Honest opinions please; tell me about your experience! - ZTE Axon 7 Mini Questions & Answers

Hey friends in the sub $300 range!
I'm shopping around for a new device. Currently I'm using an Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 5.5" -- it has served me well (very well) since November 2015. Unfortunately the battery seems to be failing, so it seems the time has come for me to replace my precious. I'm actually in the sub $250 range, trying VERY HARD to not go over (which is why I'm considering the Axon 7 Mini and not the full-featured Axon 7).
I've been looking at all different phones for a couple days now and I'm stuck. I'm really drawn toward the Axon 7 Mini but from the reviews I've been reading the word is that it's just not that great for a $299 phone. Is it great for a $199 phone? Should I pay the extra $50 and get the Honor 6X (which I'm shying away from because of its overall durability -- yes, yes, I know to put a screen protector and case on it but it's the what ifs that get me), or do you think I'll be satisfied with the Axon 7 Mini? Normally I wouldn't hesitate to get a phone like this because I'm no stranger to the world of root and custom ROMs, and I know the dev community is stellar in making a stuttery device smooth like butter, but I see there hasn't been much luck with this one. I feel like my Idol (and Galaxy SIII before it) have spoiled me. Both devices just WORKED. They do and did what I needed them to do with minimal fuss and absolutely no worry about installing a custom ROM. Is the 7 Mini one of those phones that you just keep saying to yourself "I know CM would vastly improve my experience with this phone"?
Or should I give up on both phones and hope my Idol lasts a bit longer to see if I can get a really fantastic deal on the full featured Axon 7?

Probably should clarify: I am not by any means a heavy user. I may have a couple apps open at the same time, but I'm not running demanding games or social media apps (unless you count Snapchat as demanding; the Idol cannot handle Snapchat for some reason and it drives me nuts).

the word is that it's just not that great for a $299 phone. Is it great for a $199 phone?
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It depends on what you are looking for. The main reason why the reviews have been complaining is the somewhat weak CPU.
As someone who does not play 3D games on a phone, the performance has been absolutely fine for me.
Just going by the rest of the specs, it is hard to find anything that compares (without heavy compromises) at a $199 price point.
Should I pay the extra $50 and get the Honor 6X
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Hard to tell for me honestly. Just comparing the specs, the Axon has an AMOLED screen and better sound, while the Honor should have better battery life.
I'd go by what features you prefer. (more on that further down)
Is the 7 Mini one of those phones that you just keep saying to yourself "I know CM would vastly improve my experience with this phone"?
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Vastly improved? Not really. Somewhat improved? Definitely yes.
The stock system is not bad, but it has some quirks going against it. (somewhat questionable power management, bad stock UI)
If the Android N update goes well, I don't see that much need for a custom rom. It would of course be great to have, but it's not a deal breaker for me.
Overall pros/cons:
pro:
- beautiful display
- outstanding sound (both speakers and headphones)
- quick charge works very well
subjective pros:
- metal case
- usb type c
- overall great hardware design
meh:
- mediocre battery life (will get you through the day just fine, don't expect anything beyond)
- mediocre performance (will perform everyday tasks just fine, you won't be happy if you want to play demanding games though)
- mediocre camera (I don't really use it, but the pictures are unimpressive)
- updates happen every once in a blue moon, but they do happen
cons:
- no root
- no custom roms
- battery can't be swapped
- bad default UI (just using a different launcher will vastly improve your experience with the phone)

d3cay said:
Aight! Summed up nicely, the screen is actually very qualitative although the UI is a bit messy.. Right, nova or evie launcher change this to the good, honestly this is the phone I'm the most satisfacted with, didn't expect a timeless piece like this, woah! The Nubia Z17 Mini is also very nice!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=is.shortcut
http://www.nubia.com/en/presscenter.php?a=showArticleDetail&id=14
http://m.gsmarena.com/zte_nubia_z17_mini-8615.php
Check these links, nubia 17, better photography (although dslr is the queen) idk yet about the audio chip, will share it if you like. Although on 28nm, 652/653 is a nice improvement!
Screen looks great quality too!
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I came to the mini 7 from a broken Galaxy S6 ($300 to repair it so I figured I'd look at a newer phone). Now that I've got the performance improved (via a soft reset), I'm generally happy with the phone. Admittedly, my S6 was starting to get slow too, it probably also need a reset or cache cleared.
I bought the mini for $199. I think for that price it's a pretty decent phone.
Robnw

The Mini is easy to get for $199, most Best Buy stores stock both colors for that price (they are quite plentiful in the Minneapolis area at least)... For $199 if you don't need Verizon or other CDMA support, it's a pretty solid device.
- The display is beautiful and the sound is something you don't expect for a phone under $500.
- Performance is good for everything but heavy gaming.
- Battery is decent, pretty easy to get a full day with 4.5-5 hours SOT average in mixed LTE/WiFi
- Camera is pretty good and quick, I'll take it over my Moto X Pure edition's 21MP camera any day
- It is a very "premium" feeling phone
- The fingerprint reader is sometimes questionable (my son quite using it because it was so inconsistent, but last few updates it's better)
- MiFavor, the UI, is really disappointing and tries to be too Applish with no app drawer. And there is no usable battery stats in settings?!?!
The custom ROM and root thing is less and less important all the time, personally I don't think it will effect my next decision to get a phone at all. I'm with the previous poster CM might make it a little better, but the stock ROM isn't bad all and it wouldn't make it "amazing" or anything like that.
Add Nova Launcher and GSAM as your first installed apps and it's a good buy at $199, but if it's at $250-$300 I would skip it and get a Moto G5 Plus.
As far as the Honor phones go, I can't stand EMUI... the software ruins what would be an otherwise decent phone. Honor devices are solid hardware, but the software ruins it especially it actively prevents you replacing the launcher or using some other customizations, it's unfortunate they didn't stay with a more simple UI or even stockish Android, they would be a real consideration then.

d3cay said:
meh:
- mediocre camera (I don't really use it, but the pictures are unimpressive)
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Actually the camera is very good! Check my instagram @zteaxon7mini and get impressed by its results
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acejavelin said:
As far as the Honor phones go, I can't stand EMUI... the software ruins what would be an otherwise decent phone. Honor devices are solid hardware, but the software ruins it especially it actively prevents you replacing the launcher or using some other customizations, it's unfortunate they didn't stay with a more simple UI or even stockish Android, they would be a real consideration then.
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Just wanted to say that with EMUi 5.0, their skin has gotten a lot better. And the Honor 6X is getting it in Q2 this year. Also they don't make it difficult to replace the launcher or anything like that. Got an Honor phone for my Mom and girlfriend and I easily got them on Nova Launcher, Android Messages, Gmail, and even the Google phone app (an older version).
In regards to OP, the Honor 6X does seem like an all around better phone, if you can stand their skin. The performance seems to be better (going by reviews), battery life seems to be better, screen quality seems to be similar. I know the Axon is AMOLED and the Honor is IPS LCD, but all of the reviews (and my in person opinion) state that it is a very capable screen, especially for the price. The Axon does have great audio quality, but the Honor seems to have better performance and battery life. The design of the two is quite similar in that it's mostly aluminum with some glass. Also the Honor is currently on a flash sale for the next few days at $220 on Honor's website. So I definitely think it's up to you, but there's another opinion for ya!

