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I am in the market for a new cell phone to replace my current Samsung Galaxy SIII Mini. Given my budget, I have nearly settled on the Asus ZenFone 2. At $299 for an upper-middle tier cell phone with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, it seems like a solid bet. The only real downfall I have discovered from my research thus far is the ZenUI which overlays the stock Android experience and the massive amount of bloatware that comes pre-installed on the phone.
If I were able to safely get rid of the bloatware and make the phone more like a pure stock Android experience, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
I consider myself fairly able to work with technology, although I have never actually rooted, flashed, or otherwise modded a cell phone. So, I am looking for some guidance. Do you think the ZenFone2 warrants a purchase in spite of the concerns outlined? If no, do you have any suitable reocmmendations in that budget range? More importantly, do you think I would be able to modify the phone to get rid of bloatware and make it a more stock Android experience?
Sorry if this questions has been asked previously. As I mentioned, I am very new to this, certainly new to the forums, and just looking for guidance. Thanks!
Bloatware thing is overblown, you can disable every single preinstalled app on the phone. The performance is amazing, this is a lag free phone. However, I do no recommend this phone simply based on the battery life, its terrible. There is no way around it.
yumms said:
Bloatware thing is overblown, you can disable every single preinstalled app on the phone. The performance is amazing, this is a lag free phone. However, I do no recommend this phone simply based on the battery life, its terrible. There is no way around it.
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Click to collapse
I'm not as concerned about the battery life as I am generally near a charger. But, do you think the battery issues might be address through an Android update (I hear 5.1.1 is coming soon to Asus) or even a root/mod like Cyanogenmod?
dchadjohnson said:
I'm not as concerned about the battery life as I am generally near a charger. But, do you think the battery issues might be address through an Android update (I hear 5.1.1 is coming soon to Asus) or even a root/mod like Cyanogenmod?
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Click to collapse
Battery life is little fixed for me on this new updates,it's not that bad,but just wait for 5.1.1 update or Android M 6.0 update,zenfone 2 will shine for sure
---------- Post added at 04:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:35 PM ----------
and btw don't install Cm 12.1,i tried it and it's worse than asus stock rom,trust me...
The only bad thing about the phone (550ML) is the battery backup and the memory usage.
Except that, it is good.
Depending where you are, i could advice your to buy the redmi note 2, lower price, more powerfull, pictures a bit better in low light environment, sound better, 5 hours SOT and not three like this phone, lower and brighter screen...
I bought the WW version of the phone you are considering, after upgrading from a S4. Unlike a lot here on XDA, I have left it at stock, with 64gig of storage and 4gig of ram who cares about the bloatware. With Auto Start Manager you can disable anything you want to anyway. It does what I want it to do and I am not stuck to the carrier's software update schedule as I was with the S4.
I've had ZenFone 2 for about 1 month now. My previous phone was first gen Moto G.
ZenUI is surprisingly good. I usually have Google Now launcher or Nova Launcher but I've been sticking with ZenUI. The bloat is only a minor inconvenience.
As for performance: the phone is a beast! Astonishing considering the price. I have 1.8ghz 4gig ram version.
The screen is good. It doesn't get dim enough and so is not ideal for nighttime use. I tried to use rootdim to no avail. I use phone at min brightness for most of day.
Battery life is poor! Struggle to get 3hrs screen on time. I'm a medium to heavy user. Have to charge it twice a day. Hoping this can be improved with 5.1.1. If, not then might consider one plus one.
m98221 said:
I've had ZenFone 2 for about 1 month now. My previous phone was first gen Moto G.
ZenUI is surprisingly good. I usually have Google Now launcher or Nova Launcher but I've been sticking with ZenUI. The bloat is only a minor inconvenience.
As for performance: the phone is a beast! Astonishing considering the price. I have 1.8ghz 4gig ram version.
The screen is good. It doesn't get dim enough and so is not ideal for nighttime use. I tried to use rootdim to no avail. I use phone at min brightness for most of day.
Battery life is poor! Struggle to get 3hrs screen on time. I'm a medium to heavy user. Have to charge it twice a day. Hoping this can be improved with 5.1.1. If, not then might consider one plus one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use lux light as it dims the screen to great nighttime viewing and I get decent screen time and I'm a heavy user as well
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using XDA Free mobile app
I have never experienced the poor battery life others complain of on this phone.
Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk
corrsea said:
I have never experienced the poor battery life others complain of on this phone.
Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
yeah me too, I get battery backup around 5 hrs easily and the only thing I dont like is memory management and blaotwares that's all but as someone said earlier you can disable and I did around 13 apps xD
Camera and performace and battery is very good. Waiting for 5.1.1'
[/COLOR]and btw don't install Cm 12.1,i tried it and it's worse than asus stock rom,trust me...[/QUOTE]
Well what people need to understand is that ALL of the AOSP roms for the zenfone 2 are in BETA STAGES! Meaning its not 100% stable. Not the devs fault as they are doing there best to get it to a stable release.
As for recommending the phone to OP. Yes I do, is in my list its one of the top phones for 300 and under this year. Now its not perfect(battery, junk bloat, screen brightness, screen to body ratio) but for the 4gb model if you tweak and make it yours you will love the speed and its flagship experience at a mid level price point.
Well, many people have already give you a help but here it goes another one. This phone is just amazing. For this price you only have OP2 or Moto X to compete (both are a little bit expensive).
My battery reach to 4.30h SOT and i have always wifi, bt and 4g on. Play about 1h games, lots of browsing and social networks. 30m talking. In the end of day still have my battery around 25%. Not bad but with 5.1.1 hope this improve. There is very little bloatware and you can remove them or disable easily.
The bad things is the screen body ratio is bsd and make the phone biggest, the camera is not brilliant, the power button on top, the screen brightness.
But every phones have pros and cons so, for me, this is the best for the price
Already bought another for my sister and i recommend alot. Very happy user
Kambz1994 said:
and btw don't install Cm 12.1,i tried it and it's worse than asus stock rom,trust me...
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Click to collapse
Strongly disagree with that, it is improving daily and imho already surpasses the ASUS stock firmware. CM has given me a new found love for and enjoyment of this excellent phone.
Delgadovsky said:
Well, many people have already give you a help but here it goes another one. This phone is just amazing. For this price you only have OP2 or Moto X to compete (both are a little bit expensive).
My battery reach to 4.30h SOT and i have always wifi, bt and 4g on. Play about 1h games, lots of browsing and social networks. 30m talking. In the end of day still have my battery around 25%. Not bad but with 5.1.1 hope this improve. There is very little bloatware and you can remove them or disable easily.
The bad things is the screen body ratio is bsd and make the phone biggest, the camera is not brilliant, the power button on top, the screen brightness.
But every phones have pros and cons so, for me, this is the best for the price
Already bought another for my sister and i recommend alot. Very happy user
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get more than 5 hrs xD
See xD
903tex said:
[/COLOR]and btw don't install Cm 12.1,i tried it and it's worse than asus stock rom,trust me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well what people need to understand is that ALL of the AOSP roms for the zenfone 2 are in BETA STAGES! Meaning its not 100% stable. Not the devs fault as they are doing there best to get it to a stable release.
As for recommending the phone to OP. Yes I do, is in my list its one of the top phones for 300 and under this year. Now its not perfect(battery, junk bloat, screen brightness, screen to body ratio) but for the 4gb model if you tweak and make it yours you will love the speed and its flagship experience at a mid level price point.[/QUOTE]
Lol, cm12.1 and aosp roms are in beta version so they need time to be stable. They aren't ridiculous noob
If you're not a hardcore gamer, then better wait for the Zenfone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) variant with Snapdragon 615 and 3GB RAM. I had almost decided to buy the ZE550ML, although I was apprehensive about the battery life, when I read about the new model. It costs marginally higher than the ZE550ML, but should have better battery if somewhat less performance. Plus 3GB RAM should still take care of the ZenUI bloat.
Gustapo said:
If you're not a hardcore gamer, then better wait for the Zenfone 2 Laser (ZE550KL) variant with Snapdragon 615 and 3GB RAM. I had almost decided to buy the ZE550ML, although I was apprehensive about the battery life, when I read about the new model. It costs marginally higher than the ZE550ML, but should have better battery if somewhat less performance. Plus 3GB RAM should still take care of the ZenUI bloat.
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Click to collapse
2 Gb ram is enough for gaming if you know how to use phone
ASUS ZenFone2 is a great phone!
Okay, so I'm a bit biased...but this phone is actually really good! (I came from a Nexus). Battery life is really dependent on your location, signal, usage scenarios, etc. But I'm on T-Mo in the Bay Area where signal isn't the best, I use the phone for work and have gotten through an entire day 7-10PM with at least 20% left. Bloatware can be disabled on the latest firmware.
Yeah, I've disabled 23 bloatwares xD
My current daily driver, a old OnePlus One is just deteriorating like crazy and I need to replace it... there are not any phones from 2015 that honestly grab my attention. Waiting some something big worth spending the big ones on...but in the mean time I need a driver to get me through the rest of the year. I'm having to charge and reboot my OPO 3+ times a day... so... I've been looking at the ZP2 as a low cost backup device.
My questions are...
How is the performance? Smooth?
How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
Much appreciated to anyone who can fill me in.
For around $300 (or $200 for the 2GB version) there's nothing that offers better value or performance.
[*]How is the performance? Smooth?
Performance is great, especially if you multitask a lot or like having lots of browser tabs open. GPU is a bit old, same as iPhone 5s, but still good performer.
[*]How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
Speaker is weak. What can you expect from a tiny speaker?
[*]How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
This one's very good, better than most phones.
[*]How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Battery life will depend on what you with your phone. I get like 3 to 4 hours SOT, with at least 1 hour of waze, a lot of browsing, email and a bit of gaming. Stand by time is excellent.
[*]Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
Yes it is. I got root 5 minutes after having it in my hand. I unlocked it the next day unlock was available. Just don't use official unlock, as it seems to cause problems.
[*]How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
It's bright enough.
