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Hi Everyone,
I thought I'd share some thoughts on this device after having purchased it yesterday afternoon.
I bought this phone because I felt it was the first device that gave me what I had been craving for a long time - an Android version of the iPhone 6s. I like the size, build and feel of the iPhone 6s/7, but not the software or the price.
I think I am in the minority of people who prefer a smaller handset, and even though Android devices tend to fit a lot more screen real estate into smaller bodies, I still feel that the 4.7in screen size is ideal for me.
The only phones that run Android of that size have been the Xperia compact line, and the Galaxy Alpha/A3 2016 models. There have been others, but only these have come close. Unfortunately, they have suffered compromised designs and specs that have left me wanting (I have owned them all, and this is my opinion which others are free to disagree with).
This new handset, however, has me ticking a lot of boxes.
- Size is fantastic. Just a little smaller than the iPhone 6s, and feels great in the hand. Premium materials, solid build quality, great ergonomics, clicky buttons, no camera hump.
- The display is good, not awesome, but vibrant and colourful without being too over the top. Can be tweaked to each user's preference, and gets both very bright and very dim.
- fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate.
- Camera is good, not amazing. An iPhone definitely trounces this setup, but I paid £280 sim free and my usage is not too demanding so it's absolutely fine for me. Daytime shots are actually very pleasant and I think here it punches above its weight; low light is where it struggles, but I feel that most shots at night are not too important for me so it's a compromise I'll happily make.
- Call quality is very good and it holds onto signal well in my area.
- Sound quality out of the side mounted speaker is actually surprisingly good, at least as good as an iPhone 6s. Headphone performance is also excellent .
- Performance has been nothing short of excellent. I feel we have reached a point where there are not that many tasks that we do that actually need a Snapdragon 821 to run smoothly - granted, some 3d games need serious power on tap to run at their highest settings on a quad HD screen, but with a 720p screen, the A3 2017 runs pretty much anything at best quality without delay or hiccup. And everyday operation is smooth as butter without any lag or slowdowns. Granted, this is very early days, but I am hopeful this will continue.
- Battery life is astounding. I charged it on Saturday night and hit 100% at 10.20pm. I took it off charger and only put it back on at 2% while writing this review and I had nearly 9 hrs and 30mins of screen on time over 1 day and 3 hours. That includes 64 mins of voice calls. Please note that I was home all day on Wifi, but still, I have never seen times like that, not least from a 2300 odd mah battery. Awesome. It also charges pretty fast.
- Other stuff - water proofing is great, finally have USB-C, charges really quickly with the included adaptive charging brick, finally has a blue light filter.
And now for the balance of the review:
- Slippery despite its size, so a case or a skin is advisable.
- 16gb of internal memory nearly broke the deal for me, but a 64gb card and some transferring of apps has left me with 3.8gb left to play with internally. Definitely not ideal and a very cheap move from Samsung, but I'm also hoping Nougat brings adoptable storage soon which will eliminate this as an issue (here's hoping!).
- No notification light is something I have to adjust to, but the always on display does help *somewhat* ( I prefer the light as it's something that alerts me from afar, whereas the display is on regardless of whether you have a notification or not).
- Camera as described above has some shortcomings.
- Usual Samsung software compromised with bloatware - lots of useless stuff on here that eats into that 16gb that I cannot delete (Microsoft suite, Samsung junk, usual duplicate apps that we all use the Google version of). I'll keep trying the usual routes to rid the phone of this but I may have to wait a while.
Other than these points, I am really pleased. It feels nice to have paid relatively little for a device that feels so premium. I know there are other phones at relatively low prices that kill this on specs (OP3, Axon 7, Honor 8, etc) but they are generally much bigger handsets, so for anyone looking at something smaller, this is a great buy.
TL;DR, it's great, buy one if you like small phones ?
I always wanted a phone with an small amoled screen and water proofing so i jumped ship from the huge mate 8 to witch i am comparing. I agree with your pros but i found: 1-the camera is average and lacking OIS (need very stable hands), 2- cannot use sd card as default storage (very handy on mate 8), 3- phone very slippery, 4- Design and Screen of a3 2016 seemed better (personal opinion), 5- no stutter but little slow (comparing to mate 8). Only lacks IR blaster to check all boxes but we can't have everything.
Great feedback, thanks guys.
You mentioned not display is good but not awesome, could you elaborate? Is issue clarity or something else? Thanks.
Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk
mario24601 said:
Great feedback, thanks guys.
You mentioned not display is good but not awesome, could you elaborate? Is issue clarity or something else? Thanks.
Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Coming from a larger phone with a quad HD screen, it's never going to look as dazzlingly sharp, but on a 4.7 inch screen 720p still looks great and it is perfectly sharp and clear - if you've ever seen an iPhone screen, this feels much the same. Colours can be adjusted to your preference - I prefer accurate rather than punchy, but you can set it to either or somewhere in between.
I've had everything from a galaxy s6 which has crazy high pixel density to a Moto x, and personally I prefer the 720p smaller screen because it's far more efficient and I don't notice the pixel density difference after an hour or two.
Hope this helps.
Sunil_Kaura said:
Coming from a larger phone with a quad HD screen, it's never going to look as dazzlingly sharp, but on a 4.7 inch screen 720p still looks great and it is perfectly sharp and clear - if you've ever seen an iPhone screen, this feels much the same. Colours can be adjusted to your preference - I prefer accurate rather than punchy, but you can set it to either or somewhere in between.
