Sony X Compact or Iphone SE - Sony Xperia X Compact Guides, News, & Discussion

Hello,
I'm thinking of buying a small phone, since I find it uncomfortable those that exceed 5 inches.
I was watching and analyzing those who have good battery, camera and features and I think the best that there are currently on the market are these 2: the Iphone SE and the Sony X Compact.
I'm not going to use it for games of any kind. What I most look for is that it has good battery life, a good rear camera (selfies do not bag) and, if possible, you can hear well with the headphones on.
Obvious that it is 2 different operating systems and, leaving aside that, since I like to use IOS or Android, from their own experience, comments or whatever: with which would they stay?
From now, thank you for you help!!

salocin82 said:
Hello,
I'm thinking of buying a small phone, since I find it uncomfortable those that exceed 5 inches.
I was watching and analyzing those who have good battery, camera and features and I think the best that there are currently on the market are these 2: the Iphone SE and the Sony X Compact.
I'm not going to use it for games of any kind. What I most look for is that it has good battery life, a good rear camera (selfies do not bag) and, if possible, you can hear well with the headphones on.
Obvious that it is 2 different operating systems and, leaving aside that, since I like to use IOS or Android, from their own experience, comments or whatever: with which would they stay?
From now, thank you for you help!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't ever owned an SE so I can't really comment on it vs the compact. However I do know that the compact has more picture storage potential due to the SD Card slot (SE doesn't have one). The SE uses a 12 megapixel shooter vs the Compact using a 23. I am note a huge taking pictures kinda guy so no complaints from me on the camera but I guess that's not saying much. Anyway below is a link to a video comparing the two. It's a little outdated as it has the compact running marshmallow (it has Nougat now) but does a decent job of comparing the two. https://youtu.be/U5g7LTCJqaY

Sony. Water resistance, SDcard. That's about it lol.
The SE may perform smoother as it is powered by the 6S internals.
Sent from my SM-G930T using XDA-Developers Legacy app

If you're not bothered about customizing then buy an iPhone, if you want customization then buy any Android.

iphone fails
- missing notification led
- no customizing and no jailbreak in sight, closed source system
- no slight to unlock (stupid doubble press home button to unlock since apple removed slide to unlock)
- less ram, no sd card, memory not expandable
- 1600 mAh vs 2700 mAh and no quick charge
- smaller display hurts your eyes,
- ligning connector incompatible (how many cables do we need ?)
- easy scratches on alu frame,
- banana bending,
- design from 2012
- steve jobs is dead
etc
-

How is the dev community for this phone though?
There doesn't seem to be any official Lineago OS builds and only one AOSP ROM ...
I would buy this phone in a heartbeat with Lineage OS support but without it seems like one would be dependent on one single developer for ROMs on this phone.

andTab said:
How is the dev community for this phone though?
There doesn't seem to be any official Lineago OS builds and only one AOSP ROM ...
I would buy this phone in a heartbeat with Lineage OS support but without it seems like one would be dependent on one single developer for ROMs on this phone.
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You are welcome to join the dev community and help to bring LineageOS to this device. Otherwise buy yourself a Nexus...

ondrejvaroscak said:
You are welcome to join the dev community and help to bring LineageOS to this device. Otherwise buy yourself a Nexus...
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Nexus phones have ****ty hardware, so no thank you. Then I will get an iPhone.
Don't need a phone with a manufacturing defect that has thousands of phones failing and Google telling you that you are sadly 21 days out of warranty.

Problem solved

I have owned both of them and I found the iPhone SE to be the absolute perfect size for 1 hand use. The X Compact is good but there are still times where the opposite corner can be hard to reach. The SE also feels great in hand and is built with high quality materials. I inevitably returned mine and got a X Compact instead. They are both great phones and if OS doesn't matter to you, I would go with the SE, but I personally prefer Android and it's customization so I returned it.

switcher said:
iphone fails
- less ram, no sd card, memory not expandable-
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Well you're comparing two different Systems, iOS doesn't require as much RAM as Android.

Aviad1928 said:
Well you're comparing two different Systems, iOS doesn't require as much RAM as Android.
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maybe in the old days, but have you seen IOS 10.3 on the SE today ? Compared to the SE the XC performs much better
and the iphone 7+ is shipped with 3gb for a good reason

switcher said:
maybe in the old days, but have you seen IOS 10.3 on the SE today ? Compared to the SE the XC performs much better
and the iphone 7+ is shipped with 3gb for a good reason
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haha honestly I haven't seen an iPhone since 2012, maybe you're right

I own both, they both have positives and negatives. I actively swap between the two because of that! The iPhone is smooth and beautiful, great quality hardware, but iOS feels much more restricted and the screen is very small (even for a small phone fan like myself). Camera is awesome; super quality and quick in all conditions, although selfie camera is only 1.2mp. Not that big a deal though since the pics still look good. X compact on the other hand has a much more vibrant screen which is bigger (but not too big!), very snappy and excellent performance compared to other androids, the system is overall much more customizable, great camera too with wider lens and better selfies. But overall the phone feels cheaper in hand (plastic body), and like all android phones it doesn't have the super polished behaviour, look and feel of apple. As I said, positives and negatives for both! For me I use Google Apps for everything, which is more restricted on iphone obviously, and I like being able to read news clearly on my commute on the larger brighter screen, so I use the x compact more. But sometimes I go back to the iPhone se just because of the smooth shiny experience

Hello, I really wanted a powerful and fast phone with clean interface, so I bought an iPhone 7 as the first non-Android phone in 7 years, so I'm very experienced with Android. I just wasn't impressed with with the Pixel for it's price. I also have a SE. I need some functionality in Android that's missing on the 7 and looking for a companion small phone that I can alternate with if needed, so I'm looking to get rid of my SE to fund for the Compact.
What I do learn from using iOS is that it's more primitive than I thought, despite the clean smooth experience. Somethings are just a joke on it I don't know how they get away with it when millions people are paying for it. But it has it's benefits as well, I do enjoy the A10 chip performance and not spending many hours to setup my phone. And some things just work better, like the Fine my iPhone. On the Honor 8, I could just bypass that lost phone screen . I see too many bugs on Android with skinned devices, and giant devices, which made me really tired of dealing with them. The Pixel just doesn't do it for me in term of pricing, all the issues I'm hearing about, the availability. I would say the Android market abandoned me, not the other way around, and this pushed me to iPhone.
My last Sony phone was the Xperia Play. I'm hoping the current Sony's OS is not too far away from stock Android.

I bought the X Compact for my wife as a Christmas gift - the other phone I was looking at was the iPhone SE.
After she tried out a loaner iPhone for about three weeks she decided she preferred Android, chiefly due to more free apps being available/costing less than the iOS version.
From everything I gathered from the numerous reviews, it essentially comes down to which platform you prefer. The iPhone SE has a slightly better camera in low light (night), but that looked like the only hardware advantage. If you go with the x-compact, try to wait until B&H photo has it on sale for $270. It's done that 3 times in the last five months.

switcher said:
iphone fails
- no customizing and no jailbreak in sight, closed source system
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Click to collapse
I was also seriously considering the SE, but that is the big reason I got the X compact. The Sony open devices program is a major plus for me. I look forward to actually owning my own device and have freedom of messing around with it, maybe even trying out Jolla's SailfishOS when it's available.

The only thing that concerns me about Android is there seems to be vulnerabilities exposed on the net or viruses (adware that calls back to someone's server in the background and monitors SMS messages) through legitimate apps.. seems there's a security flaw announced once a week. How is development for security patches on it, given the frequency of malware?
Not sure about ios but I kinda like having open source android., So long as devs are on top of things and not just adding feature fluff.

volcolm said:
The only thing that concerns me about Android is there seems to be vulnerabilities exposed on the net or viruses (adware that calls back to someone's server in the background and monitors SMS messages) through legitimate apps.. seems there's a security flaw announced once a week. How is development for security patches on it, given the frequency of malware?
Not sure about ios but I kinda like having open source android., So long as devs are on top of things and not just adding feature fluff.
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Android now have built in permission management so you can deny that app from accessing your personal info. It would be nice to have a built in feature to block internet access outright, but generally only MIUI based roms have that. I don't see it as an issue aside from people who download dubious apps or sideloading from questionable sources.
If you are that concerned you should get a phone that is promised monthly security updates, which is a Google Pixel. https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/ I was surprised the X Compact (international version) have timely monthly security updates.
I would say the closed source nature of iOS potentially makes it more insecure, with open source at least you have much more developers looking at it and alerting the issues.

eksasol said:
Android now have built in permission management so you can deny that app from accessing your personal info. It would be nice to have a built in feature to block internet access outright, but generally only MIUI based roms have that. I don't see it as an issue aside from people who download dubious apps or sideloading from questionable sources.
If you are that concerned you should get a phone that is promised monthly security updates, which is a Google Pixel. https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/ I was surprised the X Compact (international version) have timely monthly security updates.
I would say the closed source nature of iOS potentially makes it more insecure, with open source at least you have much more developers looking at it and alerting the issues.
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It'd have been easier to state that the XC already gets monthly (security) updates as the GP, but I digress. This is good, probably better than most manufacturers in that regard. My last phone was a buy once, throwaway after a couple months because Huawei decides "Want latest Android, your phone is obsolete -- buy a new Mate instead". Before folks say "Wait, they update their Mate line now!" - watch a "beta" ROM come online from Huawei after a year of not releasing any updates for months (once new phones are around the corner), the poof, scrapped ROM/patch (and now your phone is obsolete/vulnerable) because hey go buy new shiny phone to get the latest "update". It's infuriating, a phone should be "supported" for at least 3 years. Usually the good XDA developers make a phone last much longer than that!

