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I have been looking to purchase the galaxy s 2 for some time now. I've read about alot of problems with the phone but I played with the at&t version and it is super fast, beautiful screen, perfect size and has a great camera. The biggest thing that's keeping me from purchasing it is the audio quality from the headphones. Is it as good as the Iphone 4 or Zune HD(which is my favorite music player) from your experience? Next, hows the battery life compared to the iphone 4 which has great battery life and the only android phone that matched it from my experience was the nexus one. If I do decide to purchase the galaxy s 2, should I get the international version or the at&t version as Im getting them both off-contract. One more question, what kind of 3g speeds are you guys seeing in NYC with the international version and at&t version? Thanks
Now is not the time to get a Galaxy S II in my opinion. Wait for the Prime to come out and either decide on Prime or 4S
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
My brother just told me that he can get the at&t galaxy s 2 for only $430 so I'll just buy it and if I dont like it, I can sell it for 450-500. I'm really hyped for the prime but I dont know when they are gonna release it and I want to get a new phone over my iphone 4. I dont want the 4S as Im kind of bored by IOS and it was barely an upgrade over the Iphone 4 and I was disappointed, but IOS 5 looks nice.
Wait for prime bro'.
And if I was in New York, I'd sold mine to you.
I recommend you to wait mate, there are some problems with galaxy s2 that still has not been corrected (im running 2.3.4 because i havent got an update few weeks ago greater than that on kies).
The biggest problem with this phone is the retarded overheating, it overheats ALOT when recording at 1080p and playing a decent ammount of games, (i experience overheating issues mostly in 3D games like asphalt 5, Motor Academy, dungeons defenders and more. The overheating issue is a huge downside mainly because it cannot let you enjoy your game without feeling that boiling effect on your fingers and the fact that i worry most of the times for it to not melt the circuitry board inside, like it has happened before with other people (ive only read 1 guy having this problem so far).
But there are also other problems, the oled screen still blurrs, its faster than an lcd but blurr is still there, viewing angles shifts hue to a bit of blue, if u put solid colors like pure gray on whole screen, you will notice the color displays with a different contrast on different parts of screen, the camera displays a pink circle on the screen when in medium lighting conditions viewing white walls or other objects that occupies the whole screen.
Speaker quality is average, there might be more but i cant remember them right now.
This is the best phone i know right now but i recommend you to wait for a better one, hopefully without these problems, if u cant wait and rly like oled then this might be the best one so far.
TheWarKeeper said:
I recommend you to wait mate, there are some problems with galaxy s2 that still has not been corrected (im running 2.3.4 because i havent got an update few weeks ago greater than that on kies).
The biggest problem with this phone is the retarded overheating, it overheats ALOT when recording at 1080p and playing a decent ammount of games, (i experience overheating issues mostly in 3D games like asphalt 5, Motor Academy, dungeons defenders and more. The overheating issue is a huge downside mainly because it cannot let you enjoy your game without feeling that boiling effect on your fingers and the fact that i worry most of the times for it to not melt the circuitry board inside, like it has happened before with other people (ive only read 1 guy having this problem so far).
But there are also other problems, the oled screen still blurrs, its faster than an lcd but blurr is still there, viewing angles shifts hue to a bit of blue, if u put solid colors like pure gray on whole screen, you will notice the color displays with a different contrast on different parts of screen, the camera displays a pink circle on the screen when in medium lighting conditions viewing white walls or other objects that occupies the whole screen.
Speaker quality is average, there might be more but i cant remember them right now.
This is the best phone i know right now but i recommend you to wait for a better one, hopefully without these problems, if u cant wait and rly like oled then this might be the best one so far.
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WHAT? Dude if you have all those problems then you should return your device and get a replacement because i got none of them. This phone is seriously phone of the year and this is my first samsung device. If sammy keeps this up then i am in for good. And about screen getting real hot... I got that problem in the first weeks but then after an update the problem went away. Using lates villainrom now. But like every other dual-core smartphones the phone gets hot when you use it for a long time... Again this happens to every dual-core smartphones as the cpu uses alot of power. And to the op, I seriously recommend you to get this device, unless you're thinking about getting the prime then you should wait a few more weeks. But i dont think that the prime will be much better then SGS2 except better screen.
Umm i don't think you can call it overheating for the sgs 2. In the sense that it is not overheating, it is simply expending the amount of heat proportionate to the amount of work being done. it's like when you play crisis 2 on your computer, your computer gets really hot right? Well an average computer per say, not a prepped, or modded one.
So like the computer, the sgs 2 is bound to heat up since you are forcing it to perform at such high levels, meaning big 3d games, 1080p, etc. To summarize, with great power comes great heat.
Which brings me to another speculation, how bad will the prime or iphone4s heat up? if the Mali does this bad, I'm wondering how the sgx543 will do since it has atleast twice the performance.
Anyways onto your own matter, I'd rather wait than get a half year old device despite the enormous pros.
The SGS2 is kinda cheap now, and it will be even cheaper when the Prime will be out. This phone has good specs, it won't grow old that fast, so i wouldn't go mental for whatever comes next. Anyway, i'd wait a little if i were you
Kailkti said:
Umm i don't think you can call it overheating for the sgs 2. In the sense that it is not overheating, it is simply expending the amount of heat proportionate to the amount of work being done. it's like when you play crisis 2 on your computer, your computer gets really hot right? Well an average computer per say, not a prepped, or modded one.
So like the computer, the sgs 2 is bound to heat up since you are forcing it to perform at such high levels, meaning big 3d games, 1080p, etc. To summarize, with great power comes great heat.
Which brings me to another speculation, how bad will the prime or iphone4s heat up? if the Mali does this bad, I'm wondering how the sgx543 will do since it has atleast twice the performance.
Anyways onto your own matter, I'd rather wait than get a half year old device despite the enormous pros.
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Well then, im not sure what u call melting the circuitry board, but i call it overheating.
as for whoever told me that i should change the phone because someone else got none of those issues, i had changed it 2 times and all 3 i had, had the exact same problems, you probably dont get overheating because you either dont use it for the same apps or games as i do or u have possibly underclocked it or have some sort of battery saving application, or maybe even an unnoficiall firmware, these problems are part of all s2 phones it has been checked plenty of times by plenty of experienced people in this forum, they are nothing new.
PS: i doubt iphone will have such issues, maybe their battery will explode again or maybe it will loose signal if holded with left hand, but i doubt itll have overheating issues, there are some dual cores out there and none have such issue as sgs2 has, it has nothing to do with it beying stressed to much, its either a hardware building fault or a software issue.
The S2 is pure gold still when Prime is out, the phone got no problem at all IF and only IF you follow the root instructions/rom installation instructions step by step, if you forget something, you probably end up with problems. (most forgotten is to install kies drivers or to not shut down kies while flashing with odin).
Prime is gonna be the top phone, so it can be worth wait.. but sure the S2 (2nd best phone by then) will cost about 200 less.
I bought the SC2 right after the iPhone 4s was announced, not regreting, and don't think the the prime will be much better, I probably buy the s3 when it comes out next year.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Buddy just go for the phone that YOU want...Galaxy S2 is for me a top top phone..dual core gorgeous screen and memory is great....regarding audio i cant find any faults with it..you have different equalizer settings and you can adjust it to your liking....
regarding the overheating issues i have occured them as well when i first got my phone....since ihave rooted it though and have got my custom rom and kernel that i am using that has gone away now and im experiencing great battery life....like the post above the next handset for me will be the s3....
iphone 4s if the screen was a tad bigger i would of gone for that....but as i said if you cant wait for the prime then s2 is the one for you buddy
TheWarKeeper said:
Well then, im not sure what u call melting the circuitry board, but i call it overheating.
as for whoever told me that i should change the phone because someone else got none of those issues, i had changed it 2 times and all 3 i had, had the exact same problems, you probably dont get overheating because you either dont use it for the same apps or games as i do or u have possibly underclocked it or have some sort of battery saving application, or maybe even an unnoficiall firmware, these problems are part of all s2 phones it has been checked plenty of times by plenty of experienced people in this forum, they are nothing new.
PS: i doubt iphone will have such issues, maybe their battery will explode again or maybe it will loose signal if holded with left hand, but i doubt itll have overheating issues, there are some dual cores out there and none have such issue as sgs2 has, it has nothing to do with it beying stressed to much, its either a hardware building fault or a software issue.
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Well overheating for me means it is expending so much heat whilst doing so little. Meaning it is heating up even though it is on standby or screen off.
Melting the circuit board I think is natural if you expect it to handle so much. Because when the GPU or processor demands so much power/electricity in proportional to the process, and the process is a big one, then of course it will need a lot of power. And where does the power go? Well the wasted becomes heat. And personally i don't think you can compare other past dual cores as none are nearly as good in architecture as the exynos or in fact perform as close, side from the A5.
And yes I do experience great heat when I play games like dead space, dungeon defenders, and so on. But i expect it since the phone is trying its utmost best to perform. Meaning it is trying its best to play at 60fps or more when it isn't needed. Now a solution maybe to cap the GPU and CPU to only produce frames at say 24fps or so. That may fix "overheating".
Note however that above is sincerely speculation as i have no idea how the SoC operates.
My personal experience after 4 weeks with the S2:
It´s great as a fast multimedia device (great images from Camera, HD Video recording and playback of movies and films, internet browsing), but if you plan to use it MUCH as a phone stay away... speaker quality is quite poor, you may experience trouble with echoes due to failing noise redcution, volume with headset is very low.
Other MAJOR downsides i found, compared to other droid phones:
Wlan signal strength very poor, around 20% lower signal rates that LG Optimus. Also 3G signal strenth is poorer than LG. Really disappointing.
AMOLED display is overrated, colors of images are distorted and very unnatural (reds, blues) compared to standard LCD (i´m a photographer so i know how my images should look).
Ob btw,if you plan to use the S2 as a GPS car navigation device forget it, because the battery will be charged at a max rate of 650 mAH even if your car charger can deliver more - at least with Navigon your battery will drop even when charging! What a joke!
Long story short: don´t buy unless you can get it for under 200 USD.
Nexus Prime. Simple.
Or Nokia WP7 if you can wait.
wait for primee buddy, i'd do it
Might wanna look at this phone. Its has all the latest technology packed into a sexy slim stylish design.
http://www.recyclinglives.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/old-mobile-phone-355x360.jpg
Sparksltd said:
Might wanna look at this phone. Its has all the latest technology packed into a sexy slim stylish design.
http://www.recyclinglives.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/old-mobile-phone-355x360.jpg
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You're on to something there!
- Also useful for hand to hand combat.
- privacy, no one will be trying to snoop a look at your screen.
- outdoor hobby requirements, you'll never be afraid of doing an army assault course knee deep in mud with it in your pocket.
My sgs2 , while good, isn't great at meeting the above points.
Go with what agrees with you.
____________________________________________________
sent from my phone using ones and zeros
01binary01 said:
You're on to something there!
- Also useful for hand to hand combat.
- privacy, no one will be trying to snoop a look at your screen.
- outdoor hobby requirements, you'll never be afraid of doing an army assault course knee deep in mud with it in your pocket.
My sgs2 , while good, isn't great at meeting the above points.
Go with what agrees with you.
____________________________________________________
sent from my phone using ones and zeros
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Yea I read somewhere it can be used as a baseball bat too. I wish my gs2 could do that . I loose count the amount of times I've left mine at home while out shopping and I've spotted some chavs.
