Database Users

What are the main cons of this Axon 7 ???

Hey Everyone,
So Guys , I'm about to buy the Axon 7 A2017 the Chinese variant (Since I'm outside the US) with 4gb RAM and 128gb of storage as an upgrade of my old LG G4, that's why I'm asking you guys to answer me honestly what was your personal experience with this device ? what are the bad sides that have made you frustrated or made you regretting making this purchase ??
I've heard many downsides but I cannot really believe them since many reputable reviewers on Youtube have said the opposite ??
Some Cons I heard :
1-The sound output from Headphones are not really great same for the dual front facing speakers.(Which is a bit shocking as the main promoted feature of this smartphone was the audio capabilities ).
2-The Screen is not clearly visible at direct sunlight
3-The Camera is awful , in other words a piece of crap (I dont really care about Photography or low light stills , but I also hate a smartphone that cannot take some sharp stills at daylight ,such as portait of myself for social media)
4-The capacitive buttons are not back lit , but I think I could get used to them.
5-The UI is buggy and bloated , the phone doesn't have any support from devs and the Company didn't fix many issues and bugs.
6-The fingerprint is not that fast or accurate (I've heard from a review that it works 60-70% of time)
7-Multi tasking and app launching is not good either comparing to smartphones that have the same cpu/gpu like Oneplus 3 , LG G5 ,..
8-Gaming experience is worse , as the 1440p leads to fps drops.
9-Notification are not received , bad sync
10-bad signal reception , bad GPS reception , Wi-fi range ??
Yes I know this is so long because after reading many opinions and seeing many reviews that's what came out !!
I still hear that all this can be fixed by an update but till now (after 6 months of releasing) nothing to be confirmed.
I'm a casual user , I don't root my phones , or install custom roms I can bear the Stock Rom if it's doing well , no bugs or lags.
Guys Please be honest , I know that almost every opinion will be biased , I don't want to buy a whortless smartphone because I also consider buying Oneplus 3 since my brother got it and it's an amazing smartphone blazing fast , takes some good images at good light , charging really so quick , everything is good with it except the battery drain when playing heavy games , the standby drain , and some heat issues.
The reasons that pushes me to consider buying Axon 7 over OP3 is it's great 1440p screen VR ready and the front facing speakers even if the Oneplus 3 have a good display despite it's FHD only and also a decent loudspeakers .
Yeahhh this thing is damnn long, but You know I don't wanna spend 400$ for useless features !!
Best Regards , Youssef

1- Not true, the sound is great with both speakers and headphones, although you may have problems with some apps and compatibility.
2- I use the phone a lot outside and never had any problems reading the screen
3- the camera is awful in low light, but its a really good camera in good light. REALLY good.
4- Yes, this is a con, but you get use to it.
5- False and true. The ui is not bloated and it works really good. I actually like it more than pure stock. But regarding bugs and dev support, its really, really bad.
6- It could be faster.... and yes, you get a couple of misreads, but its not as bad as you make it sound.
7- Really don't know what are you referring to. Apps launch fast and multitasking work great (when the phone doesn't kill you app, though)
8- I don't do gaming on my phone, can't comment.
9- This is a mayor problem that should have been fix a long time ago. This is pretty much a killer point.
10- Except for some minor GPS issue indoors, my WIFI and phone receptions have been really great.
As I said in other threads, get the OnePlus 3T. Save yourself some headaches.
This phone is great in paper, and the hardware is excellent, but its pretty much dead. You are going to be really disappointed if you want to change ROMs or get community support.

yamils said:
1- Not true, the sound is great with both speakers and headphones, although you may have problems with some apps and compatibility.
2- I use the phone a lot outside and never had any problems reading the screen
3- the camera is awful in low light, but its a really good camera in good light. REALLY good.
4- Yes, this is a con, but you get use to it.
5- False and true. The ui is not bloated and it works really good. I actually like it more than pure stock. But regarding bugs and dev support, its really, really bad.
6- It could be faster.... and yes, you get a couple of misreads, but its not as bad as you make it sound.
7- Really don't know what are you referring to. Apps launch fast and multitasking work great (when the phone doesn't kill you app, though)
8- I don't do gaming on my phone, can't comment.
9- This is a mayor problem that should have been fix a long time ago. This is pretty much a killer point.
10- Except for some minor GPS issue indoors, my WIFI and phone receptions have been really great.
As I said in other threads, get the OnePlus 3T. Save yourself some headaches.
This phone is great in paper, and the hardware is excellent, but its pretty much dead. You are going to be really disappointed if you want to change ROMs or get community support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really appreciate your answer it's really helping , as I don't really care about updates or custom roms I think it's bearable since you said it's not bloated . I mean overall this smartphone is great !! But I'm afraid that what you said is only applicable for A2017U (US variant) and not the chinese variant A2017 becuz as I stated before I'm not from The US , so I need to import the device from China.

The only one I agree with is the unlit capacitive buttons. This phone is pretty solid otherwise.
Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

I have EU variant A2017G
1- Havent heard anything better yet on mobile phones (havent tried LG V10 or V20, which I believe should have better headphone output)
2- No problems
3- Photos depend on situations actually, daylight are quite good. Software needs to be fixed, manual mode is not that much manual
4- Got used.
5- I use Nova on top of MiFavor and it's almost like anything else.
6- It's fast, reads fingerprint in any direction also, sure sometimes it doesnt get it, but works fine.
7- Dont have OP3 or G5 to compare to.
8- Tried some games, and except for heating and huge battery drain I didnt notice anything. Heats up to 40C, when usually it sits at ~30C.
9- This. Waiting for fix.
10- GPS seems to work good, WiFi good. Signal - not really. on 2G it's great, on 4G - it's there, but drains battery as it's always very low, and it seems that is a problem with A2017G's only, not all, but there is a problem for some people who reported it.

Why *****ing about the capacitive buttons not lit? I mean, it's not like you didn't know before you bought the Axon, right? It would be like complaining about the size of the display...

