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My main phone is currently the Nexus 4 and my work phone is the iPhone 4S with ios7, which I'm looking forward to retiring, iOS does nothing for me on mobile any more - plus the wifey wants the 4s as she doesn't like her 5, I do like it on the (aging) iPad 3rd gen for garageband and infinity blade, but that's by the by, I really want to replace it with the Nexus as my work phone and a new phone for my main phone and stop using iOS on mobile completely - the way I see it, there are 2 options, as I would LOVE to go for a windows phone, but even the best of them the Lumia 1020 is old news in terms of hardware, though the system has potential.
The two contenders for best non-vanilla Android phone of the year (it is fair to assume that nothing better will come out this year, excluding the potential Nexus 5) are the Note 3 and the LG G2 (IMO).
The LG kills it in terms of having a very useful feature-packed but still light UI based on the TW roms but it looks to be lag-free and not junked up with too much purely-gimmicky stuff. I like the simple yet innovative move of the unlock/vol/camera button to the back of the phone and the fact that you can customise the main button bar on stock as standard.
The Note 3 goes balls-out blazing with the all-new 3gig ram compared to the 2, massive phablet screen and extra storage, as well as the S-Pen and all of the TW gimmicks, extras and cool features you'd expect. It will have at-least the same snapdragon 800 processor, if not clocked higher, a better battery life and potentially better camera, and there could also be a second octa-core version, also it has a minimum of 32GB storage and an expandable slot (i forget if the LG has a slot) which makes it a perfect media device to boot.
Which will win the battle of the 2013 titans and which would you choose for yourself, and which would you recommend for others (we all know that sometimes we would choose something different as nerds than what we would recommend for others xD)?
So far, I'm leaning towards the Note 3 depending on what price I can get it on a contract with a decent LTE package on, but I'm open to being swayed by the G2.
What are your thoughts?
dodgebizkit said:
My main phone is currently the Nexus 4 and my work phone is the iPhone 4S with ios7, which I'm looking forward to retiring, iOS does nothing for me on mobile any more - plus the wifey wants the 4s as she doesn't like her 5, I do like it on the (aging) iPad 3rd gen for garageband and infinity blade, but that's by the by, I really want to replace it with the Nexus as my work phone and a new phone for my main phone and stop using iOS on mobile completely - the way I see it, there are 2 options, as I would LOVE to go for a windows phone, but even the best of them the Lumia 1020 is old news in terms of hardware, though the system has potential.
The two contenders for best non-vanilla Android phone of the year (it is fair to assume that nothing better will come out this year, excluding the potential Nexus 5) are the Note 3 and the LG G2 (IMO).
The LG kills it in terms of having a very useful feature-packed but still light UI based on the TW roms but it looks to be lag-free and not junked up with too much purely-gimmicky stuff. I like the simple yet innovative move of the unlock/vol/camera button to the back of the phone and the fact that you can customise the main button bar on stock as standard.
The Note 3 goes balls-out blazing with the all-new 3gig ram compared to the 2, massive phablet screen and extra storage, as well as the S-Pen and all of the TW gimmicks, extras and cool features you'd expect. It will have at-least the same snapdragon 800 processor, if not clocked higher, a better battery life and potentially better camera, and there could also be a second octa-core version, also it has a minimum of 32GB storage and an expandable slot (i forget if the LG has a slot) which makes it a perfect media device to boot.
Which will win the battle of the 2013 titans and which would you choose for yourself, and which would you recommend for others (we all know that sometimes we would choose something different as nerds than what we would recommend for others xD)?
So far, I'm leaning towards the Note 3 depending on what price I can get it on a contract with a decent LTE package on, but I'm open to being swayed by the G2.
What are your thoughts?
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If those 2 are your choices I'd say note 3 all day. The only significant feature g2 has over note is the Optical Image Stabilization in my opinion. Don't forget custom roms should equalize any differences in software features between the phones.
You mentioned the lumia 1020, If you actually like Windows Phone 8 and you like taking pictures then get the lumia 1020. You said the hardware is outdated but the thing is, on WP8 hardware is almost never outdated, that os is so damn friendly to the processor/screen/ram. It will probably be a while till 1020 is overthrown in terms of camera quality. (look how long the 808 held its throne). Still that operating system leaves a lot to be desired, maybe the new update will bring more functionality to it. It is beautiful though, no doubt about that...
For all the comparison I see about the hardware, how similar they are and aren't, and the talk of TW vs whatever LG is using, I think it comes down to something altogether simpler: Do you want a phone or a phablet?
I do understand comparing the other stuff though, and if LG makes a G2 Pro then it'll be pretty relevant. I don't think the hardware difference is that notable. I'm pretty disappointed with the GS4's TW though, and the G2's UI actually seems pretty useful. I will give TW on the Note 3 a fair chance before judging it though. But if it lags and feels as bloated as the GS4's does, it'll probably really irritate me. I'm personally stuck with Verizon, so I'm operating on the assumption of using it completely stock given the trend of them locking things down to hell.
DHM078 said:
For all the comparison I see about the hardware, how similar they are and aren't, and the talk of TW vs whatever LG is using, I think it comes down to something altogether simpler: Do you want a phone or a phablet?
I do understand comparing the other stuff though, and if LG makes a G2 Pro then it'll be pretty relevant. I don't think the hardware difference is that notable. I'm pretty disappointed with the GS4's TW though, and the G2's UI actually seems pretty useful. I will give TW on the Note 3 a fair chance before judging it though. But if it lags and feels as bloated as the GS4's does, it'll probably really irritate me. I'm personally stuck with Verizon, so I'm operating on the assumption of using it completely stock given the trend of them locking things down to hell.
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DHM, I don't see how that matters though seeing as how custom development always alleviates any software woes... I hear the note 3 may be challenging to develop for initially but i doubt that people will have to wait long given how incredibly popular this phone is.
I'm sorry i'm assuming that everyone is comfortable customizing their phones with roms. Given that someone would not deviate from a stock experience then i see how the launcher may affect someones purchasing decision. I guess after using custom roms for the past 5 years i just take that for granted.
I'm getting a Note 3 only because the G2 doesn't have expandable sd slot or removable battery. Plus I've never owned a Note device so I'm curious to have one. The GPro is awesome and I plan on keeping it as my personal phone. Note 3 will be for work!
systoxity said:
DHM, I don't see how that matters though seeing as how custom development always alleviates any software woes... I hear the note 3 may be challenging to develop for initially but i doubt that people will have to wait long given how incredibly popular this phone is.
I'm sorry i'm assuming that everyone is comfortable customizing their phones with roms. Given that someone would not deviate from a stock experience then i see how the launcher may affect someones purchasing decision. I guess after using custom roms for the past 5 years i just take that for granted.
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I am perfectly comfortable modifying my phones. I've been using custom software pretty much exclusively basically since I started with smartphones. That's not my point. I have a lot of faith in the developers here, they've accomplished amazing things and have defeated the manufacturers time and time again. But I'm trying not to take it for granted. With how freaking locked up Verizon phones specifically have been as of late, I am not going to buy a phone on the assumption that I'll just be able to toss out the stock stuff. I tend to be pretty optimistic about things getting cracked, but I also think that it will very likely take a while. So I will consider the stock firmware when purchasing a phone as there's a pretty damn good chance I'll be stuck on it for quite some time before it gets cracked.
A good amount of caution is always wise. Guess everyone just has to weigh what features matter to them most and then try to make an informed decision when selecting between phones.
systoxity said:
If those 2 are your choices I'd say note 3 all day. The only significant feature g2 has over note is the Optical Image Stabilization in my opinion. Don't forget custom roms should equalize any differences in software features between the phones.
You mentioned the lumia 1020, If you actually like Windows Phone 8 and you like taking pictures then get the lumia 1020. You said the hardware is outdated but the thing is, on WP8 hardware is almost never outdated, that os is so damn friendly to the processor/screen/ram. It will probably be a while till 1020 is overthrown in terms of camera quality. (look how long the 808 held its throne). Still that operating system leaves a lot to be desired, maybe the new update will bring more functionality to it. It is beautiful though, no doubt about that...
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Pretty sure the note 3 has smart stabilization as well. samsung's take on ois. correct?
and g2 doesnt have sdcard, no removable battery and no stylus throws it out for me.
oneandroidnut said:
Pretty sure the note 3 has smart stabilization as well. samsung's take on ois. correct?
and g2 doesnt have sdcard, no removable battery and no stylus throws it out for me.
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Its got digital which according to the internet is trash compared to optical (almost all phones use digital stabilization). Digital apparently is good for reducing shake during videos but does nothing to fight blur from taking pictures in low light. Low light photography involves dropping the shutter speed allowing more light in, any tremors in the shooters hands can then cause blur in the picture, effectively "smearing" the image over the sensor. Optical Stabilization involves physically moving the lens to compensate for movement while the shutter is open.
