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There are still no announcement of next defy, so S750 - waterproof, quad core, 1gb ram, compact enough, have replaceble battery and already avaliable.
Your opinions, guys?
Hi, looking to buy the Lenovo S750 too....
It is also dualsim as added bonus. I've already an MTK6589 - 1G of ram phone (ZTE V987) and they work nicely, except slow GPS (you con fix it via software).
It looks nice but i've 2 doubts:
-1 battery 2000mah....will this be enough for 1 day of intensive usage? I think so, but... this is a doubt for me.
-2 will this be really water proof ? I won't bring it with me diving in the simming pool, but on the borders yes....will it really resist splashes etc. ? So they say, but as anyone got experiences with this device ?
I plan to buy it for bringing it with me when going to the sea or the mountains...If it really is IP76 then it's ok....no reviews yet....strange....not even on YT....nobody bought it ?
I have this phone, since two days. Unfortunatelly someone got it with a original chineese firmware. I managed to install google play store, but have a real pain in the ass with the GPS - it cannot get a fix. You mentioned a software solution - any more info about that?
For now, I cannot state the battery durability, thus I'm only testing it, so in very very extensive usage, it lasts one day. In the near future I'll see how much does it stand in normal usage.
As for waterproofing, I didn't do the tests yet, but it looks very fine made, so it should couse no problem with water.
Have ordered phone. Will got it in next few weeks.
About battery life - i always wear on me 1-2 extra batteryes [battery _must_ be replaceble, this is why i've skipped xperia phones], so i've ordered extra ones with external charger for this one also (search "bl197 charger", they're affordable).
Have checked specs - everything should be really fine with this phone except back cover issue - my siemens/samsung/motorolla waterproof phones have mechanically fixed back lid, but this one seems like not, so if it fell somewhere strong enough back lid fell of the phone.
About waterproof - lenovo declares ip67, so it's same as defy. You should able wash it in the sink. I do that with my defy.
btw, wookario, can you make review or tell your impression about the phone?
Let's call them "impressions review" in few simple points
1. The exterior is made very well. The used parts, have no loose places, all fits tightly, and gives no strange or unexcpeted sounds. The back cover lid is suited very tightly, even opening it, is troubling, thus you have to use some force, to release all of the clamps which hold them. The battery is secured buy a rubber seal, looks tight. Some doubts as to waterproof, give the exterior speaker cover - looks like it was not waterproof, but I have not tested it yet.
The USB port is covered well, with a very well fitted part, secured with a rubber seal. The whole phone, fits well in the hand, and if feels secure to hold.
The colors are interesting, and the body of the phone is made probabily of aluminium.
In total 9,5/10 for design and fitting the elements. Really nothing to complain about.
2. The interior - firmware. I bought the phone with an original chineese firmware. It wasn't my choice, but the guy I bought the phone from, just ordered it this way - due to his language abilities First look - SHIIIIIT!! Everything in chineese!! But fortunatelly I was able to change it into english. Then I installed Titanium Backup Pro (paid version), and to my shock, it came out, that original chineese rom is ROOTED )) Some chineese trees appeared, and titanium could do everything. So I started from removing all chinnese apps, that I didn't know the purporse (backing them up previously). Due to the fact, that chineese phones do not use google play store (Lenovo store instead installed) so then I installed google play store (I used a trick found in some forum to do that, couse using a .apk file crashed all the time). Now I have a google play store, but without all the unused google **** like street view, google maps and more, which usually stuff the internal memory of the phone.
The RAM is 1GB total - for me used like 45% of that amount, so enough left, not to worry if any app will have enough room to install. The internal phone storage is 2,6GB build in, so also enough for basic use. Also a place to fit a micro SD card, so in total you have really plenty of room, to fit apps, and other stuff.
The firmware is very stable, since saturday, it did not crash at all, it's very fast, and in my opinion the quad core works perectly with 4.2.1.
My score 8/10 lack of one point, for not a "standard modded firmware", would be much nicer, if in basic version, it would have a european firmware. One point also less for GPS problems - see below.
3. The display. To be honest the best part of the phone is the display. 4,5'' 960x540 is just enormous. The colors are really nice, and well saturated. The touch screen is very sensitive, and "user friendly". For me 10/10
4. The only problem I did not cope with, is the GPS. It just cannot fix on satelite. Tried many solutions found in internet, but none working. Maybe is the chineese firmware problem, or maybe it's just faulty. Will try to fix it, but I'm starting to doubt
In total I rate the phone 9/10, only GPS is the real problem, all else, including chineese firmware is to be accepted. I'm comparing it to AGM ROCK V5, which is running android 2.3. The difference in usage between theese two, is a milestone + for S750.
Since AGM ROCK V5 was virtually indestructable, mine one unfortunatelly broke the screen, by landing flat onto concrete So I would not try this with S750
For now I have not tested it's waterproof ability. But maybe I will not be the first one to do that
In any more questions, feel free to ask
EDIT - I've managed to run GPS, now works like charm
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43159201#post43159201
Thanks. Is E-Compass exist on phone?
Btw platform is similar to lenovo a820, which came out earlyer than s750, so may be most of fixes/mods could be found in a820's discussions.
Yes E-Compass is built in - but I never believe theese devices
As to similarities it would be good to try, but first some modded firmware should come out, just in case something goes wrong, to be able to reflash it after
I don't really need e-compass, but it's cool to have as an option ability to use all features of apps like google skymap. And i've found that most of MTK phones lascks e-compass.
Did you order the phone with a modded etotalk rom?
Have ordered it on aliexpress. It'll have stock rom, I think.
If you needed help in rom civilising, (google apps, gps fix), just ask - i'm through with it already
wookario said:
If you needed help in rom civilising, (google apps, gps fix), just ask - i'm through with it already
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you show me that trick for installing google play? thx
because i install it with apk, but it turns out google play crach every time....
Is your phone rooted?
lefedor said:
Is your phone rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes it is rooted
squllliu said:
yes it is rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this:
Install "LuckyPatcher" app ( google or http://forum.67gadgets.com/showthread.php?tid=1&pid=1#pid1 ).
Start LuckyPatcher
Scroll bottom menu right to "Install modded GP" option, tap it.
Choose Google Market version you like.
Enjoy.
lefedor said:
Try this:
Install "LuckyPatcher" app ( google or forum.67gadgets.com/showthread.php?tid=1&pid=1#pid1[/url] ).
Start LuckyPatcher
Scroll bottom menu right to "Install modded GP" option, tap it.
Choose Google Market version you like.
Enjoy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
done, but still keeping fc
whats wrong with this phone
squllliu said:
done, but still keeping fc
whats wrong with this phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone is OK. Try rest "vending" app data or maybe do full firmware rest (wipe).
