What do you think the G4 is missing/what could the G5 have to be perfect? - G4 General

So MKBHD just released a video regarding the perfect smart phone and how the inherent definition of perfect in a smartphone constantly changes. A year ago, not many people were too keen on a fingerprint scanner, now with Android M coming up, it feels like a fingerprint scanner is almost vital to be in contention of the best/closest to perfect android smartphone there is. I feel as if the G4 is currently the closest thing to perfect right now (for me).
Wishlist for the G5:
Fingerprint scanner that doubles as a power button in the back of the phone. I think if LG incorporate a similar button that Samsung has adopted in terms of the home button acting as both a fingerprint scanner and a power button, they'll have a great product in their hands. Android pay is going to be massive and confirmation of a purchase via a fingerprint scanner seems like something that is vital in order to be labeled as the best/closest to perfect smartphone out there. Granted, the current home button in the back of the phone is small and probably can't serve as an accurate scanner, but I'm hoping LG can do something about that, or they can implement some relatively new screen technology that can read fingerprints anywhere on the front of the screen and retain the same button size in the back. Either way, some sort of fingerprint scanner is going to be needed as more and more manufacturers are using it.
Thin down the bezels again. The G4 is actually larger than the G3 despite having the same screen size. I personally feel 5.5" is perfect, whereas 5.7" is pushing it a bit, and 6" is at the edge of unusable. If LG decide to keep the 5.5" screen, hopefully they can thin down the phone again and have it at G3 size, or if possible - thinner (which I doubt).
Retain key mantras of the G4. If LG stray away from expandable storage and a removable back, they'll pretty much lose the battle for best smartphone. Many of us love the G4 for its current abilities, if LG toss those abilities aside - they'll have very upset people. I don't see the camera getting much better, so if they decide to keep the same lens/camera, they'll be fine.
The last thing I can say is rather subjective because it's software related. If there's one thing I absolutely loved about my Xperia Z3+ and N6, it's the fact that they had close to stock/stock Android software. I feel like Sony had the best iteration of Android out there. I really dislike certain aspects of LG's UI. Things like the pull down menu, the unlock (where you have to swipe regardless of double tapping a notification), unlock animation, bloatware, etc. I just prefer a stock look, feel, and speed. The G4 is plenty fast, but I just wonder how fast it'd be with stock software (we'll hopefully see how quick it is with some great guys working at a CM12.1 ROM, good luck guys!)
What do you guys think? What can LG do to make the G5 the best phone out there? I know the G4 was only recently released, but it's always fun speculating and/or wishing.

have software that isn't a pile of **** when the phone goes on sale. The OS at launch was hardly what I would use as a daily driver.
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

If I could just have Sony's ui and smoothness with the G4 hardware attributes in a OnePlus 2 design I would be ecstatic.
Sent from my LG G4

give me some front facing speakers, water resistant and a fingerprint reader on the back(power button too) and I think it would be perfect. Would love to see a google play edition too for pure android and quick updates but maybe that is bonus.

Get rid of soft/on screen buttons. I like my home/back/menu buttons on the bottom bezel, like the Galaxy S4. They are always there & alive. I don't have to swipe up or tap the status bar, to "wake" them, and then the button I want.

• An unlocked bootloader for all models.
• Don't make 10 million variants with different sets of bands unlocked; Just make a few variants with all the bands unlocked, just with basic differences such as language.
• Don't put useless bloatware on it

Knowbody42 said:
• An unlocked bootloader for all models.
• Don't make 10 million variants with different sets of bands unlocked; Just make a few variants with all the bands unlocked, just with basic differences such as language.
• Don't put useless bloatware on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You bring up a very good point here. I don't understand why iPhone's are fairly universal in their bands and what not but android users need to stay aware of it. Such a shame, really.
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

The phone is close to perfect for me, except for my horribly unresponsive, laggy touch screen. I've been willing to put up with that due to the rest of the phone being so good.
There is a potential deal breaker though. If we don't get TWRP and custom ROMs for all models soon, this phone is going to be a fail, as good as it otherwise is. Makes me sad too because I paid a premium for this phone at launch and I'm stuck with it even if we never get full control.

gboybama said:
The phone is close to perfect for me, except for my horribly unresponsive, laggy touch screen. I've been willing to put up with that due to the rest of the phone being so good.
There is a potential deal breaker though. If we don't get TWRP and custom ROMs for all models soon, this phone is going to be a fail, as good as it otherwise is. Makes me sad too because I paid a premium for this phone at launch and I'm stuck with it even if we never get full control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Going to wait until the Nexus 5 drops and then I will probably be selling my G4. Software is bull**** and the mod community is non-existent for my edition. Took MONTHS for root like wtf? lol

AMOLED screen
Front Facing Speakers
Reasonable resolution for performance/battery life

SD820 is all I want, for better batterylife. Had the G4 since the start, and I haven't had any problem with software or lag, barely felt any difference between the updates. I have an unlocked version and only apps in it from start were LG and Google, zero extra bloat.
Don't care much for fingerprint scanner, and would only prefer one when it gets integrated in the display.
Waterproof would be nice, but not a huge concern.

I want a g4 with front facing stereo speakers and a better audio processor/dac
Also don't get why everyone wants a finger print scanner. Just like face unlock they will never be as secure as a pin or swipe code. Had one on my old laptop that let nearly anyone in not sure if finger print reading technology has changed since then or not..

My wishlist is unchanged for the last few years - multiple day battery life, unbreakable screen, water proofing.
I can deal with the rest
Sent from my VS986 using XDA Free mobile app

I want
- metal frame with back leather or metal
- front facing stereo speaker
- 100% quality Jpeg and Raw
- No more mic zoom which change the sound weirdly
- Fingerprint I don't really care, but why not because all flagships will have it.
- better dac ?
- more curved ?
- and better battery life like all smartphones...
The G4 is already great otherwise.

I want:
-unibody made of unobtainium
-optical zoom up to 20x
-battery made of nanotubes that can charge in 5 minutes and can give us 24h SOT
-4 axis OIS
-dna scanner for better protection

Heisenberg420 said:
I want a g4 with front facing stereo speakers and a better audio processor/dac
Also don't get why everyone wants a finger print scanner. Just like face unlock they will never be as secure as a pin or swipe code. Had one on my old laptop that let nearly anyone in not sure if finger print reading technology has changed since then or not..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fingerprint scanners have vastly changed since they were used in old laptops. The Huawei Ascend Mate 7 that I have is a very clear example of that. The fingerprint scanner works 95% of the time as long as you record it properly. It's also extremely fast despite running Huawei's bloated software too. No one could get into the phone either, unless they had my pin code of course. Fingerprint scanners have come a very long way.
My G4 still misses plenty of double taps when I try to wake it, it gets very frustrating at times. Having a fingerprint scanner would fix that issue, as long as the scanner is accurate of course.

An unlocked bootloader and some decent development.
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

Unlocked bootloader
Not full of bloatware
Buttons on the side/top
Actual fast charging (and support for it with the included charger)
Water resistance

- No fingerptint or front stereo bull****, instead of this i want much much much thinner bezels
- No more soft onscreen buttons
- USB- C
- Removable back cover, bigger battery and microSd support
- Carbon- kevlar body and frame
- 5.5" FHD display for better battery life
Sent from my LG-H815

Krokogator said:
I want:
-unibody made of unobtainium
-optical zoom up to 20x
-battery made of nanotubes that can charge in 5 minutes and can give us 24h SOT
-4 axis OIS
-dna scanner for better protection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahahahahahhahababa your killing me [emoji2] [emoji23] [emoji24]
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

Related

I need your opinion!