I belive that the nexus Prime will be on pair wih the Galaxy S2
really torn between these two devices ,
am talking about AOSP or CM on z5c , is AOSP working well on it ?
the 5x display is not that great , is the z5c display any better ?
any suggestion is appreciated .
I have just been evaluating the two side my side for the past fortnight trying to decide which to keep.
Hightlights of the z5c have been its size, speaker quality, and overall build quality. Micro SD slot is handy and waterproofness is nice to have. However I have found the camera to be very disappointing and slow to use and the results average. Also the smaller screen size can make operating Xperia keyboard and text input frustrating at times.. I dont htink the screen is as good as the one the Nexus but maybe thats just me. Excellent battery life. I have only tried Sony factory ROM and was not aware that others such as CM are available yet?
Highights of the Nexus 5x have been the crisp clean Marshmallow interface, good screen and excellent point and shoot camera. Screen is not as repsonsive as x5c when it needs to dim in a dark environment. It has a Terrific keyboard that is really accurate and easy to use. along with best fingerprint reader I have used. Downsides to it are its plasticy design with protruding lens which makes me reluctant to put it down on its back on a desk. even though I know the lens will not contact the desk. A Google Adopted TPU case fixed this though. But as soon as you encase it no-one will have any idea it is a google phone. Speaker is crappy and poor sound quality compered to z5c. USB C power cables are orphans and mean you cannot use existing A cables existing devices most people have. Couple this with a mediocre battery life can be problematic. Biggest downside for me though is its size. Too big too put into from jeans pocket and protrudes an inch or so out the top of shirt pocket.
So I ended up selling my 5x and keeping the z5c. My hope is that Sony will do something in the marshmallow update to improve the point and shoot usabilty of the camera. Hope this helps.
logger said:
I have just been evaluating the two side my side for the past fortnight trying to decide which to keep.
Hightlights of the z5c have been its size, speaker quality, and overall build quality. Micro SD slot is handy and waterproofness is nice to have. However I have found the camera to be very disappointing and slow to use and the results average. Also the smaller screen size can make operating Xperia keyboard and text input frustrating at times.. I dont htink the screen is as good as the one the Nexus but maybe thats just me. Excellent battery life. I have only tried Sony factory ROM and was not aware that others such as CM are available yet?
Highights of the Nexus 5x have been the crisp clean Marshmallow interface, good screen and excellent point and shoot camera. Screen is not as repsonsive as x5c when it needs to dim in a dark environment. It has a Terrific keyboard that is really accurate and easy to use. along with best fingerprint reader I have used. Downsides to it are its plasticy design with protruding lens which makes me reluctant to put it down on its back on a desk. even though I know the lens will not contact the desk. A Google Adopted TPU case fixed this though. But as soon as you encase it no-one will have any idea it is a google phone. Speaker is crappy and poor sound quality compered to z5c. USB C power cables are orphans and mean you cannot use existing A cables existing devices most people have. Couple this with a mediocre battery life can be problematic. Biggest downside for me though is its size. Too big too put into from jeans pocket and protrudes an inch or so out the top of shirt pocket.
So I ended up selling my 5x and keeping the z5c. My hope is that Sony will do something in the marshmallow update to improve the point and shoot usabilty of the camera. Hope this helps.
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thanks a lot , very helpful ,
and yes there is an AOSP 5.1.1 rom available for the z5c , no CM yet ( can't imagine it will be long before a release , given sony has released the binaries ) ,
here you go :
http://fxpblog.co/aosp/aosp-5-1/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z5-compact/orig-development/aosp-builds-z5c-t3226266
I haven't tested the 5x yet, but have the z5c for about two weeks now and in my opinion there are two main issues with the z5c:
First the display colors really seem to be washed out, the black is more a really dark grey than a black (I don't know if this is due to a defect screen or if this is the case for all z5c's), also the display resolution of 720p isn't really enough for me as I clearly can see the edges of round app icons for example even when I'm farther away from the screen.
Also the increase of the phone temperature during prolonged use really bothers me, but that's a known issue of the Snapdragon 810. The camera is just okay, I honestly expected more, especially in low light conditions. But as far as is understand this is rather a post-processing issue than an hardware issue, I hope this improves with Marshmallow.
Two plus points are good battery live (maybe also due to the relatively low res screen) and the overall speed of the phone, which really has improved since the last firmware update.
I had both phones at the same time. Here are my thoughts:
Z5 Compact
+ I prefer the phone size much better
+ I play ingress, so prefer the better battery life and single handed use
+ I have a couple of external battery packs, which quick charge the Z5C
+ Waterproof
+ Really like that Sony went with regular micro-USB connector unlike the Z3C
+ Expandable memory. This can become expanded internal memory in Marshmallow
+ I love Tap to Wake
+ It is a sexy looking device
- Thicker than the N5X
- Not thrilled that the volume rocker is below the power button
- Surely majority of folks don't use the wrist strap feature?! It's a dust collector for me.
- Typing an issue on a smaller keyboard
- Voice recognition is iffy
- I hate that I don't have the option to turn off the notification light at when charging at night (always have to remember to place the phone facedown)
- Run hot under heavy use, but I use a case to avoid the slipper glass on the back anyway
Nexus 5X
+ Clean UI
+ Fast updates
+ Better fingerprint sensor
+ Thin and light
+ Better typing experience
+ Ambient display
- Too large for single-handed use
- Camera pops out like a nipple - could be seen as a positive
- USB-C means new expense on cables and charger (consider the added expenses here)
- My external chargers will work with N5X, but will not charge as quick as a licensed Qualcomm Quickcharge phone
- The vibration motor is a lot harsher than the Z5C. Not a fan.
- The mono speaker seems to be facing the back, but there is no opening on the back, so sound is kinda muffled.
- What's the deal with the giant bezel?!
- No expanded memory support
- The internal specs are lower (808 vs 810 in Z5C, and Adreno 418 vs 430 in Z5C). The Z5C guts are actually in the Nexus 6P, but with 3GB RAM.
I ended up returning the Nexus 5X primarily because of the size and having to make sure I have a USB-C cable handy in case I run through the battery. Even when I had the phone charging while I was playing ingress, the phone battery was discharging faster than recharging.
The Z5C is very comfortable to use. I do have an itch for a completely bloat free UI, with Marshmallow. Once unlock and root processes eventually get released/cleaned-up, the Z5C will be take a bigger bite into the Nexus 5X's main selling point.
N5X advantages:
- Camera (for photos) is in another league, look at the camera samples, the photos are very sharp compared to all Sony Z cameras.
- Fast updates.
- Stock clean Android (only Google apps that can be disabled) / Camera2 API / probably…not sure: Google Now Always ON / etc
Z5C adv:
- Battery life (If N5X battery life is less than 50% better than N5 battery, then it still really sux).
- Size (subjective)
- SoC 810 is much better.
- Long battery life when gaming.
- Some General hardware~ (mic quality / screen quality / etc).
Sent from my E5823
Finally i bought the 5x due to no AOSP roms available yet on z5c ,
thanks everyone .
So, I had nexus 5x for 1.5 month, got 5x after beloved Sony z5c international with fingerprint reader and wrist strap due to switching to verizon from ATT and it was cheapest of the semi-decent phones. I regret both.
1. While its compatible, and verizon sim works, i barely get signal 3G LTE to none while my other friends right next to me with iphones and samsung phones get high speed full bars 4g lte, so must be poor antenna or not fully compatible with verizon as claimed. And mind you its after hours on the phone with verizon i got it to even work. When i try send emails most times it flashes message every 1-2 seconds "no connection" "retry" then "connected", that creates multiple drafts when im trying to send email, nuisance to say the least. Or messages I thought were sent stuck in limbo, shown sent on device, but when login to email account from pc it isnt sent or even in drafts, so its on a device stuck, not sent even when connected while shown as sent on device.
2. giant phone not one handed. And no wrist strap hook!
3. Poor photo quality, no depth, poor resolution, only way to focus camera is to take 1 shot only then it tries to focus, any other way it would normally work on z5c with green to red focus window is not available. I tweaked it a bit using camera MX but even so, mediocre original software & hardware.
3. Pricy and no expansion memory, i got 32gb, and OS + apps already took over 20gb, and mind you i only have very few brain games and productivity apps like docsToGo that do not take much space, rest is android os itself upfront.
4. Not waterproof or resistant. Even when water droplet hits center of screen it acts out thinking its my finger, z5c did not react same way to water at all, it ignored it mostly, only responding to finger.
5. google keyboard is horrible, not even arrows to move coursor right or left within text, and gokeyboard became commercialized with adds so.. i didnt find better alternative, and you have to be precise getting it into right spot to insert extra words in between especially at the beginning of paragraph.
6. New Android version lost too many good features gaining none. Like little menu on the bottom right to close all open apps at once, gone! Now you have to manually close each app. specific to z5c mini apps like calculator, browser that can be used simultaneously with other apps window in window, shown both at once of course not included, and nothing similar available.
7. Battery life poor. I had about 5hours browsing no video out of it before it hits 20% mark from 100%, with video even faster. While usb c helps charge faster, true, but it doesnt help battery life , and no wireless charging, adapters just came to market, i do not think ill keep phone long enough to try if it works.
8. Back to memory expansion, so forget microsd, but even usb wont work. I have samsung duo usb3 to micro usb, so attempt 1 was to use anker adapter with my samsung usbduo drive and it didnt even register the drive. So i went ahead and bought an app to register usb c drive, didnt work. attempt 2 after shelling out for the nexus 5x compatible app, bought usb c flash drive guess what, only registers with that app, and even then cant just browse folders and files, open, work with file, save, ..no. you would have to copy to phone then work with file, save to phone only, and only then copy or move back to usb c drive. Really! So i scrapped that plan, went cloud, and got rid of usb c drive.
9. When plug in to pc have to manually each time select transfer files or it will only charge by default, havent found way to change that either.
10. Camera and fingerprint reader so close, guess where your fingerprint lands most times? Yup, keep wiping the camera lense.
11. Cherry on top, doesnt come with usb c to usb 2.0 or usb 3.0 cable, google store omitted that just saying charger and usb c cable, so as you discover that fact and jumping to look for a cable thats never seems available in google store site, your return time slot is closing down on you ..14 days..and you cant even test it with pc plugged in..
So, good stuff..fingerprint scanner works, usb c charge faster by 2x time.. that is about it.
Contacted google store and since its over 14 days = nonrefundable.
Conclusion, I am going back to AT&T and my beloved z5c! Yes, it doesnt have usb c and older (better version of android).. but guess what small, waterproof, has wriststrap to phone not just case, faster, better camera, better photos album layout, keyboard, LTE 4G without hangs and drops, same fingerprint scanner, and if i left out anything else, its there, on that sweet small device.
Perhaps someone else might find 5x mediocre good enough and cheap enough but for me I am ok going back to proven to be better for same price!
Edit: I didn't read the dates or the whole tread. I need sleep.
Hello,
I'm facing the same thing for a few days now; I'm hesitating between picking up a Nexus 5X or a Z5C, the first one has the advantage of frequent updates and clean Android experience but a relatively big screen while the second one has an ideal screen but I've heard about lots of overheating problems related to it.
So since it's 2016 and both phones are running Marshmallow, can you guys give me a quick update on your experiences now ? Thanks
Mephistorium said:
Hello,
I'm facing the same thing for a few days now; I'm hesitating between picking up a Nexus 5X or a Z5C, the first one has the advantage of frequent updates and clean Android experience but a relatively big screen while the second one has an ideal screen but I've heard about lots of overheating problems related to it.
