Related
I'm curious if there is an affect on your buying decision after reading the reviews.
I so want this phone but all this talk about the display not being up to par has put some doubt in my mind now as to whether I go through with purchasing the Z. GSM arena and Phone Arena share similar views regarding the display, which I wasn't expecting.
I will be taking a look at the device at my local phones4u, and if I find the screen to be disappointing I will unfortunately cancel my order. I really really really hope this wont be the case though.
Yeah wavering here...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app
stefanve said:
I'm curious if there is an affect on your buying decision after reading the reviews.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is there in those reviews that would put me off from buying one?
Problems with camera images? Not that big of a deal, I don't make photos with my phone for a living. Lag? I doubt there is any. Battery life? People report a whole day of medium to heavy usage, which is what I get from my Galaxy S3 anyway. Build quality? It's waterproof, I don't mind having to open flaps every time I want to plug in my headset.
What else is there?
Where is the option "i dont care about reviews, i want it and im gonna get it regardless" ?
I dont trust reviews. Note 2 and S3 were reviewed as the best phones even - and i'm really disappointed by those two. It's funny how reviewers sometimes ignore obvious flaws about one phone, but riot about a tiny detail in another. Reviews are not objective - so i don't really care about them. It's nice to read and compare opinions, but i always prefer to just get the phone and decide for myself.
So unless at least 5-10 review say something really bad about the battery ( like not lasting a full day even on light use, which is not the case ) i'm not going to even think about cancelling.
robogo1982 said:
What is there in those reviews that would put me off from buying one?
Problems with camera images? Not that big of a deal, I don't make photos with my phone for a living. Lag? I doubt there is any. Battery life? People report a whole day of medium to heavy usage, which is what I get from my Galaxy S3 anyway. Build quality? It's waterproof, I don't mind having to open flaps every time I want to plug in my headset.
What else is there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think most are worried about the screen, every thing else seems okay/perfect (some may not like the camera)
I have a pre-order for mine but I am a little worried.. The camera from what I've seen looks perfectly decent, and it's bound to be better than my HOX which kinda sucks compared to my last iPhone. My one concern is the display which is a pretty big deal breaker, I actually had a quick play with one in a Three store yesterday and the display was very wishy washy (Even after I had turned it down from max brightness). Originally everyone had said this was purely an issue with pre-production panels, but after the reviews claiming to be on retail devices this had worried me even more.
Think I'm going to pop into a P4U store as well to have a play, maybe there is more chance of those being full retail units seeing as they're available a little after.. Who knows!
I'm still getting it, I've seen the phone in a couple of three stores and didn't see any problems with the display, but then I'm not particularly picky.
I'm still getting it, my main reasons are:
Camera. I know Sony make decent camera phones, I have a Note 2 which is fairly decent, not brill in low light scenarios, not as good as my HOX was.
Build quality. My last two phones, S3 and Note 2...enough said!
Screen. I miss my HOX LCD screen, AMOLEDS are just a bit too false!
Size. My current phone is the Note 2, it's the only negative side of it, it's too big for one handed use nothing else. Looking forward to getting a phone that I can use with one hand comfortably again.
So I'm still getting it!
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
Screen aside I am getting concerned about the camera performance, I don't expect it to completely match up to the 920 but I was hoping it would be reasonably close.
Reviews are irrelevant. Go play with the phone at a Sony store once it becomes available and decide for yourself.
Reviewers have their own agendas...
I was planning on getting the ZL if it came out before the end of February or first week of March..... However Sony announced that Canada isn't getting the ZL till April.... And on top of that all of the issues with the inconsistent screen reviews have made me decide to just wait . Since Sony decided to force me to wait till April the logical thing to do is wait for info on the s4/Optimus g pro/ m7 / xphone, and reevaluate the market at that time
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
I am still getting it. Lets hear reviews of international version first aT feb 28, and lets see.
Really wanted to get this phone, but it's not coming to Canada until April. That's just too far away and sadly I am forced to go another route. I really did want this phone though...
the display doesn't look bad in this vid(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFEzXilA8B8) IMO, but why is bottom bar gray instead of black (where the home, and back button are)?
Was quite iffy since anything that offers a fHD resolution and no 3000mA+ battery doesn't get me interested much. But I guess this is a dealbreaker for me. Anywho, good luck to those who've ordered this!
I will wait for a full GSMarena review, then wait for it to appear in stores here and go test it myself and compare. The only problem for me could be bad color contrast.
Not amazing camera? - No problem for me, digital cameras are not amazing even if you stuck 9999 megapixels in them and super xmrozksda sensors. I take maybe 3 pics a month and those usually go to instagram where horrible filters and compression will make it look like a picture from 2006 anyway. If I want to make good pics I'll take my camera (or a friend will).
Bad viewing angles? - Again, the only time it will be a problem is when I let my mates to play games on it and will want to see how they are doing.
I just need a new phone kinda ASAP and Sony is releasing soon. The new HTC could be interesting for me but I'm not sure when it's coming out. I hate Samsung phones so GS4 is not an option either.
^Why do you 'hate' Samsung? Color contrast of SAMLOED I'm guessing
Getting the ZL, but it's more or less the same phone for the most part. Reviews aren't affecting my excitement to get it one bit. Can't wait for it to finally hit Canada!
Getting the ZL also. I know our country was one of the mentioned ones to get this device on the 1st quarter but if it would reach till april then mostlikely HTC M7 would prolly steal 50% of my decision to go back to sony. I love Sense UI and not Sony UI but I decided to ditch HTC Butterfly and go with sony but if they let HTC M7 pass them again then bye2 and I'll stick with HTC. Sad because Sony was my 1st android phone coming from nokia when they ditched maemo OS over microsoft.
I bought the boost mobile version from best buy for 160 after taxes. Anyone else purchased it yet?
My initial thought of the Sharp Aquos Crystal phone:
I like the weight of it, it almost feels like a smaller nexus 5 to me. The camera is horrible if anyone is interested in that feature. I haven't really tried the video recording just yet. The speaker is not very loud while watching YouTube videos. The design is amazing and i appreciate originality and that's why i purchased the phone. If anyone has any questions, let me know in a comment.
I agree about the camera. I'm not sure if it's software or hardware related. It's decent in low-light, but compared to most flagships, it is really bad. Then again, for this price, I didn't expect it to be amazing.
The battery is fantastic though. Absolutely wonderful thanks to the Snapdragon 400. It's not the most powerful, but the battery life is amazing.
The screen is BEAUTIFUL even though it's only 720p. With the edge-to-edge, it really makes the screen pop. The colors can be adjusted between a few different settings, so it can be changed some based on what the user prefers.
Screenshots are super easy, and I even take them accidentally sometimes. Just swipe across the very top of the screen. Couldn't be easier.
I thought the bottom bezel would be too big, but honestly it isn't bad. I don't mind the size of it.
My new FAV for 8 days, now not so much
daboyal006 said:
I bought the boost mobile version from best buy for 160 after taxes. Anyone else purchased it yet?
My initial thought of the Sharp Aquos Crystal phone:
I like the weight of it, it almost feels like a smaller nexus 5 to me. The camera is horrible if anyone is interested in that feature. I haven't really tried the video recording just yet. The speaker is not very loud while watching YouTube videos. The design is amazing and I appreciate originality and that's why I purchased the phone. If anyone has any questions, let me know in a comment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I fell in LUST with the looks of the Sharp Aquos Crystal and decided to order one from Boost Mobile on October 14 so I could compare it to my existing T-Mobile Galaxy Note 3.
