Hello all,
Following XDA for years, but wasn't posting that much. My apologize for that, trying to give my contributions now
So, to start, hereunder, a sum up of my recent tests over last German ICS rom, Stock XXLRG.
======================
This is the second version of this post, taking in account various comments so far.
Firtsly, this is aimed to share my feelings about my own experience. Hope this could help anyone in anything. Nothing more
Accordingly to Roy_W, I provide which I will call my "test phase" description at the end of post, as simple infos for you to better make your opinion according to your own use. It is not about precise calculations & results, but about comparing the same things.
Hope this helps.
======================
Tests
1. Stock LRG + Stock Kernel, No root
2. Stock LRG + Stock Kernel + Root + remove some samsung apps.
3. Stock LRG + Speedmod 3-7 + remove some samsung apps
4. Stock LRG + CF-Root LRG + remove some samsung apps.
Impressions
1. In my opinion, do not use this setup. Rom feels very laggy, many little freeze here and there but the must annoying is the battery drain and heat while wifi download.
I think this is due to screen ON + heavy download (1GB+, games like Max Payne or Nova)
Pen is not well reponsive also.
Note : Except in test 3, there should be no difference with pen responsiveness between 1,2 and 3. but that was the case to me. Dunno why ^^
2. Starting to feel better, due to the removal of some Samsung apps (Rooting should not have this kind of effect .
Complete list of removed applications at the end of this post.
The phone is more responsive, lesser lags, but other things from test 1 (battery drain, pen responsiveness) remains the same.
3. Very good setup.
Lags are mostly gone, and Pen responsiveness is far better.
Don't know if Speedmod have done some special work for that, or is just due to his overall tweaks. I think it is also related to Samsung S-Suite updates. (look at test 4)
Good battery, feels like it could be better but mostly due to Samsung Roms than kernel. With normal use (sms, few calls, internet, XDA app , new review, some always active sync like Weather, Gmail, Talk, ...), you can easily achieve 2 days (48h) before running out of juice.
Also lesser memory consumption in idle (maybe related to samsung apps that were removed)
But, bluetooth was not working and since it is a must have for me, I needed to go to test 4.
4. Currently in test. Don't have my bluetooth headset with me, so this test will be updated tonight or tomorrow for feedback about battery, bluetooth and other.
So far, overall responsiveness of the phone is ok, but not as good as with Speedmod.
Maybe a placebo ( ), but I always felt that Chainfire's kernel is behaving a little better than stock one even if the only difference is root rights.
Also lesser memory consumption in idle (maybe related to samsung apps that were removed)
Samsung Removed Apps
Always doing this since my GS. It always make the system smoother to me. Can't tell about battery save.
- All Hubs (Reader, Music, ...)
- All apps related to hubs. (Zinio, Press reader, kobo...are examples of ones eating too much storage space).
- the big one : Samsung social Hub (2 apks)
- All stock live wallpaper (storage space eater)
I did not removed the Kies apps, since there were never launched, do not bother me and was having some weird warnings about missing apks while trying.
I advised to keep All Share (which is functionnal and useful for cross hardware connection) and Samsung Apps (but deactivate sync from app settings)
Go also for setting, and deactivate Wifi sync for system updates (About Phone -> System updates).
I did not test NOTECore kernel which has good feedback (3.1 version) because of the bluetooth not working.
Test Phase
Mostly due to my work, I have quitely the same daily use.
- Kernel were flashed the morning, at full charge, with cache/dalvik cache wipe.
- Only 3G, no Wifi/GPS/Blutooth. Auto Brightness, no added/removed apps (except for tests cases above).
- Betterbattery stats, stock battery monitor and Go power master for battery monitoring
- Facebook sync off (for battery save)
- Gmail sync on
- Google+ sync & Instant Upload off (for battery save)
- Weather sync every 4 hours
- Samsung apps sync off (for battery save)
- 1h call
- Gtalk & Whatsapp always connected
- No Flash installed (feels like I should mention this)
- No kills or memory clean
- Fixed wallpaper (for battery save) & lesser lags for screens transitions and opened drawer using NOVA.
