What do you guys think? Software, hardware, android updates, rooting, features and why do you think one is better than the other? Cheers
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Lots of discussion here about that:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6p/help/nexus-6p-vs-note-5-t3212443
I like the size of the note better (I couldn't care less about front speakers). The note barely fits in the place I put my phone in my car, I don't think the 6P would.
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Thats from a nexus forum perspective. I wanna hear from the note side of things.
I'm trying to convince myself to get the 6P but can't find a good enough reason to make the switch just yet.
Development community and updates don't mean as much to me anymore as they used to. I no longer flash roms or have the desire to (but I will root). Updates don't matter as much to me either because I always get the latest phones anyways and don't last long enough with phones to worry about updates.
With that said if the 6P was the size of the G4 and definitely not bigger than the Note 5 and had a IR blaster, I've might have been all over it.
Other things I'll be looking for is the 6p screen actually the same quality as the Note 5 screen? How about outdoor visibility, is it as amazing as the Note 5 is?
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Hey buddy, nice to see you here. I'm keeping my Note 5. The Note 5 is the absolute perfect size for a 5.7" screen device. 6P is too big to me and I don't care about front facing speakers.
But my main reason is I hate stock android. Looks like crap and is boring. I know roms and themes can help that but I'm completely over rooting. It just doesn't add the benefits that it used to and I'm tired of doing it.
So with all that being said, I feel that I have the better device. And I like using the S-Pen.
Right now there are no benefits to get that phone. The strongest argument nexus people make is that they have great developing community, however it takes around 3 months for developers to get their units and to add features. By that time sd820 will be out. On top of that, nexus developers won't be able to bring any cooler features that the note 5 already has. I love the scroll to capture feature on the note 5 for example. Stock android is pretty boring as well, and like previous dude said, I am bored of flashing and running custom roms every week, new bugs and stuff like that. As far as it regards the hardware, I believe the note 5 kills the new nexus.
Same here. Man tapatalk quotes have not been working today. I love my Note 5 and i keep trying to get an excuse to try the 6p but i would be giving up too much by getting rid of my lovely note.
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@WizeGuyDezignz Hey man! (WizeGuyDezignz)Glad to see you again! Yeah man stock android is quite boring. Even if i were to get the 6p i wouldnt keep it a month if that. The S pen is really fantastic. Once you start using the features of the note its hard to get something else.
Its for you WizeGuyDezignz, even mentions are not working for me besides the quotes for some odd reason.
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By the way, I forgot the mention the camera interface. Google camera might be good but that camera interface is so outdated. Yes I can always install a third party application, but man the whole camera experience on the Samsung is a total different Galaxy!
Even though I have the option to return the N5 once there 6p is out, I think I might keep the N5. Haven't owned a nexus device before, just ended up flashing an AOSP based ROM on the Samsung device I owned.
Just might wait it out until someone releases one for the N5.
Only thing nexus is better its updates and roms support
If you want stock, front facing speakers, and ROMs get 6p.
if you like a faster cpu/gpu, a pen, Samsung Pay, better camera (in most ways), and TouchWiz enhancements get note 5.
I also like the size of the note 5 more. 6p is too tall for me.
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This is why I got my Note 5 over a Nexus 6P
**Hardware**
The Note 5 will undoubtedly have superior hardware.
The 14nm Exynos 7420 is miles ahead of the SD810 both in terms of speed and efficiency. Early benchmarks of the SD820 which is also 14nm are actually comparable to the 7420 which is a huge kudos to Samsung for having this chip out there 12 months before Qualcomm in the chipmaking world which runs on 6/12mth cycles. The SD810 in the 6P (even v 2.1) is going to get hot and then throttled as the system underclocks it to compensate. Its just a matter of when, which depends on Huawei's cooling. The SD808 even shares the same problem to a lesser extent.
TLDR: Exynos 7420 chip is miles ahead of the SD810 and has a degree of future proofing.
-NAND storage UFS 2.0 in the Note 5 vs. eMMC in the 6P. Yes its proprietary, but UFS gives much higher read/write speeds.
-4GB RAM vs 3GB. More is better. The aggressive app closing that people have complained about in Galaxy's can be fixed to maximise the use of this for multi tasking.
-Best in class camera – the 6P sounds like it's going to have the best camera ever in a Nexus, but it's still below the S6 edge according to DxoMark, which is going to be below again the yet to be reviewed Note 5. OIS with manual settings is something else altogether if you know what you're doing. Eg http://i.imgur.com/LLp4WQS.jpg – I took this beauty with a super slow shutter speed whilst resting the phone on someone's head lol.
-Best in class screen – there is no way the 6P is going to get the Note 5's screen which has been rated best in class by displaymate and anandtech. Best case scenario is maybe the Note 4's screen which is better than the Nexus 6, but still 40% less efficient compared to the current gen Note 5 (http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_Note5_ShootOut_1.htm)
Build – I'm not a huge fan of the slippery glass back on the Note, but kudos for the screen to body ratio and tapered edges to help with one handed use, while maintaining the same screen size as the note 4. I use cases for all my phones, so in a way build materials don't really matter. The aluminum build on the 6P also looks nice, but the bezels top and bottom bezels are huge (for the front facing speakers?) and is reflected in the relatively poor screen to body ratio (71.4% vs. 75.9%)
True compared to the Note 4, the omission of the mSD card, IR blaster and replaceable battery are disappointing. There are ways around lack of mSD (see below) and sadly it's a trend that a lot of other smartphone makers are adopting as well. The battery although smaller actually provides more juice compared to the Note 4 thanks to processor and screen improvements in efficiency. If you decided to keep the device for 3+ years, the sealed battery is actually replaceable – not super easy to do, but there are guides online. It's not as if the Nexus 6P has any of these features either.
The Note 5 also has wireless fast charging for a sacrifice of 0.3mm of thickness, which was the main reason Nexus 6P engineers have given for its omission.
**Software**
I'm the first to admit that I'm a huge pure android and nexus nut, but Marshmallow may be the first new version of android that I really can't get excited about. The touted features in Marshmallow are not ground breaking and represent disappointing incremental features which already exist in Lollipop with xposed and even 3rd party apps. True it's giving people who don't root their phones access to them for the first time, but for the power user there really isn't much there. See: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/10/android-6-0-marshmallow-thoroughly-reviewed/
TLDR:
Doze – can still be bypassed by developers of apps. Only affects standby time so will make no difference to the biggest drain which is screen, app usage and cellular reception quality. Can do similar already with greenify, amplified and other similar apps.
On tap – very hit and miss. More miss than hit
Permissions – nice and about time I guess, but already doable with 3rd party apps (AppOps) / a firewall
Google launcher changes – had these for months already with nova launcher
In context voice commands – nice if you use voice commands often. I don't know many people who do.
Xposed won't work for a while and there will undoubtedly be new bugs as always until 6.1.
All up, the maturity of android is making the latest and greatest pure android updates less mandatory.
My last experience with Touchwiz back with the Note 2 were pretty negative. However, with a dark material theme from the theme store, nova launcher and xposed, the gaudy bits of touchwiz are no longer as bad as they once were. Samsung have really pulled it back and you can do the rest with a simple debloating app or a modded stock ROM. With the [dark material theme](http://www.xda-developers.com/material-and-material-dark-hit-samsungs-theme-store/), it really isn't too disimilar to stock android.
I'm not a huge stylus person, but some of the TW features like signing PDFs and better hand writing recognition seem genuinely useful. Multi window which was touted in the developer preview of Marshmallow but disabled at launch has been around in TouchWiz for years.
The cons of the Note 5 would be that updates are 4-6 months late and there will be no AOSP custom ROM support given it runs on exynos. This means updates for only 2 years at most. However, the maturity of android as an OS has meant that there are less "essential" features to upgrade to or problems for custom ROMs to fix. Xposed framework is a miracle in allowing a degree customisation that only customs ROMs used to be able to offer.
Samsung is also committed to monthly security updates for android, which is huge as you're no longer reliant on a nexus for this. http://www.androidcentral.com/samsu...urity-updates-every-month-its-android-devices
**Price**
Local RRP for the 6P is $899 which call it what you want (gouging, Australia tax, market factors) is a huge increase in the $499 US that US customers pay.
