Debate... I'm not sure what to get HONOR 8 or AXON 7.... be objective pls - ZTE Axon 7 Questions & Answers

Help me decide!!!
HONOR CONS/PROS
+Great Deal - 399 + 50 Gift Card + Case + JBL BT Headset
+Great Camera
+Better CPU
+Faster Finger Print Reader
-Less Storage
-Less Resolution
-Smaller Screen

http://www.antutu.com/static/attachment/articles/201608/18105556-content.png
Well, take a look at this. The Honor 8 with the Kirin 950 scores around 89k on Antutu. That's not even visible on this chart vs the Axon 7.
Camera is definitely better than Axon 7.
Audio, Axon 7 no contest.
The size, it's a preference. I prefer bigger screen with Android 7 Nouget the multiscreen favors bigger displays.
As for price, I don't like all these giveways. Just make the device $299 without giveaways please.

Asking in this forum, where we're all waiting for the Honor 8 seems a bit silly, hardly an unbiased opinion to be seen

chpimentelpr said:
Help me decide!!!
HONOR CONS/PROS
+Great Deal - 399 + 50 Gift Card + Case + JBL BT Headset
+Great Camera
+Better CPU
+Faster Finger Print Reader
-Less Storage
-Less Resolution
-Smaller Screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The CPU might be better, but the GPU on the Honor 8 is significantly worse.

Right, but there's no better place to get real feedback from real axon users. ? I order mine from Newegg... Will need to wait a bit to received it. Thanks all for the feedback is well appreciated.

chpimentelpr said:
Right, but there's no better place to get real feedback from real axon users. �� I order mine from Newegg... Will need to wait a bit to received it. Thanks all for the feedback is well appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the one thing you do need to remember is that the feedback is from all over the world. There seems to be some differences in software from region to region.
This has led to mixed reviews.
Personally, I have the Chinese 4gb, 128gb Axon 7. It works fine and things that the US users complain about the software seems to work fine on mine. I seem to have a few extra options that they don't but then again they can unlock the bootloader.
Now that I can get root access it is a bit better but is still locked down. I do worry that the next OTA to improve the software and fix bugs will, of course, loose me root....

This may give you some insight.
https://youtu.be/y0fHGJY-vFE
For me it's the Axon 7. I like the bigger res screen, the upcoming daydream compatibility and superior audio and non-Apple like OS.
The Honor 8 dies seem to have a better camera, but I can live with that. Plus I have an LG G5 for when I want photos.
You just have to decide which features are more important to you.

chpimentelpr said:
Help me decide!!!
HONOR CONS/PROS
+Great Deal - 399 + 50 Gift Card + Case + JBL BT Headset
+Great Camera
+Better CPU
+Faster Finger Print Reader
-Less Storage
-Less Resolution
-Smaller Screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had Honor 7 with the same SoC and I can tell you that it is really good enough, fast, no heating, good battery. And so is SD820 of Axon 7. Huawei has promised 2 years full support and upgrade for new phones and the new EMUI 5 wil be allegedly more close to stock. And even now you have third party themes which change that ugly apple look of Huawei phones.
But I'm still on for Axon 7. The fact is that everything but camera is better. Display, audio, design, rooting option... Even for camera you can't really tell that Honor's is better. It's dual but there is no Leica behind it as for P9.
As I see from my past experience, the software of Honor 8 will work without any issues and this is the only real advantage of Honor. I still have confidence in ZTE, I believe that it will solve software issues soon. Otherwise I would rather wait for Mate 9, which really supposed to be a killer phone.

It doesn't have a better CPU. The GPU on the Honor 8 is worse. The Honor 8 is going to be dead as far as development goes. The screen is worse, the audio is definitely going to be sub par. How fast does a finger print scanner really need to be? From what I can see it's USB C but at 2.0 speeds unlike the Axon which is USB C 3.0. The Honor 8 doesn't have Gorilla Glass. Also one of the biggest negatives for me is that it doesn't have Quick Charge 3.0. It has quick charging but it doesn't use the quick charge standard. It uses something called Smart Power 4.0 and after a Google search only thing I can find is something from Elgato and I don't think that's it so it's most likely proprietary.
In my view being the same exact price I don't see a single reason to go with the Honor 8. It has like nothing going for it over the Axon 7 except the camera. If the camera is that important to you then go for it but aren't there better options in the camera department anyway?

Kinda a silly question to ask since I doubt any users here own both phones.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using XDA-Developers mobile app

What's more important to you as a user? Better camera = Honor 8. Better sound = Axon 7.
I"m pretty pleased with my Axon 7 so far. It's great for music and games, for example.

max1001 said:
Kinda a silly question to ask since I doubt any users here own both phones.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your comment is silly... and not productive at all... I just want hear feedback. Thanks all for the inpt well appritiated.

chpimentelpr said:
Help me decide!!!
HONOR CONS/PROS
+Great Deal - 399 + 50 Gift Card + Case + JBL BT Headset
+Great Camera
+Better CPU
+Faster Finger Print Reader
-Less Storage
-Less Resolution
-Smaller Screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is something more of a personal preference. The Honor 8 is undeniably a beautiful phone. So if the glass look is something you prefer, go for it. With that said, it has a lower resolution LCD screen, a weaker GPU and CPU. The Kirin 950 is NO match for the Snapdragon 820 with Adreno 530. The Snapdragon is a better CPU scoring higher performance on Geekbench per core (around 2300 single core). The only reason the Kirin appears to score higher on the multicore is because it is an octacore (8 vs 4). It also has less on board storage at the base price (32GB vs 64GB). These are minor differences that come down to personal preference.
If a larger, superior screen with better sound matter to you, the Axon 7 is a no brainer. Huawei is more developer friendly though. The Honor 8 also has a superior camera, although I believe that the Axon 7 is an update away from having a really good camera. My personal preference would be the Axon 7 for the metal unibody design and superior specs.