Market should be in-the-box after wipe.
Mate look here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43159201#post43159201 I've descrubed there all you need to know, about google play store fix
if anything ask there
wookario said:
Mate look here ## I've descrubed there all you need to know, about google play store fix
if anything ask there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
still fc at clicking google play, i think may be i flash the wrong ROM.
can you provide the right rom ?
thank you very much
Did you flash it? Where did you get the rom for that?
The only I have acces to is the original chineese one, if you're interested.
I collected a G Pad earlier on. It's the first time I've bought a tablet having never actually seen one in the silicon.
I had a Nexus 7 2013 which I was really happy with, but its mobo failed and went off for a three week repair. It came back in a worse-looking state than it went so I got a refund on it. While it was being fixed I used my old 10" Xoom, and I realised how much nicer a bigger screen is. And then I saw a review of the G Pad...
So I wasn't too unhappy when the Nexus was refunded, and based on the balance of reviews and comments here I took the plunge. So far - and I've only had it an hour - I really like it. The Nexus has a brilliant screen and I thought the lower-PPI count would show on the G, but it seems not to. It seems to go bright enough, but I've not tested it in sunlight outdoors. It's not quite Nexus-retina-searing levels but seems to be not far off.
The extra inch of screen makes a surprising difference in its actual size. It's a nice plus.
No sign yet of a blue line either. The speakers are louder than I'd expected having read things on here.
A couple of things that I need to test out though: battery life and SD card compatibility. As long as I get Nexus-ish battery life I'll be happy, but I need to see if apps like Google Music can store to the SD card (well I know it can, but can it without being rooted?) And BBC iPlayer too, some of those videos come in at one gig+ so I hope they can get off on to the card too. Otherwise 16GB is going to disappear pretty quickly, and that will make the tablet useless for that purpose.
I might try a custom ROM but CM 10.2 on my S3 isn't as finished as they'd have you think: for instance, the phone has for some reason stopped ringing aloud in the past few days. Maybe CM 11 is better, I don't know. But the stock ROM doesn't seem that bad at the moment (but anyone on here likes to tinker, so let's see how long that lasts.)
My bigger concern is community support. I really appreciate what the devs are doing, but for products like the G Pad which don't seem to have sold by the million, long-term support is surely not going to be as promising as it is for the Nexus or Samsung devices.
And actually, I'll end by asking what the hell LG are playing at. So far, this looks like a great tablet but there are NONE to be found in electrical stores here in the UK. That's why I had to buy it sight unseen. If they can't get it into stores, how are they going to shift any in reasonable numbers? Especially when this looks like it should deserve to. Equally, they seem to have failed to hit their stride in terms of getting it into the hands of reviewers.
Anyway, I'm off to have a play. From what I've seen, hopefully I can persuade myself to keep it!
Welcome to the club. I love mine too. There are ways to move files and apps to your SD card, but if your like me, my Google Music takes up a ton of space and just moving it to the SD card clears up a lot of space on the internal storage. Google Music has a setting to pick your storage location so just choose your SD card. From my understanding, this may be limited to KitKat only though. If you'reconsidering flashing a ROM, I highly suggest Mahdi. You'll lose your LG apps because it's based on AOSP, but you'll pick up a ton of customization in a buttery smooth ROM.
Thanks clemson77on.
I do like it but I am probably going to return it. It turns out that BBC iPlayer doesn't support downloads to the G Pad, and I doubt it ever will - they only spend time certifying devices that hit the mainstream. I hate to say it but I don't think the G Pad ever will.
I put Mahdi's ROM on and it is far superior to stock. I certainly mean no disrespect to him or any other devs - who are capable of doing far more than me - but I think the Nexus 7 will have a longer support life from the community. I would be very happy to be proved wrong on this in months to come.
Silly little things play on my mind with this tablet, such as the non-standard soft buttons in the stock ROM. Yes you have a selection, but where's the choice for the Android standard? Device manufacturers drive me crazy sometimes. I would actually like to remain unrooted because there are various apps I use that require that; at least with the N7 I will get no bloat and can keep it unrooted.
I really like the knock-on feature, I don't know why some reviews said it was a gimmick.
But ultimately, 16GB doesn't seem to cut it. I have moved what I can to SD but there's only about 2GB free.
Having said all that... on the other hand, the screen size is a significant plus, and having haptic feedback is really nice in a tablet.
I know that's a random selection of thoughts. I am going to have to make my mind up!
astromark said:
Thanks clemson77on.
I do like it but I am probably going to return it. It turns out that BBC iPlayer doesn't support downloads to the G Pad, and I doubt it ever will - they only spend time certifying devices that hit the mainstream. I hate to say it but I don't think the G Pad ever will.
I put Mahdi's ROM on and it is far superior to stock. I certainly mean no disrespect to him or any other devs - who are capable of doing far more than me - but I think the Nexus 7 will have a longer support life from the community. I would be very happy to be proved wrong on this in months to come.
Silly little things play on my mind with this tablet, such as the non-standard soft buttons in the stock ROM. Yes you have a selection, but where's the choice for the Android standard? Device manufacturers drive me crazy sometimes. I would actually like to remain unrooted because there are various apps I use that require that; at least with the N7 I will get no bloat and can keep it unrooted.
I really like the knock-on feature, I don't know why some reviews said it was a gimmick.
But ultimately, 16GB doesn't seem to cut it. I have moved what I can to SD but there's only about 2GB free.
Having said all that... on the other hand, the screen size is a significant plus, and having haptic feedback is really nice in a tablet.
I know that's a random selection of thoughts. I am going to have to make my mind up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the development support will be quite good for this device, maybe not on par with the Nexus 7, but very good especially with there being a Google Developer Edition model now.
I know nothing about BBC iPlayer, but it looks like it won't download to the device because of being out of the UK. I did notice that there's an app in the play store called Unblock BBC iPlayer that may help you out - I have no idea.
If you need to be rooted for some of your apps to work, there are apps that can hide your root such as Root Cloak.
Also, you can even move your apps to your SD card if you want to. Link2SD works great for that.
As for soft buttons, I changed mine to look like those on my HTC One and made the longpresses the same so it would be more uniform.
Hope that helps.
clemson77on said:
I believe the development support will be quite good for this device, maybe not on par with the Nexus 7, but very good especially with there being a Google Developer Edition model now.
I know nothing about BBC iPlayer, but it looks like it won't download to the device because of being out of the UK. I did notice that there's an app in the play store called Unblock BBC iPlayer that may help you out - I have no idea.
If you need to be rooted for some of your apps to work, there are apps that can hide your root such as Root Cloak.
Also, you can even move your apps to your SD card if you want to. Link2SD works great for that.