Unfortunately I think it will be harder to source cheap grey Nexus 6P stock this time around, as all countries except for North America (with the US Bands version) got done over by the [international pricing model](http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/09/30/prices-nexus-5x-nexus-6p-across-globe/). Hong Kong/Asia where a lot of grey stuff comes from is not significantly cheaper than Australia (+27% vs +21%) and that's without a GST. You can probably get one for $840 delivered from Clove/Handtec at launch, but at these similar prices I'd personally pay an extra $50 for excellent 2 year playstore warranty. Historically, Nexus devices have had stock supply issues initially and thus haven't always had cheap grey stock prices for 3+ months after launch.
Either way, it's going to be more expensive than the Note 5 in the foreseeable future.
Samsung has pretty good price retention as well. Brand new Note 4s still retail for $650-$700. Resale value used is ~$500-550 on ebay compared to the Nexus 6 which is $400-450. When I got my [Nexus 6 in December](https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/174328), I remember it actually cost more than the Note 4 (paid $765 via Amazon France, Note 4 was ~$720 on a ebay sale).
TLDR
The Note 5 has undoubtedly miles better hardware and will be cheaper than the Nexus 6P at launch. The benefits of pure android and the latest android updates are no longer as important as they once were given the maturity of android as an OS as evidenced by only minor incremental updates in Marshmallow. Advancements in TouchWiz and xposed framework have made non pure android much more tolerable than it once was.
The only other major con I see with the Note 5 is the absence of a 64GB version in Australia, and if it does come it'll be ridiculously expensive (+$300 over the 32GB currently from grey imports and no stock as well). There are ways around this with cloud storage. I uploaded my 20GB music collection to Google music and can stream it free. I run a networked storage drive at home for media streaming. You can also get USB OTG dongles for your mSD card which work well when you want to carry extra media locally.
@PearsonDKA Why not return your $800 device and get a $500 device if you want to run aosp? Quote isn't working... That is for PearsonDKA.
WizeGuyDezignz said:
@PearsonDKA Why not return your $800 device and get a $500 device if you want to run aosp? Quote isn't working... That is for PearsonDKA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I like having the options to go back and forth between TW and AOSP in case I get bored with one of em or something. I'm actually still on the fence about returning it as well, just gonna see how the N5 handles for the next week.
Here is the thing though, in my honest opinion the Note is just a better device overall and im not just talking about specs.
I understand that people love stock android cause you get the updates quickly and a nexus is a dream for people who love to root and all that. This is xda developers and the chances are that people here (all over xda) will mostly be in favor of the nexus because you can root, rom it, have aosp, flash kernels and all that good stuff and this is the site where it all goes down. Thats all beautiful and they are perfectly right.
But when it comes to having a phone that have features and that truly utilizes that big ass display, really nothing out there competes with the note 5. Its a productivity user's dream. It offers an excellent camera (arguably the best), its absolutely future proof with the 4GB of ram and the powerful SoC, it has arguably the best display on a smartphone, it has the S pen which no one can match on the market at the moment.
People who own the note should use these features, use multiwindow and screen capture and all that, you will see that you wont be able to use another device because you have a mini computer in your pocket that performs wonderfully and do things that other devices cant . As a smartphone, what can beat the note 5 when all is considered? Not a thing.
As a developer's phone, as someone who likes to root and tinker with their device to their liking, nothing can beat a nexus especially the 6p with its amazing specs. Honestly the choice is pretty clear: if you wanna root, rom, flash aosp and CM and all that, you MUST go with a nexus. If you want a phone full of features with the best camera on the market and is a productivity champ you have to go with the note. Forget things like battery life and performance and all that cause both devices are champs. I am using a non carrier note 5 which is expected to have android 6.0 by year's end or early next year, im not sweating it cause the phone works extremely well for me. If i get a nexus 6p now, its only because of the hype but i know what type of user i am and the note 5 works best for me. I skipped the nexus 6 this past year, used many devices and im still alive despite not having used a stock android phone
....just saying
One last thing lol, before the note 5 i had the Iphone 6s and i loved it. But then i wanted a bigger display and i was on the fence between the 6s plus and the note. When i returned my 6s at the apple store to grab the 6s plus, thats when i knew i had to get the note 5 cause i saw how much the 6s plus was just a big phone that does not take advantage of the big display, same with the 6p.
Check out this video guys, trust me its worth it.
https://youtu.be/EYRIX9YP3Lk
Ill keep it simple.
Note 5 has:
Multi Window
Pen
Brighter screen in daylight
Better camera
Wireless charging
Tiny bit better dimensions
More attractive/professional build quality
Samsung pay
Better cpu/gpu
More ram
Nexus has
Dual forward speakers
Type c port
Bigger battery
Rootable without voiding warranty
Instant updates
Note 5 wins.
liqn7 said:
This is why I got my Note 5 over a Nexus 6P
**Hardware**
The Note 5 will undoubtedly have superior hardware.
The 14nm Exynos 7420 is miles ahead of the SD810 both in terms of speed and efficiency. Early benchmarks of the SD820 which is also 14nm are actually comparable to the 7420 which is a huge kudos to Samsung for having this chip out there 12 months before Qualcomm in the chipmaking world which runs on 6/12mth cycles. The SD810 in the 6P (even v 2.1) is going to get hot and then throttled as the system underclocks it to compensate. Its just a matter of when, which depends on Huawei's cooling. The SD808 even shares the same problem to a lesser extent.
TLDR: Exynos 7420 chip is miles ahead of the SD810 and has a degree of future proofing.
-NAND storage UFS 2.0 in the Note 5 vs. eMMC in the 6P. Yes its proprietary, but UFS gives much higher read/write speeds.
-4GB RAM vs 3GB. More is better. The aggressive app closing that people have complained about in Galaxy's can be fixed to maximise the use of this for multi tasking.
-Best in class camera – the 6P sounds like it's going to have the best camera ever in a Nexus, but it's still below the S6 edge according to DxoMark, which is going to be below again the yet to be reviewed Note 5. OIS with manual settings is something else altogether if you know what you're doing. Eg http://i.imgur.com/LLp4WQS.jpg – I took this beauty with a super slow shutter speed whilst resting the phone on someone's head lol.
-Best in class screen – there is no way the 6P is going to get the Note 5's screen which has been rated best in class by displaymate and anandtech. Best case scenario is maybe the Note 4's screen which is better than the Nexus 6, but still 40% less efficient compared to the current gen Note 5 (http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_Note5_ShootOut_1.htm)
Build – I'm not a huge fan of the slippery glass back on the Note, but kudos for the screen to body ratio and tapered edges to help with one handed use, while maintaining the same screen size as the note 4. I use cases for all my phones, so in a way build materials don't really matter. The aluminum build on the 6P also looks nice, but the bezels top and bottom bezels are huge (for the front facing speakers?) and is reflected in the relatively poor screen to body ratio (71.4% vs. 75.9%)
True compared to the Note 4, the omission of the mSD card, IR blaster and replaceable battery are disappointing. There are ways around lack of mSD (see below) and sadly it's a trend that a lot of other smartphone makers are adopting as well. The battery although smaller actually provides more juice compared to the Note 4 thanks to processor and screen improvements in efficiency. If you decided to keep the device for 3+ years, the sealed battery is actually replaceable – not super easy to do, but there are guides online. It's not as if the Nexus 6P has any of these features either.
The Note 5 also has wireless fast charging for a sacrifice of 0.3mm of thickness, which was the main reason Nexus 6P engineers have given for its omission.
**Software**
I'm the first to admit that I'm a huge pure android and nexus nut, but Marshmallow may be the first new version of android that I really can't get excited about. The touted features in Marshmallow are not ground breaking and represent disappointing incremental features which already exist in Lollipop with xposed and even 3rd party apps. True it's giving people who don't root their phones access to them for the first time, but for the power user there really isn't much there. See: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/10/android-6-0-marshmallow-thoroughly-reviewed/
TLDR:
Doze – can still be bypassed by developers of apps. Only affects standby time so will make no difference to the biggest drain which is screen, app usage and cellular reception quality. Can do similar already with greenify, amplified and other similar apps.
On tap – very hit and miss. More miss than hit
Permissions – nice and about time I guess, but already doable with 3rd party apps (AppOps) / a firewall
Google launcher changes – had these for months already with nova launcher
In context voice commands – nice if you use voice commands often. I don't know many people who do.
Xposed won't work for a while and there will undoubtedly be new bugs as always until 6.1.