So since it's 2016 and both phones are running Marshmallow, can you guys give me a quick update on your experiences now ? Thanks
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Click to collapse
The Sony ui is still full of bugs but marshmallow performs at a decent level. Still nothing to compete with it in its size class.
Mephistorium said:
Hello,
I'm facing the same thing for a few days now; I'm hesitating between picking up a Nexus 5X or a Z5C, the first one has the advantage of frequent updates and clean Android experience but a relatively big screen while the second one has an ideal screen but I've heard about lots of overheating problems related to it.
So since it's 2016 and both phones are running Marshmallow, can you guys give me a quick update on your experiences now ? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The z5c is a great phone, its just the battery life isn't the best in my opinion......you ever consider thinking of the Z3C? Im sure its a no since its been 2 years passed.
Thanks a lot for your feedback, As you said: the thing is that the Z5C has nothing to compete against in the small flagship category, if the battery lasts for a day on average use then I'm fine also the phone doesn't overheat from normal use as I've been reading all over the internet.
Regarding the Z3C, I think I can consider it if it's not too far from the Z5C performance, any feedback on that could be helpful!
Mephistorium said:
Thanks a lot for your feedback, As you said: the thing is that the Z5C has nothing to compete against in the small flagship category, if the battery lasts for a day on average use then I'm fine also the phone doesn't overheat from normal use as I've been reading all over the internet.
Regarding the Z3C, I think I can consider it if it's not too far from the Z5C performance, any feedback on that could be helpful!
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Click to collapse
Z3c edges out slightly better in performance and dev support. BUT it has side charging port and flaps, not the most practical. It's all about your price range really.
Thanks a lot! Actually I have a bit of money on the side so I can get the Z5C, and in Europe the difference between the Z5C and the Z3C is like 60 dollars, the nexus 5x is the cheapest of all three phones
Mephistorium said:
Thanks a lot! Actually I have a bit of money on the side so I can get the Z5C, and in Europe the difference between the Z5C and the Z3C is like 60 dollars, the nexus 5x is the cheapest of all three phones
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Just like guy from above said, its all about your price/how much you can afford, ppl mainly go for nexus 5x for fast updates (pretty much it). If you not picky on the year, Z3C is your best bet if you want performance and best battery life and plus theres a unique developer at the Z3C forum that has been making the Z3C a perfect phone for anyone. The reason I got the Z5C is because I had screen issues on the Z3C and plus i was still in love of the compact series of the xperia. Z5C is doing fine for me
uchechris said:
Just like guy from above said, its all about your price/how much you can afford, ppl mainly go for nexus 5x for fast updates (pretty much it). If you not picky on the year, Z3C is your best bet if you want performance and best battery life and plus theres a unique developer at the Z3C forum that has been making the Z3C a perfect phone for anyone. The reason I got the Z5C is because I had screen issues on the Z3C and plus i was still in love of the compact series of the xperia. Z5C is doing fine for me
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Well thanks a lot, I do trust your ways around phones, so I've ordered a Z3C with a magnetic charger ( to avoid trouble with slot flaps ) think it's my best bet as you said.
Thanks again
Mephistorium said:
Well thanks a lot, I do trust your ways around phones, so I've ordered a Z3C with a magnetic charger ( to avoid trouble with slot flaps ) think it's my best bet as you said.
Thanks again
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Click to collapse
Your welcome, be sure to go to the Z3C forum if you have additional questions, its really a good phone. I recommend flashing this rom to make your phone very unique but before doing that, you need root and recovery, thank God its easier to do it without unlocking the boot loader, just zoom in that forum for all of your questions, I wish you the best of luck!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/development/rom-slimm-t3359831
Mephistorium said:
Well thanks a lot, I do trust your ways around phones, so I've ordered a Z3C with a magnetic charger ( to avoid trouble with slot flaps ) think it's my best bet as you said.
Thanks again
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I suggest you cancel the z3c order. The Z3/Z3c is easy to has touch issue after 12~16 months, the touch panel life cycle is short, my friend Z3 got screen problem right after his warranty expired a few days(exactly 12 months passed) and he fuxked up and switched to Iphone, he was a Sony fans with only SE/Sony phones used in his life.
I admit Z3c got better software development, battery and thermal control. However, the camera on Z3c is worse than Z1c/Z5c. But if you only want a cheap compact and don't care buy another one after 1~2 years then Z3c is still a good choice.
TheEndHK said:
I suggest you cancel the z3c order. The Z3/Z3c is easy to has touch issue after 12~16 months, the touch panel life cycle is short, my friend Z3 got screen problem right after his warranty expired a few days(exactly 12 months passed) and he fuxked up and switched to Iphone, he was a Sony fans with only SE/Sony phones used in his life.
I admit Z3c got better software development, battery and thermal control. However, the camera on Z3c is worse than Z1c/Z5c. But if you only want a cheap compact and don't care buy another one after 1~2 years then Z3c is still a good choice.
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Click to collapse
Hello and sorry I was on vacation )
Thank you very much though as (un)lucky as I am, I've returned the z3c via amazon but then I'm back looking, maybe I only have the z5c or something like htc m8 to go after.
PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with these 2 phones. Granted, I have only used the Axon 7 for about 3 days now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 2 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. Axon 7
2. OnePlus 3
3. HTC 10
4. LeEcco Le Max 2
5. Huawei P9
6. LG G5
7. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
8. Huawei Mate 8
9. Huawei Nexus 6P
10. LG Nexus 5X
11. Samsung Note 5
12. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point over 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive, I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. As a nerd, I like to "mesmerize" people with a pay with your phone app like Apple Pay or Android Pay
6. Works with my Huawei Watch
7. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the OnePlus 3 and the Axon 7 under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
There is not too many times when I do a review comparison where 1 phone just crushes the other... and I don't mean like crushing an empty aluminum beer can in your hand crushing... I mean like BigFoot crushing late model junk cars at the end of a Monster Truck Rally Crushin'.... 'Mericaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Sorry got carried away there a second. Honestly, how phone manufacturers cannot include a system-wide sound equalizer with all the other STUPID GUI tweaks and bastardizations they do to Android especially is beyond me in 2016. Most people are transitioning to bluetooth headphones or have bluetooth in their cars and for the most part use streaming services to/for music. Yes, there is the occasional dude with the $1000 plug-in headphones that also plugs into a in-line $2000 DAC that only listens to download Loseless Quality Music with the Music App that came with the phone.... with a show of hands, how many fall into this category??? Then why pray tell is this the only music equalization most manufacturers are catering too on their phones (Apple included)? I don't know just wanted to rant a little. With that said though, the inclusion of Dolby ATMOS without having to root on the Axon 7 plus its dual stereo forward facing speakers makes this a non-competition. Yes, you could add ViperATMOSBeatsDon'tcare Mod.zip to a rooted TWRP OnePlus 3... but why should I have to? Why can't some system-wide equalizer be included Mr. FlagShip Killer? Look at their own Community Forum and its one of the most active requests since the OnePlus 3 came out (along with actually using all the RAM the phone has)... Good Work ZTE!!! I'm sure for all you headphone people too that the AXON 7 would dominate even though I have zero to judge that on since I have never taken either the OnePlus 3's headphones nor the AXON 7's headphones out of the box.
WINNER: AXON 7 BigFoot- Crushing OnePlus 3 Grave Digger.
BATTERY
People get bent out of shape nowadays about the "wall hugger" syndrome... this is the need to re-charge your phone more than once, twice, 3-times etc. per day and being attached to a charger constantly. Well, we only have ourselves and technology to blame. Battery technology has yet to progress to a point that adequately matches all the other advances cell phones have made... I can remember in the 90's getting my first Li-ion Battery Cell Phone and was like "WOW!!! I can charge this anytime I want, days of battery life, no need to discharge the whole phone before recharging and no need for extra batteries..." Fast forward almost 30 years... AND its the same type of battery... So no phone truly wins here until technology gets better. This too along with our need for skinny things... women, cocktails, bank account, soda, etc. have phones getting increasingly skinnier without ever considering what it has do with the battery is disturbing. If only we could get back to the simpler times of a bagphone, then the battery could be as big as you want it... AHHH, the simpler times. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Really though, the batteries on both phones perform very similar in my use. The place where they differ the most is the charging. For OnePlus 3, you have to use their proprietary DASH Charge as oppose to QuickCharge 3.0. This means you can only buy OnePlus 3 chargers (or some not trustworthy knock offs) to take advantage of feature... it's not so bad now that they made the car charger available again on their website and the phone comes with a wall plug with the feature... it's just a departure from the standard many others are using and requires new accessory purchases... basically a OnePlus Money Grab.... DASH Charge is slightly faster but not enough for anyone but a battery loving neophyte to really take notice.
WINNER: AXON 7 - Sorry QuickCharge 3.0 Industry Standard beats proprietary DASH Charge even though DASH Charge is slightly faster.
HEAT
Not going to spend much time here. Both phones run Snapdragon 820's. Both phones are metal... guess what... they get hot under stress... so no winners here, only losers. Neither had to be powered off for getting too hot though, like my S7 needed to when I was doing its initial setup... so there's that. :good:
WINNER: Both or None... They get hot under processor stress and in the dreaded "At an event and have your camera constantly on then stick it in your pocket only to have 3rd degree burns on your thighs or butt" Test
SNAPPINESS
Neither phone I have taken the time to Mod or root or stare at compassionately... but both perform really well like they should. Now, let the 6GB vs. 4GB debates begin!!! First, it is well known that even after 2 updates, the OnePlus 3's RAM management is still wonky and does not fully utilize all that RAM. No matter. I can't see an advantage yet. Yes you could AnTuTu-whogivesapoop test them all day. I rather just talked about how using the phone feels. Neither have extensive bastardizations over stock android so neither grinds the phone to a halt like TouchWizCement does. I run the BETA of Sense 8 Launcher for All Android Phones on both. Both phones perform well with it. I have played Pokemon GO! on both along with Clash Royale... both run fine. GPS works good on both and locks in fairly quickly. It isn't the best I have seen but not the LG Worst either Until there's another processor to look at, I think most manufacturers are taking full advantage of the limits of the 820. Throwing RAM at it doesn't dramatically do anything either. I guess it good to always have it in your back pocket if needed.
WINNER: ONEPLUS 3 - Simply because it has more RAM, no real-world experience proves it faster. Fanboy Benchmarkers withstanding
************DISCLAIMER / NEWSFLASH************* FOR IT PEOPLE FROM NEW JERSEY AND/OR GENERAL KNOW-IT-ALLS
YES... One can easily claim that RAM on the face of it has nothing to do with Snappiness since no present day Android phone fully utilizes 4GB let alone 6GB of RAM... The point to be made here is that the OP3 although having more RAM has no advantage in snappiness over an AXON 7. With that said, since both phones cost the same, neither phone is snappier, why not pick the one with more RAM based on stats alone... for this particularly on the face of it unrelated category? Furthermore, there has been many tests of the OP3 that show that RAM in a way DOES influence its snappiness when compared to 4GB phones... not because of the amount of RAM but by OP3's RAM MANAGEMENT. Lastly, although it may seem like a marketing ploy now for OP3 to have 6GB of RAM since it is not needed since it is not utilized.... I have kind of heard this argument before... when phones had 1GB of RAM and 2GB phones were introduced, then when 3GB phones were introduced, etc. etc. and from basically every iSheep out there, that more RAM does not necessarily make a phone better or faster. Albeit true for the most part for Apple because they spend a vast amount of time developing their RAM Management and have iOS lock down, for Android and what seems to be a lack of development on this front, RAM amounts increase to handle the sloppiness of the RAM Management and/or lack of focus on developing this overlooked section of the phone's programming. Basically, OP3 moves the needle for better or worst towards 6GB at the same price as 4GB... more is more in this one scenario only...
