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PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with the LeEco Le Max 2 6GB version compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Max 2 for about 1/2 a week now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 3 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. LeEco Le Max 2 6GB
2. HTC 10
3. Huawei P9 4GB
4. LG G5
5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
6. Huawei Mate 8
7. Huawei Nexus 6P
8. LG Nexus 5X
9. Samsung Note 5
10. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Works with my Huawei Watch
6. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Max 2 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
Lets start out by saying that I'm not a person that needs a phone that has good external speakers... I really have no use for them and as long as they are loud enough for notifications then I'm cool. Also, I am not a cross-training adventure workout junkie that requires 3.5mm in order to do everything with my phone... I state this now so that I clear the air with the Max 2 being one of the first phones not to have a 3.5mm jack and require a CDLA to 3.5mm adapter or CDLA USB Type C Headphones... I think the Max 2 may even come with the adapter and since I so don't give a brown matter from my butt about it, I haven't even taken it out of its packaging. Personally, the only time I use headphones is skiing and I have bluetooth wireless headphones built into my helmet... and like someone in the 21st century I realize I can have wireless headphones. :good: Now, my main sound experience with the Max 2 is bluetooth to my 2016 HR-V. It connects with zero issues, phone and bluetooth audio both work great. As a bonus, the built-in Dolby ATMOS makes my otherwise tinny speakers without equalization sound great. It also doesn't detract from the volume output like other similar apps... It allows me to blast bassy metal to offend anyone I want, which is a great double bonus situation for me. Nothing like driving by a church blasting GHOST and having the lyrics Hail Satan play loud, clear and rockin' hahaha. Seriously though, in recent memory, this is the only phone from 2016 flagships I haven't had to use a workaround app that drastically decreases the volume. Now I will say that the Dolby ATMOS setting works a little wonky and easily resets itself if you enter into the sound settings or back out of sound setting after enabling... once you know about this though, it is easy to workaround just by hitting home button instead. For the external speaker people, the Max 2 is super loud and the speakers do sound crisp... I think it is stereo speakers as well, if you care about those things... bass-wise, the speakers are not the best but not bad also... definitely as good as of not better than the HTC 10 or LG G5.
WINNER: NO DOUBT SO FAR IN 2016 - LeEco Max 2
BATTERY
From my experience so far, I have had decent battery life out of the Max 2. 3100 mAh does seem a tad small for this larger phalet... but I'm yet to say that its a problem for me. Of recent phones, LG G5 has the worse battery life with the HTC 10 being next in line, then S7 rounded out at the top with the P9... The P9 has a Kirin processor so lets toss it out. Out of the Snapdragons I will say that with my usage so far the Max 2 matches the S7 with battery life from my usage. Max 2 has fast charge as well which helps keep it on par with the other 820's. Just yesterday, I used the Max 2 all-day no recharging with 2 heavy usage periods for a total of 3 hours plus of screen on time playing Clash Royale. The rest of the day was standard usage of checking emails, looking at some news items, etc. It lasted the whole day from 8:30am until 1am in the morning with 15% left. This was on wifi the whole time as well. I feel this adequately meets my needs to last a whole day without recharge (which rarely happens since I always recharge when in my car) with moderate usage all day long.
WINNER: It's close to call but since its the larger phone and still performs well even though no wireless charging - LeEco Max 2
HEAT
I have yet to see a real heat spike with the Max 2. I have heard reports of heat but maybe this is with the 4GB version. Since the lack of need to flush RAM or actively manage memory more critically with the greater space, this may play a factor. Not a super nerdy tech guru on this so someone that understands this more may have to chime in. I have also yet to place it in a what I like to call, a pocket burning situation like at a concert were I'm using the camera a lot, there's high tower saturation causing the radio to work more, etc. I can say the phone barely heated up trying to download a 1.5GB update on LTE... so I guess that says something right? The only other phone that runs this cool is the P9 with it Kirin processor... all the 820's run a little hot when taxed so I would not be surprised if the Max 2 was the same if push to limits. I can say that I have gotten overheat warnings on the S7 when setting up the phone and downloading copious amounts of data.... and my first G5 overheated that it caused an internal malfunction causing me to have to replace the phone under warranty. The HTC 10 seemed to be the coolest out of the other 820's I have tried.
WINNER: Still is the P9 however out of the 820's - LeEco Max 2
SNAPPINESS
I have explained in some of my other reviews, I like to talk about performance in terms of snappiness with normal day to day usage with the phone rather than throw up meaningless to most people AnTuTu stats or whatever. I am going on out on a limp here and saying that the Max 2 dominates of course due to 6GB of RAM... it's like pitting a turbocharged version of a car vs. its not turbocharge version... more under the hood most of the time leads to better performance. No loading issues, no lag from app to app. What I can say is that EUI is a fairly nice GUI take on Android, better than EMUI, but not as nice as the new HTC 10 Sense / Stock like interface. I however did my standard change of porting over the sense launcher to the Max 2 which I just love... as far as getting use to how things work, there is a lot of configuration that can be done with notifications, much like Huawei's EMUI interface that might make it off putting to some... I lucked out and the aliexpress merchant I bought the Max 2 from pre-loaded the Google App Store when I got the phone. I since did 2 updates (one I downloaded and force flashed myself, the other was through LeEco's update system directly) and the app store continues to work fine.... There are redundant apps for email, calendar, message, etc. to google versions... however most of these are built well enough that you might not want or need the google versions. Notifications seem to work OK although some do not like that it does not litter the top of your screen with icons for every single notification.... rather it just typically puts an icon with "..." and a circle at the top... takes a little to get use to, but with a notification LED as well, I think this bypasses this small issue for some. :laugh: Also, people are starting to create ROMs for it and it is easily rootable albeit in Chinese at first, so you can definitely get more out of it with some tweaking.... haven't heard if they released Kernels yet. But it is only a matter of time given it popularity in China.
WINNER: Maybe just because of the 6GB but still... LeEco Le Max 2
DISPLAY
This to me is one of the areas much like sound where if it is not screwing up the way I use the phone then I care less about stuff like resolution. If someone can truly tell a load of difference between QHD, SuperHD, 1080p, etc. etc. good for you. Here what I can say. The Max 2 screen is great! Plus, its the largest compared to the other Flagships I have tried... forgot how nice it is to use a larger phone... It does not suffer from which ultimately made me get rid of the HTC 10 from the screen polarization being applied wrong causing you not to be able to use it outdoors with sunglasses on.... I know right... major f-up IMO that HTC 10 did... I couldn't see it in my car with sunglasses on, too annoying for me. Thankfully, don't have to worry about this with the Max 2 even with a tempered glass screen protector. Since it is somewhat screen related, I can say that the fingerprint sensor is something to be desired. Its slow, sometimes taking 3 tries for it to read properly... I have tried multiple times to reprogram and it does not help. Definitely the G5 and P9 beat it hands down when talking about rear facing fingerprint sensors... Even touchwiz laggy S7 sensor beats it. Hopefully, updates help with this. Like capacitive buttons it has, in the configuration I like with back button on left... apps button also reveals the control center feature on the Max 2... similar to Apples swipe up control center... not placing these toggles in the notification panel is a fresh take on using these toggles and I like it... Color balance seems good on the phone as well if you care about those things... No Always-On feature for the Max 2 either but not a huge deal with a configurable notification LED.
WINNER: The S7 still has the best "looking screen"; G5 has the best always-on screen - Max 2 is ok but not the best in this class of phones.... Does get bonus points for the control center feature and correctly orientated IMO capacitive buttons
PHONE DESIGN
The Max 2 is a good looking phone especially with a premium metal chassis... I do have to say that I had to get the "Gold" version of the phone since it was the only one available at this point in the 6GB Version... I use "gold" here loosely as like other can report... gold is actually rose gold... not that rose gold is bad, but a pinkish phone for a guy is not cool... No matter, I got a Matte black hard case today the covers the back and pretty much takes care of the covering most of the pinkish gold exterior.... I believe there will be other colors out there soon but I could not wait any longer... Camera and button placement is nice. Phone feels great in hand. Although bigger than the other 2016 Flagships, its not gargantuan either... doesn't feel like putting a tablet up to your ear like other phalets can feel like. Pretty thin too and not overly heavy. The biggest design issue is of course no SD Card add-on memory since the SIM tray only accommodates dual SIMs. At 64GB, this isn't an issue for me as I don't save a lot to my phone and jam pack it with needless stuff. The fingerprint sensor is in a good natural position albeit if it only worked on the first try... Its not like Megan Fox / Candice Swanepoel good looking phone rather more like Melissa Benoist / Kate Upton good looking. You ain't going to wake up after a long night of drinking and go "my god... what did I do..." but you are also not getting the top of the heap in design characteristics either. It's nice looking but not someone you'd use your "hall pass" on over your wife, if you get my point..." Notification LED work great and should be noted as not being blinding at night like others can be.... looking at you HTC 10... I like no 3.5mm jack since I don't use it anyway... less holes to get dirt into... in this case, having less holes to stick stuff into wins out!!! :silly:
WINNER: Still S7 for overall design, wireless charging, etc. - Your not bad Max 2, but pinkish gold is makes my balls instantly shrink!!!
CAMERA
Another big deal for some but not really a huge concern for me is the camera on smartphones... Personally and I have gone over the reasons time and time again, I went to school for photography and have used some really great cameras, film and digital. So when you start looking at smartphone cameras, even in 2016, it is still hard to compare to the output of an actual camera. With that said, there is no real gimmick with the Max 2... looks to be an alright camera that I will post examples later of. Doesn't have "superpixels", low light lens, dual lens, etc, etc. etc. It will take pictures decently and in most cases that's all you need it to do. I can say that it does have one of my major pet peeves when it comes to the camera app in video mode... no focus lock.... honestly who uses always on auto focus in video mode.... looks like a bad wedding video... when you are recording something that you are a fixed distance away, like a concert lets say, you don't need for it to re-focus... it annoying. So, I am going to cut this section short and just say, the Max 2 has a camera, its nothing special and if you are ok with a no gimmick no frills nexus like camera than its absolutely fine for what its supposed to do.... :highfive:
WINNER: S7 for low-light, G5 for wide angled, P9 for dynamic range; HTC 10 for camera app & Max 2 for no frills OK no gimmicks camera
CONCLUSION
For my daily usage case, the Max 2 is great! When you consider that it outperforms in most cases phones that are $200 - $400 more than what it costs... It tends to soften the negatives. I think for me the greatest of which is the current functionality of the fingerprint sensor... I hate struggling to get it to read than having to still punch in a pin when it fails. Besides this, all the othe negatives are minor. Camera - its really ok just nothing special. Color - if you can wait, you can get a more manly color unless you want to go with the 4GB version (you can get different colors now). EUI - definitely not as big of a learning curve as EMUI but it does take a little bit of commitment to get use to all the customization you can do. Looks like LeEco plans to release updates frequently since there has been at least one since it released in May... Yeah, it doesn't have a headphone jack... grow up and get with the 21st century... hahaha. To get a 6GB phone, under $500, 64GB internal is not too shabby. Would it be stellar with a SD Card add-on, yep it sure would but I can make do without having the SD Card in most cases unless I really started ROM-ing and backing up TWRPs with it.... I think if you are looking for a good, well performing phone at a good price with some decent specs and killer sound, this does the trick, most definitely. Could it be better, you betcha... but I can say that for any of the 2016 Flagship phones. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guy's Opinion... :good:
Good review, makes it sound really awesome. My experience is very different.