[*]How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
See for yourself in the dev section.
Locklear308 said:
My current daily driver, a old OnePlus One is just deteriorating like crazy and I need to replace it... there are not any phones from 2015 that honestly grab my attention. Waiting some something big worth spending the big ones on...but in the mean time I need a driver to get me through the rest of the year. I'm having to charge and reboot my OPO 3+ times a day... so... I've been looking at the ZP2 as a low cost backup device.
My questions are...
How is the performance? Smooth?
How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
Much appreciated to anyone who can fill me in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk
Bought phone about 2 months ago and so far performance is pretty good. Could be a little better but considering the abuse I give my phone, not to bad. Speakers arnt to bad either. They are a little quite when I'm outside with my mates but, I am happy with them regardless as the quality is surprisingly good. For battery life, I get about a days usage, and that is with constant usage and a bit of YouTube. As for rooting and flashing ROMs and stuff, havnt tried it yet. Looks like its alot easier then it used to be, there is even a nice looking windows GUI tool now but still am to scared to try it lol. Screen is a really nice display. If u are in direct sunlight or just outside in general, the screen could be better. It is hard to see things in that environment but otherwise, it's super nice. As for dev support, from what i see, it's very active lol
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk
glock24 said:
For around $300 (or $200 for the 2GB version) there's nothing that offers better value or performance.
[*]How is the performance? Smooth?
Performance is great, especially if you multitask a lot or like having lots of browser tabs open. GPU is a bit old, same as iPhone 5s, but still good performer.
[*]How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
Speaker is weak. What can you expect from a tiny speaker?
[*]How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
This one's very good, better than most phones.
[*]How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Battery life will depend on what you with your phone. I get like 3 to 4 hours SOT, with at least 1 hour of waze, a lot of browsing, email and a bit of gaming. Stand by time is excellent.
[*]Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
Yes it is. I got root 5 minutes after having it in my hand. I unlocked it the next day unlock was available. Just don't use official unlock, as it seems to cause problems.
[*]How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
It's bright enough.
[*]How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
See for yourself in the dev section.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Wow, thanks that is really helpful my friend. While I don't expect it to sound like the HTC M7-8-9 speakers, I just prefer my phones to...at least, not sound like they are exploding when my ringtone comes in lol.
The phone is nice and smooth on stock software, but I installed an AOSP ROM and let me tell you it is incredible now.
With stock, I'd generally get ~4-5 hours SOT without any tweaking (I was one of the lucky few, it seems) and now I get ~5-6 on the ROM.
The speaker is eh. Your ringtones will be recognisable; they won't sound absolutely disgusting, but the speakers aren't terribly great (however, audio over the headphone jack is fantastic. Just make sure you turn off the "audiowizard" software; it's pretty gross)
There are one-click tools to get root and bootloader unlock, and using both took me ~10 minutes.
The screen is pretty nice, but it's not great, admittedly. However, I really only notice its shortcomings when held next to a better screen (such as the one on my nexus 7), and it's still way preferable to most phone screens to me.
Dev support is alive and well, my friend!
Sent from my ASUS_Z00A using Tapatalk
Locklear308 said:
My current daily driver, a old OnePlus One is just deteriorating like crazy and I need to replace it... there are not any phones from 2015 that honestly grab my attention. Waiting some something big worth spending the big ones on...but in the mean time I need a driver to get me through the rest of the year. I'm having to charge and reboot my OPO 3+ times a day... so... I've been looking at the ZP2 as a low cost backup device.
My questions are...
How is the performance? Smooth?
How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone?
How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter)
How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly)
Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it?
How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol
How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported.
Much appreciated to anyone who can fill me in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Performance is pretty smooth, intel cpu is comparable to the snapdragon 801 in your OPO but with a better GPU
2. Speaker is small and kinda tinny. Not $20 walmart phone level but nothing particularly amazing.
3. Very very good actually. Very clean, little to no distortion/crosstalk. Check out GSMArena's measurements.
4. Standby is slightly better than average, screen drain is slightly worse than average. You will probably wind up getting slightly less battery than your OPO because OPO is better than most phones for battery life. ZF2 battery is just average.
5. Rooting is easier than most phones. Its actually easier than my nexus 7 on marshmallow! There are 1-click-root tools on this forum as well.
6. Screen is good. Accurate with good contrast. Its a bit dimmer at max brightness than other phones, and doesn't get dim as other phones at min brightness. Indoor use is absolutely fine.
7. Dev support is pretty good, better than a lot of phones, especially in this price range. Unofficial (right now) CM12, a lot of common custom roms have ports, and rumblings are that this phone may wind up with both official CM12 and CM13 in the future.
I have touch screen issues where it just stops working until I restart, and I've also had a bit of lag and crashing in day to day usage on the stock rom, without any overclocking.
It's an alright phone for the price, but I'd say phones like the Meizu Note 3 and the Redmi Note 3 have trumped it in terms of performance:value ratio.
I recommend reading this review, it's on a newer firmware that fixed most bugs present at launch and I found it to be unbiased, contrary to others.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-zenfone-2,4267.html
This other article illustrates the advantage of having 4GB of RAM and how Asus's Rom is not as bloated as people think:
http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=897
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk
glock24 said:
I recommend reading this review, it's on a newer firmware that fixed most bugs present at launch and I found it to be unbiased, contrary to others.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-zenfone-2,4267.html
This other article illustrates the advantage of having 4GB of RAM and how Asus's Rom is not as bloated as people think:
http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=897
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate, I will check those out. I presume they will not matter too much however due to be never using the stock rom though, right?
Also, I see the ZE551ML at microcenter... Is this... an alright model to get? I don't see it really in the Roms section so I was worried.
xiaomi is doing better with the redmi note 3
there are several variants of the zf2, the 551 ML is actually the best choice since all custom roms support it. thing is it comes in several flavors: 16 gig /2 gigs ram, 64 gig /4 gigs ram, 16gig /4 gigs ram, 32 gig /4 gigs of ram, plus 2 different processor versions. they are all the 551 ML though so no matter which version you get, the roms will work. I personally own a 550ML and don't regret my choice, though I'm going to be selling it soon to get a 551 ML
Sent from my ASUS_Z008D using Tapatalk
kiettv12 said:
xiaomi is doing better with the redmi note 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My only issue with non US brand phones is finding dev support.
This phone is awesome. I switched from an S5 and to this phone love it. I would recommend getting the 4 gig version, it an handle pretty much anything. I can definitely say this phone is worth getting
How is the performance? Smooth? performs amazingly, no lags and very smooth.
How is the speaker(s)? Will my ringtones sound nice or like a $20 walmart phone? I have had no issues with the sound. It is loud and audible. I listen to YouTube all the time
How is the DAC? (Digital to Analog Converter) Not sure on this
How is the battery life? I tend to need at least 5 hours of SOT over a 20 hour peroid. (Roughly) This depends on usage but I usually charge mine every other day
Is the phone pretty simple to get root and such? Or do I need a supernatural act to unlock and root it? Root is super easy to obtain. It took me less than 10 minutes
How is the screen? Bright? Dim? Colorful? I prefer IPS to AMOLED, so as long as it is a good IPS we are good. lol The screen is great. It's vivid. the brightness is good outside
How is the dev support? I see a lot in the forums, but I'm just curius if it is all still being supported. As far as I know it is still being supported.
PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with the LeEco Le Max 2 6GB version compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Max 2 for about 1/2 a week now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 3 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. LeEco Le Max 2 6GB
2. HTC 10
3. Huawei P9 4GB
4. LG G5
5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
6. Huawei Mate 8
7. Huawei Nexus 6P
8. LG Nexus 5X
9. Samsung Note 5
10. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Works with my Huawei Watch
6. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Max 2 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
Lets start out by saying that I'm not a person that needs a phone that has good external speakers... I really have no use for them and as long as they are loud enough for notifications then I'm cool. Also, I am not a cross-training adventure workout junkie that requires 3.5mm in order to do everything with my phone... I state this now so that I clear the air with the Max 2 being one of the first phones not to have a 3.5mm jack and require a CDLA to 3.5mm adapter or CDLA USB Type C Headphones... I think the Max 2 may even come with the adapter and since I so don't give a brown matter from my butt about it, I haven't even taken it out of its packaging. Personally, the only time I use headphones is skiing and I have bluetooth wireless headphones built into my helmet... and like someone in the 21st century I realize I can have wireless headphones. :good: Now, my main sound experience with the Max 2 is bluetooth to my 2016 HR-V. It connects with zero issues, phone and bluetooth audio both work great. As a bonus, the built-in Dolby ATMOS makes my otherwise tinny speakers without equalization sound great. It also doesn't detract from the volume output like other similar apps... It allows me to blast bassy metal to offend anyone I want, which is a great double bonus situation for me. Nothing like driving by a church blasting GHOST and having the lyrics Hail Satan play loud, clear and rockin' hahaha. Seriously though, in recent memory, this is the only phone from 2016 flagships I haven't had to use a workaround app that drastically decreases the volume. Now I will say that the Dolby ATMOS setting works a little wonky and easily resets itself if you enter into the sound settings or back out of sound setting after enabling... once you know about this though, it is easy to workaround just by hitting home button instead. For the external speaker people, the Max 2 is super loud and the speakers do sound crisp... I think it is stereo speakers as well, if you care about those things... bass-wise, the speakers are not the best but not bad also... definitely as good as of not better than the HTC 10 or LG G5.
WINNER: NO DOUBT SO FAR IN 2016 - LeEco Max 2
BATTERY
From my experience so far, I have had decent battery life out of the Max 2. 3100 mAh does seem a tad small for this larger phalet... but I'm yet to say that its a problem for me. Of recent phones, LG G5 has the worse battery life with the HTC 10 being next in line, then S7 rounded out at the top with the P9... The P9 has a Kirin processor so lets toss it out. Out of the Snapdragons I will say that with my usage so far the Max 2 matches the S7 with battery life from my usage. Max 2 has fast charge as well which helps keep it on par with the other 820's. Just yesterday, I used the Max 2 all-day no recharging with 2 heavy usage periods for a total of 3 hours plus of screen on time playing Clash Royale. The rest of the day was standard usage of checking emails, looking at some news items, etc. It lasted the whole day from 8:30am until 1am in the morning with 15% left. This was on wifi the whole time as well. I feel this adequately meets my needs to last a whole day without recharge (which rarely happens since I always recharge when in my car) with moderate usage all day long.