So,
My boss recently told me that I was required to use a company phone. This was back in July when the best possible Android phone, among the options I had, was the Galaxy S6.
I thought about an iPhone for some time, but couldn't find a reason to switch to the Apple environment as I dont have a Macintosh and I find iOS "too simple" and had no alternative to Tasker, which I use on a daily basis.
This left me with the Galaxy S6, which I'm a little disappointed with.
The private phone that I was forced to leave behind was the Moto X 2014 equipped with CyanogenMod. Even with the stock rom, the Moto X 2014 performed WAY better than the Samsung GS6 in almost every aspect (in my opinion).
I've talked to the MDM admin about using a Motorola Nexus 6 at home to receive emails off my regular schedule along with using a private phone off the MDM system again and he's OK with that.
The reasons why I dislike the GS6:
1) The GS6 is laggy in many occasions. It seems as if the CPU throttles from time to time especially when I try to cast something from Chrome to my 1st generation Chromecast.
2) The physical front buttons... come on. And why does Samsung insist on reversing the button order compared to the rest of the Android phones?
3) The GPS is rarely accurate. It tends to jump between locations, especially when I'm in a rush.
4) TouchWiz and all of its included, "non-disable-able" apps, is trash.
5) Why the blue and no black color?
6) I hate it when manufacturers oversaturate their displays. Even when I've toned the display down, the GS6 is slightly oversaturated.
7) When on MDM and using Knox, the mail client eats up my battery even when it's set to sync once ever 12h.
8) The fingerprint reader is sometimes slow and when Smart Unlock is enabled, I'm forced to swipe instead of using the fingerprint (I know this is a silly reason).
The only reasons why I'm hesitating:
1) I'm used to the size of the Moto X 2014, GS6, etc. The iPhone 6S Plus dimensions are OK in my opinion. Will the Nexus 6p be too large for my taste?
2) I like the option of having an IR blaster in my phone, even though I rarely use it.
3) Is the build quality equal or almost equal to the GS6?
4) The camera should be almost equally as good as the GS6, am I right?
5) I have no idea if Snapdragon 810 v2.1 is overheating. I've heard no opinions on the Nexus 6p.
6) Paying approx €500 ($530) for a new phone which specs are similar to the GS6 is expensive. Is it reasonable in this occasion?
Thanks for reading my wall of text. Now, please let me know what your opinions are. Should I buy hte Nexus 6p and why is it better than the GS6 in your opinion?
To be honest the GS6 is a pretty good phone and the only thing I can complain about it is bloatware, iffy finger print sensor, touchwiz, and no front facing speakers. I've had my GS6 for about 4 months. I'm getting the Nexus 6P because it hit everything on my feature wish list for an overall badass device. Yes there are gripes about it as well but not nearly as much as the GS6. I am getting my Nexus 6P delivered today so I'm really anxious to get off work and set it up. I will have to get used to the size because I never had a phablet but I'm pretty sure I'll manage. I'd say based off all of the reviews, it's well worth the purchase!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
I've never owned a Samsung device myself, but I can tell you about the Nexus 6P side, responding to your hesitation list in order:
1) The size is quite large, but coming from a device (DROID MAXX) smaller than the GS6, I've had no problems.
2) Never had an IR blaster, but I don't even watch much on a TV.
3) The build quality is superb and the defect complaints seen on the forums are pretty rare.
4) The camera quality is pretty much the same, but debatable. GS6 has OIS so videos will always be better than the Nexus in terms of shakiness.
5) I've experienced zero heat problems with the Nexus 6P and that's the general consensus I've seen.
6) If you can recoup some losses by selling an old device, I would probably switch. Otherwise, I would probably wait, there's lots of cool exciting tech on the horizon that you might wish you waited for and if you pay for a new device out of pocket right now you won't have the cash to buy it!
A couple more notes:
- This phone is snappy and I've not seen a single performance hiccup thus far.
- The Nexus 6P also has a very saturated display, but you can desaturate it some in the developer settings with sRGB mode. AMOLED displays tend to be more saturated, for better or worse, but I like it!
- You may also need to consider that the Nexus 6P doesn't support wireless or Qualcomm Quick Charge, and uses USB Type-C, so you'll likely need to purchase all new cables and chargers.
This phone arena side by side may help compare all the details!
I think that you should do it, as you are really displeased with the performance of the GS6. Also, taking into consideration that you can't root the GS6 (work phone, right?) and no viable/good roms for it, I will say the N6P is the way to go. I moved from the OnePlus One with the works (root, CM12.1 and other mods) and I couldn't be happier. The N6P is really responsive and I am only missing a couple of mods, mostly out of habit, meaning I just have to do a couple of more taps to get some things done. I don't think the size of the phone will be much of a problem, especially with the finger print reader on the back, which you'll be used to within an hour.
The Nexus 6P is VERY big. But it is future proofed. USB type C port, updates directly from Google. More stable, lighter and cleaner UI. Excellent finger scanner. Top end camera on par with Note 5 and iP6s+. Superb speakers on my unit. Very bright display, not as bright as my Z3 but as bright as my iP6+ or a hair darker. Battery life ranges unpredictably from average to VERY good. Design... Very unique is a good place to start and marrying that with attractive materials and aesthetics makes it a winner in my book.
Do you need a company phone or a root phone. Nexus is never good idea for company phone.
anglerstock said:
Do you need a company phone or a root phone. Nexus is never good idea for company phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone is supposed to be used WITH my company number but not managed by our MDM admin. I can do whatever I want to it.
cgjjaf said:
I think that you should do it, as you are really displeased with the performance of the GS6. Also, taking into consideration that you can't root the GS6 (work phone, right?) and no viable/good roms for it, I will say the N6P is the way to go. I moved from the OnePlus One with the works (root, CM12.1 and other mods) and I couldn't be happier. The N6P is really responsive and I am only missing a couple of mods, mostly out of habit, meaning I just have to do a couple of more taps to get some things done. I don't think the size of the phone will be much of a problem, especially with the finger print reader on the back, which you'll be used to within an hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fingerprint reader will be the least of my problems. I really dont understand why it has to be placed as a physical home button on the GS6.
You picked the Nexus 6p over the OnePlus Two?
uknowme4me said:
To be honest the GS6 is a pretty good phone and the only thing I can complain about it is bloatware, iffy finger print sensor, touchwiz, and no front facing speakers. I've had my GS6 for about 4 months. I'm getting the Nexus 6P because it hit everything on my feature wish list for an overall badass device. Yes there are gripes about it as well but not nearly as much as the GS6. I am getting my Nexus 6P delivered today so I'm really anxious to get off work and set it up. I will have to get used to the size because I never had a phablet but I'm pretty sure I'll manage. I'd say based off all of the reviews, it's well worth the purchase!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking the same thing. I dislike everything but the metal frame and daylight photo quality about the GS6. I will most likely swap. (I placed the order three weeks ago for a discount price, but am thinking about cancelling or at least postponing the purchase)
BillyTheRatKing said:
I've never owned a Samsung device myself, but I can tell you about the Nexus 6P side, responding to your hesitation list in order:
1) The size is quite large, but coming from a device (DROID MAXX) smaller than the GS6, I've had no problems.
2) Never had an IR blaster, but I don't even watch much on a TV.
3) The build quality is superb and the defect complaints seen on the forums are pretty rare.
4) The camera quality is pretty much the same, but debatable. GS6 has OIS so videos will always be better than the Nexus in terms of shakiness.
5) I've experienced zero heat problems with the Nexus 6P and that's the general consensus I've seen.
6) If you can recoup some losses by selling an old device, I would probably switch. Otherwise, I would probably wait, there's lots of cool exciting tech on the horizon that you might wish you waited for and if you pay for a new device out of pocket right now you won't have the cash to buy it!
A couple more notes:
- This phone is snappy and I've not seen a single performance hiccup thus far.
- The Nexus 6P also has a very saturated display, but you can desaturate it some in the developer settings with sRGB mode. AMOLED displays tend to be more saturated, for better or worse, but I like it!
- You may also need to consider that the Nexus 6P doesn't support wireless or Qualcomm Quick Charge, and uses USB Type-C, so you'll likely need to purchase all new cables and chargers.
This phone arena side by side may help compare all the details!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure why they skipped out on OIS. I just noticed my GS6's OIS in action yesterday. It's a great feature but I guess I can live without it. Can you double press the power button from sleep to open camera?
subhani said:
The Nexus 6P is VERY big. But it is future proofed. USB type C port, updates directly from Google. More stable, lighter and cleaner UI. Excellent finger scanner. Top end camera on par with Note 5 and iP6s+. Superb speakers on my unit. Very bright display, not as bright as my Z3 but as bright as my iP6+ or a hair darker. Battery life ranges unpredictably from average to VERY good. Design... Very unique is a good place to start and marrying that with attractive materials and aesthetics makes it a winner in my book.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Future proof with USB type C, but it still uses USB 2.0. I understand this in a way, as people rarely transfer stuff via cable, but still. I really like all the features though. Especially being stock android and updated more frequently.
The damn MDM admin just let me know that he pre-purchased a 128GB Nexus 6p for himself to try out Android for Work. I wasn't allowed one but was instead offered by my boss that they would take half the cost of a 32GB Nexus 6p without taking ownership of the phone.
Baaah, I can't decide. Wait for the MDM admin to become tired of his new toy or buy my own. I want a new phone to play with!
Fitur said:
Not sure why they skipped out on OIS. I just noticed my GS6's OIS in action yesterday. It's a great feature but I guess I can live without it. Can you double press the power button from sleep to open camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it has ability to double tap power button at any time to open the camera.
BillyTheRatKing said:
Yes, it has ability to double tap power button at any time to open the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are there any other features, like ambient display or something that is specific to the Nexus 6p?
i didnt find any root for my htc desire 310.
any help???
Fitur said:
Are there any other features, like ambient display or something that is specific to the Nexus 6p?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few stand-out features it has:
- Ambient display (although not as sensitive as the Moto version)
- A notification LED (optional in settings)
- Front facing stereo speakers (loud and good quality)
- 120 or 240 FPS slow motion video capture
- Laser autofocus for quick photo focusing
- Super quick finger print scanner
- 8MP selfie camera that is higher resolution than most right now
- Always listening OK Google support (not sure if it's the hardware or Marshmallow, but it doesn't eat much battery)
- And of course, Android 6.0 Marshmallow with monthly security updates, and the latest versions in the future
That's all I can think of off the top of my head!
I love the 6p but I'd say don't get it. Not for any of the reasons you mentioned but because phones with the snapdragon 820 are coming in a couple months and if half the hype is true it's worth the wait.
My old Nexus 5 took a digger. If it hadn't I'd have waited.
untruestory said:
I love the 6p but I'd say don't get it. Not for any of the reasons you mentioned but because phones with the snapdragon 820 are coming in a couple months and if half the hype is true it's worth the wait.
My old Nexus 5 took a digger. If it hadn't I'd have waited.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's always something new and "better" coming in a couple months
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Free mobile app
akellar said:
There's always something new and "better" coming in a couple months
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true. Ask things considered it's been an insignificant year for phones. The 810 that's in the 6p has been out a bit and even then it's based on old tech and isn't a big upgrade from what came before it. The 820 is. The 6p is without a doubt one of the best phones out and I bought it because I think it's THE best available despite it's low price. However, there's really nothing new or extraordinary about it.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Fitur said:
Are there any other features, like ambient display or something that is specific to the Nexus 6p?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Fastest and most reliable/natural fingerprint scanner with native support from Google.
2. Those stereo speakers are sublime. Better than iP6+, Z3, Note 3 and 4. Besides... their front firing.
3. Probably the BEST front facing camera available! That's if you're into that sort of thing. Tell the ladies.
4. Most smooth and most responsive UI in the Android world.
5. The earliest/fastest software updates and support from Google.
6. USB Type C with fast charging capable of drawing 3A from the stock charger. 10% - 100% in 90 minutes precisely. Also, high speed data transfer rates.
Ambient display is terrible/buggy/unreliable.
Thermal throttling is a bit aggressive.
Display isn't as bright or white as my Z3 or iP6+.
subhani said:
1. Fastest and most reliable/natural fingerprint scanner with native support from Google.
2. Those stereo speakers are sublime. Better than iP6+, Z3, Note 3 and 4. Besides... their front firing.
3. Probably the BEST front facing camera available! That's if you're into that sort of thing. Tell the ladies.
4. Most smooth and most responsive UI in the Android world.
5. The earliest/fastest software updates and support from Google.
6. USB Type C with fast charging capable of drawing 3A from the stock charger. 10% - 100% in 90 minutes precisely. Also, high speed data transfer rates.
Ambient display is terrible/buggy/unreliable.
Thermal throttling is a bit aggressive.
Display isn't as bright or white as my Z3 or iP6+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In what way is the ambient display unreliable? Do you have an example?
How often do you actually notice the throttling compared to non-vanilla phones?
untruestory said:
Very true. Ask things considered it's been an insignificant year for phones. The 810 that's in the 6p has been out a bit and even then it's based on old tech and isn't a big upgrade from what came before it. The 820 is. The 6p is without a doubt one of the best phones out and I bought it because I think it's THE best available despite it's low price. However, there's really nothing new or extraordinary about it.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is always a reason to wait. Especially when I have a phone in the same spec segment, however, I'm really concerned if I have the patience to stick with the SGS6 after being terrible in almost every way.
BillyTheRatKing said:
A few stand-out features it has:
- Ambient display (although not as sensitive as the Moto version)
- A notification LED (optional in settings)
- Front facing stereo speakers (loud and good quality)
- 120 or 240 FPS slow motion video capture
- Laser autofocus for quick photo focusing
- Super quick finger print scanner
- 8MP selfie camera that is higher resolution than most right now
- Always listening OK Google support (not sure if it's the hardware or Marshmallow, but it doesn't eat much battery)
- And of course, Android 6.0 Marshmallow with monthly security updates, and the latest versions in the future
That's all I can think of off the top of my head!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
Thanks for all the replies!
I decided for the 64GB graphite Nexus 6P, which I will receive December 7th.
I can barely wait!

