Real World Pixel XL 2 review - Google Pixel 2 XL Guides, News, & Discussion

With a lot of discussion on the positives and negatives on this phone, I figured I would give my personal review after spending a day with the phone compared to my XL 1. I will first address what a lot of people are griping about. I used this phone as my personal and business line, so they both get heavy use all day. I will update this thread as I spend more time with the phone.
Screen- In a nutshell, the colors are not as vivid as the original XL because the have the SRGB turned on with no way for us to turn off. I think Google will address in a future update since enough reviews/people complain about it. Regardless, I run both phones with adaptive brightness off and set at about 25%. At that level I actually prefer the XL2 screen over my original XL. Its actually brighter despite the colors being more natural. I lay my phone lay on my work desk and viewing the XL2 and XL the XL2 does have a slight blue tint. Its honestly not a big deal to me at all. I can still read everything just fine and its nice to know i can see the screen outdoors with sunglasses easier. I can not comment on the burn in as I have only had it for 1 day, but what I can confirm is that my original XL does have burn in. I honestly never noticed it until people started complaining about the XL2 getting burn-in so quickly. Dont know if that will be a long term issue or how bad the ghosted nav bar will show in other applications.
Sound- Since I had both phone side by side I played the same song at the same time on both laying flat on my work surface. I placed both at about 75% volume. The XL2 is much louder and brighter. The mids and highs are much more pronounced on the XL2. The original XL did seem to have more bass but was really lacking in the mid and highs. Since its a phone, I prefer the XL2 for music and conference calls by far. If I want full sound I will connect to bluetooth and listen on a real speaker. The speaker phone works really well for me as I am on conference calls hours each day.
!!Cellular Signal!!- So this is a big topic for me as its my primary phone. I can say that for me on Verizon the XL2 has a much better signal strength. Sitting in the exact same location I have sometimes twice as much signal as my original XL. My original XL had to switch over to WiFi calling quite frequently and the XL2 has not switched over once. I am very happy so far with this. The real test will be later this week where I always had dead spots while driving. Will update.
Battery- I think we all agree the XL2 has an advantage over the XL. The XL2 still needs a few days to break in, but it drains a lot slower than the original XL.
Performance- The XL2 is MUCH faster in all around daily use. Scrolling on websites, loading apps, fingerprint reader, etc. Its all much faster on the XL2. I thought my original XL was fluid and snappy, but the XL2 is really nice.
Feel- Although I have seen the XL2 can scratch with sharp objects easier, I will say that it feels better in hand that the original XL. It has a textured back that is much easier to grip and hold on to.
Headphones- Have yet to test against original XL if there is even a difference.
Weird stuff-- I do not heard the clicking and high pitches sound a few people reported about.
Negative- I personally dont like how the screen curves and the metal/plastic has a lip between the screen and edge of the phone. I feel like it will collect a lot of pocket lint/junk if you dont have a case. I never use a case.
Let me know if there is anything else people care about that you want me to comment on.

@iceman4357 nice review. I am like you, this is going to be my primary phone. Would like your take on call quality from both sides. Especially if the people on the other end can hear you clearly. Thanks

Extra Virgin said:
@iceman4357 nice review. I am like you, this is going to be my primary phone. Would like your take on call quality from both sides. Especially if the people on the other end can hear you clearly. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can tell you with certainty the headpiece is a lot louder on the XL2. I had to turn down the volume a few times on calls. I spoke with my father for about 30 minutes and he said I sounded a little louder than my previous phone. He is on ATT and I am Verizon. HD voice was turned on.

So far I have spoke with about 5 people today that have confirmed I sound better on speaker and standard phone. Most people say that I dont even sound like I am on speaker.

Update-- Signal strength is definitely better on the XL2. Every Thursday/Friday I drive through dead zones where my original XL would drop call or cut out completely. The XL2 never dropped a call and never cut out.

Thank you for your nice review. Really looking forward to get mine on november 15th.
But still a bit afraid because of that ****ty display ..

Related

I bought this phone today and have some feedback for any one on the fence...