All up, the maturity of android is making the latest and greatest pure android updates less mandatory.
My last experience with Touchwiz back with the Note 2 were pretty negative. However, with a dark material theme from the theme store, nova launcher and xposed, the gaudy bits of touchwiz are no longer as bad as they once were. Samsung have really pulled it back and you can do the rest with a simple debloating app or a modded stock ROM. With the [dark material theme](http://www.xda-developers.com/material-and-material-dark-hit-samsungs-theme-store/), it really isn't too disimilar to stock android.
I'm not a huge stylus person, but some of the TW features like signing PDFs and better hand writing recognition seem genuinely useful. Multi window which was touted in the developer preview of Marshmallow but disabled at launch has been around in TouchWiz for years.
The cons of the Note 5 would be that updates are 4-6 months late and there will be no AOSP custom ROM support given it runs on exynos. This means updates for only 2 years at most. However, the maturity of android as an OS has meant that there are less "essential" features to upgrade to or problems for custom ROMs to fix. Xposed framework is a miracle in allowing a degree customisation that only customs ROMs used to be able to offer.
Samsung is also committed to monthly security updates for android, which is huge as you're no longer reliant on a nexus for this. http://www.androidcentral.com/samsu...urity-updates-every-month-its-android-devices
**Price**
Local RRP for the 6P is $899 which call it what you want (gouging, Australia tax, market factors) is a huge increase in the $499 US that US customers pay.
Unfortunately I think it will be harder to source cheap grey Nexus 6P stock this time around, as all countries except for North America (with the US Bands version) got done over by the [international pricing model](http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/09/30/prices-nexus-5x-nexus-6p-across-globe/). Hong Kong/Asia where a lot of grey stuff comes from is not significantly cheaper than Australia (+27% vs +21%) and that's without a GST. You can probably get one for $840 delivered from Clove/Handtec at launch, but at these similar prices I'd personally pay an extra $50 for excellent 2 year playstore warranty. Historically, Nexus devices have had stock supply issues initially and thus haven't always had cheap grey stock prices for 3+ months after launch.
Either way, it's going to be more expensive than the Note 5 in the foreseeable future.
Samsung has pretty good price retention as well. Brand new Note 4s still retail for $650-$700. Resale value used is ~$500-550 on ebay compared to the Nexus 6 which is $400-450. When I got my [Nexus 6 in December](https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/174328), I remember it actually cost more than the Note 4 (paid $765 via Amazon France, Note 4 was ~$720 on a ebay sale).
TLDR
The Note 5 has undoubtedly miles better hardware and will be cheaper than the Nexus 6P at launch. The benefits of pure android and the latest android updates are no longer as important as they once were given the maturity of android as an OS as evidenced by only minor incremental updates in Marshmallow. Advancements in TouchWiz and xposed framework have made non pure android much more tolerable than it once was.
The only other major con I see with the Note 5 is the absence of a 64GB version in Australia, and if it does come it'll be ridiculously expensive (+$300 over the 32GB currently from grey imports and no stock as well). There are ways around this with cloud storage. I uploaded my 20GB music collection to Google music and can stream it free. I run a networked storage drive at home for media streaming. You can also get USB OTG dongles for your mSD card which work well when you want to carry extra media locally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL at 'miles better harder'?... You are exaggerating quite a bit. BTW, it has been confired that the 6P uses the latest Samsung panel.
"Miles better hardware' yet multitasking, scrolling and animations are faster and smoother on the 6P. Advanced Kryptonian technology won't make Touchwiz smooth. You care too much about spec sheets dude. Real life performance is much more important.
---------- Post added at 06:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:02 AM ----------
seh6183 said:
Ill keep it simple.
Note 5 has:
Multi Window
Pen
Brighter screen in daylight
Better camera
Wireless charging
Tiny bit better dimensions
More attractive/professional build quality
Samsung pay
Better cpu/gpu
More ram
Nexus has
Dual forward speakers
Type c port
Bigger battery
Rootable without voiding warranty
Instant updates
Note 5 wins.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You forgot more efficient and smoother software under Nexus.
---------- Post added at 06:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:03 AM ----------
Reviews are in for the 6P and almost all of them are stating it's the best Android smartphone period including the Note 5. It just goes to show you that the sum of it's parts and amazing optimized software trump spec sheets. Pre-ordered 5 days ago. Going to sell the Note 5 as soon as it arrives. Can't wait to leave touchwiz!
Cool have fun with no s pen, no multi window, no one handed mode, no quick reply, a worse camera, bland speakers, and no wireless charging. Oh and a garbage processor with a full gig less ram. Bye.
Related
Sadly due to all the crap Samsung is doing atm with it's smartphones I've decided to part ways with my S4 while it still worth something, & that will be my last Galaxy S i buy.
As from now on the only Android smartphone i will buy will be the Nexus range, as i want the freedom to do what i want with my Smartphone, without having to worry about warranty problems should something go wrong with the hardware, that is not the fault of a custom rom or kernel.
I'm using my trusty little Nokia 800 as backup now until the Nexus 5 32gb launches which i'll be ordering as soon as it shows up on the Play Store in the UK, I'm just hoping now the camera & video recording quality is at least on par with the Galaxy S3 this time around unlike the Nexus 4 which tbh had a terrible camera.
The S5 can be the best thing since slice bread, but with all the lockdown Samsung is currently doing it might aswell rename itself Apple.
Anybody else also plan on ditching Samsung due to the way they are going?
ixon2001 said:
Sadly due to all the crap Samsung is doing atm with it's smartphones I've decided to part ways with my S4 while it still worth something, & that will be my last Galaxy S i buy.
As from now on the only Android smartphone i will buy will be the Nexus range, as i want the freedom to do what i want with my Smartphone, without having to worry about warranty problems should something go wrong with the hardware, that is not the fault of a custom rom or kernel.
I'm using my trusty little Nokia 800 as backup now until the Nexus 5 32gb launches which i'll be ordering as soon as it shows up on the Play Store in the UK, I'm just hoping now the camera & video recording quality is at least on par with the Galaxy S3 this time around unlike the Nexus 4 which tbh had a terrible camera.
The S5 can be the best thing since slice bread, but with all the lockdown Samsung is currently doing it might aswell rename itself Apple.
Anybody else also plan on ditching Samsung due to the way they are going?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FOr me Yes and no I love the TW features and pure android is smooth and fast but again its boring as well....When i say TW features I aint talking about the gimmicky ones but the useful ones like the camera, and others I am tempted to buy the nexus 5 but as my s4 is just 2 months old and especially after the brilliant job samsung has done with the 4.3 update am not sure I will stick to the S4 atleast till the S5 arrives
Updating my phone to 4.3. Heard that It is smooth and that's what I want. Sometimes I think to get Nexus 5 but then I realize how useful TW features are to me.
I've used Xperias (for a year or so) and even iPhone (for somedays) but none satisfied me as much as S4.
The most important thing that keeps me on Samsung is the Camera. Features + Quality. Yes, I'm sticking to Samsung
Definitely. I've had the S2 for 1.5 years and then the S4 for six months. I'm thoroughly bored of the Galaxy S range now. Gonna switch to some other OEM for the next phone. Or a nexus maybe if it doesn't compromise on screen, battery life and camera.
100% no samsung for me in the future. With no sources for exynos and all the knox ****, I am fed up. I could live with TW but the fact its laggy even with 2 gb ram and an octa core processor, I think I will look at other options.
Cheers!!
sent from my S4 (9500 international)
I hate Samsung and their current Knox implementation, turning them into Apple basically. Also I feel their AMOLED technology is nowhere near perfect (low brightness, unreadable under direct sunlight compares to LG screen or Iphones). However, no other phone in this current generation I can switch into. Newest releases contains so many flaws that are such a deal breaker for me: LG G2 without micro sd; Iphone 5s with terrible iOs 7; Xperia Z1, well, let's just say that it doesn't even ring any bells around. All and all, as much as I loathe my s4, I still have to stick with it because there is no other viable alternative that suit my needs currently. Probably won't be using s5 and try to avoid samsung like a plague next generation.