Related

[Q] Just how "pure" is the Xperia Android ?

Popping my xda cherry with this post guise, but I'm in no way a noob. I've had minimal experience with android (aside from Bluestacks and other people's phones) as I have yet to own one, but I'm an iOS expert (sorry xD) that has switched over to the android side, thanks to Xperia lol
I keep hearing that Google's Nexus is the only way to experience the real/true/pure android, or whatever. Aside from delayed updates and bloatware, what exactly does this mean ? I've heard this is the case, to a frustrating extent, on Samsung devices (which doesn't even matter because I'm anti-Samsung) but does this also apply to Sony's Xperia line ? And if so, to what extent ?
Of course most of it should be removable via rooting and custom ROMs and such (which I will definitely do, at the very least to get rid of CarrierIQ), but is there any other sort of unmanageable difference between Nexus and other android devices ? Specifically, Xperias.
I've tried Jellybean on a Sola, and was overly impressed. But the interwebz have scared me and, being the nerdy tweaker type, I don't wanna stumble upon this frustration after getting the device.
PS. I plan on getting a GSM unlocked (outside the states) Sony Xperia Z, in case it's relevant. Any general advice is also welcome!
Essentially the completely stock Android user interface is, for many people, a great interface because of how clean it is and it's unparalleled performance. It also gets extra points for the limited number of extra unnecessary features - Android itself can take care of that, it just takes some research (trips to this site and the Google Play Store, for example). Carrier skins aren't exactly bad (not at all in my opinion, actually, I really like a lot of them), they're just criticized when they include unnecessary bloat (like games) and also when they release features that don't work well or aren't very helpful. They also used to be very heavily criticized for their hit on performance, but that's less of a problem now that the modern flagships are extremely powerful.
Sony is pretty good about pushing out Android updates, especially to their flagships like the Xperia Z. It's also often been said that Xperia eDream (the UI that the Xperia line uses an overlay skin on Android) is one of the lightest and most 'true-to-stock' full-blown overlays. Other companies have modified Android far less, but in those cases they only really add a widget or two which isn't all that helpful or interesting. In my personal opinion, Xperia eDream is superb - it's extremely smooth, clean, and elegant, and has a bunch of subtle but fancy animations that don't at all hinder performance.
As a side note, I don't think the Xperia Z has CarrierIQ installed... after their presence was unearth a year or so ago they were largely removed from most phones. I could be wrong, though.
There isn't a massive difference between the Xperia line and the Nexus line once you rule out the software differences (which can be fixed). The only real difference I can think of is perhaps the lack of a navigation bar for the Xperia line, which can actually be implemented via software too even though it's not really logical since you have capacitive buttons right underneath. They can be disabled, but then you're just using up screen real estate.
Also, Samsung is actually also pretty good about pushing out regular Android updates, again especially for their flagships. Samsung is often criticized, though, for their UI (Touchwiz) because it has a bunch of features that are primarily gimmicky and aren't often used in day-to-day usage and also due to it's cartoonish look.
The OEM to look out for that hardly ever updates their phones (even their flagships) in a timely manner is HTC.
Of course, this is where this site comes into play - if there's enough support (and I assure you essentially any flagship from a big-name OEM will get plenty of support, Xperia Z included) you can enjoy the latest version of Android for years to come. Of course, the Nexus line still gets the best support (the ancient Nexus phones like the Nexus S and Nexus One still get decent support, especially the Nexus S) but regardless you'll get great support for Android versions.
Reply to Surpass
Thank you for extensive, detailed reply.
Surpass said:
Carrier skins aren't exactly bad (not at all in my opinion, actually, I really like a lot of them), they're just criticized when they include unnecessary bloat (like games) and also when they release features that don't work well or aren't very helpful. They also used to be very heavily criticized for their hit on performance, but that's less of a problem now that the modern flagships are extremely powerful.
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This isn't really a problem for me, as I plan to get the phone GSM unlocked, thereby officially not belonging to any carrier. I simply mentioned this as it is the number one argument I hear when people talk about "real vs fake android"
Sony is pretty good about pushing out Android updates, especially to their flagships like the Xperia Z.
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Click to collapse
See, I thought so too. But I mentioned a Sola that a friend of mine has. He only recently updated to Jellybean, upon my advice and instructions, because his phone never told him there was an update. I walked him through the rooting process merely to achieve this. It was pretty disappointing, especially since the Sola has been out for a while.
It's also often been said that Xperia eDream (the UI that the Xperia line uses an overlay skin on Android) is one of the lightest and most 'true-to-stock' full-blown overlays. Other companies have modified Android far less, but in those cases they only really add a widget or two which isn't all that helpful or interesting. In my personal opinion, Xperia eDream is superb - it's extremely smooth, clean, and elegant, and has a bunch of subtle but fancy animations that don't at all hinder performance.
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Click to collapse
This is really what I wanted to hear. Thank you.
As a side note, I don't think the Xperia Z has CarrierIQ installed... after their presence was unearth a year or so ago they were largely removed from most phones. I could be wrong, though.
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As far as I know, only Apple has claimed to remove it from iOS5+. But really, why not look into it ? Aside from the privacy concerns, it hogs battery, performance and bandwidth, regardless of whether or not you're on billable internet or not.
There isn't a massive difference between the Xperia line and the Nexus line once you rule out the software differences (which can be fixed).
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As long as software differences are tweakable, they don't bother me.
The only real difference I can think of is perhaps the lack of a navigation bar for the Xperia line, which can actually be implemented via software too even though it's not really logical since you have capacitive buttons right underneath. They can be disabled, but then you're just using up screen real estate.
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You're right, that's just silly.
Also, Samsung is actually also pretty good about pushing out regular Android updates, again especially for their flagships. Samsung is often criticized, though, for their UI (Touchwiz) because it has a bunch of features that are primarily gimmicky and aren't often used in day-to-day usage and also due to it's cartoonish look.
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My hatred for Samsung is more on a corporate level. Touchwiz is ****, but my hatred for the company itself trumps this. Everyone seems to have forgotten this, but in the pre-Galaxy days, before Samsung disturbed the force of the smartphone world, it was famed for being the cheapest brand out there. Be in TV's, PC hardware, ACs, you name it. They always provide barely par products much cheaper than the competition, and for this reason I have no respect for them, as they slow the industry, and technological development in general, by doing this, rather than being innovative and creative.
The OEM to look out for that hardly ever updates their phones (even their flagships) in a timely manner is HTC.
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I've personally never liked HTC, always felt like an i-mate knock off, but thank you. I know many HTC fanbois that need to know this.
Of course, this is where this site comes into play - if there's enough support (and I assure you essentially any flagship from a big-name OEM will get plenty of support, Xperia Z included) you can enjoy the latest version of Android for years to come. Of course, the Nexus line still gets the best support (the ancient Nexus phones like the Nexus S and Nexus One still get decent support, especially the Nexus S) but regardless you'll get great support for Android versions.
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Hence why I posted here. Again, thank you for all that info!
Ace2213 said:
Thank you for extensive, detailed reply.
This isn't really a problem for me, as I plan to get the phone GSM unlocked, thereby officially not belonging to any carrier. I simply mentioned this as it is the number one argument I hear when people talk about "real vs fake android"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops, sorry, I mistyped that reply, actually. I was referring to OEM skins - there's not such a thing as a 'Carrier skin'. Carriers do install their own suite of bloat, though, on top of the OEM skin, so it's good you're getting a GSM unlocked version, which makes for a more 'pure' experience, like you wanted.
Ace2213 said:
See, I thought so too. But I mentioned a Sola that a friend of mine has. He only recently updated to Jellybean, upon my advice and instructions, because his phone never told him there was an update. I walked him through the rooting process merely to achieve this. It was pretty disappointing, especially since the Sola has been out for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Xperia Sola is a low-end device, and low-end devices are not normally targeted for the tech-oriented market and as such oftentimes the users of them don't care (or even know, for that matter) what version of Android they're running. The hardware in the Sola (especially the paltry 512MB of RAM) also makes it an illogical choice to upgrade to the latest version of Android, because newer versions of Android are more focused on multi-tasking which doesn't cater well to low RAM. The newer versions also press down harder on the processor and have fancier animations, which can result in a more laggy experience if it's not very well optimized.
Ace2213 said:
My hatred for Samsung is more on a corporate level. Touchwiz is ****, but my hatred for the company itself trumps this. Everyone seems to have forgotten this, but in the pre-Galaxy days, before Samsung disturbed the force of the smartphone world, it was famed for being the cheapest brand out there. Be in TV's, PC hardware, ACs, you name it. They always provide barely par products much cheaper than the competition, and for this reason I have no respect for them, as they slow the industry, and technological development in general, by doing this, rather than being innovative and creative.
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Click to collapse
Fair enough. Samsung can be a bit unimaginative in their designs, I agree on that.
Ace2213 said:
I've personally never liked HTC, always felt like an i-mate knock off, but thank you. I know many HTC fanbois that need to know this.
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The problem that HTC has with updates is in the past they pushed out a HUGE number of phones in a short period of time. If you've got 100+ phones released in the past year it gets difficult to support the latest version of Android on every single one.
HTC this year is trying to turn that around by releasing only one key flagship (HTC One) and a few minor other phones. Hopefully with that their support for the latest Android version will improve.
Ace2213 said:
Hence why I posted here. Again, thank you for all that info!
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Sure.