As for soft buttons, I changed mine to look like those on my HTC One and made the longpresses the same so it would be more uniform.
Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for the reply. I have in fact decided to keep it. The larger screen won out in the end, and the other positives outweighed the negatives. It only cost £230, which is £10 cheaper than the N7 was, but yes that had twice the storage (but no SD slot). The build and overall shape of this tablet is really nice, possibly the best out there for Android.
The battery life seems a bit so so, but I'm getting 5.5 to 6 hours of screen time. I can live with that - I'm never far from power!
More to the point, I keep these things for a year or so before getting a new one and I can happily live with this for a year (til maybe G Pad 2...)
To return to my points, with iPlayer it's not a location thing. It's whether the BBC dev team can get round to supporting this. Understandably they will prioritise better-selling devices - they'll spend their time where the demand is. I would therefore say that anyone in the UK who has one, install iPlayer and use it. Get this tablet onto their stats. They won't even consider it if they don't see it being used.
Root Cloak, good idea. I've tried OTA Rootkeeper which has certainly unrooted it, I just can't use it to root it again!
Haven't tried Link2SD but will give that a blast later.
My thing with the soft buttons is a more general Android annoyance. Different ways for different manufacturers. And even then they just can't stop themselves. Some of the LG mods were quite good - but they kept on adding more and more. They're not alone but feature creep tends not to lead to a better overall experience.
astromark said:
To return to my points, with iPlayer it's not a location thing. It's whether the BBC dev team can get round to supporting this. Understandably they will prioritise better-selling devices - they'll spend their time where the demand is. I would therefore say that anyone in the UK who has one, install iPlayer and use it. Get this tablet onto their stats. They won't even consider it if they don't see it being used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My G Pad is running the stock LG ROM, is rooted and with the aid of https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amphoras.hidemyroot&hl=en_GB I am able to install and watch material using iPlayer and the BBC Media Player software.
tdodd said:
My G Pad is running the stock LG ROM, is rooted and with the aid of https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amphoras.hidemyroot&hl=en_GB I am able to install and watch material using iPlayer and the BBC Media Player software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does iPlayer check for root? What is disabled on iPlayer if it does detect that you have root?
tdodd said:
My G Pad is running the stock LG ROM, is rooted and with the aid of https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amphoras.hidemyroot&hl=en_GB I am able to install and watch material using iPlayer and the BBC Media Player software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may not have been clear enough. I can also watch iplayer. I cannot download for offline viewing.
astromark said:
I collected a G Pad earlier on. It's the first time I've bought a tablet having never actually seen one in the silicon.
I had a Nexus 7 2013 which I was really happy with, but its mobo failed and went off for a three week repair. It came back in a worse-looking state than it went so I got a refund on it. While it was being fixed I used my old 10" Xoom, and I realised how much nicer a bigger screen is. And then I saw a review of the G Pad...
So I wasn't too unhappy when the Nexus was refunded, and based on the balance of reviews and comments here I took the plunge. So far - and I've only had it an hour - I really like it. The Nexus has a brilliant screen and I thought the lower-PPI count would show on the G, but it seems not to. It seems to go bright enough, but I've not tested it in sunlight outdoors. It's not quite Nexus-retina-searing levels but seems to be not far off.
The extra inch of screen makes a surprising difference in its actual size. It's a nice plus.
No sign yet of a blue line either. The speakers are louder than I'd expected having read things on here.
A couple of things that I need to test out though: battery life and SD card compatibility. As long as I get Nexus-ish battery life I'll be happy, but I need to see if apps like Google Music can store to the SD card (well I know it can, but can it without being rooted?) And BBC iPlayer too, some of those videos come in at one gig+ so I hope they can get off on to the card too. Otherwise 16GB is going to disappear pretty quickly, and that will make the tablet useless for that purpose.
I might try a custom ROM but CM 10.2 on my S3 isn't as finished as they'd have you think: for instance, the phone has for some reason stopped ringing aloud in the past few days. Maybe CM 11 is better, I don't know. But the stock ROM doesn't seem that bad at the moment (but anyone on here likes to tinker, so let's see how long that lasts.)
My bigger concern is community support. I really appreciate what the devs are doing, but for products like the G Pad which don't seem to have sold by the million, long-term support is surely not going to be as promising as it is for the Nexus or Samsung devices.
And actually, I'll end by asking what the hell LG are playing at. So far, this looks like a great tablet but there are NONE to be found in electrical stores here in the UK. That's why I had to buy it sight unseen. If they can't get it into stores, how are they going to shift any in reasonable numbers? Especially when this looks like it should deserve to. Equally, they seem to have failed to hit their stride in terms of getting it into the hands of reviewers.
Anyway, I'm off to have a play. From what I've seen, hopefully I can persuade myself to keep it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a Nexus 7 (2013) for a few months before I decided to buy a G Pad. I very much agree with you the extra inch makes a big difference. At first if you install a custom rom like CM11 and put it side by side with the G Pad at maximum brightness next to the nexus 7 at max brightness there is definetly a difference in the max brightness with the G Pad falling down on that factor.
Also on the note of it not being found in electrical stores in your country, it is hard to find this device anywhere outside of JB Hifi in Australia unless you buy it online - which I did because even though it can be found at JB Hifi here, it is only available in white and I wanted black.
With the lack of developer community, it was hard coming from the Nexus 7 community which is insanely large however this device seems to be pretty good as it is after you flash a AOSP rom. It does lack a large amount of custom kernel's which the Nexus 7 had the upper hand on - especially with devs like Franco who made the battery life increase by a lot.
astromark said:
I may not have been clear enough. I can also watch iplayer. I cannot download for offline viewing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. Maybe I misunderstood. Now I get it. Yes, the G Pad is not on the download compatibility list. Quite why the Beeb needs such a thing is beyond me.
tdodd said:
OK. Maybe I misunderstood. Now I get it. Yes, the G Pad is not on the download compatibility list. Quite why the Beeb needs such a thing is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a shame isn't it. Presumably it has to do with compatibility testing, user experience checking or more likely rights agreements. Rights rule the roost.
It is clearly technically capable of doing it, it's the iplayer bods having to put the work in to confirm that. And as I say. they'll prioritise by usage. Low usage = low priority = low chance of getting downloads approved.
astromark said:
It's a shame isn't it. Presumably it has to do with compatibility testing, user experience checking or more likely rights agreements. Rights rule the roost.
It is clearly technically capable of doing it, it's the iplayer bods having to put the work in to confirm that. And as I say. they'll prioritise by usage. Low usage = low priority = low chance of getting downloads approved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure that DRM is the issue. Probably, the Beeb thinks if you have root, you might find some way to get around their DRM and distribute the downloaded programs. Not a big deal for me, because I generally stream rather than download.
astromark said:
It's a shame isn't it. Presumably it has to do with compatibility testing, user experience checking or more likely rights agreements. Rights rule the roost.
