Personal views on Media Pad M5 10.8"? - Huawei MediaPad M5 Questions & Answers

I've read and watched a lot of reviews on the standard M5 10.8" and it's getting pretty good reviews across the board. I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 at the moment and am getting fed up with the ever decreasing battery life, so I'm about ready for a new tablet. I don't want to compromise on size, so the M5 looks to be the best around in its price range. I can get one new on ebay UK for £250 (I missed out on the 15% discount yesterday ffs).
One other thing - the 8.4" has a higher PPI than the 10.8". Is that purely down to the screen sizes?
So if any owners here can give me their personal views on the M5, it would go a long way to helping make my mind up.

10 in tablets are too big. I have a pixel c that is never used, it's too big.

I've recently purchased a M5 10.8. The only thing that made me hesitate was Huawei's decision to stop handing out bootloader unlock codes. It is possible to unlock anyway, but it was a crappy move... Other than that it's perfect for me. Perfect size and have so far been perfect for what I need it for (media consumption and keeping all my student literature and sheet music for easy access).

CrazyPeter said:
10 in tablets are too big. I have a pixel c that is never used, it's too big.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really the kind of advice I was asking for. I use my Tab S 10.5 everyday for reading comics, books, flipboard, web browsing, email, ebay... I take it on holiday with me for watching TV shows and movies on the plane, radio for the hotel room, music for sunbathing. It has been invaluable.

Didgeridoohan said:
I've recently purchased a M5 10.8. The only thing that made me hesitate was Huawei's decision to stop handing out bootloader unlock codes. It is possible to unlock anyway, but it was a crappy move... Other than that it's perfect for me. Perfect size and have so far been perfect for what I need it for (media consumption and keeping all my student literature and sheet music for easy access).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, a bit more like it. How do you find the screen? I'll be moving from an oled to the M5's ips screen. And I agree about the bootloader issue with Huawei. I bought a P20 Pro a couple of weeks ago to replace my LG G6 H870DS because LG wouldn't make it unlockable, only to hit the same problem with my new phone. I'm hoping Huawei change their minds and start issuing unlock codes again.

mickrick said:
Okay, a bit more like it. How do you find the screen? I'll be moving from an oled to the M5's ips screen. And I agree about the bootloader issue with Huawei. I bought a P20 Pro a couple of weeks ago to replace my LG G6 H870DS because LG wouldn't make it unlockable, only to hit the same problem with my new phone. I'm hoping Huawei change their minds and start issuing unlock codes again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my first tablet since my Asus PadFone (released 2012 ), so I don't really have anything to compare with. It looks nice and crisp to me.

I made the same move, and I've been impressed with the performance boost and improved battery life. I miss the off screen buttons on the Tab S - I'm using gestures on the fingerprint sensor instead, but it's a bit more awkward. I've not noticed a difference in the screens, but I haven't really been looking for a difference.
The biggest problem for me is that the Huawei is basically using the interface from the 8.4 version, just making everything bigger. You can make the font size sensible, but all the non-text regions are very wasteful of space. For example, in my email app all the toolbars and controls take up far too much space. The worst is on websites, where the Huawei fits less on a page for anything other than very simple sites.
One example is with the YouTube app, on its home page - the Tab S shows 5 video thumbnails per row, but the Huawei only shows 4, despite having a larger screen.
You can work round it by enabling Developer mode then changing the dpi. I've gone from the default of ~700 to 915 and that makes things more like the Tab S (you'll need to adjust font size once it's done). The downsides are that it's reset every time you reboot, and that the tablet settings don't work at this dpi (so to change any other settings, I need to reboot to restore the original dpi)!

I used Tab s 8.4, Nexus 7 2013 and Nexus 10.
Current still still owns Mipad and Nexus 9.
I really love my M5 Pro, i think is winner is everyway.
But im still interested Ipad Pro 10.5 which is the only competitor to M5 pro for my usage.

The 8.4 has higher dpi because resolution divided by screen size.
My note 8 is the same resolution as my m5 pro but has much higher dpi, naturally.

Related

[Q] Buy now or wait?