Upon side-by-side comparisons to Galaxy Note 3, I quickly discovered the following:
I could be happy with the 5" screen.
Despite lower screen resolution specs, I found everything on the Sharp to be razor sharp (pun intended).
Screen color saturation is as vivid as my Note 3. Watched some live TV using Dish Anywhere and found the overall picture on Sharp to be BETTER than Note 3.
Biggest surprise (so far) is that despite running latest Effortless F9 debloated custom ROM on my Note 3, the Sharp seems every bit as fast & responsive with the supposedly slower processor and less RAM.
Sharp Aquos Crystal includes LESS bloatware than I've found of most prior smartphones. Thanks Sharp!
No problems running any of my favorite apps: Dish Anywhere, Jump Desktop, MX Player, ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner,Out of Milk,CheapOAir,Waze,FlightStats, PolarisOffice5, Nova launcher Prime 3.1,One More Clock,Mr. Number, Astro File Manager,Icon Changer, WinZip, iHeartRadio,TripAdvisor
CONS discovered over the past 8 days of use:
Had to switch the USB cable from a 3.0 to 2.0 port before I could transfer data to/from my micro SD card in the Sharp.
With only 1GB of RAM, I've had apps freeze or act strangely which has forced me to reboot the phone once or twice a day to recover.
Screen Cast. Unlike my prior Note 3, EZcast not working with my HDTV because of lower resolution of the sharp phone.
Camera. Unable to save pics to external SD card. Have to use ES File Explorer to copy or move. I believe this bug is related to Android 4.4.2 (a bug that can be fixed if/when this phone gets rooted). I will also admit to be a bit spoiled by the better 16 megapixel on my former Note 3 vs. only 8 megapixel on the 306SH.
Tethering. Until this phone gets rooted with some custom ROMs, we won't have ANY free Wi-Fi hotspot tethering (basic $35/month Boost plan does not include ANY free tethering).
$5 gets you one day of hotspot service.
For all these reasons, I am now considering the return of this phone (per Boost Mobile's trial period moneyback guarantee). On 10/26/2014 I will be looking at the LG G3, Note 4 and Nexus 6 as possible alternatives to suit my needs. for the coming year.
Glenn ;(
I got the phone for $49. I ported my # over from att to get 100 off the phone plus got 10GB of LTE for 55 per month. Ended up paying around $110 total. I consistently get 20-30MB down. I'm also coming from a Nexus 4. So heres my breakdown as compared to the LG Nexus 4, which I love by the way. In all honesty there's lots of similarities between the Nexus 4 and the Aquos Crystal. That's an excellent thing in my book. Here goes.....
The Design of the Crystal is simply breathtaking. It seriously looks like something from the future(think Total Recall, Fifth Element). It's imposing, has presence, and with the screen on it commands attention from a good distance away. It has a metal frame! No BS! Pretty impressive! While I think the Nexus 4 is one of the most sexiest phones ever made with the screen on, the Crystal is just amazing and better looking than any other smartphone available. With the screen off the Nexus 4 beats everything and that probably won't ever change.
Battery life is CRAZY good. I can't understand for the life of me how I got 6 hours of SOT for my first charge! Everything was syncing and setting up(used a GB of data(Damn)). I expect it to get even better! One of my reasons for wanting to upgrade from my Nexus 4 was battery life. Sure it's 2 years old but I could only muster around 3-4 hours SOT. Lame
I also love how Sharp kept raw Android yet added some useful and some just cool features. Thank you for proper on screen keys!!!!!!
Side by side the Crystal is ever so slightly shorter than the Nexus 4 yet it's screen is 5 inches vs the 4's 4.7 incher. This overall form, function, and innovative design adds to the futuristic feel. It's more comfortable to use one handed than the nexus 4 and every 5 inch flagship available today(I've held all of them).
Screen quality is very close but if anything the Crystal feels much more vibrant and beautiful at lower brightness settings to the Nexus 4. (I cry for my nexus on the inside)
Data speeds where I'm at literally smash every other carrier to pieces. And I get 10GB vs. 2.5 of HSPA+
So battery life is so good you can't figure out how it's possible...
Breathtaking and innovative design that will surely be copied soon. That screen is beautiful and magical. Yea, the no earpiece technology from 100 years from now works like a dream. Call quality is fantastic and the HD voice works eerily well.
Build quality. A metal frame on a prepaid phone...What else to say? Fit and finish is great too.
What sucks? Well the camera kinda. As a Nexus 4 owner I'm used to it but the Nexus 4 camera sprays poo on the Crystal's. I actually love the Crystal's camera UI very much and think it's a very nice camera app that offers just enough and not too much. Outdoor performance is pretty average but indoors or under low light it's pretty abysmal. I don't really care either. I paid $49 for the phone. Keyword being phone and not camera
Aside from the camera the only other negative I can think of is we probably won't ever get an update. Then again not much is known about how well or poor Sharp supports their phones. Who knows they might try and make a positive first impression by updating it. Hard to tell.
Meanwhile my nexus 4 will get Lollipop as soon as it comes out......in two weeks..
In terms of a quality OS, anything Jellybean and up is pretty fantastic in my opinion. So having KitKat forever isn't really bad at all at least to me.
So coming from a Nexus 4 I'm seriously impressed with this Sharp Aquos Crystal and would highly recommend it to anybody. The value alone boggles the mind. It could easily sell for twice or three times as much.
If anyone has any questions I'll be happy to help give some feedback. Thanks for reading!
The phone sucks on the Aquos Crystal? I don't think so.
CORRECTION: Title: should read, "camera sucks? I don't think so."
I don't know what other users are comparing to but for $150 I couldn't be more pleased with the Sharp Aquos Crystal that I ordered online from Boost Mobile with next day delivery for just a bit over $160 with tax and delivery. I've had it for close to a week. Prior to this phone I had the HTC SV One, also a Boost phone. The Aquos is extremely smart looking. The camera exceeds my expectations. If I compared it to a $600 phone I might find a reason to wish for more but this phone cost a hundred bucks less than the HTC, has an extra half gig of ram and it's not reeking with bloat. For anyone else living in the real world who likes paying $40 a month for service that's "good enough," and would like a phone for about $150 that "exceeds expectations," good luck finding something better. Grab the Aquos, you won't regret it.
Can't find anything on it yet for rooting, but the available ram will allow plenty of time to wait until a kit becomes available.
ezagent said:
CORRECTION: Title: should read, "camera sucks? I don't think so."
I don't know what other users are comparing to but for $150 I couldn't be more pleased with the Sharp Aquos Crystal that I ordered online from Boost Mobile with next day delivery for just a bit over $160 with tax and delivery. I've had it for close to a week. Prior to this phone I had the HTC SV One, also a Boost phone. The Aquos is extremely smart looking. The camera exceeds my expectations. If I compared it to a $600 phone I might find a reason to wish for more but this phone cost a hundred bucks less than the HTC, has an extra half gig of ram and it's not reeking with bloat. For anyone else living in the real world who likes paying $40 a month for service that's "good enough," and would like a phone for about $150 that "exceeds expectations," good luck finding something better. Grab the Aquos, you won't regret it.
Can't find anything on it yet for rooting, but the available ram will allow plenty of time to wait until a kit becomes available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You obviously don't know what a decent cell phone camera is. It's pretty horrible. Go ahead, "wow" us with some samples. Really, don't embarrass yourself.
No need to wow anyone.