DISPLAY
Not much to mention here either. Both have good displays. On paper, the AXON 7's is better. I would say that the average person not knowing that one has higher resolution than the other would have a hard time calling it out. Color reproduction is about the same on both as well. Neither have a "always-on" feature which would have been nice. Both have LED's for notifications. Here's where once again you just have to stick with the stats and say....
WINNER: AXON 7 - higher stats mean better screen right!!!!???
PHONE DESIGN
Wow! a bit to talk about here. Let's start on both phones exterior features and design. Both are designed well. Definitely not ugly by any stretch of the imagination. The AXON 7 was designed with help from BMW and significantly improves on the previous generation iteration, like having actual speakers in both of the speaker grill looking forward facing top and bottom of screen. I do have the gold AXON 7... the color isn't the greatest but I wasn't going to wait for the gray one to come out to test it... I might return the gold for a gray if they become available in my return window. The OnePlus 3 is a pretty phone too. It doesn't have a firm like BMW attached to it, but one feels they did a good job of improving on the OnePlus 2 design without getting away from their bread and butter core design elements. With that, I love the alert slider... call me an isheep but I feel to this day that it is the single greatest design advantage the iPhone has had over any Android phone for years now. Although not as perfectly functional as Apples is, the OnePlus 3 is a great feature. Both have excellent fingerprint readers. Very fast. For my use case, a front facing fingerprint reader is better. That's my use case, in a cradle, in my car, that I get in and out of while sometime leaving my phone in the cradle, makes the front facing reader slightly more convenient. NFC chip and camera placement good on both as well. AXON 7 does have one design characteristic that I found annoying and I noticed while playing Clash Royale.... the power button is on the right side of the phone near the center. While playing and trying to drag drop to the top of the screen, you can easily inadvertently toggle the on/off button, this might be the button is overly sensitive or just my clumsiness. OnePlus 3 scores some extras too with swapstyle cases... Why can't other phone manufacturers take notes here. I think it is great that I can get relatively cheap exclusively designed nice looking cases for my OnePlus 3... for the AXON 7, I'm stuck with Chinese knock off cheesy poop designed cases with TPU raining from skies... I need a case and sure the first thing that comes to mind when I get a nice looking professionally designed by BMW phone is to put it into a TPU trashcan of a case because 0.0 (zero point zero) cases by ZTE are available or even look worthy of residing on the phone.... yep, I so love it. AXON 7 does step it up with one thing, SD card compatibility. More storage... sure I can use that anytime...
WINNER: TIED - OnePlus 3 would have won here, but not having SD Card capability is just dumb... especially since you used the space for a dual SIM.
*********************ADDITIONAL DESIGN DISCUSSION************CAPACITIVE BUTTONS ON THE AXON 7**********************
Purposely I left this discussion out about the capacitive buttons on the AXON 7. WHY? You may ask. At first, like many, when I heard that not only does the AXON 7 only have capacitive buttons without the option to toggle to turn them off for on-screen buttons, the buttons themselves do not light up, did make me a little worried. But to not buy a phone based on a untested worry is just fear mongering at it best, plus I bought my AXON 7 from Amazon so that I could easily return it if I hated it. Well, surprisingly the capacitive button "issue" is really just a bunch of hype... yes, I do think that OP3 has the advantage here with the toggle for on-screen and that its buttons light up. However, the AXON 7 does provide a on-screen button solution although it is way more sloppy looks wise then OP3's. The whole light up button thing to me can be excused by what was an intentional design choice by ZTE. So, unlike the OP3 which has its all app and back buttons spread out along the bottom of the display, the AXON 7 distinctively has its all-app and back buttons crowded towards the center closer to the central home button. Why do this? Well, from my use in dark rooms and at night, it makes not seeing the actual buttons not an issue. Let me explain further. I know from muscle memory that the home button is in center of the bottom of screen... pretty easy to hit in a completely dark room unless I'm drunk that is... being able to do this on muscle memory then in turn with a slight adjustment to the right, makes it easy to hit the back button (setup for right hand in the AXON 7's setting) and same to the left with the all apps button. If the buttons were spaced out like OP3's without lights then it would be an issue... but in this case and what I hope is design answering function, the AXON 7 doesn't have an issue... once again to me, maybe not you.... hahahahaha
CAMERA
I have done a couple of these reviews and every time I point out that I am not a big fan of cameras on phones. I went to school for photography and movie making back when film was still used. Have seen lenses that cost more than my current house and have seen Ansel Adams original prints first hand. So, it makes me a camera snob... thus, my opinion of on phone cameras is that they are all Bantha PooDoo. However, improvements are made with every new phone and even though innovations have seem to slow in favor of the pixel wars... one day they might be great.
Looking at both and later I will put up some similar shots from both, each phone have decent cameras. The OnePlus performs better in low light especially however I would not count the AXON 7 out in the cold as I feel that the AXON 7's low light difficulties might be able to be corrected with feature updates. The AXON 7 does have it's ripoff version of a "live photo" that works pretty decent plus some decent scenario modes that just work better for pictures I may take. The OnePlus 3's camera software is just basic with good custom manual settings. The AXON 7 has manual mode as well. Like I said, I will upload some similar shots from each and you can decide.
WINNER: TBD
CONCLUSION
So, what can I conclude? Both phones are awesome... Both have plus and minuses. I don't think there's a clear hands down winner and would not want to argue that point. I can only tell you that beyond everything else that the lack of a system-wide equalizer for sound just annoys little brown stinkies out of me. My commute to work is a big part of my day sometimes 7 days a week. I want to listen to Sirius XM app and Google Play Music so it sound great in my car. I want to set some equalization that make it sound awesome then forget it is even there. Not constant resetting of bass boost, tweaking sound to have it all reset again and again. Why provide a basic equalizer in Google Play Music on the OnePlus 3 that always has the bass setting reset when a call comes in, you switch to a new app or the crappy RAM Management software kicks it out of memory even though you locked it into memory on the all apps screen? That just pains me... If OnePlus does listen to their customer base, maybe just maybe they will add one in a future OTA update. Who knows. Having had the original AXON, I have to say that this phone is definitely an improvement and is worth checking out if you liked the original. I am still a little off-put by the fact that ZTE has done very little to support this phone with accessories like cases and stuff making me hit Aliexpress for the Oscar the Grouch specials that they have there. Could you survive with either one of these phones as your next new phone... of course! Hopefully, this little review will help you out in that decision. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guys Opinion...
:highfive:
Newsflash - Having 6gb of RAM doesn't make a phone more snappy than a 4gb phone... people need to stop thinking this...4gb is more than enough RAM for even the most hardcore user...6gb is just a gimmick for sales.
gparmar76 said:
Newsflash - Having 6gb of RAM doesn't make a phone more snappy than a 4gb phone... people need to stop thinking this...4gb is more than enough RAM for even the most hardcore user...6gb is just a gimmick for sales.
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Click to collapse
Newsflash- didn't say it did but with proper RAM management it COULD in theory be more snappy if it kept more apps in memory not requiring them to be reloaded. Also if the phones are the same price why not have more. Was pretty much my point. It makes no difference but higher quantity wins out. Your argument is the same for better displays 1080p is good enough why would you need more? Because they can and do... Snore
mahst68 said:
Newsflash- didn't say it did but with proper RAM management it COULD in theory be more snappy if it kept more apps in memory not requiring them to be reloaded. Also if the phones are the same price why not have more. Was pretty much my point. It makes no difference but higher quantity wins out. Your argument is the same for better displays 1080p is good enough why would you need more? Because they can and do... Snore
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Click to collapse
lol...why don't you read what you wrote...Snappiness -OP3 simply because it has more RAM.
All I'm saying is you're wrong...the OP3 could very well be "snappier" but it sure as hell isn't because it has 6gb of memory... memory management issues or not...the only time RAM would take away from a modern day smartphone's speed or cause heavy lag would be if it had very low amount of RAM (512mb or 1gb)....even 2gb phones run great on Android M...most high end phones that have 3 or more GB of memory never use all of it...you could load up 250,apps simultaneously and you would never use 4gb of memory...trust me I've tried and I'm using the OP2...most if not ALL issues related to lag these days or just spotty performance in the UK is related to the OS and how the OEM implemented it...heavy skinning, bloatware, etc etc.
gparmar76 said:
lol...why don't you read what you wrote...Snappiness -OP3 simply because it has more RAM.
All I'm saying is you're wrong...the OP3 could very well be "snappier" but it sure as hell isn't because it has 6gb of memory... memory management issues or not...the only time RAM would take away from a modern day smartphone's speed or cause heavy lag would be if it had very low amount of RAM (512mb or 1gb)....even 2gb phones run great on Android M...most high end phones that have 3 or more GB of memory never use all of it...you could load up 250,apps simultaneously and you would never use 4gb of memory...trust me I've tried and I'm using the OP2...most if not ALL issues related to lag these days or just spotty performance in the UK is related to the OS and how the OEM implemented it...heavy skinning, bloatware, etc etc.
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Click to collapse
Bra- I know you guys in the UK think you invented English language but...
The whole paragraph explains that neither the Axon 7 or the OP3 is faster or more snappy. In so much as this is true, why not have 6GB of RAM if it doesn't cost more. Thus exactly what I wrote rather than the trainwreck you wrote :
WINNER: ONEPLUS 3 - Simply because it has more RAM, no real-world experience proves it faster. Fanboy Benchmarkers withstanding
Which simply means in headlines, newsflashes or whatever else makes you feel like you are telling someone that you're important that when 2 phones perform the same, might as well have the one with more stuff, regardless if it helps or not...
I prefer that I pick who puts words in my mouth and it turns out you're not one of them
mahst68 said:
Bra- I know you guys in the UK think you invented English language but...
The whole paragraph explains that neither the Axon 7 or the OP3 is faster or more snappy. In so much as this is true, why not have 6GB of RAM if it doesn't cost more. Thus exactly what I wrote rather than the trainwreck you wrote :
WINNER: ONEPLUS 3 - Simply because it has more RAM, no real-world experience proves it faster. Fanboy Benchmarkers withstanding
Which simply means in headlines, newsflashes or whatever else makes you feel like you are telling someone that you're important that when 2 phones perform the same, might as well have the one with more stuff, regardless if it helps or not...
I prefer that I pick who puts words in mouth and it turns out your not one of them
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Click to collapse
"BRA" It was spell check that changed UI to UK... would have thought that was clearly evident...but alas...
And I know what he was implying...bra...lol...aren't bras worn by women? Maybe you mean Bruh?
gparmar76 said:
"BRA" It was spell check that changed UI to UK... would have thought that was clearly evident...but alas...
