Anyone else miss many miui features? - Redmi K20 / Xiaomi Mi 9T Questions & Answers

Hello guys! I have just updated to Evolution X and I have to say - I love it!
I've always loved MIUI and still think it is one of the ROMS that are the most aesthetically pleasing, but the animations and fluidity of Evolution X is just amazing; it feels like iPhones.
Still, even if I feel the ROM is really good, there are many MIUI apps and features that I miss. Here are the ones I miss the most:
- The alarms in MIUI! You can just switch off a single day and keep the repeating one on, and most importantly, can switch off your phone and it will switch on automatically before the alarm.
- Toggling the always on display on and off! I remember I set something up in MIUI where my always on display would turn off after a certain time. But this feature is not on this ROM!
The torch toggle with the double click on the power button! Although Evolution X does have a similar feature, you can switch it on but not off, I feel like Xiaomi's is more rounded.
Does anyone know if there is any way to get this features in Evolution X? Magisk modules or app ports or something?
Also, what other features do you miss from MIUI?

Related

Better User Experience: Sense-less or Sense Switches?

Over the past 24 hours, I've been playing with a multitude of different ROMs and apps to try dialing in that "perfect" setup. I think I have narrowed it down, but it seems like I am forced to make a tradeoff and I'd like some advice.
The Sense UI seems to be considered a pig. Not the tasty, goes-great-with-everything bacon variety, but the Unicron planet consuming memory type. Based on what I have read, it seems that using a less invasive launcher increases performance and improves the battery life.
Unfortunately, Sense has a REALLY nice feature that I can't seem to replicate on the EVO when using AOSP. On the Evo 4G, Sense has elegant toggle switches for:
4G
Mobile Internet
Wi-FI
GPS
Mobile Hotspot
Bluetooth
Airplane
Slap a Brightness and Ringer control from the MP in there, and you have yourself a one stop shot of virtual dip switches to control everything about your phone that sucks down juice.
Unless I am missing something, there doesn't seem to be any solutions in the Marketplace that can duplicate this functionality. There are some apps that provide shortcuts to certain toggles, but nothing that gives you an "at a glance" feature like the Sense UI provides.
So my question is this: what do you all do? I love love LOVE that idea of controlling my connections easily to save on battery, but at the same time feel a lot more comfortable using LauncherPro and boycotting the closed-sourceness that is HTC's custom interface of bloat.
Either way I still end up with the best phone on the market, I just feel like its forcing me to make a compromise when I am so close to perfection.
Thanks in advance!
The SwitchPro widget from the market has everything but 4g. I use it all the time.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/alei.switchpro
The only thing about switchpro that threw me for a loop is that when placed side by side with the Sense widgets (and power options) is that even though the Mobile dip for Sense can "turn on" the Mobile connection in Switchpro, the Switchpro widget does not do the same for the Sense one.
This could simply be a misreport, but I was concerned that it simply was not disabling the service.
Then again...I can't really do anything with the phone web-wise...
double post...
If you search the market place of "onoff" or "toggle" you should find widgets that replace the switch functionality of the sense UI. Combine that with this for 4g and you can have your cake and eat it too:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=695056

PA? Whats the hype?

Ok so I prefer AOKP, sometimes CM if an official final release ever comes out. I've been sniffing about at the Paranoid Android ROM some. I'd like some feedback on what the special deal is that brings everyone over to it.
I'm aware of the ability to change the DPI and color of each individual apps which sounds nice if you are into that - but what other things draw people to it besides that? If it's just that it has AOKP and CM features along with the dpi/app color stuff then I'd just prefer to stick with AOKP. Is there anything else?
How's the battery life with the included kernel? Are other kernels better to go with?
The kernels pretty much a stock Google kernel ... I prefer to use other kernels like trinity and faux but the ROM is nice .