I have the 6GB version and its regularly becoming warm.
Sound is ok, but Huawei Mate 8 is a different class altogether (better).
As a mid level budget phone the Eco Max 2 is very clearly on the cost performance side.
But I think the battery softens its advantage.
The hardware specs on the Max 2 are all top class, but there is definitely muuuch room for improvement. On the paper the network is Cat 12, but tell you the truth in daily usage it doesnt differ speed to Huawei Mate 8. Same for the user experience speed.
Also its not funny if the phone reboots occasionally
LeTV has fixed some of the issues with the upcoming EUI 5.8 release, but they need to do more !!
If you are thinking about getting it and tweaking it for your local marcet you have to do little homework with Google playstore etc. Its a gadget for geeky power users, but not mainstream user, to many changes required.
EverPing said:
Good review, makes it sound really awesome. My experience is very different.
I have the 6GB version and its regularly becoming warm.
Sound is ok, but Huawei Mate 8 is a different class altogether (better).
As a mid level budget phone the Eco Max 2 is very clearly on the cost performance side.
But I think the battery softens its advantage.
The hardware specs on the Max 2 are all top class, but there is definitely muuuch room for improvement. On the paper the network is Cat 12, but tell you the truth in daily usage it doesnt differ speed to Huawei Mate 8. Same for the user experience speed.
Also its not funny if the phone reboots occasionally
LeTV has fixed some of the issues with the upcoming EUI 5.8 release, but they need to do more !!
If you are thinking about getting it and tweaking it for your local marcet you have to do little homework with Google playstore etc. Its a gadget for geeky power users, but not mainstream user, to many changes required.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny mine never rebooted once. No heat even under load. No big modifications to get google play. Mine was stock and able to OTA... Google Play just took a simple APK download and agreeing to "unknown sources." Yes, its not a consumer mainstream phone outside of China... however doing a review on XDA, pretty much means its a review for a more "geeky" crowd easily capable of simple APK downloads from shared sources mentioned at least 10 different times in 10 different posts in this forum. The Huawei Mate 8 succeeds because of Kirin... however of 820's and at this price point, its hard to beat... maybe only by OP3 once they figure out the RAM Management. The camera is better on the Mate 8 but it's not as good as the P9... Plus all in all, its just as difficult to install the Play Store on the Mate8 & P9... both phones I owned and sold, as I was able to get just as good as and somewhat better phone for $200 to $300 cheaper. In the states, all these phones max out our 4G LTE networks so seeing any major difference between the P9, Mate8 and the Max 2 in modem performance is minor. Once again, OGO
Thanks for the feedback, maybe I am just unlucky this time. The apk's I downloaded from apkmirror etc don't seem to work on my Chinese version max 2. I also tried Xiaomi installer version 2, Opengapps, LeTV Playstore zips for same.
I think in terms of price LeTV has found a sweet spot in the marcet, but overall the software quality is just not there yet. However the upcoming update will fix some of it.
Hi,
Thanks for the review. Could you tell me if it has MHL ?
Regards
I tried with my MHL-Adapter, which is working fine with LETV LE 1 (X600). Didn´t work ...
Ok, thanks for the info. MHL is so usefull when you want to see a film at the hotel...
I think it should have MHL (I might have found this hint in some descriptions) but actually it is not working (for me?)...
Having been in IT, the first thing you learn is most problems are usually user problems. Most of the issues that I have come up against are problems of my own doing. For example, some thing may not work because I deleted a necessary file in my quest to remove Chinese Le-bloat. So it has been trial and error. I installed the CM 13 yesterday, but didn't like the tinny sound the speakers were making. Went back to the dev 5.8 stock, installed Google play and a few apps and it's running like a charm. I have not experienced any overheating issues. This phone does everything that one does with a phone very well. I sure you can find an individual that does intense things on their device, but for the average user that surfs the web, watches you tube, plays a few games, sends/reads email and IM's others, this phone is hard to beat. This morning I had an antutu of 140491, which is pretty good considering I only have the 4/32 GB version. Can you say fast phone?!
Hi,
I may add a comparison to a phone that can be considered as the direct competitor to the Le 2 Max : the One+ 3.
There is one area where the Le 2 Max clearly wins : it's the display. I don't care about 2k or FHD. It's hard to tell the difference in real life anyways. But I'm talking about brightness and legibility in sunny daylight conditions. And there, there is no question : the Le 2 Max is superior to the OP3, even after OP3 released the new display drivers that improves things on the brightness side...
And the 0.2" more is a nice addition too... Really noticeable when you used the LeEco for several days and you then go back to OP3
But apart from that (which is really important I admit it), the Le 2 Max is lagging behind in almost every other aspect...
BATTERY LIFE : OP3 wins without a question...In really heavy usage (GPS + BT active +display on all the time) I get about 3h45minutes of battery life with the LeEco... and about 5h30 in the same conditions with the OP3. That's almost 50% better battery. Think the 2K display has a cost unfortunately
SNAPPINESS : the LeEco is OK. But once you compare it to the OP3, the overall feeling is clearly pointing into the OP3 direction !!! And just install a custom ROM like Tipsy, and your device seems to fly, when the Le Eco seems to walk
HEAT : under the heavy usage conditions I described before, the LeEco gets mildly hot. It's much cooler than the Nexus 5 used to be in the same conditions( where it lasted about 1h40 on battery !). But the OP3 is simply almost cool. On that side, OP3 wins...
SOUND : I admit that I don't give a **** about sound coming from the speakers. But on phone calls OP3 clearly wins. On Le 2 Max I have a "ghost sound". I seem to hear everything I am saying to the other person like he has a loudspeaker on. Doesn't happen on OP3.
CAMERA : I am not a great camera user. But both deliver pictures that are good enough for me. But I must say it's difficult to tear them apart
FINGERPRINT SCANNER : it's adictive to use on OP3 because fingerprint is recognized in a fraction of a second and is ALWAYS recognized. I cannot count the times I left my finger on the finger print scanner for seconds before it decided to consider it has to recognize a finger... and then I would say about 30% of the time it doesn't recognize my finger print on first attempt, and about 15% of the time it doesn't recognize it at all so I have to fire it up with the power key and pattern.
DEVELOPMENT : It seems LeEco has no intention at all to consider those phones as an important part of their business. Look at their website : they're ahrdly advertised. Go to their forums : there no activity. An official from LeEco shows up about once every 3 weeks. All in all, discussion and support are simply dead. All tehy keep saying is "Stay tuned, we have a lot to unveil"... but no date nor nothing ! And after 4 months of phone existence what do we have : a tweaked Stock ROM and a CM13 build that is obviously not really actively developped. After 3 weeks of existence, OP3 has tweaked stock ROM, CM13 and 3 derivatives, 3 or 4 AOSP derivatives and just recevied multi ROM... So all problems may have a fix some day... There's really little hope to have that with LeEco
Even CM13 builders doesn't publish their github source which would allow to work on other ROM's...
PERFORMANCE : not that I really care about benchmarks... as I am convinced that 3k or 4k points in Antutu will go unnoticed in real life. But on the OP3 if I run several Antutu tests in a row, I have only a really slight variation in results It goes from 142k to 136-138k on 3rd/4th pass. On x820 results vary from 140k (generally on first pass) and then sink to 110k (sometimes even less) on third/fourth pass... And that sounds really weird to me : maybe there's a throttle on the phone ?
ALL IN ALL : I'd love to keep the LeEco because of it's display. But considering all the "cons" it has, I am afraid it will soon join an ad site for used devices And that's a shame because with a little support from it's manufacturer, it would be THE device to keep
So LeEco : if you hang around here sometime, show us some love and release official device trees.
Well said and your comments are spot on @NexusPenguin
Le needs to release kernel sources to their phones to survive in this industry. They absolutely do not want to go down Xiaomi's footsteps.
If they don't release device trees, most people will simply not buy their Le Max 3 or whatever they release next. Simple to earn bad-will and buey themselves to ground.
it is definitively fast but....
Dear jim262,
it is really fast. With Google Keyboard app, not debloated and after autoupdate to EUI 5.8.016S mine had a Antutu v6.2.1 of 139.159
But:
- I Need a international ROM
- why can´t the user decide wether he want´s the LeTV Software on it or not? So debloate that phone. I don´t want a fixed button on the Screen wich leeds to Chinese Websites. Unfortunately I can´t speak/read Chinese.
- The cam should have more Software ability to take pics with lower size. Actual it doesn´t allow less than 8 MP`s
jim262 said:
Having been in IT, the first thing you learn is most problems are usually user problems. Most of the issues that I have come up against are problems of my own doing. For example, some thing may not work because I deleted a necessary file in my quest to remove Chinese Le-bloat. So it has been trial and error. I installed the CM 13 yesterday, but didn't like the tinny sound the speakers were making. Went back to the dev 5.8 stock, installed Google play and a few apps and it's running like a charm. I have not experienced any overheating issues. This phone does everything that one does with a phone very well. I sure you can find an individual that does intense things on their device, but for the average user that surfs the web, watches you tube, plays a few games, sends/reads email and IM's others, this phone is hard to beat. This morning I had an antutu of 140491, which is pretty good considering I only have the 4/32 GB version. Can you say fast phone?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LeTvNewby said:
Dear jim262,
it is really fast. With Google Keyboard app, not debloated and after autoupdate to EUI 5.8.016S mine had a Antutu v6.2.1 of 139.159
But:
- I Need a international ROM
- why can´t the user decide wether he want´s the LeTV Software on it or not? So debloate that phone. I don´t want a fixed button on the Screen wich leeds to Chinese Websites. Unfortunately I can´t speak/read Chinese.
- The cam should have more Software ability to take pics with lower size. Actual it doesn´t allow less than 8 MP`s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the roms are international roms with the ability to select language when you start.
Yeah, the phone is not a Galaxy S7 killer but I don't think we ever had such a device ~$250 on the market. Oneplus One might have been the only thing that came close but now their devices cost ~400€.
