Why the 360? - Moto 360 2015

Hi guys,
I am having some problems with my Huawei Watch, so I am thinking of exchanging it for a Moto 360 2nd gen. So I thought it would be good to hear from you, what made you choose the 360 over the Huawei watch when you picked yours up?
For me, I went first with the Huawei mostly because of the full circle. But after all the problems people (including me) are having with the screen, maybe the flat tyre is a small price to pay.
I'd like to hear your opinion on this. Why the moto 360?
Thanks!

I have both. Since bestbuy didn't have them on display, I ordered a Huawei from Amazon and grabbed a moto from best buy locally. I've had the moto since Sunday and just received the Huawei today. I have the original moto too.
Some quick initial thoughts :
I have the black versions with black link bands for both. Even though they are the same height on paper, the moto looks and feels like it's thinner due to the case design. The lugs on the moto allow it to sit flatter on my arm. And I have the 46mm moto for reference. Also with the glass being above the bezel the moto is easier to swipe, IMO.
Screen is noticeably larger on the moto. But doesn't feel too big. I never considered the original big either but this one does look and feel more proportional; that is the band and body seem to match up better. The side button on the moto is less squishy and feels better.
I immediately noticed the Huawei's red screen issue during boot up in a dark room and on other black screens. Aside from that, the screen is great. More crisp given the higher dpi.
The light sensor on the moto is great. Down in my man cave watching tv in the dark the moto works wonders. The Huawei, even on 3, is still stupidly bright in a dark room especially if there is a white notification card or your watch face is white.
The low res pixelated ambient screen on the moto is my only significant complaint so far. Some faces look horrid. Sky master for example, looks great on the Huawei, but on the moto the tick marks are very messy in low res. I really hope a future update can address that or at least make it an option to change.
So far, I've been less impressed with the Huawei that I thought I would be. All the reviews made it sound like a killer watch but so far im leaning toward keeping the moto.
Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk

Thank you Brian! Awesome post!
I actually don't mind the red tint on the HW screen, but I worry it might cause problems over time (like red sub pixel burn in for instance). And I don't know how well Huawei would deal with this.
Let me ask you something since you have them both: I know that the HW has greater ppi, but did you notice that it's got a pentile matrix like AMOLED phones (the subpixel matrix is not a grid)? Therefore every pixel is missing a subpixel. I don't know how sensitive you are for this, but for me it's very annoying. So even though the 360 has a theoretically lower res screen, it may look better because of the subpixel arrangement (in LCD displays usually the matrix is a grid, and every pixel has indeed 3 subpixels, there is no sharing subpixels).
Any thoughts on that?
And thank you again for sharing your experience.

Turbo Brian said:
I have the black versions with black link bands for both. Even though they are the same height on paper, the moto looks and feels like it's thinner due to the case design. The lugs on the moto allow it to sit flatter on my arm. And I have the 46mm moto for reference. Also with the glass being above the bezel the moto is easier to swipe, IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has been exactly the impressions I have had - even though I have never seen either of these 'in the flesh'. From all the reviews and videos, it seems clear that the Moto 360 sits much more neatly on the wrist even though most people seem to say the Huawei is marginally thinner (on specs, not visual perception). I have been wrestling with which one to get, but I'm slowly getting to 75%+ in favour of the Moto 360 42mm (small wrists here).
These have been my thoughts on the pros and cons of each - just my perceptions of what I've seen and read online, obviously I may be totally wrong about some of these!
Moto 360 Pros:
- Wireless charging, any Qi charger will work
- Apparent Size
- Leather strap seems to have more holes for different sized wrists
- Ambient light sensor
- Mic placement and sensitivity
- Price
- Stock faces seem nicer, more customisable
- Standard straps (20mm or 22mm)
- Vibration stronger?
- Angled lugs
- No obstructions to finger swiping (screen flush with bezel)
Moto Cons:
- The so called 'flat tire' (doesn't really bother me)
- LCD screen (not sure if this is a pro or con - seems better for bright sunlight?)
- Edge bevel on the glass? (Annoys some people, some think it adds to the look)
- Ambient mode blocky, and possible software issue: https://forums.motorola.com/posts/1a5cbb0aa8
Huawei Pros:
- AMOLED screen
- Full circle screen
- Ambient mode better
- Sapphire crystal
Huawei Cons:
- Apparent Size
- Price
- Leather strap seems to have less holes for different sized wrists
- Red screen tint issue (http://forum.xda-developers.com/huawei-watch/general/huawei-screen-red-tint-issue-t3214209)
- Mic placement issue, people report that it doesn't pick up voice consistently (https://youtu.be/H_ISBzY96M0?t=5m43s)
- Weak vibration?
- Stock faces (don't appeal to me as much as the Moto ones)
- Raised bezel may interfere with finger swipes
- Non standard straps (18mm straps will fit, but the supplied strap itself is 22mm with 18mm between the lugs)
- Proprietary wired charger seems a bit fiddly, $40 for a replacement
- Straight lugs, rather than angled to fit around the wrist - makes them appear to 'wing' over small wrists
In particular, these two reviews have swayed my opinion even more in favour of the Moto 360:
http://www.androidcentral.com/review-moto-360-2015
http://www.androidcentral.com/huawei-watch-review
EDIT: Not interested in any of the fitness/step counting/heart rate stuff by the way - that's why none of that is mentioned in my list

Caio 73 said:
Thank you Brian! Awesome post!
I actually don't mind the red tint on the HW screen, but I worry it might cause problems over time (like red sub pixel burn in for instance). And I don't know how well Huawei would deal with this.
Let me ask you something since you have them both: I know that the HW has greater ppi, but did you notice that it's got a pentile matrix like AMOLED phones (the subpixel matrix is not a grid)? Therefore every pixel is missing a subpixel. I don't know how sensitive you are for this, but for me it's very annoying. So even though the 360 has a theoretically lower res screen, it may look better because of the subpixel arrangement (in LCD displays usually the matrix is a grid, and every pixel has indeed 3 subpixels, there is no sharing subpixels).
Any thoughts on that?
And thank you again for sharing your experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, the pentile doesnt bother me and honestly its never been something ive been bothered by. i can see it in blownup screen shots and if i stick my eye super close to a device but in normal use, i cant tell. the sharpness (not counting the ambient low-res junk on the moto) is in favor of the huawei, though only slightly so. in normal usage at arms length its a non-issue. and i would bet if you had the smaller 42mm moto, you would be hard pressed to notice any difference.
to re-touch on the awesomeness of moto's light sensor, last night the huawei was bothering the wife while we watched TV because it was too damn bright whenever it lit up due to notification or arm movement. i ended up just putting it in theater mode all night.

Turbo Brian said:
I have both.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Brian - thanks for your insights! It's great that you have access to both, I can imagine there are quite a few people who would have some questions for you!
Could you comment on the mic sensitivity for each of these watches. How close you have to hold them to your mouth, how reliably they pick you up etc? How do they compare to using 'OK Google' on a phone? For example, my Note 4 seems to pick me up and understand exactly what I say almost without fail. Thanks.

I don't own the Huawei but I did own a first gen Moto that got broken a few weeks ago. I was deciding on a replacement and finally got the second gen Moto in Black 46mm. Why? Firstly the Huawei is a lot more expensive. It doesn't have inductive charging and I don't like the shape. The Moto is the only truly round smartwatch out there. The LG and the Huawei are strangely shaped watches with round displays. The 8 bit ambient mode on the Moto serioulsy annoyed me at first and showed my favourite watch face as a blurry blocky mess. So I made my own and I think it's quite nice. It shows just enough information and is sufficiently discreet. I don't watch my watch glowing like a light house during meetings. Here's some pics. Sorry about the crappy quality of my phone camera.

Kinsman-UK said:
Hi Brian - thanks for your insights! It's great that you have access to both, I can imagine there are quite a few people who would have some questions for you!
Could you comment on the mic sensitivity for each of these watches. How close you have to hold them to your mouth, how reliably they pick you up etc? How do they compare to using 'OK Google' on a phone? For example, my Note 4 seems to pick me up and understand exactly what I say almost without fail. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just tested some, and the moto is WAY more sensitive to picking up "ok google". with both sitting on the desk in front of me, the moto registered every time when talking at a normal level. i almost had to yell at the huawei. same experience on my arm. the moto picked me up way better. had to talk louder to the huawei. i can see the mic hole on the moto on the left side. not sure where it is on the huawei, i dont see any visible mic holes

Comparison shot. 46mm moto and 42mm Huawei. The moto looks thinner, IMO
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Turbo Brian said:
just tested some, and the moto is WAY more sensitive to picking up "ok google". with both sitting on the desk in front of me, the moto registered every time when talking at a normal level. i almost had to yell at the huawei. same experience on my arm. the moto picked me up way better. had to talk louder to the huawei. i can see the mic hole on the moto on the left side. not sure where it is on the huawei, i dont see any visible mic holes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks SO much Brian - you're really helping me make my mind up! The speech recognition is pretty important for me, so it looks like I'll definitely be going for the Moto 360 42mm. You mention the mic placement on the Moto - I had noticed this too. It is placed on the left side which, for most people, will mean it is pointing directly at their mouth. However, as far as I'm aware, the Huawei mic is on the back of the watch under the top lug. Strange placement, if that's true. This, the ambient light sensor, and the weak vibration on the Huawei seal the deal for me.
Thanks for the comparison photo too - I think it's the sloped bezel on the Moto that makes it look thinner, even though it is supposedly the same thickness.
EDIT: Always interested in any other insights you have about these two - and, of course, which you ultimately go for.