My LG G2 review - coming from stock Android (Nexus One/S/4/7)

Hi Guys,
After owning several iPhones back in the day (up to the 3GS) and then Nexus One, Nexus S and Nexus 4 (skipped the Galaxy Nexus) and a Nexus 7 tablet, always on (unrooted) stock Android, I couldn't resist the temptation and got myself a 32GB LG G2 (European version).
Why not wait a few weeks for the Nexus 5 ?
The main reason is that the LG G2 has just the perfect hardware specs for me, there is nothing I would realistically want more. The Nexus 5 will have smaller screen and smaller battery. Also, the last 3 versions of Android did not bring any significant useable stuff to the table in order to make me really want to update, so the newest Android update is not so important to have.
The other reason is that I am really bored of stock Android. There are some things that Google will stubbornly never add or change, and I'm not one to install custom ROMs all day. For example, I can't set different sound volumes for the call ringtones and notification ringtones. And the notification LED is so neglected by the stock Android (on phones that have it). I gave my "old" Nexus 4 to my girlfriend, and although she loves to speed over her old Galaxy S Advance, she immediately begun asking where are the "gimmicks" that Samsung included into its software and that she used all the time. This is saying something.
One minor reason is that I have had hardware problems ALL of my Nexus devices, despite the fact that I take great care of them: the Nexus One's power button became loose and broke over time (HTC support really sucks !), the Nexus S capacitive sensor burned in a corner (display assembly replacement), the Nexus 7 speakers broke and now sound is very distorted. The Nexus 4 screen was a bit yellowish when I received it, I read that it's from the glue bonding the glass layers, it improved over time but never had the correct colors, it always had a subtle yellow tint to it.
Why LG G2 ?
Just a quick glance at the competition and my previous experience with various brands made me choose the G2. The iPhone is really out of question due to the microscopic screen and lack of notification LED (it's incredible how a business user can live without a notification LED), the Galaxy S4 and HTC One have outdated hardware (I mean, if I pay the same price, why not get the latest hardware), the HTC One has a microscopic, unusable notification LED (and I don't wish you to need something from the HTC technical support !), the Galaxy Note 3 is really too big. I have never used a spare battery with any of my phones, and never used a microSD card, so these missing features are just not minuses for me. The lack of removable battery (and thus the inclusion of a bigger battery) is in fact a huge plus.
The Motorola MotoX has a very nice notification feature, but it pulsates too slow (indicating battery concerns) and the rest of the hardware is too average and I can't see it as an upgrade over the Nexus 4 (plus it's not available in Europe although I could get it if I really wanted to).
The LG G2 hardware
I will say that the excellent, biggest-in-class display, the impressive battery life and the very small bezels (phone fits in my front jeans pocket !), combined with the killer 'Knock On' feature make this phone an easy choice over any other phone right now, hardware-wise. Not to mention the newest Snapdragon 800 processor. I am even pleased by its camera capability, pictures always look very sharp because of the optical stabilization, although there is too much noise reduction and loss of detail (however resized for web/facebook, pictures look great). The fact that it has an FM radio is a huge plus for me, because I needed a radio to listen to my favorite talk show between the parking lot and my home, and it's proven to do its job great so far
The LG G2 software
Believe me when I say this, the stock Android is extremely boring compared to LGs software. It's so refreshing to see many user-needed features included in their software. I don't care for most of them, but they don't get in the way either. However, some of them are really useful and I never see Google implementing them in their stock Android. For example, I can now set different ringtone volumes for notifications and calls, I can access the phone files from my computer over my home network, I have a very customizable battery saver that kicks in when needed, etc.
There is only one thing that bothers my in LG G2's software: the notification drawer has some items that you can never remove from there, like the screen brightness, ringtone volume and a row with some shortcuts. It's not unbearable, but I prefer that to only be used for notifications. At least they could move their bloatware controls *after* all the notifications instead of before them.
Conclusion
I really like the LG G2. I think it trumps every other phone at this moment, but this is not the important thing. The important thing is that I don't have to charge my phone every day (it sometimes lasts 3+ days !), it has a great screen for web reading and browsing and it's just a well-designed phone.
Good review, vanilla android was a performance necessity when phones weren't power houses. I too enjoy the gadgetry of mfg skins. I still like stock android for my tablet, but for my primary device, I like the bells and whistles.
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Thnx for this review. I love my g2 more lol!
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk 2
Well i suppose the camera is better than just for facebook and instagram. Its a 13mp for god's sake!
Fille84 said:
Well i suppose the camera is better than just for facebook and instagram. Its a 13mp for god's sake!
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The megapixel count really doesn't matter, if you take a picture with an old 5 Megapixel Canon DSLR you will blow any smartphone out if the water. The pixel size / sensor size and lens quality does matter a lot.
The LG G2 camera is quite surprisingly good for a smartphone camera with a 1/3 inch sensor. The lens seems very good. But the resulting image is heavily post-processed to eliminate noise due to small pixel phtosites. Unfortunately fine detail is gone as well, but this is only visible on full-size images. Basically the camera software is optimized for instant picture sharing with little to no user post-processing, which is a correct thing to do in a smartphone.
I for one would prefer a noisier but more detailed image which I could post-process with a dedicated suite like Adobe's Lightroom. But I guess this is what big cameras are for...
Thanks for this review. I like it
Nexus 5 = Crap
This are the technical characteristics of the upcoming Nexuseless 5, I prefer LG G2 ever.
4.95″ 1080p display
32GB and 16GB internal storage
2GB RAM
MSM8974 aka Snapdragon 800 at 2.3GHz
8MP OIS rear camera
1.3MP front camera
2300mAh battery <<<<<<---- Why are they still using this crap battery!!?????
Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Proximity/Ambient Light, Pressure
Slimport compatibility
Micro SIM slot
Notification light
Wireless charging
NFC
Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth 3.0 was also listed, but this is most likely an error.)
UMTS/GSM/CDMA/LTE compatibility
More details of the Nexuseless 5 here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/173744848/LG-D821
I cant make my mind up about the LG g2 or the nexus 5 the nexus 5 looks nicer but the G2 has better specs.
G2 in my opinion looks so sexy and honestly that's one of the many reasons I bought it. Its different with the home button setup on the back and has the specs to last a long time for me. Also running stock and with 5 hour screen time I'm way over 24 hours of use
Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
blair287 said:
I cant make my mind up about the LG g2 or the nexus 5 the nexus 5 looks nicer but the G2 has better specs.
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Looks is Subjective, IMO Nexus 5 just has two advantages over G2, Price and Timely Updates. That is it.
My views are that personally the phone is just a little to big for me to use comfortably. I would have preferred say 5" screen with the narrow bezzels making the device slightly narrower and easier to hold - but thats just a personal preference. I would have also liked a textued back to the phone (at the moment i am using a skin to give it texture) as this phone is on the maximum edge of what is comfortable to me i dont want to add to the size with a case, i also dont want to lose the look ad feel i have from the device (the 'in the hand feel') you get.
All in all however these were not a deal breaker for me as there was nothing else out for me to consider at the time (like the moto x but not available in uk) so bought the g2 sim free.