Youssefmans said:
Hey Everyone,
So Guys , I'm about to buy the Axon 7 A2017 the Chinese variant (Since I'm outside the US) with 4gb RAM and 128gb of storage as an upgrade of my old LG G4, that's why I'm asking you guys to answer me honestly what was your personal experience with this device ? what are the bad sides that have made you frustrated or made you regretting making this purchase ??
I've heard many downsides but I cannot really believe them since many reputable reviewers on Youtube have said the opposite ??
Some Cons I heard :
1-The sound output from Headphones are not really great same for the dual front facing speakers.(Which is a bit shocking as the main promoted feature of this smartphone was the audio capabilities ).
2-The Screen is not clearly visible at direct sunlight
3-The Camera is awful , in other words a piece of crap (I dont really care about Photography or low light stills , but I also hate a smartphone that cannot take some sharp stills at daylight ,such as portait of myself for social media)
4-The capacitive buttons are not back lit , but I think I could get used to them.
5-The UI is buggy and bloated , the phone doesn't have any support from devs and the Company didn't fix many issues and bugs.
6-The fingerprint is not that fast or accurate (I've heard from a review that it works 60-70% of time)
7-Multi tasking and app launching is not good either comparing to smartphones that have the same cpu/gpu like Oneplus 3 , LG G5 ,..
8-Gaming experience is worse , as the 1440p leads to fps drops.
9-Notification are not received , bad sync
10-bad signal reception , bad GPS reception , Wi-fi range ??
Yes I know this is so long because after reading many opinions and seeing many reviews that's what came out !!
I still hear that all this can be fixed by an update but till now (after 6 months of releasing) nothing to be confirmed.
I'm a casual user , I don't root my phones , or install custom roms I can bear the Stock Rom if it's doing well , no bugs or lags.
Guys Please be honest , I know that almost every opinion will be biased , I don't want to buy a whortless smartphone because I also consider buying Oneplus 3 since my brother got it and it's an amazing smartphone blazing fast , takes some good images at good light , charging really so quick , everything is good with it except the battery drain when playing heavy games , the standby drain , and some heat issues.
The reasons that pushes me to consider buying Axon 7 over OP3 is it's great 1440p screen VR ready and the front facing speakers even if the Oneplus 3 have a good display despite it's FHD only and also a decent loudspeakers .
Yeahhh this thing is damnn long, but You know I don't wanna spend 400$ for useless features !!
Best Regards , Youssef
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had any issues whatsoever with this phone. I'm coming from A LG-G4 as well.
1) Sound is phenomenal! You'll have nothing to worry about.
2) It's not as bright as some other phones like the gs7 or IPhone 7, but it's better visibility than the G4 which is every you're coming from.
3) Camera is mediocre compared to today's phones, but it's similar to G4 performance. So it's slightly behind, but I don't take issue with it for such a good price. Daytime shots are really good, night time are meh, hdr makes them look pretty good but you have to stay really still. Manual mode is great if you know what you're doing.
4) Chinese variant uses on screen keys from my understanding. So the issue of non-backlit isn't relevant in your case.
5) UI is not stock Android, but waaaay closer & smoother than LG's UI. You'll have no issues with bloat coming from a G4 imo. Company has taken care of the major concerns like the notification bell on the lock screen and other things of the like. They was my biggest one, do I'm good now.
6) Fingerprint doesn't always get it perfect, but it's good like 85% of the time for me.
7) I haven't done any speed tests against any other phones, but from what I've seen on YouTube, it is slightly slower than competitors. For me, this isn't an issue cuz we're talking an incomprehensible real world difference. That's my opinion however. Its still faster than the G4.
8) No lag issues with gaming here. It on lagged on me once while I had Need for speed open in the background, a photo backup uploading my 32gb worth of photos going, while playing NBA live. It was only a slight stutter though. Other than that one incident, it's really smooth.
9) No issues with notifications or sync here. Could have been an early problem. I got the phone after they released the latest marshmallow build.
10) I get slightly worse reception than my G4. To me it was expected due to it being a metal phone vs a plastic one. I compared it to the G5 at a Tmo store and it wasn't to far off. Like 3dbm lower signal (higher number). Wifi is great though! Faster speeds, more stable signal, & prefers the 5ghz band when available. I always felt like the G4 sucked with wifi.
Overall, you cant go wrong with this purchase. One plus 3 is also a great option. I picked this phone over the OP3 because I'm a sucker for its design. I think it's sexier. I have been thrilled with my purchase so far and have no regrets. It's got all some quirks, but nothing that is a deal breaker for me. I also have the US variant so obviously this is my experience with that model and your mileage my vary if you are shooting for a Chinese unit. But there is my 2¢, hope it helps with your decision! Best of luck.

Thanks Guys I really appreciate your answers , I was about to switch to the OP3 , but I guess I may get The Axon 7 , cuz I'm a regular user and I'm not seeking for a fast responsive smartphone if this is doing the job well , I was also considering the Xiaomi Mi5s Plus 6gb ram version due to the better camera onfiguration and the latest snapdragon but Yeah , a 2k and Front facing speakers worth it !!

I've read cell reception is really bad and therefore I won't buy it.
Enviado desde mi SM-G920F mediante Tapatalk

Cell reception and how it does hotspot compared to my previous phones are pretty bad. But everything else is spot on.. Love the phone. My wife has the oneplus 3 and keeps it stock.. Both phones are awfully similar. I would get the axon if you keep it stock and the oneplus if you plan on installing custom stuff.

From my limited experience with the device (about 1 week, coming from a Galaxy S7 edge).
1) Sounds has been great for me. Both the speakers and headphone sound are louder and clearer that the S7 edge.
2) Screen is really, really good. Sunlight visibility may be a smidge less than the S7 edge, but I like the way the colours pop a lot more on the A7.
3) Not a big photog to be honest. S7 edge had the better camera, for sure. The A7 camera seems pretty good in good lightning, and pretty bad in low lighting.
4) Definitely not backlit, but I honestly have no issue with them. Your muscle memory kicks in pretty much straight away.
5) Definitely not bloated (especially if you come from Touchwiz). Haven't noticed any large scale bugs yet, but need more time.
6) It could be better. I'd say it's accurate about 80% of the time. It seems to work best with a double tap for me.
7) Can't really compare to those devices, but it's about on par with the S7 edge.
8) Gaming has been as good or better than the S7 edge for me (mine is the Exynos variant though).
9) Hard to say since I turn off most notifications. SMS and Slack are my primaries, and they seem to work fine.
10) WiFi has been fine. Haven't tested GPS much. LTE is definitely weak though. I seem to hover around 2-3 bars most of the time. My house, which for whatever reason is a weak spot for my carrier, poses a particular problem.

Youssefmans said:
1-The sound output from Headphones are not really great same for the dual front facing speakers.(Which is a bit shocking as the main promoted feature of this smartphone was the audio capabilities ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries here. Best speakers hands down. Only phones that come close are HTC M8 and Alcatel One Touch. Headphone output has been great for me, but I think it works best with high end headphones.
Youssefmans said:
2-The Screen is not clearly visible at direct sunlight
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Click to collapse
More visible than most thanks to color saturation and low reflectance. Maximum brightness of 360cd/m² is not the highest but thanks to low reflectance and high color saturation sunlight contrast ratio is amongst the best, just below OP3T and S7 but better than iPhone 7.
Youssefmans said:
3-The Camera is awful , in other words a piece of crap (I dont really care about Photography or low light stills , but I also hate a smartphone that cannot take some sharp stills at daylight ,such as portait of myself for social media)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The camera has very good color accuracy and low light is actually pretty decent considering the small pixels size, you just need to be steady or it can become blurry. In bright daylight pictures are good but less sharp than on other 20MP devices (e.g. X play). Noise reduction is a bit too aggressive. I find the camera adequate but it is clearly the main weaker point of the Axon 7 (but I come from the x play which is exceptionally sharp and a very pleasing camera, so I may be a bit biased).
Youssefmans said:
4-The capacitive buttons are not back lit , but I think I could get used to them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got used to them very quickly but in the dark I occasionally miss them.
Youssefmans said:
5-The UI is buggy and bloated , the phone doesn't have any support from devs and the Company didn't fix many issues and bugs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UI is great, only the launcher is not that good, but I replaced it with HTC blinkfeed launcher from xda, as I love their blinkfeed + theming and other aspects.
Youssefmans said:
6-The fingerprint is not that fast or accurate (I've heard from a review that it works 60-70% of time)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People who have this issue did not map their finger correctly, that is not from all possible angles. If you make sure you map your finger from every possible angle and position it works perfectly. It took me a couple of tries to get it right but after that no issues. If you activate ZTE Locker daily wallpaper feature it may reduce recognition times, so may prevent successful recognition if the finger is removed too fast. For me it's no big deal but I know some people prefer to deactivate daily wallpapers to speed up recognition.
Youssefmans said:
7-Multi tasking and app launching is not good either comparing to smartphones that have the same cpu/gpu like Oneplus 3 , LG G5 ,..
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Click to collapse
I think that may be true because of the use of a different file mapping system (I read something about this) however this may become default in Android nougat so may not be an issue going forward. I personally don't find app launching slow but other phones are slightly better.
I know that OP recently implemented this file system on their phone:
https://www.google.fr/amp/s/www.xda...fferences-and-f2fs/amp/?client=ms-android-zte
I think this can be replicated on any phone where the ROM build support this. It was replicated on the OP3, it should be positive to get it to work on custom ROMs for the Axon 7 if not done already.
Youssefmans said:
8-Gaming experience is worse , as the 1440p leads to fps drops.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the Axon 7's display has a pentile arrangement, it is not a true 1440p, this means the display actually has fewer pixels so the difference in performance is not that dramatic. That also explains why the Axon 7 can maintain good battery performance despite 1440p display.
Youssefmans said:
9-Notification are not received , bad sync
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Click to collapse
Never had this issue. However you need to know that as a default the phone kills apps that are in the background and does not let apps interrupt deep sleep, so you need to set up exceptions for each app to allow them to share notifications.
Youssefmans said:
10-bad signal reception , bad GPS reception , Wi-fi range ??
Youssef
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't confirm this, I actually found this phone to have better reception than OP1, OP1 and Moto X play. My house has thick walls and in spots where I usually had poor reception I now have good reception, access to 4G, etc. I compared db values and they were better than on my other phones.