Thinking about buying a 6P: a question about the fingerprint sensor / unlocking

So I'm coming down to Battle Royale between the 6P and the Motorola X Style/Pure or Force... and it's the way my phone is used (or, more to the point, unused!) for much of the day which might decide the winner.
My current phone (HTC One M7) spends a very large part of the day sitting on my desk. When the notification light starts blinking I unlock it from the power button and look at the lock screen's notifications.
I'm therefore attracted to the Motorola's "wave your hand over the phone" motion detector to view notifications, and rather put off the 6P by the thought of having to pick the phone off the desk and use the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner to unlock the phone.
What's the deal in real life? Would I still be able to see stuff on the lock screen without fingerprint scanning? Would I just switch that off?
I use the elementalx kernel and it includes a sweep to wake function. If I swipe the screen it will show me notifications without unlocking. I had the pure edition (2014) and I find the S2W more reliable. Hope this helps.
With ambient display on, notifications flash on lockscren then just touch screen to unlock if you want. Or you could go custom kernel route and enablecwake gestures.
My phone sits on my desk a lot at work and I have no problems with reading messages etc without having to pick it up.
I came from the previous two generations of the Moto X, and I'm glad I transitioned to the 6P.
Moto display is awesome, especially being able to wave your hand to activate notifications. I have Ambient Display (AD) on, and while it's decent, Moto display is clearly a better implementation of the idea. Not going to split hairs about that one.
That said, if you're coming from another device where you're used to pressing the wake button, anyway, then I'd personally lean towards the 6P. AD is still functional, and as others have said you *can* root for the additional features (it is a Nexus), but trumping them all is the finger scanner, which adds unrivaled utility. No need to switch it off, as it doesn't hinder your ability to use the phone as you always have. If laying on your desk, just punch in your password or speak to your phone...and you'll always be able to see your notifications, so long as you configure the lockscreen to do so.
I'm not sure what they're looking like these days, but there are also apps which mimic Moto display in Google Play to pretty decent effect. I used them side-by-side when I had my 2014 Moto X and they were pretty solid (though still not as good as the baked-in feature). In other words, you'd really have to be super intrigued by the Moto X features to go that way, IMO. I can reliably have 80-90% of what my old device offers, while enjoying the full range of benefits from Google's latest and greatest.
Krouget said:
I came from the previous two generations of the Moto X, and I'm glad I transitioned to the 6P.
... <snip> ...
In other words, you'd really have to be super intrigued by the Moto X features to go that way, IMO. I can reliably have 80-90% of what my old device offers, while enjoying the full range of benefits from Google's latest and greatest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. So it certainly sounds like the fingerprint scanning is a non-issue - good stuff
Whilst I've got your attention, maybe I can throw an extra clown into the thought-circus...?
Here are my criteria for my HTC One replacement:
Stock Android, or damned close
Larger screen preferable
Screen readable in sunlight
Good loudspeaker (for listening to podcasts mostly, but also music and video)
Good call quality
Able to hold on to weak / variable signal
Decent battery life
Decent camera
Water resistance, dust resistance, shock resistance all useful
Build quality and appearance don't matter so much, I'll probably keep it inside a wallet case.
Outright performance won't matter too much - I don't tend to play games but I do like smooth scrolling, stutter-free video playback and fast web page loading!
How do you find the 6P stacking up against those criteria, and how does your experience of Motorolas fare too?
Comments inline below regarding the 6P:
RostokMcSpoons said:
Thanks for the info. So it certainly sounds like the fingerprint scanning is a non-issue - good stuff
Whilst I've got your attention, maybe I can throw an extra clown into the thought-circus...?
Here are my criteria for my HTC One replacement:
Stock Android, or damned close ITS A NEXUS
Larger screen preferable IT'S BIG BUT HOLDABLE
Screen readable in sunlight DECENT - BUT NOT AS GOOD AS A NOTE 5
Good loudspeaker (for listening to podcasts mostly, but also music and video) GETS NICE AN LOUD
Good call quality SEEMS GOOD SO FAR
Able to hold on to weak / variable signal YMMV
Decent battery life DOZE, 'NUFF SAID
Decent camera A SMIDGE BELOW THE NOTE 5, NO OIS, SOME GREAT PHOTOS, VIDEO A LITTLE SHAKY
Water resistance, dust resistance, shock resistance all useful GET A CASE!
Build quality and appearance don't matter so much, I'll probably keep it inside a wallet case. ITS EXCELLENT THO'
Outright performance won't matter too much - I don't tend to play games but I do like smooth scrolling, stutter-free video playback and fast web page loading! CAN'T GET SMOOTHER THAN THE 6P
How do you find the 6P stacking up against those criteria, and how does your experience of Motorolas fare too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RostokMcSpoons said:
How do you find the 6P stacking up against those criteria, and how does your experience of Motorolas fare too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least for me, the 6P clears the bulk of that criteria quite easily-- stock as can be, bigger display by a full inch, loud stereo speakers, good color accuracy and brightness (can also go very dim, if that matters), big battery w/rapid charging (USB C), and great camera. My Moto experience has also generally been good, but I haven't played with the newest, so I can't offer too much, there. That said, I'd still have to stand by what I stated before, regarding the features. Overall, I think it's a really good year for Android flagships and a person would be hard-pressed to find serious flaws with any of the top devices.
The only two criteria I won't definitively speak on are call quality and holding signal. I've been totally fine with both, but I also don't talk much on my phones and signal depends on a number of factors, including the carrier and area. With every phone I've owned, I could manipulate both of these entirely too much, to say one device was outright better than the other. But again, I've had a fine experience and no complaints, in general.
For me, the choice really did come down to the finger scanner. The 6P has it and it's outstanding. Unfortunately, Motorola dropped the ball in this area and it's not something you can add through software, the way I can with their features. By the time you factor in updates (Moto has been lagging, here), I think the 6P is clearly the better device.
I'm coming from a HTC One M7 as well.
All I can say is:
...
DO. IT. ?
Ah, one thing about the speakers: They are great! But personally I think that the ones of the HTC One M7 were a tiny bit better, but still, the speakers of the Nexus 6P are really nice.
Guys, thanks for all the replies, very helpful....
I'm definitely swaying in favour of the 6P because of the stereo speakers, I would miss those after the excellent ones on the One M7
But I still can't quite pull the trigger, and I'm not sure why.
Maybe it's because I found out about the Force's wireless charging, and that's a cool feature I've never had before.
Maybe I do really fancy that 'wave the hand over the phone' function.
Maybe, after dropping my guitar in a car park today, I feel the need for the shatterproof screen :/
More lilkely it's because I don't want to bin my HTC yet. It seems to be going bananas recently, always stalling when I need to use it most... google maps navigation went completely berzerk today when I was late for an appointment and I nearly threw it out the window in frustration, but yet it ought to still have some life left in it! And it has been a great phone.
I shall go to the phone shops tomorrow and get them both in my hands... I'm sure buttery smooth newness will tip me over the edge, one way or another!
PS Vermilion - you need to update your sig

