I have been looking to buy a new mobile phone since my LG G3 bit the dust a few months ago. The one that piqued my interest is the Axon 7 due to the audio hardware (dual DAC and stereo front speakers) which is the one thing I use my mobile for above everything else. I have been looking at the LG G6 with its quad DAC also but the cost difference is hard to ignore especially if the Axon can give me what I am looking for.
I realise that ZTE have discontinued the manufacturing of the Axon 7 but they are still available from some vendors and rumours have arisen about its successor appearing soon. ZTE is allegedly also releasing Oreo to the 7 in April.
So due to an eventual show of the 8, do you think I would be better waiting through January for the Axon 8 or just pulling the trigger on an Axon 7 right now?
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What's your budget? If you're willing to go higher than $400, I'd say get one of the OnePlus phones. Released this year. They have an exceptional dev community (not that ours is bad but theirs is just incredible), and the phones are remarkably solid, especially given the price.
If you're on a budget, then yeah, get the Axon 7 or one of the older OP devices (OP3/3T). You wouldn't have the amazing audio you get with the Axon, but the phones are really, really good.
The Axon 7 is still getting dev support, which is great, but I don't think we'll get to see Android P on our device. Many devs are already losing interest and some people in the community are driving the ones that are left away.
Another option to consider is a used LG V20, which had amazing audio as well.
I am a poweruser so I tend to root my devices almost straightaway usually with magisk so I can use V4A.
I was tempted by the OnePlus 5T and it probably wouldn't be out of my budget, it looks like a really solid phone but with the reports of poor sound quality, lack of DAC and no SD card slot it just didn't fit the bill for me.
I did check out the LG v30 and the specs are an absolute beast on that but alas...so is the price being new on the market lol. The Samsung S8...ERM no...I vouched after they started the bit locking fiasco on the S4 I would never buy another Samsung.
The LG G6 is good for audio but even LG have started regionalizing features now.
These are partly the reason I decided mid to low tear was enough for me as they are easily obtainable from China sim free without ties to contracts and they have a habit of producing good value devices which compete with stupid money flagships.
I am trying to avoid going down the root of second hand devices as I am a big believer in you usually buy someone else's problems especially with manufacturer obsolescence being on the tongues of every techy these days. Its bad enough with the non replaceable batteries in devices!
Bang for buck the Axon 7 is still very desirable...its just the audio I can't ignore and for the price. Bit of a shame that the dev community is losing interest in the axon 7 though, seems a really solid device.
@Gases hope you don't think I am a whining my friend, just me obsessing about my next device lol
So do you think its worth waiting for the Axon 7's successor?
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My view from a value consious type is that the A7 is great hardware for the money and importantly, it still runs fast. Getting O may help keep a little development on it but stock is good anyway. I personally wouldn't buy an LG phone, too many successive devices with serious problems like bootloop which never seems to be fixed. LG don't want their phones to last long.
If you're not the sort of person who must have the latest, then for the price the Axon 7 is still a compelling buy.
If you only choose a phone from the list of Daydream certified devices you ensure a well rounded performance and decent sensors etc. It really comes down to how much you want to spend and nothing much can touch the A7 for value versus it's real world performance. Forget benchmarks and all that junk, it's all numbers and running an Axon keeps reliable performance unlike say, a Samsung which will get the stutters sooner or later. I'm keen to see the O update being closer to stock Android on my Axon, but even on B09N it is still smooth and responsive leaving no reason to even consider buying anything else.
All that being posted, I would like to see the next flagship Axon but like all brands, ZTE will try to grow their price tag as public perception improves. Just look at Huawei as an example. Got too expensive and now put themselves beyond my price level. Wouldn't consider Samsung, HTC and all the others keeping prices double what they should be.
beastobadness said:
I am a poweruser so I tend to root my devices almost straightaway usually with magisk so I can use V4A.
I was tempted by the OnePlus 5T and it probably wouldn't be out of my budget, it looks like a really solid phone but with the reports of poor sound quality, lack of DAC and no SD card slot it just didn't fit the bill for me.
I did check out the LG v30 and the specs are an absolute beast on that but alas...so is the price being new on the market lol. The Samsung S8...ERM no...I vouched after they started the bit locking fiasco on the S4 I would never buy another Samsung.
The LG G6 is good for audio but even LG have started regionalizing features now.
These are partly the reason I decided mid to low tear was enough for me as they are easily obtainable from China sim free without ties to contracts and they have a habit of producing good value devices which compete with stupid money flagships.
I am trying to avoid going down the root of second hand devices as I am a big believer in you usually buy someone else's problems especially with manufacturer obsolescence being on the tongues of every techy these days. Its bad enough with the non replaceable batteries in devices!
Bang for buck the Axon 7 is still very desirable...its just the audio I can't ignore and for the price. Bit of a shame that the dev community is losing interest in the axon 7 though, seems a really solid device.
@Gases hope you don't think I am a whining my friend, just me obsessing about my next device lol
So do you think its worth waiting for the Axon 7's successor?
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When you say that you use your phone for music, what do you really mean? Hi-res, or just FLACs? With V4A or stock?
The AK4490EN is capable of like 768 kHz/32 bit, but ZTE limited to a hideous 96 kHz/16 bit...
Still it sounds much, MUCH better than a standard Snapdragon DAC. Even on custom ROMs. And even more so on custom ROMs with V4A, if you're using MP3s.
I think you have to completely avoid midrange devices. The best choice is to get a high-end CPU even if it's one generation old. The SD6xx series are a world apart in terms of performance.
Also, why do you say that the dev community is losing interest? We lost 1 or 2 devs this year. It was always rather weak, but we're a cozy community and seemingly managed to push enough to get ZTE to get a working Camera2 API and some other stuff (time will tell).
RobboW said:
My view from a value consious type is that the A7 is great hardware for the money and importantly, it still runs fast. Getting O may help keep a little development on it but stock is good anyway. I personally wouldn't buy an LG phone, too many successive devices with serious problems like bootloop which never seems to be fixed. LG don't want their phones to last long.
If you're not the sort of person who must have the latest, then for the price the Axon 7 is still a compelling buy.
If you only choose a phone from the list of Daydream certified devices you ensure a well rounded performance and decent sensors etc. It really comes down to how much you want to spend and nothing much can touch the A7 for value versus it's real world performance. Forget benchmarks and all that junk, it's all numbers and running an Axon keeps reliable performance unlike say, a Samsung which will get the stutters sooner or later. I'm keen to see the O update being closer to stock Android on my Axon, but even on B09N it is still smooth and responsive leaving no reason to even consider buying anything else.
All that being posted, I would like to see the next flagship Axon but like all brands, ZTE will try to grow their price tag as public perception improves. Just look at Huawei as an example. Got too expensive and now put themselves beyond my price level. Wouldn't consider Samsung, HTC and all the others keeping prices double what they should be.
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Totally agree on the LG thing, the G3 was a solid item on the outside but its internals were a different story...like I said manufactured obsolescence! Baking the motherboard on mine was its final death cry lol
Choose an username... said:
When you say that you use your phone for music, what do you really mean? Hi-res, or just FLACs? With V4A or stock?
The AK4490EN is capable of like 768 kHz/32 bit, but ZTE limited to a hideous 96 kHz/16 bit...
Still it sounds much, MUCH better than a standard Snapdragon DAC. Even on custom ROMs. And even more so on custom ROMs with V4A, if you're using MP3s.
I think you have to completely avoid midrange devices. The best choice is to get a high-end CPU even if it's one generation old. The SD6xx series are a world apart in terms of performance.
Also, why do you say that the dev community is losing interest? We lost 1 or 2 devs this year. It was always rather weak, but we're a cozy community and seemingly managed to push enough to get ZTE to get a working Camera2 API and some other stuff (time will tell).