1- The sound output from headphones is perfectly fine, as good as you can expect from a phone really. The speakers didn't come close to living up to the hype and reviews if you ask me. The only problem with sound is that you'd have to use their stock music app for the Hi-Fi DAC to work, and that app is beyond trash. Super laggy, super buggy, with less than bare-bones functionality. That and the phone apparently only outputs 16 bit sound despite having a 32 bit DAC.
2- Almost no phone is visible in direct sunlight, this phone's brightness is absolutely fine and very bright. Only phones like the Galaxy S7 with super contrast modes can be more visible.
3- The Camera is indeed utterly useless in low light, but in good lighting conditions is okay-ish. It's not in the same league as expensive flagship phone cameras, this is where they really cut costs (aside from the software).
4- Yes, they are not back lit, and yes it's easy to get used to, but super annoying in the dark.
5- The software is abysmal, by far the worst I've ever used. The empty promises and months of not delivering make me completely regret my purchase. If I was within the return period I'd refund the phone and get a OP3T.
6- The fingerprint sensor is very fast and works 95%+ of the time for me. Anyone who's having issues likely didn't register their finger prints from all angles as the phone explicitly tells you to do in its instructions.
7- There's nothing about multi-tasking that has annoyed me yet aside from the occasional bug where a program just closes, but I don't do side by side comparisons so I don't know if it's outperformed by other SD820 phones.
8- I haven't gamed all that much on it, but its gaming performance should be pretty much the same as any other SD820/1440p phone, or slightly better than some of the earlier SD820 phones. I've ran emulated PSP games at 1440p with all settings maxed out without frame drops. If you want a 1080p phone for better performance buy a OP3T.
9- I've had no issues with notifications aside from the lock screen being garbage (even if you disable the stupid bell, which took them forever to update to allow).
10- It's an aluminium unibody phone, of course it's not going to have the same reception as a glass or plastic phone. In my experience it's only slightly worse and hasn't affected me much.
Most your concerns are nothing to worry about, it's the software/non-existent support that would make me turn around, run away, and never look back.
puremind said:
Since the Axon 7's display has a pentile arrangement, it is not a true 1440p, this means the display actually has fewer pixels so the difference in performance is not that dramatic. That also explains why the Axon 7 can maintain good battery performance despite 1440p display. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this is actually a major problem with pentile. The resolution has to be rendered as normal, they have no magical trick that renders based on subpixels, it's per "pixel", so all these pseudo-1440p phones actually are rendering the software at 1440p if set to full resolution.

1) it's pretty clear, better than any other phone that I have used. Might need an extra amp if you plan to use 70ohm+ cans. Anything else is driven really well if you use DVC within poweramp.
2)no problems for me, but reports have said it is only around 320~ nits which is just not true as I compared it to a Nexus 5 and 5X, and it was brighter than both of them. Even if it was dimmer it should be just fine anyway. I'd compare the level to be a iPhone on 90%.
3)pretty good camera front and back, I don't take selfies as I hate myself amongst other things. Good in normal sunlight and medium to low light (bedroom). I have no idea what the standard is these day and I frankly don't care as I don't use it that much. Good enough to not have your friends laugh at you.
4)I don't like back lit anyway since I normally turn them off and if you can't turn them off they stand out too much at night since the screen is AMOLED.
5) No bugs, just different, I'd say it's the best custom UI that I've used. Close to stock with more compact icons etc. Like a half arsed attempt at making android 7 UI on 6 which is actually pretty good if you look at other manufacturers like Samsung.
6)If you wet your fingers and touch it, lightning fast. I find that if I have really dry hands (half an hour bike ride) I might have to slide it around a bit more but it works. Just do what the setup tells you and keep moving your finger around that scanner. More you cover the better. If you unlock while taking out your pocket you have at least 3 attempts at the scanner at least unless your are Sherrif QuickDraw. If you are using the Chinese version you can even set certain fingers to use certain apps such as camera, very useful as you can add up to 5 fingers.
7)True, but it's marginal. You probably have seen those benchmark videos where they open up 20 apps all in one row and time it. Not a big deal if you consider that the time for each app is like half a second longer each. Doesn't bother me. Been using android since gingerbread, I've experienced full minute waits before.
8)It's 1440p like you said, if you root it you can do some xposed hacks and run it at 1080p shouldn't be that big of a deal anyway. Most games run just fine. I play asphalt 8 (yeah bit old but oh well) just fine.
9)Some ****ty power settings that are enabled by default, just look around in the settings for a bit and you should be fine.
10)It's on par or better than my S3. No dropped calls or missed texts but then again not a lot of people contact me:crying:.
Like you said, if you are a casual user, it shouldn't bother you. 70% of the phones on the market will be just fine. Phone have reached a level where if you don't go for the big names or just buy smart you can use them for 2+ years easy. Sister still rocking Nexus 5 just fine. Battery is crapping out but it was never that good to start with.
If you like games and media, get the Axon. Best portable device I have brought for years. Provides solid audio when paired with good IEMs. Games like Asphalt come to life with the front speakers. Also for a phone this size, it's very easy to hold. If you look at the phone next to a 5" one it's wider by not even 1cm.
If your bro has a OP3 I personally won't get one as well just to be different, also might get confusing. BUT it has:
-better software support (you said you were a normal user so doesn't matter really)
-tad faster with better general battery life due to smaller screen, less GPU load etc.
-more accessories, it's a more popular phone.
-get the 3T instead if you plan on getting this.
-notification slider thing, if you go to college this will be handy as you don't have to pull your phone out.
The Axon also has a few nit picks that I like to pick:
-the notification light is RG not RGB, Not that anyone actually uses that light, I just use it to see if my battery is full lol.
-didn't notice this but some guy on reddit also said that because the headphone jack and the charger is on different sides it lead to some weird holding positions which is true.
-the right speaker (button side) is not in the middle but at the bottom right of the phone due to the charging port. Didn't notice this until I saw a tear down video now when I watch youtube I try to listen out for it. Most of the time I can't but it's there.
Google VR Is also SOON^TM, some guy also said it didn't fit due to the bands touching the hardware buttons. But the ZTE headset is pretty cheap $50~ I think but it's china only.