It doesn't have any real weaknesses, only a few things like the camera and software are mid-to-high end.
Clearly we'll see a drop in smartphone prices in the coming years, users won't pay 700€ anymore if you can get the latest for less. And these cheap manufacturers will catch up to Samsung and co. eventually.
mahst68 said:
PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with the LeEco Le Max 2 6GB version compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Max 2 for about 1/2 a week now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 3 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. LeEco Le Max 2 6GB
2. HTC 10
3. Huawei P9 4GB
4. LG G5
5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
6. Huawei Mate 8
7. Huawei Nexus 6P
8. LG Nexus 5X
9. Samsung Note 5
10. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Works with my Huawei Watch
6. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Max 2 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
Lets start out by saying that I'm not a person that needs a phone that has good external speakers... I really have no use for them and as long as they are loud enough for notifications then I'm cool. Also, I am not a cross-training adventure workout junkie that requires 3.5mm in order to do everything with my phone... I state this now so that I clear the air with the Max 2 being one of the first phones not to have a 3.5mm jack and require a CDLA to 3.5mm adapter or CDLA USB Type C Headphones... I think the Max 2 may even come with the adapter and since I so don't give a brown matter from my butt about it, I haven't even taken it out of its packaging. Personally, the only time I use headphones is skiing and I have bluetooth wireless headphones built into my helmet... and like someone in the 21st century I realize I can have wireless headphones. :good: Now, my main sound experience with the Max 2 is bluetooth to my 2016 HR-V. It connects with zero issues, phone and bluetooth audio both work great. As a bonus, the built-in Dolby ATMOS makes my otherwise tinny speakers without equalization sound great. It also doesn't detract from the volume output like other similar apps... It allows me to blast bassy metal to offend anyone I want, which is a great double bonus situation for me. Nothing like driving by a church blasting GHOST and having the lyrics Hail Satan play loud, clear and rockin' hahaha. Seriously though, in recent memory, this is the only phone from 2016 flagships I haven't had to use a workaround app that drastically decreases the volume. Now I will say that the Dolby ATMOS setting works a little wonky and easily resets itself if you enter into the sound settings or back out of sound setting after enabling... once you know about this though, it is easy to workaround just by hitting home button instead. For the external speaker people, the Max 2 is super loud and the speakers do sound crisp... I think it is stereo speakers as well, if you care about those things... bass-wise, the speakers are not the best but not bad also... definitely as good as of not better than the HTC 10 or LG G5.
WINNER: NO DOUBT SO FAR IN 2016 - LeEco Max 2
BATTERY
From my experience so far, I have had decent battery life out of the Max 2. 3100 mAh does seem a tad small for this larger phalet... but I'm yet to say that its a problem for me. Of recent phones, LG G5 has the worse battery life with the HTC 10 being next in line, then S7 rounded out at the top with the P9... The P9 has a Kirin processor so lets toss it out. Out of the Snapdragons I will say that with my usage so far the Max 2 matches the S7 with battery life from my usage. Max 2 has fast charge as well which helps keep it on par with the other 820's. Just yesterday, I used the Max 2 all-day no recharging with 2 heavy usage periods for a total of 3 hours plus of screen on time playing Clash Royale. The rest of the day was standard usage of checking emails, looking at some news items, etc. It lasted the whole day from 8:30am until 1am in the morning with 15% left. This was on wifi the whole time as well. I feel this adequately meets my needs to last a whole day without recharge (which rarely happens since I always recharge when in my car) with moderate usage all day long.
WINNER: It's close to call but since its the larger phone and still performs well even though no wireless charging - LeEco Max 2
HEAT
I have yet to see a real heat spike with the Max 2. I have heard reports of heat but maybe this is with the 4GB version. Since the lack of need to flush RAM or actively manage memory more critically with the greater space, this may play a factor. Not a super nerdy tech guru on this so someone that understands this more may have to chime in. I have also yet to place it in a what I like to call, a pocket burning situation like at a concert were I'm using the camera a lot, there's high tower saturation causing the radio to work more, etc. I can say the phone barely heated up trying to download a 1.5GB update on LTE... so I guess that says something right? The only other phone that runs this cool is the P9 with it Kirin processor... all the 820's run a little hot when taxed so I would not be surprised if the Max 2 was the same if push to limits. I can say that I have gotten overheat warnings on the S7 when setting up the phone and downloading copious amounts of data.... and my first G5 overheated that it caused an internal malfunction causing me to have to replace the phone under warranty. The HTC 10 seemed to be the coolest out of the other 820's I have tried.
WINNER: Still is the P9 however out of the 820's - LeEco Max 2
SNAPPINESS
I have explained in some of my other reviews, I like to talk about performance in terms of snappiness with normal day to day usage with the phone rather than throw up meaningless to most people AnTuTu stats or whatever. I am going on out on a limp here and saying that the Max 2 dominates of course due to 6GB of RAM... it's like pitting a turbocharged version of a car vs. its not turbocharge version... more under the hood most of the time leads to better performance. No loading issues, no lag from app to app. What I can say is that EUI is a fairly nice GUI take on Android, better than EMUI, but not as nice as the new HTC 10 Sense / Stock like interface. I however did my standard change of porting over the sense launcher to the Max 2 which I just love... as far as getting use to how things work, there is a lot of configuration that can be done with notifications, much like Huawei's EMUI interface that might make it off putting to some... I lucked out and the aliexpress merchant I bought the Max 2 from pre-loaded the Google App Store when I got the phone. I since did 2 updates (one I downloaded and force flashed myself, the other was through LeEco's update system directly) and the app store continues to work fine.... There are redundant apps for email, calendar, message, etc. to google versions... however most of these are built well enough that you might not want or need the google versions. Notifications seem to work OK although some do not like that it does not litter the top of your screen with icons for every single notification.... rather it just typically puts an icon with "..." and a circle at the top... takes a little to get use to, but with a notification LED as well, I think this bypasses this small issue for some. :laugh: Also, people are starting to create ROMs for it and it is easily rootable albeit in Chinese at first, so you can definitely get more out of it with some tweaking.... haven't heard if they released Kernels yet. But it is only a matter of time given it popularity in China.
WINNER: Maybe just because of the 6GB but still... LeEco Le Max 2
DISPLAY
This to me is one of the areas much like sound where if it is not screwing up the way I use the phone then I care less about stuff like resolution. If someone can truly tell a load of difference between QHD, SuperHD, 1080p, etc. etc. good for you. Here what I can say. The Max 2 screen is great! Plus, its the largest compared to the other Flagships I have tried... forgot how nice it is to use a larger phone... It does not suffer from which ultimately made me get rid of the HTC 10 from the screen polarization being applied wrong causing you not to be able to use it outdoors with sunglasses on.... I know right... major f-up IMO that HTC 10 did... I couldn't see it in my car with sunglasses on, too annoying for me. Thankfully, don't have to worry about this with the Max 2 even with a tempered glass screen protector. Since it is somewhat screen related, I can say that the fingerprint sensor is something to be desired. Its slow, sometimes taking 3 tries for it to read properly... I have tried multiple times to reprogram and it does not help. Definitely the G5 and P9 beat it hands down when talking about rear facing fingerprint sensors... Even touchwiz laggy S7 sensor beats it. Hopefully, updates help with this. Like capacitive buttons it has, in the configuration I like with back button on left... apps button also reveals the control center feature on the Max 2... similar to Apples swipe up control center... not placing these toggles in the notification panel is a fresh take on using these toggles and I like it... Color balance seems good on the phone as well if you care about those things... No Always-On feature for the Max 2 either but not a huge deal with a configurable notification LED.
WINNER: The S7 still has the best "looking screen"; G5 has the best always-on screen - Max 2 is ok but not the best in this class of phones.... Does get bonus points for the control center feature and correctly orientated IMO capacitive buttons
PHONE DESIGN
The Max 2 is a good looking phone especially with a premium metal chassis... I do have to say that I had to get the "Gold" version of the phone since it was the only one available at this point in the 6GB Version... I use "gold" here loosely as like other can report... gold is actually rose gold... not that rose gold is bad, but a pinkish phone for a guy is not cool... No matter, I got a Matte black hard case today the covers the back and pretty much takes care of the covering most of the pinkish gold exterior.... I believe there will be other colors out there soon but I could not wait any longer... Camera and button placement is nice. Phone feels great in hand. Although bigger than the other 2016 Flagships, its not gargantuan either... doesn't feel like putting a tablet up to your ear like other phalets can feel like. Pretty thin too and not overly heavy. The biggest design issue is of course no SD Card add-on memory since the SIM tray only accommodates dual SIMs. At 64GB, this isn't an issue for me as I don't save a lot to my phone and jam pack it with needless stuff. The fingerprint sensor is in a good natural position albeit if it only worked on the first try... Its not like Megan Fox / Candice Swanepoel good looking phone rather more like Melissa Benoist / Kate Upton good looking. You ain't going to wake up after a long night of drinking and go "my god... what did I do..." but you are also not getting the top of the heap in design characteristics either. It's nice looking but not someone you'd use your "hall pass" on over your wife, if you get my point..." Notification LED work great and should be noted as not being blinding at night like others can be.... looking at you HTC 10... I like no 3.5mm jack since I don't use it anyway... less holes to get dirt into... in this case, having less holes to stick stuff into wins out!!! :silly:
WINNER: Still S7 for overall design, wireless charging, etc. - Your not bad Max 2, but pinkish gold is makes my balls instantly shrink!!!