chpimentelpr said:
Help me decide!!!
HONOR CONS/PROS
+Great Deal - 399 + 50 Gift Card + Case + JBL BT Headset
+Great Camera
+Better CPU
+Faster Finger Print Reader
-Less Storage
-Less Resolution
-Smaller Screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so this is interesting. I am so tired of when it comes time for me to buy a phone that I only have the time in the store or reading reviews to decide what I want to buy. Now that I'm older and can afford the hit on my credit card, I went out and bought both the Honor 8 and Axon 7 to have side by side for a week to see what I'd like more. I'll return the one I don't like.
Background - I travel for a living.. usually 4-6 hops (flights) a week. Always on the go. My biggest frustrations are: bad sound quality, bad camera quality and bad performance. Up until early last year I always had those problems. The LG V10 came out and solved all that. Absolutely amazing camera (see below), unbelievable sound quality (again see below) and performance was the best you could get (at that time).
Sound - I'm using my LG V10 as a benchmark to compare. I carry two sets of headphones. Westone W4r's (4 driver IEM's) and a pair of B&O H6 over ears. As everyone knows, the V10 has two DACs. One is the SOC DAC (Snapdragon 808) that's just average. Then there's the ESS DAC (that you can switch on the fly). But one real neat feature that no phone has ever had (other than the V20) is gain adjustment. Actual hardware gain. Meaning, if you use a short pigtail (male 3.5mm to female 3.5mm) and plug that in first, then plug your headphones in, you get a significant boost in gain to support higher impedance headphones. That being said, I will be using only the ESS DAC audio out for this section. The Honor 8 does a respectable job. I'm impressed with the volume, but nowhere near the high impedance mode of the V10. I would need to always carry my Fiio E6 headphone amp for traveling in flight. The ZTE Axon 7 seemed to have a lot of crosstalk.. meaning the sound stage seemed narrow. The volume output as nominal, but nothing to write home about. Again, I'd have to carry the Fiio E6. If you ask me why I don't talk about equalization or bass/treble response of the phones, is because this is subjective. Anyone can install an app like Neutron, PowerAmp or even a root app like Viper4Android to modify that. My last comment will be on the noise floor. It's breathtakingly low on the ESS of the V10. It's very low on the Honor 8, and it's a little higher with the AKG DAC on the Axon 7. Particularly with high dynamic tracks coming from artists like Orbital, Bob Moses, Autchre and the likes. I just wasn't as impressed with the noise floor as I was on the V10. Most reviews like you'll see in gsmarena state what I just said with numbers, and it shows.
Camera - There's simply nothing I can complain about on the V10. All cameras were tested hand held in auto mode (because.. 90% of the time you take these photos while you're moving, not with a 4' tripod and a chair to capture the perfect moment). I sit at my desk and took a photo across a dim lit room of my wife's desk chair. You can see the stitching in the leather edges. Camera did a great job of keeping noise to a minimum. With the Honor 8, the stitching is nearly gone. The ZTE, it's not even visible. In daylight pictures, the Honor 8 rivals the V10's camera as far as sharpness goes. The ZTE did an ok job as well, and sharpness was right up there. Maybe a touch more crisp. Color reproduction, the V10 seems dull and I find myself using Adobe Photoshop Express in Android correcting this. I never had an issue on the Honor 8. The ZTE, things were actually too vivid and over saturated. Response time (for shutter) is only average for the V10. The Honor 8 was a bit more speedy, and the ZTE was VERY quick. Night shots turned that around 180 degrees. The V10 takes AMAZING PHOTOS at night. (This is probably why they put the same sensor in the LG G5). It's quick to focus and just astounding in the detail it can pick up. The Honor 8 was more of an 'average' smartphone experience when it comes to night shot shutter speeds. The ZTE always had problems focusing on whatever you'd select. Therefore, the time to take a photo was much longer with this phone.
Performance - No one actually ever says anything about the day to day use of your phone. How often they have to clear their apps, how long they can go before things start bogging down, or for guys like me that juggle a lot of apps while on the go, while always checking for my bulging wallet that carries my spare battery for my V10. I usually have these apps open on a normal travel day: Hangouts, Delta, IHG, National Car, Google Keep, Google Maps (With location on, wifi off), music player (typically stock - I used to use Shuttle+, but it has issues with the latest update) (with Bluetooth on - to connect to my rental), Viper4Android, Chrome with 4-10 tabs open, the stock Camera and mobile hotspot (with the limit turned off so it's always on - if you turn the beacon feature off so the SSID is hidden, the power draw while it stays on is negligible when you consider the fact that as soon as you open your laptop it connects instantly). Those are my go to apps and the ones I switch back and forth to hundreds of times per day. With the V10, there are times when the navigation buttons literally get 'stuck' on the screen and I have to do this shuffle of power cycling the screen and fingerprint scans before the phone comes to life, which ultimately forces me to do a battery pull. The Honor 8 was snappy. Never had those issues at all in the week I had it. In fact, it seemed like app switching was just as fast as any other flagship you'd expect. If you don't do any gaming (and I don't) then the GPU 'rating' on Antutu and any other benchmark means absolutely nothing to this phone. On the ZTE, everything was stellar. Simply an unbeatable combination of top notch cpu performance and gpu (no lag with the gui - not even a stutter that you could visually see). I've done two factory resets with the V10 and the facts remain.. if I put those core apps back on and use them, I eventually have these problems again in a matter of days.
Battery Life - With the V10, I use my phone a lot. Wifi is always off, GPS always on, BT always on, Screen usually around 50-75% and I only clear my apps 1-2 times per day. With the same core apps installed, my V10 gets me through about 6 hours before it's dead. I usually charge 2-3 times per day. Once a week I'll swap with the battery in my wallet to keep both of them equally charged. With the Honor 8 I was blown away by the ability of this phone's multitasking, background battery drain and how well it made it. With the ZTE I was also impressed, but it sure wasn't twice the battery life than the Honor 8. I tell you what, I looked like a damn fool carrying around all three phones always doing the same thing on all three, but honestly, it's the only way to tell. With that being said, the V10 and it's 3,000mah battery lasted me 6 hours, the Honor 8's 3000mah battery was just shy of 8 hours (how ironic) and the ZTE's 3250mah lasted me about 9 hours.
With ALL this being said, you can clearly see why I'm trying to upgrade. Most of you would probably say "well if you like your V10 so much, why don't you just go get a V20??".... and you'd be right. But I HATE the size of the V10. Way too big for a phone and I have large hands (I can palm a basketball). I LOVE the size of the Honor 8. It's all about personal preference. I'm also being forced to upgrade because the Snapdragon 808 in the V10 can't keep up with me anymore.
Pricing - Right now you can buy a LG V10 around $250 as a benchmark. As of this posting, Best Buy has the Honor 8 on sale for $299, which is $100 off the normal price. Plus, they give you a case for free made direct by Huawei, and the case is actually very nice because you can still see the beautiful blue back and buttons work great. The ZTE Axon 7 is on sale at Fry's Electronics for $349 which is $50 off the normal asking price of $399. The LG V20 is $749 at places that even stock the phone, and it's so ridiculously priced that I can't justify it. I am honestly torn and have no idea what I should do. I spent all this time writing this post and I just get more frustrated each time. I eventually returned both the Honor 8 and ZTE thinking that I'd give the Oneplus 3T a shot, but after all the horrible reviews of their customer service and how they've been out of stock for over a month now, I've completely written them off. It's not a flagship killer if you can't even buy the damn thing. Why can't they make a phone with the same or better camera than the V10 (particularly in low light performance), as good or better audio gain as the V10's high impedance mode (because seriously, why limit the voltage out so much????), and have great performance in line with flagships? There is always a catch - if you look hard enough. My opinion the Achilles heel for the V10 is performance, the Honor 8 is volume gain and the ZTE's is low light camera performance. You need to decide what you can live without, aside from the physical dimensions.
My review here didn't help me, but I'm hoping it helps you. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I'll do my best.

Like many said, I prefer the Axon 7 by far. Superior screen, superior audio, superior CPU/GPU, and most important, QC 3.0 <-- this is really a GREAT advantage. Charges fully the phone in 45mins or less.

Between those two, I would go with the Axon 7. With that being said, after owning the Axon 7 for 3 months now, I wish I would have went with the oneplus 3. I would be giving up some resolution but it would be worth it for the dev. options. Development is a little slow going on the Axon 7.

OnePlus has a proprietary charger as well, like the H8 and that suxx... QuickCharge is available for all the SnapDragon CPUs, and it's really great, so why aren't they using it? I have 3 wall chargers already, one at home, one at work and one in my bag in case, knowing I can recharge my phone in 40 mins, or any other device without worrying if it's compatible or not...

Don't do it bruh. Am using op3 and finds it too simple.. doesn't feel a flagship fone other than speedy os. Display u ll get hatred of it. Audio department especially from 3.5 mm jack is worst I have heard, too flattened and low output.
You will feel iritated of using OnePlus 3 after few months
After spending 400 dollars you will feel what I actually paid for a plain blunt subtle fone that doesn't wows you in any area

ben cherian said:
Don't do it bruh. Am using op3 and finds it too simple.. doesn't feel a flagship fone other than speedy os. Display u ll get hatred of it. Audio department especially from 3.5 mm jack is worst I have heard, too flattened and low output.
You will feel iritated of using OnePlus 3 after few months
After spending 400 dollars you will feel what I actually paid for a plain blunt subtle fone that doesn't wows you in any area
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dat 5-month bump tho

Choose an username... said:
Dat 5-month bump tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well did you take then OnePlus 3 ?
---------- Post added at 06:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:07 PM ----------
azpatterson3 said:
Between those two, I would go with the Axon 7. With that being said, after owning the Axon 7 for 3 months now, I wish I would have went with the oneplus 3. I would be giving up some resolution but it would be worth it for the dev. options. Development is a little slow going on the Axon 7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you take OnePlus 3?

Related

Buy or not Meizu M5 PRO? Or rather a Nexus 6P?