What I take into account while making my opinion about battery :
- screen on time versus battery lost for the same period of time. Having used different 720p androphones, I have my own appreciation of that.
For 2000mah full charged batteries in my use with full stock, 2-3h screen on time is really bad, 3-5h should be considered as a good average, 6h+ is a dream.
GNote has a 2500 maH battery, so I have my expectation and maybe that's why I feel bad battery bahaviour when it won't hurt you at all.
- if apps were differently used by me according to their respective impact on battery
- if the basic services of Android are stable towards battery (custom kernels often reduce that )
- any wake locks
- if battery seems not affected by side-effects like mentionned above, then wait for one week of use before stating.
What I take into account while making my opinion about smoothness:
It is about shutters between screens transition, apps transition, feeling about time for the usual apps to be launched, multitasking...nothing more that a simple user feelings
Bests
thanks for the tests... but we prefer the wiping tests... just kidding...
thanks for the info,
which method do you use to remove these apps please ?
Haha..only wipe caches & dalvik from speedmod and CF kernel. I won't take any rosk from stock kernel
For system apps removal, jusy need root and titanium backup
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
CF-root and stock kernels are identical. No tweaks. Nada. Just root and Clockworkmod recovery.
So, how can the phone lag with stock kernel and be OK with CF-root ???
Placebo ?
Maybe related to the init scripts. For sure the main thing is the root with this kernel but wihin these tests and also for all samsung devices I had with Cf, it were always behaving better.
As I also said, should be related to samsung apps removal, especially the hubs.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Phenryth said:
Hello all,
Following XDA for years, but wasn't posting that much. My apologize for that, trying to give my contributions now
So, to start, hereunder, a sum up of my recent tests over last German ICS rom, Stock XXLRG.
Hope this helps some of you.
Tests
1. Stock LRG + Stock Kernel, No root
2. Stock LRG + Stock Kernel + Root + remove some samsung apps.
3. Stock LRG + Speedmod 3-7 + remove some samsung apps
4. Stock LRG + CF-Root LRG + remove some samsung apps.
Impressions
1. In my opinion, do not use this setup. Rom feels very laggy, many little freeze here and there but the must annoying is the battery drain and heat while wifi download.
I think this is due to screen ON + heavy download (1GB+, gamers like Max Payne or Nova)
Pen is not well reponsive also.
2. Starting to feel better, due to the removal of some Samsung apps.
Complete list of removed applications at the end of this post.
The phone is more responsive, lesser lags, but other things from test 1 (battery drain, pen responsiveness) remains the same.
3. Very good setup.
Lags are mostly gone, and Pen responsiveness is far better.
Don't know if Speedmod have done some special work for that, or is just due to his overall tweaks. I think it is also related to Samsung S-Suite updates. (look at test 4)
Good battery, feels like it could be better but mostly due to Samsung Roms than kernel. With normal use (sms, few calls, internet, XDA app , new review, some always active sync like FB, Weather, Gmail, Talk, ...), you can easily achieve 2 days (48h) before running out of juice.
Also lesser memory consumption in idle (also related to samsung apps that were removed)
But, bluetooth was not working and since it is a must have for me, I needed to go to test 4.
4. Currently in test. Don't have my bluetooth headset with me, so this test will be updated tonight or tomorrow for feedback about battery, bluetooth and other.
So far, overall responsiveness of the phone is ok, but not as good as with Speedmod.
Should be related to various tweaks, and ChainFire always aimed to provide his kernels, with Root and few tweaks.
I had GS, GS2, and CF kernels were always really nice for those looking to a Rom not too far from Stock, but with some performance tweaks and root.
Also lesser memory consumption in idle (also related to samsung apps that were removed)
BUT, having some troubles with NOVA with this setup. Several freezes, and needs to restart the launcher.
I think it is related to root access which needs to be set again coming from Speedmod to CF. Will keep you informed.
Samsung Removed Apps
Always doing this since my GS. It always make the system fly
- All Hubs (Reader, Music, ...)
- All apps related to hubs. (Zinio, Press reader, kobo...are examples of ones eating too much storage space).