CAMERA
Another big deal for some but not really a huge concern for me is the camera on smartphones... Personally and I have gone over the reasons time and time again, I went to school for photography and have used some really great cameras, film and digital. So when you start looking at smartphone cameras, even in 2016, it is still hard to compare to the output of an actual camera. With that said, there is no real gimmick with the Max 2... looks to be an alright camera that I will post examples later of. Doesn't have "superpixels", low light lens, dual lens, etc, etc. etc. It will take pictures decently and in most cases that's all you need it to do. I can say that it does have one of my major pet peeves when it comes to the camera app in video mode... no focus lock.... honestly who uses always on auto focus in video mode.... looks like a bad wedding video... when you are recording something that you are a fixed distance away, like a concert lets say, you don't need for it to re-focus... it annoying. So, I am going to cut this section short and just say, the Max 2 has a camera, its nothing special and if you are ok with a no gimmick no frills nexus like camera than its absolutely fine for what its supposed to do.... :highfive:
WINNER: S7 for low-light, G5 for wide angled, P9 for dynamic range; HTC 10 for camera app & Max 2 for no frills OK no gimmicks camera
CONCLUSION
For my daily usage case, the Max 2 is great! When you consider that it outperforms in most cases phones that are $200 - $400 more than what it costs... It tends to soften the negatives. I think for me the greatest of which is the current functionality of the fingerprint sensor... I hate struggling to get it to read than having to still punch in a pin when it fails. Besides this, all the othe negatives are minor. Camera - its really ok just nothing special. Color - if you can wait, you can get a more manly color unless you want to go with the 4GB version (you can get different colors now). EUI - definitely not as big of a learning curve as EMUI but it does take a little bit of commitment to get use to all the customization you can do. Looks like LeEco plans to release updates frequently since there has been at least one since it released in May... Yeah, it doesn't have a headphone jack... grow up and get with the 21st century... hahaha. To get a 6GB phone, under $500, 64GB internal is not too shabby. Would it be stellar with a SD Card add-on, yep it sure would but I can make do without having the SD Card in most cases unless I really started ROM-ing and backing up TWRPs with it.... I think if you are looking for a good, well performing phone at a good price with some decent specs and killer sound, this does the trick, most definitely. Could it be better, you betcha... but I can say that for any of the 2016 Flagship phones. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guy's Opinion... :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot this is thorough.. Impressive stuff
I really like my Le Max2. It's not perfect, but no phone is. It is certainly a fast and powerful phone. No lag and handles everything I throw at it with ease. Antutu scores of over 140K are crazy in a $230 device!! I am enjoying its audio output and have been mostly very impressed with the photos I have taken so far. The fingerprint scanner is very fast and reliable for me. I quite like eui as it is fairly light and has some very useful features, especially for power management (I have generally been getting 5 to 7 hours SOT). This is my first 2K display phone, and the clarity is fantastic. The black levels are good, and the colours are vibrant. Probably my main criticism of the phone is the viewing angles and max brightness level of the display. Colour shifting is pronounced when viewing at any angle much off straight, and the max brightness is just OK - I would like to be able to crank it up a fair bit more at times.
kanagawaben said:
I really like my Le Max2. It's not perfect, but no phone is. It is certainly a fast and powerful phone. No lag and handles everything I throw at it with ease. Antutu scores of over 140K are crazy in a $230 device!! I am enjoying its audio output and have been mostly very impressed with the photos I have taken so far. The fingerprint scanner is very fast and reliable for me. I quite like eui as it is fairly light and has some very useful features, especially for power management (I have generally been getting 5 to 7 hours SOT). This is my first 2K display phone, and the clarity is fantastic. The black levels are good, and the colours are vibrant. Probably my main criticism of the phone is the viewing angles and max brightness level of the display. Colour shifting is pronounced when viewing at any angle much off straight, and the max brightness is just OK - I would like to be able to crank it up a fair bit more at times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything special you did to improve fingerprint response
Mine does work but it becomes unresponsive if not used for a while but after first unlock the consecutive ones are fast
Which rom are you on?
Did you never had any fingerprint problem?
[email protected] said:
Anything special you did to improve fingerprint response
Mine does work but it becomes unresponsive if not used for a while but after first unlock the consecutive ones are fast
Which rom are you on?
Did you never had any fingerprint problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am currently using the Parasite debloated version of S19. I have also used Cuoco92, stock Chinese 17S and 19S, and Indian 16S. Haven't had the slightest problem with fingerprint on any of them. I always register two with the same finger (my right index) and the other with my left index. I'd say it is 99% accurate - it really only misses if I put my finger in at a very weird angle or move it too much. Fast too, not instant but pretty near it - less than a count of one.
kanagawaben said:
I am currently using the Parasite debloated version of S19. I have also used Cuoco92, stock Chinese 17S and 19S, and Indian 16S. Haven't had the slightest problem with fingerprint on any of them. I always register two with the same finger (my right index) and the other with my left index.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you never have problems like the fingerprint doesn't recognize the first touch?
Or after all night standby the fingerprint takes a few seconds to unlock?
Do you think my fingerprint problem is hardware?
I bought it like 2 weeks ago I can return?
But it's a really good phone for the price
Only things that annoy me is fingerprint and lack of custom rom support both of which letv is to blame
[email protected] said:
So you never have problems like the fingerprint doesn't recognize the first touch?
Or after all night standby the fingerprint takes a few seconds to unlock?
Do you think my fingerprint problem is hardware?
I bought it like 2 weeks ago I can return?
But it's a really good phone for the price
Only things that annoy me is fingerprint and lack of custom rom support both of which letv is to blame
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly never. Scanner has been rock solid for me. What ROM are you on?
Hi, I need some advice on which device I am going to buy. I'm going to use this I guess 3 to 5 years as I dont replace my phone that often so this thread will help A LOT. I'm basing on some reviews, speed tests, but the two seems to be on par with each other. Price is/may kind of an issue here as I would love to use some of the money (if I buy the OP5) for the after sales and some personal stuff. However if the Note 8 is really "bang for the buck" then I'll gladly go with it. I also tried to search some issues. Here's what I found so far:
One Plus 5:
GPS Issue
Bluetooth Issue
Overheating issue
Jelly Screen effect
Note 8:
Red tint in a lot of device
Light leak (lights leaking on the side of the phone not much of an issue for me)
If you have some issues with the phone, please feel free to reply. It would be appreciated a lot!
I also created Pros and Cons that might help me but I ended up more confused what to buy. Haha.
Pros for One Plus 5
Performance
Price
Dev Community as I love to mod my phone
Fingerprint Scanner placement + the scan speed is so fast
I've seen a lot of people who still uses OPO or OP2 which means that this device last long
The toggle above the volume like in iPhones
Customizable hardware buttons (I really love this one)
Cons for One Plus 5
Issues above as I really need the GPS and bluetooth, and I play heavy games.
No waterproofing
No Micro SD slot (I guess 128gb is enough but I would love to have the option of expanding more)
Pros for Note 8
SPen
Camera
Performance (but I've read OP5 has better. The 8gb ram may be the reason. But please feel free to correct me)
Display is a plus
Iris Scanner and Face Recognition (Is it accurate?)
Cons for Note 8
Samsung phones tend to slow down after months/years of using it.
Price
Body build is somewhat easy to crack due to glass body + curved edge
Samsung is a little bit strict when it comes to flashing Custom ROMS and I dont know if the SPen functionalities will be affected. (Please correct me here)
Fingerprint Scanner placement
I may be wrong with some of this but I've researched and this is what I've seen.
If this is a point to consider, I'm coming from a Xperia Z3Compact which didn't last long (I hated sony to the hell because of this) because of the digitizer issue. However, I enjoyed tweaking that phone. Now I'm forced to use my iPhone5s with jailbreak.
Note: Just to be clear, the devices in comparison are OP5 8gb/128gb and Note 8 6gb/64gb Exynos
Note: I'm posting this to each respective forum to have a fair discussion for each phone. I hope this is allowed. I also hope to help some people that have the same options with me.
Note 8 Thread: Link Here
OnePlus 5 Thread: Link Here
Thank you guys. After a long comparison, I'm going for the OP5 even with the rumors of OP5T. I just hate the back fingerprint scanner placements which is the trend now. And regarding with the bezels, I'm more into those phone with bezels on top and bottom for landscape usage. I've been trying the S8+, and some games that I play doesn't maximize or utilize the whole screen which leaves some part of the screen blank. However, the screen in the Note 8 is A1 dont get me wrong, but I'm more into the performance and the OP5's screen is enough. Thank you guys!
You are on the OP5 forum so replies can't be realistic... I prefer the OP5 anyday over any Sammy device for just one reason: the OS. I prefer a clean near stock Android OS over the bloated TW UI but that's just me. Note 8 is a great device and all of Samsung hardware is very well made, but the almost double price and the OS give my vote to the OnePlus 5.
I dont have any issues with GPS, Bluetooth and overheat since I bought OP5 til now. Best phone I ever have til now.
I have to disagree for the overheating issue. Same reason with the first reply, I like OxygenOS than TW.
+1 No issues with BT, GPS or overheating here too.
I don't have any heat issues as well. Quite the opposite: It's the coolest device I ever had, much cooler than the Galaxy S5, LG G4 and the HTC 10 which I all had before.
The question, in my opinion, is not "OP5 or Note 8" but "OP5 or HTC U11 or LG V30". But I'm very happy with the OP5!
gianton said:
You are on the OP5 forum so replies can't be realistic... I prefer the OP5 anyday over any Sammy device for just one reason: the OS. I prefer a clean near stock Android OS over the bloated TW UI but that's just me. Note 8 is a great device and all of Samsung hardware is very well made, but the almost double price and the OS give my vote to the OnePlus 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also posted this in Note 8 because I expected biased replies in the same forum. So the OS and the price is the point. Thank you sir!
chobztopz said:
I dont have any issues with GPS, Bluetooth and overheat since I bought OP5 til now. Best phone I ever have til now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, I updated the post and added the Jelly effect. Have you experienced it?
exce1ia said:
I have to disagree for the overheating issue. Same reason with the first reply, I like OxygenOS than TW.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think where ever I ask, its OOS > TW. Also, I updated the post and added the Jelly effect. Have you experienced it?
gianton said:
+1 No issues with BT, GPS or overheating here too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated the post and added the Jelly effect. Have you experienced it sir?
RogerF81 said:
I don't have any heat issues as well. Quite the opposite: It's the coolest device I ever had, much cooler than the Galaxy S5, LG G4 and the HTC 10 which I all had before.
The question, in my opinion, is not "OP5 or Note 8" but "OP5 or HTC U11 or LG V30". But I'm very happy with the OP5!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen the HTC U11, but I'm not a fan of the shiny back and HTC as well haha. About the V30, I guess I can consider it but this bootloop issue prevents me to check on it. Also, I updated the post and added the Jelly effect. Have you experienced it?
No jelly effect on my device.
I came from a s8 and s8 plus and so far beside the screen which to me the op5 looks great screen wise obviously not as great as the s8 but still awesome. And the design of the op5 is more of a shared look with smart phones.
Beside that I am very impressed with the onep5 I do not regret the giving up my s8 for this phone. It's so damn smooth and fluid I've had no hiccups.
I have none of the issues on my oneplus 5 that you mentioned
I'm happy with it.
lazygeniuslanz said:
Hi, I need some advice on which device I am going to buy. I'm going to use this I guess 3 to 5 years as I dont replace my phone that often so this thread will help A LOT. I'm basing on some reviews, speed tests, but the two seems to be on par with each other. Price is/may kind of an issue here as I would love to use some of the money (if I buy the OP5) for the after sales and some personal stuff. However if the Note 8 is really "bang for the buck" then I'll gladly go with it. I also tried to search some issues. Here's what I found so far:
One Plus 5:
GPS Issue
Bluetooth Issue
Overheating issue
Jelly Screen effect
Note 8:
Red tint in a lot of device
Light leak (lights leaking on the side of the phone not much of an issue for me)
If you have some issues with the phone, please feel free to reply. It would be appreciated a lot!