Kinsman-UK said:
Thanks SO much Brian - you're really helping me make my mind up! The speech recognition is pretty important for me, so it looks like I'll definitely be going for the Moto 360 42mm. You mention the mic placement on the Moto - I had noticed this too. It is placed on the left side which, for most people, will mean it is pointing directly at their mouth. However, as far as I'm aware, the Huawei mic is on the back of the watch under the top lug. Strange placement, if that's true. This, the ambient light sensor, and the weak vibration on the Huawei seal the deal for me.
Thanks for the comparison photo too - I think it's the sloped bezel on the Moto that makes it look thinner, even though it is supposedly the same thickness.
EDIT: Always interested in any other insights you have about these two - and, of course, which you ultimately go for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah yes, theres the mic, actually mics. looks to be 2 holes. the location aims them away from you, no wonder it has a harder time picking me up.
other thoughts, i posted this in another thread, but the moto has a stronger vibrator. hehe. :silly: if you wear your watch loose, i could see the huawei being more difficult to notice. both sound about the same though

Mister-B said:
I don't own the Huawei but I did own a first gen Moto that got broken a few weeks ago. I was deciding on a replacement and finally got the second gen Moto in Black 46mm. Why? Firstly the Huawei is a lot more expensive. It doesn't have inductive charging and I don't like the shape. The Moto is the only truly round smartwatch out there. The LG and the Huawei are strangely shaped watches with round displays. The 8 bit ambient mode on the Moto serioulsy annoyed me at first and showed my favourite watch face as a blurry blocky mess. So I made my own and I think it's quite nice. It shows just enough information and is sufficiently discreet. I don't watch my watch glowing like a light house during meetings. Here's some pics. Sorry about the crappy quality of my phone camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Love that watchface. Would you be able to share a link for that one? My 2nd Gen is being delivered tomorrow to replace my 1st Gen one. I assume you have other downloaded watchfaces for Faceer/Watchmaker for the 1st Gen. How do those ones look on the 2nd Gen since the screen is slightly higher resolution?

Of course I will share. Have a look here:
https://plus.google.com/104408596370514322518/posts/hJfqgcChRNs
I don't really notice much difference in the quality of my watch faces (I use WatchMaker the most) in bright mode. In dim mode all of the third party watch faces I use in dim mode are unfortunately horrible with the colours being terribly distorted. Hopefully this will be sorted out with a future update. In the meantime I adapt my favourite faces to show a decent 8 bit dim mode.

Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts and experience.
From my perspective (I am using the Huawei watch for about 5 days now) I don't mind the weaker mic (actually I prefer that the watch just listens to me when I am deliberately talking to it) and the vibration on my HW is strong enough for me (I don't have anything to compare to and this is my first smartwatch, but it's very noticeable IMO, so it's fine for me).
As for the other points raised, I do think that the ambient mode is to bright. I use the simplest stock watch face (I think it's called Elegant) in which the only diference between the ambient mode and the full active watch face is the seconds hand and the date. Some times I have the impression that the ambient mode is brighter than the full watch face when the brightness is set to one... But, on the other hand, the watch face I use looks really good on always on.
And, as some users have reported, I find the accelerometer not very sensitive and, on top of that, the waking up time is kinda slow. So, if you are planing to leave ambient mode off, this is annoying. You have to really raise your wrist up high and then wait a second for the display to come to life. Bothersome...
Now, about that red tint issue, it's horrible on mine. It's really, really red. It glows like crazy for something that's supposed to be pure black. But realistically speaking, I don't see Huawei doing anything about it. It's to subtle to bother (or to be noticed for that matter) most people. And despite being really bad on mine, if someone could guarantee me that this is not going to cause any problems in the future, I could overlook it easily.
I am still struggling to decide if I am gonna ask for a replacement or a refund and go for the 360. I don't know if I can handle that flat tyre...

Mister-B said:
Of course I will share. Have a look here:
https://plus.google.com/104408596370514322518/posts/hJfqgcChRNs
I don't really notice much difference in the quality of my watch faces (I use WatchMaker the most) in bright mode. In dim mode all of the third party watch faces I use in dim mode are unfortunately horrible with the colours being terribly distorted. Hopefully this will be sorted out with a future update. In the meantime I adapt my favourite faces to show a decent 8 bit dim mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You, sir, are a gentleman AND a scholar. Thanks! :highfive:

Mister-B said:
I don't own the Huawei but I did own a first gen Moto that got broken a few weeks ago. I was deciding on a replacement and finally got the second gen Moto in Black 46mm. Why? Firstly the Huawei is a lot more expensive. It doesn't have inductive charging and I don't like the shape. The Moto is the only truly round smartwatch out there. The LG and the Huawei are strangely shaped watches with round displays. The 8 bit ambient mode on the Moto serioulsy annoyed me at first and showed my favourite watch face as a blurry blocky mess. So I made my own and I think it's quite nice. It shows just enough information and is sufficiently discreet. I don't watch my watch glowing like a light house during meetings. Here's some pics. Sorry about the crappy quality of my phone camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an owner of the new Moto 360, I totally agree with all of you, especially the case design of the HW and the vibration made my decision clear. I am happy with the 360 except the ambient mode screen.
On a side note, very nice watch face! did you made, is it possible to share it?
Thanks in advance.

has128 said:
As an owner of the new Moto 360, I totally agree with all of you, especially the case design of the HW and the vibration made my decision clear. I am happy with the 360 except the ambient mode screen.
On a side note, very nice watch face! did you made, is it possible to share it?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only made the 8 bit ambient mode part of the face. The original face I found on FaceRepo I believe. The concensus on the usual forums is that it is Ok to modify and distribute other people's work as long as you explicitly state who did the original work. In my case the beautiful watch face work was done by John Feaster. He and he alone deserves the credit for this beautiful watch face. I just adapted it to suit the new Moto.