- the big one : Samsung social Hub (2 apks)
- All stock live wallpaper (storage space eater)
I did not removed the Kies apps, since there were never launched, do not bother me and was having some weird warnings about missing apks while trying.
I advised to keep All Share (which is functionnal and useful for cross hardware connection) and Samsung Apps (but deactivate sync from app settings)
Go also for setting, and deactivate Wifi sync for system updates (About Phone -> System updates).
I did not test NOTECore kernel which has good feedback (3.1 version) because of the bluetooth not working.
Hope this helps.
Bests
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got to be honest I disagree with a lot thats written here.
Point 1 :- Why shouldn´t we use this set up??You might have or had problems but a lot of other users don`t,me being one of them.I have had NO laggs,my battery doesn´t heat up that much with WiFi,nothing freezes and the battery life is 100% top,all what you did in Point 3 with usage I get in Point 1 plus a few hours more.
Point 2 :- Once again I disagree,I´ve had no problems what so ever,only rooted for a few extra apps and removed NONE of the Samsung apps,still fast and smooth.Battery life still top,even upto 3 day usage depending on what I´m doing.
Point 3 and 4.....can´t say anything about these points because I won´t go this far,why should I ,everything is super fast,no laggs,a lot less battery drain:good: no need for any mods.(bluetooth also works )
Maybe I´m one of the lucky ones with a good Note :laugh:but this report won`t help me,maybe a few with problems.
Hi I think you don't agree wih my report cause of different perceptions between you and I.
Battery perf is linked to what is acceptable or not for both of us and also from various comparison through many flashes since GB.
And for sure, Linked to the type of use we both have.
It is the same for smoothness. I must say I am very sensible to lags and freezes even milliseconds one For instance, I am so maniac with it that I can detect a lag in a movie while no one noticed around me.
Plus, you can tell about many things to explain mobile OS perf and I will not accept this since I can not accept that a phone running a spec near to a PC ones, suffers such perf issues.
The best example is the smoothness experienced with my nexus with Jellybean against ICS. It is day and night.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Thanks OP for the comparison :victory:
Good initiative from OP for the comparison. Each person use the Note in a different way and will have different results surely from OP. But the main point of this thread was to give us a basic idea on the different setups OP has used. Thanks!
Thanx for making thread with detail study, thogh i can not be agree with many of statements.
Here something i like to say
- There is nothing much difference between test 1 & 2 except you have Root and removed some applications.
So does it mean
*Rooting can improve performance - I dont think so
*Removing application just making space on system ROM, so does making room on system ROM, can increase performance? I dont think so
many application you have removed may not be activated on start, naturally that doesn't have any relation with performance, b'coz it just occupy space not RAM
Now some application which may have enabled on boot, even that gives you temporary extra RAM, As android itself have LMK(low memory killer) which auto kills background applications which is not in used - LRU(least recently used), and when there is enough RAM available, even you exit from applications it remains in background for quike reopening, that is basic android mechanism. So if your aim to remove some application to make available more RAM, it won't be fulfilled, b'coz that application will be replaced by recently used application by users till android system dont sense as RAM is full. (you ca test it - when you have many applications removed, sure you will have much free RAM on boot, but if you look again after 15 min of play with device, it will be again full, same as who dont have remove blotwares, so wat benefits we got by removing those?)
Yes atleast i can say applications which was running in background for some time can consume little juice, but if you believe me, my experience is it can save maximum 3-4%(of full cycle) nothing more than that. But performance? I dont have any logic to believe it.
-I can't comment on test 3, as i have never used any custom kernel, and leaving your opinion untouched.
-Again between 2 and 4
yes you have also not tested much, but somewat if your opinion goes in favor of 4 (as you said in 1&2 responce is not good but in test 4 you saying it is OK) then if i am not wrong chainfire himself said, his kernel is complete stock (minus mmc_erase_cap command +root+su binary+CWM)
so in that case your opinion may not be placebo?
Anyway dear don't feel bad. appreciate your workout, but some points which i said dont favor me to agree completely.
Regards
I think my note must have been XXLRG when I got it but after trying to do some rooting things and bricking it, then finally loading XXLR1 (ICS) It is working great with no lag or freezing what so ever. Also have scored up to 4050 on Quadrant!