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Sorry I should have made myself clear when I said mid to low tear phone, I was talking about price not internal specs. Totally agree the SD 820/821 chips might not be the latest and greatest but they are far from obsolete and still perform great... would be nice to have say an 835 but I am not in it for the numbers anyway.
As for my audio format, its a bit of a mix...minimum 320 Kbps to lossless, it really depends on where I got the files from. The max impedance on my best cans are 40 ohms so no studio level stuff.
As for the dev community losing interest...no offence intended, was only expressing my feelings on what I was told by Gases. Cosy is a good thing, its a powerful tool, means there is a passion for the product and if ZTE are listening...even better.
BTW happy new year!
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beastobadness said:
Totally agree on the LG thing, the G3 was a solid item on the outside but its internals were a different story...like I said manufactured obsolescence! Baking the motherboard on mine was its final death cry lol
Sorry I should have made myself clear when I said mid to low tear phone, I was talking about price not internal specs. Totally agree the SD 820/821 chips might not be the latest and greatest but they are far from obsolete and still perform great... would be nice to have say an 835 but I am not in it for the numbers anyway.
As for my audio format, its a bit of a mix...minimum 320 Kbps to lossless, it really depends on where I got the files from. The max impedance on my best cans are 40 ohms so no studio level stuff.
As for the dev community losing interest...no offence intended, was only expressing my feelings on what I was told by Gases. Cosy is a good thing, its a powerful tool, means there is a passion for the product and if ZTE are listening...even better.
BTW happy new year!
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You'll be OK with the Axon 7's DAC -its soundstage is clearly better and it has a lower noise level. The community is nowhere near dying out since most devs maintain only a few devices. And the SD820 still works good.
I don't believe the Axon 9 (I think they'll skip 8, like 2019) will be released before at least May or June. They said absolutely nothing aside from 'there will be a successor to the axon 7'.
Happy new year
I would say yes, I bought mine in Nov last year and it was delivered in Dec. I am loving it every minute with zero issues that I am unhappy with. I bought it to replace a buggy Zenfone 3 (midrange) and I am totally pleased with it.
Cost is a major factor as I had already spent a load of money on the ZF3; it cost the same as a current midrange device (Xiaomi A1) and yet performance is twice of current midrange devices (double benchmark and QHD screen). Yes, it is nearly a 2 years old flagship, but the question is do I need that much firepower from a current flagship? My answer is not really, yours maybe different.
I do not root my phones, had a really bad experience when I hard bricked a device due to faulty instructions and then I got laugh at by the "community". So I only update my devices officially.
I also do not update my devices to the "last" update as I had bad experiences where a device became crap with the final update (likely due to it not able to handle the load?). So I update them once out of the box, and that it. My Axon 7 was updated from B11 to B09 when I got it and it is likely to stay on B09 until the day it dies, unless the feedback on future updates are very positive here. Again, you may use yours differently.
If you disregard all the numbers and technicalities and just want a good sounding phone to play your MP3 library off, you can't go wrong with the Axon 7.
I mostly use bluetooth but do plug in still.
I did this afternoon in the car. Feeding music to the car hifi by wire sounds awesome, for sure it's better than bluetooth and louder too. I just use MP3 and can still clearly hear a difference.
You don't need to be swallowing up 50Mb a song with hi res FLAC files to justify owning the phone.
I've got my Axon7 last month to replace dying Meizu MX4Pro. Few thoughts on the buy.
A7 is fantastic mid-range phone, I've managed to get it quite cheap in almost new condition (~€230).
Performance wise it is brilliant, no hiccups or anything (bear in mind I was coming from Android 5.0 2014 phone )
Now, the sound. I have mixed feelings on this. I'll tell you why.
The speakers are great, but when I say sound quality I mean the headphone out. I didn't have much time to compare it to MX4Pro and my DAP (Cayin N3 - same DAC chip as A7) but I still feel that A7 is lacking a bit. Defo less power than my old phone (or the DAP), I need to crank up the volume to get the detail and dynamics level I want. I'll be trying it with my old C&C amp to see if it will improve.
Don't get me wrong, sound quality is very good, I think it is just the power. But again, my only reference is DAP which has lot more power and one of the most musical phones that was manufactured to date (MX4 Pro has ESS9018 DAC and OPA1612 as an amp).
To sum up - lovely phone with good sound, sound is definitely better than 99% phones out there. If you can get it cheap(-ish) and don't mind 2 year old hardware go for it.
Well it is done...Axon 7 EU version is on it's way! Oooo new shiny's lol and the wait begins
And I put a sneaky order in for the BOBOVR Z5 daydream headset just to test the water with VR and daydream.
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docentore said:
I've got my Axon7 last month to replace dying Meizu MX4Pro. Few thoughts on the buy.
A7 is fantastic mid-range phone, I've managed to get it quite cheap in almost new condition (~€230).
Performance wise it is brilliant, no hiccups or anything (bear in mind I was coming from Android 5.0 2014 phone )
Now, the sound. I have mixed feelings on this. I'll tell you why.
The speakers are great, but when I say sound quality I mean the headphone out. I didn't have much time to compare it to MX4Pro and my DAP (Cayin N3 - same DAC chip as A7) but I still feel that A7 is lacking a bit. Defo less power than my old phone (or the DAP), I need to crank up the volume to get the detail and dynamics level I want. I'll be trying it with my old C&C amp to see if it will improve.
Don't get me wrong, sound quality is very good, I think it is just the power. But again, my only reference is DAP which has lot more power and one of the most musical phones that was manufactured to date (MX4 Pro has ESS9018 DAC and OPA1612 as an amp).
To sum up - lovely phone with good sound, sound is definitely better than 99% phones out there. If you can get it cheap(-ish) and don't mind 2 year old hardware go for it.
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What version of the A7 did you get? Is it on Nougat OS? If it's A2017G on Marshmallow it should improve on stock Nougat.
beastobadness said:
Well it is done...Axon 7 EU version is on it's way! Oooo new shiny's lol and the wait begins
And I put a sneaky order in for the BOBOVR Z5 daydream headset just to test the water with VR and daydream.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
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Got mine yesterday in the post from gearbest as a reluctant replacement for my Nexus 6 .
Reluctant, as I wanted to 'upgrade' so had to be amoled, stereo speakers, qhd etc to at least match the beast of a Nexus 6.
Just been using today and smaller screen size takes a bit of getting used to, but sound via speakers is on par with Nexus 6 I'd say not yet tried plug in headphones. Screen is much better and the build quality too.
Very pleased so far.
This weekend may see me attempt boot loader unlock, TWRP, Magisk and Lineage install; although I must say the ZTE implementation isn't half bad, and thats on Marshmellow.
May I ask where you found it for sale? Seems most places out of stock now, and felt quite lucky to snap one up.
8eaker said:
Got mine yesterday in the post from gearbest as a reluctant replacement for my Nexus 6 .
Reluctant, as I wanted to 'upgrade' so had to be amoled, stereo speakers, qhd etc to at least match the beast of a Nexus 6.
Just been using today and smaller screen size takes a bit of getting used to, but sound via speakers is on par with Nexus 6 I'd say not yet tried plug in headphones. Screen is much better and the build quality too.
Very pleased so far.
This weekend may see me attempt boot loader unlock, TWRP, Magisk and Lineage install; although I must say the ZTE implementation isn't half bad, and thats on Marshmellow.
May I ask where you found it for sale? Seems most places out of stock now, and felt quite lucky to snap one up.
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Fasttech had it listed...missed all the holiday discounts though and I think the fact that every other company have sold out has driven the price up on FT slightly but I am not really bothered...I am now hoping it slips past the folks at customs discreetly lol.
I need this to get here asap as my 5 yr old S4 is on its last legs...I think it must have caught something off my deceased LG G3 haha!
