Database Users

Mi A1: could it be the best choice for a budget phone?

Hi everyone.
I'm looking for a new phone that could be solid and valuable for everyday use, but I have a budget limit of 250 $. I'll certainly buy a top of the line device later but, since my needs are really basic, I prefer to have a cheaper phone along this period, and change it without too many worries once I'll have the chance.
The Mi A1 seems really promising, but I also read mixed thoughts about it. I mainly use the phone for social apps, light gaming and I like to do a lot of photos, but always intended for social use. I'll try to summarize all my doubts:
1) the update plan: A1 is an Android One device. Can I expect a reasonable amount of updates compared to other phones or other devices by Xiaomi with Miui? I'd really hate to buy a phone that will be "dead" (under the updates point of view) soon.
2) Camera: as I said before, I use the camera a lot. I read that A1 allows to take good photos for its price range. The only cons is the quality of the camera under low-light conditions. Beside this, does it have a good camera? Are its limits solvable with updates or are they hardware limits?
3) Front Camera: is it good? I watched some tests, and I noticed it can make good selfies, but I'd like some other feedbacks. Is the front camera good, even if it only is a 5 mp?
So, the final question: do you recommend this phone according to my budget? Are there better phones around with better camera and performance?
As far as I know, A1 is a best buy, since it's difficult to reach the same overall quality price ratio at that price. Other phones on the same price range have better cameras, but worse performances, or they won't get updates anymore. I'd like some other feedbacks before deciding.
Thanks in advance!

as from experience, value for money, YES the MiA1 provide that kan of leverage.. and without NFC though... just to keep that in mind
the front facing camera with 5MP sensor is horrible.. and the rear facing ones, in outdoor light it is great but in low light it doesn't count much in sattisfaction
BUT for the camera purpose, you could root the device with magisk then sideload GCam HDR+ for a better an awesome results :victory: the hardware has many potential, but the software side it's provided by xiaomi themselves and until this day no software update is present..

wait for this years release of phones including note 5, moto g6 play etc. They will have better processor, oreo out of the box( meaning they will have Project Treble). Even with Snapdragon 630 you will get bluetooth 5.0.

adfds said:
wait for this years release of phones including note 5, moto g6 play etc. They will have better processor, oreo out of the box( meaning they will have Project Treble). Even with Snapdragon 630 you will get bluetooth 5.0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go with 630.

wawing_b said:
the front facing camera with 5MP sensor is horrible.. and the rear facing ones, in outdoor light it is great but in low light it doesn't count much in sattisfaction
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a really bad news, since the front camera is one of my priorities I was sure it was good, the quality of the shots I found online was more than average :crying:

adfds said:
wait for this years release of phones including note 5, moto g6 play etc. They will have better processor, oreo out of the box( meaning they will have Project Treble). Even with Snapdragon 630 you will get bluetooth 5.0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a really good advice. Thanks. I guess I have to find a really cheap phone that allows me to survive until some interesting devices come out.

Heisenbear said:
That's a really bad news, since the front camera is one of my priorities I was sure it was good, the quality of the shots I found online was more than average :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well it might be good..
but if you wanted the best quality in front facing camera I guess you have to look elsewhere and streching your budget a bit to strive fort that quality.. at least a minimal of 8 MP or above for the front camera
and if you still wanted the MiA1, you could side load GCam HDR+ after rooting it... and another one, Portrait cam if I'm not mistaken.. on the hardware side it's plausable, but then on the software side xiaomi hasn't publish any cam app update (yet)

wawing_b said:
well it might be good..
but if you wanted the best quality in front facing camera I guess you have to look elsewhere and streching your budget a bit to strive fort that quality.. at least a minimal of 8 MP or above for the front camera
and if you still wanted the MiA1, you could side load GCam HDR+ after rooting it... and another one, Portrait cam if I'm not mistaken.. on the hardware side it's plausable, but then on the software side xiaomi hasn't publish any cam app update (yet)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, a 8 mp camera would be a sensible improvement, but my low budget limit is due to the fact that it will be only a temporary device, until the moment I'll buy a top-of-the-line smartphone later.
I just need a reliable phone for this period, capable of doing almost everything in an acceptable way.
This explains my question. Is the front camera so horrible? I was pretty satisfied with my iphone 5 front camera, which is only a 1,2 MP. I doubt the shots of a 2017 phone could be worse than those ones