And I know what he was implying...bra...lol...aren't bras worn by women? Maybe you mean Bruh?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope I meant to call you "bra" and spell check had my back. Bruh is for my bruhs. "Bra" is for someone exactly like you because since you must wear them since you're a little biatch... Trolling flaming gnome. Go get in line for Harry Potter and have a nice day BRA
mahst68 said:
PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with these 2 phones. Granted, I have only used the Axon 7 for about 3 days now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 2 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. Axon 7
2. OnePlus 3
3. HTC 10
4. LeEcco Le Max 2
5. Huawei P9
6. LG G5
7. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
8. Huawei Mate 8
9. Huawei Nexus 6P
10. LG Nexus 5X
11. Samsung Note 5
12. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point over 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive, I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. As a nerd, I like to "mesmerize" people with a pay with your phone app like Apple Pay or Android Pay
6. Works with my Huawei Watch
7. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the OnePlus 3 and the Axon 7 under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
There is not too many times when I do a review comparison where 1 phone just crushes the other... and I don't mean like crushing an empty aluminum beer can in your hand crushing... I mean like BigFoot crushing late model junk cars at the end of a Monster Truck Rally Crushin'.... 'Mericaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Sorry got carried away there a second. Honestly, how phone manufacturers cannot include a system-wide sound equalizer with all the other STUPID GUI tweaks and bastardizations they do to Android especially is beyond me in 2016. Most people are transitioning to bluetooth headphones or have bluetooth in their cars and for the most part use streaming services to/for music. Yes, there is the occasional dude with the $1000 plug-in headphones that also plugs into a in-line $2000 DAC that only listens to download Loseless Quality Music with the Music App that came with the phone.... with a show of hands, how many fall into this category??? Then why pray tell is this the only music equalization most manufacturers are catering too on their phones (Apple included)? I don't know just wanted to rant a little. With that said though, the inclusion of Dolby ATMOS without having to root on the Axon 7 plus its dual stereo forward facing speakers makes this a non-competition. Yes, you could add ViperATMOSBeatsDon'tcare Mod.zip to a rooted TWRP OnePlus 3... but why should I have to? Why can't some system-wide equalizer be included Mr. FlagShip Killer? Look at their own Community Forum and its one of the most active requests since the OnePlus 3 came out (along with actually using all the RAM the phone has)... Good Work ZTE!!! I'm sure for all you headphone people too that the AXON 7 would dominate even though I have zero to judge that on since I have never taken either the OnePlus 3's headphones nor the AXON 7's headphones out of the box.
WINNER: AXON 7 BigFoot- Crushing OnePlus 3 Grave Digger.
BATTERY
People get bent out of shape nowadays about the "wall hugger" syndrome... this is the need to re-charge your phone more than once, twice, 3-times etc. per day and being attached to a charger constantly. Well, we only have ourselves and technology to blame. Battery technology has yet to progress to a point that adequately matches all the other advances cell phones have made... I can remember in the 90's getting my first Li-ion Battery Cell Phone and was like "WOW!!! I can charge this anytime I want, days of battery life, no need to discharge the whole phone before recharging and no need for extra batteries..." Fast forward almost 30 years... AND its the same type of battery... So no phone truly wins here until technology gets better. This too along with our need for skinny things... women, cocktails, bank account, soda, etc. have phones getting increasingly skinnier without ever considering what it has do with the battery is disturbing. If only we could get back to the simpler times of a bagphone, then the battery could be as big as you want it... AHHH, the simpler times. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Really though, the batteries on both phones perform very similar in my use. The place where they differ the most is the charging. For OnePlus 3, you have to use their proprietary DASH Charge as oppose to QuickCharge 3.0. This means you can only buy OnePlus 3 chargers (or some not trustworthy knock offs) to take advantage of feature... it's not so bad now that they made the car charger available again on their website and the phone comes with a wall plug with the feature... it's just a departure from the standard many others are using and requires new accessory purchases... basically a OnePlus Money Grab.... DASH Charge is slightly faster but not enough for anyone but a battery loving neophyte to really take notice.
WINNER: AXON 7 - Sorry QuickCharge 3.0 Industry Standard beats proprietary DASH Charge even though DASH Charge is slightly faster.
HEAT
Not going to spend much time here. Both phones run Snapdragon 820's. Both phones are metal... guess what... they get hot under stress... so no winners here, only losers. Neither had to be powered off for getting too hot though, like my S7 needed to when I was doing its initial setup... so there's that. :good:
WINNER: Both or None... They get hot under processor stress and in the dreaded "At an event and have your camera constantly on then stick it in your pocket only to have 3rd degree burns on your thighs or butt" Test
SNAPPINESS
Neither phone I have taken the time to Mod or root or stare at compassionately... but both perform really well like they should. Now, let the 6GB vs. 4GB debates begin!!! First, it is well known that even after 2 updates, the OnePlus 3's RAM management is still wonky and does not fully utilize all that RAM. No matter. I can't see an advantage yet. Yes you could AnTuTu-whogivesapoop test them all day. I rather just talked about how using the phone feels. Neither have extensive bastardizations over stock android so neither grinds the phone to a halt like TouchWizCement does. I run the BETA of Sense 8 Launcher for All Android Phones on both. Both phones perform well with it. I have played Pokemon GO! on both along with Clash Royale... both run fine. GPS works good on both and locks in fairly quickly. It isn't the best I have seen but not the LG Worst either [emoji14] Until there's another processor to look at, I think most manufacturers are taking full advantage of the limits of the 820. Throwing RAM at it doesn't dramatically do anything either. I guess it good to always have it in your back pocket if needed.
WINNER: ONEPLUS 3 - Simply because it has more RAM, no real-world experience proves it faster. Fanboy Benchmarkers withstanding
DISPLAY
Not much to mention here either. Both have good displays. On paper, the AXON 7's is better. I would say that the average person not knowing that one has higher resolution than the other would have a hard time calling it out. Color reproduction is about the same on both as well. Neither have a "always-on" feature which would have been nice. Both have LED's for notifications. Here's where once again you just have to stick with the stats and say....
WINNER: AXON 7 - higher stats mean better screen right!!!!???
PHONE DESIGN
Wow! a bit to talk about here. Let's start on both phones exterior features and design. Both are designed well. Definitely not ugly by any stretch of the imagination. The AXON 7 was designed with help from BMW and significantly improves on the previous generation iteration, like having actual speakers in both of the speaker grill looking forward facing top and bottom of screen. I do have the gold AXON 7... the color isn't the greatest but I wasn't going to wait for the gray one to come out to test it... I might return the gold for a gray if they become available in my return window. The OnePlus 3 is a pretty phone too. It doesn't have a firm like BMW attached to it, but one feels they did a good job of improving on the OnePlus 2 design without getting away from their bread and butter core design elements. With that, I love the alert slider... call me an isheep but I feel to this day that it is the single greatest design advantage the iPhone has had over any Android phone for years now. Although not as perfectly functional as Apples is, the OnePlus 3 is a great feature. Both have excellent fingerprint readers. Very fast. For my use case, a front facing fingerprint reader is better. That's my use case, in a cradle, in my car, that I get in and out of while sometime leaving my phone in the cradle, makes the front facing reader slightly more convenient. NFC chip and camera placement good on both as well. AXON 7 does have one design characteristic that I found annoying and I noticed while playing Clash Royale.... the power button is on the right side of the phone near the center. While playing and trying to drag drop to the top of the screen, you can easily inadvertently toggle the on/off button, this might be the button is overly sensitive or just my clumsiness. OnePlus 3 scores some extras too with swapstyle cases... Why can't other phone manufacturers take notes here. I think it is great that I can get relatively cheap exclusively designed nice looking cases for my OnePlus 3... for the AXON 7, I'm stuck with Chinese knock off cheesy poop designed cases with TPU raining from skies... I need a case and sure the first thing that comes to mind when I get a nice looking professionally designed by BMW phone is to put it into a TPU trashcan of a case because 0.0 (zero point zero) cases by ZTE are available or even look worthy of residing on the phone.... yep, I so love it. AXON 7 does step it up with one thing, SD card compatibility. More storage... sure I can use that anytime...
WINNER: TIED - OnePlus 3 would have won here, but not having SD Card capability is just dumb... especially since you used the space for a dual SIM.
CAMERA
I have done a couple of these reviews and every time I point out that I am not a big fan of cameras on phones. I went to school for photography and movie making back when film was still used. Have seen lenses that cost more than my current house and have seen Ansel Adams original prints first hand. So, it makes me a camera snob... thus, my opinion of on phone cameras is that they are all Bantha PooDoo. However, improvements are made with every new phone and even though innovations have seem to slow in favor of the pixel wars... one day they might be great.
Looking at both and later I will put up some similar shots from both, each phone have decent cameras. The OnePlus performs better in low light especially however I would not count the AXON 7 out in the cold as I feel that the AXON 7's low light difficulties might be able to be corrected with feature updates. The AXON 7 does have it's ripoff version of a "live photo" that works pretty decent plus some decent scenario modes that just work better for pictures I may take. The OnePlus 3's camera software is just basic with good custom manual settings. The AXON 7 has manual mode as well. Like I said, I will upload some similar shots from each and you can decide.
WINNER: TBD
CONCLUSION
So, what can I conclude? Both phones are awesome... Both have plus and minuses. I don't think there's a clear hands down winner and would not want to argue that point. I can only tell you that beyond everything else that the lack of a system-wide equalizer for sound just annoys little brown stinkies out of me. My commute to work is a big part of my day sometimes 7 days a week. I want to listen to Sirius XM app and Google Play Music so it sound great in my car. I want to set some equalization that make it sound awesome then forget it is even there. Not constant resetting of bass boost, tweaking sound to have it all reset again and again. Why provide a basic equalizer in Google Play Music on the OnePlus 3 that always has the bass setting reset when a call comes in, you switch to a new app or the crappy RAM Management software kicks it out of memory even though you locked it into memory on the all apps screen? That just pains me... If OnePlus does listen to their customer base, maybe just maybe they will add one in a future OTA update. Who knows. Having had the original AXON, I have to say that this phone is definitely an improvement and is worth checking out if you liked the original. I am still a little off-put by the fact that ZTE has done very little to support this phone with accessories like cases and stuff making me hit Aliexpress for the Oscar the Grouch specials that they have there. Could you survive with either one of these phones as your next new phone... of course! Hopefully, this little review will help you out in that decision. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guys Opinion...
:highfive:
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Thanks but no thanks... You actually didn't influence my thoughts. More like 1 step forward, 1 step backward, your pros fit both phones matched your cons
Sent from my SM-A9000 using Tapatalk
Thanks for your comparison! Not sure why people are so arrogant or condescending. Appreciate your effort writing this up so some of us can make a better decision.
ashburton said:
Thanks but no thanks... You actually didn't influence my thoughts. More like 1 step forward, 1 step backward, your pros fit both phones matched your cons
Sent from my SM-A9000 using Tapatalk
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That's the whole point. Too many so called "real" reviews online do not give an honest opinion and are influenced by the author getting free stuff, free phone, etc. My point is to not make you say "hey I need to go get one of these phones now" but rather "I did know that and didn't know this... now I do." Thanks for reading!
Charkol said:
Thanks for your comparison! Not sure why people are so arrogant or condescending. Appreciate your effort writing this up so some of us can make a better decision.
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Yep!! You got the point exactly. I'm not here to "influence" anyone into making a decision. I'm not a ZTE or OP3 salesperson. Just laying out real world facts as I see them (Thus the title of the post). Too many blog reviews make phones out to be the greatest thing since sliced bread or the bottom layer of poop in an unattended bird cage (like the stuff stuck to newspaper on the bottom). The fact of the matter is that these people tend to be influenced in other ways (monetarily, free stuff, etc.) to make or break a review. Just because I posted in the AXON 7 forum, does not mean that the AXON 7 wins every category automatically. The AXON 7 is a good phone but not without some flaws, same with the OP3. It's knowing what flaws you can live with and which ones you can't that should influence your decision rather than Some Guys Opinion hahahahahaha :highfive:
Post some stats of battery life comparison. I highly doubt the A7 gets better battery than the OP3.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers mobile app
mahst68 said:
Nope I meant to call you "bra" and spell check had my back. Bruh is for my bruhs. "Bra" is for someone exactly like you because since you must wear them since you're a little biatch... Trolling flaming gnome. Go get in line for Harry Potter and have a nice day BRA
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I'm an American and am embarrassed to read what you wrote.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
darkjedi said:
I'm an American and am embarrassed to read what you wrote.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
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You are an American?