Anyone feeling a bit let down? V20 review

I am trying to convince myself that I am wrong or somehow biased, but I don't think I am in this situation. I am a phone junkie and I bounce between devices quickly. In the last 6 months I have had the Axon 7, HTC 10 (still have, S-off'd with Unlocked GSM firmware/ software), Nexus 6P, HTC M9, s7 edge, s6 edge+, iphone 7 plus, Droid Turbo, and now the V20. I will say that over all, the V20 is built beautifully and performs well. The battery life is a bit weaker than I was hoping, just like the HTC 10, the quick charge 3.0 almost covers that short coming. The things that are making me disappointed though are as follows:
LG Skin / UI : Feels a little off, made up a bit by using Nova launcher, but everyone knows it won't remove it all...
Performance: I might be expecting a bit much, but I have had my device slow down (to unbearable lag / waiting on apps to switch/come up) more than a handful of times requiring a reboot
Battery Life: As stated above, the battery life is pretty week and I find myself having to top up a towards 6 pm, it does charge quickly, but find that a little sad.
Camera: This is where I am shocked. The camera overall doesn't live up to what I expected or how it was advertised. In ideal situations, it can take good photos, and I mean GOOD, not Great. If you don't switch to manual and tweak everything out, you will be sadly disappointed. Auto focus has a hard time locking in, can get a bit of grain / noise, and if there is movement or action, good luck. In video mode or if you flip into manual mode, you can get much better results, but in the heat of the moment, not everyone will be quick to get it ready in time to get that shot. In low light situations, it has been very disappointing. The lag time between the flash / focus and getting a picture off, I end up with a blurry out of focus picture most of the time. I am basing this off pictures I take of my young daughter. The camera on the HTC 10, Axon 7, iPhone 7 plus, S7 edge, and S6 edge+ all out perform in these situations. For a phone/device that is supposed to be built around photography and video, it has been a major disappointment. the Main camera/sensor is decent, but the zoom/cropped area is a bit small. The wide angle does cover a lot more at the cost of resolution. I am hoping that LG does something to address this in software/firmware updates, but as of now, it is a huge let down.
Audio: The single firing speaker does an admirable job for playing music, speaker phone on the other hand is a somewhat weak and sometimes hard to hear, even when driving in silent vehicle with the windows closed. The Quad DAC has also let me down. After the DAC in the Axon 7 and the HTC 10, I am not impressed. It does improve the audio, but not as well as the competition. With the DAC enabled and audio all the way up, the volume level is weak. With the same headphones that I used in the Axon 7 and the HTC 10, I have no problem hearing the outside noise. I also don't feel that it is nearly as tweakable / noticeable as the HTC 10. When I had the DAC on the HTC 10 on, I could immediately tell the difference and the Highs, Mids, and Lows were way easier to notice / spot changes on. Again, maybe software updates may resolve this, but definitely a let down for me.
Overall: The phone is beautiful. For a phone with removable battery, it honestly feels like a unibody device. I am a bit disappointed in all phone manufacturers currently going to this 2.5D curved glass for no good reason, making getting tempered glass protectors a joke majority of the time. The software overall is fairly smooth. The screen is above average and the secondary screen has become second nature to me. Being able to snap a wide angle shot when others can't definitely something that has lead to people asking me what phone I am using. Had I not gone through all the phones I have in the last 6 months, I may have been way more impressed. As a flagship device, I will say it comes close to delivering what was promised. Had the Note 7 not failed miserably with the exploding issue, I think the V20 would have easily been eclipsed. This phone gets so close in many departments, but doesn't quite nail them down. Considering there is nothing else in the market that draws my attention, I will try and see if it makes it through the initial growing pains that might be solved with software updates.
Before anyone wants to say I forgot about the Pixel, no, I didn't. After having the HTC 10 (which I still have and love as a backup device) and playing with the Pixel, I see absolutely no reason to waste the money on the sad excuse of a flagship device at the same taxing price as an apple product. How google basically took the HTC 10, made it ugly , went with onscreen buttons and a whole lot of bezel, and took away removable storage but is still succeeding with it is beyond me. Yes it has an "amazing camera", assistant (you can get with root on the v20 and nexus 6p), and can charge the battery super fast, but the price tag and lack of innovation is a deal breaker.
So, please, let me know if you agree or disagree. I have been trying to be unbiased and love this phone. Am I being unreasonable, or is it really just a device that got close to the finish line and just gave up?
I think it all depends on what your needs are. We know it doesn't have the best camera. It's very competitive, but not the best. Performance can be fixed with updates. I suspect that LG rushed the ROM to be the first to have Nougat, which was one of their selling points for this phone. Battery life depends on your usage. LG's Quantum displays are horribly inefficient, so the screen is your primary battery drain, but my understanding is that idle drain is very good. Then you have fast charging and one of the few phones that you can instantly go to 100% on by swapping batteries.
For me, this is the only phone that checks all of my requirements: Functional always-on-display, IR blaster, 5.7"+ screen, good camera, removable battery and SD card. So, I'm buying the complete package, not because it's the best at everything. Every single phone has shortcomings. You need to decide which ones you can live with and buy your next device based on that criteria.
I'm with you, I thought the camera was quite a disappointment when shooting in auto mode. I liked the phone a lot (coming from a Nexus 6p) and if the camera had been good it would have been a no-brainer for me, because as greyhulk says it checks most, if not all, the boxes. But I need a camera that shoots good pics in auto mode. Sent it back.
Also disappointed with the camera. Especially after coming from the Note 7..
Settings/Developer Options/ Tick on "Force GPU Rendering" should make your beast smoother/snappier. So any kind of lag should disappear!
If root available try L Speed/Entropy/fstrim apps found on Play Store!
LG V20 & LG G5 are snappy beasts and are well optimised with the Snapdragon 820 and is better than Samsung!
Battery is my main disappointment. Even with minimal use I have only made it an entire day once. Something keeps eating battery while the phone is idle and I have yet to track it down. I suspect it is an app that needs a Nougat update. Same usage and set of apps on the S7 Edge and Note 7 would usually leave me near 50% at the end of the day.
Have to say I disagree.
The Hi-Fi is plenty loud enough and noticeably changes on the go. I have noticed though, it depends on the headphones that you are using. I have used 4 different sets. And each pair gave different results.
The camera is great. Video is turning out to be exactly as expected. As for the camera, it doesn't grab the shot in the first try every time and its nothing a tap of the screen and refocus hasn't been able to fix. But than again I haven't had a camera phone that has been able to take the shot first time every time.
Battery, that's a user to user base question. The other day I was able to get 32 hours out of my battery. But than on the other hand with very heavy use I only got 6.5 hours.
Weird I get about the same battery life as I did with my note 7. When at work I use the phone about the same amount every day 12 hr shifts and I am between. 50 to 70 percent
Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
I think your disappointment stems from using so many current generation phones, lets face it most years the hardware upgrades (specifically processors) match each other.
The HTC 10 runs the same hardware as the LG v20, so you've experienced it already. S7 has the same processor as well (assuming its the Qualcomm version) so it's not a big difference compared to someone coming from last generation phones.
Like for me I am coming from a v10 which had an outdated processor out the gate (others were using 810 while the v10 had the 808 due to overheating issues with the 810). The phone is literally over twice as fast as the v10 so I would certainly see a difference compared to you coming from the same generation of processors.
I don't own the phone yet but I will say it's a disappointment to see the camera being a letdown in reviews when you consider that the camera was the big feature of the v10.
Battery doesn't sound all that great either but it's got to be better than the v10. I am sure this will be remedied by 3rd party extended batteries that we will hopefully see. My v10 battery sucked until I upgraded to a 9000 mAh Zerolemon battery pack.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Ali Mirza said:
Settings/Developer Options/ Tick on "Force GPU Rendering" should make your beast smoother/snappier. So any kind of lag should disappear!
If root available try L Speed/Entropy/fstrim apps found on Play Store!
LG V20 & LG G5 are snappy beasts and are well optimised with the Snapdragon 820 and is better than Samsung!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello! What specifically does the "Force GPU Rendering" option?
I think you will settle with the Porsche Design Mate 9. Just a feeling lol
Why's there no option for ambivalence or just predictable? Just look at the stats and you pretty much know what you're getting. I'm happy with this phone after the $200 off and assuming I get the ~$150 headphone offer. I would be unhappy for full list price without those promos. For the price w/promos there just isn't anything comparable.
The display is the worst part of this phone for me. AMOLED just beats LCD anyway you slice it, this phone looks badly washed out and the auto brightness does weird things. Also the viewing angles are wonky, I was used to being able to use my phone at extreme angles but now I find myself lifting the phone up more. If this phone had AMOLED it would be a solid 9.9/10 for me, of course I knew I wouldn't like the screen when I bought it I just couldn't find a solid AMOLED phone. I don't particularly like the fingerprint reader position, have to pick it up off a table to use it and I've found my finger accidentally turns the screen on sometimes when I put it in my pocket. The second screen is nice for changing tracks or seeing what track is playing (or seeing the time at night without going blind), but it sucks for notifications. I miss my notification LED and my Qi charging.
Other than that this phone is pretty solid. I'm getting almost identical battery life that my Note 7 got, namely about 2 days. The standby battery life is phenomenal, I usually lose 1-2% overnight even with the second screen on. I love the removable battery so I don't have to worry about the battery dying before I'm ready to get rid of the phone. I'm no audiophile, so to me this phone is the best audio experience I've ever had with a phone hands down. Even streaming at just 192kbps this phone really makes my Shure SE215's sing. The camera is noticeably worse than the Note 7 at low light but it's still the 2nd best camera on a phone I've seen. Close up pictures have lots of nice detail and that's the kind of pictures I usually take. It focuses quickly and locks focus down better than the Note 7 did. For the kinds of the pictures I take in fact this camera is better, unlike my Samsungs this phone's auto white balance mode works correctly. The whole phone feels quick and snappy, comparable to the Note. I'm getting slightly better signal than I've ever gotten, in fact the wifi is much stronger than either of my Note 7's were.
I like the look of the phone and it feels great in my hands, which although not as great as the all glass Note 7, it feels like I could drop it and have nothing to worry about. I don't find the UI intrusive or laggy, eventually I'll swap over to nova prime once I'm tired of stock. For me it ticks all the right boxes of keeping old features rather than heading the apple direction and removing everything. Removable battery, SD card, IR Blaster, headphone jack, USB C, etc For that reason alone I think it's worth supporting LG
I agree
Main reasons I am keeping it are the $200 off, switched to T-mobile from VZW, and they are paying off the ETF so saving that money and the headphones makes the phone ideally almost free to me. For the full retail, I would return it in a heartbeat. People have hit it on the head that it really might be the fact the the Snapdragon 820 and the 4 GB ram is now getting long in the tooth. The camera can produce some nice pictures in manual mode, so I try to jump to that right away, but just a bit of a hassle to be on the ball to take a simple pic. With moderate light and close up, it does perform well. I can't really control lighting at all times and try and get my daughter up close and still when a picture moment comes though, the s7 handled it much better. I am going to try some different headphones to see if it is just the main pair I use that is letting me down. For the money / hardware, I think the Axon is the better bang for the buck with the AMOLED screen and the all carrier support. The speakers on that are ridiculous and the DAC was solid. This phone over all falls somewhere in the 7.5-8 /10 for me. Between the V20 and the HTC 10 I'll be good til the next wave of Flagships hit. I just have the feeling that LG pushed it out in a hurry to capitalize on the Note 7 flop and they could've polished it up a lot more. I can see them making the camera more responsive in low light and possibly addressing the battery life / hifi-dac customization / volume in the updates. It does a lot right but overall I was expecting and hoping for more from LG when they have had the perfect shot to grab the market. So far I am seeing the responses that seem line up with my expectation. Thanks everyone for taking the time to read and respond!