It's not so much the MP that really matters, it's the processing and the sensor. In good lighting, the front camera is not bad. In lower lighting, it makes everyone look like a wax figure (bad processing + high ISO + heavy noise reduction).

goofball2k said:
It's not so much the MP that really matters, it's the processing and the sensor. In good lighting, the front camera is not bad. In lower lighting, it makes everyone look like a wax figure (bad processing + high ISO + heavy noise reduction).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true. It's undeniable, the pics under low-light conditions are really insufficient. I clearly noticed this watching the various samples around. I could be wrong, but it's a common problem for low budget phones, so there're not many choices within that range of price.
I have another doubt, speaking of xiaomi phones. How is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4x, compared with A1 or other low budget phones? Could it be a valid alternative?

The camera is a shocker and the android one program a joke. Don't even consider it.
Wait.

Value for money.. Yes.. considering the cost to hardware ratio definitely VFM..
Updates is under Mi.. Dont fall for the android one tag.. Buggy os, poor updates.. Almost 5 months and they couldn't solve the contact linking issue..
Back camera takes good pics in good lighting condition.. Front camera module is same as that of Redmi note 4, i've read.. Only problems most pics don't look natural..
Loudspeakers actually loud.. I can hear ringtones for once..
Havent felt audio is that great.. havent experienced white noise issue..
Batterys good..
The biggest letback of the device is its os.. Very poorly developed.. Lots of bugs.. I've had more than 5 redmi devices.. The software experience was solid.. But here its pathetic & very frustrating.. U often get the feeling u r running a WIP custom rom.. So much potential in the phone & very much wasted.. This is the most frustrating device i have used till date.. So this is one device i won't recommend..

as an owner of mia1 , now i would have bought the new nokia 6 (2018) , xiomi is a total disaster with software, i got mia1 thinking google would take care of the software but that would have been to good to be true

wawing_b said:
as from experience, value for money, yes the mia1 provide that kan of leverage.. And without nfc though... Just to keep that in mind
the front facing camera with 5mp sensor is horrible.. And the rear facing ones, in outdoor light it is great but in low light it doesn't count much in sattisfaction
but for the camera purpose, you could root the device with magisk then sideload gcam hdr+ for a better an awesome results :victory: The hardware has many potential, but the software side it's provided by xiaomi themselves and until this day no software update is present..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i bought a1 in october and got about 15 updates .

Best choice?
Yes and no.
Some like it some hate it.
I bought it, because it's dirt cheap and has all I need.Clean android(with mi camera and remote), good battery, dual sim, nice design.If you like that and don't want to spend money on pixel, this is a poor man pixel.
If you don't like clean android, it's not for you.
I optimised it, have zero bugs, don't have issues with hissing or screen, or reboots or whatever is reported here.
But others here are reporting that they have bugs.So there might be quality control issues.You can end up with a good unit, or with a bad one.
Bad thing is no kernel source yet, though it's xiaomi, they always delay that for months, but there was a rumour that they will release it till the end of january.We'll see.As a user point of view, not a big deal...but as a developer, it's a crap.
So if you are a developer, it's not for you.
As for updates, they are regular, don't know what others had before, but, just like nexus/pixel line(although it gets updates days after them and it is not on 8.1 yet) it will be covered for 2 years with updates and 3 with security patches.
So...no one can help you with that, but you.If you can, check it in a store, to see if you like it or not.
Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Huawei P20 Pro, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Huawei P20 Pro is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Just got the phone today, overall it's ok, coming from mate 9 I would say the camera is impressive but I need more time to test it out.