I've had everything from a galaxy s6 which has crazy high pixel density to a Moto x, and personally I prefer the 720p smaller screen because it's far more efficient and I don't notice the pixel density difference after an hour or two.
Hope this helps.
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Click to collapse
Thanks!
Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk
Thanks for sharing this. I am also very happy with this phone so far. It's my second day with it, the battery is at 39% with 4h45 sot and 1d3h total since unplugged. In a night of 9 hours, the phone just lost 3%.
I have noticed though that wifi is constantly detected as running by betterbatterysats, even if it's turned off. Any idea how to fix this?
patci32 said:
I have noticed though that wifi is constantly detected as running by betterbatterysats, even if it's turned off. Any idea how to fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you checked in Settings -> Connections -> Location?
There are some wifi settings behind it (in location method and improve accuracy) you can deactivate.
F157 said:
Have you checked in Settings -> Connections -> Location?
There are some wifi settings behind it (in location method and improve accuracy) you can deactivate.
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Click to collapse
Indeed, I didn't know. Thanks, I hope this works.
---------- Post added at 01:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------
F157 said:
Have you checked in Settings -> Connections -> Location?
There are some wifi settings behind it (in location method and improve accuracy) you can deactivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, could you please tell me if you use other settings to improve your battery life?
patci32 said:
Indeed, I didn't know. Thanks, I hope this works.
---------- Post added at 01:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------
Also, could you please tell me if you use other settings to improve your battery life?
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Click to collapse
Mm, nothing special yet, as I'm really happy with battery life so far.
What I did in the past with other devices is for example use the app greenify (needs root) to hibernate apps you don't want to run in the background.
Also, something that really helped me with my old s4 mini was to set mobile network to 2g, and only switch to lte once required.
And as always, use wifi instead of mobile network as often as possible, disable Bluetooth if not needed, etc.
£280?!?! That's highway robbery for a device with 720p, small battery and everything in budget-range. You get this, all the bells and whistles for £150 with a well known Chinese brand. Now I know why I'd never ever get a Slamsug.
iMaterial said:
£280?!?! That's highway robbery for a device with 720p, small battery and everything in budget-range. You get this, all the bells and whistles for £150 with a well known Chinese brand. Now I know why I'd never ever get a Slamsug.
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Please could you elaborate on one of these phones that you can get for £150? I'm pretty clued up but if I've missed something I'd be keen for you to share what you've found for myself and the community - my mother needs a new phone so if you've seen something better than the A3 for less I'd love to buy it
Sunil_Kaura said:
Please could you elaborate on one of these phones that you can get for £150? I'm pretty clued up but if I've missed something I'd be keen for you to share what you've found for myself and the community - my mother needs a new phone so if you've seen something better than the A3 for less I'd love to buy it
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Which stats are you looking for? Battery? Screen res? SoC power?
Compare, with €150 phones, battery, res, SoC, well anything really part from 10 mm in size.
iMaterial said:
Which stats are you looking for? Battery? Screen res? SoC power?
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Click to collapse
Well I'm referring to your comment that you could get a better phone for £150, so I guess I'm wondering what phone you are saying is better for that price...
The battery life of the A3 is epic, the PPI is still perfectly decent (720p on 4.7 inches is still perfectly usable and arguably 1080p is unnecessary) and the SoC is both fat and frugal.
So really I'm wondering whether you can get something the same or better for less money
I'd be happy with an alternative with same form factor. Any recommendations? The A3 still not available in US.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
mario24601 said:
I'd be happy with an alternative with same form factor. Any recommendations? The A3 still not available in US.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
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4.5 to 4.7" screen, 720p res. 2015 - today, only 4-5 options comes up.
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2015&nHeightMax=135&nDisplayResMin=921600&fDisplayInchesMin=4.5&fDisplayInchesMax=4.7
Only A3, Sony X and Z5 compact, Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro has enough RAM, battery and goodies. LG Spirit and Alcatel Idol 3 only has 1 GB and 1.5 GB RAM, not really a viable option.
Sunil_Kaura said:
Well I'm referring to your comment that you could get a better phone for £150, so I guess I'm wondering what phone you are saying is better for that price...
The battery life of the A3 is epic, the PPI is still perfectly decent (720p on 4.7 inches is still perfectly usable and arguably 1080p is unnecessary) and the SoC is both fat and frugal.
So really I'm wondering whether you can get something the same or better for less money
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Click to collapse
The Redmi 4 Pro can be had for €150 and its battery life is Epic also, the Redmi 3 Pro is way better than A3 and Redmi 4 Pro, with 720p but alas 5". Redmi note 3 is also really good, for even less than €150. Samsung is priced at least £100 than it should, but the same can be said about Sony and Apple also.
iMaterial said:
4.5 to 4.7" screen, 720p res. 2015 - today, only 4-5 options comes up.
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2015&nHeightMax=135&nDisplayResMin=921600&fDisplayInchesMin=4.5&fDisplayInchesMax=4.7
Only A3, Sony X and Z5 compact, Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro has enough RAM, battery and goodies. LG Spirit and Alcatel Idol 3 only has 1 GB and 1.5 GB RAM, not really a viable option.
The Redmi 4 Pro can be had for €150 and its battery life is Epic also, the Redmi 3 Pro is way better than A3 and Redmi 4 Pro, with 720p but alas 5". Redmi note 3 is also really good, for even less than €150. Samsung is priced at least £100 than it should, but the same can be said about Sony and Apple also.