Related

[Q] Which phone do you recommend me to upgrade to from a N4?

I have had a nexus 4 for almost 2 years and I like it. Even so it has its negative points, especially after all this time. It's not as responsive as it used to be and battery life, which wasn't stellar to begin with, has decayed a lot. With this in mind I have been searching for a good phone to replace it. I was waiting for the Nexus 6 to come out but when it was officially announced that screen size and the price scared me away.
After the announcement I have been searching and comparing a bunch of phones. I was interested on the OnePlus One but the buying process is a pain in the ass. I checked the S5 but then I remembered it had the infamous Touchwiz which I had already (even though in an earlier incarnation) on a Galaxy Ace I had before the N4 and there was also the fact that it is expensive as hell on my carrier. I also checked the HTC One M8 but the camera resolution seems horrible. I have checked the Sony Xperia line but it is as expensive as the S5 in my carrier and also pretty expensive on sites like Amazon. At last I have been comparing between a Nexus 5 and a LG G3. I know they have almost a year between them but I like the fact that the Nexus 5 is cheap and receives fast updates, although I have heard battery life was not improved very much. And, on the G3's side, it is newer, has better hardware and supposedly has a good battery life(I have heard mixed views on this as some say battery is good while others say it is horrible).
So, to sum it up, I would like to know your opinions and would also like to know if you happen to know some other options I haven't considered.
Thanks and sorry for the long post and if this wasn't the right forum to ask this.
vik-sama said:
So, to sum it up, I would like to know your opinions and would also like to know if you happen to know some other options I haven't considered.
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Look at an LG G2. $400 for a new one, under $300 for a used one in good/mint condition. Beefy 3000mAh battery, very competent hardware, big screen in a not-so-big body, and a good amount of development if you want to try different ROMs/kernels. As cheap, or even cheaper, than a Nexus 5, but with a much bigger battery and better camera. With the G3 out, prices have plummeted on the G2, and have made it a veritable bargain.
The G3 is a hell of a phone. The QHD screen might drain the battery a bit more, but on this phone the battery is replaceable, so just buy a spare if you're worried about that. Not much development yet, but if you buy the T-Mobile version or one with an unlocked bootloader it's easy to root and modify with Xposed, which gives you plenty of options to tweak it to your satisfaction.
Regarding the HTC One's camera - it's not great, but it's not bad either. If all you're wanting to do is post pics to Facebook or internet forums, it's perfectly fine, since pictures will be reduced anyway. Where it suffers is in cropped detailed pics, and stuff like sweeping vistas and anything far away. That aside, the One is an awesome device.
My personal choice from what's available right now would definitely be the HTC One M8. If you don't care a huge deal about the camera then there are very few flaws to it at all. The camera on the M8 will definitely be worse in normal light than most other flagships but the pictures it takes are still far better than those from the N4 and in low light the camera performs better than most, not to mention the fact that it has good autofocus and a myriad of extra features which you may or may not find useful but they're still nice to have. Battery life is excellent, the screen is absolutely gorgeous, Sense brings extra features and (arguably) a nicer design than AOSP whilst retaining excellent performance and the phone is just generally far nicer to use than anything else I've tried.
Look for the Huawei Honor 6.
300$, full LTE, 16GB upgradable with microSD, beautiful 5" HD screen... I'm gonna buy this phone in the next week for replacement of my N4.
I went from a Nexus 4 to a HTC One M8 and hated it, hence why I'm back with my Nexus 4. That said, I'm definitely in the minority.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Upgrade Galaxy S6 for Oneplus 2?

