Mi A1 over Nexus 4 - Xiaomi Mi A1 Questions & Answers

Hello,
I am thinking of finally giving up my Nexus 4 and Mi A1 seems like a proper replacement. The one thing I don't like about it is the size, I am used to keep my phone in a pocket and use it with only one hand.
What do you guys think of the size? I am yet to hold it in hands since I need to find a store with the phone in stock.
I also read about problem with low light condition of the camera, but over N4 that I think will be an improvement.
It's a shame I cannot put Nexus 5 X on the list, since the boot loop is a real problem with that one.
Really looking to what you guys think.
Trimis de pe al meu Nexus 4 folosind Tapatalk

I've made the same decision, and I'm very happy with what I got. Size is just a pleasant surprise. Although A1 is not a light phone, the weight and size is not a big problem, at least for me. One handed use is fine, if you don't use a keyboard frequently. Even so, I recommend to try it in your hands if ypu can. Trying out GNote 4 is a alternative choice, if you can't find A1 near you. Size and weight of note 4 is similar with A1(to be specific, note 4 is little larger and heavier).
Everything(including camera) is a huge improvement, mostly screen size, performance and battery life. It will be an excellent choice.
About the 5X, no offence to 5X users, it isn't even an option. 2GB of ram in ARM64 device is not a thing. I used it before, suffered from huge ram shortage and hot phone, not to mention constant fear of phone suddenly dying. Camera is better than A1, but that's all...

if you want to test the size mate just look for a similar 5.5 inch phones, there is not much difference between them and yeah the camera isnt great in the dark but it is still a very good phone

Thank you for your fast response! I will test other 5.5 phones and will reach a conclusion.
Pretty sure it's the best choice for the price and also for a Nexus user. Pixel is great but even the 1st version is too expensive for my taste.

One more thing that is very important to me: did anyone test the mic while recording in loud environment like a club or concert? Was the sound distorted?

natzy85 said:
One more thing that is very important to me: did anyone test the mic while recording in loud environment like a club or concert? Was the sound distorted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't remember how well the N4 fares when it comes to recording in noisy environments, but the A1 definitely falls short in that field. It cuts the lower frequencies and yes the audio you get is distorted. For my usage it's bearable, but if you plan to use the phone to regularly records live music look somewhere else.
Otherwise it's a splendid and equilibrated phone considering the price tag.
Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the heads up. The Nexus 4 also gets the sound distorted but with the right kernel I can control the mic gain.
Maybe we can change that in the future.

Try this video, it is not music, and not a club, but construction site is also rather loud.

Fredoslaw said:
Try this video, it is not music, and not a club, but construction site is also rather loud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!

Mmm difficult question. I'm very happy with the phone, great, really great battery life, fast processor and clean Android with fast updates.
But my next phone will definitely be smaller. The only thing about the MiA1 that I don't like... is the size. I don't have very large hands an when I try to type and hold the phone with one hand, it starts getting uncomfortable. It's not a deal breaker for me, but if a company releases smaller similar phone, with smaller bezels or an 5.0/5.1 inch screen, I'll absolutely trade this device and get the smaller version.

Remuzzz said:
Mmm difficult question. I'm very happy with the phone, great, really great battery life, fast processor and clean Android with fast updates.
But my next phone will definitely be smaller. The only thing about the MiA1 that I don't like... is the size. I don't have very large hands an when I try to type and hold the phone with one hand, it starts getting uncomfortable. It's not a deal breaker for me, but if a company releases smaller similar phone, with smaller bezels or an 5.0/5.1 inch screen, I'll absolutely trade this device and get the smaller version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't Redmi 4x be a better choice?