I just ordered the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 from amazon for $450. Originally I ordered the nexus 9 and amazon ****ed me, then the more I thought about it the more I realized the Nexus 9 4:3 form factor just didn't make sense for me. See I use my tablet 90% for youtube and watching hd videos (movies, f1 races, nfl games, etc). I realized I was going to end up with massively less actual viewing area for my videos going from my nexus 10. Not only is it 8.9in vs 10.1 in but with 4:3 I am going to have massive black bars.
So then I canceled my Nexus 9 order and decided to order the Tab S 10.5. It had been in my wishlist for several months mainly due to the screen. I am excited to receive it but then I went and checked out the benchmarks on the Tab S 10.5. I had thought this was a top performing tablet with the 8 core processor and 3gb of ram (yes I know only 4 cores at a time). Then I realized the GPU is weak and outdated, the NAND Is terribly slow, the cpu is OK, and the sun spider score is not very good (worse than the older ipad air?).
Then I started reading Samsung was likely to release a new Tab S 10.5 with a better upgraded processor and gpu in Nov/Dec. So now I am wondering if I should cancel this order and wait it out. I paid near full price so it's not like I paid $350 or even $399. I figure this refresh will launch at $499 and for massively better performance $50 more is no problem.
Anyone can offer some advice for my dilemia? I think I actually have 30 days to use the tablet before I must return it to amazon for a full refund, so maybe I could do that and then send it back if this new refresh launches in the next month, if it doesnt launch then just keep it? Thanks guys.
I had the Samsung Pro Tab 8.4 a close cousin it's a nice tablet.
I had been thinking of getting the Tab S but the $ got in the way Plus Samsung is famous for selling a device but never updating it.
The Crapware leaves a lot to be desired.
I recently sold the Pro tab and ordered the Nexus 9 then cancelled my order yesterday due to Amazon's order dalays.
This morning I've had a change of heart or common sense prevailed and so I reordered the Nexus 9 from Amazon and hopefully will get it next week.
Like you, It's a tough decision but I miss not having a tablet.
kdkinc said:
I had the Samsung Pro Tab 8.4 a close cousin it's a nice tablet.
I had been thinking of getting the Tab S but the $ got in the way Plus Samsung is famous for selling a device but never updating it.
The Crapware leaves a lot to be desired.
I recently sold the Pro tab and ordered the Nexus 9 then cancelled my order yesterday due to Amazon's order dalays.
This morning I've had a change of heart or common sense prevailed and so I reordered the Nexus 9 from Amazon and hopefully will get it next week.
Like you, It's a tough decision but I miss not having a tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like i have my answer. Amazon says: Returnable until Jan 31, 2015
So I am going to use this and keep it and enjoy it and if a better Tab S 10.5 comes out before Jan 31 with upgraded processor/gpu then I will return this and get that.
mike240se said:
Looks like i have my answer. Amazon says: Returnable until Jan 31, 2015
So I am going to use this and keep it and enjoy it and if a better Tab S 10.5 comes out before Jan 31 with upgraded processor/gpu then I will return this and get that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a good plan. I was tempted to bite when the price dropped to $404 on the 3rd, but I decided to wait it out a bit longer. I have owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.0 in the past. While they were decent devices for their time, the lack of software updates bothered me to the point that I hesitate whenever considering Samsung products. The AMOLED screen does look appealing when backlight bleed is so common on tablet IPS panels. Depending on what Samsung brings to the table this coming month, or how low the price of the current S 10.5 drops on Black Friday, I might make the jump.
ongoing said:
Sounds like a good plan. I was tempted to bite when the price dropped to $404 on the 3rd, but I decided to wait it out a bit longer. I have owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.0 in the past. While they were decent devices for their time, the lack of software updates bothered me to the point that I hesitate whenever considering Samsung products. The AMOLED screen does look appealing when backlight bleed is so common on tablet IPS panels. Depending on what Samsung brings to the table this coming month, or how low the price of the current S 10.5 drops on Black Friday, I might make the jump.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lack of updates bother me too, but I will most likely root and run a custom rom anyways to get rid of touchwiz.
kdkinc said:
I had the Samsung Pro Tab 8.4 a close cousin it's a nice tablet.
I had been thinking of getting the Tab S but the $ got in the way Plus Samsung is famous for selling a device but never updating it.
The Crapware leaves a lot to be desired.
I recently sold the Pro tab and ordered the Nexus 9 then cancelled my order yesterday due to Amazon's order delays.
This morning I've had a change of heart or common sense prevailed and so I reordered the Nexus 9 from Amazon and hopefully will get it next week.
Like you, It's a tough decision but I miss not having a tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cancelled my reorder again.
I just feel very uneasy with all the screen bleeds and button issues.
Don't these damn companies test their product?
I do NOT want to be their "Crash Dummy" !
The Galaxy Tab S 10.5 is back to $404.67 on Amazon, available in both colors.
ongoing said:
Sounds like a good plan. I was tempted to bite when the price dropped to $404 on the 3rd, but I decided to wait it out a bit longer. I have owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Player 4.0 in the past. While they were decent devices for their time, the lack of software updates bothered me to the point that I hesitate whenever considering Samsung products. The AMOLED screen does look appealing when backlight bleed is so common on tablet IPS panels. Depending on what Samsung brings to the table this coming month, or how low the price of the current S 10.5 drops on Black Friday, I might make the jump.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would this be the Samsung tab s (slate version)? Have you any links to new tablet
ongoing said:
The Galaxy Tab S 10.5 is back to $404.67 on Amazon, available in both colors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks much for posting, you just saved me $50. they gave me the difference.
mike240se said:
thanks much for posting, you just saved me $50. they gave me the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad I could be of help Mike!
After one day of using the tablet I have a few observations and would welcome feedback.
1) Touchwiz is OK, not as terrible as what I have heard about it IMO, but I would prefer to go back to stock android or cyanogenmod. The issue is, its my understanding if you flash a custom ROM on this device it triggers something in the bootloader and you lose your warranty? If that is the case, more importantly it would risk my ability to return it to Amazon between now and Jan 31st. I doubt amazon checks for something like this but I am not sure I want to take the chance. I know rooting causes this bootloader flag to be tripped so I am guessing a custom rom would be no different.
2) The speakers on the device are pretty poor. I knew side spacing speakers wouldnt match up to my front facing nexus 10 speakers simply due to the direction but they also seem to be a lot less loud, less clear and less bass than my nexus 10. I dont really care about playing back music, the poor quality speakers are evident in simply playing back news stories on youtube.
3) There have been some odd lag/freezing issues. Most noticablely I was on sky's website reading an article and I kept trying to scroll down to read more and it just completely froze. after a few seconds it came back and was in copy/paste mode (my guess is from trying to scroll during it being frozen it picked it up as a long press, idk).
4) The screen is amazing, no complaints here, there have been some instances however that the digitizer didnt pick up my taps. perhaps this is related to the freezing/lag i mentioned above.
5) The wifi has been a little odd at times. At times it wants to connect to poor quality networks with low signal over the excellent signal wireless-ac networks.
All in all its a really nice tablet but I am not sure if I am going to keep it. It's not as fast as I expected compared to my nexus 10 (touchwiz likely to blame I guess?) and the biggest issue for me is the speakers. I use my tablet 90% of the time as a media consumption device to watch youtube and HD videos. This is a big reason I didnt get the NExus 9 with it's 4:3 ratio screen which kind of sucks for watching videos unless you are ok with half the screen being wasted with black bars. If the sound from the speakers suck (i never use ear buds, i only use the speakers on the device) then this is a pretty big drawback. I did get it for $399 now which helps but I just dont know.
Nexus 9=RMA
Buy this device at great risk. There's definitely a build quality issue with these early batches.
See my post here for my experience.

Census - got one, had one, want one?