RealiZms said:
You obviously don't know what a decent cell phone camera is. It's pretty horrible. Go ahead, "wow" us with some samples. Really, don't embarrass yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feel free to be as insulting as you wish. My opinion is that the phone is perfectly adequate. I can snap a picture, post it to facebook, ebay or craigslist with sufficient quality, good enough. I have auto settings enabled. There are a number of settings available. For a hundred fifty dollar phone, I couldn't be more pleased.
Have a nice day.
ezagent said:
Feel free to be as insulting as you wish. My opinion is that the phone is perfectly adequate. I can snap a picture, post it to facebook, ebay or craigslist with sufficient quality, good enough. I have auto settings enabled. There are a number of settings available. For a hundred fifty dollar phone, I couldn't be more pleased.
Have a nice day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly the reason why I said it was horrible is because its very pixelated, I have plenty cell phones like the 6plus,nexus5,m8,iphone5s. So I would understand sub par performance from a camera. Ive had the motog also which is around the same price point . I did some video tests on YouTube, the video quality is fair. But I can honestly say if you take photos even in the right lighting, Its okay but if you zoom in just a little bit its starts to look distorted. Maybe horrible would be the wrong word if it was the quality of a old flip phone picture but its below average in my personal opinion.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Nothing to brag about.
daboyal006 said:
Honestly the reason why I said it was horrible is because its very pixelated, I have plenty cell phones like the 6plus,nexus5,m8,iphone5s. So I would understand sub par performance from a camera. Ive had the motog also which is around the same price point . I did some video tests on YouTube, the video quality is fair. But I can honestly say if you take photos even in the right lighting, Its okay but if you zoom in just a little bit its starts to look distorted. Maybe horrible would be the wrong word if it was the quality of a old flip phone picture but its below average in my personal opinion.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll agree that the camera is probably not the best feature on the phone but for $150, and given my picture taking needs, I can live with it. The only reason I'm sticking up for the camera is because I think that anyone considering a Boost android phone, mine costs $40 a month with "good enough" service, is likely to find that this phone exceeds expectations given the price.
ezagent said:
I'll agree that the camera is probably not the best feature on the phone but for $150, and given my picture taking needs, I can live with it. The only reason I'm sticking up for the camera is because I think that anyone considering a Boost android phone, mine costs $40 a month with "good enough" service, is likely to find that this phone exceeds expectations given the price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, the overall phone itself is worth the $160 bucks. The best looking low budget phone I've ever seen ..ever
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
ezagent said:
Feel free to be as insulting as you wish. My opinion is that the phone is perfectly adequate. I can snap a picture, post it to facebook, ebay or craigslist with sufficient quality, good enough. I have auto settings enabled. There are a number of settings available. For a hundred fifty dollar phone, I couldn't be more pleased.
Have a nice day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not insulting you. Just stating the obvious. Glad you like the new phone. Now get the sand out of your vagina and have a great day!
its a good phone with a better price.
I've had my sharp since mid November, coming from a HTC one sv who's micro USB port went out that I was in love with I'm going to say after the first 5 minutes I was saying HTC what?? The only things that comes software wise is clip now which is very nice but I quickly disabled it (pwr+ vlme down works fine for me) and my personal favorite when you click on the screen it sends a colored line around the borders, after finding a green themed one I quickly switched to it and looks cool everytime I turn it on. Other than that pretty basic andriod which is all good by me, don't need a bunch of software and features I don't use. Also it came relatively light on the bloat ware from boost compared to past phones I've owned, and majority of which didnt need root to get rid of (hope a root gets found soon) and the rest I could disable to prevent updates taken space for unneeded bloatware. The cameras nothing to write home about but it takes decent enough pics for me and has led flash ( a feature a lot of entry level phones don't have ). The mobile data speeds are great on 4 g and 3 g seems to be better than my old HTC. Sharp might have saved a little coin by putting a lower res. screen in the 306sh than other flagship phones, but this isn't a flagship phone, the aquos crystal X is their flagship. So comparing this $150 phone to $300+ phones is only going to show just how good sharp is at making a premium feel for a dam good price. My only complaint is the beezless design will sometimes mistake my hand touching the side of the screen while I hold it as a click, but a case fixed the problem. I'd say a case is mandatory for this phone like 90% of this phone is all screen your not gonna want to drop this phone without a case, I'd also advise getting a tempered glass screen protector, I got my bat case and screen protector which ran me 12 bucks on amazon.
try camera FV5, i think it will help camera sharp better than stock camera
daboyal006 said:
Honestly the reason why I said it was horrible is because its very pixelated, I have plenty cell phones like the 6plus,nexus5,m8,iphone5s. So I would understand sub par performance from a camera. Ive had the motog also which is around the same price point . I did some video tests on YouTube, the video quality is fair. But I can honestly say if you take photos even in the right lighting, Its okay but if you zoom in just a little bit its starts to look distorted. Maybe horrible would be the wrong word if it was the quality of a old flip phone picture but its below average in my personal opinion.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The camera complaints are so stupid. You want a camera, you buy a camera. And it's not pixelation, it's called noise. To be pixelated means that the image is smaller than the screen, allowing you to see the individual pixels. These images are 8MP, far larger than the phone's 720p display, and even 4K.
For $150, what do you expect? You bought a phone. I didn't buy this phone expecting an incredible camera with high ISO. I bought this phone for an incredible phone experience, and I am getting it. This seriously surpasses ones like the Samsung Galaxy S3 I had last year, which is still $200 by comparison (though the S3 has plenty of established roots, ROMs and kernels available, so there's that).
I heartily suggest this phone for anyone looking for a good phone at a good price. If you don't mind the missing tweaks at the moment, it's not half-bad.
Just don't base your purchase on the camera [emoji13]
Sent from my 306SH using Tapatalk
I agree, the camera is more than adiquit for the price. Be glad sharp didnt charge more for this phone. 160$ out if pockets a great deal, the $55 I paid with online deal and promo code was a steal (that's not including the account credit for $50 with the new number). Sadly the deal (both code and discount) have been discontinued.
---------- Post added at 11:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 AM ----------
RealiZms said:
You obviously don't know what a decent cell phone camera is. It's pretty horrible. Go ahead, "wow" us with some samples. Really, don't embarrass yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
daboyal006 said:
Honestly the reason why I said it was horrible is because its very pixelated, I have plenty cell phones like the 6plus,nexus5,m8,iphone5s. So I would understand sub par performance from a camera. Ive had the motog also which is around the same price point . I did some video tests on YouTube, the video quality is fair. But I can honestly say if you take photos even in the right lighting, Its okay but if you zoom in just a little bit its starts to look distorted. Maybe horrible would be the wrong word if it was the quality of a old flip phone picture but its below average in my personal opinion.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so your comparing this $150 midspec phone to $300 and up phones flagship phones. Your opinion is based off of solely only expensive phones. Yes this camera is nothing to wow over, but neither is an insanely expensive smart phone that breaks the bank, which you seem to have in aboundance. Try comparing it to phones that are actually in its price range. How much monthly were you paying for that M8? Or 6plus? Or 5S? Really sure what ever figure your about to throw out their doesn't justify that wow effect the camera had. Being a senior member I'd figure you'd bring more to the table than just a bunch of negative comments on the camera. And the person here who should be emberrased BTW is you for comming across as a straight ass, like really who buys these phones for you?