P20 Pro First Impressions
Got the phone this afternoon and have had an initial play.
I came from the Mate 10 Pro so know the EMUI system fairly well and many of the P20 Pro features are similar.
Saw a tip from a reviewer to use night mode for all shots and gave that a go with some amazing results, really sharp with good colours in poor light indoors.
I have listened to audio on the speakers and in landscape when it changes to stereo the sound is good, nothing like a Razer Phone but good. Sound in portrait mode through the one speaker is only average.
The Bluetooth audio seems so far to be an improvement over the Mate 10 Pro which had a horrible compressed almost 128k sound even playing 320k files through Deezer. The P20 Pro seems much closer to the quality on the iPhone 7 which is great news so far but I will report back once I have tried some FLAC files on the internal audio app.
Other than that the phone seems slightly quicker than the Mate 10 Pro, possibly due to the newer EMUI version.
Updates to follow after more time with it :good:

Love this handset overall. Battery life is great, camera is great, screen is great, sound is great (which was a big bone of contention with me coming from LG V20!).
Please add section on real-life review for Audio Quality! Both speaker and headphones (wired and wireless!).

Just received my P20 pro yesterday and must say I'm quite impressed. The design & build are fantastic, I would prefer the fingerprint on the rear like the Porsche design (but not a huge issue).
Emui is a decent skin as far as skins go, it's easy to get used to and has a few nice features baked in without being to intrusive.
Camera looks very impressive but need a bit more time with it, but I'm happy so far with the results.
Performance is on point and everything runs smoothly.
So far so good and my first ever Huawei device and I'm overall very content with my purchase.

Duncan1982 said:
Just received my P20 pro yesterday and must say I'm quite impressed. The design & build are fantastic, I would prefer the fingerprint on the rear like the Porsche design (but not a huge issue).
Emui is a decent skin as far as skins go, it's easy to get used to and has a few nice features baked in without being to intrusive.
Camera looks very impressive but need a bit more time with it, but I'm happy so far with the results.
Performance is on point and everything runs smoothly.
So far so good and my first ever Huawei device and I'm overall very content with my purchase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here.
Hopefully we can get some 1080p 60fps EIS and 4K EIS in the future

So far so good, a few strange things like changing lock screen wallpaper and also updating widgets which I hope are simply bugs that will get fixed.

What with the leather texture design of the camera ui....I hate it.

Jamestdd said:
What with the leather texture design of the camera ui....I hate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It remembers the leica legacy

mcall_r said:
Love this handset overall. Battery life is great, camera is great, screen is great, sound is great (which was a big bone of contention with me coming from LG V20!).
Please add section on real-life review for Audio Quality! Both speaker and headphones (wired and wireless!).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed sound in headphones was a big concern for me before buying the phone as my previous Huawei's have not performed well in that regard and I have a V10 that I use when listening a lot to music. Though the P20 Pro surprised me it has good dynamic range and spacious sound. Not quite up to par with my V10 but good enough that it will not bother me at all really.

I love this phone. I love the camera. I can see the display out in the sunny day unlike the other phones I have which are hard to see outside on a sunny day. Phone feels good in the hand. I have dark mode on and it looks great. It is also really fast, no lags so far.

This is my first Huawei or China made phones. I have to say I am impressed. EMUI is not bad really, still missing some features but overall it's a solid contender. The night mode is insane...never seen a camera phone that can do this! Overall I have no regrets buying this. :good:

Definately satisfied, especially since fw 120. Best buy for me!

Let me first set the context. I am currently using an iPhoneX and Galaxy S9+ (Both 256gb model). Therefore, whatever I write here about P20 pro is against the experience of the existing phones (Both are top notch). Now Here we go about P20 Pro...
Camera: I was blown away by some photographs I casually took today both night and day (Auto mode). There are plenty of of options and currently the best camera (phone) in the market that money can buy.
IR Remote : None of the flagship has it. This was another reason to choose P20 pro after lot of dilemma. It's amazing. You can control almost any devices like TV, A/C, Music System etc including your home, office and public places!!!
Screen : Nothing less than iPhone X in terms of viewing experiences. HDR10 fully supported and its awesome.
Android Auto: Perfectly working (Flawless) with my Skoda.
Battery : 4000mah capacity, yet to be tested
Software: Plenty of good and garbage. You can remove garbages what you don't want. I use Nova prime. Supe fluid.
Kirin 970 + 6GB RAM: Flagship experiences but iPhoneX and S9+ does little better here.
Music: Excellent Bluetooth audio. With an active external amplifier the Huawei P20 Pro had the perfectly clear output that befits its flagship standing. Stereo speakers with dolby digital.
Fingerprint & Face Unlock : Fastest (Fast like hell!!)
I know resell value will be hopeless for this brand but I am fully satisfied with my purchase of P20 pro.
What else you want to know... ask