Related

My Nexus 6P Review - Honest & Real World Use

New updates on review are in the 2nd post. Thanks for reading!​
Hey everyone! Many of you know me from other threads or some Q&A, but I wanted to share my experience with the Nexus 6P. I do have a thread where you can ask me anything to try or test out on the device, to help answer some questions. I am a front end developer, UX/UI designer, and business owner. This review is based on how I use the phone and where the phone either shines or fails to perform to my needs. The #hype is real on this device and I am hoping to provide you some feedback that removes the bias of #hype and focuses on the device. Hope you find this helpful and thanks for reading!
Introduction
The Nexus 6P is probably the one device I was so excited to get since the iPhone 4. From reading every possible hands on review, watching every YouTube video, and being on the forums trying to calculate shipping dates. This phone has generated so much buzz that I finally felt so excited to get a device. Compared to last year, nothing was "omfg must have". The Nexus 6P filled that hope.
Ergonomics & Hardware
There is no need for me to get into the specs, we all know them or they are easily available elsewhere. This review is about how the specs of the phone play to the hardware and software to make OUR experience the best. The Nexus 6P has some amazing hardware. I got the 32gb Aluminum (long live #aluminati!) version. It is such a delight to hold. The device feels fantastic in my hands, and I have average size hands for a 5'10" individual. I am coming from a Moto X Pure, Note 5, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone 6, and Nexus 6 over the past year. Yes, I change phones frequently...mostly for entertainment or variety. Unlike the iPhones, Note 5, and Nexus 6 - The 6P feels stable in my hands, easy to hold, my thumb can reach across the screen without slipping and the weight of the device does help me balance it for one handed use. Where iPhones were so light and thin, the ergonomics sucked to hold; the 6P thickness actually helps in one handed use. The width of the device is not so wide, like the 2014 N6, that one handed use is easy and 2 handed use works just fine as well.
Slippery - Or should I say, lack thereof? The metal on the phone has a slight grip to it. Similar to that of the Moto X Pure (minus the rubber), but it stays in my hand. Those of you worried about the metal frame and possibly being slippery like the iPhones or even Nexus 6; have no fear.
Metal & Screen - Every version (color) will probably differ. I can only speak for the aluminum version. I have barely put the device down and I have zero fingerprints on the back. Oils do not absorb into the metal to look dirty. The only area where fingerprints are obvious is where they should be...on the screen. Which brings me to the glass of the screen. The glass, in the first hours, felt good but over the ongoing use it has been a little tough for me to slide my fingers over. Could be me or maybe I just need to put the damn phone down. The glass is beautiful and seems strong, but I ordered a glass screen protector to help with fingerprints and always feeling smooth to the touch.
There is a lip around the edge. The metal lip seems to be that of 0.2mm, give or take. It's extremely subtle, but obvious it is there to the touch. If that is something that would bother you, the glass screen protectors seem to hit the correct dimensions in thickness to flatten the surface out entirely. I can imagine the lip probably makes applying a glass screen protector even easier due to form fitting vs aligning.
Buttons and Fingerprint Sensors
The buttons are metal and solid. They don't wiggle around, which drove me insane on my iPhone and Moto X Pure. You can tell they were built well. The home button has a texture to identify easily and works quite well. The click in on volume and home buttons have a easily identifying feedback so you know you are pushing them. As silly as it may sound, the Moto X Pure failed in that area. Where the buttons were so easy to push and lack of feedback on press, there were nights where I would watch a YouTube clip and accidentally click the volume in and piss off the lady.
The fingerprint sensor is like every other reviewer has put it. Extremely fast and reliable. I programmed my index and middle fingers on both hands to the fingerprint sensor. I love that I can pull my phone out of my pocket and its ready to go without awkward thumb bending on the front to reach. Only gripe here on the UX is the inability to unlock the device with my fingerprint when it's laying on my desk. It's not a huge deal to some, but I am at a desk non stop. There is a solution, in Android Marshmallow for this though. I setup certain areas as my "trusted" areas. My car, for example, is a trusted connection and the phone does not require to unlock. I did the same for the bluetooth on my work desk. Solves the issue, but leaves the phone open to access if that worries you.
Notification Light
I love notification lights. This one is simple and great. Not buried into the speaker. Obvious pulsing and colors. Just make sure you turn it on! My phone had it disabled. To enable, go to settings > Notifications > Pulse Notification Light. This is one of my favorite features, for as simple and dumb as it may sound.
Speed and Battery
This phone is lightning fast for me. It was built to work fluidly with Android M and it does exactly that. I haven't ran into any hiccups, crashing, issues and everything just...works! Not sure when I was last able to say that about an Android device. This is the first Android I don't have the "want or need" to begin installing greenify, sleep, and other apps that help chill the phone out and not drain the battery. App switching is smooth, RAM usage has stayed consistently at 1.5gb and the camera opens without stutter or lag for me. I frequently find something I wish to take a picture of and it just opens without delay. More on the camera further down.
The battery is great. The synergy with Android M, Doze, and the Nexus 6p - the battery life for me has been phenomenal. It's too early to reveal screenshots, but just in my general use today I have only used 9% of my battery. I have sent numerous emails, taken some pictures, showed off the device, used Google Maps for navigation, and listened to a Play Music Radio Station on the drive to work. I am happy to say that I am sure battery life won't be a big complaint amongst users. If you use your device so intensively, the rapid charging is rapid. Not as fast as my Moto X Pure, but pretty darn fast. It won't let you down.
Battery life screenshots attached in this post. I am impressed by the battery on this device.
Camera
I ****ing love this camera. The pictures are beautiful, detailed, and vibrant with colors. I take a lot of pictures with my devices and generally, my family will ask me to use my phone (whatever it may be at the time) to take those perfect shots. The focus, ISO, exposure and color has not let me down at all. I was able to get some amazing night shots, with the improved camera here. Lack of OIS isn't missed much on pictures, but at 4k video recording it would have been very helpful. In general, the camera is reliable and great quality. The pictures you may want to take at a bar or night environment will probably come out better than that of any other phone...with or without a flash. Samples attached of a couple night shots I posted elsewhere.
I did install a camera app called FV-5. It gives you far more control over the camera and has made some pictures really incredible. I have to tinker with it more and learn about some settings, but the face detection, focus and more on the app really allows the hardware to shine. Hopefully they update it quickly with more support for the 6P camera hardware features.
Connectivity
The most important part of the phone. I have Verizon and some areas in my house or office will be weaker than others. Where my Moto X Pure wasn't getting the best signal, I do see a slight stronger signal on the 6P. Nothing much though and wouldn't bank on it improving your past experiences substantially. WiFi speeds are great. I attached a screenshot of my speeds at home, on WiFi, with the 6P.
Bluetooth and Car
I use my phone in the car all the time. If this one aspect of a phone is flawed, then it goes back. I was concerned at first, because the phone and car would not connect. I was worried it was related to Android M. After I turned off bluetooth and turned it back on - it connected and paired, finally. I was most worried at this point.
Since then, I have gotten in and out of my car and the transition and connection to bluetooth has been seamless and quick. Where my Moto X Pure and iPhones took about 30 seconds to finally connect to the car and have a 3s gap where I miss conversation; The 6P seems to connect and transition the audio instantly. I hope it stays that way!
In the End?
I love this phone. It does live up to the #hype. Without any bias to my excitement to have it, this phone has pretty much hit every aspect of feature I would want out of a mobile device. The best part is IT JUST WORKS. That used to be my argument for Apple devices, but I can now say the same for Android. Sorry if that disappoints some of you... This is also the first android device where I don't feel the need to unlock or root. I will unlock and root because it's a Nexus and I like to develop/test ROMS out. However, those of you who felt you had to rely on unlocking and rooting to tinker settings, you may find that you won't have that urge to do so anymore. If anything, I'll do it for TWRP.
Where I would normally plan on switching devices every few months or 6 months, I can see myself keeping this device for a year to 2 years. Just won't tell the lady that or else I'll hear it when I want to upgrade to next years Nexus line...
Lastly, in the day using it, I have had many people ask me, "Hey, what phone is that?". While I don't care for being known to have the latest and greatest, it's fun showing it off. I can't wait to see some Frosties or Graphites in the wild, but for you folks with #aluminati...stand proud and shine. I hope this helped provide some honest insight and answer some questions.
Thanks folks!
Note: The only changes I made to the pictures was reduce the size of them. They were too large to upload, but no post edits were done for enhancements.
***UPDATES***
Blue Tint / Hue: I got our second device today and first thing I looked for was the blue tint/hue. I am surprised to say that there really isn't much of one on the second device. It's the exact same 32gb aluminum. That being said, I still never notice it on the first device and personally don't find it worth the effort to replace.
Bluetooth Issues: Some bluetooth connectivity issues have began to show their faces. I think it has to do with Android 6.0 and NOT the 6P, but we'll see.
Car: Mazda3 2014 Grand Touring, updated to most recent software
Symptoms: "Google Now" isn't working when connected. It seems that the device is depending on the vehicles microphone for any input and the vehicle microphone only triggers on button press. My other devices in the past year did not have this problem, including iPhone's "Hey Siri".
Resolution: Pending
Speakers: This is purely based on opinion, but I love the speakers on the 6P. I find them to sound rich and some great tones for a phone. I DO prefer them to my Moto X Pure, don't shoot me. Really though, speakers are great. I watched a movie last night from the device, for about 30 minutes, and no pops, crackles, stutters at all. Was pleased.
I did notice on speakers, that the volume range is a bit wonky. The low to mid setting for speakers in media playback was quite hard to hear. At 75% it was what I expect at medium. At 100% it was too loud. Food for thought, but hopefully this is addressed in software updates or use Viper.
What accessories are you using?
I love to accessorize my devices. I usually run my phone naked, to display all of it's beauty and engineering. Project Fi did send me a 50% off the ADOPTED case, which I ordered. Can't beat $10.81 with free shipping on a Google official case.
Screen Protectors:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016XZLFD6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014UNPYEE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01
These haven't arrived yet. One gets in Tuesday. I will test it out to make sure it does not block any sensors along with making the lip feel flush. Will report back on these.
Car Charger:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0146FK3G0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01
There is a great thread, somewhere in accessories about Car Chargers. If you have lots of questions about it or need specifics, most have been answered there. I will say that RAPID CHARGING from this charger DOES WORK. Confirmed. I was able to charge up from 60% to 100% on a short drive home. It works great and the spare USB slot is appreciated.
Extra USB-C Cable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010VFFSL4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
Braided, heavy duty and feels very solid/premium. Length is great and I am using it with a Moto X Pure charging block. Rapid charging works and it's a great cable.
Car Mount:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VEAF6SG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00
This is the first car mount I have tried. I am picky about how things are in my car and I like it clean. Since my CD slot is at the bottom of the front dash, this fits quite well. It doesn't shake much and gets the job done.
Con: The piece that holds the phone expands and snaps back to default when you remove the device. It's not the easiest to use. You also can't center your device because the "arms" that hold the phone will press the volume/power key. This thing looks like it was built for an iPhone or LG G3+ type phone. Food for thought.
SPEAKERS VOLUME VIDEO:
***UPDATE TO OP 11/03***
Hey everyone! So after a week of use, I have some updates to the review. I have pasted the updates below, so you don't have to jump back to OP.
Battery