I went with the S4 GPe, and didn't look back. I looked at the Nexus 4, and it lacked features that I needed; no LTE, no 1080p screen, not enough storage or MicroSD to make up for the lack of storage, and no removable battery. Even the Nexus 5 won't have a removable battery, and while 32GB is an improvement, i need at least 48GB for my usage (I have 80GB on mine).
count me in.... i'm fedup with all samsung crapness... next will be a sony or a nexus for me
I'm done with Samsung definitely my next is gonna be something else, not because I think they suck or I'm against their practices but cause I've been using Samsung exclusively since the Galaxy S up till my current S4 and I think I need a break from Sammy!
AsterFenix said:
I hate Samsung and their current Knox implementation, turning them into Apple basically. Also I feel their AMOLED technology is nowhere near perfect (low brightness, unreadable under direct sunlight compares to LG screen or Iphones). However, no other phone in this current generation I can switch into. Newest releases contains so many flaws that are such a deal breaker for me: LG G2 without micro sd; Iphone 5s with terrible iOs 7; Xperia Z1, well, let's just say that it doesn't even ring any bells around. All and all, as much as I loathe my s4, I still have to stick with it because there is no other viable alternative that suit my needs currently. Probably won't be using s5 and try to avoid samsung like a plague next generation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iOS 7 isn't all that bad tbh from what I've seen of it, my sister just got herself an iPhone 5s, so like anything i had to have a good look at it & at one point i was actually tempted to get myself a 32Gb iPhone 5S, but the screen abit on the small side for my liking.
The camera on the otherhand is brilliant, really have to give Apple credit for this, the camera functions itself is very basic not many options to mess with, but soon as you take a picture 99% of the time the images are spot on & even stay looking decent in low light aswell, something i found impossible to do on the S4 was to get a decent image in low light as most of the time it came out as a blurry mess due to the camera lag, which the 5s doesn't have a problem with.
If the iPhone 6 has a bigger screen & iOS 8 allows widgets then i might be slightly tempted to switch next year & just have a Nexus 2014 tablet for my Android fix.
I'm new to Samsung. Can somebody tell me what the knox implementation is?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
As long as they keep releasing phones with Google Edition roms available, I'll stay with Samsung. 1080p amoled + sdcard + switchable battery + decent camera + stock android = almost the perfect device for me (performance could still be better, but that is mostly an android problem (and don't give me **** about how your phone isn't lagging because it is, you just might not perceive it)).
Yup Sony for me next time. I've had every Galaxy S since the S1 but Samsung have really put me off.
Sent from my GT-I9505
Give me a nexus with an awesome camera, Bluetooth 4, beep n go, and a memory card slot and I'll give up Samsung.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Maybe is my Last, i'm taking a Sony device
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda app-developers app
I'll definitely stick to samsung, take note that this is just my personal opinion.
I like touchwiz, for me it's very simple, i've had the xperia z for a couple of months, s4 camera i would say is far better, and i don't like the way the sony launcher is. And definitely the screen on the sony ones has not impressed me at all, i even owned an xperia tx but on all sony is prone to quick scratches even the sony z1 has the same screen compared to samsung's screen, which are much better.
The only drawbacks i have against samsung is about the plastic body, and chinese manufacturers can easily make a copy of the phone!
well despite the fact that for the i9500 in terms of rom development is slow, i prefer stock rom! it's very stable!
so i will definitely stick to samsung unless s5 mess things up
i would then move to an htc phone maybe! :3
kesh9293 said:
I'll definitely stick to samsung, take note that this is just my personal opinion.
I like touchwiz, for me it's very simple, i've had the xperia z for a couple of months, s4 camera i would say is far better, and i don't like the way the sony launcher is. And definitely the screen on the sony ones has not impressed me at all, i even owned an xperia tx but on all sony is prone to quick scratches even the sony z1 has the same screen compared to samsung's screen, which are much better.
The only drawbacks i have against samsung is about the plastic body, and chinese manufacturers can easily make a copy of the phone!
so i will definitely stick to samsung unless s5 mess things up
i would then move to an htc phone maybe! :3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People on about knox bootloader etc being implemented and that samsung have locked there bootloaders,yeah its a blow but then again we have to remember that Sony,Lg and HTC also lock there bootloaders so its nothing new,yeah Sony screens arnt that great anymore,they look a bit washed out now,T was nice device,I loved my T before it got beer damage,in my opinion the Hardware of the s4 isnt to bad,yeah it is plastic which is a let down but the software is the issue,its heavy due to all the bloatware,slim roms work really well but is it my last Samsung phone,we shall see,at the moment i think HTC one is best alternative,the only thing that gets my back up with Samsung isnt with the s4,thats surprising but with the Galaxy Camera,lovely device but its like theyve forgoten it already ,no updates for past 6 months
jaykresge said:
I went with the S4 GPe, and didn't look back. I looked at the Nexus 4, and it lacked features that I needed; no LTE, no 1080p screen, not enough storage or MicroSD to make up for the lack of storage, and no removable battery. Even the Nexus 5 won't have a removable battery, and while 32GB is an improvement, i need at least 48GB for my usage (I have 80GB on mine).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Removable battery is priority #1 for me. SD card slot is a very close second. I also like the shape/profile of the GS4 over Nexus devices, but that is a minor concern compared to the previous points. LTE is also very nice, but not a necessity for me. If a Nexus device had removable battery and SD card, I'd probably choose it.
If there is another high end phone with removable battery, sd card slot, ir blaster and a Qualcomm SOC I will buy non Samsung.
But those things are more important than anything else.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app
Keep S4 for a while.
S4 is good choice. I have octa core version and with litlle work new jb 4.3 can be rooted and debloated. Knox applications should be removed ,possibly with aromafm in recovery before booting.
Can anybody give me any last-minute advice before I sell my iPhone 6 Plus for a Galaxy Note 4?
I'm not looking for any iOS vs Android arguments, but after switching between iOS and Android, I seem to prefer Android much more.
However, I want an Android phone with a top-notch camera and it seems like the Note 4 has the best (?) camera available. I have two little kids and often don't take my camera with me, so I want a phone with a very good camera and excellent video capability as well. (I probably take slightly more videos than I do pictures)
I also want something at least 5" or larger. I'm mostly used to the "large" iPhone 6 Plus size, so I don't think the Note 4 will be a problem.
My top phones I'm deciding between are: Note 4, OnePlus One, LG G3, Sony Xperia Z3, Galaxy S5, Moto X.
Price isn't a concern because I'll be selling my iPhone 6 Plus to recoup the costs.
EDIT: I am a little concerned about the higher resolution on the Note 4 slowing down some light gaming, or having scaling issues with games, etc...
I actually just switched from a 6 Plus to a Note 4 in the past two weeks and I havent really regretted doing so. I have also owned the OPO, G3, and S5 and to my liking the Note 4 overpowers all. Note 4 takes wonderful pictures as you already with OIS as well as great videos. Since I have had the device I haven't snapped a lot of videos but I know there wouldn't be an issue in that category when it comes down to it.
As for slowing down when you are gaming, idk much about that since I do zero gaming on my device. You going from the 6 Plus to the Note 4 will be a breeze since the Note 4 is easier to hold in hands, despite people saying that the edges are sharp on the Note but that doesnt affect me since I run a case on my Note 4.
If you are taking lots of videos and pictures then having that external memory is a plus already. I am running an 128GB sd card in my device which I know is overkill but its there if I need it. I can also store a few 4k videos up there if I really wanted to. I don't think you will be dissapointed with the switch to the Note 4. Yeah it was a stretch coming from how smooth iOS is and then going back to bloaty Touchwiz but TW has been optimized a little more and with a few tweaks it can be very smooth, I say hit some comparison videos up on YouTube and then make the decision.
Thanks so much for the information!
I'm still doing research, and is it true that the AT&T version has it's bootloader unlocked, but the T-Mobile is unlocked?
I'd like to stay with AT&T, so would there be a problem purchasing the T-Mobile version and activating it on AT&T?
Unfortunately one of the applications I use (ARUnchained) requires root access so I do want an Android phone that can be rooted...
I am also on the edge of buying note 4. I am actually using z3 right now and the reason I would be switching is the camera. It is not so good as it looks on the paper and the only reason why I would be changing.
Everything else I like a lot and I actually don't like Samsung as a brand and almost hate touchwiz so the change is not easy..
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Yes! Just go for the note 4 mate that is a top notch android phone.. With a good built quality, camera are also good specially on outdoors but comparing in low light shot iphone camera is still on the top. Battery are great now with fast charging and ultrapower saving mode.. A lot of features and customization (cuz android) also the spen!