[/COLOR]
Cyrus D. said:
No, this is actually a major problem with pentile. The resolution has to be rendered as normal, they have no magical trick that renders based on subpixels, it's per "pixel", so all these pseudo-1440p phones actually are rendering the software at 1440p if set to full resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it is accurate.
IPS 1440P screen has 11M lighting elements whereas
Pentile 1440p oled only has 7.3M lighting elements - only marginally more than the 6,220,800 Lighting Elements of 1080p IPS LCD display
I bought the phone just before B08 came out so I really wasn't troubled by the software at all, especially since I always install HTC Blinkfeed launcher from HTC, which replaces clock, weather and gallery.
I had no trouble using the HiFi DAC on other apps so far, which app didn't work for you?

puremind said:
I don't think it is accurate.
IPS 1440P screen has 11M lighting elements whereas
Pentile 1440p oled only has 7.3M lighting elements - only marginally more than the 6,220,800 Lighting Elements of 1080p IPS LCD display
I bought the phone just before B08 came out so I really wasn't troubled by the software at all, especially since I always install HTC Blinkfeed launcher from HTC, which replaces clock, weather and gallery.
I had no trouble using the HiFi DAC on other apps so far, which app didn't work for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's correct that pentile has 1/3rd less subpixels than a standard RGB array. "1080p" on an AMOLED would have the same number of subpixels as a real 720p panel. But that wouldn't matter for software, it's still coded per pseudo-pixel as far as I know. Resolution output isn't coded by subpixels.
As for the DAC, every program I've tried sounds different than the stock music player. That includes PowerAmp's latest alpha (called a beta in the app store). The difference is most apparent in instruments, they sound noticeably sharper on the stock music player. I don't know for sure if this is some sort of equalizer or software tricks in the stock player that can't be disabled (the stock player has squat for options) or if it's indeed due to the DAC.
As for the the claims it outputs only 16 bit sound, I haven't ever found out exactly what that means. Whether it's just the stock music app that is limiting it, or if it's coded in the ROM to work like that.

Cyrus D. said:
It's correct that pentile has 1/3rd less subpixels than a standard RGB array. "1080p" on an AMOLED would have the same number of subpixels as a real 720p panel. But that wouldn't matter for software, it's still coded per pseudo-pixel as far as I know. Resolution output isn't coded by subpixels.
As for the DAC, every program I've tried sounds different than the stock music player. That includes PowerAmp's latest alpha (called a beta in the app store). The difference is most apparent in instruments, they sound noticeably sharper on the stock music player. I don't know for sure if this is some sort of equalizer or software tricks in the stock player that can't be disabled (the stock player has squat for options) or if it's indeed due to the DAC.
As for the the claims it outputs only 16 bit sound, I haven't ever found out exactly what that means. Whether it's just the stock music app that is limiting it, or if it's coded in the ROM to work like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you try MX Player?
For pentile displays there is a formula that calculates the subpixel intensities for each subpixel based on the desired "theoretical" pixels, so there are fewer operations being computed. Those operations are only marginally more complex than on an RGB display so the added complexity is offset by the much lower number of operations being conducted. From experience with calculation engines, it is usually more efficient to reduce the number of operations than to reduce the complexity of computations in terms of processing time.

Camera is the only major con for me.
The buttons on the bottom of the screen are ****ty too. Cant see them at night but i can deal with that.

puremind said:
Could you try MX Player?
For pentile displays there is a formula that calculates the subpixel intensities for each subpixel based on the desired "theoretical" pixels, so there are fewer operations being computed. Those operations are only marginally more complex than on an RGB display so the added complexity is offset by the much lower number of operations being conducted. From experience with calculation engines, it is usually more efficient to reduce the number of operations than to reduce the complexity of computations in terms of processing time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I tried to use it and compare the same song side by side to PowerAmp and the stock music player and I couldn't do it because that software is rage inducing. It's not designed at all to be a music player, so even if it could use the Hi-Fi DAC I wouldn't use it.
And that's interesting, I've looked into it and never found any info or article about the resolution output being optimized for pentile displays. Would you happen to have a link so I can read more about it?

Cyrus D. said:
Well I tried to use it and compare the same song side by side to PowerAmp and the stock music player and I couldn't do it because that software is rage inducing. It's not designed at all to be a music player, so even if it could use the Hi-Fi DAC I wouldn't use it.
And that's interesting, I've looked into it and never found any info or article about the resolution output being optimized for pentile displays. Would you happen to have a link so I can read more about it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried MX player? Did you find a difference? What is your go-to app? Which software version do you use? Have you made sure the dolby module was activated when comparing? It could be some apps somehow switch it off and you have to manually switch it on again.
If you don't compute values for each subpixel you have no means of producing the right colors on each theoretical pixel, this is true for both RGB and Pentile OLED. From a colorimetry standpoint there is no other way to control intensity and saturations, you have to drive each subpixel individuallly.

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 XZ2, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Sony Xperia XZ2 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

I've come from a Pixel 2 XL and I loved that phone, I'm in a fortunate position that through work I can change phones pretty much every few months.
Over time I've discovered that personally I'm a stock android person.
Having said that loving this phone the skin is pretty lightweight, and some of the Sony tweaks are generally pretty useful like the one handed mode.
Battery life is amazing I thought the pixel was good this is even better 2days moderate use no problem.
Camera is pretty good not Pixel 2 standard but not bad either.
Much nicer to hold, the shape is way better than the pixel 2 XL, will be a while before I change phones, don't think it's getting the positive reviews that it should, it does everything well, bit like the HTC U11 from last year very underrated...
If your thinking of buying one do it, you won't be disappointed...
Sent from my H8216 using Tapatalk

Agree, i dig this phone and couple of times i acidently switched to one handed mode and cannot repeat it what is the procedure or gesture to activate it, thanks!

Swipe along the nav keys [emoji16]
Sent from my H8216 using Tapatalk

I come from a Xiaomi Mi A1; i was getting bored of Android Stock and had an amazing offer through an Italian provider. I am basically paying 350€ for my XZ2 which is amazing. I was torn between this and the XZ premium which would've cost me the same, but I decided to go with the newer model, not sure I made the right choice.
However, I simply cannot express how much I love this phone. It has that Stock feeling whilst allowing users to tweak it and customize a little, albeit not as much as the EMUI. Battery life is pretty good, considering it's a 3180 and a powerhouse!
Camera could definitely use some software improvement but HDR does wonders more often than not.
It's incredibly elegant and the materials are definitely premium both to the sight and to the touch.
However, I would like to get some 18:9 gestures that would allow us to "get rid" of the navigation buttons and further highlight the beauty of the display.

my white one reminds me of BMO with that little face on the top bezel, how can you not love that

Came from Pixel 2 back to Sony.. This is hands down my favourite phone ever.. No regrest!

I'm in love with Sony again because of XZ2!
A rock solid device with a "Swiss clock" system, fast, smooth, awesome battery, superb display, superb sound, awesome camera and a lot of other things that simply work as it should on this device!
Great work, Sony!

miker71 said:
my white one reminds me of BMO with that little face on the top bezel, how can you not love that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great now every time I look at my deep green XZ2 I see BMO too. lol. Nah it's all good Adventure Time FTW!
I love this phone. Had several Xperias over the years - Ion, TL, Z1, Z3, an XZ Premium, a OnePlus 5T for a week, several shameful years of boring iPhones. 4 weeks with the XZ2 (H8296) it has become my favorite smartphone ever, hands down. I love everything about this phone and look forward to future phones from Sony.

What drive me nuts?
- No fingerprint sensor shortcuts (notification bar swipe down for example)
- No possibility for vibration pattern set or its strength
- No call recording or vibration when other side answers
- Something's wrong with wireless charging (only 20% per hour)
- Sometimes camera is stuck and can't open, need to reboot device
- No option to turn off blinking LED when device is below 15% (it irritates when you use phone)
- Can't skip tracks with volume buttons while listening music on headphones
- No info on phone if it's using quick charge or not (while charging)
- No face unlock
- No double tap to wake (screen)
Everything else is good, but that software is horrible. It's too Vanilla, it's too close to Android One.

Monolithus said:
What drive me nuts?
- No fingerprint sensor shortcuts (notification bar swipe down for example)
- No possibility for vibration pattern set or its strength
- No call recording or vibration when other side answers
- Something's wrong with wireless charging (only 20% per hour)
- Sometimes camera is stuck and can't open, need to reboot device
- No option to turn off blinking LED when device is below 15% (it irritates when you use phone)
- Can't skip tracks with volume buttons while listening music on headphones
- No info on phone if it's using quick charge or not (while charging)
- No face unlock
- No double tap to wake (screen)
Everything else is good, but that software is horrible. It's too Vanilla, it's too close to Android One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- you can download fingerprint shortcuts from google play
- You can use face unlock from smart lock
- Actually, you can do the double tap thing, just enable raise to wake. Not quite the double tap from older xperia phones, though.