I also created Pros and Cons that might help me but I ended up more confused what to buy. Haha.
Pros for One Plus 5
Performance
Price
Dev Community as I love to mod my phone
Fingerprint Scanner placement + the scan speed is so fast
I've seen a lot of people who still uses OPO or OP2 which means that this device last long
The toggle above the volume like in iPhones
Customizable hardware buttons (I really love this one)
Cons for One Plus 5
Issues above as I really need the GPS and bluetooth, and I play heavy games.
No waterproofing
No Micro SD slot (I guess 128gb is enough but I would love to have the option of expanding more)
Pros for Note 8
SPen
Camera
Performance (but I've read OP5 has better. The 8gb ram may be the reason. But please feel free to correct me)
Display is a plus
Iris Scanner and Face Recognition (Is it accurate?)
Cons for Note 8
Samsung phones tend to slow down after months/years of using it.
Price
Body build is somewhat easy to crack due to glass body + curved edge
Samsung is a little bit strict when it comes to flashing Custom ROMS and I dont know if the SPen functionalities will be affected. (Please correct me here)
Fingerprint Scanner placement
I may be wrong with some of this but I've researched and this is what I've seen.
If this is a point to consider, I'm coming from a Xperia Z3Compact which didn't last long (I hated sony to the hell because of this) because of the digitizer issue. However, I enjoyed tweaking that phone. Now I'm forced to use my iPhone5s with jailbreak.
Note: Just to be clear, the devices in comparison are OP5 8gb/128gb and Note 8 6gb/64gb Exynos
Note: I'm posting this to each respective forum to have a fair discussion for each phone. I hope this is allowed. I also hope to help some people that have the same options with me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well your cons for the OnePlus 5 I don't have any of them. My GPS is rock solid as I use it for work at 2+ hours a day. Locks in seconds and never see drift. Bluetooth? I connect to my 2011 Nissan with no issues and connect it to audio adapter (MPOW to stream Bluetooth Audio to my AUX port) and 2 sets of headphones... never an issue with quality or connectivity. My phone never gets hot and while gaming, i barely notice it gets slightly warm. (EX Kernel manager shows CPU temp at 98F after 30 min of asphalt 8.
Maybe you have a phone you should RMA? But there is no way in hell I'm paying $1000 for ANY smart phone when I can get a phone that's better performing, has longer battery life, faster charging, clean basically Stock Android and likely faster updates then Sammy. I used to be a big Sammy fan but not since i left my Note 4 and got a Nexus 6P and now the OP5.
This isn't a bias, these are what I look for in a phone and the things that made me choose this phone over the S8+, LG G6 and the HTC U11.
The one Phone I would look at today compared to the OP5 is the new LG V30. Simply because It will support the new 600mhz band 71 from T-Mobile. I'd have to see how the battery holds up and how well the OS is optimized cause I'm not a fan of LG and it's skinned OS and it's much slower charging speed.
Update: I forgot to mention the Jelly effect. I heard people saying it effects every phone but I got my OP5 on launch day and I can tell you more then a dozen people have looked at my phone and no one can see a "jelly effect" If mine has it it's so minimal its not noticeable. I believe the severity vary's a lot.
gianton said:
No jelly effect on my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear this
xcha0tic said:
I came from a s8 and s8 plus and so far beside the screen which to me the op5 looks great screen wise obviously not as great as the s8 but still awesome. And the design of the op5 is more of a shared look with smart phones.
Beside that I am very impressed with the onep5 I do not regret the giving up my s8 for this phone. It's so damn smooth and fluid I've had no hiccups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the reply! Makes me want the OP5 more hahaha
aakashverma0007 said:
I have none of the issues on my oneplus 5 that you mentioned
I'm happy with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you sir!
Eric214 said:
Well your cons for the OnePlus 5 I don't have any of them. My GPS is rock solid as I use it for work at 2+ hours a day. Locks in seconds and never see drift. Bluetooth? I connect to my 2011 Nissan with no issues and connect it to audio adapter (MPOW to stream Bluetooth Audio to my AUX port) and 2 sets of headphones... never an issue with quality or connectivity. My phone never gets hot and while gaming, i barely notice it gets slightly warm. (EX Kernel manager shows CPU temp at 98F after 30 min of asphalt 8.
Maybe you have a phone you should RMA? But there is no way in hell I'm paying $1000 for ANY smart phone when I can get a phone that's better performing, has longer battery life, faster charging, clean basically Stock Android and likely faster updates then Sammy. I used to be a big Sammy fan but not since i left my Note 4 and got a Nexus 6P and now the OP5.
This isn't a bias, these are what I look for in a phone and the things that made me choose this phone over the S8+, LG G6 and the HTC U11.
The one Phone I would look at today compared to the OP5 is the new LG V30. Simply because It will support the new 600mhz band 71 from T-Mobile. I'd have to see how the battery holds up and how well the OS is optimized cause I'm not a fan of LG and it's skinned OS and it's much slower charging speed.
Update: I forgot to mention the Jelly effect. I heard people saying it effects every phone but I got my OP5 on launch day and I can tell you more then a dozen people have looked at my phone and no one can see a "jelly effect" If mine has it it's so minimal its not noticeable. I believe the severity vary's a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really a fan of SPen but the price really kills it. I thought the price would go lower because of the Note 7 issue haha! I've read some reviews about V30 and its impressive. However I'm really not a fan of LG's OS. I tried G6 and its not for me. But I'll try V30 some other time. About the jelly effect, when I've seen the issue in youtube it made me dizzy a little bit but I dont know if I'll be affected in real life. There little to no demo phones of OP5 here in my country. Thank you for your reply!
lazygeniuslanz said:
I also posted this in Note 8 because I expected biased replies in the same forum. So the OS and the price is the point. Thank you sir!
I see, I updated the post and added the Jelly effect. Have you experienced it?
I think where ever I ask, its OOS > TW. Also, I updated the post and added the Jelly effect. Have you experienced it?
I updated the post and added the Jelly effect. Have you experienced it sir?
I've seen the HTC U11, but I'm not a fan of the shiny back and HTC as well haha. About the V30, I guess I can consider it but this bootloop issue prevents me to check on it. Also, I updated the post and added the Jelly effect. Have you experienced it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I purchased the phone 1 week ago, and yes, Jelly Effect is presented, but it's barely to notice. So really nothing which I'd somehow annoying. And the performance and battery life of this phone are outstanding
go for oneplus5.. best device that you can get...samsung sucks
lazygeniuslanz said:
Glad to hear this
Thank you for the reply! Makes me want the OP5 more hahaha
Thank you sir!
I'm really a fan of SPen but the price really kills it. I thought the price would go lower because of the Note 7 issue haha! I've read some reviews about V30 and its impressive. However I'm really not a fan of LG's OS. I tried G6 and its not for me. But I'll try V30 some other time. About the jelly effect, when I've seen the issue in youtube it made me dizzy a little bit but I dont know if I'll be affected in real life. There little to no demo phones of OP5 here in my country. Thank you for your reply!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I also have a theory that the when the jelly effect on a video capture, that the recording enhances the effect, especially in slow motion. I think it's far fewer people say they see then the people who say they can't see it all all.
The Note's screen is better and the S Pen is great.
I owned a Note 4 but could got tired of all bloatware and Samsung in general. I know Touchwiz has improved but it's still too much.
Super happy with the OP5. I mostly used the S Pen for navigation and I use a simpler stylus I found on Amazon on the OP5 and it works great.
No issues with GPS, bluetooth or anything else for me.
The Jelly effect is present on my device, but I don't even notice it anymore more. Very rarely.
I'd go for the OnePlus 5 just because of the price. I can't see how the Note 8's camera, screen, waterproofing and microSD slot make up for that $500 difference. The Note 8 can't even make up for the $200 difference from the S8, and those are nearly identical phones in many aspects.
I chose the OnePlus 5 for the following reasons:
- Performance
- Development community and support
- Price
Samsung tends to have issues with all 3 of the above.
The biggest difference here being the price and you really need to ask yourself "Am I really getting my money's worth?"
I highly doubt the Note 8 is $500 better than the OnePlus 5 or 2-300 better than any other Flagship launched this year.
Very cool running device... GPS issue may have been the 911 bug, but that was quite a while ago.Jelly Screen seems non existent, but people like to report it never the less (even on moto phone....) Wifi issues? Might be because using inferior x12 modem so I'm disappointed. x16 modem is much better, which is what other flagships using 835 win at. Also oneplus 5 display isn't all that great, just 1080p, it does look good, HOWEVER no support for HDR content i've so ever wanted to view. but 1080p looks very good as any screen if few inches away from.
Kinda sick of hearing the jelly effect as a negative. It's not, its more of an accent flavor. Adding life to scrolling. As for those other issues i have never seen them outside of xXx's rom. Running stock 4.5.12 right now and took a nice drive and my device had me spot on every step of the 2 hour drive. it just depends on what you want. Best hope developer support for the note 8 is more than nothing. Oneplus devices live longer than most devices out there. hell the OPO is on oreo right now. go figure.
Overheating? This phone stays cool with heavy games for more than 40 minutes. I'm not saying as a pro for op5, the note 8 snapdragon version should be the same ( I don't know if there is a snap version for the note).
Jelly is present on EVERY op5, some people see it, some people don't. When I order it I think that the first thing to do was to check the jelly issue, it came and I use it for a day, I didn't remember the jelly issue until I read it in the forum again, and when I scroll fast up and down I see it, but I have to do a fast up and down scroll and be looking for it, I don't see it normal usage. Even it costs me a little to see it intentionally.
I've had my Galaxy Note 4 for four years now, and it's time for an upgrade. The only two phones I've been eyeing are the Pixel 3 XL and the Oneplus 6T. There are some other good phones out there, but the others I've looked at are unrootable. I love the camera on my GN4, and was wondering if anyone here has previously owned a GN4 and can give me a picture/video comparison with the Oneplus 6T? I've seen the reviews between the Oneplus 6T and Pixel 3, and the Pixel 3 wins easily. Sad thing about the Pixel 3 is that it's so expensive and has smaller battery, but I do love the camera results! I just have no frame of reference to compare my aging phone with the newer ones.
Thanks!
MrSickle said:
I've had my Galaxy Note 4 for four years now, and it's time for an upgrade. The only two phones I've been eyeing are the Pixel 3 XL and the Oneplus 6T. There are some other good phones out there, but the others I've looked at are unrootable. I love the camera on my GN4, and was wondering if anyone here has previously owned a GN4 and can give me a picture/video comparison with the Oneplus 6T? I've seen the reviews between the Oneplus 6T and Pixel 3, and the Pixel 3 wins easily. Sad thing about the Pixel 3 is that it's so expensive and has smaller battery, but I do love the camera results! I just have no frame of reference to compare my aging phone with the newer ones.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly,if you're pleased w/all things in general with the Note 4,you're giving up a lot of features not found on newer devices.