This seems to be one of the most discussed topics and quite a sensitive one! Some users are experiencing incredible SoT while others are not. Ultimately, it will boil down to what apps you have installed along with your connectivity. If your LTE connection is weak, your phone's battery will reflect that. There are many factors to take into consideration with battery, so please understand it is literally per individual basis!
Disclaimer: I haven't received any OTA updates yet. There have been 3 thus far and probably address some of the issues I have.
Over the weekend, I noticed my battery life not lasting as long as I would like. Almost seemed that every 5 minutes I was on the phone, I would lose roughly 3%-5%. This raised some questions so I started diving into the possible issues.
Symptoms:
Phone near fingerprint sensor would get warm during phone calls
Bluetooth constantly scanning
WiFi active during Doze/Sleep
WiFi scanning
GPS on
Solution:
Disabled Bluetooth and WiFi scanning passively
WiFi Advanced settings, disabled WiFi on during sleep
GPS was set to battery saving, but wasn't working. Simply turn off GPS, turn it back on, and check battery saving (this was an odd one)
With those adjustments, I have now noticed my battery in DOZE would lose roughly 2% over 4 hours. I'll get some screenshots and update the OP when they are available. Still testing. Battery life after the fixes are substantially better, however, my device is still getting warm while on calls where our second 6P does NOT. Due to this, a replacement has been overnighted to me. When that arrives, I will be unlocking/rooting to have some more fun with reporting to everyone.
VEHICLE BLUETOOTH
So, either this is new in Android M or my car is losing it's AI mind (or lack thereof), but I have figured out what it's doing. When placing a call through the device or the car, the phone will go into a "dialing" status. While it's in "dialing" status, the car will continue to play my music. When someone on the other end of the call picks up, the audio will switch to the phone. It hasn't been easy adjusting to this and I do wish I would just hear the dial tone, but everything else works great in car.
SCREEN PROTECTOR
I just received one of my screen protectors. I will apply it this evening, record it and share the link here for everyone to see. First impressions are that it misses the "edge to edge" by a slight amount. There is a lip on the edge of the device. My hope was the glass would extend from lip to lip. Not the case here, but still worth a shot. The glass DOES protrude above the lip. Glass thickness is slightly thicker than the other posted above, according to specs. That one arrives today, hopefully!
If something like that will bother you, I don't recommend the Yoozon glass. Video will come soon and you can see for yourself and decide which may be best for you, if any.
FINGERPRINT SENSOR
Still works like a charm. I hope they have an update that allows you to use a little more of the edge of your fingers, similar to Sammies or Apple. Other than that, it's reliable and fast even if your finger has moisture. Good stuff Huawei.
More to come soon, but hope this provides you more info and helps!
Thank you for the excellent review.
Excellent review and agree with everything you have said this is one of the best phones I have owned and I have owned a lot of them.
Thanks for the review! I'm currently test-driving a Moto X Pure, and have a week or so left to return it, which means if I want to get the Nexus 6P I'll have to go back to my old LG G2 for several weeks until Huawei gets its butt in gear and starts pumping out more 64gb models. What's your take on the 6P vs. the X Pure?
Chief85 said:
Thanks for the review! I'm currently test-driving a Moto X Pure, and have a week or so left to return it, which means if I want to get the Nexus 6P I'll have to go back to my old LG G2 for several weeks until Huawei gets its butt in gear and starts pumping out more 64gb models. What's your take on the 6P vs. the X Pure?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! Seeing that I literally just came from the Moto X Pure to the 6P, I can say that I have not looked back or regret doing so. I gave my X Pure to my business partner (he was on a 2014 model still). There is a noticeable height difference, but I like it. It actually places the volume rocker and power button in the right spot for my thumb. Unless you did Moto Maker and like that super unique look, I'd pick the 6P hands down.
Great review! Thanks for sharing.
tehpud said:
Hey everyone! Many of you know me from other threads or some Q&A, but I wanted to share my experience with the Nexus 6P. I do have a thread where you can ask me anything to try or test out on the device, to help answer some questions. I am a front end developer, UX/UI designer, and business owner. This review is based on how I use the phone and where the phone either shines or fails to perform to my needs. The #hype is real on this device and I am hoping to provide you some feedback that removes the bias of #hype and focuses on the device. Hope you find this helpful and thanks for reading!
Introduction
The Nexus 6P is probably the one device I was so excited to get since the iPhone 4. From reading every possible hands on review, watching every YouTube video, and being on the forums trying to calculate shipping dates. This phone has generated so much buzz that I finally felt so excited to get a device. Compared to last year, nothing was "omfg must have". The Nexus 6P filled that hope.
Ergonomics & Hardware
There is no need for me to get into the specs, we all know them or they are easily available elsewhere. This review is about how the specs of the phone play to the hardware and software to make OUR experience the best. The Nexus 6P has some amazing hardware. I got the 32gb Aluminum (long live #aluminati!) version. It is such a delight to hold. The device feels fantastic in my hands, and I have average size hands for a 5'10" individual. I am coming from a Moto X Pure, Note 5, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone 6, and Nexus 6 over the past year. Yes, I change phones frequently...mostly for entertainment or variety. Unlike the iPhones, Note 5, and Nexus 6 - The 6P feels stable in my hands, easy to hold, my thumb can reach across the screen without slipping and the weight of the device does help me balance it for one handed use. Where iPhones were so light and thin, the ergonomics sucked to hold; the 6P thickness actually helps in one handed use. The width of the device is not so wide, like the 2014 N6, that one handed use is easy and 2 handed use works just fine as well.
Slippery - Or should I say, lack thereof? The metal on the phone has a slight grip to it. Similar to that of the Moto X Pure (minus the rubber), but it stays in my hand. Those of you worried about the metal frame and possibly being slippery like the iPhones or even Nexus 6; have no fear.
Metal & Screen - Every version (color) will probably differ. I can only speak for the aluminum version. I have barely put the device down and I have zero fingerprints on the back. Oils do not absorb into the metal to look dirty. The only area where fingerprints are obvious is where they should be...on the screen. Which brings me to the glass of the screen. The glass, in the first hours, felt good but over the ongoing use it has been a little tough for me to slide my fingers over. Could be me or maybe I just need to put the damn phone down. The glass is beautiful and seems strong, but I ordered a glass screen protector to help with fingerprints and always feeling smooth to the touch.
There is a lip around the edge. The metal lip seems to be that of 0.2mm, give or take. It's extremely subtle, but obvious it is there to the touch. If that is something that would bother you, the glass screen protectors seem to hit the correct dimensions in thickness to flatten the surface out entirely. I can imagine the lip probably makes applying a glass screen protector even easier due to form fitting vs aligning.
Buttons and Fingerprint Sensors
The buttons are metal and solid. They don't wiggle around, which drove me insane on my iPhone and Moto X Pure. You can tell they were built well. The home button has a texture to identify easily and works quite well. The click in on volume and home buttons have a easily identifying feedback so you know you are pushing them. As silly as it may sound, the Moto X Pure failed in that area. Where the buttons were so easy to push and lack of feedback on press, there were nights where I would watch a YouTube clip and accidentally click the volume in and piss off the lady.
The fingerprint sensor is like every other reviewer has put it. Extremely fast and reliable. I programmed my index and middle fingers on both hands to the fingerprint sensor. I love that I can pull my phone out of my pocket and its ready to go without awkward thumb bending on the front to reach. Only gripe here on the UX is the inability to unlock the device with my fingerprint when it's laying on my desk. It's not a huge deal to some, but I am at a desk non stop. There is a solution, in Android Marshmallow for this though. I setup certain areas as my "trusted" areas. My car, for example, is a trusted connection and the phone does not require to unlock. I did the same for the bluetooth on my work desk. Solves the issue, but leaves the phone open to access if that worries you.
Notification Light
I love notification lights. This one is simple and great. Not buried into the speaker. Obvious pulsing and colors. Just make sure you turn it on! My phone had it disabled. To enable, go to settings > Notifications > Pulse Notification Light. This is one of my favorite features, for as simple and dumb as it may sound.
Speed and Battery
This phone is lightning fast for me. It was built to work fluidly with Android M and it does exactly that. I haven't ran into any hiccups, crashing, issues and everything just...works! Not sure when I was last able to say that about an Android device. This is the first Android I don't have the "want or need" to begin installing greenify, sleep, and other apps that help chill the phone out and not drain the battery. App switching is smooth, RAM usage has stayed consistently at 1.5gb and the camera opens without stutter or lag for me. I frequently find something I wish to take a picture of and it just opens without delay. More on the camera further down.
The battery is great. The synergy with Android M, Doze, and the Nexus 6p - the battery life for me has been phenomenal. It's too early to reveal screenshots, but just in my general use today I have only used 9% of my battery. I have sent numerous emails, taken some pictures, showed off the device, used Google Maps for navigation, and listened to a Play Music Radio Station on the drive to work. I am happy to say that I am sure battery life won't be a big complaint amongst users. If you use your device so intensively, the rapid charging is rapid. Not as fast as my Moto X Pure, but pretty darn fast. It won't let you down.
Camera
I ****ing love this camera. The pictures are beautiful, detailed, and vibrant with colors. I take a lot of pictures with my devices and generally, my family will ask me to use my phone (whatever it may be at the time) to take those perfect shots. The focus, ISO, exposure and color has not let me down at all. I was able to get some amazing night shots, with the improved camera here. Lack of OIS isn't missed much on pictures, but at 4k video recording it would have been very helpful. In general, the camera is reliable and great quality. The pictures you may want to take at a bar or night environment will probably come out better than that of any other phone...with or without a flash. Samples attached of a couple night shots I posted elsewhere.
I did install a camera app called FV-5. It gives you far more control over the camera and has made some pictures really incredible. I have to tinker with it more and learn about some settings, but the face detection, focus and more on the app really allows the hardware to shine. Hopefully they update it quickly with more support for the 6P camera hardware features.
Connectivity
The most important part of the phone. I have Verizon and some areas in my house or office will be weaker than others. Where my Moto X Pure wasn't getting the best signal, I do see a slight stronger signal on the 6P. Nothing much though and wouldn't bank on it improving your past experiences substantially. WiFi speeds are great. I attached a screenshot of my speeds at home, on WiFi, with the 6P.
Bluetooth and Car
I use my phone in the car all the time. If this one aspect of a phone is flawed, then it goes back. I was concerned at first, because the phone and car would not connect. I was worried it was related to Android M. After I turned off bluetooth and turned it back on - it connected and paired, finally. I was most worried at this point.
Since then, I have gotten in and out of my car and the transition and connection to bluetooth has been seamless and quick. Where my Moto X Pure and iPhones took about 30 seconds to finally connect to the car and have a 3s gap where I miss conversation; The 6P seems to connect and transition the audio instantly. I hope it stays that way!
In the End?
I love this phone. It does live up to the #hype. Without any bias to my excitement to have it, this phone has pretty much hit every aspect of feature I would want out of a mobile device. The best part is IT JUST WORKS. That used to be my argument for Apple devices, but I can now say the same for Android. Sorry if that disappoints some of you... This is also the first android device where I don't feel the need to unlock or root. I will unlock and root because it's a Nexus and I like to develop/test ROMS out. However, those of you who felt you had to rely on unlocking and rooting to tinker settings, you may find that you won't have that urge to do so anymore. If anything, I'll do it for TWRP.
Where I would normally plan on switching devices every few months or 6 months, I can see myself keeping this device for a year to 2 years. Just won't tell the lady that or else I'll hear it when I want to upgrade to next years Nexus line...
Lastly, in the day using it, I have had many people ask me, "Hey, what phone is that?". While I don't care for being known to have the latest and greatest, it's fun showing it off. I can't wait to see some Frosties or Graphites in the wild, but for you folks with #aluminati...stand proud and shine. I hope this helped provide some honest insight and answer some questions.