bishmaster5000 said:
Why's there no option for ambivalence or just predictable? Just look at the stats and you pretty much know what you're getting. I'm happy with this phone after the $200 off and assuming I get the ~$150 headphone offer. I would be unhappy for full list price without those promos. For the price w/promos there just isn't anything comparable.
The display is the worst part of this phone for me. AMOLED just beats LCD anyway you slice it, this phone looks badly washed out and the auto brightness does weird things. Also the viewing angles are wonky, I was used to being able to use my phone at extreme angles but now I find myself lifting the phone up more. If this phone had AMOLED it would be a solid 9.9/10 for me, of course I knew I wouldn't like the screen when I bought it I just couldn't find a solid AMOLED phone. I don't particularly like the fingerprint reader position, have to pick it up off a table to use it and I've found my finger accidentally turns the screen on sometimes when I put it in my pocket. The second screen is nice for changing tracks or seeing what track is playing (or seeing the time at night without going blind), but it sucks for notifications. I miss my notification LED and my Qi charging.
Other than that this phone is pretty solid. I'm getting almost identical battery life that my Note 7 got, namely about 2 days. The standby battery life is phenomenal, I usually lose 1-2% overnight even with the second screen on. I love the removable battery so I don't have to worry about the battery dying before I'm ready to get rid of the phone. I'm no audiophile, so to me this phone is the best audio experience I've ever had with a phone hands down. Even streaming at just 192kbps this phone really makes my Shure SE215's sing. The camera is noticeably worse than the Note 7 at low light but it's still the 2nd best camera on a phone I've seen. Close up pictures have lots of nice detail and that's the kind of pictures I usually take. It focuses quickly and locks focus down better than the Note 7 did. For the kinds of the pictures I take in fact this camera is better, unlike my Samsungs this phone's auto white balance mode works correctly. The whole phone feels quick and snappy, comparable to the Note. I'm getting slightly better signal than I've ever gotten, in fact the wifi is much stronger than either of my Note 7's were.
I like the look of the phone and it feels great in my hands, which although not as great as the all glass Note 7, it feels like I could drop it and have nothing to worry about. I don't find the UI intrusive or laggy, eventually I'll swap over to nova prime once I'm tired of stock. For me it ticks all the right boxes of keeping old features rather than heading the apple direction and removing everything. Removable battery, SD card, IR Blaster, headphone jack, USB C, etc For that reason alone I think it's worth supporting LG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ali Mirza said:
Settings/Developer Options/ Tick on "Force GPU Rendering" should make your beast smoother/snappier. So any kind of lag should disappear!
If root available try L Speed/Entropy/fstrim apps found on Play Store!
LG V20 & LG G5 are snappy beasts and are well optimised with the Snapdragon 820 and is better than Samsung!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please stop posting this everywhere
Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
You also forgot to mention the locked bootloader
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
I came from the LG Nexus 5x and I loved that phone. While it's only been a few days, I am more than happy with the V20.
I get a phone through work, but upgraded on my own last year to the 5x. So when I cracked my screen a few weeks ago, I went through work this time. Options were limited on AT&T and since I'm gonna be stuck with a phone for 2 years I wanted the newest phone I could get without "compromising" what I'd wanted in a phone. I also didn't want to settle for a year old phone or switch to the iPhone (Android since 2010 and likely forever).
Anyway, I say all that to say that the V20 was never on my radar, mostly because of the size, even though I'd previously had the Note 2, 3 and briefly 4. I'd been very happy with the size and feel of the 5x, but the battery life was horrendous. Basically anything would have been an upgrade, and the V20 does more than I need in the battery department. If I can get to my bed before needing a charge, I'm a happy man, since I'd be charging around lunch on a daily basis before.
I was already used to the fingerprint sensor and love the fact it's on the back on the V20 as well. I can deal with the volume buttons swapped and the power button moving to the fingerprint sensor. It was a little odd at first but I'm used to it already.
Again, the camera and screen on the 5x was mediocre so anything would be better. And again the V20 checks both of those boxes; huge, vibrant screen, and pictures that look beautiful to my eye. If you're going from newest flagship to newest flagship an argument can be made on those points, but if you're upgrading after a year + the hardware is always going to be better, even if you find some flaws, and IMO the V20 does great in both categories.
The removable battery does have its pros. A few years ago it was a 'must-have' for me, but nowadays I'd taker water/dust proofing over it. Not a deal breaker though. The SD card slot IS however a wonderful thing. Despite the 64 GB internal, I love being able to add and not worry about space. I've had my local music library backed up to an SD card for quite a while and it's so convenient to have that at my disposal locally (no network connection needed).
The software. Not much better than PURE Android and rooting has always been a priority for me. BUT, stability ultimately is the most important thing on a phone to me now. Being able to lower DPI via adb shell is huge. Really not having TiBu or the ability to remove some carrier apps is about the worst left we can't do. And to be honest, it's easily overlooked. Is it annoying AF we can't remove everything we don't want? Absolutely. But said apps can be hidden with certain launchers, and I've come to just ignore them in the app drawer, forgetting they're even there.
Add in the FM radio (so novel yet so great), Second Screen (which I actually could use some tips on getting the most out of) and I'm digging this phone. Is LG's UI a little clunky? Yea, but I'll live. And using something new is refreshing, honestly.
It's only been a few days but I'm happy with this device and have no regrets. The V20 may also get me back on the Phablet train, being unable to use something smaller as they feel like toys. I've not gone a full 2 years without upgrading in quite some time. This phone is going to be the test.
/ rant
Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
I agree with what you say. I think my let down is from moving from flagship to flagship all into the same time frame. The coming from any device before the snapdragon 820 and a quad HD screen, this thing is a major upgrade. I agree that the fingerprint scanner is best on back... Loved it on the nexus 6p and the axon 7. I just sold my htc 10 so I'm committed to the v20. Holding out til something amazing comes this way...
bishmaster5000 said:
Why's there no option for ambivalence or just predictable? Just look at the stats and you pretty much know what you're getting. I'm happy with this phone after the $200 off and assuming I get the ~$150 headphone offer. I would be unhappy for full list price without those promos. For the price w/promos there just isn't anything comparable.
The display is the worst part of this phone for me. AMOLED just beats LCD anyway you slice it, this phone looks badly washed out and the auto brightness does weird things. Also the viewing angles are wonky, I was used to being able to use my phone at extreme angles but now I find myself lifting the phone up more. If this phone had AMOLED it would be a solid 9.9/10 for me, of course I knew I wouldn't like the screen when I bought it I just couldn't find a solid AMOLED phone. I don't particularly like the fingerprint reader position, have to pick it up off a table to use it and I've found my finger accidentally turns the screen on sometimes when I put it in my pocket. The second screen is nice for changing tracks or seeing what track is playing (or seeing the time at night without going blind), but it sucks for notifications. I miss my notification LED and my Qi charging.
Other than that this phone is pretty solid. I'm getting almost identical battery life that my Note 7 got, namely about 2 days. The standby battery life is phenomenal, I usually lose 1-2% overnight even with the second screen on. I love the removable battery so I don't have to worry about the battery dying before I'm ready to get rid of the phone. I'm no audiophile, so to me this phone is the best audio experience I've ever had with a phone hands down. Even streaming at just 192kbps this phone really makes my Shure SE215's sing. The camera is noticeably worse than the Note 7 at low light but it's still the 2nd best camera on a phone I've seen. Close up pictures have lots of nice detail and that's the kind of pictures I usually take. It focuses quickly and locks focus down better than the Note 7 did. For the kinds of the pictures I take in fact this camera is better, unlike my Samsungs this phone's auto white balance mode works correctly. The whole phone feels quick and snappy, comparable to the Note. I'm getting slightly better signal than I've ever gotten, in fact the wifi is much stronger than either of my Note 7's were.
I like the look of the phone and it feels great in my hands, which although not as great as the all glass Note 7, it feels like I could drop it and have nothing to worry about. I don't find the UI intrusive or laggy, eventually I'll swap over to nova prime once I'm tired of stock. For me it ticks all the right boxes of keeping old features rather than heading the apple direction and removing everything. Removable battery, SD card, IR Blaster, headphone jack, USB C, etc For that reason alone I think it's worth supporting LG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Top tier amoled should've been here. Probably would've improved the already great battery life another 20%ish. And notification LED would've been awesome. Yeah yeah. I know we have second screen, but I don't use it. Probably why I get 6h+SOT all the time. 8h 1m was my best and I had 3% left. I get 7h+ often. Standby time is incredible. Hasn't been consistent for me but probably lose 1% about every 5h average. Need to root and get adblocking. That will probably improve battery life even more. Hoping a custom kernel with only modification of voltage settings will help too. Tired of all these unstable kernels with features I don't use or care.about. haven't stuck with a custom kernel since...maybe note2. It has been awhile. Just roll with stock kernel since no dev wants to make a simple kernel with voltage adjustments. Not paying anymore devs on kernels until they deliver. I've paid upfront twice and font nothing in return. Scumbags.and I hope the fingerprint scanner has features. Features like being able to use as track pad or minimum that uses swipes for shortcuts like the pixel. That would be friggin' awesome. And aside from camera on auto not being consistent the phone otherwise is almost flawless. I've gotten accustomed to the camera on auto though. Multiple pictures and using focus at different spots has helped tremendously. I've been able to tweak my screen close to accurate by eyeballing it so pictures look like the scenery on screen now. Got to test video and bi def recording today at veterans day parade. Both exceeded my high expectations. Just need slmevody to find binning of chips which I made a dedicated thread for but nobody answered. I've looked everywhere. And one of first things I do when I root is customize the boot up screen. Boring. Very boring and.typical of T-Mobile. I've only had to reboot for sim or micro SD reasons though. Very very stable. Micro SD isn't up to par unless I have root. Nonetheless I've been able to work around it. Just had to take care out. And everybody keeps saying IR blaster. I think our IT is a transceiver. Supposedly it can learn but I haven't tried yet. R.I.P. remotes if it indeed can learn. LG did good. Seems rushed but this is truly a flagship phone in many ways. Swappable battery in 2016on a flagship. Say what? LG needs to step it up on the accessories. Ready to buy a 6 pack of batteries. I got in on the $51 deal for the BCK-5200 package on Amazon. Now just need a good sale on batteries.
Coming from a note 7 I have mixed feelings. It ticks a lot of the boxes but I miss waterproof, the great samsung screens and I knew about those when I bought. The camera really disappointed me though. I was expecting it to take way better pics than it does. Spoiled from the note 7 I suppose. I didn't realize before buying it that it had the IR blaster and I had really been missing that from my s5. Nice to not have to hunt for remotes anymore. Its not ideal, but for someone like me that over 5.7" screen is a requirement it really is the best second choice to my old note 7. The bootloader sucks too. I had gotten out of the habit of reroming phones since samsung pay and now that I am off samsung I thought it would be fun to start that again. But nope. I have a sprint one and it seems to be non rootable at the moment.
---------- Post added at 05:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 AM ----------
I do think a little bit of my dissapointment in the camera is not genuine. I am mainly comparing shots taken with this phones camera viewed on this phones screen to shots taken by the note 7 on the note 7's screen. The same photo would of course pop more on the amoled screen even if it was the same camera so thats part of the disappointment. But even still I think the note 7 took way better pics.
I love the phone other than no root, the camera I'm not really disappointed because I'm no photographer, the IR blaster is a must thank you LG, Samsung what are you thinking. The removable battery isn't a big deal since the battery does pretty good. If it was water proof that would top it off.
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