Overall reasonably impressed
I changed from a much loved S5 to the P20 Pro and so far I find it an upgrade in terms of speed and responsiveness (obviously!) but a downgrade in terms of a few other things.
Here are the things that are bothering me about it. If anyone knows how to help with any of them that would be great. Otherwise I'm likely going to return it.
I know some of the items are me being fussy but really I "upgraded" from a 4 yr old phone that has none of these issues.
Issue with screen dimming in some apps (IE: open WhatsApp, screen brightness drops, exit WhatsApp, screen brightness goes back up in seconds)
Edit 1: I have used a rubbish workaround of enabling auto brightness to stop this. However Huawei have confirmed this will be fixed in a future release.
Email notification icons don't show (and also, if you have 2 email accounts you only know if you have emails in the other if you access it separately)
Edit 1: I think I have resolved this by going to Notifications Management >> Batch Management >> Toggling All off and on >> 3 dots >> Badges >>Badge display mode to something other than current and then set to "Unread Messages" >> Toggle all off and on
Google find my device doesn't work on it (works via the app on the phone itself - not very useful as you wouldn't have it with you if you were trying to find it!)
Edit 1: Search for "App launch" in settings >> access app launch >> set google play services, maps, find my device to manual and enable all 3 items within the sub menu (you may need to download find my device - not sure if required)
Camera 16:9 is low resolution (7MP resolution from a 40MP sensor is very poor)
Camera 16:9 photos do not appear to be true 16:9 aspect ratio (it produces black lines at the top and the bottom)
Notification light tiny (ridiculously small, can't be rectified now obviously)
Notification light blinks soooo slowly (I feel like I need to look at the phone for a few seconds to decide if it has a notifcation)
Always on display doesn't show third party notifications like WhatsApp (can't understand why this would be the case)
Infrared only works with some apps (IE: doesn't work with AnyMote)
Edit 1: In AnyMote enable "User Alternate IR Commands"; this fixed it for me!
Infrared requires nearly direct line of sight (older phones I have used work when pointing upwards or downwards slightly, P20 Pro needs almost direct straight line)
Limited on-screen zoom in to gallery photos taken
If screen-on notification are on the notification light won't stay lit to notify (having issues identifying when this happens as it isn't all the time)
EDITS: I'm going to try and edit these as I find a fix for them.

So far I love it! The camera has been amazing, to the point where I'm not feeling anxious if I see something cool and don't have my DSLR with me. The battery life feels liberating.

WhiteSquirrel said:
I changed from a much loved S5 to the P20 Pro and so far I find it an upgrade in terms of speed and responsiveness (obviously!) but a downgrade in terms of a few other things.
...
Camera 16:9 is low resolution (7MP resolution from a 40MP sensor is very poor)
...
Limited on-screen zoom in to gallery photos taken
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a quick headsup, you can change it to shoot 40mp, it just defaults to outputting 10mp (not sure how you got on 7mp?) just like other high megapixel phones never really shoot full size 'out of the box', this is to both make it feel more speedy/snappy, aswell as to simplify the task for the phone (usually things like tweaking light after taking the photo, but in this device some 'ai' is apparently also altering filters shutter-speed etc on the fly based on what you try to take pics from, so im sure that benefits from lower res<->speed tradeoff too)
(edit: #1 wow my signature still works #2 its outdated )