It is clearly technically capable of doing it, it's the iplayer bods having to put the work in to confirm that. And as I say. they'll prioritise by usage. Low usage = low priority = low chance of getting downloads approved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about that old prop editing? Finding a phone or tablet device that has approval from BBC and then just jot that in it's model numbers into the build.prop on the V500? Perhaps the BBC player will then check up against that and allow the downloads? Then just unroot again after? :d I always say this, but it's worth a try, isn't it? Unless it's been done before of course.
woody1 said:
I'm pretty sure that DRM is the issue. Probably, the Beeb thinks if you have root, you might find some way to get around their DRM and distribute the downloaded programs. Not a big deal for me, because I generally stream rather than download.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've always found iPlayer works regardless of root state. Just tried it on my rooted S3 and it's fine, and it works on my Xoom which was rooted on day 1! I find it handy to have downloads to watch in the gym. Passes the time...
CuraeL said:
How about that old prop editing?.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea - haven't thought about it before now. Never tried anything quite that involved. Flashing ROMs and then unbricking is as far as I've gone! I might look into this tomorrow. I assume it's not too tricky. Is it something in the prop that specifies the device?
astromark said:
Good idea - haven't thought about it before now. Never tried anything quite that involved. Flashing ROMs and then unbricking is as far as I've gone! I might look into this tomorrow. I assume it's not too tricky. Is it something in the prop that specifies the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I don't remember the exact entries in the build.prop. But aquire root, download rom tool box and edit the build prop. Go to your iPlayer enabled device and look for all entries with something like "model" and any variable set ro device number and such. Then just insert them into the V500. After root, it's strictly typing required. And finding the right entries of course. I'm in Denmark and I don't believe I qualify for BBC Player, but I dunno otherwise I'd try it myself. Go with Nexus 5 or Galaxy S4 build.prop or something. It must be around here, somewhere..
Would be a nice fix if that's how the app checks. Some apps does this, yes, by the way.
CuraeL said:
Well, I don't remember the exact entries in the build.prop. But aquire root, download rom tool box and edit the build prop. Go to your iPlayer enabled device and look for all entries with something like "model" and any variable set ro device number and such. Then just insert them into the V500.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works - changing
ro.product.model=LG-V500
to:
ro.product.model=Nexus 7
brings it on. Excellent idea, thanks.
Now I need to read up about how to treat a directory on the external SD card like one on the internal-SD as iplayer has no support for external storage.
astromark said:
It works - changing
ro.product.model=LG-V500
to:
ro.product.model=Nexus 7
brings it on. Excellent idea, thanks.
Now I need to read up about how to treat a directory on the external SD card like one on the internal-SD as iplayer has no support for external storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good news.
I believe theres apps for fixing external saving instead. There's some threads on it given the trouble with SD cards compatability and stuff. Go read up on those. App2SD and such I think, link2SD or something. Kinda like linking a harddrive path over to another harddrive, still keeping the app believing that it saves to in this case the internal storage, when it's really not. I'm not too sure, cause I've had no need or issues with this myself. But good luck and awesome that we fixed one of your troubles.
astromark said:
It works - changing
ro.product.model=LG-V500
to:
ro.product.model=Nexus 7
brings it on. Excellent idea, thanks.
Now I need to read up about how to treat a directory on the external SD card like one on the internal-SD as iplayer has no support for external storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the free FolderMount app, available in the Play Store.
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 Huawei P40 Pro, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Huawei P40 Pro is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Very happy with my P40 Pro so far. I'll try to keep this short & honest.
First of all, one of the most important things: battery life. It's very good IMO. I keep my phone on FHD+ with 90hz refresh rate. Honestly I expected sub-par battery life from this device with 90hz, and I thought I was gonna switch to 60hz for sure, but I was pleasantly surprised. Like I said, battery life is not an issue on this phone. Not insanely great, but still, very solid. :good:
The camera? Oh, boy. Just look at the samples posted on the internet, or watch camera reviews on Youtube. It's just phenomenal. Low light is also incredibly good, although from my testing, some shots come out better in "photo mode" than they do in "night mode". Sometimes the opposite.
The display is also great. No QHD resolution, but FHD+ is more than enough for me. I think QHD on phones is a gimmick, but that's just my opinion.
The only thing I don't really like that comes to mind is the weight of this phone - it's kinda heavy, especially compared to my previous phone.
About the Google services issue... To me it's not really an issue. I don't NEED GMS on my phone. I can live without them. Yes I installed them, but it was more out of the urge to tinker with my phone, than the necessity of having them. Here's what I have to say about my personal usage.
My banking app is in the Huawei App Gallery. Google Calendar, I don't really use. Maps? The "Maps.me" app and Here WeGo seem like good alternatives to Google Maps. As for gmail, you can easily use AquaMail or Bluemail and add your gmail account there. The interface is a bit different though. I kinda miss Google Photos as I did have some photos saved there, but it's not that big of a deal. Out of curiosity, I just installed the Google Photos app moments ago and it seems to work fine on my P40 Pro. It detected the photos on my device and I can see everything that I backed up in the past.
I still would not recommend the P40/P40 Pro to people who are very dependent on Google apps, as I can't guarantee whether Huawei will patch this GMS installation method, or not. There's just no way of knowing that.
So, in summary, if you heavily depend on Google apps and services - DON'T buy it. If you think you can live without them, then you can give it a try. In my country Huawei lets you "try" the device for 15 days, so if you don't like it you can send it back and get a refund.
Huawei P40 Pro gets a solid 4.5/5 from me.
Review based on a European living in UK, other regions might be completely different.
You don't use any apps that use GMS:
If majority of the apps you use on a daily basis are available in Huawei store, then this phone is for you and you can stop reading, this review assumes you use GMS (Google Mobile Sevices) in some direct or indirect form.
For the rest:
Amazing piece of hardware but the third party software at this moment in time (constantly progressing) is pretty useless. Don't buy this phone if:
You want everything to just work
You are not tech savvy enough to know what adb is and have enough experience to figure out which sideloaded apps are clearly unsafe
You need an actual smartphone and rely on it for critical tasks that cannot fail using third party apps that might rely on GMS
If you are a tinkerer like myself and like messing with devices and fixing issues the manufacturer wont, don't buy this phone (locked bootloader).
