Overall love - LG G7 ThinQ Real Life Review

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the LG G7 ThinQ, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the LG G7 ThinQ is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Just picked up 2 of these on T-mobile's BOGO sale. So far, I'm really enjoying the hardware. The phone is slick looking and feels solid. The interface and apps are snappy. The camera hardware is great, the software for it has room for improvement. The only thing I'm not grooving on is LG's android skin. A lot of it seems unnecessary, over-complicated, and doesn't match up visually with stock Android. The screen is great so far, no light bleed or polarization problems I remember from my last LCD screen. The colors are vibrant and true and the display is bright with a dim, always-on option. I am sad that it's not VR/Daydream compatible because of the screen (so I've read, anyway), but I honestly don't remember the last time I've used either of those on our Google phones (Coming from Nexus 6P and Pixel XL). At full price these might not have been my first choice, but the BOGO offer made them a no-brainer. So far, pretty happy with the purchase. Time and use will tell if I'll ultimately be content with the camera and get over the weird LG skin.
Oh, and yeah, case these babies up. They feel like nice solid phones but ultimately are mostly glass that LOVES to grab your fingerprints and put them on display. I just washed my hands and wiped my phone down. Pick it back up, already it's covered in prints and smudges.

I pre ordered mine in Canada as it came with a 43" 4K LG TV gift. +$700 value so it was a 'no-brainer' purchase for me too.
Had G6 and loved its wide angle cam and customized it to my liking.
G7 screen is beautiful! In my experience OLED phones suffer screen burn after a year or 2, esp. with white theme of vanilla android. So, im happy w the LCD and its full rich color spectrum. It pops and is bright.
The notch is a welcome as it is bones real estate for notifications. Nothing lost and 100pixels gained.
Form factor is ideal. So lightweight yet solid and shiny. I thought my box was empty when i purchased it.
LG skin/launcher sux. Hate it. I Dont mind the LG settings / phone app. And props to LG for switching to stock android messaging.
What I do to improve my phone:
1 - put on pixel 2 launcher:
*it*ub.com/amirzaidi/launcher3/releases - props Amir! Outstanding. Supports substratum.
2 - Dark LG Theme
3 - XDAs Gestures Navigation
With these small adjustments makes G7 the best LG has to offer and top 5 mobile device available today

I love everything about it. The LG skin is meh, but regardless I use nova launcher anyway. My only issue atm is the bottom firing speaker. It sounds great and all, but I accidentally cover it a lot and also coming from Sony phones, stereo speakers will be missed. I would have also preferred if the volume buttoms were more centered. Holding it in landscape, my left pinky is always hitting the volume by accident.

I'm usually not a fan of LG but so far this phone is a major Go! I can easily see myself not going back to my S9 plus. LG really nailed the little things on this one. Nice premium feel, satisfying haptic feedback yes the vibrations on this thing are as good as any iPhone. This is something that no android maker actually got until now. I remember the buzzy, tinny feeling of the oneplus 3 and even the Xiaomi mix 2, definite turn offs. They build on everything they got right with the G6. Not a big fan of the UI but it's still a lot better than the previous iterations.
So far what I don't like is the lack of dual speakers, sure the bottom firing speaker is loud and layed flat on hard surface this phone sounds amazing, however most of my media consumption is done when I wake up. So lying in bed watching YouTube this amazing speaker is pointless. The s9 actually remembers the volume of my Bluetooth devices so that when I put in my wireless earbuds my head doesn't explode because I had the volume cranked all the way up in my car. The G7 has no such function. Small potatoes though, definitely not a deal breaker. Still running it through its paces but so far, I'm impressed.
Sent from my LGE LM-G710 using XDA Labs