Meizu 5 Pro has best processor of Android (Exynos 7420), sd card, nice AMOLED screen with 1080P, great battery (4th on battery life tests this year), and great price also (450 Euros).
But is Meizu....
¿Do you think is a good buy?
Or would be better a Huawei 6P with
Google support for two years and stereo speakers
Better camera and screen
but
Worse battery and processor
No sd
More expensive (200 euros more)
¿Does Meizu give software support with latest Android? ¿Which one you prefer? (you can put other smarthphones on the equation also)
I want to answer your question by comparing both phones in each category.
Design:
I started with design part because, for me it's very important part. I like meizu pro 5 design much more than 6p not saying 6p is not good but, 2.5D glass with looking similar to Iphone in front is not a bad thing in meizu and better than 6p here. I prefer Fingerprint as a home button on meizu at the front much more than in 6p at the back. ( Not to mention how innovative home button of meizu will change the way of using this phone when you getting used to it and you cannot compare it with any other android phone). Also design of meizu at the back is also more beautiful in my opinion as it's a little similar to htc one series. Also 10g less weight in meizu should be a little more suitable in hand.
Camera:
About camera in meizu it does pretty decent job in good light maybe even better than 6p specially better in detail comparison but, in low light you should either use manual mode or accept quality of auto mod which is not bad but, differently 6p is better but, not much better.
Selfie with front camera is definitely better (more detail) in 6p but, for internet both do good job here.
Processor:
The main problem in 6p is qualcomm 810 processor which is a big no for me specially compare to Exynos 7420 which is arguably the best in the market for now (even compare to karin 950) and you will never feel a hot phone in your hand or lag due to hot temperature of cpu and much more energy efficient than Q 810. (Not fan of Antutu benchmarks but, recently Meizu take the crown from Huawei karin 950 chipset in Huawei Mate 8!)
Softwere:
On the other hand meizu apparently is new to world market and cannot support their phone like google but, in future with custom roms it will be okay I think (do not expect near future!) Meizu does not come with unlock bootloader and apparently there is no way to unlock it and it may take so long to either someone manage to unlock it (very difficult + lack off good developers due to less popularity of meizu and the phone itself) or company give us a way to do it so, do not except support of developers or company like 6p. Meizu will definitely upgrade meizu pro 5 to marshmallow but, time is unknown.
Also if you really like pure android experience which I don't! heavily skin of Flyme OS on top of android in meizu may become a big problem for you. Lack of app drawer or design of home screen or even default apps are not a big deal as you can get a good launchers now a day specially with htc sense launcher and apps but, other part like setting menu and notification drawer and etc will be always the flyme one!
Screen
Comparing the screen, there should not be much differences as both phones using very similar amoled technology and panel. Yes 2k vs full hd but, 2k display of 6p is not as good as samsung new flagships like gs6 or note 5. Brightness of both phones are almost similar. I don't think you will notice the differences here in display part in daily usage because, differences of 2k displays are not very recognizable in human eyes in phones bellow 7" screens. But, if it does for you it's just a little more sharper but, not better in contrast, color and etc.
In 6p you will get gorilla glass 4 which is better when you drop the phone and can manage much more pressure here but, not as good as gorilla glass 3 (meizu pro 5) in scratch resistance part. If you use screen protector no problem here for both phones.
Audio:
Yes 6p has dual speaker in front which is more suitable when watching something or listening to musics with speakers but, meizu on the other hand support Hi-Fi audio so, provide much better quality sound specially when you plug a headphone which 6p was unfortunately poor here.
Hardware/Connectivity/Network/Battery:
Lack of memory support is again a big downside of 6p compare to meizu plus 2 sim in meizu vs 1 in 6p (in meizu 2 sim if you don't use sd card) .
For connectivity both doing great and not very different here. You have more 4g bands support in 6p but, if you don't live in USA you will not loose here. Meizu definitely is much better in battery part as you know so, no more words here. Also meizu charge the battery a little faster than 6p specially if you charge 6p with retail charger in it's package which the plug is weaker than meizu fast charger plug. (No need to buy faster plug in meizu).
Okay I don't know if I left anything else and hope it helps you to choose the best option but, personally I will choose meizu here as you mention the price of 6p I don't think it wrote 200 euro more just for a little better camera, speaker and screen VS it's downs. But, if you cannot live without latest version of android and faster support of google or with Flyme OS of meizu better to go for 6p. ( The only real downside of meizu compare to 6p currently before unlocking the bootloader of pro 5)
DanielGatti said:
Meizu 5 Pro has best processor of Android (Exynos 7420), sd card, nice AMOLED screen with 1080P, great battery (4th on battery life tests this year), and great price also (450 Euros).
But is Meizu....
¿Do you think is a good buy?
Or would be better a Huawei 6P with
Google support for two years and stereo speakers
Better camera and screen
but
Worse battery and processor
No sd
More expensive (200 euros more)
¿Does Meizu give software support with latest Android? ¿Which one you prefer? (you can put other smarthphones on the equation also)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look at the prices, i will go for Letv Lemax, the most powerful android phone, that will be out soon and will cost about 530 USD with new snapdragon 820 and with antutu benchmark about 120 000. It have 64/128GB ROM, 4GB ram, QHD dipley, 21 MPX camera, USB 3.0 type C, atc.
Kubas_inko_CZ said:
If you look at the prices, i will go for Letv Lemax, the most powerful android phone, that will be out soon and will cost about 530 USD with new snapdragon 820 and with antutu benchmark about 120 000. It have 64/128GB ROM, 4GB ram, QHD dipley, 21 MPX camera, USB 3.0 type C, atc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6.33-inch display! wow huge for a phone!
Plus 2 MP front camera is not good for selfie + not amoled screen + 3400mAh battery definitely is not good in 2k IPS LCD display and you should wait at least 3 more months if not more for outside of china; And 530 usd price (price of 32gb with no expandable storage) is unconfirmed and if it cost 530$ it will be in china not outside so, definitely expect 600$+
The only upside is the cpu which we don't know how well it's until it comes out plus OIS in camera. Qualcome did awful job in 810
I've used both and the camera on the Meizu is far better than the 6P.