I got this phone because I've been waiting for a smaller Android device that doesn't treat you like a second class citizen. This is really the first one out there that does this, I found it for £360 on sale which is only £30 more than the 32gb Nexus 5 and tbh since it has a micro SD slot, I think it is a really great deal,, especially seeing as the specs are like a main flagship device.
So some thoughts...
- Really well made, feels like an iPhone 5/5s for Android.
- I've been with my Mum today and she had a go on it and said it is the first Android mobile she'd ever think about upgrading to because of the small size.
- When I put it side by side with the iPhone 5, it really isn't much bigger, just a tad wider which is better since my biggest complaint with the 5 is the screen is so narrow
- I can easily use the phone one handed and use the whole screen, I've got average sized hands and I've found all these 5inch Android phones to have just gotten too big, especially my old HTC One, I hand to slide the phone up and down my hand to use the power button.
- Power button is great, the volume rocker is slightly too small as is the camera button, but they're minor flaws.
- The Sim tray and Micro SD slot I found to be really tricky to use, the Sim especially seems rather fiddly and I doubt the average user would work it out without possibly breaking the tray.
- I love the led charging light by the top speaker, I'm not sure if it doubles up as a notification light, but I hope it does.
- The loud speaker is not great, it's serviceable, will get you by, but you wont want to be listening to music or video out of it. That said I never wanted to do that from my HTC One and always used an external speaker or headphones any ways as no small speaker is that good in a phone. However if you walk the dog up the fields like me and don't like using headphones as you want to hear what is going on around you, the loud speaker isn't going to cut it, I struggled to hear it sometimes.
- The Magnetic charging is a cool touch, it really is needed as having to open that flap all the time would be so annoying. I mean I bought a Micro USB to Magnetic charge adapter for a few quid on Amazon, I'd suggest you all do the same as it is pretty necessary, I don't understand why one isn't sold with it as standard.
- Comes with a nice usb adapter so you can do stuff like plugging in your PS3 controller to play games. Maybe this would compliment screen mirroring or Chromecast gaming? I dunno, I haven't tried it, but just a nice little bonus.
- The X reality engine is ****, it just ruins the picture, usually just makes a picture too bright like it has been over exposed. The phone comes with it on by default... turn it off.
- The screen is a mixed bag for me, resolution and pixel density wise, I cannot fault it, looks as crisp as an iPhone and tbh I don't get why people care about having 440PPI when I cannot see a pixel at 340PPI, you never look at a screen under a magnifying glass. Again it is 720p, but for the size screen I just turn browse text to large and everything looks crisp and great, I really do not miss having the 1080p screen of my HTC One. Maybe if I was using a 4.7 inch+ screen again I'd want 1080p, but for this small screen 720p works, Apple have proved this as no one cares abut the iPhones resolution, which is like 640?
That said though I can see the digitizer when the sun glances off the phone, it is a downer as I never saw it on my last phone (Nokia 1020) or my HTC One before that. Though screens are a lottery it seems as they're all made from different companies, my friend got a HTC One and could see his badly.
The black levels aren't that great, neither are the viewing angles, I'm being picky here as they're totally fine, just I'm used to an OLED screen now and it is hard to go back. Black levels on OLED screens aren't perfect, they do have light bleed and a weird effect as the pixels go from colour to black, but... it is hard to adjust back to seeing more of a grey if you're in a dark room.
The colours seem fine to me, the white seems fine, I don't notice any tints, though maybe if I compared it side by side to other phones I would. However I wouldn't let this bother you as you'll never do that in real life, as long as the whites aren't so far off they're obvious.
I'm am struggling however with brightness levels, there doesn't seem to be much control like other phones. I wish there were more brightness presets, I can turn it down to the lowest on the slider and it still seems too bright, I could really make my other phones go quite dark. I dunno if it is brightness or if it is just washing out light colours in particular, but the x reality engine makes it worse... like way worse!
Overall though the screen is good, it isn't the best, but it is still a great screen that I've personally been picky on as I've owned a lot of different phones.
- The software is good, Sony don't mess around with it too much, it is a non offensive Android Skin. My only problem is I'm on 4.3 and that seems a bit weird, you'd have thought it would have a newer version by now. Some things are nice with the software as well, Sony have added some good apps of theirs and the battery stuff is cool. Everything is so fast, faster than any other phone I've used, including HTC One, iPhone 5 and Nokia 1020, omg just SO FAST! The 720p screen also probably helps it too over 1080p screens.
- On to battery, it is amazing, I don't get how they can cram so much life into such a small phone, I can say it is definitely a major step up from the 1020 and the horrible life I seemed to get from Windows Phone. It seems a step up from my HTC One as well and it performs better than my Mum's iPhone 5, though that is a year old now so the battery is probably less efficient at this point. I find it amazing how fast it charges over USB alone on my PC and through the magnetic charge, way faster than anything I've used before. Also though I was playing some games on it earlier and the battery didn't seem to go down much at all.
- The phone doesn't heat up that much, I was expecting worse since it is so small and light, but while I noticed it get hot, it wasn't bad like my Nokia 1020 and obviously since it is a plastic back it doesn't act like the HTC One, which got hot like a radiator... series that was the worst! Never get a mobile with a metal back and that isn't made by Apple, not a good idea.
- I find the speaker position just fine, I kept hearing how it was easy to cover up... with my usage, I haven't experienced that, even when gaming and most likely you'll get a case any ways.
- The camera is a mixed bag and sadly a bit of a downer I'm afraid, I was expecting better from a phone with a larger sensor than the Nokia 1520. Auto mode seems worse than useless, every picture just looks plain bad and I have a feeling it is restricting the pictures to 8mp and there is no way to increase it. Manual mode is really the only viable way to take pictures, sadly though there is no higher res 16:9 option. Every picture though seemed to be different, I could never take the same picture twice and I ended up taking several just so I would get a good one. The good news is when the software did it's job the quality did look good, not as good as I was expecting, but I have been using a 1020 until recently, so maybe that is why it is such a shock.
My main problem with the camera though was the screen never really reflected on what the final picture would look like. Your screen would be out of focus and blurred, yet when the picture comes from, it looks fine, also all the colours and lighting would change, I could never get it to accurately display what I was going to take.
The good news though is the camera is fast and I think it uses oversampling like Nokia's Pureview when it is in 8mp auto mode. Though I'm sick of smart phones today and how they all over saturate everything, the Z1 compact is no different, even the 1020 did this, but at least with the 1020 I could use a .DNG file and open it in lightroom to get natural colours, no such raw files on this phone exist, so you have to live with it.
The Mic performance on recording video is great, unlike with most Android Phones I've had in the past (including the S4) you're able to record loud noises like a concert. I turned up my sound system pretty high with the sub woofer going and it coped as well as Nokia which was amazing for concerts.
The video quality is fine too, the software stabilization works fine, I'm not a fan of OIS is mobiles, I never thought it worked well in the 1020 or HTC One, it always made the image into a watery or dreamy effect and recording on my bicycle was impossible as a result. Yes it is a bit less stable, but tbh so was my 1020, OIS worked poorly on it, though the HTC One it actually worked ok. I'm not missing OIS, all I'm saying, yes it works on dedicated cameras, you can shake them all you like and they cope, but no mobile has managed to perfect it yet.
So the camera is a mixed bag, I'm sure it can all be fixed with software, but I dunno how well Sony do on updates?
My only question really goes out to how well the screen protector Sony put on as designed hold up. It is THE major flaw really and I can see it frustrating a lot of people who do not know it comes with it as it scratches so easily. That reason alone is why I couldn't recommend it to women who shove their phone in their handbag, the phone wouldn't hold up. If you put a screen protector over it (one comes free with in the box) then it is fine, but I just think it is stupid to put a screen protector over a screen protector. There is no protective coating on the glass under either... which means you cannot simply just take it off.
Conclusion...
I love it, looks so premium, feels so premium, has the functionality of a 5inch + screened Android phone, it is the fastest phone I've ever used, Sony's software isn't bad or intrusive like TouchWiz or some other Android skins and the camera is potentially really good but needs a firmware update to fix auto mode.
I have pointed out bad points, but I could do that with any phone, I mean I couldn't stand Windows Phone and how it has no apps and no functionality. With this Z1 Compact I've mirror'd my phone to my TV effortlessly and without chromecast, I can just screen mirror and it works every time. This hasn't happened with any other phone I've used, I could never get it to work with my HTC which had it built in either.
I really think it is THE best iPhone alternative for people who don't want IOS and I think it is finally THE handset to buy for Android if you want a smaller device without all the internals being downgraded.
My favourite Android mobile ever!
I love the colour I chose too, it reminds me of the colour of an old Adidas watch I had in the 90s...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh316/SkyForce6/Adidaswatch.jpg
The Yellowing Green one.
http://s15.postimg.org/c6ttrs2ij/IMG_7694.jpg
+ I've never liked Sony before, it is my first Sony experience when it comes to mobiles.
Added this to the resource thread!
Great review!
I want to add that the LED light on the camera bleeds into the pictures, so it is pretty much worthless, though I've never used led flash on a mobile for anything other than a torch, Xenon is the only thing worth it.
This is probably a hardware design fault tbh, maybe fixed with a replacement back that doesn't have a see-through layer that lets the light bounce to the side? I dunno.
I used semi-permanent marker fix around the rim of the camera and it stopped the light bleed into it from the LED. My guess is Sony will do a hardware refresh on this, so maybe hold out until they've done that.
I didn't realise the rear cover was the problem until I searched fro fixes, I guess I was right about the clear part leaking light from the LED into the camera.