After a couple of weeks of use i started to dislike elements of the lg software and its design and just found that adding a launcher just gave me other issues. What is great now is that the dev community is really picking up for this phone and roms are starting to appear so you now have the option to pretty much have whatever you want on your phone. You can go pretty much bare bones android without any of Lg's bloat but you an also add whatever elements of Lgs stuff you like to the vanilla rom so giving you the best of both worlds.
So to sum up.....for me the device has awesome specs, latest processor, excellent camera, amazing battery life, great development options to customize to your personal liking. Only thing for me is the size but maybe thats just because i have short stubby fingers
At the end of the day its all about choices, beauty is that now you have choices so if the hardware tickles your fancy you can customize till your hearts content and end up with your perfect device
hpsauce37 said:
My views are that personally the phone is just a little to big for me to use comfortably. I would have preferred say 5" screen with the narrow bezzels making the device slightly narrower and easier to hold - but thats just a personal preference. I would have also liked a textued back to the phone (at the moment i am using a skin to give it texture) as this phone is on the maximum edge of what is comfortable to me i dont want to add to the size with a case, i also dont want to lose the look ad feel i have from the device (the 'in the hand feel') you get.
All in all however these were not a deal breaker for me as there was nothing else out for me to consider at the time (like the moto x but not available in uk) so bought the g2 sim free.
After a couple of weeks of use i started to dislike elements of the lg software and its design and just found that adding a launcher just gave me other issues. What is great now is that the dev community is really picking up for this phone and roms are starting to appear so you now have the option to pretty much have whatever you want on your phone. You can go pretty much bare bones android without any of Lg's bloat but you an also add whatever elements of Lgs stuff you like to the vanilla rom so giving you the best of both worlds.
So to sum up.....for me the device has awesome specs, latest processor, excellent camera, amazing battery life, great development options to customize to your personal liking. Only thing for me is the size but maybe thats just because i have short stubby fingers
At the end of the day its all about choices, beauty is that now you have choices so if the hardware tickles your fancy you can customize till your hearts content and end up with your perfect device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what kind of issues did you encounter when adding a launcher? and what launcher?
I appreciate everyone's reviews here!
sdsubball23 said:
what kind of issues did you encounter when adding a launcher? and what launcher?
I appreciate everyone's reviews here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You name it i tried it!
Nova, smart launcher, Aviate, Adw.....
To be fair to these launchers though they probably were not really issue's. Just little things that frustrated me about them, could have been the inability to do something or set something up with them, notifications, different custom options etc.
Most people would probably not even have experienced it or have issue with it.
The thing i was leading to really was the fact that now with a good dev community coming on board with this device (been quite overlooked generally in my opinion until now - availabilty in some countries may have been the reason for this though) that there are many choices for people now.
If the hardware of the device fits the bill then you are no longer tied with elements of the stock build you dont like and pretty much change every bit about it one way or another - just means taking that step of rooting and flashing. Dont get me wrong im no developer or expert in this field but as someone who is particularly fussy and difficult to please with phones and software etc (must be my ocd) everyone has options and its really not that difficult once you have done it a few times.
Bottom line is if someone dosent like the stock ui/experience you can change and have whatever you want
I know my comments above may seem obvious to many especially as we are on a developer site however a lot of people come to the site for opinions and information and who may have thought about making changes but never actually taking the final steps. I did and now i have changed the things that frustrated me without the need to just change the device again! Like i said i am major ocd and fussy about phones but it does at least give a little more longevity to the device if these options are here.
Hope this makes sense lol
ps - sorry didnt mean to hijack or step on the thread.
Thanks :good:
hpsauce37 said:
My views are that personally the phone is just a little to big for me to use comfortably. I would have preferred say 5" screen with the narrow bezzels making the device slightly narrower and easier to hold - but thats just a personal preference. I would have also liked a textued back to the phone (at the moment i am using a skin to give it texture) as this phone is on the maximum edge of what is comfortable to me i dont want to add to the size with a case, i also dont want to lose the look ad feel i have from the device (the 'in the hand feel') you get.
All in all however these were not a deal breaker for me as there was nothing else out for me to consider at the time (like the moto x but not available in uk) so bought the g2 sim free.
After a couple of weeks of use i started to dislike elements of the lg software and its design and just found that adding a launcher just gave me other issues. What is great now is that the dev community is really picking up for this phone and roms are starting to appear so you now have the option to pretty much have whatever you want on your phone. You can go pretty much bare bones android without any of Lg's bloat but you an also add whatever elements of Lgs stuff you like to the vanilla rom so giving you the best of both worlds.
So to sum up.....for me the device has awesome specs, latest processor, excellent camera, amazing battery life, great development options to customize to your personal liking. Only thing for me is the size but maybe thats just because i have short stubby fingers
At the end of the day its all about choices, beauty is that now you have choices so if the hardware tickles your fancy you can customize till your hearts content and end up with your perfect device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 5.2" G2 isn't that much bigger then the Galaxy Nexus 4.65". It is thinner but taller/wider by a few millimeters. Not much difference.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
[/COLOR]Awesome to see a "stock android fan" praise LG's UI..Great review from someone who obviously knows what the android experience should be....i have a vid on my channel on how you can keep the notifications down a few lines and stays were you leave it, all as long as you have a few notifications, you never need look at the top part.....some ppl do not realize this : )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaMdxvvZYFE
Ms D.
Cst79 said:
Hi Guys,
Why LG G2 ?
Just a quick glance at the competition and my previous experience with various brands made me choose the G2. The iPhone is really out of question due to the microscopic screen and lack of notification LED (it's incredible how a business user can live without a notification LED), the Galaxy S4 and HTC One have outdated hardware (I mean, if I pay the same price, why not get the latest hardware), the HTC One has a microscopic, unusable notification LED (and I don't wish you to need something from the HTC technical support !), the Galaxy Note 3 is really too big. I have never used a spare battery with any of my phones, and never used a microSD card, so these missing features are just not minuses for me. The lack of removable battery (and thus the inclusion of a bigger battery) is in fact a huge plus.
The Motorola MotoX has a very nice notification feature, but it pulsates too slow (indicating battery concerns) and the rest of the hardware is too average and I can't see it as an upgrade over the Nexus 4 (plus it's not available in Europe although I could get it if I really wanted to).
Conclusion
I really like the LG G2. I think it trumps every other phone at this moment, but this is not the important thing. The important thing is that I don't have to charge my phone every day (it sometimes lasts 3+ days !), it has a great screen for web reading and browsing and it's just a well-designed phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well said...
welcome to the club! (happy owners of G2)