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers mobile app
darkjedi said:
I'm an American and am embarrassed to read what you wrote.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
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I am too but he stopped commenting so there's that. Sorry I know it was very lame
brickedvice said:
Post some stats of battery life comparison. I highly doubt the A7 gets better battery than the OP3.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers mobile app
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Didn't say it did actually.... I said it performed similarly. I also said that the OP3 actually charges faster. Why did I pick the AXON 7 then.... well, that's the question isn't?
Oh wait... it's right there in the Battery paragraph if you only took time to read thoroughly... thanks!
I guess, that the snappiness of the OnePlus 3 isn't only because of more Ram, but also because of the much slimmer Oxygen OS.
I didn't receive my OnePlus 3 so far, but even when it's faster, I think I can't live without those awesome speakers of the ZTE Axon 7.
mahst68 said:
Didn't say it did actually.... I said it performed similarly. I also said that the OP3 actually charges faster. Why did I pick the AXON 7 then.... well, that's the question isn't?
Oh wait... it's right there in the Battery paragraph if you only took time to read thoroughly... thanks!
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Your review was kind of big b.s that's why no time to waste on reading all of it. Do a better job next time. Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers mobile app
Cypher_01 said:
I guess, that the snappiness of the OnePlus 3 isn't only because of more Ram, but also because of the much slimmer Oxygen OS.
I didn't receive my OnePlus 3 so far, but even when it's faster, I think I can't live without those awesome speakers of the ZTE Axon 7.
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Yep. I wish I could get past the sound thing. Unfortunately it consumes about an hour of my day everyday if not longer. You'll enjoy the OP3. Great phone!!
brickedvice said:
Your review was kind of big b.s that's why no time to waste on reading all of it. Do a better job next time. Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers mobile app
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Why is it a bs review? Explain
Hi, I have a Z3C and the problem is that my touchscreen now is busted, though I can still use it by rotating the screen.
It started on the upper extremities of the LCD, I became annoyed and tried the "lighter fix" for LG G2, which didn't work great for me. Touchscreen got way worse, wtf am i expecting applying 3k volts of static electricity.
I'm torn between replacing the screen or getting a z5c instead. Though my z3c somewhat slows down now, it is still usable and OK for me.
I know that if i replace my LCD, it will not be as good as before, so I'm thinking about that.
And if I get a z5c, i don't know the little issues, or if they were resolved with .11 update. Even small physical build issues concern me and I can't find a comprehensive list of issues. Also, screen replacement will cost me just around 20% of a new z5c unit, or maybe i could get a 2nd hand one.
Please share your thoughts, should I go for z5c? Or other brands (around 4.7 inches also)? Or screen replacement?
Thanks!
wakoko79 said:
Hi, I have a Z3C and the problem is that my touchscreen now is busted, though I can still use it by rotating the screen.
It started on the upper extremities of the LCD, I became annoyed and tried the "lighter fix" for LG G2, which didn't work great for me. Touchscreen got way worse, wtf am i expecting applying 3k volts of static electricity.
I'm torn between replacing the screen or getting a z5c instead. Though my z3c somewhat slows down now, it is still usable and OK for me.
I know that if i replace my LCD, it will not be as good as before, so I'm thinking about that.
And if I get a z5c, i don't know the little issues, or if they were resolved with .11 update. Even small physical build issues concern me and I can't find a comprehensive list of issues. Also, screen replacement will cost me just around 20% of a new z5c unit, or maybe i could get a 2nd hand one.
Please share your thoughts, should I go for z5c? Or other brands (around 4.7 inches also)? Or screen replacement?
Thanks!
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I dont really know how did you get to a conclution on little bugs of z5c? has no bugs whatso ever , in fact go watch youtube videos about it , most of the known youtubers like linus concider the Z5C the best compact phone out there ...
also replacing a screen in its own manufacture is not wrong or bad and they wouldnt put a bad screen or "not as good" I could be wrong , but I already replaced my older phone Z2 screen twice and I didnt see any difference...
madshark2009 said:
I dont really know how did you get to a conclution on little bugs of z5c? has no bugs whatso ever , in fact go watch youtube videos about it , most of the known youtubers like linus concider the Z5C the best compact phone out there ...
also replacing a screen in its own manufacture is not wrong or bad and they wouldnt put a bad screen or "not as good" I could be wrong , but I already replaced my older phone Z2 screen twice and I didnt see any difference...
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Well every phone out there has issues, some of them can be found only with everyday use. I've heard overheating, screen self crack and bad battery performance for z5c. But overheating and bad battery performance can be fixed with software, but not the screen cracking.. I think you get the point. Those little quirks.
About the LCD replacement, most of those comes from china. And I've seen so many issues with friends with replacement screens (non-OEM). This ranges from low brightness, touch responsiveness, bad color reproduction to flat-out touch failure in 3 weeks after installment. Yeah, so I'm quite worried about that since technicians will have different prices for "replacement", "class A" and "original" (original but not OEM, wtf).
wakoko79 said:
Well every phone out there has issues, some of them can be found only with everyday use. I've hear overheating, screen self crack.
About the LCD replacement, most of those comes from china. And I've seen so many issues with friends with replacement screens (non-OEM). This ranges from low brightness, touch responsiveness, bad color reproduction to flat-out touch failure in 3 weeks after installment. Yeah, so I'm quite worried about that since technicians will have different prices for "replacement", "class A" and "original" (original but not OEM, wtf).
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I dont know how it works in your country ( I dont know where youre from either lol) if you send your phone to its original manufacture in your own country and pay them lots of money to fix it they should install original and if its not like that then buy the z5c if you want , seriously check youtube videos about it from well known youtubers its the best besides some times over heating in high level of usage (like gaming etc...)
I believe there to be a serious component issue with the touchscreen panel of the Z3C, "gate" level serious. There's way too high a percentage of people reporting touchscreens that die right after the 1 year mark, just out of warranty. Getting a replacement just means that it will most likely die again after a year or so, because it's the same faulty component, and (at least here in my country) they don't guarantee waterproofing after repairs which is really unacceptable after asking for around $130 in repair fees. Not to mention that it's obviously a flaw with Sony hardware, but they deny it and refuses to take responsibility, so the cost of repair is passed on to the victims, us.
Coming from Z3C, you will find the battery life of the Z5C disappointing, even with moderate to light use. Then there's the problem of the POS S810, so the phone is constantly throttling and overheating. It's really a shame, because I otherwise think the gorgeous design of the Z5C is the pinnacle of the Omnibalance language. There are real noticeable improvements to many of the small quirks I had with my Z3C, like the overly rounded edges that eats into my fingers with prolonged handling, non-exposed USB port, dual speaker cutouts that are really dust holders (Z5C elegantly placed them at the edges)... etc. Whether the trade-offs are worth it are based on your personal usage habits and wish list.
mhaha said:
I believe there to be a serious component issue with the touchscreen panel of the Z3C, "gate" level serious. There's way too high a percentage of people reporting touchscreens that die right after the 1 year mark, just out of warranty. Getting a replacement just means that it will most likely die again after a year or so, because it's the same faulty component, and (at least here in my country) they don't guarantee waterproofing after repairs which is really unacceptable after asking for around $130 in repair fees. Not to mention that it's obviously a flaw with Sony hardware, but they deny it and refuses to take responsibility, so the cost of repair is passed on to the victims, us.
Coming from Z3C, you will find the battery life of the Z5C disappointing, even with moderate to light use. Then there's the problem of the POS S810, so the phone is constantly throttling and overheating. It's really a shame, because I otherwise think the gorgeous design of the Z5C is the pinnacle of the Omnibalance language. There are real noticeable improvements to many of the small quirks I had with my Z3C, like the overly rounded edges that eats into my fingers with prolonged handling, non-exposed USB port, dual speaker cutouts that are really 2 dust holders (Z5C elegantly placed them at the edges)... etc. Whether the trade-offs are worth it are based on your personal usage habits and wish list.
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Though i'm turned off by the larger besel of z5c
Also, there is no magnetic charging which should be a main selling point IMHO.
But is the throttling and overheating solved by the update or custom rom? Pls link me to the POS S810 issue, i dont know what that is.
wakoko79 said:
Though i'm turned off by the larger besel of z5c
Also, there is no magnetic charging which should be a main selling point IMHO.
But is the throttling and overheating solved by the update or custom rom? Pls link me to the POS S810 issue, i dont know what that is.
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Larger bezel? Do you mean the slightly more disproportionate top and bottom bezels due to the lower screen placement compared to the Z3C? Because both are literally the same in screen size with nearly identical length and width dimensions.
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/size/Sony-Xperia-Z3-Compact,Sony-Xperia-Z5-Compact/phones/8744,9611
I've been using the Z5C for 8 months, and I've never been bothered by or noticed the display being lower. And that's coming from more than a year of use of Z3C, and the Z1C before that, which were both more symmetrical.
Initially I was also disappointed with the exclusion of the magnetic port, but only a few weeks in and I haven't missed it since. Having the exposed USB port at the center bottom really helps, and I favor having a seamless edge that again doesn't eat into my skin over the convenience of a charging port that only sees use when I'm not using the phone, which as I mentioned is rendered moot by the ease of access of the USB port. I bought a DK-52 dock for charging and never had problems docking it with ease, although I had imagined it would be problematic.
As for "POS S810", I mean "piece of **** Snapdragon 810" SoC. See here: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/04/in-depth-with-the-snapdragon-810s-heat-problems/
Or you can Google around "snapdragon 810 overheat", in short this silicon is ****. Sony's done their best (arguably the best out of all manufacturers) to mitigate the impact, but in the end there's only so much you can do to workaround an inherently poor hardware design.
*EDIT BELOW*
As for the question of throttling and overheating solved by updates, there doesn't seem to be a decisive or conclusive evidence of that. With each new update, it seems there's always people reporting better battery/improved thermal alongside people saying it's worse or no change. Yes, there are mods/ROMs claiming to fix the battery and heat issues, whether or not they actually make a difference is more of a personal usage thing, you have to try them out for yourself and see if they work for you.
It may sound like I'm hating on the Z5C, but on the contrary I actually love my Z5C. It's just that after using the Z3C, high expectations have been set but the Z5C failed to deliver on some accounts, mainly the battery and thermal issues. Otherwise, I genuinely felt it was a worthy upgrade over the Z3C. I've come to accept that I won't be getting the same outstanding battery performance of the Z3C, but that's not to say that it isn't great on its own merits. Also consider that the Z3 series are pretty much dead since they're not getting official Android 7.0 support, while the Z5 series are still on the upgrade list, albeit now at the lowest priority compared to the more recent models.
So to sum it up, I don't think it's worth investing in a screen replacement that may still break after a year, not to mention potentially losing the waterproofing. The Z5C may be the next logical step after the Z3C, but has problems of its own. You need to decide if the drawbacks are worth it. At least it's been a little over a year since the phone's release, and there seems to be no (mass) reports of dying touchscreens. Yet. So it's got that going for it, which is something I suppose.
This phone is still very good despite its few hiccups. It over heats when shooting long videos or playing graphic-heavy games (many phones will over heat too), i dont know z3c battery life but with my z5 i get minimum 5rs sot wen browsing the web, minimum 4hrs when playing plants vs zombies heroes, minimum 4hrs streaming videos, on light useage i get minimum 2days... Remember i say minimum.