I definitely recommend keeping the Note 4 before switching to another phone (unless you have a trade-in allowance).
If you're not going to miss an SD Card Slot/3.5 mm audio jack/I-R Blaster/LED Notifications/No Notch, then,you have the gains of more RAM & a newer phone w/better battery life/overall performance.
The OP6T is a nice phone,but,honestly,I think an OP5 or OP5T is a better choice,the former if you prefer the navigation similar to that of the Note4.
(might wanna Google search a camera comparison of the Note 4 to either/both)
Full disclosure:
This advice is coming from a serial phone switcher in recovery/remission ........................ :laugh:
KOLIOSIS said:
Honestly,if you're pleased w/all things in general with the Note 4,you're giving up a lot of features not found on newer devices.
I definitely recommend keeping the Note 4 before switching to another phone (unless you have a trade-in allowance).
If you're not going to miss an SD Card Slot/3.5 mm audio jack/I-R Blaster/LED Notifications/No Notch, then,you have the gains of more RAM & a newer phone w/better battery life/overall performance.
The OP6T is a nice phone,but,honestly,I think an OP5 or OP5T is a better choice,the former if you prefer the navigation similar to that of the Note4.
(might wanna Google search a camera comparison of the Note 4 to either/both)
Full disclosure:
This advice is coming from a serial phone switcher in recovery/remission ........................ :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not even a comparison... get it
Logix said:
not even a comparison... get it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do have an OP6T, perhaps you wanted to quote the OP?
Comparing phones is subjective at best,just hitting on the features he'd be leaving behind in "upgrading" to either phone.
To some,those features are antiquated,others no so much.
Given the OP has held on to the phone for as long as he has gives me reason to believe the latter....
Too bad the prevailing trend seems to be getting less for more $$$, it's definitely a trade-off.
I've definitely compared what I would be giving up to what I would be gaining. My Sprint GN4 has been unlocked to work with domestic GSM (I have Cricket wireless now) and I have no LTE, and probably missing a few of the used frequencies (although I have never really checked). I love the screen and the camera on the GN4, but I'm stuck on Marshmallow and no security updates. I've tried Lineage OS both Nougat and Oreo, and both have so many bugs, it's not worth the headache. Not to mention it's getting harder to find batteries for it. Most I find now are "new" but end up being used. The GN4 never really did have that great of battery life, so that's one of the things that makes me want to switch to something else. Not that I'm a heavy user, but when you start using the video and taking lots of pics on the GN4, the battery tends to drain quickly. And I was hoping I would get Android Auto to work without having to plug and unplug it several times for it to connect (It's done it on Marshmallow and Lineage OS). It's almost as if it's not loading the applications fast enough for the handshake with the head unit.
I would miss my SD Card slot, that's why I was looking at the 256GB Oneplus 6T model.
KOLIOSIS said:
Honestly,if you're pleased w/all things in general with the Note 4,you're giving up a lot of features not found on newer devices.
I definitely recommend keeping the Note 4 before switching to another phone (unless you have a trade-in allowance).
If you're not going to miss an SD Card Slot/3.5 mm audio jack/I-R Blaster/LED Notifications/No Notch, then,you have the gains of more RAM & a newer phone w/better battery life/overall performance.
The OP6T is a nice phone,but,honestly,I think an OP5 or OP5T is a better choice,the former if you prefer the navigation similar to that of the Note4.
(might wanna Google search a camera comparison of the Note 4 to either/both)
Full disclosure:
This advice is coming from a serial phone switcher in recovery/remission ........................ :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MrSickle said:
I've definitely compared what I would be giving up to what I would be gaining. My Sprint GN4 has been unlocked to work with domestic GSM (I have Cricket wireless now) and I have no LTE, and probably missing a few of the used frequencies (although I have never really checked).
I would miss my SD Card slot, that's why I was looking at the 256GB Oneplus 6T model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're definitely in the right place for root/ROMs,OnePlus phones get a good variety of development.
One other feature I failed to address (the elephant in the room, LOL) :
Is the S-Pen something you're using a lot of on the Note4?
If not, then this is the place to be.
Guessing you're aware of the current state of things with the newer US Notes & the pros & cons of importing either version (Snapdragon or Exynos).
If nothing else, most T-Mobile US stores have working demos of the OP6T to test drive, see if it's for you. ?
Sent from my SM-N960U using XDA Labs
I was in your same situation. I had GN4 for 4 years and now i bought the OP6t. Honestly i didn't use the camera of smartphone so much and i cant tell you the difference right now but i will do a comparison tomorrow and post the results here
But regarding all other things, the OP6t is the winner. Better display, great battery life, fingerprint sensor is fast enough (never used on note 4 because it was unconfortable for me), there is also the face unlock and it is very fast; you will not see the lockscreen most of times.
The phone is very very fast and well optimized, no lag and didn't heat neither after an heavy usage.
Feel free to ask anything for the comparision
P.s. sorry for my bad english
The pixel 3 if you care about taking pics, rest of the hardware and value go for the 6t.
I think in the 4 years I've had the Note 4, I may have used the S-Pen maybe 10 times. It can be handy sometimes, but not really a show stopper for me.
I had looked at the International versions of the Samsung devices (GN9, GS9+) and sadly, I would be missing some frequency bands on those devices too
KOLIOSIS said:
You're definitely in the right place for root/ROMs,OnePlus phones get a good variety of development.
One other feature I failed to address (the elephant in the room, LOL) :
Is the S-Pen something you're using a lot of on the Note4?
If not, then this is the place to be.
Guessing you're aware of the current state of things with the newer US Notes & the pros & cons of importing either version (Snapdragon or Exynos).
If nothing else, most T-Mobile US stores have working demos of the OP6T to test drive, see if it's for you.
Sent from my SM-N960U using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A good camera is important for me. Although I'm not a professional photographer, it has been one of my hobbies for a while. I've managed to capture some really good shots with my Note 4, hence my particular interest in the OP6T as a cheaper alternative to the Pixel 3 XL. I managed to get a look at a Pixel 3 XL in person today and the notch was like a slap in the face. Although, I do know it can be masked out. I don't have any T-mobile stores around that I know of, so I can't check out the OP6T in person. I'm starting to feel like Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory" where he tries to decide between an Xbox One and PS4
Zekol said:
I was in your same situation. I had GN4 for 4 years and now i bought the OP6t. Honestly i didn't use the camera of smartphone so much and i cant tell you the difference right now but i will do a comparison tomorrow and post the results here
But regarding all other things, the OP6t is the winner. Better display, great battery life, fingerprint sensor is fast enough (never used on note 4 because it was unconfortable for me), there is also the face unlock and it is very fast; you will not see the lockscreen most of times.
The phone is very very fast and well optimized, no lag and didn't heat neither after an heavy usage.
Feel free to ask anything for the comparision
P.s. sorry for my bad english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some pics of both
Note 4:
https://ibb.co/hvEMh0
https://ibb.co/emM4kL
https://ibb.co/dLD0QL
https://ibb.co/byczKf
https://ibb.co/bVjqQL
https://ibb.co/iqz75L
https://ibb.co/iwidC0
https://ibb.co/mQ4ks0
https://ibb.co/fO69Kf
https://ibb.co/hXzbX0
https://ibb.co/hOZRX0
https://ibb.co/hVbUkL
https://ibb.co/gSGjKf
https://ibb.co/jFNukL
https://ibb.co/j0R4kL
https://ibb.co/cOgn5L
https://ibb.co/nnffQL
https://ibb.co/kOBtef
https://ibb.co/nhpzkL
https://ibb.co/cMU4Kf
https://ibb.co/hOmvQL
https://ibb.co/fMnwX0
https://ibb.co/f1kfQL
OnePlus 6T:
https://ibb.co/mtgJef
https://ibb.co/gGPzkL
https://ibb.co/h2Qdef
https://ibb.co/cO5N5L
https://ibb.co/jwhukL
https://ibb.co/jGSGzf
https://ibb.co/jZNGzf
https://ibb.co/bOLmzf
https://ibb.co/ffPJC0
https://ibb.co/dUjqQL
https://ibb.co/cmG9Kf
https://ibb.co/nyTZkL
https://ibb.co/iKBgX0
https://ibb.co/dT44Kf
https://ibb.co/ipo3C0
https://ibb.co/jZmjKf
https://ibb.co/kKD3C0
https://ibb.co/dYDs5L
https://ibb.co/nwkBzf
https://ibb.co/cbn25L
https://ibb.co/i9nAQL
https://ibb.co/js4PkL
https://ibb.co/dXL8C0
As i said, i didn't use the camera of smartphone so much so probably these shots sucks :silly:
I used the auto mode on both as Note 4 doesn't have the pro mode and also i don't know how to use it on OnePlus 6T.
Well, there is also a port of the google camera for OP6t, I have to try it too, maybe i could take some better shots with it.
Hope this evening i can take some shots with low light and even try the night mode, i will update here if i can
Zekol, I can't thank you enough for those pics! Those were exactly the type of comparisons I needed! The camera's are very close in quality, except the OP6T tends to over sharpen the images just a bit, which may be able to be changed in the app or by use of another camera app. If you do happen to take some night shots, just take a few, no need to work yourself to death
Zekol said:
There are some pics of both
Note 4:
https://ibb.co/hvEMh0
https://ibb.co/emM4kL
https://ibb.co/dLD0QL
https://ibb.co/byczKf
https://ibb.co/bVjqQL
https://ibb.co/iqz75L
https://ibb.co/iwidC0
https://ibb.co/mQ4ks0
https://ibb.co/fO69Kf
https://ibb.co/hXzbX0
https://ibb.co/hOZRX0
https://ibb.co/hVbUkL
https://ibb.co/gSGjKf
https://ibb.co/jFNukL
https://ibb.co/j0R4kL
https://ibb.co/cOgn5L
https://ibb.co/nnffQL
https://ibb.co/kOBtef
https://ibb.co/nhpzkL
https://ibb.co/cMU4Kf
https://ibb.co/hOmvQL
https://ibb.co/fMnwX0
https://ibb.co/f1kfQL
OnePlus 6T:
https://ibb.co/mtgJef
https://ibb.co/gGPzkL
https://ibb.co/h2Qdef
https://ibb.co/cO5N5L
https://ibb.co/jwhukL
https://ibb.co/jGSGzf
https://ibb.co/jZNGzf
https://ibb.co/bOLmzf
https://ibb.co/ffPJC0
https://ibb.co/dUjqQL
https://ibb.co/cmG9Kf
https://ibb.co/nyTZkL
https://ibb.co/iKBgX0
https://ibb.co/dT44Kf
https://ibb.co/ipo3C0
https://ibb.co/jZmjKf
https://ibb.co/kKD3C0
https://ibb.co/dYDs5L
https://ibb.co/nwkBzf
https://ibb.co/cbn25L
https://ibb.co/i9nAQL
https://ibb.co/js4PkL
https://ibb.co/dXL8C0
As i said, i didn't use the camera of smartphone so much so probably these shots sucks :silly:
I used the auto mode on both as Note 4 doesn't have the pro mode and also i don't know how to use it on OnePlus 6T.