WINNER: It's close to call but since its the larger phone and still performs well even though no wireless charging - LeEco Max 2
HEAT
I have yet to see a real heat spike with the Max 2. I have heard reports of heat but maybe this is with the 4GB version. Since the lack of need to flush RAM or actively manage memory more critically with the greater space, this may play a factor. Not a super nerdy tech guru on this so someone that understands this more may have to chime in. I have also yet to place it in a what I like to call, a pocket burning situation like at a concert were I'm using the camera a lot, there's high tower saturation causing the radio to work more, etc. I can say the phone barely heated up trying to download a 1.5GB update on LTE... so I guess that says something right? The only other phone that runs this cool is the P9 with it Kirin processor... all the 820's run a little hot when taxed so I would not be surprised if the Max 2 was the same if push to limits. I can say that I have gotten overheat warnings on the S7 when setting up the phone and downloading copious amounts of data.... and my first G5 overheated that it caused an internal malfunction causing me to have to replace the phone under warranty. The HTC 10 seemed to be the coolest out of the other 820's I have tried.
WINNER: Still is the P9 however out of the 820's - LeEco Max 2
SNAPPINESS
I have explained in some of my other reviews, I like to talk about performance in terms of snappiness with normal day to day usage with the phone rather than throw up meaningless to most people AnTuTu stats or whatever. I am going on out on a limp here and saying that the Max 2 dominates of course due to 6GB of RAM... it's like pitting a turbocharged version of a car vs. its not turbocharge version... more under the hood most of the time leads to better performance. No loading issues, no lag from app to app. What I can say is that EUI is a fairly nice GUI take on Android, better than EMUI, but not as nice as the new HTC 10 Sense / Stock like interface. I however did my standard change of porting over the sense launcher to the Max 2 which I just love... as far as getting use to how things work, there is a lot of configuration that can be done with notifications, much like Huawei's EMUI interface that might make it off putting to some... I lucked out and the aliexpress merchant I bought the Max 2 from pre-loaded the Google App Store when I got the phone. I since did 2 updates (one I downloaded and force flashed myself, the other was through LeEco's update system directly) and the app store continues to work fine.... There are redundant apps for email, calendar, message, etc. to google versions... however most of these are built well enough that you might not want or need the google versions. Notifications seem to work OK although some do not like that it does not litter the top of your screen with icons for every single notification.... rather it just typically puts an icon with "..." and a circle at the top... takes a little to get use to, but with a notification LED as well, I think this bypasses this small issue for some. :laugh: Also, people are starting to create ROMs for it and it is easily rootable albeit in Chinese at first, so you can definitely get more out of it with some tweaking.... haven't heard if they released Kernels yet. But it is only a matter of time given it popularity in China.
WINNER: Maybe just because of the 6GB but still... LeEco Le Max 2
DISPLAY
This to me is one of the areas much like sound where if it is not screwing up the way I use the phone then I care less about stuff like resolution. If someone can truly tell a load of difference between QHD, SuperHD, 1080p, etc. etc. good for you. Here what I can say. The Max 2 screen is great! Plus, its the largest compared to the other Flagships I have tried... forgot how nice it is to use a larger phone... It does not suffer from which ultimately made me get rid of the HTC 10 from the screen polarization being applied wrong causing you not to be able to use it outdoors with sunglasses on.... I know right... major f-up IMO that HTC 10 did... I couldn't see it in my car with sunglasses on, too annoying for me. Thankfully, don't have to worry about this with the Max 2 even with a tempered glass screen protector. Since it is somewhat screen related, I can say that the fingerprint sensor is something to be desired. Its slow, sometimes taking 3 tries for it to read properly... I have tried multiple times to reprogram and it does not help. Definitely the G5 and P9 beat it hands down when talking about rear facing fingerprint sensors... Even touchwiz laggy S7 sensor beats it. Hopefully, updates help with this. Like capacitive buttons it has, in the configuration I like with back button on left... apps button also reveals the control center feature on the Max 2... similar to Apples swipe up control center... not placing these toggles in the notification panel is a fresh take on using these toggles and I like it... Color balance seems good on the phone as well if you care about those things... No Always-On feature for the Max 2 either but not a huge deal with a configurable notification LED.
WINNER: The S7 still has the best "looking screen"; G5 has the best always-on screen - Max 2 is ok but not the best in this class of phones.... Does get bonus points for the control center feature and correctly orientated IMO capacitive buttons
PHONE DESIGN
The Max 2 is a good looking phone especially with a premium metal chassis... I do have to say that I had to get the "Gold" version of the phone since it was the only one available at this point in the 6GB Version... I use "gold" here loosely as like other can report... gold is actually rose gold... not that rose gold is bad, but a pinkish phone for a guy is not cool... No matter, I got a Matte black hard case today the covers the back and pretty much takes care of the covering most of the pinkish gold exterior.... I believe there will be other colors out there soon but I could not wait any longer... Camera and button placement is nice. Phone feels great in hand. Although bigger than the other 2016 Flagships, its not gargantuan either... doesn't feel like putting a tablet up to your ear like other phalets can feel like. Pretty thin too and not overly heavy. The biggest design issue is of course no SD Card add-on memory since the SIM tray only accommodates dual SIMs. At 64GB, this isn't an issue for me as I don't save a lot to my phone and jam pack it with needless stuff. The fingerprint sensor is in a good natural position albeit if it only worked on the first try... Its not like Megan Fox / Candice Swanepoel good looking phone rather more like Melissa Benoist / Kate Upton good looking. You ain't going to wake up after a long night of drinking and go "my god... what did I do..." but you are also not getting the top of the heap in design characteristics either. It's nice looking but not someone you'd use your "hall pass" on over your wife, if you get my point..." Notification LED work great and should be noted as not being blinding at night like others can be.... looking at you HTC 10... I like no 3.5mm jack since I don't use it anyway... less holes to get dirt into... in this case, having less holes to stick stuff into wins out!!! :silly:
WINNER: Still S7 for overall design, wireless charging, etc. - Your not bad Max 2, but pinkish gold is makes my balls instantly shrink!!!
CAMERA
Another big deal for some but not really a huge concern for me is the camera on smartphones... Personally and I have gone over the reasons time and time again, I went to school for photography and have used some really great cameras, film and digital. So when you start looking at smartphone cameras, even in 2016, it is still hard to compare to the output of an actual camera. With that said, there is no real gimmick with the Max 2... looks to be an alright camera that I will post examples later of. Doesn't have "superpixels", low light lens, dual lens, etc, etc. etc. It will take pictures decently and in most cases that's all you need it to do. I can say that it does have one of my major pet peeves when it comes to the camera app in video mode... no focus lock.... honestly who uses always on auto focus in video mode.... looks like a bad wedding video... when you are recording something that you are a fixed distance away, like a concert lets say, you don't need for it to re-focus... it annoying. So, I am going to cut this section short and just say, the Max 2 has a camera, its nothing special and if you are ok with a no gimmick no frills nexus like camera than its absolutely fine for what its supposed to do.... :highfive:
WINNER: S7 for low-light, G5 for wide angled, P9 for dynamic range; HTC 10 for camera app & Max 2 for no frills OK no gimmicks camera
CONCLUSION
For my daily usage case, the Max 2 is great! When you consider that it outperforms in most cases phones that are $200 - $400 more than what it costs... It tends to soften the negatives. I think for me the greatest of which is the current functionality of the fingerprint sensor... I hate struggling to get it to read than having to still punch in a pin when it fails. Besides this, all the othe negatives are minor. Camera - its really ok just nothing special. Color - if you can wait, you can get a more manly color unless you want to go with the 4GB version (you can get different colors now). EUI - definitely not as big of a learning curve as EMUI but it does take a little bit of commitment to get use to all the customization you can do. Looks like LeEco plans to release updates frequently since there has been at least one since it released in May... Yeah, it doesn't have a headphone jack... grow up and get with the 21st century... hahaha. To get a 6GB phone, under $500, 64GB internal is not too shabby. Would it be stellar with a SD Card add-on, yep it sure would but I can make do without having the SD Card in most cases unless I really started ROM-ing and backing up TWRPs with it.... I think if you are looking for a good, well performing phone at a good price with some decent specs and killer sound, this does the trick, most definitely. Could it be better, you betcha... but I can say that for any of the 2016 Flagship phones. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guy's Opinion... :good:
Good review, makes it sound really awesome. My experience is very different.
I have the 6GB version and its regularly becoming warm.
Sound is ok, but Huawei Mate 8 is a different class altogether (better).
As a mid level budget phone the Eco Max 2 is very clearly on the cost performance side.
But I think the battery softens its advantage.
The hardware specs on the Max 2 are all top class, but there is definitely muuuch room for improvement. On the paper the network is Cat 12, but tell you the truth in daily usage it doesnt differ speed to Huawei Mate 8. Same for the user experience speed.
Also its not funny if the phone reboots occasionally
LeTV has fixed some of the issues with the upcoming EUI 5.8 release, but they need to do more !!
If you are thinking about getting it and tweaking it for your local marcet you have to do little homework with Google playstore etc. Its a gadget for geeky power users, but not mainstream user, to many changes required.
EverPing said:
Good review, makes it sound really awesome. My experience is very different.
I have the 6GB version and its regularly becoming warm.
Sound is ok, but Huawei Mate 8 is a different class altogether (better).
As a mid level budget phone the Eco Max 2 is very clearly on the cost performance side.
But I think the battery softens its advantage.
The hardware specs on the Max 2 are all top class, but there is definitely muuuch room for improvement. On the paper the network is Cat 12, but tell you the truth in daily usage it doesnt differ speed to Huawei Mate 8. Same for the user experience speed.