First Impression and After Use Thread

CONGRATS on your purchase,
I know a lot of us have already received our devices, and some haven't. If you have received your new phone, post your first impressions. After using the device some, also post what little tricks you may have found, what you have fell in love with and what you dislike or absolutely hate. Also, what was your previous phone and are you enjoying your upgrade? I'll start by saying first impression is I love the size and screen. Real quick thing I do absolutely hate is Bixby. Tried it out a few times from the button, sucked. And the image recognition got me a little excited, but disappointed. I must also add, the face recognition is amazingly fast.
I use only FACE RECOGNITION - it is very fast, works 99% and I don't think one will steal, shoot a photo, print it... and so on.
It is the fastest and easy way to unlock the phone, I was wearing a hoodie and it worked very very well.
I am not the NSA, so face recognition is enough for me and I am happy that it is as fast as it is...
lienot
My Initial Thoughts
I received my Orchid Gray 64GB T-Mobile device yesterday around 5 PM EST. I have had a few hours to mess around with the device as a result. Here are my first impressions:
1. The screen is absolutely gorgeous. Samsung really hit it out of the park with this one. The images are clear, crisp, vibrant, and with absolutely zero pixels to the naked eye. This holds true even when the device is held close to the face. With that being said.... there are definitely some app and media content compatibility issues. Samsung tries to alleviate this with some built in cropping and optimization from the software side of things, but it just can't hide the fact that the content has quite caught up with the hardware. That is on the development community, though, and not Samsung.
2. Biometrics are the way to go when it comes to logging into and working your way through this device. The iris scanner isn't perfect, but, it is absolutely light years ahead of the tech that we had a taste of in the Note 7. The iris scanner ALMOST feels like a feature at this point, rather than a gimmick. With that being said. The fingerprint scanner is total weak sauce. This doesn't so much have anything to do with the actual location as it does the accuracy ratio of the scanner itself. I have long and thin fingers which make the placement of the fingerprint scanner a nonissue for me. To each their own. I would say that the accuracy is more a constant miss than a hit. I find myself using a combination of smart lock and the iris scanner with a pin to keep me going and it works well for me. I have not tried the facial recognition yet.
3. The device is blisteringly fast. There isn't any argument to be had here. Everything flies from web page scrolling to scrolling through the Playstore to loading apps from memory. No management issues yet that I have been able to spot. The only limitations are those of your data connection. The Snapdragon 835 is a thing of beauty.
4. The actual hardware absolutely oozes quality from the orchid color to the excess of gorilla glass and metal. The device is thin but not flimsy and big but not too heavy. Home run as per usual.
5. I am still working through battery life. I know it takes a few days for your software to settle so i'll report back at a later point with an update. Thus far, though, it is AT LEAST no worse than my Pixel XL. It might be a bit better but it is too early to tell. With that being said. The Pixel XL has faster fast charging. This sucker takes a bit to charge up. Not as long as it could take, but there is faster on the market.
6. My final point and my biggest issue with the device is primarily software. Whereas I felt that Samsung had finally reached a place of beauty with the final Marshmallow builds on the S7 Edge. The Nougat Touchwiz, or Grace, or whatever it is called these days feels like a bit of a step back. The software hasn't reached that point of optimization that the Pixel XL has nor even the level that the S7 Edge had. It feels more like the early Grace UX on the Note 7. There are scaling issues. The menus aren't always arranged in the best way. There is some scrolling jank in terms of the actual Android menus and whatnot. I feel that it probably has to do with an experience that wasn't quite optimized for such a unique screen, yet. I am hoping this will improve over time. I won't really hold it against Samsung. I mean, perhaps I am just spoiled after having been a Pixel XL user from the beginning but I won't say it necessarily works in their benefit yet, either. The S7 Edge felt polished. This experience still feels like a work in progress. Of course.....as of 420/17 we haven't even had a day one patch yet since day one is tomorrow...so......to be continued.
Feel free to ask me any questions if there is something I have missed. I feel like there is a lot I have left unstated.
EDIT: One additional thought. S7 Edge era standing wireless charging cradles are not completely compatible with the 8+ I have one and have tried it. The wireless charging cycles between connect and disconnect because the device is too tall for the cradle. The hardware inside as a result sits just at the edge of the top of the cradle and provides an inconsistent connection. This can be alleviated by sitting the device on the cradle sideways...but who wants to do that? Lol!
First impression...I no like it so much.
After playing with it all night tho, I like it. I got the 64gb s8+ and it's a lil tall but I think I'll grow into it. The fingerprint scanner that everyone is making such a huge deal about is in a great spot for me. When I go to pull it out of my pocket my finger falls right there and it's unlocked B4 I even look at the screen. The audio out of the akg headphones is great and it's even better in my car. Battery life, well, it's at 71% now and it's been on since about 7pm yesterday (10:49am now) and that's with heavy use. My only real gripe with it so far is I want to remap the bixby button to launch the camera. I think that would be perfect...Hope you guys are having fun with your new toys like I am
I've found it to be pretty snappy! I love the iris scanning, it works even with my glasses on. It is actually really easy to use one handed, with a rare supporting off hand assist.
The screen is of course impressive.
I've had 3 occasions where I needed to reboot the device because either an app refused to load. Play Store once, setting TW as my launcher (I was using Nova on my S7E so after smart switch when I pressed the home key it asked which launcher to set as default) and then trying to enable "Ok Google" where it didn't hear me. As an early adopter, I expect that there may be possible hiccups.
Not crazy about lock screen music player...Wish there were other options for that... Seems like I have to make sure I'm hitting exactly in the right spot to skip songs.
Becomes a bit of a annoyance when having to hit the button repeatedly to switch a song...
I'm currently at work and I have 4 bar signal while in the basement. My Note 7, S7, LG V20 got 2-3 or no bars. I'm extremely happy due to this. More to follow and im glad i got it.
took forever for Iris scanner to register my iris properly
Its a great phone overeall.
Fast and great looking screen. Feels really good in the hand.
I got the s8 plus and im able to access everything on the phone.
The fingerprint sensor works. I can have the phone in my right hand and press the power with my thumb and finger on the sensor.
The home key took a bit to get use to. I wasnt pushing on it like i should.
Gui/OS has some nice changes, that makes things faster or easier to do.
Bixiy isnt useful at all. Maybe once its update it will work better. But on a sids note i havent Accidentally hit the button. So thats good.
The obly complain i would have a bout the phone that some apps dont fit full screen. You can force them but then the sides get cut off.
I know its an Aspect rataio that should be fix in updates of those apps.
And ill have to test but i think the speaker is lower volume then the s7e. But not sure yet.
buttsak said:
First impression...I no like it so much.
After playing with it all night tho, I like it. I got the 64gb s8+ and it's a lil tall but I think I'll grow into it. The fingerprint scanner that everyone is making such a huge deal about is in a great spot for me. When I go to pull it out of my pocket my finger falls right there and it's unlocked B4 I even look at the screen. The audio out of the akg headphones is great and it's even better in my car. Battery life, well, it's at 71% now and it's been on since about 7pm yesterday (10:49am now) and that's with heavy use. My only real gripe with it so far is I want to remap the bixby button to launch the camera. I think that would be perfect...Hope you guys are having fun with your new toys like I am
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I haven't updated it yet, so I was stil able to use the "All in one Gesture" app that was discussed on XDA before official release.
My second day impressions are pretty much spot on with @TheAnarchist1. This is hands-down the snappiest phone I have ever used. The screen is brilliant, and this version of Touchwiz is (finally) excellent. I've seen lot of features that the other launchers have had for years. I usually install Nova immediately, but this time I'm rolling with stock. I also was able to remap the Bixby button to Google Assistant with no problem.
My only issue (so far) is with the always-on screen. I've had two pocket dials and responded to a text with gibberish while the device was in my front pocket. Clearly, that's not going to work. I'll probably have to turn it off.
Just got mine going.
Design is pretty good, however, I think personally I would have preferred they stick with the sharper corners from the Note 7 and less rounded screen like the Note 7. Basically make the Note 7 but with smaller top and bottom bezels and this screen size. This is fine though, here's to hoping for the Note 8.
Obviously the fingerprint sensor on the back. Would have been exceptional for the fingerprint sensor to be built into the screen as rumored, but I don't particularly think this placement is much worse than any other fingerprint sensor that is on the back of the phone. I've mapped fingers from both hands, and when two handed, I find my left pointer rests on the sensor so it is kinda nice in some regard. I use smart location and bluetooth device unlocks a lot, so I avoid unlocking for the most part, at home, in vehicle, running with headphones, etc... Iris scanner is very useful, most of the time, but it can be awkward. Haven't tried facial recognition.
I see SIGNIFICANT improvement to Touchwiz and now they finally get at least some customization options. I'm trying to make it work, but a couple hours in, I'm already itching to switch back to Nova launcher. Small little peeves, but overall, it finally looks good, and has enough customization that I don't think the Samsung launcher is too bad. I really wish they would stop loading messengers for Verizon and Samsung, to which Samsung's is un-disable-able. Samsung makes special customization and actions for theirs, but I still don't want to use a manufactures messenger. Google brand for me.
1. So far, I'm amazed how well the iris scanner works and it is totally a fingerprint substitution. The battery life is simply amazing imo, I'm using it to the phone quite frequently in fact I have been browsing the web and using all sorts of social media the past hour. I should say I've only dropped about 8%, I'm genuinely pleased.
2. Performance is snappy, I haven't come across "real" lag (arbitrary statement). Coming from a note 4, TouchWiz has greatly been optimized and made much smoother.
3. 4gs of ram sounds like a little in 2017 but it's holding up like a champ!
4. So far I'm just in awe how great this phone is just to hold. I was scared the s8+ would be too big, but it fits perfect in the hand and is comfortable to use.
I can update this post as time goes by, but so far I only have a few gripes and some are not of the phone itself but the software:
1. I was upset when I was forced to go from the Note 7 back to the S7 edge due to the battery issues ( Twice! ) and was upset again when the s7 did not have the option of showing your calendar events listed on the Always On screen and instead just had the full month calendar. Eventually it was updated and gained that capability, but now, the S8 is the same way! I am an attorney and always have somewhere to be or someone coming by so it was nice just to look at my phone and know what was coming up without having to unlock it to check my calendar. Not a biggie, just annoying that a new phone is without that option.
2. The screen ration thing does look annoying sometimes. You can just tell that you have this big beautiful screen but almost everytime you turn it landscape there are black bars and your apps look the exact same as on the previous phone. Like I said, this is just the software thing and hopefully apps will catch up and start utilizing the larger screen more.
Otherwise, love the screen, love the speed. Wanted to stick with TouchWiz but I have a thing about the bottom of the screen not being available and the limitations of the 5x5 setup so I went back to Solo Launcher where I can hide the notification panel and dock at the bottom which makes this big screen look even bigger! More native customization of the home screen closer to home replacements such as that is what Touchwiz has been missing for a long time.
My initial impressions on my S8+:
1. It's incredibly fast. Snappier than any Samsung phone I've ever had or would ever expect them to produce. Loading time doesn't even exist for most apps, and the various animations seem much better than their older phones - the phone's performance reminds me more of the One plus 3T than an S7.
2. Battery life is really impressive. It looks like it might have the best battery life of any phone I've ever owned, which is particularly impressive considering it's a bigger screen and a smaller battery than the S7E.
3. The fingerprint scanner placement isn't quite as bad as people would lead you to believe. I haven't accidentally touched my camera lens once. However, it is a not too high up on the phone, which leads me to only touching it with half my finger, leading to it not unlocking. If they had located the entire set up a little lower on the device, it would've been fine.
4. The S8+ is a little too tall for my liking. It's practically impossible to reach the top opposite corner when using it with one hand. Obviously, activating one handed mode is one solution, but I really hope with flagships switching to 18:9 ratios, developers start moving any and all buttons to the lower half of their apps.
First impression, absolutely fabulous phone. Why ist the small cores maximum freq disabled?
Other than AT&T sent me the wrong color (You had one job...) I LOVE the phone. Coming from a Nexus 6P this thing is INSANE.
TheAnarchist1 said:
This can be alleviated by sitting the device on the cradle sideways...but who wants to do that? Lol!
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I got a chuckle from that because someone asked me in another thread if the charger would work with the phone in landscape position. BTW, nice review.
Just set it up. My only gripe is so far is I wish Samsung used Google version of restore data. I connected it to my Pixel and it copied everything but data. I guess the app wasn't able to do it. So having to manually download all my apps sucked.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Moto Z2 Force, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Moto Z2 Force is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
The best Android phone I've owned to date.
I love the phone enough to buy it multiple times, searching for the combination of carrier compatibility, unlockable bootloader and color.
I also love the phone enough to overlook its main shortcomings (no headphone jack, not truly waterproof, small battery) I love the hardware enough to use an unrooted phone. *gasp* literally every Android device I've ever owned has been rooted within a week, my first was a Nexus one.
This is a bit of a monumental device for me. It's my first ”phablet." My last daily driver was a Sony Z3 compact and a Z1 compact before that. I dropped my Sony trying to put it in my pocket while juggling keys, a backpack and my water bottle. The back glass shattered and the front has a hairline fracture.
Initially I was going to get the Z5 compact but I decided maybe I'd try something a little bigger, so I ordered an Xperia XZ from Amazon. It was a nice phone, but I hated the purplish color of the "black" model and I found myself constantly worrying about it after my last drop, so back it went in about a week.
The thing is, I hate using cases. What's the point in buying a phone you like the look and feel of just to cover it up? Enter the Z2 force. When I first saw promos talking about the shatter proof screen I was intrigued. I was never miffed by the easily scratched screen because an $8 screen protector is all you need to solve that problem.
Between the piece of mind of an unbreakable screen, stupid fast experience, solid aluminum body and gorgeous OLED display this phone is a keeper.
It's one of those phones that got shoved under the rug the second everyone saw the battery specs on paper, myself included. My previous long term daily driver was a Nexus 6 for the most part and that was the last high end, highly customizable Android phone I've used before briefly dailying a Nextbit Robin and then switching to Essential PH-1 for a few months. Both of those have great custom ROM support, but the battery life on both and signal strength on the PH-1 with T-Mobile were barely tolerable, so the only other sub $500 flagship/high end device with an up to date hardware feel was the Z2F from T-Mobile ($375 new), and glad I took the plunge despite the smallish battery capacity. From my experience, Motorola (at least as of their 2013 and newer models) have had a great track record for keeping close to stock Android experience, superb cellular signal, and great battery life and efficiency (despite often using smaller batteries, ie Moto X2, Moto G2, Moto E2). Somehow their devices always had awesome standby to screen on time efficiency. Essential didn't do this for me as much as I wanted to like it (although those on Verizon had a completely different perspective of that device).
This device gets some seriously great battery life (I've managed 8+ hrs sot with 20+ hrs total discharge from 100% charge capacity), excellent signal strength (probably why the battery doesn't suffer too much), solid screen (for those that do lots of accidental drops), front facing flash (with forward facing torch option in Moto camera flash settings), useful Moto gestures to enable main torch and camera with simple chop and twist gestures even when screen is off, solid and super thin build (Jerryrigeverything on YouTube approved it in his infamous bend test, it passed!), and because it's so thin, a simple tpu case gives this phone a perfect grip and thickness. There's a lot to like about this phone, it certainly checks all the right boxes. Most of all, it's the Android device with a Nexus/pixel-like experience; unlockable bootloader, easy to root, custom ROM availability (although from what I gather it currently works best in it's Motorola stock factory firmware form, custom ROMs are currently suffering from weaker cellular signal, failing safetynet due to the current state of selinux being set to permissive, and no sound in default video recording, also on some ROMs WiFi calling and Moto mods have issues), and to be quite frank, this device is very livable with stock firmware, just add root via Magisk and customize from there. Nexus 6 was by far my favorite device, but it is starting to feel a bit dated at this point, it had (and continues to have) some of the best third party dev support, and everything almost always works as good or better than what Google offered in it's stock Android form, that device was truly ahead of it's time and just like this device, was criticized and thrown under the bus numerous times, but low and behold a year or so after it's release, it was one of the best, if not the best device to mod. Of course with this device it's a bit finicky to mod or convert to another carrier firmware (if at all possible), but when it comes to working in it's native firmware for the carrier they were configured to run on, it truly doesn't miss a beat. You get a lot for the asking price, and until another developer device like Nexus 6 comes along, this will serve as a perfect successor for the time being. Yeah I'd love to have the dual front facing stereo speakers, and I'd love to have tons of custom features found in Resurrection Remix ROMs, but not at the cost of battery, cell signal, and failing safetynet check. Many of the custom ROM features can be manually added on stock firmware with root access enabled. Custom firmware just makes it easier to do so and also implements its own features, but often takes away features that are only available on stock firmware, for this reason, Nexus 6 was superior on every front in its time, everything was open source and easy to carry over to a custom firmware. Essential phone is like that, but unfortunately it doesn't play well with all carriers, despite being compatible with every carrier like the Nexus 6.
Some other cool and useful features include:
-Ability to remove navigation bar and allow fingerprint sensor gestures to navigate in the essence of Android P (swipe left for back, right for recents, short tap for home)
-fingerprint scanner also doubles up as a power button (normal tap for turning on to bypass screen lock, and normal press for screen off)
-voice assistant via long press on fingerprint scanner
-Moto voice for useful info on the fly, even with screen off
-Moto display, which unlike ambient display, doesn't waste much battery and is very precise when hovering your hand over and lifting vs keeping face down or in pocket (to keep screen from accidentally lighting up))
-dual rear facing camera with a dedicated rear facing black and white (monochrome) camera as one of the lenses
-twist gestures can double up as front/rear camera swapping
-lift to silence ringtone
-flip device onto screen to mute calls
-built in phone video calling
-power button to end call
-double chop for flashlight
-double twist for camera
-front facing torch through stock selfie camera
-night display (adjusts screen tint based on time if day)
-announce calls while driving
-and last but not least, water repellant nano coating, which is something I can't thank Motorola enough, my Nexus 6, Moto G2, Moto X2, Moto E2 all have this coating and I can confirm it works because the G2 owned by my grandma and my friend's Nexus 6 both fell into a tub and sink full of water, both devices worked without issue after removing them from water. Sure they're not water proof per say, but water proofing requires seals/gaskets and adhesives, both of which are compromised over time due to excessive heat from the internal hardware components and when screens or back glass (where applicable) break. So in essence a repellant nano coating may not be as water resistant as gaskets and adhesives, it does it's job most of the time when accidents happen and can surely withstand rain and shower splashes (just don't go plugging headphones or power cables before drying the ports and device as that may cause a short) and best of all, it doesn't get compromised because your screen broke or because of excessive heat and wear and tear.
The only cons I see are the few carrier and Motorola bloat apps most of which can be disabled (or frozen if rooted).
I enjoyed this device so much that I got one for a friend who had issues with her Nexus 6 charging port. Truly an underrated device that will hopefully get more attention from third party devs sooner than later. Personally, I will go as far as to say that this device should be looked at as a benchmark to beat. I've yet to see a device as well optimized, efficient, and as easy to manage right out of the box for such an awesome price.
Syndrome666 said:
snip
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All the developers for the Nash have been working on getting things fixed. You know good things are coming when LOS might be official soon™
