Moto and Google apps updated to Material Design - Moto X General

So, last night I came back to stock (4.4.4 GSM dev edition) using the images provided by Motorola, thanks to this thread, in preparation to the oh so awaited lollipop.
To my surprise I was prompted a bit earlier to update most of Google apps and Moto apps too.
Rejoice, most of these updates included the new material design overhaul, including the Google Keyboard (which now has Material Light and Dark themes), as well as renaming what is now known as Moto Voice and changes that make me believe that the 5.0 android system update should hit sometime soon.
Or so I hope.
Just letting people know this in case you, like me, want to come back from whatever custom ROM you run to stock.
Lets keep those fingers crossed!

Did gallery and camera update to material design for you? It also has a new feature with camera

Yes to both!
No more holo black.
Kinda want the update now as aesthetically my phone clashes now haha, holo settings/notification bar vs google/moto apps material design.

Related

Samsung and Google ICS event

So, who's about to watch the Samsung and Google event in Hong Kong? I'm watching for a timeline of ICS on our tabs. Should be fun.
http://www.youtube.com/android
Oh and the Galaxy Nexus will be cool too.
I'm watching with you as well! Hoping they will say there's an ICS update avail right now for our Tabs. lol
They say the developer SDK is available right now. Is that enough for ROMs or just apps?
just apps, we need the source code and drivers(?) for roms
Cool new intuitive changes borrowed from the android community.
looks promising and improvements from HC...
tho i find the People stuff a bit Microsoft feel...
love the Roboto and the rennovation... looks a lot smoother too...
love the new Camera Apps...
wish they tell a bit more about Galaxy Nexus since i am deciding to get an upgrade from HTC Magic...
hopefully coming to GT10.1 soon?
Why didn't they demo it on a tablet as well..
Im guessing because theyre going to show it off on a new motorola tablet and its a samsung event. Hopefully motorola shows something on their razr event.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using xda premium
so the big question is..when can cyanogen have access to the sources??
CM9?
He has a galaxy tab 10.1 ..actually a couple of them
I think that new calendar will look really good on tablets. I only hope that if there will be a dedicated tablet calendar, the font size will be enlarged to some degree when you use the pinch to zoom function.
I absolutely love the "SWIPE ALL THE THINGS" idea, but I'm sure it takes some time to get used to. Getting rid of notifications in HC is something i find a nightmare. Where is the friggin "Clear All" Button?(Devs?)
Any thoughts about camera shutter response improvement with ICS on "older" devices, like SGS2? I mean, SGS2 is quite fast as it is, but there is always room for improvement.
The voice textmessaging seemed extremely accurate...in english. Hope it will be as accurate i Norwegian
The new browser, calendar, launcher and gallery seemed solid, so probably no need for any 3rd party replacement. Also, I like the transparency and the darkness through the whole stock theme. The new font also looks very nice!
What devices do you guys think will be ICS compatible? Minimum hardware specs? Still sittin' with an ol' SGS1, but i highly doubt I will ever see it running ICS.
When do you guys think ICS wil be available for our Galaxy Tabs? Q1 2012 maybe?
ICS on our tabs....i say ...Q2 next year?
on CM9 for our tabs...i say....Q1 next year..
so nothing for this year i am guessing?
paua__ said:
What devices do you guys think will be ICS compatible? Minimum hardware specs? Still sittin' with an ol' SGS1, but i highly doubt I will ever see it running ICS.
When do you guys think ICS wil be available for our Galaxy Tabs? Q1 2012 maybe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The current range of tablets (10.1, 8.9, XOOM etc) should be compatible and will probably get the ICS update. At least I hope they do.