Google Situation
Think of how many times a day you use third party apps on your phone. Majority of those apps (in Europe atleast) use Google Mobile Services in some form. If you are one these people, I would recommend you buy yourself a cheaper smartphone with a separate point and shoot camera, honestly you would get a more reliable and possibly pleasant experience that way. Unfortunately I rely on other, non-google apps way too much such as Slack, Delivero, Uber, DJI Pilot app, Blizzard Authenticator, Unified Remote Control etc... If you decide to side load the apps missing from its store (using Petal Search or Aurora store), be prepared that those apps will probably be broken in some shape or form. Most apps rely on Google services such as Firebase for notifications, Google location services for location and etc.
You might be able to get the side-loaded app installed and mostly functioning, but something, somewhere might be broken and you wont know until it bites you. For example Slack is installable and definitely usable, but you wont get any notifications. Apps that use google location all seem to be half broken even if you install Google services; you will open Delivero/Uber once and everything will work, and next time you open it there will be no location. You order from Delivero one day and you will get the notification that the driver is outside so you think sweet, the app fully works, but the next time you order the driver would have tried contacting you 4 times before he drives away with you undelivered food. Apparently this is fixable with an always on display and tuning the power saving of the phone. I did contact a few app developers asking if they plan to support HMS, and got mixed replies.
Other than the Google situation, here are some points:
Build quality and materials are generally amazing
Centre of gravity is slightly offset from centre, its towards the top left corner of the phone. Also the phone is PHAT, its definitely bigger than my S8 and thicker, but its the weight that's most noticeable. Not a huge deal but was a minor annoyance.
Face-ID and fingerprint scanner both work flawlessly and super fast.
Camera is superb
"Wide" camera is an insult to the term. The sensor is great but the wideness is just a smidge more than normal lens. Honestly I would call it misleading advertising and it should be called "Not-So-Wide" camera
General performance is great, no complaints. Also compared to my S8, the phone stays colder for much longer
Battery life seemed great, spent a whole day on it installing google and only drained like 60%.
The stock experience is OK, apart from any AI features. AI is in pre-alpha phase. For example the voice assistant cannot set a timer, it can only open the timer app. Oh and if you don't speak the exact accent Huawei expects you to, good luck getting it to recognise anything. You could side-load Alexa, but you cannot change the default assistant, so the 1sec press of power button will always bring Celia.
There is some weirdness in apps, for example the default keyboard (SwiftKey) gives you the option to login using your google account even though its definitely broken in stock.
The gestures work really well in most cases. The same gestures do get very annoying in some apps where you keep accidentally pressing back instead of bringing up side menus or switch drawer.
Banking is mostly broken for stock Huawei. Managed to get Natwest banking app working after a lot of work though. Contactless payment is 100% broken and will be for a long time!
Permissions: Pretty much every single Huawei app wants to have access to your calls and messaging history. Maybe nothing malicious but certainly makes you question why they need it
NM cards are more than double the price of MicroSD
Comes with loads of bloatware, but most is easily removed
The pill cutout is not bad, just wish they shoved it more in the corner of the phone more
Uncertainty if your phone will break after an update if you have google services installed
Installing Google services is not easy and seems to be a constantly evolving battle where methods change frequently
Internet forums/ youtube is filled with post from either bots or one can only assume are Huawei influencers. Also the phone is so talked about online that trying to use search to find answers to your problems usually just brings up a Forbes news story.
Locked bootloader
I admit, I made a mistake of not checking the news before buying the phone (saw a dirt cheap one on eBay). Fully expected to unlock the bootloader and install some custom ROM with GApps, but since 2018 Huawei locked their bootloaders for "security". Even so, I tried the phone for couple of days, spend a day installing google services, aurora store, icebox and the whole lot and honestly was super disappointed. Sold the phone couple days later and if you check eBay you can see dozens of people doing the same thing every day.
I stopped reading at "Software at this moment in time is pretty useless".
ZedeN said:
Review based on a European living in UK, other regions might be completely different.
Amazing piece of hardware but that's it! Software at this moment in time is pretty useless. Don't buy this phone if you need an actual smartphone. I would recommend you buy yourself a cheapo smartphone with a separate point and shoot camera, honestly you would get way better experience that way. If you are a tinkerer like myself and like messing with devices and fixing issues the manufacturer wont, don't buy this phone (locked bootloader).
If you stick with the pure Huawei experience and don't need any apps that are not in Huawei store, I am sure you would have a great time, unfortunately I rely on other, non-google apps way too much such as Slack, Delivero, Uber, DJI Pilot app, Blizzard Authenticator, Unified Remote Control etc... If you decide to side load the apps missing from it's store (using Petal Search or Aurora store), be prepared that those apps will probably be broken in some shape or form. Most apps rely on Google services such as Firebase for notifications, Google location services for location and etc.
You might be able to get the side-loaded app installed and mostly functioning, but something some where might be broken and you wont know until it bites you. For example Slack is installable and definitely usable, but you wont get any notifications. Apps that use google location all seem to be half broken even if you install Google services; you will open Delivero/Uber once and everything will work, and next time you open it there will be no location. You order from Delivero one day and you will get the notification that the driver is outside so you think sweet, the app fully works, but the next time you order the driver would have tried contacting you 4 times before he drives away with you undelivered food. Apparently this is fixable with an always on display and tuning the power saving of the phone. I did contact a few app developers asking if they plan to support HMS, and got mixed replies.
Other than the Google situation, here are some points:
Build quality and materials are generally amazing
Centre of gravity is slightly offset from centre, its towards the top left corner of the phone. Also the phone is PHAT, its definitely bigger than my S8 and thicker, but its the weight that's most noticeable. Not a huge deal but was a minor annoyance.
Face-ID and fingerprint scanner both work flawlessly and super fast.
Camera is superb
"Wide" camera is an insult to the term. The sensor is great but the wideness is just a smidge more than normal lens. Honestly I would call it misleading advertising and it should be called "Not-So-Wide" camera
General performance is great, no complaints. Also compared to my S8, the phone stays colder for much longer
Battery life seemed great, spent a whole day on it installing google and only drained like 60%.
The stock experience is OK, apart from any AI features. AI is in pre-alpha phase. For example the voice assistant cannot set a timer, it can only open the timer app. Oh and if you don't speak the exact accent Huawei expects you to, good luck getting it to recognise anything. You could side-load Alexa, but you cannot change the default assistant, so the 1sec press of power button will always bring Celia
The gestures work really well in most cases. The same gestures do get very annoying in some apps where you keep accidentally pressing back instead of bringing up side menus or switch drawer.
Banking is mostly broken for stock Huawei. Managed to get Natwest banking app working after a lot of work though. Contactless payment is 100% broken and will be for a long time!
