thoughts because I do not use it, occasionally I record something but not that much
Overall I would give 2 stars for this, maybe with luck over the future someone will fix these in a future software update
Others
Battery life is another thing that could have been done better... It takes me from day to day but that's not something that's meant to be praised. I have the same battery life as my 2 year old Note8
Speakers sound really good in my opinion.
Software updates / Community of developers, sadly I have to say that the updates are just security updates, the first update had some fixes but the rest were mainly security updates... This not something ok from my point of view. As for the community of developers, sincerely I hadn't seen one, there is a lack of people who would actually develop something for this phone.
Fingerprint sensor is working 30% of the time
Final thoughts
Overall I like this phone, I will continue to use it, I like the display and the form factor more than I hate the camera.
I just hope that someone from Sony will give me something for the 900e that I payed for this phone and fix the issues with the camera

here are my thoughts:
Display: I am wowed! it could be problematic viewing 16:9 videos but still, when I see that [email protected] HDR video on youtube or whatever this is soo stunning I have not seen any device perform better than this.
Battery: I see a lot of people argue about this, on 50-70% brightness by manual all the time, (usually I used to keep it 40% on previous devices this lacks a bit in manual-ill get to why in a second) got 24 hours of usage, 7 of them SOT, that and where I work I have trash signal so it takes out more juice, but even then Im still left out with 27% (including a bit of call of duty gaming, clash of clans here and there, lots of social media and some camera usage).
Lets talk about the brightness, if you all do the research of oled screens you will see a lot of information about pixel burn, which leaves the screen with a little ghosting effect, now that happens potentially on high brightness levels and if you know Sony, you know they care about their longevity of their devices (remember the fast charge that takes the same time? XD) thats why their max brightness cant be reached in manual settings, now compare that to samsung's s10 or s10+ their brightness go crazy high on manual (not their highest potential on manual but still very high) and people reported screen burn-ins just weeks after, battery on samsung goes trash after a little while too, phone becomes laggy, thats why the cute little things people care about in a phone like brightness and SOT is something pretty irrelevant because this brightness on the Xperia 1 is enough for you to view things even outside (with auto brightness tho) and the battery is more than enough to keep you charged for more than a day and even if other phones can last longer, lets be real, when you come home from school work etc... the first thing you do is charge your phone! doesnt matter what % youre left with, everyone charges their phone whenever they get the chance so they make sure they are not stuck at some point so thats very irrelevant to me...
Camera: A subject of debate here, since some people report disappointing opinions but here is mine, IT IS CRAZY GOOD! yes maybe in auto mode other phones can be more pleasing due to their HDR being enabled in auto mode unlike Sony, but using the manual is a huge step up for the sony and I havent seen any phone out perform it, you also have to know, Sony is great with cameras, but not even DSLR cameras have good stabilization without a tripod... yes samsung and iphone have better stabilization but that results in trash quality especially at night! I am no joking! photos and videos on Sony takes out samsung and iphone at night! and their Wide angel is trash compared to the xperia 1.
Overall if you want to buy a phone so you can have the best camera, there is no clear winner in flagships there will always be phones better than others in some cases or worse in other cases, so just buy a camera.
for social media its amazing especially with that 21:9 its simply so smooth and fills a lot of content and again WOW those colors ARE ACCURATE!! not over-saturated or artificially pleasing like other devices but STILL VERY SHARP AND COLORFUL! Its CRAZY!
all in all if youre looking for a great device that will still perform the same after a year or two, no battery issues or performance, or screen ghosting, a camera that on manual could look like a DSRL!! then yah go for the sony!
if you want a more pleasing devices for a couple of months in terms of unrealistic but more pleasing colors in both camera and display, with a battery thats only better for a couple of months, there are better phones out there. Unless its an iphone 11 pro since it has very natural display and camera overall go ahead pay that amount and enjoy their very closed minded software (but people say its smooth LMAO yah have you even seen a none smooth phone in 2019? XDDD)
I hope you enjoyed