AlvinZahran98 said:
- you can download fingerprint shortcuts from google play
- You can use face unlock from smart lock
- Actually, you can do the double tap thing, just enable raise to wake. Not quite the double tap from older xperia phones, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know I can achieve almost all of that things using 3rd party apps, but problem with them is that they don't run as system functions so they'll consume a lot more battery than if they were built-in. Come on, it's a Sony flagship, I'm a little bit surprised.

I think I'll return my xz2 to my carrier. Touch screen is terrible. Settings app force closes to often and its had to many random reboots. Sony needs to up their game. Best phone they ever made was the X10.

I have been using P10, S8, OP5T and now XZ2. My review is based on the comparison with these phones and also the price I paid for it (USD526). Mine is a 6GB RAM HK set H8296 Rev.2. At the time of writing, it is running on .265 firmware and I've been using this phone for two weeks. Will edit this if future updates fix some of the issues.
Overall, the phone is worth the money for USD $526. But definitely not worth the MSRP $800! At the price I paid, it's one of the cheapest non-China brand with 845 out there.
Pros:
- Great overall speed. 845 + 6GB RAM + Sony lightweight skin = smooth experience. Subjectively, OP5T feels slightly smoother in scrolling performance. My Exynos S8 stuttered after I updated it to Oreo and 4GB doesn't cut it anymore.
- Feels comfortable in hand. I like the overall size. The main reason I switched from OP5T is the size. It was really stretching my limit. Otherwise, it's a very good phone and I find no reason to switch.
- The camera is A-. Not top grade (P20/S8/S9/Pixel 2) for low light.
- Lots of unique/proprietary features but not all of them are really useful:
- Useful:
- 1080p 960fps, PS4 DualShock controller support out of box, HDR BT.2020, aptX HD, dual front speakers, Triluminos display, X-reality engine, Hi-res Audio (not as good as top end though), DSEE HX, strong Dynamic Vibration System, dedicated physical camera button (I use it to trigger camera app)
Cons:
- Touchscreen issue. It had hold-and-drag sensitivity issue which is fixed in the .265 update. However, the touchscreen sensitivity goes haywire and I noticed I started to make a lot of typo on Gboard. I have to depend on autocorrect in almost all the letters I type!
- Fingerprint scanner and camera position. Very easy to mistaken these two.
- WiFi signal reception is bad/shorter distance vs my other phones Worse than even my Redmi 5A!
- Cellular signal reception seems to be weaker after the .265 update. Then again, I only had the phone for a week prior to .265 update.
- Whilst the skin is lightweight and quite bare, it looks dated and lacking ergonomics like OnePlus Oxygen OS.
- Does not support Camera 2 API. Means porting the gcam app is much harder.
- Not useful/hype proprietary features:
- Speakers clarity and volume is the biggest let down. It sounds thin without bass, and is nowhere as good as Samsung S9 and HTC Boomsound.
- S-Force is a hype. Can't hear the difference at all!
- Stamina mode makes the phone laggy. This feature had been great in the past Xperia. Not sure why it's badly tuned in the XZ2.
- Dynamic Vibration System is partially hype; while strong, the accuracy is questionable. When the audio has arrays of low frequencies sources, the vibration tends to feel random or off-timing.
- The physical camera button without OIS is not easy to use.
Yet to test: mic quality in terms of clarity and high decibel environment. Will update soon.

I came from a pixel 2xl and a p20 pro... Yep, tha p20 cam isnt that great.. to over sharpened...and the so-called 40mpx is actually 4 x 10mpx images merged... Plus EMUI, is too top heavy for me
I love my black xz2... Speakers sound amazing... and are better than my old pixel 2 xl, the 5.7" screen is fantastic... the bezels are a perfect size (i like a bit of bezel...offers the phone protection and strength).. fingerprint reader is a bit low down, but within a day or so of finger training.... no problems.. very fast and liquid smooth... No lockups, crashes or app issues... battery is awesome 2 - 3 days on light use..
My only niggle is the camera, while vastly improved over anything from the old Z range... and improved over the XZPrem... the xz2 cam can stll be a little quirky sometimes and images can range from stunning to a blurry mess for no reason, but thankfully on the xz2, these blurry images dont happen, ever Auto mode is pretty good in daylight... However, Sony phones do take some work and camera is good in Manual mode...so not for the Samsung and Apple "point and shoot" sheep.
Great phone Sony, and the xz2 camera is great, although camera software processing could use some work...

What's there to love?
Sorry but I've only thing for about a week now. I absolutely hate it the colors even in the vibrant mode are extremely oversaturated so much so that they blur the lines and make some games too dark to even see. And we won't mention the horizontal lines from pressing on the screen at all ever. Which is if you haven't encountered this you will. This phone is absolute garbage

Madgnarthebloody - just because your experiencing these issues, does not mean that everyone else is.

Perfect for me

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.

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 LG G7 ThinQ, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the LG G7 ThinQ is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Just picked up 2 of these on T-mobile's BOGO sale. So far, I'm really enjoying the hardware. The phone is slick looking and feels solid. The interface and apps are snappy. The camera hardware is great, the software for it has room for improvement. The only thing I'm not grooving on is LG's android skin. A lot of it seems unnecessary, over-complicated, and doesn't match up visually with stock Android. The screen is great so far, no light bleed or polarization problems I remember from my last LCD screen. The colors are vibrant and true and the display is bright with a dim, always-on option. I am sad that it's not VR/Daydream compatible because of the screen (so I've read, anyway), but I honestly don't remember the last time I've used either of those on our Google phones (Coming from Nexus 6P and Pixel XL). At full price these might not have been my first choice, but the BOGO offer made them a no-brainer. So far, pretty happy with the purchase. Time and use will tell if I'll ultimately be content with the camera and get over the weird LG skin.
Oh, and yeah, case these babies up. They feel like nice solid phones but ultimately are mostly glass that LOVES to grab your fingerprints and put them on display. I just washed my hands and wiped my phone down. Pick it back up, already it's covered in prints and smudges.

I pre ordered mine in Canada as it came with a 43" 4K LG TV gift. +$700 value so it was a 'no-brainer' purchase for me too.
Had G6 and loved its wide angle cam and customized it to my liking.
G7 screen is beautiful! In my experience OLED phones suffer screen burn after a year or 2, esp. with white theme of vanilla android. So, im happy w the LCD and its full rich color spectrum. It pops and is bright.
The notch is a welcome as it is bones real estate for notifications. Nothing lost and 100pixels gained.
Form factor is ideal. So lightweight yet solid and shiny. I thought my box was empty when i purchased it.
LG skin/launcher sux. Hate it. I Dont mind the LG settings / phone app. And props to LG for switching to stock android messaging.
What I do to improve my phone:
1 - put on pixel 2 launcher:
*it*ub.com/amirzaidi/launcher3/releases - props Amir! Outstanding. Supports substratum.
2 - Dark LG Theme
3 - XDAs Gestures Navigation
With these small adjustments makes G7 the best LG has to offer and top 5 mobile device available today

I love everything about it. The LG skin is meh, but regardless I use nova launcher anyway. My only issue atm is the bottom firing speaker. It sounds great and all, but I accidentally cover it a lot and also coming from Sony phones, stereo speakers will be missed. I would have also preferred if the volume buttoms were more centered. Holding it in landscape, my left pinky is always hitting the volume by accident.