Thanks folks!
Note: The only changes I made to the pictures was reduce the size of them. They were too large to upload, but no post edits were done for enhancements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a fantastic cat sir
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
I think it is a very good review. Granted, I have only had my phone for just now 24 hours and only completed full set up early this AM.
Can't speak about the battery yet as it is too early to tell and it has been on and off charger. I anticipate tonight forward I can get a better read.
Camera is one of the best and I REALLY like the Moto X 2015 Pure. I think N6P may trump it as a few low light pics came out great. At very least is on par with Apple 6S Plus which I also own.
Fingerprint scanner is phenomenal and IS faster than Apple 6S Plus, which I thought was fast. N6P trumps it.
Now, I don't necessarily agree with connectivity on LTE: I STILL think MOTO has better radios and at work I have very sketchy connectivity. I do notice my Nexus 6 and even when I owned the Moto X 2015 Pure, it would grab a weaker signal and have faster data connections moreso than the Nexus 6P. I had to keep toggling airplane mode on the Nexus 6P to get signals. So, I think it is OK but MOTO still has better radios IMHO.
Furthermore, I also think the processor is a "tad" slower than Nexus 6. The Nexus 6 seems to fly and is speedier (both Nexus 6 and N6P are decrypted as well). Granted, I perceive no lag on the N6P, but I definitely feel a controlled movement.
Good review, but my thoughts differ from yours a bit.
My Nexus 6P just arrived. Initial impression? The screen on my Moto X Pure is better (brighter, better whites, less graininess up close). Also, the speakers on the Moto X Pure are better. The Moto X Pure is also a little smaller and easier to grip with the rubber back. My Moto X Pure has very clicky and solid buttons, so maybe that's just a flaw in your particular Moto X.
I'm actually shocked because I fully expected to fall in love with the 6P immediately and ditch the Moto X Pure based on the stellar reviews I have been seeing, but now I'm thinking this is going to be a tougher decision than I thought, and I might actually end up returning the 6P!
Chief85 said:
Thanks for the review! I'm currently test-driving a Moto X Pure, and have a week or so left to return it, which means if I want to get the Nexus 6P I'll have to go back to my old LG G2 for several weeks until Huawei gets its butt in gear and starts pumping out more 64gb models. What's your take on the 6P vs. the X Pure?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in exactly same boat. Have till Nov. 13. Great review OP. You make me really want one and if they were readily available I probably would have it.
tehpud said:
Hey everyone! Many of you know me from other threads or some Q&A, but I wanted to share my experience with the Nexus 6P. I do have a thread where you can ask me anything to try or test out on the device, to help answer some questions. I am a front end developer, UX/UI designer, and business owner. This review is based on how I use the phone and where the phone either shines or fails to perform to my needs. The #hype is real on this device and I am hoping to provide you some feedback that removes the bias of #hype and focuses on the device. Hope you find this helpful and thanks for reading!
Introduction
The Nexus 6P is probably the one device I was so excited to get since the iPhone 4. From reading every possible hands on review, watching every YouTube video, and being on the forums trying to calculate shipping dates. This phone has generated so much buzz that I finally felt so excited to get a device. Compared to last year, nothing was "omfg must have". The Nexus 6P filled that hope.
Ergonomics & Hardware
There is no need for me to get into the specs, we all know them or they are easily available elsewhere. This review is about how the specs of the phone play to the hardware and software to make OUR experience the best. The Nexus 6P has some amazing hardware. I got the 32gb Aluminum (long live #aluminati!) version. It is such a delight to hold. The device feels fantastic in my hands, and I have average size hands for a 5'10" individual. I am coming from a Moto X Pure, Note 5, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone 6, and Nexus 6 over the past year. Yes, I change phones frequently...mostly for entertainment or variety. Unlike the iPhones, Note 5, and Nexus 6 - The 6P feels stable in my hands, easy to hold, my thumb can reach across the screen without slipping and the weight of the device does help me balance it for one handed use. Where iPhones were so light and thin, the ergonomics sucked to hold; the 6P thickness actually helps in one handed use. The width of the device is not so wide, like the 2014 N6, that one handed use is easy and 2 handed use works just fine as well.
Slippery - Or should I say, lack thereof? The metal on the phone has a slight grip to it. Similar to that of the Moto X Pure (minus the rubber), but it stays in my hand. Those of you worried about the metal frame and possibly being slippery like the iPhones or even Nexus 6; have no fear.
Metal & Screen - Every version (color) will probably differ. I can only speak for the aluminum version. I have barely put the device down and I have zero fingerprints on the back. Oils do not absorb into the metal to look dirty. The only area where fingerprints are obvious is where they should be...on the screen. Which brings me to the glass of the screen. The glass, in the first hours, felt good but over the ongoing use it has been a little tough for me to slide my fingers over. Could be me or maybe I just need to put the damn phone down. The glass is beautiful and seems strong, but I ordered a glass screen protector to help with fingerprints and always feeling smooth to the touch.
There is a lip around the edge. The metal lip seems to be that of 0.2mm, give or take. It's extremely subtle, but obvious it is there to the touch. If that is something that would bother you, the glass screen protectors seem to hit the correct dimensions in thickness to flatten the surface out entirely. I can imagine the lip probably makes applying a glass screen protector even easier due to form fitting vs aligning.
Buttons and Fingerprint Sensors
The buttons are metal and solid. They don't wiggle around, which drove me insane on my iPhone and Moto X Pure. You can tell they were built well. The home button has a texture to identify easily and works quite well. The click in on volume and home buttons have a easily identifying feedback so you know you are pushing them. As silly as it may sound, the Moto X Pure failed in that area. Where the buttons were so easy to push and lack of feedback on press, there were nights where I would watch a YouTube clip and accidentally click the volume in and piss off the lady.
The fingerprint sensor is like every other reviewer has put it. Extremely fast and reliable. I programmed my index and middle fingers on both hands to the fingerprint sensor. I love that I can pull my phone out of my pocket and its ready to go without awkward thumb bending on the front to reach. Only gripe here on the UX is the inability to unlock the device with my fingerprint when it's laying on my desk. It's not a huge deal to some, but I am at a desk non stop. There is a solution, in Android Marshmallow for this though. I setup certain areas as my "trusted" areas. My car, for example, is a trusted connection and the phone does not require to unlock. I did the same for the bluetooth on my work desk. Solves the issue, but leaves the phone open to access if that worries you.
Notification Light
I love notification lights. This one is simple and great. Not buried into the speaker. Obvious pulsing and colors. Just make sure you turn it on! My phone had it disabled. To enable, go to settings > Notifications > Pulse Notification Light. This is one of my favorite features, for as simple and dumb as it may sound.
Speed and Battery
This phone is lightning fast for me. It was built to work fluidly with Android M and it does exactly that. I haven't ran into any hiccups, crashing, issues and everything just...works! Not sure when I was last able to say that about an Android device. This is the first Android I don't have the "want or need" to begin installing greenify, sleep, and other apps that help chill the phone out and not drain the battery. App switching is smooth, RAM usage has stayed consistently at 1.5gb and the camera opens without stutter or lag for me. I frequently find something I wish to take a picture of and it just opens without delay. More on the camera further down.
The battery is great. The synergy with Android M, Doze, and the Nexus 6p - the battery life for me has been phenomenal. It's too early to reveal screenshots, but just in my general use today I have only used 9% of my battery. I have sent numerous emails, taken some pictures, showed off the device, used Google Maps for navigation, and listened to a Play Music Radio Station on the drive to work. I am happy to say that I am sure battery life won't be a big complaint amongst users. If you use your device so intensively, the rapid charging is rapid. Not as fast as my Moto X Pure, but pretty darn fast. It won't let you down.
Camera
I ****ing love this camera. The pictures are beautiful, detailed, and vibrant with colors. I take a lot of pictures with my devices and generally, my family will ask me to use my phone (whatever it may be at the time) to take those perfect shots. The focus, ISO, exposure and color has not let me down at all. I was able to get some amazing night shots, with the improved camera here. Lack of OIS isn't missed much on pictures, but at 4k video recording it would have been very helpful. In general, the camera is reliable and great quality. The pictures you may want to take at a bar or night environment will probably come out better than that of any other phone...with or without a flash. Samples attached of a couple night shots I posted elsewhere.
I did install a camera app called FV-5. It gives you far more control over the camera and has made some pictures really incredible. I have to tinker with it more and learn about some settings, but the face detection, focus and more on the app really allows the hardware to shine. Hopefully they update it quickly with more support for the 6P camera hardware features.
Connectivity
The most important part of the phone. I have Verizon and some areas in my house or office will be weaker than others. Where my Moto X Pure wasn't getting the best signal, I do see a slight stronger signal on the 6P. Nothing much though and wouldn't bank on it improving your past experiences substantially. WiFi speeds are great. I attached a screenshot of my speeds at home, on WiFi, with the 6P.
Bluetooth and Car
I use my phone in the car all the time. If this one aspect of a phone is flawed, then it goes back. I was concerned at first, because the phone and car would not connect. I was worried it was related to Android M. After I turned off bluetooth and turned it back on - it connected and paired, finally. I was most worried at this point.
Since then, I have gotten in and out of my car and the transition and connection to bluetooth has been seamless and quick. Where my Moto X Pure and iPhones took about 30 seconds to finally connect to the car and have a 3s gap where I miss conversation; The 6P seems to connect and transition the audio instantly. I hope it stays that way!
In the End?
I love this phone. It does live up to the #hype. Without any bias to my excitement to have it, this phone has pretty much hit every aspect of feature I would want out of a mobile device. The best part is IT JUST WORKS. That used to be my argument for Apple devices, but I can now say the same for Android. Sorry if that disappoints some of you... This is also the first android device where I don't feel the need to unlock or root. I will unlock and root because it's a Nexus and I like to develop/test ROMS out. However, those of you who felt you had to rely on unlocking and rooting to tinker settings, you may find that you won't have that urge to do so anymore. If anything, I'll do it for TWRP.
Where I would normally plan on switching devices every few months or 6 months, I can see myself keeping this device for a year to 2 years. Just won't tell the lady that or else I'll hear it when I want to upgrade to next years Nexus line...
Lastly, in the day using it, I have had many people ask me, "Hey, what phone is that?". While I don't care for being known to have the latest and greatest, it's fun showing it off. I can't wait to see some Frosties or Graphites in the wild, but for you folks with #aluminati...stand proud and shine. I hope this helped provide some honest insight and answer some questions.
Thanks folks!
Note: The only changes I made to the pictures was reduce the size of them. They were too large to upload, but no post edits were done for enhancements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that a Huawei watch?
bullshark888 said:
Is that a Huawei watch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup!
tehpud said:
Yup!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am still debating this or the 360, maybe wait for the black Friday.
bullshark888 said:
I am still debating this or the 360, maybe wait for the black Friday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would wait for Black Friday tbh. I am probably going to return it and wait for the Moto 360 Sport. I already have a nice watch, but need something that I can use while I work out.
Was there really a need to start a new thread about reviews?
Now that is what I call a fantastic review
Very nice review. Thank you for taking the time and sharing. I think I know my next device after mapping this against the Moto X Pure.
Does VoLTE work on Verizon with the 6p? If not, does it have dual radios to let you call on CDMA and still use LTE data?
jmileti said:
I am in exactly same boat. Have till Nov. 13. Great review OP. You make me really want one and if they were readily available I probably would have it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very frustrating! If only I could hold both at the same time...