The Nexus 6P as the definitive (and possibly my last) Android phone?

So, I've owned only Android devices since I began buying smartphones and tablets, but I really feel like very little has changed with regards to Android's performance ever since the Snapdragon 800 in 2013. Even the addition of more RAM and higher-spec processors hasn't really changed much about the AOSP experience, and my old (GPE-converted) Galaxy S4 still feels like I could throw most anything at it.
With the Nexus 6P finally bringing the last few things I really wanted in a mobile phone (the fingerprint sensor, metal, 1440p AMOLED, pure Android without compromising the camera, USB-C), I'm really thinking that this may be my last Android phone for a long while. I feel like, while equally unnecessary, the N6P will offer the pinnacle of stock Android, while rounding out the feature set of all I look for. I was debating whether to cheap out and buy a N5X for dev and general mucking about, but I think I will instead commit to getting the 6P for the above reasons.
My last upgrade to the G3 was almost unnecessary, even though I love the phone. I only upgraded, since my S4's power button broke and headphone jack got a bit wonky. Had that not happened, I think I'd be still using it today as my DD. I didn't even feel the itch to upgrade to any of this year's devices (except the Nexus phones and the buzz around the fp sensor and camera), and I've already had the device for more than a year.
While it may be an unpopular opinion around these parts, I think I may switch to an iPhone (probably the 7+) when my contract is up just to see how that platform improves over the next couple of years. A second GB of RAM totally changed that phone, which shows just how behind they are in some aspects, and where potential lies. I just don't see Android making any earth-shattering changes, mostly because it doesn't need to anymore. OEMs drive their own crap update cycle by bogging down their updates and the like, a problem which never existed on my GPE-converted S4, and won't exist on the Nexus.
Don't really know why I felt like making this post, but I did. :silly:
I agree with you on certain points.
But remember,
my old (GPE-converted) Galaxy S4 still feels like I could throw most anything at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You did something to your phone in order to be fast / smooth / etc. While we as a community continue to do this and find ways to improve everything.. Android (stock) has come a long way.
I'm really thinking that this may be my last Android phone for a long while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You reasoning for this is there is nothing really new on Android and Android phones haven't really evolved much but the same goes for iOS. This coming from someone who keeps going back and forth from Android to iOS. iOS is much more polished and needs less specs to run smooth, but you also have to remember they only have to worry about support their own hardware. And while yes, there has been phone upgrades from Apple (bigger screen, etc.), this is stuff Android has been doing for a long time.
It's kind of hard honestly.. after a certain point.. development / upgrades happen slower.. when jumping from phone to phone now, things don't seem like much of an upgrade. I think that's because we upgrade phones so often now, we don't notice the differences as much. But say you had to keep your S4 for another year without the ability to root / install a custom ROM, I'm sure you'd be all over the N6P.
While XDA has made Android development much bigger and contributed in a positive way, it has also kind of spoiled us and made us think the way you are.
For me the big things that keep me on android are customization and the ability to do what I want with the phone (not what Apple or anyone else wants me to do). I would love to say this would be my last phone for a while but 2 things will prevent that....
1. I'm a tech junkie
2. Android support is 2 years
Well, the LG G3 isnt the best phone... you'll probably like the Nexus 6P a LOT!
I said that with the Nexus 6. I might still keep the Nexus 6 but I'm at least going to give the 6P a shot.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
I'm not far behind but not because Android vs Apple but because my life centers around MS products. I work in IT, exclusively with MS products. Why is my mobile device on a different ecosystem?
I'm excited for what MS has in store for their APIs that allow ios and Android apps to behave as if they're in their natural environment. I think this approach is going to flatten the playing field and OS will no longer matter.
Now if they could just make tech without built in obsolescion the market will start filling with devices that have purpose instead of purely consumerism. There WILL be a threshold of device waste that will force our hand.
Excel made some good points. And I too felt the same about not seeing much improvement from my phone but the continuous development thru ROMs makes it seems like the progress is small but it not....if you tally up the progress over the 1 year iPhone life cycle it is a lot of progress.
Google has too many things going on and unfortunately doesn't take the time to perfect their products except their search engine. They rather create a new product versus refining an existing one.
Imagine if google only had drive, no gmail, no G+, a tablet, one PC, and Android that ran on a single phone from one manufacturer....say LG. And Kept that same phone and just improved the hardware each year and the software as well....and diverted all other efforts towards perfecting that single device. That phone would be light years ahead of apple. Instead google has close to 200 products and services they wear themselves thin with. And tackling the immense task of attempting to make android run seemless and smooth on
Almost 19,000 devices instead of on just a handful of devices plus one phone is the difference between google and apple.
With that said and even with google continuing to expand like they do....I still think Google's android os running on top tier android devices will surpass IPhones in all aspects in couple years.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Exel said:
You did something to your phone in order to be fast / smooth / etc. While we as a community continue to do this and find ways to improve everything.. Android (stock) has come a long way.
You reasoning for this is there is nothing really new on Android and Android phones haven't really evolved much but the same goes for iOS. This coming from someone who keeps going back and forth from Android to iOS. iOS is much more polished and needs less specs to run smooth, but you also have to remember they only have to worry about support their own hardware. And while yes, there has been phone upgrades from Apple (bigger screen, etc.), this is stuff Android has been doing for a long time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Partially correct on the first point. It is fundamentally still "stock" (no kernel mods/custom features) on GPE firmware, but yes, I haven't tried stock since the original shipping firmware. I haven't rooted my phones since putting GPE on the S4. My Nexus 9, the G3, and the S4 all run unrooted, the former two of which are on stock firmware. The biggest pain about Android is debloating carrier crapware, a problem nonexistent on Nexus devices.
I feel like Android has matured to the point that there is little left to give. As far as supporting their own stuff, that's why I feel like the N6P would be the ultimate.
WoodroweBones said:
For me the big things that keep me on android are customization and the ability to do what I want with the phone (not what Apple or anyone else wants me to do). I would love to say this would be my last phone for a while but 2 things will prevent that....
1. I'm a tech junkie
2. Android support is 2 years
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, but customisation is so easy to do on Android without mods or root. The only other phone I was considering was the S6 edge +, which is also comparably restrictive. I just haven't felt the need to root since the S4.
An iPhone, on the other hand, I would be keen to jailbreak instantly. Quite a lot of interesting tweaks come out of Apple's "crack R&D team" (like swipeselection....), and jailbreaking is the only way to stay on that edge and get appropriate customisation.
I would also be using pretty much solely Google apps there anyway, since the default apps are kinda terrible.
bsg411 said:
Google has too many things going on and unfortunately doesn't take the time to perfect their products except their search engine. They rather create a new product versus refining an existing one.
Imagine if google only had drive, no gmail, no G+, a tablet, one PC, and Android that ran on a single phone from one manufacturer....That phone would be light years ahead of apple. Instead google has close to 200 products and services they wear themselves thin with.
With that said and even with google continuing to expand like they do....I still think Google's android os running on top tier android devices will surpass IPhones in all aspects in couple years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the diversity is the beauty of Google. The fact that they move the ecosystem forward and have a constant stream of novelty across their business is what helps them succeed. Android itself doesn't really need more improvement, is my argument. It's already there, and their job is to create new services to drive the platform.
Android as an OS already far exceeds that of iOS IMO, especially with Google Now. What I want to see is how Apple catches , since their platform seems to still be in flux (as far as performance and service delivery goes).
You'll change your mind when they release the Nexus 14z, which will project it's 16k display directly to your brain, and be able to read your thoughts instead of having to speak "OK Google".
I'm serious, because Google will have perfected mind control by then and we'll all be drones.
All hail Masters Page and Brin, our merciful overlords!
---------- Post added at 09:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 PM ----------
Seriously though, I admire your pragmatic upgrade preferences on smartphones.
TemporaryTester said:
But the diversity is the beauty of Google. The fact that they move the ecosystem forward and have a constant stream of novelty across their business is what helps them succeed. Android itself doesn't really need more improvement, is my argument. It's already there, and their job is to create new services to drive the platform.
Android as an OS already far exceeds that of iOS IMO, especially with Google Now. What I want to see is how Apple catches , since their platform seems to still be in flux (as far as performance and service delivery goes).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you the software is better but implementing all the services via the OS on a multitude of devices is a difficult task. However starting with this 6P nexus devices I think are on par with iPhone (hardware and software) and I bet will surpass the iPhone 7 next year.
I just wish they worked with one manufacturer to help perfect the hardware and built on a good hardware design instead of going back and forth with with hardware features and designs .....kinda like the 5x with 6P features.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
If the 6P lives up to the hype, the improvements left are physics stuff: battery life, moar camera, lighter/thinner/stronger, waterproof, sapphire display.
That said, iPhones have been such a bitter disappointment since the Gingerbread days. I'm on Apple for the most part (MBr, iMac 5k) and would consider switching to iOS but the differentiators that custom Androids offer simply aren't there, or even possible. The current crop of crippled hardware is missing too much. When Apple makes a real retina display (eg AMOLED 2k) and loses the oversized HTC-ish bezels it'll be worth another look. Assuming Apple gives out widgets, call recording & MinMinGuard too.
WoodroweBones said:
2. Android support is 2 years
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For a Nexus device the support window is 3 years. N5 is 2 years old and just recieved Android 6.0. It will continue to get updates for atleast another full year. Unfortunately that is likely to end when android N comes next fall.
Interesting that this phone has everything you ever wanted. Did you know you wanted a 1440p phone with a fingerprint scanner 2 years ago? Probably not. I'm sure innovation will continue, though maybe slowly. I'd like to see better battery tech.
This is how the technology cycle is. You cant have the same level of developments every year throughout the products/os cycle.
I believe many of the features we see added are already developed. They just hold back so they can have a balance of Big n small changes each year & also market couple of features as exclusives for the latest version.
It is the same with iOs as well. You will not see a lot of big changes. Many of them will be hardware based. As os's get more refined hardware dependency will reduce. Today you can get excellent performance from a mid range android device. Tomorrow it will spread to lower end devices aswell. In principal its a good thing.
Right now the top most focus for any R&D of software or hardware company is battery life. The company that cracks it will play a major role.
CrashTestDroid said:
If the 6P lives up to the hype, the improvements left are physics stuff: battery life, moar camera, lighter/thinner/stronger, waterproof, sapphire display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? People are still hung up on sapphire? Sapphire is brittle. I want foldable screens. I still believe Nokia's concept of a phone that trifolds and then bends to fit as a watch is the future. No more carrying a giant brick in my pocket.
Spaderess said:
For a Nexus device the support window is 3 years. N5 is 2 years old and just recieved Android 6.0. It will continue to get updates for atleast another full year. Unfortunately that is likely to end when android N comes next fall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True... I guess for me I mean 2 years of getting a new android version but yeah technically 3 years support I suppose.
warplane95 said:
Well, the LG G3 isnt the best phone... you'll probably like the Nexus 6P a LOT!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A G3 running BlissPop ROM is truly a thing of beauty! It's incredibly compact and lightweight for a 5.5" phone, and it flies without the LG software on it. It has a great camera (a step behind the current best, but I've had very few pictures I wasn't very happy with), and the screen as much better than it's reputation indicates it should be ... mostly, I think, because the default brightness is quite low. And the battery life is quite good ... I end most days with 50% after about 1.5 hours of SOT.
I'm mostly upgrading to the 6P because I usually buy a new phone every 6-9 months, but it's been 14 months and I need a new shiny object to fondle. I'm honestly not expecting it to be a whole lot better than the G3 for me ... better screen, better speakers (I hope) and a fingerprint reader may or may not be enough to compensate for the substantial increase in bulk. I had a Note 5 for a week, and it just didn't feel like much of an improvement so I sent it back, which I have never done before.
And my G3 has a replaceable battery, and I could probably be happy with it for 5 more years, if I wasn't such a gadget whore.
Of course I certainly don't think an iPhone is the answer .... that's just ridiculous!
Whoops double post
Here's an idea...try to find a friend with an iPhone who would be willing to trade with you for a week or something. Wipe the phones, trade your SIMs and see how the other side lives.
Sent from my LG-V410 using Tapatalk
Though it had it's issues, the Nexus 6 strong enough in all the categories that I stuck with it for a full year. The only thing strong enough to pull me away now is the 6P. I fully expect it to keep me locked in for the next year as well. However, it could be good enough that I don't feel the need to upgrade to next year's nexus. Only time will tell.