(x_x)Zombie said:
I agree, the camera is more than adiquit for the price. Be glad sharp didnt charge more for this phone. 160$ out if pockets a great deal, the $55 I paid with online deal and promo code was a steal (that's not including the account credit for $50 with the new number). Sadly the deal (both code and discount) have been discontinued.
---------- Post added at 11:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 AM ----------
OK, so your comparing this $150 midspec phone to $300 and up phones flagship phones. Your opinion is based off of solely only expensive phones. Yes this camera is nothing to wow over, but neither is an insanely expensive smart phone that breaks the bank, which you seem to have in aboundance. Try comparing it to phones that are actually in its price range. How much monthly were you paying for that M8? Or 6plus? Or 5S? Really sure what ever figure your about to throw out their doesn't justify that wow effect the camera had. Being a senior member I'd figure you'd bring more to the table than just a bunch of negative comments on the camera. And the person here who should be emberrased BTW is you for comming across as a straight ass, like really who buys these phones for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, I like your honesty. But if you did read carefully, I said I also have a Moto G which is about 100$.The moto g camera is better then the sharp aquos crystal. I gave a huge amount of credit towards the phone originality except for the camera which is a honest opinion. Even if I didn't mention any of the other phones, I still would've said the camera isn't good at all. I believe if Sharp produces a second version to this phone. The camera will be better. This is my opinion post and it is subject to criticism, which I expect but this is a topic about your "initial thoughts".
Sent from my DROID TURBO 64 GB
daboyal006 said:
Haha, I like your honesty. But if you did read carefully, I said I also have a Moto G which is about 100$.The moto g camera is better then the sharp aquos crystal. I gave a huge amount of credit towards the phone originality except for the camera which is a honest opinion. Even if I didn't mention any of the other phones, I still would've said the camera isn't good at all. I believe if Sharp produces a second version to this phone. The camera will be better. This is my opinion post and it is subject to criticism, which I expect but this is a topic about your "initial thoughts".
Sent from my DROID TURBO 64 GB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First I'd like to apologize, still new to posting on forums and I though that both quotes were from you, now realizing that the one that hit my button was not from you (the quote saying amaze us ect.) So again sorry for that. Definetly came across like an idiot there. I'd also like to say that the moto g is also a great phone, but it not supporting an extenal SD card and no miracast support on stock unrooted device is a big buzz kill on that phone, so it has its con's (I'm referring to first gen g, have yet to play with second gen). So I'd say for an average everyday andriod user the moto g might be a better fit, due to said better camera for social networking ect. And it being half the cost of the sharp ($80 new I believe). But we can most certainly agree, the cameras definitly the biggest con besides no root being avalible as of yet. Who knows, if we get root their might be a possibility to improve the camera through rewritten software on a custom ROM. It is hard to see why a 8mp camera has sub par quality to this extent. I believe its due to a slapped together software that was never fully optimized to use the 8mp camera. So here's to wishful thinking and unicorns for root.
So I'm currently a T-Mobile subscriber which is normally awesome until they declined to carry the u11. I currently have an S8 but I really don't like the 18:9 display and the battery life can be a little underwhelming some days. So I'm currently itching to jump to another phone and my short list has me at the U11 and the rumored pixel 2. Part of me wants to drop that pretty penny for the U11 (especially the solar red), but buying unlocked is not cheap as we all know. I love the design, boomsound, audio, camera, and middle of the road on software (it does look admittedly dated), but I'm skeptical about the size of the phone and the battery life (though I see some crazy numbers for those that rooted). I don't have the biggest hands but can manage a larger phone if it's well designed at least. This further brings me to the fact that the Pixel 2 is relatively close to announcement and I'm thinking there's a good chance it'll come to T-Mobile this year (but that's me speculating). Anyways, point is, I'm not a huge fan of my s8 and would like to move to the U11 or wait for the pixel 2. I like the OP5 but the lack of ois and weak video/audio recording quality pushes me away from it some. The Z2 Force's reliance on mods also really killed it for me... What are people's thoughts on this situation? Is the U11 worth the $600 now or should I wait for a phone that may or may not be on T-Mobile with similar specs and features with a smaller available screen? Any and all input is welcome, I'm very in the middle of the road here if you can't tell!
Grab the HTC U11 you will love it
Sent from my HTC 2PZC100 using Tapatalk
I haven't seen any indication that the Pixel 2 is going to be offered by T-Mobile.
xanadu1979 said:
I haven't seen any indication that the Pixel 2 is going to be offered by T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't either. I was just merely speculating honestly.
cheesyjif said:
I haven't either. I was just merely speculating honestly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on what though? Has T-Mobile ever offered a Google-made phone?
xanadu1979 said:
Based on what though? Has T-Mobile ever offered a Google-made phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I'm not mistaken, they had the Nexus 6. Maybe the Nexus One and 4 but don't quote me on that.
My speculation is simply based on the fact that the Pixel was an attempt to make a strong direct to consumer phone for enthusiasts and casual users. Releasing it on Verizon and unlocked may have been to just test the waters for a more widespread launch for the Pixel 2. If any other carrier will be offering the Pixel 2 aside from Verizon, my money is on T-Mobile since they had the promotion where they covered $325 if you bought an unlocked pixel and Google is probably going to want to look into making the Pixel 2 more available.
But again, it's speculation and expectations. Google could go back to selling only unlocked models once again like they've done before (Nexus 6 -> 6p; Galaxy Nexus -> Nexus 4). Or they'll do a larger launch. Who knows for sure.
People got this "big bezels" in their head so they follow the trend of saying this beautiful phone "looks dated" that is absolutely ridiculous. This beast is a beaut both front and back and I'd much rather be holding and looking at the front of the HTC U11 than the weird looking S8. It does not look dated.
LibertyMonger said:
People got this "big bezels" in their head so they follow the trend of saying this beautiful phone "looks dated" that is absolutely ridiculous. This beast is a beaut both front and back and I'd much rather be holding and looking at the front of the HTC U11 than the weird looking S8. It does not look dated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not too worried about bezels honestly. Just one hand usage.
cheesyjif said:
I'm not too worried about bezels honestly. Just one hand usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I use the HTC wallet case so I'm used to two hand usage. It kinda sucks cause of the squeeze feature is much nicer without it but I like wallet cases too, especially the HTC Iceview. But as soon as I get a new good clear case I will ditch the wallet. Edge sense is really great for one hand usage especially with edge sense plus.
cheesyjif said:
I'm not too worried about bezels honestly. Just one hand usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LibertyMonger said:
Yeah I use the HTC wallet case so I'm used to two hand usage. It kinda sucks cause of the squeeze feature is much nicer without it but I like wallet cases too, especially the HTC Iceview. But as soon as I get a new good clear case I will ditch the wallet. Edge sense is really great for one hand usage especially with edge sense plus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you root and flash your phone already? I would plan on doing that at some point but not sure when. How would you say day to day battery life is like pre-root, especially when using social media apps like Facebook, Snapchat, and what's app?
cheesyjif said:
Did you root and flash your phone already? I would plan on doing that at some point but not sure when. How would you say day to day battery life is like pre-root, especially when using social media apps like Facebook, Snapchat, and what's app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the first device that makes me feel like I don't need to root. Of course I did cause there are some simple things I miss and some of the edge sense plus features won't work without root but as far as optimization there is no need. This phone is so perfect it's unreal lol.
Honestly, this is a pretty biased place to ask the question. I love the phone, but I'm sure all the people on this forum do.