Da mOnKeY said:
Got to be honest I disagree with a lot thats written here.
Point 1 :- Why shouldn´t we use this set up??You might have or had problems but a lot of other users don`t,me being one of them.I have had NO laggs,my battery doesn´t heat up that much with WiFi,nothing freezes and the battery life is 100% top,all what you did in Point 3 with usage I get in Point 1 plus a few hours more.
Point 2 :- Once again I disagree,I´ve had no problems what so ever,only rooted for a few extra apps and removed NONE of the Samsung apps,still fast and smooth.Battery life still top,even upto 3 day usage depending on what I´m doing.
Point 3 and 4.....can´t say anything about these points because I won´t go this far,why should I ,everything is super fast,no laggs,a lot less battery drain:good: no need for any mods.(bluetooth also works )
Maybe I´m one of the lucky ones with a good Note :laugh:but this report won`t help me,maybe a few with problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree with this post. I didn't recognize any of the problems stated in the 1st option. I am currently running stock everything after having tried several different combinations of ROMS/Kernels.
There is also a lot of missing information in relation to what exact tests were performed and how they were measured : Whats apps were running at the time, were Wifi / GPS / Power Saving active, what was the state of the battery, how was "lag" measured, what brightness setting was used, Was a good 3g station nearby or was the telephone continually searching for a stronger signal, etc etc etc , The list could go on eternally.
As for anything batttery related, I do not understand how tests can be performed that have not been run over a relatively long period.
There are far too many parameters and options possible, that it would appear that the tests are merely personal interpretation.
I appreciate that you have taken the time and effort to do the testing but I am not convinced that the results can be treated as anything other than one persons thoughts at a given time.
I think that you can only perform these kind of tests when they are performed "identically" on a device that is reset from scratch and that the tests performed are measurable with precise calculation rather than the human eye/sentiment.
It is an almost impossible achievement outside of a qualified environment with a very strict set of controls.
Can the results be reproduced, is there any possibility that the results could change, would a third party be able to reproduce the same results ?
Unless of course detailed results and calculations are actually available, in which case it would be very interesting to be able read them.
Hi Dr. Ketan. Again, thanks for your guide, test 1 & 2 was done following it
Do not worry, I won't feel bad about your feedback, as for the previous one.
For sure, I think you and Chainfire knows that type of things better than me (no needs to tell why ^^), just reporting here my feelings over my tests.
*Rooting can improve performance - I dont think so
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think the same.
*Removing application just making space on system ROM, so does making room on system ROM, can increase performance? I dont think so
many application you have removed may not be activated on start, naturally that doesn't have any relation with performance, b'coz it just occupy space not RAM
Now some application which may have enabled on boot, even that gives you temporary extra RAM, As android itself have LMK(low memory killer) which auto kills background applications which is not in used - LRU(least recently used), and when there is enough RAM available, even you exit from applications it remains in background for quike reopening, that is basic android mechanism. So if your aim to remove some application to make available more RAM, it won't be fulfilled, b'coz that application will be replaced by recently used application by users till android system dont sense as RAM is full.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Removing samsung apps does not affect that much battery, but smoothness. I certainly wrongly express myself.
Maybe CF kernel has nothing to do with it since I was always flashing this and removing the hubs (especially the social one) together.
But fore sure, since my galaxy S, even on the S2, and now on the NOTE, doing this does increase system smoothness.
I do not know that much about Android memory system managment, but the first time I've done this was because I was sick about seeing these services running in background, even without ever launching them once and it does consume memory.
Yes atleast i can say applications which was running in background for some time can consume little juice, but if you believe me, my experience is it can save maximum 3-4%(of full cycle) nothing more than that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you without any problems
You know the deal, 1% here and there...at the end, it saves some battery.
I will update my post, but I can now say that Speedmod provides better battery than Stock/CF, looking at my battery stats for today.
Roy_W said:
I have to agree with this post. I didn't recognize any of the problems stated in the 1st option. I am currently running stock everything after having tried several different combinations of ROMS/Kernels.