The camera is not great on low light conditions but it is superb in daylight. Its performance is snappy, water resistance is not a gimmick, speaker volume is loud enough although i was not impressed with headphone volume n sound until i installed another app.
The phone is worth it, not perfect though.
mhaha said:
Larger bezel? Do you mean the slightly more disproportionate top and bottom bezels due to the lower screen placement compared to the Z3C? Because both are literally the same in screen size with nearly identical length and width dimensions.
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/size/Sony-Xperia-Z3-Compact,Sony-Xperia-Z5-Compact/phones/8744,9611
I've been using the Z5C for 8 months, and I've never been bothered by or noticed the display being lower. And that's coming from more than a year of use of Z3C, and the Z1C before that, which were both more symmetrical.
Initially I was also disappointed with the exclusion of the magnetic port, but only a few weeks in and I haven't missed it since. Having the exposed USB port at the center bottom really helps, and I favor having a seamless edge that again doesn't eat into my skin over the convenience of a charging port that only sees use when I'm not using the phone, which as I mentioned is rendered moot by the ease of access of the USB port. I bought a DK-52 dock for charging and never had problems docking it with ease, although I had imagined it would be problematic.
As for "POS S810", I mean "piece of **** Snapdragon 810" SoC. See here: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/04/in-depth-with-the-snapdragon-810s-heat-problems/
Or you can Google around "snapdragon 810 overheat", in short this silicon is ****. Sony's done their best (arguably the best out of all manufacturers) to mitigate the impact, but in the end there's only so much you can do to workaround an inherently poor hardware design.
*EDIT BELOW*
As for the question of throttling and overheating solved by updates, there doesn't seem to be a decisive or conclusive evidence of that. With each new update, it seems there's always people reporting better battery/improved thermal alongside people saying it's worse or no change. Yes, there are mods/ROMs claiming to fix the battery and heat issues, whether or not they actually make a difference is more of a personal usage thing, you have to try them out for yourself and see if they work for you.
It may sound like I'm hating on the Z5C, but on the contrary I actually love my Z5C. It's just that after using the Z3C, high expectations have been set but the Z5C failed to deliver on some accounts, mainly the battery and thermal issues. Otherwise, I genuinely felt it was a worthy upgrade over the Z3C. I've come to accept that I won't be getting the same outstanding battery performance of the Z3C, but that's not to say that it isn't great on its own merits. Also consider that the Z3 series are pretty much dead since they're not getting official Android 7.0 support, while the Z5 series are still on the upgrade list, albeit now at the lowest priority compared to the more recent models.
So to sum it up, I don't think it's worth investing in a screen replacement that may still break after a year, not to mention potentially losing the waterproofing. The Z5C may be the next logical step after the Z3C, but has problems of its own. You need to decide if the drawbacks are worth it. At least it's been a little over a year since the phone's release, and there seems to be no (mass) reports of dying touchscreens. Yet. So it's got that going for it, which is something I suppose.
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OK, I'm getting a Z5C tomorrow LOL. What I'm saying about the bezels is that the large bezel at the top is turning me off somewhat (I think z3c has the perfect size), but that is just me nit-picking on stuff, it doesn't really matter on daily use.
About the USB port, I'm just scared of it physically breaking, or just being lose or having bad metal contact. I had this problem before so I'm kinda always worried about ports which are like usb. On the other hand, the magnetic charging just holds the cable and the phone with a magnet, so I don't need to worry that I may damage it when someone accidentally applies force the wrong way to the cable/phone. BTW I did not use the dock on Z3C, just some cheap magnetic cable. Anyway that is fine I can live without it.
Another thing, I read in gsmarena that the usb port has a waterproof coating so that it can be submerged in water? Got any more info on that? Just curious here.
BTW my Z3C now is not water-proof anymore since I went full retard (I squeezed the phone while under water, destroyed the mic, so I got it fixed).
paq1170 said:
This phone is still very good despite its few hiccups. It over heats when shooting long videos or playing graphic-heavy games (many phones will over heat too), i dont know z3c battery life but with my z5 i get minimum 5rs sot wen browsing the web, minimum 4hrs when playing plants vs zombies heroes, minimum 4hrs streaming videos, on light useage i get minimum 2days... Remember i say minimum.
The camera is not great on low light conditions but it is superb in daylight. Its performance is snappy, water resistance is not a gimmick, speaker volume is loud enough although i was not impressed with headphone volume n sound until i installed another app.
The phone is worth it, not perfect though.
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I think heating when using phone (games, browser, video) is normal. Is that is what supposed to be the overheating issue? My z3c heats up when using chrome too, and that is fine with me. What is not fine is like when I'm just reading an ebook or just calling then it heats like crazy. I just use my phone for texts, calls, ebook, RSS feeds, some browsing.
Camera is also fine with me, I'm not really a picture-everywhere guy, I rarely use it so its just a plus =).
The exposed USB port is waterproof, that's the great thing about it. Just don't use it while under water or after it's been submerged in water, you still need to let it dry out. So with the Z5C, unless you're frequently changing SIM or microSD cards, the only flap will stay closed for like 99% of its lifetime and the chance of it being water damaged due to the flap becoming worn and torn or improperly closed is minimal.
All phones get warm when you're executing high load tasks, but it can get borderline melting with S810 phones. Seriously, in certain situations it can get really uncomfortable to hold, no to mention there's the throttling to prevent it from self destructing, so you'd also be experiencing degraded performance while handling a hot brick. It won't happen with casual phone calls, browsing, texting, snapping a photo or two... but if you're doing intensive stuff like playing heavily encoded videos or resource hungry games, you'll feel the heat and see some stuttering thanks to the throttling. A personal experience, I once tried viewing an anime in 1080p that's probably encoded with advanced codecs on my Z5C, after a few minutes it starting burning my hands and became unwatchable, lagging like crazy. No doubt it's because the decoder and real time down-scaling of the resolution to 720p needed full processing power.
With your usage though, you will probably rarely experience it. Might get lucky if you loaded up a poorly optimized rich media website or something, but not likely.
A new z3c is.the best option. Z5c lags a lot because of 810.
I got my z5c.
Z3C looks a lot more better aesthetically. But, oh well, thanks for the replies!
wakoko79 said:
I got my z5c.
Z3C looks a lot more better aesthetically. But, oh well, thanks for the replies!
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I'll agree with that. The Z5C's slightly bigger top bezel does bug me, or at least did when I still had my Z3C and could see them side-by-side. It's also slightly more boring looking than the Z3C. Other than that, though, I think the Z5C is far more comfortable to hold than the Z3C, and I haven't noticed mine lagging any more than the Z3C did. After flashing the X Compact's camera APK, the camera is also far more responsive, which is great when you have two little kids around like I do.
Same thing happened to my z3 compact and I replaced the digitizer/lcd myself with a kit. No problems except that months later, the screen started peeling up because of the stickers not holding fast. Finally decided to order an X Compact and returned it immediately. Just didn't like the look/feel.
I didn't want to buy another z3c so I purchased a z5c off of swappa. So far, I'm very happy with it. Still waiting to see how it does on battery life but the phone is beautiful. IMO, the best reason to upgrade from the z3c is the fingerprint scanner.
Damn!!!! I have the same problem with the z3c screen, and the same concerns: should i fix it or should i upgrade (of course to z5c, the only one who seems comparable)?
I have not decided yet... I really love my z3c
@ wakoko79 : what are your impressions of your new device? Especially battery and heat/lag.
Thanks
XDAmagic said:
Damn!!!! I have the same problem with the z3c screen, and the same concerns: should i fix it or should i upgrade (of course to z5c, the only one who seems comparable)?
I have not decided yet... I really love my z3c
@ wakoko79 : what are your impressions of your new device? Especially battery and heat/lag.
Thanks
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Lag lag lag and battery epic. As i said in the previous post, 810 epic fail.
smardu said:
Lag lag lag and battery epic. As i said in the previous post, 810 epic fail.
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Agreed. I previously owned a Z5C. I hated how much it heated doing simple tasks (browsing internet, updating apps, ...) they didn't need to be CPU intensive to get hot. I always felt a little uneasy that the heat would cause a battery failure if I let it get hot enough since the heat would run down the back side of the battery. It wouldn't be terribly hot but it was hotter than a phone should get. I then purchased an XC which has a "comparatively" powerful CPU and that thing barely ever gets warm and it has yet to get as hot as my Z5C did just updating 3 apps in a row.
I would have suggested an XC but the Z5C did well when using it. Congrats, I hope the Z5C roms can get that non-stock Camera figured out.
z3 was a great phone. i owned one but was broken so i upgraded. z5 c is similar but is a little faster to me. the camera options are improved and the z5c camera is better both front and back. Plus the z5c is 32g internal vs the z3c which is 16. z5c also has a finger print scanner that works great. z5c updates are going to be better than the z3c in my opinion. z5c gets warm but it's never really bothered me especially with a case.
z5c is hands down better.
Hi,
there is a rumor saying there will be no charger added inside the box of mark IV while the price will be higher at the same price.
Is sony kidding me?
I am avoiding it if there will be no charger...
If I will be selling mark III the person who will buy it will want to have charger too.
Price of mark 3 was already too high in comparison to what it offers, support it receives and software.
I expect mark IV to be cheaper.
There are devices of mark 3 power 50% - 70% cheaper.
Feels like the Mark III series is dumped before it's even working reasonably well. I wouldn't touch another Sony phone if this is how their product support goes.
The Mark III is new and I want a 3rd party OS already.
Indeed, sony software support or division in general is worst from every manufacturer. They do not spend a penny on a software once device is released.
Since they do not provide any cooling solution to cpu (laughable considering the price) and in case device turns to burn out the only thing they do is to reduce the clocks to throttle it and tat's it. Any invest at all they provide is in case some must have feature like unlocking is not working due to crappy cheap fingerprint scanner. These are the only cases they do anything with soft.
As said. This is unacceptable at this price.
And still they want to increase it for the same + remove charger?
decomposed said:
Hi,
there is a rumor saying there will be no charger added inside the box of mark IV while the price will be higher at the same price.
Is sony kidding me?
I am avoiding it if there will be no charger...
If I will be selling mark III the person who will buy it will want to have charger too.
Price of mark 3 was already too high in comparison to what it offers, support it receives and software.
I expect mark IV to be cheaper.
There are devices of mark 3 power 50% - 70% cheaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 III is one of a kind. No other android phone is on the same page with it in terms of performance.
Stop crying like babies. There'll be charger in the box (45w). And do not forget that it'll pack Sony's best 40 and 50mp cameras on the back with the latest 8 gen 1 + proc. and so on . And the quality worths a bit of extra for me. My xz premium and z3 still work without any errors, freezes or anything while my friends' other ios and android phones don't work right anymore, drain their batteries, random restarts and freezes etc etc..
All my old lcd xperias had problems with yellowish tint over time. That was because of the glue used.
For sony mounting new cameras does not make sense. Result is still the same: mediocre. Apple, shamesung , pixels or huawei are always taking better shots, creating better videos. Mark 3 does not even have night mode and you cannot record 4k 60fps videos in main camera. Only in crappy cinema mode lol! And no 21:9 pics hence no sense of using such screen dimensions other than cutting the costs. So called camera phone and it doesn't have dedicated album app since they removed sony album app and replaced it with stock google crap. Again to cut the costs.
Besides they only advertise camera camera camera, seems they do not have anything else to market. I do not know anyone who still believes in their marketing camera bull. Since years they are claiming they now deliver best camera and what? Always far from competition... Apart from camera they are very weak in terms of software, I would say they almost abandoned providing new features, improving what is in phone or adding new functions or apps. They suffer in terms of soft a lot.