I guess it depends on how urgently you need a phone. In terms of strengths and weaknesses I'm pretty sure the Pixel and the U11 are going to be very similar. Maybe Pixel will be marginally better in terms of speed and battery life and U11's audio quality will be better.
xanadu1979 said:
Based on what though? Has T-Mobile ever offered a Google-made phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first Android phone ever, the G1, was a T-Mobile exclusive and they carried the Nexus 6 as well. It's doubtful they will carry the Pixels though. T-Mobile pushes Samsung worse than any fanboy ever could so even if they were to get the Pixels, the stores would shove Samsung garbage down your throat. For both the M7 and M8, I had to make them get the phone from the back at one of the Denver stores, it wasn't even on display and the employees acted like they didn't have the M8 and suddenly a box was in front of me when I raised my voice in the middle of the store during lunch rush about where they could shove their Samsung phones.
As to the OP's question, I'd get the U11 personally. I have no complaints about this phone and I'm not even rooted. The battery life is ridiculous, the performance is ridiculous, and you get a lot for your money including the usonic headphones which are incredible for an in ear headset (I usually won't use them but these are comfortable, stay in, and the sound quality is stellar) and a basic case in the box. My only complaint is that 4x4 MIMO is only for Sprint but that's not a big deal since I'm rarely ever away from WiFi and I'm perfectly fine with the speeds I get when I am.
GSAM since July 9th:
Battery life: 17h 5m (8h 23m active)
SoT: 6h 45m (8h 6m max)
I play a ton of games so obviously I have zero complaints on battery life either.
I don't regret this purchase one bit, even with the interest I'm paying on my credit card for it. Hands down the best phone I've had.
EtherealRemnant said:
The first Android phone ever, the G1, was a T-Mobile exclusive and they carried the Nexus 6 as well. It's doubtful they will carry the Pixels though. T-Mobile pushes Samsung worse than any fanboy ever could so even if they were to get the Pixels, the stores would shove Samsung garbage down your throat. For both the M7 and M8, I had to make them get the phone from the back at one of the Denver stores, it wasn't even on display and the employees acted like they didn't have the M8 and suddenly a box was in front of me when I raised my voice in the middle of the store during lunch rush about where they could shove their Samsung phones.
As to the OP's question, I'd get the U11 personally. I have no complaints about this phone and I'm not even rooted. The battery life is ridiculous, the performance is ridiculous, and you get a lot for your money including the usonic headphones which are incredible for an in ear headset (I usually won't use them but these are comfortable, stay in, and the sound quality is stellar) and a basic case in the box. My only complaint is that 4x4 MIMO is only for Sprint but that's not a big deal since I'm rarely ever away from WiFi and I'm perfectly fine with the speeds I get when I am.
GSAM since July 9th:
Battery life: 17h 5m (8h 23m active)
SoT: 6h 45m (8h 6m max)
I play a ton of games so obviously I have zero complaints on battery life either.
I don't regret this purchase one bit, even with the interest I'm paying on my credit card for it. Hands down the best phone I've had.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy crap that's incredible battery life!!!
Did you use power saver or anything?
cheesyjif said:
Holy crap that's incredible battery life!!!
Did you use power saver or anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I let Boost+ optimize my games so they render at 1080p and I disabled News Republic but other than that, no. My 10 can't even come close to 6 hours with web browsing, forget about 8 with mixed usage and it has the same size battery.
One of my friends has always been on T-Mobile and he got his Nexus 5 from them. It didn't last more than a year it's sitting on my desk split open, the screen popped off of it from when he fell on it. It still works, I rooted it and flash a custom ROM for him but he hasn't picked it back up yet. Last Nexus I owned was the Galaxy Nexus and after owning nothing but HTC's since it brought back memories of how much they are cheap plastic. ***Edit I forgot, he actually kept it until they stopped updating it, that is why I rooted it for him.
Personally I wouldn't wait. The U11 is great, I personally returned my Pixel XL because it just wasn't that great compared to my 6P. I'm hopeful for the Pixel 2. But I'm not gonna hold my breath for anything amazing and figure I can always sell the U11 to make up some of the cost.
So you will have all had the phone for a month or so now .
Still waiting here for the UK release ,but is it worth waiting for ,love the design of it
What's all your views on it .
my choices are
Wait for essential in the UK
Pixel 2 XL
HTC U11 + if it comes es to the UK
LG V30
I've grown to love this phone. Out of the phones you mention, the only one I would consider would be the P2XL. However, since Essential is starting to release source files, I'll be perfectly happy to stick with the PH-1 if we start seeing some development.
If I had the choice now, I'd probably go for the Pixel 2 XL. Having owned the PH-1 for a month now, I realize that it is still pretty much unfinished product. The hardware is no doubt, beautiful but the software still feels incomplete. Although Essential has sent out a few updates and the software had improved markedly, it is still not up to par with other phones in the market (e.g. phone lags when scrolling, it freezes every now and then and the camera software is still not that great).
Although we haven't seen how the Pixel 2 XL really works, I'd assume it's in better shape than the Essential software. In short, I'd ask whether you'd want to be a beta tester for Essential or go with a more established player like Google. In my case, I am getting the Pixel 2 XL and will sell the PH-1 (or may keep it as a backup) when it arrives.
I was waiting for the Pixel 2, not XL (850+ dlls for me is too much), but then the full desing leaked and the Pixel 2 ended up horrible. For me it was 650 + taxes for the pixel 2, with 64 gb and outdated design. On the other hand Essential is 700 for 128gb an much better looking, also I had the oportunity to saw one at a local best buy and it was amazing on the hand, great build quality.
If you have no problem with spending 850+ dlls for a phone and you really need the fastest Android updates then go for the Pixel XL 2, but I think the essential is at a reallly good point right know and it looks like things are going to be better
combat goofwing said:
So you will have all had the phone for a month or so now .
Still waiting here for the UK release ,but is it worth waiting for ,love the design of it
What's all your views on it .
my choices are
Wait for essential in the UK
Pixel 2 XL
HTC U11 + if it comes es to the UK
LG V30
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently own both the HTC U11 and Essential with the pixel 2 XL on order, so if you are familiar with the U11, i can give you a fairly good idea of what you'l be getting with the essential. Between the two I have, they are very different and you get different value for your money. With the essential you get 128GB, great build and materials. I love the look and design. The edge to edge display is really something you have to see in person to appreciate. Having had the s8+, the Essentials bezel less design is better in my opinion. Battery size is ok at 3040mAh. It's also getting update pretty frequently so there's hope all bugs will be ironed out soon. So far nothing I can't live with.
I think you can get the U11 for $550 and $650 for the 64gb and 128GB respectively. I'm guessing the U11+ will be similar to the U11 in terms of specs, but with hopefully a larger, less bezel. So with the U11 as reference you get a more traditional, possibly outdated design. You either love it or hate it for it's "classic" look. Aside from that you get a solidly built phone as well. It feels good in the hand, it runs great with probably one of the only android skins I actually like. It has a really good camera, once having had the highest DxO score for a bit until it was overtaken by the iphone and now pixels. Still a great camera none the less, miles ahead better than the essential, so I expect the U11+ to have the same if not slightly better. Still nothing wrong if it's the same camera in my opinion. The U11 has a 3000mAh battery, so I expect the U11+ to have at least that much, hopefully more. The edge sense is actually pretty cool and useful too once you setup custom actions per app.