HTC 10 or S7

Hi everyone ,
I thought of getting the s7 edge but the 10 was pretty impressive. Which should I go for ? I flash Roms a lot and will definitely root it. I will be getting it unlocked for sure.
I had the HTC ONE M8. My contract was up this year. I went for the S7 EDGE and aside from missing the IR blaster, I don't regret it. However the lack of decent tempered glass screen protectors for the S7E is irritating.
That said, if the Edge model did not exist and the choice was between regular S7 and HTC 10, I would have stuck with HTC. The Edge uniqueness pipped it for me. I actually use the Edge UI quite a bit.
FYI some more background, I left Samsung years ago and switched to HTC for two reasons 1) fed up with TouchWiz and bloat ware 2) plastic materials. Something I felt HTC were addressing with their Sense and metal materials. I've gone full circle again. TouchWiz is less bloated now and actually enjoyable to use. And the hardware feels premium.
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers mobile app
Are you getting the international S7? Because AFAIK, The US models don't support unlocking/root... so that's a big negative. Also, I never had a good experience using an international Note 5 on T-Mobile USA's network (if you're US based).
Each phone has pro's and cons. The S7 is certainly more polished right now, but HTC has been pushing updates daily to fix issues. Performance should ideally be faster on the HTC just because it is less bloated. I really appreciate HTC embracing stock Android as much as possible. I'll give you a quick rundown of my opinion on the devices... I'm having such a hard time deciding, I actually just ordered both and plan on using them back and forth to hopefully decide which I will use until the next Nexus or Note 6.
S7E:
+Insanely fast autofocus... camera is reliable right now. Better manual controls
+Great sunlight brightness
+Waterproof
+OLED screen
+Unique design
+Larger screen
+Huge battery
+Better slow motion video, and 60 FPS video
+Wireless charging
+UFS storage speeds
-micro-USB, v2.0
-TouchWiz
-No root capability for US models yet?
-Fingerprint reader is slower and must press power button
-Curved edges can distort colors (turn blue/green) on white browsing screens
HTC 10:
+Brighter screen in manual brightness
+High fidelity speakers and headphone jack, DAC/amps. High-res audio recording
+Lighter OS
+Better looking display whites
+Type C USB, v3.1
+Unlocked bootloader
+Better front and rear camera hardware (bigger pixels, OIS on front - software needs more polishing)
+$599 after discount code
-eMMC storage speeds
-Smaller display
-Only splash resilient
-Small battery for thickness
-No sunlight brightness boost mode
-LCD contrast (very good, but still nowhere near OLED)
If the 10 were OLED and 5.5", it would have been the perfect phone...
I love HTC, but now, i would pick the S7 edge.
Htc 10 is a good device. The S7Edge is a great device. You pretty much get the best components on the market. Htc 10 asks way too high of a price for what it offers, using emmc storage, bad optics for the camera, OIS not so good either, display is not that good unless you get a specific brand (basically a lottery), it gets too hot too fast ( search htc 10 forums)
The only reason you might wanna consider the 10 is maybe audio, not that its that much better than the S7Edge exynos. Samsung pretty much created the best device money can get to date.
FalconFX said:
Htc 10 is a good device. The S7Edge is a great device. You pretty much get the best components on the market. Htc 10 asks way too high of a price for what it offers, using emmc storage, bad optics for the camera, OIS not so good either, display is not that good unless you get a specific brand (basically a lottery), it gets too hot too fast ( search htc 10 forums)
The only reason you might wanna consider the 10 is maybe audio, not that its that much better than the S7Edge exynos. Samsung pretty much created the best device money can get to date.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're down talking the phone way more than it deserves. Have you even used it yet to back up those claims?
The latest eMMC is not THAT much worse than UFS. Most people are likely to not even notice a difference because once things are loaded in the RAM, it's moot.
How does it have bad optics? LOL. It uses the same sensor as the 6P which BEATS the S7E in plenty of low light tests due to superior HDR processing. The HTC with a bigger aperture AND OIS is a recipe for perfection if HTC can get the camera software right, which so far has gotten better, but is not where it needs to be. And how is the OIS bad?
I haven't seen much complaining about the panels. Apparently the more rare Sharp panels don't have an issue in landscape with polarized sunglasses and may have less visible tinting at extreme angles. But from what I saw in a YouTube video, after 2 weeks, the pink tint was practically gone at extreme angles hinting to it being an adhesive issue in the LCD which will clear up after a little bit of use.
Don't know anything about the heat actually being an issue. Apparently people feel the heat easily - it is an aluminum phone, so maybe it's just better at dissipating it, but I would bet that the S7E is less prone to thermal throttling with its vapor heat pipe. Not an issue for me because I never game on my phone.
Nitemare3219 said:
You're down talking the phone way more than it deserves. Have you even used it yet to back up those claims?
The latest eMMC is not THAT much worse than UFS. Most people are likely to not even notice a difference because once things are loaded in the RAM, it's moot.
How does it have bad optics? LOL. It uses the same sensor as the 6P which BEATS the S7E in plenty of low light tests due to superior HDR processing. The HTC with a bigger aperture AND OIS is a recipe for perfection if HTC can get the camera software right, which so far has gotten better, but is not where it needs to be. And how is the OIS bad?
I haven't seen much complaining about the panels. Apparently the more rare Sharp panels don't have an issue in landscape with polarized sunglasses and may have less visible tinting at extreme angles. But from what I saw in a YouTube video, after 2 weeks, the pink tint was practically gone at extreme angles hinting to it being an adhesive issue in the LCD which will clear up after a little bit of use.
Don't know anything about the heat actually being an issue. Apparently people feel the heat easily - it is an aluminum phone, so maybe it's just better at dissipating it, but I would bet that the S7E is less prone to thermal throttling with its vapor heat pipe. Not an issue for me because I never game on my phone.
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Just the fact that you said that HTC has bigger aperture means you know s***t about cameras, The smaller the number the wider the aperture, 1.7 is better than 1.8. here is a comparison :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFww3-Ne3Fk
When i said optics i meant the lenses, not the sensor, but considering how you dont know which aperture size is better, there is no reason to waste my time on photography 101.
The S7 is the fastest device of the year (exynos), in day to day usage & in heavy tasks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvytFwkI8BA
As i said, the 10 is a good device, but not a great one, for the price they are asking for it, they are delivering the basic things, which every device this year does very well, and arguably the S7 excels not only at the basics, but goes beyond that with extras, (Wireless charging, heat pipe, IP68, etc).
FalconFX said:
Just the fact that you said that HTC has bigger aperture means you know s***t about cameras, The smaller the number the wider the aperture, 1.7 is better than 1.8. here is a comparison :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFww3-Ne3Fk
When i said optics i meant the lenses, not the sensor, but considering how you dont know which aperture size is better, there is no reason to waste my time on photography 101.
The S7 is the fastest device of the year (exynos), in day to day usage & in heavy tasks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvytFwkI8BA
As i said, the 10 is a good device, but not a great one, for the price they are asking for it, they are delivering the basic things, which every device this year does very well, and arguably the S7 excels not only at the basics, but goes beyond that with extras, (Wireless charging, heat pipe, IP68, etc).
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Click to collapse
My comment of having a bigger aperture was directed towards it being larger than the 6P, not the S7E. I am well aware that the S7E has a larger aperture, but the 10 has larger pixels. I'm not sure which would equate to taking in more light, but considering the 6P has been capable of producing better shots than the S7E in many scenarios at night, the 10 should be even more capable with its larger aperture (than the 6P).
Exynos is not available here in the US unless you get the international version, which is not worth it considering the issues that may arise trying to use it on US carriers based on my experience with an international Note5 on T-Mobile USA's network. If OP is outside of the US, then that is cetainly something to consider.
The S7 has its additional features, as does the 10. The heat pipe is only relevant if you heavily use the device. IP68 is cool for sure, but I don't know how well I'm warming up to the idea of getting the phone wet regularly. Wireless charging is pointless because it is a lot slower than wired, and you can't really use the phone easily when it's charging like that. The 10 has FAR superior audio (at least vs the SD 820 variant), has a larger aperture for the front camera along with OIS, more refined speaker audio, higher manual brightness, USB Type C v3.1, is less bloated, and - this is a big one for me - doesn't require you to hit a home button for fingerprint unlock OR to go home. I don't know why, but I hate pushing down on a button, especially to unlock the device.
I'm not arguing that the S7 isn't a great device. That's why I have ordered them both to see which suits me best. I'm just saying that calling the 10 only a "good" phone is a bit unwarranted at this point. HTC put a lot of effort in the right places and left it unlocked from the start, and has pushed updates daily since it launched. Samsung hasn't really innovated much like they could have. Last year's Note5 was a huge showcase of that... nothing new other than the updated design.
HTC 10 I liked best the camera.
Nitemare3219 said:
My comment of having a bigger aperture was directed towards it being larger than the 6P, not the S7E. I am well aware that the S7E has a larger aperture, but the 10 has larger pixels. I'm not sure which would equate to taking in more light, but considering the 6P has been capable of producing better shots than the S7E in many scenarios at night, the 10 should be even more capable with its larger aperture (than the 6P).
Exynos is not available here in the US unless you get the international version, which is not worth it considering the issues that may arise trying to use it on US carriers based on my experience with an international Note5 on T-Mobile USA's network. If OP is outside of the US, then that is cetainly something to consider.
The S7 has its additional features, as does the 10. The heat pipe is only relevant if you heavily use the device. IP68 is cool for sure, but I don't know how well I'm warming up to the idea of getting the phone wet regularly. Wireless charging is pointless because it is a lot slower than wired, and you can't really use the phone easily when it's charging like that. The 10 has FAR superior audio (at least vs the SD 820 variant), has a larger aperture for the front camera along with OIS, more refined speaker audio, higher manual brightness, USB Type C v3.1, is less bloated, and - this is a big one for me - doesn't require you to hit a home button for fingerprint unlock OR to go home. I don't know why, but I hate pushing down on a button, especially to unlock the device.
I'm not arguing that the S7 isn't a great device. That's why I have ordered them both to see which suits me best. I'm just saying that calling the 10 only a "good" phone is a bit unwarranted at this point. HTC put a lot of effort in the right places and left it unlocked from the start, and has pushed updates daily since it launched. Samsung hasn't really innovated much like they could have. Last year's Note5 was a huge showcase of that... nothing new other than the updated design.
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I dont know whats so amazing about higher manual brightness being higher, i keep mine on auto, and outdoors i can see the screen no problem, the 10 has way worst outdoor visibility.
Phones are getting stagnant. The S7Edge is the farthest a device can get as a whole package. Next year is where innovation should be made. Any device that you buy this year will have no problem bolding up beyond 2 yrs. I feel like sammy did the right thing with the s7, its improved in every possible aspect. As i said, the htc 10 is a good device compared to this year's flagships, but its the a great upgrade from the M9 and M8.
The htc 10 would be a great phone if priced well. 500$ is the best price for it. It doesnt offer much from the 6p, so it should be priced against it.
I have one more T-Mobile jump until it resets in June. Then I get 3 more upgrades for the year. I'm going to look at the HTC 10 but I don't know if I'll take the leap. Battery life is most important to me and I don't think the 10 will come close to the 8 hours SOT I'm getting with my S7E.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
Nitemare3219 said:
Are you getting the international S7? Because AFAIK, The US models don't support unlocking/root... so that's a big negative. Also, I never had a good experience using an international Note 5 on T-Mobile USA's network (if you're US based).
Each phone has pro's and cons. The S7 is certainly more polished right now, but HTC has been pushing updates daily to fix issues. Performance should ideally be faster on the HTC just because it is less bloated. I really appreciate HTC embracing stock Android as much as possible. I'll give you a quick rundown of my opinion on the devices... I'm having such a hard time deciding, I actually just ordered both and plan on using them back and forth to hopefully decide which I will use until the next Nexus or Note 6.
S7E:
+Insanely fast autofocus... camera is reliable right now. Better manual controls
+Great sunlight brightness
+Waterproof
+OLED screen
+Unique design
+Larger screen
+Huge battery
+Better slow motion video, and 60 FPS video
+Wireless charging
+UFS storage speeds
-micro-USB, v2.0
-TouchWiz
-No root capability for US models yet?
-Fingerprint reader is slower and must press power button
-Curved edges can distort colors (turn blue/green) on white browsing screens
HTC 10:
+Brighter screen in manual brightness
+High fidelity speakers and headphone jack, DAC/amps. High-res audio recording
+Lighter OS
+Better looking display whites
+Type C USB, v3.1
+Unlocked bootloader
+Better front and rear camera hardware (bigger pixels, OIS on front - software needs more polishing)
+$599 after discount code
-eMMC storage speeds
-Smaller display
-Only splash resilient
-Small battery for thickness
-No sunlight brightness boost mode
-LCD contrast (very good, but still nowhere near OLED)
If the 10 were OLED and 5.5", it would have been the perfect phone...
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Thanks a lot for the comparison. It's really helpful. I'll just get the S7 and the 10 at a go. I'll return either one. BTW I live outside the States.
And thanks, everyone for your thoughts.
Nitemare3219 said:
Are you getting the international S7? Because AFAIK, The US models don't support unlocking/root... so that's a big negative. Also, I never had a good experience using an international Note 5 on T-Mobile USA's network (if you're US based).
Each phone has pro's and cons. The S7 is certainly more polished right now, but HTC has been pushing updates daily to fix issues. Performance should ideally be faster on the HTC just because it is less bloated. I really appreciate HTC embracing stock Android as much as possible. I'll give you a quick rundown of my opinion on the devices... I'm having such a hard time deciding, I actually just ordered both and plan on using them back and forth to hopefully decide which I will use until the next Nexus or Note 6.
S7E:
+Insanely fast autofocus... camera is reliable right now. Better manual controls
+Great sunlight brightness
+Waterproof
+OLED screen
+Unique design
+Larger screen
+Huge battery
+Better slow motion video, and 60 FPS video
+Wireless charging
+UFS storage speeds
-micro-USB, v2.0
-TouchWiz
-No root capability for US models yet?
-Fingerprint reader is slower and must press power button
-Curved edges can distort colors (turn blue/green) on white browsing screens.
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Click to collapse
100% incorrect. When the phone is in sleep you simply need to press the home button down with a finger/thumb that's been setup and the phone will unlock. The physical pressing of the home button wakes the device then the fingerprint is immediately read. You don't even need to release the button. The power button on the side at no point needs to be touched.
Beefheart said:
100% incorrect. When the phone is in sleep you simply need to press the home button down with a finger/thumb that's been setup and the phone will unlock. The physical pressing of the home button wakes the device then the fingerprint is immediately read. You don't even need to release the button. The power button on the side at no point needs to be touched.
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Sorry I used the wrong wording. I know you don't have to hit the power button - what I implied was you must hit the home button, physically push it down to wake the device for your fingerprint to be read. If Samsung would have found a way to avoid that requirement, the fingerprint sensor would be a lot more appreciable to me. I dislike the physical home button all together truthfully. I strongly prefer the 10's home button.
I've been using the S7E for a few days now. The 10 has been sitting at home, and will likely be getting returned. It's a good phone in a lot of ways. Maybe even a great phone. But every other phone out there is the best at something. The 10 is best at almost nothing, but good/great at everything. Problem is, most of those phones that are the best at something are also good/great at everything else too.
My biggest complaint with the 10 is the display. It just sucks compared to OLED. It has crazy motion blur, low brightness below 75%, a pink tint to the entire screen even viewed straight on, and has lesser contrast (but very good contrast for LCD). That combined with the display being SMALL, makes it a loss for me. I just don't want to use it as much as I do the S7E or the 6P.
I was really excited about the audio. I was really excited about the camera. I was really excited about the build. It gets all of those things right. But so do the other two phones I mentioned for the most part (headphone audio isn't that good on the S7E, but it's not bad enough to make me not want to use it). With a 5.5" OLED display, the 10 would've been phone of the year in my book, no questions asked.