suicidal.banana said:
Just a quick headsup, you can change it to shoot 40mp, it just defaults to outputting 10mp (not sure how you got on 7mp?) just like other high megapixel phones never really shoot full size 'out of the box', this is to both make it feel more speedy/snappy, aswell as to simplify the task for the phone (usually things like tweaking light after taking the photo, but in this device some 'ai' is apparently also altering filters shutter-speed etc on the fly based on what you try to take pics from, so im sure that benefits from lower res<->speed tradeoff too)
(edit: #1 wow my signature still works #2 its outdated )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello there, the 7mp refers to my comment about the max P20 Pro resolution for 16:9 aspect ratio.
16:9 could easily utilise a 40mp photo with the top and bottom removed to make it widescreen-viewing suitable. Obviously I can edit this myself but that will be tedious when you've taken 100's of photos and want to view them nicely on every modern TV and laptop without big black bars at the sides due to 4:3 aspect ratio. The S5 allowed 16mp photos at true 16:9 which were absolutely fantastic and perfect for viewing on the phone's full screen, the full TV screen and full laptop screen with no large black bars at the sides.

nice phone, but won't be buying another Huawei device - software compatibility is appalling, they can't even get their own widgets working on 3rd party launchers, we are nearly 4 months behind with security updates, there's been no update on the mate 10 pro since march, so doubt if will see this phone get any regular updates - overall 5 for hardware, -5 for software and updates

Oh? I have just received the .131 version with June 18 security patch, the camera has been improved, as well as the smoothness, and the stand by battery stats. Hope you get this update on your unit soon, it's a good product.

Photo quality

Say "cheese", then rate this thread to express how photos taken with the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite come out. A higher rating indicates that photos offer rich color (without over-saturating), sharp detail (with all subjects in-focus), and appropriate exposure (with even lighting).
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Hello, I'm creating an account in order to give my real-life review of this phone. The previous phones I had were HTC One M8, LG G6.
To my eyes, camera quality is very good. I enjoy the portrait mode.
Obviously, it can't compare to a shot taken with a Pixel 3.
I would say that it takes pictures as good as the LG G6 I had before.
For an everyday user, nothing to complain about.
I very rarely take pictures with this phone, though and I probably have taken only one or two pictures with the front facing camera.
For the price, nothing to complain about.

Camera is just shockingly bad. I can`t get my head around how on earth its so crap, even in daytime. Pictures seems to be like on 10 year old smartphone.

rbs_uk said:
Camera is just shockingly bad. I can`t get my head around how on earth its so crap, even in daytime. Pictures seems to be like on 10 year old smartphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using Gcam?

What is gcam? I`m using stock, whats built in the phone.

I also believe the camera quality is shockingly bad!

saggel said:
I also believe the camera quality is shockingly bad!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dito that! With or without GCAM my old Moto G4 did far better pictures.

Very disappointed with this phone camera...

saggel said:
I also believe the camera quality is shockingly bad!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are totally wrong, the camera itself is very good, the apps you have used are bad. Learn to make a distinction between the hardware and software. I'm not gonna advise on this or that app but I've tested the camera itself for possibilities and they are there. It also depends a lot on what you think a good camera is, of course. I'm sure a lot of people are gonna be flamed but trust me, I'm a photographer and I can tell good hardware, one of the reasons I bought this phone. Sorry for the intermezzo.

Celrau,
I`m comparing to Galaxy s8. A2 has crap camera. Advise me on decent app then please.

rbs_uk said:
Celrau,
I`m comparing to Galaxy s8. A2 has crap camera. Advise me on decent app then please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh boy... So you're comparing a flagship S8 to a budget A2 and expecting A2 to win that contest? Seriously?
That's partially why A2 is 3-4x cheaper, don't you think?