You should shoot 5000 more photos to learn how to use it
Enviado desde mi J9110 mediante Tapatalk

madshark2009 said:
Lets talk about the brightness, if you all do the research of oled screens you will see a lot of information about pixel burn, which leaves the screen with a little ghosting effect, now that happens potentially on high brightness levels and if you know Sony, you know they care about their longevity of their devices (remember the fast charge that takes the same time? XD) thats why their max brightness cant be reached in manual settings, now compare that to samsung's s10 or s10+ their brightness go crazy high on manual (not their highest potential on manual but still very high) and people reported screen burn-ins just weeks after, battery on samsung goes trash after a little while too, phone becomes laggy, thats why the cute little things people care about in a phone like brightness and SOT is something pretty irrelevant because this brightness on the Xperia 1 is enough for you to view things even outside (with auto brightness tho) and the battery is more than enough to keep you charged for more than a day and even if other phones can last longer, lets be real, when you come home from school work etc... the first thing you do is charge your phone! doesnt matter what % youre left with, everyone charges their phone whenever they get the chance so they make sure they are not stuck at some point so thats very irrelevant to me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is auto brightness on the Xperia 1 in regards to screen longevity / pixel burns? Is it safe to always use auto brightness? I really like the auto brightness on the Xperia 1, first Xperia I actually use auto brightness on (previous LCD Xperias were like, far too bright in auto brightness mode).

EliasAlucard said:
How is auto brightness on the Xperia 1 in regards to screen longevity / pixel burns? Is it safe to always use auto brightness? I really like the auto brightness on the Xperia 1, first Xperia I actually use auto brightness on (previous LCD Xperias were like, far too bright in auto brightness mode).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it is related because some people like to use max brightness even in lowlight which will hurt the screen because its oled, if you want you can check out the reports on youtube using oled screens.
if you also search you will find that apple has made it very hard to find the switch to turn off auto brightness on their latest devices that use oled, its not as easy as it was finding that option because they want to prevent users from using bright settings in lowlight conditions because that will help prevent pixel burns. and sony's approach is to simpley minimize the max brightness on manual so users dont over-use brightness in which case this will also help prevent pixel burn which leaves the device more pleasing in terms of screen in the long run.
now if you are using auto brightness this will not hurt your screen because the device will lower itself when you are in lowligh/in doors and will only go high when youre outside.
Although if you can notice also, the brightness on auto will be like manual on max even outside, but will only go brighter when youre using camera or watching media, but using normally like instagram or chrome or whatever it will only be as bright as manual on max when youre outside, which is an even more inelegant approach to help prevent pixel burn.
Bottom line is, Oled screens WILL have pixel burns, but in terms of how soon? or how bad the effect? that depends on the usage of brightness, thats why Sony's oled screens will last longer because of their approach.

Pros:
Screen
Speed
Design
System
Camera
Memory
Cons:
Average Battery life
A bit bigger
No Edge screen as XZ3
No 90-120Hz touch
Price and market availability
Fingerprint sometimes mess

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Sony Xperia 1 II, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Sony Xperia 1 II is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