I'm going to google the subject some more and see if i can get some comparison shots... I have no idea just how much of a difference optical makes so i'm left with only what i've read and we all know how accurate the internet can be some times...
Update* Well.... according to the internet the answer is.. A lot. Take that with a grain of salt though lmao. here's some comparison shots: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/ISComparison.png/240px-ISComparison.png and http://www.digicamhelp.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/is-on-off_large.jpg
systoxity said:
Its got digital which according to the internet is trash compared to optical (almost all phones use digital stabilization). Digital apparently is good for reducing shake during videos but does nothing to fight blur from taking pictures in low light. Low light photography involves dropping the shutter speed allowing more light in, any tremors in the shooters hands can then cause blur in the picture, effectively "smearing" the image over the sensor. Optical Stabilization involves physically moving the lens to compensate for movement while the shutter is open.
I'm going to google the subject some more and see if i can get some comparison shots... I have no idea just how much of a difference optical makes so i'm left with only what i've read and we all know how accurate the internet can be some times...
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there was a video of the g2 showing off the ois and it looked like a joke. let me see if i can find it. friend sent to me in a facebook message. but wasnt impressive to me. and true it may not be true optical but im not that concerned with it. And what you mean the internet is always true!?!?! haha
Rofl yeah the T.V. too. I'd be interested to see that video you saw. i'll check back here for updates. I updated my post with supposed pictures of OIS on vs off.
systoxity said:
Rofl yeah the T.V. too. I'd be interested to see that video you saw. i'll check back here for updates. I updated my post with supposed pictures of OIS on vs off.
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Think this is it.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjcqtCo-bq4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
You know the LG G2 and Note 3 are in two different product categories right? There is a big size difference between the two. You have been using sub 5" phones. Have you tried out a phablet at the store? Borrow one to try out and pocket? The LG G2 is no bigger than last year's Galaxy S3 and packs a 5.2" whereas the Note 3 is still very much a phablet and bigger than the Optimus G Pro.
They use two different screen technologies. Do you want Super AMOLED or IPS LCD? It makes a big difference for some people. Check it out at the store.
Do you want removable battery and microSD? The LG G2 has none of these, but that makes the phone unibody and more durable, no annoying seams and creaks. The Note 3 has both, but you have to deal with a flimsy back cover. I've owned nothing but Samsung phones for the past few years. I really hate the creaky back covers that eventually get loose and aren't flush anymore.
Do you want a stylus? Have you tried using it? I've owned the Note 1 and 2 and beyond playing with the stylus for a couple hours, never pulled it out again. Some surveys out there say 90% of Note owners don't even use the stylus at all. The stylus is way too small to hold for me and the button impossible to push. It's slippery and unnatural when writing on the screen. No friction. The accuracy isn't much better than a finger either, so don't expect to be able to scribble really small text or fit more than a few words per line, or do anything more than doodling. I'm not a big writing or doodling person, and you might find it useful, but I'd rather type out something on a keyboard, or quickly finger a note (the LG G2 has quick note taking apps as well) than have to pull out the stylus and clutch the thin stylus.
The reviews of the LG G2 have shown some pretty great battery life. Lg has G-RAM, which saves battery on a static screen, and also packs 3000mah in a 5.2" phone. LG's ROM doesn't seem as bloated as Touchwiz either. The Note 3, which is a whopping 0.5" bigger, only upped the battery by 100mah to 3200mah from the Note 2, and doesn't have G-RAM. a Full RGB AMOLED panel at 5.7" is gonna suck a lot of battery, especially when at max brightness. All signs point to the LG G2 having the better battery life.
Both have 13MP Exmor RS cameras made by Sony with optical image stabilization. They are about as good as the OIS in the HTC One, basically not very good. It is no where near the kind of smoothness the Lumia 920/925/1020 can achieve. It is because they aren't willing to go the extra mile and make the camera module bigger for better OIS. The pictures are roughly the same, since they are they same sensor after all. It's down to which type of post-processing you like more. The LG G2 has a nasty autofocusing issue in video that makes the image bounce around like a diaphragm. It may be fixed by release time (or not).
Do you like side buttons or buttons on the back? You'll have to try the LG G2 out in person to see if you like the back buttons. Do you like on-screen buttons or Samsung style shoved to the bottom buttons? I'm not a fan of onscreen buttons, but LG's ability to customize them, as well as the infinitely useful double tap to turn on, are turning me around. I honestly hate the home button and the shoved down to the corner capacitive buttons on Galaxy phones. How many times have I backed out of the camera or screwed something else because of accidental button presses? And going from soft taps to a hard push for the home button is still jarring. It's not a quick or reassuring process. Apple makes way better home buttons than Samsung.
This is my dilemma as well. I already have a Note 2 but was thinking about getting something smaller/different. But when you add up everything the Note 3 comes out on top.
Note 3 pro's when compared to the G2
Removable battery
SD card
More Ram
32gig off the bat (I still don't know if the Verizon G2 is 16gig or 32gig)
S-Pen
I like the look off touchwiz better than LG
USB 3
Universal accessories
More popular
Don't know about LG update track record
4.3 out the box
Love the blacks and colors on the screen but not the brightness
LG G2 pro's when compared to the Note 3.
Smaller
$100 less expensive (If at 32gig)
Different phone from the Note series
Double tap to wake out the box
Like the idea of having the buttons on the back
Brighter screen
Better camera with optical image stabilization
katamari201 said:
You know the LG G2 and Note 3 are in two different product categories right? There is a big size difference between the two. You have been using sub 5" phones. Have you tried out a phablet at the store? Borrow one to try out and pocket? The LG G2 is no bigger than last year's Galaxy S3 and packs a 5.2" whereas the Note 3 is still very much a phablet and bigger than the Optimus G Pro.
I had the Note 2 and loved it. Size is no issue for me. I 6'4" and have big hands. Can reach all parts of note 2 no problem. This shows you that i want a bigger phone. S4 is too small for my taste. Wish Note 3 was 6 inches!
They use two different screen technologies. Do you want Super AMOLED or IPS LCD? It makes a big difference for some people. Check it out at the store.
Wish the note 3 or G2 looked as good as the HTC One but i can live with either one of them not a huge deal both of their ppi and resolution are fine.
Do you want removable battery and microSD? The LG G2 has none of these, but that makes the phone unibody and more durable, no annoying seams and creaks. The Note 3 has both, but you have to deal with a flimsy back cover. I've owned nothing but Samsung phones for the past few years. I really hate the creaky back covers that eventually get loose and aren't flush anymore.
Yes i want a removable back and microSD card. Love being able to charge a spare battery with the sammy charger and slapping in phone and not having to worry about plugging in my phone. And unibody has been perfected by the HTC One. I have had the S3, Note 2 and S4 and not had creaking or gaps/loose etc. Im going to put a spigen case on it anyways.
Do you want a stylus? Have you tried using it? I've owned the Note 1 and 2 and beyond playing with the stylus for a couple hours, never pulled it out again. Some surveys out there say 90% of Note owners don't even use the stylus at all. The stylus is way too small to hold for me and the button impossible to push. It's slippery and unnatural when writing on the screen. No friction. The accuracy isn't much better than a finger either, so don't expect to be able to scribble really small text or fit more than a few words per line, or do anything more than doodling. I'm not a big writing or doodling person, and you might find it useful, but I'd rather type out something on a keyboard, or quickly finger a note (the LG G2 has quick note taking apps as well) than have to pull out the stylus and clutch the thin stylus.
Comes from the Note 2 as i have stated before i dont use on a daily basis but plenty of times do i like having out its just easier to do some things with and some things it isnt. And i could write 10x more accurately with s pen then my finger.
The reviews of the LG G2 have shown some pretty great battery life. Lg has G-RAM, which saves battery on a static screen, and also packs 3000mah in a 5.2" phone. LG's ROM doesn't seem as bloated as Touchwiz either. The Note 3, which is a whopping 0.5" bigger, only upped the battery by 100mah to 3200mah from the Note 2, and doesn't have G-RAM. a Full RGB AMOLED panel at 5.7" is gonna suck a lot of battery, especially when at max brightness. All signs point to the LG G2 having the better battery life.
If i remember correctly back to my Note 2 the battery life was very impressive and this phone has a snapdragon 800 and 3 GB of ram and 100 mah bigger and everything i have seen is that the snapdragon 800 conserves power so both phones should be beasts at battery.