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I agree the Xiaomi phones are compelling - my main issue is the fact that they are all grey imports - many purchasers have reported that they do not get any warranty support whatsoever, they generally require a more experienced android user to side load the Google play store, and they have sketchy android skins which have also been reported to spy on their users.
Don't get me wrong, Touchwiz (or Grace UI as it's now known) is not exactly great, but I'd rather know I can walk into a Samsung store and get a problem fixed than rely on a Hong Kong based website for support.
I think it's only fair to compare this phone to what can be had in Europe, and in that regard, it blows the Sony X Compact, Alcatel and others out of the water.
And given its build quality and design, it's good value compared to phones that retail for double this cost.
Also, most Xiaomi phones don't come with NFC (no android pay), some don't have scratch resistant glass, no quick charging, etc
The A3 also uses a processor built on the 14nm process which is up to date technology, whereas the Xiaomi phones at that price point use outdated processors like the 650 and 616.
The 14nm process is what gives the A3 it's great battery life without needing a 4000mAh battery and heavier construction.
A final point - check out the videos of the Redmi note 3 bend test - not encouraging! (I will add the Redmi 3 pro did significantly better though which is good progress).
Sunil_Kaura said:
I agree the Xiaomi phones are compelling - my main issue is the fact that they are all grey imports - many purchasers have reported that they do not get any warranty support whatsoever, they generally require a more experienced android user to side load the Google play store, and they have sketchy android skins which have also been reported to spy on their users.
Don't get me wrong, Touchwiz (or Grace UI as it's now known) is not exactly great, but I'd rather know I can walk into a Samsung store and get a problem fixed than rely on a Hong Kong based website for support.
I think it's only fair to compare this phone to what can be had in Europe, and in that regard, it blows the Sony X Compact, Alcatel and others out of the water.
And given its build quality and design, it's good value compared to phones that retail for double this cost.
Also, most Xiaomi phones don't come with NFC (no android pay), some don't have scratch resistant glass, no quick charging, etc
The A3 also uses a processor built on the 14nm process which is up to date technology, whereas the Xiaomi phones at that price point use outdated processors like the 650 and 616.
The 14nm process is what gives the A3 it's great battery life without needing a 4000mAh battery and heavier construction.
A final point - check out the videos of the Redmi note 3 bend test - not encouraging! (I will add the Redmi 3 pro did significantly better though which is good progress).
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Click to collapse
The Redmi 4 Pro that I bought for a friend in Jan has the 14 nm Snapdragon 625. I can agree that it might lack a few finishing touches, but I could buy it for €150 inc shipping from aliexpress and get it in 7-9 days. But it's half the price, and I know the Adreno is a better GPU than the Mali.
Both on the Xiaomi and the Slamsug, first thing I would do it TWRP and LAOS ROM, they can keep their crap TW and MIUI, can't stand it.
Never the less, it shouldn't be 2x the price for something that is almost inferior in some points and better on others. Esp not in 2017, maybe some years ago, but every day there are better and better phones for under €200, like the Moto G5 and such, only problem is they are so damn big, and big phones are 99/100 new that are coming out, these days, sadly.
iMaterial said:
The Redmi 4 Pro that I bought for a friend in Jan has the 14 nm Snapdragon 625. I can agree that it might lack a few finishing touches, but I could buy it for €150 inc shipping from aliexpress and get it in 7-9 days. But it's half the price, and I know the Adreno is a better GPU than the Mali.
Both on the Xiaomi and the Slamsug, first thing I would do it TWRP and LAOS ROM, they can keep their crap TW and MIUI, can't stand it.
Never the less, it shouldn't be 2x the price for something that is almost inferior in some points and better on others. Esp not in 2017, maybe some years ago, but every day there are better and better phones for under €200, like the Moto G5 and such, only problem is they are so damn big, and big phones are 99/100 new that are coming out, these days, sadly.
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Can't disagree there - it's frustrating how few phones there are under 5 inches available.
I will say though that besides the Xiaomi phones which look to have a nice build, the Moto G4 is very cheap feeling, as are most of the other phones available here in that price bracket, so I would happily pay a little more for a nice looking and premium feeling device.
If the Samsung we're £220 I think it'd sell by the bucket load as £20-40 above phones like the G4 would likely tempt many up, but at £280 I agree that it's a harder sell for the lay person.
I'm looking at from the other side - it's a mild compromise from an S7 or a iPhone 6s/7 , but it's half the price, rather than double that of a cheaper device.
And it absolutely looks and feels as good as a £5-600 phone.
Sunil_Kaura said:
Can't disagree there - it's frustrating how few phones there are under 5 inches available.
I will say though that besides the Xiaomi phones which look to have a nice build, the Moto G4 is very cheap feeling, as are most of the other phones available here in that price bracket, so I would happily pay a little more for a nice looking and premium feeling device.
If the Samsung we're £220 I think it'd sell by the bucket load as £20-40 above phones like the G4 would likely tempt many up, but at £280 I agree that it's a harder sell for the lay person.
I'm looking at from the other side - it's a mild compromise from an S7 or a iPhone 6s/7 , but it's half the price, rather than double that of a cheaper device.
And it absolutely looks and feels as good as a £5-600 phone.