Need some advice ASAP. S7 or Axon 7

I'm looking at both these phones right now...but the store I'm looking at only has 2 S7s left in stock
There's a $40 cad difference in cost between the two
My #1 priority on a phone is headphone audio quality. #2 is camera quality
This is why I'm struggling so much between the two phones.
The Axon 7 does come with a case/screen protector and pair of Monster npulse headphones as well, which is a nice bonus over the s7 which is just the phone
Which would you get?
Also, I've been reading alot of negativity towards the Axon 7's low light performance. Has anyone tried using manual mode in low light to see if this is still an issue? Based on the images I've seen, it appears to be software using too high of an ISO setting causing much of the problems.
I just got my axon yesterday and camera is average to disappointing. Software is kinda glitchy at times but lighter than TouchWiz though TW has improved. The 640 DPI on axon is maddening and can't really be changed without affecting some apps if that is a concern but move Nova launcher does help to some extent. Battery is average though not stellar. . You can unlock bootloader on axon but it voids warranty if you care about that.
Speakers and screen are very very good.
If you are looking to save money the axon may suffice
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
markwebb said:
I just got my axon yesterday and camera is average to disappointing. Software is kinda glitchy at times but lighter than TouchWiz though TW has improved. The 640 DPI on axon is maddening and can't really be changed without affecting some apps if that is a concern but move Nova launcher does help to some extent. Battery is average though not stellar. If you are looking to save money the axon may suffice.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
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How would you say the audio quality through headphones compares to the S7/Note 7?
I know the speakers on the device are vastly superior...but what about headphones?
May be slightly better but I am not one for these processed artificial dolby layers. I found the edge to be quite decent as well as Note 7 if you fiddle with equalizer and it depends on quality of headphones or earbuds. That is more subjective.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
I am selling my Axon for an S7 Edge. I will miss the awesome speakers but feel pretty much everything else is better on the Edge. Camera, screen, battery life, polished UI, etc. But man will i miss the speakers, the little speaker on the edge sounds horrible.
I hear you, no pun intended but any serious listening I use headphones or earbuds. The Edge and Note speaker is good enough for me for phone calls, etc. Would have been nice if they had stereo but everything else is improved over the axon but heck, can't beat that price for what the axon does.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
viper98 said:
My #1 priority on a phone is headphone audio quality. #2 is camera quality
This is why I'm struggling so much between the two phones.
The Axon 7 does come with a case/screen protector and pair of Monster npulse headphones as well, which is a nice bonus over the s7 which is just the phone
Which would you get?
Also, I've been reading alot of negativity towards the Axon 7's low light performance. Has anyone tried using manual mode in low light to see if this is still an issue? Based on the images I've seen, it appears to be software using too high of an ISO setting causing much of the problems.
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Click to collapse
1.- Speakers the Axon 7 is a beast and with headphones is 2xbeast :silly:, really love the sound from this device.
2.- Camera fails in Low Light ,not like is terrible to no good, but is the only downside I see so far compare to others. But is mostly software and as far as I know ZTE is working for fix, other than that takes good picture
Note : using Manual mode can make things a lot better, most of the reviews uses Auto Mode so FYI.
3.- the skin in the Axon 7 is close to stock + some OEM tweaks here and there, I use Nova prime for my needs and I really have no complains.
4.- having captive nag. Buttons is a big plus,
5.- The design and feels is super b, like it better than G5 or S7 Edge.
---------
The only area s7 family wins is in waterproof other than that Axon 7 is a pretty nice device , but is just my opinion.
DrakenFX said:
1.- Speakers the Axon 7 is a beast and with headphones is 2xbeast :silly:, really love the sound from this device.
2.- Camera fails in Low Light ,not like is terrible to no good, but is the only downside I see so far compare to others. But is mostly software and as far as I know ZTE is working for fix, other than that takes good picture
Note : using Manual mode can make things a lot better, most of the reviews uses Auto Mode so FYI.
3.- the skin in the Axon 7 is close to stock + some OEM tweaks here and there, I use Nova prime for my needs and I really have no complains.
4.- having captive nag. Buttons is a big plus,
5.- The design and feels is super b, like it better than G5 or S7 Edge.
---------
The only area s7 family wins is in waterproof other than that Axon 7 is a pretty nice device , but is just my opinion.
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How would you say it compares to the camera on the G4?
viper98 said:
How would you say it compares to the camera on the G4?
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Click to collapse
Good question haven't actually compare my G4 to my A7...but what I can tell you using Auto-Mode in both devices, the A7 is better with good lighting conditions (AutoMode) and the G4 is slightly better in Low Light LG have betterxmore polish camera software (AutoMode) , things change a bit more when use Manual more.
Just considering lg is a actual Camera manufacture and have way more experience with camera software.
A lot A7 issues are software related and theoretical could be fixed by software patch. That being said ...if you don't care about rooting I would go with galaxy. Touchwiz has gotten a lot better. Only sacrifice is speakers are better on A7 if you care about that. GS7 has terrible speaker.
Either one is a good choice but headphones will sound close same (very margin better on A7) and camera Iis way better on gs7. Battery life maybe better on g7 till custom ROMs are built for a7.
G7 is better for what you want IMO
And if you are a VZW subscriber, I really doubt the axon will get whitelisted for it to work correctly and fully.
Sent from my SM-N930V using Tapatalk
markwebb said:
And if you are a VZW subscriber, I really doubt the axon will get whitelisted for it to work correctly and fully.
Sent from my SM-N930V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with Rogers in Canada.
Here's a total breakdown of what I'm looking at
Open Box Sprint S7s are going for $621.49 after tax. Adding in $30 for a case and screen protector I'd be looking $650 all in
The Axon 7 comes to a total of $598.97 all in and includes a pair of Monster NPulse headphones with the order.(don't care about the headphones...but I could sell them for ~$100 or just gift them)
viper98 said:
I'm with Rogers in Canada.
Here's a total breakdown of what I'm looking at
Open Box Sprint S7s are going for $621.49 after tax. Adding in $30 for a case and screen protector I'd be looking $650 all in
The Axon 7 comes to a total of $598.97 all in and includes a pair of Monster NPulse headphones with the order.(don't care about the headphones...but I could sell them for ~$100 or just gift them)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At those price points, S7 (edge???) is really a much better option. Sound can be EQd and Camera runs laps around this one, i am not as optimistic in ZTE getting it much more better. Manual mode is nice but it takes dialing in. If we ever get full API2 then a proper camera app maybe can do better. The waterproofing is also nice thing to have, it expands usage of the phone. For $50 diff it's a no brainier and it even has root-ability for now i think, so you can run customize it to extent with xposed. The only drawback would be if you are not into all that glass.
if they dont fix this camera im out. better take best camera from market than stereo speakers.
Had s7e exynos and hated it. Couldn't stand glass body soap shape, easily dirty, full of fingerprints (i do like metal unibody phones). Also TW is nasty, audio thru headphones really dissapointing (there is also a thread in s7e section). Only camera was impressive, i mean incredible fast auto focus. Besides photos look amazing at phone, but when i watched them on tv or PC they were over sharpened, too agressive post produced. I felt relief selling this overpriced shiny piece of crap.
Don't forget screen gonna piss you off cause of accidental touches of this nonsense edges.
Wysłane z mojego HTC_M10h
Thanks for the feedback everyone! I found someone selling an S7 locally today for too good of a deal to pass up, so it made my decision easy
S7 is a better phone, no question about it. I have s7 active for work.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using XDA-Developers mobile app