Permisions: Pretty much every single Huawei app wants to have access to your calls and messaging history. Maybe nothing malicious but certainly makes you question why they need it
NM cards are more than double the price of MicroSD
Comes with loads of bloatware, but most is easily removed
The pill cutout is not bad, just wish they shoved it more in the corner of the phone more
Uncertainty if your phone will break after an update if you have google services installed
Installing Google services is not easy and seems to be a constantly evolving battle where methods change frequently
Internet forums/ youtube is filled with post from either bots or one can only assume are Huawei influencers. Also the phone is so talked about online that trying to use search to find answers to your problems usually just brings up a Forbes news story.
Locked bootloader
I admit, I made a mistake of not checking the news before buying the phone (saw a dirt cheap one on eBay). Fully expected to unlock the bootloader and install some custom ROM with GApps, but since 2018 Huawei locked their bootloaders for "security". Even so, I tried the phone for couple of days, spend a day installing google services, aurora store, icebox and the whole lot and honestly was super disappointed. Sold the phone couple days later and if you check eBay you can see dozens of people doing the same thing every day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I'm using my phone as the way it was intended to be used with no Google services side-loaded and this phone does everything that my other Android phones does besides have a dedicated YouTube app. Perhaps you just don't know how to use a phone properly
ushoda said:
I stopped reading at "Software at this moment in time is pretty useless".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair point, I changed the phrasing of the review.
Khonsu_ said:
Really? I'm using my phone as the way it was intended to be used with no Google services side-loaded and this phone does everything that my other Android phones does besides have a dedicated YouTube app. Perhaps you just don't know how to use a phone properly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you live in another region where app developers don't use GMS as default, for example China? But clearly your use case doesn't depend on GMS, in that case, this phone is perfect for you. Also YouTube is the least of my problems, I have been using YouTube Vanced for years and even it is a pain to install on P40 Pro. You first have to either download "dirty" micro-g or modify the micro-g settings to stop it from using GMS otherwise you get stuck in login loop.
And thank you, I will go ahead and start learning to use my phone straight away sir, maybe Huawei should include that on the packaging as well.
Quite an emotional topic, hmm?
My 2,5 cents: I used my smartphones primarily for audio books, photos, WhatsApp, mobile navigation, YouTube and common internet applications.
The P40 Pro does all that just perfectly, better than all smartphones I owned before. With just one single exception.
I like Google Maps, I like the Play Store, I like YouTube. Sure, there are alternative applications, but I still prefer the "originals".
So I spent about half an hour and went through installing the Google services according to instructions I got from a YouTube video. Some effort, but it paid.
I now got the perfect smartphone, running all and everything I need - and doing that better than ever before. With just one exception, no, with two exceptions.
1) Still not possible to use "Hey Google" or "Okay Google" on the lock screen.
2) Fixed battery, the usual *****iness all smartphone manufacturers abuse for forcing you to discard your smartphone after about two years, or earlier if you charged your battery often to 100 % or let the battery get too warm (easy in summer in a car).
And that's it. I instantly fell in love with the P40 Pro after installing the "missing" Google services.
Two things I don't understand at all:
1) Why the heck doesn't Huawei provide unlock codes for the bootloader? Would solve that Google problem immediately. I just don't understand why they ignore that simple but effective move.
2) Why does all the world blame the Google problem on the USA, especially on Trump? It's not the USA, it's not Trump - it's Apple. Huawei sent Apple back to the lower places on the podium. The pride of the capitalism got declassified by the communists. So the rotting fruit applied pressure on the government - and there we are. It's not because of espionage (if there was any proof, they would have presented it with utmost happiness), it's to "make Apple great again" using all impure means available.
Klosterbruder said:
I like Google Maps,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Maps works for me without login.
Waze is actually better.
HereWeGo is not bad either.
Klosterbruder said:
.
Two things I don't understand at all:
1) Why the heck doesn't Huawei provide unlock codes for the bootloader? Would solve that Google problem immediately. I just don't understand why they ignore that simple but effective move.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe they do send data to Chinese government. ?
ZedeN said:
Fair point, I changed the phrasing of the review.
Maybe you live in another region where app developers don't use GMS as default, for example China? But clearly your use case doesn't depend on GMS, in that case, this phone is perfect for you. Also YouTube is the least of my problems, I have been using YouTube Vanced for years and even it is a pain to install on P40 Pro. You first have to either download "dirty" micro-g or modify the micro-g settings to stop it from using GMS otherwise you get stuck in login loop.
And thank you, I will go ahead and start learning to use my phone straight away sir, maybe Huawei should include that on the packaging as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey how to modify micro g settings as mine is getting stuck in Google registration too (I already have gms loaded)
Hey Everyone,
I recently purchased a brand new sealed 64GB Pixel C for $275. I have ALWAYS wanted one but never really needed a tablet until recently. My kindle crapped out, and I have been listening to some audiobooks and I wanted a way to combine the 2. I also plan on maybe watching some movies from my Plex server, some Netflix, and that's probably it...oh and some comics as well....
I had some general questions for those of you who have had a Pixel C for some time.
1. I know there are some screen issues, and I believe based on the serial (i'll confirm when it arrives in two days) mine seems to be made in 2016 sometime, and even though I am in the US, it's a EU version.... Do the problems seem to be on all C's or just a specific run of them?
2. If you were me, and only wanted a tablet for ebooks/audio books and of course some media, but no apps that are super intensive, would you just upgrade from the 6.0 to the 8.0 that's official (or 7.0 if it's good?) , or install a custom rom. If the latter, any recommendations from personal experience?
3. Since it's 2020 and this tablet is coming up on almost 5 years....do you feel I overpaid? This is a completely irrelevant question, I just REALLY REALLY wanted one, I hate Samsung and wanted something with as close to a pure google experience like my Pixel phone. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I have seen them selling used in good shape in the upper 100's range, and most are 32GB.....
4. Anything else I should know that I don't see jumping out at me in the forums that you would pass along to a new C owner?
Thanks everyone in advance!
Hank
Hank_Rearden said:
Hey Everyone,
I recently purchased a brand new sealed 64GB Pixel C for $275. I have ALWAYS wanted one but never really needed a tablet until recently. My kindle crapped out, and I have been listening to some audiobooks and I wanted a way to combine the 2. I also plan on maybe watching some movies from my Plex server, some Netflix, and that's probably it...oh and some comics as well....
I had some general questions for those of you who have had a Pixel C for some time.
1. I know there are some screen issues, and I believe based on the serial (i'll confirm when it arrives in two days) mine seems to be made in 2016 sometime, and even though I am in the US, it's a EU version.... Do the problems seem to be on all C's or just a specific run of them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not aware of better or worse serial numbers. I assume later is better? Mine has image retention / ghosting & a purple shift in white balance but I never got the half screen failure or other issues.