One Plus One Review/ Experience

This is a copy and paste of my review on the One Plus One forums:
I'll start off by rating each individual part that matters to me, of the phone, such as the camera, screen, etc.
Shipping: 9/10
Shipping has nothing to do with the device itself, but being that One Plus is an online merchant, shipping is a vital aspect to their product because it's the only way to get it. I ordered the phone July 1st, and by July 5th it was already in my hands... I also live on the other side of the country, Florida, so it was a really nice things that shipping and processing was so quick for me. Maybe I just got lucky and ordered it at the right time, but it got here quickly and that's what matters.
Packaging: 10/10
DSC_0036 by Scirca, on Flickr
I told myself I wouldn't give any 10/10's because perfection doesn't exist, but for the sake of being fair, this rating is more of a comparative one, not an absolute one.
The packaging is beautiful. It's simplistic, two toned, the colors pop out, it's truly a very nice experience to unbox the phone when you finally get it. I've unboxed many, many devices and the packaging which I've most liked is without a doubt, the One Plus One's.
Accessories: 9/10
DSC_0053 by Scirca, on Flickr
Have you seen the freaking cable. The phone is beautiful UP TO THE DAMN CABLE!
But seriously, this is a really nice cable bruH. The power brick is alright, but it's just a bit big in my opinion, it could serve the same function and perhaps be a bit smaller, or maybe it needs to be the size that it is, but I just prefer carrying around a smaller power brick. The inclusion of a SIM removal tool is nice and necessary (Apple didn't send me one when I ordered my 5S ) and I have no idea why it's made for a key ring but as you can see, it's already made itself home on my key ring, even though I might use it maybe twice in the life of the phone.
Design: 7/10
DSC_0054 by Scirca, on Flickr
Initially the design doesn't seem very striking... until you hold the phone in your hand. The sandstone black cover feels approximately like worn felt, and really gives it a super weird but really nice, premium feel. The tapered edges make the phone feel very thin, and the metal band around the screen nice, though it really doesn't add much to the phone other than looks.. The only thing is that the screen is slightly raised above the entire body of the device... one small mistake and you will probably end up killing the poor thing.
Button placement is just right, it makes one handed use with the phone a bit more comfortable, although I do have pretty big hands and one-handed use of the device is still a bit cumbersome. The speakers and ports look pretty great, but my biggest grip with the design, apart from the raised screen, is the fact that the headphone jack is on the top of the device; I really can't believe this is still a thing... if you normally put the device in your pocket bottom first, you are a sick, twisted person.
Speakers: 9/10
DSC_0047 by Scirca, on Flickr
The stereo speakers sound great and boy, are they loud. This isn't any studio quality or thousand dollar speakers, the bass is non-existent, mids sound kinda dead sometimes, but they're stereo, and they're loud, and it's usually the most neglected part of the phone, so the fact that they do their job well is always a bonus.
Camera: 10/10
DSC_0045 by Scirca, on Flickr
Oh boy here I go again with the perfect scores.
Repeat after me: Sony sensor, 13 Megapixels, f/2.0.
I'm gonna be honest with you here, I've always secretly had a thing for Sony and Carl Zeiss. They truly make some amazing sensors and glass, respectively. The camera module was an excellent choice by One Plus for the One. Dynamic range is pretty nice. Colors really depend on the light, but they're either eh, or really great (most of the time, the latter of the two). 13MP is a great number to work with, you can do significant cropping without much impact on the image quality. HDR and camera features are plenty, and the only thing missing is photo sphere, which albeit not very useful and sometimes buggy, it's an extremely cool feature.
Test Shots:
Some of these are HDR
IMG_20140713_105322 by Scirca, on Flickr
IMG_20140713_105359 by Scirca, on Flickr
IMG_20140713_105308 by Scirca, on Flickr
IMG_20140713_105429 by Scirca, on Flickr
IMG_20140713_105342 by Scirca, on Flickr
Reception: 9/10
I guess ratings will vary here because it's a very relative rating to how well the other devices connected to this thing work, but I felt like I needed to add that the WiFi antenna on this phone is extremely powerful. Where every single phone I've owned over the years does not pick up the WiFi signal in my room (being that the router is on the other side of my house, and that's pretty far away from my room), not only does the One pick up the signal, but I see very little decrease in speed, which is truly impressive. Apart from that, 4G, 3G and edge are there and work. Signal strength from networks is pretty close to that of other phones.
Software/OS: 9/10 & Battery Life: 8/10
Screenshot_2014-07-13-11-25-19 by Scirca, on Flickr
One of the selling points of the One is Cyanogenmod. While I've always preferred other AOSP ROMs, namely AOKP, CM11 is a really great ROM. It's like vanilla bean ice cream, not quite vanilla, but nice indeed. There are a ton of features that it adds, and a great deal of functionality. The fact that the phone has at least one permanent team of developers is very reassuring. The only bad thing that comes with this are bugs. There's bugs everywhere, open the camera app and focus somewhere and wait a few seconds, the "Auto" mode indicator will quickly flash itself. NFC Beaming isn't supported by the CM Gallery (it crashes), and it's all little nuisances. Yes, custom ROMs are notorious for bugs, and yes, it is annoying to sometimes have to miss out on a few features because of this, but at the end of the day, developers are more attentive to the people using the ROMs, and fixes usually come much, much quicker than say Samsung or HTC. And you get versions of Android much faster than both of these companies, too.
Also, CM has been notorious for having some crappy battery life, but this time, it is not the case. battery life is the same, or better than my iPhone 5S, which I consider to be the most battery efficient you can buy, and the best battery in any phone; the battery may be tiny, but the software is very tuned.
Screen: 5/10 (See below)
It's 5.5 Inches, 1080p, fairly pixel dense, not much else to say here. Color representation is fairly accurate, although it is a bit warm and saturated, but warm and saturated is nice. And yes, whites do look yellow at the bottom of the display. Regardless of what One Plus says, this should definitely not be like that, but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt...except panels are plagues with problems; see here:
http://youtu.be/jwLz5OW809A?t=6m
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/batches-consolidation.51772/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/stuck-pixel.50886/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/dead-pixel.55888/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/panel-issue-vertical-line-through-panel.54952/#post-2505685