It's a little more tricky for existing phones which have hardware buttons -- if the manufacturers want to release an ICS update for those, they will probably have to disable to onscreen buttons otherwise it will be just plain confusing.
Andy Rubin said most devices running 2.3.x shouldnwork just fine with ics. Seeing as the nexus s will get the update first, that sets the min speed at 1ghz single core. Our tabs should have no problem running 4.0.
I would expect source code to be released just after the nexus s update. So some aosp alpha stuff around Xmas. At least that would be a nice present.
Let's go through the improvemens:
- clean lock screen (already available as 3rd party apps)
- face unlock (first consumer implementation, though not new tech)
- notifications in lock screen (I am sure someone has done this, but not cyanogen)
- quick text respond (3rd party lock screen?)
- swipe away notifications (cyanogenmod)
- honeycomb app switcher w/ swipe away (finally!)
- data usage monitor (wow! I hope there is something like that for battery use)
- photo/video/gallery (some much needed improvements bring it up to the competition)
- cleaner ui experience (nice changes should make it competitive with apple out of the box)
- gv voicemails in call log (nice, but not a major uprade)
- native screenshot support (no more icon on lower bar! But already available for some devices)
- Google beam (doesn't really do it for me...)
- talk to type and keyboard improvements (we'll have to see if the can compete with 3rd partys)
- disable apps (already in titanium backup as freeze app)
- device encryption (already supported in honeycomb)
Personally the only other thing I really would like to see out of Samsung is an open api for their multitasking mini apps. Those are a major step forward in multitasking (at least on tablets)
seltaeb said:
The current range of tablets (10.1, 8.9, XOOM etc) should be compatible and will probably get the ICS update. At least I hope they do.
It's a little more tricky for existing phones which have hardware buttons -- if the manufacturers want to release an ICS update for those, they will probably have to disable to onscreen buttons otherwise it will be just plain confusing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, they can also use the hardware buttons and disable the software buttons. will be no problem at all!
but whether they will release it for old devices (except nexus devices) or not... that's another question.
paua__ said:
I think that new calendar will look really good on tablets. I only hope that if there will be a dedicated tablet calendar, the font size will be enlarged to some degree when you use the pinch to zoom function.
I absolutely love the "SWIPE ALL THE THINGS" idea, but I'm sure it takes some time to get used to. Getting rid of notifications in HC is something i find a nightmare. Where is the friggin "Clear All" Button?(Devs?)
Any thoughts about camera shutter response improvement with ICS on "older" devices, like SGS2? I mean, SGS2 is quite fast as it is, but there is always room for improvement.
The voice textmessaging seemed extremely accurate...in english. Hope it will be as accurate i Norwegian
The new browser, calendar, launcher and gallery seemed solid, so probably no need for any 3rd party replacement. Also, I like the transparency and the darkness through the whole stock theme. The new font also looks very nice!
What devices do you guys think will be ICS compatible? Minimum hardware specs? Still sittin' with an ol' SGS1, but i highly doubt I will ever see it running ICS.
When do you guys think ICS wil be available for our Galaxy Tabs? Q1 2012 maybe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try android pro widgets calendar, you can synced Google and change font size.
Sent from Tapatalk (free on Getjar)