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I've had mine 2 weeks, and absolutely love it. It replaced a Sony Xperia Z4 (with the 810 which allowed the phone to double as a hot plate, foot warmer or small space heater.) The sound is everything I expected from the Sony and never got. The screen is beautiful. Battery life is amazing. The Z4 had a max of 3 hours life, and this Axon 7 has seen me through 10 hour days listening to bluetooth most of the day, with 35% batttery left. I found mine on Amazon for $317, the box was scuffed up, but everything inside was pristine and untouched. I'm rooted with WRP, Substratum and Xposed. I have not felt the need to leave stock 7.1.1 as of yet.
Stock Nougat is quite good. I find that here a lot of people are way too trigger happy on the flash custom ROM scene. I only do it if the phone needs it. Custom ROMs usually have issues.
ZTE will release an official and reasonably light Oreo for it this year too.
I think after that, good custom ROMs will follow as they released O sources to a well known dev. I personally wouldn't be bothered with any current Nougat customs seeing as O is coming.
I will probably upgrade and run the axon 7 stock for a few months same as I did with my G3.
ZTE have certainly extended the axon 7's presence in the market though bringing Oreo to it, all the major brands would have EOL'ed support to a device by now especially with it starting on Marshmallow.
Has anyone had the need to swap the battery out yet?
I know there are a couple of good teardown vids on YT and it doesn't look too bad.
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RobboW said:
What version of the A7 did you get? Is it on Nougat OS? If it's A2017G on Marshmallow it should improve on stock Nougat.
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its A2017G on Nougat, it starts to grow on me. I've sold my DAP already because I like the sound so much.
RobboW said:
Stock Nougat is quite good. I find that here a lot of people are way too trigger happy on the flash custom ROM scene. I only do it if the phone needs it. Custom ROMs usually have issues.
ZTE will release an official and reasonably light Oreo for it this year too.
I think after that, good custom ROMs will follow as they released O sources to a well known dev. I personally wouldn't be bothered with any current Nougat customs seeing as O is coming.
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With my previous (pre MX4Pro) Android phones I was first to flash custom ROMs. But with A7 I'm happy so far with stock Nougat. Miss the root for few things, but I have too much stuff on the phone and too little time to bother with unlocking bootloader and rooting it as I understand I will loose all present data.
Now, when the Oreo comes, that might change
Related
I was set on a OnePlus 3T but this is one sale right now and I LOVE the audio capabilities of this thing. I have a rooted OP1 and have run CM for a couple years. It sounds like this phone isn't as far along as the OP3 when it comes to Roms etc... Correct? Any good Roms with everything working? One with theme customization would be nice too. Being used to perfectly working CM etc. would I regret getting this or should I go for it? Are there good Rom alternatives? I used to be one who would tinker with my phone a lot but these days I want a ROM thati like and just works and don't have to worry about it.
One other thing. It has been a long time since I've had a phone with an SD card slot. Can that storage be used as internal storage? On my Shield TV I can make one huge pool of storage with all the external storages plugged in.
effluent said:
I was set on a OnePlus 3T but this is one sale right now and I LOVE the audio capabilities of this thing. I have a rooted OP1 and have run CM for a couple years. It sounds like this phone isn't as far along as the OP3 when it comes to Roms etc... Correct? Any good Roms with everything working? One with theme customization would be nice too. Being used to perfectly working CM etc. would I regret getting this or should I go for it? Are there good Rom alternatives? I used to be one who would tinker with my phone a lot but these days I want a ROM thati like and just works and don't have to worry about it.
One other thing. It has been a long time since I've had a phone with an SD card slot. Can that storage be used as internal storage? On my Shield TV I can make one huge pool of storage with all the external storages plugged in.
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You could have just looked at the ROM section of the forum to find your answer. We currently have one CM ROM, and it's not "perfectly working". It's a WIP.
You should buy the OnePlus 3T. The dev community for the Axon7 won't ever be as big as OP, and it seems that's what you care about.
Hola
I was interested in this A7 since it was announced earlier this year due to the amazing hardware and audio capabilities.
Fast forward 3 months or so since I have it, I can say that it delivers on the hardware in most aspects. The issues with this phone in my experience:
1. Camera ain't the best but just ok. Don't consider this phone if camera is important to you.
2. The hardware capacitive buttons are too close together and up to now it is tough to use the back and recents. This can somewhat be managed by using on screen navigation buttons which is available from one of our kind Devs who added it to a stock firmware based ROM.
3. There is no minute vibration controls. It is either on or off. On simply provides a hard, and relatively long vibration, annoying when typing. Yes you can turn it off on your keyboard but I still prefer it on regardless.
4. The single biggest issue for me is the lack of stable third party ROMs like RR, Pure Nexus, multiROM, DU, and the like. Also no full kernel is available yet - I see a Dev was able to provide 1 kernel but it is a work in progress and for that we are most grateful to the Dev. Another Dev, Unjustified Dev, took the time and effort to provide us an instance of CM13.1 but it has major issues with audio and mic. We know that Unjustified Dev has put a lot of time into trying to get the audio working better but due to the proprietary drivers related to audio it is also a work in progress. A few others have been trying to also help but mic is still iffy at this point. So if third party ROMs are your thing then this ain't a phone worthy of your money.
5. So frustrated I was with the initial lack of stable third party ROMs that I went ahead and purchased the OnePlus 3T, man that brand can attract Devs. I used the OnePlus for a few weeks but because I missed the dual front facing speakers of the A7, I went back. By this time another Dev was able to provide a very stable stock firmware based ROM with a few additional tweaks while keeping the audio features intact. I now use the A7 with Xposed and it is now OK. I am still hoping that our brilliant Devs will be able to get us a stable CM instance and I know they are still sacrificing time and effort into trying to provide us something.
6. I go back occasionally to my 3T to play with the latest iterations of some custom ROMs, but audio is the missing feature on the 3T.
Hope this helps you. I can't really pronounce on the other items you raised.
Get the A7 ... Great hardware & software improves (literally) daily!
OP3(T) has poor carrier support in the US. US model of Axon 7 is better tailored to US networks.
The Axon 7 is due to get an upgrade to Nougat in January 2017. I'm sure there will be many fixes to known problems that come with it.
QAM said:
Hola
I was interested in this A7 since it was announced earlier this year due to the amazing hardware and audio capabilities.
Fast forward 3 months or so since I have it, I can say that it delivers on the hardware in most aspects. The issues with this phone in my experience:
1. Camera ain't the best but just ok. Don't consider this phone if camera is important to you.
2. The hardware capacitive buttons are too close together and up to now it is tough to use the back and recents. This can somewhat be managed by using on screen navigation buttons which is available from one of our kind Devs who added it to a stock firmware based ROM.
3. There is no minute vibration controls. It is either on or off. On simply provides a hard, and relatively long vibration, annoying when typing. Yes you can turn it off on your keyboard but I still prefer it on regardless.
4. The single biggest issue for me is the lack of stable third party ROMs like RR, Pure Nexus, multiROM, DU, and the like. Also no full kernel is available yet - I see a Dev was able to provide 1 kernel but it is a work in progress and for that we are most grateful to the Dev. Another Dev, Unjustified Dev, took the time and effort to provide us an instance of CM13.1 but it has major issues with audio and mic. We know that Unjustified Dev has put a lot of time into trying to get the audio working better but due to the proprietary drivers related to audio it is also a work in progress. A few others have been trying to also help but mic is still iffy at this point. So if third party ROMs are your thing then this ain't a phone worthy of your money.