Although I'm a big fan of Steve's aokp
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
if you like aokp and are thinking of switching roms try codefirex if you havent. it has some form of all aokp features but its super optimized with the latest linaro and google optimizations and you can tell the difference over aokp/cm. im not a fan of PA because i think its just too customizable and is overwhelming because i would be so worried about getting everything "just right." i like most of the stock feel and a good amount of customization but to pick a color and density and ui mode for every app is just too much for me. the rom ends up feeling clunky and just wrong, but many people like it, but it sounds like its not your thing either
Where is the thread for codefirex? .. Does it have the bionic optimisations ?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
mbucks911 said:
if you like aokp and are thinking of switching roms try codefirex if you havent. it has some form of all aokp features but its super optimized with the latest linaro and google optimizations and you can tell the difference over aokp/cm. im not a fan of PA because i think its just too customizable and is overwhelming because i would be so worried about getting everything "just right." i like most of the stock feel and a good amount of customization but to pick a color and density and ui mode for every app is just too much for me. the rom ends up feeling clunky and just wrong, but many people like it, but it sounds like its not your thing either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thanks, I was thinking that same thing for the most part. I don't want to nit pick around and screw with DPI settings, my eyes are bad enough I don't need things smaller and the stock colors work fine for me.
italia0101 said:
Where is the thread for codefirex? .. Does it have the bionic optimisations ?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are these bionic optimizations that I keep seeing come up all about?
VoiD_Dweller said:
Yeah thanks, I was thinking that same thing for the most part. I don't want to nit pick around and screw with DPI settings, my eyes are bad enough I don't need things smaller and the stock colors work fine for me.
What are these bionic optimizations that I keep seeing come up all about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There specific optimisations for krait which drastically improve memory management etc on the s4 pro
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
VoiD_Dweller said:
Yeah thanks, I was thinking that same thing for the most part. I don't want to nit pick around and screw with DPI settings, my eyes are bad enough I don't need things smaller and the stock colors work fine for me.
What are these bionic optimizations that I keep seeing come up all about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's another good explanation: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=37767038&postcount=1825
I am a tinker. So thats what PA gives me.
I change shyte all day, everyday. Then I add Franco Kernel. I get to tinker with that also.
if all you want is vanilla, stay with what ya got. If you want Everything your way. Then BK this mofo and install PA.
Its only daunting at first. Once you understand where the settings are you are all good.
Truthfully, if you are installing a Custom rom, I can't personally understand why you would install any else.
VoiD_Dweller said:
screw with DPI settings, my eyes are bad enough I don't need things smaller
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we get this a lot. but its wrong. many people have mixed it up with "tablet mode" before and build.prop system dpi nonsense. none of this stuff applies. theres nothing getting smaller unless you want it small, seperate from the UI you choose ofc. in fact pa is sometimes used by the elderly with bad eye sight, since you can make apps big as well. not that this is pa's premise, but just for reference.
usually people who havent tried hybrid engine have no clue what it is - for me personally its androids most important modification, because i know what it can do. i doubt theres anything in the rom scene that comes close to it in complexity and practicability. and the latter point is important. its not a toy. it makes a phone better in so many productive ways, far beyond anything you can achieve through typical customization.
its one of many unique features btw,
here's another,
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
if youre a gamer you'll love pie. all features we make are meant for actual use of the phone, not just fooling around with 2-3 quick access settings a couple of seconds every day, although we have it as well.
One of the best things pa did was ditch cm as their base.
Its refreshing to see the nexus ROM scene as a whole seems to pulling away from all the cm10 and aokp based / kanged Roms.
Nothing wrong with those roms if that's your thing. Others like close to aosp with some tweaks. Not let's toss in every single thing we can think off.
Yea I LOVE pie ... I'll give you that
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Paranoid android is awesome!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
I have tried PA a few times but each time I've been surprised by the LACK of of customization features. I can easily find the hybrid engine settings and edit the hell out of them but I don't find it useful at all. I'm not sure if I've just missed or if they really just don't exist.
Here's a list of some great small AOKP features that I couldn't find in PA. I would be happy if someone more familiar with PA could confirm if they exist or not.
- Clock position (center/right/dont show)
- Clock color
- Navbar & Statusbar opacity
- Kill-all button on recents menu
- Option to hide the hints of left and right widgets when opening lockscreen
- Volume music controls (long press to next/prev)
- Allow all widgets in lockscreen
- Navbar longpress actions
- LED notification customization (has to be in ROM, not a buggy 3rd party app)
- Less frequent notification sounds
I can live without one or two of these functions but since I couldn't find any of them in PA I just had to uninstall it after a few minutes.
Jiia said:
I have tried PA a few times but each time I've been surprised by the LACK of of customization features. I can easily find the hybrid engine settings and edit the hell out of them but I don't find it useful at all. I'm not sure if I've just missed or if they really just don't exist.