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/screen-flicker.55650/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/no-response-for-rma.53769/
The sad thing is that I can literally go back and write the entire review about all the problems that not only I have encountered but many other have encountered with their devices. I myself have a yellow tint and a line of slow pixels running vertically through the display, that almost looks like the actual LCD is scratched. (see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkMKx46Cvp4 and the images below). Yellow tint is a problem, not a huge deal to me, yes I would love for One Plus to exchange my device for a working one, but it's not like I'm going to die if they don't; what is going to kill me is that damn line running through the screen. Every time I take a picture it's there, every time I watch a movie or a vine or a video, it's there, and it's extremely annoying.
Image 1 by Scirca, on Flickr
Edited for better visibility:
Image 1 Edited by Scirca, on Flickr
Image 2 by Scirca, on Flickr
Edited for better visibility:
Image 2 Edited by Scirca, on Flickr
Image 3 by Scirca, on Flickr
Edited for better visibility:
Image 3 Edited by Scirca, on Flickr
This leads me on to the next topic:
Customer Service: -1/10 (See below)
I don't think I've ever given given a negative rating for anything...ever, but wow One Plus, you definitely earned this one!
I'm actually going to quote myself (dat ego):
Scirca said:
The only problem with this thread is that yes, while other, more expensive phones were susceptible to the same problem as the OPO, regarding the yellow tint, the difference is that in most of the threads, the people talk about how their devices were replaced with functioning devices by their respective manufacturers. A screen is the most important part of the phone, and it's extremely childish for a company to be calling certain defects in their panels a "normal occurrence". Seriously? Normal in the sense it happens often, not normal in the sense that the screen is working in the way that it is intended to. BTW, not only am I referring to yellow screens, but to your pixel anomalies. The customer service has seriously been the only bad thing I can find with the phone, which is extremely infuriating, since it's an optimal part of the phone, and various companies with sub-par phones (*cough* Apple *cough*) has prided themselves in customer service and iPhones have been and will continue selling like hotcakes, I mean ffs my iPhone 5S was once replaced by them just because the screen was slightly elevated from the body.
Shame on you One Plus for making such a great phone but having no regard not only for your prospective customers, but your current customers as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One Plus, there is nothing wrong with your device, absolutely nothing wrong with your device, it's a great phone, the One is possibly the greatest flagship money can buy right now. Your customer service is just a shame, a terrible, terrible shame. So many people have so many issues and all you keep doing is making excuses, calling things normal, and just outright ignoring others. My open ticket has spent a few days now, without a reply. You refuse to replace some devices, and when you do, you aren't very straightforward about it, and love to charge people outrageous charges just to take the device back. I mean seriously, $56 plus shipping just so that someone can send you back a phone (which btw is still in the 14-day return window) is absolutely wrong and is in no way a consumer-friendly policy. Like many have said before, your slogan has been "Never Settle", yet you want us to settle with defective phone. Don't believe me? Believe them:
http://youtu.be/jwLz5OW809A?t=6m
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/batches-consolidation.51772/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/oneplus-this-is-wrong.51132/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/support-ticket-denied.54018/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/stuck-pixel.50886/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/dead-pixel.55888/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/panel-issue-vertical-line-through-panel.54952/#post-2505685
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/screen-flicker.55650/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/no-response-for-rma.53769/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/bottom-third-of-screen-yellowish-need-advice.51061/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/just-got-my-1-1-and-its-defect.50208/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/...rn-phone-if-it-is-defective-in-any-way.52396/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/code-yellow.50645/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/dead-pixel-or-yellow-tint.51035/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/refund-status-with-op.53179/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/stuck-pixels-no-response-from-support.53687/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/so-will-the-yellow-tint-on-bottom-of-screen-heal-itself.53776/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/...hipping-and-customer-service-very-long.53220/
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/my-yellow-screen-is-worse.53997/
And trust me, there are many, many more posts and threads that have been merged or hidden. The thing that most people need to understand is that the phone is fine, every phone will have defects, regardless of the manufacturer, what counts is how the manufacturer deals with those defects. If they deal with transparency and with a willingness to help out the customer, they will do very good in the future. If they hide things and deny things and don't care about their customers or warranties or anything, shame on them.
Conclusion:
Do I recommend this phone? At the moment, no, not until One Plus stands up for their mistakes and starts treating their customer and prospective customers like real customers, not trash. I've gone from desperately wanting the One to desperately trying to get an RMA . If that doesn't work I wouldn't mind selling my device or trading it for a G3, because while yes, I'll have to settle for a few things with the G3, at least LG won't make me settle for crappy customer service.
If you receive an invite, think twice about purchasing the phone, because while you may be lucky and your device won't suffer from any issues, you may very well be unlucky and suffer one of the many issues the device is plagued with. Just be careful, and remember that the choice is always yours.
One Plus, you've stood behind your device for being great, and it is, but if you're not standing behind it enough to honor your warranty and the manufacturing issues you've had with your devices, then you're basically not standing behind it at all. We all $350 that we paid for, we want devices free of defects, we want real transparency. If this is too much to ask, not only as a phone manufacturer, but as a company, you will not get very far.
thanks, but there is a thread here for this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2685348