There don't appear to be many of these devices around, and I am curious to try and find out how many.
I love the hardware. If it was just about the specs, I'd have bought one already!
But I'm undecided.
If the bootloader was unlockable, with custom recoveries and custom ROMs, I'd have bought one. However, with Asus not cooperating, and I think too few devices around, I am not sure this will achieve the critical mass to get the attention it deserves.
Sadly, the lack of international availability, and, well, Asus being Asus, means that if this was an experiment to judge the demand for super-sized phablets, then I think it failed. I don't think we'll see another from Asus.
I have one, and will be keeping it for now. However it is not my daily driver, and until AT&T fixes their HSPA+ network in my area, or root becomes available so I can unlock bands, this device will stay just a play around device.
Hi,
I have one since about 2 months and I love its big screen, reviews said that there was no lag, no freezes etc... False, the proc is not that good and I'm really desapointed but that's not why I will change.
I'll change because I cannot accept that an android phone cannot have root or unlockable bootloader, for me it's not an android...
If I wanted an extremly locked phone, I'd choose an iPhone... lol
Oh and... still no Nougat update for other versions than ZF3 5.2 and 5.5 (Stopped because euh... well, because what in fact?)
So, for a 750€ smartphone...
Asus? Never again.
wow, only six people bought one? and one of those is going to sell it. doesn't look too good.
edit: updated the count
Yea I have it and im using it on T-Mobile which is OK with hspa+ but the bootloader unlock not coming out is killing my joy with the phone. Awesome device but I find myself using my OnePlus 3t more because of Asus stupid choices with the bootloader.
Have one & will keep it. The only really irritating thing so far is having both speakers on one side, when you keep the phone in landscape mode; but I'm getting used to tolerate it and can use the headphones anyway.
ptae2000e said:
Have one & will keep it. The only really irritating thing so far is having both speakers on one side, when you keep the phone in landscape mode; but I'm getting used to tolerate it and can use the headphones anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the iphone7 has a dummy speaker, one set of grilles are just blind holes!
so I guess even having genuine dual speakers is a win, but yes, would have been better to have them top and bottom, or even on the long edge.
the availability of an official boot loader unlock tool has swung me back to considering this phone again.
I have had my Z3Ultra for a number of months now after I purchased it to replace my nice but also annoying Huawei P8 Max. I totally love this phone. Can't complain with the exception of the lack of Root, which as I write this message, the developer community is working on bringing it to our device. Apart from this, I am looking to keep it until a new device is released with much better spec but at least the same size possibly even a 7.9" (YES it can be as like the Huawei P8 Max, this phone has a lot of wasted space and overall size can still be kept to current size- check Xiaomi Mi Mix) with ultra thin bezels and curved display, stylus pen, keyboard attachment, better cpu, 128GB or 256GB ROM, 6GB+ RAM, dual sim + independent sd slot and finally quad speakers (top, bottom, left, right side with similar quality to the ones already on it (they are awesome, I mean it). Anyway, enough dreaming from me, lets hope someone from Asus is reading my expectations of the next version.
I have one and will keep it, i am coming from a sony z ultra that I've been using for almost 2 years and sony z3 tablet compact 4g 3 months before that and a sony z1 before that, i have only had the asus zenfone 3 ultra for 1 week but have wanted this device since may last year, i bought this for £420 from eglobal and only bought this because my cousin wanted a better device than the Samsung s4 but he wanted to buy the sony z5 because he knew i enjoyed my sony devices but never asked why i didn't have a updated version like the z2 or z3, i sent him the information about the zenfone 3 series and the asus launch videos, he finally bought the deluxe 820 version after 3 months from the same seller but wanted this as soon as i showed these devices to him, i also bought my dad a sony z2 for work and recently upgraded his device to the asus zenfone 3 5.2 inch version. My cousin now wants the ultra version and im going to also buy his deluxe version to use for work. This is the best decision ive made but would buy a xiaomi mi max for less than 200 if i don't get the deluxe from him and stay with my ultra device too. I drive for work and have always had large screen devices for 3-4 years. Lets see what asus has to offer other than the AR version as this is only a small version or normal size lol. I've been recently looking around for root and unlocking bootloader and will wait for asus to release this to all.
Xiaomi Mi Mix? specs? quat speakers?
AWFRONT said:
I have had my Z3Ultra for a number of months now after I purchased it to replace my nice but also annoying Huawei P8 Max. I totally love this phone. Can't complain with the exception of the lack of Root, which as I write this message, the developer community is working on bringing it to our device. Apart from this, I am looking to keep it until a new device is released with much better spec but at least the same size possibly even a 7.9" (YES it can be as like the Huawei P8 Max, this phone has a lot of wasted space and overall size can still be kept to current size- check Xiaomi Mi Mix) with ultra thin bezels and curved display, stylus pen, keyboard attachment, better cpu, 128GB or 256GB ROM, 6GB+ RAM, dual sim + independent sd slot and finally quad speakers (top, bottom, left, right side with similar quality to the ones already on it (they are awesome, I mean it). Anyway, enough dreaming from me, lets hope someone from Asus is reading my expectations of the next version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get this Xiaomi Mi Mix specs? quad speakers? stylus pen? curved display? keyboard attachment? sd slot? Man, what are you smocking, cause I want some!!!
berbecaru said:
Where did you get this Xiaomi Mi Mix specs? quad speakers? stylus pen? curved display? keyboard attachment? sd slot? Man, what are you smocking, cause I want some!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is nice to dream and imagine good things in life and the spec posted (as stated in my original post) is what I want to see in an ideal device of this size. Oh No. I am definitely not smoking anything. Just dreaming the possibility of a perfect phablet (A mix between ZF3U, Samsung Galaxy S7/S8 type edge display and mi mix type bezelless front with the extras as cherry on top).
BTW. As I discovered very recently ASUS Customer Service for the ZenFone series is rubbish to say the least but more like non-existent. God help us when we need care for our precious ZF3U.
AWFRONT said:
It is nice to dream and imagine good things in life and the spec posted (as stated in my original post) is what I want to see in an ideal device of this size. Oh No. I am definitely not smoking anything. Just dreaming the possibility of a perfect phablet (A mix between ZF3U, Samsung Galaxy S7/S8 type edge display and mi mix type bezelless front with the extras as cherry on top).
BTW. As I discovered very recently ASUS Customer Service for the ZenFone series is rubbish to say the least but more like non-existent. God help us when we need care for our precious ZF3U.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are wright buddy, this is what I want too but no body makes it. :laugh::laugh:
My wife had 1. She dropped it face first on a concrete with flip cover that came with the phone. The screen still shattered. The flip cover is coming covering the screen but still didn't protect it from the impact. I guess that's the gamble when you have a very large screen.
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk
Love it so far
speculatrix said:
wow, only six people bought one? and one of those is going to sell it. doesn't look too good.
edit: updated the count
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one and love it, despite the stuff that is installed there out of the box. Its fast, bright and really useful. One thing that slightly upsets me - need to reboot it every second day to keep at the top of its abilities.
Overall - I'd never hesitate to recommend it.:good:
I had one, then gave it to my daughter while i used other smaller screen phone... Then i realize i got hooked on big screen, so i bought another one for me
speculatrix said:
wow, only six people bought one? and one of those is going to sell it. doesn't look too good.
edit: updated the count
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mainly, you CAN'T assume that just because folks don't report stuff here on XDA, that no one has it. Next, many users are Chinese, or from Taiwan. They won't necessarily speak English. Third, since the LTE bands are NOT available in the U.S.A., that kills more of the market. Lastly, the going rate is around $500 USD, if someone here DID want to buy one. Ours is black screen bricked right now, so we're trying to get help with the (WW) international version unbricking.
I should have been more clear, what I was interested in was how many XDA forum members have bought this, so as to gauge the level of interest and likelihood of hackers and developers doing interesting things with it. I don't know enough about custom Asus ROMS in this respect to actually do the work, but would have been willing to help test rooting and custom recoveries, only I ended up buying an LG V20 because it had all the features I wanted and the AZf3U didn't, and also my concerns about Asus's upgrade longevity set in.
hillg001 said:
Mainly, you CAN'T assume that just because folks don't report stuff here on XDA, that no one has it. Next, many users are Chinese, or from Taiwan. They won't necessarily speak English. Third, since the LTE bands are NOT available in the U.S.A., that kills more of the market. Lastly, the going rate is around $500 USD, if someone here DID want to buy one. Ours is black screen bricked right now, so we're trying to get help with the (WW) international version unbricking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was planning to get zf3 ultra but with almost no rom support, I might get the mi max 2 instead.
I don't think the mi mix is a good idea since it has a fragile ceramic body. I prefer metal body...
*Edit: I gave away my mi max (helium ver) and back to using my 5 years old coolpad 9976a

Convince me to get the mate 20 pro (vs pixel 3 xl/ op 6t)