Here's a list of some great small AOKP features that I couldn't find in PA. I would be happy if someone more familiar with PA could confirm if they exist or not.
- Clock position (center/right/dont show)
- Clock color
- Navbar & Statusbar opacity
- Kill-all button on recents menu
- Option to hide the hints of left and right widgets when opening lockscreen
- Volume music controls (long press to next/prev)
- Allow all widgets in lockscreen
- Navbar longpress actions
- LED notification customization (has to be in ROM, not a buggy 3rd party app)
- Less frequent notification sounds
I can live without one or two of these functions but since I couldn't find any of them in PA I just had to uninstall it after a few minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try revolt jb.
It is AOKP + CM + PA
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Jiia said:
I have tried PA a few times but each time I've been surprised by the LACK of of customization features. I can easily find the hybrid engine settings and edit the hell out of them but I don't find it useful at all. I'm not sure if I've just missed or if they really just don't exist.
Here's a list of some great small AOKP features that I couldn't find in PA. I would be happy if someone more familiar with PA could confirm if they exist or not.
- Clock position (center/right/dont show)
- Clock color
- Navbar & Statusbar opacity
- Kill-all button on recents menu
- Option to hide the hints of left and right widgets when opening lockscreen
- Volume music controls (long press to next/prev)
- Allow all widgets in lockscreen
- Navbar longpress actions
- LED notification customization (has to be in ROM, not a buggy 3rd party app)
- Less frequent notification sounds
I can live without one or two of these functions but since I couldn't find any of them in PA I just had to uninstall it after a few minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes
yes (best implementation in the rom scene -> per app color)
yes (best implementation in the rom scene -> per app color)
yes (from us originally, best implementation in the rom scene -> elegant android 4.2 solution, all UI's, even PIE)
yes
yes
no, we dont want it
yes
yes
anyway. most of this stuff, thats toys. how often did i screw around with silly quick options today? 2 seconds maybe. i switched on bluetooth. meanwhile i've actually used my phone, written mails in the best email client possible. i've talked to people via the best gtalk client possible. i've set settings in the best settings app possible. an entire market with thousands of apps is simply not accessible to you: https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/tablet_featured you're locked out.
the fact is, youre using apps that were made to run on pocket watches. the sdk is years old and does not reflect contemporary technology anymore. your nexus4 was simply left behind. it falls back to 360p, which was used on the tiny htc wildfire xx years ago. keep in mind, 360p is WAY too small for your n4, but since the sdk is so old the next margin is 600p, you reach it almost but not quite, so back to 360. and with that you sift through unbelievable clumsy, unintuitive non-optimized apps. not to mention things like PIE, per app color, per app expanded dektop, the only rom on android that has a flawless tabletUI and a flawless phabletUI - and who knows what. i dont count anymore.
Thanks molesarecoming, I really need to give it another try. Clearly I just couldn't find the proper place for the settings.
molesarecoming said:
in fact pa is sometimes used by the elderly with bad eye sight, since you can make apps big as well. not that this is pa's premise, but just for reference.
usually people who havent tried hybrid engine have no clue what it is - for me personally its androids most important modification, because i know what it can do. i doubt theres anything in the rom scene that comes close to it in complexity and practicability. and the latter point is important. its not a toy. it makes a phone better in so many productive ways, far beyond anything you can achieve through typical customization.
if youre a gamer you'll love pie. all features we make are meant for actual use of the phone, not just fooling around with 2-3 quick access settings a couple of seconds every day, although we have it as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome reply and thanks for putting the time into an explanation like that. I had flashed PA onto my phone earlier and clearly didn't give it the time deserved to determine if it was worth keeping. I'll give it a few days and see how it goes.
molesarecoming said:
anyway. most of this stuff, thats toys. how often did i screw around with silly quick options today? 2 seconds maybe. i switched on bluetooth. meanwhile i've actually used my phone, written mails in the best email client possible. i've talked to people via the best gtalk client possible. i've set settings in the best settings app possible. an entire market with thousands of apps is simply not accessible to you: https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/tablet_featured you're locked out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't realize I could use tablet apps. Out of curiosity what is the best email and gtalk client you are referring to, in your opinion?