Coming from a pixel 2 XL I've really enjoyed the phone so far. Hardware wise the phone is a major hit, premium look and feel that makes my pixel feel cheap in comparison. Two concerns so far are subpar battery life, and the camera software. Coming from my pixel I feel those are two downgrades but literally everything else is an improvement by a long shot.
Additionally the phone has great haptics, and fantastic audio quality from the headphone Jack. Awesome phone especially with the BOGO deal on T-Mobile.

i'm wubbin it. camera isn't nearly as sharp as the s9+ i had for a week, but it doesn't overexpose every other pic like the sammy did. i thought i would hate the notch, but it has grown on me and makes more sense now that i've used it for a bit. i find myself using the boombox feature quite often. display is SUPER crisp and colors are perfect. it's hard to believe this is an LCD panel. if you told me it was OLED i would have to look pretty hard to see a difference. battery life has been really good for 3000mah. can't wait for LG to iron out all the small bugs in the coming updates.

You have to excuse my language, I am dutch.
I am completely stoked about the G7. I listen music on the speaker a lot and the sound is outstanding for a phone. Even better when using headphones. The screen is really nice and easier for the eyes than an oled screen (no eye strain) . I liked the quality of the pictures on my G5 and see a nice improvement on the G7. Better pictures at night, nice colors and sharp. Have to play around with the different camera options still. No problems with connectivity and everything runs very fast and smoothly.
The only thing I like less is the software/skin. Having trouble finding simple options, not much logic in there. But that's something I will get used to so not really a problem.
The phone looks beautifull but is slippery as hell. Fell on the first day on a tile floor (and my hart missed a beat but the phone was fine). So I bought a Spigen Though Armor case. I have a muscle disease and the case adds a nice bulk to the phone for me.
The biggest suprise is the battery. It lasts a lot longer than I feared after reading different reviews. I make it thrue two days and one night on a single charge so far while playing a lot with the phone..
Very much in love with my phone

I love almost everything with this phone. Surprisingly including the battery life. It's been very good to me (aod off). On standby it's very efficient only sipping battery. Around 3% during 8 hrs sleep. I could get around 6hrs sot during 12-13 hrs of use.
Coming from pixel 2 xl and oneplus 6, the screen for me is GORGEOUS. LG produces the best LCD, period. The 1000 nits boost = awesome.
Boom box sound is very good. However I feel the use of case reduces its effect.
UI performance is smooth, multi tasking is good, all up to the standards of 2018.
My biggest gripe with this phone is its camera. Well I mightve been spoiled by pixel 2 xl.
1.The camera's shutter lag on medium to low light is too long for my liking
2. the detail on medium to low light is worse than my oneplus 6
3. In good light, it often overexposes
Also, I play a MOBA game called Mobile Legends which my pixel 2 xl (sd835) and Oneplus 6 (845) eats like it's nothing. It seems the g7 sometimes rendering it not at stable 60fps. Feels like only 30+ fps. I suspect that this is caused by cpu/gpu throttling done by LG, hence the surprisingly good battery life considering its 3000ma size.
Overall love this phone, but the camera alone is holding me back to keep this phone as my daily driver after I shoot my YouTube review.

My favourite device of this year!!
For my personal use its near on perfect - smooth and fast in operation with far better battery life than I expected considering the battery capacity. Audio is just superb, especially via headphones and with a decent set of cans really shows the difference the DAC makes.
Camera for me has also been really.good, although I've only tested in good light so far.
Best thing for me is the display, have owned a Pixel 2 XL and P20 Pro in last couple of months and to get a device with the whites I like that just looks 'sharper' and with the legibility in sunlight (even without boosted mode) is just superb.

How did LG manage to squeeze so much battery life out of a 3000 mAh battery?

I love the ease of one hand use, the screen, except the "second screen" that doesn't go dark enough during full screen use). And the haptic feedback is orgasmic )

Coming from LG G4, this thing is "WOW". I don't know why people go for useless Samsung or Apple? This feels almost perfect. Unless up to to the launch of the LG V40.