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There are so many on this forum and in other places that airs the same frustration, so few options for a mobile ca 130mm lenght and 4.5 - 4.7" screen (720p at least), that I'm starting to wonder if we should do something about it, maybe talk to so manufacturer to make at least 1-2 phones under 5"
The Redmi 4 Pro I used for a few weeks felt no worse in build than the Iphone 6 or 6S I have tried a few times, both in metal around 140 - 145mm size. But for €310 I can get a Xiaomi Mi 5 with 820 and have €100 in change over. I have never held a Moto G, last Motorola I have tried was the 4.3" Razr Maxx and it felt solid as a rock.
The J5 goes for around €180-190 here and I see no reason why this smaller, entry level A3 shouldn't be priced in a similar fashion. These days due to deaths in the family and such I'm so poor that €100 is more than I can spare and my Android mobile that I have now is from 2012 or so, single core with 512 MB RAM and I hate every minute when I'm using it. I'm lucky to have been given a 2009 Sony Ericsson C901 as my main caller.
Just my 1¢ (It used to be 2¢, but due to the recession I've had to make cutbacks)
---------- Post added at 07:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 PM ----------
What annoys me a lot is also that this A3 is bigger than the A3 (2016) and the battery is only 50 mAh bigger. They could easily have put a 2500 - 2800 mAh battery in this one, just like the Sony Z3, Z5 or X compact, which is 5 mm smaller.
My last perfect phone was the original moto x. I still use it. I am not a power user but the X just needs lil more power but on cm13 it's not bad.
I don't even mind going with old phone as long as has some custom roms to improve performance.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Hello!
So I am getting my wife the Mate 10 Pro to finally upgrade from her Note 4. While she is not a fan of 18:9 screens (I hate them too) there is not much to choose for OLED and newer phones these days.
I was debating the OnePlus 5T over this but it seems the camera is still better on this one plus the unit looks better to my eyes which is a plus for my wife too.
Just wondering if there are any issues I should know before I buy it.
Thanks
Yes there are many
Don't believe the reviews
The only good thing is the camera
Phone lags
Bad at games
Battery is bad. Don't believe the hype. To make it good u have to use Huawei battery to kill every single app in the background
It suffers when it comes to smoothnes and scrolling
Emui is just BAD
Stereo speakers is a joke. The secondary is extremely low
I believe it's a 800usd phone... U better think Samsung or pixel or even v30 from lg
Don't listen to the guy above, it's an amazing phone. He must have wandered in from the samsung forum.
I've had samsung, LG, motorola and nexus phones and this is the best by far. I can easily go a full two days without charging regarding the battery life. Emui takes some getting used to but grows on you and gives you full control over the system and apps which stock and other brands do not.
The camera could be better but it is still damn good for a phone and better than most other phones.
As for the 5T I think the main differences are the dust and waterproofing and the battery life, u have to decide if that's worth the extra money.
Any phone you buy can have problems! It is the luck of the draw! Just go to any forum you want and read about the problems they "ALL" have. Much of it depends on the phone you actually receive and how you use it!
I have the Mate 10 (non-pro) and I feel that it is superior to the pro version for many reasons that can be found in the spec comparison. I prefer an LCD screen! But either way it all depends on the phone and you. I think mine is the best phone I have ever owned (and I have owned too many to remember) and I have now lost the desire to even look at anything else to possibly replace it for years to come! Also, the way I use it I can go 4 days...yes that is FOUR DAYS between charges. Show me any other phone that can do that!
I have a mate 10 pro for a few days now and I can sum it up with two words : thumbs up ! I upgraded from a note 3 (battery dead, my only issue to be honest), and you really feel the difference thanks to the camera, the autonomy and you'll get used to the MIUI quck fast. if not, just change the laucher (NOVA, Microsoft, etc.). It really looks and feels great. The only BS part of it IMAO is the AI thing, you cannot feel it at all. But for all the other aspects, go ahead...
Seriously some owners are just weird and not honest
i am not from Samsung forums (whatever that is) i have the mate 10 since day one it was launched here in Kuwait. The only difference is I prefer to give a true life experience not if I like it or not.
I DARE anyone says it doesn't lag to open champions game for example and video record it and share to prove how smooth it is. Or even scroll in Instagram or Facebook. It feels pathetic.
I DARE anyone to turn on all notifications from social media and emails and show us the battery and how great it is. It won't last 4 hours SOT.
I DARE anyone says it's smooth to compare the scrolling with any other flagship from 2016 not even 2017
I have the OnePlus 5 and in comparison the mate 10 is a heckup joke
I dare anyone says emui does't feel like a stupid copycat version of a Chinese knockoff of iOS
I still owns the device cuz of infrared, PC mood and i like the monochrome camera but to advice someone to own it and spread what's proven to be pure lies is not my cup of tea.
I have no speed problems or whatsoever, besides there are a few comparison between the 10 Pro and the Pixel 2XL and both are on pair on speed.
Tbh for me EMUI was always nice and smooth, since I tried it the first time on the ascend mate 7, specially when compared with Samsung Experience, although the Note8 seems to bug down much less often.
EMUI does many things its own way, like it's not possible to expand notifications on the lockscreen, neither is it possible to drag the notification shade down from the lock screen.
Although I've found a way to keep background apps working just by putting them on the system exception, some apps specially the ones not optimized for Oreo might still give you headache, between EMUI own battery saver and Oreo's default background app policies, you might find some apps that won't run properly if they need to do stuff on the background.