Thanks for everyone's input on my original question..
the same gmail and the same gtalk thats installed on your phone. the problem is, yours looks like this: http://www.abload.de/img/2013-01-04-15.02g2z5f.jpg
mine looks like this: http://www.abload.de/img/n4-product-heroe5z5zbaj5a.jpg
that means i can actually see who writes me and switch back and forth. im not locked into one puny view.
your gmail: http://www.chip.de/ii/1/1/2/4/9/1/4/7/1bbccb0a376e8d44.jpg
my gmail: http://www.abload.de/img/shots_12pk0x.png (last row)
as you see, your apps are crippled beyond repair. thats how they look on my pocket watch.
that gtalk screenshot shows tablet mode all around but again, its separate, it doesnt matter, can be anything you want. same as for stuff being small, one tap and its bigger (last screenshot shows you the controls, slider controls size, dropdownbox lets you pick the UI). my gmail for instance displays in the exact same fontsize as in phoneUI. since nex4 is technically close to a tablet it can pull it off beautifully.
same holds true for tablet apps. most of these wouldnt even run on your phone, but do on mine. apps, thats what you are actually using and interacting with, 99% of the time you use your phone. here's where i see potential for customization. the last 1% where i wanna quicktoggle bluetooth is important, too - but thats fairly standard. every rom has it.
I can't justify using PA myself to be fair.
While my girlfriend though PIE was cool, I find it slow and a poor alternative to the notification bar outside of looking cool, so found myself not using it except to show off. When I actually wanted to do stuff with my phone, the on screen buttons were much faster coupled with the notification bar.
All the DPI stuff I tried, then set back to default. The colours everyone is raving about, I absolutely hate, and I simply cannot live without holding the home button to turn off the screen lol. I don't know why but using the power button or a quick toggle on the notification bar is just so 1980.
Aside from those things, and in all fairness, there is nothing really wrong with PA I just always go back to AOKP as it really does seem more customisable than PA when you take away useless DPI editing which adds nothing to the experience of using a phone.
molesarecoming said:
the same gmail and the same gtalk thats installed on your phone. the problem is, yours looks like this: http://www.abload.de/img/2013-01-04-15.02g2z5f.jpg
mine looks like this: http://www.abload.de/img/n4-product-heroe5z5zbaj5a.jpg
that means i can actually see who writes me and switch back and forth. im not locked into one puny view.
your gmail: http://www.chip.de/ii/1/1/2/4/9/1/4/7/1bbccb0a376e8d44.jpg
my gmail: http://www.abload.de/img/shots_12pk0x.png (last row)
as you see, your apps are crippled beyond repair. thats how they look on my pocket watch.
that gtalk screenshot shows tablet mode all around but again, its separate, it doesnt matter, can be anything you want. same as for stuff being small, one tap and its bigger (last screenshot shows you the controls, slider controls size, dropdownbox lets you pick the UI). my gmail for instance displays in the exact same fontsize as in phoneUI. since nex4 is technically close to a tablet it can pull it off beautifully.
same holds true for tablet apps. most of these wouldnt even run on your phone, but do on mine. apps, thats what you are actually using and interacting with, 99% of the time you use your phone. here's where i see potential for customization. the last 1% where i wanna quicktoggle bluetooth is important, too - but thats fairly standard. every rom has it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see.. Thanks, I'll give it a whirl for sure now..

Help customize S4-GPE (coming from TW-S4)

Hi There,
I am new to the whole android world.. I am a recovering iOS junkie and loving the Android environment.
I started with a AT&T GS4 which has MF3 firmware on it so no ROMS (yet..) I decided I wanted to try the Google Play Edition and "MOSTLY" love it. I find there are several TouchWiz customizations that I long for on the GPE.
Few items to know before I begin:
1) I have to maintain an un-rooted device to access my corp email (airwatch MDM)
* Policy required encryption and PIN
2) Not opposed to ROM's if I can still achieve (1)
I have both devices and have switched back and forth between the two this week but just can't give up the TouchWiz version..
* GPE: Love the clean, unbloated snappiness of the device.
* GPE: Love the Status Bar and how it stays uncluttered (compared to ATT/Samsung)
* GPE: Miss the TW Toggles when swiping down for Notifications. I have installed 3 or 4 different apps trying to find the best one to replace, but none offer quite the same experience.. None can actually toggle GPS, Airplane mode and a few others (without root right?) I am using "Notification Toggle" which is 98% meeting the needs.. but it has it's own "notification icon" on the status bar which you can make invisible but now just shifts other icons to the right leaving a blank space.