So I'm kind of in a dilemma to get a a Oneplus 2 and selling my Galaxy s6 for it.
Regarding the specs and software experience, do you think that trading my Galaxy S6 for a 64gb Oneplus 2 is a good long-term idea?
I sold my gs6 and got the oneplus 2, no regrets so far. I mainly did it because I don't like touchwiz. I like using close to stock Android software. Battery life on gs6 sucks as well, much better on op2. Build quality is definitely better on the gs6 but aside from that this phone tops it in every way for me.
dzaster89 said:
I sold my gs6 and got the oneplus 2, no regrets so far. I mainly did it because I don't like touchwiz. I like using close to stock Android software. Battery life on gs6 sucks as well, much better on op2. Build quality is definitely better on the gs6 but aside from that this phone tops it in every way for me.
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yeah, even with the COI9 build of the S6, Touchwiz is shiity due to some stutterting with it's UI. If only there would be a CM build for this lol
I'm really in the verge of getting the oneplus 2, but there is also a part of me choosing between the Nexus 6P. what do you think, disregarding the price?
Go for 6P if you don't need dual sim.
Sent from Oneplus Two with Tapatalk
shigi1231 said:
So I'm kind of in a dilemma to get a a Oneplus 2 and selling my Galaxy s6 for it.
Regarding the specs and software experience, do you think that trading my Galaxy S6 for a 64gb Oneplus 2 is a good long-term idea?
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After having the S6, Note 5 and OP2 I would never leave an S6 for an OP2. The only reason I keep the OP2 is for the hope of an official CM build, that's all. If the S6 battery life is too poor for you to put up with THEN I would do it, that's the only reason. I don't like Oxygen OS particularly and after using the S6 the OP2 feels laggy to me. I would download package disabler from the app store for the S6 as it really helps improve battery life. I didn't have a problem with the S6's battery life, especially with quick charge. Obviously it may not meet your needs though since we're all different. Just my two cents.
dc82 said:
After having the S6, Note 5 and OP2 I would never leave an S6 for an OP2. The only reason I keep the OP2 is for the hope of an official CM build, that's all. If the S6 battery life is too poor for you to put up with THEN I would do it, that's the only reason. I don't like Oxygen OS particularly and after using the S6 the OP2 feels laggy to me. I would download package disabler from the app store for the S6 as it really helps improve battery life. I didn't have a problem with the S6's battery life, especially with quick charge. Obviously it may not meet your needs though since we're all different. Just my two cents.
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quite unusual to see from someone that the OP2 is lagging. Anyway, I also have the same reason why I'm considering the OP2 or Nexus 6p, because of the CM or near stock experience. I've recently installed some Custom roms in the S6, that fixed the touchwiz lag but not the ram management. I'm also waiting if there would be AOSP roms for the s6.
shigi1231 said:
quite unusual to see from someone that the OP2 is lagging. Anyway, I also have the same reason why I'm considering the OP2 or Nexus 6p, because of the CM or near stock experience. I've recently installed some Custom roms in the S6, that fixed the touchwiz lag but not the ram management. I'm also waiting if there would be AOSP roms for the s6.
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its very common for oxygenos to be laggy, coming from nexus 5 6.0 update, oxygenos with all this hardware is still no match in smoothness, they have ways to go. of course just waiting for the cyanogenmod to become official then you can kiss the lagg bye bye. tested the beta, and it is fantastic. hydrogenos is currently faster and almost lag free compared to oxygen.
xtachix said:
its very common for oxygenos to be laggy, coming from nexus 5 6.0 update, oxygenos with all this hardware is still no match in smoothness, they have ways to go. of course just waiting for the cyanogenmod to become official then you can kiss the lagg bye bye. tested the beta, and it is fantastic. hydrogenos is currently faster and almost lag free compared to oxygen.
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I have the latest OOS installed + AK kernel v15, and I see no lag whatsoever. Browsing through the UI is as smooth as it can get + battery life is amazing.
I did just that ,today is my first day with the oneplus 2 .I cant get over how heavy it is !.battery life seems a little better but I am not getting 4G which might be contributing to the battery life .I have to say that the S6 feels far more polished than the OPT over all ,the OPT reminds me of the days when I used custom ROMs where you encounter a few glitches here and there (not connecting to my wifi for instance ).
shigi1231 said:
So I'm kind of in a dilemma to get a a Oneplus 2 and selling my Galaxy s6 for it.
Regarding the specs and software experience, do you think that trading my Galaxy S6 for a 64gb Oneplus 2 is a good long-term idea?
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Click to collapse
The GS6 has one of the best camera's available on any phone today, but the OP2 isn't that far behind (with some software improvements it could potentially equal it). If you hate Touchwiz as much as I do, then trade it in. If you don't, then don't.. Because the GS6 is truly a fantastic device if you like a phone that just works. It's basically the iPhone of Android devices.
zaki67 said:
I did just that ,today is my first day with the oneplus 2 .I cant get over how heavy it is !.battery life seems a little better but I am not getting 4G which might be contributing to the battery life .I have to say that the S6 feels far more polished than the OPT over all ,the OPT reminds me of the days when I used custom ROMs where you encounter a few glitches here and there (not connecting to my wifi for instance ).
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If you can live without a fingerprint scanner for a while you should give Exodus a try. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
shigi1231 said:
quite unusual to see from someone that the OP2 is lagging. Anyway, I also have the same reason why I'm considering the OP2 or Nexus 6p, because of the CM or near stock experience. I've recently installed some Custom roms in the S6, that fixed the touchwiz lag but not the ram management. I'm also waiting if there would be AOSP roms for the s6.
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It's actually not unusual at all. Use literally any other current flagship phone and then go back to the OP2. Stock vs stock it's noticeable. I'd wait till the S6 gets marshmallow to make your determination if you can. Hardware-wise I think the S6 is better and that being the case, you can update software but you can't change hardware.
I hear there was a new update for the camera of the OP2 fixing the auto laser focus with filming videos
How's the display of the device? Is the 1080P LCD display not that farfetched from SUPERAMOLED?
Considering the SoCs of both Nexus 6P and OP2, do you think that the 64gb (with 4 gb of ram) would provide more RAW power than the nexus 6p?
I went from GS6 to a oneplus 2. I originally kept the GS6 and sold the Oneplus 2, but later changed my mind and bought a new Oneplus 2. (I don't understand all the whining about not being able to buy one!)
Here is why:
My main complaint regarding the OP2 is its size. The S6 is sleek and lightweight. When it comes to having one of the two in a pocket...I much prefer the size of the S6. But, phones aren't made for sitting in our pockets, are they? Also, I find the vibrating motor on the OP2 is lower quality than the one on the S6 and so I leave it turned off because it annoys me. The vibrating seems to slow down the use of the keyboard to me as well. I also don't find the quality of accessories like cases to be as good for OP2 as the GS6.
On the other hand:
I don't mind the lack of NFC because I don't keep a phone unrooted long enough to use Android Pay anyway. I think Oneplus realized most of it's users would be in that boat. I also don't mind the lack of quickcharging because I just plug in my phone everynight and I have a 15,000mAh battery charger that bought just in case, but I have used exactly 0 times. Despite all of the horror stories on these forums, I have stock Oxygen and stock kernel and get to the end of every day with about 75% charge left.
I think the TW on GS6 is fine, but I honestly prefer the stock experience. I found the camera on the GS6 to be better, but I would ALWAYS choose my DSLR for any serious video or photo of either and I don't find it $150 dollars better (The actual price difference if you watch for deals on websites such as Slickdeals).
I hear all sorts of whining about the quality of the hardware being less on Oneplus 2, but in the past half year I have owned 3 GS6 devices and two of them had to be sent in for RMA warranty. I have owned 2 Oneplus 2's and they were both without any faults. Also, if you think that Oneplus has software issues, you should see all the whining over on the S6 forums about the software problems. Samsung is arguably the most advanced android maker out there and still regularly have software issues! Samsung does not support the Dev community and takes every action to prevent any software modification (Ever heard of a Knox?). Oneplus has limitations on what they are able to provide the community with regard to drivers, but does what it can.
I used the fancy features like heartbeat sensor and pulse ox a total of once just out of curiosity...never found a need to use it ever again. The same goes for the remote control. It is a neat feature, but I would prefer to use my regular remote.
I also can't see the point in using Android Pay because it seems like half of all retailers out there still make me pull out my wallet to show my ID. Basically, at this point the Android Pay is about the same level of novelty as a 4k screen on a 40 inch TV and I'm fine without it. I can't drive anywhere without my wallet because it has my license, so I might as well carry a card in there too. If I go to a restaurant, I'm not going to hand a $400 to $650 device to the waiter to pay for my food.... With all of it's limitations, Android Pay just isn't THAT much of a convenience. So, I will choose to root my phone and do without out it whether the device has NFC or not.
The GS6 Super OLED is beautiful, but comes with drawbacks. One main problem is that they suffer from burn-in. I had one device that I couldn't stand using because it developed a severe burn in from having a background similar to the "never settle" on the OP2 that left words visible on the back of the device. The burn in occurred after a couple days of heavy use of the device and was permanent. Samsung will not fix that problem on warranty...they see it as your fault. IPS does not have this problem. With regard to battery use I don't think that the benefits of OLED outweigh the significantly larger battery on the OP2. Also, I should mention that I have a smartwatch so I could care less about features like having alerts popup on the display, but I doubt that this really consumes a lot more energy on the IPS displays than the OLED displays. I believe that more energy is probably being consumed in the wakelock anyway from those sort of events and really don't want my screen turning on to tell me about new alerts either way. I saw a fancy graph somewhere about how OLED really doesn't use that much less energy compared to IPS with LED anyway, and can actually use more in certain cicumstances.