Update with a new look

I don't own this device but i did just see this video come up in my subscriptions going over a "never before seen" update that completely changes the interface http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZoh_QKnGbc
Thanks a lot! Its really neat! Oppo said that we will have something big soon. Hopefully this is it.
Sent from my Oppo Find 5
Well, it's still not "spectacular". Icons are still iPhone-ish, the Settings menu is still a mess...
I should contact Oppo and offer them to do some better concepts for a few bucks.
XpLoDWilD said:
Well, it's still not "spectacular". Icons are still iPhone-ish, the Settings menu is still a mess...
I should contact Oppo and offer them to do some better concepts for a few bucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with the new update. you will be able to change icon packs easily. they are introducing there own "theme store"
excited to see what they are doing
with the new update they sent out yesterday, they updated the lock screen with a new version! so slick. i love it!
Some interesting things in the video. This is not Oppo specific, but I have to say that all this stuff the vendors are doing with software are just kind of... meh.
/rant
I mean seriously, how many screen, menu transitions do we need. Some of us could give two s$*ts about snow building up on an icon...
Give me SOLID bluetooth to headset performance for 3 hour meetings.
Give me an amazing email client for enterprise messaging systems.
I'd like a bigger sensor for the love of God! 13 megapixels isn't worth diddly if the sensor is crap... and they all are. Thinking you can replace a camera with a phone right now is a serious flaw in logic.
Improve on signal strength and antenna design for better signal in suspect areas.
/-rant
I really am leaning toward getting the Black international 32GB version. The level of 'real' updates, improving performance and fixing issues, is impressive thus far. I can change the UI by installing the homescreen app of my choosing, so leave this stuff for later please
WhiteSRT69 said:
with the new update. you will be able to change icon packs easily. they are introducing there own "theme store"
excited to see what they are doing
with the new update they sent out yesterday, they updated the lock screen with a new version! so slick. i love it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still, the Camera app is super basic and looks like apps we did 2 years ago, the Settings menu is totally disorganized, the contacts app is everything but cool like Android 4.0 stock Contacts app, etc...
There's a point where theming cannot just cover everything. Ok for the icons, but the apps stay the same, experience stays the same. How are they going to bring 4.2's lockscreen widgets? Quick settings? They update their current design without planning features released a few months ago, and god knows users are angry when you don't update their favorite handset to the latest OS version -- especially knowing the next Android version comes in less than a month now.
Now, you can perfectly live happy with it, that's just my opinion ^^ I love enhanced user experience, and Oppo firmware just looks like a step back to me compared to stock 4.2, half-way between Gingerbread and ICS.
If I have some time, I'll do a mockup or two for an UI Oppo-style, but with 4.2 experience.
XpLoDWilD said:
Still, the Camera app is super basic and looks like apps we did 2 years ago, the Settings menu is totally disorganized, the contacts app is everything but cool like Android 4.0 stock Contacts app, etc...
There's a point where theming cannot just cover everything. Ok for the icons, but the apps stay the same, experience stays the same. How are they going to bring 4.2's lockscreen widgets? Quick settings? They update their current design without planning features released a few months ago, and god knows users are angry when you don't update their favorite handset to the latest OS version -- especially knowing the next Android version comes in less than a month now.
Now, you can perfectly live happy with it, that's just my opinion ^^ I love enhanced user experience, and Oppo firmware just looks like a step back to me compared to stock 4.2, half-way between Gingerbread and ICS.
If I have some time, I'll do a mockup or two for an UI Oppo-style, but with 4.2 experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohhhhh.I'll.be waiting for that one. I.love aosp but my grippes with it is camera optimization
Sent from my Oppo Find 5
with CM10.1 from XpLoDWilD i got better battery life than stock firmware
My test is left the phone full charge throught night, after 7 hours. stock firmware took 11% percent, CM10.1 took 5%. (I Only turn wifi on, 3g and data disable)

[Q] Should we adhere holo design or material design for app in Android below 5

Previously, I had an Android app, which built on the top of ActionBarSherlock. The app runs well on Android 2.3 till Android 5.0
Currently, I'm in the process, of migrating my app, from ActionBarSherlock to Google AppCompat.
For the app running on Android 5.0, I'm targeting to use Material design.
However, if the app is running on Android 2.3 till Android 4, should I make the app having Holo look, or Material look? Does Google provide any official guideline on this?
yccheok said:
Previously, I had an Android app, which built on the top of ActionBarSherlock. The app runs well on Android 2.3 till Android 5.0
Currently, I'm in the process, of migrating my app, from ActionBarSherlock to Google AppCompat.
For the app running on Android 5.0, I'm targeting to use Material design.
However, if the app is running on Android 2.3 till Android 4, should I make the app having Holo look, or Material look? Does Google provide any official guideline on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's an interesting question, and one I think there is more to it then it first seems. I don't think there is an official, clear statement from Google that you explicitely hav to use ABC with Material in Android 4.x, but the material design webpage says they wanted to "Develop a single underlying system that allows for a unified experience across platforms and device sizes". I would consider across platforms meaning across Android, iOS, etc., as well as different and old versions of the OS. But on the other hand, if we take a look at the design principles they want us to follow, all the screenshots are from 4.x and there is no mention of MD (there is one on the landing page though). Feels all a bit clumsy and unfinsished to me, as if they didn't really know what to do with the old guidelines...
And as hard as Material tries to promote consistency, doesn't it break consistency inside older versions of Android where all system apps are still using holo? Well yeah, they certainly do, but we've had the same problem with holo on 2.x devices... And as far as Google themselves, they are in the process of bringing all their apps to material on all devices and all versions of Android. I guess we can gladly follow them and use the Material theme everywhere, since it is more important that your app stays (almost) consistent with itself between Android versions than supporting outdated design languages and devices (which should have been updated to Lollipop anyway). Imagine someone having a KitKat Sony phone and a Nexus 7. You really want them to see two different apps everytime they switch from phone to tablet?
tl;dr use MD whenever possible, but if it's too much work fall back to holo