* GPE: Dislike that you can't add or modify the native toggles.. seems there is a ton of extra room.
* GPE: Dislike the GPE Phone dialer "In call" options being buried in an icon menu.. I like the Samsung Dialer with the larger mute/speaker phone/headset options.. I recognize I can replace the dialer.. so this isn't a HUGE issue.
* GPE: When returning from sleep and phone not "locked" it returns to where I left off.. would prefer how the Samsung still has an "Unlock" outside of the PIN entry.. (Maybe this is customizable, but I haven't figured it out..)
* GPE: Hard Volume buttons bring up one volume slider.. I love the way Sam-TW lets you press the "settings" next to volume and lets you adjust Ringtone, Media, Notification,System volumes
* Sam-TW: Dislike all the bloat (Samsung and AT&T).
I am using Nova Launcher Prime on both devices.
So, I am on the fence as to which device I am going to keep....
Any thoughts? (and yes... I know I probably sound f'ing crazy! hahaha)
Thanks,
Mike
mjolsen said:
Hi There,
I am new to the whole android world.. I am a recovering iOS junkie and loving the Android environment.
I started with a AT&T GS4 which has MF3 firmware on it so no ROMS (yet..) I decided I wanted to try the Google Play Edition and "MOSTLY" love it. I find there are several TouchWiz customizations that I long for on the GPE.
Few items to know before I begin:
1) I have to maintain an un-rooted device to access my corp email (airwatch MDM)
* Policy required encryption and PIN
2) Not opposed to ROM's if I can still achieve (1)
I have both devices and have switched back and forth between the two this week but just can't give up the TouchWiz version..
* GPE: Love the clean, unbloated snappiness of the device.
* GPE: Love the Status Bar and how it stays uncluttered (compared to ATT/Samsung)
* GPE: Miss the TW Toggles when swiping down for Notifications. I have installed 3 or 4 different apps trying to find the best one to replace, but none offer quite the same experience.. None can actually toggle GPS, Airplane mode and a few others (without root right?) I am using "Notification Toggle" which is 98% meeting the needs.. but it has it's own "notification icon" on the status bar which you can make invisible but now just shifts other icons to the right leaving a blank space.
* GPE: Dislike that you can't add or modify the native toggles.. seems there is a ton of extra room.
* GPE: Dislike the GPE Phone dialer "In call" options being buried in an icon menu.. I like the Samsung Dialer with the larger mute/speaker phone/headset options.. I recognize I can replace the dialer.. so this isn't a HUGE issue.
* GPE: When returning from sleep and phone not "locked" it returns to where I left off.. would prefer how the Samsung still has an "Unlock" outside of the PIN entry.. (Maybe this is customizable, but I haven't figured it out..)
* GPE: Hard Volume buttons bring up one volume slider.. I love the way Sam-TW lets you press the "settings" next to volume and lets you adjust Ringtone, Media, Notification,System volumes
* Sam-TW: Dislike all the bloat (Samsung and AT&T).
I am using Nova Launcher Prime on both devices.
So, I am on the fence as to which device I am going to keep....
Any thoughts? (and yes... I know I probably sound f'ing crazy! hahaha)
Thanks,
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in a similar quandary, I spent 10 minutes on TW and I hated how ugly it was. So I flash CM10.2, but it didn't allow me to use the case lock/unlock feature, or notifications through the case window.
Then I flashed to GE and have been mostly happy, still miss some CM10.2 features, but love having the case lock/unlock and notifications. Hopefully CM10.2 will have a Stable release in the near future that incorporates these features.
I had some issues with the camera quality, a lot of blurring. Flash "Focal" camera from CM10.2 and it has been brilliant.

[Q] Recommend a 4.4 ROM with stock LG features? (e.g. knock on, etc)

Hi there,
Seeking some advice on a ROM. Hate the look of stock LG G2, just installed stock-like kitkat on my old GNex and saw the google experience launcher with transparent everything, DO WANT. However I'm afraid of losing some features of stock LG software. Maybe you guys can recommend some ROMs, or if it's best to stay stock to get all the features I want, recommend some mods that will give me all the ROM features I want?