5. So frustrated I was with the initial lack of stable third party ROMs that I went ahead and purchased the OnePlus 3T, man that brand can attract Devs. I used the OnePlus for a few weeks but because I missed the dual front facing speakers of the A7, I went back. By this time another Dev was able to provide a very stable stock firmware based ROM with a few additional tweaks while keeping the audio features intact. I now use the A7 with Xposed and it is now OK. I am still hoping that our brilliant Devs will be able to get us a stable CM instance and I know they are still sacrificing time and effort into trying to provide us something.
6. I go back occasionally to my 3T to play with the latest iterations of some custom ROMs, but audio is the missing feature on the 3T.
Hope this helps you. I can't really pronounce on the other items you raised.
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Thanks. Fortunately I don't care much about camera quality. With dev stuff really I can get by as long as I can root it and have at least a stockish rom that completely works.
One thing I do like now is the ability to customize the notification LED to change colors based on different things. Would this be possible with this device?
It really infuriates me that almost all devices come out with one mono speaker. It seems like stereo speakers of any kind at least should be standard at this point. Then again I'm one who wishes these phones had physical keyboards because After seven or whatever years I still can't type worth a crap on a screen.
ZTE is a ****ty company with crap software. And the community development for this device is almost non existent (except for a few guys that are doing their best with what they have).
But you get front facing speaker and great audio (with awful support, though).
ZTE is so bad as a company that they dont even let us discuss about the Nougat update. You'd think they learn something after the last update that broke the power managment of the device and couldn't fix anything since launch , but no... 3 months now since the last update and we dont get a proper fix.
So, back to topic. Go with the OP3T, you get a better device, with better support and more resell value.
yamils said:
ZTE is a ****ty company with crap software. And the community development for this device is almost non existent (except for a few guys that are doing their best with what they have).
But you get front facing speaker and great audio (with awful support, though).
ZTE is so bad as a company that they dont even let us discuss about the Nougat update. You'd think they learn something after the last update that broke the power managment of the device and couldn't fix anything since launch , but no... 3 months now since the last update and we dont get a proper fix.
So, back to topic. Go with the OP3T, you get a better device, with better support and more resell value.
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Not sure what to believe. I have also heard that OP has the worst support and ZTE's is better. I've never had any problem with any phone or needed any support really outside of me messing stuff up with rooting etc.
I saw one review from August talking about the A7's great power management. Are you saying that no longer works?
yamils said:
ZTE is a ****ty company with crap software. And the community development for this device is almost non existent (except for a few guys that are doing their best with what they have).
But you get front facing speaker and great audio (with awful support, though).
ZTE is so bad as a company that they dont even let us discuss about the Nougat update. You'd think they learn something after the last update that broke the power managment of the device and couldn't fix anything since launch , but no... 3 months now since the last update and we dont get a proper fix.
So, back to topic. Go with the OP3T, you get a better device, with better support and more resell value.
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The Axon 7 has a 2 year warranty vs. 1 for the OP3T so the support argument is not clear-cut.
flamingspartan3 said:
The Axon 7 has a 2 year warranty vs. 1 for the OP3T so the support argument is not clear-cut.
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We are clearly talking about a different type of support.
Anyways, in my country I dont have neither OnePlus nor ZTE support so I really dont care about warranty.
effluent said:
I was set on a OnePlus 3T but this is one sale right now and I LOVE the audio capabilities of this thing. I have a rooted OP1 and have run CM for a couple years. It sounds like this phone isn't as far along as the OP3 when it comes to Roms etc... Correct? Any good Roms with everything working? One with theme customization would be nice too. Being used to perfectly working CM etc. would I regret getting this or should I go for it? Are there good Rom alternatives? I used to be one who would tinker with my phone a lot but these days I want a ROM thati like and just works and don't have to worry about it.
One other thing. It has been a long time since I've had a phone with an SD card slot. Can that storage be used as internal storage? On my Shield TV I can make one huge pool of storage with all the external storages plugged in.
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Click to collapse
I am the same as you. Personally I don't think CM adds much compared to stock providing you already use a different launcher. I personally use blinkfeed launcher from HTC on all my phones (and it has custom theming) and I can tell you that with that I don't need any other ROM as I feel the settings menu on the Axon 7 is great. Initially the software had some mild annoyances but with the latest update I am perfectly happy (and nougat update should fix the last remaining issues in January based on what ZTE said).
I think the OP3T is also a strong device, but you would be trading off gorgeous QHD display and amazing sound with slightly better battery life, which I personally don't use, since the Axon 7 charges in 70 min.
Personally I don't feel it makes sense to buy a full HD device going into 2017, as I want to be able to use good quality VR. Also on AMOLED displays which have a pentile screen arrangement 1080p is more like 900p in terms of sharpness. QHD look more like 1200p.
The only case where I would recommend the OP3T is if you are a non VR hard-core gamer and need extra performance as 1080p display can help squeeze more performance, but in most games the difference won't be that noticeable.
yamils said:
ZTE is a ****ty company with crap software. And the community development for this device is almost non existent (except for a few guys that are doing their best with what they have).
But you get front facing speaker and great audio (with awful support, though).
ZTE is so bad as a company that they dont even let us discuss about the Nougat update. You'd think they learn something after the last update that broke the power managment of the device and couldn't fix anything since launch , but no... 3 months now since the last update and we dont get a proper fix.
So, back to topic. Go with the OP3T, you get a better device, with better support and more resell value.
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I completely agree with this guy. I'm blown away by how poorly ZTE have managed things, and their support is borderline non-existent. If the 1080p screen of the OP3/T wasn't a borderline deal breaker for me (VR) I would have attempted to return this phone. If I had to pick a phone right now I'd buy a OP3T, and that's even considering that the DAC on the A7 is a big deal for me which leads me to my next point...
You say the DAC is a big deal for you, well I should let you know that the Hi-Fi DAC it doesn't seem to work in anything but ZTE's default app which is absolute trash with less than bare-bones functionality and it's very buggy.
Edit: I forgot to clarify one point; why "1080p" is so pixelated for VR. It's because AMOLED panels are advertised as false resolutions due to a legal loophole; there isn't legal standard. They use a pentile pattern meaning they have 1/3rd less subpixels, and as much as Samsung's engineers will tell you that it effectively looks the same to the human eye, it absolutely does not, even at extreme density such as "1080p" on a 5.1" display, or even "1440p" on this 5.5" display. On flat colours I can see the pentile pattern.
yamils said:
We are clearly talking about a different type of support.
Anyways, in my country I dont have neither OnePlus nor ZTE support so I really dont care about warranty.
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For me warranty is a decision factor. The fact that ZTE offer 2 year warranty even for unlocked devices is a plus, even if I don't feel a need to unlock right now. The fact that Nougat update will be very fast coming already in January is also a plus.
Only if you are in the US, consider the Axon 7. Anywhere else, including the US, OnePlus is a reliable option.
People complain about the ZTE software. I love it. Had it for 3 days and no complaints. I live outside the US and it works fine on our 4G networks in Trinidad.
The screen and the speakers are two things the Axon 7 trumps over the OP3T. And a visual and listening experience to me is reason enough to get this phone over any other. amoled 1440p and front facing stereo speakers PLUS memory card support and a great battery? Its a no brainer, get this phone
^ I've never really had much of an issue with the cosmetics of skins. The Honor 5x I am replacing is about as heavy a skin as you can get these days and I didn't mind it. People always hate on it because it rips off Apple (ZTE does a bit of that too). Of course I found Google Now launcher, and have since move on to Action launcher, which is just awesome.
It was between the One Plus 3T and the Axon 7. The price is what ultimately did it for me. I got the A7 for $325 shipped on Jet.com, when I called to ask a question and the woman gave me a $15 off code. That's over a $100 difference in price with very comparable specs (even without the code it was going to be $340 shipped). I care about roms, but only after ZTE will EOL the phone. And with prices coming down, and value like this at around the $200-300 price point, I might not even keep it that long.