I find that the larger real estate of the 5.5 inch screen on the OP2 is a better size compared to the S6 in my experience and don't appreciate any decrease in quality in the 1080p vs 2k.
The S6 and Oneplus 2 are both pretty lag-free experiences. I do like having the 64gb of space compared to the 32 on my S6, but the OP2 seems to run with about 2GB or RAM free, so the 4GB or RAM is probably overkill. The S6 on the otherhand is bloated beyond belief and uses every bit of the 3GB of RAM. Anyone who has spent time on the S6 part of xda has seen tons of complaints about this. Meanwhile, OOS isn't perfect, but it does remain a bloat free experience.
Importantly, the dev support for OP2 is much better and we really owe these guys like Grarak and AK for all their hard work. Dev support for the S6 is very limited. CM will probably never be available for the S6 because it uses the Exynos.
I never had a problem with using the physical home button on the S6, but after using the home button on the OP2, I found that I was annoyed everytime I had to actually press down on that physical button on the S6. I don't know why, but it really bugged me.
dc82 said:
After having the S6, Note 5 and OP2 I would never leave an S6 for an OP2. The only reason I keep the OP2 is for the hope of an official CM build, that's all. If the S6 battery life is too poor for you to put up with THEN I would do it, that's the only reason. I don't like Oxygen OS particularly and after using the S6 the OP2 feels laggy to me. I would download package disabler from the app store for the S6 as it really helps improve battery life. I didn't have a problem with the S6's battery life, especially with quick charge. Obviously it may not meet your needs though since we're all different. Just my two cents.
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I was pretty much going to say the same thing said here......So I'll just +1 this.
Ok, I have to say a little more...
I like my OP2, the build is nice and it's a premium looking phone.....But I've only had it a month and have had several small, annoying bugs pop up over that time and a couple that required a full factory reset. I had my S6 for a couple months and had no real issues. I almost feel the OP2's software wasn't ready for release, but they went ahead and released it anyways. As bloated as the S6 is, it's a smooth and snappy user experience IMO. TouchWiz has really slimmed down from the S3 days too and I actually liked it as well as my go-to launcher, Nova. I hate saying that, because I generally don't like big corporate companies like Samsung, but they don't have one of the most popular phones in the world for no reason. But for the money, I was willing to take a chance on the OP2 as I'm sure development will be better in a few months and even the stock ROM will become more stable over time.
To what I see from everyone I think I can deduce like this:
Oneplus 2: DEV FRIENDLY (i cant emphasis enough how this is very important to me lol), can go toe to toe with the Exynos chip, better stock experience (Cyanogenmod is coming quickly), due to camera software updates OP2 camera is decent, build quality is premium, battery is good, better RAM
Galaxy S6: build is super premium but can be so greasy due to the glass back and front, Exynos chip is good, TouchWiz is decent, NFC, wireless charging, QHD but can be a set back due to battery
The S6 has been months out now, and it would seem there are no Developers working or at least having good progress on a AOSP rom.
tele_jas said:
I was pretty much going to say the same thing said here......So I'll just +1 this.
Ok, I have to say a little more...
I like my OP2, the build is nice and it's a premium looking phone.....But I've only had it a month and have had several small, annoying bugs pop up over that time and a couple that required a full factory reset. I had my S6 for a couple months and had no real issues. I almost feel the OP2's software wasn't ready for release, but they went ahead and released it anyways. As bloated as the S6 is, it's a smooth and snappy user experience IMO. TouchWiz has really slimmed down from the S3 days too and I actually liked it as well as my go-to launcher, Nova. I hate saying that, because I generally don't like big corporate companies like Samsung, but they don't have one of the most popular phones in the world for no reason. But for the money, I was willing to take a chance on the OP2 as I'm sure development will be better in a few months and even the stock ROM will become more stable over time.
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OK, I like the OP2 a lot.....for the money. It's a great phone for the money. You can't spend this "little" and expect a lot more. The screen is NOWHERE near as good as any recent AMOLED. To anyone claiming burn in is still an issue, I say that's overblown. I've had more phones than I care to even admit to and I've had burn in only once. That was with the N6 and that was an older Samsung panel. The op2 screen looks nice enough with no other phone as a reference. Put it next to any recent samsung and you see how washed out the OP2 panel looks. That being said. This phone is NOT a flagship killer, its simply a really, REALLY good phone...for the money. If this phone made by Samsung ppl would be up in arms about its shortcomings. But bc its made by an obscure Chinese company that makes ridiculous marketing claims we all buy in to a degree. Again, I love the phone. It's great..for the money. Don't expect perfection and you'll be happy with it.
dc82 said:
OK, I like the OP2 a lot.....for the money. It's a great phone for the money. You can't spend this "little" and expect a lot more. The screen is NOWHERE near as good as any recent AMOLED. To anyone claiming burn in is still an issue, I say that's overblown. I've had more phones than I care to even admit to and I've had burn in only once. That was with the N6 and that was an older Samsung panel. The op2 screen looks nice enough with no other phone as a reference. Put it next to any recent samsung and you see how washed out the OP2 panel looks. That being said. This phone is NOT a flagship killer, its simply a really, REALLY good phone...for the money. If this phone made by Samsung ppl would be up in arms about its shortcomings. But bc its made by an obscure Chinese company that makes ridiculous marketing claims we all buy in to a degree. Again, I love the phone. It's great..for the money. Don't expect perfection and you'll be happy with it.
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I just RMA'ed a S6 with burn in and got my replacement today which I plan to sell. So, it still happens and on my device it didn't take much. I hadn't had any problems with any of my prior AMOLED screens I would have agreed with you, but I used a background pic from the S6 promotional material that said "Six Appeal". After removing the background I could see the words any time I had a grey or white background... such as anytime I used XDA. Fortunately for me, the phone had a camera defect and I was able to RMA it. Regarding the burn in, they basically just said "too bad". Considering I just finished dealing with the issue, this is probably why I am so sensitive to it being a concern.
BTW, as mentioned, I have both phones and think the S6 screen is only minimally better after adjusting screen settings on the OP2. I have both of them in front of me right now. I will say, the default screen settings for the OP2 don't help the first impression and I originally thought it was very washed out comparatively.
As a point of mention just for anyone out there new to the technologies: burn in will always be a potential design risk with AMOLED technology. As any pixel is used it will wear ever so slightly. The rate of wear may improve in future generations, but the wear itself is an inherent part of the technology. The good news is that if you are careful, you can probably avoid the problem for the most part. Static parts of the screen with high contrast like the top bar are at risk because they often have the same pixels being used.
Also, "Super AMOLED" isn't actually any better than an AMOLED from the standpoint of screen quality. It is just Samsung's made up term for when they fuse a digitizer into the display vs having it as a separate layer. The underlying display is still the same.
Silvers91 said:
I have the latest OOS installed + AK kernel v15, and I see no lag whatsoever. Browsing through the UI is as smooth as it can get + battery life is amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same installed, a stock nexus 5 with the official 6.0 firmware is much smoother. you'd say the UI is lag free, for the most part that's true, but once you open an app it takes a bit of time for the app to actually load, where in android 6.0 of nexus 5 you don't see that. none the less, the phone is fantastic, just needs some more working on before they can actually call it a well built stock firmware.
xtachix said:
I have the same installed, a stock nexus 5 with the official 6.0 firmware is much smoother. you'd say the UI is lag free, for the most part that's true, but once you open an app it takes a bit of time for the app to actually load, where in android 6.0 of nexus 5 you don't see that. none the less, the phone is fantastic, just needs some more working on before they can actually call it a well built stock firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you, I had a Nexus 5 but I sold it right before Marshmallow was released for it, but even with 5.1.1 it was smooth as hell, I'm yet to see a phone that is as smooth as the Nexus 5.. OnePlus 2 just needs some time to get the right software, it was only released 3 months ago anyway.
Silvers91 said:
I agree with you, I had a Nexus 5 but I sold it right before Marshmallow was released for it, but even with 5.1.1 it was smooth as hell, I'm yet to see a phone that is as smooth as the Nexus 5.. OnePlus 2 just needs some time to get the right software, it was only released 3 months ago anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed, OP needs to completely debloat their software, make it completely stock, optimize it, then add extra features to it. a rom that's 1.1GB in size tells you quite a lot vs the cyanogenmod .4GB. They need to take it from ground up to even match cyanogenmod in terms of performance and UI experience. I mean look at nexus 5, no matter what rom you put in it, the stock one was always better, smoother UI, better performance, at one point installing a custom kernel made the phone unstable and killed battery life faster.
right off the bat, OP2 users started installing AK kernel to eliminate lagg issues and battery life issues. What does that tell us? the underlying software is not very good, the kernel probably does lots of wasteful debugging and 2 cores almost always offline. The idea is there, but the implementation of the idea seems like to have "workarounds" rather than actual redesigning of the code to coop with the ROM's needs. I mean no one even bothered to create a custom ROM based on the official ROM. The first things that came out for the nexus was the custom ROM based on the official sources.
I'm sorry OP2, but nexus 5 was the real flagship killer, I still have the phone (though had to replace the power button). battery life was good for me, lasted 17-20 hours. Hopefully OP can start to understand that user requests and bug reports should not be worked with using the "workaround" style, but instead to fix issues from the foundation of the ROM, optimize it then release it. Maybe they can release a lightweight version, or a stock AOSP version with everything functional. CM will probably beat them to it at this rate.