And those beautifully 2k display man you can never go wrong
Sent from my SM-N910C
sofakng said:
Thanks so much for the information!
I'm still doing research, and is it true that the AT&T version has it's bootloader unlocked, but the T-Mobile is unlocked?
I'd like to stay with AT&T, so would there be a problem purchasing the T-Mobile version and activating it on AT&T?
Unfortunately one of the applications I use (ARUnchained) requires root access so I do want an Android phone that can be rooted...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the AT&T version right not cant be rooted but I have been following a few threads where people are working on it now but there is not ETA as to where the AT&T version will be rooted, I am also desperately needing root. I think there is also a thread where people are using AT&T service on a T-Mobile phone but there are some disadvantages I think, There should be a thread in the AT&T Note 4 section with all those concerns. But the T-Mobile version can be rooted. If you want a rooted phone and also great quality all around, I would say my next option would be the G3. Very easy to root and also has a great camera. I just couldn't get with LG interface over Android.
CandyAndy said:
I am also on the edge of buying note 4. I am actually using z3 right now and the reason I would be switching is the camera. It is not so good as it looks on the paper and the only reason why I would be changing.
Everything else I like a lot and I actually don't like Samsung as a brand and almost hate touchwiz so the change is not easy..
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah Touchwiz is what it is at this point. I also hate it with a passion but like I said with a few tweaks and I run Nova Launcher, it can be very smooth and right now I have no complaints. I cant speak of the Sony Z series as that is one series I have not yet played with or owned yet.
---------- Post added at 02:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 PM ----------
Markpuge said:
Yes! Just go for the note 4 mate that is a top notch android phone.. With a good built quality, camera are also good specially on outdoors but comparing in low light shot iphone camera is still on the top. Battery are great now with fast charging and ultrapower saving mode.. A lot of features and customization (cuz android) also the spen!
And those beautifully 2k display man you can never go wrong
Sent from my SM-N910C
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct my friend, Even though in the beginning I was leery to switch away from the 6 Plus that was a great phone for me, The Note 4 just has too many features to pass up!
Gaming is good for me using my exynos variant
I switched to the Note 4 (Exynos) coming from an OPO. I wouldn't recommend the OPO since it has serious QA issues. My unit had this awful touchscreen issue which rendered the screen unusable when it got too hot. And it's a PITA to RMA it AFAIK.
I'm really liking the Note 4 a lot. Coming from stock or close to stock Android (I owned a Nexus 4 and 5 before the OPO), TouchWiz doesn't feel nearly as bloated as before. Everything is smooth and performance in games is top notch.
It feels great in the hand, the S Pen is quite handy, the screen is absolutely fantastic, the camera is great... My only complaint would be the rear facing speaker.
Samsung really won me over with the Note 4. Glad I picked this one up instead of the Nexus 6.
sofakng said:
Can anybody give me any last-minute advice before I sell my iPhone 6 Plus for a Galaxy Note 4?
I'm not looking for any iOS vs Android arguments, but after switching between iOS and Android, I seem to prefer Android much more.
However, I want an Android phone with a top-notch camera and it seems like the Note 4 has the best (?) camera available. I have two little kids and often don't take my camera with me, so I want a phone with a very good camera and excellent video capability as well. (I probably take slightly more videos than I do pictures)
I also want something at least 5" or larger. I'm mostly used to the "large" iPhone 6 Plus size, so I don't think the Note 4 will be a problem.
My top phones I'm deciding between are: Note 4, OnePlus One, LG G3, Sony Xperia Z3, Galaxy S5, Moto X.
Price isn't a concern because I'll be selling my iPhone 6 Plus to recoup the costs.
EDIT: I am a little concerned about the higher resolution on the Note 4 slowing down some light gaming, or having scaling issues with games, etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simply put it's just the best device on the market right now. Nothing comes close to it. Go for it, you won't regret it like you did the iPhone
after deciding that the note series is the best phablet, you still have to choose between
Exynos Note4, Snapdragon Note4 or Note Edge
after using exynos note4 for sometime, I am considering switching to note edge for the cool curved screen. The feeling of curved glass on thumb is amazing.
I would suggest a in store hands on with the Note Edge first, than go read the exynos vs snapdragon thread on the note 4 if you dont like the Edge.
good luck
I bought The note 4 after long times of researching and I absloutely love it. I own The 6 plus as Well but I like The Note 4 more. I like carrying both operating systems in my pocket. I use the Note for work and taking pics and use 6 plus For chatting and connecting with friends
If you want to use the Gear VR - only Snapdragon runs smooth because of the better GPU
if rumors are correct 5.5 inch screen, lighter,thinner and longer battery life plus an awesome camera, good speaker, all features I would luv.....so slightly smaller and no s.pen which i don't use much.....could be tempting?
I'm considering getting the HTC One M9 Plus (or whatever it's called), provided it has a 2k screen (not that I need it), a good camera and a decent battery life.
I personally wouldn't get the S6, I've grown tired of Samsung and the horrible lag with their top end devices; but the S6 definitely looks interesting and I'm sure it'll shake up the 2015 flagship wars.
@thedarkmunk The words HTC and good camera is not possible in one sentence :angel::angel:
---------- Post added at 02:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 PM ----------
magichoward said:
if rumors are correct 5.5 inch screen, lighter,thinner and longer battery life plus an awesome camera, good speaker, all features I would luv.....so slightly smaller and no s.pen which i don't use much.....could be tempting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@magichoward Prolly getting both devices again S6 and then the Note 5
Lol to each their own, my camera on my HTC Sensation back in the day was alright. To be honest, anything is better than the crummy Ultrapixel crap; if there is a 20MP sensor (and it might be a Hitachi one according to PocketNow), then who knows? It'll still be better than Ultrapixel!
thedarkmunk said:
Lol to each their own, my camera on my HTC Sensation back in the day was alright. To be honest, anything is better than the crummy Ultrapixel crap; if there is a 20MP sensor (and it might be a Hitachi one according to PocketNow), then who knows? It'll still be better than Ultrapixel!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I was indeed revering to the ultra pixel crap , I must admit that my Desire and One X made reasonable pictures. I played with a M7 and M8 of a friend at that was utterly crap (I do like the Sense UI though)
I would not switch from Note 4 to S6. I haven't even read what the rumored specs are in detail, but my Note 4 is brand new and I love my s pen, it's a feature I highly use and the main reason I got it over the S5 and its water resistance.
Should be good phone and likely will get one too (at least for temporary testing - I get phones from dealer/retailer friends that are either reduced price to buy, sometimes free or a phone to use and test for few months) so I'll try it but TouchWiz will still be a problem most of us will want to root and rom to get rid of.
They say they are going to trim down TW and reduce bloat only to replace with some Microsoft apps... Oh yeah, like that is better and like we haven't heard about TW getting made lighter before.
Hardware should be real good so worth a look but keeping my Note for sure.
i will be getting the Note 8 to replace my Note 4 based on my usual upgrade cycle.
magichoward said:
if rumors are correct 5.5 inch screen, lighter,thinner and longer battery life plus an awesome camera, good speaker, all features I would luv.....so slightly smaller and no s.pen which i don't use much.....could be tempting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's until the Note 5 comes out. Which will of course be surpassed by the S7 a few months later. But, alas, the Note 6 will bring it to its knees. Of course, the S8 will have the final word in this war. Until the Note 7 is released [...]
It's an infinite loop.
I don't think it's worth comparing the Note series with the S series. They were never meant to be the same or targeted to the same audience.
If you don't like the S-Pen, then yes, your money may have been better spent on something else. But, on the other hand, who can really tell you what to do and which device you'll be happy with?
^^
This is so true.. An infinite loop.. Next one to outdo the last.. Just the way it works.. Sure you can compare Notes to S series but isn't apple to apples as different uses and features.
I typically like to compare hardware though..
I think I wait for Note 5 with 4k display.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
No way. This Note 4 is a laggy POS, going back to LG after this. Samsung did say they would make Touchwiz less laggy on the S6,but I don't believe them.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app
There will always be a better phone on the horizon, you've just got to take what you can get now. That being said I was holding out for the S6 until I was burgled back in November. They robbed my S4 which was on charge right next to me while I was sleeping. (Scary feeling to wake up and reach for my phone then slowly realise what's happened).