ZTE needs to make an impression on the US market. Or at least they want to. They did the hardware right this time. Now they just need to do the update dance. Honor (Huawei) committed to two years. These two brands appear very similar in software thinking and other areas. Given the Azon 7's two year warranty, I think the are probably going to also commit to two years of updates, stated or not. It only makes sense. And it also makes sense to announce that. Or anything. Maybe I missed it.
This phone is highway robbery at $325. I might have considered the $100 more if the 3T were waterproof.
Avantiel said:
People complain about the ZTE software. I love it. Had it for 3 days and no complaints. I live outside the US and it works fine on our 4G networks in Trinidad.
The screen and the speakers are two things the Axon 7 trumps over the OP3T. And a visual and listening experience to me is reason enough to get this phone over any other. amoled 1440p and front facing stereo speakers PLUS memory card support and a great battery? Its a no brainer, get this phone
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I was happy the firts couple of weeks too.
Let us know when you start to get annoyed with the bugs.
If you want good Dev, ROM support., go with 3t. That is my biggest disappointment with the A7. This could change in the near future but it may not. Don't get me wrong, the A7 is a really good phone but if I had to choose again, I would sacrifice resolution and SD card for more Dev support.
azpatterson3 said:
If you want good Dev, ROM support., go with 3t. That is my biggest disappointment with the A7. This could change in the near future but it may not. Don't get me wrong, the A7 is a really good phone but if I had to choose again, I would sacrifice resolution and SD card for more Dev support.
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Click to collapse
I don't see much changing as far as dev support goes for the Axon. With the death of CM it becomes even more unlikely that devs are gonna pick it up for development. It's about 6 months since release now and there is barely anything for the Axon so we'll have to be really optimistic to see anything change now. The main difference here is not aftermarket support, but the support from the in house devs of OnePlus and ZTE. And OnePlus is way more mature in that aspect. Mifavour is not half as bad but it will eventually wear you down.
Hey guys, I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on if this phone is still worth it? Especially for right around $300. Or am I better off saving some more money and buying a Pixel/Pixel XL or waiting for the Pixel 2s?
succumbtothegreater said:
Hey guys, I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on if this phone is still worth it? Especially for right around $300. Or am I better off saving some more money and buying a Pixel/Pixel XL or waiting for the Pixel 2s?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's depend what you need overall I am happy with the v20. It's still great phone plus the killer audio if you don't need the new and greatest device. The good are good screen, audio, good for contents consumption, removeable battery. The not so good LG stock ui a little laggy for me sometime, size is not so compact and not much dev support for this phone. For $300 its steal. New phones not much new really they just try to make money from us after few weeks it get old like other phones.
I think so, of course, I just bought one last week...
With the price drops, it's a very good device for the money. Specs haven't been increasing as fast as years past, so devices are quite usable for longer times than before. We can still unlock/root and AOSP based ROMs are getting good. Updates will never be as fast as Google devices like the Pixel, but it's not bad and you don't lose as much waiting it out like we used to. Even Oreo doesn't add that much that I care about for features. The very latest flagships are maybe 20% faster. They also cost 2-3x as much. Value isn't there for me. Maybe it is for you, that's your decision to make.
I'm not interested in Pixel or most new devices right now. I came from a Nexus 6 with a dieing battery. I can replace it, and probably will, but it's annoying to do and runs a risk of destroying the device for a known maintenance part that we know will die. It's a bit like welding the oil plug on a car so you can't change the oil. Eventually it will die, it's a matter of time.
My requirements were: large screen (5.5"+), root, removable battery, SD, headphone jack, TMobile compatibility, value. I would have liked front facing speaker/speakers, but I can live without them. There's nothing out there in this year's devices that interests me. There's nothing wrong with options, but I do wish I had a couple to choose from as well. V20 was pretty much it. On the plus side for it though, tempered glass screen protectors are available that work well. And extended batteries. With the Zero Lemon 10k battery, I have what amounts to unlimited battery life. I'd probably fall asleep before running out. I also really hate the design trend with the camera sticking out from the back, and prefer thicker phones anyway, so it works for me.
If I were to drop removable battery, Axon 7 and OnePlus get more interesting. Though OnePlus doesn't have SD either, putting them lower on the list.
If root is important to you, make sure you know what software version you are getting and check to make sure it can be rooted. Some of the newer ones can't be yet. TMobile 10p, for example, can not.
I've had mine since launch and I still enjoy it. Granted the development support has stagnated lately. But I would completely recommend it. Especially if you get an extended battery.
I've had my v20 for three or four months. Solid phone, can't see any reason to upgrade.
I could buy three of these for the price of a galaxy note 8! Or one of these and a halfway decent laptop!
After this 10p update i'd have to say no. better off getting a v30 when it comes out.
zeruth said:
After this 10p update i'd have to say no. better off getting a v30 when it comes out.
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Click to collapse
Any particular reason why? Wasn't that just security patches?
cathain said:
Any particular reason why? Wasn't that just security patches?
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Yes, that killed of DirtyCow, that killed off root for the foreseeable future.
If LG hadn't deleted all fastboot commands i'd say yeah get the V20. but now it will be unrootable and uncustomizable for quite some time.
I used the twrp zip 10p bootloader and modem... It completely refreshed my performance.
Getting 70+mbs down and 16 up... Compared to 10k modem I was getting 16 down and 3 up if lucky.
I also still have root (non OTA update).
So if you install update through twrp you still keep root.
I wouldn't ever really upgrade phones unless it's a new device that supports the new 600mhz band and 700mhz.
Had mine for a year.... It's amazing. Once you get it right, camera is good (Lazer focus and resolution replaced dslr), audio with DAC/HiFi/viper is amazing.
Screen and battery is great, sd card is a must for me.
If you can get a pristine/new one for $2-300 it's well worth it.
Only gripe, wish there was water proof case.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the answers guys! But I ended up getting the Pixel XL for the sheer performance and rootability and I'm happy with the decision.
I came from Angler. I lost my LCD due to some dumb reasons and was about to proceed to a repair center but turned around when I got the price for its repair (Costs 8,800 Php in the Philippines with battery replacement).
So right now I'm considering on buying a new phone. Which of course, since the Nexus family isn't continuing; I've set my eyes on OP. I know its a fantastic phone and did my research on it a lot. So my questions are:
Is it worth to get OP5? Why?
Should I wait for OP5T? (still skeptical since in the Ph the price actually skyrockets to +$200)
Is the camera better or at least as good as angler?
Lastly, does the Audio HAL/sounds are better than angler?
Please do help a buddy out on deciding. I'm currently stuck on 3 choices: repairing my angler or buying an OP5 or wait for OP5T but die because I don't have a phone in my hands atm and the price would most likely be about $600-700 in PH.
Also take note: OP doesn't have any warranty in the PH. If I destroyed it due to unknown reasons, the only repair I can guarantee is my tears. Phone costing $499 in your country always has about $50-99 more in mine due to delivery costs and stuff.
Please do help a brother out... Thanks!
@shadowstep I will summon you
Sounds like you are in need of something right away. The regular 5 would likely be better due to price. 5T is only going to be a marginal improvement over the 5.
Digital Walker offers 1 year warranty in thr Philippines and their price is not that far from the orginal price. Have you checked that store out? I'm pretty sure they'll be selling the OP5T when it comes out.
I got my device from them.
The One Plus 5 is a good phone in terms of hardware specs and development community but it's a poor phone in terms of build quality. My headphone jack was unusable within 90 days. The USB port and buttons and alert slider are all budget phone quality. I would not buy a One Plus phone if there were no warranty or repair options because it most likely will end in tears.