There is also a lot of missing information in relation to what exact tests were performed and how they were measured : Whats apps were running at the time, were Wifi / GPS / Power Saving active, what was the state of the battery, how was "lag" measured, what brightness setting was used, Was a good 3g station nearby or was the telephone continually searching for a stronger signal, etc etc etc , The list could go on eternally.
As for anything batttery related, I do not understand how tests can be performed that have not been run over a relatively long period.
There are far too many parameters and options possible, that it would appear that the tests are merely personal interpretation.
I appreciate that you have taken the time and effort to do the testing but I am not convinced that the results can be treated as anything other than one persons thoughts at a given time.
I think that you can only perform these kind of tests when they are performed "identically" on a device that is reset from scratch and that the tests performed are measurable with precise calculation rather than the human eye/sentiment.
It is an almost impossible achievement outside of a qualified environment with a very strict set of controls.
Can the results be reproduced, is there any possibility that the results could change, would a third party be able to reproduce the same results ?
Unless of course detailed results and calculations are actually available, in which case it would be very interesting to be able read them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many good hints in your posts.
For sure, I've made my tests with some knwoledge about that, and trying to be in the same scenario each time.
I will update my post towards the parameters activated and other you stated.
Thanx
yes custom kernel may have improvement, b'coz that is made for that purpose, and we know developer adds some tweaks to improve performance. though i have not tested it, i can be agree on that point. but i have not make review just b'coz i have not used.
Regards.
Phenryth said:
Many good hints in your posts.
For sure, I've made my tests with some knwoledge about that, and trying to be in the same scenario each time.
I will update my post towards the parameters activated and other you stated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phenryth,
I look forward to your results, the basic idea of what you are doing has the potential of becoming a very interesting article.
These are tests without any statistical significance.
So in the end your heart or gut decided.
Everyone has there own view on how their phone should perform. If you are happy with it then there is no need to change it. If not then this guide provides some tips on how to improve it.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
To me for the first time ever since the ICS was introduced the 1- setup is absolutely the best I have tried, and I did try all four of them including removing Samsung bloatware.
The touch response is super sensitive, the pen works not just perfect but it also marks when in a diagonal position something never happened before, my one and only complain is the same one since seven months: the lag which comes when opening the Contacts application for the first time ,which is absolute outrageous other than that I am satisfied.
Hey I just had a few questions when it came to flashing a custom Nougat ROM at the moment. If anyone could answer them that would be great I am on stock Marshmallow right now and not rooted or anything. But I am thinking about flashing a custom ROM if there are benefits.
What features do we lose when we are coming from stock? (Moto Display/Gestures mainly)
How's the battery life compared to stock?
Any issues calls/texts/signal/wifi/bluetooth?
Is there an audio problem with most of the ROMs?
How is the camera on Nougat?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance to those that respond
Jyjieng11 said:
Hey I just had a few questions when it came to flashing a custom Nougat ROM at the moment. If anyone could answer them that would be great I am on stock Marshmallow right now and not rooted or anything. But I am thinking about flashing a custom ROM if there are benefits.
What features do we lose when we are coming from stock? (Moto Display/Gestures mainly)
How's the battery life compared to stock?
Any issues calls/texts/signal/wifi/bluetooth?
Is there an audio problem with most of the ROMs?
How is the camera on Nougat?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance to those that respond
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether or not you will benefit from a custom ROM will depend on you and your expectations.
Ambient display is the alternative/replacement to Moto display and some ROMs and add-ons allow for gestures.
As far as your other questions, these vary from ROM to ROM and user to user and the set ups they have (apps, kernel, customization, etc.) The best thing to do is read through the threads for the various nougat Roms and determine for yourself if they will meet your specific requirements...then test them for yourself.
aybarrap1 said:
Whether or not you will benefit from a custom ROM will depend on you and your expectations.
Ambient display is the alternative/replacement to Moto display and some ROMs and add-ons allow for gestures.