From iPhone 6S to Nexus 5X. My Thoughts.

Prior to getting the 6S, I was a pretty diehard Android/Nexus user. I got the 6S because I wanted to change things up a bit and really liked the build quality of the new iPhones. However, of all the phones I went through, the Nexus 5 was my absolute favorite. It was a simple, solid, reliable phone. It just had a few draw backs. The camera was pretty terrible, the battery life was sub-par and the screen size was just a bit too small.
Luckily, Google solved all these problems with the release of the 5X. So I placed my order last week and the phone arrived on Tuesday. I've had a few days to compare it directly with my iPhone 6S, so I figured I'd provide some thoughts.
Size
I've read reviews that say the 5X is a weird size that doesn't feel right in the hand. I have to disagree with that. The size is rather perfect, if you ask me. The iPhone 6S is just a tad small and almost feels "too small" in the hand. Meanwhile, the 6S+ is way too big, like the Nexus 6 was. With all that in mind, I find the 5X to be the sweet spot in size.
Build Quality
Anyone who has a recent Macbook Pro or Macbook knows how well Apple builds their products. The 6S falls right in line with that expectation. The build quality is exceptional and tough to beat. Compared to that, you'd think the 5X's plastic build would feel cheap. However, like the Nexus 5, Google found a way to make their plastic phone feel like a very solid higher-tier phone. I like the 6S and 5X builds equally, in different ways. Some people mentioned that the 5X felt "light". However, when I hold them each in different hands, the weight difference between the 6S and the 5X is negligible at best.
Screen
The iPhone 6S screen is the clear winner, stock for stock. Out of the box, the 5X screen looks like s*** in comparison, there is just no denying that. The color temperature and color depth is terrible on the 5X. Side by side the Nexus 5X screen is just too warm and washed out. However, as Nexus owners should know, some simple RGB color tweaks with a custom kernel is all that is necessary to remedy that. So the fix for this will be available in short time.
EDIT
The more I use the 5X, the more I'm starting to agree with other commenters that the screen color is actually quite good. I previously preferred screen color temperatures closer to 7000 (like the iPhone). But after using the 5X for about a week, I've gotten used to the much more natural color tones on the screen. So much so that I actually just recalibrated my Macbook Pro's screen temperature to be closer to 6500, which better matches the 5X screen.
I'm finding that the lower, softer, color temperature is much easier on the eyes., especially in low light.
Finger Print Reader
The finger print reader on the 6S is very good. I find it to be accurate and fast. With that in mind, I had relatively low hopes for the one on the 5X. However, I am happy to say that I am VERY pleasantly surprised by how accurate/fast the 5X finger print reader is. It's as fast/accurate/consistent as the one on the 6S is and I'd actually argue that the finger print reader on the 5X is a tad bit snappier.
Camera
Anyone who follows camera comparison reviews knows that the camera on the 6S gets great results when compared to all the top dogs in camera performance. And most know that Nexus phones have never been known for having a quality camera. However, things have finally changed with the 5X. When I take sample pictures with both phones, for comparison sake, the 6S and 5X tend to produce the same high quality photos. However, in low light, the 5X still falls short to the 6S. But even the low light pictures from the 6S are nothing to write home about.
Phone Speaker
I work from home and have conference calls just about every day. So I utilize the the phone's speaker a lot. And I'll say that the voices through the speaker definitely sound more clear on the 5X than they do on the 6S. With the 6S I have to turn the volume to the max to hear people and even then, it's sometimes hard to hear them. With the 5X I keep it at about 50% volume and everyone sounds crisp and clear.
Overall, I am very happy with the 5X and, aside from the bad screen coloring on the 5X, I can't think of anything that I miss about the 6S. Google did a great job with this phone and I anticipate that I have finally found the phone that I will keep for at least the next 12 months, rather than changing it up seemingly every 3-4 months.
Thread cleaned.
Keep the discussion civil.
-XDA Staff
Great review. Thanks for your effort.
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---------- Post added at 11:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:53 AM ----------
What about sound with headphones? I imagine I'll use V4A but the low volume I read about is a bit of a bugger. Battery and lag I think either custom or stock updates will take care of.
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dondavis007 said:
Great review. Thanks for your effort.
What about sound with headphones? I imagine I'll use V4A but the low volume I read about is a bit of a bugger. Battery and lag I think either custom or stock updates will take care of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hadn't tested that yet. However, I just used the in ear headphones that came with the iPhone and tested them with the same song on both the 5X and 6S back to back. I'm not sure how people are claiming it has low volume. With both phones set at 50% volume, the 5X is louder than the 6S. And at 80% volume the music is way to loud on the 5X.
I know there was a thread discussing the low audio volume and people were mentioning they were also having trouble getting the headphones all the way into the phone. I imagine many of those complaining about the audio volume simply hadn't pushed the headphones in all the way. The first time you push them in you really have to give them some effort until they "pop" fully into place. I had to do this with my 6S as well. Once you push it in all the way the first time, it's much easier after that.
In your last paragraph, by phone speaker you mean the speaker at the bottom? or the earpiece that you call with
This is a great thread, it shows you just how much $379 will get you compared to the $650 for the iPhone
It is almost the same device in an android atmosphere.
XPERIA Z5 GREEN
P.Fan said:
In your last paragraph, by phone speaker you mean the speaker at the bottom? or the earpiece that you call with
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologize for the confusion. I was referring to the phone speaker at the bottom, used to play music externally, or in my case, project voices during a conference call.
Jooosty said:
This is a great thread, it shows you just how much $379 will get you compared to the $650 for the iPhone
It is almost the same device in an android atmosphere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the 6S may cost more but as far as daily use, I can't think of any big areas that the 5X is lacking. The one thing the 6S has that I wish the 5X had, is force touch capabilities. Force touching apps to get to their quick shortcuts is actually extremely intuitive and made for a great user experience. I do miss that. However, double tapping the power button on the 5X to instantly open the camera is an excellent feature that may just trump that force touch feature.
Android has force touch capability and it works on my Nexus 5 and my Nexus 5x - there's a demo app called Force Touch which shows the pressure being exerted on the screen when you touch it. It's just not got any practical uses yet. IMO opinion Apple needed it because the long touch on the iOS home screen just makes the icons wobble and allows them to be moved around. It's marketing gumph that Apple does so well - creating the illusion that its products are somehow better than the competition even though the facts suggest otherwise.
My wife has an iphone 6 and yesterday when we played the same song from the same source, at highest volume in the car via aux cable, Her phone sounded much louder than my 5x. I just hope it is something that will "open" or it was just something that happened the first time. But the sound was noticeably lower as well as call speaker volume.
Unfortunately that's the verdict coming from most reviewers. The audio from the head phone jack isn't that great. IPhone had always had great sound quality though.
XPERIA Z5 GREEN
Yeah, I don't really understand most of the criticism the nexus 5X is receiving. Most seem really nitpicky. Almost like the larger bezels and 2gb of RAM has colored many people's impressions of the rest of the phone. So much was expected of this phone that it kind of broke some hearts and stung em up, so now trash talking. It doesn't help that there is a 6P, that allows you to still get a nexus and trash talk a nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using XDA Free mobile app
As far as the screen is concerned, this blows the 6S out of the water from where I stand. My 5X has great color reproduction and the MUCH better pixel density make it a clear winner.
You know, the more I use the 5X, the more I'm starting to agree that the screen color is actually quite good. I previously preferred screen color temperatures closer to 7000 (like the iPhone). But after using the 5X for about a week, I've gotten used to the much more natural color tones on the screen. So much so that I actually just recalibrated my Macbook Pro's screen temperature to be closer to 6500, which better matches the 5X screen.
I'm finding that the lower, softer, color temperature is much easier on the eyes., especially in low light.
I also think that the screen on the 5X is pretty good. Sure, it a'int the best screen I've ever seen but it a'int the worst either.
There have been quite a few people who got defective "yellow tint" screens and google has been replacing those units. I wonder if the OP's device might be an affected unit?
myphone12345 said:
I also think that the screen on the 5X is pretty good. Sure, it a'int the best screen I've ever seen but it a'int the worst either.
There have been quite a few people who got defective "yellow tint" screens and google has been replacing those units. I wonder if the OP's device might be an affected unit?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it is. After looking at pictures of the affected units, mine is nowhere near as yellow. It's just a tad warmer than I'm used to but I've actually gotten used to it and when I change my laptop's screen settings down to a temperature of 6500 it matches the 5X screen almost perfectly. If my screen was abnormally yellow, I'd see it when comparing it to my laptop. I think my screen is fine.
I by far prefer the warmer yellows to the otherwise sickly greens.
warmer screens (redish) should help those that find phone screens keep them awake at night.. The theory beeing the White/Cold light from the screen activate a Wake hormone.
sn0warmy said:
I hadn't tested that yet. However, I just used the in ear headphones that came with the iPhone and tested them with the same song on both the 5X and 6S back to back. I'm not sure how people are claiming it has low volume. With both phones set at 50% volume, the 5X is louder than the 6S. And at 80% volume the music is way to loud on the 5X.
I know there was a thread discussing the low audio volume and people were mentioning they were also having trouble getting the headphones all the way into the phone. I imagine many of those complaining about the audio volume simply hadn't pushed the headphones in all the way. The first time you push them in you really have to give them some effort until they "pop" fully into place. I had to do this with my 6S as well. Once you push it in all the way the first time, it's much easier after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have the iPhone 6S to compare with but in my experience with the Nexus 5X the audio level using headphones seems to be somewhere in the middle of what you are getting(too loud at 80%) and what others seem to be getting(not loud enough even at 100%). For me even 100% isn't TOO loud but more than loud enough for most situations. If I was on a loud subway train or something then 100% might not be loud enough but it would have to be pretty loud around me.
Have you compared battery life between the iPhone 6S and Nexus 5X? I've always heard that iPhones had decent battery life so I can't imagine the iPhone 6S having worse battery life than the disappointing(but usually acceptable) battery life of the Nexus 5X.
Also, if the screen on the Nexus 5X was really that "warm" looking you might have gotten a bad one. I've heard that some people are getting with with a yellowish tint. Mine is fine.
Battery life on the iPhone was actually not that great. However, I was also using it right when the Facebook app was experiencing a battery drain bug that was affecting IOS devices.
I'm also a light user in general so my phones tend to last me about 2 days.
Endoran said:
Yeah, I don't really understand most of the criticism the nexus 5X is receiving. Most seem really nitpicky. Almost like the larger bezels and 2gb of RAM has colored many people's impressions of the rest of the phone. So much was expected of this phone that it kind of broke some hearts and stung em up, so now trash talking. It doesn't help that there is a 6P, that allows you to still get a nexus and trash talk a nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only thing making me hold off on the 5x and lean towards the 6p are the 128gb storage, 3gb RAM and the bigger battery. The metal build would be nicer, but the 5x is a better size imo. The stereo speakers would be nice, but I almost always use headphones or Bluetooth. Everything else looks great with the 5x. I just don't know if it would feel like an upgrade from my n5. I even prefer the color "wash out"
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