Well, there is also a port of the google camera for OP6t, I have to try it too, maybe i could take some better shots with it.
Hope this evening i can take some shots with low light and even try the night mode, i will update here if i can
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Friend, you are driving a Model A, it's cool to look back on but this is a modern Corvette, AKA, a performance value able to whoop phones costing twice as much even if it is missing a few Gucci features. I type that having sent the Pixel 3 XL back and buying this phone instead.
The Note 4 was a little before Samsung really started getting good with their cameras, I'm not saying it was bad, I had one and in the day it was great but they got quite a bit more serious a couple iterations later and it shows; their stuff is top notch now. The 6T on the other hand is not top notch now, it's a second tier camera and you can really see this at night where the 6T camera is a fair bit more noise. In the day it's not bad at all though outside of pushing too much contrast outdoors in HDR; the picture will almost invariably turn out with a bright sunny sky looking darker than the reality. Overall though I doubt you will find the camera a downgrade. Portrait mode is actually useful for more than portraits, for example it can make a picture of something like a statue at a museum pop out of the background and it's a nice effect for such photos.
Performance wise this phone is going to be a whole new world of slick, no rom can make up for vastly more computing power elsewhere and you're going to feel it every time you pick up the phone and manipulate the GUI. You're also going to appreciate the little things that OnePlus has injected into the mostly stockish experience. You'll find that OnePlus tends to be an enjoyable ownership experience stock, they are the type of phone that grows on you. Dont want stock you can run dead reliable stockish roms, alternatively, greatly altered AOSP runs which may or may not be , ahem, dead reliable. But that's all part of the fun.
One thing you're going to notice is that the aspect ratio is comparatively sucktacular. The tall thin thing is great for girls but I would much rather have the older aspect ratios. It's annoying as hell when you're surfing the internet in landscape and the website header scrolls down as you scroll down because it can block as much as half the screen and with these thinner aspect ratios that doesn't leave much wihch sometimes making surfing a pain. I'd totally jump on a browser which blocked that behavior, also a phone that went back to the older aspect ratio but I'm digressing. You may not be pleased with the change, all I'm saying.
Minutia... Duel sim is an interesting capability allowing you to ditch a separate work phone, buy data from one carrier, voice and text from another, etc. I think more people would take advantage of it if they gave it a try. You'll be shedding your unholy attachment to chargers and day by day the anxiety you feel when getting too far from a power source is going to go diminish. How much you miss the S-pen will depend on how much you used it. You indicate that was seldom so it shouldln't be a problem. While you may be stepping away from many features I think like most you probably only used a small percentage of Samsung bloat and you're not actually giving up something you never used anyways. The feature thing is not so big as some make out.
All in all I think you're being silly. I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean you've clearly become much attached to what is an ancient device in cell phone terms and your attachment is clouding your judgement. New phones are substantially better in almost every way, I would be surprised if you aren't very impressed with whatever new device you decide to buy.
MrSickle said:
I've definitely compared what I would be giving up to what I would be gaining. My Sprint GN4 has been unlocked to work with domestic GSM (I have Cricket wireless now) and I have no LTE, and probably missing a few of the used frequencies (although I have never really checked). I love the screen and the camera on the GN4, but I'm stuck on Marshmallow and no security updates. I've tried Lineage OS both Nougat and Oreo, and both have so many bugs, it's not worth the headache. Not to mention it's getting harder to find batteries for it. Most I find now are "new" but end up being used. The GN4 never really did have that great of battery life, so that's one of the things that makes me want to switch to something else. Not that I'm a heavy user, but when you start using the video and taking lots of pics on the GN4, the battery tends to drain quickly. And I was hoping I would get Android Auto to work without having to plug and unplug it several times for it to connect (It's done it on Marshmallow and Lineage OS). It's almost as if it's not loading the applications fast enough for the handshake with the head unit.
I would miss my SD Card slot, that's why I was looking at the 256GB Oneplus 6T model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I loved my Note5 but having passed on the $500 trade in on the T-Mo Note 9 promo (still too expensive), I figured the $300 back on it for the 6T was too good to pass up. But I had many of the same concerns as you - I absolutely loved the screen on the Note5 and the picture taking quality, along with things like the headphone jack and wireless charging. But I bit the bullet because no more security updates for the Note5, no band 71, and I did notice that *maybe* Google apps were running a bit slower than they used to (figured maybe they were starting to be optimized for newer processors). But the phone was still buttery smooth otherwise.
I'm glad I did it though. It just seems so much faster, and that's saying something because I felt my Note5 was generally pretty fast.
The battery life is freaking phenomenal. That's the only reason I haven't missed the wireless charging. The screen is as good as my Note5, but the auto-brightness is not as "perfect" as it was on the Note. I read there is a tweak coming for that, but it hasn't hit the T-Mo version yet.
@krabman has it so so right with the aspect ratio. Sucktacular is a perfect way of stating it. It makes one-handed use very difficult because of how tall it is. But you get used to that part of it. Landscape is definitely less effective.
As for the pictures, I think it's kind of hit or miss. The low light is definitely better, and bright daylight is great, but I'm not convinced photos in moderate lighting is as good. I would still bite on the phone though. The prices they're getting for Samsung flagships these days are ridiculous. If you have other questions, let me know. Cheers.
Hi, I have the same dilemma and read the post, did you upgrade to op6t and have a better experience with it?
Just saw the specs of P5....Poor resolution upgrade!
I guess it's pointless and waste of money....what are your thoughts?
Since our security updates will end this month, I plan to upgrade for those and take advantage of the strong T-Mobile 5G signal in my area.
amandeepparmar said:
Just saw the specs of P5....Poor resolution upgrade!
I guess it's pointless and waste of money....what are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My thoughts?
If you only now just saw the specs you haven't been following the news. You likely also do not understand why Google didn't go with the 865/865+ in the two devices.
For me, it boils down to which features I consider more important. Right now I'm leaning towards the P5 simply because of the aluminum body, but the 4A 5G and its headphone jack is compelling. I think in the end, it's going to boil down to "do I want to pay the extra $200 or not?"
Accidently deleted while attempting to quote.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
Coming from the 2XL... The 5 is an upgrade. As far as the ppi... https://www.androidauthority.com/chasing-pixels-810926/ this article from AA is very good and I'm sure I won't notice it much. But I am going to wait for reviews and actually see it side by side
In case you missed topjohnwu's tweets:
https://twitter.com/topjohnwu/status/1311370798267990016
Ive never been one of the sheeple, the people who buy into aspirational technology (people who aspire to own somehting because its new and everyone else has one), so its not even a decision for me. Im a fucntional user, if a device performs the functions i need it to, im happy. The only reason i ever upgrade devices is when one is dead, or very much close to being....
I do not get the "new device every 6 months" buyers...i just dont, i think thats insanity
Personally i look at the lines of sheeple at Apple Stores on every release and weep for humanity, and the planet which gets raped to bring people ovepriced (thanks to Apple - they are the root of all evil, not least because they overprice their products, thereby forcing everyone in the market to follow suit, because to do anythign less is to be seen as inferior, so blame Apple, i do, asshat comapny) devices they dont really need
Pretty much the forumula is: new phone = new camera that takes pictures of an even more distant galaxy, hmm very useful in every day life
Some people in some countries have way too much spare money if theyre buying new phones all the time
Im sticking with what works for me, not a corporations bottom line, thanks
Also this:
https://www.xda-developers.com/google-pixel-4a-5g-pixel-5-great-value-in-us/
I loved the Pixel 5. I think Google made a small decision to stick with full hd resolution simply because you don't notice as such if the panel is good. It's easy on the battery. It will be easy on the chipset and provide consistent performance.
Pixel 5 does not lack anything as such. The only thing i was a bit disappointed was ufs 2.1 storage. Other than that I'm loving the Pixel 5. I'll get it maybe this Christmas or so!
The more I think about it, the more the 4a5g is looking like the better deal. Only differences between it and the five are two less gigabytes of RAM, no 90hz refresh, and a smaller battery, but the battery is still bigger than the 2xl, so battery life should still be an improvement. I've not yet owned a phone that had a 90hz refresh rate, so that's not really a huge deal to me yet.
The big draw toward the 4a5g for me personally is that the screen is bigger, which would make it feel like more of an upgrade compared to the 2XL.
The materials used are also different, but I've never really been a huge fan of glass backs. Plastic was always all right with me, so the 4a5g won't bother me in that regard. It supposedly feels pretty good in the hand even though its materials are "lesser than” the materials used for the 5 back.
Forgot about wireless charging too, but personally I've never owned a phone that had wireless charging, so again, not a big deal for me yet.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
sharkie405 said:
The more I think about it, the more the 4a5g is looking like the better deal. Only differences between it and the five are two less gigabytes of RAM, no 90hz refresh, and a smaller battery, but the battery is still bigger than the 2xl, so battery life should still be an improvement. I've not yet owned a phone that had a 90hz refresh rate, so that's not really a huge deal to me yet.
The big draw toward the 4a5g for me personally is that the screen is bigger, which would make it feel like more of an upgrade compared to the 2XL.
The materials used are also different, but I've never really been a huge fan of glass backs. Plastic was always all right with me, so the 4a5g won't bother me in that regard. It supposedly feels pretty good in the hand even though its materials are "lesser than” the materials used for the 5 back.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second your thoughts here. 4a5 is certainly a better handset and not much hard hitting on the pocket too!