Anyways I needed a new phone and the Note 4 had just been released so I ended up going for it. I'd never considered a Note before. Now that I have it, I have to admit I've been blown away by it. I'm almost (not quite) glad I got burgled. I've broken my S cycle and can happily say I'm sticking to the Note series for the foreseeable future.
S6 ......nope I've gone Note I can't go back.
I actually waited to see if the S6 is any good before buying a replacement for my OnePlus and I decided to get the Note 4 instead because of the following reasons:
* No microSD on the S6 - the difference for the higher memory S6 is almost £100, I got a 64GB microSD for £19
* No removable battery on the S6 - not a deal breaker but it certainly did not help in choosing the S6
* A lot of the apps (mostly for root) does not work properly with Lollipop and the S6 will only run Lollipop
* The "premium" design of the S6 is not worth the increase in price. I always use a case on my phones anyway.
* Going back to less than 5.5" screen is not something I would like
I will stick with my Note 4 until most of the apps I use works perfectly with lollipop, probably several months after the Note 5's release. I never buy a Samsung phone within 2 months of its release as the value goes down rapidly in that period together with accessories. Reviews are also available and bugs are ironed out.
Holidays.... Which current or last gen phones are worth an upgrade and have the best/most active dev on XDA? Thoughts?
lordodin912 said:
Holidays.... Which current or last gen phones are worth an upgrade and have the best/most active dev on XDA? Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- Every Oneplus phone is a good choice.
- Stay away from Samsung if you want good development.
- Motorola has some nice phones with good development.
Lennyz1988 said:
- Every Oneplus phone is a good choice.
- Stay away from Samsung if you want good development.
- Motorola has some nice phones with good development.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thoughts on the v10?
G4 seems pretty popular, but I don't know if it competes with the V10 performance wise. My first android phone was a second hand LG P350 which worked fine, and still does, only the battery is dead.
So thumbs up for LGs.
As a plus, the G4 and V10 have removable batteries and sd card slots, if you're into those sorts of things.
Another option would be Nexus phones. This will also give you the latest android version ahead of everybody else.
The downside is no removable battery and no sd card slot.
There's also a phone from Huawei, the Mate 8 or S I think, which is said to mop the floor with the S6 Edge+, performance wise.
How about Note3 vs V10 vs s6 edge? Can't decide...64gb SD card and extra battery are nice....dev would mabey be better for note5/s6 though. Ugh.
lordodin912 said:
How about Note3 vs V10 vs s6 edge? Can't decide...64gb SD card and extra battery are nice....dev would mabey be better for note5/s6 though. Ugh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it wouldn't. Thanks to the Exynos chip, developers are turning away from devices that have it. I've been on the S6 forum some time ago and I only saw touchwiz based roms mostly.
I don't recommend devices with Exynos chips because Samsung doesn't release sources very often (if at all) and that's a big problem for development.
And developers don't want to put up with all the hassle.
Nexus 6 (not P) is still a good buy. In fact, a 64GB model is what I'm shooting for in about a month. 128GB is too pricey, I don't want a fingerprint scanner, and I have no problem trading larger camera pixels for optical image stabilization. Oh, and don't forget that the 6 doesn't have the Snapdragon 810 inside.
I made an decision myself a few months ago. I chose the GS6 and returned it and kept my Galaxy S4. I chose to wait out for the Galaxy S7 and other flagships to be released. But, if you really want a superb phone right now, read below!
First in short:
1. Galaxy S6-series/Note5: Most reliable Android phone on all grounds. Most reliable camera for a 2015 smartphone and has a long-lasting battery. Weekly updates from Samsung which improves the phone are also there! No SD-card expansion here!
2. Moto X Play: Reliable AFFORDABLE!! Android phone that does not crash just like an Galaxy S6. It has a much lesser camera, yet still better than our Galaxy S4. It offers an SD-card expansion slot, AMOLED-LIKE display with brightness rivaling the mighty Galaxy S6-series. Battery-life is this device' top point. It easily outclasses every other modern flagship smartphone.
3. LG G4: Reliable Android phone. Not a reliable camera as the Galaxy S6 (bad dynamic range, bad OIS in certain situations, slow auto exposure-adjusting and many more) BUT when it does work, it produces amazing results in specific situations. Offers mediocre battery-life. Expect yourself to become a wall-hugger, although not as much a wallhugger as people with an iPhone 6(s). It DOES offer SD-card expansion AND a user-replaceable battery!
In details:
Personally, for a reliable phone, I'd pick the Galaxy S6-series flagship model. It's simply the best all-rounder with strong points at every aspect. The Galaxy S6 is imho very cheap for an flagship and is just plain awesome.
If you are on a budget, I recommend the Motorola Moto Play. It's truly a flagship killer, except for it's camera. It's camera is vastly better than what we have on our Galaxy S4, but it does not get close to what an S6 can produce. That said, the camera is very usable! The Moto Play has a truly astounding 5.5" IPS display, about as ridicilously bright as an Galaxy S6 can get and has a ridicilously high contrast ratio (very AMOLED-like!!!). It's killer point isn't it's display though, neither it's speed (keeps up with an Galaxy S6). It has INSANE battery-life! It smokes all Android flagships and Apple's iPhone 6S aswell when it gets down to battery life! Truly, the Moto Play is my top choice for EVERYONE that is on a budget, or is looking for an insanely fast and RELIABLE phone that has mindboggling battery-life. On a side-note, the Moto Play also offers MICRO SD-CARD EXPANSION.
The LG G4 isn't a great choice anymore. It has a lackluster display due to a very low ,maximum brightness, feels sturdy yet cheap. Camera is amazing in specific situations while in other specific situations, it performs worse than even our Galaxy S4 (microphone when outdoors, video in 1080p, the LG G4 is terribly oversharpened while our S4 makes it look smooth like you'd expect). BUT, it does offer user-replaceable battery and a micro sd-card slot! In my opinion, I never swap batteries and only use an SD-card slot.
For both the latest Galaxy S series flagship and the Moto Play you do not need custom roms for stability and reliablity. For the Moto Play you might want custom roms for extra features that the Galaxy already offers out of the box. The LG G4 is a mixed bag here. It's a playfull device, not as feature-proof as the Galaxy S6 is but there ARE custom roms availible for it!
I could give you way more input than this since I research smartphones for my own business regarding what device suits specific people the best.
tuk1maar said:
I made an decision myself a few months ago. I chose the GS6 and returned it and kept my Galaxy S4. I chose to wait out for the Galaxy S7 and other flagships to be released. But, if you really want a superb phone right now, read below!
First in short:
1. Galaxy S6-series/Note5: Most reliable Android phone on all grounds. Most reliable camera for a 2015 smartphone and has a long-lasting battery. Weekly updates from Samsung which improves the phone are also there! No SD-card expansion here!
2. Moto X Play: Reliable AFFORDABLE!! Android phone that does not crash just like an Galaxy S6. It has a much lesser camera, yet still better than our Galaxy S4. It offers an SD-card expansion slot, AMOLED-LIKE display with brightness rivaling the mighty Galaxy S6-series. Battery-life is this device' top point. It easily outclasses every other modern flagship smartphone.
3. LG G4: Reliable Android phone. Not a reliable camera as the Galaxy S6 (bad dynamic range, bad OIS in certain situations, slow auto exposure-adjusting and many more) BUT when it does work, it produces amazing results in specific situations. Offers mediocre battery-life. Expect yourself to become a wall-hugger, although not as much a wallhugger as people with an iPhone 6(s). It DOES offer SD-card expansion AND a user-replaceable battery!
In details:
Personally, for a reliable phone, I'd pick the Galaxy S6-series flagship model. It's simply the best all-rounder with strong points at every aspect. The Galaxy S6 is imho very cheap for an flagship and is just plain awesome.
If you are on a budget, I recommend the Motorola Moto Play. It's truly a flagship killer, except for it's camera. It's camera is vastly better than what we have on our Galaxy S4, but it does not get close to what an S6 can produce. That said, the camera is very usable! The Moto Play has a truly astounding 5.5" IPS display, about as ridicilously bright as an Galaxy S6 can get and has a ridicilously high contrast ratio (very AMOLED-like!!!). It's killer point isn't it's display though, neither it's speed (keeps up with an Galaxy S6). It has INSANE battery-life! It smokes all Android flagships and Apple's iPhone 6S aswell when it gets down to battery life! Truly, the Moto Play is my top choice for EVERYONE that is on a budget, or is looking for an insanely fast and RELIABLE phone that has mindboggling battery-life. On a side-note, the Moto Play also offers MICRO SD-CARD EXPANSION.