Both have 13MP Exmor RS cameras made by Sony with optical image stabilization. They are about as good as the OIS in the HTC One, basically not very good. It is no where near the kind of smoothness the Lumia 920/925/1020 can achieve. It is because they aren't willing to go the extra mile and make the camera module bigger for better OIS. The pictures are roughly the same, since they are they same sensor after all. It's down to which type of post-processing you like more. The LG G2 has a nasty autofocusing issue in video that makes the image bounce around like a diaphragm. It may be fixed by release time (or not).
Camera isnt a big deal breaker the S4 camera was fine for my liking so getting the same on the note 3 isnt a huge deal breaker but would have liked to see some improvements and upwards of 20 mp.
Do you like side buttons or buttons on the back? You'll have to try the LG G2 out in person to see if you like the back buttons. Do you like on-screen buttons or Samsung style shoved to the bottom buttons? I'm not a fan of onscreen buttons, but LG's ability to customize them, as well as the infinitely useful double tap to turn on, are turning me around. I honestly hate the home button and the shoved down to the corner capacitive buttons on Galaxy phones. How many times have I backed out of the camera or screwed something else because of accidental button presses? And going from soft taps to a hard push for the home button is still jarring. It's not a quick or reassuring process. Apple makes way better home buttons than Samsung.
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I havent played with a G2 yet but i dont like the idea of back buttons. awkward hump on the back and tough to get to i think when in hand. And i agree i hate on screen buttons. Samsung buttons at the bottom are just fine with me. I cant remember a time where i accidental closed an app or process due to a button press. I love being able to wake the screen with just a press of the home button. Just as easy as the G2 double tap. Swipe to wake and swipe to sleep would be better like i have on my nexus 7. And Apple does NOTHING YES NOTHING better then android!
katamari201 said:
The reviews of the LG G2 have shown some pretty great battery life. Lg has G-RAM, which saves battery on a static screen, and also packs 3000mah in a 5.2" phone. LG's ROM doesn't seem as bloated as Touchwiz either. The Note 3, which is a whopping 0.5" bigger, only upped the battery by 100mah to 3200mah from the Note 2, and doesn't have G-RAM. a Full RGB AMOLED panel at 5.7" is gonna suck a lot of battery, especially when at max brightness. All signs point to the LG G2 having the better battery life.
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Panel Self Refresh (PSR) is what LG terms as G-RAM. It has been in Exynos 5250 for a year now.
To maximize power efficiencies at the system level, the Exynos 5250 has an embedded DisplayPort (eDP) interface that is compliant with panel self-refresh technology (PSR) applied to the timing controller (T-CON). The embedded PSR technology enables static images to be refreshed directly from the frame buffer memory incorporated in the T-CON, resolving the need for regular display refresh instructions to be made by the application processor in cases such as reading static web pages or e-books.
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Also, it has Envelope Tracking tech from Qualcomm, actually the first of it's kind.
Looking at the benchmarks, I think we are looking at higher binned AB version of 800 SOC.
It already has the latest 3GB memory module from Samsung.
I am just waiting to check if they are using the new eMMC 5.0 in GN3.
Motorola has made use of Samsung's F2FS file system in Moto X. It has been very well reviewed by Anandtech. I think Samsung will also start using their F2FS in their products, afterall they designed it.
These are some of the techinical aspects of GN3 I am interested in. I don't think in anyway it's going to have a bad batterylife. Infact Samsung already mentioned in their keynote that they expect 3-4 hours more video playback as compared to GN2. GN2 already had a monster batterylife. This will be even better.
FinancialWar said:
I would get the iPhone 5s.
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I hope that you are kidding me.:laugh:
Hi.
That are the right questions!
According to the Snapdragon artice on Wikipedia, it has not the faster AB Version of the S800 SoC.
But according to this Benchmark Comparison on GSMarea, I think there is the newer eMMC 5.0 3GB RAM in the Note 3.
Overall Note 3, but G2 for cyanogen-development-support.
Sent from my GT-I9205 using xda premium
xSCHITaX said:
Hi.
That are the right questions!
According to the Snapdragon artice on Wikipedia, it has not the faster AB Version of the S800 SoC.
But according to this Benchmark Comparison on GSMarea, I think there is the newer eMMC 5.0 3GB RAM in the Note 3.
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Wikipedia is not really a good source of information specially when the product is just announced. The GN3 benchmark numbers are very close to MDP results. Samsung never mentions SOC details in their announcement.
Lets wait and see..
Hi all, I'm currently using the Galaxy S5 and looking to upgrade to the G4. Anyone has switched to the G4 from Samsung's high end phones like the S6 or the Note 4? Can you give some impressions and comparisons (Camera (most important), screen, performance)? Thanks a lot!
From Note 4.... The G4 should crush the S5 except water resistance
I did it after one month with s6 edge, battery in s6 edge is so bad, other things are ok and almost identical, no lags on both phones. Camera is identical.
I came from the S5 to the G4 and haven't even had a second thought on going back
Camera is amazing. UX 4.0 beats Touchwiz (in my opinion better than S6 as well, my wife has that). Just takes some getting used to the no "hard" home buttons and the power/volume buttons on the back rather than the side but once you do it's actually more convenient knowing a case can protect them even more and are less susceptible to being damaged
I came from galaxy s3. Well, it's obvious that the g4 performs wayyyy much better
Note 4 to G4 here. So far, seems better in all aspects. Only one it might not beat the Note 4 in is battery, but I haven't had for long enough to really see how it averages. Camera is better. UI seems cleaner and easier to use. Love double tap on, as I was used to it with the HTC M8 and missed it on the Note 4. Only weird thing I had to get used to was in the cam app, the 3 software buttons don't show up (have to hit the back button in the camera view).
LG really did well with this phone
Thanks all , would love to hear more from Note 4 and S6 users too!
toughthrone said:
I came from galaxy s3. Well, it's obvious that the g4 performs wayyyy much better
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I made same switch. And yeah, the G4 does seem to have just slightly better performance.
Master619 said:
Thanks all , would love to hear more from Note 4 and S6 users too!
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I'll post more as I get to use phone more. Just got yesterday. So far, it's really nice. I had almost written LG off after the Optimus G. Glad I didn't. So far:
PROs for G4 vs Note 4
Lighter. Also noticeably smaller despite screen being almost same size.
Better Camera
UI - UX 4.0 really is nice and light
No Keyboard FCs! Man that was annoying in Lollipop Note 4...keyboard FC but stayed on screen, had to reboot to get rid of
Double tap on and Knock unlock code
Themes
Settings app broken down into proper sections (Note 4 Settings scrolls all day with all settings on a single scrolling list)
Can get a real Glass Screen Protector without the dreaded Halo effect around all edges (Note 4 curved edge to screen caused this no matter which glass protector I used (tried 6).
64 bit processor
Faster in real world use
Cool offers of free stuff from LG
About $200 cheaper
PROs for Note 4
Stylus (I only used a handful of times....was more of a gimmick to me)
Better battery life?
Fingerprint scanner and heartrate monitor (I hardly used either, as the fingerprint scanner required an odd hand placement for such a large phone)
Physical Home button
Just different between the 2:
Home button and volume button placements (I prefer LG after using for a little bit)
Both have IR blaster, large beautiful screens, expandable storage, 3GB RAM, excellent wireless radios.
Switched over from a Samsung Galaxy S4...I traded it in for $100 to At&T so my G4 only cost me $99 + tax on my upgrade option. Loving it so far, praying for root to get rid of the bloatware. :fingers-crossed:
I did. I have the S6e at home and I intend to switch back and fourth. The G4 feels so much bigger. The camera quality is NOT the same and I have tested them both in the same scenarios. The s6 is brighter and crisper than the G4. Stock launchers is far better and faster than TW. TW began to lag on my S6, so I installed Nova Prime and it was super fast again. Battery on the G4 is 10 times better than the S6. I got 36 hrs on my G4 and still had 25% left.
I came from a rooted Note 3. First non-phone-specific: I REALLY REALLY miss root. The ability to block ads is missed and I have to wait to restore all of my titanium backups that I have sitting till the G4 is rooted.
As far as performance goes, my Note 3 was pretty snappy. I haven't noticed very many differences in performance yet. But I've been waiting for the battery to get a few cycles before I really start pushing performance with games and stuff.
Other than that, I don;t really miss my Note 3. The G4 is smaller, looks nicer has a better (but only slightly smaller) screen. I kind of miss AMOLED screen tech for battery and contrast, but everything else makes up for it. Do not regret it.:good:
EVOme said:
I did. I have the S6e at home and I intend to switch back and fourth. The G4 feels so much bigger. The camera quality is NOT the same and I have tested them both in the same scenarios. The s6 is brighter and crisper than the G4. Stock launchers is far better and faster than TW. TW began to lag on my S6, so I installed Nova Prime and it was super fast again. Battery on the G4 is 10 times better than the S6. I got 36 hrs on my G4 and still had 25% left.