Reviews

Here's a light review of the phone from Clove:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbFeUoVyT9Q&feature=youtu.be
Preorders up today as well.
Unboxing vid. Looks like they went with a nicer packaging this time.
VS. an iPhone 6 vid
VS. the Z5 Compact vid
i have bought yesterday the white x compact. unfortunately its a bit larger than the z3c. well im a bit disappointed but not because of the sd 650. the performance is quite good. its definately responsive and quick for a compact. but the bezel on the bottom is bigger than at the top. looks like a design fail. vibration motor is veeery strange imo. at start you dont feel him when typing but the faster you type the more the motor is vibrating. this behavior is very hard to accept. maybe for some people a minor thing but for me when i got used to my z3c this not ok. the whole left side beside the display has a gap between display and frame. on the right side there is no gap. dust and dirt wil again find a nice place there. this was the reason why i have replaced my white z3c with a black one after the motherboard was dead on the white one. it seems sony has not learned from their mistakes. fingerprint button has also gaps and looks like a bit deplaced but works very well. on the back side there you have gaps on top and bottom. i really do not understand sony. this phone costs 450€ and it seems they have no QA before packaging. camerawise i can see some improvements. focus is much faster than z3c. but the camera quality nowhere comparable to a galaxy s7. its ok but not that i would say wow. front cam is better than z3c. no softskin blur effect more but when it gets dark the front cam is not very good. generally i was expecting more from sonys camera system.
the best thing at this phone is the display. the black values and color reproduction is very good. looks like amoled but is probably a very good ips. but i think its displaying to much red. adjusting whitebalance helps. generally much better than z3c. due to the 2D glass curves it seems that display is almost printed regardless the 720p.
but there is also somehting that is causing me headache with the display. it seems that due to the curved glas the letter "P" is sometimes not very responsive. especially if you are trying to hit the letter from the right side throught the curved area of the display. from top no prob but from the side its sometimes not reacting. tested with google keyboard.
loudspeakers are a bit louder probably due to the lack of water resistance. they sound better.
the phone goes back as i have got massively used to have root. i'm still on kitkat with root and xposed and several changes through xposed. loosing all this to a non perfect phone makes no sense for 450€.
the biggest problem is that there are no smartphones at 4,6inch with good quality anymore. i was even thinking about iphone but no thanks. i dont want to be a slave of itunes and pay more than 750€ for a phone. SE is too small. z5c is overheating, bulky & too rectangle. A3 2016 is 4,7inch and therefor longer. could be ok. BUT it has no fuc*** notification LED. major fail by samsung as this is inacceptable in 2016. but generally the build quality by samsung has raised. the galaxy s7 in a size of 4,6inch would be perfect. im remembering the times with my galaxy s1. fantastic phone and it was undestroyable. well if you have any questions you can ask me until i have still the phone. currently im thinking of testing an s7. but i hate to to do strange things with my thumb just to be able to reach the back button on the bottom of the phone. the s4 mini was perfect size.
So you are returning the phone?
I will give this phone a try but your build quality comments concern me. I should have it this week, so I'm hoping I get a good one. Does the plastic, glossy shell feel as cheap as it looks?
True, it's sad that these phones are the only game in the 4.6" size. I kinda don't consider the 4.6" iPhone in this size class because its just as big as a 5" screen phone because of the home button. I'm hoping Samsung comes out with an S7 mini which I would get in a heartbeat.
uchosen said:
So you are returning the phone?
I will give this phone a try but your build quality comments concern me. I should have it this week, so I'm hoping I get a good one. Does the plastic, glossy shell feel as cheap as it looks?
True, it's sad that these phones are the only game in the 4.6" size. I kinda don't consider the 4.6" iPhone in this size class because its just as big as a 5" screen phone because of the home button. I'm hoping Samsung comes out with an S7 mini which I would get in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try it. the plastic glossy shell is not the problem. its nice to look at, looks a bit like ceramic and not so slippery as i thought but the build quality is again not the best. i hate the unsymetric gaps between frame. they just cant place the display equally into the frame. on the black (which is not true black, its more dark blue) you wont see them so much as on the white one.
i was hoping for a s7mini but it seems that samsung has changed the mini series into the A3 line which is really sad unfortunately in the stores theres always the anti thief thing on the back which prevents to get true feeling of the normal S7. i need to test if a S7 would somehow be operational with one hand for me. but i dont think so. :/
the display of my z3c is peeling of on the top left edge which was the reason iw as looking for a different phone. i need to repair this. sony would need to much time for this.
x10isrooted said:
..vibration motor is veeery strange imo. at start you dont feel him when typing but the faster you type the more the motor is vibrating. this behavior is very hard to accept...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i didn't realize that with swift key. but you are right. if you set to system vibration you have that issue. but me, i am using swift key where you can set you individual vibration duration and that works like a charm.
x10isrooted said:
the whole left side beside the display has a gap between display and frame. on the right side there is no gap...
fingerprint button has also gaps and looks like a bit deplaced...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
on my xxc the gaps are all the same size and nothing is deplaced.
x10isrooted said:
..but there is also somehting that is causing me headache with the display. it seems that due to the curved glas the letter "P" is sometimes not very responsive. especially if you are trying to hit the letter from the right side throught the curved area of the display. from top no prob but from the side its sometimes not reacting. tested with google keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can't confirm that too.
the 'p' works just fine. (swift key)
x10isrooted said:
the phone goes back as i have got massively used to have root. i'm still on kitkat with root and xposed and several changes through xposed. loosing all this to a non perfect phone makes no sense for 450€.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i hope, root is just a question of time. i hope very soon. can't wait for it to make all my customisations i am used to.
i found a way posted here but its written so weird. i dont know if its reliable.
http://www.sadroid.com/root-sony-xperia-x-compact-5-minutes/
the individual vibration is the same. the often and quicker you are pressing a button the more the motor of the vibrator gets crazy. sound like a bee on Speed.
You must try to press the letter p probably from the right side. a bit through the curved glass. the galaxy s7 and z3 compact touchscreen is much more responsive and sensitive. for me it was often not reacting when i was not thinking to touch more precisely in the middle of the letter P. maybe a defect on my device but i think the whole touchscreen production will be affected by this. i have tested the Xperia X and it has the same behavior. i will have to test another device in store if this is the case there as well.
this website is untrusted. dont download anything from that. you will get a virus. nothing else. when a root is availbale someone will for sure post it here first. but i doubt that it will be soon. x compact has not the best specs. all the famous and talented devs have other phones currently. xxz0o was the person that developed a root for z3c after half a year i think.
ok. now i found the issue with the vibration. your duration seems to be set pretty long. i set it to 35ms and that works absolutely fine. but if you set it to f.e. 60ms you have that issue. but why would you like to have it that long?
i mean its obvious that it can be a prob. if your next press is in the range of the 60ms there is no other way for the phone to vibrate permanently. are other phones adjusting the vibration if you press faster than the setted duration?
but i am a slow writer. maybe i will never understand that problem. i just found that issue while pressing complete randomly on the keyboard. i could never write that fast.
jeah, as i thaught. the page is very weird. i would also only try a root from a page i know pretty good.
ohh. half a year? thats sad. but hope never dies.
i like the phone. maybe there are some others
x10isrooted said:
try it. the plastic glossy shell is not the problem. its nice to look at, looks a bit like ceramic and not so slippery as i thought but the build quality is again not the best. i hate the unsymetric gaps between frame. they just cant place the display equally into the frame. on the black (which is not true black, its more dark blue) you wont see them so much as on the white one.
i was hoping for a s7mini but it seems that samsung has changed the mini series into the A3 line which is really sad unfortunately in the stores theres always the anti thief thing on the back which prevents to get true feeling of the normal S7. i need to test if a S7 would somehow be operational with one hand for me. but i dont think so. :/
the display of my z3c is peeling of on the top left edge which was the reason iw as looking for a different phone. i need to repair this. sony would need to much time for this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S7 mini would be perfect, but it will never be created. The S7 is about the same size as the iPhone 6, so if any of your friends have one, just try using it and you'll quickly realize how much harder it is to reach the top of the phone with your thumb. I'm sticking with my Z3C for another year to see if anyone (not just Sony) releases a 4.5-4.7" flagship device. The XC just doesn't meet my expectations for an "upgrade".
Phone Arena review:
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Sony-Xperia-X-Compact-Review_id4256
The AndroidCentral Review is up, one note the lack of a fingerprint scanner is US only, the rest of the world has the fingerprint scanner available!
http://m.androidcentral.com/sony-xperia-x-compact
All of these first reviews to be released seem to be very shallow in depth. They don't go into any real analysis of the phone and use very general statements to describe the user experience. In fact, these read more like unboxings than actual reviews. There's a lot of talk about what the phone looks like, the specs it comes with, and way too much of it sounds like they're reading a press release. If I was in the market for a new device. I'd wait another month for real reviews to be released.
Android Authority review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uullDQFq5W0
I sure do not have those build quality issues. gaps?! display is dead flush, heck everything is. I am very impressed with the build quality, very sturdy. I do not have trouble with coming in from the right and typing 'p' either, but if you display is not flush it would probably influence it. I am more than sure you were unlucky and got a bad apple (heh). as for the key vibration issue; if you type faster than the vibration delay is set, you are of cause going to have it vibrate all the time while typing, odd btw that you guys was set to 60ms mine was set to 25ms as default.
Hey everyone, just wanted some feedback regarding an issue I began having this week with my X Compact.
Issue: The phone is not as responsive during the unlocking process as it once was. I used to simply swipe to unlock and the phone would immediately unlock with a simple swiping motion. Now, the phone requires a harder swipe before it unlocks.
Any ideas?