Ali Mirza said:
Coming from LG G4, this thing is "WOW". I don't know why people go for useless Samsung or Apple? This feels almost perfect. Unless up to to the launch of the LG V40.
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I LOVE this damn phone!!
1. Camera I rate as a 3 of 5 with built in app. 5 of 5 with Google Camera.
2. Audio I rate as 10 of 5. HOLY CRAP is it good.
3. Flat glass 5 of 5, easy to find full screen protectors with full adhesive. YES!
4. Killer battery life, 5 of 5. Most days I end up over %50 after heavy usage. Standby time is maybe 4-5 days if I do almost nothing.
5. LG software, 3 of 5. Too much bloatware but not as bad as some phones. Overall not a big deal.
6. Speed, 4 of 5. I think maybe other phones might be quicker but it is just fine for my purposes.
7. Buttons and controls, 5 of 5. Dedicated Google Assistant button rules. Actual Power button, finger print reader can turn screen on.
8. Slow motion video mode is quite nice. I enjoy using it for little fun stuff like capturing throwing a bowling ball.
9. Screen is very nice, I rate as 4 of 5. I prefer OLED but under heavy usage I think LCD comes out as a winner for power usage. I do have a bit of issue seeing the screen in full sunlight with sunglasses on. OLED do better in this circumstance.
The biggest problem with this phone is the camera, and it is far better with the Google Camera apk. Obviously LG could fix it if they wanted to.

redrol said:
I LOVE this damn phone!!
1. Camera I rate as a 3 of 5 with built in app. 5 of 5 with Google Camera.
2. Audio I rate as 10 of 5. HOLY CRAP is it good.
3. Flat glass 5 of 5, easy to find full screen protectors with full adhesive. YES!
4. Killer battery life, 5 of 5. Most days I end up over %50 after heavy usage. Standby time is maybe 4-5 days if I do almost nothing.
5. LG software, 3 of 5. Too much bloatware but not as bad as some phones. Overall not a big deal.
6. Speed, 4 of 5. I think maybe other phones might be quicker but it is just fine for my purposes.
7. Buttons and controls, 5 of 5. Dedicated Google Assistant button rules. Actual Power button, finger print reader can turn screen on.
8. Slow motion video mode is quite nice. I enjoy using it for little fun stuff like capturing throwing a bowling ball.
9. Screen is very nice, I rate as 4 of 5. I prefer OLED but under heavy usage I think LCD comes out as a winner for power usage. I do have a bit of issue seeing the screen in full sunlight with sunglasses on. OLED do better in this circumstance.
The biggest problem with this phone is the camera, and it is far better with the Google Camera apk. Obviously LG could fix it if they wanted to.
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Do you have a working apk version? Thanks

Ordered another G7 today...
I have a Note 9 but just ordered another G7. Despite the software not being great there is just something about this phone that I have really missed, feels great in the hand and is in a real sweet-spot size wise too. There really is not much bloat (compared to a Samsung) and battery life is very decent.
I was convinced this year that the Pixel 3XL would be my droid of choice but boy was I disappointed with that, as someone who rarely uses a case the rear would look like a used chalkboard within 2 or 3 days!
I think the Note is probably the best droid package currently available but there is something about the Samsung software and the amount of bloat that irks me, the G7 is IMO the nicest option at the moment and in the UK at least is an absolute bargain.