Hey,
After an upgrade of my HTC U11+. A bit stuck to be honest on which one to go with as they all have big pluses and minuses. I think my ideal phone would be the mate 20 pro hardware with pixel software.
Will give my pro's and minuses below, please feel free to comment and advise as you see fit.
Mate 20 pro
++ Big battery
+ Not bad price wise (especially with the free watch)
+ cameras
+ nice colours
- Lack of updates??
Pixel 3 XL
++ best software
+ great camera
+ great update support
+ great speakers
-- average battery life
-expensive
Oneplus 6T (based on rumours
+price
+Smooth UI
+good support
- camera probably wont be as good as the other 2
-speakers wont be as good
+/- battery in the middle
Out of these three I'd definitely go with the Mate 20 Pro. the Pixel is boring and too ugly and no features at all (I wouldn't consider it at all unless I absolutely need their camera) , OP6 is just cheap price but is missing wireless charging, QHD display, IP68, stereo speakers, camera will be just average, AOD display, desktop mode, raise to wake, knuckle gestures, secure face unlock, etc. But if you don't care about those, the OP6 will be faster/smoother than Mate 20 pro and maybe their underdisplay implementation could be a little bit faster but we'll see
I'm going through the same motions so can't "convince" you, but here are some additional thoughts.
*Pixel QC is still sub par. Quite a few hardware inconsistencies popping up. You won't see this with Huawei
*Pixel 3 speakers and haptics are FAR better
*Huawei software is bad for reasons people don't extrapolate upon
Question marks behind software updates should be removed. This is definitely a negative mark against Huawei.
Lockscreen is abysmal. Unable to expand, reply, or interact with any notifications
Background app restrictions are seriously annoying. Google photos will randomly not backup like your using an iphone. Services like android messages for PC, Mightytext, or Pushbullet will randomly stop working, Dropbox background sync won't work consistently, etc.
Huawei still isn't a brand developers seem to pay attention to, so bugs (think odd aspect ratio bugs) will take longer to get fixed.
*6T should be immediately disregarded unless cost or ROM support are of concern. Imagine you know this already.
Huawei hardware is beautiful, but the software and updates is a serious downer. (not just because it's a skin - EMUI looks fine visually imo) Ultimately, I think the ugly 3XL is still the better device for most..
No bootloader unlock, no root, no mods, no roms vs oneplus and pixel unlimited development..
tsoureki said:
No bootloader unlock, no root, no mods, no roms vs oneplus and pixel unlimited development..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really hopeful that we'll at least get root...... I've preordered the Mate 20 Pro and will be selling my Pixel 2 xl, hope I don't live to regret it! Worst case scenario I'll sell it and switch...
Well Pixel XL 3 is trash. I returned mine after 2 days.
Oneplus 6T is a bang for buck type of phone
Mate 20 Pro I'm having issues getting one imported
Probably didn't help much but aye.
Goronok said:
I'm going through the same motions so can't "convince" you, but here are some additional thoughts.
*Pixel QC is still sub par. Quite a few hardware inconsistencies popping up. You won't see this with Huawei
*Pixel 3 speakers and haptics are FAR better
*Huawei software is bad for reasons people don't extrapolate upon
Question marks behind software updates should be removed. This is definitely a negative mark against Huawei.
Lockscreen is abysmal. Unable to expand, reply, or interact with any notifications
Background app restrictions are seriously annoying. Google photos will randomly not backup like your using an iphone. Services like android messages for PC, Mightytext, or Pushbullet will randomly stop working, Dropbox background sync won't work consistently, etc.
Huawei still isn't a brand developers seem to pay attention to, so bugs (think odd aspect ratio bugs) will take longer to get fixed.
*6T should be immediately disregarded unless cost or ROM support are of concern. Imagine you know this already.
Huawei hardware is beautiful, but the software and updates is a serious downer. (not just because it's a skin - EMUI looks fine visually imo) Ultimately, I think the ugly 3XL is still the better device for most..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great post, and for these reasons Huawei don't deserve £899 for their phone as pretty as it is. when the honeymoon period wears off you'll be noticing that lack of software support. I'm still debating getting a M20P myself, it would be easier if Huawei stepped their game up with software support and allowed the users to bypass background closures.
mwatson said:
Great post, and for these reasons Huawei don't deserve £899 for their phone as pretty as it is. when the honeymoon period wears off you'll be noticing that lack of software support. I'm still debating getting a M20P myself, it would be easier if Huawei stepped their game up with software support and allowed the users to bypass background closures.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you hit the nail on the head regarding honeymoon period. I had (2) P20 Pro's and I loved the hardware/camera, but quickly became annoyed with the fact that EMUI just doesn't "work" as an android phone should. After using MIUI 10 on a Mix 2s for a few weeks, I would say that Xiaomi's derivative feels more natural to use. /sad
Goronok said:
*Huawei software is bad for reasons people don't extrapolate upon
Lockscreen is abysmal. Unable to expand, reply, or interact with any notifications
Background app restrictions are seriously annoying. Google photos will randomly not backup like your using an iphone. Services like android messages for PC, Mightytext, or Pushbullet will randomly stop working, Dropbox background sync won't work consistently, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know if these issues are still there in the Mate 20 Pro? That and Android Auto (connecting to a head unit) are very important to me. I don't believe that worked correctly on previous Huawei devices either.
arghness said:
Do you know if these issues are still there in the Mate 20 Pro? That and Android Auto (connecting to a head unit) are very important to me. I don't believe that worked correctly on previous Huawei devices either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had someone on Reddit confirm that the lockscreen is still the same. Some have said it is a bug, but seems working as intended to me. (Been a "bug" since EMUI 8.1)
I haven't inquired about backgrounding issues. Not much point. This has been a thing with EMUI since day 1. (And other China OEMs too)
Thanks for the replies very helpful. I know the mate 20 pro is the best out of the bunch its whether i can live with EMUI. I had this in the past with samsung s6 edge, loved the phone but hated the software and ended up getting rid of it very quickly. I think if the pixel was £100 cheaper or had a bigger battery i would 100% go with that for the software experience.
The decision would be so much easier if they allowed bootloader unlock and custom roms would solve half the issues! Still no closer to the decision.
A couple of extra points
Mate 20 curved screen will be a pain for glass screen protectors so thats a -
Still cant work out if the UK model is single sim or dual sim! (says its micro sd expandable so is that where the extra sim goes)
I think the camera will be just as good as the pixel...in some ways better because of the wide angle lens etc. The pixel 3 probably will be the best point and shoot but I don't think either will dissapoint you
I've bite the bullet and pre ordered the mate 20 pro.
What really turned the tide for me is 2 videos on youtube, 1 a speed comparison against the note 9 and it smashed it, which proved to me it wont be a laggy crappy software (mostly)
and 2nd a battery drain test which it got nearly 7 hours of SOT which was 2 hours better than the note 9 and 3 hours more than most of the others.
Phil750123 said:
I've bite the bullet and pre ordered the mate 20 pro.
What really turned the tide for me is 2 videos on youtube, 1 a speed comparison against the note 9 and it smashed it, which proved to me it wont be a laggy crappy software (mostly)
and 2nd a battery drain test which it got nearly 7 hours of SOT which was 2 hours better than the note 9 and 3 hours more than most of the others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hehe same thinking bud, yeah also saw some videos and pic comparisons on YouTube especially the mrwhosetheboss and i believe we should give the Huawei a go, like u said it's definitely blowin the note in most aspects and free watch is definitely a good bonus
misiokicio said:
Hehe same thinking bud, yeah also saw some videos and pic comparisons on YouTube especially the mrwhosetheboss and i believe we should give the Huawei a go, like u said it's definitely blowin the note in most aspects and free watch is definitely a good bonus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yer the watch did help me decide.
What i dont get in the UK is its 899 sim free, the pixel 3 xl 64gb is around 850 yet all the contracts for the huwaei are coming out about £5 a month less, also helped me decide.
Phil750123 said:
yer the watch did help me decide.
What i dont get in the UK is its 899 sim free, the pixel 3 xl 64gb is around 850 yet all the contracts for the huwaei are coming out about £5 a month less, also helped me decide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See i went with sim free but what got me here is 50 quid more for mate, and free watch and charger is 250, so basically mate is working out 200 quid cheaper and 6gb ram vs the 4 and this massive battey, when pixie 3 battery is sitting at 3400 compared to my pixel 2 xl 3500 with a smaller screen? Impulse buy but hey, if we somehow hate it, or cant get used to it... Swap or sell after few months right? It aint a new car xd
It's very easy : get the pixel 3 and then youll want to get the mate 20 Pro for sure!
Preorderd mine today. Can't wait to finish a day without worrying at all about the battery. That's the feature I'm most excited about, since every phone, at this price, seems to have a great camera and screen. Really not that excited that I'll get to open youtube a half a second faster than other phones. Also, EMUI can be improved with apps and themes.
xtrocata said:
Preorderd mine today. Can't wait to finish a day without worrying at all about the battery. That's the feature I'm most excited about, since every phone, at this price, seems to have a great camera and screen. Really not that excited that I'll get to open youtube a half a second faster than other phones. Also, EMUI can be improved with apps and themes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty excited about this as well, I'm pretty sure I will still average about 6000 mah a day, I almost always charge from like 50 to 90% using wireless charging while at work but for the days I forgot to wireless charge, the fact that even if I get home with less than 5% and just plugging it in for like 15 minutes (instead of like 40 minutes like my note 9) and being back to like 40% to finish the day is amazing.
I agree