Also its not funny if the phone reboots occasionally
LeTV has fixed some of the issues with the upcoming EUI 5.8 release, but they need to do more !!
If you are thinking about getting it and tweaking it for your local marcet you have to do little homework with Google playstore etc. Its a gadget for geeky power users, but not mainstream user, to many changes required.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny mine never rebooted once. No heat even under load. No big modifications to get google play. Mine was stock and able to OTA... Google Play just took a simple APK download and agreeing to "unknown sources." Yes, its not a consumer mainstream phone outside of China... however doing a review on XDA, pretty much means its a review for a more "geeky" crowd easily capable of simple APK downloads from shared sources mentioned at least 10 different times in 10 different posts in this forum. The Huawei Mate 8 succeeds because of Kirin... however of 820's and at this price point, its hard to beat... maybe only by OP3 once they figure out the RAM Management. The camera is better on the Mate 8 but it's not as good as the P9... Plus all in all, its just as difficult to install the Play Store on the Mate8 & P9... both phones I owned and sold, as I was able to get just as good as and somewhat better phone for $200 to $300 cheaper. In the states, all these phones max out our 4G LTE networks so seeing any major difference between the P9, Mate8 and the Max 2 in modem performance is minor. Once again, OGO
Thanks for the feedback, maybe I am just unlucky this time. The apk's I downloaded from apkmirror etc don't seem to work on my Chinese version max 2. I also tried Xiaomi installer version 2, Opengapps, LeTV Playstore zips for same.
I think in terms of price LeTV has found a sweet spot in the marcet, but overall the software quality is just not there yet. However the upcoming update will fix some of it.
Hi,
Thanks for the review. Could you tell me if it has MHL ?
Regards
I tried with my MHL-Adapter, which is working fine with LETV LE 1 (X600). Didn´t work ...
Ok, thanks for the info. MHL is so usefull when you want to see a film at the hotel...
I think it should have MHL (I might have found this hint in some descriptions) but actually it is not working (for me?)...
Having been in IT, the first thing you learn is most problems are usually user problems. Most of the issues that I have come up against are problems of my own doing. For example, some thing may not work because I deleted a necessary file in my quest to remove Chinese Le-bloat. So it has been trial and error. I installed the CM 13 yesterday, but didn't like the tinny sound the speakers were making. Went back to the dev 5.8 stock, installed Google play and a few apps and it's running like a charm. I have not experienced any overheating issues. This phone does everything that one does with a phone very well. I sure you can find an individual that does intense things on their device, but for the average user that surfs the web, watches you tube, plays a few games, sends/reads email and IM's others, this phone is hard to beat. This morning I had an antutu of 140491, which is pretty good considering I only have the 4/32 GB version. Can you say fast phone?!
Hi,
I may add a comparison to a phone that can be considered as the direct competitor to the Le 2 Max : the One+ 3.
There is one area where the Le 2 Max clearly wins : it's the display. I don't care about 2k or FHD. It's hard to tell the difference in real life anyways. But I'm talking about brightness and legibility in sunny daylight conditions. And there, there is no question : the Le 2 Max is superior to the OP3, even after OP3 released the new display drivers that improves things on the brightness side...
And the 0.2" more is a nice addition too... Really noticeable when you used the LeEco for several days and you then go back to OP3
But apart from that (which is really important I admit it), the Le 2 Max is lagging behind in almost every other aspect...
BATTERY LIFE : OP3 wins without a question...In really heavy usage (GPS + BT active +display on all the time) I get about 3h45minutes of battery life with the LeEco... and about 5h30 in the same conditions with the OP3. That's almost 50% better battery. Think the 2K display has a cost unfortunately
SNAPPINESS : the LeEco is OK. But once you compare it to the OP3, the overall feeling is clearly pointing into the OP3 direction !!! And just install a custom ROM like Tipsy, and your device seems to fly, when the Le Eco seems to walk
HEAT : under the heavy usage conditions I described before, the LeEco gets mildly hot. It's much cooler than the Nexus 5 used to be in the same conditions( where it lasted about 1h40 on battery !). But the OP3 is simply almost cool. On that side, OP3 wins...
SOUND : I admit that I don't give a **** about sound coming from the speakers. But on phone calls OP3 clearly wins. On Le 2 Max I have a "ghost sound". I seem to hear everything I am saying to the other person like he has a loudspeaker on. Doesn't happen on OP3.
CAMERA : I am not a great camera user. But both deliver pictures that are good enough for me. But I must say it's difficult to tear them apart
FINGERPRINT SCANNER : it's adictive to use on OP3 because fingerprint is recognized in a fraction of a second and is ALWAYS recognized. I cannot count the times I left my finger on the finger print scanner for seconds before it decided to consider it has to recognize a finger... and then I would say about 30% of the time it doesn't recognize my finger print on first attempt, and about 15% of the time it doesn't recognize it at all so I have to fire it up with the power key and pattern.
DEVELOPMENT : It seems LeEco has no intention at all to consider those phones as an important part of their business. Look at their website : they're ahrdly advertised. Go to their forums : there no activity. An official from LeEco shows up about once every 3 weeks. All in all, discussion and support are simply dead. All tehy keep saying is "Stay tuned, we have a lot to unveil"... but no date nor nothing ! And after 4 months of phone existence what do we have : a tweaked Stock ROM and a CM13 build that is obviously not really actively developped. After 3 weeks of existence, OP3 has tweaked stock ROM, CM13 and 3 derivatives, 3 or 4 AOSP derivatives and just recevied multi ROM... So all problems may have a fix some day... There's really little hope to have that with LeEco
Even CM13 builders doesn't publish their github source which would allow to work on other ROM's...
PERFORMANCE : not that I really care about benchmarks... as I am convinced that 3k or 4k points in Antutu will go unnoticed in real life. But on the OP3 if I run several Antutu tests in a row, I have only a really slight variation in results It goes from 142k to 136-138k on 3rd/4th pass. On x820 results vary from 140k (generally on first pass) and then sink to 110k (sometimes even less) on third/fourth pass... And that sounds really weird to me : maybe there's a throttle on the phone ?
ALL IN ALL : I'd love to keep the LeEco because of it's display. But considering all the "cons" it has, I am afraid it will soon join an ad site for used devices And that's a shame because with a little support from it's manufacturer, it would be THE device to keep
So LeEco : if you hang around here sometime, show us some love and release official device trees.
Well said and your comments are spot on @NexusPenguin
Le needs to release kernel sources to their phones to survive in this industry. They absolutely do not want to go down Xiaomi's footsteps.
If they don't release device trees, most people will simply not buy their Le Max 3 or whatever they release next. Simple to earn bad-will and buey themselves to ground.
it is definitively fast but....
Dear jim262,
it is really fast. With Google Keyboard app, not debloated and after autoupdate to EUI 5.8.016S mine had a Antutu v6.2.1 of 139.159
But:
- I Need a international ROM
- why can´t the user decide wether he want´s the LeTV Software on it or not? So debloate that phone. I don´t want a fixed button on the Screen wich leeds to Chinese Websites. Unfortunately I can´t speak/read Chinese.
- The cam should have more Software ability to take pics with lower size. Actual it doesn´t allow less than 8 MP`s
jim262 said:
Having been in IT, the first thing you learn is most problems are usually user problems. Most of the issues that I have come up against are problems of my own doing. For example, some thing may not work because I deleted a necessary file in my quest to remove Chinese Le-bloat. So it has been trial and error. I installed the CM 13 yesterday, but didn't like the tinny sound the speakers were making. Went back to the dev 5.8 stock, installed Google play and a few apps and it's running like a charm. I have not experienced any overheating issues. This phone does everything that one does with a phone very well. I sure you can find an individual that does intense things on their device, but for the average user that surfs the web, watches you tube, plays a few games, sends/reads email and IM's others, this phone is hard to beat. This morning I had an antutu of 140491, which is pretty good considering I only have the 4/32 GB version. Can you say fast phone?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LeTvNewby said:
Dear jim262,
it is really fast. With Google Keyboard app, not debloated and after autoupdate to EUI 5.8.016S mine had a Antutu v6.2.1 of 139.159
But:
- I Need a international ROM
- why can´t the user decide wether he want´s the LeTV Software on it or not? So debloate that phone. I don´t want a fixed button on the Screen wich leeds to Chinese Websites. Unfortunately I can´t speak/read Chinese.
- The cam should have more Software ability to take pics with lower size. Actual it doesn´t allow less than 8 MP`s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the roms are international roms with the ability to select language when you start.
Yeah, the phone is not a Galaxy S7 killer but I don't think we ever had such a device ~$250 on the market. Oneplus One might have been the only thing that came close but now their devices cost ~400€.
It doesn't have any real weaknesses, only a few things like the camera and software are mid-to-high end.
Clearly we'll see a drop in smartphone prices in the coming years, users won't pay 700€ anymore if you can get the latest for less. And these cheap manufacturers will catch up to Samsung and co. eventually.
mahst68 said:
PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with the LeEco Le Max 2 6GB version compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Max 2 for about 1/2 a week now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 3 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. LeEco Le Max 2 6GB
2. HTC 10
3. Huawei P9 4GB
4. LG G5
5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
6. Huawei Mate 8
7. Huawei Nexus 6P
8. LG Nexus 5X
9. Samsung Note 5
10. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Works with my Huawei Watch
6. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Max 2 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
Lets start out by saying that I'm not a person that needs a phone that has good external speakers... I really have no use for them and as long as they are loud enough for notifications then I'm cool. Also, I am not a cross-training adventure workout junkie that requires 3.5mm in order to do everything with my phone... I state this now so that I clear the air with the Max 2 being one of the first phones not to have a 3.5mm jack and require a CDLA to 3.5mm adapter or CDLA USB Type C Headphones... I think the Max 2 may even come with the adapter and since I so don't give a brown matter from my butt about it, I haven't even taken it out of its packaging. Personally, the only time I use headphones is skiing and I have bluetooth wireless headphones built into my helmet... and like someone in the 21st century I realize I can have wireless headphones. :good: Now, my main sound experience with the Max 2 is bluetooth to my 2016 HR-V. It connects with zero issues, phone and bluetooth audio both work great. As a bonus, the built-in Dolby ATMOS makes my otherwise tinny speakers without equalization sound great. It also doesn't detract from the volume output like other similar apps... It allows me to blast bassy metal to offend anyone I want, which is a great double bonus situation for me. Nothing like driving by a church blasting GHOST and having the lyrics Hail Satan play loud, clear and rockin' hahaha. Seriously though, in recent memory, this is the only phone from 2016 flagships I haven't had to use a workaround app that drastically decreases the volume. Now I will say that the Dolby ATMOS setting works a little wonky and easily resets itself if you enter into the sound settings or back out of sound setting after enabling... once you know about this though, it is easy to workaround just by hitting home button instead. For the external speaker people, the Max 2 is super loud and the speakers do sound crisp... I think it is stereo speakers as well, if you care about those things... bass-wise, the speakers are not the best but not bad also... definitely as good as of not better than the HTC 10 or LG G5.