Is it worth to buy this phone?

Hello, I'm thinking of change my current phone (Xperia Z2). I'm using phone for music and photos mostly and sometimes for vr. Is Axon 7 a good choise for me?
It is perfect for VR and music. Plenty of battery! and pictures are excellent during the day, with optical and electronic image stabilization for perfect video capture. It also has a very convenient selfie camera (wider angle than usual). The only problem of the phone is the pictures in low light conditions. Sound is amazing. You have several custom roms to choose from and in less than 2 weeks it will have Android Nougat. Recently Google declared this phone Daydream certified.
i came over from the xperia z3. I enjoyed the axon 7 very much. The speakers continue the front facing trend for me but with the blast in quality and volume. The battery life is more of less the same as my z3 almost 1 and half day of moderate usage. The camera is quicker to focus then my z3. The screen is better in resolution and benefits of amoled and that's not to say z3 didn't have a good screen.
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: This phone is a beast. The community will open up once ZTE fully allows development of this device. Honestly though? I like that there's only a few ROMs to choose from. Two for stock and one for CM (Now Lineage). Battery life is outstanding and quick charge is no joke. Everything about this phone screams high-end. The only thing holding this back is the camera and even then.. it's not that bad. You just need to learn how to use it a bit and you'll be fine. I, in a round about way, got this from selling my Galaxy S 6 and then buying the Axon 7 on swappa. I was really nervous about going with a ZTE product only because I've only seen HTC, Samsung (only recently), and Nexus devices as the /only/ devices to buy when it comes to Android. You won't be disappointed.
Do you think guys it's good idea to buy this phone from China?
Can you post some low light photos?
As a multimedia device, the Axon 7 is likely near the top of the pack. The speakers are great, the screen is high quality and punchy, and the design makes it comfortable to hold. If these are important to you, then the Axon 7 is a good choice.
The camera is okay. In well lit situations it can take good pictures. In poorly lit ones though, the results are poor. If a top notch camera is one of the most important factors for you, you may want to look at other devices.
The dev community is small, and the offerings are meager when compared to other devices. If homebrew and custom ROMs are your thing, you may want to look at a different device.
Battery life is largely okay. There are devices with better battery life, there are devices with worse battery life. Unless your needs are super specific, battery life shouldn't be a deciding factor with this device.
Performance is pretty great. The CPU/GPU combo shouldn't leave you wanting. It tends to underperform compared to similarly specced devices when it comes to benchmark tests, but these don't really reflect real world performance. If you want a device that's great for mobile gaming, the Axon 7 is a great pick.
VR is largely down to the Nougat update that brings Daydream compatibility. All signs point to it dropping soon, but it isn't here yet. If you need immediate VR sanctification, you may want to look elsewhere. If your comfortable waiting, the Axon 7 may end up working well. My usual caveat is this though: Buy a device based on what it can do today, not what it might do tomorrow.
For music it's great as it has decent DACs in it and front facing speakers that are fairly loud. It should do fine with VR and is 'Daydream Ready' per Google:https://vr.google.com/daydream/phones/
As for 'buy from China'. If that's where you live, sure, buy from there. If not you need to make sure whatever you're buying will have a warranty that is valid in your region. I'm in the US and purchased mine from B&H which has a nice deal on handset now: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1257205-REG/zte_a7g333_axon_7_64gb_smartphone.html