To answer your questions : sound was superior on the angler. The camera hardware in the OP5 is more powerful on paper than the camera hardware in the angler but the camera app in the OP5 is crap so the angler took much better pictures. Unless you are willing to put the OP5 on a tripod and use expert mode to manually change the settings the camera hardware on the OP5 is wasted. My $150 Samsung J3 took better pictures, especially in low light. The angler is also smoother IMO, has far better speakers and a display with no jelly effect.
The OP5 has massively better battery life than the angler, runs cooler and has a more efficient processor where thermal throttling is never an issue. It also charges much faster.
With the OP5T coming out soon if you are determined to get a One Plus phone I think it would be foolish to buy an OP5 now unless the price is fantastic. The 5T will likely be a better phone and the resale value of the OP5 will drop like a rock because of the jelly effect problem.
exce1ia said:
Digital Walker offers 1 year warranty in thr Philippines and their price is not that far from the orginal price. Have you checked that store out? I'm pretty sure they'll be selling the OP5T when it comes out.
I got my device from them.
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Click to collapse
Yes I did, unfortunately like OP3T and others, the release from them would likely be delayed for 2 months just like OP5 was released around July-August. I am in need of a phone right now especially in terms of work and family. Warranty will be voided once I do some things with OP but I'm pretty sure I can just reflash factory image to boot it up and proceed with warranty.
jhs39 said:
To answer your questions : sound was superior on the angler. The camera hardware in the OP5 is more powerful on paper than the camera hardware in the angler but the camera app in the OP5 is crap so the angler took much better pictures. Unless you are willing to put the OP5 on a tripod and use expert mode to manually change the settings the camera hardware on the OP5 is wasted. My $150 Samsung J3 took better pictures, especially in low light. The angler is also smoother IMO, has far better speakers and a display with no jelly effect.
The OP5 has massively better battery life than the angler, runs cooler and has a more efficient processor where thermal throttling is never an issue. It also charges much faster.
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Click to collapse
Your post makes sense. I do know that Angler takes better picture and I really think OP has a crappy software that makes the phone's camera specs wasted. +1 on angler on that but I didn't know angler has a better speaker, though I'm more concerned on Audio HAL which is the headphone's jack, which you say OP5 is better (not yet sure as some said angler was better or probably just the same).
What I'm really after with OP5 is the screen display, battery and the no-frills thermal throttle on SoC 835. Angler has a lot of issues with thermal throttling due to poor 810 but I've already done some things to remedy that. You have a great point with me waiting on OP5T but the problem again is the price, as I am in need of a phone badly. Hopefully the sale affects the seller here in PH as well (just one store) and if not, I can't wait until next year to buy one...
phantom146 said:
Is it worth to get OP5? Why?
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Click to collapse
Whether it's worth or not is a very subjective opinion, but for me, it was worth it. I've always been a Google fanboy but with the launch of Pixels, their smartphone positioning changed from developer-friendly, not very expensive phones made for the power users to made-for-general-public, very expensive, locked down phones made for competing against the likes of Apple and Samsung flagships. Hence, I started looking for a Nexus-alternative and OnePlus fit the description best. It costed me less than what I spent on my 6P, has an amazing developer community, the battery life is just stellar and it has been a great buy overall.. totally worth it.
phantom146 said:
Should I wait for OP5T? (still skeptical since in the Ph the price actually skyrockets to +$200)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you prefer fingerprint sensor on the back and no hardware keys (Nexus style), then you should go for the 5T, or else don't. If price is a major decision, then the 5 should suffice 100%. 5T isn't much of an upgrade (especially because the processor is the same). Just that the screen is bumped up (which honestly I don't mind in the 5 because it's too small a gadget for screen size to be that important for me, but that's a personal thing) and the battery will be slightly more in capacity (but that will be compensated by the bigger screen, and hence there won't be any difference as compared to the 5).
phantom146 said:
Is the camera better or at least as good as angler?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock OnePlus camera is inferior to Google Camera which was there in the 6P, but that's not because 5 has a bad camera hardware, it's just that the software processing of the picture is just average. To work around that, there is a Google Camera mod available now which enabled HDR+ on the 5 as well and I use it over the stock OnePlus camera. The results are far better with Google Camera's HDR and comparable to the 6P now. I'm satisfied.
phantom146 said:
Lastly, does the Audio HAL/sounds are better than angler?
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Click to collapse
Frankly speaking, I do miss the front facing stereo speakers and it was a downgrade in terms of speakers when I got the 5. However, with the stereo speaker mod (which turns the front earpiece into a mini-speaker as well) along with the A.R.I.S.E sound system/V4A mod, I'm damn happy. The bottom firing speakers can really loud if you want them to (more than the 6P at times) and the quality is great with the A.R.I.S.E sound system/V4A mod. Regarding the jack, I found it similar, didn't notice a big difference because I use bluetooth earphones.
phantom146 said:
Please do help a buddy out on deciding. I'm currently stuck on 3 choices: repairing my angler or buying an OP5 or wait for OP5T but die because I don't have a phone in my hands atm and the price would most likely be about $600-700 in PH.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suggest you move on from the 6P because I also had to get my screen replaced initially and it costed me a bomb! Even if you get it changed along with the battery, it still won't be as good as a new phone, so. 5 or 5T, that depends on you given the pros and cons I listed above. 5 will be cheaper now that 5T is coming, so that should also work in your favour.
phantom146 said:
Also take note: OP doesn't have any warranty in the PH. If I destroyed it due to unknown reasons, the only repair I can guarantee is my tears. Phone costing $499 in your country always has about $50-99 more in mine due to delivery costs and stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there an option of taking a third-party insurance from an insurance company? If yes, you can go for it and then be at peace. Also, do remember that rooting or unlocking the bootloader on OnePlus doesn't void their warranty. And one more thing, the jelly screen issue is exaggerated in my opinion. I haven't noticed it (maybe one or twice) and it's a zero issue for me.
shadowstep said:
Is there an option of taking a third-party insurance from an insurance company? If yes, you can go for it and then be at peace. Also, do remember that rooting or unlocking the bootloader on OnePlus doesn't void their warranty. And one more thing, the jelly screen issue is exaggerated in my opinion. I haven't noticed it (maybe one or twice) and it's a zero issue for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a legit seller here in ph but would take 2 months from OP5's release date to sell it here which is a negative for me. Based from your perspectives, I might have to eliminate Angler and go with OP also given its rich dev-base. Still, however am displeased that I am gonna throw away $500 for a phone (highest I bought was 6P for $250 from a reseller). If only I'm not in need of it immediately, I am willing to wait until its price drop.
I hope the jelly screen will be fixed on OP5T tho
phantom146 said:
There is a legit seller here in ph but would take 2 months from OP5's release date to sell it here which is a negative for me.
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Click to collapse
Well, two months is a lot of time, indeed.
phantom146 said:
Based from your perspectives, I might have to eliminate Angler and go with OP also given its rich dev-base. Still, however am displeased that I am gonna throw away $500 for a phone (highest I bought was 6P for $250 from a reseller). If only I'm not in need of it immediately, I am willing to wait until its price drop.
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Click to collapse
..and to "not be in need of a new phone immediately", you'll have to either spend on getting the 6P repaired or getting a cheap/used smartphone for the period you plan on waiting for the price drop. Either ways, it's an expenditure which you can instead put on a new phone right now. Just my two cents.
phantom146 said:
I hope the jelly screen will be fixed on OP5T tho
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Click to collapse
Me too! Though like I said before, it's a non-issue for me and I've barely ever noticed it. I'm totally happy with my 5's screen.
Just last question, @shadowstep, is it worth the price of $100 increase for the 128gb one? I personally don't need the 128gb but the 8gb could be handy or could be overkill?
phantom146 said:
Just last question, @shadowstep, is it worth the price of $100 increase for the 128gb one? I personally don't need the 128gb but the 8gb could be handy or could be overkill?