redrol said:
I LOVE this damn phone!!
1. Camera I rate as a 3 of 5 with built in app. 5 of 5 with Google Camera.
2. Audio I rate as 10 of 5. HOLY CRAP is it good.
3. Flat glass 5 of 5, easy to find full screen protectors with full adhesive. YES!
4. Killer battery life, 5 of 5. Most days I end up over %50 after heavy usage. Standby time is maybe 4-5 days if I do almost nothing.
5. LG software, 3 of 5. Too much bloatware but not as bad as some phones. Overall not a big deal.
6. Speed, 4 of 5. I think maybe other phones might be quicker but it is just fine for my purposes.
7. Buttons and controls, 5 of 5. Dedicated Google Assistant button rules. Actual Power button, finger print reader can turn screen on.
8. Slow motion video mode is quite nice. I enjoy using it for little fun stuff like capturing throwing a bowling ball.
9. Screen is very nice, I rate as 4 of 5. I prefer OLED but under heavy usage I think LCD comes out as a winner for power usage. I do have a bit of issue seeing the screen in full sunlight with sunglasses on. OLED do better in this circumstance.
The biggest problem with this phone is the camera, and it is far better with the Google Camera apk. Obviously LG could fix it if they wanted to.
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Click to collapse
I'm coming from a S9 and Note 8.... This damn phone is marvelous. I hate that it's not receiving the love it deserves. LG took me away from my Galaxies with this one and I'm very satisfied.

Related

LG V10 VS Note 5?