Would You Buy a M5 10.8 Today?

Hello all,
I have a Fire HD 8 that is just too slow for my needs. I am looking at 8 and 10 inch variants and I keep coming back to the M5 family of devices. First off am I am making a quality decision in looking at the M5? Is the M5 8 radically different from the M5 10.8? I see the M5 just got upgraded to Android Pie but will we see Android Q for this?
Thanks,
Steve
Hi Steve, I had a Galaxy Tab S3 that got stolen along with my luggage so I bough what was avaliable and it was the M5 Pro. Very happy with it, even the screen the LCD screen is very good (so used to amoled by now, has been years since I had an LCD).
I mainly use it for for PDF textbook reading (big screen is a plus), streaming movies (very nice screen, exclent sspeakers, very good WiFi reception) and light office work - gmail, Word, etc (optional keyboard folio makes it a lot easier).
I would wait to see what the M6 looks like but very happy with the M5, would buy it again (soon to be updated to Android 9. 1)
I have it for two weeks now and it's a great tablet.
Fast, screen is beautiful and is well built.
I was going for a Xiaomi at first. But as I am going to use a lot for Netflix L1 widevine was a must.
Not many tablets has it.... I hate Samsung products so the choice was little.
I bought it for my daughter.
She is three years old now
I think the mobile phone screen is too small for children
I already used it for a few months
I am very satisfied with its performance
yes. it is good value. the newer Samsung s6 is much better, but at least twice expensive. the bad thing about every huawei tablet is lack of software support after 1st year. so you can expect a few more security updates in the next year and thats all.
It's a good tablet overall, however I would prefer the Samsung S5e wifi if no pen is required for four reasons:
Superior wifi speeds
Super Amoled screen (although the M5 led is excellent, Samsung tech is better).
Ability to pair the S5e with a recent Samsung phone and use the message and call continuity service.
Weight. On paper the difference is small, but in real life it is substantial. The S5e is a device that has the right weight for a handheld usage.
However price can be a factor in some markets. Personally I would easily pay 50 to 100 euros more for the Samsung, for the reasons listed above. But it is due to my usage patterns. I use it everyday, and one of the applications is as GPS in my truck, hence the importance for me of getting calls and messages from the phone on the tablet as well as the brightness of the superamoled in day light.
The M5 is still a very good device though. Largely enough for most applications, especially for occasional use.
My issue with Samsung tablets is they do not upgrade the Android software.. My wife has the S2 model and she is still two updates behind. She has constant issues with the battery also. This is her third and last Samsung.
SPetrillo said:
Hello all,
I have a Fire HD 8 that is just too slow for my needs. I am looking at 8 and 10 inch variants and I keep coming back to the M5 family of devices. First off am I am making a quality decision in looking at the M5? Is the M5 8 radically different from the M5 10.8? I see the M5 just got upgraded to Android Pie but will we see Android Q for this?
Thanks,
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the 10 inch LTE variant for more than half a year and I`m using it for house multimedia.
I wouldn`t buy it anymore for only 1 thing : the issue with bluetooth + wireless , both being connected and working in the same time, where the wireless transfer speed decreases significantly. Thank God that I have a SIM card with 50 Gb data and I don`t need to use wireless when listening to music or anything via bluetooth . Other than that, its a great gadget. Fast charging is one of the most important things for me since since I don`t have to wait a long time until it charges ( 1.5 hours from 10% to 100% without using it during charging). Also, the speakers are amazing, very clear and great bass coming from them. The screen is also very good, not perfect, but it does the job very well. Soon it will receive Android 9.1 and probably Android 10 to follow probably at the end of the year. If you didn`t bought any yet, I would say that this is the best option at this price. But if you have the money, I would advise you to go for the S Tab or iPad.
reubenray said:
My issue with Samsung tablets is they do not upgrade the Android software.. My wife has the S2 model and she is still two updates behind. She has constant issues with the battery also. This is her third and last Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huawei has so many models that they stop giving you uptades over a while, save maybe for flagship phones. And with Google cutting Huawei off, it remain to be seen how things will go.
I think they'll still update the M5 to 9.1 but I doubt they'll support it beyond that.
BTW, I've seen the S6 and it's just €100 more. I would still wait for the M6 and to check it out if I could wait.
After having it for 18 months now:
No. Not only due to the US ban on Huawei, but also some major things:
I had the official AMORK keyboard - way to fragile, was defectuous 5 times (the bar that holds the tab in place broke ...)
USB-c -> USB2-only, thus no HDMI-capability
"Mediapad" had no Widevine L1 at first (I know they fixed it, BUT it should not need fixing in a MEDIAPAD)
I was hoping for keeping it a little longer than my usual 2 years, after all I only read with it and take notes for my PhD thesis. I want to write parts of it on the tablet, using the keyboard ... so far I haven't been able to set it up in a productive way...
Probably going for a ChromeOS Tab next time ... *
Safe to say: Huawei - never again!
*productive use: external monitor displaying different stuff than tablet-screen. using with mouse and keyboard.
Yeah lack of widewine l1 is bad. I own too many Huawei things. If i change tablet i should change my phone and watch. They are part of their ecosystem, clous etc and works perfectly together. Same with Samsung tablets/phones.
reubenray said:
My issue with Samsung tablets is they do not upgrade the Android software.. My wife has the S2 model and she is still two updates behind. She has constant issues with the battery also. This is her third and last Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a tab s2 as well. It's a good product.
Samsung has a standard rule similar to other players, you get two major updates plus minor security changes, lately the pace of these has increased, albeit with smaller changes (monthly instead of quarterly) . Tab S2 is a pretty old product... at some point they have to stop issuing updates at the end of the advertised service life... I think this product was first released with Android 5 and went up to android 7.x....
The latest generation is the Tab S6...
SPetrillo said:
Hello all,
I have a Fire HD 8 that is just too slow for my needs. I am looking at 8 and 10 inch variants and I keep coming back to the M5 family of devices. First off am I am making a quality decision in looking at the M5? Is the M5 8 radically different from the M5 10.8? I see the M5 just got upgraded to Android Pie but will we see Android Q for this?
Thanks,
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if you still need advice, but I recently bought an 8" M5 to replace a Chuwi Hi9 Pro that I accidentally cracked the screen on. I also have a GalaxyTab S3 but really prefer the form factor of an 8".
I've been really pleased with my M5 and would recommend it, especially if you can catch a deal on it. I bought mine from Newegg as an open box for $180. It has Widevine level 1 for HD Netflix etc., gaming performance is pretty good (some of the more intensive games may lag a bit), wifi performance has been good, speakers are great, screen is great. Biggest annoyances for me are that I have occasional standby drain, I've disabled location services and I clear apps which seems to resolve (extremely good standby when it works), the DPI is set pretty large and I prefer smaller icons (can generally resolve with 3rd party launcher but not perfectly), and the worst, I'm in the US and will probably never get the Pie update.
If you want a cheaper option, especially if you can't find a great deal on the M5, I really liked my Chuwi Hi9 Pro. It's like 80% the tablet the M5 is. It's a little slower, speaker is not nearly as good, but it has global LTE, fantastic screen for the price, expandable storage, good build quality (though the screen glass is pretty fragile … and not terribly scratch resistant and screen protectors aren't great on it, so I'd recommend a folio case). $140 on Amazon.