Related

Personal Review Section - No Tech Blogs

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I'm on pace for about 4hrs OST. Not good.
mk92595 said:
I'm on pace for about 4hrs OST. Not good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long have you had the phone? I'd give it a few cycles before drawing any conclusions.
mk92595 said:
I'm on pace for about 4hrs OST. Not good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's fine especially with the turbo charge and Qi charging options.
I'll pretty much be able to have it charging anywhere easily since I have a few Qi charging plates available (Tylt on my desk, for example).
Turbo charge will get it an hour of OST in a few minutes of charge.
Hade you listened to music with headphones yet?
It would be very interesting if you had the opportunity to compare the quality and max volume with another phone for comparison
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app
jmill75 said:
CON'S:
Screen/Device - yes its also a con, phone is big! Heard it a million times but personally if the screen would have been 5.5 it would have been PERFECT- - again subjective
Size - going to take some getting used to. Over the next few days I will have some decisions to make as Moto X 14 is sitting right here and feels great in hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you do no research before buying this? Did you get the phone out of a mystery box? I hate to sound like an A-hole but I just don't get it. All of your other points are valid and informative but you buy a big phone then complain about the size is dumb to me.
wondercoolguy said:
Did you do no research before buying this? Did you get the phone out of a mystery box? I hate to sound like an A-hole but I just don't get it. All of your other points are valid and informative but you buy a big phone then complain about the size is dumb to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's nothing 'dumb' about this. Reading stuff and actually using something is very different. You can't get an idea of phone size and usability without owning it.
Davil_79 said:
Hade you listened to music with headphones yet?
It would be very interesting if you had the opportunity to compare the quality and max volume with another phone for comparison
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a great point thank you when I go up to TMO here in a few hrs I'm bringing my headphones to test out the music quality
---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 PM ----------
ECrispy said:
There's nothing 'dumb' about this. Reading stuff and actually using something is very different. You can't get an idea of phone size and usability without owning it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guy thinks 5.5 would be perfect but 5.9 has no idea the difference in size?
If can't tell the difference then maybe go to the store before spending 650.00. It's what I'm doing not because I don't know the size but I like to try a device before spending the money.
I think it just depends on your hand size. Personally, I've texted with one hand so for me it's not bad.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
mk92595 said:
I'm on pace for about 4hrs OST. Not good.
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Click to collapse
4hrs OST? . do you listen to a LOT of music with the screen off? Please say you do please say you do.
biggiestuff said:
4hrs OST? . do you listen to a LOT of music with the screen off? Please say you do please say you do.
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Click to collapse
Not a lot. Probably 30 min. It is my second cycle so I expect better.
Davil_79 said:
Hade you listened to music with headphones yet?
It would be very interesting if you had the opportunity to compare the quality and max volume with another phone for comparison
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS! There was at least one report that the volume was low. I gotta have my music. Bluetooth is okay but I'm happiest with my Bose headphones on. If audio sucks it's not worth having. Here are my experiences
Galaxy S2 = low volume, sucked beyond suck
Galaxy S3 = no complaints
Moto X 2013 = no complaints
Nexus 5 = not as good as Moto X so sent back
OnePlus One = no complaints
iPhone 6 = oh yeah Spotify sounds awesome
Nvidia Shield portable = oh yeah! I can't turn it up all the way it's too loud but it sounds great.
I certainly hope they didn't screw this up on the Nexus 6.
delete
jmill75 said:
So to explain how PRE ORDER works, you don't actually have the phone to play with. Are you stupid or what??
You have fun playing with the phone at the T-Mo store. I have a real phone that I get to test out. If you dont like my review then get the f out of my thread.
Better go do some dishes and mow the grass, going to take a lot of allowance to buy the N6...just saying.
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You just killed this thread with the tude....dude. Totally unnecessary on your part. Catch you on the flip side.
I do not own the phone but I used one from a friend who recently came in from the US (32 Blue).
My time was just over an hour so this review is not that deep, but some facts I found. (I will compare with the Note 4 and iPhone 6+ as these two phones I have a load of experience with).
SCREEN:
Bright, but not extremely bright. Better than the Galaxy Nexus I'm currently stuck with using (Nexus 5 died) but that isn't saying much. It is noticeable less bright that the Note 4 and iPhone 6+. The colours are less vivid than the Note 4 and the colour balance is not as good as the iPhone 6+. If the Note 4/6+ where next to the Nexus 6 in store with all having maximum brightness, the Nexus 6 would easily fail to convince the prospective buyer that it has a decent screen. The screen is decent, but flawed. It is not super engaging - just ok. It does the job indoors. I did not test outdoors. In terms of sharpness I found it equally sharp compared with the much lower resolution 6+ but not quite as sharp as the Note 4.
The size of the screen initially made me not want it, then I considered it would be ok but after using it I love the 5.95 inch screen and I wish it was a solid 6 inches and closer to the bezels. I do not like how the bottom bezel is slimmer than the top, but what can you do! The size of the screen feels great.
5/10 in my opinion. Respectively I'd give the 6+ 7/10 and Note 4 8/10.
BUILD/BODY:
Build quality on the blue Nexus 6 seemed good; the metal frame is a nice addition and the blue is really dark (or that could just be from memory). Not as bad as I was expecting. If you dropped it I think it would be less damaged than your iPhone 6+ or Nexus 5. Not a bad phone to hold either for it's size. The 10.1mm thick point however is a bit of a joke. The battery is very average and the camera could've easily fit into a 7-8mm thin body - in my opinion it is just too fat. It feels super fat and it looks super fat, next to the 6+. It just feels fat to me. My opinion. Also the rounded back makes it impossibly annoying to leave and using while resting on a table.
Build quality: Seems like 7.5/10 - materials do not feel or look as good as an iPhone 6+ but feel better than the Note 4.
Thickness: 1/10 - really did not like it at all, it just felt thick to me. This is my personal opinion however!
CAMERA:
Fast, good quality and an improvement on the Nexus 5. HDR+ is still too slow for quick use. I thought the stock camera app was extremely underwhelming. Hardly any good options and no RAW photos out of the box. The video mode I did not try apart from 4K (which was not as good as the Note 4). Standard pictures indoors in normal light were good, but not great. Note 4 and 6+ beat it hands down. No matter what picture I took with the Nexus 6 none impressed me that much. Shutter speed for normal photos was decent, but slower than the iPhone 6+ (noticeably, especially when the camera occasionally lost focus and tried to refocus - it took about 2 seconds on average when this happened). Also, for the sheer size of the phone I was recommended by a photographer (my girlfriend) that the aperture could've easily been 1.2 to 1.5/3 for the size of the phone and that would've produced better images. She mentioned that the flashes overexposed my images (which they did when used) and that is due to being too close to the lens; also an xenon flash would've been a better choice for this phone.
Camera: 5.5/10 - good, improvement on the Nexus 5 but nothing to write home about. I'm sure with better software you will be able to use this camera well. I feel like it was let down by terrible software (this is 2014/15 guys...the camera software should be more optimised).
SOUND:
Speaker sound of course dominates the iPhone 6+ or Note 4; not as good as the HTC Boomsound but still loud and clearer then most phones I've used. Noticeable good loudspeaker sound when playing music back. I did not get to check what it sounds like when using speaker phone when making a call, but I assume stereo speakers for voice calls (loudspeaker) would be a great improvement. I think that my biggest problem is that they are ugly (the speaker grills) to me on the front of the device, but that is again a personal opinion. They work well.
The music player playback through headphones is NOT good. The volume is too low, the sound quality is average (a bit better than the Nexus 5 but not by much - 99% of people would not tell the difference). I used to work heavily in music production so I have an idea of what I'm talking about here. The music playback quality in the phone is not down to software (I'm sure software could help it a bit here) but hardware. I do not believe the phone has a dedicated music chipset (or whatever it is called) in the phone (correct me if Im wrong). The sound playback is not amazing and not premium. iPhone 6+ is better and even the Note 4 was better for playing music back through headphones.
SPEAKER QUALITY: 8/10
PLAYBACK (HEADPHONES) QUALITY: 4/10
SPEED AND OS:
The phone is faster than the Nexus 5 for normal use. I had heaps of windows open and no lag. Really smooth and the animations of the OS look great. Android 5.0 feels like they hired someone from Apple to improve the feel of the OS, without limiting your customisation options. It's great, so much better than Jelly Bean (which I'm currently using on my Galaxy Nexus). Sometimes when opening large apps (Asphalt 7: Heat) the phone slowed down noticeably. It look over 10 seconds to open this app, twice it didn't open after 10 seconds and crashed. There are some serious slow down issues with large apps here. These issues did not exist on the Note 4. In terms of everyday use - if you are coming from a stock, clean Nexus 5 - you will not notice a huge speed difference, if any. From memory the Nexus 5 was just as quick in everyday use (phone calls, text messages, accessing the gallery). The Nexus 6 might be quicker but not enough to make a lasting impression. This is just down to the RAM/Snapdragon 805 combo - yes it is the latest from snapdragon but not as snappy as the iPhone 6+ (which feels a bit more streamlined and quicker). The Note 4 felt slower than the Nexus 6 though overall, but not by much. As I said above, despite feeling a little heavier than the Nexus 6, it was faster to open apps (sometimes significantly faster).
OS: 8/10 - great step up from previous Android OS versions.
SPEED: 7.5/10 - a quick phone, but has serious slow down issues.
BATTERY:
From an hour of use I can't tell how good it is but it did dip nearly 30% from my use with it which included web browsing, photos, music playback and some video watching as well as a phone call. The call quality was normal, I didn't have a problem with it. Volume was good too (but that could just be because I was indoors with minimal environmental sounds bothering me). I can't rate the battery based on this brief amount of time with it however I do suspect that if you used this phone heavily you will not get more than 15 hours of use; screen on time of more than 5 hours - I can't see it lasting. Competitively the Note 4 that I've used lasts about 5.5 hours with heavy use and constant screen on time, the iPhone 6+ lasted well over the 6 hour mark. I was left with an impression that the battery should've could've been bigger in this phone.
CONCLUSION:
I didn't spend long with this phone but from what I can tell it was good. It was NOT worth the $970+ for the 64gb version here in Australia (delivered, off-contract price). This felt like a solid $500 phone. Yes it was overall better than the Nexus 5, but it was not that much better. It was not $570 better than the Nexus 5. Sorry to say it, but it is true. I liked it better than the Note 4 but that is because I hate TW. If the Note 4 was stock Android, the Nexus 6 wouldn't survive. The iPhone 6+ (I've never liked iOS) held its own against the Nexus 6 in terms of camera quality, screen quality, premium looks/feel and speed.
I was planning to buy three Nexus 6 phones (one for me, one for my girlfriend and one for my mother). I purchased her a 6+ because I couldn't wait around for its release. Still in the market to buy myself a new phone and my girlfriend a new phone. The Nexus 6 is not in our price range or scope. Too expensive and not enough phone for the price. If you are talking pure specs - Asian phones (VIVO etc) offer the same processor/RAM combo with 8mp FF camera with flash and 16MP rear facing camera with dual LED flash in a waterproof body thinner than 7mm with a battery 3500-3900mh. Let's ignore the OS on the Asian phones as you can easily install stock Android onto them (the Chinese dev community for them is huge) - just focusing on hardware. You are trying to tell me that some Asian manufacturer can produce overall better specs in a phone and sell for $300 cheaper (for me) than Google can? What a load of BS. Google should've tried harder and put more into it for the price. Software is good, but it fails in big departments (e.g. camera).
Yes this is a long conclusion but this is a conflicted phone. I wanted to love it and spend my money on it but for what it is, I can't do that. The stock OS is nice but not worth so much money. I don't have money to burn and so I cannot afford to burn what I have on a phone which makes me feel like they held back...more than they should have.
If you want stock Android experience I can't tell you to buy the Nexus 6 as the Nexus 5 would do the same job for you. Sure the camera and battery is worse on the Nexus 5 but I would still go with it. Hold out with that phone for a few months until the Nexus '7' (or whatever the next stock Android phone is called) gets released. The Nexus 6 just is not worth all that extra money for the upgrades it has. Good phone, nice phone, solid and I like the 6 inch screen but not nearly a $1,000 phone at all.
spartanm99 said:
I do not own the phone but I used one from a friend who recently came in from the US (32 Blue).
My time was just over an hour so this review is not that deep, but some facts I found. (I will compare with the Note 4 and iPhone 6+ as these two phones I have a load of experience with).
SCREEN:
Bright, but not extremely bright. Better than the Galaxy Nexus I'm currently stuck with using (Nexus 5 died) but that isn't saying much. It is noticeable less bright that the Note 4 and iPhone 6+. The colours are less vivid than the Note 4 and the colour balance is not as good as the iPhone 6+. If the Note 4/6+ where next to the Nexus 6 in store with all having maximum brightness, the Nexus 6 would easily fail to convince the prospective buyer that it has a decent screen. The screen is decent, but flawed. It is not super engaging - just ok. It does the job indoors. I did not test outdoors. In terms of sharpness I found it equally sharp compared with the much lower resolution 6+ but not quite as sharp as the Note 4.
The size of the screen initially made me not want it, then I considered it would be ok but after using it I love the 5.95 inch screen and I wish it was a solid 6 inches and closer to the bezels. I do not like how the bottom bezel is slimmer than the top, but what can you do! The size of the screen feels great.
5/10 in my opinion. Respectively I'd give the 6+ 7/10 and Note 4 8/10.
BUILD/BODY:
Build quality on the blue Nexus 6 seemed good; the metal frame is a nice addition and the blue is really dark (or that could just be from memory). Not as bad as I was expecting. If you dropped it I think it would be less damaged than your iPhone 6+ or Nexus 5. Not a bad phone to hold either for it's size. The 10.1mm thick point however is a bit of a joke. The battery is very average and the camera could've easily fit into a 7-8mm thin body - in my opinion it is just too fat. It feels super fat and it looks super fat, next to the 6+. It just feels fat to me. My opinion. Also the rounded back makes it impossibly annoying to leave and using while resting on a table.
Build quality: Seems like 7.5/10 - materials do not feel or look as good as an iPhone 6+ but feel better than the Note 4.
Thickness: 1/10 - really did not like it at all, it just felt thick to me. This is my personal opinion however!
CAMERA:
Fast, good quality and an improvement on the Nexus 5. HDR+ is still too slow for quick use. I thought the stock camera app was extremely underwhelming. Hardly any good options and no RAW photos out of the box. The video mode I did not try apart from 4K (which was not as good as the Note 4). Standard pictures indoors in normal light were good, but not great. Note 4 and 6+ beat it hands down. No matter what picture I took with the Nexus 6 none impressed me that much. Shutter speed for normal photos was decent, but slower than the iPhone 6+ (noticeably, especially when the camera occasionally lost focus and tried to refocus - it took about 2 seconds on average when this happened). Also, for the sheer size of the phone I was recommended by a photographer (my girlfriend) that the aperture could've easily been 1.2 to 1.5/3 for the size of the phone and that would've produced better images. She mentioned that the flashes overexposed my images (which they did when used) and that is due to being too close to the lens; also an xenon flash would've been a better choice for this phone.
Camera: 5.5/10 - good, improvement on the Nexus 5 but nothing to write home about. I'm sure with better software you will be able to use this camera well. I feel like it was let down by terrible software (this is 2014/15 guys...the camera software should be more optimised).
SOUND:
Speaker sound of course dominates the iPhone 6+ or Note 4; not as good as the HTC Boomsound but still loud and clearer then most phones I've used. Noticeable good loudspeaker sound when playing music back. I did not get to check what it sounds like when using speaker phone when making a call, but I assume stereo speakers for voice calls (loudspeaker) would be a great improvement. I think that my biggest problem is that they are ugly (the speaker grills) to me on the front of the device, but that is again a personal opinion. They work well.
The music player playback through headphones is NOT good. The volume is too low, the sound quality is average (a bit better than the Nexus 5 but not by much - 99% of people would not tell the difference). I used to work heavily in music production so I have an idea of what I'm talking about here. The music playback quality in the phone is not down to software (I'm sure software could help it a bit here) but hardware. I do not believe the phone has a dedicated music chipset (or whatever it is called) in the phone (correct me if Im wrong). The sound playback is not amazing and not premium. iPhone 6+ is better and even the Note 4 was better for playing music back through headphones.
SPEAKER QUALITY: 8/10
PLAYBACK (HEADPHONES) QUALITY: 4/10
SPEED AND OS:
The phone is faster than the Nexus 5 for normal use. I had heaps of windows open and no lag. Really smooth and the animations of the OS look great. Android 5.0 feels like they hired someone from Apple to improve the feel of the OS, without limiting your customisation options. It's great, so much better than Jelly Bean (which I'm currently using on my Galaxy Nexus). Sometimes when opening large apps (Asphalt 7: Heat) the phone slowed down noticeably. It look over 10 seconds to open this app, twice it didn't open after 10 seconds and crashed. There are some serious slow down issues with large apps here. These issues did not exist on the Note 4. In terms of everyday use - if you are coming from a stock, clean Nexus 5 - you will not notice a huge speed difference, if any. From memory the Nexus 5 was just as quick in everyday use (phone calls, text messages, accessing the gallery). The Nexus 6 might be quicker but not enough to make a lasting impression. This is just down to the RAM/Snapdragon 805 combo - yes it is the latest from snapdragon but not as snappy as the iPhone 6+ (which feels a bit more streamlined and quicker). The Note 4 felt slower than the Nexus 6 though overall, but not by much. As I said above, despite feeling a little heavier than the Nexus 6, it was faster to open apps (sometimes significantly faster).
OS: 8/10 - great step up from previous Android OS versions.
SPEED: 7.5/10 - a quick phone, but has serious slow down issues.
BATTERY:
From an hour of use I can't tell how good it is but it did dip nearly 30% from my use with it which included web browsing, photos, music playback and some video watching as well as a phone call. The call quality was normal, I didn't have a problem with it. Volume was good too (but that could just be because I was indoors with minimal environmental sounds bothering me). I can't rate the battery based on this brief amount of time with it however I do suspect that if you used this phone heavily you will not get more than 15 hours of use; screen on time of more than 5 hours - I can't see it lasting. Competitively the Note 4 that I've used lasts about 5.5 hours with heavy use and constant screen on time, the iPhone 6+ lasted well over the 6 hour mark. I was left with an impression that the battery should've could've been bigger in this phone.
CONCLUSION:
I didn't spend long with this phone but from what I can tell it was good. It was NOT worth the $970+ for the 64gb version here in Australia (delivered, off-contract price). This felt like a solid $500 phone. Yes it was overall better than the Nexus 5, but it was not that much better. It was not $570 better than the Nexus 5. Sorry to say it, but it is true. I liked it better than the Note 4 but that is because I hate TW. If the Note 4 was stock Android, the Nexus 6 wouldn't survive. The iPhone 6+ (I've never liked iOS) held its own against the Nexus 6 in terms of camera quality, screen quality, premium looks/feel and speed.
I was planning to buy three Nexus 6 phones (one for me, one for my girlfriend and one for my mother). I purchased her a 6+ because I couldn't wait around for its release. Still in the market to buy myself a new phone and my girlfriend a new phone. The Nexus 6 is not in our price range or scope. Too expensive and not enough phone for the price. If you are talking pure specs - Asian phones (VIVO etc) offer the same processor/RAM combo with 8mp FF camera with flash and 16MP rear facing camera with dual LED flash in a waterproof body thinner than 7mm with a battery 3500-3900mh. Let's ignore the OS on the Asian phones as you can easily install stock Android onto them (the Chinese dev community for them is huge) - just focusing on hardware. You are trying to tell me that some Asian manufacturer can produce overall better specs in a phone and sell for $300 cheaper (for me) than Google can? What a load of BS. Google should've tried harder and put more into it for the price. Software is good, but it fails in big departments (e.g. camera).
Yes this is a long conclusion but this is a conflicted phone. I wanted to love it and spend my money on it but for what it is, I can't do that. The stock OS is nice but not worth so much money. I don't have money to burn and so I cannot afford to burn what I have on a phone which makes me feel like they held back...more than they should have.
If you want stock Android experience I can't tell you to buy the Nexus 6 as the Nexus 5 would do the same job for you. Sure the camera and battery is worse on the Nexus 5 but I would still go with it. Hold out with that phone for a few months until the Nexus '7' (or whatever the next stock Android phone is called) gets released. The Nexus 6 just is not worth all that extra money for the upgrades it has. Good phone, nice phone, solid and I like the 6 inch screen but not nearly a $1,000 phone at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting review. Did you try the N5 with 5.0? It runs even faster than on 4.4 and possibly loads faster than the N6 since there's no encryption, though there are still some compatibility issues with certain apps and ART which the N6 would also share.
@ spartanm99
You had the Nexus 6 for 1 hour. You don't own the Nexus 6 and won't based on your assertions. You do own a Note 4 and iP6 is that right?
While I appreciate your thorough and lengthy assertions it's hard to take them without a grain (large grain) of salt.
Curious, did you own the N5 ever?
bblzd said:
Interesting review. Did you try the N5 with 5.0? It runs even faster than on 4.4 and possibly loads faster than the N6 since there's no encryption, though there are still some compatibility issues with certain apps and ART which the N6 would also share.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never tried the N5 with 5.0 so I can't comment on that, just the 4.4.4 version
Interesting points though - thanks!
jbdan said:
@ spartanm99
You had the Nexus 6 for 1 hour. You don't own the Nexus 6 and won't based on your assertions. You do own a Note 4 and iP6 is that right?
While I appreciate your thorough and lengthy assertions it's hard to take them without a grain (large grain) of salt.
Curious, did you own the N5 ever?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the N6 for about an hour. You didn't like my review conclusions I'm assuming...My review is exactly what I experienced in an hour of use; the only thing that I can't talk much about is the battery.
You don't need a month or even three days to be able to tell someone how a phone operates in regards to:
- Sound quality (speaker)
- Music playback quality
- Taking pictures in one location (inside room, normal lighting)
- Taking 4K video in the same conditions
- App opening speed
- Overall OS speed and basic use
- Build & Design in hand
I can give a good idea of all this in an hour. Anyone can. These are basic points which can be experienced in an hour. The sound quality is not going to change in an hour if I kept the phone for a week. It will still sound the same. The app opening speed won't change either etc.
Absolutely take with a grain of salt as this is my detailed experience with the phone, but saying a large grain is a bit crude and just sounds like you don't like my opinion of a phone you likely paid for. I didn't pay, my review is not biased in any way and I have nothing to gain from writing something negative (or positive). Will I ever own a N6? Maybe, if it becomes cheap enough or if I am gifted one. This is just not a $1,000 phone (64gb for me is about that; 32gb is about $900 shipped) - plain and simple.
I do own a Nexus 5 (since launch); as per my sig. Yes I have experience with a N5.
spartanm99 said:
I never tried the N5 with 5.0 so I can't comment on that, just the 4.4.4 version
Interesting points though - thanks!
I used the N6 for about an hour. You didn't like my review conclusions I'm assuming...My review is exactly what I experienced in an hour of use; the only thing that I can't talk much about is the battery.
You don't need a month or even three days to be able to tell someone how a phone operates in regards to:
- Sound quality (speaker)
- Music playback quality
- Taking pictures in one location (inside room, normal lighting)
- Taking 4K video in the same conditions
- App opening speed
- Overall OS speed and basic use
- Build & Design in hand
I can give a good idea of all this in an hour. Anyone can. These are basic points which can be experienced in an hour. The sound quality is not going to change in an hour if I kept the phone for a week. It will still sound the same. The app opening speed won't change either etc.
Absolutely take with a grain of salt as this is my detailed experience with the phone, but saying a large grain is a bit crude and just sounds like you don't like my opinion of a phone you likely paid for. I didn't pay, my review is not biased in any way and I have nothing to gain from writing something negative (or positive).
I do own a Nexus 5 (since launch); as per my sig.
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Didn't mean to come off as crude that is the last thing I want to sound like. I think your opinion is just that, your opinion, and I neither like or dislike it. Sorry you took my reply the wrong way. 1 hour is not enough time in my opinion, even one day would not be enough time. That is my opinion. Thanks for your input
No Tech Blogs. i.e. I don't care about objective reviews, I only want to hear 100% positive responses and live in a positive feedback loop where all my Nexus 6 buddies and me circlejerk. I claim the phone's qualities are subjective, but then dismiss all negative opinions as those by a bunch of phonies and not "real" and far below mine.