Has anyone traded in the note 5 for the v10? If so do you like it any better?
Yuck. No way. I played with the V10 in store and didn't like it. Too tall, too big.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
IAmReflex said:
Has anyone traded in the note 5 for the v10? If so do you like it any better?
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Silly question but isn't this question better asked on the V10 forum!!!
Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk
Trade it to try more and more. I think you will trade back to Note 5.
V10: not good battery life, too tall, thicker screen edge/bezel, much weaker performance, bulkier because of square corner + tall, 2nd screen not really usefull like S Pen
I also believe V10 has good screen, camera and durable
+1
I have both. Very different devices. Only thing alike are size, OS and camera
V10 has a weaker processor and gpu, however has much better memory management.
It took me a few days to get used to back buttons
I received my 200GB microsd card and extra battery
Cameras are alike, however v10 is not as "fast" as the GN5, both launching camera and seconds to snap, but has much better features and options in pro mode both in camera (30 seconds shutter) and video. Video recording on the v10 is what Samsung will move to next flagship. Is so far more sophisticated than anything you've seen. Being able to select bit rate, microphone adjustment forwards and back, it's just really good. Also awesome ois on camera and video on v10 but again, you can't snap snap snap snap like you can on gn5. I'm not talking about holding shutter down, either. That you can do. But the focus isn't as fast or. .. something.
I use both for different reasons. I love the spen and amoled screen, but have taken phenomenal night pictures with 8,15,30 second shutter specs in total darkness on the lake with tripod with the v10.
In the hands you can get away with no case with the V10, GN5 no way. Too slippery. The rubber grippy back of the v10 makes me feel secure enough not to need a TPU.
Second screen has its uses, and lots of shortcuts to apps, much like the galaxy edge+. I find the second screen helpful, but too low brightness in the dark. A tad higher, or someway to control it would have been a homerun.
As I said, different devices entirely if you are a Spen user. My biggest complaint other than no notification light (but second screen) is the screen cannot be seen well with polarized sunglasses very well. I did a trip using navigation and needed screen at 100% and still could only see it at certain angles on the v10.
It is very speedy if you haven't used note 5 before, somehow the 4GB ram is awesome on v10. Both are 5.1.1. Even though it's "only" 808 is pretty fast but you will notice slight slowdown on browser. Definitely worse gpu but I was able to play MC5 just fine on it. TEA_SWAT4
Ps there does seem to be a battery drain bug whether it's 5.1.1 or something else but something is keeping wake lock on all night for me for v10. .. might be iheartradio with location requests, probably a bug though. Hopefully will be addressed in marshmallow and with doze.
I forgot one of the most special things on the v10. Audio quality is superb with CORDED headphones. The 32bit DAC is so insane. Not artificial like the note5, it has its own special processor. It's really nice. I moved from Bluetooth in the car to wired for music playing. Sounds great both in ear and in car.
I traded in my white note 5 32gb for the v10.. I feel like it was a great device. Felt comfortable to walk around without a case. Audio quality was good via speaker and even better in headphone.the camera was awesome with manual modes and quality . plus the 4gb if ram and only comes with 64gb of memory without paying additional money down . the secondary screen was not as gimmicky as i thought it would be{looking at you edge plus lol}( found the secondary it to be useful when multitasking on the ui) and it was a tad cheaper then the Samsung Galaxy note5/edge plus , the removables were nice but not a highlight for me... With that said why i exchanged it for a note 5 64gb gold platinum was because a) its gorgeous, how could you not lol. B) lg ux was driving me up the wall with its here and there and everywhere options and meh features c) i didnt like how a case effected its fingerprint usability d)its call quality was a mess e)battery life was a guessing game. f) i have had a amoled screen too long so the screen bleed bothered me more so it was just a itch i tried to scratch
sledgie said:
I forgot one of the most special things on the v10. Audio quality is superb with CORDED headphones. The 32bit DAC is so insane. Not artificial like the note5, it has its own special processor. It's really nice. I moved from Bluetooth in the car to wired for music playing. Sounds great both in ear and in car.
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Click to collapse
Do you own high impedance headphones at all? I'm on the fence about this phone. I love the AMOLED screen and I actually use Samsung Pay. Does the DAC sound better than the Wolfson DAC in the n5? I keep going back and forth about trading in the n5 for the v10, but I just can't make a decision.
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darkjedi said:
Do you own high impedance headphones at all? I'm on the fence about this phone. I love the AMOLED screen and I actually use Samsung Pay. Does the DAC sound better than the Wolfson DAC in the n5? I keep going back and forth about trading in the n5 for the v10, but I just can't make a decision.
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
In my opinion, I want ( and bought ) a USB/OTG Dac for music. Something like D-Zero MkII for mobility. I don't want to pay some prices to get a phone not good enough, not fit my need.
Check out the v10 at your local mobile store. I have Samsung On corded over the ear headphones. Be aware that I'm not an audiophile, but I think the v10 sounds better. Flac sounds great. But take a song to your local store with your headphones and transfer it to the v10, then play it. Make sure the HiFi is on which can be found in the drop down settings. Also check out the v10 forums on xda, you'll see that hifi can't be used in every application but some people have been able to enable it using developers options.
V10 audio is probably would be better than Note 5, audio on note 5 is amazing as it is, i had the G4 before, in which the audio was totally crap.
I saw the v10, played wth it a bit, as i had G4 i knew exactly the "secrets" of the device, it has the best camera no doubt about that, specially in the night... but in all others parameters outside of sound, the Note 5 is much much better.
The quality of screen, touchwiz is better than LG UI(can't believe i'm saying this), gpu and mainly cpu speed is light years ahead of G4(test performed by running intensive emulator, PPSSPP and playing tekken 6, g4 did very bad, note 5 perfected it), memory management should be improved, can be resolved by custom kernel,external speaker slightly better,s-pen is very useful more than second screen, battery last longer.
Extra and minus point for V10 is build quality, it does not need a case but on other hand it's way too bulky for some.
sledgie said:
I have both. Very different devices. Only thing alike are size, OS and camera
V10 has a weaker processor and gpu, however has much better memory management.
It took me a few days to get used to back buttons
I received my 200GB microsd card and extra battery