There is not smart unlock based on location or voice.
As for bugs, the most annoying I have is Bluetooth audio is half broken, AAC codec cannot be selected.
Huawei needs to improve the portrait mode, specially on the front camera.... the Pixel app port does a much better job.
Cameras are amazing, specially if you wanna do things on manual.
[email protected] said:
Yes there are many
Don't believe the reviews
The only good thing is the camera
Phone lags
Bad at games
Battery is bad. Don't believe the hype. To make it good u have to use Huawei battery to kill every single app in the background
It suffers when it comes to smoothnes and scrolling
Emui is just BAD
Stereo speakers is a joke. The secondary is extremely low
I believe it's a 800usd phone... U better think Samsung or pixel or even v30 from lg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience with the phone is basically the opposite of yours.
I'm very satisfied with the phone.
I upgraded from a Note 4 to the Mate 10 (non-pro) and would do so again. Definitely an adjustment period, but it's speedy and has an amazing battery. Routinely getting 8 hours screen on time and about 2 days of standby. But as others have said, the power management can be over-aggressive, so if you read the forums, there are some apps (like KinScreen) or scrollable calendar widgets that will keep being killed. The Huawei launcher also is useless IMO.
I installed Nova and then rooted, which enabled me to kill the system app Power Genius and I no longer had the apps dying issue, but still had my battery life (especially with a little tweaking using Greenify).
I like the non-pro model better (front finger-print scanner) and it doesn't seem to have the bluetooth sound issues that some are reporting on the pro.
[email protected] said:
Seriously some owners are just weird and not honest
i am not from Samsung forums (whatever that is) i have the mate 10 since day one it was launched here in Kuwait. The only difference is I prefer to give a true life experience not if I like it or not.
I DARE anyone says it doesn't lag to open champions game for example and video record it and share to prove how smooth it is. Or even scroll in Instagram or Facebook. It feels pathetic.
I DARE anyone to turn on all notifications from social media and emails and show us the battery and how great it is. It won't last 4 hours SOT.
I DARE anyone says it's smooth to compare the scrolling with any other flagship from 2016 not even 2017
I have the OnePlus 5 and in comparison the mate 10 is a heckup joke
I dare anyone says emui does't feel like a stupid copycat version of a Chinese knockoff of iOS
I still owns the device cuz of infrared, PC mood and i like the monochrome camera but to advice someone to own it and spread what's proven to be pure lies is not my cup of tea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from OnePlus 5 and mate 10 pro feels equally smoother. Also I have all the main social apps installed with the Huawei battery manager disabled and I get easily 7 hours sot. A lot better then OnePlus 5.
Don't know about gaming because I'm not a gamer.
I don't understand the negative comments... Battery life is highly dependent on what you do. On WiFi you can get 7+h SOT, but when out and about using cellular it will be closer to 5 or maybe 4. The camera is very good, especially if you use manual controls but I wish it wouldn't completely crush noise in low light by making it way too soft (though I suppose this is a matter of taste).
If I were you I'd consider this phone mainly for the battery life and CONSISTENT performance. EMUI isn't broken but it certainly behaves strangely sometimes. E.g. sometimes when I open Gboard it goes underneath the navigation buttons which makes it impossible to use the space or change to numbers/symbols.
I would also say that this phone isn't worth $800. The Galaxy S9 isn't far off in terms of price and it's likely a better phone in everything except price and software.
My Mate 10 Pro hasn't suffered from any significant slowdown and even if it does a simple cleanup from the phone manager will do the trick.
If you can get it for $600 then I think is a fantastic value and overall an excellent phone that I don't regret getting for the equivalent of €550 over a 30 month contract.
Hey guys, so I've been really overthinking all day if I should get the Mate 20 Pro. The 3 main phones I've been using this year are S9+, OP6, Note 9 but I won't count the S9+ as the Note 9 is exactly the same but with bigger battery, bigger screen and the spen (it's cool the first week and then I forget about it, but I do get others use it on a daily basis so there's no competition for the note) . So both the Note 9 and OP6 have things that I've personally missed from the other device, however, at least on paper, the Mate 20 Pro seems to have it almost all.
What I missed about Samsung while owned OP6:
*Better OLED screen colors, higher resolution and brightness
*Stereo speakers
*Wireless charging
*IP68 peace of mind
*Higher volume with BT earbuds (don't know if 20 Pro has this)
*Not really missed but wanted the 4000+ mah battery on Note 9
*Always on display
*Samsung pay with MST (but no big deal since still have my Gear S3 frontier watch)
*One-handed mode
What I miss about OP6 currently on Note 9:
*Really fast/fluid/smooth UI (although I've heard some reviewers complaining about the 20 Pro dropping frames but at least should be better than lagsung)
*Native gestures navigation
*Actually FAST Cable charging
*Lighter and smaller body (pocketability and one hand use)
*Fast unlock, either fingerprint or face/iris are slow on Note 9
*OP6 didn't drain too much battery on idle, on days that I almost don't use the phone Note 9 4000 mah battery performs very similar to 3300 mah battery on OP6
Better than both previous phones/new to me features really looking forward to try:
*3D fast and secure face unlock
*In-display fingerprint sensor
*Raise to wake
*Knuckle gestures to start multitasking, take screenshots, launch apps, etc.