Why and how did the Z5C made me switch to an iPhone

Hello,
I bought my Z5 Compact in december 2015 to replace my broken Z3C and I quickly realized numberous flaws that I will list here. But first, I'm gonna talk about the good things.
It's a really well build phone. Nothing to say there, it's nearly perfect and way better than the Z3C which was already pretty good (but way too fragile). The design is beautiful, probably one of the nicest in stores.
The camera autofocus is also very good and the depth of field is nice. It must be a very good sensor.
Some apps are really well done, like the launcher, Music, Gallery or TrackID.
Now let's talk about the bad things.
1) The camera. The app is really slow to launch, it's also slow to take a picture, and it's not everytime the same amount of time. Sometimes it takes 2 seconds, sometimes 5 seconds, you can't trust it.
Most of the pictures are very blurry on the sides and it's just not on par with other flagships. It's also very noisy, incredibly bad for something that's supposed to be as good as the Galaxy S6 camera. Even my Moto E takes better pictures sometimes.
Also, after i take 2-3 pictures it makes the phone lag for a few seconds which is really frustrating when you paid $500 for this thing.
2) The performance. Most of the time it's pretty acceptable, but if I compare it with the Z3C it's just not as smooth and responsive. It's faster, but not as smooth.
There are sometimes little lags, little latencies, it's still OK but not as good and I would say it should be way better if I look at the specs.
Sometimes, usually when I opened snapchat or the camera, it lags like hell to the point where it's unusable. And it happens really often, not even always when the phone is hot so this is not a S810 issue.
3) The Marshmallow update. I really liked what they did with the Marshmallow beta on the Z3C so I was really excited to see what they would do on the Z5C. And I was again disappointed. Yeah, it fixed most of the performance issues, but it's still really not that good, and I hate the way they updated some apps.
Why the hell is the notification bar BLACK in the settings, in messages and in some other apps ? It's not Android 4.3 anymore, they really need to improve their UI.
4) The custom rom support. There is only one custom ROM and it still has a lot of issues, it's by far the worst phone I've ever had for that.
5) The battery life. It's not terrible, but it's really not that good, especially compared to the Z3C I expected way better results.
6) The way Sony handles the Z5 series. Marshmallow came so late, when the Z3 already had an incredibly good "beta" version for like 6 months. And now I learn that the Android N beta is available on the Z3 ?? What the hell, we also paid our phones ! I feel like they are giving up on this phone and they just say "f*ck you" to the stupid people who've had the weird idea to buy that thing.
I asked them on twitter and they said "it's for developpers" with a gif of a woman rolling her eyes. Well this is completely stupid, because first, I could be a dev, and second, it's not for devs at all, it's for people who want to try it and give feedback.
So you have my opinion, after all it's not the worst phone ever, most of it is really good but a lot of thing are bothering me.
I'm buying an iPhone SE next week after six years of Android and 16 Android Phones in these 6 years. So this must actually be pretty bad because I never felt the need to switch to iOS with any of the phones I owned, even the Moto E. It's also my use of a phone that's more adapted to iOS right now, but still this phone is one of the main reasons.
I hope my bad english didn't bother you and I hope this was somehow interesting to read.
Thank you
I agree...
Unfortunately I must agree with your opinion regarding Z5 Compact. Especially the part regarding the camera lags is very true. Also the AF system fails sometimes on the random basis.
On my Z5C I had already the camera broken (after two months of using the phone) and fixed via warranty claim together with the fingerprint sensor which was working when it liked to.
Now I can see that the phone has bent a little bit while carrying it in the pocket and this bending has led to the broken phone frame (in the fingerprint area where the frame has only two thin plastic straps around the sensor). The worst thing is that I can also see some dust inside the lens so it means that the whole body is not sealed any more probably due to that broken frame.
I have also some concerns regarding the Sony's software (Android 5.1.1.):
1) The gallery application is not customisable at all. For example you cannot change the sorting order or exclude / include some folders.
2) No call blacklist for automatic call rejection (this function is built in into my old Samsung S4 Mini)
3) Very limited customization of alarm schedules (automatic alarm offs etc., I can adjust something but not exactly what I want)
4) The calling screen is hard to distinguish from the phone number information screen. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm actually calling somebody or just checking the contact info (there is only one small blinking symbol during the actual calling out).
5) No scheduled SMS option (again, this is present in my old Samsung S4 Mini)
6) Very week LED light (compared to S4 Mini)
7) The analog radio tuner is not sensitive enough for high quality stereo reception (compared to S4 Mini)
8) The built-in e-mail application (Microsfot Exchange client) has problems with displaying e-mails correctly => for example the title has big font and the e-mail body small tiny letters (again compared to S4 Mini e-mail app). It also does not show the contact pictures which are stored on the Microsoft Exchange server (=> pictures are visible in S4 Mini).
Overall I'm quite disappointed with that phone model. Luckily it's my business phone so I didn't have to pay for it.
I bought an iPhone SE and used it for about two weeks. I am back on my Z5C. I got tired of the restrictions in iOS that I take for granted in Android. I will keep the SE as a spare since no one else makes a good small phone.
I don't think you'll find many people here telling you that leaving the z5c is a bad decision lol but the iOS transition if you've never played with it will leave you far more frustrated. Simple tasks are cumbersome and customizability is slim. I have wanted the 5, 5s, 5c, 6, 6s, SE when they were all released but the iOS is a serious flaw. Android is faster in maneuvering through the OS and customizability is limitless so I've been settling for mid range phones for YEARS just to keep a one handed phone. I'd suggest maybe getting a iPod touch to play with to test the iOS waters before making the plunge.
gfarm said:
Unfortunately I must agree with your opinion regarding Z5 Compact. Especially the part regarding the camera lags is very true. Also the AF system fails sometimes on the random basis.
On my Z5C I had already the camera broken (after two months of using the phone) and fixed via warranty claim together with the fingerprint sensor which was working when it liked to.
Now I can see that the phone has bent a little bit while carrying it in the pocket and this bending has led to the broken phone frame (in the fingerprint area where the frame has only two thin plastic straps around the sensor). The worst thing is that I can also see some dust inside the lens so it means that the whole body is not sealed any more probably due to that broken frame.
I have also some concerns regarding the Sony's software (Android 5.1.1.):
1) The gallery application is not customisable at all. For example you cannot change the sorting order or exclude / include some folders.
2) No call blacklist for automatic call rejection (this function is built in into my old Samsung S4 Mini)
3) Very limited customization of alarm schedules (automatic alarm offs etc., I can adjust something but not exactly what I want)
4) The calling screen is hard to distinguish from the phone number information screen. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm actually calling somebody or just checking the contact info (there is only one small blinking symbol during the actual calling out).
5) No scheduled SMS option (again, this is present in my old Samsung S4 Mini)
6) Very week LED light (compared to S4 Mini)
7) The analog radio tuner is not sensitive enough for high quality stereo reception (compared to S4 Mini)
8) The built-in e-mail application (Microsfot Exchange client) has problems with displaying e-mails correctly => for example the title has big font and the e-mail body small tiny letters (again compared to S4 Mini e-mail app). It also does not show the contact pictures which are stored on the Microsoft Exchange server (=> pictures are visible in S4 Mini).
Overall I'm quite disappointed with that phone model. Luckily it's my business phone so I didn't have to pay for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm,
can be summed up with:
close to AOSP/stock-Android.
My decision to go with the Z5 was because it's more close to AOSP, well - guess what ?
I also got used to Samsung's "bloat" and customizability - so in certain parts is was a kind of shock to see to limitations of Sony's ROM,
but if you're getting the phone with the attitude of rooting and unlocking the bootloader anyway to install a custom ROM,
it's somewhat different
Not talking about you,
but it's kind of ridiculous:
people are complaining that Samsung's ROM is too bloated, too much features, overloaded,
then when they switch to a device with slim, minimal ROM - then complain, too
Seems like folks don't know what they really want after all
Solution:
Get a device which offers über-bloated ROM but also Option of AOSP,
then wait until the "perfect" ROM is out - or get your hands dirty and modify and optimize the ROM yourself :silly:
This is XDA after all
civicsr2cool said:
I don't think you'll find many people here telling you that leaving the z5c is a bad decision lol but the iOS transition if you've never played with it will leave you far more frustrated. Simple tasks are cumbersome and customizability is slim. I have wanted the 5, 5s, 5c, 6, 6s, SE when they were all released but the iOS is a serious flaw. Android is faster in maneuvering through the OS and customizability is limitless so I've been settling for mid range phones for YEARS just to keep a one handed phone. I'd suggest maybe getting a iPod touch to play with to test the iOS waters before making the plunge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I bought an iPod Touch 6 and used it for one week, now I have the SE and it's a real pleasure to use. I wouldn't have done that a year ago but now my use has changed and I don't really need android anymore. Actually there are really not so much that I miss from Android, it's really better for me (but of course it will depend on how you use your phone).