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Click to collapse
It is overkill if you don't need it, frankly speaking. I got the 128/8 variant just because it was the higher end one. I don't use more than 10% of the space available.
Also, I've used the 64/6 variant too, and there is no as such noticeable difference in app management with 6 GB RAM too as compared to 8 GB RAM. I don't do heavy gaming or whatever it is that needs so much RAM, so it was overkill for me.
Go for the larger memory device.
In regards to which one the 5T would be the obvious choice, the 5 is a beast and the only plus side for me is the 1080p screen, it'll give a little extra performance and stamina.
But even with that in mind if I was looking to upgrade it'd be the 5T.
I'll throw my hat in here: What about the Razer Phone?
What do you guys think of the xiaomi mi 8 ?
Would it be to crazy of he jump ?
I kind of like the idea , but I don't know , since I had never own a xiaomi phone ... Any one here had one before ? If so any help it's always appreciate
luisaet82 said:
What do you guys think of the xiaomi mi 8 ?
Would it be to crazy of he jump ?
I kind of like the idea , but I don't know , since I had never own a xiaomi phone ... Any one here had one before ? If so any help it's always appreciate
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Click to collapse
Specs look good on the Mi 8... I just don't care for the blatant iPhone X copy, notch, lack of a headphone jack, or IP68. For a similar spec sheet, I liked the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s a lot better with the high screen to bezel ratio and no notch. I almost pulled the trigger on one but I ended up getting the S9+ for about the same price. I've been happy with it so far. The Axon 7 is going back to the factory for a repair.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Gearhead_ENG said:
Specs look good on the Mi 8... I just don't care for the blatant iPhone X copy, notch, lack of a headphone jack, or IP68. For a similar spec sheet, I liked the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s a lot better with the high screen to bezel ratio and no notch. I almost pulled the trigger on one but I ended up getting the S9+ for about the same price. I've been happy with it so far. The Axon 7 is going back to the factory for a repair.
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Click to collapse
What do you do to the axon 7 ? Is ZTE still working ?
It still works but the battery life is starting to degrade and the charging port is loose after 1.5 years. ZTE is replacing it under warranty. It'll make a good backup or media phone.
luisaet82 said:
What do you do to the axon 7 ? Is ZTE still working ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
I wouldn't get the mi8, lacks features compared to the Axon 7 although newer in others and faster.
If you want an all around better device get the S9+ or HTC U12+.
nfsmw_gr said:
I wouldn't get the mi8, lacks features compared to the Axon 7 although newer in others and faster.
If you want an all around better device get the S9+ or HTC U12+.
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Click to collapse
They are both around the 1000 DLS and I'm not planning to spend that money on a phone again not when i pay 350 for and amazing phone like the axon 7 ... Im not sure wtf to do looks like I'm gonna keep the phone until it just dies ???
They are both around the 1000 DLS and I'm not planning to spend that money on a phone again not when i pay 350 for and amazing phone like the axon 7 ... Im not sure wtf to do looks like I'm gonna keep the phone until it just dies ???
nfsmw_gr said:
I wouldn't get the mi8, lacks features compared to the Axon 7 although newer in others and faster.
If you want an all around better device get the S9+ or HTC U12+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's crazy that if ZTE just re-released the Axon 7 with an upgraded Sd845 it would be the only phone (including announced unreleased) that suits my media demands of 1440p amoled, stereo front speakers and hifi DAC working in AOSP (for hifi when headset mic is enabled). They should just do it if they get back to business, LG did it to the V30 to V35.
Sent from my Xperia Z3C using XDA Labs
luisaet82 said:
They are both around the 1000 DLS and I'm not planning to spend that money on a phone again not when i pay 350 for and amazing phone like the axon 7 ... Im not sure wtf to do looks like I'm gonna keep the phone until it just dies ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I agree man, unfortunately only these two fit the spec list and are wayyyy too expensive
Infy_AsiX said:
it's crazy that if ZTE just re-released the Axon 7 with an upgraded Sd845 it would be the only phone (including announced unreleased) that suits my media demands of 1440p amoled, stereo front speakers and hifi DAC working in AOSP (for hifi when headset mic is enabled). They should just do it if they get back to business, LG did it to the V30 to V35.
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Click to collapse
This would be phenomenal.
A bigger battery, better camera, ane IPXX protection should be possible as well, then it would be the perfect device even if they kept everything else the same really.
All the Axon 9 needs is the Axon 7s with SD845 and IR blaster. Maybe a better camera but it already is improved over the Axon 7.
nfsmw_gr said:
This would be phenomenal.
A bigger battery, better camera, ane IPXX protection should be possible as well, then it would be the perfect device even if they kept everything else the same really.
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Click to collapse
Perfect phone is a really hard ideal to fit for everyone. For me personally none of those are needed as I've resigned myself to the fact a single all purpose perfect device is impossible. I have a compact phone for primary general use and a secondary media phone as a media device to complement each other.
Sent from my Xperia Z3C using XDA Labs
Infy_AsiX said:
Perfect phone is a really hard ideal to fit for everyone. For me personally none of those are needed as I've resigned myself to the fact a single all purpose perfect device is impossible. I have a compact phone for primary general use and a secondary media phone as a media device to complement each other.
Sent from my Xperia Z3C using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand your way of thinking, hope this works for you, I can't imagine carrying two phones myself.
In my own case, the Axon 7 suits all my daily needs to be honest, so I could call it a perfect device.
It's just starting to age when compared to newer devices, that is all.
A couple of current flagships would fit my needs to upgrade (S9+,U12+), but the prices are way too high.
Unfortunately, no equivalent of the Axon 7 exists in the price range the Axon 7 released, which is a big shame.
Just gotta hang on to it for now, or bite the bullet and pay the price premium if you really need to upgrade for whatever reason. :crying:
Infy_AsiX said:
it's crazy that if ZTE just re-released the Axon 7 with an upgraded Sd845 it would be the only phone (including announced unreleased) that suits my media demands of 1440p amoled, stereo front speakers and hifi DAC working in AOSP (for hifi when headset mic is enabled). They should just do it if they get back to business, LG did it to the V30 to V35.
Sent from my Xperia Z3C using XDA Labs
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They were actually, well it was a concept, but to me it looked like the real axon 9. It had the front facing speakers and had a cool name "ZTE Iceberg".
There are renders of the phone on the web, give it a search
nfsmw_gr said:
I understand your way of thinking, hope this works for you, I can't imagine carrying two phones myself.
In my own case, the Axon 7 suits all my daily needs to be honest, so I could call it a perfect device.
It's just starting to age when compared to newer devices, that is all.
A couple of current flagships would fit my needs to upgrade (S9+,U12+), but the prices are way too high.
Unfortunately, no equivalent of the Axon 7 exists in the price range the Axon 7 released, which is a big shame.
Just gotta hang on to it for now, or bite the bullet and pay the price premium if you really need to upgrade for whatever reason. :crying:
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Having more than one device is just an extra step to getting more than just one can offer. As my old Z3C still does music well but not as well as A7 it suits on the go environments where quality is lost to the environment anyway. With custom updates it's still fast for general use and I much prefer it's form and ergonomic factor. The A7 is stored away in a bag until more immersive media is used. For going out without a bag the A7 is left at home. I guess doubling up my Z3C's purpose as a bike computer is part of the reason for keeping it around too. In fact I've got another second half-broken Z3C with both batteries modded removable to also suit a second sim card, it's just like carrying spare powerbanks really. Of course I could swap them both for the A7 dual sim, but where there's a gain there's always a loss.
Aged in what respect? I can only really think of SD820 performance as behind. Pushing the boundary with various mods like disabling thermal throttling and such I've managed tweaked PUBGM for 1080p high settings >30fps which is by all intents above expected average and desirable. Of course upgraded better chipsets will pull more but not too much more in a S835 and only more noticeably on a S845.