I'm usually not a fan of LG but so far this phone is a major Go! I can easily see myself not going back to my S9 plus. LG really nailed the little things on this one. Nice premium feel, satisfying haptic feedback yes the vibrations on this thing are as good as any iPhone. This is something that no android maker actually got until now. I remember the buzzy, tinny feeling of the oneplus 3 and even the Xiaomi mix 2, definite turn offs. They build on everything they got right with the G6. Not a big fan of the UI but it's still a lot better than the previous iterations.
So far what I don't like is the lack of dual speakers, sure the bottom firing speaker is loud and layed flat on hard surface this phone sounds amazing, however most of my media consumption is done when I wake up. So lying in bed watching YouTube this amazing speaker is pointless. The s9 actually remembers the volume of my Bluetooth devices so that when I put in my wireless earbuds my head doesn't explode because I had the volume cranked all the way up in my car. The G7 has no such function. Small potatoes though, definitely not a deal breaker. Still running it through its paces but so far, I'm impressed.
Sent from my LGE LM-G710 using XDA Labs

Coming from a pixel 2 XL I've really enjoyed the phone so far. Hardware wise the phone is a major hit, premium look and feel that makes my pixel feel cheap in comparison. Two concerns so far are subpar battery life, and the camera software. Coming from my pixel I feel those are two downgrades but literally everything else is an improvement by a long shot.
Additionally the phone has great haptics, and fantastic audio quality from the headphone Jack. Awesome phone especially with the BOGO deal on T-Mobile.

i'm wubbin it. camera isn't nearly as sharp as the s9+ i had for a week, but it doesn't overexpose every other pic like the sammy did. i thought i would hate the notch, but it has grown on me and makes more sense now that i've used it for a bit. i find myself using the boombox feature quite often. display is SUPER crisp and colors are perfect. it's hard to believe this is an LCD panel. if you told me it was OLED i would have to look pretty hard to see a difference. battery life has been really good for 3000mah. can't wait for LG to iron out all the small bugs in the coming updates.

You have to excuse my language, I am dutch.
I am completely stoked about the G7. I listen music on the speaker a lot and the sound is outstanding for a phone. Even better when using headphones. The screen is really nice and easier for the eyes than an oled screen (no eye strain) . I liked the quality of the pictures on my G5 and see a nice improvement on the G7. Better pictures at night, nice colors and sharp. Have to play around with the different camera options still. No problems with connectivity and everything runs very fast and smoothly.
The only thing I like less is the software/skin. Having trouble finding simple options, not much logic in there. But that's something I will get used to so not really a problem.
The phone looks beautifull but is slippery as hell. Fell on the first day on a tile floor (and my hart missed a beat but the phone was fine). So I bought a Spigen Though Armor case. I have a muscle disease and the case adds a nice bulk to the phone for me.
The biggest suprise is the battery. It lasts a lot longer than I feared after reading different reviews. I make it thrue two days and one night on a single charge so far while playing a lot with the phone..
Very much in love with my phone

I love almost everything with this phone. Surprisingly including the battery life. It's been very good to me (aod off). On standby it's very efficient only sipping battery. Around 3% during 8 hrs sleep. I could get around 6hrs sot during 12-13 hrs of use.
Coming from pixel 2 xl and oneplus 6, the screen for me is GORGEOUS. LG produces the best LCD, period. The 1000 nits boost = awesome.
Boom box sound is very good. However I feel the use of case reduces its effect.
UI performance is smooth, multi tasking is good, all up to the standards of 2018.
My biggest gripe with this phone is its camera. Well I mightve been spoiled by pixel 2 xl.
1.The camera's shutter lag on medium to low light is too long for my liking
2. the detail on medium to low light is worse than my oneplus 6
3. In good light, it often overexposes
Also, I play a MOBA game called Mobile Legends which my pixel 2 xl (sd835) and Oneplus 6 (845) eats like it's nothing. It seems the g7 sometimes rendering it not at stable 60fps. Feels like only 30+ fps. I suspect that this is caused by cpu/gpu throttling done by LG, hence the surprisingly good battery life considering its 3000ma size.
Overall love this phone, but the camera alone is holding me back to keep this phone as my daily driver after I shoot my YouTube review.

My favourite device of this year!!
For my personal use its near on perfect - smooth and fast in operation with far better battery life than I expected considering the battery capacity. Audio is just superb, especially via headphones and with a decent set of cans really shows the difference the DAC makes.
Camera for me has also been really.good, although I've only tested in good light so far.
Best thing for me is the display, have owned a Pixel 2 XL and P20 Pro in last couple of months and to get a device with the whites I like that just looks 'sharper' and with the legibility in sunlight (even without boosted mode) is just superb.

How did LG manage to squeeze so much battery life out of a 3000 mAh battery?

I love the ease of one hand use, the screen, except the "second screen" that doesn't go dark enough during full screen use). And the haptic feedback is orgasmic )

Coming from LG G4, this thing is "WOW". I don't know why people go for useless Samsung or Apple? This feels almost perfect. Unless up to to the launch of the LG V40.

Ali Mirza said:
Coming from LG G4, this thing is "WOW". I don't know why people go for useless Samsung or Apple? This feels almost perfect. Unless up to to the launch of the LG V40.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I LOVE this damn phone!!
1. Camera I rate as a 3 of 5 with built in app. 5 of 5 with Google Camera.
2. Audio I rate as 10 of 5. HOLY CRAP is it good.
3. Flat glass 5 of 5, easy to find full screen protectors with full adhesive. YES!
4. Killer battery life, 5 of 5. Most days I end up over %50 after heavy usage. Standby time is maybe 4-5 days if I do almost nothing.
5. LG software, 3 of 5. Too much bloatware but not as bad as some phones. Overall not a big deal.
6. Speed, 4 of 5. I think maybe other phones might be quicker but it is just fine for my purposes.
7. Buttons and controls, 5 of 5. Dedicated Google Assistant button rules. Actual Power button, finger print reader can turn screen on.
8. Slow motion video mode is quite nice. I enjoy using it for little fun stuff like capturing throwing a bowling ball.
9. Screen is very nice, I rate as 4 of 5. I prefer OLED but under heavy usage I think LCD comes out as a winner for power usage. I do have a bit of issue seeing the screen in full sunlight with sunglasses on. OLED do better in this circumstance.
The biggest problem with this phone is the camera, and it is far better with the Google Camera apk. Obviously LG could fix it if they wanted to.

redrol said:
I LOVE this damn phone!!
1. Camera I rate as a 3 of 5 with built in app. 5 of 5 with Google Camera.
2. Audio I rate as 10 of 5. HOLY CRAP is it good.
3. Flat glass 5 of 5, easy to find full screen protectors with full adhesive. YES!
4. Killer battery life, 5 of 5. Most days I end up over %50 after heavy usage. Standby time is maybe 4-5 days if I do almost nothing.
5. LG software, 3 of 5. Too much bloatware but not as bad as some phones. Overall not a big deal.
6. Speed, 4 of 5. I think maybe other phones might be quicker but it is just fine for my purposes.
7. Buttons and controls, 5 of 5. Dedicated Google Assistant button rules. Actual Power button, finger print reader can turn screen on.
8. Slow motion video mode is quite nice. I enjoy using it for little fun stuff like capturing throwing a bowling ball.
9. Screen is very nice, I rate as 4 of 5. I prefer OLED but under heavy usage I think LCD comes out as a winner for power usage. I do have a bit of issue seeing the screen in full sunlight with sunglasses on. OLED do better in this circumstance.
The biggest problem with this phone is the camera, and it is far better with the Google Camera apk. Obviously LG could fix it if they wanted to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a working apk version? Thanks

Ordered another G7 today...
I have a Note 9 but just ordered another G7. Despite the software not being great there is just something about this phone that I have really missed, feels great in the hand and is in a real sweet-spot size wise too. There really is not much bloat (compared to a Samsung) and battery life is very decent.
I was convinced this year that the Pixel 3XL would be my droid of choice but boy was I disappointed with that, as someone who rarely uses a case the rear would look like a used chalkboard within 2 or 3 days!
I think the Note is probably the best droid package currently available but there is something about the Samsung software and the amount of bloat that irks me, the G7 is IMO the nicest option at the moment and in the UK at least is an absolute bargain.