Otherwise the SE is faster, like REALLY faster, the camera is 100 times better and I prefer the form factor so I'm really happy for now :good:
flolaff said:
Yeah I bought an iPod Touch 6 and used it for one week, now I have the SE and it's a real pleasure to use. I wouldn't have done that a year ago but now my use has changed and I don't really need android anymore. Actually there are really not so much that I miss from Android, it's really better for me (but of course it will depend on how you use your phone).
Otherwise the SE is faster, like REALLY faster, the camera is 100 times better and I prefer the form factor so I'm really happy for now :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good news! The amount of accessories available for it are pretty cool. You can even buy iPhone 6 mini conversion housings for it. 4" are a bit too small for me however, 4.3" seems to be the sweet spot I'm always looking for. I'm a heavy root user and change the themes on my phone weekly so I'm not leaving Android anytime soon lol
sorry to disagree with you in certain things... well i have had 5 Xperia Z5 (the regular one) and since i'm into buying and selling Xperia phones, the Z5 compact and the Z5 Premium was the most impressive Sony phones... talking more about the Z5C because the Z5P didn't have for a long time to talk about it much... Z5 compact which i'm owning right now is very smooth and never lagged for me, the camera is great, front and back... the camera shot delay not really as you described it, it not as faster as the big Z5 but it's good! remember it's 2GB while the big is 3GB... most of the time i use the manual mode, and even with the auto... pictures are sharp, so i think you need to have steady hands or tripod.....
to summarize all about Z5C, it's a compact flagship that you won't find it's specs or capabilities in any other Mini from the other competitors....
....i know it's a user preference, but i'd be very honest to you to tell you switching from Z5C to iPhone SE is the dumbest decision i've ever heard about knowing that that iphone SE is a redesigned/redefined iPhone 5 or 5S....
i'm not biasing z5c because as i said, i didn't like the Z5 as much as i love the Z5C in everything, even though the Z5 is a bit more powerful with that extra ram, but the build quality in certain parts of the phone, Z5C has it better.
and i couldn't keep the Z5P because of the high price, so the half of it's price got me a Z5C which is more than fair and convenient for me.
now i have 2 Z5 compacts (im selling one for my friend).... the first i bought for $196 because i need to fix it's micro sd card slot, also with no accessories.. and the other for $276 without accessories but as brand new with no issues, and im keeping for me. also i noticed in Marshmallow both devices has the sound quality improved and more louder compared to 5.1.1 and they both equal in both speakers, with a dB meter test app.
don't be annoyed with my comment, and again it's a user preference but i wanted to share my experience with Z5c... so yours or mine aren't the reference for the Z5C but it could help others to have decisions before buying any phone.
thank you.
Funny why you swapped to iphone but not a other android device that might service your needs. But shame to see that many only know 2 brands of phones.
Nidhal AKA the king said:
sorry to disagree with you in certain things... well i have had 5 Xperia Z5 (the regular one) and since i'm into buying and selling Xperia phones, the Z5 compact and the Z5 Premium was the most impressive Sony phones... talking more about the Z5C because the Z5P didn't have for a long time to talk about it much... Z5 compact which i'm owning right now is very smooth and never lagged for me, the camera is great, front and back... the camera shot delay not really as you described it, it not as faster as the big Z5 but it's good! remember it's 2GB while the big is 3GB... most of the time i use the manual mode, and even with the auto... pictures are sharp, so i think you need to have steady hands or tripod.....
to summarize all about Z5C, it's a compact flagship that you won't find it's specs or capabilities in any other Mini from the other competitors....
....i know it's a user preference, but i'd be very honest to you to tell you switching from Z5C to iPhone SE is the dumbest decision i've ever heard about knowing that that iphone SE is a redesigned/redefined iPhone 5 or 5S....
i'm not biasing z5c because as i said, i didn't like the Z5 as much as i love the Z5C in everything, even though the Z5 is a bit more powerful with that extra ram, but the build quality in certain parts of the phone, Z5C has it better.
and i couldn't keep the Z5P because of the high price, so the half of it's price got me a Z5C which is more than fair and convenient for me.
now i have 2 Z5 compacts (im selling one for my friend).... the first i bought for $196 because i need to fix it's micro sd card slot, also with no accessories.. and the other for $276 without accessories but as brand new with no issues, and im keeping for me. also i noticed in Marshmallow both devices has the sound quality improved and more louder compared to 5.1.1 and they both equal in both speakers, with a dB meter test app.
don't be annoyed with my comment, and again it's a user preference but i wanted to share my experience with Z5c... so yours or mine aren't the reference for the Z5C but it could help others to have decisions before buying any phone.
thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, let's agree to disagree. The Z5C is the best compact android phone (I still think that iPhone SE is better, but i can't forgo the versatility of android.)
What really disappoints me is that the older Z3 gets an Android N Developer Preview. I was like, what the heck! The older phone gets this privilege while the newer Z5 doesn't? It almost feels like Sony betrayed the Z5 users. But this is about the only Con of the Z5 though.
Sent from my E5803 using XDA-Developers mobile app
I've had my Z5c for about a week. My current daily driver is a Moto X 2013. I'm really liking the the Z5c, but I have to admit I'm having trouble letting go of the X - its just a pleasure to hold and use. If Motorola followed Apple's lead with the SE and packed an updated package into the Moto X body, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
I'll reserve comment on the Z5c and post in a more appropriate thread once I've spent more time with it. I'm not rooted yet (still on the fence) but once I threw some Nova Prime at it, I began to really enjoy my journey.
@flolaff
I totally agree with you. Add to your list Broken Adaptive Brightness. I'm planning to change the Z5C as soon as there a new Nexus.
Sent from my E5823
Nidhal AKA the king said:
sorry to disagree with you in certain things... well i have had 5 Xperia Z5 (the regular one) and since i'm into buying and selling Xperia phones, the Z5 compact and the Z5 Premium was the most impressive Sony phones... talking more about the Z5C because the Z5P didn't have for a long time to talk about it much... Z5 compact which i'm owning right now is very smooth and never lagged for me, the camera is great, front and back... the camera shot delay not really as you described it, it not as faster as the big Z5 but it's good! remember it's 2GB while the big is 3GB... most of the time i use the manual mode, and even with the auto... pictures are sharp, so i think you need to have steady hands or tripod.....
to summarize all about Z5C, it's a compact flagship that you won't find it's specs or capabilities in any other Mini from the other competitors....
....i know it's a user preference, but i'd be very honest to you to tell you switching from Z5C to iPhone SE is the dumbest decision i've ever heard about knowing that that iphone SE is a redesigned/redefined iPhone 5 or 5S....
i'm not biasing z5c because as i said, i didn't like the Z5 as much as i love the Z5C in everything, even though the Z5 is a bit more powerful with that extra ram, but the build quality in certain parts of the phone, Z5C has it better.
and i couldn't keep the Z5P because of the high price, so the half of it's price got me a Z5C which is more than fair and convenient for me.
now i have 2 Z5 compacts (im selling one for my friend).... the first i bought for $196 because i need to fix it's micro sd card slot, also with no accessories.. and the other for $276 without accessories but as brand new with no issues, and im keeping for me. also i noticed in Marshmallow both devices has the sound quality improved and more louder compared to 5.1.1 and they both equal in both speakers, with a dB meter test app.
don't be annoyed with my comment, and again it's a user preference but i wanted to share my experience with Z5c... so yours or mine aren't the reference for the Z5C but it could help others to have decisions before buying any phone.
thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, but I feel like I would've get a way better experience with a Galaxy S6, which just is way better in everything, or even a Nexus 5X or anything. Part of the problem is the S810 which really sucks (Z3c was way smoother), and the other part is the camera. It is "ok" but compared to the S6/S7/G4/G5/5X/6P/6S/SE or any other flagship camera, it sucks, really.
And no, the SE is not "a redesigned iPhone 5". It has the specs of the iPhone 6s with a 4 inch screen, which is exactly what I wanted, and everything about it is way better than the Z5 Compact (except maybe the speaker).
RiTCHiE007 said:
Funny why you swapped to iphone but not a other android device that might service your needs. But shame to see that many only know 2 brands of phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't "only know 2 brands of phones". As I said, in the last 6 years I've had phones from HTC, Samsung, OnePlus, Sony, Motorola and even some other brands that I forgot. I just feel like the only options right now for a really complete package are Samsung and Apple (maybe HTC but I don't really trust them anymore), and the S7 is too big for me, so I choosed the iPhone SE. It just seemed like the best option for me and so far I really like it.
Yep, I feel the same like you... Interestingly, I also used to have a z3c with the very good concept android 6.0 beta before a thief robbed it out of my hand... Well, I hoped the z5c would even be better.... But no, unfortunately, it's worse, even though the main hardware is better. The firmware is quite buggy and I absolutely agree that the battery life could be way better....
I am underimpressed with a few things about my Z5 compact, but I'll tell you why I will keep it: lanyard mount.