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I have an S6e as well and agree with you. I had a Note 4 before the S6e and now the G4 and it feels downright massive compared to the S6e. The Note 4 felt smaller to me because it was thinner but it was a big device as well. I got rid of my Note 4 because of it's size, I ride motorcycles almost daily and the damned thing was never comfortable in my pocket, it was just too big and rectangle and flat. The S6e is perfect size for me in that regard but I really miss having a larger display (had a Nexus 6 before the Note). Because of the slight curvature of the back of the G4 it makes just enough of a difference in my jeans that it doesn't dig the corners of the phone into my leg when I squeeze the tank in turns, etc.
Cameras between S6e and G4 seem pretty similar to me but there is a difference but I attribute that to Samsung doing a better job of processing the jpg file that's output than LG with the G4 having the ace in the hole of giving you the raw file you can subsequently edit yourself. I know that's not what most people want to do (myself included for phone snaps), but I think the LG camera is better for that reason alone as you can certainly make a better image in the end. All that said, I believe the S6e will do the same once it gets official 5.1.1 and then a proper camera comparo can be done, though in all honesty it's still a phone camera and they are both outstanding for what they are.
Same thoughts on launchers too, the iteration of TW on the S6e is much better than anything they've done before but it still suffers from the same old problems of lag ultimately. I too use Nova (on both phones) and it solves the issue. If forced to use stock, I would probably pick the LG but I do hate the DPI of 640 and everything is so damned big and there's so much wasted screen real estate. The S6e out of the box with it's adjustable grid sizes and what not better utilizes the screen.
Agree on battery life also. On the stock ROM I could make it through a day (I work 18-20h shifts at times) on a single charge but I would cut it close some days. The built in Qi charging is really nice and I have a charger at work and I can just drop the phone on it when I can make it to my office and the quick charge via the INCLUDED wall charger is awesome. So even though the battery life wasn't great, it's quite easy to top it off. I did run the leaked TMo 5.1.1 software for a week or so and the battery life on it is a completely different animal. I could make it nearly 48 hours without a top off, so again, with 5.1.1 I think the S6e will be a lot better device than it currently is. The battery life on my G4 seems great so far. I've run it down to 10% twice now and it was at about 40h off charger each time. The phone itself supports quick charge 2.0 but the included wall charger doesn't. The wall charger charges it incredibly slow so I've been using my S6e charger which charges it in about 1/3 the time. I ordered a proper quick charge 2.0 certified charger that should be here tomorrow along with a Qi sticker for the stock back. All things considered, the G4 battery is certainly longer lasting but more of a pain in the ass to recharge for now (until my free spare battery from the promo shows up lol!) and for the way/scenarios I use my phone I prefer the S6e here. My Note 4 easily crushed them both in this category, it could go just over 3 days before dying.
Coming from S5 (Verizon) to the G4 (Verizon) ...
The S6 with no SD support was a no-go for me.
Battery life seems a little shorter than the S5. I suspect it is due to the beefier processor on the G4 even though the G4 has a bigger battery. The battery on the G4 seems to drop a LOT less when unused however.
I am kinda missing my fingerprint scanner on the S5, but the knock code and "locked files" in gallery help me keep certain pictures away from prying eyes.
Speaking of pictures, this camera is awesome. Period. Check out the "My LG G4 Photography" thread by alexfoxy. The front camera is pretty good too. A lady friend took a few selfies with my phone and said "damn, your phone makes me look good!"
I don't really notice the difference in the screen (size or resolution). S5 looked good and a the size is right for my big hands. G4 is the same.
This is the first phone that I didn't immediately wish for a ROM. I am missing my ad-blocking that requires root, but the default ROM is clean and fast (maybe kudos the the processor). I did have to change home back to Apex, tho.
All in all, very happy with the upgrade.
I'm coming from the Note 4 and I'm pretty sure the G4 is here to stay with me.
I can basically echo what others are saying;
- the ui is cleaner and smoother
- overall phone seems a lot smoother/quicker I haven't had much stuttering. The Note had its moments where it'd freeze or stutter really badly, even on a custom rom
- maybe it's just me but the pictures from the camera seem sharper.
- It feels better in hand aswell.
- The double tap on screen to unlock is nice to have
- the clip tray being an option when I long press where I would usually paste is nice to see as with the Note, the clipboard only showed up in select places
It just seems nicer overall. I do hope root comes soon as I'd want to disable some stuff.
In terms of battery, I feel like the Note might of done better but then again I had certain crap apps disabled *cough* tmo my account *cough*
I can't exactly judge though since my service at work sucks so whatever phone I use drains quickly. For some reason when I had the OnePlus it did a ton better in the poor coverage areas (in terms of battery drain) but it didn't have WiFi calling which is a big deal to me.
I didn't use the spen as much as I initially thought I would. When it came to taking notes I always went back to typing them rather than writing with the stylus. Although it did come in handy for selecting certain parts of a pic online and whatnot and quickly sharing it to something like hangouts.
Fingerprint and shealth I never cared for.
I haven't "missed" my Note 4 yet. I like having new devices and I'm sure I don't use them to their potential as some others do here but for my purposes the phone is great
Even though I have the HTC One M9 Dev Edition, I consider myself coming from the T-Mobile S5 to the T-Mobile G4. The dealmaker for me were the replaceable battery and removable storage. I'm still keeping my S5 of course. I still need a root-capable device.
To ex-note 4 users
What made you switch ?
One Twelve said:
What made you switch ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regarding the Note 4I got irritated with it to the point where I paid off half the phone's price to get rid of it. Lollipop was an absolute mess. First, we waited forever. Then when we get it, it really messed up the phone. Issues I had:
1) Constant keyboard FC (where keyboard stays on screen permanent until reboot)...this would happen about once an hour, but only when using special characters ( . , * $ etc).
2) Upon unlocking, I would go to a black screen occasionally, requiring me to press the power button to shut off phone, then turn back on.
3) Trying to open an e-mail from notifications would take me to e-mail APP, but to a blank page with a back button.
4) Sometimes, cellular radio would choose to ignore wireless data altogether despite being in a strong LTE area.
5) Wifi calling would hardly connect, and was as likely to drop mid-call as it was to stay connected
6) Battery life went from 2 days with my usage to about 18 hours.
On top of those Lolli issues, the settings menu was a mess...scroll all day to find the menu I wanted. Missed double tap to wake too.
While I LOVED the look of the M9 and I love HTC in general, I eliminated HTC M9 due to 2 reasons:
1) The camera wasn't a contender with the current flagships and I use it as my primary camera to take pics of my kids.
2) No dual apps on same screen. It's a feature I used on the Note 4, and M9 didn't have it.
The S6 got eliminated due to 3 main reasons:
1) Looks too much like IPhone...sorry, just not my style
2) Touchwiz...granted my opinion is based on the Note 4, but I found it to be overly heavy and loaded with things I don't really use.
3) No expandable storage. I read their point of using high speed EMMC and wanting to keep system fast. What I read in that was "Blah blah blah we want you to pay MORE to get more storage". Again, goes back to too much like IPhone.
I'm not saying the G4 is perfect...I'd love it to have an 8 core processor, but it's really powerful enough as is. It's not overloaded with apps I won't really used or features I don't use. I'm sure I'll find things I don't LOVE as I use it more, but nothing is jumping out at me so far, and considering this has only been out for what...2 weeks, it's still early release, so bugs could be expected somewhat even though I've had none thusfar. I also liked the promotions LG was putting with it considering it's the least expensive of all the flagships out there (at least for us T-Mobile customers...it's $50 less than the M9, $80 less than S6, $180 less than S6E, hell, it's even cheaper than a 16GB IPhone 6).
Sorry so long
One Twelve said:
What made you switch ?
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Click to collapse
im a phone whore ......... i wanted a new toy till the note 5 comes out. I pray they dont ruin it like they did the galaxy series
fatboypup said:
im a phone whore ......... i wanted a new toy till the note 5 comes out. I pray they dont ruin it like they did the galaxy series
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hah, once their sales figures come in they will not make that same mistake with the s7 is my hunch. g2-g3, m7-m8
Talk about scoring an own goal against LG
g2 vs s4 and g4 vs s6 (!)
At the time if g2 intl version was like g2 korean version i think i would have bought it.
---------- Post added at 02:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 AM ----------
Th3Bill said:
Sorry so long
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could continue if you want
i'm not one of those TL;DR types.
Hi everyone. I apologize if this type of post is not allowed. I have been mulling over the s7e SNAPDRAGON and the HTC 10 for the past 2 weeks. Id buy the s7e on swappa so price is the same.