WINNER: NO DOUBT SO FAR IN 2016 - LeEco Max 2
BATTERY
From my experience so far, I have had decent battery life out of the Max 2. 3100 mAh does seem a tad small for this larger phalet... but I'm yet to say that its a problem for me. Of recent phones, LG G5 has the worse battery life with the HTC 10 being next in line, then S7 rounded out at the top with the P9... The P9 has a Kirin processor so lets toss it out. Out of the Snapdragons I will say that with my usage so far the Max 2 matches the S7 with battery life from my usage. Max 2 has fast charge as well which helps keep it on par with the other 820's. Just yesterday, I used the Max 2 all-day no recharging with 2 heavy usage periods for a total of 3 hours plus of screen on time playing Clash Royale. The rest of the day was standard usage of checking emails, looking at some news items, etc. It lasted the whole day from 8:30am until 1am in the morning with 15% left. This was on wifi the whole time as well. I feel this adequately meets my needs to last a whole day without recharge (which rarely happens since I always recharge when in my car) with moderate usage all day long.
WINNER: It's close to call but since its the larger phone and still performs well even though no wireless charging - LeEco Max 2
HEAT
I have yet to see a real heat spike with the Max 2. I have heard reports of heat but maybe this is with the 4GB version. Since the lack of need to flush RAM or actively manage memory more critically with the greater space, this may play a factor. Not a super nerdy tech guru on this so someone that understands this more may have to chime in. I have also yet to place it in a what I like to call, a pocket burning situation like at a concert were I'm using the camera a lot, there's high tower saturation causing the radio to work more, etc. I can say the phone barely heated up trying to download a 1.5GB update on LTE... so I guess that says something right? The only other phone that runs this cool is the P9 with it Kirin processor... all the 820's run a little hot when taxed so I would not be surprised if the Max 2 was the same if push to limits. I can say that I have gotten overheat warnings on the S7 when setting up the phone and downloading copious amounts of data.... and my first G5 overheated that it caused an internal malfunction causing me to have to replace the phone under warranty. The HTC 10 seemed to be the coolest out of the other 820's I have tried.
WINNER: Still is the P9 however out of the 820's - LeEco Max 2
SNAPPINESS
I have explained in some of my other reviews, I like to talk about performance in terms of snappiness with normal day to day usage with the phone rather than throw up meaningless to most people AnTuTu stats or whatever. I am going on out on a limp here and saying that the Max 2 dominates of course due to 6GB of RAM... it's like pitting a turbocharged version of a car vs. its not turbocharge version... more under the hood most of the time leads to better performance. No loading issues, no lag from app to app. What I can say is that EUI is a fairly nice GUI take on Android, better than EMUI, but not as nice as the new HTC 10 Sense / Stock like interface. I however did my standard change of porting over the sense launcher to the Max 2 which I just love... as far as getting use to how things work, there is a lot of configuration that can be done with notifications, much like Huawei's EMUI interface that might make it off putting to some... I lucked out and the aliexpress merchant I bought the Max 2 from pre-loaded the Google App Store when I got the phone. I since did 2 updates (one I downloaded and force flashed myself, the other was through LeEco's update system directly) and the app store continues to work fine.... There are redundant apps for email, calendar, message, etc. to google versions... however most of these are built well enough that you might not want or need the google versions. Notifications seem to work OK although some do not like that it does not litter the top of your screen with icons for every single notification.... rather it just typically puts an icon with "..." and a circle at the top... takes a little to get use to, but with a notification LED as well, I think this bypasses this small issue for some. :laugh: Also, people are starting to create ROMs for it and it is easily rootable albeit in Chinese at first, so you can definitely get more out of it with some tweaking.... haven't heard if they released Kernels yet. But it is only a matter of time given it popularity in China.
WINNER: Maybe just because of the 6GB but still... LeEco Le Max 2
DISPLAY
This to me is one of the areas much like sound where if it is not screwing up the way I use the phone then I care less about stuff like resolution. If someone can truly tell a load of difference between QHD, SuperHD, 1080p, etc. etc. good for you. Here what I can say. The Max 2 screen is great! Plus, its the largest compared to the other Flagships I have tried... forgot how nice it is to use a larger phone... It does not suffer from which ultimately made me get rid of the HTC 10 from the screen polarization being applied wrong causing you not to be able to use it outdoors with sunglasses on.... I know right... major f-up IMO that HTC 10 did... I couldn't see it in my car with sunglasses on, too annoying for me. Thankfully, don't have to worry about this with the Max 2 even with a tempered glass screen protector. Since it is somewhat screen related, I can say that the fingerprint sensor is something to be desired. Its slow, sometimes taking 3 tries for it to read properly... I have tried multiple times to reprogram and it does not help. Definitely the G5 and P9 beat it hands down when talking about rear facing fingerprint sensors... Even touchwiz laggy S7 sensor beats it. Hopefully, updates help with this. Like capacitive buttons it has, in the configuration I like with back button on left... apps button also reveals the control center feature on the Max 2... similar to Apples swipe up control center... not placing these toggles in the notification panel is a fresh take on using these toggles and I like it... Color balance seems good on the phone as well if you care about those things... No Always-On feature for the Max 2 either but not a huge deal with a configurable notification LED.
WINNER: The S7 still has the best "looking screen"; G5 has the best always-on screen - Max 2 is ok but not the best in this class of phones.... Does get bonus points for the control center feature and correctly orientated IMO capacitive buttons
PHONE DESIGN
The Max 2 is a good looking phone especially with a premium metal chassis... I do have to say that I had to get the "Gold" version of the phone since it was the only one available at this point in the 6GB Version... I use "gold" here loosely as like other can report... gold is actually rose gold... not that rose gold is bad, but a pinkish phone for a guy is not cool... No matter, I got a Matte black hard case today the covers the back and pretty much takes care of the covering most of the pinkish gold exterior.... I believe there will be other colors out there soon but I could not wait any longer... Camera and button placement is nice. Phone feels great in hand. Although bigger than the other 2016 Flagships, its not gargantuan either... doesn't feel like putting a tablet up to your ear like other phalets can feel like. Pretty thin too and not overly heavy. The biggest design issue is of course no SD Card add-on memory since the SIM tray only accommodates dual SIMs. At 64GB, this isn't an issue for me as I don't save a lot to my phone and jam pack it with needless stuff. The fingerprint sensor is in a good natural position albeit if it only worked on the first try... Its not like Megan Fox / Candice Swanepoel good looking phone rather more like Melissa Benoist / Kate Upton good looking. You ain't going to wake up after a long night of drinking and go "my god... what did I do..." but you are also not getting the top of the heap in design characteristics either. It's nice looking but not someone you'd use your "hall pass" on over your wife, if you get my point..." Notification LED work great and should be noted as not being blinding at night like others can be.... looking at you HTC 10... I like no 3.5mm jack since I don't use it anyway... less holes to get dirt into... in this case, having less holes to stick stuff into wins out!!! :silly:
WINNER: Still S7 for overall design, wireless charging, etc. - Your not bad Max 2, but pinkish gold is makes my balls instantly shrink!!!
CAMERA
Another big deal for some but not really a huge concern for me is the camera on smartphones... Personally and I have gone over the reasons time and time again, I went to school for photography and have used some really great cameras, film and digital. So when you start looking at smartphone cameras, even in 2016, it is still hard to compare to the output of an actual camera. With that said, there is no real gimmick with the Max 2... looks to be an alright camera that I will post examples later of. Doesn't have "superpixels", low light lens, dual lens, etc, etc. etc. It will take pictures decently and in most cases that's all you need it to do. I can say that it does have one of my major pet peeves when it comes to the camera app in video mode... no focus lock.... honestly who uses always on auto focus in video mode.... looks like a bad wedding video... when you are recording something that you are a fixed distance away, like a concert lets say, you don't need for it to re-focus... it annoying. So, I am going to cut this section short and just say, the Max 2 has a camera, its nothing special and if you are ok with a no gimmick no frills nexus like camera than its absolutely fine for what its supposed to do.... :highfive:
WINNER: S7 for low-light, G5 for wide angled, P9 for dynamic range; HTC 10 for camera app & Max 2 for no frills OK no gimmicks camera
CONCLUSION
For my daily usage case, the Max 2 is great! When you consider that it outperforms in most cases phones that are $200 - $400 more than what it costs... It tends to soften the negatives. I think for me the greatest of which is the current functionality of the fingerprint sensor... I hate struggling to get it to read than having to still punch in a pin when it fails. Besides this, all the othe negatives are minor. Camera - its really ok just nothing special. Color - if you can wait, you can get a more manly color unless you want to go with the 4GB version (you can get different colors now). EUI - definitely not as big of a learning curve as EMUI but it does take a little bit of commitment to get use to all the customization you can do. Looks like LeEco plans to release updates frequently since there has been at least one since it released in May... Yeah, it doesn't have a headphone jack... grow up and get with the 21st century... hahaha. To get a 6GB phone, under $500, 64GB internal is not too shabby. Would it be stellar with a SD Card add-on, yep it sure would but I can make do without having the SD Card in most cases unless I really started ROM-ing and backing up TWRPs with it.... I think if you are looking for a good, well performing phone at a good price with some decent specs and killer sound, this does the trick, most definitely. Could it be better, you betcha... but I can say that for any of the 2016 Flagship phones. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guy's Opinion... :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot this is thorough.. Impressive stuff
I really like my Le Max2. It's not perfect, but no phone is. It is certainly a fast and powerful phone. No lag and handles everything I throw at it with ease. Antutu scores of over 140K are crazy in a $230 device!! I am enjoying its audio output and have been mostly very impressed with the photos I have taken so far. The fingerprint scanner is very fast and reliable for me. I quite like eui as it is fairly light and has some very useful features, especially for power management (I have generally been getting 5 to 7 hours SOT). This is my first 2K display phone, and the clarity is fantastic. The black levels are good, and the colours are vibrant. Probably my main criticism of the phone is the viewing angles and max brightness level of the display. Colour shifting is pronounced when viewing at any angle much off straight, and the max brightness is just OK - I would like to be able to crank it up a fair bit more at times.