DonAndress said:
Oh boy... So you're comparing a flagship S8 to a budget A2 and expecting A2 to win that contest? Seriously?
That's partially why A2 is 3-4x cheaper, don't you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S8 probably has the same or similar Sony sensor so the raw material is about the same, it's the app that makes pictures look "pretty" to some. Basically those apps reinvent reality. I found Xiaomi camera app to be pretty good by comparison to others. If people want quality pictures they should learn to post-process them, even the most expansive cameras don't do "picture-perfect" and all pros do post-processing to enhance whatever they see fit. Get SnapSeed, it's excellent, free and can really enhance pictures. It's not gonna make you look young and beautiful but it can bring out that punch and the satisfaction that you actually contributed to having a good photo.

celrau said:
S8 probably has the same or similar Sony sensor so the raw material is about the same
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, probably. Except it doesn't. S8 has Samsung S5K2L2 camera module.
Besides, Sony offers more than one sensor...
But why are we even discussing this in depth? Do you expect Fiat to have so refined interior as Mercedes has? Come on...
celrau said:
If people want quality pictures they should learn to post-process them, even the most expansive cameras don't do "picture-perfect" and all pros do post-processing to enhance whatever they see fit. Get SnapSeed, it's excellent, free and can really enhance pictures.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you for real, man?
You want casual amateur photographers to work on pictures like pros? People expect acceptable quality out of the box. Casual photographers don't even know what gcam is, I assure you. No offense, man but you need to get out of your cave (xda) once in a while
Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk

The stock camera is pretty **** to be honest. The magic does gcam. It's like a blast and the pictures are so much better. I'd be very unhappy with the stock camera itself but try out gcam. Insane difference

MI A2 Lite camera is very bad. I'm very disappointed.

Camera is definitely not the strongest on A2L, and if you actually do care for quality cameras I suggest you to avoid buying A2L.
If you're like me and simply are a tech enthusiast I say you go for it, it's extremely easy to root and you get the best of both worlds: MiFlashTool support and an easy-to-unlock bootloader (since it has Android One, you don't have to apply for bootloader unlock).
Overall, if you're looking for a good camera, don't buy this phone. The reason why this phone has great specs for its price is because they put an average camera, it does it's job but it's no biggy.

I got a Mi A2 Lite to replace my crushed Galaxy S4. The camera is decent for daily non-professional needs. Yet, I am using it to document important office and family events. In broad daylight photos are sharp and detailed. However, in low-light particularly at night time, one should not expect lesser details and instead a soft image and it can be noisy. Yet, there is a low-light scene settings as a remedy for this, which I assume a digital enhancement (photo stacking?). In well-lit environment (i.e. outdoor or high lumen lighting), I found both portrait mode and the selfies are acceptable for prints. For the 1080p video, as a replacement of my S4, it is excellent in term of the additional (gyro?) stabilisation feature, which I always set on; and the natural contrast and ton . Someone said that you can crank it up to 4K resolution with a particular app. Back on photos again, the auto-focus is excellent in well-lit environment, however; if you keen on taking photos of moving objects like children or pets; sometimes it is not reliable.

rbs_uk said:
Celrau,
I`m comparing to Galaxy s8. A2 has crap camera. Advise me on decent app then please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jesus dude comparing th S8 with the A2 lite is like comparing an Audi A3 with an Audi R8 , damn.

According to my tests, It's better for a daylight and extremely bright environment (especially at noon) yet it's not good at low-light environment. The 'bokeh' effect is also there (if desired), but not that deep. Note that I'm still using stock and no modifications made for my test.
And I'm not expecting for 'greater' camera for this device considering with the price range it offers. And yet there are other phones within this device's price range that can take photos even worse.

HMMDR27D53-3002 said:
And I'm not expecting for 'greater' camera for this device considering with the price range it offers. And yet there are other phones within this device's price range that can take photos even worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither do I, but there are budget phones which can do much better pictures, my old Moto G4 for example.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the ASUS ZenFone 6 (2019), all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the ASUS ZenFone 6 (2019) is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

XDA_RealLifeReview said:
Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the ASUS ZenFone 6 (2019), all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the ASUS ZenFone 6 (2019) is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there going to be any way to root it, and any devs looking to develop its software?

rolear8 said:
Is there going to be any way to root it, and any devs looking to develop its software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Given that the official bootloader unlock tools are already out, I'd assume it will work fine out of the box with Magisk.

Just get the phone released in USA asap however looks like this is going to take till end June or mid July and I need a phone now lol

I'm using this phone for few days now and I love it ,
The only weak Point is maybe the camera and don't understand me wrong the shots are beutifull it's just that they camera itself feels sometimes weak like the mechanisme Will break ...