One of my all time favorite phones / camera's
So I have been able to play with and use the xperia 1 ii for over 4 days.
this will be a short review and perhaps I will add to it at a later moment.
Main Things I Didn't Test
* Gaming
* Video
Look and Feel
I personally really like the look and feel of this phone. It has some iPhone 4 qualities to it. By which I mean it feels like a device/tool with nice buttons, very high quality materials. It feels like a tool, like a device that is build for usability rather than build for the wow factor (if that makes sense).
It doesn't have a crazy high screen to body ratio. So something like S20 (or the S10 i used previously) is a bit more awe inspiring. But as soon as you slap a case on a S10 this will disappear any way. But what it has is a uninterrupted screen with no notches or punch hols, it has two front facing high quality speakers. It is function over form rather than form over function. That is not to say that it is not a good looking device it is very nice build it look really great. Although I'm not a fan of mirror polishing but you will not notice that as soon as you slap a cover on it (and it looks way better than the ugly blue s10). I have the official Sony case with stand which will still allow you to see the very nice sides of the phone; they are beautifully machined and have a nice color (especially with the purple one).
The buttons of the volume and the power feel really nice, they have a reassuring click to them. The only thing I'm missing is a click for the shutter button. Perhaps it is not implemented to make sure you don't move the phone while clicking. This has a bit of a downside when you don't have a shutter sound enabled. As the camera is crazy fast and it is therefor hard to see / notice if you took the photo or not. A click would have been nice. But when using the phone more often I got used to it.
Screen
The screen is absolutely amazing especially in creator mode. Colors are very accurate and it is a real joy to watch media on this phone be it movies, clips or photos. Because of the very high PPI reading news or books is possible with small letters it basically looks like it is printed. Compared to my old s10 which has a amazing screen as well I prefer the Sony as it has such natural colors and this printed feel to it. Also the colors are good with low luminescence something the s10 could not manage. That being said the max brightness is a bit less than the s10 and I feel that the display is a bit more reflective. But this could be caused by the fact I keep the brightness down with the Sony as thing look really good with low brightness. That being said I did not encounter any problems reading the screen outside on a bright day.
The screen ratio is really handy. I never used split screen a lot on previous devices. But since it is slightly taller than a s10 (while having the same width) it makes more sense to use it and I use it for more often now (watching YouTube while messaging). I don't feel it is a big phone. It is a bit heavier than the s10 but also it feels better build than the s10. Compared to a Note 10+ the height is similar but the width is significantly less.
Sound
Front facing speaker are great far better than the S10 or any other phone I used. Switching on Dolby Atmos is mandatory as without it is not that good. You really have stereo sound and both speakers are equal in terms of loudness positioning and quality.
The sound quality from the audio jack is good and you have quite a lot of options to set the sound to your tasted. As I mostly use wireless atm I have not tested this comprehensively.
Speed
It is fast, sometimes notably faster than the s10. I think is mostly because of faster memory as I don't to that much cpu intensive stuff. That being said I think the most phones for the last couple of years are fast enough for most of the tasks any way.
5G / reception
5G works no idea if it is faster than 4g. didn't run any test as 4g didn't give me any problems. Reception seems to be very good at least better than the S10. Some places where I did not have a great reception or didn't have any reception with the s10 I do have with the 1ii. Maybe this could be because of 5G (as it uses multiple connections), or maybe not, I have no Idea . WiFi is stable and fast. Bluetooth as well.
Call quality.
It is great, voice is really good, again better than the s10
Battery
it is good, I'm a heavy phone user as I use it for lot's of reading, emailing, work stuff, music and YouTube. No complains and even slightly amazed considering is has "only" a 4000Mha battery
Camera (and a little bit about pricing)
Properly the most important part of this phone it the camera. As Sony did not release a "cheaper" version of the phone with 64GB like the iPhone 11 pro it is a very expensive device and the camera is it's main selling point. Although you could argue it should be compared with a 11 pro max which makes the Sony cheaper than a iPhone 11 pro max (256GB) or similar priced to the 64GB version. I don't understand reviewers that give a lower rating because of the price. It should be compared to an 11 pro (max) or S20+ / Ultra. Personally I think it comes out ahead in many comparisons to these phones. The 1ii is a "pro" phone with a pro price. But than again a "pro" phone is a silly concept to begin with (the only pro phone I ever used was the blackberry passport, best professional / work phone ever, but bad at anything else).
First a small disclaimer. I didn't use the android camera at all (only for scanning a QR code) as you get a photo pro app which should be used if you buy this phone. Secondly I like photography I have used many camera's over the years and also may phones. Up till now my two favorite camera phones where the Lumia 950XL for color and the Mate 9 for b&w photography. The Lumia still amazes me to this day and Nokia/Microsoft did not get enough credit for there work. It was the only phone I knew that could really capture light. Also I don't care for AI powered camera apps. I understand that this is really handy if you just make snapshot and don't care about doing photography your self. I don't care for "HDR" images as all it accomplish is that it removes shadows and makes for a equal brightened image regardless of how the scene looks. If you like these things I'm not sure that this is the phone for you as Google, Samsung and Apple are better at these things
The camera app phone combination is amazing. It really gives you the feel that you are using a camera and more importantly that you are in control. It is a unbelievably fast combinations. For instance; I tried to take a photo of a dog and I was sure I mist it. As he started moving as soon as I pressed the shutter button but to my amazement the camera took the picture, it must have been less than a second between me clicking and the dog moving. I think it might be faster than my RX100m6. If you like to tinker and you know what shot you want and how you want it to look there is not better phone atm. (the Samsung pro camera is highly unusable and Huawei sadly doesn't have Google apps).
The 20fps works really good as well, it is amazing to use on a phone and to be so sure of the results (yes I know I'm using the word amazing a lot). Another surprise is the performance of the digital zoom it is far better than expected is highly usable. Also it is quit nice to have a 70mm option, although I feel that it doesn't perform on the same level as the other two sensor / lens combinations it seems a bit softer and not as sharply focused. The hero of this phone is the main 24mm sensor / lens combo it performs the best and has all the possible options. For the xperia 1iii I would like to see a 50mm included as well. The colors are natural and this gives you the opportunity to post processes the picture your self more easily than say a iPhone or Samsung.
There are some things I would like to see in a software update. Mainly the ability to zoom in normal focal lengths instead of continues (so from 24 to 28 to 35 to 50 etc). To change the shutter sound to a soft click sound. The ability to set sharpness , contrast and saturation. Last but not least RAW support. Also I had a couple of times the app freeze on me but as this is the first version I presume they will fix this.
a bunch of pictures with various focal length and lighting conditions:
https://we.tl/t-8rRytOUylm
Video
didn't really use it and on cnet there is a great review about its video capabilities including a nice short movie. It's great; one of the best reviews ever for any phone or product https://www.cnet.com/news/sony-xperia-1-ii-review-yep-thats-a-real-telephoto-lens/
If you have any questions I will try to answer them (I will not install apps to check stuff )