As far as your other questions, these vary from ROM to ROM and user to user and the set ups they have (apps, kernel, customization, etc.) The best thing to do is read through the threads for the various nougat Roms and determine for yourself if they will meet your specific requirements...then test them for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I know I made a really big generalization here I was just wondering with other people's mileage whether Nougat helped there battery life or not, etc. But thank you
Here's the lowdown:
As far as features, you would probably gain a few that you don't really need (like the ability to use themes, and control the audio levels) and battery will be roughly the same, if not a little worse usually (stock ROM is more optimized). A few features will be slightly different (like ambient display instead of moto display) and you'll also gain access to the hidden LED inside the top speaker of this phone. That's right, the MXPE has a notification LED! Can you even imagine? But it's there!
LineageOS is a good choice if you want to test out nougat, it's very stable at this point and is easily the cleanest ROM in my opinion (no bloat, feels like stock android). Battery life is pretty good but it drains a lot more on standby than stock does. Remember when you flash a non-stock rom you will also have to flash google apps. I like the stock or "super" options because they also give you the pixel launcher.
Root adds a whole new world of possibilities, with the ability to modify or add functionality you wouldn't normally be able to access. Like changing CPU governors (for better battery or better performance). LineageOS comes unrooted, and personally I keep it that way for maximum app compatibility (Pokémon Go, many streaming video services, and some banking apps don't work with rooted devices). If you wanted to play with root you could flash the root .zip file or just flash supersu like I think most people on XDA do.
As far as issues, every ROM has different quirks. I can tell you that often times the hardware drivers for custom ROMs can be hit-or-miss. Right now LineageOS (and anything based on LOS) is very stable and doesn't have many bugs, but that can change anytime. Any time your ROM updates it could potentially add a new quirk/bug. As of the latest nightly (2/21/17) I have not seen any significant bugs. No issues with Bluetooth or cell service (AT&T) and all gestures work (twist for camera, chop for flashlight, wave hand over screen to silence ring, ambient display, etc) GPS also works well. The only quirks I've noticed on this build is the camera takes a little longer to start up (sometimes up to 7 seconds) and occasionally my cell signal will say I have zero bars for a few seconds even though I still have service (no dropped calls/dropped web pages/etc).
Sean89us said:
Here's the lowdown:
As far as features, you would probably gain a few that you don't really need (like the ability to use themes, and control the audio levels) and battery will be roughly the same, if not a little worse usually (stock ROM is more optimized). A few features will be slightly different (like ambient display instead of moto display) and you'll also gain access to the hidden LED inside the top speaker of this phone. That's right, the MXPE has a notification LED! Can you even imagine? But it's there!
LineageOS is a good choice if you want to test out nougat, it's very stable at this point and is easily the cleanest ROM in my opinion (no bloat, feels like stock android). Battery life is pretty good but it drains a lot more on standby than stock does. Remember when you flash a non-stock rom you will also have to flash google apps. I like the stock or "super" options because they also give you the pixel launcher.
Root adds a whole new world of possibilities, with the ability to modify or add functionality you wouldn't normally be able to access. Like changing CPU governors (for better battery or better performance). LineageOS comes unrooted, and personally I keep it that way for maximum app compatibility (Pokémon Go, many streaming video services, and some banking apps don't work with rooted devices). If you wanted to play with root you could flash the root .zip file or just flash supersu like I think most people on XDA do.
As far as issues, every ROM has different quirks. I can tell you that often times the hardware drivers for custom ROMs can be hit-or-miss. Right now LineageOS (and anything based on LOS) is very stable and doesn't have many bugs, but that can change anytime. Any time your ROM updates it could potentially add a new quirk/bug. As of the latest nightly (2/21/17) I have not seen any significant bugs. No issues with Bluetooth or cell service (AT&T) and all gestures work (twist for camera, chop for flashlight, wave hand over screen to silence ring, ambient display, etc) GPS also works well. The only quirks I've noticed on this build is the camera takes a little longer to start up (sometimes up to 7 seconds) and occasionally my cell signal will say I have zero bars for a few seconds even though I still have service (no dropped calls/dropped web pages/etc).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all the information that really helped me out. I will most likely stay stock due to the fact that battery life is important to me. It's hard to get good battery when the phone is in your pocket and doze doesn't work during movement.