24 Hours with my New XZ Premium REVIEW

***UPDATED AGAIN****
This is my first time posting a review for phone, because I am that impressed.
A little background so you have an idea of where I am coming from. I have literally purchased every flagship phone a company has had to offer since 2009 (Very expensive vice) from Blackberry 10 devices, Windows devices, iPhones to Android devices. I have an absolute love for gadgets and phones, I hold no loyalty to any company period and never will, just because you have 2-3 products that were solid from the company doesn't mean its not going to create a turd every once in awhile. Loyalty with hardware generally in my opinion garners tunnel vision for someone and the user tends to ignore the downsides or errors with a product. Samsung built Note's 1-7 and the S series, you think all of them were great? No, but big publications I notice seem to think so and its not just Samsung, its all manufacturers for phones. Your decision to buy a phone should be based not only what speaks to you personally but can do what it needs to do for you, not what is "cool" or what everyone else has. Every individual is born with their own preference on things and people should use it.
Parts I am covering, if I left something out and you want me to add it or just ask a question please feel free.
*Overall Build Quality
*Screen Quality
*OS overall functionality and speed
*Sound Quality with HD Bluetooth (LDAC) / Reception
*Camera
*Battery Life
*Summary (Praise and Gripes)
Build Quality
The second you take this phone out of the box and peel off the plastic covering it, you know you are holding top quality piece of hardware, you will find yourself looking all over it from top to bottom for a couple of minutes easy. It's edges are smooth, you don't feel any sharp points while holding the phone, it is a bit slippery (I use a case on every phone no matter what) so I would suggest a skin if you don't like cases. I don't have the brass to walk around with 800 dollars possibly slipping out of my hands and into the wind. Even the speaker grills to the USB-C port cutouts are top notch. I LOVE where they placed the fingerprint sensor, right on the side where my thumb is, this should be the location for every phone ever built in my opinion. I've been using the Blackberry Keyone for a week now and one of the big things I love about a Blackberry is the build of almost all their phones (Priv was garbage) and you will hear a lot of people just say the Keyone is a solid built brick and they are right. This guy is right there with it except glass, it has some nice heft in your hand when you hold it. I would rate the build of this phone without a doubt the 2nd best built quality wise across all platforms of phones so cheers to Sony for that.
Screen Quality
So I put this guy up against the the S8 Plus, and the iPhone 7 Plus. The reason I put the iPhone 7 Plus in here is because its only 1080p and the Sony shows 1080p until you are actually running 4k so its not always in 4k mode FYI and there is not an option to change this (Stupid!) So I was running content side by side against these 2 guys and weather its in 1080p or 4k, theres no comparison, the detail is just stupid. The blacks are amazing and the fact that this phone is an IPS display out-doing an AMOLED is crazy talk. This is the king of displays hands down no contest not even up for debate.
OS overall functionality and speed
Ok so some of you are familiar with Google's Nexus phones and the latest being the Google Pixel and know that since you are getting everything Google intended the user experience on Android to be, for the people that are new or aren't familiar with these Android devices, lets just say you should really try one out, they are bloat free and extremely fast phones. So for the last year or so, the Google Pixel was the fastest Android phone period, it really blew people away at how fast opening and closing applications to having a ton run in the background just wouldn't slow the thing down. So I have always said the there's fast, then there's Google Phone fast...... until now. I dont even know where to begin on how stupidly fast this phone is anything you do or throw at it, and you can say "well it has the Snapdragon 835 in it", yeah that's true but if phones were purely off a spec sheet, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Plus would run at the same speed, software implementation with hardware is extremely important. In no way shape or form is the Galaxy S8 or Plus even in the same solar system as this thing. You can lookup on Youtube there are posts of people running tests this guy and it's quite embarrassing how much faster this Sony is and the one thing I never see reviewers do is show how actually using all the applications while have all of those open at the same, time. This phone does....not....slow....down. Run 10-12 apps on my S8 Plus, lagasaurus rears its ugly head, micro shudders you know what I am talking about. People that claim that theirs never does that is a liar. There are only a few phones on Android that I would say are free of Lag and Micro Stutters, Google Pixel, HTC M8, talk about butter...mmmm...butter.... There could be the argument "who needs that many apps open", well believe it or not when you are busy sometimes, you don't always close everything down and really you shouldn't have to in this day in age with tech. The ease of use navigation using Sony's launcher and the Settings is so simple it doesn't need a spotlight to be hones, its clean and straight forward and you aren't digging for options unlike some out there.
Sound Quality
(Speakers)
There are 2 front facing stereo on this guy, and I do and I know a lot of people love the fact they are facing you and not facing down so when you are cupping the phone it blocks the sound. Its a huge plus for this phone, the sound quality out of the speakers are not amazing but solid, games or Youtube or speakerphone on a call is loud enough that you can hear what is going on even if your surroundings are not so quiet. Quality wise I wouldn't say its going to win awards nor would I say its going to blow you away like some of HTC's boom sound on previous phones or like the Blackberry Passport. But all in all its right where it needs to be and if you need louder speakers I suggest getting some headphones.
(Headphones)
So I own quite a few headsets ranging from Blue Headsets, Sony MDR-1000X, Sennheiser HD 800s just for example, Plugging any one of these guys and listening to all sorts of music sounds just awesome, not just good but actually awesome. I'm not going to go any further into it because this is a very very subjective category given some people are audio files and some are not, some people can actually hear certain sounds and some actually physically cannot (yes you can actually go see a doctor to see which frequencies you can actually hear).
(Reception/ Call Quality)
So this is just my experience with AT&T, I can't give claim to other carriers. The calls are clear and precise and people say they can hear me just fine, no echos. I can hear people with no issue at all same goes for putting the call on speaker as mentioned before. I have 0 complaints in this department.
Camera
Alright sorry about the long delay for the Camera review. Now I will state from the start I am not a pro photographer and nor am I skilled with manually adjusting camera's. I will keep this short and sweet because you can find a ton of pictures from this phone online in forums or YouTube for reference. I did a comparison between the S8+ the iPhone 7 Plus and the Google Pixel. I personally prefer the natural colors that come from the iPhone and the Sony and the Pixel, popping colors from the Samsung might be yours so I believe it to be personal preference. So what I was looking at purely on these phones was, how clear are the pictures and is the shutter lag bad? For a simple user, that's all you care about. I immediately ignore low light references because they are null, who the heck takes pictures in the dark? Majority people send pictures of things or family/friends during the day, if you need low light go buy a DSLR. Back to the camera. The selfie camera I can barely tell the difference between all of them, they are all clear and I would say the Pixel is a little less detailed. I can distinguish what is what as clear as day in all of the front facing cameras. The rear camera, like I mentioned before, the S8+ is the only one that has extremely high saturation, but quality overall, I cant really tell the difference they all look fantastic in my opinion and maybe on some pictures some look more sharp than others but all of them are extremely fast to take a photo and it looks great. As far as the slow motion, its not very easy to use nor can I think of many places or instances I will use it. As far as the few I have seen with camera issues, I am sorry to hear that I would get the phone replaced because the photo quality is right up there with the best and if you are getting any different that is substantially noticeable, then that means there is something wrong.
Battery Life
So this might be premature but usually with phones battery life is horrible at the start because it needs to break-in and a phones software needs to settle in. Well I for one can say since day one its like the rules of everything we know don't apply here, I would consider myself to be a heavy phone user. I watch YouTube, Funimation shows, Wifi is on all day, I really don't cut things out or turn things off on phones just to save battery because I am either too lazy, or it cuts out to much functionality. I take the phone off the charger at 630AM every morning, then at lunch I'm always at 75% or more. I plug it in and let it charge, I don't while I clear out some emails and work and by the time I pick it up again its at 100% and I don't have to plug it in until bed time which is 11PM roughly, and when I am ready at 11PM, its at 65%. I have never got this thing down below 60%. I have no complaints here for battery life.
Summary
As you noticed I haven't spoken about the bezels, and I am not going to because its irrelevant, they are there because of the speakers and Sony's choice, if it bothers or you don't like it that's fine go buy another phone. There are quite a few other phones out there that are worth your hard earned money, and the more you spend I believe you should get more. "When I spend more money I want less" said NO ONE EVER! Sony does not disappoint in this regard yet in the past, I would highly beg to differ. If you look at everything you are getting with this phone, its really hard to think of anything that they left out. HD Bluetooth Sound, LDAC, Headphone Jack, 4k Screen, Stero Speakers, Front Facing Speakers, Amazing Camera, Awesome build quality, Rapid 3.0 Charging, USB-C, Fingerprint Sensor, Notification Light I mean the list goes on the only thing its missing is Cake. My only real negative things I can say so far right now is that the US version of this phone has a disabled fingerprint sensor, I purchased the UK variant to get around this. Also I actually like the Sony launcher a lot, I always use Nova or Action Launcher 3, been toying with Evie another great launcher, you can change the Grid Size and Icons to whatever you like too. Theres no option to change the screen resolution which does bother me, I am not saying my phone needs to be in 4k all the time because of obvious reasons but at least 2k. But other than that, this phone deserves a lot more attention that it will actually get.