The biggest things for me are software feel, camera, and battery. I like stock android alot. So the htc 10 looks sweet. But then theres samsungs theme engine. Now Im coming from and S4 so theming was light if any. What I'm seeing from the s7e blows my mind. The only reason I used to room my s4 was for different themes so no root on the 820 doesnt bother me especially with the new theme engine. The fact it themes everything is amazing. Not sure if the HTC 10 does this or not but with stock android look its not as important but it would be nice to change it up every once in a while.
The camera on both of these phones look amazing. Expecially the low light. I know the s7e is a little better in low light but its not a huge enough difference to completely be the deciding factor for me. The focus speed on the s7e looks absolutely insane. I do like the over saturated look of the pics on the s7e but not the yellowish tint. Video also looks very stable and not shakey. The htc 10 looks to be on par with video.
Battery life looks like something the s7e beats the 10 easily. Ive seen the 10 get anywhere from 4-5 sot. The s7e 820 seems to get above 5 hrs sot? right? anyone chime in on this. On reddit and the forums its hard to tell sometimes if its exynos or 820.
Does the s7e ever get hot or warm to the touch? my s4 feels like a burning rock in my pocket sometimes lol. Hows tw lag? is it alot better than it used to be? or is it just good out of the box then it shows up again?
Speaker quality isnt a huge deal as all i watch are youtube videos or plug my phone into my car.
Updates are another thing that bothers me also. HTC has a very good record of updating phones fast. Samsung not so much. Well more so the carriers. The htc 10 i have preordered is unlocked. The S7e Id get is Tmobile variant. Id try to get exynos but Id like to get a phone with the manufactures warranty. Also hear the exynos is hard to get repaired as Samsung doesnt like to repair it in the USA.
The whole usb c vs micro doesnt bother me much but I do like that C seems to be more sturdy and durable.
so what doesnt everyone think I should do? Whats your experience compared to what Ive heard? Are my thots right? to servere? am I way off? All imput is welcome Anyone here in the same position or leaving the s7e for the 10? or just decided on the s7e over the 10 and why?
Thanks guys! :fingers-crossed::good::good:
S7 Edge Pros:
- Bigger screen at the same size (which is a really big deal)
- As far as camera and battery goes, I think the S7 Edge has a clear edge Dual-pixel tech in a smartphone is a very big deal, Canon still saves this technology for their very best cameras.
- Battery - 3600 vs 3000 mAh - enough said.
- Screen efficiency - AMOLED vs TFT (that's why you get great SOT on the S7 Edge, but poor standby times on the SD820)
- Wireless charging if you want to protect your USB port over time.
- Much better technical support if you need it (hopefully not). Much better country presence.
- If the Always-On Display will ever be upgraded to display all notifications (not only missed calls and SMS messages) this will be a huge pro
HTC 10 Pros:
- Always-on fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor needs home button press to work on the S7, which is stupid in 2016. It should be always-on. So I have it disabled, if it would be touch-only I would enable it.
- Speakers (but I don't care for this).
Cst79 said:
S7 Edge Pros:
- Bigger screen at the same size (which is a really big deal)
- As far as camera and battery goes, I think the S7 Edge has a clear edge Dual-pixel tech in a smartphone is a very big deal, Canon still saves this technology for their very best cameras.
- Battery - 3600 vs 3000 mAh - enough said.
- Screen efficiency - AMOLED vs TFT (that's why you get great SOT on the S7 Edge, but poor standby times on the SD820)
- Wireless charging if you want to protect your USB port over time.
- Much better technical support if you need it (hopefully not). Much better country presence.
- If the Always-On Display will ever be upgraded to display all notifications (not only missed calls and SMS messages) this will be a huge pro
HTC 10 Pros:
- Always-on fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor needs home button press to work on the S7, which is stupid in 2016. It should be always-on. So I have it disabled, if it would be touch-only I would enable it.
- Speakers (but I don't care for this).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the reply How has ur experience been with touchwiz? Any lag? do you have the sd820? what sot do you usually get? Screen size isnt a huge deal for me .3 inches. Id rather have the battery life instead of AOD. Im not sure if id use wireless charging. The extra charging option would be nice incase but i always worry that the battery degrades faster over time with wireless charging. Having to clock the fingerprint home button is a negative for me. My s4 made an annoying crunch sounds when it was click. Its it a more shallow click now? Same for me I dont care really about speakers so there moot on the 10. Also for me its sense ui and faster updates vs Touchwiz and slow updates.
aknotts415 said:
thanks for the reply How has ur experience been with touchwiz? Any lag? do you have the sd820? what sot do you usually get? Screen size isnt a huge deal for me .3 inches. Id rather have the battery life instead of AOD. Im not sure if id use wireless charging. The extra charging option would be nice incase but i always worry that the battery degrades faster over time with wireless charging. Having to clock the fingerprint home button is a negative for me. My s4 made an annoying crunch sounds when it was click. Its it a more shallow click now? Same for me I dont care really about speakers so there moot on the 10. Also for me its sense ui and faster updates vs Touchwiz and slow updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Exynos.
I never hated TouchWiz and I think it is ok, no lag whatsoever, but I use Nova Launcher solely because I need double-tap to sleep. But I do have a dark theme set overall and it's great. Theming is a major plus.
The difference in screen size is big, around 20% in surface area. I had a 5.2" LG G2 and it's very noticeable.
The button clicking sound is bad enough and the press is not shallow. Home button is also raised (stupidly, should be sunken) and it could click in your pocket if you don't have a proper case. But I found a workaround, I hold the phone in the front pocket with the upper part down, this almost eliminates the issue.
About the updates, I don't really care, because it works really well as it is (except for the last update which ruined battery life for Exynos and made it similar to SD820). However, for the record, the International version received like 3-4 updates since launch, each brought something new (some good things, some really bad things).
Coming from someone who ended up hating touch wiz, I really dig it this time around. It's so much closer to stock and cleaner. They did good with it this time. I'm also coming from the HTC One M7 and M8, and I have zero interest in the 10.
The camera in the S7 blows away the HTC. I've seen a lot of screenshots of the HTC, and that and the S7 next to each other, and the HTC is actually fairly grainy. Pretty unacceptable, especially the last 4 phones, new one included having a bad camera. The S7 pictures are incredibly clear, the best I have seen on a phone personally. And the low-light is crazy.
The speaker on the S7 is actually very loud and fairly clear.
The screen size is much better on the S7 Edge. Plus the phone is almost the same size, another thing I hated about the HTC phones, they waste sooo much space on the phone.
The Edge places app is pretty convenient. It sets different settings on your phone based on location and/or WiFi/Bluetooth. Works great for me since I always forget to silence my phone when I get to work.
Can't say much about battery life in comparison since I have not read any real, long-term reviews on the HTC. But my S7 Edge gets nearly two full days in between charges on the regular.
Updates... I don't agree with you there regarding HTC. I have NEVER gotten an Android update within their 90 day BS. And that seems to be solely for new Android versions. Any updates to Android seem to either come way later than that, or never. My One M8 updated to Lollipop in March '15, then didn't get another update until December-which was not to fix anything, just Stagefright. And Lollipop did NOT work well at all, and HTC left us behind and wouldn't fix anything that was broken. That's where they really lost me.
Anyway, my $0.02
gettinwicked said:
Coming from someone who ended up hating touch wiz, I really dig it this time around. It's so much closer to stock and cleaner. They did good with it this time. I'm also coming from the HTC One M7 and M8, and I have zero interest in the 10.
The camera in the S7 blows away the HTC. I've seen a lot of screenshots of the HTC, and that and the S7 next to each other, and the HTC is actually fairly grainy. Pretty unacceptable, especially the last 4 phones, new one included having a bad camera. The S7 pictures are incredibly clear, the best I have seen on a phone personally. And the low-light is crazy.
The speaker on the S7 is actually very loud and fairly clear.
The screen size is much better on the S7 Edge. Plus the phone is almost the same size, another thing I hated about the HTC phones, they waste sooo much space on the phone.
The Edge places app is pretty convenient. It sets different settings on your phone based on location and/or WiFi/Bluetooth. Works great for me since I always forget to silence my phone when I get to work.
Can't say much about battery life in comparison since I have not read any real, long-term reviews on the HTC. But my S7 Edge gets nearly two full days in between charges on the regular.
Updates... I don't agree with you there regarding HTC. I have NEVER gotten an Android update within their 90 day BS. And that seems to be solely for new Android versions. Any updates to Android seem to either come way later than that, or never. My One M8 updated to Lollipop in March '15, then didn't get another update until December-which was not to fix anything, just Stagefright. And Lollipop did NOT work well at all, and HTC left us behind and wouldn't fix anything that was broken. That's where they really lost me.