2. If you were me, and only wanted a tablet for ebooks/audio books and of course some media, but no apps that are super intensive, would you just upgrade from the 6.0 to the 8.0 that's official (or 7.0 if it's good?) , or install a custom rom. If the latter, any recommendations from personal experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend either Pixel Experience 10 or LineageOS 17 if you are at all comfortable with flashing. ROMs are little more work. But they offer the latest patches, some new features, some specific fixes for our aging hardware, and because you have to install TWRP first you have that safety net for when things go wrong. I also happen to really like Android 10 for what that's worth. You might have to use Magisk Hide to get some apps working, and you probably have to sideload Netflix from APKmirror but it should work just fine.
If you don't mind how it works out of the box, and you don't care for fiddling with it, and you aren't concerned with the screen lock bug, then stock is perfectly fine. Some people say 7 was better than 8 because of some video driver bug that broke a few Unity based games. I have zero idea if this was fixed in any of the ROMs.
3. Since it's 2020 and this tablet is coming up on almost 5 years....do you feel I overpaid? This is a completely irrelevant question, I just REALLY REALLY wanted one, I hate Samsung and wanted something with as close to a pure google experience like my Pixel phone. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I have seen them selling used in good shape in the upper 100's range, and most are 32GB.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am considering selling my Galaxy Tab S6, even though it is nicer in so many ways, because I just disagree with so many Samsung UX decisions. So I continue to use the Pixel C and I hope you like yours. I am a little envious you found a good condition 64GB one! There are countless little touches where the Pixel C does what I expect and my Samsung devices do not. Using an USB audio device? Pixel C can use it for music and also to make VoIP calls. Believe it or not many Samsungs cannot route 'phone' type audio over USB. Music only! Using a mouse? Open Chrome, right-click on a link. Notice that beautiful options menu that pops up? Try the same thing on a Samsung and notice it is just Android back function. Back to the Pixel C, try to middle-click on a link and notice it opens in a new tab in the background. Just like on desktop Chrome! Then, try with a Samsung and notice middle-click is the same as Android home function. Samsung just decided to break mousing and I hate it. Even things like display scaling work well on the Pixel C and badly on Samsung devices. Want everything to be very small? That's easy to do, and basically everything scales (except the nav bar, but there is a fix for that). On my Samsungs some parts of the UI scale and other parts don't. You end with comically unmatched icons and other elements like the notification shade. I really thought DeX could fix these issues for me and it didn't, but that is a different story. I like Samsung features but by golly they suck at the basics IMO.
4. Anything else I should know that I don't see jumping out at me in the forums that you would pass along to a new C owner?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not everything in Google-land is good. The Pixel C was never trouble free and still isn't with even the best ROMs. 3GB of RAM was too little for a 'productivity device' in 2015 and obviously still isn't enough (your use-case should be fine however). The storage speed is slow, it is prone to occassional jank (probably combination slow storage & low RAM), and if the battery isn't perfectly healthy you will experience bad CPU throttling (this is fixed in ROMs and in my case was a night and day difference). You are already aware of the screen problems. The headphone jack quality is not good, and the bluetooth range for headsets is about 5 ft (I am not joking, it's astonishingly bad!). There used to be many WiFi reception complaints but I think it was fixed long ago. Reception is on the weak end however. The touch screen is sensitive to interference and you can get ghost touches when using a low quality charger (YMMV on that one, my hardware might be faulty). Last thing that comes to mind is that occassionally, and seemingly randomly, your lock screen PIN will just... stop working. If you are on stock software with a locked bootloader then all you can do is factory reset!! This alone is a great reason to go with ROMs.
Thanks everyone in advance!
Hank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck and welcome to the community!
locuturus said:
I am not aware of better or worse serial numbers. I assume later is better? Mine has image retention / ghosting & a purple shift in white balance but I never got the half screen failure or other issues.
I recommend either Pixel Experience 10 or LineageOS 17 if you are at all comfortable with flashing. ROMs are little more work. But they offer the latest patches, some new features, some specific fixes for our aging hardware, and because you have to install TWRP first you have that safety net for when things go wrong. I also happen to really like Android 10 for what that's worth. You might have to use Magisk Hide to get some apps working, and you probably have to sideload Netflix from APKmirror but it should work just fine.
If you don't mind how it works out of the box, and you don't care for fiddling with it, and you aren't concerned with the screen lock bug, then stock is perfectly fine. Some people say 7 was better than 8 because of some video driver bug that broke a few Unity based games. I have zero idea if this was fixed in any of the ROMs.
I am considering selling my Galaxy Tab S6, even though it is nicer in so many ways, because I just disagree with so many Samsung UX decisions. So I continue to use the Pixel C and I hope you like yours. I am a little envious you found a good condition 64GB one! There are countless little touches where the Pixel C does what I expect and my Samsung devices do not. Using an USB audio device? Pixel C can use it for music and also to make VoIP calls. Believe it or not many Samsungs cannot route 'phone' type audio over USB. Music only! Using a mouse? Open Chrome, right-click on a link. Notice that beautiful options menu that pops up? Try the same thing on a Samsung and notice it is just Android back function. Back to the Pixel C, try to middle-click on a link and notice it opens in a new tab in the background. Just like on desktop Chrome! Then, try with a Samsung and notice middle-click is the same as Android home function. Samsung just decided to break mousing and I hate it. Even things like display scaling work well on the Pixel C and badly on Samsung devices. Want everything to be very small? That's easy to do, and basically everything scales (except the nav bar, but there is a fix for that). On my Samsungs some parts of the UI scale and other parts don't. You end with comically unmatched icons and other elements like the notification shade. I really thought DeX could fix these issues for me and it didn't, but that is a different story. I like Samsung features but by golly they suck at the basics IMO.
Not everything in Google-land is good. The Pixel C was never trouble free and still isn't with even the best ROMs. 3GB of RAM was too little for a 'productivity device' in 2015 and obviously still isn't enough (your use-case should be fine however). The storage speed is slow, it is prone to occassional jank (probably combination slow storage & low RAM), and if the battery isn't perfectly healthy you will experience bad CPU throttling (this is fixed in ROMs and in my case was a night and day difference). You are already aware of the screen problems. The headphone jack quality is not good, and the bluetooth range for headsets is about 5 ft (I am not joking, it's astonishingly bad!). There used to be many WiFi reception complaints but I think it was fixed long ago. Reception is on the weak end however. The touch screen is sensitive to interference and you can get ghost touches when using a low quality charger (YMMV on that one, my hardware might be faulty). Last thing that comes to mind is that occassionally, and seemingly randomly, your lock screen PIN will just... stop working. If you are on stock software with a locked bootloader then all you can do is factory reset!! This alone is a great reason to go with ROMs.