redrol said:
I LOVE this damn phone!!
1. Camera I rate as a 3 of 5 with built in app. 5 of 5 with Google Camera.
2. Audio I rate as 10 of 5. HOLY CRAP is it good.
3. Flat glass 5 of 5, easy to find full screen protectors with full adhesive. YES!
4. Killer battery life, 5 of 5. Most days I end up over %50 after heavy usage. Standby time is maybe 4-5 days if I do almost nothing.
5. LG software, 3 of 5. Too much bloatware but not as bad as some phones. Overall not a big deal.
6. Speed, 4 of 5. I think maybe other phones might be quicker but it is just fine for my purposes.
7. Buttons and controls, 5 of 5. Dedicated Google Assistant button rules. Actual Power button, finger print reader can turn screen on.
8. Slow motion video mode is quite nice. I enjoy using it for little fun stuff like capturing throwing a bowling ball.
9. Screen is very nice, I rate as 4 of 5. I prefer OLED but under heavy usage I think LCD comes out as a winner for power usage. I do have a bit of issue seeing the screen in full sunlight with sunglasses on. OLED do better in this circumstance.
The biggest problem with this phone is the camera, and it is far better with the Google Camera apk. Obviously LG could fix it if they wanted to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm coming from a S9 and Note 8.... This damn phone is marvelous. I hate that it's not receiving the love it deserves. LG took me away from my Galaxies with this one and I'm very satisfied.

Oppo Find X5 Pro "Real Life Review"

Here's my review after owning for 10 days. I am not an Oppo ambassador so therefore these thoughts are not biased in any way. I could have gotten a Samsung S22 Ultra for around the same monthly price (maybe it was £5 more) but the lack of charger in the box put me off. The Oppo gift incentive also swung me over.
I'm sure everyone knows about the features and specs of the phone so far so I won't bother with those.
What I like:
- The build quality and design are exceptional, without a case the phone feels great in the hand, although it's very slippery if you have cold hands and there is no clammyness from your fingers to provide grip. The ceramic feels better than glass and I haven't seen any scratches yet. It also feels very slim so one handed use is possible.
- The screen is very good, even in 1080p it's hard to see the pixels compared to other 1080p phones.
- Main camera and ultrawide very good, in the right lighting conditions they provide excellent shots with plenty of detail.
- Fast and very few stutters in the OS. I haven't encountered any bugs yet.
- Charging is insanely quick and phone doesn't really get hot when charging.
- XPAN is cool and interesting.
- Vibration motor is much better than previous phones I've used. On the strongest setting I won't be missing any calls.
- Battery life is reasonable in terms of SOT. I consistently get 6-7 hours under heavy use.
- Wireless Android Auto works flawlessly.
What I don't like:
Camera
- You cannot zoom or switch between cameras when shooting 4k60 video.
- Some shots on the main and ultrawide cameras can be over exposed, it sometimes takes a few shots in the same light to get a good one. Hopefully they can fix this in a future update.
- Some indoor daytime shots of moving subjects are always blurry.
- Selfies are often, in my experience, over exposed, and not on par with what I've seen from P40 Pro.
- Videos taken in 1080p do not send well over Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. It could be to do with the compression used in this format, but once uploaded to these sites, the videos are very choppy, colours are crushed, and the videos are in general pretty unusable. Only videos sent in 4K look ok. This was an issue with the Find X3 Pro, and I am not sure why Oppo have not addressed this yet.
- There's no getting around the fact that this phone lacks any reasonable camera zoom at all. 2X is not zoom in my opinion.
- Forget nighttime shots of moving subjects, night photo takes 2s to process (although quicker than other phones).
- I feel like the MarisiliconX thing is mostly a marketing gimmick.
Screen
- The AlwaysOnDisplay is very dim and there's no way to change it. Also the coloured icons are very hard to distinguish at a glance. If the display is dim, then greyscale icons would be easier to see.
- 120Hz doesn't seem to be active in a lot of apps, so I had to manually force it using an app from youtube video.
Software/OS
- Cannot increase grid size in ColorOS launcher any more than 5 x 6. Please give option for up to 9 x 6 like Nova? Otherwise launcher is perfect!
- There is no desktop mode when plugged into a usb-c monitor like Samsung Dex or Huawei EMUI Desktop. You can indeed enable desktop mode in developer settings but it's not the same experience.
- When using a 3rd party launcher (I always use Nova), there are some bugs when going back to home screen, e.g. the recent apps screen flashes up for a split second when it shouldn't. Because of this I forced myself to get used to ColourOS launcher.
- There is no button to turn off/on 5G in the notifications quick settings menu.
- "Hey google" only works in Android Auto & Google Maps if you have the global "Hey Google" listening setting enabled. Not sure if this is an android 12 bug or just Oppo bug.
- Oppo PC Connect is only available on PC, not Mac or Linux.
Battery/Charging
- Standby battery life could be better. It drains about 5-7% overnight when my Huawei P40 Pro only drained 2%. If I barely use the phone during the day (only check/reply to messages etc and use around 1.5h SOT), then the battery is still below 40% when I go to bed. My P40 Pro barely drained when not used heavily. Of course Huawei do much more aggressive battery/memory management and if I enabled optimisation for all apps in the Oppo's settings then maybe I could get similar but I don't want to mess with notifications.
- Wireless charging with a non-oppo wireless charger seems very slow. I have a 5W charger in my Lexus and when charging using it, the phone still loses battery when using wireless android auto.
All in all, I actually preferred using my old Huawei P40 Pro as the camera was superior in most situations as well as better standby battery but the hacked google services installed just put me off. Android auto was very temperamental, hence I can't stick with it.

Interesting review.
I agree. The Marisilicon thing is a slight gimmick. Its not as good as Google Pixel image processors. My Pixel 3 still takes better images.
Build quality is good but heavyish for me. I had an OP8 and I'm finding the camera bump a little odd even after 2 weeks.
I hate that I'm being forced to power down using power button and volume up. Had to download a 3rd party app to make this process more convenient. Also download a lockdown app which is missing from here.
Also have a weird YouTube Bluetooth issue. When I'm listening to YouTube in the car and someone calls, the YouTube still plays in the background through the speakers as well as the conversation!?
Sometimes the apps get stuck and you need to kill the app. The comments section on the YouTube app also sticks and you need to press home and return to the YouTube app. Minor bugs which I expect and hope Oppo fix through software updates.
I too was swung by the gift pack. I was originally planning to get the OP10 Pro but EE do not offer this handset and I get 30pc friends and family so this was a no brainer.
Happy with the phone. At over a thousand quid should be perfect.

OnePlus2Oppo said:
Interesting review.
I agree. The Marisilicon thing is a slight gimmick. Its not as good as Google Pixel image processors. My Pixel 3 still takes better images.
Build quality is good but heavyish for me. I had an OP8 and I'm finding the camera bump a little odd even after 2 weeks.
I hate that I'm being forced to power down using power button and volume up. Had to download a 3rd party app to make this process more convenient. Also download a lockdown app which is missing from here.
Also have a weird YouTube Bluetooth issue. When I'm listening to YouTube in the car and someone calls, the YouTube still plays in the background through the speakers as well as the conversation!?
Sometimes the apps get stuck and you need to kill the app. The comments section on the YouTube app also sticks and you need to press home and return to the YouTube app. Minor bugs which I expect and hope Oppo fix through software updates.
I too was swung by the gift pack. I was originally planning to get the OP10 Pro but EE do not offer this handset and I get 30pc friends and family so this was a no brainer.
Happy with the phone. At over a thousand quid should be perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like your thinking, I am also on EE with the 30pc f&f discount :'D I went for the smart plan so I can hand the phone back with no upgrade charge after 12 months if something better comes along.
I used to work for them years ago and had the discount ever since. It makes the RRP of the phone over 24 months much less (if I factor-in the price i'd pay for sim only anyway).
For your youtube issue, have you tried giving the youtube app permission to Phone? I've had some other apps ask me to set Phone permissions (such as Tidal) in order to pause during a call. I guess YouTube might need that permission so that it can see that the Phone is in use?
It is a little heavy compared to other phones i've used. I have been checking Youtube nearly every day to see if anyone has done a drop test lol.
For me the power button thing isn't a big issue as I rarely power it off.
I agree though, at the price, the phone should be perfect. This is what is kind of putting me off compared to the Huawei I paid only £300 for in Grade A condition from CeX.