The LG G4 isn't a great choice anymore. It has a lackluster display due to a very low ,maximum brightness, feels sturdy yet cheap. Camera is amazing in specific situations while in other specific situations, it performs worse than even our Galaxy S4 (microphone when outdoors, video in 1080p, the LG G4 is terribly oversharpened while our S4 makes it look smooth like you'd expect). BUT, it does offer user-replaceable battery and a micro sd-card slot! In my opinion, I never swap batteries and only use an SD-card slot.
For both the latest Galaxy S series flagship and the Moto Play you do not need custom roms for stability and reliablity. For the Moto Play you might want custom roms for extra features that the Galaxy already offers out of the box. The LG G4 is a mixed bag here. It's a playfull device, not as feature-proof as the Galaxy S6 is but there ARE custom roms availible for it!
I could give you way more input than this since I research smartphones for my own business regarding what device suits specific people the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sisters getting the v10, thoughts? Are the v10 and g4 basically the same minus the 4gb ram, build quality and 2nd screen? Very in depth thanks....2015 not a good year for flasgships.... In a perfect world every model would have, at least, an option for removable battery and expandable storage. And I read the s7 might not have either but who knows.....mabey I should wait until next year. Just want the next upgrade to feel like my last upgrade from an evo3d to the s4 ha.
lordodin912 said:
Sisters getting the v10, thoughts? Are the v10 and g4 basically the same minus the 4gb ram, build quality and 2nd screen? Very in depth thanks....2015 not a good year for flasgships.... In a perfect world every model would have, at least, an option for removable battery and expandable storage. And I read the s7 might not have either but who knows.....mabey I should wait until next year. Just want the next upgrade to feel like my last upgrade from an evo3d to the s4 ha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The V10 is a nice upgrade to the LG G4. But, if the camera is important to you then it's good to know that the V10 has the same issue's as the LG G4 BUT, the V10 can record video with manual settings! If you want to feel the massive upgrade, then wait it out. I myself owned an Galaxy S6 and returned it. My little brother and my father both still own their Galaxy S6. I am running Albe's Note 5 custom ROM and when I compare my S4 to their Galaxy S6, it really does not differ all that much. Multitasking on my S4 is the same as on the S6, app-opening speed of small apps differ only by a millisecond. Switching between apps is obviously lagfree and ridicilously fast on the S6 and not on our glitchy Note 5 custom rom-running S4. The S6 did give me a few WOW-reactions, which were:
- Battery life, ~8 SOT daily. I am a chat-aholic and thus I use WhatsApp & snapchat a lot. On my S4 on kitkat, I achieved on average around 6.5 SOT, while my S4 achieves only ~3.5 SOT on the Note 5 rom.
- Display: MUCH brighter and MORE visible display! The S6 is pretty much perfect to use at ~30% brightness outdoors. My S4 would need to be at ~75% brightness to match the same out-door visibility that the S6 offers.
- Speakers: Very rich, deep bass and insane low frequency response while maintaining a very surround-like sound. Also, incredibly loud!
- Camera: It never stops surprising me how ridiculously good the camera on the S6 is. Samsung favors on the S6 to have no noise at all costs. Resulting in ALWAYS having a perfect picture to post on the internet!
- Fast: It never slowed down nor hang in the ~4 months my little brother had his S6.
ONE BAD THING THOUGH! Agressive RAM-management!
So, why did I return my S6 and went back to my S4? The S6' camera was only notably better than my S4' camera at low-light. Sure, my S4 camera is laggy, low-framerate, but I can deal with that. Back when the S6 launched, my S4 was still on KitKat and was pulling daily ~6.5 SOT on around 30% brightness with mixed usage. The S6 barely outperformed my S4 back then. I got a few audio-enhancements for my S4 which resulted in the S6 being only a little bit louder than my S4 was with more surround sound and LESS bass, yes less!!! (Speaker amp at 55, viper4android and Music Eq, all working together :3 ). My S4 multitasked better than my new S6 and my S4 basically offered all the same functionality as the S6 does. Remember, this was with my S4 on KitKat!
Now, you must be having a tough time deciding what to buy... It really depends on what specific part of a phone is the most important to you.
Balanced best phone: Galaxy S6-series/iPhone 6s PLUS (only PLUS model!!!)
Battery best phone: Motorola Moto Play
Specific situations (camera) best phone: LG V10
I guess that's my list right now. All phones that have mediocre battery-life are phones I do not take as an option. A smartphone can only stay smart if it can survive a full day with normal use only. Otherwise it wouldn't be smart heh
Personally i'm going for Nexus phones all the way from now on. It may not offer all the features that the LG UI or Touchwiz do but i'm tired of waiting for updates, custom aosp roms not working properly due to the lack of drivers released by OEM's, tired of LAG and stuttering throughout the phone...
Nexus phones solve all of that.
-Ric- said:
Personally i'm going for Nexus phones all the way from now on. It may not offer all the features that the LG UI or Touchwiz do but i'm tired of waiting for updates, custom aosp roms not working properly due to the lack of drivers released by OEM's, tired of LAG and stuttering throughout the phone...
Nexus phones solve all of that.
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Yes, they do that. But the same stability is also given by the latest Touchwiz and by Motorola's Moto mid-range and higher series phones. Especially the Galaxy S6 series and the Moto Play are terrifyingly amazing. No need for custom ROMS, no lag, no hiccups or stuttering, insanely fast and excel in batterylife which is exactly the part where the latest Nexus phones are terrible at. The Nexus 5X barely outperforming the batterylife of an Galaxy S4 shows how lackluster it's batterylife is. The Nexus 6P has average batterylife. Expect 1 SOT more on the 6P than you'd get on a stock Galaxy S4.
If you want a stable, reliable phone that does well at every aspect of being a smartphone, then the Galaxy S6 series and the Moto Play are the best option here. They update their phones fast, with the S6 having weekly system updates and the Moto Play a little less frequently but still gets the big software updates pretty fast. The Nexus line-up offer the fastest software updates, but with just 'okay' hardware and performance, what kind of improvements do you expect? The S6-series has weekly updates, improving hardware and software whereas the Moto Play aready is running on Marshmellow.
I owned an Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 4 myself. In the end, I keep returning to the more feature-rich touchwiz on my S4. The Moto Play has near-stock android, but once again it's feature packed
tuk1maar said:
Yes, they do that. But the same stability is also given by the latest Touchwiz and by Motorola's Moto mid-range and higher series phones. Especially the Galaxy S6 series and the Moto Play are terrifyingly amazing. No need for custom ROMS, no lag, no hiccups or stuttering, insanely fast and excel in batterylife which is exactly the part where the latest Nexus phones are terrible at. The Nexus 5X barely outperforming the batterylife of an Galaxy S4 shows how lackluster it's batterylife is. The Nexus 6P has average batterylife. Expect 1 SOT more on the 6P than you'd get on a stock Galaxy S4.
If you want a stable, reliable phone that does well at every aspect of being a smartphone, then the Galaxy S6 series and the Moto Play are the best option here. They update their phones fast, with the S6 having weekly system updates and the Moto Play a little less frequently but still gets the big software updates pretty fast. The Nexus line-up offer the fastest software updates, but with just 'okay' hardware and performance, what kind of improvements do you expect? The S6-series has weekly updates, improving hardware and software whereas the Moto Play aready is running on Marshmellow.
I owned an Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 4 myself. In the end, I keep returning to the more feature-rich touchwiz on my S4. The Moto Play has near-stock android, but once again it's feature packed
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Sorry but there are plenty of videos on youtube that show the Note 5 STILL lags, nowhere near as much as before but it's still there. Also i don't want to have to deal with crap like Knox voiding my warranty and ram management issues. Also i really like the smoothness and customization of AOSP based roms and AOSP roms will never run perfect on Samsung phones. + The S6 battery is complete crap.
I will agree that the Moto Play is a very good phone though, especially if you're into hardware customization and the price is quite good too.
Well guess I'll wait for the 820 chipset and see how it goes haha.......?
Yes. I'd also wait for the next generation phones. Right now there are far to many to choose from.