For those who aren't satisfied with the V20 screen color temp and reproduction

Check this out, I'm not saying its a cure all but it helps
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
Under what settings?
leyvatron said:
Under what settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Accessibility
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
mrwinkle13 said:
Accessibility
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can manually adjust it. [emoji1] Nice find.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
leyvatron said:
You can manually adjust it. [emoji1] Nice find.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you like
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
mrwinkle13 said:
Check this out, I'm not saying its a cure all but it helps
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. But where do we put it to get close to 6500k ±500. I say ± 500 because some like a slightly cooler screen and some prefer it warmer, and warmer is actually more natural and accurate. I've played around with it a few minutes and the 9000K is just too cool. Comfort view on medium without using this is closest I've gotten to a desired (actually more desirable, but still not ideal) color temp. Every body chime in where they're putting the circle cursor that they gives close to 6500k or thereabouts.
For those who don't know what comfort view is
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
OK. Still playing with it but I think I have it close. With comfort view OFF, the screen was way too cool still. I was running medium comfort view already. I turned off comfort view and still couldn't find a happy place. So I turned it back on. I think some people will like it on medium if you like it a little cooler, and out it on high if you want it a little warmer and try it where I put my green circle at. YMMV though because who knows if LG sourced the same supplier, much less type of screen since this screen calibrated to crap for a very very flagship price. Let me know and see what you guys come up with.
Still hurts my eyes. I'm so used to my note4 still
Hmm.. Am I the only one who likes comfort view off? I'm coming from the note 7v and I still like it off. Why again do people want less blue? I find my screen whites to be really white with comfort view off. Why is that a bad thing? Lol
@rbiter said:
OK. Still playing with it but I think I have it close. With comfort view OFF, the screen was way too cool still. I was running medium comfort view already. I turned off comfort view and still couldn't find a happy place. So I turned it back on. I think some people will like it on medium if you like it a little cooler, and out it on high if you want it a little warmer and try it where I put my green circle at. YMMV though because who knows if LG sourced the same supplier, much less type of screen since this screen calibrated to crap for a very very flagship price. Let me know and see what you guys come up with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Used your pic as a guide and got it to a point I'm comfortable with
koppee1 said:
Hmm.. Am I the only one who likes comfort view off? I'm coming from the note 7v and I still like it off. Why again do people want less blue? I find my screen whites to be really white with comfort view off. Why is that a bad thing? Lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because your colors and gamma are fubar'ed really bad. You want some semblance of color accuracy for the pictures you take. They look horrible and i mean absolutely horrid looking at the pics taken on the phone. You have to transfer them to a more accurate display to see what you have. There are other more important reasons, but they are rare. And there are less important reasons that I don't care to mention. And as is, the kelvin being so high will probably mess with your sleep patterns. Before and during. And then you have the problem of you and others seeing the same images but you might look like a fool when discussing the color of something. And then there is the fact, you should expect a somewhat decently calibrated display, especially from a company that specializes in displays. Samsung, lg and sharp should have calibrated displays ootb. They should also off some kind of CMS or at least presets to cater to people like you who don't expect a quality display and shrug it off as nothing and desirable. You are in the minority by far. Even apple who has nothing to with manufacturing displays pays a slight premium to have their displays calibrated before the phone is sold. At the very least we should be getting displays in the 6-7000k range which is ±500K from 6504K and a gamma of ±.2-.3 from 2.2. also, it would be nice to get a LCD than can display blacks lower than .02 luminance with lower brightness and less than .030 with higher or max brightness but that last part is more wishful thinking and reality dictates that around .04±.005 is more reasonable to expect. I wonder if some manufacturers goes out on a limb and makes a FALD display. It's feasible but would probably add too much thickness to a phone even if 1cm thick phones were the norm.
As an aside, I wish more phones were about 1cm thickness to accommodate bigger batteries, designs with passive cooling in mind like some recent Samsung flagships, better drop handling and quality control because everything is so crammed sometimes engineering doesn't take into consideration how everything will act in the real world in consumer hands. Thicker phones would give engineers more wiggle room to make better phones with bigger batteries and probably more innovation would come out instead of being held back or dropped altogether. I think many consumers have any idea the implications and far reaching depths of the tango phone. It is stuff like that that will make navigating easier among other things. And when holograms are in everybody's house tango phones will surely be a contributing factor into the foundation of the quality of those holograms. For now some of the data will probably be repurposed for VR.
@rbiter said:
Because your colors and gamma are fubar'ed really bad. You want some semblance of color accuracy for the pictures you take. They look horrible and i mean absolutely horrid looking at the pics taken on the phone. You have to transfer them to a more accurate display to see what you have. There are other more important reasons, but they are rare. And there are less important reasons that I don't care to mention. And as is, the kelvin being so high will probably mess with your sleep patterns. Before and during. And then you have the problem of you and others seeing the same images but you might look like a fool when discussing the color of something. And then there is the fact, you should expect a somewhat decently calibrated display, especially from a company that specializes in displays. Samsung, lg and sharp should have calibrated displays ootb. They should also off some kind of CMS or at least presets to cater to people like you who don't expect a quality display and shrug it off as nothing and desirable. You are in the minority by far. Even apple who has nothing to with manufacturing displays pays a slight premium to have their displays calibrated before the phone is sold. At the very least we should be getting displays in the 6-7000k range which is �±500K from 6504K and a gamma of �±.2-.3 from 2.2. also, it would be nice to get a LCD than can display blacks lower than .02 luminance with lower brightness and less than .030 with higher or max brightness but that last part is more wishful thinking and reality dictates that around .04�±.005 is more reasonable to expect. I wonder if some manufacturers goes out on a limb and makes a FALD display. It's feasible but would probably add too much thickness to a phone even if 1cm thick phones were the norm.
As an aside, I wish more phones were about 1cm thickness to accommodate bigger batteries, designs with passive cooling in mind like some recent Samsung flagships, better drop handling and quality control because everything is so crammed sometimes engineering doesn't take into consideration how everything will act in the real world in consumer hands. Thicker phones would give engineers more wiggle room to make better phones with bigger batteries and probably more innovation would come out instead of being held back or dropped altogether. I think many consumers have any idea the implications and far reaching depths of the tango phone. It is stuff like that that will make navigating easier among other things. And when holograms are in everybody's house tango phones will surely be a contributing factor into the foundation of the quality of those holograms. For now some of the data will probably be repurposed for VR.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thing to bear in mind...
Just about no one IRL owns a color accurate display. Further just because they do in no way means their OS properly utilizes it. Windows of all flavors has for years has been renowned for this. Web browsers also almost all fail at color management too.
People live to squawk about accurate colors, tbh despite their best efforts, only photogs really ever pull it off whereas lay consumers almost never do.
Who on XDA owns a colorimeter? I rest my case.
Skripka said:
Thing to bear in mind...
Just about no one IRL owns a color accurate display. Further just because they do in no way means their OS properly utilizes it. Windows of all flavors has for years has been renowned for this. Web browsers also almost all fail at color management too.
People live to squawk about accurate colors, tbh despite their best efforts, only photogs really ever pull it off whereas lay consumers almost never do.
Who on XDA owns a colorimeter? I rest my case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. Wrong. Samsung TVs are known for their color accuracy ootb. I calibrated my laptop display. Haven't bothered calibrating my Samsung JS9500 with tools and just used a disk because it only needed minor adjustment.
Photographers aren't the only one. Studios that make movies use calibrated displays. Professional calibrators use calibrated, and some even bring smaller monitors to show their customers what it will look like since the average consumer doesn't know how much it will affect what they're used to and the calibrator wants the customer to know what they're getting and not have to deal with angry customers who have no clue. And as I mentioned, I left some leniency on the color temp 6504K ±500 should suffice. The pics I've taken on my v20 look like garbage until I made the adjustments. Wouldn't you expect some reasonable color accuracy from your phone display? Especially phones that cost $600+? I definitely expect it from the v20 being an $800 phone. For those that night the pixel, pixel xl and 256GB iphone should expect no less than very very minor deviations. And colorimiters and spectrometers aren't too expensive for decent brands and can get a lot of noise as tv ages or hook up their friends. Light meters otoh can get expensive quick. The cheap ones aren't worth using on an amoled or FALD display. A cheap one would work with most smartphone displays just fine unless you're measuring below .02 I believe.
Is too much too ask for a closely calibrsted display? I mean geez. Smartphone OEM's are already talking about HDR and HDR+ on these small displays. Why jump ahead if you can't get the basics good enough? And it's also amusing some Samsung fanboys were bragging their displays could go over 1000nits. It is very possible that mightve had something to do with the phones combusting. That is a very high draw on the battery and the power circuits and power management. 1000nits would kill your OLED lifespan much more quickly, the longevity of your SEALED battery shortened and could easily bulge the battery sooner than later drawing that much current for a display smaller than 6".
Anyways, I think consumers should expect no less than a 6504K display ±500 and a gamma of 2.2 or close to it. On flagship phones at least. The display used on the v20 should be in less than $400 phone. The blacks even suck. Contrast is decent though but I'm guessing that is because of the 9000K temperature where whites look whiter but in reality they are bluer.
@rbiter said:
Lol. Wrong. Samsung TVs are known for their color accuracy ootb. I calibrated my laptop display. Haven't bothered calibrating my Samsung JS9500 with tools and just used a disk because it only needed minor adjustment.
Photographers aren't the only one. Studios that make movies use calibrated displays. Professional calibrators use calibrated, and some even bring smaller monitors to show their customers what it will look like since the average consumer doesn't know how much it will affect what they're used to and the calibrator wants the customer to know what they're getting and not have to deal with angry customers who have no clue. And as I mentioned, I left some leniency on the color temp 6504K ±500 should suffice. The pics I've taken on my v20 look like garbage until I made the adjustments. Wouldn't you expect some reasonable color accuracy from your phone display? Especially phones that cost $600+? I definitely expect it from the v20 being an $800 phone. For those that night the pixel, pixel xl and 256GB iphone should expect no less than very very minor deviations. And colorimiters and spectrometers aren't too expensive for decent brands and can get a lot of noise as tv ages or hook up their friends. Light meters otoh can get expensive quick. The cheap ones aren't worth using on an amoled or FALD display. A cheap one would work with most smartphone displays just fine unless you're measuring below .02 I believe.
Is too much too ask for a closely calibrsted display? I mean geez. Smartphone OEM's are already talking about HDR and HDR+ on these small displays. Why jump ahead if you can't get the basics good enough? And it's also amusing some Samsung fanboys were bragging their displays could go over 1000nits. It is very possible that mightve had something to do with the phones combusting. That is a very high draw on the battery and the power circuits and power management. 1000nits would kill your OLED lifespan much more quickly, the longevity of your SEALED battery shortened and could easily bulge the battery sooner than later drawing that much current for a display smaller than 6".
Anyways, I think consumers should expect no less than a 6504K display ±500 and a gamma of 2.2 or close to it. On flagship phones at least. The display used on the v20 should be in less than $400 phone. The blacks even suck. Contrast is decent though but I'm guessing that is because of the 9000K temperature where whites look whiter but in reality they are bluer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
D65 is not the be all end all of accuracy. Stop harping like it is. It is one and only one aspect. You can have a panel with good D65 that still does not reproduce accurate colors. And even on an accurate panels, color output varies across it.
You want to talk accuracy you need to be addressing issues like sRGB versus ARGB, and also presently the LCD panel makers are hoping to force the rec.2020 colorspace (which has a huge range of greens), in order to con you the consumer into replacing your otherwise good monitor. You also need to be addressing not just the panels output but also the colorspace of the content-which is why OS matters-because Windows as stated fails supremely at managing color spaces. Hell most content isn't even managed right to sRGB that has been around for 20+ years as an ISO standard....For a brief while the panel makers were pushing ARGB and "vivid" colors....now with UHD broadcast content they want to force a universe where even sRGB hasn't caught on into rec.2020
Thanks for admitting you don't have a colorimeter. As much as you harp on color accuracy, you only talk the talk and only talk the talk about D65. You have no idea what your colors actually are or if they are accurate be they on your TV or your computer monitor or your phone. Sorry. Thems the harsh facts. Photogs are really the only ones who know about this stuff and walk the walk, all other consumers harp on it--but really they're all talk and no cattle IRL.
Well aware of other standards. But is asking for D65 and CMS too much. No. This screen is wack and as mentioned should expect better from a display manufacturer and a flagship phone. Well aware of the other standards tr here trying to push and many OEMs haven't even got the current ones right. If we have passive attitude like yours do you think it will ever be fixed? And yes, photographers are probably the most prominent activists of color accuracy so I'm quite sure they want us to see it on a reasonably somewhat accurate display. We are in the 21st century far from black and white and many years of innovation and improving. I don't think it is much to ask for this especially when they're outsourcing the labor to save pennies.
@rbiter said:
Well aware of other standards. But is asking for D65 and CMS too much. No. This screen is wack and as mentioned should expect better from a display manufacturer and a flagship phone. Well aware of the other standards tr here trying to push and many OEMs haven't even got the current ones right. If we have passive attitude like yours do you think it will ever be fixed? And yes, photographers are probably the most prominent activists of color accuracy so I'm quite sure they want us to see it on a reasonably somewhat accurate display. We are in the 21st century far from black and white and many years of innovation and improving. I don't think it is much to ask for this especially when they're outsourcing the labor to save pennies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Capitalism is fundamentally a race to the bottom dollar and highest margin. Making an outstanding product gets in the way. Given how long it has taken for even top shelf professional ridiculously expensive LCD displays to get as good as CRTs like FW900 were 20 years ago...you'll probably be waiting a while.
Come to think of it, does Android as a platform even support CMS? And does Google bake it into the source they send OEMs? And then do any apps actually use it? I'd guess no, no, and no... But but I haven't checked.
Well that was all very informative. Thank you.
All that said, can any of you extremely intelligent experts tell us simple minded ones how that helps to calibrate V20 screen colors?
Skripka said:
Capitalism is fundamentally a race to the bottom dollar and highest margin. Making an outstanding product gets in the way. Given how long it has taken for even top shelf professional ridiculously expensive LCD displays to get as good as CRTs like FW900 were 20 years ago...you'll probably be waiting a while.
Come to think of it, does Android as a platform even support CMS? And does Google bake it into the source they send OEMs? And then do any apps actually use it? I'd guess no, no, and no... But but I haven't checked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure android doesn't support CMS baked in. The screens get calibrated at factory to my knowledge. Or not calibrated. Samsung might support CMS somewhere deep in the firmware but as mentioned before they're usually calibrated pretty well ootb and have 3-4 options for modes. One of the modes even caters to people that like cooler screens. Just wishing that LG had implemented something like this in the V20 and not have to use the half baked workaround to get decent color accuracy. Took some pictures of the sunset yesterday with incoming rain clouds and was much happier with what I am using now than previously. And from what I've read, it costs approximately $1-3 USD to calibrate smartphone displays if your phone is manufactured and/or assembled in China. Cuts into profit yes, but I think at least flagships, especially the top tiered camera ones should get it. What's the use of a good camera if the pictures look like crap on the display. Makes editing it to make it more appealing or artistic harder or less desirable, on the smartphone at least in this social media age. I just want my nephew pictures and scenery pictures to look good when I look at them right away. I dont think that is too much to ask for, profits be damned.
---------- Post added at 10:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 AM ----------
BroJack said:
Well that was all very informative. Thank you.
All that said, can any of you extremely intelligent experts tell us simple minded ones how that helps to calibrate V20 screen colors?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a thread to help those who want a warmer or more accurate screen. I made a thread about using comfort view to help. The op found a setting in accessibility where you can manually change color profiles or manually change how colors are presented. My picture above was just a starting point for those who decide to use this where I found my screen to be more desireable, easy on the eyes and much closer to color accuracy. Might have to use the xrite on this screen and see if it helps. I am not a pro and between the software and having to use a guide each time is difficult. Just use that green circle, if that is the right color (lol), to get a base line of what you want your screen to look like. You can get a little more punch, cooler, warmer or just off the charts inaccurate colors.
@rbiter said:
I'm pretty sure android doesn't support CMS baked in. The screens get calibrated at factory to my knowledge. Or not calibrated. Samsung might support CMS somewhere deep in the firmware but as mentioned before they're usually calibrated pretty well ootb and have 3-4 options for modes. One of the modes even caters to people that like cooler screens. Just wishing that LG had implemented something like this in the V20 and not have to use the half baked workaround to get decent color accuracy. Took some pictures of the sunset yesterday with incoming rain clouds and was much happier with what I am using now than previously. And from what I've read, it costs approximately $1-3 USD to calibrate smartphone displays if your phone is manufactured and/or assembled in China. Cuts into profit yes, but I think at least flagships, especially the top tiered camera ones should get it. What's the use of a good camera if the pictures look like crap on the display. Makes editing it to make it more appealing or artistic harder or less desirable, on the smartphone at least in this social media age. I just want my nephew pictures and scenery pictures to look good when I look at them right away. I dont think that is too much to ask for, profits be damned.
---------- Post added at 10:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 AM ----------
Just a thread to help those who want a warmer or more accurate screen. I made a thread about using comfort view to help. The op found a setting in accessibility where you can manually change color profiles or manually change how colors are presented. My picture above was just a starting point for those who decide to use this where I found my screen to be more desireable, easy on the eyes and much closer to color accuracy. Might have to use the xrite on this screen and see if it helps. I am not a pro and between the software and having to use a guide each time is difficult. Just use that green circle, if that is the right color (lol), to get a base line of what you want your screen to look like. You can get a little more punch, cooler, warmer or just off the charts inaccurate colors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From some cursory reading....with the much maligned G5 LG actually targeted rec.2020 (alias DCI-P3) colorspace.
So far I haven't found any reference to what colorspace the v20's panel was intended to fit. Nor if anyone has tried measuring the screen in anything other than sRGB.Given that they were actually able to ship a rec2020 panel in the previous flagship....their very hot D65 value for v20 is more strange. I mention it as the rec2020 space is MUCH more deep in the blue/green department. Just a hairbrained theory, I don't own a colorimeter to check-but mnaybe the hot screen on v20 comes from calibrating more for rec.2020 as opposed to sRGB/ARGB.