Uzephi said:
All the developers for the Nash have been working on getting things fixed. You know good things are coming when LOS might be official soon™
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I definitely do, this phone's technically a successor to what used to be the Moto X series before the Z line took its place, and those had awesome third party dev support. I'm sure I'll get flashing on the Z2F once I get some free time to mod this thing. Any clue if RR is in the works for this phone?
Syndrome666 said:
I definitely do, this phone's technically a successor to what used to be the Moto X series before the Z line took its place, and those had awesome third party dev support. I'm sure I'll get flashing on the Z2F once I get some free time to mod this thing. Any clue if RR is in the works for this phone?
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No clue about RR but @npjohnson pretty much stated how everything is for LOS, unless something "goes sideways" Lineage will be official VERY shortly. @erfanoabdi also stated fingerprint nav now works with selinux enforcing so very few bugs left now. Pretty sure just a few gerrit reviews and everything before LOS ships official. (Red tape and all)
Uzephi said:
No clue about RR but @npjohnson pretty much stated how everything is for LOS, unless something "goes sideways" Lineage will be official VERY shortly. @erfanoabdi also stated fingerprint nav now works with selinux enforcing so very few bugs left now. Pretty sure just a few gerrit reviews and everything before LOS ships official. (Red tape and all)
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Nice, sounds tempting. I'll have to give it a shot
I like my Z2F a lot! So much I bought a second one, a Sprint version. I enjoyed flashing ROM’s and stuff since the Motorola Droid days before 4G. I’ve had Safe strapped RAZR’s and then the RAZR M with the bootloader unlocked, that was fun till I bought a Moto Z Droid. Fast phone but being on Verizon, no root and no playing with ROMs.
I think the Z2F is a great phone, lots of ram so the bloat apps don’t matter much but I miss flashing ROMs. So I purchased a Sprint Z2F and as soon as the UPS guys delvers it, I’m going to activate it on Sprint, Unlock the boot loader, root it and tryout some ROM’s. And after a month or so I want to unlock it and add it to my Verizon account. Should be fun.
Still Loving the performance of this device 5 months later. I think my next device will be the z3 force.
A nicely packed set of features, still a mixed bag
Just got this device couple weeks ago, because: seemed a nicely packed set of features, I needed a new one after 3 years, and it was on sale locally for ~240€, about a third of the 2017 MSRP of 799€. So am happy with seeing and getting that bargain!
However, with the previous device being a Moto X Pure, which had just gotten tediously slower and slower over the last year or so, I find the differences in specs add to it not feeling like the real thing. Like that nightly purchase impulse this posting is severly subjective. I'll mark the so-sos with o and plusses and minusses (where it compares favourably or less than to my previous Moto experiences) in the list below.
o Moto X Pure has stereo speakers, the Z2 Force has 1 mono speaker. Watching the occasional video it certainly feels ok, but definitely "lopsided", thinner, inferior to front-facing stereo speakers. Yes, why, Captain Obvious told me, how did you know?
+ For telephone calls both call quality and, in quiet environments, the speakerphone functionality is just about right. People understand me well and I can hear everyone clearly.
+ Bluetooth connections work well and are quicker to establish. It seems as if the bluetooth range has also increased slightly.
o As of yet, the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack hasn't actually bothered me. Since I'm on the traditionalist side I would have liked one, and sorta expect a hi-def moto mod for this some day.
- The main camera is meh when used with the vanilla Moto app. Really sorry to say that, but I am disappointed. 12MP does not mean much on paper, but the artificial sharpening puts me off. Probably I compare too much with the X Pure's 21MP and subjectively much better image quality, but in low light and less-than-ideal light conditions and when seeing strong contrasts I am unhappy with the Moto camera app. Maybe I have just gotten used to the X's quirks, but still. Disclaimer: need to take more pictures; I might set up a public album for this.
+ Using OpenCamera though I am getting different and better results. So overally I tend to use this now. Suggestions? Should I try FV-5 or Ektacam?
+ Using the Vignette camera app (as I did on all previously used devices) I can get proper results, even though I suspect it does not use the 2nd camera.
+ The snapdragon 835 is superfast, and the Z2 force with these recent price drops in Europe possibly one of the cheapest devices having it
+ the 6GB memory means I can multitask as hell and there indeed is very little reloading an app
+ I got used to having a fingerprint sensor quickly, position on front is fine
+ GPS works much better than on the old Moto, even indoors I typically get a fix both a) faster and b) at all
+ Display, having that crisp 2560x1440p resolution. Colours in saturated mode are strong, bright and I'm impressed.
+ Display colour settings can be set to "standard", which means colours come across as subdued, thinner, and erm less artificial. I use this mode.
+ Touch interactions have that very immediate feel to it, like zero lag and precise positioning. Like!
o the plastic shatterproof feature, well, it comes with a plastic layer on the screen that seems to have a blueish, almost milky tint to it, and that makes it look like plastic very much. Visually speaking it looks plastic when viewed from the side.
+ Connectivity in 4G was good.
o Using two LTE sim cards at the same time though it seems as if only the first one inserted makes use of 4G, the second one can't. Disclaimer: did only test this first evening and unsystematically.
+ Wifi is fast, holds both connections properly on 2.4 and 5 even when in offices or places with more than 40 available networks.
o Using it on commute though it seems as if, even when arrived on destination, it takes those very long extra seconds to connect to a known network. Need to fiddle with a scan interval setting I guess.
+ Built-in battery capacity is smaller, but as of now it lasts me almost two full days, and won't ever go below 20% really. The X Pure's battery is far from dead, but using it heavily means recharging it three times a day.
Overall love after these couple of weeks: an "acceptable meh" Yes, everything works, but I really needed something new and had hoped for something to give me that sensational thrill, but now feel unsatisfied. Had I bought it last year that would have been a serious disappointment.
With all this I think I am in sort of in line with many reviewers who see the oh so revolutionary mods concept as meaning well and ending up mediocre. While I intend to get that Incipio battery mod some day, that might well be the only mod I'll be getting.
mookiexl said:
Still Loving the performance of this device 5 months later. I think my next device will be the z3 force.
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the z2 is the last force edition they will make.
jasperbastianrain said:
the z2 is the last force edition they will make.
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I saw that and it made me cringe. I guess moto figured they couldn't put the price in the range of the Samsung and other more popular manufactures and compete. I still hope they release a device with the SD845 or one with OIS.
Love this phone at all. Just the backside has scratches from the first day on. Never complained, but was there out of the box. More important for me is that the screen has no scratches, even after months. No monday device, absolutly perfect, love this plastic screen. Very sad to know that we don't get any newer model of this force stuff. Battery is very good, too. That's very good at all. But additional screen protector isn't needed, at least at my model the screen isn't scratching. Maybe I have to do it with harder stuff? Don't know how the people get scratches in the screen
I'm absolutely in love with this phone. Obviously everything comes down to value, and for the original $700 or whatever asking price, there were better options. For $260 though (with the projector mod included), it's a downright steal. The phone is blazing fast and the only complaints are no headphone jack and a relatively weak camera. The very un-2017 screen ratio is also a negative, but considering the price you can find the phone for these days it's nothing to me.
ROM support is straight up bad unfortunately (huge thanks to the devs that do support it), but the phone works very well stock. I've always ran my phones with ROMs, but I don't really feel like I even need one.
Yeah I have this phone as well. I don't have any real issues beside poor signal but that's from where I live. Even with the booster T-Mobile sent me from Cel-Fi it can pickup 3 bars and 6 on the booster box I get 4G LTE and 5 bars. I can hear all my friends now. GF she has the same cell as well her's has issues like with most women when it come to cells. Data Mode drops can't do anything except remove the sim but not only that the screen is peeling off. So T-mobile is doing a warranty exchange with a brand new one. Not factory nonsense excuse for a cell. Brand new. Mine is like new!
01/2019 Real user review Great phone, super fast, great size, look outdated due to its form factor (big chin, no notch) Great battery life, super fast charging. Overall great phone, a little slow on updates
Update 01/17/2020. I've had my black, unlocked Sprint version since my last post in 2017. I've been using it flawlessly on Mint mobile for a couple years. It is positively Boba Fetted out with scratches all over the aluminum body. I am on my 3rd IQ shield screen protector. My wife has the white Verizon z2 force and we have almost all the mods.
A few months ago I noticed my battery life take a nose dive. Even after a complete wipe and clean install I struggle to make it through a day with moderate use. I've never had a phone long enough to experience battery degradation.
I went to Best Buy to check out the current crop of new phones. I handled the z3 and z4 and while nice they just seemed kinda..."meh" I didn't notice any speed difference or screen clarity between either of those phones and my 3 year old z2 and I'd be giving up shattershield. I thought about trying something new and was seriously tempted by the S10+ but a case would be a must. It is crazy
My daughter has a pixel 3 so I checked out the 4 and was a little underwhelmed. I ended up leaving with the phone I came with. I got home and started shopping online. I stumbled upon a nib unlocked gray T-Mobile Z2 for $150. Considering the Samsung cost almost 5x as much and would need to be babied I pulled the trigger on the Motorola.
So in summary I love this phone enough to buy it again despite it being old as dirt in the tech world. I plan on riding the gray one until the wheels fall off or until some new hotness comes out that I see and just have to have.
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
Owner of one of the first Z2 Force XT1789-06 dual sim with Nougat, since of reduced battery life and screen a bit "impressed" I decided to buy a new phone.
I decided for a "brand new" Xt1789-06 dual sim that I set up with Pie. Need I to add something?
enetec said:
Owner of one of the first Z2 Force XT1789-06 dual sim with Nougat, since of reduced battery life and screen a bit "impressed" I decided to buy a new phone.
I decided for a "brand new" Xt1789-06 dual sim that I set up with Pie. Need I to add something?
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Yeah, there is no better phone on the market with unbreakable screen. I would buy it again, too. Costs 399€ (very much, but high end for many years) at the moment. More than 2018 here in europe.
Set Up should be Lineage OS 16 and then it's perfect.

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