kanagawaben said:
I really like my Le Max2. It's not perfect, but no phone is. It is certainly a fast and powerful phone. No lag and handles everything I throw at it with ease. Antutu scores of over 140K are crazy in a $230 device!! I am enjoying its audio output and have been mostly very impressed with the photos I have taken so far. The fingerprint scanner is very fast and reliable for me. I quite like eui as it is fairly light and has some very useful features, especially for power management (I have generally been getting 5 to 7 hours SOT). This is my first 2K display phone, and the clarity is fantastic. The black levels are good, and the colours are vibrant. Probably my main criticism of the phone is the viewing angles and max brightness level of the display. Colour shifting is pronounced when viewing at any angle much off straight, and the max brightness is just OK - I would like to be able to crank it up a fair bit more at times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything special you did to improve fingerprint response
Mine does work but it becomes unresponsive if not used for a while but after first unlock the consecutive ones are fast
Which rom are you on?
Did you never had any fingerprint problem?
[email protected] said:
Anything special you did to improve fingerprint response
Mine does work but it becomes unresponsive if not used for a while but after first unlock the consecutive ones are fast
Which rom are you on?
Did you never had any fingerprint problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am currently using the Parasite debloated version of S19. I have also used Cuoco92, stock Chinese 17S and 19S, and Indian 16S. Haven't had the slightest problem with fingerprint on any of them. I always register two with the same finger (my right index) and the other with my left index. I'd say it is 99% accurate - it really only misses if I put my finger in at a very weird angle or move it too much. Fast too, not instant but pretty near it - less than a count of one.
kanagawaben said:
I am currently using the Parasite debloated version of S19. I have also used Cuoco92, stock Chinese 17S and 19S, and Indian 16S. Haven't had the slightest problem with fingerprint on any of them. I always register two with the same finger (my right index) and the other with my left index.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you never have problems like the fingerprint doesn't recognize the first touch?
Or after all night standby the fingerprint takes a few seconds to unlock?
Do you think my fingerprint problem is hardware?
I bought it like 2 weeks ago I can return?
But it's a really good phone for the price
Only things that annoy me is fingerprint and lack of custom rom support both of which letv is to blame
[email protected] said:
So you never have problems like the fingerprint doesn't recognize the first touch?
Or after all night standby the fingerprint takes a few seconds to unlock?
Do you think my fingerprint problem is hardware?
I bought it like 2 weeks ago I can return?
But it's a really good phone for the price
Only things that annoy me is fingerprint and lack of custom rom support both of which letv is to blame
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly never. Scanner has been rock solid for me. What ROM are you on?
Received my RN4 last week, and after spending a week with it I am definitely impressed.
Observations
1. Battery life is the phone's strongest suit. Can definitely get even better SOT if I was more careful using this thing, but fact is this is the first phone I've owned that I only need to charge once a day. (See attachment for SOT)
2. Build quality is solid as well, but definitely not top notch. Seams can still felt, and SIM tray is a bit hard to push in.
3. Display is great. Nothing out of the ordinary.
4. Helio X20 is a solid chip, but Javascript performance is underwhelming. Does not appear to have many benefits over the SD650.
5. Camera is underwhelming, quality is around the level of the Moto X 2014, but PD focus is quick and accurate, unlike the CDAF on the X14.
6. MIUI is not as intrusive as most Western media will have you believe, but I do not like the aggressiveness with which it kills background processes. GSam Battery monitor doesnt work reliably as it always gets kicked.
7. One handed usage is poor. The next model could definitely use smaller bezels on the X axis.
8. I got an update last week for "bug fixes", but was strangely 1.3GB big and took over an hour to download and install.
Overall, for $200, I'm definitely impressed. Can't say I feel a noticeable performance difference with my last phone, the Galaxy S7. Only place I can feel I got what I paired for is the camera.
AB__CD said:
Received my RN4 last week, and after spending a week with it I am definitely impressed.
Observations
1. Battery life is the phone's strongest suit. Can definitely get even better SOT if I was more careful using this thing, but fact is this is the first phone I've owned that I only need to charge once a day. (See attachment for SOT)
2. Build quality is solid as well, but definitely not top notch. Seams can still felt, and SIM tray is a bit hard to push in.
3. Display is great. Nothing out of the ordinary.
4. Helio X20 is a solid chip, but Javascript performance is underwhelming. Does not appear to have many benefits over the SD650.
5. Camera is underwhelming, quality is around the level of the Moto X 2014, but PD focus is quick and accurate, unlike the CDAF on the X14.
6. MIUI is not as intrusive as most Western media will have you believe, but I do not like the aggressiveness with which it kills background processes. GSam Battery monitor doesnt work reliably as it always gets kicked.
7. One handed usage is poor. The next model could definitely use smaller bezels on the X axis.
8. I got an update last week for "bug fixes", but was strangely 1.3GB big and took over an hour to download and install.
Overall, for $200, I'm definitely impressed. Can't say I feel a noticeable performance difference with my last phone, the Galaxy S7. Only place I can feel I got what I paired for is the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback, I also have an S7 and on the verge of selling to buy either the note 4 or the redmi pro. I know it will generally be a downgrade especially in terms of camera as nothing can touch the S7. But it seems a great device and would let me free up some cash. The redmi pro seems to have a better camera than the RN4 although a bit gimmicky with its dual cams, but both pack nice builds and big batteries. Although I think the RN4's finger print scanner looks better and is in a better location, I'm not really that impressed with the S7's as it still needs to be pushed and isn't that accurate. How do you find audio quality over say a pair of headphones compared to the S7?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
gsmyth said:
Thanks for the feedback, I also have an S7 and on the verge of selling to buy either the note 4 or the redmi pro. I know it will generally be a downgrade especially in terms of camera as nothing can touch the S7. But it seems a great device and would let me free up some cash. The redmi pro seems to have a better camera than the RN4 although a bit gimmicky with its dual cams, but both pack nice builds and big batteries. Although I think the RN4's finger print scanner looks better and is in a better location, I'm not really that impressed with the S7's as it still needs to be pushed and isn't that accurate. How do you find audio quality over say a pair of headphones compared to the S7?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very loud, and decently clean and crisp too. There seems to be some decent audio equipment on this thing, both speakers and headphone, and I suspect there may be a discrete DAC on this, impressive for a $200 device. I went for the RN4 over the Pro for one reason and one reason only: there is an official global ROM out for this phone, while the Pro would require me to install GP package through a third-party solution.
I can definitely say that the FPS is way better on the back. Very accurate, and as long as I don't give it some super-weird angle it authenticates me without fail, quicker and more accurately than the S7.
AB__CD said:
Very loud, and decently clean and crisp too. There seems to be some decent audio equipment on this thing, both speakers and headphone, and I suspect there may be a discrete DAC on this, impressive for a $200 device. I went for the RN4 over the Pro for one reason and one reason only: there is an official global ROM out for this phone, while the Pro would require me to install GP package through a third-party solution.
I can definitely say that the FPS is way better on the back. Very accurate, and as long as I don't give it some super-weird angle it authenticates me without fail, quicker and more accurately than the S7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great that's good to hear, I assumed there was a global rom for the pro but must have been something else I seen. I had a feeling the finger print scanner was better, I do find the S7's quite fussy and a lot of times I exceed the try limit and have to wait 30 secs[emoji34].
I really do appreciate the camera on the S7, although from the reviews I've watched the RN4 seems to have very quick auto focus and capture speeds. It obviously seems to suffer in low light but no phone is immune from this really only to lesser extents. I generally take most photos outside in good conditions anyway and usually of the kids where a quick shutter is needed. The camera app also seems fast to launch as well which again is an important to be able to snap photos quickly.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Wich rom are you using? Do you root it?
gsmyth said:
Great that's good to hear, I assumed there was a global rom for the pro but must have been something else I seen. I had a feeling the finger print scanner was better, I do find the S7's quite fussy and a lot of times I exceed the try limit and have to wait 30 secs[emoji34].
I really do appreciate the camera on the S7, although from the reviews I've watched the RN4 seems to have very quick auto focus and capture speeds. It obviously seems to suffer in low light but no phone is immune from this really only to lesser extents. I generally take most photos outside in good conditions anyway and usually of the kids where a quick shutter is needed. The camera app also seems fast to launch as well which again is an important to be able to snap photos quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fingerprint scanner really is great. Worlds better than the S7. Location isn't always ideal for when the phone is on a table top, but it is great when pulling the phone out of the pocket. I suspect that the only way to solve this is give people two Fingerprint scanners
Camera launches quickly and focus is reliable. Better than my 2014 Moto X ever was. Shutter is not as fast as the reviews make it out to be, but that may be because I have HDR on Auto, and HDR photos do take a while to process. Outside photos are reasonably crisp, inside the noise starts to become uncontrollable. Remember to go to Settings and select image quality "High" and enable "Enhance lowlight pictures automatically" when you get this phone. Hugely important, as the default Medium setting is too aggressive in compressing.