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 Huawei Mate 30 Pro, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Huawei Mate 30 Pro is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I'd like to love it
But I don't know if its worth buying yet? I really would like gmail
I've had my M30P imported from China for just under a week now at the time of writing this. Before that, I was using a P30P for 6 months.
My overall experience and feelings for it is very positive. It's my most favorite Huawei smartphone to date and I don't have too many complaints about it so I'll just be honest and upfront about everything I've personally liked and disliked.
There wasn't anything wrong with my P30P from before and I loved most things about the phone (which you'll see me reference it a lot in some of the points below) but the Chinese prices on the M30P and to be first in line for the latest updates for once just tempted me too much - I paid 5800¥ (which is about $820/€736/£634. I'll be basing most of my experiences and comparisons on the P30P as a result since it's the only other, closest rival phone I can match it against and I suspect a lot of people will want to know how they both stack up anyway
Display and Build Quality:
+ Display appears slightly brighter than the P30P with very punchy colours, contrast, deep blacks and decent sunlight readability. The panel isn't quite up there with the Note 10+ but it's still really good and you won't be disappointed.
+ No bezels or even much of a chin as the gorgeous looking waterfall display that spills on to the edges.
+ IP68 rated + equipped with Gorilla Glass 6 whereas the P30P didn't have any form of Gorilla Glass Protection, and the M20P had v5 (still worth putting a screen protector on though!)
+ I am a big fan of the (innovative?) virtual volume buttons that trigger when you double tap on the top left or right edges of the display
+ Supports *AOD* after a recent software update!
- Has a notch even though it's smaller than most other notches, including the iPhone 11, Pixel 4 (if you can count its giant forehead), as well as last year's M20P
- Doesn't have 90hz refresh rate despite some of the strong rumors and leaks that had been circulating around beforehand
Camera:
+ Consistently handles noise, artifacts and retains small details better than P30P in both daylight and night shots - this is due to the newer, improved ISP on a hardware level and camera tweaks on a software level.
+ Industry-leading best in class wide angle lens. It's huge f/1.8 aperture and the sensor size of 1/1.54" that really shows its prowess in both day time and night shots that no other competitor can currently go against at the moment. Let's not forget it defaults to pixel binning since it's actually outputting 10mp shots and the new ISP further enhances it (namely in dealing with noise). All in all, you get more preserved details in both the shadows and highlights, better colour balance, nicer dynamic range and the hardware front here really delivers in all aspects of the shooting conditions. I compared it with an iPhone 11 and a Note 10+ at my local Samsung and Apple stores respectively and the M30P's wide angle is just miles ahead better and I can't see other brands having a superior wide angle lens anytime soon.
+ Sometimes, in ideal lighting and certain scenarios, I will get even BETTER daytime shots on the wide angle than the main sensor as it's not RYYB and the fact that it's got an even bigger sensor size than that actually gives it some advantages to the main lens and compared to generally most other wide angle lens from other phones.
+ Video recording seem better stabilized, with less choppiness when panning around the scene and it can finally record 4k in 60FPS too due to the newer ISP. Wide angle video capture is miles better than the P30P's one due to the significantly superior hardware, especially in low light.
+ I love its quad rear camera design and its shiny ring more than similar rivals' implementations by the iPhone 11, Pixel 4 and even the M20P - just feel like saying it as I've grown to like it now!
+ ToF sensor feels slightly better than the one found in the P30P - my portrait mode shots and bokeh effects tend to be more precise with less clipping and better edge detection around subjects
+ 7680FPS video recording isn't just a stunt as it does work and is fun to use when you want to show off something cool and playful with it. No other smartphone in the industry comes close.
+ Night Mode shots with both the primary and wide angle lens has been improved further against the P30P which was already the king of low light - it captures the smaller details better (mainly only noticed when you zoom or crop in), has less noise and better colour balance in almost every shot I took in low light.
- Occasionally renders warm, red tinges to my photos when shooting with the primary main sensor, but rarely ever happens in all circumstances when using the wide angle sensor (most likely because it's not RYYB). Hopefully resolved with future software updates.
- No periscope 5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom capability. You now get 3x optical and 3x digital instead which isn't entirely a dealbreaker as most people won't be using this all the time but I feel it needs to be said anyway.
- I've seen some minor lens flare that I did not ever seem to get on the P30P, or on any other phone I've owned to date.
- Front selfie camera has improved a bit from the P30P but it still applies a lot of digital make-up to my face and smooths out my skin a bit too much for my liking, and that's even with the beauty level set to the lowest in the UI. It's once again still not on the same league as the iPhone 11 or Note 10's front cameras.
- No super macro-mode for close up shots of up to 2.5cm from the subject which used to be found on the P30P - I understand this is due to the new sensors that no longer allow it
- Still lacks an automatic HDR toggle - you need to enable it manually each time under "More" in the camera settings
Battery life and Charging
+ Lasts really long due to the combination of the Kirin 990 on the newest 7nm+ EUV node, a massive 4500mAh battery which Huawei claim also uses "AI" to understand your usage patterns and potentially even being based on Android 10's behind-the-scenes battery optimizations/algorithms (I got more SOT than my P30P)
+ For me, the lack of GMS/Google Play Services definitely improved my battery life too
+ 40w supercharge which tops up the battery incredibly quick without overheating my phone (about 0-70% in 30mins just like before). I've also got a 40w Huawei SuperCharge power bank which is compatible with the M30P.
+ 27w wireless charging - I don't have a wireless charger to test but this makes it vastly superior to most wired charging speeds from other brands.
- "3x faster reverse wireless charging" is still largely a gimmick as it's not that much of an improvement from the previous gen (from 2.5W to 7.5w now) in every day practical use but I can see how it can be useful in emergency situations where even a few % can be useful for a friend if he/she doesn't have a portable charger
Performance and Software
+ Android 10 + UFS 3.0 (being used for the first time by Huawei) + 8GB of RAM = an extremely fluid, snappy and responsive system all-round with no lag!
+ I can still use most of my essential daily apps without Google Play Services by sideloading them, including Brave (which I prefer over Chrome anyway), Google Maps, Google Keyboard, Gmail (via the native Huawei mail handler), Instagram and WhatsApp
+ GPS accuracy in apps such as Google Maps, Cellular strength and mobile data speeds equally as fast and reliable as my P30P or if not slightly better from what I've noticed
+ Kirin 990 chipset performs well despite not using ARM's newest Cortex A77 cores, and shines in the battery life department and in games due to the optimizations to both the CPU +GPU
+ First in line to get the latest software updates if you purchase the Chinese LIO-AL00 model - I've already had 4 in less than a week and most were at least 1GB in size so they weren't all minor patches
- No Google Play Services out of the box, so you'll need to somehow restore your phone using HiSuite with a known working backup that has it or find alternative apps that don't rely on it
- My CN LIO-AL00 had a lot of bloatware that I couldn't easily uninstall and disable under the Settings, so I had to remove a lot of them via adb on my Desktop which took up a lot of time
- I still would've preferred the Kirin 990 to feature the newest A77 cores, as the upcoming Snapdragon 865 is guaranteed to have them (nonetheless the optimized A76s for power efficiency easily match and beat the 855+ in most areas
Audio quality
+ Phone call and speaker sound quality (especially at mid to higher volumes) feels a fair bit louder, fuller, clearer, richer and better balanced than the P30P
+ Audio capture when recording videos seems to be improved by a minor amount over the P30P
- Still has a single downwards firing speaker. Where's the dual stereo nowadays?
Other final thoughts:
+ Under display fingerprint sensor is incredibly fast and responsive - definitely ahead of the one in the P30P
+ Excellent build quality which is to be expected from another Huawei flagship - the whole device feels very premium and screams quality in the hands
+ Battery life is even better than the P30P which was already the Android battery champ!
+ Great price if you can somehow import it over from China - I paid 5800¥ for the 128GB model to a friend who brought it to me (approximately $820/€736/£634)
I hope people will find my well-balanced comparison helpful between the M30P and my P30P!
thanks you for your writing. i remember huawei advirtised is 2.5 cm close shoting super macro. which is very dissappointing for me. i like macro shots. And some reviewers in my country told that night photos are very bright and it makes the sceen very unrealist. Hope they fix this.
ssregitoss said:
thanks you for your writing. i remember huawei advirtised is 2.5 cm close shoting super macro. which is very dissappointing for me. i like macro shots. And some reviewers in my country told that night photos are very bright and it makes the sceen very unrealist. Hope they fix this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Night mode are just amazing and not much unrealistic for me
But yeah, super macro mode is msising and it's not a good move from huawei...
Does the M30P have an improved haptic vibration motor?
This is something that Samsung improved with the Note 10 series and it definitely makes a difference to the user experience.
Excellent screen, sound, battery and performance
I never was pleased this much with any phone everything is superb specially the camera! has anyone found a way to make google assistance s default or get rid of default home launcher ?
Ggffdd
Byte_76 said:
Does the M30P have an improved haptic vibration motor?
This is something that Samsung improved with the Note 10 series and it definitely makes a difference to the user experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from the following phones I've owned in the past years, I've noticed a slight improvement over all of them. It's definitely not a weak motor.
P30 Pro
Mate 20 Pro
Pixel 2 XL
Galaxy S8
Galaxy S6
Any chance you could give me a list of the bloat you removed?? don't want to take the wrong thing out with ADB and brick it.. Only thing I miss is having to keep pressing Google to voice activate, no big issue, and Google pay, now I have to carry a bank card everywhere
Those two little niggles aside its superb!