Thanks. I've just set the permission on YouTube as per your suggestion. I've never had to do that ever before so just another tedious quirk!
Won't say it too loudly but surprised the F&F is applied to the handset and not just the line rental but I'm not complaining.
Keep me posted to any other bugs/fixes. I'll do likewise

OnePlus2Oppo said:
Thanks. I've just set the permission on YouTube as per your suggestion. I've never had to do that ever before so just another tedious quirk!
Won't say it too loudly but surprised the F&F is applied to the handset and not just the line rental but I'm not complaining.
Keep me posted to any other bugs/fixes. I'll do likewise
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is the line rental, I mean if you add up 24 months of line rental and subtract the price of a sim only (that you'd need to pay anyway, usually around £15pm) then that's your effective handset price.

mcall_r said:
It is the line rental, I mean if you add up 24 months of line rental and subtract the price of a sim only (that you'd need to pay anyway, usually around £15pm) then that's your effective handset price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...so the YouTube permission didn't work. I can't figure out what's going on!?!

mcall_r said:
What I like:
- The build quality and design are exceptional, without a case the phone feels great in the hand, although it's very slippery if you have cold hands and there is no clammyness from your fingers to provide grip. The ceramic feels better than glass and I haven't seen any scratches yet. It also feels very slim so one handed use is possible.
- The screen is very good, even in 1080p it's hard to see the pixels compared to other 1080p phones.
- Main camera and ultrawide very good, in the right lighting conditions they provide excellent shots with plenty of detail.
- Fast and very few stutters in the OS. I haven't encountered any bugs yet.
- Charging is insanely quick and phone doesn't really get hot when charging.
- XPAN is cool and interesting.
- Vibration motor is much better than previous phones I've used. On the strongest setting I won't be missing any calls.
- Battery life is reasonable in terms of SOT. I consistently get 6-7 hours under heavy use.
- Wireless Android Auto works flawlessly.
What I don't like:
Camera
- You cannot zoom or switch between cameras when shooting 4k60 video.
- Some shots on the main and ultrawide cameras can be over exposed, it sometimes takes a few shots in the same light to get a good one. Hopefully they can fix this in a future update.
- Some indoor daytime shots of moving subjects are always blurry.
- Selfies are often, in my experience, over exposed, and not on par with what I've seen from P40 Pro.
- Videos taken in 1080p do not send well over Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. It could be to do with the compression used in this format, but once uploaded to these sites, the videos are very choppy, colours are crushed, and the videos are in general pretty unusable. Only videos sent in 4K look ok. This was an issue with the Find X3 Pro, and I am not sure why Oppo have not addressed this yet.
- There's no getting around the fact that this phone lacks any reasonable camera zoom at all. 2X is not zoom in my opinion.
- Forget nighttime shots of moving subjects, night photo takes 2s to process (although quicker than other phones).
- I feel like the MarisiliconX thing is mostly a marketing gimmick.
Screen
- The AlwaysOnDisplay is very dim and there's no way to change it. Also the coloured icons are very hard to distinguish at a glance. If the display is dim, then greyscale icons would be easier to see.
- 120Hz doesn't seem to be active in a lot of apps, so I had to manually force it using an app from youtube video.
Software/OS
- Cannot increase grid size in ColorOS launcher any more than 5 x 6. Please give option for up to 9 x 6 like Nova? Otherwise launcher is perfect!
- There is no desktop mode when plugged into a usb-c monitor like Samsung Dex or Huawei EMUI Desktop. You can indeed enable desktop mode in developer settings but it's not the same experience.
- When using a 3rd party launcher (I always use Nova), there are some bugs when going back to home screen, e.g. the recent apps screen flashes up for a split second when it shouldn't. Because of this I forced myself to get used to ColourOS launcher.
- There is no button to turn off/on 5G in the notifications quick settings menu.
- "Hey google" only works in Android Auto & Google Maps if you have the global "Hey Google" listening setting enabled. Not sure if this is an android 12 bug or just Oppo bug.
- Oppo PC Connect is only available on PC, not Mac or Linux.
Battery/Charging
- Standby battery life could be better. It drains about 5-7% overnight when my Huawei P40 Pro only drained 2%. If I barely use the phone during the day (only check/reply to messages etc and use around 1.5h SOT), then the battery is still below 40% when I go to bed. My P40 Pro barely drained when not used heavily. Of course Huawei do much more aggressive battery/memory management and if I enabled optimisation for all apps in the Oppo's settings then maybe I could get similar but I don't want to mess with notifications.
- Wireless charging with a non-oppo wireless charger seems very slow. I have a 5W charger in my Lexus and when charging using it, the phone still loses battery when using wireless android auto.
All in all, I actually preferred using my old Huawei P40 Pro as the camera was superior in most situations as well as better standby battery but the hacked google services installed just put me off. Android auto was very temperamental, hence I can't stick with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree re the in-hand feel, I am a fan of ceramic and yes on paper it is not much smaller than other phones but does feel more manageable.
- The AlwaysOnDisplay is very dim and there's no way to change it. Also the coloured icons are very hard to distinguish at a glance. If the display is dim, then greyscale icons would be easier to see.
I'd agree wth this, they are tiny
Re the blurry photos, I still think it is better than a Samsung, maybe only the Pixel or iPhone is better in this regard?
I think I prefer my S22U overall especially the more reliable fingerprint sensor but prefer the size and in-hand feel of the Oppo.

arsenal74 said:
I agree re the in-hand feel, I am a fan of ceramic and yes on paper it is not much smaller than other phones but does feel more manageable.
- The AlwaysOnDisplay is very dim and there's no way to change it. Also the coloured icons are very hard to distinguish at a glance. If the display is dim, then greyscale icons would be easier to see.
I'd agree wth this, they are tiny
Re the blurry photos, I still thnk it is better than a Samsung, maybe only the Pixel or iPhone is better in this regard?
I think overall I prefer my S22U overall especially the more reliable fingerprint sensor but prefer the size and in-hand feel of the Oppo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have any issues whatsoever with the fingerprint sensor, it seems faster than on my huawei - are you using a screen protector?
I contemplated returning to get S22U but today is the last day of my return window so I think I will just keep it. Samsung is slightly more expensive and I still need to buy seperate charger.
I can trade-in in 12 months anyway and get something else on my contract so maybe Oppo will have released a Samsung beating phone by then.

There is nothing wrong with the FPS, just think the S22U is better. I have had the Pixel 6 and it is way better than that. I just think the ultrasonic sensor is more reliable, less prone to issues if your hands are wet etc

arsenal74 said:
There is nothing wrong with the FPS, just think the S22U is better. I have had the Pixel 6 and it is way better than that. I just think the ultrasonic sensor is more reliable, less prone to issues if your hands are wet etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah I see, having had both Oppo and S22U (exynos?), is samsung better in every department?

mcall_r said:
Ah I see, having had both Oppo and S22U (exynos?), is samsung better in every department?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the Oppo camera is better indoors but that is anecdotal, actually other than zoom reach the Oppo camera is slightly better overall I think (for stills) I also think the Oppo battery is better at least standby wise. Other than your personal preference re size and design I think the S22U is better for most other things