Long term Pixel opinion?

What's your opinion of this phone now that it's been out for more than six months?
Build quality, development, etc.
Compared to previous phones or compared to whatever your expectations might have been.
Me?
I'm sorry to say that I wish I never left my Moto X Pure with BrokenOS' MarshMallow ROM.
Pixel is great though, in many ways.
It was a much needed update from my aging Nexus 6.
Was briefly contemplating iPhone, but stuck with the Pixel.
Overall, I love the camera, the battery is a champ, and so far I feel no need or want to modify the device.
I think google did well with this one.
Let's hope LG doesn't botch the next one.
LoopLoopLoopLoop
CZ Eddie said:
What's your opinion of this phone now that it's been out for more than six months?
Build quality, development, etc.
Compared to previous phones or compared to whatever your expectations might have been.
Me?
I'm sorry to say that I wish I never left my Moto X Pure with BrokenOS' MarshMallow ROM.
Pixel is great though, in many ways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the cherry ? bomb. Like all my Google phones.
Unprecedented battery life.
Fast as Lightning (Especially w/sdcardfs)
No cracks or damage.
Best reception I have ever had.
Extremely challenging to hack. Very easy once you have the slots and Google stops playing games. Lol
Speaker sucks. But I can live with it.
Never have and never will buy anything but a Google phone.
I can go on and on.....
BTW Moto Rocks!
I came from an S5 so anything would have been an upgrade for me. So this thing is screaming fast to me
I bought the phone after I had to send my Note 7 back. I liked it, but didn't keep it long. I've been through a few different phones in the meantime, but finally came back. It's faster than any phone I've used, and still feels really solid, and good in the hand
I came from a N6 as well. I miss the stereo speakers and the bigger screen size of the N6.
The positives of Pixel are the speed, battery life and the general smoothness of the phone.
The cons are pathetic speakers (What was google thinking?), huge bezels (which I find hard to digest coming from a lesser bezel N6) and the lack of development. On my N6 I had flashed almost 10 custom ROMs at different times.
There is hardly much choice for Pixel XL other than a handful ROMs. Perhaps the high price of the phone and the slot rigmarole turns off developers here.
I'm happy with the Pixel , but it was close to $900 and I just feel that I did not get my money's worth. That said, I can't deal with non-Google phones. Was thinking about a One Plus 5, but that's about it. Hopefully Google does something nicer with Pixel XL2.
I love stock Android and EAS is the best thing to happen to Android but..
Just can't justify the price for what you get. I'm a big Audio guy and the speaker is worst I've heard along with 3.5mm jack just sounds awful..
have to run an External DAC to make up for the poor quality
Video recording seems a bit meh blury/grainy no matter what I can't take a clear video unless it's in direct sunlight and then have to deal with the *Lense Flare* another pain in the ass
Rest of the phone is good
Development it's pretty much none existent seems like if you want roms/kernel's either stick with a 6P or OnePlus/Other China device
But I feel like it should of been priced at same as the 6P $440 we only got minor improvements nothing "WOW" to make up for the $300 extra..
I guess we paid for that "Made By Google" bs marketing. Also was never in stock anywhere + the hardware issues drove people away lets hope HTC isn't making again so we can have a great launch and hopefully bring people back :good:
liam_davenport said:
I love stock Android and EAS is the best thing to happen to Android but..
Just can't justify the price for what you get. I'm a big Audio guy and the speaker is worst I've heard along with 3.5mm jack just sounds awful..
have to run an External DAC to make up for the poor quality
Video recording seems a bit meh blury/grainy no matter what I can't take a clear video unless it's in direct sunlight and then have to deal with the *Lense Flare* another pain in the ass
Rest of the phone is good
Development it's pretty much none existent seems like if you want roms/kernel's either stick with a 6P or OnePlus/Other China device
But I feel like it should of been priced at same as the 6P $440 we only got minor improvements nothing "WOW" to make up for the $300 extra..
I guess we paid for that "Made By Google" bs marketing. Also was never in stock anywhere + the hardware issues drove people away lets hope HTC isn't making again so we can have a great launch and hopefully bring people back :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do miss the value days of the Nexus program. Minus Shamu of course. That was expensive. When I bought those Nexus, I felt like I was getting an incredible value for a smartphone.
Here is something I truly value and want everyone to think about.
How much is it worth to us for,
Monthly security updates
Major OS upgrades for two years
Bugfixes along the way
I'll tell you by saying what I've chosen as my daily driver and where my SIM card is and what's in my pocket right now. I've had marlin since Nov '16 and iPhone 7 plus since Jan '17. The marlin is in my pocket right now. The iPhone 7 plus is a great device (iMessages, waterproof) but the reason I love android is the ability to modify (stock or ROM-root-kernel) and access to that SD Card. Otherwise the 2 are pretty much equal as to camera, battery, speed, smoothness, response to touches, etc. at least in my perception. So, obviously I'm very pleased with marlin since I prefer it to a very popular alternative. Had a Samsung Galaxy S7 in early 2016 but sold it after 2 months, Pixel much better device to me.
iamjimmy said:
I came from a N6 as well. I miss the stereo speakers and the bigger screen size of the N6.
The positives of Pixel are the speed, battery life and the general smoothness of the phone.
The cons are pathetic speakers (What was google thinking?), huge bezels (which I find hard to digest coming from a lesser bezel N6) and the lack of development. On my N6 I had flashed almost 10 custom ROMs at different times.
There is hardly much choice for Pixel XL other than a handful ROMs. Perhaps the high price of the phone and the slot rigmarole turns off developers here.
I'm happy with the Pixel , but it was close to $900 and I just feel that I did not get my money's worth. That said, I can't deal with non-Google phones. Was thinking about a One Plus 5, but that's about it. Hopefully Google does something nicer with Pixel XL2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed 100%. Thats why i skipped this one looking forward to the next one. For the price it must have stereo speaker, better audio, water resist, better design and quality. Oh and wireless charging. Then i will jump right in.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Six month user here. And my main complaint for the Pixel remains exactly same as it was back when I bought it. The sudden freezing problem. Just out of nowhere the screen freezes for a second or two, if I am playing a game, then its done, simply over, have to restart, and I can't express how much I hate that. Of course its most noticeable/affecting while gaming, but it happens basically everywhere too, but just less frustrating in other places.
I was advised to format the phone, not root it and blah blah but exact same happened there too, without installing any apps at all! Ridiculous problem and IMHO the most annoying issue Pixels have.
Other than this, I don't know, sometimes the low light photos come with a really weird greenish cast, completely off coloured and way too much noise (yeah with HDR+ On, that's the only one I use anyway) etc.
But other than these two, I have no complaints. Tremendous call quality, more than acceptable display (though still no Apple!), excellent GPS (though Google Maps says to calibrate compass every now and then), buttery smooth interface all around most times, at max volume the loudspeaker is excellent (though at half volume it can't be heard and equally ****e!), really low SAR value etc., I am contemplating the U11 now, just for the sound and camera, but if I don't go that route I am gonna keep this phone for at least two years, and the maximum I have ever used a mobile phone was for 15 months, the Galaxy S2 back in the days, should suffice what I think about this phone.
I also have the OnePlus 3 in office, and I know some people compare it and I can say its basically Guava vs Apples comparison.