Building nexus like experience on htc one M9? [ looking for a dev]

Hi all!
As probably many of You I love stock android for its stellar performance, smoothness and neat simple design. With that being said I still like some HTC features and stock stability. Maybe we could find a developer to make a google play edition like rom for our M9?​
This is how I see it:
2.10.401.1 stock 5.1 rom base
vanilla / google like navbar
vanilla status bar / quick setting
vanilla multitasking cards ( with translucent navbar and with full size google search bar )
vanilla statusbar icons / centered clock / percentage batery indicator (like in htc sense)
extended vanilla settings app
google now launcher / nova / sense home
stock google dialer
messenger sms app
android m calculator
google keyboard app
htc camera app
htc gallery app
htc status bar
htc or google lockscreen
stock 5.1 bootanimation
debloat / performance / battery / camera improvements
I'm new to building roms/porting stuff but i think that most of the things needed already exists. Maybe we could find a developer keen on building this google play edition like rom so that we could have one
Let me know if and of You would be intrested to help me build one or if You like this idea
toster jp said:
Hi all!
As probably many of You I love stock android for its stellar performance, smoothness and neat simple design. With that being said I still like some HTC features and stock stability. Maybe we could find a developer to make a google play edition like rom for our M9?​
This is how I see it:
2.10.401.1 stock 5.1 rom base
vanilla / google like navbar
vanilla status bar / quick setting
vanilla multitasking cards ( with translucent navbar and with full size google search bar )
vanilla statusbar icons / centered clock / percentage batery indicator (like in htc sense)
extended vanilla settings app
google now launcher / nova / sense home
stock google dialer
messenger sms app
android m calculator
google keyboard app
htc camera app
htc gallery app
htc status bar
htc or google lockscreen
stock 5.1 bootanimation
debloat / performance / battery / camera improvements
I'm complete noob while it comes to porting stuff / building roms but i think that most of the thing needed to build this kind of rom already exist. Maybe we could find a developer keen to build this google play edition like rom so that we could have one
Let me know if and of You would be intrested to help me build one and if You like this idea
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure viper had a desense install option and one of the SD team roms claim to be desensed as well. One of those might be worth a look.
Thats true but unfortunately it's nothing like stock experience. 'Desensed' viper is still sense based, with sense navbar, sense settings, multitasking, quick settings etc. Desense option just delete sense launcher and some bloatware.
I'll collect files needed to build my 'dream' vanilla rom and maybe one day someone will cook it with me.
You can pretty much do all that you want to do with Viper, you can change the navbar to whatever you want with themes, the multitasking is selectable with sense, you can theme the status bar like stock, the quick settings and settings are pretty much stock like already. Once you install Now launcher and the Google apps, you would have a pretty much Nexus looking device with a few extras. Many have done this already. It's not worth trying to get someone to build another ROM while what you want already exists.
lilhaiti said:
You can pretty much do all that you want to do with Viper, you can change the navbar to whatever you want with themes, the multitasking is selectable with sense, you can theme the status bar like stock, the quick settings and settings are pretty much stock like already. Once you install Now launcher and the Google apps, you would have a pretty much Nexus looking device with a few extras. Many have done this already. It's not worth trying to get someone to build another ROM while what you want already exists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well.. I couldn't find even one theme that changes statusbar icons/navbar to stock android.. also there is no theme that could change feel of the quick settings, pure one works quite different. I've also found themes to slow down the phone and it stutters there and there even without them.. Multitasking cards that htc offers are also a bit different than pure google ones - navbar is not completely translucent, cards often dont show app content.. also those horrible settings dots placed next to the google search bar.