Good luck and welcome to the community!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for the detailed response. I am glad I am not the only one who feels that way about the Samsung tablets. I ALMOST bought an S4, then I ALMOST bought an S5E, but just don't like the way they do Android. I checked my tracking and the tablet comes today! So I think what I will do is just upgrade to the most recent official, leave the device lock off for now as I don't plan on going anywhere with the C, and see how it goes. I have dabbled in ROMS in the past for a lot of phones I have had through the years, so I assume this is not too far different as far as the process. The Lineage ROM seems to be a little better for the C from reading some of the known issues, but I will take a look at them after I assess the performance of the C. I really don't want to have the unit hit 70% then completely crap the bed on the performance side....
The Bluetooth range is sad to hear considering i JUST ordered the Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones. They will be here either Friday or Saturday. If i need to hear something beyond the range of it sitting close to me I'll just use my phone.
I'll report how things are going once I receive it, and thanks again for the detailed response. It has put me at ease!
Cheers
Hank
It came and was exactly as described. Did the update and now it's charging. Updated some apps and it's moving pretty well. We shall see what happens when I get more stuff loaded on there, but I will say it's better than I expected. Such beautiful hardware.....
1. I know there are some screen issues, and I believe based on the serial (i'll confirm when it arrives in two days) mine seems to be made in 2016 sometime, and even though I am in the US, it's a EU version.... Do the problems seem to be on all C's or just a specific run of them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought an used Pixel C with its keyboard and a pouch and its screen seems still fine. A Youtube video pointed the issue for its cable in the middle behind the screen panel being pressed so I thought keyboard&pouch may have prevented it.
2. If you were me, and only wanted a tablet for ebooks/audio books and of course some media, but no apps that are super intensive, would you just upgrade from the 6.0 to the 8.0 that's official (or 7.0 if it's good?) , or install a custom rom. If the latter, any recommendations from personal experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine was on stock 8..1 and now is LineageOS 17 based on Android 10. Stock 8.1 seemed to work fine. I preferred some Android 10's swiping features such as swiping from left or right to go back and swiping up to go to homescreen or other running apps to buttons and black bottom bar previous versions. Netflix HD still works.
On the other hand, unlocking bootloader caused additional 30 seconds to boot with caution message and weird beep noise in boot sequence. As you might know, even when locked in setting, in recovery mode, someone could physically connect your device to another and steal files in the device. Some error messages with security warning pops up in notification so the rom might not fully support Android security features. (I have little knowledge on this.)
When its brightness set close to lowest level, screen seemed to be turned off or brightness seems a bit unstable. (Being able to set close to the mininum is still good.) BTW some of gamepad buttons mapped incorrectly (not sure it was due to LineageOS).
3. Since it's 2020 and this tablet is coming up on almost 5 years....do you feel I overpaid? This is a completely irrelevant question, I just REALLY REALLY wanted one, I hate Samsung and wanted something with as close to a pure google experience like my Pixel phone. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I have seen them selling used in good shape in the upper 100's range, and most are 32GB.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's display ratio is better than 16:10 from other android tablets for e-books, pdf files, comics. Someone wrote its ratio fits for two pages side by side. Among Android tablets as far as I know, there are not many with 3:2 or 4:3. Nexus 9's screen could be great but it has only 2GB ram and other flaws. Xiaomi MiPad doesn't support Netflix HD. iPads would match the need but it seems you didn't want one. What I looked for was an Android tablet which is not Samsung or Huawei and supports Netflix HD. Of course, newer APs have advantages in power consumption, better game support, weight etc. Galaxy Tab S6 lite supports S-pen which is good for pdf notetaking. I tried to write in pdf files with Xodo PDF app and Bamboo Tip stylus and it wasn't so successful. Still, I like mine.
4. Anything else I should know that I don't see jumping out at me in the forums that you would pass along to a new C owner?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its PCB is on the left side so it gets hot when running intensive apps or charging. (The bottom of the display turned a bit yellowish. Because of keyboard attached?)
USB PD laptop chargers works but the left side feels hotter compared to charging with 5V 3A chargers.
With its keyboard is good to use on lap or as a stand but it would be pricey to buy a new one.
Hi everyone.
I know this thread is hardly alive with activity haha but picked up a P40 Pro this morning from CeX in the UK. Had some stuff to trade in like older games etc and managed to bag a black one for £190.
My main phone is a 12 Mini but bought this solely for the camera and to basically have a little tinker with. So no problem about no Google etc as I won’t be using this as my main phone.
Phone has some light scratches so hoping a screen protector and a case will cover it up nicely, but does anyone have any recommendations for a protector that doesn’t interfere with the fingerprint scanner?
Any overall tips for using the phone and getting the best from it?!
Cheers
Aneres11 said:
Hi everyone.
I know this thread is hardly alive with activity haha but picked up a P40 Pro this morning from CeX in the UK. Had some stuff to trade in like older games etc and managed to bag a black one for £190.
My main phone is a 12 Mini but bought this solely for the camera and to basically have a little tinker with. So no problem about no Google etc as I won’t be using this as my main phone.
Phone has some light scratches so hoping a screen protector and a case will cover it up nicely, but does anyone have any recommendations for a protector that doesn’t interfere with the fingerprint scanner?
Any overall tips for using the phone and getting the best from it?!
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've stil got the original one that was pre-applied
Yes, get Gspace from Huawei's own app galley, or somewhere in here on xda, and use your favorite gms apps ad libitum. And enjoy the manual mode it allows really palpable adjustments thanks to the size of the RYYB sensors and the lens combo.
If you want to play some games, well you can, just download the Google games app and any of your liking, then, clone it in gspace, that way you can then download the play games app another time from the playstore, create a shortcut on your home screen and play your favorite games the way you left them on your previous device, all scores synced and so on... Cheers.
Or you can install GMS and use the phone without any restrictions ...
I agree, I installed GMS day 1 I had this device and its been amazing.
If anyone stumbles upon this, this is the guide I used. This way was a lot simpler than using the Googlefier method.
I should get my hands on a P40 Pro as a replacement for my Xiaomi Mi 9, which recently developed touchscreen issues.
Was looking for something good in the 300-400€ range used, almost went for a OnePlus Nord 2, but the P40 Pro just blows most of the competition out of the water in terms of specs
I'm also happy to have a bit of an experiment with a Google-free phone.
I basically only ever use my phone for webbrowsing, emails, messengers and maps, so the only thing I will have to replace is Google Maps.
Maps is working without GMS, but without login option.
WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram is working fine too.
Some of the bank apps doesn't work (can't pay thru NFC; you can use Curve or iCard for that), Android Auto also ...
If you install GMS, your phone will be fully functional.