Hope this helps anyone looking to get a phone or just plain curious about this guy and what it has to offer. Cheers!:fingers-crossed:
*audiophile
Nice! I will get mine tomorrow !
Shnig said:
*audiophile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Language flame as first reply. Thank you Internet, faith restored.
ukemochi said:
This is my first time posting a review for phone, because I am that impressed.
A little background so you have an idea of where I am coming from. I have literally purch...........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there an option settings to change the display scaling or alternatively in developer settings to change the dpi or smallest width?
I always find Sony and Samsung to be scaled like a child's play phone.
Thanks
You can change icons size and grid settings on homescreen and app list.
Are the Volume and Camera buttons made out of metal? or are they the same as the side?
Lazaros_K said:
Are the Volume and Camera buttons made out of metal? or are they the same as the side?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the buttons on the phone are of the same material and it seems like a hard plastic, its not cheap feeling at all.
FartyParty said:
Nice! I will get mine tomorrow !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will be impressed, enjoy.
I am thinking about this phone to replace my Sony Z3 compact but $800 isn't an easy pill to take.
I am also thinking about the HTC U11. I am going to make a choice in the next few days as the screen on my Z3 compact is failing due to the seal failing. I know a dud can happen but I have had two Z3 compacts fail me so I am on the fence.
Just got mine today and boy does it feel premium
Amazing quality bloody hell!!
Also fired up the 4khdr demo video amd was blown away
sfex3best said:
Just got mine today and boy does it feel premium
Amazing quality bloody hell!!
Also fired up the 4khdr demo video amd was blown away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Enjoy it!
4ktvs said:
I am thinking about this phone to replace my Sony Z3 compact but $800 isn't an easy pill to take.
I am also thinking about the HTC U11. I am going to make a choice in the next few days as the screen on my Z3 compact is failing due to the seal failing. I know a dud can happen but I have had two Z3 compacts fail me so I am on the fence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope this helps, I dont know where you live but if you are in the US, order from the UK from Clove Tech, you pay the EX-VAT price which is huge savings. They sell it for 540 pounds which is 697 dollars, and their variant unlocked version has the fingerprint scanner, where as if you wait for the US to get it you will pay 800 dollars and thats not including tax and you DONT get a finger print scanner.
Im sorry about your Z3 bud, I bought one for the wife quite awhile back and hers is still plugging away. Best of luck.
Great review, roll on camera pictures and review. Oh and battery life
Just to share my 2 cents.
Received mine this morning.
Pros -
Build quality is incredible, ts like a piece of jewelry or an expensive watch. Fit and finish is superb.
The colour choice "Midnight Black" is awesome
Performance is very good, smooth and snappy
Photos compared to my s7 edge are actually very very good. Better in some.
Video recording is also very very good.
On the fence -
Whilst the screen is very very good, i personally still prefer the look of amoled panels. Even with a 4k HDR beast the s8 in my opinion still has a better screen. Its a good screen, a very good screen just not the best.
The bezels are a little large and considering the speakers aren't very powerful i'm not sure what the trade off is.
Cons -
Speakers even being stereo are not particularly loud but if you have had a Sony phone in the past then you are probably used to this.
Bloat - There is a bit of bloatware pre installed, it can be disabled but not uninstalled.
Screen - If you're going to give us a 4k screen give the user the option to choose 4k resolution at all times. Its my choice to sacrifice battery life if i choose to.
A couple of bits that i'm not sure are specific to my unit, the vibration motor isn't very powerful and there is a faint click sound occasionally when it is buzzing. Nothing that would make me believe it has a fault but i can hear it.
Also my screen has missed a couple of inputs, it may be me just getting used to it.
jms.flynn said:
Just to share my 2 cents.
Received mine this morning.
Pros -
Build quality is incredible, ts like a piece of jewelry or an expensive watch. Fit and finish is superb.
The colour choice "Midnight Black" is awesome
Performance is very good, smooth and snappy
Photos compared to my s7 edge are actually very very good. Better in some.
Video recording is also very very good.
On the fence -
Whilst the screen is very very good, i personally still prefer the look of amoled panels. Even with a 4k HDR beast the s8 in my opinion still has a better screen. Its a good screen, a very good screen just not the best.
The bezels are a little large and considering the speakers aren't very powerful i'm not sure what the trade off is.
Cons -
Speakers even being stereo are not particularly loud but if you have had a Sony phone in the past then you are probably used to this.
Bloat - There is a bit of bloatware pre installed, it can be disabled but not uninstalled.
Screen - If you're going to give us a 4k screen give the user the option to choose 4k resolution at all times. Its my choice to sacrifice battery life if i choose to.
A couple of bits that i'm not sure are specific to my unit, the vibration motor isn't very powerful and there is a faint click sound occasionally when it is buzzing. Nothing that would make me believe it has a fault but i can hear it.
Also my screen has missed a couple of inputs, it may be me just getting used to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too have one in hand. I think the color is Deep Sea Black but who cares, right? :silly:
The large bezels help when you need to hold the phone in landscape mode. I too think it would be nice if the speakers were a little louder but I think it is a result of the waterproofing. If they were to boost the volume signal then they would probably distort too much and then we would complain about that. Can't win.
My vibration is a little soft also, but then again the only phone I know of with a strong vibration is the Moto X Pure. The wife has a brand new one because she smashed the screen in the one I gave her and she loves it (as do I) and the vibration on that thing will knock the fillings from your teeth. Not sure if it has to do with the amount of power being sent to the motor, or the motor itself. I just know that every phone I have ever owned except the Pure has a relatively weak vibration.
I am OK with the screen being at the default of 1080. Plenty good enough for a 5.5 in screen. I have an Amoled phone and comparing the two screens it's hard to tell which is which. The XZ Premium screen looks great in bright sunlight so no problem there. So far I love it. I do wish that Sony would unlink the ringtone volume from the notification volume. I know it can be done because I have another phone running Nougat 7.1.1 and they are not linked. What I did was use a ringtone creator app to artificially lower the volume of the sound I use for notifications (texts) and that way when the volume is on full for the ringtone the notification volume appears to be about half as loud... just the way I like it.
I would recommend this phone to anyone! :good:
figo_rulz11 said:
Great review, roll on camera pictures and review. Oh and battery life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, and as far as the camera and battery life added into the review, I will do it at the end of the week so the battery is broken in and I have some time to really play with the camera in all aspects, I should have something up by Saturday.
jms.flynn said:
Just to share my 2 cents.
Received mine this morning.
Pros -
Build quality is incredible, ts like a piece of jewelry or an expensive watch. Fit and finish is superb.
The colour choice "Midnight Black" is awesome
Performance is very good, smooth and snappy
Photos compared to my s7 edge are actually very very good. Better in some.
Video recording is also very very good.
On the fence -
Whilst the screen is very very good, i personally still prefer the look of amoled panels. Even with a 4k HDR beast the s8 in my opinion still has a better screen. Its a good screen, a very good screen just not the best.
The bezels are a little large and considering the speakers aren't very powerful i'm not sure what the trade off is.
Cons -
Speakers even being stereo are not particularly loud but if you have had a Sony phone in the past then you are probably used to this.
Bloat - There is a bit of bloatware pre installed, it can be disabled but not uninstalled.
Screen - If you're going to give us a 4k screen give the user the option to choose 4k resolution at all times. Its my choice to sacrifice battery life if i choose to.
A couple of bits that i'm not sure are specific to my unit, the vibration motor isn't very powerful and there is a faint click sound occasionally when it is buzzing. Nothing that would make me believe it has a fault but i can hear it.
Also my screen has missed a couple of inputs, it may be me just getting used to it.
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I'd would keep on eye on that click sound, you and the guy that posted just right after you mentioned that the vibration isn't that strong, but mine vibrates pretty strong and actually manages to scare the crap out of me at work because I'll have it on the desk and it goes off (co-workers will always make dirty jokes in reference to the sound) but that's something I will keep my ear open for on that click sound, so far nada.
ukemochi said:
I'd would keep on eye on that click sound, you and the guy that posted just right after you mentioned that the vibration isn't that strong, but mine vibrates pretty strong and actually manages to scare the crap out of me at work because I'll have it on the desk and it goes off (co-workers will always make dirty jokes in reference to the sound) but that's something I will keep my ear open for on that click sound, so far nada.
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Its not clicking the duration of when the vibration motor is active which makes me believe it isn't a fault. As an example if i get a call and my phone is on vibrate i don't hear it at all. Its only when i have vibrate on screen tap and use the soft keys. It's like the faintest of clicks when the vibration motor is initializing. Again nothing to make me think its faulty but i noticed it straight away.
jms.flynn said:
Is there an option settings to change the display scaling or alternatively in developer settings to change the dpi or smallest width?
I always find Sony and Samsung to be scaled like a child's play phone.
Thanks
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Yeah you can change it in the developer settings best setting to ever come to android for none rooted users anyways