Cheers mate!
Great article btw!!
kyero985 said:
I've had my M30P imported from China for just under a week now at the time of writing this. Before that, I was using a P30P for 6 months.
My overall experience and feelings for it is very positive. It's my most favorite Huawei smartphone to date and I don't have too many complaints about it so I'll just be honest and upfront about everything I've personally liked and disliked.
There wasn't anything wrong with my P30P from before and I loved most things about the phone (which you'll see me reference it a lot in some of the points below) but the Chinese prices on the M30P and to be first in line for the latest updates for once just tempted me too much - I paid 5800¥ (which is about $820/€736/£634. I'll be basing most of my experiences and comparisons on the P30P as a result since it's the only other, closest rival phone I can match it against and I suspect a lot of people will want to know how they both stack up anyway
Display and Build Quality:
+ Display appears slightly brighter than the P30P with very punchy colours, contrast, deep blacks and decent sunlight readability. The panel isn't quite up there with the Note 10+ but it's still really good and you won't be disappointed.
+ No bezels or even much of a chin as the gorgeous looking waterfall display that spills on to the edges.
+ IP68 rated + equipped with Gorilla Glass 6 whereas the P30P didn't have any form of Gorilla Glass Protection, and the M20P had v5 (still worth putting a screen protector on though!)
+ I am a big fan of the (innovative?) virtual volume buttons that trigger when you double tap on the top left or right edges of the display
+ Supports *AOD* after a recent software update!
- Has a notch even though it's smaller than most other notches, including the iPhone 11, Pixel 4 (if you can count its giant forehead), as well as last year's M20P
- Doesn't have 90hz refresh rate despite some of the strong rumors and leaks that had been circulating around beforehand
Camera:
+ Consistently handles noise, artifacts and retains small details better than P30P in both daylight and night shots - this is due to the newer, improved ISP on a hardware level and camera tweaks on a software level.
+ Industry-leading best in class wide angle lens. It's huge f/1.8 aperture and the sensor size of 1/1.54" that really shows its prowess in both day time and night shots that no other competitor can currently go against at the moment. Let's not forget it defaults to pixel binning since it's actually outputting 10mp shots and the new ISP further enhances it (namely in dealing with noise). All in all, you get more preserved details in both the shadows and highlights, better colour balance, nicer dynamic range and the hardware front here really delivers in all aspects of the shooting conditions. I compared it with an iPhone 11 and a Note 10+ at my local Samsung and Apple stores respectively and the M30P's wide angle is just miles ahead better and I can't see other brands having a superior wide angle lens anytime soon.
+ Sometimes, in ideal lighting and certain scenarios, I will get even BETTER daytime shots on the wide angle than the main sensor as it's not RYYB and the fact that it's got an even bigger sensor size than that actually gives it some advantages to the main lens and compared to generally most other wide angle lens from other phones.
+ Video recording seem better stabilized, with less choppiness when panning around the scene and it can finally record 4k in 60FPS too due to the newer ISP. Wide angle video capture is miles better than the P30P's one due to the significantly superior hardware, especially in low light.
+ I love its quad rear camera design and its shiny ring more than similar rivals' implementations by the iPhone 11, Pixel 4 and even the M20P - just feel like saying it as I've grown to like it now!
+ ToF sensor feels slightly better than the one found in the P30P - my portrait mode shots and bokeh effects tend to be more precise with less clipping and better edge detection around subjects
+ 7680FPS video recording isn't just a stunt as it does work and is fun to use when you want to show off something cool and playful with it. No other smartphone in the industry comes close.
+ Night Mode shots with both the primary and wide angle lens has been improved further against the P30P which was already the king of low light - it captures the smaller details better (mainly only noticed when you zoom or crop in), has less noise and better colour balance in almost every shot I took in low light.
- Occasionally renders warm, red tinges to my photos when shooting with the primary main sensor, but rarely ever happens in all circumstances when using the wide angle sensor (most likely because it's not RYYB). Hopefully resolved with future software updates.
- No periscope 5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom capability. You now get 3x optical and 3x digital instead which isn't entirely a dealbreaker as most people won't be using this all the time but I feel it needs to be said anyway.
- I've seen some minor lens flare that I did not ever seem to get on the P30P, or on any other phone I've owned to date.
- Front selfie camera has improved a bit from the P30P but it still applies a lot of digital make-up to my face and smooths out my skin a bit too much for my liking, and that's even with the beauty level set to the lowest in the UI. It's once again still not on the same league as the iPhone 11 or Note 10's front cameras.
- No super macro-mode for close up shots of up to 2.5cm from the subject which used to be found on the P30P - I understand this is due to the new sensors that no longer allow it
- Still lacks an automatic HDR toggle - you need to enable it manually each time under "More" in the camera settings
Battery life and Charging
+ Lasts really long due to the combination of the Kirin 990 on the newest 7nm+ EUV node, a massive 4500mAh battery which Huawei claim also uses "AI" to understand your usage patterns and potentially even being based on Android 10's behind-the-scenes battery optimizations/algorithms (I got more SOT than my P30P)
+ For me, the lack of GMS/Google Play Services definitely improved my battery life too
+ 40w supercharge which tops up the battery incredibly quick without overheating my phone (about 0-70% in 30mins just like before). I've also got a 40w Huawei SuperCharge power bank which is compatible with the M30P.
+ 27w wireless charging - I don't have a wireless charger to test but this makes it vastly superior to most wired charging speeds from other brands.
- "3x faster reverse wireless charging" is still largely a gimmick as it's not that much of an improvement from the previous gen (from 2.5W to 7.5w now) in every day practical use but I can see how it can be useful in emergency situations where even a few % can be useful for a friend if he/she doesn't have a portable charger
Performance and Software
+ Android 10 + UFS 3.0 (being used for the first time by Huawei) + 8GB of RAM = an extremely fluid, snappy and responsive system all-round with no lag!
+ I can still use most of my essential daily apps without Google Play Services by sideloading them, including Brave (which I prefer over Chrome anyway), Google Maps, Google Keyboard, Gmail (via the native Huawei mail handler), Instagram and WhatsApp
+ GPS accuracy in apps such as Google Maps, Cellular strength and mobile data speeds equally as fast and reliable as my P30P or if not slightly better from what I've noticed
+ Kirin 990 chipset performs well despite not using ARM's newest Cortex A77 cores, and shines in the battery life department and in games due to the optimizations to both the CPU +GPU
+ First in line to get the latest software updates if you purchase the Chinese LIO-AL00 model - I've already had 4 in less than a week and most were at least 1GB in size so they weren't all minor patches
- No Google Play Services out of the box, so you'll need to somehow restore your phone using HiSuite with a known working backup that has it or find alternative apps that don't rely on it
- My CN LIO-AL00 had a lot of bloatware that I couldn't easily uninstall and disable under the Settings, so I had to remove a lot of them via adb on my Desktop which took up a lot of time
- I still would've preferred the Kirin 990 to feature the newest A77 cores, as the upcoming Snapdragon 865 is guaranteed to have them (nonetheless the optimized A76s for power efficiency easily match and beat the 855+ in most areas
Audio quality
+ Phone call and speaker sound quality (especially at mid to higher volumes) feels a fair bit louder, fuller, clearer, richer and better balanced than the P30P
+ Audio capture when recording videos seems to be improved by a minor amount over the P30P
- Still has a single downwards firing speaker. Where's the dual stereo nowadays?
Other final thoughts:
+ Under display fingerprint sensor is incredibly fast and responsive - definitely ahead of the one in the P30P
+ Excellent build quality which is to be expected from another Huawei flagship - the whole device feels very premium and screams quality in the hands
+ Battery life is even better than the P30P which was already the Android battery champ!
+ Great price if you can somehow import it over from China - I paid 5800¥ for the 128GB model to a friend who brought it to me (approximately $820/€736/£634)
I hope people will find my well-balanced comparison helpful between the M30P and my P30P!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ssregitoss said:
thanks you for your writing. i remember huawei advirtised is 2.5 cm close shoting super macro. which is very dissappointing for me. i like macro shots. And some reviewers in my country told that night photos are very bright and it makes the sceen very unrealist. Hope they fix this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MACRO mode works wonderful but it is only available for the M30
The M30 Pro lacks this feature due to different camera setup - I had both models so I can testify this from my own experience,
Pretty much best hardware best camera one of the best battery life out now, bar none
alon3232 said:
MACRO mode works wonderful but it is only available for the M30
The M30 Pro lacks this feature due to different camera setup - I had both models so I can testify this from my own experience,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gosh... Personally I would expect m30pro to support super macro. I was expecting a software update will fix this.
Sent from my LIO-L29 using Tapatalk
I bought my Mate 30 Pro on February 1th 2020, when it was launched in Romania. Since I preordered it, I received the phone bundled with the Freebuds 3, which are surprisingly good and I'm a music producer, hence I care about the sound I have, even though I'm only listening music on it occasionally. I have also received a $210 coupon discount which turned this 256 Gb version of the phone into a total no brainer. No macro shots hurts, true, but besides that, after a month of usage I can still say I'm very happy with it!
A worthy successor to the Mate 20 Pro
I like it. But what about love...I don't know. I am not quite sure about my feelings yet))
hello
have a nice day
alon3232 said:
MACRO mode works wonderful but it is only available for the M30
The M30 Pro lacks this feature due to different camera setup - I had both models so I can testify this from my own experience,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know its being a year already lol....but how much camera quality differs between the vanilla & pro version?

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