AB__CD said:
Received my RN4 last week, and after spending a week with it I am definitely impressed.
Observations
1. Battery life is the phone's strongest suit. Can definitely get even better SOT if I was more careful using this thing, but fact is this is the first phone I've owned that I only need to charge once a day. (See attachment for SOT)
2. Build quality is solid as well, but definitely not top notch. Seams can still felt, and SIM tray is a bit hard to push in.
3. Display is great. Nothing out of the ordinary.
4. Helio X20 is a solid chip, but Javascript performance is underwhelming. Does not appear to have many benefits over the SD650.
5. Camera is underwhelming, quality is around the level of the Moto X 2014, but PD focus is quick and accurate, unlike the CDAF on the X14.
6. MIUI is not as intrusive as most Western media will have you believe, but I do not like the aggressiveness with which it kills background processes. GSam Battery monitor doesnt work reliably as it always gets kicked.
7. One handed usage is poor. The next model could definitely use smaller bezels on the X axis.
8. I got an update last week for "bug fixes", but was strangely 1.3GB big and took over an hour to download and install.
Overall, for $200, I'm definitely impressed. Can't say I feel a noticeable performance difference with my last phone, the Galaxy S7. Only place I can feel I got what I paired for is the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using RN4 for 2 weeks. And I do agree most of the views.
1. Battery: it seems not that good if you care about the numbers. But the overall performance is pretty good. Playing some 3d games with performance for an hour costs less than 10%.
2. CPU: I don't think this is a big leap as I can't from Nexus 5. The performance is not overkill. And I don't feel anything is super smooth. I guess the reason is that 10 cores are still to much for an Android system to operate with. I doubt the kernel fully utilizes the CPU.
3. Camera: don't expect much on it even though they claimed it's 16MP. The quality is quite glitchy in my opinion. If you really care about the quality of the camera on your phone, consider carefully. Despite the quality, the speed is fine as the focus, HDR and burst mode work perfectly fine.
4. MIUI: I just want a CM. That's it.
5. Price: this is the most pulling reason for me to buy this. You can just switch to a new one if this breaks somehow. :laugh:
Hello.
My name is Gabriel, from Romania.
I have a redminote 4 since 25 october 2016.
Since yesterday it doesn't display, in the upper right corner, the icon for mobile data - you know, the H, or H+, or 4G or 3G, next to mobile network signal icon.
The mobile data connection is working good, but the fact that the phone is connected to mobile data is not displayed any more.
Is there any setting for this?
Thanks.
Gabriel Sbircea said:
Hello.
My name is Gabriel, from Romania.
I have a redminote 4 since 25 october 2016.
Since yesterday it doesn't display, in the upper right corner, the icon for mobile data - you know, the H, or H+, or 4G or 3G, next to mobile network signal icon.
The mobile data connection is working good, but the fact that the phone is connected to mobile data is not displayed any more.
Is there any setting for this?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you solve this? Are you on the global rom?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
No.
I had the intention to perform a factory reset during this weekend, but I didn't, I was too busy with other things.
And yes, is the Global ROM - I have Romanian language (not only...)
Thanks.
Gabriel Sbircea said:
No.
I had the intention to perform a factory reset during this weekend, but I didn't, I was too busy with other things.
And yes, is the Global ROM - I have Romanian language (not only...)
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A factory reset is probably the best option take first although it is a pain having to backup/ set everything up again.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 video review
Originalas said:
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 video review
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks will watch this later.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
gsmyth said:
Did you solve this? Are you on the global rom?
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello
I have black screen with my Redmi Note 4 but led of charge work have you some ideas how can i solve this issue?
Thanks
2 weeks here...
I bought the Redmi Note 4 - S625 32 GB version as a replacement for another phone from another vendor, my old phone had the same hardware configuration, but was greatly lagging on performance, battery life and customization.
I have long decided on the Redmi, and have gone through several resources and reviews online, and was so far satisfied with what I read.
I was able to buy it at a discounted price in Egypt (USD 160), this is of course not a bargain for the global price, yet locally it was good compared to other similar devices.
I'll go through every aspect of my experience with the phone and provide you with my conclusion in the end.
The phone comes in a small box compared to other phones of the same size, the phone fits in exactly, with the charger and the charging cable, the extra space could've been better used to add earphones to the bundle, something Xiaomi should consider in the future, is to throw in one of their premium earphones.
The phone size is slim and nice to hold, something that counts for it, considering the huge 4100mA battery, I was unfortunate to buy the black edition, which is very prone to fingerprints and you can never keep it clean, let alone it also seemed scratch prone, I didn't want to risk it therefore the first thing I had to do was to go for a silicon cover.
Also the screen glass is clear with smooth edges, and gives the phone a very elegant look, yet I read it's not gorilla glass, so I had to go for a glass screen protector.
The screen is large enough with some bevel edges that could be improved in the future.
The dual SIM slot is an amazing idea, yet with a bit of better design I guess we can squeeze in a place for a memory card.
The camera and fingerprint sensor are very well placed and nice to use, having the camera non-protruding is a good design point, protecting the camera cover from scratches.
I don't mind the camera being 13MP, it has a clear quality, works well with the camera app, and is quiet responsive, I've seen cameras with higher resolution, but were a pain to operate, so good job Xiaomi.
The screen is clear and pleasant to use, I have even use it to watch movies using a VR box with no problems, it is also quiet visible in the sun with bright colors.
One thing I really liked about this phone, is its battery life, I guess Xiaomi went to great effort to squeeze much power into the battery space, and to optimize the power use by applications, clearly there is a power optimization software layer added to the OS to perform this well, I am a heavy user, having the phone in hand all day with the screen on, reading, watching videos, and streaming internet videos and music in the car all day, using maps and GPS applications, and acting as a Wi-Fi hotspot. Still at night, before sleeping, I plug the charger while the phone is at 40%, keeping me assured that even if I forget to charge the phone, it will remain there for another day of moderate use. BATTERY LIFE ON THIS PHONE IS AMAZING.
I have seen people complain that it doesn’t have a fast charging capability, yet it's no problem with a phone that can withhold its charge for two days.
The good thing about this phone is that it has all connectivity features of other similar phones, except for the NFC, which is becoming a defacto nowadays, though the FM radio is good and launches without any headphone connected, however the lack of RDS is a bit annoying, in addition to the fact that the radio interface is boring and non-themeable, I have posted this suggestion in the MIUI forum.
Software performance on this phone is amazing, and the dual app capability is extra nice, it is better than having the second space activated, specially with the availability of individual app locking capability, I can have my work and personal applications in the same space, while giving my work applications the necessary security level required. This beats all other phones offering second space while hogging the memory and system resources, and affecting the performance.
Also Xiaomi's keeping to its promise of a very responsive MIUI, even with an alternative launcher (I'll come to that later), I'm getting a very good performance, no launch delays, no botchy performance, etc... Which shows that enough effort has been put into OS optimization.
I haven't tried installing a custom OS yet, and this is mainly due to the fact that the factory OS is very well performing and doesn't need further optimization, till now!!
I had to resort to installing a third party launcher (Nova Launcher), since I didn't really like the way MIUI launcher treats the applications, without an application drawer, desktops can become really cluttered, specially that I always test new apps and remove them regularly. This may be convenient for iPhone users, but a no no in our Android world, Xiaomi should reconsider.
A nice addition to the UI is the floating ball, it comes with useful shortcuts, but to change them you have to dig deep into the settings, certainly there should be a better way to do this, still it is a good addition.
The screenshot shortcut saves a shot of the current screen and can later send you to the editing part if you need to crop and edit your shot, it would be better if a crop control can appear when a screenshot is requested, so that we can directly choose which part of the screen we want to capture and share directly.
The phone came with android marshmallow, but as soon as I started using it, a new update with nougat was pushed, I also guess and Oreo version in in the pipeline, still you can have the Oreo taste from any custom rom available for this phone, which are really numerous in comparison to phones from other vendors, I guess Xiaomi should capitalize on this as being one of the most custom ROM friendly phones.
The phone, contacts, and messaging native aps are quiet usable, and so far I haven't faced any problem with them, in comparison to other phones that sometimes struggled with my 1500 entry contact list, the Xiaomi is fully capable of handling such a contact list dispersed among two contact providers (google contact and exchange server), and fully capable of flawlessly handling them.
One small glitch with the messaging app is the inability to delete the newly received SMS from the notification area, something that is usually needed nowadays.
Coming to the notification area, I've seen it better implemented in other phones or ROM versions, where you can get full access to the complete message, and be able control it (delete or reply) from the notification area, I know that in MIUI there is the capability to expand the notification for more details by a two finger swipe, but this is impossible with one handed operation.
The phone also comes with nice extra applications, the security app is quiet useful, and hopefully it does what it promises in the background.
The remote app is also a great addition, making you able to control a vast list of IR enabled devices; yet it should be a good addition to be able to add and customize new non-listed devices, such as for example non-standard android tv boxes.
In conclusion:
I really love this phone and don't regret the investment I put in it, Xiaomi is on a very good track, it should soon reach and surpass market leaders if it keeps building such impressive devices with affordable prices, also having that MIUI forum and its community is a good addition of keeping the users close to the vendor.
My recommendation is to work on the software enhancements requested by the users.
My recommendations to the new buyers, is to install good screen and body protection, stay away from the black version, and invest in a good quality headphones to enjoy your Xiaomi.
Hi guys,
currently im looking for a new device to replace my old Nexus5.
I'm often on the road and use the phone for music and navigation and
the device should last one whole day with heavy usage. Also the camera
should produce decent pictures at daylight (and at night if possible).
I dont play any games on my phone but use many apps. The gps
should work quite good cause I'd use my phone for bike trips etc. as well
and need the tracking of my route.