Cameras are alike, however v10 is not as "fast" as the GN5, both launching camera and seconds to snap, but has much better features and options in pro mode both in camera (30 seconds shutter) and video. Video recording on the v10 is what Samsung will move to next flagship. Is so far more sophisticated than anything you've seen. Being able to select bit rate, microphone adjustment forwards and back, it's just really good. Also awesome ois on camera and video on v10 but again, you can't snap snap snap snap like you can on gn5. I'm not talking about holding shutter down, either. That you can do. But the focus isn't as fast or. .. something.
I use both for different reasons. I love the spen and amoled screen, but have taken phenomenal night pictures with 8,15,30 second shutter specs in total darkness on the lake with tripod with the v10.
In the hands you can get away with no case with the V10, GN5 no way. Too slippery. The rubber grippy back of the v10 makes me feel secure enough not to need a TPU.
Second screen has its uses, and lots of shortcuts to apps, much like the galaxy edge+. I find the second screen helpful, but too low brightness in the dark. A tad higher, or someway to control it would have been a homerun.
As I said, different devices entirely if you are a Spen user. My biggest complaint other than no notification light (but second screen) is the screen cannot be seen well with polarized sunglasses very well. I did a trip using navigation and needed screen at 100% and still could only see it at certain angles on the v10.
It is very speedy if you haven't used note 5 before, somehow the 4GB ram is awesome on v10. Both are 5.1.1. Even though it's "only" 808 is pretty fast but you will notice slight slowdown on browser. Definitely worse gpu but I was able to play MC5 just fine on it. TEA_SWAT4
Ps there does seem to be a battery drain bug whether it's 5.1.1 or something else but something is keeping wake lock on all night for me for v10. .. might be iheartradio with location requests, probably a bug though. Hopefully will be addressed in marshmallow and with doze.
I forgot one of the most special things on the v10. Audio quality is superb with CORDED headphones. The 32bit DAC is so insane. Not artificial like the note5, it has its own special processor. It's really nice. I moved from Bluetooth in the car to wired for music playing. Sounds great both in ear and in car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome thank you for all that!
Zanr Zij said:
Trade it to try more and more. I think you will trade back to Note 5.
V10: not good battery life, too tall, thicker screen edge/bezel, much weaker performance, bulkier because of square corner + tall, 2nd screen not really usefull like S Pen
I also believe V10 has good screen, camera and durable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree here.
V10 battery life appears to be bad. Not too much difference between it and the G4 except that the V10 does not suffer from touchscreen issues like the G4 does.
Zanr Zij said:
In my opinion, I want ( and bought ) a USB/OTG Dac for music. Something like D-Zero MkII for mobility. I don't want to pay some prices to get a phone not good enough, not fit my need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get around the storage issue? 64GB is nice, but with no expansion, you're quite limited. Not to mention if you have the 32GB version like me.
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darkjedi said:
How did you get around the storage issue? 64GB is nice, but with no expansion, you're quite limited. Not to mention if you have the 32GB version like me.
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I have to disagree with some that has been said.
If I'm not mistaken, both G4 and V10 have snapdragon 808. However big difference, and I do mean big difference, is the RAM. Similar to SGS6 vs Note5. The 4GB RAM just screams in Note5 compared to SGS6 stock, the 4GB RAM in the V10 screams in comparison to the G4.
There hasn't been a game I can't run on either phone. I'm not into emulators and both phones are stock. That said the GN5 does have the game tuner which v10 does not.
GPU is definitely the bottleneck of device for V10, but that's because every 808 I've seen it's paired with adreno 418 which is, if I recall, half the Speed of the adreno 420 found in the galaxy note 4...
Memory management on the v10 is fine in my mind. Camera as I have stated its very good but not as fast. More options.
I have been ruined by Samsung's super AMOLED screens. There really is nothing like them. But competition is good.
Pic I took last night with v10. Complete darkness on tripod. ISO 200, WB 3000, 30 second shutter.
As for storage on note 5, I use this. Keychain adapter. Works awesome
I have had the note 5 since it came out. I dont have any complaints. Moved everything to the cloud, so 64gb is enough for me. I do keep a charger and 10000mah portable charger with me in a bag if I travel and find myself plugging in the note 5 whenever I can, just to be safe.
I recently bought the v10 to give it a go, primarily to see if the camera really is that good. Here are my thoughts:
Screen: not as bright as the note 5 but side by side the whites look better on the v10 (like an old white t shirt next to a new one) and I think it's a little sharper. I switched my n5 to basic mode on display and that looks more normal.
But, the n5 auto brightness is much better IMHO, especially on maps at night.
Speed. About the same. No real world difference for me
Size: n5 smaller but it needs a case so its not much different. I find the n5 easier to hold.
Battery: both aren't getting me through a day. Just as bad for me.
Sound: both are fine. Speakerphones are fine on both.
Software: I run Nova so the only thing I feel different is that I think stock LG email is better but stock Samsung Calendar is better.
Camera. Well this surprised me... I used both side by side, indoors and out, auto and manual... And generally didn't see much difference! Perhaps I am a crap photographer? Since I moved to the cloud, I can view each devices pictures on the other. I found it very hard to distinguish one from the other. I don't do much video so no comment there, but I will say that for point and shoot, the n5 is just easier.
Second screen. Silly for me. Would have rather the device be shorter.
It drove me mad having 2 devices by the way. One minute i wanted to use one, the next minute the other (like changing cases, but more.complicated). In the end I returned the v10. As with every time I do this, my Samsung devices best out the LG devices for me. Loved the v10, but just feel more 'at one' with the note 5.
LG and their color mismatch issue still!
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Can anybody compare the audio quality of Note5 and LG V10? They're talking about the performance of the V10's DAC using different media players at their sub-forum. Does the Note5 have similar capability?
Was able to do some reading here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3186790
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Hard to compare without having to two Devices side by side, but from what I've read here and in other places, the dac in the v10 is better than the one in the note 5. The amp is also better from what I've read. But does the note 5 have a bad dac? Nope. I finally have a phone that sounds as good as an iPhone headphone wise, if not, better. And if I play anything other than high quality files, I can tell right away (spotify @192kbps vs 300kbps aac)
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I would have prefered the v10 if it would have matched my criteria:
Amoled
Size of Note 5
another CPU than the 810.
I think LGs software is better. But especially the size turned me off - it was too big for my taste.