Things I NEED
Knock On/ Knock Off (LG feature)
4.4 Stock "Look and Feel" (fonts, transparent bars all around, appearance of time and battery and notifications bar, black instead of white setting menu, etc, you get the picture)
Always listening on the home screen, possibly the lock-screen, pretty much anywhere I can have it all over the UI (as per 4.4, not LG)
Recent Apps button instead of a menu button (as per 4.4, not LG)
Open apps from the lockscreen with apps icons already visible when looking at lockscreen (not the style where you hold finger over lock icon to see a choice of apps in a circle, and then have to swipe a specific direction. I used to have that and didnt like it as much as I like LG stock way of actually showing icons without you touching anything, and you swipe the icons, not a lock towards the icons)
Circle battery type thing on status bar that shows percentage
Things I haven't tried/am not sure about but might want from stock LG software, and might not want to lose flashing to custom ROM
Better stock camera?
SmartShare from the gallery app? (says it uses wifi/bluetooth to stream content to other devices)
Beam/DNLA/I don't even remember what it's called or what app I found it in?
Quickremote
You tell me please? I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff I've yet to discover that I might want (are any of LG's apps e.g. notebook useful?)
Things that are cool but not really necessary
Themes and a ton of extra features -- used to use AOKP and they had a decent amount of extra feature, not too few like CM, not too many like other ROMs where my head just starts spinning from all the features
Other
I'd really prefer not to have to wipe all the time, CM's OTA update feature was awesssooome when I had CM on my GNex, but CM is a little feature-lite for me, I mean it was good though, that's just a minor complaint. But if there's something better fitting my criteria above I'll put up with having to wipe to flash updates of the same ROM in the future if its necessary. I just never understood why OEMs can push OTAs to people and never make them wipe, but for custom ROMs (updating new versions of same ROM) I have to re-set-up everything every time
A lot of this stuff has been addressed already. Most ROMs have knock on built in, but not knock off. The work around is downloading an app that turns the screen off, and using a gesture control in another app (such as Nova Launcher) to double tap the home screen to turn the screen off. Though personally, I just have screen off set to my nav ring so I can access it from any page I'm on.
There's a flashable install here on the forums some where for Quick Remote. Works fine on AOSP ROMs.
As for 4.4 stuff, I have no idea.
Sent from CAMACHO, my Verizon G2 (VS980) running PAC ROM 4.3.
get an Iphone
Vepaot said:
Though personally, I just have screen off set to my nav ring so I can access it from any page I'm on.
How did you do that? I nowhere find a setting to change anything in the navigation ring.
Sent from my LG-V500 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Android P in depth review (ongoing)

Android P in depth review (updating...)​
Hi XDA, this is my opinion on the freshest dev preview of android P
Appearance
The appearance looks smoother and polished. The notifications have rounded corners and the Heads Up notifications appear like they are actually coming from the status bar instead of a rectangle taking up the screen. This is looking more and more similar to IOS, but android's customizability takes the lead. The new settings app looks a lot like the touchwiz settings because of the color coded icons. The clock has shifted to the left because P is made to support "notch" devices (i'll explain why Google is working hard for this feature later). The settings menu is organized more like touchwiz with the colored icons and that is a plus in my book. Overall, I believe this OS has achieved a greater standard when it comes to appearance.
New Features
Since this is only DP1, we are not seeing many new features, but I have seen the screenshot editor, different volume controls, the new settings app, etc. The screenshot editor is a much needed tool for me because I use social media and need to crop my screenshots, now this function can help me do just that. The volume defaults to media rather than ringer. The ring has 3 options, silent, vibrate, or ring. I believe this to be a better standard because I am always adjusting the media volume, but never the ring volume. This switch has kept the average consumer in mind. The new settings app has many battery tweaks! First off, there is a new power saving mode that doesn't tint your nav bar and status bar an ugly red color. This time, the battery saver works by limiting background power usage on applications and has a greater improvement on SOT. On DP2 at Google I/O, there will probably be more features to look for.
SOT/Battery life
The SOT has increased from 6 hrs on DU to 10 hrs on P. This is because P limits the background camera and microphone usage for apps such as Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, etc. The new battery saver feature can be turned on at any time and increases the SOT even more! I use the kirisakura harmony kernel for P and it is as good as the stock kernel, with better audio quality.
Tweaks, root, what else?