Honestly I am a bit disappointed with this phone. Previously, I used Honor View20. Performance wise it's excellent, for some people pure Android will be a good thing - I liked Samsung's One UI and Huawei's EMUI more. I wish it had iPhone-like gestures cause pill navigation feels a bit incomplete (why we still need to have that back button instead of swiping from the edges?). Main camera performs quite well, however, the ultra wide angle is inferior in my opinion. When you look closely at photos taken with it you will see it's like hmm painting? It lacks detail when zoomed, gets noisy when shooting in low light. As for video, EIS is doing fine. Night mode is disappointing - rather a boosted HDR than a night mode we know from Huawei or GCam. Battery is disappointing for me as well. It certainly does manage through a full day but, well, the performance of 5000 mAh is comparable to my previous Honor View20 which had 4000 mAh. Not sure what's the reason behind this, perhaps software is unoptimized or Kirin was just more battery friendly chip. Moving on to audio - stereo is pretty much nonexistent. Sound mostly outputs from bottom speaker, you can barely hear the top one. As for screen - it's not as bad as some reviewers say. It's average, not the best, not the worst. Overall, I wish there wasn't whole this China v US trade war so I'd keep my Honor device, but since it happened I was forced to switch.

Monnq said:
Honestly I am a bit disappointed with this phone. Previously, I used Honor View20. Performance wise it's excellent, for some people pure Android will be a good thing - I liked Samsung's One UI and Huawei's EMUI more. I wish it had iPhone-like gestures cause pill navigation feels a bit incomplete (why we still need to have that back button instead of swiping from the edges?). Main camera performs quite well, however, the ultra wide angle is inferior in my opinion. When you look closely at photos taken with it you will see it's like hmm painting? It lacks detail when zoomed, gets noisy when shooting in low light. As for video, EIS is doing fine. Night mode is disappointing - rather a boosted HDR than a night mode we know from Huawei or GCam. Battery is disappointing for me as well. It certainly does manage through a full day but, well, the performance of 5000 mAh is comparable to my previous Honor View20 which had 4000 mAh. Not sure what's the reason behind this, perhaps software is unoptimized or Kirin was just more battery friendly chip. Moving on to audio - stereo is pretty much nonexistent. Sound mostly outputs from bottom speaker, you can barely hear the top one. As for screen - it's not as bad as some reviewers say. It's average, not the best, not the worst. Overall, I wish there wasn't whole this China v US trade war so I'd keep my Honor device, but since it happened I was forced to switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, so the stereo speakers are really not so much there? I've seen videos of it being pretty loud on both orientations if you edited AudioWizard well.

troy5890 said:
Wait, so the stereo speakers are really not so much there? I've seen videos of it being pretty loud on both orientations if you edited AudioWizard well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you please link that video here or over pm? I will be grateful

Monnq said:
Could you please link that video here or over pm? I will be grateful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure thing, here you go!
timestamp: 7:10

troy5890 said:
Wait, so the stereo speakers are really not so much there? I've seen videos of it being pretty loud on both orientations if you edited AudioWizard well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best Zenfone 6 Review
all details and benchmarks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMplpTGC4vY

Number two of MrWhostheBoss top phones of 2019 under $500, just behind the K20 Pro

Monnq said:
Honestly I am a bit disappointed with this phone. Previously, I used Honor View20. Performance wise it's excellent, for some people pure Android will be a good thing - I liked Samsung's One UI and Huawei's EMUI more. I wish it had iPhone-like gestures cause pill navigation feels a bit incomplete (why we still need to have that back button instead of swiping from the edges?). Main camera performs quite well, however, the ultra wide angle is inferior in my opinion. When you look closely at photos taken with it you will see it's like hmm painting? It lacks detail when zoomed, gets noisy when shooting in low light. As for video, EIS is doing fine. Night mode is disappointing - rather a boosted HDR than a night mode we know from Huawei or GCam. Battery is disappointing for me as well. It certainly does manage through a full day but, well, the performance of 5000 mAh is comparable to my previous Honor View20 which had 4000 mAh. Not sure what's the reason behind this, perhaps software is unoptimized or Kirin was just more battery friendly chip. Moving on to audio - stereo is pretty much nonexistent. Sound mostly outputs from bottom speaker, you can barely hear the top one. As for screen - it's not as bad as some reviewers say. It's average, not the best, not the worst. Overall, I wish there wasn't whole this China v US trade war so I'd keep my Honor device, but since it happened I was forced to switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.
Techspurt also said this about the top end speaker of this phone...
' it's about as loud as a spiders fart in a hurricane.'