PS: Sorry didn't comment about development, but I honestly don't care much about it at all. I bought the Pixel so that I won't be needing the optimise it, let Google optimise it for me, and they did a fairly decent job, but after using Franco kernel I can say Google could have done a much better job. So that's all I need, a custom kernel.
coming from Samsung and LG devices, this phone has been a breath of fresh air even with this new partition scheme. Phone does well, battery life holds up for two days. I just have an issue with bluetooth not consistently sending music info to my radio. Some days it works, other days it's like what music info...
It's great and definitely a worthy upgrade from my Nexus 6. The only thing I miss is the front facing speakers but I didn't use them much anyways, well that and I guess it's way more slippery than my Nexus 6 because I don't use cases at all.
Couldn't be happier. Presently have a 7 Plus and the XL that I swap my sim between. IPhone is great in many ways but I just keep coming back to the Pixel XL....something about the experience I get using it that I really enjoy.
As for the other characteristics of the device others have already commented. I purchased mine at launch and received it later October.
I currently have the Nexus 6P. Damn that is a nice phone! I'm seriously doubting anything will "crush" this phones performance. But I decided I wanted to move up to the Pixel XL. I'm a decent Android gamer, so the updated GPU was nice. Plus, the camera is supposedly just that much better. Among other things, like 4GB RAM instead of the 6P's 3GB.
I don't receive the Pixel XL until Monday, so I'm wearing a path through my foyer, pacing back and forth, waiting for it to arrive.
I've spent at LEAST 30 hours this week doing research on the Pixel, its partition layout, how to get root to work, TWRP limitations, etc. This is certainly more complicated than the 6P.
Part of the reason I decided to plop down for the Pixel, was because I didn't see a lot of development going for it, as there is for the 6P. And since people seem to like my ROMs, I figured I'd toss something out there that I made, and see what kind of life it can breathe into the Pixel.
I think I'll like it. Tried it out in-hand at BestBuy yesterday. Solid device, great screen, color accuracy is actually better than the 6P, and for the first time, I kind of like the phone WITHOUT a case! Never though I'd say that.
I've used iPhones since the 3GS up until the 6S Plus (all jailbroken). I decided to try out the Nexus 6P (first ever Android phone) and fell in love with it! Custom ROMs, kernels, tweaks, Xposed, etc. were all new to me and I loved every bit of it!
However, for some reason, I decided to sell it and pick up an iPhone 7 Plus when it released. As iOS matured, security got tighter, and jailbreaking became more difficult. I got tired of waiting for a jailbreak to release and realized how locked down the OS is (when not jailbroken) compared to Android.
I sold my 7 Plus and bought this Pixel XL. I wasn't a huge fan at first, just because of the confusion with the slots and the lack of development​ compared to the 6P.
Now that there is more development and that I understand the slots better, I'm really enjoying this phone!
Overall, if I had the choice, I would still probably pick the 6P over this; that thing was just a beauty in basically every aspect, and it was the phone that first introduced me into the Android world.
Not a huge fan of the single downfiring speaker or the bottom chin, but otherwise it's a great phone, especially the camera!
I'm going to see what the OnePlus 5 has to offer, and may switch to that - but I'll definitely keep this XL around until the 2nd gen Pixels release. I'll be purchasing the second gen Pixels only if Google allows them to be development friendly like how the Nexus line was. If not, I may make a permanent switch over to the OnePlus line.
CZ Eddie said:
What's your opinion of this phone now that it's been out for more than six months?
Build quality, development, etc.
Compared to previous phones or compared to whatever your expectations might have been.
Me?
I'm sorry to say that I wish I never left my Moto X Pure with BrokenOS' MarshMallow ROM.
Pixel is great though, in many ways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I had the LG G6, S8+, and I sent the G6 back and sold the S8+. The pixel was snappier than both, better camera than both which is a great feature having and outstanding camera, and more reliable than both. I like stock Android, clean, fast, stable. I like being able to unlock and do what I want with my phone when I want and still have the same snappiness, camera quality, and reliability on custom ROMs. Most times you sacrifice things to go custom. Not with Google devices, Nexus, Pixel, etc. I still have it since released and can't see getting rid of it any time soon. Ya, maybe people thinking of OnePlus 5, but I also had the 3 and 3T and one thing I hated about that is when using anything custom, the camera was horrible, BT for me had issues, and other little nags. All in all, this is definitely my go to device and I've had many.
I give it a C+
After having the Pixel XL since I returned the Note 7 (Best phone I've ever owned IMO), There are issues with it that really bug me.
- For one, Youtube stutters and desyncs the audio from the video almost every video I watch, and I watch a lot of YT.
- Second, the bluetooth does not sync right in my Audi, and every 15 minutes it sounds like a modem for like 20 seconds and reconnects. It also doesn't know what to do on voice calls and frequently bounce back and forth between car speakers, and phone speaker mode, so I just turn it off for voice or Hangouts/Meet calls in the car.
- Third, the battery life has been dwindling over time, so I charge twice a day now. Yes, I'm a power user and need at least 6-8 hours of screen on time per day. That being said the phone charging speed is ridiculously fast. I can charge at least 50% in 30 minutes.
- The speakers are crap, and the audio jack doesn't give me enough volume. The setting between say 60-65% volume is way too loud, so the volume curve is not good.
-As a pro, the Camera is excellent, even in low light if you know what you're doing. The video, if you use the auto stability is crap so just don't use it.
The phone does stutter, and take a while sometimes. I am using the stock ROM, and have made no modifications to the file system or home screen at all. As is, this phone is average, so for the price, not worth it. I do have the Verizon version, and not sure if that makes a difference. Can't wait for the Note 8 to come out.
I've had mine since November and still love it. I came from the G7 edge which I was quite fond of as well. The following are the good things that keep me on the Pixel.
- Camera, for stills easily the best available. Wish the EIS didn't cause the jello effect when panning while video recording, but nonetheless I've been quite pleased with the camcorder as well.
- Software, clean, simple, fluid and robust. I am on stock unrooted. I reboot my phone once a month for updates and the phone never lags, gets janky or develops issues requiring a reboot. Additionally, the speed of updates means I'm always up to date with the most secure version​ of Android available.
I've had my Pixel XL 128gb since launch. I came from a Note 7, so was very challenging to get used to having a very lean software base which didn't offer many features in comparison to the Samsung series. I missed many software features from the Note 7.
The thing that gets me the most, is that I was already bored of the device 6 months in. I usually hold onto a phone for 12-24 months. The Note 4 I held onto for the longest time (24months). I enjoyed it as there were both android OS updates, and touchwiz updates, so it constantly got a new lease to life looking fresh or having new features. 8 months on and the Pixel looks exactly the same, with no updates.
I also feel that the design looked dated when I bought it, but it now is really showing it's age with the HUGE bezels. I have also struggled to find any good screen protectors (I've tried them all) as they don't sit properly. The phone is huge with a smaller screen than most phones this price/size.
It's got the worst bluetooth of any phone I have every owned, partly down to Android but also to the Pixel.
Had a lot more ROM options for Samsung, being that you can go Note 4 roms, Note 5 roms, Note 7 roms, AOSP builds, CM, MIUI. I feel like the Pixel has AOSP, stock. That's it really. They are all the same with very minor changes.
Otherwise it's mostly buttery smooth - although i'm constantly keeping my eye out for a new phone, so could be the shortest period I have owned a phone for.