When it comes to charger they already removed it from 10 mark III...
decomposed said:
All my old lcd xperias had problems with yellowish tint over time. That was because of the glue used.
For sony mounting new cameras does not make sense. Result is still the same: mediocre. Apple, shamesung , pixels or huawei are always taking better shots, creating better videos. Mark 3 does not even have night mode and you cannot record 4k 60fps videos in main camera. Only in crappy cinema mode lol! And no 21:9 pics hence no sense of using such screen dimensions other than cutting the costs. So called camera phone and it doesn't have dedicated album app since they removed sony album app and replaced it with stock google crap. Again to cut the costs.
Besides they only advertise camera camera camera, seems they do not have anything else to market. I do not know anyone who still believes in their marketing camera bull. Since years they are claiming they now deliver best camera and what? Always far from competition... Apart from camera they are very weak in terms of software, I would say they almost abandoned providing new features, improving what is in phone or adding new functions or apps. They suffer in terms of soft a lot.
When it comes to charger they already removed it from 10 mark III...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to mention nearly all of those manufacturers use Sony's stuff. Night mode is an unnatural mode, I don't even need it. Photographers tested it and said it really is the best camera phone, you just have to know what to do and how. That's terrible, you have to open the cinema pro for 4k 60fps -.-' I have Sony Album app btw. And let's put an end to this argue, if you don't like Sony then don't buy it and leave the forum I don't know what did you do to your phones, I've never had yellow tint on any of my Sony phones. My old Xperia Ion still works flawlessly too, but it's not mine anymore. It's my friend's second phone for his other sim card. Stepfather's Xperia Z has no problems at all.
Would like too see what would those other manufacturers do if Sony wouldn't sell them cameras anymore
decomposed said:
Hi,
there is a rumor saying there will be no charger added inside the box of mark IV while the price will be higher at the same price.
Is sony kidding me?
I am avoiding it if there will be no charger...
If I will be selling mark III the person who will buy it will want to have charger too.
Price of mark 3 was already too high in comparison to what it offers, support it receives and software.
I expect mark IV to be cheaper.
There are devices of mark 3 power 50% - 70% cheaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No way that Xperia 1 IV that will be any cheaper. Quite opposite scenario is more likely - at least $1300 or even more. Sony never went cheap with their products.
LaceeWearsPrada said:
Not to mention nearly all of those manufacturers use Sony's stuff. Night mode is an unnatural mode, I don't even need it. Photographers tested it and said it really is the best camera phone, you just have to know what to do and how. That's terrible, you have to open the cinema pro for 4k 60fps -.-' I have Sony Album app btw. And let's put an end to this argue, if you don't like Sony then don't buy it and leave the forum I don't know what did you do to your phones, I've never had yellow tint on any of my Sony phones. My old Xperia Ion still works flawlessly too, but it's not mine anymore. It's my friend's second phone for his other sim card. Stepfather's Xperia Z has no problems at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't tell me what should I do and what not. Go back to school. In past, during lcd tines many sony phones had problems, not only with common yellowish tint but also with fake waterproof, google it. Interestingly seems to appear also with oled displays. Just few examples:
How To Solve Yellow Tint On Screen And Water Damage Problems On Sony Xperia Z1S - PCbezz
<p>Sony Xperia Z1S is mainly adopted by many people because of its waterproof facility. Other than this facility, Sony has also included other functionalities such as Wi-Fi connectivity, 32 GB internal storage, and the round shaped corner makes you feel comfortable while operating the...
www.technobezz.com
Xperia 5 Black Crush /Green /Yellow tinted screen
This green/yellow tint and black crush happened after a month of use. I Sent the phone to service /repair and they changed components and upgraded to Android 10. Everything was great, but now after about 2 - 3 weeks of use, the same effect have started to appear again. Is this the general issue...
community.sony.es
Sony Xperia Z2 Yellow Tint Display after Repair
Hi all, Yesterday i got my repaired Xperia Z2 back. The actual Problem with a "Green Tint" Error showing when watching Photos in the Sony Album didn't get solved. The Company who repaired the Phone replaced the Display with a new one. They told...
forum.xda-developers.com
Help - Yellow tint on a white backgound
Has anyone else apart from myself experienced a yellow tint on their display?? It's more noticeable on a white background, especially when viewing webpages. I happen to notice it more so at the bottom of the display than anywhere else. It seems as if i am not alone, as there are a good number...
androidforums.com
LaceeWearsPrada said:
Would like too see what would those other manufacturers do if Sony wouldn't sell them cameras anymore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy it from other manufacturers? Like samsung?
Don't you have any imagination? Use your brain.
Besides it's not only about hardware, there are plenty of reviews and posts confirming aony takes worse pictures than other brands, especially in auto mode and dark conditions.
And yes, other brands using sony sensors stoll does way better than sony due to better software. And that's a fact confirmed by many specialists who compared camera samples.
decomposed said:
Buy it from other manufacturers? Like samsung?
Don't you have any imagination? Use your brain.
Besides it's not only about hardware, there are plenty of reviews and posts confirming aony takes worse pictures than other brands, especially in auto mode and dark conditions.
And yes, other brands using sony sensors stoll does way better than sony due to better software. And that's a fact confirmed by many specialists who compared camera samples.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol why you aint buy another device then ? Taking photos with my 1 iii without flash in the night make good shots and the build quality of xperia is far more better then other brands 100%
Pandemic said:
Lol why you aint buy another device then ? Taking photos with my 1 iii without flash in the night make good shots and the build quality of xperia is far more better then other brands 100%
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Build quality is ok now, agree, that was not always the case in past. However, rest of the points remain valid.
decomposed said:
Don't tell me what should I do and what not. Go back to school. In past, during lcd tines many sony phones had problems, not only with common yellowish tint but also with fake waterproof, google it. Interestingly seems to appear also with oled displays. Just few examples:
How To Solve Yellow Tint On Screen And Water Damage Problems On Sony Xperia Z1S - PCbezz
<p>Sony Xperia Z1S is mainly adopted by many people because of its waterproof facility. Other than this facility, Sony has also included other functionalities such as Wi-Fi connectivity, 32 GB internal storage, and the round shaped corner makes you feel comfortable while operating the...
www.technobezz.com
Xperia 5 Black Crush /Green /Yellow tinted screen
This green/yellow tint and black crush happened after a month of use. I Sent the phone to service /repair and they changed components and upgraded to Android 10. Everything was great, but now after about 2 - 3 weeks of use, the same effect have started to appear again. Is this the general issue...
community.sony.es
Sony Xperia Z2 Yellow Tint Display after Repair
Hi all, Yesterday i got my repaired Xperia Z2 back. The actual Problem with a "Green Tint" Error showing when watching Photos in the Sony Album didn't get solved. The Company who repaired the Phone replaced the Display with a new one. They told...
forum.xda-developers.com
Help - Yellow tint on a white backgound
Has anyone else apart from myself experienced a yellow tint on their display?? It's more noticeable on a white background, especially when viewing webpages. I happen to notice it more so at the bottom of the display than anywhere else. It seems as if i am not alone, as there are a good number...
androidforums.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fake waterproof xD I always used them in extreme conditions. Never had any water damage. Those who had problems maybe forgot to mention that they broke their screen or something and took it to a little shop somewhere to replace it, but they didn't use the oem parts and glue. Once I ran into this with my Z3, I broke the screen because I accidentally dropped it from a ladder. I was already out of guarantee time so I went to find a shop to replace it. They said they use oem screen and glue but I've noticed after the replace that something isn't right, so I opened the Aida64 and the screen wasn't 1080p, but 720p. I went back for compensation, they didn't accept it. I took the effort and they had to close their shops not long after.
decomposed said:
Buy it from other manufacturers? Like samsung?
Don't you have any imagination? Use your brain.
Besides it's not only about hardware, there are plenty of reviews and posts confirming aony takes worse pictures than other brands, especially in auto mode and dark conditions.
And yes, other brands using sony sensors stoll does way better than sony due to better software. And that's a fact confirmed by many specialists who compared camera samples.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mr specialist. Samsung also buys from Sony Iphone uses Sony sensors. Xiaomi uses Sony sensors. Everyone's using their sensors Take a look at pro photographer's reviews on the YouTube. They showed what it's capable of. Don't blame Sony that you can't use a pro camera device you said "don't tell me what to do" but maan, if you don't like Sony why are you here?!?!
decomposed said:
Build quality is ok now, agree, that was not always the case in past. However, rest of the points remain valid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was always the case Was a good decision to make the battery unremovable because that made a lot of problems, but it was the case with every other manufacturers.
LaceeWearsPrada said:
Stop crying like babies. There'll be charger in the box (45w). And do not forget that it'll pack Sony's best 40 and 50mp cameras on the back with the latest 8 gen 1 + proc. and so on . And the quality worths a bit of extra for me. My xz premium and z3 still work without any errors, freezes or anything while my friends' other ios and android phones don't work right anymore, drain their batteries, random restarts and freezes etc etc..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So once it was presented and we know it then where is your charger included in the box? And where are your "vest 40 a d 50mp cameras on the back"???
Who is crying like babies?
I will help you: you are!
Ignorant fanboy...
decomposed said:
So once it was presented and we know it then where is your charger included in the box? And where are your "vest 40 a d 50mp cameras on the back"???
Who is crying like babies?
I will help you: you are!
Ignorant fanboy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm crying uh-huh who's here again to say something nonsense?! You can complain, but the only ones who got the phones so far is testers. Sony still says that they'll ship it with fast chargers. Okay, they didn't use those big mp cameras , even if they could beat the s*#+ out of other manufacturers with them. Wondering why they don't want to do that... But have to mention there that those Photographers who got their own Xperia IV to test it in real life conditions, they were really impressed by this phone, just like they were with 1 III. If you want to complain then complain, if you're not satisfied with what Sony offer, then leave the forum and buy something else. Btw if they do not include a charger, then what?! Who does nowadays?! Idk about you, but I don't really care about these little things
Hi,
My Xperia 1IV just came few days ago.
Paid 6500 PLN with VAT (23%).WH1000XM4 were included (1300PLN incl tax).
As I was planning on buying those headphones anyway for my wife, Xperia price was very attractive for me.
6500PLN is about 1400EUR. But 5200PLN is only 1100EUR.
No charger in the box (I don't worry, because I have more than enough).
Sony camera needs user knowledge to make good shots. And then it's better than any other phone in most circumstances.
It's a weird phone, with really strange design choices in many places. But it's not "bad".
I chose it over S22 Ultra. Specifically because it's a divergent design.
ov_darkness said:
Hi,
My Xperia 1IV just came few days ago.
Paid 6500 PLN with VAT (23%).WH1000XM4 were included (1300PLN incl tax).
As I was planning on buying those headphones anyway for my wife, Xperia price was very attractive for me.
6500PLN is about 1400EUR. But 5200PLN is only 1100EUR.
No charger in the box (I don't worry, because I have more than enough).
Sony camera needs user knowledge to make good shots. And then it's better than any other phone in most circumstances.
It's a weird phone, with really strange design choices in many places. But it's not "bad".
I chose it over S22 Ultra. Specifically because it's a divergent design.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is cellular network compatibility? I just spent a few days without service because the US model 1 III doesn't support domestic roaming on smaller carriers. Despite all the claimed LTE and NR bands, it's no more compatible than a cheap Chinese market phone. I don't know why they even bothered.