Nexus 5x I am positive about this phone.

I just thought to counterthread underwhelmed thread. At the end of the day it all boils down to personal needs and little of common sense because new phone seems to be pretty awesome and I mean that.
It's from google so you will have timely updates and your phone will not go into oblivion with updates. Phone is developer very friendly and popular you can tinker it till you die.
RAM problem?! Maybe for some if you hardcore appsumers that don't bother to disable/switch off them once in the while.
Snapdragon 808 such a flop! It's 2015 ! 810 still does a better job when throttles blah blah blah.... C'mon this phone will fly and it's not like you are going to run touchwiz. I currently use Moto G 3 Gen 2GB version and it flies ! Yes it flipping snappy and responsive and I don't play games either. I got like 5-7 chrome windows opened, few apps in the background , VLC player on hold and that little thing is supper great.
1080 FHD screen. I think its heaven unless you do VR stuff and pixels bother you fair enough but for everything else 1080 is sweet hell of the spot and sharp . Also no extra strain for GPU and battery. Panel should be great just as on Nexus 5 and probably better given it's 2015.
I am all the way about IPS panels for few reasons even best S6 amoled panel on basic mode produces dull yellowish whites (sRGB colour space) I don't like wide gammut like Adobe RGB , apart from work I occasionally do, I have no interest in it and even then it looks so unnatural to me eye. Another thing about amoled is gamma which is higher than 2.2 and leaves dark shadows with indistinguishable gradient. It just turns dark and black.
Camera should be nice so in the low light. I shouldn't worry too much about EIS my guess it will have some sort of digital control and I also heard it can be done on the phone in the post ( correct me if I am wrong) So far still samples look really nice in both light conditions.
I like C type cable because I had Iphone 6 and it was so cool just to stick charging cable into phone without any second thought.
One thing I am pretty sure many of you are not aware is front facing camera on 5x has larger aperture at 2.0f while 6p only 2.4f. I don't personally bother about wireless charging because C connection makes it so easy and hassle free to do charging. 5' screen is fine but a little extra at 5.2' is ideal. It comes as perfect media and pocketable device.
Storage wise yes I would prefer 64 GB but 32 will do. And sure they are suckers like apple when giving you an option of 16GB just to piss you off so you can pay extra 50 to buy 32GB version.
I can only say look what apple does with it's hardware...
Edit: Another reason I don't get 6P is the size. Flipping ell nearly 16cm long. Will you get me a new pair of hands too ?
Fingers crossed this phone will be solid and trouble free. 3 times knock on the wood.​
Totally with you on this one. I'm coming from a Note4 after 2 faulty N6's forced me away from Nexus. From a hardware point of view the 5x will be a downgrade but, in every day use it will actually perform better. It's proven in my old N5 which is used by another family member. Every time I get to play with it I consider asking for it back as its still really smooth and even worked better than the N6 in some respects. The Ram on the 6P will be maxed out pushing pixels and the lager battery will be feeding this process so it's not going to be super amazing. Anyone who has the N6 or a Note 4 can tell you that. Some like bigger and powerful phones for games and media and each to their own on that. I want a phone that lasts a day, takes decent enough pictures, and works well with no issues. I have other dedicated devices for everything else.
Just ordered one. I currently have a S6 edge, but I really miss the nexus experience and the 6P is too big for me. Messing with my old nexus 5 just made me want to use it again, but I wanted the fingerprint scanner, so the 5X it is!
Thank you so much for this post! I am also positive about the Nexus 5X
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This is my thoughts exactly. I think this will be a no frills, smooth phone. Not top specs, but solid enough. If the camera works out well and the battery lasts longer than my Moto X Pure, then I think this will be my next phone. User experience is more important than specs to me.
I also hate AMOLED, not a good experience with the Galaxy Nexus nor the S4 and I've heard bad things about the first two Moto X and Nexus 6 screens...
Yes, I would have preferred 64, but I can learn to be frugal with storage.
Lots of *****ing & moaning about the 5X, but what alot of people don't realize is that the 5X will be alot faster than the G4 & Moto X Pure/Style because it's using a 1080p screen, wouldn't be surprised if it keeps up with the 810 in some test's, 1080p is plenty sharp enough, and being IPS display rather than AMOLED means no burn in problems in the future.
Now onto memory.
2GB on Marshmallow will be more than enough, due to optimization in Android 6.0, I can bet my house & car it run just as smooth as the 6P or other phones with 3GB or 4GB of ram, it is stock Android after all not bloated to high heaven.
Storage.
This i think is the only let down with this phone it should have been 32GB base & 64GB, 16GB these days isn't enough more so without micro SD.
Wireless charging.
Not something i would miss tbh, never used it on the Nexus 5 & don't use it on the Nexus 6, mainly because it was slow to charge & the phone would get hotter ie probably shorting the life of the battery over time.
Camera
It has the same camera as the 6P so no corner cutting in this department, it will have the best camera to date on a Nexus device, not having OIS is abit of a let down tbh & only being F2.0 on the lens, even with the bigger pixels on the sensor it still struggle sometimes in low light, if the lens had been F1.8 then it would have been better while having no OIS.
Also having a better Battery & USB type C are another plus to the 5X.
All in all the 5X will be a superb smartphone, the price in a few months will come down as well as more retailer get the hands on it.
@ixon2001 for storage, I will add on that you can buy one of those sandisk type c flash drives. There's another 32gb of external storage
With regards to the camera, the only questionable thing is will it have any type of stabilization. I know there is no EIS, but it is very odd if it did not have some form of stabilization, even if it isn't of the highest quality
The only thing that worries me in this phone is that 808. I've read that this series of chips has overheating problems, is that true? If so, what's the solution? Either way, I don't see a better phone for me in the market, I seriously hate almost everything that isn't Nexus. Kinda starting to sound like an Apple fanboy but the Nexus version of that, haha.
Bei60 said:
The only thing that worries me in this phone is that 808. I've read that this series of chips has overheating problems, is that true? If so, what's the solution? Either way, I don't see a better phone for me in the market, I seriously hate almost everything that isn't Nexus. Kinda starting to sound like an Apple fanboy but the Nexus version of that, haha.
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No the 810 had this overheating problems. Not the 808
Gesendet von meinem Nexus 7 mit Tapatalk
WingnutStrikesBack said:
No the 810 had this overheating problems. Not the 808
Gesendet von meinem Nexus 7 mit Tapatalk
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oh cool thanks
Bei60 said:
The only thing that worries me in this phone is that 808. I've read that this series of chips has overheating problems, is that true? If so, what's the solution? Either way, I don't see a better phone for me in the market, I seriously hate almost everything that isn't Nexus. Kinda starting to sound like an Apple fanboy but the Nexus version of that, haha.
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I've got the G4. The 808 is solid and flies. Wait for the 5X with stock 6.0 and 1080p, its gonna kill!
I'm mostly positive about the N5X.
I really wish they'd retained Qi charging. I became a believer in wireless charging when I got my HP Touchpad with Touchstone charger a few years back, and was really happy to see it in the Nexus lineup. Since the last three Android reference phones have had wireless charging, I thought Google had committed to it. I guess it was just a gimmick? Grrrr.....
But yeah - really looking forward to some Marshmallowey goodness on a new Nexus.
I'm in Canada, the only thing I miss is the cost due to our weak dollar. I feel happy LG is making another Nexus phone.
I was originally concerned about the battery size and 2Gb of RAM but I'm confident marshmallow will be more efficient.
Also I would estimate the battery life to be equal to the G4 because it's pushing less pixels and yet has a smaller battery.
It really sucks that we don't get the google play credit though. It says it right on the page when you buy it.
davidnnn said:
I was originally concerned about the battery size and 2Gb of RAM but I'm confident marshmallow will be more efficient.
Also I would estimate the battery life to be equal to the G4 because it's pushing less pixels and yet has a smaller battery.
It really sucks that we don't get the google play credit though. It says it right on the page when you buy it.
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Once the phone ships out, you'll get an email with a code for your Play Store credit
Sent from my Nexus 5
0.0 said:
Once the phone ships out, you'll get an email with a code for your Play Store credit
Sent from my Nexus 5
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That's great to hear!
Been looking at the chamfered polished edge bezel on the 6P, I tell you know that thing gonna scratch so easily even with just putting it in & out of a case.
It looks exactly like the Note 4's polished chamfered edge which had problems with scratching.
Those who gone for the 5X in a years time if they look after their phones, will still look good as new while the 6P will more than likely be scratched & pitted up to high heaven.
i never used wireless charging in my life. never considered it either. i wont miss it.
1 front-facing speaker - while a disappointment in itself, i never used a phone with dual frontfacing speakers. so from that point of view, the 5x is still an upgrade to my nexus 5.
i dont think i ever encountered ram-issues with the nexus 5. obviously 3 gb would have been nice, but i dont think this will affect my experience in any way. (maybe on android n? who knows)
snapdragon 808 - the nexus 5 is the strongest phone i've ever used, and the 808 is an upgrade to the 5s 800.
camera - it can only go up. although the image quality itself was pretty good with the nexus 5. the biggest issue i had was the autofocus in darker conditions. i have the perfect shot lined up, focused, sharp and crisp, i tap the camera button - the phone unfocuses and takes a blurred shot. what the ****.
all in all it might be a rather small upgrade for a big price tag. but this time, i swear by me mum, i'm gonna use that sucker for the next 3-4 years or so. (like i did with my nexus s)
murfi said:
i never used wireless charging in my life. never considered it either. i wont miss it.
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You don’t know what you’re missing—maybe being ignorant is bliss for you.
BinkXDA said:
You don’t’ know what you’re missing—maybe being ignorant is bliss for you.
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No need for that. I, myself, have not tried wireless charging and was planning to on one of these two devices (til I canceled my order), but with turbo charging I don't think I even want to try it. Plus, can't really use your phone while charging wirelessly. I'm one of those that many times my phone gets very low and I use it while charging. Turbo charging is more beneficial for me; I don't think not using wireless charging makes us ignorant. Have a good one