I generally believe that there is space for one more rom, especially that there is no oven one google play edition like rom right now.
I've attatched a few screenshots, the difference is.. critical IMO
toster jp said:
well.. I couldn't find even one theme that changes statusbar icons/navbar to stock android.. also there is no theme that could change feel of the quick settings, pure one works quite different. I've also found themes to slow down the phone and it stutters there and there even without them.. Multitasking cards that htc offers are also a bit different than pure google ones - navbar is not completely translucent, cards often dont show app content.. also those horrible settings dots placed next to the google search bar.
I generally believe that there is space for one more rom, especially that there is no oven one google play edition like rom right now.
I've attatched a few screenshots, the difference is.. critical IMO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it seems like cm is close and the only major bug left is that the camera doesn't work, so if you can live without that, you should try it out.
toster jp said:
well.. I couldn't find even one theme that changes statusbar icons/navbar to stock android.. also there is no theme that could change feel of the quick settings, pure one works quite different. I've also found themes to slow down the phone and it stutters there and there even without them.. Multitasking cards that htc offers are also a bit different than pure google ones - navbar is not completely translucent, cards often dont show app content.. also those horrible settings dots placed next to the google search bar.
I generally believe that there is space for one more rom, especially that there is no oven one google play edition like rom right now.
I've attatched a few screenshots, the difference is.. critical IMO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever try the viper rom? Doesn't sound like you did. Statusbar icons and stock android navbar can be found on the venom hub. The quick settings can be adjusted to your likes via venom tweaks. Never noticed any stutters on viper and card view always showed app content, too.
Edit: Or you combine CM with this xposed module. But as jollywhitefoot already said the camera doesn't work at the moment.
@jollywhitefoot - yes I'm basicly looking for a CM with a working camera, or to be exact for AOSP like rom.
@Flippy498 - I did.. viper was the first rom i flashed on my M9 , but i quickly switched to maximus because I ws looking for sth performing better. *note* I'm performance freak, I'm very picky, You might don't care about few droped frames - I do, and I see droped frames while opening multitasking on both viper and maximus ( only on card view ) It would this rom could have performance of the s6.
Anyway I'll give Viper a second chance and try Your tips, thanks
toster jp said:
@jollywhitefoot - yes I'm basicly looking for a CM with a working camera, or to be exact for AOSP like rom.
@Flippy498 - I did.. viper was the first rom i flashed on my M9 , but i quickly switched to maximus because I ws looking for sth performing better. *note* I'm performance freak, I'm very picky, You might don't care about few droped frames - I do, and I see droped frames while opening multitasking on both viper and maximus ( only on card view ) It would this rom could have performance of the s6.
Anyway I'll give Viper a second chance and try Your tips, thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, for a "noob" you sure are specific! Haha.
What do you mean by dropped frames in recents? I'm on ice and it's full sense, but I don't notice anything laggy or stuttery in recents there is a slight delay when opening recents (fractions of a second while the cards populate). I'm also getting over 60k antutu out of the box at room temp.
@jollywhitefoot
I'm talking about that slight delay when opening multitasking window. Also I'm noob while it comes to building roms, I'm not new to android/xda/flashing roms.