Marques Brownlee has spoken!

Check out MKBHD's new review of the Pixel 2 / XL. Thoughts?
Halt shipping and conduct a QC investigation...
Watched this video this morning! Can't wait for my P2XL to arrive tomorrow!
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
As always, an honest review.
Makes me more excited for my delivery, although it is one day past my ship date and I have no confirmation.
Blue hue, won't bother me at all.
Muted colors. I believe google will provide some options with a software update at some point, but I've already seen the phone at Verizon and the colors didn't bother me at all.
Otherwise, the phone will definitely be the best I've ever had.
bkrickles said:
As always, an honest review.
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I worry sometimes that MKBHD is too much of an android fanboy & then a review comes out like this & I don't care anymore. LOL!
Seriously, I've watched him since he was a teenager & I believe what he says.
I don't know what to think anymore. Some say this phone is a turd. Others, like MKBHD, praise it. Guess I'm glad I didn't cancel my order and I can find out for myself. Mine is on a truck for delivery - three full days ahead of schedule. So that's good. Although I'm not sure why I'm getting my 128gb black version ahead of people who ordered a full day before me, but that's Google's terrible shipping for you.
I'm going to honestly say that all this news on the Pixel 2XL feels like a smear campaign or something. I swear, I wasn't seeing as many news stories as when Samsung had phones exploding and they were refusing to let them on planes. Why is something that is largely subjective as screen preference, dotted with a few actual hardware defects being plastered everywhere on the internet. I seriously can't scroll one or two screens, in Google, Newstand, Google+, Facebook, etc without seeing something about the damn screen.
b ..bb.bbbut the screen looks funny when i try to watch a YouTube video at the lowest light setting with 1 eye holding it sideways with a strobe light going off in the background
seriously though i don't know. Google F'ed my shipping up and i went from having it yesterday to having it Thursday so id love to put this thing to the test myself but the wait continues.
Its objectively a bad screen, thats why. Honestly i don't get why people are defending the screen. Its one thing to say you acknowledge the problem but are ok with it, but to pretend this isn't an issue is crazy and if you're ok with a $850+ phone with a bad display, then thats cool, enjoy it. I've seen three pixel 2xl's in real life (the one i bought and two others coworkers bought) and the extreme blue shift is identical on all of them, this is just how the screen is. Its worse than my 2 year old 6p screen. Do i love everything else about the phone, yes, is the display a dealer breaker for me, yes, is it for everyone, no; but again that doesnt make the screen ok on a flagship top of the price range phone. I think its embarrassing to the reviewers who were ok with it, they should be universally trashing this display, cause its the worse ive ever seen on a flagship phone.
love how he explained the color issue.
He made a great review! I don't know why everyone is crying so much. This phone is amazing. I've had it for three days now and I might be lucky but I have 0 issues. The colors for me are fine and it's really smooth. I'm extremely happy with my purchase and can't wait for further development for this phone.
I like his reviews as he is seeing the device for what it is and compares it to how he uses it.. Yes his use might be different than ours but at least he is reviewing in the sense of a normal user (or at least for me he does). The whole display thing i feel is being blown way out of proportion. Its like if no one ever mentioned it would you have really noticed it? or would you have gone about your day like it never existed. For cases where it is faulty that is where warranty comes in play. so i'll be getting my phone and going through my works but most likely i will be keeping mine
jeprokz said:
Its like if no one ever mentioned it would you have really noticed it?
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Both my wife and several coworkers pointed out the tint immediately, "why is it so blue" without any understanding of the controversy around it. I thought i had a particularly bad one, as the blue tint happens at around a 10% angle, but two other coworkers have gotten theirs and they're identical. I thought i could deal with it, but in normal use i dont look at my phone straight on its almost always at a slight angle, so the top of the phone would be blue tinted and the bottom would look fine, and scrolling with two different color temps is a weird thing, particularly peoples faces.
To be clear, all phones shift a little, my nexus 6p has a slight blue shift then rainbow at nearly flat, and my wifes S8 has a slight red shift then rainbows, but the P2XL shift is in another world, its so extreme and so fast, and actually gets better looking at extreme angles than at slight ones.
phyl0x said:
Both my wife and several coworkers pointed out the tint immediately, "why is it so blue" without any understanding of the controversy around it. I thought i had a particularly bad one, as the blue tint happens at around a 10% angle, but two other coworkers have gotten theirs and they're identical. I thought i could deal with it, but in normal use i dont look at my phone straight on its almost always at a slight angle, so the top of the phone would be blue tinted and the bottom would look fine, and scrolling with two different color temps is a weird thing, particularly peoples faces.
To be clear, all phones shift a little, my nexus 6p has a slight blue shift then rainbow at nearly flat, and my wifes S8 has a slight red shift then rainbows, but the P2XL shift is in another world, its so extreme and so fast, and actually gets better looking at extreme angles than at slight ones.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the information. i do believe you on the blue tint being probably that bad. me personally i would have to use it for a week before i can decide if that will really bother me. if other see it i'm eh about it cause it's not their phone. but glad to know you noticed other people have noticed on your phone.
phyl0x said:
Its objectively a bad screen, thats why. Honestly i don't get why people are defending the screen. Its one thing to say you acknowledge the problem but are ok with it, but to pretend this isn't an issue is crazy and if you're ok with a $850+ phone with a bad display, then thats cool, enjoy it. I've seen three pixel 2xl's in real life (the one i bought and two others coworkers bought) and the extreme blue shift is identical on all of them, this is just how the screen is. Its worse than my 2 year old 6p screen. Do i love everything else about the phone, yes, is the display a dealer breaker for me, yes, is it for everyone, no; but again that doesnt make the screen ok on a flagship top of the price range phone. I think its embarrassing to the reviewers who were ok with it, they should be universally trashing this display, cause its the worse ive ever seen on a flagship phone.
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Click to collapse
Totally agreed with you on this. for such a high price flagship, we shouldn't be able to oversee issues like this. That's the reason I cancelled it. I'll wait a few more weeks or months if things gets better and re-order. For now, I wouldn't lie to my self and say I can live with this.
His comments on the display were interesting and it is odd that the display supports a wider color gamut but isn't using it (as evidenced by Firefox). That said, the images people typically use to compare the display are grossly oversaturated even if they are using a wider gamut. The first comparison picture he uses with the S8 has much more detail in the Pixel version because the S8 is blowing out the colors so much to produce those saturated neon greens. I'd be interested to actually see the Pixel up against another display that is using proper color saturation with a wider gamut.
Rodeojones said:
I don't know what to think anymore. Some say this phone is a turd. Others, like MKBHD, praise it. Guess I'm glad I didn't cancel my order and I can find out for myself. Mine is on a truck for delivery - three full days ahead of schedule. So that's good. Although I'm not sure why I'm getting my 128gb black version ahead of people who ordered a full day before me, but that's Google's terrible shipping for you.
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Click to collapse
I feel like I can live with the screen washout and blue tint at the angle. I'm a little worried about the screen burn in and clucky noises that people are reporting hopefully those are just defects from a really bad batch. I get mine tomorrow so I will definitely be keeping an eye on it. If anything is bad I return it and just get the Pixel XL.
Notable XDA Dev supercurio sheds some light on some of the claims made in Marques' review.
Keep in mind this guy made the software that Erica Griffin used to measure the display. He knows what he's talking about, more than most.
https://plus.google.com/+supercurioFrancoisSimond/posts/8feW5GMgGgt
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Rodeojones said:
I don't know what to think anymore. Some say this phone is a turd. Others, like MKBHD, praise it. Guess I'm glad I didn't cancel my order and I can find out for myself. Mine is on a truck for delivery - three full days ahead of schedule. So that's good. Although I'm not sure why I'm getting my 128gb black version ahead of people who ordered a full day before me, but that's Google's terrible shipping for you.
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Click to collapse
Go with your own review, who knows what some reviewers motives are. Hell id praise a phone if it meant they kept sending me free stuff and devices! MKBHD is honest I believe though
The blue tint is when it's at a certain angle. Now that angle may be less than most phones, but I don't know of anyone who reads their phone at an angle. He explains that in the video as well. Like he said if your "that guy/gal' then this phone isn't for you. I think when people bring stuff up that bothers them & make a big deal about it everyone is looking for it. If other reviewers had never said anything this wouldn't be as big of an issue. Just nitpicking now.

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