The One still a GREAT phone almost two years later

The One still a GREAT phone almost two years later; ( my opinion )
I'll make this short, I got the OPO back in late Summer 2014, after replacing my damaged HTC One M8 ( which I LOVED, and converted to GPE ) The Kit Kat ROM's were awesome on the OPO, giving me like crazy 7h Screen On time, I liked the shape and design of the phone, it sort of seemed like a Nexus 5-1/2, the Nexus phone Google would have made after the Nexus 5, if they didn't go Motorola. The OPO has a sort of Galaxy Nexus + Nexus 5 combo design going on, in a good way.
Yeah I hate OPO's invite system, and all the BS within the company, and to be honest the OnePlus Two does ZERO for me, I have no interest in that phone whatsoever. Seems like a side grade at best to the OPO. Plus not a fan of the SD810, so put me down as a OnePlus Two hater
Since I bought the OPO I have had the iPhone 6 Plus ( Jailbreaked, just to try out a big iPhone and the JB scene, but iOS blows IMO, ran back to Android less than a month later ) Then I bought the Nexus 6 which I liked a lot, especially stock Android and AOSP ROM's, but the Nexus 6 was really crossing that border for me size wise, just too wide. And now I currently have the Note 5, running a good custom ROM. The Note 5 surprised me, as I typically don't like Touchwiz, but with a good ROM, it really is fast and smooth, and of course the screen and camera are #1.
My point here is, I still kept my OnePlus One as a back up phone, but for a long while was left in a drawer for months, so I dusted it off, and installed Sultan's CM13 ROM, and holy ****, I forgot how much I liked this phone, and the stockish vanilla Android type OS of CM13 vs. Touchwiz is so nice. I am SIM swapping between my OPO and Note 5 every few days, I really like the OPO still, even compared to my Note 5. Yes of course the Note 5 is a better phone no doubt. But here's something special about this OPO, like the old EVO 4G thanks to XDA that lived on a very long time, this OPO is one of those few special phones, with the help of the great development community will live a long life. Plus the hardware is still pretty fast in the OPO, it's not like a slow turtle or something.
I hated the OnePlus Two, but the One X really surprised, looks like a great phone. I am very optimistic on the OnePlus Three now, if they can design it sort of after the One X, similar build quality and design, but with the SD820 + 4GB RAM, with a 5.5" screen, and keep the price around the $400 range or so, it could be another killer phone.
Since 2007 I have owned 4 phones (N95, HTC Desire, Galaxy Nexus, OnePlus One), you have managed that in the time i've had my OnePlus One lol.
Not enough changes even every two years to really justify a new phone these days, I still consider the OnePlus to be one of the best phones out today. Sure some phones are a bit better, however for me the battery life is amazing, the phone is really fast, has a nice camera and plenty of storage. I personally don't need anything else!
I'd personally be happy using the OnePlus as my main phone for another couple of years yet!
I used to say the same thing until i moved to a Nexus 6 some time ago. Only then i could see what an average phone the OPO is.
I still have my OPO but i see no point in using it.
Average in comparison with nexus 6 ? Are u serious ?
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
What ROM are you running on the Note 5?
Yes. In normal day usage its average per comparison.
The screen is worst, i have actually better battery on the Nexus, better feel on the hand, larger screen, better official support, better community, better roms, better hardware, fast charging, wireless charging, dude the list goes on.
The opo is an average phone in comparison with the Nexus.
That's why mine is on the drawer, getting dust. If it was a better phone i would be using it and not the Nexus.
lordneopt said:
Yes. In normal day usage its average per comparison.
The screen is worst, i have actually better battery on the Nexus, better feel on the hand, larger screen, better official support, better community, better roms, better hardware, fast charging, wireless charging, dude the list goes on.
The opo is an average phone in comparison with the Nexus.
That's why mine is on the drawer, getting dust. If it was a better phone i would be using it and not the Nexus.
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Then you suddenly remember, (for me in Australia anyway) my OPO was $413 shipped, a Nexus 6 (not 6P) now is $849, and when they were the "latest Nexus" they were $949. And in the US the OPO is $299 and the N6 is $699... So looking at that, the Nexus 6 has a bigger screen (higher resolution, but bigger, so doesn't really matter anyway..), fast charging (eh can charge my OPO from 0-90% in just under 60 minutes anyway so..), clearly didn't have the bamboo back in regards to better feeling in the hand, better community is completely subjective to the user, as is better ROM's, better hardware is again subjective. The OPO has a better camera (5mp front vs 2mp) and can record in up to 1440p on the front camera, and 4K DCI on the back, not just 4K UHD. Battery life is again, subjective, but with a slightly bigger battery but a larger screen I expect the difference to be negligible at best. The OPO and N6 have the same amount of RAM. The processor, is better, but more importantly the GPU, but then with the 1440p screen the GPU needs to be considerably better.
I'd say average is an overstatement.
Vekhez said:
Then you suddenly remember, (for me in Australia anyway) my OPO was $413 shipped, a Nexus 6 (not 6P) now is $849, and when they were the "latest Nexus" they were $949. And in the US the OPO is $299 and the N6 is $699... So looking at that, the Nexus 6 has a bigger screen (higher resolution, but bigger, so doesn't really matter anyway..), fast charging (eh can charge my OPO from 0-90% in just under 60 minutes anyway so..), clearly didn't have the bamboo back in regards to better feeling in the hand, better community is completely subjective to the user, as is better ROM's, better hardware is again subjective. The OPO has a better camera (5mp front vs 2mp) and can record in up to 1440p on the front camera, and 4K DCI on the back, not just 4K UHD. Battery life is again, subjective, but with a slightly bigger battery but a larger screen I expect the difference to be negligible at best. The OPO and N6 have the same amount of RAM. The processor, is better, but more importantly the GPU, but then with the 1440p screen the GPU needs to be considerably better.
I'd say average is an overstatement.
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In the US the Nexus 6 is going for between $300 - $350 for the 64GB at the moment, the prices have really gone down cause of the 6P. Just a correction with the pricing. In my country it goes for $500 for 32GB Nexus 6 cause they're really rare
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Vekhez said:
Then you suddenly remember, (for me in Australia anyway) my OPO was $413 shipped, a Nexus 6 (not 6P) now is $849, and when they were the "latest Nexus" they were $949. And in the US the OPO is $299 and the N6 is $699... So looking at that, the Nexus 6 has a bigger screen (higher resolution, but bigger, so doesn't really matter anyway..), fast charging (eh can charge my OPO from 0-90% in just under 60 minutes anyway so..), clearly didn't have the bamboo back in regards to better feeling in the hand, better community is completely subjective to the user, as is better ROM's, better hardware is again subjective. The OPO has a better camera (5mp front vs 2mp) and can record in up to 1440p on the front camera, and 4K DCI on the back, not just 4K UHD. Battery life is again, subjective, but with a slightly bigger battery but a larger screen I expect the difference to be negligible at best. The OPO and N6 have the same amount of RAM. The processor, is better, but more importantly the GPU, but then with the 1440p screen the GPU needs to be considerably better.
I'd say average is an overstatement.
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Nowdays, didn't said when the opo got released. Ofc the Nexus 6 was a very expensive device, it is also a more premium device.
Nowdays the opo is average and the Nexus is way, and i put WAY better and fairly the same price. I saw no point in paying full price when the Nexus 6 got out but nowdays you can have a top notch phone for less than 300 bucks.
And all the rest is just you making peanuts based on nothing, the Nexus as far as my experience goes is way better. You are trying to justify based on nothing.
As i have both i can opinate. Battery life is better on the Nexus, you can read reviews and shiz but they cant properly compare devices. I was getting under 5 hours of sot with my opo and i get over 5 hours now with just a kernel flashed. So, no, its not just negligible because you saw the battery numbers.
I dont like wood backs, and i do not need that for a phone to feel better. I have that stock on the Nexus 6. The metallic ring does wonders, no wood back can do that.
Also the camera, i'm sorry but everyone who says the opo camera is better is out if his mind. They both have average cameras but the Nexus is better, i can take better low light photos and HDR+ makes all the diference when capturing this, also ois helps, things that, wait, do not compute hardware side on the opo. The front facing camera performs equally better for the tasks i use it for, unlocking and some hangouts. Hell i can say the Nexus front camera doesnt do so much miss and run unlocking, but can be software side changes also. And im not even going to talk about the horrible halo effect due to the flash over exposing on the opo camera, i tried every single camera app/rom to avoid this but every one failed, the one that the halo was less noticeable was sultans ROM due to the changes be made to the hal. But even then i could notice some over exposure when using flash on dark places.
Moving on..
The screen isnt just bigger its BETTER. Better and noticeable contrast ratio, collors, deep darks, higher res that is noticeable, and yes, bigger.
The gpu isnt marginaly better, its awsomely better on the Nexus. The same games i used to get sutters on the opo doesnt sutter on the Nexus, its not just bechmarks, even pushing a way lot more pixels.
Also the sound, i forgot to mention. No point arguing here, the Nexus isnt boomsound but its a world better than the opo. Front fireing speaks are way better than bottom ones. You dont even know what you are loosing until you try it.
So, yes, nowdays the opo is average. Im sorry if you have to justify you have a top notch phone because you havnt. There are way better alternatives nowdays.
PS: Fast charging does make diference, i dont know you try to dismiss that as a very positive point. And i can also wireless charge it, but i guess thats just comodities that i like to have.
lordneopt said:
Nowdays the opo is average and the Nexus is way, and i put WAY better and fairly the same price. I saw no point in paying full price when the Nexus 6 got out but nowdays you can have a top notch phone for less than 300 bucks.
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"top notch" is definitely an arguable claim, the camera was, less than stellar on the Nexus 6 and the hardware has aged with 64-bit now in play, alongside the new Snapdragon 808 and 810.
lordneopt said:
And all the rest is just you making peanuts based on nothing, the Nexus as far as my experience goes is way better. You are trying to justify based on nothing.
As i have both i can opinate. Battery life is better on the Nexus, you can read reviews and shiz but they cant properly compare devices. I was getting under 5 hours of sot with my opo and i get over 5 hours now with just a kernel flashed. So, no, its not just negligible because you saw the battery numbers.
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? I do have the Nexus 6 and OPO? So, I can and will justify what I said on the fact that I have both devices.
As I have both I can opinionate, on KitKat I got 6-7h SOT consistently on LTE, and 8-9h SOT Wi-Fi without a problem, Lollipop in it's early days decreased that number to 3.5-4.5h LTE, 4-5 Wi-Fi however on my current ROM (Sultan's CM12.1 stable) I consistently get 5-6h SOT easy every day on 3G (at home so I don't have Wi-Fi and can't test). So yeah, battery life is much better compared to my 6, which gets maybe 3.5-4.5h SOT on stock rooted with FK on LTE, and max 5.5H SOT with Wi-Fi low brightness etc.
lordneopt said:
I dont like wood backs, and i do not need that for a phone to feel better. I have that stock on the Nexus 6. The metallic ring does wonders, no wood back can do that.
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Again, I think that feeling completely comes down to personal preference. To be honest I don't particularly like metal phones, I own a slew of devices (Z3 Compact, Z5 (gave to Dad), Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Note 2, Moto X 2013, Moto X 2014, Nexus 6, OPO, Nexus 5, HTC One M8 (sold to brother), HTC One M9(gave to Mum)) and I hands down prefer a plastic phone to metal, I don't know why but I just don't like the feel of metal, the S6 is okay, but phones like the M8 and M9 I can't handle, and the N6 was borderline for me.
But I do understand that I am in the minority so whatever.
lordneopt said:
Also the camera, i'm sorry but everyone who says the opo camera is better is out if his mind. They both have average cameras but the Nexus is better, i can take better low light photos and HDR+ makes all the diference when capturing this, also ois helps, things that, wait, do not compute hardware side on the opo. The front facing camera performs equally better for the tasks i use it for, unlocking and some hangouts. Hell i can say the Nexus onde doesnt do so much miss and run unlocking, but can be software side changes also. And im not even going to talk about the horrible halo effect due to the flash over exposing on the opo camera, i tried every single camera app/rom to avoid this but every one failed, the one that the halo was less noticeable was sultans ROM due to the changes be made to the hal. But even then i could notice some over exposure when using flash on dark places.
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The OPO on Sultan's ROM has an incredible camera, using the Snapdragon Camera app or Camera FV-5 (fixes the "horrible halo" in manual mode, however I really don't use the flash anyway..) I can consistently take a photo that I am happy with, I mean it's no S6, but it by no means takes bad photos either. Why the Nexus 6 does have a good camera, the Moto G this year is using the same sensor, basically sums it up, within 12 months the camera had moved from a $700 phone to a $200 phone.
lordneopt said:
The screen isnt just bigger its BETTER. Better and noticeable contrast ratio, collors, deep darks, higher res that is noticeable, and yes, bigger.
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The screen on the 6 is nicer than the OPO, however I find the cool colours of the OPO actually nicer than the panel on the 6. I also have a slightly modified screen profile on my phone so that might make all the difference. Deep blacks are due to the AMOLED, and owning both AMOLED and IPS phones I do prefer IPS, however again, that is totally a personal preference thing and I understand you may think differently.
lordneopt said:
The gpu isnt marginaly better, its awsomely better on the Nexus. The same games i used to get sutters on the opo doesnt sutter on the Nexus, its not just bechmarks, even pushing a way lot more pixels.
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The GPU is better yes, but I don't use my phone for games, at all, never have and probably never will. So if you want to wear the better GPU crown, you totally can.
lordneopt said:
Also the sound, i forgot to mention. No point arguing here, the Nexus isnt boomsound but its a world better than the opo. Front fireing speaks are way better than bottom ones. You dont even know what you are loosing until you try it.
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This is true as well, front facing speakers are great, but then again, I don't really use the speakers on my device, I either use my earphones, my computer which has much superior sound anyway, or Bluetooth Audio in my car, there is never really a time when I want to use the speaker on my phone. But I will say I've never had a "problem" with the sound on the OPO.
lordneopt said:
So, yes, nowdays the opo is average. Im sorry if you have to justify you have a top notch phone because you havnt. There are way better alternatives nowdays.
PS: Fast charging does make diference, i dont know you try to dismiss that as a very positive point. And i can also wireless charge it, but i guess thats just comodities that i like to have.
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I don't need to justify that I have a top notch phone, I very well know that I have a phone that was released almost 2 years ago, and I also know that I have the means to buy any phone of my choice right now, however, the OPO is still working for me so I'd rather buy something that I am actually going to use. I'll buy the OnePlus 3 on launch, and if that treats me well then great, and if it doesn't I'll probably buy next years Nexus devices. But in the same breath, the Nexus 6 is nothing amazing, it is well over a year old now, lacks some "crucial" things for a current top-notch smartphone, being a fingerprint scanner, 64-bit to name a few.
lordneopt said:
PS: Fast charging does make diference, i dont know you try to dismiss that as a very positive point. And i can also wireless charge it, but i guess thats just comodities that i like to have.
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PS: I know fast charging makes a difference, but to me, I charge my phone at night, and take it off at 7am, and put it back on at 12pm, and don't look at the battery percentage otherwise. I've used wireless charging once and thought eh and never used it again, but again, something some people want to use so whatever.
Renosh said:
In the US the Nexus 6 is going for between $300 - $350 for the 64GB at the moment, the prices have really gone down cause of the 6P. Just a correction with the pricing. In my country it goes for $500 for 32GB Nexus 6 cause they're really rare
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Click to collapse
Lucky I don't live in the US. Here it is still going for $849. I also can't get the Nexus 6 from the current deals as they refuse to ship to Australia. However, looking on Swappa I can get a OnePlus One, $150-180, saw one for $180 brand new in box. I do get that for the price the Nexus 6 is a killer deal, however it's not to say that you should throw whatever you have out the window, and there are just as good a deals around for other products, like the OnePlus One.
Stock, just a kernel i get over 5 hours sot, with the same usage on the opo not even close to that. So, in my opinion way, WAY better. Adaptative brightness on the Nexus with adaptative display always on. And i can't see how your results may vary but anyway, im a believer.
Premium materiais =/= your opinion. If you think having a metal ring arround the phone doesn't make it premium keeping it light than every manufacturer must have gone to the idiot side for using those.
No, the camera fv5 does not fix that. Paid version that i bought when they introduced RAW support for the opo. Im sorry but you are wrong (again), its a good app but the over exposure problem goes way deeper for a camera app to solve, it goes into a ****ty camera Hal and blobs. The sensor is good but the work done with it sucks ass. The photos low light on the Nexus are way better, normal light condition are equally better, i could post some examples but i dont have the time or need to do that. The camera api is also much better which makes you get better photos apps to take photos. Arguably i use the google camera for the HDR+ which no other camera app has and it totally makes the difference. You have no halo, less grainy photos.