*Triple camera, amazing low light performance
What I think I'd miss if I switch to Mate 20 Pro:
*Slightly wider and notchless screen on Note 9, maybe better colors and brighness?
*BT audio? No dolby atmos, lower volume?
*Stereo speakers are worse than note 9 according to reviewers
*Fingerprint gesture to bring down notification panel
I've seen a lot of comments on other forums and on YouTube claiming the Note 9 is "waaaay better" than the Mate 20 pro. Only advantages I could think of are spen (but I don't really use it) and headphone jack (I haven't touched it in any phone in the last 3 years since I use strictly BT only, Fc me, right?)
So, am I missing anything that would make the Note 9 superior or that I would miss if I switch to the Mate 20 pro? Or do you think this is absolutely the best phone of 2018?
EDIT: it also has IR blaster and remote control app, missed this since Note 4 lol!
Hi
Your post is really interesting.. I think you used 3 of the most important smartphone based on Android OS.
Sincerely.. Actually I have in my hand the Samsung galaxy note 8...i bought it before buy for my job an iPad with the apple pencil.. After that.. I forgot to use the spen.. Personally.. Too little the screen to be used, for example, to take note during a meeting... This is my personal feedback.
So, for this reason I'm not sure to replace now my note with the note 9.. The most important feature, the S pen, is only an option for me... S9 plus? Yes.. But some hardware parts are already, older than a note 9 hardware set...
Also, after 8 years with only Samsung devices I want try something of different.. And now I think that with this mate 20 pro, maybe I found what I need... High performance, wireless charge, amazing camera, pc mode (maybe can be a interesting features if can be used without any extra hardware such Samsung dex, but also the note 9 now can be used without it).. Nice design...
So, actually I think this will be my next smartphone... I'm. 90% sure...
sam213 said:
Hi
Your post is really interesting.. I think you used 3 of the most important smartphone based on Android OS.
Sincerely.. Actually I have in my hand the Samsung galaxy note 8...i bought it before buy for my job an iPad with the apple pencil.. After that.. I forgot to use the spen.. Personally.. Too little the screen to be used, for example, to take note during a meeting... This is my personal feedback.
So, for this reason I'm not sure to replace now my note with the note 9.. The most important feature, the S pen, is only an option for me... S9 plus? Yes.. But some hardware parts are already, older than a note 9 hardware set...
Also, after 8 years with only Samsung devices I want try something of different.. And now I think that with this mate 20 pro, maybe I found what I need... High performance, wireless charge, amazing camera, pc mode (maybe can be a interesting features if can be used without any extra hardware such Samsung dex, but also the note 9 now can be used without it).. Nice design...
So, actually I think this will be my next smartphone... I'm. 90% sure...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I am 90% sure as well, only thing I just found out I'd miss that I first thought I wouldn't is always on display. Mate 20 Pro has it but it is just the clock and battery, no third party notifications. So if it doesn't show notification I think I'll just turn off AOD to save battery, however, if it doesn't have the RGB LED either, I think I'd miss something to check notifications at a glance
vwite said:
I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I am 90% sure as well, only thing I just found out I'd miss that I first thought I wouldn't is always on display. Mate 20 Pro has it but it is just the clock and battery, no third party notifications. So if it doesn't show notification I think I'll just turn off AOD to save battery, however, if it doesn't have the RGB LED either, I think I'd miss something to check notifications at a glance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes is true but also in this case for my opinion it depend of the normal use of everyone's...
For a example.. Personally I deactivate on my note 8 the always on function because I use for my job and personal use the smartphone really every moment, and switch on the screen to check he notification, is not a problem for me..
The battery life is another important point for me... As I explained before, I abuse of my smartphone usually.. Mail.. WhatsApp, web surfing and a lot of special application such autocad, notes... The only apps that I don't use are the games...
Anyway, I noticed that after some months Samsung device became to have a battery drain.. In some case I solved using avast antivirus app, because his app kill some background process, that wasn't not stopped using the software integrated in Samsung device.
I know that now we have a bigger batteryin both devices, but I want try another company and check if the battery drain can be not a problem anymore.. Also.. I want try the ai support of huawei that promise to solve the problem of the bad performance after day after day...
vwite said:
I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I am 90% sure as well, only thing I just found out I'd miss that I first thought I wouldn't is always on display. Mate 20 Pro has it but it is just the clock and battery, no third party notifications. So if it doesn't show notification I think I'll just turn off AOD to save battery, however, if it doesn't have the RGB LED either, I think I'd miss something to check notifications at a glance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here man, my pixel 2 xl aod is brilliant, and dunno how i will cope with mate 20 pro aod... Like why is soo hard for them to implement this? Still i pulled the trigger and pre ordered it, will keep pixel for a week after just in csse and see if get get used to it not seeing notifications on the aod...
For me is an absolutely yes to your question I never had anything like this Mate 20 Pro it is even better than P20 Pro! Wireless charging, amazing screen amazing battery life fast graphics and processor its all full of future proof! And aesthetically is gorgeous!
The phone seems to be gorgeous, but EMUI is horrible...
No 3rd party notifications for AOD and no expandable lockscreen notifications (no whatsapp quick reply or mail delete)
stah17 said:
The phone seems to be gorgeous, but EMUI is horrible...