Budget
- 200€ +-
Must Haves
- 5"-6"
- EU-LTE frequences with B20
- 64GB
- fast fingerprint sensor
- good camera (day n night)
- quality processing
Nice2Have
- USB-C
- protection against splash water
- micro-sim slot
- bezel-less design
Not rly important
- headphone jack
My favorites
1. Elephone S8
2. Vernee Mix 2
3. Doogee Mix 2
4. Umidigi S2
5. Xiaomi Mi A1
There would be no problem if the MiA1 would have the battery of the umidigi and the design of the elephone. But at the moment I have no idea which phone to take.
there isnt much information about the doogee mix2 but if this device would have a decent camera sensor with a functional bouquet mode I'd take this.
Are there any alternatives in this price range (+50€ maybe)?
If you have to decide between those phones, which one you would take and why?
Are there any points of criticism for those brands or phones?
Hope this is the correct forum.
Thanks for your help,
Cheerio
I have had an elephone p6000 and a umi super in the past, I can not really recommend some of these companies (also based on some of your requirements)
Elephone: This company has not been providing good software support in the past. They provided a few updates then abandoned the device in favour of the next one. The camera wasn't too great either despite being advertised as a quality sensor with decent resolution for the time (not top tier, but higher than other phones in the same budget range) - but it made acceptable shots. So I had about 6 months of software support and during that time the low build quality showed itself as the volume rocker started to get flakey. When I was looking to get a new phone, the Elephone S8 was also in my list of possible candidates but for me imediatelly lost out due to it not sporting a 3.5mm headphone jack (you don't mind, though) or a microSD card slot (I am not entirely sure if that's what you meant when you said micro-sim as pretty much every device nowadays will sport a micro or nano sim slot anyways)
UMIDIGI: Now, the build quality of my phone wasn't perfect from the beginning, there were rough edges around the antenna lines but all in all the device felt solid. They supported the device for about 12 months with updates which didn't seem too bad to me. However, the phone had a major drawback: Despite allegedly sporting a 13Mp panasonic sensor, the camera was *horrible*. All over the review sites you found people claiming the camera was decent, but it was not., it would only work in bright light and if it wasn't ideal you could not actually make out anything on the pictures. And, as it turned out, the build quality of the device was not only mediocre on the outside, but obviously even worse on the inside as my screen failed electronically after about 12 months. I have seen a few other people with the same issue on the Super and I have already seen one report on the UMIDIGI S2 forums with people having the exact same fault after 2 weeks with their S2. So be careful if you decide to get one of those. Reports on the internet also mention that the camera on the S2 is horrible. Now I can't confirm this, but to me it seems that UMIDIGI is always hyping their cameras and can't deliver.
Either way, I'd recommend to get a device with a Qualcomm chipset (snapdragon) over a Mediatek chipset (Helio) as Mediatek doesn't release their sourcecode most of the time which results in little to no support for custom roms but that's something you have to decide.
I can't really say much about the Vernee or Dogee devices but on german forums I have found a few mentions that Vernee quality can be hit and miss as well.
wow thank you very much for your interesting and helpflu answer. I also read realy bad reviews about the brands especially about the early products but cherished the hope that they improved the quality of the newer devices.
Localhorst86 said:
microSD card slot (I am not entirely sure if that's what you meant when you said micro-sim as pretty much every device nowadays will sport a micro or nano sim slot anyways).
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Oh sure, I thought about the microSD-slot.
Localhorst86 said:
When I was looking to get a new phone, the Elephone S8 was also in my list of possible candidates but for me imediatelly lost out due to it not sporting a 3.5mm headphone jack (you don't mind, though) or a microSD card slot
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So if you could ignore these points would you still mention to buy the phone or did the company lost all his credit with you?
Localhorst86 said:
UMIDIGI [....] Despite allegedly sporting a 13Mp panasonic sensor, the camera was *horrible*. All over the review sites you found people claiming the camera was decent, but it was not., it would only work in bright light and if it wasn't ideal you could not actually make out anything on the pictures. [...] Reports on the internet also mention that the camera on the S2 is horrible. Now I can't confirm this, but to me it seems that UMIDIGI is always hyping their cameras and can't deliver.
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I guess it's the same with the S2. I've watched several reviews on youtube or elsewhere and the pictures don't impress me much. The IMX268 is way better than the sensor in the Super but still not as good as the sensor of the Mi A1 (in my opinion).
Localhorst86 said:
And, as it turned out, the build quality of the device was not only mediocre on the outside, but obviously even worse on the inside as my screen failed electronically after about 12 months. I have seen a few other people with the same issue on the Super and I have already seen one report on the UMIDIGI S2 forums with people having the exact same fault after 2 weeks with their S2. So be careful if you decide to get one of those.
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Thanks for that point. I havn't heard about this yet.
Localhorst86 said:
Either way, I'd recommend to get a device with a Qualcomm chipset (snapdragon) over a Mediatek chipset (Helio) as Mediatek doesn't release their sourcecode most of the time which results in little to no support for custom roms but that's something you have to decide.
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Can you recommend a device? The Mi A1 or something else?
I would definitely go with Mi A1 because of the support (either official ones or custom ROMs when kernel source gets released to public) and it has everything you listed it should have.
aeHmmm said:
So if you could ignore these points would you still mention to buy the phone or did the company lost all his credit with you?
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If the Mi A1 hadn't been announced around the same time for the price that it did I might have given the Elephone brand another chance to see if they treat their flagships a bit better than their "budget" line.
aeHmmm said:
I guess it's the same with the S2. I've watched several reviews on youtube or elsewhere and the pictures don't impress me much. The IMX268 is way better than the sensor in the Super but still not as good as the sensor of the Mi A1 (in my opinion).
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Comparing the Mi A1 to my Super is a difference like day and night. The Mi A1 makes really good pictures, particularly compared to the UMI Super
aeHmmm said:
Can you recommend a device? The Mi A1 or something else?
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Obviously, the Mi A1 would be the one I'd recommend but I might be biased since that's the one my decission fell to. I was looking for one of the "tri-bezeless" phones as well, but none fit my needs. To me the A1 was pretty much the perfect fit for my needs.
Here's the points that drove me towards the Mi A1:
-I have had good experiences with other xiaomi branded products in the past, from my mi band to the xiaomi piston headphones and powebanks. Their build quality seems solid so I figured I'd try one of their "more pricey" product ranges
-USB Type C Connection
-Micro SD Slot
-Full HD Display (a few of the phones with slim to no bezels only had a 720p display like, for example, the UMIDIGI S2)
-Snapdragon Chipset
-Android One UI (prefer that over MIUI, which I tried on my Elephone in the past)
-Promised support for 18 months which, given the xiaomi brand, I feel confident will actually come to fruition
-3.5mm headphone jack without a clunky, losable adapter.
-decent camera that takes good pictures
Based on your list, the Mi A1 seems like a very good fit, too. It has all your must-haves and two of your "nice-to-haves" (USB C and Micro SD). The camera quality might be subjective, but I find the camera to be rather good, particularly at the price point the device sells for.
Localhorst86 said:
Obviously, the Mi A1 would be the one I'd recommend but I might be biased since that's the one my decission fell to. I was looking for one of the "tri-bezeless" phones as well, but none fit my needs. To me the A1 was pretty much the perfect fit for my needs.
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I guess I will wait for some reviews of the Doogee but if a good offer for the MiA1 will occure in this period I'll buy this phone as well.
How long lasts the battery with heavy usage?
aeHmmm said:
I guess I will wait for some reviews of the Doogee but if a good offer for the MiA1 will occure in this period I'll buy this phone as well.
How long lasts the battery with heavy usage?
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As usage always varies from user to user, you might want to check the "real life reviews" part of the mi a1 forums, there's a topic about battery life. Now for me, I have taken the device off the charger about 6 hours ago and my battery is down to 88%. I am not a heavy user, bluetooth is enabled permanently, and I was checking emails and messages a few times per hour. No huge screen-on-time, though.
The battery was the one thing I was worried about (coming from the 4000mAh in my UMI device), but it turns out the 3000mAh battery of the A1 performs about the same as my previous phone due to the chipset seemingly being more power efficient.
Localhorst86 said:
As usage always varies from user to user, you might want to check the "real life reviews" part of the mi a1 forums, there's a topic about battery life. Now for me, I have taken the device off the charger about 6 hours ago and my battery is down to 88%. I am not a heavy user, bluetooth is enabled permanently, and I was checking emails and messages a few times per hour. No huge screen-on-time, though.The battery was the one thing I was worried about (coming from the 4000mAh in my UMI device), but it turns out the 3000mAh battery of the A1 performs about the same as my previous phone due to the chipset seemingly being more power efficient.
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Sounds really nice. Did you read something about the Meizu M6? I guess its nearly as good as the MiA1 with a bigger battery.
Nevertheless I tend to buy the MiA1 and a small powerbank because it seems to be superior to the M6 in nearly every other point.
Thank you very much for your qualified help, I really appreciate that.
aeHmmm said:
Sounds really nice. Did you read something about the Meizu M6? I guess its nearly as good as the MiA1 with a bigger battery.
Nevertheless I tend to buy the MiA1 and a small powerbank because it seems to be superior to the M6 in nearly every other point.
Thank you very much for your qualified help, I really appreciate that.
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I just checked the Meizu M6, doesn't really seem like a comparison to the Mi A1. The devices are very similar in terms of performance but the 4Gb/64Gb version of the Meizu seems to run well above $300, only the 3/32Gb version seems to be in the price range you mentioned. A short review I found in german mentions that the cameras are pretty much on par with the A1 actually the review notes that the A1 has a better daylight perfomance on the camera, with night shots on the Meizu are apparently a lot better. Also the larger battery capacity sounds interesting.
Overall it sounds like a possible alternative, but it wouldn't convince me. The Flyme UI looks similarly clunky to MIUI, judging from screenshots and I can't understand why they decided to go with a weird camera setup (12Mp + 5Mp dual rear camera, 16Mp front camera). I guess it's intended for selfie lovers. Again, it depends on your use case apparently