The screen on the Nexus is better. For all those reasons and more make them a way better panel than the one on the One. Amoled pannels when used properly can help you produce better images and save power. Ips panels are good for true collor reproduction when properly calibrated, the one on the One is not. Problematic yellow tints and washed out collors, color shifting, grey mushy blacks, you name it. And no, i do not loose time messing with the settings to try and calibrate it when it was my daily driver. I only used the pre defined amoled settings on CM. The colors would pop out a bit more.
If you never had problems with the speakers on the opo you cearly do not use your phone. When im showing something to friends, and this happens allot, and we need sound for example, not giving out a pair if bt headsets to all of them. If im watching a tv show i rather have sound come from the phone, stereo sound.
I used to cover them all the time with the opo because if their bad placement. Not that it isnt better than the ones located on the back, but clearly problematic and worse.
The fast charging is needed for those who use their phones all the time. Sometimes i get home from work, i get my phone on the charger to boost its battery before going out for a coffee. Ofc if i do not use my phone, if i stay home i do not need fast charging because im close to a charger. But then again thats your problemas for not using the phone an not needing a well needed feature like fast charging. Also i installed a wireless charging pad on my car so no cables, couldnt have that before.
The rest is just peanuts, even your phone collection that you may or may not have had is peanuts to me. Im not bragging about the phones i had because when i move i move to a better one, i do not move to a crappier one.
What i have to say about that is, im happy with my Nexus 6 and its a well better device than the opo. It was a well needed upgrade on all meanings. Google device everyday over the opo at the moment. Oneplus is a crappy company with no support, they made a successull phone due to Cyanogen. Most devs are running away from this phone which will end up with a bad version of android, a version full of problems. So im not even interested in their Oneplus X A B or 3. I did not look at the Oneplus 2 because of that same reason, its a ****ty device with the lack of a proper os.
The fingerprint reader and the 64bit are arguably good features if you need them. The 64 bit is a double sided blade, instructions on the VM can be bigger but you need more RAM to take advantage of that, maybe in some years you can see a practical bebefit for that. But even then you wont run high memory desktop apps on your phone. The fingerprint reader i would like to havê as a gimmick, does nothing on my country (no Android pay for example) and like i said i relly on having a pebble and face unlocking. Doesnt make a phone to be less of a top notch, pick your poison over the thousands of chinese phones that have those and suck ass (elephones and other crap).
Ofc you can have a different opinion but hardware/software comparison you cant deny its better. Or maybe you can trying to smooth things up with facts that are not facts with surreal opinions like saying: "oh yea i had this, that and that, and i know its supperior but im the minority thinking like this, oh well" (the i dont use the flash made me lol so hard).
The Nexus 6 as the price of today is more of device than the opo, better hardware and support. If you cant even acept this its your problem. But as you would say "meh meh i dont need good hardware/software support i dont use it".
Btw not going to answer anymore. Hardcore fanboysim is really hard to beat.
Be well, take care.
lordneopt said:
Stock, just a kernel i get over 5 hours sot, with the same usage on the opo not even close to that. So, in my opinion way, WAY better. Adaptative brightness on the Nexus with adaptative display always on. And i can't see how your results may vary but anyway, im a believer.
Premium materiais =/= your opinion. If you think having a metal ring arround the phone doesn't make it premium keeping it light than every manufacturer must have gone to the idiot side for using those.
No, the camera fv5 does not fix that. Paid version that i bought when they introduced RAW support for the opo. Im sorry but you are wrong (again), its a good app but the over exposure problem goes way deeper for a camera app to solve, it goes into a ****ty camera Hal and blobs. The sensor is good but the work done with it sucks ass. The photos low light on the Nexus are way better, normal light condition are equally better, i could post some examples but i dont have the time or need to do that. The camera api is also much better which makes you get better photos apps to take photos. Arguably i use the google camera for the HDR+ which no other camera app has and it totally makes the difference. You have no halo, less grainy photos.
The screen on the Nexus is better. For all those reasons and more make them a way better panel than the one on the One. Amoled pannels when used properly can help you produce better images and save power. Ips panels are good for true collor reproduction when properly calibrated, the one on the One is not. Problematic yellow tints and washed out collors, color shifting, grey mushy blacks, you name it. And no, i do not loose time messing with the settings to try and calibrate it when it was my daily driver. I only used the pre defined amoled settings on CM. The colors would pop out a bit more.
If you never had problems with the speakers on the opo you cearly do not use your phone. When im showing something to friends, and this happens allot, and we need sound for example, not giving out a pair if bt headsets to all of them. If im watching a tv show i rather have sound come from the phone, stereo sound.
I used to cover them all the time with the opo because if their bad placement. Not that it isnt better than the ones located on the back, but clearly problematic and worse.
The fast charging is needed for those who use their phones all the time. Sometimes i get home from work, i get my phone on the charger to boost its battery before going out for a coffee. Ofc if i do not use my phone, if i stay home i do not need fast charging because im close to a charger. But then again thats your problemas for not using the phone an not needing a well needed feature like fast charging. Also i installed a wireless charging pad on my car so no cables, couldnt have that before.
The rest is just peanuts, even your phone collection that you may or may not have had is peanuts to me. Im not bragging about the phones i had because when i move i move to a better one, i do not move to a crappier one.
What i have to say about that is, im happy with my Nexus 6 and its a well better device than the opo. It was a well needed upgrade on all meanings. Google device everyday over the opo at the moment. Oneplus is a crappy company with no support, they made a successull phone due to Cyanogen. Most devs are running away from this phone which will end up with a bad version of android, a version full of problems. So im not even interested in their Oneplus X A B or 3. I did not look at the Oneplus 2 because of that same reason, its a ****ty device with the lack of a proper os.
The fingerprint reader and the 64bit are arguably good features if you need them. The 64 bit is a double sided blade, instructions on the VM can be bigger but you need more RAM to take advantage of that, maybe in some years you can see a practical bebefit for that. But even then you wont run high memory desktop apps on your phone. The fingerprint reader i would like to havê as a gimmick, does nothing on my country (no Android pay for example) and like i said i relly on having a pebble and face unlocking. Doesnt make a phone to be less of a top notch, pick your poison over the thousands of chinese phones that have those and suck ass (elephones and other crap).
Ofc you can have a different opinion but hardware/software comparison you cant deny its better. Or maybe you can trying to smooth things up with facts that are not facts with surreal opinions like saying: "oh yea i had this, that and that, and i know its supperior but im the minority thinking like this, oh well" (the i dont use the flash made me lol so hard).
The Nexus 6 as the price of today is more of device than the opo, better hardware and support. If you cant even acept this its your problem. But as you would say "meh meh i dont need good hardware/software support i dont use it".
Btw not going to answer anymore. Hardcore fanboysim is really hard to beat.
Be well, take care.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strangely enough you are the fanboy. He just stated his opinions without necessarily attacking you and you feel the need to belittle him to make your argument sound better. I don't doubt the Nexus 6 is a great phone but claiming the OPO is average makes me believe you are really poor when it comes to judgement and based on this long ass post you made you proved this to be a fact.
Fingerprint reader isn't just for Android Pay its just another convenient way to unlock that is much more secure than current implementations. I agree Oneplus is a crappy company and the only reason I bought this phone is Cyanogenmod. Not interested in any their new units OP2 and OPX cause of closed source OS. Being a heavy user doesn't make you better and doesn't make your usage or battery stats or anything better. You don't have to insult or demean someone when they were just having a discussion with you.
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
Renosh said:
Strangely enough you are the fanboy. He just stated his opinions without necessarily attacking you and you feel the need to belittle him to make your argument sound better. I don't doubt the Nexus 6 is a great phone but claiming the OPO is average makes me believe you are really poor when it comes to judgement and based on this long ass post you made you proved this to be a fact.
Fingerprint reader isn't just for Android Pay its just another convenient way to unlock that is much more secure than current implementations. I agree Oneplus is a crappy company and the only reason I bought this phone is Cyanogenmod. Not interested in any their new units OP2 and OPX cause of closed source OS. Being a heavy user doesn't make you better and doesn't make your usage or battery stats or anything better. You don't have to insult or demean someone when they were just having a discussion with you.
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, he's a fanboy, saw that from post #1. I've worked with both phones, and even though the N6 is really good, the OPO is still an amazing device for it's age, calling it average is just plain dumb.
lordneopt said:
No, the camera fv5 does not fix that. Paid version that i bought when they introduced RAW support for the opo. Im sorry but you are wrong (again), its a good app but the over exposure problem goes way deeper for a camera app to solve, it goes into a ****ty camera Hal and blobs. The sensor is good but the work done with it sucks ass. The photos low light on the Nexus are way better, normal light condition are equally better, i could post some examples but i dont have the time or need to do that. The camera api is also much better which makes you get better photos apps to take photos. Arguably i use the google camera for the HDR+ which no other camera app has and it totally makes the difference. You have no halo, less grainy photos.
The rest is just peanuts, even your phone collection that you may or may not have had is peanuts to me. Im not bragging about the phones i had because when i move i move to a better one, i do not move to a crappier one.
The fingerprint reader i would like to havê as a gimmick, does nothing on my country (no Android pay for example) and like i said i relly on having a pebble and face unlocking.
Btw not going to answer anymore. Hardcore fanboysim is really hard to beat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't even care to argue about the cameras in word form, but I'll just show you some of the photos that I have taken in the last few weeks on my OPO; these images have been compressed twice, just as a side note (through Facebook Messenger because I don't have a microUSB cord on me at this moment, and then through imager.) I'd like to see if anyone is just looking at this, their thoughts on these photos, but I mean that's not required I quite like them and that's all that really matters.
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"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
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And sorry if I was "bragging" about my "fake" group of phones, it was more anecdotal evidence to say that I don't just have a sole phone and am trying to talk ****, but again if it's "fake" then who really cares, right?
Lol and I'd just like to quote some of this, "fingerprint reader is a gimmick, I "relly" on FACE UNLOCKING". that is all.
I would hardly say that I am a fanboy, and a hardcore one at that is just ridiculous, but whatever lets you go to sleep at night, I'd be looking in the mirror and wondering if you're a Nexus fanboy.
I love the fact that the OnePlus One has no boot chain verification, meaning I can modify the bootloader and other partitions on the phone.
InsaneNutter said:
Since 2007 I have owned 4 phones (N95, HTC Desire, Galaxy Nexus, OnePlus One), you have managed that in the time i've had my OnePlus One lol.
Not enough changes even every two years to really justify a new phone these days, I still consider the OnePlus to be one of the best phones out today. Sure some phones are a bit better, however for me the battery life is amazing, the phone is really fast, has a nice camera and plenty of storage. I personally don't need anything else!
I'd personally be happy using the OnePlus as my main phone for another couple of years yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought new OPO even when I'm owning s6, and I had one OPO already I just love this device!! I gave my old OPO to dad! even he loves it .. ( first touchscreen phone he has ever used! )
I can do nothing more than agree! I bought the phone one and a half years ago and it still feels very nice. I don't even think about getting a new phone for now.
The OPO will also have a long support life, thanks to XDA
Have to agree with this thread. Using the OPO for about a year now. I've been bitten by the upgrade bug, but don't really have a phone which has seriously drawn me to it within a decent price range. Maybe the 6P, but it's so expensive and I don't really gain that much in terms of tangible benefit.
lordneopt said:
Stock, just a kernel i get over 5 hours sot, with the same usage on the opo not even close to that. So, in my opinion way, WAY better. Adaptative brightness on the Nexus with adaptative display always on. And i can't see how your results may vary but anyway, im a believer.
Premium materiais =/= your opinion. If you think having a metal ring arround the phone doesn't make it premium keeping it light than every manufacturer must have gone to the idiot side for using those.
No, the camera fv5 does not fix that. Paid version that i bought when they introduced RAW support for the opo. Im sorry but you are wrong (again), its a good app but the over exposure problem goes way deeper for a camera app to solve, it goes into a ****ty camera Hal and blobs. The sensor is good but the work done with it sucks ass. The photos low light on the Nexus are way better, normal light condition are equally better, i could post some examples but i dont have the time or need to do that. The camera api is also much better which makes you get better photos apps to take photos. Arguably i use the google camera for the HDR+ which no other camera app has and it totally makes the difference. You have no halo, less grainy photos.
The screen on the Nexus is better. For all those reasons and more make them a way better panel than the one on the One. Amoled pannels when used properly can help you produce better images and save power. Ips panels are good for true collor reproduction when properly calibrated, the one on the One is not. Problematic yellow tints and washed out collors, color shifting, grey mushy blacks, you name it. And no, i do not loose time messing with the settings to try and calibrate it when it was my daily driver. I only used the pre defined amoled settings on CM. The colors would pop out a bit more.
If you never had problems with the speakers on the opo you cearly do not use your phone. When im showing something to friends, and this happens allot, and we need sound for example, not giving out a pair if bt headsets to all of them. If im watching a tv show i rather have sound come from the phone, stereo sound.
I used to cover them all the time with the opo because if their bad placement. Not that it isnt better than the ones located on the back, but clearly problematic and worse.
The fast charging is needed for those who use their phones all the time. Sometimes i get home from work, i get my phone on the charger to boost its battery before going out for a coffee. Ofc if i do not use my phone, if i stay home i do not need fast charging because im close to a charger. But then again thats your problemas for not using the phone an not needing a well needed feature like fast charging. Also i installed a wireless charging pad on my car so no cables, couldnt have that before.
The rest is just peanuts, even your phone collection that you may or may not have had is peanuts to me. Im not bragging about the phones i had because when i move i move to a better one, i do not move to a crappier one.
What i have to say about that is, im happy with my Nexus 6 and its a well better device than the opo. It was a well needed upgrade on all meanings. Google device everyday over the opo at the moment. Oneplus is a crappy company with no support, they made a successull phone due to Cyanogen. Most devs are running away from this phone which will end up with a bad version of android, a version full of problems. So im not even interested in their Oneplus X A B or 3. I did not look at the Oneplus 2 because of that same reason, its a ****ty device with the lack of a proper os.
The fingerprint reader and the 64bit are arguably good features if you need them. The 64 bit is a double sided blade, instructions on the VM can be bigger but you need more RAM to take advantage of that, maybe in some years you can see a practical bebefit for that. But even then you wont run high memory desktop apps on your phone. The fingerprint reader i would like to havê as a gimmick, does nothing on my country (no Android pay for example) and like i said i relly on having a pebble and face unlocking. Doesnt make a phone to be less of a top notch, pick your poison over the thousands of chinese phones that have those and suck ass (elephones and other crap).
Ofc you can have a different opinion but hardware/software comparison you cant deny its better. Or maybe you can trying to smooth things up with facts that are not facts with surreal opinions like saying: "oh yea i had this, that and that, and i know its supperior but im the minority thinking like this, oh well" (the i dont use the flash made me lol so hard).
The Nexus 6 as the price of today is more of device than the opo, better hardware and support. If you cant even acept this its your problem. But as you would say "meh meh i dont need good hardware/software support i dont use it".
Btw not going to answer anymore. Hardcore fanboysim is really hard to beat.
Be well, take care.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least according to this review's measurements, the OPO's screen is better in color accuracy than the Nexus 6
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8242/the-oneplus-one-review/2
And when I compare it with the same picture on my PC's IPS screen, it is pretty much comparable(the LG IPS236v produces slightly punchier reds than the OPO's screen).
Today, I will update my phone to CM13 by Sultan so I have the latest software! As a developer it's awesome to be able to get the state of the art software without restrictions.
Same opinion?