TWRP 3.2.1-2 works, but the password decryption is still faulty. It still registers what lock setting you're using. Magisk v16.1 has been released on the beta thread and magisk manager is bundled in (it is working and registering this time). Some magisk modules are not working because of P, but that should all be fixed in a few days. The only CK i've seen is Kirisakura harmony.
Overall...
Android P is a great OS for people that like new features and is relatively stable for a new OS. There are some api compatibility notifications, but that is because app devs haven't upgraded to the new api. I will be using this as my DD until official P comes out.
Thanks.
Bugs? Battery life? What apps don't work?
TokedUp said:
Bugs? Battery life? What apps don't work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if anyone will agree with me but my battery life is the same or better as stock for me. I had a couple force closes in the first 5 minutes after my first boot but only 2 since then. Snapchat comes up with a toast message occasionally that says something like "API compatibility error" or something, but the app still works. It has a couple hang ups here and there. I honestly feel like it's DP2 or 3 material. Been running for 24 hours, just my experience though.
Jackaroop said:
I don't know if anyone will agree with me but my battery life is the same or better as stock for me. I had a couple force closes in the first 5 minutes after my first boot but only 2 since then. Snapchat comes up with a toast message occasionally that says something like "API compatibility error" or something, but the app still works. It has a couple hang ups here and there. I honestly feel like it's DP2 or 3 material. Been running for 24 hours, just my experience though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also have been running for 24 hours and battery is on par with stock Oreo. Haven't had any issues with apps, I don't use many though. Bluetooth works but it still said I was connected to my head unit after I turned my car off and was in my house, toggle off and on fixed it. Bluetooth icon doesn't show unless it's connected but it seems to be by design. Seems very stable for a dp1 but I think I might flash back to Oreo if root isn't available soon.
Sent from my marlin using XDA Labs
tekanina said:
Also have been running for 24 hours and battery is on par with stock Oreo. Haven't had any issues with apps, I don't use many though. Bluetooth works but it still said I was connected to my head unit after I turned my car off and was in my house, toggle off and on fixed it. Bluetooth icon doesn't show unless it's connected but it seems to be by design. Seems very stable for a dp1 but I think I might flash back to Oreo if root isn't available soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like root is available just an issue with the magisk manager right now.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-xl/help/aod-pixel-xl-p-dp1-t3760506/post75821115
Jackaroop said:
Looks like root is available just an issue with the magisk manager right now.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-xl/help/aod-pixel-xl-p-dp1-t3760506/post75821115
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am currently figuring out a method to get your root apps on P, will be posted soon (along with a few other things
I actually like p alot even though I'm starting to see a hint of iOS
Pros
For me battery is better than Oreo
I like certain aspects of design
Seems more stable
Cons
I hate iOS
Limited root for now
I hate ios
joeeboogz said:
I actually like p alot even though I'm starting to see a hint of iOS
Pros
For me battery is better than Oreo
I like certain aspects of design
Seems more stable
Cons
I hate iOS
Limited root for now
I hate ios
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you can hate it but iOS is far ahead of android when it comes to the UI.
I personally like the new UI on P.
Bugs so far (fresh image install, 100% unmodified non-rooted) in my few hours of testing. Keep in mind that I paid attention to every little detail:
1. Phone didn't want to wake one time to the point where I thought the phone was off. It took maybe 10-15 seconds of fiddling with the power button to wake it.
- This alone makes me think that an alarm clock could be missed.
2. Randomly goes from silent to ring.
- May be dangerous for some people depending on situation (business meetings, school setting, sleeping).
3. Launcher settings can be seen through the app drawer background.
- Tacky cosmetic mistake.
4. Adaptive brightness appears broken.
I'm sure there are more that I haven't encountered as it was only for a couple of hours. I wouldn't run it as a daily driver if you rely on your phone for things like business, alarm clock, maps, etc.
It's pretty functional for an alpha release but I wouldn't call this stable enough for everyday use unless you're comfortable with the possibility of the phone switching to ring randomly, missing an alarm clock for an important event, or phone not waking to capture a life moment (picture/video).
richii0207 said:
Bugs so far (fresh install, 100% unmodified non-rooted) in my few hours of testing:
1. Phone didn't want to wake one time to the point where I thought the phone was off. It took maybe 10-15 seconds of fiddling with the power button to wake it.
- This alone makes me think that an alarm clock could be missed.