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 Nokia 8, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Nokia 8 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Got the phone yesterday and what can I say, it's an amazing phone.
Great to hold, the screen is world class, the camera's are fast and produce quality photo's even in low light.
The speed is amazing.
As for updates, it's had one already.
Highly recommended.
I've had the update just show up now - im installing it as we speak.
What are you comparing it to?
Great phone, but no native gallery or music apps? Ok, it is a pure android but still...
thETImo said:
Great phone, but no native gallery or music apps? Ok, it is a pure android but still...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Photos and Google Play Music.. Photos wants to upload everything to cloud, you can say no or just upload it if you are ok with cloud. Haven't checked if you get unlimited Google Photos space with this like you get with Nexus. Google Play Music will automatically add stuff you put into Music folder in the phone. Tested with few .flac files and they automatically appeared in Play Music.
Nokia 8
Pros :
Build quality
Display.. The best in price segment
Processor and and no lag at all
Pricing
Brand image
Doesn't get heated even after heavy usage
Cons:
Camera app
May be design is not 2017 model
One thing worried me from the reviews and that was the accuracy and speed of the fingerprint sensor which was supposed to be poor. Coming from an HTC 10 with an excellent sensor I was concerned. I've been glad to find the review opinions is absolute hogwash. The Nokia sensor is every bit as accurate and fast as you'd expect it to be in a flagship.
Really want to get the Nokia 8, can someone coming from the Galaxy S6 tell me two things
1. How does the camera compare to the S6
2. In the Galaxy s6 there is a private mode where some notes and pictures are hidden from view. Is there a similar facility in the Nokia 8, not interested in a different app for this.
mitchst2 said:
One thing worried me from the reviews and that was the accuracy and speed of the fingerprint sensor which was supposed to be poor. Coming from an HTC 10 with an excellent sensor I was concerned. I've been glad to find the review opinions is absolute hogwash. The Nokia sensor is every bit as accurate and fast as you'd expect it to be in a flagship.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have both HTC10 and N8 and fingerprint sensor on HTC is a bit faster and snapier.
As for my personal opinion about N8:
Superb build quality and overall specs. Camera is a bit dated but we will see what will upcoming updates bring. Pure android experience after coming from device like HTC M7, 10 is really meeeh. Lack of configuration, stock apps are just really simple. No weather app preinstalled. Google calendar is a complete **** as far as UI goes comparing to aftermarket solutions. Stock google dialer and contacts are also unimpressive.
Stock N8 launcher is also meh so I bought Nova couple of minutes after playing with the phone.
Hidden option to show percentage batter is a joke, you need to have magnifying glass to see the values *inside* the battery icon, lol.
So far the biggest drawback is lack of screen color calibration and night mode. This should be included in any moder phone. N8 screen should be a little warmer.
Overall I am really happy with this phone and my family member is happy even more. She can get used to all things that I consider drawbacks. If it would not be for a lack of out of the box config options I would actualy rate N8 higher that my beloved HTC10 which I consider one of the best devices ever made for my personal preferences like build quality, finger sensor on the front and hardware buttons below the screen.
cavist said:
I have both HTC10 and N8 and fingerprint sensor on HTC is a bit faster and snapier.
As for my personal opinion about N8:
Superb build quality and overall specs. Camera is a bit dated but we will see what will upcoming updates bring. Pure android experience after coming from device like HTC M7, 10 is really meeeh. Lack of configuration, stock apps are just really simple. No weather app preinstalled. Google calendar is a complete **** as far as UI goes comparing to aftermarket solutions. Stock google dialer and contacts are also unimpressive.
Stock N8 launcher is also meh so I bought Nova couple of minutes after playing with the phone.
Hidden option to show percentage batter is a joke, you need to have magnifying glass to see the values *inside* the battery icon, lol.
So far the biggest drawback is lack of screen color calibration and night mode. This should be included in any moder phone. N8 screen should be a little warmer.
Overall I am really happy with this phone and my family member is happy even more. She can get used to all things that I consider drawbacks. If it would not be for a lack of out of the box config options I would actualy rate N8 higher that my beloved HTC10 which I consider one of the best devices ever made for my personal preferences like build quality, finger sensor on the front and hardware buttons below the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm the opposite I prefer the pure experience. On both HTC one and 10 I ran stockish custom ROMs to keep os up to date because let's face HTC didn't. That's my hope for Nokia that maybe just maybe I won't need to do that.
I never bothered with updating every month since I was and still am running custom roms on my HTC10 and previous devices so I just wait patiently for new update and switch every 2-3 update. I think if I would run stock, for me it would be enough to have only one update before switching to new Android version. I really do not care about the monthly security updates just because I am ignorant and do not feel compromised. Having phone memory and storage encrypted + password locked device on boot and lockscreen is enough security. So I do not bash HTC for being slow and lazy with updates.
But I completely understand people, who would want to have updates as often as possible and that is why Nokia is a better choice. It is faster to update stock android rather than branded one like with HTC and optional carrier branding.
cavist said:
I never bothered with updating every month since I was and still am running custom roms on my HTC10 and previous devices so I just wait patiently for new update and switch every 2-3 update. I think if I would run stock, for me it would be enough to have only one update before switching to new Android version. I really do not care about the monthly security updates just because I am ignorant and do not feel compromised. Having phone memory and storage encrypted + password locked device on boot and lockscreen is enough security. So I do not bash HTC for being slow and lazy with updates.
But I completely understand people, who would want to have updates as often as possible and that is why Nokia is a better choice. It is faster to update stock android rather than branded one like with HTC and optional carrier branding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my opinion HTC needed to commit to the monthly updates. For me being stuck on June update in November on last year's flagship was the last straw. Too many major security flaws in that period being left unpatched. HTC themselves made a point of being near stock for fast updates then failed to deliver. Google will eventually take over fully.
I've had the phone for 2 days. My first powerful Android phone, upgrading from BB bold 9000. So I might be biased. The overall experience is good.
So in the UK the Nokia 8 was £400, absolute bargain for a phone with THAT processor and THAT screen. But Nokia was still an unknown quantity with android. In the end I decided to buy the Nokia 8 with a 14 day exchange policy. It was too good of a price to pass over and I ain't letting Samsung and iPhone rob me for £600 plus.
The best thing is the pure stock android and overall performance it really is as fast as any android phone except the Pixel 2. Battery was good enough; you have to consider that there's that 2k screen. The 2k screen looks great for an LCD although there's really no need for 2k if it's at the expense of battery life. But yeah the pros of this phone are definitely the screen quality and performance.
On to the bad stuff. First thing I didn't like are the dimensions of the phone; I've used bigger phones but this doesn't feel right in the hand, too wide for the height imo. Next thing is the camera, I don't care for the extra stuff I just want a good point and shoot camera; this phone sucks in that regard. Really slow and really underwhelming quality considering how it was marketed. Next, the fingerprint sensor. It's just too small and it led to it misreading enough to become frustrating. Even when it reads my fingerprint it unlocks much slower than the competition. This the deal breaker for me. The quick glance screen was very basic, only showed text and call notifications no WhatsApp notifications I dunno it just annoyed me.
In the end I returned the phone and paid 100 extra to get the Pixel 2, absolutely outstanding phone but that's for another review.
To conclude the Nokia 8 is a very underrated phone and provides great value for money. But I wanted a phone that I can use for the next 2-3 years without frustration and Nokia just didn't do it for me.
junaidmatlub1 said:
So in the UK the Nokia 8 was £400, absolute bargain for a phone with THAT processor and THAT screen. But Nokia was still an unknown quantity with android. In the end I decided to buy the Nokia 8 with a 14 day exchange policy. It was too good of a price to pass over and I ain't letting Samsung and iPhone rob me for £600 plus.
The best thing is the pure stock android and overall performance it really is as fast as any android phone except the Pixel 2. Battery was good enough; you have to consider that there's that 2k screen. The 2k screen looks great for an LCD although there's really no need for 2k if it's at the expense of battery life. But yeah the pros of this phone are definitely the screen quality and performance.
On to the bad stuff. First thing I didn't like are the dimensions of the phone; I've used bigger phones but this doesn't feel right in the hand, too wide for the height imo. Next thing is the camera, I don't care for the extra stuff I just want a good point and shoot camera; this phone sucks in that regard. Really slow and really underwhelming quality considering how it was marketed. Next, the fingerprint sensor. It's just too small and it led to it misreading enough to become frustrating. Even when it reads my fingerprint it unlocks much slower than the competition. This the deal breaker for me. The quick glance screen was very basic, only showed text and call notifications no WhatsApp notifications I dunno it just annoyed me.
In the end I returned the phone and paid 100 extra to get the Pixel 2, absolutely outstanding phone but that's for another review.
To conclude the Nokia 8 is a very underrated phone and provides great value for money. But I wanted a phone that I can use for the next 2-3 years without frustration and Nokia just didn't do it for me.
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Finger print sensor snappier after 8.1 and also i never faced any misreading. This was very strange problem you faced
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Toedwarrior said:
Finger print sensor snappier after 8.1 and also i never faced any misreading. This was very strange problem you faced
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I've had loads of misreading issues on 8.0.
8.1 fixed it.
Also, as you saying. Fingerprint sensor is twice faster on 8.1 beta.
I'm considering buying another Nokia 8 that's how much I like this phone
Pros
The display is amazing for LCD + no AMOLED burn in
Speaker is louder than my iPhone 7 plus
Battery is good
Stock android 8.1
Smooth/fluidity/fast
Price
Daytime pictures
Headphone jack
Micro SD card
Cons
Lowlight pictures
Fingerprint sensor location and odd shape/size
Vibration/haptic isn't that strong
Shape of phone (it's not so fun to hold vs say my moto g5 plus) awkward shape
Back metal doesn't feel like metal, more like plastic
Great great phone. And yes you can tell the difference between 1080p and 1440p. Even at a distance. Try changing the resolution to 1080p in adb using same way with xz premium to 4k, you will notice the fuzz from 1080p to 1440p
its a great phone when it was locked and without root, now that mine is rooted, lets see what it can do !
The fact you can get this now from carphone warehouse here in the UK for £300, like I did on Monday, is unbelievable. The absolutely blows anything else for that price and up to the OnePlus 5 out of the water. I haven't been this happy with a device in a long time and in 2017 I had a lot of devices. It's only £70 more than the Moto G5s plus. There's no contest.