[Q] Tab S6 or Tab S7 - By experience

Hi everyone,
Question for you on this, which one would you suggest, by experience? I do understand both devices have minor differences, like the "correct" camera position at S7, 120Hz, but as well the poorly LCD screen on Tab S7.
As someone who owns a S4 Tab (which is very unpopular on XDA community overall), what would you suggest personally? I want to upgrade mostly due low RAM, bad placement for S-Pen, keyboard constant disconnect, but mostly due 0% of someone starting a LineageOS development (LineageOS GSI has several issues, and I'm not expert enough on Android development to start my own).
Seems like S5E and S6L has already lot of development around LineageOS, and is likely S6 and S7 tab could receive something as well.
As far I read most of QA comments, seems like most people owns a S7+ due better screen mostly, but personally is out my budget and too big from my perspective.
Many thanks!
If you want to know which tablet is the right for you:
You've give yourself the answer in the last sentence
The s7 has one of the best displays available, although it is not an OLED. I would not care about the OLED /LCD displayfight.
It's like the ultra highres and 120Hz discussion: most people love the crispness and fluety, not realizing both is deactivated due to performance or battery savings. Go in a shop and try it, you can deactivate it and see yourself. There even are people praising it in forums, not knowing the program they are using not even support it.
When it comes to professionalism you have to avoid OLED due to the lack of color calibration and color acurracy. That's the reason its a pure consumer thing. And for the latter, marketing always try to make things essentiall you actually do not need.
But as soon it comes to proffesionalis (this) android tablet is not for you at all. From an artist perspective major apps are missing (although getting better) and the s-pen technique is a big draw back, beside the form factor. Same for office work: Dex still is a pain, the office packages are working not like on a Desktop and yes: you'll hate the keyboard at the end of a working day (so use a standard BT one instead). Or even better: spend much more money and buy a surface PC.
From a consumer perspective OLED are great, love it on my mobile especially in pitch dark. But honestly: 99% of the time you're not realizing it and the battery saving bla bla is not worth the discussion. If I would have welcomed it on the s7: sure. But I would not have spend 100 € more for it.
Consider your use case. For a simple multimedia device: wait for the s7 light. If you need a device primary for note taking and some more sofisticated multimedia stuff, the s7/s7+ is for you. The RAM and CPU are great for painting (as long it's on concept /sketching level) and a good alround device on the go.
The s6 was out of focus for me due to: the pen form factor, the camara position, and especially not having an update option in 3 years. If you can deal with all: go for it.
To make it short: consider what you want. If the s7: wait for a good deal. In case you need 8GB of Ram and a bigger screen spend the extra money for the s7+.
Oh well broke my Pixel C Tablet today changing the battery . I been living with the Pixel C Tab and my Nexus 6 phone running LineageOS for years just looking for some feedback on what might be a fun and logical upgrade that should have good LineageOS Rom support going forward ?
Have s4 s6 and now s7+ only the people who compromised for the lcd s7 over the oled s7+ will tell you oled doesn't matter, just like tvs. Either get s6 or s7+ the oled is amazing.
gottahavit said:
Have s4 s6 and now s7+ only the people who compromised for the lcd s7 over the oled s7+ will tell you oled doesn't matter, just like tvs. Either get s6 or s7+ the oled is amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem is no rom or LineageOS support for the Tab S7+ your on your own once the updates stop
Markeee said:
Problem is no rom or LineageOS support for the Tab S7+ your on your own once the updates stop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By that time the s8 will be out and I'm sure there will be roms soon, but honestly very little need, these days I find very little need to root and only look for roms if I really need an OS update which hasn't happened since my old tab s 8.4 which is still going strong on lineage.
Don't get me wrong rooting and ROMing are great to have, but I find current Android customizable enough for most things and don't pick my devices based on that. I'd rather root my phone than my tab and I wouldn't sacrifice oled for root or roms
gottahavit said:
By that time the s8 will be out and I'm sure there will be roms soon, but honestly very little need, these days I find very little need to root and only look for roms if I really need an OS update which hasn't happened since my old tab s 8.4 which is still going strong on lineage.
Don't get me wrong rooting and ROMing are great to have, but I find current Android customizable enough for most things and don't pick my devices based on that. I'd rather root my phone than my tab and I wouldn't sacrifice oled for root or roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said I would love to get the S7+ its the best out there now my first choose but at the end of the day its also important for me to have some good rom support and the fact that the the S7+ has absolutely none right now leaves me worried we may never see any materialize ?
So thinking maybe last years Tab S5e is the best possible compromise considering it has official LineageOS support and blessings its just missing the 120Hz display not quite as big and not as nice of a upgrade power wise.
Sucks I'm torn and can't decide ?
TAB S7 PLUS VS TAB S5e | PROS AND CONS
https://youtu.be/5qff9-2Yiw8
gottahavit said:
Have s4 s6 and now s7+ only the people who compromised for the lcd s7 over the oled s7+ will tell you oled doesn't matter, just like tvs. Either get s6 or s7+ the oled is amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, sorry no. Your marketing talk even is obsolete as Micro- and Q-LED is the new hype
To make it short.
For simple consumers: go to a shop and see yourself. If you like perfect blacks, oversatturation and high contrasts: go for OLEDs. You definitely will see the difference next to a s7.
If you would be in (photo-)graphics or arts on a professional level: you would not even ask that question. You would know that's OLEDS will never be an options (color accuracy, calibration, etc.).
Just keep in mind: OLEDs show the strongest burn-in. But: as long you do not work all day long with a single programm (office, photoshop, eclipse, etc.) or use it as a display device with areas showing almost static output (e.g. home automation at a wall, infotainment in cars), this will not be a problem. Typing this on a 3.5 year old galaxy s8, with still no real notable burn in. Only the color shifted over the years. But thats s.th. you can adjust for.
And: I would have taken the s7+, but the OLED is a no go for me.
---------- Post added at 12:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:36 AM ----------
Markeee said:
Well said I would love to get the S7+ its the best out there now my first choose but at the end of the day its also important for me to have some good rom support and the fact that the the S7+ has absolutely none right now leaves me worried we may never see any materialize ?
So thinking maybe last years Tab S5e is the best possible compromise considering it has official LineageOS support and blessings its just missing the 120Hz display not quite as big and not as nice of a upgrade power wise.
Sucks I'm torn and can't decide ?
TAB S7 PLUS VS TAB S5e | PROS AND CONS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the reason you want to have good rom support?
Just wondering. Same for 120Hz: you know that apps have to support it specifically? Most don't, for obvious reasons...