Well if current generation flagships suit you but not in price the only issue is to wait. Or you could join the buy, use and sell market cycle to get it now and not necessarily cost more.
JustaRandomCat said:
They were actually, well it was a concept, but to me it looked like the real axon 9. It had the front facing speakers and had a cool name "ZTE Iceberg".
There are renders of the phone on the web, give it a search
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Click to collapse
I think you're mixing the rumoured Axon 9 leak where there's no stereo speaker and the dual notch Iceberg. I think they did re-release the Axon 7 with a S821 as a Chinese government model though. Getting to the point where they could save costs on redeveloping a new model and just reuse a successful design with a new chipset would be a nice move. However they'd have to be sure the old design is actually successful and popular enough to drive sales demand again, LG evidently thinks they hit something nice with the V30. Brings up the thought, why not sell updated chipsets to consumers that could be installed into old models, maybe through service centres and provide new firmware support. Guess that's too ambitious and consumer friendly an idea.
Been thinking about moto z2 play or force was given a old moto z play by a friend to play with for a while.......
Bit of a rant and discussion.
I've bought this phone 4 days ago and was so happy with it's performance, look and general experience with it. Long have I waited for a phone to have a fairly powerful chipset like the Snapdragon 660 at an affordable price point to finally retire my Nexus 5 which has started failing on me and needed a replacement ASAP.
When I saw that I could pick this phone up for 240 euro for the 64GB version I thought that it was a decent upgrade over my beloved Nexus and that given that it is an Android One phone, it wouldn't be all that different from a Nexus. What I mean by this is update timely support for 2 years and security updates for another 1. Also, being that it's just as easy to unlock the bootloader as on the Nexus, I was expecting that the dev support would be nearly identical, specially at this price point.
Given that this is my first Xiaomi device, I was not aware of the time it took Xiaomi to release it's kernel source hindering the dev support at the device's prime. But all this wouldn't be as much of an issue since I mainly planned to stick with the stock ROM and root it to get a couple of more features that it doesn't have by default as well as use a couple of apps that make my life a bit easier and when the source lands, we would have it at the devices EOL so that the support could continue. For the whole two days, I was happy with this agreement until I found out about Xiaomi's newly anounced Poco F1. I had heard about this phone on the day that I've bought my A2, but dismissed it because of the rumored price of 400+ euro.
The announced phone has everything that this phone lacks for me which is a 3.5mm jack, memory card slot and a 1000 mAh bigger battery. On top of that, it has that sweet, sweet Snapdragon 845. To top all that off, it's promised that the kernel source code will land upon launch of the device on 29th August which along with the equally easily unlockable bootloader makes me think that the Poco F1 should've been the real successor to my Nexus. Digging a little bit I've found out that the Xiaomi phones are actually officially supported for quite some time by Xiaomi but that the base android version can be old. At the announcement of the F1 they promised to solve the base not being updated thanks to project Treble.
Now, when I was buying this phone, I was very budget conscious and the 240 euro at this point of the year was a bit of a stretch for me given the vacation part of the year, but I really needed a phone and thought that the 20 euro over the 220 price of the 32GB was worth it. Now, the F1 is announced at 300$ in India which would translate to 300 euro in my country, probably (waiting for the launch in Europe). That is another 60 over the A2, but you get so much better specs. Even tho the A2 is a lot more premium than the F1, given that I'm coming from the Nexus 5, you know where my heart is when it comes to "premium vs performance" thing. I'm not much of a camera guy, just need a decent one and both have great cameras but I am an audiophile and I quite enjoy the output out of the A2. The speakerphone lacks a bit of bass but it is very loud (specially compared to the Nexus 5) and the headphone output, even being a bit clunky with the USB Type C adapter thing, is really good. Looking at the keynote, I've seen that the F1 should have a good DAC for the headphones, but I've read that the front facing dual speakers are a bit tinny which is not an issue, just as long as the quality and clarity is acceptable given that for any high quality audio I would resort to headphones anyway. Only things that I'm not a fan on the F1 is the notch at the top and the curvature of the edges of the screen. The notch can be turned off without loss given that the display is larger than the A2 for the notch, but you're still left with those huge curves at the bottom edges.
Now having said all of this, I'm really tempted to sell my new A2 in favor of the F1. Are there any reasons or benefits to sticking with the A2 instead of switching over to the F1 that I'm missing?
I would greatly appreciate your opinion on this matter.
i think you're overthinking and greatly underevaluating the a2 official support.
the f1 has just one problem, miui. and yes, you can fix that by unlocking and getting a custom rom. eventually.
it launches at the end of august, there will be at least another month before you can pick one up in europe at a decent price.
then you need to wait for an actual custom rom official ish team to pick it up, another 1-2 months before it's good enough for daily driver usage. ow wait christmas already?
or you could do what you did already and enjoy your phone, the a2 isnt a bad phone at all!
i got one too, saw the f1 news and i dont feel the same way at all. in europe it's gonna sell for at least 350euros. asuming you ever find one in stock.
if you really want to, mosr eu retailers will refund you fully within 30 days of your purchase you could return the a2 and wait for the f1, i wouldn't but it's an option...
p.s. i also think that even though the 845 is faster, the 660 is fast enough. perhaps even a 636 would be plenty. i find it hard to justify high end chips honestly.
p.s.2 and yes the f1 is gonna break the high end phones market. xiaomi will probably sell as many as it can make and big oems will have to think hard and strong before offering a phone that costs over 500 euros
All I can add is that there will ** Always ** be phones with better specs just around the corner. Did I say Always?
Phones can do so much now, which is good, but making a decision and being satisfied with it is increasingly difficult. I too have a
Nexus 5 (and 5x) in the past. The 5 I still have as a backup, has LineageOS on it and is doing great.
The most difficult thing for me is determining what I really need (separating it from what I want), and then finding a device that fits.
I love that the MiA2 is android one. It's basically Lineage, which is perfect for me. Does it make Network connections quickly? Absolutely, and very
strong connections at that.
Sufficient ram and rom? Works great for me... Snap660 is all I need, with what I do... Unlockable? perfect. Treble? perfect. Decent Camera? absolutely.
So my checklist is... sparse I know. But why pay for more than you need? Oh they'll sell it to you! And they're happy to make you believe you need it!
But what do you need? really?
That's the tough question to answer.
Those two answers above hit the nail on the head perfectly. I love my Mi A2 as it gives me everything I need in a phone.
i love my a2 too but slow storage is on the down side
copying 2 gb file takes 5 min
flashing the phone via edl mode takes 1200 seconds
Sure, sort of. On the one hand, the overall better specs of the F1 has me feeling like I missed out. On the other, though - I knew ahead of time that whatever phone I'll end up getting will be an Android One phone, so... that takes the F1 out of the picture, anyway. Also... I doubt the F1 will still cost ~300USD outside of India.
For a very long time I messed around with custom ROMs, rooting, etc. With the 5X I started feeling like I'm not missing much by not going that route. The most important thing for me is that the company whose reputation is on the line (in this case, Google - since Android One, and all) pushes out security and feature updates in a timely manner.
I also vehemently agree with the notion that "something better is always around the corner" - getting the latest and greatest is a game you'll always lose, unless you have a lot of disposable income. But then we wouldn't be comparing the A2 and the F1, would we?
Think about it this way - imagine what the Poco F3/F4 will bring in two-three years time, when we're due for an upgrade!
A bit OT but it's funny to see how many n5x users are gathering in the mia2 thread ^^ I'm very happy about my mia2 I was concerned about the battery but I get now about 6 hours SOT and that's all I needed. On top of this, the camera is really great. I think that in a few months we will have real nice devices with all we need anted from a phone. ???