-Ric- said:
Sorry but there are plenty of videos on youtube that show the Note 5 STILL lags, nowhere near as much as before but it's still there. Also i don't want to have to deal with crap like Knox voiding my warranty and ram management issues. Also i really like the smoothness and customization of AOSP based roms and AOSP roms will never run perfect on Samsung phones. + The S6 battery is complete crap.
I will agree that the Moto Play is a very good phone though, especially if you're into hardware customization and the price is quite good too.
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I do not own an Note 5. The only devices I own is an Galaxy S6 and an Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. Both do not lag. They DO lag when you enable power saving though. Both have very agressive RAM management issue's. I recommend you not to believe stories about bad batterylife of the Galaxy S6 as Samsung pushes (at least here, in Holland) weekly updates. Their last update was once again for batterylife. This time, it was specifically for battery-standby. And it really did pay-off since my standby times have much improved. If you do not have hazardous applications installed on your Galaxy S6 such as applications that promise to be an RAM-cleaner or a battery-saver, then you should be seeing SOT's of 6.5 hours or more a day on auto-brightness. When I just bought my S6, mine had insane batterylife. My father's S6 had terrible batterylife. I was pulling 8 SOT a day while my father only got at most 2.5 SOT a day. Back then he had stupid Google Play services drain it's battery. Right now, he too gets insane SOT since a month or two ago.
AOSP rom's on an Exynos device? Why'd you even expect that? It's common sense to not expect AOSP or CM for an Exynos device. IF it does happen (like the just released CM for the S6), then it will provide you great RAM management, terrible batterylife and a terrible camera-experience. The S6 as of now is the perfect device for the average joe AND for the average joe that likes productivity. Do not get the S6 if you are a flash-aholic and bound to use AOSP because you think Google is God.
Moto Play is bad at gaming, but does the rest very well. The only phone that is the best balanced is as far as I know, the Galaxy S6-series. It isn't the best at every aspect, but it's always one of the best at everything it does, and that's what makes that device special and is why I recommend the S6 now unlike a few months ago
I'm confused whether it's ram or processor or nothing can make fast my device.
I use 300 apps in my asus laser. And average running apps would be fifteen to twenty. All these might not actually use at a time. But they are staying in recent apps even i quit using them. Don't say my top uninstall useless apps.
Prob is apps taking more than 4 to 5 seconds time to open. Im seriously looking out for which does not take time after i tap on the app. This is my only requirement. Multitasking. Help?
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---------- Post added at 10:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 PM ----------
harigavara said:
I'm confused whether it's ram or processor or nothing can make fast my device.
I use 300 apps in my asus laser. And average running apps would be fifteen to twenty. All these might not actually use at a time. But they are staying in recent apps even i quit using them. Don't say me to uninstall useless apps.
Prob is apps taking more than 4 to 5 seconds time to open. Im seriously looking out for which does not take time after i tap on the app. This is my only requirement. Multitasking. Help?
Sent from my ASUS_Z00LD using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my ASUS_Z00LD using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Hey guys!
I am kinda torn between these two devices. At first I waned the Edge+ but then after trying a few units in different shops I noticed that the home button is kinda loose. By loose I mean moving up and down (kind of like the one on the s6) instead of being stiff. Also I am pretty scared that it will be forgotten by Samsung after a while, just like my brand new s3 was forgotten back in the day (it only went from 4.0 to 4.3). Those being said..I think those two are my only concerns about the Edge+
On the other hand..is the Nexus 6P it's also a device I would like. It will always have the latest Android version (at least for about 3 years) and to me it looks okay. Not as sexy as the S6 edge+ but still looks nice. With this device I am concerned about either scratching the back of the graphite version..this exposing the raw aluminium...having the "visor" crack for no reason and I am also kinda concerned about the rigidity of the phone...last night I saw a guy on youtube bending it quite easily.
What would you recommend, guys? Nexus 6P or the Edge+
Please think what would you choose for yourself...and let me know. Also, are my concerns real? Did anyone scratch the back of the 6P or had it's visor crack by itself? Does anyone have an edge+ with a loose button? Hopefully if someone owns this device..they can shoot a really quick video showing the stiffness of the home button.
Also, even better...if someone owns both phones...which one would you pick again?
TLDR version: Nexus 6P or Edge+? Which one would you choose and why?
I am waiting for your answers guys! Hopefully I will get some fast.
Best regards,
Mihai Ilie
S6 Edge+ all over again
I've been using my S6 Edge+ since the launch day and if I have to, I'll pick this one again! I've never used a Nexus 6P, so probably my recommendation wouldn't be appropriate to depend on but the least I can do is tell you how the S6 Edge+ feels like!
1. No, I haven't noticed any loose Home button on my phone. Probably the store units were very roughly used. Also, I'm a hardware button fan (capacitive or tactile), so Edge+ gets a +1 here! It's just easy when the buttons are always there.
2. Display - The S6 Edge+/N5 Display super AMOLED display is amazing! The immersive feeling that you get while operating either of these devices is just incomparable! Deep blacks - another +1. 6P also has AMOLED as far as I've read but never tried it, so can't comment on its performance!
3. UFS2.0 vs eMMC 5.0 - If I'm currect, Nexus 6P is using eMMC storage while the the Samsung flagship is using UFS2.0 which is like 3 times faster than the former! And since it doesn't have any SD Card support, there's nothing to slow down the operations. Even the read/write from a PC on MTP is much faster than my old phones!
4. Exynos 7420 vs Snapdragon 810 - Processors are almost comparable except Exynos is clocked at 2.1 Ghz while the Snapdragon at 2 Ghz. Do not expect any such performance boost on either of them although the Exynos is 14nm fab while the other one is 20nm, so power consumption would a bit lesser in Exynos (just for the processor). If you look at the different benchmark results, you'll see Exynos 7420 above Snapdragon 810 but overall, the difference wouldn't be that significant!
5. 3 GB RAM vs 4 GB RAM - You might never need the additional 1 GB RAM with stock android on Nexus 6P but if you plan on putting another vanilla rom in your phone, an additional 1 GB would be significant in S6 Edge+. I never had any issue with the performance yet on S6 Edge+ but I believe 6P might perform better on a long run with additional upgrades and all (based on past nexus & note experience)
6. Camera : With OIS, S6E+/N5 has the best camera in the market! Sure 6P do have some nice slowmos, so it's upto your preference. I don't prefer to compare cell phone cameras, none of them are comparable to actual handheld cameras.
7. Gear VR - No, I'm not a Samsung fan but I do appreciate their efforts to excel in electronics industry. One of primary reasons behind getting a Samsung was to get my hands on Gear VR. And it was worth it! At just $99, it'll be the best toy you've ever owned! Combined with a Moga Controller, you'll be off to a parallel universe! Try it out in the stores.
8. Battery Life - With S6E+, I charge the phone at night and it survives the entire day on LTE always on and Wifi at home! I wouldn't say it has the best battery life, but I do not have any complains. Not so sure about 6P but considering it has 3450 mAh over 3000 in S6E+, I can only assume a better battery life with 6P.
Both the smartphones are comparable neck to neck although the S6E+ stands out due to it's amazing design. Both of them should be able to run all the latest games with highest details. The fingerprint sensor works great on S6E+, not sure about the 6P yet. And since you mentioned the software updates part, Nexus has always guaranteed upto 2 major upgrades and now they have announced 3 Years of monthly security updates (not featured updates) from the launch day of the device. As far as I've known, even Samsung has provided atleast 2 major upgrades (rolled out much slower than nexus though) on its flagships and recently they've shaken hands with Google on this monthly security update thing (not sure for 3 yrs or not though).
I know I probably haven't helped you choosing one but I hope the mentioned facts will help you choose one! Or the other comments will.:good:
No loose button here.
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I'm in the same boat. Want to trade my oneplus two for a s6 edge plus or nexus 6p.
Love the design, camera and screen from the edge but love the updates, fingerprint sensor and front facing sound from 6P.
no loose button on my Galaxy s6 edge+ Plus.
touchwiz is mostly lag free. sometimes my instagram crash sometimes cloeses for no reason but don't no if its the phone or the app it self.
s6 edge plus should get 2 years update.
Nexus 6P bends easily if pressed in the right spot. but otherwise should be fine.
get Nexus 6P if you want latest updates quickly as possible and can't wait. and get 3 years update.