One UI is a great enhancer when it comes to tablet support on Android. My pretty old Note 10.1 sucks without. You'll notice it, when missing.
The best option for me is a rooted s7 stock rom. Just kept it unrooted for guaranty reasons, in half a year... .
Best tablet UI but open for adjustment. Of course, you should not put your bank account on it. But frankly, all other features missing with root I would preferably have on my phone than this device.
basthet said:
Well, sorry no. Your marketing talk even is obsolete as Micro- and Q-LED is the new hype
To make it short.
For simple consumers: go to a shop and see yourself. If you like perfect blacks, oversatturation and high contrasts: go for OLEDs. You definitely will see the difference next to a s7.
If you would be in (photo-)graphics or arts on a professional level: you would not even ask that question. You would know that's OLEDS will never be an options (color accuracy, calibration, etc.).
Just keep in mind: OLEDs show the strongest burn-in. But: as long you do not work all day long with a single programm (office, photoshop, eclipse, etc.) or use it as a display device with areas showing almost static output (e.g. home automation at a wall, infotainment in cars), this will not be a problem. Typing this on a 3.5 year old galaxy s8, with still no real notable burn in. Only the color shifted over the years. But thats s.th. you can adjust for.
And: I would have taken the s7+, but the OLED is a no go for me.
---------- Post added at 12:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:36 AM ----------
What's the reason you want to have good rom support?
Just wondering. Same for 120Hz: you know that apps have to support it specifically? Most don't, for obvious reasons...
One UI is a great enhancer when it comes to tablet support on Android. My pretty old Note 10.1 sucks without. You'll notice it, when missing.
The best option for me is a rooted s7 stock rom. Just kept it unrooted for guaranty reasons, in half a year... .
Best tablet UI but open for adjustment. Of course, you should not put your bank account on it. But frankly, all other features missing with root I would preferably have on my phone than this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow I hope you were joking about QLED/nanopixels being the best thing right now! You know that's just fake logos that say "we can't make OLEDs but we want you to think we do"?
As for color accuracy, I actually do a lot of drone footage and photo, but admittedly I'm no PRO and I don't edit on my tablet(I edit on my 28" 4k IPS HDR), but I did read the reviews and comparisons which put the S7+ above the S7 and the Ipad Pro when in Natural color mode. You can also calibrate yourself. I prefer the amoled for reviewing my video since most video is produced to HDR for display on an OLED TV. I find if it looks good on my tablet it will look close to the same on my LG OLED.
I guess it all depends what you want to do with the Tablet and what you are producing and for what target. I was not trying to say there is no place for the LCD(although I don't have one), just that some people on the forum are telling others not to worry the LCD is just as good as good as beautiful as AMOLED and that's just not true.
Also I have every Tab S Amoled made except the s5 and not one of them has Burnin or any significant loss of vibrancy. Personally if I couldn't deal with the 12" I would have stuck with my s6 over the s7 LCD.
gottahavit said:
Wow I hope you were joking about QLED/nanopixels being the best thing right now! You know that's just fake logos that say "we can't make OLEDs but we want you to think we do"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... that's because Samsung does not sell QLED but half backed solutions only calling them QLED - there are even ads with references clarifying, what SAMSUNG means by "QLED".
I was referring to real quantum dot emitters, not having these color-offsets and color depended life time problems the (AM)OLED still has. Still hoping for next year...
gottahavit said:
As for color accuracy, I actually do a lot of drone footage and photo, but admittedly I'm no PRO and I don't edit on my tablet(I edit on my 28" 4k IPS HDR), but I did read the reviews and comparisons which put the S7+ above the S7 and the Ipad Pro when in Natural color mode. You can also calibrate yourself. I prefer the amoled for reviewing my video since most video is produced to HDR for display on an OLED TV. I find if it looks good on my tablet it will look close to the same on my LG OLED....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well - there you got it. Everybody here replays this marketing bla bla from sellers and samsung or reviewers (most likely from YouTube) putting the AMOLED superior to the LCD.
Please do not feel offended, I do not try to argue with you. All I want to say is that the quality of a display is not defined by simple "blackness" and slangs like "vibrancy". Even the slang "Natural color" is a hoax - OLED just cannot produce them. Samsung (like LG, Sony, etc.) tries to manipulate it towards, and might get quite close, but after a while, colors shift away. A nightmare for people have to relay on color accuracy.
Same for their algorithm to reduce the burn-in effect. I also have an OLED (older than 3 years). No notable burn-in - but the price you pay is pixel shift and out-greying. If you are sensitive to one: OLED is not for you. If you don't care or not even notice it: great!
To make it short: It's hard to say in general, if the LCD of the s7 is worse compared to the s4/s6 and even the s7+ OLEDs. Best is to grep one and see if it fits you needs. For a LCD the s7 is really good and same goes for the s7+ as an AMOLED. Both (techniques) have their strengths but also weaknesses. I was rather happy, when I found the s7, as I do not have to spend my soul for an iPad Pro + I do not have to care about unexpected color reworks as soon as I switch back to my PC.
However, still hating Samsung for their crappy S-Pen technique... But well - you get what you pay for
Thanks for the replies I appreciate the discussion and feedback .
I'm coming from an old Pixel C Tablet I just broke the thing trying to replace the battery. That unit lost android update support years ago but managed to stay alive through roms and LineageOS which was nice I looked forward to kind of lived for those updates like most nerds otherwise I probably would of replaced it long ago. I'm still running with my Nexus 6 on LineageOS updates.
So I wasn't really even thinking about replacing it but now that it gone may as well have some fun get something new and considering I usually keep my **** so long like 5 yrs I may as well try get the latest and the greatest.
At first didn't know what to get but didn't take long to realize there's really no new android tablet options out except Samsung which kind of sucks coz rooting flashing Samsung bit more complicated not as straight up easy for me as dealing with the pixel which is super easy. With Samsung knox I have to re-learn that mess not looking forward to that and seems alot of people having issues dealing with it
Anyways I only really use the tablet for watching videos it will never leave my house leaning towards the S7+ just trying to snag a deal is all
basthet said:
Well, sorry no. Your marketing talk even is obsolete as Micro- and Q-LED is the new hype
To make it short.
For simple consumers: go to a shop and see yourself. If you like perfect blacks, oversatturation and high contrasts: go for OLEDs. You definitely will see the difference next to a s7.
If you would be in (photo-)graphics or arts on a professional level: you would not even ask that question. You would know that's OLEDS will never be an options (color accuracy, calibration, etc.).