stefanve said:
So I have been able to play with and use the xperia 1 ii for over 4 days.
this will be a short review and perhaps I will add to it at a later moment.
)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
see link in original post for full rez pictures

Really great feedback, thanks. As a prospective buyer who mainly takes photos of friends/family/selfies, how does the 'shoot and point' on the camera pro app hold up? I'm
a big fan of the portrait mode on my Mate Pro 20, does this phone have a similar mode?

Tmel14 said:
Really great feedback, thanks. As a prospective buyer who mainly takes photos of friends/family/selfies, how does the 'shoot and point' on the camera pro app hold up? I'm
a big fan of the portrait mode on my Mate Pro 20, does this phone have a similar mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the phone for two days. I'd say this is not a phone you'd buy to be "point and shoot" camera. The main camera app takes good photos but not the best. To get best photos, you should use the camera pro app. It is a solid app/camera and I feel like I have a close to DSLR camera in my pocket. Colors are very natural and accurate compared to manipulated photos you get from Samsung or even Pixel camera app. It does have a portrait mode that works fine however in Camera Pro if you learn to adjust focus manually can have similar effect even better.

Thanks for the heads up. Any tweaks you'd recommend to the default settings on the camera pro app?

The pro mode has a auto mode which is quit good. And I used it for a couple of shots I shared. So it can work really well. I guess it is depending on the look of the auto mode settings and if the other pros of this phone are of interest to you

stefanve said:
see link in original post for full rez pictures
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG! Sorry man, I'm quite shocked by the quality photos form your X1 II. Seriously horrified! There are a couple of good pics from your sample bunch. All others are out of focus, under / overexposed, low detailed etc. I clearly recognize my personal experience with my current phone - Xperia 5 - hit or miss, around 50% of good outcome. Now I'm fully convinced to not even look at possibility of getting Xperia 1 II . Thanks

Love and Hate from me. Eagerly waited for it since announcement and first adverts. High expectations, not only because of SONY´s promises but mostly because of my experience with and long - term SONY user / devices. Most of my SONY phones delivered good images: my XZ Premium, XZ2 Premium, even my last addition, the X, gives me proper images. Not counting the older device along my lifetime (SE68, W-Series, K-Series and so on). But this MK2 is more Hate than Love. Gorgeous design, screen, speakers. Fast and, finally, more storage (novum at SONY!). But the camera - system is a no-go. Mediocre image quality from all but the main camera, even with the 24 lens it delivers inconsistent material. Videos are simply said...to forget. Focus is a hit and miss game when light conditions are different from sunny - outdoor. From 10 images half is usable, depending what lens was used. Not to talk about the front camera. I just informed Sony about my complain and offered them my image and video material to check it. Dunno if they will give me reply....

WarVic said:
OMG! Sorry man, I'm quite shocked by the quality photos form your X1 II. Seriously horrified! There are a couple of good pics from your sample bunch. All others are out of focus, under / overexposed, low detailed etc. I clearly recognize my personal experience with my current phone - Xperia 5 - hit or miss, around 50% of good outcome. Now I'm fully convinced to not even look at possibility of getting Xperia 1 II . Thanks
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I have to say I really like most out of camera photo's, but they don't sharp the photos or use HDR ( you can switch it on) but I guess in the end is about personal taste. to my eyes they look miles better than anything samsung.
just to show what you can do with the out of camera photos (I hope raw support will be added soon) look at the different versions of two photos.
But indeed this phone is not for some one that wants a camera that " just works"

That's fine then. For me they looks like made by Galaxy S5 really. Old dinky Pixel 1 makes a way better shots straight out of the camera to my opinion. Thanks for sharing photos anyway. You've stopped me from making a very costly mistake.