2. Randomly goes from silent to ring.
- May be dangerous for some people depending on situation (business meetings, school setting, sleeping).
3. Launcher settings can be seen through the app drawer background.
- Tacky cosmetic mistake.
4. Adaptive brightness appears broken.
I'm sure there are more that I haven't encountered as it was only for a couple of hours. I wouldn't run it as a daily driver if you rely on your phone for things like business, alarm clock, maps, etc.
It's pretty functional for an alpha release but I wouldn't call this stable enough for everyday use unless you're comfortable with the possibility of the phone switching to ring randomly, missing an alarm clock for an important event, or phone not waking to capture a life moment (picture/video).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did u flash factory (with wipe) or full ota file??
onesolo said:
did u flash factory (with wipe) or full ota file??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash image with full wipe.
richii0207 said:
Bugs so far (fresh image install, 100% unmodified non-rooted) in my few hours of testing:
1. Phone didn't want to wake one time to the point where I thought the phone was off. It took maybe 10-15 seconds of fiddling with the power button to wake it.
- This alone makes me think that an alarm clock could be missed.
2. Randomly goes from silent to ring.
- May be dangerous for some people depending on situation (business meetings, school setting, sleeping).
3. Launcher settings can be seen through the app drawer background.
- Tacky cosmetic mistake.
4. Adaptive brightness appears broken.
I'm sure there are more that I haven't encountered as it was only for a couple of hours. I wouldn't run it as a daily driver if you rely on your phone for things like business, alarm clock, maps, etc.
It's pretty functional for an alpha release but I wouldn't call this stable enough for everyday use unless you're comfortable with the possibility of the phone switching to ring randomly, missing an alarm clock for an important event, or phone not waking to capture a life moment (picture/video).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's weird I didn't have any of these issues except for the launcher settings icons displaying over the app drawer.
I did however encounter some minor problems:
On the settings icon shortcuts, when I click on "Data usage" I get an error saying "app not installed"
I cannot get the new screenshots editor, when I click on edit right after taking a screenshot it takes mo to the Google photos editor
I have noticed errors related to API compatibility showing on certain apps
Some apps don't seem to work correctly, GSam Battery Monitor for example is showing wrong stats (SOT jumped from 3 to 4h in a couple of minutes)
Other than that everything seems to work in a good and smooth way.
Words with Friends kept FCing
Pros:
1. Beautiful UI
2. Battery life is great (no orange bar for battery saving mode)
3. Notification management! P recognizes the types of notifications you want/ or don't want and gives you a quick option to disable them.
4. No FCs so far (might just be me)
Cons:
1. Launcher settings can be seen through app drawer (dev preview ****)
2. Settings icons are hideous
3. Media volume setting comes up by default when pressing the volume button. (might just be me)
I love so much about P. I can't wait for until it's out of dev preview.
guruguap239 said:
Pros:
1. Beautiful UI
2. Battery life is great (no orange bar for battery saving mode)
3. Notification management! P recognizes the types of notifications you want/ or don't want and gives you a quick option to disable them.
4. No FCs so far (might just be me)
Cons:
1. Launcher settings can be seen through app drawer (dev preview ****)
2. Settings icons are hideous
3. Media volume setting comes up by default when pressing the volume button. (might just be me)
I love so much about P. I can't wait for until it's out of dev preview.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I read that now volume keys always default to media volume rather than ring volume. Check one of the feature list posts in xda news to verify.
Review updated, includes more stuff
I've been running Android P for about 3 days now my Pixel XL. I haven't had many issues at all, but my battery seems to drain/die much fast than it did on 8.1.
I may try to re flash P again to see if a fresh install helps in anyway. Especially since everyone seems to be getting much better battery life with P.
I'll update if I see any difference.
So you are getting 10 hours of SoT with this P preview? Seems unreal man!
nory82688 said:
I've been running Android P for about 3 days now my Pixel XL. I haven't had many issues at all, but my battery seems to drain/die much fast than it did on 8.1.
I may try to re flash P again to see if a fresh install helps in anyway. Especially since everyone seems to be getting much better battery life with P.
I'll update if I see any difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also getting worse battery life on P, although I did just update from 8.1 with the factory image without wiping. I might just give it a try after wiping but I'd really rather not. I'm using a normal Pixel, non-XL.

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