+ I don't care abous benchmarks, but I'm freak while it comes to fluidity and real world performance. I also pay attention to little things like animations and those little things.
toster jp said:
@jollywhitefoot
I'm talking about that slight delay when opening multitasking window. Also I'm noob while it comes to building roms, I'm not new to android/xda/flashing roms.
+ I don't care abous benchmarks, but I'm freak while it comes to fluidity and real world performance. I also pay attention to little things like animations and those little things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I find ice very smooth. Apparently you have an aosp device...there is no delay when opening recents on it??
---------- Post added at 02:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:37 PM ----------
toster jp said:
@jollywhitefoot
I'm talking about that slight delay when opening multitasking window. Also I'm noob while it comes to building roms, I'm not new to android/xda/flashing roms.
+ I don't care abous benchmarks, but I'm freak while it comes to fluidity and real world performance. I also pay attention to little things like animations and those little things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit, actually I only get that slight delay when I'm on the home screen. If I press recent from inside any app, it's smooth as silk.
I had nexus 5 and on 5.0 (and under) there is delay but on 5.1 its like butter, also quick settings works differently ( than sense settings) they are nicely animated and so on..
toster jp said:
I had nexus 5 and on 5.0 (and under) there is delay but on 5.1 its like butter, also quick settings works differently ( than sense settings) they are nicely animated and so on..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. Quite an arsenal. Where's your G4 and S6???
@jollywhitefoot
I hate design of G4 outside and inside, not a big fan of samsung as well. would rather have z3+ ( z3+ over m9 any day, but the price gap between them in poland is well, huge. 475USD for m9 and 795 for z3+ )
Going back to the main subject I'll talk with some guys and maybe will build with them the rom I'm waiting for. ( It will be like elix-r / elixium for nexus5 / m8 )
To be honest, if you want this best experience with vanilla android, it is best to get a device with it preinstalled and then even if you want to run custom roms, there are no issues. Personally, I was looking to get the Nexus 6, but didn't like the overly large screen. Now, I'm waiting to see what the Moto X 2015 brings to the table. Although, after having my M9 for a while now, I'm not sure I would switch. I'm loving being back on Sense. I also love the build quality of this device, but there is nothing special about the hardware. The one thing that is the best about this device is what you are wanting to remove, HTC Sense 7.
@ fernandezhjr
Thats quite obvious that its best to buy device with vanilla android preinstaled. I just don't like nexus 6 ( size, and looks) and I needed a phone so i bought one m9 for many reasons. I like its build quality, speakers and metal unibody and after updates the camera is not that bad ( although slow motion and video in general sucks )
With the right software I could be very satisfied , now I'm looking for that software. I like some elements of sense ( like its camera ui) or its lockscreen clock. But there are things like its quick settings that are just plain fugly ( to me of course)
I find the quick settings panel to be somewhat similar to the one I had on my Nexus 4. You can download the Google camera from the playstore. Try some different lauchers to find something you may like. The clock is just a widget. There are plenty of clocks available in the Playstore.
fernandezhjr said:
I find the quick settings panel to be somewhat similar to the one I had on my Nexus 4. You can download the Google camera from the playstore. Try some different lauchers to find something you may like. The clock is just a widget. There are plenty of clocks available in the Playstore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already posted screenshots showing the difference, it may be simmilar but its far from being the same. As mentioned before I'm running nova launcher and i like htc stock camera interface. + I know it just a clock and there are thousands of clocks on the playstore and around the internet I was just saying that I like some parts of htc sense.