Anyway, my $0.02
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm thanks for the reply. Means alot coming from a former HTC fan. What other reasons made you not continue with them?
aknotts415 said:
Hmm thanks for the reply. Means alot coming from a former HTC fan. What other reasons made you not continue with them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, their lack of doing something new for one. The M7 I think looked the best and was the best size. The 8 just got larger without much added to screen size. The camera was really bad. And this new one seems more of the same to me. All they did was chamfered the back, otherwise is identical to the M8 and M9, then they changed the front to look just like every other Android phone now, except the top and bottom bars are obnoxiously big.
Honestly, the biggest is definitely them leaving us in the dark with updates and letting our phones go on not working right indefinitely. You just can't decide to stop supporting your phones and customers if you want to stay in business. The M8 didn't even need the latest Android, it just needed HTC software fixes to make it work, but those never happened...
Anyway, to each their own. The 10 may be a bada$$ phone. I'm just really loving this Edge.
gettinwicked said:
Well, their lack of doing something new for one. The M7 I think looked the best and was the best size. The 8 just got larger without much added to screen size. The camera was really bad. And this new one seems more of the same to me. All they did was chamfered the back, otherwise is identical to the M8 and M9, then they changed the front to look just like every other Android phone now, except the top and bottom bars are obnoxiously big.
Honestly, the biggest is definitely them leaving us in the dark with updates and letting our phones go on not working right indefinitely. You just can't decide to stop supporting your phones and customers if you want to stay in business. The M8 didn't even need the latest Android, it just needed HTC software fixes to make it work, but those never happened...
Anyway, to each their own. The 10 may be a bada$$ phone. I'm just really loving this Edge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome to hear. Maybe I will cancel and get the edge. Do you have snapdragon 820 or exynos? hows battery life?
aknotts415 said:
Awesome to hear. Maybe I will cancel and get the edge. Do you have snapdragon 820 or exynos? hows battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snapdragon for Verizon. I had to meddle with the settings a bit, but I get nearly two full days every charge. I'm a fairly moderate user though, not really any gaming, just a lot of email (work), fitness stuff, and Facebook/LinkedIn/etc.
gettinwicked said:
Snapdragon for Verizon. I had to meddle with the settings a bit, but I get nearly two full days every charge. I'm a fairly moderate user though, not really any gaming, just a lot of email (work), fitness stuff, and Facebook/LinkedIn/etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like me lol reddit email twitter youtube. Do you know how many hours of SOT you get? Ill be getting the tmobile snapdragon one
Honestly, just go to a store and play with each of them. Of course it's always personal preference.
S7E.
Why?
3600mah vs 3000mah
5'5 vs 5'2 display
Look of the s7e to me is nicer.
posting on the S7E thread, i guess you will get more positive for the S7E than the 10?
that being said, S7E for me. best phone i have owned.
Same. ?
If you want ROMs, root, and Xposed get the 10 or Exynos S7 edge.
If you were thinking s7 or m10 I'd probably say m10 but we have the edge and this phone is the best you can get, so I'd say S7 Edge no question.
Sent from my Gold S7 Edge
personal preference really
if size doesn't matter then HTC 10.
Speaker Sound HTC
Software HTC 10 (closer to stock)
Look Design S7E
XDA Development and support HTC 10
Camera Video S7E
Practical daily use HTC 10
Waterproof S7E
Due to HTC being only 5.2 i've gone with S7E bigger screen but i still hate TW.
My Note 4, which was repaired some months ago for the dreaded EMMC error, is really starting to feel old now. I've had the thing for three years and I've grown tired of Marshmallow and Samsung's prior heavyweight Touchwiz. I recently purchased a Tab S3 and am liking the newer experience so I'm thinking it's time to replace my phone.
Honestly, the 8 series (S8, S8+, Note 8) doesn't appeal to me very much. I do like a physical home button, and the super-tall screens in the 8 series seem, well, off. Thus my interest in the S7 Edge. Nougat is available now, so that's good, and supposedly Oreo will arrive eventually. I'm a T-Mobile customer. My research indicates the S7 Edge supports all necessary LTE bands. B&H is selling new SM-G935F (international variant) S7 Edges for $500.
So I'm wondering if it's reasonable to buy an S7 Edge here in the early days of 2018, nearly two years after the phone was released?
Why don't you consider the A8 2018. I know it doesn't have a home button, but it feels more like older Galaxy phones.
I have G935f, it's still a beast with little to no lag.
Well it depends on what you want.
I personally think the S7 edge trumps the S8 in every way that I care abuot
Pretty much the same processor and therefore speed.
has the sexy curved screen
Bigger battery and more battery life
Pretty much the same UI, can make it exactly the same by using an S8 port if you wish. Just simply using the S8 launcher is enough for me.
physical button
front mounted fingerprint sensor (that also isnt always on and wasting power, although this can be modded)
Many well established ROMS, kernels, mods etc. (come on, you're on XDA )
more affordable
Oreo is still coming for s7 edge
Some cons to think about
even though the camera hardware is the same, the software is different and the s8 has better night time photos
alot of developers are updating to the 8 series and so they either no longer develop for s7 edge or they cant test with their own devices - development is slowing down for S7 edge
S8 will be updated by samsung for longer and have continuous development for longer
@SteveRiley
$500 is too much imo
What do I want? Well, I've managed to tabletize a fair amount of stuff I used to do on a phone: browsing web sites, reading books, watching movies, managing finances, shopping online. I use the phone for -- shockingly -- a lot of phone calls (daily interactions with clients), texting, listening to music, and spur-of-the-moment email replies. The camera is irrelevant to me: I'm simply not one who takes photos. But a big battery is certainly a plus. And yeah, my early XDA days were filled with rooting and ROMing; lately, though, I've not found that to be as necessary as before.
The A series did catch my eye. IIRC, it has a lower resolution screen. 1920x1080 is just low enough to be annoying even if I'm not staring at the thing all day.
Yeah, $500 is a bit much for a two-year-old phone. Perhaps I'm a good candidate for checking Swappa.
SteveRiley said:
What do I want? Well, I've managed to tabletize a fair amount of stuff I used to do on a phone: browsing web sites, reading books, watching movies, managing finances, shopping online. I use the phone for -- shockingly -- a lot of phone calls (daily interactions with clients), texting, listening to music, and spur-of-the-moment email replies. The camera is irrelevant to me: I'm simply not one who takes photos. But a big battery is certainly a plus. And yeah, my early XDA days were filled with rooting and ROMing; lately, though, I've not found that to be as necessary as before.
The A series did catch my eye. IIRC, it has a lower resolution screen. 1920x1080 is just low enough to be annoying even if I'm not staring at the thing all day.
Yeah, $500 is a bit much for a two-year-old phone. Perhaps I'm a good candidate for checking Swappa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use your phone for functions that dont require Exynos Octa, you dont have much interest in the development scene and you dont want to pay that much for an old model, then the S7 edge is probably not for you (although I pretty much see it as an affordable S8). The S7 edge also defaults at 1920x1080 as samsung and a few tests I read about has shown that people pretty much cant tell the difference at the normal distance we hold our phones (apparently its for VR where the phone is literally on your face).
I say get The A series and save $$$, have essentially the same pixel density and miss no functions that you describe.
Also on a side note, they definitely have opened up the functions and features a bit more, but once I went to custom ROMs, I can't go back haha too much goodies in the custom ROMs for me. I think I lasted 6 weeks before I couldnt handle it anymore.
At the moment s7e is best value for money, with good hardware, camera, functions and battery. I recommend
Eggleston11 said:
The S7 edge also defaults at 1920x1080
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, that doesn't seem to align with what I've read elsewhere:
* 5.5 in (140 mm)
* 210 ppcm (534 ppi)
* Quad HD Super AMOLED
* 2560×1440 pixel resolution (16:9 aspect ratio)
SteveRiley said:
Hm, that doesn't seem to align with what I've read elsewhere:
* 5.5 in (140 mm)
* 210 ppcm (534 ppi)
* Quad HD Super AMOLED
* 2560×1440 pixel resolution (16:9 aspect ratio)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has the pixels to do so, but on Nougat, the default resolution is 1920x1080, optionally scalable up to 2560×1440. They claim that this is to save battery - people say conflicting things about whether it does significantly save battery or not. Tests have shown that people can't really tell the difference at normal distances. I can't really. The 2560×1440 resolution option has been said to be more useful for Samsung VR which the S7 edge is capable of.
So I went ahead and bought the s21 ultra. I'm coming from the N9860 HK Snapdragon version and I got fed up with the fact that we are still on the November update running Android 10.