Then's there' s cost. The essential is $700 US dollars for 128GB. If the U11 is $750 normally for 128GB, I can only assume the U11+ will be more if a 128 option exists. The U11+ will most likely have sd card support. That's still cheaper than the pixel 2xl that starts at $850 for 64gb and $950 for 128gb with the exact same internals, with a much better camera. but pixel does have bigger screen but s8 like bezels on top and bottom. At least there's speakers there but if you want edge to edge, the essential is a nicer looking option.
I actually prefer the Essential over my U11. The camera isn't that important to me on a smart phone. It works, takes decent pictures if needed. I'm no professional and I don't pretend to be. But the look, feels and size is what makes the essential my daily driver now. I am totally happy with my essential, and I'll be critical with the pixel 2 given all the good the essential has. I don't regret my purchase and even got one for the wife
Personally I love the essential phone. My favorite this is the size of the phone. It's pretty much identical to size of the Galaxy S5 and it's all screen. As far as software, I don't really have any issues at all anymore, the occasional things creeps up from time to time. Every phone has those random little on offs. There isn't a software on Earth that hasn't frozen hasn't lagged hasn't bugged out at one time or another. Essential has done a really great job of keeping consistent updates coming. Through both the monthly security updates and via essential services and resources app on the play store.
I could honestly careless about the camera, it has never been a selling point for me on a phone ever. That being said, I don't have any issues taking pictures and they turn just fine for me. If you want to shoot a movie on your phone(like all the reviewers expect a phone camera to clearly do) maybe look towards the pixel. I have no interest in pixel xl 2 because it's to dam big for my hands and those size phones are hard for me to use. After using this phone, I have no interest in using a phone that has bezels as big as the regular pixel 2.
You can't go wrong with either phone, and unless you pre-order the pixel 2 xl it's going to be a wait for that device as well.
swagglepuff said:
Personally I love the essential phone. My favorite this is the size of the phone. It's pretty much identical to size of the Galaxy S5 and it's all screen. As far as software, I don't really have any issues at all anymore, the occasional things creeps up from time to time. Every phone has those random little on offs. There isn't a software on Earth that hasn't frozen hasn't lagged hasn't bugged out at one time or another. Essential has done a really great job of keeping consistent updates coming. Through both the monthly security updates and via essential services and resources app on the play store.
I could honestly careless about the camera, it has never been a selling point for me on a phone ever. That being said, I don't have any issues taking pictures and they turn just fine for me. If you want to shoot a movie on your phone(like all the reviewers expect a phone camera to clearly do) maybe look towards the pixel. I have no interest in pixel xl 2 because it's to dam big for my hands and those size phones are hard for me to use. After using this phone, I have no interest in using a phone that has bezels as big as the regular pixel 2.
You can't go wrong with either phone, and unless you pre-order the pixel 2 xl it's going to be a wait for that device as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that I have used for a while, the reviews were really hard. Saying that this phone is bad and telling people not to buy it only because the camare is not good makes me wonder what kind of "reviews" and "tech journalism" we have today
TheDethEgineer said:
Now that I have used for a while, the reviews were really hard. Saying that this phone is bad and telling people not to buy it only because the camare is not good makes me wonder what kind of "reviews" and "tech journalism" we have today
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, I have been waging a war on Android central recently and their over bias bull**** reviews. Sites like those only care about flagship devices, infact the only phones they don't say bad things about are Samsung. That same attitude has rolled over to the forums, just a bunch of people who have never even seen one in person saying it's a horrible device. Yet I come to the good ol' XDA it's full of people actually trying to help other users.
That's why I don't buy phones based on reviews, if I listened to Android central, I would have never owned the HTC 10, the Honor 8 or the axon 7. All of which are fantastic devices, but because they don't do things like Samsung they all got ****ty reviews and recommendations.
---------- Post added at 11:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 PM ----------
QD2DC said:
I currently own both the HTC U11 and Essential with the pixel 2 XL on order, so if you are familiar with the U11, i can give you a fairly good idea of what you'l be getting with the essential. Between the two I have, they are very different and you get different value for your money. With the essential you get 128GB, great build and materials. I love the look and design. The edge to edge display is really something you have to see in person to appreciate. Having had the s8+, the Essentials bezel less design is better in my opinion. Battery size is ok at 3040mAh. It's also getting update pretty frequently so there's hope all bugs will be ironed out soon. So far nothing I can't live with.
I think you can get the U11 for $550 and $650 for the 64gb and 128GB respectively. I'm guessing the U11+ will be similar to the U11 in terms of specs, but with hopefully a larger, less bezel. So with the U11 as reference you get a more traditional, possibly outdated design. You either love it or hate it for it's "classic" look. Aside from that you get a solidly built phone as well. It feels good in the hand, it runs great with probably one of the only android skins I actually like. It has a really good camera, once having had the highest DxO score for a bit until it was overtaken by the iphone and now pixels. Still a great camera none the less, miles ahead better than the essential, so I expect the U11+ to have the same if not slightly better. Still nothing wrong if it's the same camera in my opinion. The U11 has a 3000mAh battery, so I expect the U11+ to have at least that much, hopefully more. The edge sense is actually pretty cool and useful too once you setup custom actions per app.
Then's there' s cost. The essential is $700 US dollars for 128GB. If the U11 is $750 normally for 128GB, I can only assume the U11+ will be more if a 128 option exists. The U11+ will most likely have sd card support. That's still cheaper than the pixel 2xl that starts at $850 for 64gb and $950 for 128gb with the exact same internals, with a much better camera. but pixel does have bigger screen but s8 like bezels on top and bottom. At least there's speakers there but if you want edge to edge, the essential is a nicer looking option.
I actually prefer the Essential over my U11. The camera isn't that important to me on a smart phone. It works, takes decent pictures if needed. I'm no professional and I don't pretend to be. But the look, feels and size is what makes the essential my daily driver now. I am totally happy with my essential, and I'll be critical with the pixel 2 given all the good the essential has. I don't regret my purchase and even got one for the wife
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't go saying better camera just yet. The HTC U11 and the first pixel are tied at a dxo mark of 90. While google unofficially claims a score of 98 for the new pixels we will see. I am sure HTC has plans to continue it's stellar camera software.
UK owner
I bought mine from a seller in the US as I was willing to take a chance that the early reviews were off the mark.
I've had the phone for almost 4 weeks now, and it's a great phone as far as I'm concerned.
Battery life is excellent, I get a minimum of 5 hours + SOT regularly for my usage, which I have never managed with previous phones., Even managed almost 7 hours a couple of times with lighter usage.
Latest updates from Essential have made real progress in stability.
Yes, the camera is average, but not as bad as many have said.
It takes decent photographs as far as I'm concerned, and I use it occasionally for work purposes with no problems in quality.
It does feel very nice in the hand, and the screen coverage looks great.
Hope this helps.
Something I need to mention that I initially forgot. The screen brightness when outside in sunlight. I think some of the early reviews said it was little under lit, but I think they may have adaptive brightness on, because I've used it often when out and about. I've noticed if you toggle off adaptive and adjust it manually if it's sunny, it's fine.
I would pick the PH-1 over any of those devices, the design is different in a good way, the lack of accessories (cases mainly) makes it more like a acquired taste. hey all use the same Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 and 4GB of RAM so it's based on your style. The Essential has been great to me and it turns heads. If you decide on the others - I would say Pixel 2 XL so you are ensured support
swagglepuff said:
Exactly, I have been waging a war on Android central recently and their over bias bull**** reviews. Sites like those only care about flagship devices, infact the only phones they don't say bad things about are Samsung. That same attitude has rolled over to the forums, just a bunch of people who have never even seen one in person saying it's a horrible device. Yet I come to the good ol' XDA it's full of people actually trying to help other users.