No 3rd party notifications for AOD and no expandable lockscreen notifications (no whatsapp quick reply or mail delete)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feel the same, gorgeous hardware and not so gorgeous software. Had the P20 Pro and loved everything but the software. Will at least try the Mate 20 Pro and see if it is a keeper or not
easycure1974 said:
Feel the same, gorgeous hardware and not so gorgeous software. Had the P20 Pro and loved everything but the software. Will at least try the Mate 20 Pro and see if it is a keeper or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also tried the P20 Pro and gave it back because of that damn EMUI... I hoped that they would fix the expandable LS and AOD but nothing happened. That's why I won't buy any phone from Huawei.
Seems like Huawei does not think that these are bugs....
What do they think are the advantages of taking these features out? I don't get it
So as an update to my first post, here's a few more cons of the Mate 20 Pro (some only apply in the US)
*Everyone seems to dislike EMUI
*Problems with third party lunchers
*Worse signal in the US, no wifi calling and no LTE bands 66 and 71 (T-Mobile)
*Pissible spying
*When using the hiding notch option the screen does look noticeable smaller vs Note 9 (picture attached) I'm not sure if the downgrade in display size would bother me
In this thread everyone seems to be against the Mate 20 pro (vs Note 9)
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-9/how-to/note-9-vs-huawei-mate-20-t3855360
Damn, I'm sill laying to the side of getting the 20 Pro but this just made the decision harder
Today I tested Mate 20 Pro:
- High quality hardwares: very good build quality, Oled screen look better than Note 9 ( better white balance, higher brightness ) ...
- Seem very good battery life, better than Note 9 and Xs Max
- I don't like EMIUI too: not really modern ( clean and clear ), some micro stutter lags
- Portrait Backlighting: bad quality compare to Note 9 especially compare yo Xs Max
Zanr Zij said:
Today I tested Mate 20 Pro:
- High quality hardwares: very good bùi quality, Oled screen look better than Note 9 ( better white balance, higher brightness ) ...
- Seem very good battery life, better than Note 9 and Xs Max
- I don't like EMIUI too: not really modern ( clean and clear ), some micro stutter lags
- Portrait Backlighting: bad quality compare to Note 9 especially compare yo Xs Max
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome thank you so much for the feedback! I was really concerned about screen colors and brightness feeling as a downgrade from Note 9
Would you say the micro stutters are worse than in Note 9? It always drop frames when opening recent apps menu, switching apps, unlocking animation, adjusting split screen, operating split screen both apps start to lag, opening swiftkey keyboard, especially on google translate app I'm not sure why but it lags really bad (relatively for a $1000+ phone) like 4-5 seconds to open swiftkey keyboard after tapping on text box. I know EMUI is no OxygenOS but I was hoping at least some improvement from Note 9. Just as Note 9 is not perfect but improvement from Note is very welcome.
Zanr Zij said:
Today I tested Mate 20 Pro:
- High quality hardwares: very good build quality, Oled screen look better than Note 9 ( better white balance, higher brightness ) ...
- Seem very good battery life, better than Note 9 and Xs Max
- I don't like EMIUI too: not really modern ( clean and clear ), some micro stutter lags
- Portrait Backlighting: bad quality compare to Note 9 especially compare yo Xs Max
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have the BOE display, right? I am really really reaaaally dissapointed with the LG display, it's almost a deal breaker I am still thinking about it depends if I find enough workarounds for other problems.
What i like about the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is:
The design
The screen
The performance
The battery life
The face unlock
The onscreen fingerprint reader
The camera
Emui is alright.
Huawei could do better with:
Faster updates. (I'm on 108 and other people are on 122 and even 128? firmwares). More customization options such as custom font, making the notification screen black and or transparent (same with quick settings, it's black but no transparent), removing certain statusbar icons. Giving us the option to completely remove all bloatware that can be installed trough the Google Play Store.
Hello.
Can you give some opinion about EMUI 9? Is it better? Where SOT is better? Is the camera better in EMUI 9 compared to EMUI 8?
Well aesthetically is better in my opinion.
Just need to get used ti the new appearance.
Status bar more flexible with notifications,
fixed double tap issue,
battery is a bit better,
fingerprint more responsive.
Still it can not make me a coffee or do the laundry but its ok.
Although I am still disappointed with my choice over camera to be honest because P9 was taking way better pictures in pro mode than this one. Ai feels si oversaturation mix so i usually turn it off.
Also locked bootloader decision was a big turn off point for me. Even if i have unlocking code the development will be crap. So this is the last time i buy Huawei / Honor or any other sub-brands they have.
Anyone can confirm that battery is better?
No noticeable difference from my point of view.
~ easy 4-6h SOT on 24h overall, like it was on EMUI8
Hi please, is it worth it to exchange mate 20 against pixel 3xl thank you
PS: I know I'm posting on wrong place, but the topic of mate 20 is dead
The regular mate 20? If you don't have to pay ANYTHING more... I'd probably consider it... Probably
I would do it, with at any hasitation... I 2ould kill for some aosp love.... hate how emui handles memory for instance... software ans support s#cks big time, the only things I love from my mate are the charging speed and camera
demon2112 said:
I would do it, with at any hasitation... I 2ould kill for some aosp love.... hate how emui handles memory for instance... software ans support s#cks big time, the only things I love from my mate are the charging speed and camera
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pixels have even worse memory management actually. I agree with you on the software front though, emui is definitely not something I like about this phone.
crixley said:
Pixels have even worse memory management actually. I agree with you on the software front though, emui is definitely not something I like about this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know about Pixel memory management, it should be fine now... I know it was an debacle, I thought Google had fixed that though........ any way.... last huawei for me ?
demon2112 said:
I don't know about Pixel memory management, it should be fine now... I know it was an debacle, I thought Google had fixed that though........ any way.... last huawei for me ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I really her about this phone is emui.