WarVic said:
That's fine then. For me they looks like made by Galaxy S5 really. Old dinky Pixel 1 makes a way better shots straight out of the camera to my opinion. Thanks for sharing photos anyway. You've stopped me from making a very costly mistake.
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Not sure if you looked at the images attached to the post. but keep in mind that XDA is heavily compressing the images. so pixel peaking is not advisable and I can understand you would say it seems to be at S5 level

stefanve said:
Not sure if you looked at the images attached to the post. but keep in mind that XDA is heavily compressing the images. so pixel peaking is not advisable and I can understand you would say it seems to be at S5 level
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I'm not an idiot or simply blind, mate . I downloaded your archive with full sized images and had a good look at them. Sorry man but it's just complete disaster, "unbelievable" photo quality. And it's not just subjective opinion or a matter of taste. If I spent $1200 on a camera-phone which makes photos like THAT.... I'd return IT without a second thought. It's hard to believe that future patches and fixes will help. Anyway, Sony has a tremendous job ahead. Otherwise I predict mass returns, very poor sales or significant price drop.

WarVic said:
I'm not an idiot or simply blind, mate . I downloaded your archive with full sized images and had a good look at them. Sorry man but it's just complete disaster, "unbelievable" photo quality. And it's not just subjective opinion or a matter of taste. If I spent $1200 on a camera-phone which makes photos like THAT.... I'd return IT without a second thought. It's hard to believe that future patches and fixes will help. Anyway, Sony has a tremendous job ahead. Otherwise I predict mass returns, very poor sales or significant price drop.
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Not saying or thinking you are an idiot, just checking
Funny how different people see different things looking at the same image. That being said if the main reason of this phone is to have a great camera than indeed it's disappointing and it's better to get a RX100V or what ever and a mid range phone for the same money. I guess no phone is worth 1200 it is way to much for any phone and perhaps especially for a android as the long term support is non existing.
I just have fun snapping with it and i am pleased with the output (considering that it is a phone

Noticed gaming performance is dropping, guess I've installed something....
Playing COD, every 10 odd seconds it shows, then goes back to normal.
Notice this in other games to, even silly idle games that should be pulling no demand. One of them even said, drop to low performance mode, your phone is struggling. WTF!
My previous phone, one lower chip model and g card model never had any problems.
Must be done software conflicts, but dunno how to find them

Am I the only one who doesn't see what's wrong with the pictures that have been posted?

They are perfectly fine. But if you are used to processed photos from Samsung, Google or Apple you might not like the look as these are basically not altered by some algorithm.

Burst shot of me Pooch : https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=18Os3AQ2j0TuqaFjJ6c9h-TvFGr2zyIk1

WarVic said:
I'm not an idiot or simply blind, mate . I downloaded your archive with full sized images and had a good look at them. Sorry man but it's just complete disaster, "unbelievable" photo quality. And it's not just subjective opinion or a matter of taste. If I spent $1200 on a camera-phone which makes photos like THAT.... I'd return IT without a second thought. It's hard to believe that future patches and fixes will help. Anyway, Sony has a tremendous job ahead. Otherwise I predict mass returns, very poor sales or significant price drop.
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This guy is not an idiot either
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zevK7xMsYdA&feature=youtu.be
---------- Post added at 03:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:24 AM ----------
I think the standard photo App is still a work in progress - a rushed unfinished bolt on that is likely to be improved over the next few updates - they wanted to get this phone to market before they lost the window - understandable
I expect improvements and will wait a few months to see if they materialise before I make a purchase
we need to remember what they are pushing in this phone - the Pro Camera availability and I am loving the idea, a new concept in the market
Think of it this way, what if they never included the standard photo app at all and just improved the auto functions of the pro app, that may have been their intention during development but decided to throw in the standard app last minute - you can't please everyone all at once

Geoffxx said:
This guy is not an idiot either
&feature=youtu.be
---------- Post added at 03:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:24 AM ----------
I think the standard photo App is still a work in progress - a rushed unfinished bolt on that is likely to be improved over the next few updates - they wanted to get this phone to market before they lost the window - understandable
I expect improvements and will wait a few months to see if they materialise before I make a purchase
we need to remember what they are pushing in this phone - the Pro Camera availability and I am loving the idea, a new concept in the market
Think of it this way, what if they never included the standard photo app at all and just improved the auto functions of the pro app, that may have been their intention during development but decided to throw in the standard app last minute - you can't please everyone all at once
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You can't use someone on the Xperia YouTube channel to counter the comment from someone criticising the quality as it'll just be massively biased towards Sony lol
If it's like the Xperia 1 you'll be waiting forever for the improvements to come so I wouldn't hang around.