Why I switched to MIUI

This is a post I did on my blog, I didn't want to link it because I'm not sure if it's against the forum rules. So mods, if at any time you feel this review is unfit, I have no problem with you closing the thread or removing it entirely. Just let me know if you do. (Also, readers, if I got any information wrong do not hesitate to point it out to me. I'm as open to feedback and corrections as I can be)
After getting my second Android phone, the HTC T-Mobile G2, or Desire Z known internationally, there was one custom Android Rom that stood out to me. That rom was called MIUI. For those who don’t know or have ever heard of MIUI (pronounced me-you-I), it is a custom Android-based Rom developed by a Chinese team called Xiaomi that received a lot of english ports to now close to 300 or more phones, who later went on to form their own company that features phones, smart appliances, and more. At the time, the current version was MIUI Version 3, and I figured why not give it a try? I liked the concept of it, having all the icons on the homescreen similar to how iOS has their homescreen layout, but with the ability to place icons anywhere and also have widgets on any page wherever you want. The only thing about it was that it wasn’t really visually appealing to me, as it wasn’t as refined in my opinion as iOS. Keep in mind throughout reading this that I have used an iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, and the iPhone 4 up until I broke it before I switched to an Android phone. I ended up flashing back to a custom HTC Sense based Rom. Later on a port of MIUI Version 4 arrived for the Desire Z. I went ahead and installed that, but it was still kind of lacking something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, so back to Sense again it was. My next Android phone was the Google Nexus 4, although that lasted about 2 weeks until I shattered the screen rendering it useless. I picked up the Moto G 1st gen a few months later, which I found had a port of MIUI v5. I really liked how Xiaomi had updated the looks of the icons, how the system got a mild visual improvement including the lockscreen which I really did not care for on versions 3 and 4. I would’ve used it and explored it further if it wasn’t for the particular model of the Moto G I had, which was the Boost Mobile CDMA variant so it did not have cellular signal support. Fast forward to my current phone, the HTC One M7. I’ve always been a fan of HTC’s products and I really enjoyed their Sense 6 and 7 interface. About 2 months into owning it I found there was a port of MIUI 7 beta. I decided to install it to see the change of 2 revisions. I instantly fell in love. It is so much more refined than any previous version that I have tried. Sure the flat icons and flat design are somewhat reminiscent of iOS 7 and onwards, but they are unique and different at the same time. The overall design language that is prevalent throughout all of the system applications is visually appealing, and the built in theme application brings a very nice addition to find a theme that suits very well. In the screenshots at the end of this post I have the High Life theme selected, one of the four stock included themes. The lockscreen is very minimalistic, with swiping up to unlock the device, swiping left to access the camera, and swiping right to access what is called Mi Home. I have no use for Mi Home, as I do not have any other Xiaomi home products, and almost all of it is in Chinese. Xiaomi has built in a security app which I do find very useful. You can scan for viruses, see how many files and cache files are taking up space by apps and choose to clean it all up to free up space, allow root access for apps, it tells you the battery level, and allows you to block certain callers such as telemarketers, exes, and unwanted spam/con artists. My favorite aspect and feature of the security app is the ability to set individual permissions for every app you have on your phone. You can pick what apps have the ability to read your text messages, contacts, call history, location information, calendar events, camera, and quite a few more. One thing I have done is for almost every application, and Facebook and their Messenger app being a big one, is block access to almost every permission that they had no use to read, locate me or edit system functionality for added privacy. The only setting is having Facebook, Messenger and a few other social apps set to pop up a notify prompt to access my camera and camera roll only because of the occasional picture I wish to send to a friend or relative. They do not have the ability to access it freely at will. If you have gotten this far in this review, I applaud you for myself not boring you. The reason I love MIUI 7 so much is the familiarity of iOS, what I used for 5-6 years prior to switching to an Android phone, and the functionality of Android which is my favorite mobile OS. My next phone might very well be an international Xiaomi Mi 4i or Mi 5 model. In conclusion, the performance, the features, and the aesthetics of MIUI is what keeps drawing me back to making that Rom my daily driver. I no longer find myself flashing a new AOSP, CyanogenMod or Sense-based rom almost every other day (I was a flashaholic, which is the addiction of flashing a new/different rom quite often. I also stopped because redownloading 40-60+ apps every time got tiresome). In fact, it’s been about 3 months since the last time I flashed a rom other than MIUI updates. There are also still numerous features that I have not covered. I highly recommend people look into seeing if this Rom, or even MIUI 6, is available for their phone. Watch some YouTube reviews, give it a try for a few days. You might be pleasantly surprised like I was. I also highly recommend this for people such as myself who came from iOS over to Android. Thank you for reading, screenshots are below. Have a great day!
I've decided to try out MIUI after reading this. Sounds nice.
firedroidx said:
I've decided to try out MIUI after reading this. Sounds nice.
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It might take some time to grow on you, it did with me at first. Definitely delve deep into the settings and check out the themes app for different fonts, themes, I think it might have ringtones as well. Some parts are still in Chinese but it's nothing that gets in the way at all.
Although it isn't quite perfect for me, I LOVE the design. I'm going to test it out for another week and see how I feel then :good:

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