Finger print magnet?

Just purchased the S9 + and the first thing i notice is the screen is a huge finger print magnet which to some might be expected. However, Iam coming from an Iphone X (which Samsung made the screen) and its far better at hiding your finger prints!
Seems strange that Samsung have arguably made a better all around display for the opposition then they did for their own flagship!
I don't notice the S9+ screen to be particularly bad in terms of fingerprints. The back, for sure, but not the screen. No worse than any other phone I've used.
meyerweb said:
I don't notice the S9+ screen to be particularly bad in terms of fingerprints. The back, for sure, but not the screen. No worse than any other phone I've used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess its not that bad but when compared to my iphone x . The Iphone def comes out on top! Its just way superior at hiding fingerprints! I actually had no idea how good it was ay hiding them until i used the s9! I have also noticed that the Iphone display looks better under sun light / day time in general! The samsung screen is glossy and shows reflections more making the display just a tad more difficult to enjoy under sun light then the iphone!
Iam astonished that the s9 display is considered better then the iphones to be honest! Even video playback on the iphone x is better!
To each his own. I have no problem using the S9+ in bright sunlight, no issues with fingerprints and videos look great. You do know that Samsung makes the iPHone X screen, right? Same technology.
meyerweb said:
To each his own. I have no problem using the S9+ in bright sunlight, no issues with fingerprints and videos look great. You do know that Samsung makes the iPHone X screen, right? Same technology.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah iam aware of that! Thats why iam slightly surprised! The S9 display is great! Its just that it has a more glossy finish compared to the iphone x so my own experience has been that the iphone x hides fingerprints a little better and performs a little better under sun light also!
I just looked really hard at my S9+ (which I've used all morning), and I can't see anything that looks like a fingerprint no matter what angle I look at it in the light. In fact I deliberately mashed my finger on the screen, and couldn't see a print left from that either. Maybe my fingers have dried out .
Claghorn said:
I just looked really hard at my S9+ (which I've used all morning), and I can't see anything that looks like a fingerprint no matter what angle I look at it in the light. In fact I deliberately mashed my finger on the screen, and couldn't see a print left from that either. Maybe my fingers have dried out .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even under light? Thats nuts! I see lots on mine! Its no worse then most devices. I just personally found the iphone x to handle things a little better which surprised me as the display is made by samsung
Some people have reported the lack of the olephic (or however its spelled) coating being not there or coming off shortly after purchasing the s9/s9+. If you take it to a Samsung store or send it in, they reportedly replace the screen and affected people aren't having problems after that.
todd3835 said:
Some people have reported the lack of the olephic (or however its spelled) coating being not there or coming off shortly after purchasing the s9/s9+. If you take it to a Samsung store or send it in, they reportedly replace the screen and affected people aren't having problems after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not a huge issue! I dont think i would send it back and i would doubt there is anything wrong with the coating etc Its actually fine but im just pointing out that the iphone x is def better when it comes to finger prints! The s9 display is alot more glossy / shiny so it reflects everything and under light can make it a little more difficult to read text etc when compared to the iphone x but its a minor enough issue for me personally!
What a troll gtfo

A few questions for new owners...

Hey guys. So I've pre-ordered the Emerald Green version of the phone due to ship on 13 Nov, but I'm still in the process of deciding whether this is the phone for me . It'd be really helpful if those with the phone could take a minute to answer a few questions. Thanks in advance!
1) The GSMArena review just published mentions some minor screen bleed occurring. This is something that LCD screens are more prone to, so I was surprised to hear that it's present on the Mate 20 Pro's OLED panel. Is this something you've noticed and if so how bad is it?
2) I've never used a curved display before and am wondering what the experience is like when watching full screen video (because I watch a lot of video on my phone)? I know the screen in general is considered to be very good, but what about the curved aspect? Is it causing a lot of distortion? Is there distracting glare on the sides of the phone? And what about the unusual aspect ratio - any problems with that?
3) How good would you say the camera is when used simply as a standard point and shoot camera? Is it a camera you need to tinker a lot with or strong under automatic settings?
touchyandalou said:
Hey guys. So I've pre-ordered the Emerald Green version of the phone due to ship on 13 Nov, but I'm still in the process of deciding whether this is the phone for me . It'd be really helpful if those with the phone could take a minute to answer a few questions. Thanks in advance!
1) The GSMArena review just published mentions some minor screen bleed occurring. This is something that LCD screens are more prone to, so I was surprised to hear that it's present on the Mate 20 Pro's OLED panel. Is this something you've noticed and if so how bad is it?
2) I've never used a curved display before and am wondering what the experience is like when watching full screen video (because I watch a lot of video on my phone)? I know the screen in general is considered to be very good, but what about the curved aspect? Is it causing a lot of distortion? Is there distracting glare on the sides of the phone? And what about the unusual aspect ratio - any problems with that?
3) How good would you say the camera is when used simply as a standard point and shoot camera? Is it a camera you need to tinker a lot with or strong under automatic settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) this sort of problem wouldn't be because of the phone itself. Any number of problem can arise with an oled screen on any phone. I don't have any screen bleed at all. They probably just have a slight uneven shift on there unit
2) I'm with you. Never liked curved but I have not noticed any glare. There is a slight colour shift on the edges ..but believe me you don't notice at all in normal use only if you were to stare at the curve intently. The screen is amazing quality .
3) it's early but the camera looks excellent. The wide angle and 5x zoom produces awesome results

Categories

Resources