That's why I don't buy phones based on reviews, if I listened to Android central, I would have never owned the HTC 10, the Honor 8 or the axon 7. All of which are fantastic devices, but because they don't do things like Samsung they all got ****ty reviews and recommendations.
---------- Post added at 11:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 PM ----------
Don't go saying better camera just yet. The HTC U11 and the first pixel are tied at a dxo mark of 90. While google unofficially claims a score of 98 for the new pixels we will see. I am sure HTC has plans to continue it's stellar camera software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yes and no. The score is official. But what that number equates to in real world performance is relative. To say the u11 isn't "as good" as the pixel 2 does not mean the u11 camera isn't great, although the phrase does imply that. I think a score in the 90s will result in excellent camera performance to some degree. I have no reason to believe HTC won't improve on what they've built so far. Regardless as an android user we have some quality and exciting phones to choose from.
QD2DC said:
Well yes and no. The score is official. But what that number equates to in real world performance is relative. To say the u11 isn't "as good" as the pixel 2 does not mean the u11 camera isn't great, although the phrase does imply that. I think a score in the 90s will result in excellent camera performance to some degree. I have no reason to believe HTC won't improve on what they've built so far. Regardless as an android user we have some quality and exciting phones to choose from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not know they made it official, well in that case. Let's see what HTC brings with the U11+. I have always loved HTC and their simple user interface. If the rumors are correct it will be a thin bezel design as well, which makes me excited. I honestly wouldn't have given the U11 back had it had a higher screen to body ratio. It was a little too big for my liking.
I loved the look and feel of the phone, substantial in the hand, good button feel and I liked where the buttons were.
NIce looking screen too.
Software and camera were OK,
I *hatehatehate* stock android ! First thing I have always done is root and Rom .
I returned it, very late actually like just last week as I was holding out hope of kernel and Factory image release but not soon enough. I resurrected my 6P and am still using that because I **really* love the 6P.
I would absolutely buy the PH-1 again when my 6P dies and Essential gets some ROMs.
The PH-1 is a fabulous device. Now that Xposed is live for Nougat, using Xposed on the PH-1 would greatly enhance the experience, for me. Where else are you going to get that kind of hardware and 128GB storage for under 700? I did keep the camera JIC lol
Zo0
swagglepuff said:
I did not know they made it official, well in that case. Let's see what HTC brings with the U11+. I have always loved HTC and their simple user interface. If the rumors are correct it will be a thin bezel design as well, which makes me excited. I honestly wouldn't have given the U11 back had it had a higher screen to body ratio. It was a little too big for my liking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know how you feel. Been an HTC fan since the windows mobile days and loved HTC manilla/rosie/sense and whatever else it was called in between lol. I miss developing for the those older phones. Sense is the only android skin I truly love. Hopefully I'll be apart of the user trials for the u11+ as well. But the essential will be a hard phone to beat design wise.
Still like my PH1. Not sure I want the Pixel 2 xl. I've got a 6p to trade on it also but it's not really a great looking device in my opinion. Haven't ruled it out though as a backup device. Honestly I really want to see if I can get the Xperia XZ1 to run on Verizon as it has all the lte bands. Plus it's got aptx for my home Bluetooth setup. Sony hates the US so it's been an impossible task so far.
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Thanks guys ,some great responses and information,still using my trusty N6P ,if I could gather a UK release date on the PH-1 it would help ,but essential seem reluctant to commit to one so far .Had the early shut down issues in the N6P ,but I changed the battery for lots more life in it just yet .
combat goofwing said:
Thanks guys ,some great responses and information,still using my trusty N6P ,if I could gather a UK release date on the PH-1 it would help ,but essential seem reluctant to commit to one so far .Had the early shut down issues in the N6P ,but I changed the battery for lots more life in it just yet .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if www.swappa.com is an option for you but they have some on sale, from used to mint. I buy and sell and on there all the time. Extremely reliable, PayPal verified and secure. One in mint condition at $620 isn't bad.
Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the HTC U11+, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the HTC U11+ is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I am not at all happy that I bought the HTC U11+. Overall, this phone is a 7 out of 10 at best. I am on T-Mobile and not happy. I have been with HTC since 2009. And was always impressed. The last phone was the HTC One. This U11+ is simply unreliable.
Calls: When I call people they are frequently unable to hear me on the first call. Maybe they do hear me on the second call. We do hear each other if they call me back.
Gmail: Frequently, the gmail app does not load properly. It will give me a white screen. I go out, and come back in, and we are fine.
Battery: It lasts about 30 hours. But I am not a heavy user, and do try to keep location turned off.
Speaker: Sometimes caller does not hear me via speaker phone.
T-Mo tech support said that this phone does not have LTE 1900. Therefore I am operating on 4G 1900. That is not T Mo's sweet spot.
Did I complain enough? I can give you a fresh one. I came back to xda seeking root options, but I think it is a bit early for devs. But they do always save the day. So, only love for this community.
pklunavat said:
I am not at all happy that I bought the HTC U11+. Overall, this phone is a 7 out of 10 at best. I am on T-Mobile and not happy. I have been with HTC since 2009. And was always impressed. The last phone was the HTC One. This U11+ is simply unreliable.
Calls: When I call people they are frequently unable to hear me on the first call. Maybe they do hear me on the second call. We do hear each other if they call me back.
Gmail: Frequently, the gmail app does not load properly. It will give me a white screen. I go out, and come back in, and we are fine.
Battery: It lasts about 30 hours. But I am not a heavy user, and do try to keep location turned off.
Speaker: Sometimes caller does not hear me via speaker phone.
T-Mo tech support said that this phone does not have LTE 1900. Therefore I am operating on 4G 1900. That is not T Mo's sweet spot.
Did I complain enough? I can give you a fresh one. I came back to xda seeking root options, but I think it is a bit early for devs. But they do always save the day. So, only love for this community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I concur the Gmail bug. Also, the notifications drawer, in the home screen, takes several tries to come down when you pull it down from the centre of the screen. Finally, sometimes, the auto-brightness does not do its job with the brightness very low.
Apart from that, the rest is worthy it.
pklunavat said:
I am not at all happy that I bought the HTC U11+. Overall, this phone is a 7 out of 10 at best. I am on T-Mobile and not happy. I have been with HTC since 2009. And was always impressed. The last phone was the HTC One. This U11+ is simply unreliable.
Calls: When I call people they are frequently unable to hear me on the first call. Maybe they do hear me on the second call. We do hear each other if they call me back.
Gmail: Frequently, the gmail app does not load properly. It will give me a white screen. I go out, and come back in, and we are fine.
Battery: It lasts about 30 hours. But I am not a heavy user, and do try to keep location turned off.
Speaker: Sometimes caller does not hear me via speaker phone.
T-Mo tech support said that this phone does not have LTE 1900. Therefore I am operating on 4G 1900. That is not T Mo's sweet spot.
Did I complain enough? I can give you a fresh one. I came back to xda seeking root options, but I think it is a bit early for devs. But they do always save the day. So, only love for this community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear you are not enjoying the device. I was concerned about my mobile signal and speed so I downloaded LTE Discovery app.
My U11+ never shows that I am on LTE on the status bar. It always shows 4G. LTE Discovery app shows I am connected to band 4 LTE and speed test shows the same ball park up / down speeds as my Pixel here in SF.
I like this phone ALOT but unsure if I will keep it for the long haul.