LeEco Le Max 2 6GB/64GB vs. Recent Flagship Phones - Some Guy's Review

PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with the LeEco Le Max 2 6GB version compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Max 2 for about 1/2 a week now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 3 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. LeEco Le Max 2 6GB
2. HTC 10
3. Huawei P9 4GB
4. LG G5
5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
6. Huawei Mate 8
7. Huawei Nexus 6P
8. LG Nexus 5X
9. Samsung Note 5
10. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Works with my Huawei Watch
6. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Max 2 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
Lets start out by saying that I'm not a person that needs a phone that has good external speakers... I really have no use for them and as long as they are loud enough for notifications then I'm cool. Also, I am not a cross-training adventure workout junkie that requires 3.5mm in order to do everything with my phone... I state this now so that I clear the air with the Max 2 being one of the first phones not to have a 3.5mm jack and require a CDLA to 3.5mm adapter or CDLA USB Type C Headphones... I think the Max 2 may even come with the adapter and since I so don't give a brown matter from my butt about it, I haven't even taken it out of its packaging. Personally, the only time I use headphones is skiing and I have bluetooth wireless headphones built into my helmet... and like someone in the 21st century I realize I can have wireless headphones. :good: Now, my main sound experience with the Max 2 is bluetooth to my 2016 HR-V. It connects with zero issues, phone and bluetooth audio both work great. As a bonus, the built-in Dolby ATMOS makes my otherwise tinny speakers without equalization sound great. It also doesn't detract from the volume output like other similar apps... It allows me to blast bassy metal to offend anyone I want, which is a great double bonus situation for me. Nothing like driving by a church blasting GHOST and having the lyrics Hail Satan play loud, clear and rockin' hahaha. Seriously though, in recent memory, this is the only phone from 2016 flagships I haven't had to use a workaround app that drastically decreases the volume. Now I will say that the Dolby ATMOS setting works a little wonky and easily resets itself if you enter into the sound settings or back out of sound setting after enabling... once you know about this though, it is easy to workaround just by hitting home button instead. For the external speaker people, the Max 2 is super loud and the speakers do sound crisp... I think it is stereo speakers as well, if you care about those things... bass-wise, the speakers are not the best but not bad also... definitely as good as of not better than the HTC 10 or LG G5.
WINNER: NO DOUBT SO FAR IN 2016 - LeEco Max 2
BATTERY
From my experience so far, I have had decent battery life out of the Max 2. 3100 mAh does seem a tad small for this larger phalet... but I'm yet to say that its a problem for me. Of recent phones, LG G5 has the worse battery life with the HTC 10 being next in line, then S7 rounded out at the top with the P9... The P9 has a Kirin processor so lets toss it out. Out of the Snapdragons I will say that with my usage so far the Max 2 matches the S7 with battery life from my usage. Max 2 has fast charge as well which helps keep it on par with the other 820's. Just yesterday, I used the Max 2 all-day no recharging with 2 heavy usage periods for a total of 3 hours plus of screen on time playing Clash Royale. The rest of the day was standard usage of checking emails, looking at some news items, etc. It lasted the whole day from 8:30am until 1am in the morning with 15% left. This was on wifi the whole time as well. I feel this adequately meets my needs to last a whole day without recharge (which rarely happens since I always recharge when in my car) with moderate usage all day long.
WINNER: It's close to call but since its the larger phone and still performs well even though no wireless charging - LeEco Max 2
HEAT
I have yet to see a real heat spike with the Max 2. I have heard reports of heat but maybe this is with the 4GB version. Since the lack of need to flush RAM or actively manage memory more critically with the greater space, this may play a factor. Not a super nerdy tech guru on this so someone that understands this more may have to chime in. I have also yet to place it in a what I like to call, a pocket burning situation like at a concert were I'm using the camera a lot, there's high tower saturation causing the radio to work more, etc. I can say the phone barely heated up trying to download a 1.5GB update on LTE... so I guess that says something right? The only other phone that runs this cool is the P9 with it Kirin processor... all the 820's run a little hot when taxed so I would not be surprised if the Max 2 was the same if push to limits. I can say that I have gotten overheat warnings on the S7 when setting up the phone and downloading copious amounts of data.... and my first G5 overheated that it caused an internal malfunction causing me to have to replace the phone under warranty. The HTC 10 seemed to be the coolest out of the other 820's I have tried.
WINNER: Still is the P9 however out of the 820's - LeEco Max 2
SNAPPINESS
I have explained in some of my other reviews, I like to talk about performance in terms of snappiness with normal day to day usage with the phone rather than throw up meaningless to most people AnTuTu stats or whatever. I am going on out on a limp here and saying that the Max 2 dominates of course due to 6GB of RAM... it's like pitting a turbocharged version of a car vs. its not turbocharge version... more under the hood most of the time leads to better performance. No loading issues, no lag from app to app. What I can say is that EUI is a fairly nice GUI take on Android, better than EMUI, but not as nice as the new HTC 10 Sense / Stock like interface. I however did my standard change of porting over the sense launcher to the Max 2 which I just love... as far as getting use to how things work, there is a lot of configuration that can be done with notifications, much like Huawei's EMUI interface that might make it off putting to some... I lucked out and the aliexpress merchant I bought the Max 2 from pre-loaded the Google App Store when I got the phone. I since did 2 updates (one I downloaded and force flashed myself, the other was through LeEco's update system directly) and the app store continues to work fine.... There are redundant apps for email, calendar, message, etc. to google versions... however most of these are built well enough that you might not want or need the google versions. Notifications seem to work OK although some do not like that it does not litter the top of your screen with icons for every single notification.... rather it just typically puts an icon with "..." and a circle at the top... takes a little to get use to, but with a notification LED as well, I think this bypasses this small issue for some. :laugh: Also, people are starting to create ROMs for it and it is easily rootable albeit in Chinese at first, so you can definitely get more out of it with some tweaking.... haven't heard if they released Kernels yet. But it is only a matter of time given it popularity in China.
WINNER: Maybe just because of the 6GB but still... LeEco Le Max 2
DISPLAY
This to me is one of the areas much like sound where if it is not screwing up the way I use the phone then I care less about stuff like resolution. If someone can truly tell a load of difference between QHD, SuperHD, 1080p, etc. etc. good for you. Here what I can say. The Max 2 screen is great! Plus, its the largest compared to the other Flagships I have tried... forgot how nice it is to use a larger phone... It does not suffer from which ultimately made me get rid of the HTC 10 from the screen polarization being applied wrong causing you not to be able to use it outdoors with sunglasses on.... I know right... major f-up IMO that HTC 10 did... I couldn't see it in my car with sunglasses on, too annoying for me. Thankfully, don't have to worry about this with the Max 2 even with a tempered glass screen protector. Since it is somewhat screen related, I can say that the fingerprint sensor is something to be desired. Its slow, sometimes taking 3 tries for it to read properly... I have tried multiple times to reprogram and it does not help. Definitely the G5 and P9 beat it hands down when talking about rear facing fingerprint sensors... Even touchwiz laggy S7 sensor beats it. Hopefully, updates help with this. Like capacitive buttons it has, in the configuration I like with back button on left... apps button also reveals the control center feature on the Max 2... similar to Apples swipe up control center... not placing these toggles in the notification panel is a fresh take on using these toggles and I like it... Color balance seems good on the phone as well if you care about those things... No Always-On feature for the Max 2 either but not a huge deal with a configurable notification LED.
WINNER: The S7 still has the best "looking screen"; G5 has the best always-on screen - Max 2 is ok but not the best in this class of phones.... Does get bonus points for the control center feature and correctly orientated IMO capacitive buttons
PHONE DESIGN
The Max 2 is a good looking phone especially with a premium metal chassis... I do have to say that I had to get the "Gold" version of the phone since it was the only one available at this point in the 6GB Version... I use "gold" here loosely as like other can report... gold is actually rose gold... not that rose gold is bad, but a pinkish phone for a guy is not cool... No matter, I got a Matte black hard case today the covers the back and pretty much takes care of the covering most of the pinkish gold exterior.... I believe there will be other colors out there soon but I could not wait any longer... Camera and button placement is nice. Phone feels great in hand. Although bigger than the other 2016 Flagships, its not gargantuan either... doesn't feel like putting a tablet up to your ear like other phalets can feel like. Pretty thin too and not overly heavy. The biggest design issue is of course no SD Card add-on memory since the SIM tray only accommodates dual SIMs. At 64GB, this isn't an issue for me as I don't save a lot to my phone and jam pack it with needless stuff. The fingerprint sensor is in a good natural position albeit if it only worked on the first try... Its not like Megan Fox / Candice Swanepoel good looking phone rather more like Melissa Benoist / Kate Upton good looking. You ain't going to wake up after a long night of drinking and go "my god... what did I do..." but you are also not getting the top of the heap in design characteristics either. It's nice looking but not someone you'd use your "hall pass" on over your wife, if you get my point..." Notification LED work great and should be noted as not being blinding at night like others can be.... looking at you HTC 10... I like no 3.5mm jack since I don't use it anyway... less holes to get dirt into... in this case, having less holes to stick stuff into wins out!!! :silly:
WINNER: Still S7 for overall design, wireless charging, etc. - Your not bad Max 2, but pinkish gold is makes my balls instantly shrink!!!
CAMERA
Another big deal for some but not really a huge concern for me is the camera on smartphones... Personally and I have gone over the reasons time and time again, I went to school for photography and have used some really great cameras, film and digital. So when you start looking at smartphone cameras, even in 2016, it is still hard to compare to the output of an actual camera. With that said, there is no real gimmick with the Max 2... looks to be an alright camera that I will post examples later of. Doesn't have "superpixels", low light lens, dual lens, etc, etc. etc. It will take pictures decently and in most cases that's all you need it to do. I can say that it does have one of my major pet peeves when it comes to the camera app in video mode... no focus lock.... honestly who uses always on auto focus in video mode.... looks like a bad wedding video... when you are recording something that you are a fixed distance away, like a concert lets say, you don't need for it to re-focus... it annoying. So, I am going to cut this section short and just say, the Max 2 has a camera, its nothing special and if you are ok with a no gimmick no frills nexus like camera than its absolutely fine for what its supposed to do.... :highfive:
WINNER: S7 for low-light, G5 for wide angled, P9 for dynamic range; HTC 10 for camera app & Max 2 for no frills OK no gimmicks camera
CONCLUSION
For my daily usage case, the Max 2 is great! When you consider that it outperforms in most cases phones that are $200 - $400 more than what it costs... It tends to soften the negatives. I think for me the greatest of which is the current functionality of the fingerprint sensor... I hate struggling to get it to read than having to still punch in a pin when it fails. Besides this, all the othe negatives are minor. Camera - its really ok just nothing special. Color - if you can wait, you can get a more manly color unless you want to go with the 4GB version (you can get different colors now). EUI - definitely not as big of a learning curve as EMUI but it does take a little bit of commitment to get use to all the customization you can do. Looks like LeEco plans to release updates frequently since there has been at least one since it released in May... Yeah, it doesn't have a headphone jack... grow up and get with the 21st century... hahaha. To get a 6GB phone, under $500, 64GB internal is not too shabby. Would it be stellar with a SD Card add-on, yep it sure would but I can make do without having the SD Card in most cases unless I really started ROM-ing and backing up TWRPs with it.... I think if you are looking for a good, well performing phone at a good price with some decent specs and killer sound, this does the trick, most definitely. Could it be better, you betcha... but I can say that for any of the 2016 Flagship phones. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guy's Opinion... :good:
Good review, makes it sound really awesome. My experience is very different.
I have the 6GB version and its regularly becoming warm.
Sound is ok, but Huawei Mate 8 is a different class altogether (better).
As a mid level budget phone the Eco Max 2 is very clearly on the cost performance side.
But I think the battery softens its advantage.
The hardware specs on the Max 2 are all top class, but there is definitely muuuch room for improvement. On the paper the network is Cat 12, but tell you the truth in daily usage it doesnt differ speed to Huawei Mate 8. Same for the user experience speed.
Also its not funny if the phone reboots occasionally
LeTV has fixed some of the issues with the upcoming EUI 5.8 release, but they need to do more !!
If you are thinking about getting it and tweaking it for your local marcet you have to do little homework with Google playstore etc. Its a gadget for geeky power users, but not mainstream user, to many changes required.
EverPing said:
Good review, makes it sound really awesome. My experience is very different.
I have the 6GB version and its regularly becoming warm.
Sound is ok, but Huawei Mate 8 is a different class altogether (better).
As a mid level budget phone the Eco Max 2 is very clearly on the cost performance side.
But I think the battery softens its advantage.
The hardware specs on the Max 2 are all top class, but there is definitely muuuch room for improvement. On the paper the network is Cat 12, but tell you the truth in daily usage it doesnt differ speed to Huawei Mate 8. Same for the user experience speed.
Also its not funny if the phone reboots occasionally
LeTV has fixed some of the issues with the upcoming EUI 5.8 release, but they need to do more !!
If you are thinking about getting it and tweaking it for your local marcet you have to do little homework with Google playstore etc. Its a gadget for geeky power users, but not mainstream user, to many changes required.
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Click to collapse
Funny mine never rebooted once. No heat even under load. No big modifications to get google play. Mine was stock and able to OTA... Google Play just took a simple APK download and agreeing to "unknown sources." Yes, its not a consumer mainstream phone outside of China... however doing a review on XDA, pretty much means its a review for a more "geeky" crowd easily capable of simple APK downloads from shared sources mentioned at least 10 different times in 10 different posts in this forum. The Huawei Mate 8 succeeds because of Kirin... however of 820's and at this price point, its hard to beat... maybe only by OP3 once they figure out the RAM Management. The camera is better on the Mate 8 but it's not as good as the P9... Plus all in all, its just as difficult to install the Play Store on the Mate8 & P9... both phones I owned and sold, as I was able to get just as good as and somewhat better phone for $200 to $300 cheaper. In the states, all these phones max out our 4G LTE networks so seeing any major difference between the P9, Mate8 and the Max 2 in modem performance is minor. Once again, OGO
Thanks for the feedback, maybe I am just unlucky this time. The apk's I downloaded from apkmirror etc don't seem to work on my Chinese version max 2. I also tried Xiaomi installer version 2, Opengapps, LeTV Playstore zips for same.
I think in terms of price LeTV has found a sweet spot in the marcet, but overall the software quality is just not there yet. However the upcoming update will fix some of it.
Hi,
Thanks for the review. Could you tell me if it has MHL ?
Regards
I tried with my MHL-Adapter, which is working fine with LETV LE 1 (X600). Didn´t work ...
Ok, thanks for the info. MHL is so usefull when you want to see a film at the hotel...
I think it should have MHL (I might have found this hint in some descriptions) but actually it is not working (for me?)...
Having been in IT, the first thing you learn is most problems are usually user problems. Most of the issues that I have come up against are problems of my own doing. For example, some thing may not work because I deleted a necessary file in my quest to remove Chinese Le-bloat. So it has been trial and error. I installed the CM 13 yesterday, but didn't like the tinny sound the speakers were making. Went back to the dev 5.8 stock, installed Google play and a few apps and it's running like a charm. I have not experienced any overheating issues. This phone does everything that one does with a phone very well. I sure you can find an individual that does intense things on their device, but for the average user that surfs the web, watches you tube, plays a few games, sends/reads email and IM's others, this phone is hard to beat. This morning I had an antutu of 140491, which is pretty good considering I only have the 4/32 GB version. Can you say fast phone?!
Hi,
I may add a comparison to a phone that can be considered as the direct competitor to the Le 2 Max : the One+ 3.
There is one area where the Le 2 Max clearly wins : it's the display. I don't care about 2k or FHD. It's hard to tell the difference in real life anyways. But I'm talking about brightness and legibility in sunny daylight conditions. And there, there is no question : the Le 2 Max is superior to the OP3, even after OP3 released the new display drivers that improves things on the brightness side...
And the 0.2" more is a nice addition too... Really noticeable when you used the LeEco for several days and you then go back to OP3
But apart from that (which is really important I admit it), the Le 2 Max is lagging behind in almost every other aspect...
BATTERY LIFE : OP3 wins without a question...In really heavy usage (GPS + BT active +display on all the time) I get about 3h45minutes of battery life with the LeEco... and about 5h30 in the same conditions with the OP3. That's almost 50% better battery. Think the 2K display has a cost unfortunately
SNAPPINESS : the LeEco is OK. But once you compare it to the OP3, the overall feeling is clearly pointing into the OP3 direction !!! And just install a custom ROM like Tipsy, and your device seems to fly, when the Le Eco seems to walk
HEAT : under the heavy usage conditions I described before, the LeEco gets mildly hot. It's much cooler than the Nexus 5 used to be in the same conditions( where it lasted about 1h40 on battery !). But the OP3 is simply almost cool. On that side, OP3 wins...
SOUND : I admit that I don't give a **** about sound coming from the speakers. But on phone calls OP3 clearly wins. On Le 2 Max I have a "ghost sound". I seem to hear everything I am saying to the other person like he has a loudspeaker on. Doesn't happen on OP3.
CAMERA : I am not a great camera user. But both deliver pictures that are good enough for me. But I must say it's difficult to tear them apart
FINGERPRINT SCANNER : it's adictive to use on OP3 because fingerprint is recognized in a fraction of a second and is ALWAYS recognized. I cannot count the times I left my finger on the finger print scanner for seconds before it decided to consider it has to recognize a finger... and then I would say about 30% of the time it doesn't recognize my finger print on first attempt, and about 15% of the time it doesn't recognize it at all so I have to fire it up with the power key and pattern.
DEVELOPMENT : It seems LeEco has no intention at all to consider those phones as an important part of their business. Look at their website : they're ahrdly advertised. Go to their forums : there no activity. An official from LeEco shows up about once every 3 weeks. All in all, discussion and support are simply dead. All tehy keep saying is "Stay tuned, we have a lot to unveil"... but no date nor nothing ! And after 4 months of phone existence what do we have : a tweaked Stock ROM and a CM13 build that is obviously not really actively developped. After 3 weeks of existence, OP3 has tweaked stock ROM, CM13 and 3 derivatives, 3 or 4 AOSP derivatives and just recevied multi ROM... So all problems may have a fix some day... There's really little hope to have that with LeEco
Even CM13 builders doesn't publish their github source which would allow to work on other ROM's...