Axon 7 users, help shape the next Axon!

Take the time to help decide what features the next Axon should have with a short Google survey. With your help, we could get our dream phone. We need 100 people to do this before ZTE will consider it, so help make a difference! We're about half way there.
https://goo.gl/forms/zQ4caE5rHIIPiTBg1
freeza said:
Take the time to help decide what features the next Axon should have with a short Google survey. With your help, we could get our dream phone. We need 100 people to do this before ZTE will consider it, so help make a difference! We're about half way there.
https://goo.gl/forms/zQ4caE5rHIIPiTBg1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice
I'm not too confident about how effective this will be though
I have to add one thing that I forgot to say on the survey. i actually bought the A7 instead of the OP3T because of the design of the phone. I feel like the OP3T, other OPPO devices, and even low/midrange ZTE phones just go for the overused clean front design on their phones - I think they look too much like crappy clones of Apple phones, especially the OP3T. This thing stands out a lot from the asian phone crowd.
I believe that they could have used a slightly bigger 5.7 screen on it too. It is more feasible now that many phones are going bezel-less, because maybe the panels actually had a small margin on the sides, idk
Though a fun idea, this survey won't mean anything in the end. It'll just give people hope that they're answers will be considered. Plus most of the answers will be the highest rated things. Obviously everybody will want the latest Snapdragon, the highest RAM, highest internal storage etc. So most of the results will be the same in the end. Also, typo was made in the "DUST/WATER PROOF*" question. Spelled proof wrong. Sorry to be so picky!
ZTE Will consider the survey when the number is reached. Trust me
We're about 85% there guys! Just a bit more to go
Can't take a joke, eh?
Doc Ames said:
Can't take a joke, eh?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean?
freeza said:
What do you mean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made a post with a Simpson's reference (Homer designs a car) and a couple of screenshots with silly answers to the survey like; CPU Pentium Pro 166 MHz, RAM 128 MB DDR2, etc. I used real answers when I actually submitted the survey. Whatever, I don't want to start a fight. Just thought it weird that my post got deleted. I thought it was pretty funny.
Oh, i thought it was funny. I didn't report it.
I filled it out, hopefully we all want similar stuff in the next Axon.
Done. I hope it will help
Wysłane z mojego ZTE A2017G przy użyciu Tapatalka
Done as well. Can we see the results when it closes? I'd be curious about a number of things ^^
Goal has been surpassed! I'll share details soon. Thanks guys.
From what I can remember, I want (* = must haves):
* - 5.5" and 6.3" Axon 8 and Axon 8 plus (or ~4.9" and 5.7"+ versions)
*- 1440 x 2560 AMOLED display
*- Thin bezels (but keep dual speakers)
*- 3500+mAh and 4000+mAh batteries
*- Bluetooth 5.0
*- Snapdragon 835
*- 3.5mm jack Hi-Fi audio
*- Dual front facing speakers
*- Very good camera with very good low light performance (Dual preferred but single is ok, as long as it takes GOOD pics)
*- Rear fingerprint scanner
- 8MP front facing camera
- Dual stage camera button
- Between ~$400 and ~$500-ish
- Can't remember the rest.
Actually side-mounted fingerprint reader sounds REALLY good. Don't know if it is even possible (heard rumors about an fp reader on the power button, which would be nice) but it'd be even better than the front reader in terms of comfort (though it might be less accurate, less area) and wouldn't interfere with speakers for example
And the back placement is kind of awkward anyways... it's very comfortable but you can't use it when the phone is flat on a surface
I wanna see the results of this, Guess most of us chose the sd835 anyways
Choose an username... said:
Actually side-mounted fingerprint reader sounds REALLY good. Don't know if it is even possible (heard rumors about an fp reader on the power button, which would be nice) but it'd be even better than the front reader in terms of comfort (though it might be less accurate, less area) and wouldn't interfere with speakers for example
And the back placement is kind of awkward anyways... it's very comfortable but you can't use it when the phone is flat on a surface
I wanna see the results of this, Guess most of us chose the sd835 anyways
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually since the Xperia Z5 , every Sony phone has an fp on the power button.
I would prefer on the back.
mariusfl0rian said:
Actually since the Xperia Z5 , every Sony phone has an fp on the power button.
I would prefer on the back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I think I read that Sony couldn't put an fp reader on the power button because Apple already had a patent, so I thought they just hadn't been able to do that
Choose an username... said:
Oh, I think I read that Sony couldn't put an fp reader on the power button because Apple already had a patent, so I thought they just hadn't been able to do that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They had to deactivate it in the US only, but it's included in the button (just software deactivated I think) and available everywhere else (<troll> aka where design patents can't be applied and where you have to submit proof of a working prototype for patents to be granted </troll>)
Done
Actually the hardware on the current Axon 7 is completely fine and more than capable of running almost everything. As long as there's no statement to an update guarantee for Android O, i'm not planning to support ZTE in building another phone and another and another. More important than any hardware-upgrade today should be a clear commitment of the vendor to support this device with major versions until the end of the device guarantee, as well as opening up the bootloader globally for further possibilities to update it afterwards.
You really get the feeling that the vendors today are just rotating their ideas when building a new phone, while implementing the current qualcomm-Chipset into the device, but what really will it bring to us in terms of usability, functionality?
"This time let's put this button right here, how about the fingerprintscanner right on the volume toggles, no one did that before, let's put more pixels into it, yeaah, or 100mAh more into the battery, 0,01m thinner, let's make everything thinner so it handles a lot worse, but it looks sooo goood, ....but wait, what did apple right there? let's include it as well..."
Android OS including all of the relevant security fixes should be on the main priority list of every vendor, to support their user base with the current OS not because of features, no. Because of the responsibility to secure the data of their customer base, to provide a secure plattform, which actually is available for every vendor out there. Currently we trust these devices more than we should (Photos, Notes, Address Book,Messages, VPN Access). We're constantly connected to the internet.
And I mean, it just works in the PC-market. All the manufacturers like Acer, Lenovo, Asus, etc. are building their hardware-base, selling their PCs through hardware-refinement, design, functionality, cooling-solution, audio-implementation, but Windows itself is provided by Microsoft and updated through their main update-functions. Everyone get the same treatment. And even here we got a router at home, who at least hold of a few of the nasty malicious stuff from the internet, if i got an unpatched system. What do we got on Android? Why not here? I decide what pleases me hardware-wise, but the software should be the same on all the devices and constantly maintained.
I love every little bit of the current Axon 7, it's extremely well made, the display is gorgeous, the fluid speed. I'm happy, but at this point i'm already concerned about the time, when the vendor stops supporting this device with even the smallest security fixes, when i'm in the position to look for OS-alternatives on the XDA-forum. Fortunately i'm in the position with an unlocked/hacked bootloader, something customers had to find out, because ZTE didn't felt the need to provide the same services in Europe as in the US. What about the other customers, who are not technical savy and still on locked devices.
Actually it's not a problem with ZTE alone. Almost every current vendor uses the Android OS-Version combined with their "UI-treatment" (Overlays, Icon-Scheme, Wallpapers, Soundfiles) as a selling factor. "Oh, your mobile phone only got Android 6, that's old and sad" "look our current one got Android 7 (and will probably stop there), it's so much newer and better". This shouldn't be a sales argument in the first place. Vendors are even punishing developers and customers by withdrawing hardware-failure support who are trying to get out of that marketing cage by developing bootloader unlock procedures or alternate "native" Android-experiences.
I think ZTE (or another vendor) should try to go a completely different route by providing a native Android-OS-experience, putting their own on-top-functionality in seperate apps (which are updateable through the play store) and be the first vendor, to offer continuous OS-versions for their current devices (independent of Snapdragon 800, 600 or 400-series-chipsets; all of them are capable of running the OS just fine). Afterwards there could be for instance yearly paid-service-contracts for further support, because why not? Not everyone needs a new device because of hardware-specs. They will just use their phones for 4 or more years, but (!) with an old and insecure OS-Version which is a threat to the customer, an image-threat for the company and as whole a threat for the fragmentation and image of Android itself.
Newer devices can still be developed, because of course there will be vr-stuff, games or applications who are taking advantage of newer qualcomm chipsets. Of course new or old designs can be rotated with newer devices. In my opinion nothing would be lost, as there are still those people, who wants to own the newest devices, or current ones are getting damaged and need a replacement. The need will still be there, but new customers would gather around that vendor, because of the support, stability and trust he would gain and give.
It's just my opinion but in the end, i think we're a going a wrong way helping them just producing more and more phones while stopping their support for their current ones.

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