I live in the UK and the phone works perfectly fine even though is the Hong Kong version. People in the US should know that this phone was not meant to be sold there.
I am using Taiwan model of this phone on Tmobile in bay area and have none of the issues mentioned above by pklunavat. This phone has a score of 11 on 10 for me. Excellent phone in every regard. See my impressions/review thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-u11/how-to/impressions-review-phone-small-episodes-t3714841
This is the best phone I have ever had. Better than the U11. It offers great performance, design and features.
I love the Sound over Earphones 1++++++
I'm loving this phone
Brightness is good for me, night filter built in is nice to have
Edge sense carousel is great, and I've had no problems as mentioned above
However, I'm disappointed with the camera. It got really good reviews, but it seems that any shot with motion in it comes out blurry
Shots of buildings or landscapes are great, but when I try to take pictures of my kids, it's blurry. Apparently a lot of new smartphone manufacturers are concentrating on HDR processing rather than getting bigger sensors. A friend with an iPhone 8 has the same problem, as does another friend with the Pixel 2 XL.
I'm trying the Google Camera Port on my U11+, hopefully it will show some improvement....
Nghtmare said:
I live in the UK and the phone works perfectly fine even though is the Hong Kong version. People in the US should know that this phone was not meant to be sold there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I Live in Australia and purchased the Taiwan version. Works like a charm. Love this phone!
Well, do I love it? I do like it a lot. I'm coming from the HTC 10 which I really loved but in the end the battery wasn't up to scratch anymore.
The U11+ is large, almost too large for my jeans pockets but that's not surprising, the phone dimensions were no secret. I got the hyped transparent black version and I like it but I think it's far overrated. Thanks to that ultra glossy glass back it's impossible to use the phone without a case, I'm using a cheap transparent flexible bumper thing which does the job.
The battery life is great, it easily does 48 hrs (without any optimisation other that disabling News Republic) and more (actually more than 72hrs over Christmas when I hadn't used it much) with the same usage pattern of my old 10 which lasted about 10 hrs in the end and one full day when it was new so this is surely a great improvement. The screen of the 10 is the better one I woould say, especially that purple tint when scrolling doesn't look nice, but it's sharp, bright and the colours are good.
I haven't taken many photos but the few I took were at least as good as the already very good 10's camera. The earphones are amazing and so is the fingerprint scanner.
I won't say that I love it but as mentioned before, I like it a lot. I'm still happy that I haven't bought the 5T instead out of impatience! It's also still early into the phone's life, there hopefully will be a few more tweaks and improvements over time.
Coming from galaxy S8. I can say this is the best device that I have ever had. Last HTC device I was using was htc m9.
Used my U11+ for a week now and this is absolute a real good device, it's fast and design is perfect.
Hi, coming from HTC 10. In my opinion, the HTC 10 was a good phone. But the HTC U11+ is absolutely thrilling me. Usually I rooted all my HTCs directly, so far I don't really have any desire to do that, because the device does everything I need.
The sound is great, the battery is excellent. The whole thing is completely stable and I personally find squeezing phenomenal, especially with Edge Sense Plus.
I just returned my Pixel 2 XL for the annoying blue tint and pretty happy so far, not regretting at all.
Galaxo60 said:
I just returned my Pixel 2 XL for the annoying blue tint and pretty happy so far, not regretting at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So while I'm considering the U11+ for its not so absurd price, you're telling me that you got from the Pixel 2 XL to this phone? Nice to know.
killchain said:
So while I'm considering the U11+ for its not so absurd price, you're telling me that you got from the Pixel 2 XL to this phone? Nice to know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was originally intended to buy the U11+ since I heard the rumors about its existence and that it was meant to be the Pixel 2 XL, so I was curious about what kind of device was this.
For things of life, I finished buying the Pixel 2 XL with a nice discount like 3 weeks ago.
Since the first time I turned on the device, I knew I was not going to be happy because of the screen and the annoying blue tint. I think people out there who diminished the problem is because they are not used to good screens or they are blind, and moreover, when they tell you "I look the phone straight forward", is bull5sh1t as well, because I faced plenty of situations when I couldn't see the phone straight forward and it was annoying.
People can say you can have the best camera, the best software updates, unlimited space for photos and videos, no lag, etc, but let me tell you that all of those "selling points" for the Pixel are not that good:
Best camera - Honestly, I made a photo comparison between the U11+ and the Pixel 2 XL, and in 7 of 10, the HTC was better and with more detail, text was more legible and forms were sharper. I think that HTC learned something after making every Pixel so far, but when I show the pictures, people just blame me and say I'm crazy. Video on Pixel was horrible and the audio extremely poor. The difference in aperture indeed makes a difference, even when it seems a small one.
Software updates - Yes, you have them, but guess what?, it breaks compatibility sometimes with apps. With the Pixel 2 XL I had a lot of force close applications, so what's the point of having the latest release if Google is not obligating developers to update their applications timely?. Yes, 3 years of software updates, but honestly, who stays with the phone for 3 years?.
Photos and video - I don't use Google or any other storage service to have all my photos and videos. I'm old school, and I put everything is a hard drive. I think is safer, besides, I don't like that certain things of my private life are around in the internet.
But the screen is not the only issue, I faced a lot of other hardware and software issues along the way, and thanks to the extremely bad quality control from LG and Google, the device you are getting is overall mediocre quality. I was expecting to receive a device with no serious bugs and well built because it a phone directly from Google, but the reality is totally another one.
Overall, I faced the following issues that made me return this phone:
Blue tint
Slow fingerprint sensor
Super slow "fast" charge (taking no less than 3 hours)
Bluetooth issues while streaming music
Problems with Android Auto
Banding while recording video
Awful sound and video quality
Coming from the Mate 9 Pro, one of the finest devices I have ever had, was a big hit for me to change to the Pixel 2 XL because all of these issues. Each time I saw the screen, it just made me sad and made me wonder: why a €1K phone have these kind of issues?, and moreover, what kind of idiot am I to buy and accept something like this with all these flaws?. Google is not getting my money this year, and believe me when I say that I'm a Google fan, but quality and product overall is not in pair with what most flagships are offering.
Still I see why people is buying and defending the Pixel, and in the moment I was packing it to return it, I felt bad, like if I was betraying Google or the ideology. At some moment I felt fear to return it and better keep it and accept the flaws, but that makes me no different from all the iSheeps you see out there that buy everything that comes with an Apple logo in the back, something that I clearly hate, because we are becoming zombies instead of intelligent consumers.
I have the U11+ for a week now and I can say I feel home again, is like having my old Mate 9 Pro, but with Android stock, and I haven't faced any issues AT ALL, just perfect, smooth and awesome behaviour. I can highly recommend the device.
P.D.: Sorry for the long post.
I have been using the U11+ since December 21st and I love it. The phone is very fast, has a very good display and a great design. The only negative side is that it needs a bit more care when holding it in the hand not to fall.
Overall, this is a great phone and it is the best HTC has ever made.
Hi guys,
Do you know if we get the full Oreo functionality and features? I know about PIP which requires a subscription to Youtube, do we get anything else? I read that Smart Text doesn't work in the U11 section...
wilpang said:
Hi guys,
Do you know if we get the full Oreo functionality and features? I know about PIP which requires a subscription to Youtube, do we get anything else? I read that Smart Text doesn't work in the U11 section...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smart Text is not working from me, and I didn't notice it until you mentioned it.
PiP is working for me with maps in driving mode.
Besides that, I haven't noticed much.