I purchased the new s21 ultra snapdragon G-9980 (also HK Snapdragon). In my view, while it's a nice device, the bottom line is, there's hardly any difference between this device and the note 20 ultra except for the fact that the screen is smaller which causes a whole number of display compromises. For example picture-in-picture is basically unusable when compared to the note 20. It's a longer and slimmer device which means that they had to resize the way text is shown and often it is not nearly as pleasant to look at as it is on the note. Just take a look at the weather clock widget. Or the fact that folders are now only 3 items wide (not 4). Using Netflix you really notice the smaller size difference, and the curves, and it reduces the immersive nature of viewing video. The sound in my opinion is not as good on the note 20. Its.not as loud on speakerphone either. I certainly don't notice any difference in speed. And I'm so used to the square shape that I feel like I'm using just another Android device, as opposed to the note 20 ultra which is so unique. Yes the battery life and camera are marginally better (and yes the fingerprint reader is definitely better for me) but at the end of the day the note was good enough for my purposes.
So if you're on the fence and thinking about upgrading make sure you're able to return the device if you don't like it and don't sell your note 20 too fast!
Of course this is only after a day or two of use and maybe I will get used to it! Bit so far I'm already missing my note!
Update: So FINALLY the Note 20.Ultra n9860 got the android 11 update. Unfortunately what I thought are the weird layout issues on the s21 are bundled into the new android 11 update ! So the devices are now more similar than ever, except the size and shapes. What is interesting is the new 'enhanced processing' option... I tested both devices with this setting side by side (they are both snapdragon) and weirdly, the note 20 is actually faster! It's probably less efficient, but nevertheless interesting.
Couldn't agree with you more.
The only thing good/plus on the S21 ultra? The ability to smoothly go from 1x to 3x then to 10x, thanks to the extra camera, other than that, no way. Especially when the rip features like the Micro SD Card slot. When I thought, when are they stopping the ”nonsense” hybrid slot Bellshill... ? They just sort out the problem by removing it altogether.
Dam Samsung...
By the way, Android 11 and One UI 3.0 is now rolling out on my 9860 since today lol.
ekerbuddyeker said:
So I went ahead and bought the s21 ultra. I'm coming from the N9860 HK Snapdragon version and I got fed up with the fact that we are still on the November update running Android 10.
I purchased the new s21 ultra snapdragon G-9980 (also HK Snapdragon). In my view, while it's a nice device, the bottom line is, there's hardly any difference between this device and the note 20 ultra except for the fact that the screen is smaller which causes a whole number of display compromises. For example picture-in-picture is basically unusable when compared to the note 20. It's a longer and slimmer device which means that they had to resize the way text is shown and often it is not nearly as pleasant to look at as it is on the note. Just take a look at the weather clock widget. Or the fact that folders are now only 3 items wide (not 4). Using Netflix you really notice the smaller size difference, and the curves, and it reduces the immersive nature of viewing video. The sound in my opinion is not as good on the note 20. Its.not as loud on speakerphone either. I certainly don't notice any difference in speed. And I'm so used to the square shape that I feel like I'm using just another Android device, as opposed to the note 20 ultra which is so unique. Yes the battery life and camera are marginally better (and yes the fingerprint reader is definitely better for me) but at the end of the day the note was good enough for my purposes.
So if you're on the fence and thinking about upgrading make sure you're able to return the device if you don't like it and don't sell your note 20 too fast!
Of course this is only after a day or two of use and maybe I will get used to it! Bit so far I'm already missing my note!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. The shape of the screen is never going to suit me after I've used a note phone. I hope they never stop making the note series.
tiho5 said:
I agree. The shape of the screen is never going to suit me after I've used a note phone. I hope they never stop making the note series.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, so true.
Unfortunately, all points out to Note 20 Ultra being the last Note.
It's just Samsung being greedy , trying to shift traditional Note users to the latest Foldable trend (More ways to justify the crazy price jump every time they launch a new phone).
In my humble opinion, I will never shift to a Foldable phone until their screen gets a real glass feel (and not easily scratched).
I have both and I'm pretty satisfied with my s21 ultra. Have to admit that it's easier to hold the s21 ultra though. At the end of the day it's to each his own but I'm using both phones anyway.
I'd say if you don't have a note 20 ultra and you're deciding whether it's this or s21 ultra, I'd choose s21 ultra.
Either way you can't go wrong that's for sure.
tiho5 said:
I agree. The shape of the screen is never going to suit me after I've used a note phone. I hope they never stop making the note series.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The rounded display corners puke me out.
No way. Sick of the lame CRT retro look.
Samsung and Android have given me little valid reasons to leave my 10+/Pie platform and plenty of good reasons not to.
Samsung turning out half baked, high dollar phones in an economic recession. Idiots.
Android's scope storage and obsession with security is laughable.
Google its self is the biggest security risk.
Overlays and critical tools are gone starting in Q.
Without those tools security and troubleshooting unrooted phones becomes an even worse guessing game than it was with Pie. Key apps are now useless.
Puny Google.
Put these failed concepts together and you have a big $loppy me$$.
No.
fjorger said:
It's just Samsung being greedy , trying to shift traditional Note users to the latest Foldable trend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The logic points that way, I agree. However, I think that this game is not going to play well for Samsung. Because there are two types of phone use:
- using a phone with one hand
- using her phone with two hands
Obviously the foldable phones are the choice for the second type of use.
On the other hand I like using my phone with one hand most of the time. Foldable phones allow you this type of use, but on a smaller limited screen. Therefore I would never use a foldable phone until the size of the unfolded(single) screen becomes as large as the size of the screen of the today's Note Ultra phone.
tiho5 said:
The logic points that way, I agree. However, I think that this game is not going to play well for Samsung. Because there are two types of phone use:
- using a phone with one hand
- using her phone with two hands
Obviously the foldable phones are the choice for the second type of use.
On the other hand I like using my phone with one hand most of the time. Foldable phones allow you this type of use, but on a smaller limited screen. Therefore I would never use a foldable phone until the size of the unfolded(single) screen becomes as large as the size of the screen of the today's Note Ultra phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung has sunk huge sums of money and resources into the Fold series R&D and limited (lmao) production runs. Poor sales,multiple and many failures. Samsung neglected their much more lucrative product lines, idiots.
They rolled the dice with the Fold, again and again, and keep landing nothing but snake eyes.
Like a bad gambler they're now into it deep and being driven by the demon named Hope.
Luck done left the house and Hope's not far behind. Bah-ha-ha-ha, pathetic.
No water or dust proofing, no SD card, and a fold screen guarenteed to fail that is impossible to fully protect. Betaware at the best.
A real masterpiece.
Meanwhile during a global recession their key product lines are drastically rising in price with not much bang for the buck.
They really think the masses will buy a new expensive flagship phone every year especially if they didn't get a great experience?
Add to that Samsung support is some of the worst on the planet.
The 10+ was Samsung's last great flagship phone. Pie was Android's last good OS.
No signs either are cognizant of their blunders but consumers vote with their wallets.
No rigging this vote*...
*Not that they didn't try. Look at all the glowing reviews for the Folds when they first came out.
Not one negative one.
Same for Q. Google stopped posting their OS version breakdown because users hate 10 and 11.
I call bs...
ekerbuddyeker said:
So I went ahead and bought the s21 ultra. I'm coming from the N9860 HK Snapdragon version and I got fed up with the fact that we are still on the November update running Android 10.
I purchased the new s21 ultra snapdragon G-9980 (also HK Snapdragon). In my view, while it's a nice device, the bottom line is, there's hardly any difference between this device and the note 20 ultra except for the fact that the screen is smaller which causes a whole number of display compromises. For example picture-in-picture is basically unusable when compared to the note 20. It's a longer and slimmer device which means that they had to resize the way text is shown and often it is not nearly as pleasant to look at as it is on the note. Just take a look at the weather clock widget. Or the fact that folders are now only 3 items wide (not 4). Using Netflix you really notice the smaller size difference, and the curves, and it reduces the immersive nature of viewing video. The sound in my opinion is not as good on the note 20. Its.not as loud on speakerphone either. I certainly don't notice any difference in speed. And I'm so used to the square shape that I feel like I'm using just another Android device, as opposed to the note 20 ultra which is so unique. Yes the battery life and camera are marginally better (and yes the fingerprint reader is definitely better for me) but at the end of the day the note was good enough for my purposes.
So if you're on the fence and thinking about upgrading make sure you're able to return the device if you don't like it and don't sell your note 20 too fast!
Of course this is only after a day or two of use and maybe I will get used to it! Bit so far I'm already missing my note!