PERFORMANCE : not that I really care about benchmarks... as I am convinced that 3k or 4k points in Antutu will go unnoticed in real life. But on the OP3 if I run several Antutu tests in a row, I have only a really slight variation in results It goes from 142k to 136-138k on 3rd/4th pass. On x820 results vary from 140k (generally on first pass) and then sink to 110k (sometimes even less) on third/fourth pass... And that sounds really weird to me : maybe there's a throttle on the phone ?
ALL IN ALL : I'd love to keep the LeEco because of it's display. But considering all the "cons" it has, I am afraid it will soon join an ad site for used devices And that's a shame because with a little support from it's manufacturer, it would be THE device to keep
So LeEco : if you hang around here sometime, show us some love and release official device trees.
Well said and your comments are spot on @NexusPenguin
Le needs to release kernel sources to their phones to survive in this industry. They absolutely do not want to go down Xiaomi's footsteps.
If they don't release device trees, most people will simply not buy their Le Max 3 or whatever they release next. Simple to earn bad-will and buey themselves to ground.
it is definitively fast but....
Dear jim262,
it is really fast. With Google Keyboard app, not debloated and after autoupdate to EUI 5.8.016S mine had a Antutu v6.2.1 of 139.159
But:
- I Need a international ROM
- why can´t the user decide wether he want´s the LeTV Software on it or not? So debloate that phone. I don´t want a fixed button on the Screen wich leeds to Chinese Websites. Unfortunately I can´t speak/read Chinese.
- The cam should have more Software ability to take pics with lower size. Actual it doesn´t allow less than 8 MP`s
jim262 said:
Having been in IT, the first thing you learn is most problems are usually user problems. Most of the issues that I have come up against are problems of my own doing. For example, some thing may not work because I deleted a necessary file in my quest to remove Chinese Le-bloat. So it has been trial and error. I installed the CM 13 yesterday, but didn't like the tinny sound the speakers were making. Went back to the dev 5.8 stock, installed Google play and a few apps and it's running like a charm. I have not experienced any overheating issues. This phone does everything that one does with a phone very well. I sure you can find an individual that does intense things on their device, but for the average user that surfs the web, watches you tube, plays a few games, sends/reads email and IM's others, this phone is hard to beat. This morning I had an antutu of 140491, which is pretty good considering I only have the 4/32 GB version. Can you say fast phone?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LeTvNewby said:
Dear jim262,
it is really fast. With Google Keyboard app, not debloated and after autoupdate to EUI 5.8.016S mine had a Antutu v6.2.1 of 139.159
But:
- I Need a international ROM
- why can´t the user decide wether he want´s the LeTV Software on it or not? So debloate that phone. I don´t want a fixed button on the Screen wich leeds to Chinese Websites. Unfortunately I can´t speak/read Chinese.
- The cam should have more Software ability to take pics with lower size. Actual it doesn´t allow less than 8 MP`s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the roms are international roms with the ability to select language when you start.
Yeah, the phone is not a Galaxy S7 killer but I don't think we ever had such a device ~$250 on the market. Oneplus One might have been the only thing that came close but now their devices cost ~400€.
It doesn't have any real weaknesses, only a few things like the camera and software are mid-to-high end.
Clearly we'll see a drop in smartphone prices in the coming years, users won't pay 700€ anymore if you can get the latest for less. And these cheap manufacturers will catch up to Samsung and co. eventually.
mahst68 said:
PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with the LeEco Le Max 2 6GB version compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Max 2 for about 1/2 a week now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 3 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. LeEco Le Max 2 6GB
2. HTC 10
3. Huawei P9 4GB
4. LG G5
5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
6. Huawei Mate 8
7. Huawei Nexus 6P
8. LG Nexus 5X
9. Samsung Note 5
10. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Works with my Huawei Watch
6. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Max 2 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
Lets start out by saying that I'm not a person that needs a phone that has good external speakers... I really have no use for them and as long as they are loud enough for notifications then I'm cool. Also, I am not a cross-training adventure workout junkie that requires 3.5mm in order to do everything with my phone... I state this now so that I clear the air with the Max 2 being one of the first phones not to have a 3.5mm jack and require a CDLA to 3.5mm adapter or CDLA USB Type C Headphones... I think the Max 2 may even come with the adapter and since I so don't give a brown matter from my butt about it, I haven't even taken it out of its packaging. Personally, the only time I use headphones is skiing and I have bluetooth wireless headphones built into my helmet... and like someone in the 21st century I realize I can have wireless headphones. :good: Now, my main sound experience with the Max 2 is bluetooth to my 2016 HR-V. It connects with zero issues, phone and bluetooth audio both work great. As a bonus, the built-in Dolby ATMOS makes my otherwise tinny speakers without equalization sound great. It also doesn't detract from the volume output like other similar apps... It allows me to blast bassy metal to offend anyone I want, which is a great double bonus situation for me. Nothing like driving by a church blasting GHOST and having the lyrics Hail Satan play loud, clear and rockin' hahaha. Seriously though, in recent memory, this is the only phone from 2016 flagships I haven't had to use a workaround app that drastically decreases the volume. Now I will say that the Dolby ATMOS setting works a little wonky and easily resets itself if you enter into the sound settings or back out of sound setting after enabling... once you know about this though, it is easy to workaround just by hitting home button instead. For the external speaker people, the Max 2 is super loud and the speakers do sound crisp... I think it is stereo speakers as well, if you care about those things... bass-wise, the speakers are not the best but not bad also... definitely as good as of not better than the HTC 10 or LG G5.
WINNER: NO DOUBT SO FAR IN 2016 - LeEco Max 2
BATTERY
From my experience so far, I have had decent battery life out of the Max 2. 3100 mAh does seem a tad small for this larger phalet... but I'm yet to say that its a problem for me. Of recent phones, LG G5 has the worse battery life with the HTC 10 being next in line, then S7 rounded out at the top with the P9... The P9 has a Kirin processor so lets toss it out. Out of the Snapdragons I will say that with my usage so far the Max 2 matches the S7 with battery life from my usage. Max 2 has fast charge as well which helps keep it on par with the other 820's. Just yesterday, I used the Max 2 all-day no recharging with 2 heavy usage periods for a total of 3 hours plus of screen on time playing Clash Royale. The rest of the day was standard usage of checking emails, looking at some news items, etc. It lasted the whole day from 8:30am until 1am in the morning with 15% left. This was on wifi the whole time as well. I feel this adequately meets my needs to last a whole day without recharge (which rarely happens since I always recharge when in my car) with moderate usage all day long.
WINNER: It's close to call but since its the larger phone and still performs well even though no wireless charging - LeEco Max 2
HEAT
I have yet to see a real heat spike with the Max 2. I have heard reports of heat but maybe this is with the 4GB version. Since the lack of need to flush RAM or actively manage memory more critically with the greater space, this may play a factor. Not a super nerdy tech guru on this so someone that understands this more may have to chime in. I have also yet to place it in a what I like to call, a pocket burning situation like at a concert were I'm using the camera a lot, there's high tower saturation causing the radio to work more, etc. I can say the phone barely heated up trying to download a 1.5GB update on LTE... so I guess that says something right? The only other phone that runs this cool is the P9 with it Kirin processor... all the 820's run a little hot when taxed so I would not be surprised if the Max 2 was the same if push to limits. I can say that I have gotten overheat warnings on the S7 when setting up the phone and downloading copious amounts of data.... and my first G5 overheated that it caused an internal malfunction causing me to have to replace the phone under warranty. The HTC 10 seemed to be the coolest out of the other 820's I have tried.
WINNER: Still is the P9 however out of the 820's - LeEco Max 2
SNAPPINESS
I have explained in some of my other reviews, I like to talk about performance in terms of snappiness with normal day to day usage with the phone rather than throw up meaningless to most people AnTuTu stats or whatever. I am going on out on a limp here and saying that the Max 2 dominates of course due to 6GB of RAM... it's like pitting a turbocharged version of a car vs. its not turbocharge version... more under the hood most of the time leads to better performance. No loading issues, no lag from app to app. What I can say is that EUI is a fairly nice GUI take on Android, better than EMUI, but not as nice as the new HTC 10 Sense / Stock like interface. I however did my standard change of porting over the sense launcher to the Max 2 which I just love... as far as getting use to how things work, there is a lot of configuration that can be done with notifications, much like Huawei's EMUI interface that might make it off putting to some... I lucked out and the aliexpress merchant I bought the Max 2 from pre-loaded the Google App Store when I got the phone. I since did 2 updates (one I downloaded and force flashed myself, the other was through LeEco's update system directly) and the app store continues to work fine.... There are redundant apps for email, calendar, message, etc. to google versions... however most of these are built well enough that you might not want or need the google versions. Notifications seem to work OK although some do not like that it does not litter the top of your screen with icons for every single notification.... rather it just typically puts an icon with "..." and a circle at the top... takes a little to get use to, but with a notification LED as well, I think this bypasses this small issue for some. :laugh: Also, people are starting to create ROMs for it and it is easily rootable albeit in Chinese at first, so you can definitely get more out of it with some tweaking.... haven't heard if they released Kernels yet. But it is only a matter of time given it popularity in China.
WINNER: Maybe just because of the 6GB but still... LeEco Le Max 2
DISPLAY
This to me is one of the areas much like sound where if it is not screwing up the way I use the phone then I care less about stuff like resolution. If someone can truly tell a load of difference between QHD, SuperHD, 1080p, etc. etc. good for you. Here what I can say. The Max 2 screen is great! Plus, its the largest compared to the other Flagships I have tried... forgot how nice it is to use a larger phone... It does not suffer from which ultimately made me get rid of the HTC 10 from the screen polarization being applied wrong causing you not to be able to use it outdoors with sunglasses on.... I know right... major f-up IMO that HTC 10 did... I couldn't see it in my car with sunglasses on, too annoying for me. Thankfully, don't have to worry about this with the Max 2 even with a tempered glass screen protector. Since it is somewhat screen related, I can say that the fingerprint sensor is something to be desired. Its slow, sometimes taking 3 tries for it to read properly... I have tried multiple times to reprogram and it does not help. Definitely the G5 and P9 beat it hands down when talking about rear facing fingerprint sensors... Even touchwiz laggy S7 sensor beats it. Hopefully, updates help with this. Like capacitive buttons it has, in the configuration I like with back button on left... apps button also reveals the control center feature on the Max 2... similar to Apples swipe up control center... not placing these toggles in the notification panel is a fresh take on using these toggles and I like it... Color balance seems good on the phone as well if you care about those things... No Always-On feature for the Max 2 either but not a huge deal with a configurable notification LED.
WINNER: The S7 still has the best "looking screen"; G5 has the best always-on screen - Max 2 is ok but not the best in this class of phones.... Does get bonus points for the control center feature and correctly orientated IMO capacitive buttons
PHONE DESIGN
The Max 2 is a good looking phone especially with a premium metal chassis... I do have to say that I had to get the "Gold" version of the phone since it was the only one available at this point in the 6GB Version... I use "gold" here loosely as like other can report... gold is actually rose gold... not that rose gold is bad, but a pinkish phone for a guy is not cool... No matter, I got a Matte black hard case today the covers the back and pretty much takes care of the covering most of the pinkish gold exterior.... I believe there will be other colors out there soon but I could not wait any longer... Camera and button placement is nice. Phone feels great in hand. Although bigger than the other 2016 Flagships, its not gargantuan either... doesn't feel like putting a tablet up to your ear like other phalets can feel like. Pretty thin too and not overly heavy. The biggest design issue is of course no SD Card add-on memory since the SIM tray only accommodates dual SIMs. At 64GB, this isn't an issue for me as I don't save a lot to my phone and jam pack it with needless stuff. The fingerprint sensor is in a good natural position albeit if it only worked on the first try... Its not like Megan Fox / Candice Swanepoel good looking phone rather more like Melissa Benoist / Kate Upton good looking. You ain't going to wake up after a long night of drinking and go "my god... what did I do..." but you are also not getting the top of the heap in design characteristics either. It's nice looking but not someone you'd use your "hall pass" on over your wife, if you get my point..." Notification LED work great and should be noted as not being blinding at night like others can be.... looking at you HTC 10... I like no 3.5mm jack since I don't use it anyway... less holes to get dirt into... in this case, having less holes to stick stuff into wins out!!! :silly:
WINNER: Still S7 for overall design, wireless charging, etc. - Your not bad Max 2, but pinkish gold is makes my balls instantly shrink!!!
CAMERA
Another big deal for some but not really a huge concern for me is the camera on smartphones... Personally and I have gone over the reasons time and time again, I went to school for photography and have used some really great cameras, film and digital. So when you start looking at smartphone cameras, even in 2016, it is still hard to compare to the output of an actual camera. With that said, there is no real gimmick with the Max 2... looks to be an alright camera that I will post examples later of. Doesn't have "superpixels", low light lens, dual lens, etc, etc. etc. It will take pictures decently and in most cases that's all you need it to do. I can say that it does have one of my major pet peeves when it comes to the camera app in video mode... no focus lock.... honestly who uses always on auto focus in video mode.... looks like a bad wedding video... when you are recording something that you are a fixed distance away, like a concert lets say, you don't need for it to re-focus... it annoying. So, I am going to cut this section short and just say, the Max 2 has a camera, its nothing special and if you are ok with a no gimmick no frills nexus like camera than its absolutely fine for what its supposed to do.... :highfive:
WINNER: S7 for low-light, G5 for wide angled, P9 for dynamic range; HTC 10 for camera app & Max 2 for no frills OK no gimmicks camera
CONCLUSION
For my daily usage case, the Max 2 is great! When you consider that it outperforms in most cases phones that are $200 - $400 more than what it costs... It tends to soften the negatives. I think for me the greatest of which is the current functionality of the fingerprint sensor... I hate struggling to get it to read than having to still punch in a pin when it fails. Besides this, all the othe negatives are minor. Camera - its really ok just nothing special. Color - if you can wait, you can get a more manly color unless you want to go with the 4GB version (you can get different colors now). EUI - definitely not as big of a learning curve as EMUI but it does take a little bit of commitment to get use to all the customization you can do. Looks like LeEco plans to release updates frequently since there has been at least one since it released in May... Yeah, it doesn't have a headphone jack... grow up and get with the 21st century... hahaha. To get a 6GB phone, under $500, 64GB internal is not too shabby. Would it be stellar with a SD Card add-on, yep it sure would but I can make do without having the SD Card in most cases unless I really started ROM-ing and backing up TWRPs with it.... I think if you are looking for a good, well performing phone at a good price with some decent specs and killer sound, this does the trick, most definitely. Could it be better, you betcha... but I can say that for any of the 2016 Flagship phones. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guy's Opinion... :good:
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot this is thorough.. Impressive stuff
I really like my Le Max2. It's not perfect, but no phone is. It is certainly a fast and powerful phone. No lag and handles everything I throw at it with ease. Antutu scores of over 140K are crazy in a $230 device!! I am enjoying its audio output and have been mostly very impressed with the photos I have taken so far. The fingerprint scanner is very fast and reliable for me. I quite like eui as it is fairly light and has some very useful features, especially for power management (I have generally been getting 5 to 7 hours SOT). This is my first 2K display phone, and the clarity is fantastic. The black levels are good, and the colours are vibrant. Probably my main criticism of the phone is the viewing angles and max brightness level of the display. Colour shifting is pronounced when viewing at any angle much off straight, and the max brightness is just OK - I would like to be able to crank it up a fair bit more at times.
kanagawaben said:
I really like my Le Max2. It's not perfect, but no phone is. It is certainly a fast and powerful phone. No lag and handles everything I throw at it with ease. Antutu scores of over 140K are crazy in a $230 device!! I am enjoying its audio output and have been mostly very impressed with the photos I have taken so far. The fingerprint scanner is very fast and reliable for me. I quite like eui as it is fairly light and has some very useful features, especially for power management (I have generally been getting 5 to 7 hours SOT). This is my first 2K display phone, and the clarity is fantastic. The black levels are good, and the colours are vibrant. Probably my main criticism of the phone is the viewing angles and max brightness level of the display. Colour shifting is pronounced when viewing at any angle much off straight, and the max brightness is just OK - I would like to be able to crank it up a fair bit more at times.
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Click to collapse
Anything special you did to improve fingerprint response
Mine does work but it becomes unresponsive if not used for a while but after first unlock the consecutive ones are fast
Which rom are you on?
Did you never had any fingerprint problem?
[email protected] said:
Anything special you did to improve fingerprint response
Mine does work but it becomes unresponsive if not used for a while but after first unlock the consecutive ones are fast
Which rom are you on?
Did you never had any fingerprint problem?
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Click to collapse
I am currently using the Parasite debloated version of S19. I have also used Cuoco92, stock Chinese 17S and 19S, and Indian 16S. Haven't had the slightest problem with fingerprint on any of them. I always register two with the same finger (my right index) and the other with my left index. I'd say it is 99% accurate - it really only misses if I put my finger in at a very weird angle or move it too much. Fast too, not instant but pretty near it - less than a count of one.
kanagawaben said:
I am currently using the Parasite debloated version of S19. I have also used Cuoco92, stock Chinese 17S and 19S, and Indian 16S. Haven't had the slightest problem with fingerprint on any of them. I always register two with the same finger (my right index) and the other with my left index.
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So you never have problems like the fingerprint doesn't recognize the first touch?
Or after all night standby the fingerprint takes a few seconds to unlock?
Do you think my fingerprint problem is hardware?
I bought it like 2 weeks ago I can return?
But it's a really good phone for the price
Only things that annoy me is fingerprint and lack of custom rom support both of which letv is to blame
[email protected] said:
So you never have problems like the fingerprint doesn't recognize the first touch?
Or after all night standby the fingerprint takes a few seconds to unlock?
Do you think my fingerprint problem is hardware?
I bought it like 2 weeks ago I can return?
But it's a really good phone for the price
Only things that annoy me is fingerprint and lack of custom rom support both of which letv is to blame
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Click to collapse
Honestly never. Scanner has been rock solid for me. What ROM are you on?