Hi,
I actually have both, Mate 20 Pro and Pixel 3XL and am switching back and forth regularly as I can't make up my mind (I'd love the mix of the 2 ).
Regarding Pixel 3XL vs Mate 20 (keep in mind it's the Mate 20 Pro) :
Pros :
• "Clean" Android vs EMUI even though EMUI has some nice features (eg screenshot gesture)
• Regular firmware updates (M20P is said to get monthly but not as far as I am concerned)
• No Bootloader lock
• Android Q 1st day (wait to see when M20P will get it)
Cons :
• Battery (hard to make a full day with my usage vs 1.5 days easy on M20P)
• Missing wide angle which is pretty nice on M20P for landscape pics
• Memory management (even though greatly improved compared to the beginning)
• No Miracast
• No Dual SIM / SD Card
• M20P has better (more vivid) display in my eyes
As far as my usage is concerned, other than Wide angle, both cameras have sufficient quality.
Now even though the Cons list is longer, it all depends on the importance YOU put on each point. I'm on the Pixel 3 XL right now for the last 2 weeks (M20P in a drawer) because the Android experience is globally more satisfying to me (and being able to test Android Q Beta 4).
I too played around with pixel 3a and pixel 3 (not xl).
As LuMe96 says, he is pretty much spot on there, so won't repeat what was said. To be honest, having a clean android is a shock coming from EMUI - feels more swiping going on. Like for example to get application list, you have to hold and swipe all the way up, where as M20P you have an application button. EMUI is more polished.
Comparing cameras - apart from macro shots (which isn't in pixel), night sights is really good (ie, in dark room I was able to read my b'day card, whereas M20P I couldn't). AR mode is very good (you see marvel character in your viewing space as if he/she are there), unlike M20P was rather crappy. You certainly don't find as much camera effects then M20P.
I can't seem to set the shutter speed to like 30 secs on pixel whereas you can on m20p so stars photos isn't great. Might be able to get a better camera app, but afaik, I don't think you can set the shutter speed more then 2s.
I haven't noticed any slow downs or lags, but having said that, I don't play games. It can handle many apps opening at once.
3a camera shots - there is a tiny tiny lag as its rendering the photo you taken, but it doesn't effect the photo speed you taking - it just the rendering.
I get a bit of a storage anxiety - you mindful of lack of storage so if you thinking of installing big fancy 3d games, then i may come to be an issue. (i think you got about 56gb remaining with clean os)
I got a pixel 3 cos I found a really good deal (cheaper then 3a!). 3a isn't that much different to be honest -if you are a type of person that gets a good case and screen protector, then you probably don't need gorilla glass. wireless charging dock is £80, so if you not bothered about wireless charging or paying a fortune for the dock, then 3a is best. Can't remember if pixel is waterproof, but on M20P if a spot of water is on the screen, I found the screen a little unresponsive anyway.
tweedie said:
EMUI is more polished.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're literally the only person I've ever heard say this
crixley said:
You're literally the only person I've ever heard say this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha when I say polished I meant glossy! Shiny colour schemes and all that
to be honest i found the biggest draw backs with the pixel phones the much slower charging speeds and the much worse battery life are really noticeable after having the mate 20 pro and its the two biggest things that made me sell my pixel 3 and keep the mate 20 pro , the battery life and charging speeds are absolute game changers for my usage
updates are nice to have fast but i found emui 9 to have more features and better gestures than stock android and you can theme the mate 20 pro so easy with launcher/theme/font/icon pack etc that emui9 can look very good and more how you want it to look rather than stock android
i like the pixel 3 camera but i also like the mate 20 pro camera , both have strong points and weak points and both are fun to use with great output but i do tend to lean towards the mate 20 pro camera due to its features and versatility although no flash in aperture mode bugs me
i also really like the nokia 9 and prefer the camera output to both the pixel 3 and mate 20 pro , however it also has a smaller battery and slower charging times and again after using the mate 20 pro i really notice that
I prefer the Mate 20p - probably a subjective thing.
I forget the waterproof rating on the 20p, but the Pixel 3 is one value lower (my wife has the Pixel).
I also agree about using an alternate launcher and theming for dealing with clutter. I used Apex for a long time, but yesterday tried out Smart Launcher - very nicely organized with a simple home page, search page and widget page. The best part is the application page, with categorized subsections. Very elegant, and maintains the phone gestures (or customize your own). Here are pics of home page and one of the app screens with the theme I currently use.
I had the pixel 3 and gave it to my mom and bought the mate 20 pro
efalis said:
I prefer the Mate 20p - probably a subjective thing.
I forget the waterproof rating on the 20p, but the Pixel 3 is one value lower (my wife has the Pixel).
I also agree about using an alternate launcher and theming for dealing with clutter. I used Apex for a long time, but yesterday tried out Smart Launcher - very nicely organized with a simple home page, search page and widget page. The best part is the application page, with categorized subsections. Very elegant, and maintains the phone gestures (or customize your own). Here are pics of home page and one of the app screens with the theme I currently use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
niceee that theme is that
demon2112 said:
niceee that theme is that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Azure.