Just keep in mind: OLEDs show the strongest burn-in. But: as long you do not work all day long with a single programm (office, photoshop, eclipse, etc.) or use it as a display device with areas showing almost static output (e.g. home automation at a wall, infotainment in cars), this will not be a problem. Typing this on a 3.5 year old galaxy s8, with still no real notable burn in. Only the color shifted over the years. But thats s.th. you can adjust for.
And: I would have taken the s7+, but the OLED is a no go for me.
---------- Post added at 12:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:36 AM ----------
What's the reason you want to have good rom support?
Just wondering. Same for 120Hz: you know that apps have to support it specifically? Most don't, for obvious reasons...
One UI is a great enhancer when it comes to tablet support on Android. My pretty old Note 10.1 sucks without. You'll notice it, when missing.
The best option for me is a rooted s7 stock rom. Just kept it unrooted for guaranty reasons, in half a year... .
Best tablet UI but open for adjustment. Of course, you should not put your bank account on it. But frankly, all other features missing with root I would preferably have on my phone than this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Markeee
Keep in mind that - unfortunately - the situation for android tablets is a bit different nowadays.
Almost all new tablet specific features come from Samsung (Dex, etc.). Google and the other brands dropped tablet support almost completely. That implies also lineageOS - relaying on google - will most likely not offer new tablet specific features in the future. Hence, putting a custom rom on it will result in a draw back compared to One UI.
The good: with a s7/s7+ you will get all the new tablet specific stuff for 3 years and be up to the notch. As Samsung still tries to catch up to Apple that's the best you can get.
The bad: after 3 years you most likely will been stucked - or forced to make the step back to linageOS if you want Android 14+. Samsung managed to make porting their One UI features quite difficult.
However, time will tell. If google rediscover their tablet love, being again the driving android force for tablets, this situation will be totally different in 3 years.
When it comes to custom roms and video watching only: all I'm talking about will not be such of an issue, as all the mentioned features are more in the direction of writing, drawing, UI-integration, etc.
However, keep in mind that Netflix and other streaming portals suppress usage with rooted devices. Here the Knox counter is a big problem you might come over (e.g. via Magisk), but that needed to be supported by s.o. . Time will tell if the community will do, or not.
Moreover, reconsider the s7/s7+ completely. Both are rather expensive and target people using the Pen heavily (e.g. drawing, painting). Here you still need the fastest processor, as mush Ram as possible and a digitizer - and you have to pay for it. Have you considered going with a tablet w/o S-Pen?
If the question is only the ease to put custom rom on: well I'm rather sure here you will find the first noteworthy solution. And: simplifications of that will come later. But for Custom rom support I am not so optimistic: most owner would probably think like me, that most (unofficial) linageOS ports will lack the tablet features One Ui offers. Hence consider rooting and flashing not worth the hazel...
For better or worse I just pulled the trigger and ordered the Tab S7+, 256GB, sometimes just want to say WTF least I was able to snag a deal $582.61 before tax's free shipping. I'm sure I won't use take advantage of the pen but still nice to have all these premium features for a change.
Spending extra will be negligible considering how long i plan on keeping this thing. Hopefully years down the road when support ends there will me some other options to keep this thing alive .
Here's the slickdeals link below still an active deal if anyone's interested
https://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=143059996&postcount=732
basthet said:
@Markeee
Keep in mind that - unfortunately - the situation for android tablets is a bit different nowadays.
Almost all new tablet specific features come from Samsung (Dex, etc.). Google and the other brands dropped tablet support almost completely. That implies also lineageOS - relaying on google - will most likely not offer new tablet specific features in the future. Hence, putting a custom rom on it will result in a draw back compared to One UI.
The good: with a s7/s7+ you will get all the new tablet specific stuff for 3 years and be up to the notch. As Samsung still tries to catch up to Apple that's the best you can get.
The bad: after 3 years you most likely will been stucked - or forced to make the step back to linageOS if you want Android 14+. Samsung managed to make porting their One UI features quite difficult.
However, time will tell. If google rediscover their tablet love, being again the driving android force for tablets, this situation will be totally different in 3 years.
When it comes to custom roms and video watching only: all I'm talking about will not be such of an issue, as all the mentioned features are more in the direction of writing, drawing, UI-integration, etc.
However, keep in mind that Netflix and other streaming portals suppress usage with rooted devices. Here the Knox counter is a big problem you might come over (e.g. via Magisk), but that needed to be supported by s.o. . Time will tell if the community will do, or not.
Moreover, reconsider the s7/s7+ completely. Both are rather expensive and target people using the Pen heavily (e.g. drawing, painting). Here you still need the fastest processor, as mush Ram as possible and a digitizer - and you have to pay for it. Have you considered going with a tablet w/o S-Pen?
If the question is only the ease to put custom rom on: well I'm rather sure here you will find the first noteworthy solution. And: simplifications of that will come later. But for Custom rom support I am not so optimistic: most owner would probably think like me, that most (unofficial) linageOS ports will lack the tablet features One Ui offers. Hence consider rooting and flashing not worth the hazel...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Markeee
I am in a similar situation like you.
Fortunately my pixel C is still working.
Nevertheless I am starting looking for a replacement.
How do you like the Samsung so far?
Did you root it?
I am really sceptical bec of all that Samsung bloatware and this other Samsung stuff, as well as the lack of custom ROMs. The hardware is for sure much better...
My use cases are mostly watching videos, web surfing, emailing. I love the external keyboard for my pixel c, i wonder if there is something similar in the Samsung world...
Greetings from Vienna!
Markeee said:
For better or worse I just pulled the trigger and ordered the Tab S7+, 256GB, sometimes just want to say WTF least I was able to snag a deal $582.61 before tax's free shipping. I'm sure I won't use take advantage of the pen but still nice to have all these premium features for a change.
Spending extra will be negligible considering how long i plan on keeping this thing. Hopefully years down the road when support ends there will me some other options to keep this thing alive .
Here's the slickdeals link below still an active deal if anyone's interested
https://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=143059996&postcount=732
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From personal experience I find the screen on the Tab S7 to be brighter, more vibrant and with truer colors than on the Tab S6. I compared my S6 side by side with my wife's S7 while watching a video and the S7
's screen was much more pleasing to watch. The S6's screen was simply too dark so I lost detail in the shadows and the colors seemed muted even with the display set to Vibrant.
This sort of surprised me based on the comparison reviews I've seen that said the S6 had the better display.

Categories

Resources