Monnq said:
Honestly I am a bit disappointed with this phone. Previously, I used Honor View20. Performance wise it's excellent, for some people pure Android will be a good thing - I liked Samsung's One UI and Huawei's EMUI more. I wish it had iPhone-like gestures cause pill navigation feels a bit incomplete (why we still need to have that back button instead of swiping from the edges?). Main camera performs quite well, however, the ultra wide angle is inferior in my opinion. When you look closely at photos taken with it you will see it's like hmm painting? It lacks detail when zoomed, gets noisy when shooting in low light. As for video, EIS is doing fine. Night mode is disappointing - rather a boosted HDR than a night mode we know from Huawei or GCam. Battery is disappointing for me as well. It certainly does manage through a full day but, well, the performance of 5000 mAh is comparable to my previous Honor View20 which had 4000 mAh. Not sure what's the reason behind this, perhaps software is unoptimized or Kirin was just more battery friendly chip. Moving on to audio - stereo is pretty much nonexistent. Sound mostly outputs from bottom speaker, you can barely hear the top one. As for screen - it's not as bad as some reviewers say. It's average, not the best, not the worst. Overall, I wish there wasn't whole this China v US trade war so I'd keep my Honor device, but since it happened I was forced to switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You killed my hype. :crying:
I sold my V20 for the exact same reason.
And i hoped a lot from the Zenfone 6

AhhdafunK01 said:
You killed my hype. :crying:
I sold my V20 for the exact same reason.
And i hoped a lot from the Zenfone 6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The good news is this phone will probably get some decent unofficial support since Asus has started sending Zenfone 6 to devs

cisco kidd said:
Just get the phone released in USA asap however looks like this is going to take till end June or mid July and I need a phone now lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too , Im starting to get an itch using this junk iphone 6 with a big ol crack across the screen . The Zenfone 6 in india has already been released , banned , rebadged and re released ..
As for the US ? Well ....see my attachment .

AhhdafunK01 said:
You killed my hype. :crying:
I sold my V20 for the exact same reason.
And i hoped a lot from the Zenfone 6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow... that wasnt an exactly good review huh? jeez back to the hunt . maybe an lgv40? or.....

I have a P30 P
---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:51 PM ----------
I have a P30 Pro, very very happy w it. Battery life is excellent , I only charge to 80- 85% and finish at 50-55%
I want to buy the Zenfone 6, am tempted to just order the 6 64 version online but at $549 I want 6/128, can't be bothered w sd card if not needed. 6GB ram is enough as my P30 Pro is CND version 6/128. Not keeping both phones had thought the Zenfone would all me to sell the P30 but I am starting to like it alot

Better than OnePlus!

I am seriously considering getting this. Kinda waiting for the 256gb version to come out.
I do feel like it is a big risk purchasing an asus phone. It would be my first time. I currently own a V20 and it is time for an upgrade.
I do not really know about Asus's reliability or software updates but the stats of the phone are just too good.
The one unique feature that is really important to me is the ability to have 2 sim card + a micro sd card. No other flagship phone allows that which is really surprising.
The only thing i am going to miss dearly is the ability to swap the batteries because that is my biggest feature i love the most. I guess those days are gone forever.
If any flagship phone still allowed me to do that i would get that hands down.

I´m really happy to bought this phone.
Coming from a LG G6, i like to have a standby time up to 3 days.
The Zenfone 6 makes good pictures at day... At nighttime it can be better, i think.
It is very fast, runs smooth and looks very nice.
Overall, i think its a really good phone.

Overall love

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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