One year later - do you recommend this phone ?

Hi guys.
One year later the prices are way down. Now LG G6 is 360 euro in my country.
Is about same price as Samsung A8, Nokia 7 Plus or Huawei P20 Lite.
I'd say one year old flagship should be an obvious choice over today's midrangers. Better camera, better cpu. However, one concern looking over this forum is with battery life (low sot, drains).
Seeing how phones have become consumables, no removable batteries, defects occurring after the 2 year obligatory warrant (at least in EU), oled screens loosing a lot of brightness in time ... I'm not willing to pay 800euro for the latest and greatest.
Yes, I recommend this phone. Despite the very poor software support it's good phone for its price. They - LG - are trying to fix their slow (almost nonexistent) update policy - Korea and Canada is already affected (Oreo update). It's fast smartphone with very stable android 7.0 by default with very good battery life.
Even without Oreo or wireless charging I'd recommend this phone but.... it is a bit laggy for the money to recommend.
I'd recommend it only for the camera and the display, because it can be easily bought for 350 euros or less, anything else is just "avarage" imho.
Depends what you want in a phone. If I didn't care for an SD Card, I'd probably get a Pixel 2 (not verizon) for the updates and Dev Support alone. If you don't care about root, then obviously your choices expand a lot more.
This phone will never see android P. If it does, it will be a custom ROM, meaning you'll lose the stock camera quality.
I paid $295 for mine and have no regrets though, so yes, depending on what you're looking for, I would recommend.
Things important for me in a phone:
1. Battery life. Or better said, real life battery life. I would like to have a few hours of SOT on 4G.
2. Also, I'd like the device to operate cool when outside is hot or when the signal is poor . No one is mentioning this in reviews but in my experience is quite a factor.
3. Camera, obviously. Most of my photos/films are taken with my phone for convenience reasons.
Not so important:
1. Display.
2. Performance. Opening/operating chrome without lag should do it.
Certainly I won't play PUBG on my phone. I do play PUBG on occasion on my PC.
3. Storage capacity. I keep mostly books (read them with tts - IVONA) but those don't take a lot of space. For music I have deezer, for movies Netflix. Nothing local. Photos I unload on my PC.
No , it's a Good phone but the lack of security patch is a really bad point. it's a shame because this phone is really nice ! january security update 5 month later still no update...
I am on the April security patch via T-Mobile.
Hardware is OK, but software ...
Overall the phone is incredible. Especially now, when its price is really decent, getting new one is really good idea. Build quality is very high, this phone is clearly built to last and its design is great. The camera is very good, especially with ported GCam apps which boost image quality even more. The display's colors and saturation is great, the display itself is AWESOME (18:9 rocks!)... it's not very bright in direct sun, my Xperia Z3 Compact was much much better, but it's good. UI responsiveness is very good, Snapdraon 821 still kicks a$$ and it's enough for this phone to run nice and smooth
However the phone is not perfect. I've been using it since July and right now I feel that LG should try a little bit to revive it. Oreo is on the way, yes, but it should've happened much earlier. I'm not complaining but this phone was LG's flagship device after all. Also battery life is not very good (battery-hungry display, buggy Android 7.0), my daily SoT is around 3-3,5hrs, I expected a little more from 3300mAh. The display starts to have image retention issues just after one year of using the phone and after short amounts of using the phone overall (none of my previous phones which I've been using for more than two years had this issue). But if these disadvantages are not deal-breakers, buy it! You won't regret it!
EDIT: I forgot about crappy front facing camera! 5MP is waaaay too bad and I highly recommend using GCam for selfies, it boosts image quality DRASTICALLY!

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