Update: So FINALLY the Note 20.Ultra n9860 got the android 11 update. Unfortunately what I thought are the weird layout issues on the s21 are bundled into the new android 11 update ! So the devices are now more similar than ever, except the size and shapes. What is interesting is the new 'enhanced processing' option... I tested both devices with this setting side by side (they are both snapdragon) and weirdly, the note 20 is actually faster! It's probably less efficient, but nevertheless interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip on the very few differences on the s21 ultra & "my beast"! A couple of the online reviewers were saying similar, but glad to learn of a "hands-on" review from the troops in the XDA Army? So, I'll go back to re-read, but saw you finally got your slice of the buttery bread
Android 11 + One UI 3.0h-No...you kept your beast, the n20u1?
Good read, bruh, ty for sharing!
freezingpoint said:
I have both and I'm pretty satisfied with my s21 ultra. Have to admit that it's easier to hold the s21 ultra though. At the end of the day it's to each his own but I'm using both phones anyway.
I'd say if you don't have a note 20 ultra and you're deciding whether it's this or s21 ultra, I'd choose s21 ultra.
Either way you can't go wrong that's for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I agree. If they would have had SD card support then i would have just got that instead of the Note 20 Ultra. I do like the square screen design on the note though. The Screen technology is also MUCH nicer than what we have with the Note. The Colors look much better. It is also alot brighter. The battery in the S21 Ultra also is alot more efficient thanks to the new panel in the S21 Ultra as well.
With that said i do absolutely love my Note 20 Ultra. I just think Samsung should have put a much larger battery in it
No SD Card, no built in SPen holder is enough for me. Have to have a big ugly case that the pen snaps in the side of. No thanks. Also prefer the less rounded look of the Note.
znel52 said:
No SD Card, no built in SPen holder is enough for me. Have to have a big ugly case that the pen snaps in the side of. No thanks. Also prefer the less rounded look of the Note.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just saw this same set-up you described at a Verizon store near me recently. Awkward, and that combo, the wannabe S-Pen+Samsung Case you get to purchase yourself along with the 25w fast charger, if desired? SERIOUSLY, could this be true?
Honestly I couldn't and wouldn't get the s21 ultra because I don't wanna be another few dollars that convinces samsung to ditch the note series in favor of anything else.
ekerbuddyeker said:
So I went ahead and bought the s21 ultra. I'm coming from the N9860 HK Snapdragon version and I got fed up with the fact that we are still on the November update running Android 10.
I purchased the new s21 ultra snapdragon G-9980 (also HK Snapdragon). In my view, while it's a nice device, the bottom line is, there's hardly any difference between this device and the note 20 ultra except for the fact that the screen is smaller which causes a whole number of display compromises. For example picture-in-picture is basically unusable when compared to the note 20. It's a longer and slimmer device which means that they had to resize the way text is shown and often it is not nearly as pleasant to look at as it is on the note. Just take a look at the weather clock widget. Or the fact that folders are now only 3 items wide (not 4). Using Netflix you really notice the smaller size difference, and the curves, and it reduces the immersive nature of viewing video. The sound in my opinion is not as good on the note 20. Its.not as loud on speakerphone either. I certainly don't notice any difference in speed. And I'm so used to the square shape that I feel like I'm using just another Android device, as opposed to the note 20 ultra which is so unique. Yes the battery life and camera are marginally better (and yes the fingerprint reader is definitely better for me) but at the end of the day the note was good enough for my purposes.
So if you're on the fence and thinking about upgrading make sure you're able to return the device if you don't like it and don't sell your note 20 too fast!
Of course this is only after a day or two of use and maybe I will get used to it! Bit so far I'm already missing my note!
Update: So FINALLY the Note 20.Ultra n9860 got the android 11 update. Unfortunately what I thought are the weird layout issues on the s21 are bundled into the new android 11 update ! So the devices are now more similar than ever, except the size and shapes. What is interesting is the new 'enhanced processing' option... I tested both devices with this setting side by side (they are both snapdragon) and weirdly, the note 20 is actually faster! It's probably less efficient, but nevertheless interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, feeling better now
Datboi459 said:
Yeah. I agree. If they would have had SD card support then i would have just got that instead of the Note 20 Ultra. I do like the square screen design on the note though. The Screen technology is also MUCH nicer than what we have with the Note. The Colors look much better. It is also alot brighter. The battery in the S21 Ultra also is alot more efficient thanks to the new panel in the S21 Ultra as well.
With that said i do absolutely love my Note 20 Ultra. I just think Samsung should have put a much larger battery in it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right to the point
So I got S21 ultra because only because there was a great discount + combo offer on the S7+ tab. The only advantages are
- slightly better low light camera performance
- 3x optical zoom dedicated camera, 10x optical zoom vs 5x on Note 20 series
- slightly better display in terms of color accuracy and brightness
- Fingerprint sensor is a little bigger so unlocking is more accurate
- Rounded corners make it easier to hold in hand vs N20U (but narrower screen takes away from the immersive experience you get on N20U)
This S21 Ultra however is a THICCC boi and feels a lot heavier than N20 Ultra. It is like going back to a 4 year old brick phone. I am all for a bigger battery but in this case the extra weight doesn't really double your battery(despite of lack of S-pen), but you do get longer runtime than N20U obviously. The increased thickness doesn't make sense when microSD and MST being removed. This thing runs warm to hot all the time, that Snapdragon 888 is like a dragon breathing fire and probably have worse battery wear over time lol. N20U runs very cool.
I switched back to Note 20U after using S21U for a week as it is a downgrade when compared to N20U. Got Samsung Care Plus on N20U for long term use in case this turns out to be the last Note phone, and gonna keep S21U as a spare and eventually trade it in to get next Note(hopefully).
VICosPhi said:
So I got S21 ultra because only because there was a great discount + combo offer on the S7+ tab. The only advantages are
- slightly better low light camera performance
- 3x optical zoom dedicated camera, 10x optical zoom vs 5x on Note 20 series
- slightly better display in terms of color accuracy and brightness
- Fingerprint sensor is a little bigger so unlocking is more accurate
- Rounded corners make it easier to hold in hand vs N20U (but narrower screen takes away from the immersive experience you get on N20U)
This S21 Ultra however is a THICCC boi and feels a lot heavier than N20 Ultra. It is like going back to a 4 year old brick phone. I am all for a bigger battery but in this case the extra weight doesn't really double your battery(despite of lack of S-pen), but you do get longer runtime than N20U obviously. The increased thickness doesn't make sense when microSD and MST being removed. This thing runs warm to hot all the time, that Snapdragon 888 is like a dragon breathing fire and probably have worse battery wear over time lol. N20U runs very cool.
I switched back to Note 20U after using S21U for a week as it is a downgrade when compared to N20U. Got Samsung Care Plus on N20U for long term use in case this turns out to be the last Note phone, and gonna keep S21U as a spare and eventually trade it in to get next Note(hopefully).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Datz a good call, bruh.Didn't the 512gb s21 ultra come stock with less than 12 gb ram too? No 25w fast charger in the box, no micro SD slot, no s-pen in the box, as it's a "credits" deal with a certain case you select, or buy with your credits separately with a case that it won't attach itself to? Did I get most of that right? smh
Did you return your s21 ultra 5G then?
evnStevn said:
Datz a good call, bruh.Didn't the 512gb s21 ultra come stock with less than 12 gb ram too? No 25w fast charger in the box, no micro SD slot, no s-pen in the box, as it's a "credits" deal with a certain case you select, or buy with your credits separately with a case that it won't attach itself to? Did I get most of that right? smh
Did you return your s21 ultra 5G then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, pretty much. They give you a coupon code to use on accessories but no charging brick or earphones are included.
It does come with 16GB RAM (512GB model) but way too many other compromises. NO eSIM support either in USA despite them advertising it on S21U product page (removed now), Samsung went out of the way to disable it! I still have the S21U, if I return it then I have to also return S7+ tab so I chose to keep it, but only as a backup phone to N20U.
VICosPhi said:
Yeah, pretty much. They give you a coupon code to use on accessories but no charging brick or earphones are included.
It does come with 16GB RAM (512GB model) but way too many other compromises. NO eSIM support either in USA despite them advertising it on S21U product page (removed now), Samsung went out of the way to disable it! I still have the S21U, if I return it then I have to also return S7+ tab so I chose to keep it, but only as a backup phone to N20U.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can get a Samsung fast charging 25w brick and cable for $20 now. Just got one.
No SD card and those lame round corners are a complete buzz kill for me though.
blackhawk said:
You can get a Samsung fast charging 25w brick and cable for $20 now. Just got one.
No SD card and those lame round corners are a complete buzz kill for me though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got one of those GaN PD chargers and has been working well for me. It has two USB-C ports too so helps with charging the tablet. Yeah, the rounded corners make it look like a vintage CRT and videos don't look immersive at all. Not good for reading websites as well...