So far with lack of reviews and having seen a few of the random videos we can get. The OnePlus 8 Pro is looking better to me. Really need to see some full reviews
ZombieUsr said:
So far with lack of reviews and having seen a few of the random videos we can get. The OnePlus 8 Pro is looking better to me. Really need to see some full reviews
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kind of agree with you here, except that I am seriously looking at going the OnePlus 8T route.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
ZombieUsr said:
So far with lack of reviews and having seen a few of the random videos we can get. The OnePlus 8 Pro is looking better to me. Really need to see some full reviews
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sharkie405 said:
I kind of agree with you here, except that I am seriously looking at going the OnePlus 8T route.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am changing my mind to OnePlus 8 Pro too, I can go to swappa.com and get for less price than P5 with taxes. I am seriously considering going back to iPhone. Google has been using the same camera sensor hardware since the Pixel 2 came out. That means if Google ported the sofware algorithms to the Pixel 2 it would take pictures the same if not damn close to being the same.
after being a 4 year pixel 2 xl owner... the pixel 5 feels like a natural successor. Jut my opinion though
i currently use a pixel 3 because i prefer the size but im pretty much done with the pixel series. the cost is far too high and the features are less and less. the 4 had no fingerprint reader..... so i was thinking of getting a Zenfone 7. great size, great amount of ram........ EXPANDABLE STORAGE!!! but after seeing the OnePlus Nord N10, i might change my mind. ill have to see after the first reviews but it has what i want/need in a phone. google is just too obsessed with trying to either win the apple crowd, or become like apple.
maybe if they ever add features like expandable storage ill buy another pixel but the odds of that happening are not good. knowing google, theyll probably give up on the pixel line after the pixel 7 so i plan on holding on to my Panda Pixel indefinitely.
Okay i changed my decision probably.
I don't think i'll be getting Pixel 5 solely because of outdated hardware. Only if they had upgraded the camera sensors i'd have gone for it. The current sensor is at the end of its life.
I can't decide if I want to get a OP8T, OP8 Pro, or Pixel 5.
I prefer the flat screen of the 5 and 8t, the rear fingerprint sensor on the 5, and the telephoto on the 8 pro.
Get rid of P2-XL?
amandeepparmar said:
Just saw the specs of P5....Poor resolution upgrade!
I guess it's pointless and waste of money....what are your thoughts?
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Depends on your battery. After October, no more OTA's from Google.
If your battery is good, between updates from Google Play Store and LineageOS, I think the phone
would be plenty secure. I plan to keep using mine for awhile. running LineageOS
YoshiFan501 said:
I can't decide if I want to get a OP8T, OP8 Pro, or Pixel 5.
I prefer the flat screen of the 5 and 8t, the rear fingerprint sensor on the 5, and the telephoto on the 8 pro.
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lol Flat screen is such a bliss. My next phone will be a flat screen. I am tired of this curved look and miss touches due to the curve
I went from. The p2xl to the 5, it's definitely an upgrade for me. I love how smooth it feels with the extra ram and 90hs screen, the SD765g has no trouble giving me a great experience on the couple games I do play, (pubg and genshin impact) the battery life for me is about double what the 2xl was and I'm happy to know I'll be getting monthly security updates for the next three years. There are still a couple things I don't like. The top behind the screen speaker is just so-so, far inferior to the 2xl's stereo front firing speakers. However I don't watch or listen to much without headphones or a bt speaker anyways and it does fine for calls. they removed a feature I did actually like.. active edge, I miss sweezing to activate assistant rather than saying hey Google or swiping the corner but still not really a deal breaker for me just so thing to get used to.
Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
Hopefully this is the right thread to ask this question. Please move it, if I messed up!
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My question is for former Pixel owners who jumped ships to OP. I am thinking to move from Pixel 3 to 8P but I am wondering what prominent features will I be missing? I understand that gcam mod is alive and well on OP platform, but what about tight integration with G assistant? Phone call screens, text spam protection? Is there anything else that someone could shed some light? How happy / unhappy you are with the switch?
Pixel is growing old on me. The high price for the specs are ridics; Google is having serious personality issues, hard to see the direction of where they are going with the phone. I think I am ready to move to a new phone.
thanks for helping me to make an informed decision.
I didn't miss anything and gained much more current higher spec's for my usage!
galaxys said:
I didn't miss anything and gained much more current higher spec's for my usage!
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Thats a solid statement; thank you. Do you use screencall feature? Is it working straight up on OP or do you need to mess with modules / magdisk ? How is your gcam mod ( or you don't even use it ? )
Bought Pro8 at launch, I unlocked the bootloader and rooted with Magisk but I don't need twrp. Played with some modules which there are many.... Stock OOS is excellent, on A11 and I'm more than happy with the 1+ camera & use stock phone setup. Really I've never looked back and will get the Pro 9 next year....
galaxys said:
Bought Pro8 at launch, I unlocked the bootloader and rooted with Magisk but I don't need twrp. Played with some modules which there are many.... Stock OOS is excellent, on A11 and I'm more than happy with the 1+ camera & use stock phone setup. Really I've never looked back and will get the Pro 9 next year....
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For some reason I used to get 10-20 spam calls a day, but with the screencall feature / automatic spam call rejection I get 0. My biggest fear is that I may be hurdling toward that situation, if I jump ships. Other than this, I feel I can live with everything else. 8P looks amazing. Thanks for the feedback!
Tell your what you won't miss, that awful battery life
10 hours SOT on most days here.
Really good phone, I can't fault it.
As others have said root is a breeze and the community is pretty active so there's that too.
You might miss the camera for point and shoot but you can take some phenomenal pics on the 8 Pro.
I just moved to OnePlus 8 Pro recently from Pixel3XL. This phone is a treat to use daily and everything works nice and stable. Couple of misses so far:
1. Losing widevine L1 after unlocking bootloader
2. No RCS on Google Fi on OP8Pro as of now (>7 months after release).
3. ROM update with root is a bit (only slightly) more of a pain than on Pixel where I had an automated script based update coded using ADB.
For Camera, I use both the stock and GCAM port. GCAM port gives more detail in shots just like on P3XL. I am happy with the camera performance so far.
Biggest hits so far:
1. What a treat that display with 120Hz refresh! Wow!
2. Just smooth, no hiccups performance! I think 12GB RAM helps here quite a bit. 4GB of P3XL just wasn't enough
3. Battery life!
I moved from Pixel 3 XL to a Samsung Galaxy S10 for a few months, then jumped to the 8 Pro as quickly as I could (that S10 was the worst phone ever!).
I miss the Camera. The camera quality was definitely better. A lot of times i would take pictures, and i'd crop out smaller areas because they were what i was really going for, and even though that meant zooming in on an image, the fine details of the pixel images were so much better than any other phone that it looked like a picture from any other phone, its something thats terribly overlooked by almost everyone!
Battery life is better.
I do miss having a finger print reader on the back, i just like it better...
I miss the AOD, i think its better than what we have now on the OP, but its good enough. I still miss the one on the pixel though.
I think what i miss the most though is the front firing speakers! Anything else is trash, but "trash" seems to be common nowadays....
When it comes to things like phone call screening, i believe there's a way to get that on the OP, but i dont really care much for it. I've started using (and did so soon after getting the 3 XL) the app called "Should I Answer?". I set it up to reject all calls from numbers that arent in my phone. I get 20+ calls every single day, and even when i used the call screening, it just resulted in more work for me as they tried to get me on the phone. My new method allows people to leave a message. If its important, they will, and i'll call them back.
@PMad are your saying that the pixels battery is better than ? The 8 pro?
I agree on the camera though
> I miss the Camera. The camera quality was definitely better.
Compare GCAM on OnePlus 8 Pro with GCAM on P3XL. The photos get slightly more detailed on my OnePlus 8 Pro compared to my P3XL. In all aspects, they are identicle, with OP8Pro slightly better. Not sure if P5 would have given better results. But P5 is very disappointing for me.
Grab gcam for OP8Pro : https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/f/changelog1486/ version Arnova8G2, 2020-11-15)
I am very satisfied with the camera performance. Its not the best right now but neither is the Pixel.
Is NOW PLAYING functionality or any similar app available for OnePlus 8?
dladz said:
@PMad are your saying that the pixels battery is better than ? The 8 pro?
I agree on the camera though
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I think the battery is better on the OP8Pro, but the optimization is better on the Pixel. On my Pixel's, all of them, i'd go all day and have roughly 25 to 40% battery left. I was getting slightly more then that with my OP8P until i upgraded to Android 11, now i have to charge up around 7 or 8pm because im at < 20%. Not sure what happened, i'll go into the battery options to see what used most of it, and there's only like... 10 things using at most 2% battery, so its a bit misleading, still not sure whats doing it.
PMad said:
I think the battery is better on the OP8Pro, but the optimization is better on the Pixel. On my Pixel's, all of them, i'd go all day and have roughly 25 to 40% battery left. I was getting slightly more then that with my OP8P until i upgraded to Android 11, now i have to charge up around 7 or 8pm because im at < 20%. Not sure what happened, i'll go into the battery options to see what used most of it, and there's only like... 10 things using at most 2% battery, so its a bit misleading, still not sure whats doing it.
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Did you wipe after the 11 upgrade?
Always best to have a fresh start between bases.
I average about 2 days and about 8-10 hours SOT
Obviously comes with a fair bit of tweaking but yea that's my average..
Currently actually running pixel experience on 11 and battery has been lessened, idle is superb but any kind of work I give the phone burns more battery than what OOS did.
Maybe it'll improve with updates and or a different kernel.
dladz said:
Did you wipe after the 11 upgrade?
Always best to have a fresh start between bases.
I average about 2 days and about 8-10 hours SOT
Obviously comes with a fair bit of tweaking but yea that's my average..
Currently actually running pixel experience on 11 and battery has been lessened, idle is superb but any kind of work I give the phone burns more battery than what OOS did.
Maybe it'll improve with updates and or a different kernel.
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Nope! There's a chance that's contributing to the issue, but i have a few other things i think are causing it. I'm too lazy to dig into it though haha, i dont mind charging it in the evening.
devsk said:
I just moved to OnePlus 8 Pro recently from Pixel3XL. This phone is a treat to use daily and everything works nice and stable. Couple of misses so far:
1. Losing widevine L1 after unlocking bootloader
2. No RCS on Google Fi on OP8Pro as of now (>7 months after release).
3. ROM update with root is a bit (only slightly) more of a pain than on Pixel where I had an automated script based update coded using ADB.
For Camera, I use both the stock and GCAM port. GCAM port gives more detail in shots just like on P3XL. I am happy with the camera performance so far.
Biggest hits so far:
1. What a treat that display with 120Hz refresh! Wow!
2. Just smooth, no hiccups performance! I think 12GB RAM helps here quite a bit. 4GB of P3XL just wasn't enough
3. Battery life!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Automated script based update?
I came from the Pixel 2 XL only thing i miss is the call screen where you could have your assistant answer the phone. And its really not that big of a deal
OnePlus 8 Pro proud owner.
Let's say that you take 9 Pro in march 2021.
You will have the latest and the best hardware on the market. Maybe we will get Zeiss lens for camera.
Phone is well build and looks good.
Oxygen is awesome OS! Also, except Google OnePlus is the first to get software upgrades.
Battery is decent. But that depends on the user...
Warp charging 30w/6A, there is no need to explain... And it will go to 65w or more.
Now, from 8 Pro we got 30w wireless charging. That is Great! And it will go to 45w or more.