Touch sensitivity a little low as compared to other phones?

Has someone noticed that the touch sensitivity on this phone is a little low as compared to other phones especially Samsung flagships like Note 3, 4 and 5?
I came from a Samsung Note 5 to Mi A1 and facing this touch issue especially in the bottom right corner of the touch screen. It takes just a little more effort than usual to register a touch.
Is it just me or could it be a software bug? I'm on January patch of OREO update, btw.
Tried calibrating the touch with calibration app as well as SGS booster but neither has helped!
Any help would be highly appreciated.
Thankyou.
hamzam4lik said:
Has someone noticed that the touch sensitivity on this phone is a little low as compared to other phones especially Samsung flagships like Note 3, 4 and 5?
I came from a Samsung Note 5 to Mi A1 and facing this touch issue especially in the bottom right corner of the touch screen. It takes just a little more effort than usual to register a touch.
Is it just me or it could be a software bug? I'm on January patch of OREO update.
Tried calibrating the touch with calibration app as well as SGS booster but neither has helped!
Any help would be highly appreciated.
Thankyou.
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Click to collapse
I've not found any issues (came from a Nexus 6) but only had the phone since yesterday
Not issues here...it works flawlessly! just a little slow when "pinch to zoom" in camera pics... i have a Galaxy Note 8, and MI A1 is a budget phone... i don`t feel a lot of difference...but, remember, a Flagship is a Flagship.. MI A1 is a very good phone...thats a lot cheaper...so, there will be allways differences between them!
Haizum74 said:
I've not found any issues (came from a Nexus 6) but only had the phone since yesterday
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Click to collapse
Friend, what are the general impressions in relation to Nexus 6, since I have it and I am interested in, because i was thinking about buying. I 'm pretty satisfied with n6 for 3 years. Thanks :highfive:
nemanja066 said:
Friend, what are the general impressions in relation to Nexus 6, since I have it and I am interested in, because i was thinking about buying. I 'm pretty satisfied with n6 for 3 years. Thanks :highfive:
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Click to collapse
I am very, very impressed so far. I wasn't expecting much but its a really good phone (for the third day of ownership). It's narrower than the N6 which makes it easier to use one handed and I have large hands. Screen is fantastic too, obviously its 1080p but it's on par with the N6 for colour and clarity anbd not too far off its weight either. Definitely worth getting a cover for it too.
Battery life has been great, had two days out of it so far with 34% charge left but I am not a heavy user (no gaming etc) so it is going to vary. Updated to Oreo and that's buttery smooth. I was going to root and install the Gcam but to be fair, photos are really not as bad as I have read and even indoors with little light they are not as terrible as I expected. One thing I found fun was taking a selfie and it guesses your age and sex when its looking at you. Gimmicky but hey.
Sound wise from the speaker, it's a little tinny, certainly not as good as the N6, it doesn't sound as natural but it is still not the worst I have listened to. I do get a very small amount of hissing noise from the headphones too, but again nothing to be complaining about.
One thing I forgot to do was when my network sent my internet settings, I didn't reboot the phone and I was puzzled for a few minutes as to why I couldn't load Google maps and use that. So if you do buy, don't forget.
So, definitely worth the purchase buddy.

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