Reviews of the OnePlus 5 from Real Users

My question is, can I get some real reviews from real users, not the YouTube paid reviews. Some people should have it for about 2 weeks now, and I wanna hear what you think. I've read where the camera is horrible, and others say it's OK. I'm buying the phone this Thursday, or next Thursday and am looking for some honesty.
How I typically use my phone is all day, everyday. It's a bit of an ADD thing where I have to keep myself busy. Games, XDA, more games. I play VainGlory a lot, and it's pretty heavy on my phone. Does anyone else play this, and how does the 5 perform while playing?
Can anyone post some pictures they took of scenery, buildings, etc... I'll post some of mine taken from my Nexus 6P, edited in Snapseed. The camera is a big point for me.
Please and thank you!!
I currently own OP5 and previous phone was Pixel XL.
If a camera is a big point for you, there are better options for sure such as Pixel , iPhone and U11.
If gaming, then this phone will perform way better than 6p or any other phone. 835 CPU, GPU and 8 RAM means solid performance.
Camera is great in good lighting; mediocre in low light. 1080 Video good and 4K video average.
Battery life for me has been incredible! Fast charging is awesome too.
OP5 is a fantastic phone and I would recommend to anyone. I say this even though I plan on returning OP5 and going back to my Pixel XL. Why? Camera and smoother overall experience in Pixel. OP5 is faster for sure.
I hope this helps. It was not an easy decision for me.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
I don't take too many videos, but I definitely like having the option of taking a good one. Gaming is a big selling point for me as well. As for the camera... I'm kind of hoping that some sort of fix is released in an update for whatever the issue is.
It definitely helps though. The price is also a factor, as I'm thinking I'll be able to sell my 6p for 325-350, with all the cases I have and the pretty awesome condition I've kept it in.
I've also haven't had a *new* phone in years. Last one I had was S6 Edge and I ended up having to give it to my Now Ex-girlfriends mom since it was on her plan and we broke up. I had it for like 3 weeks. So, a new phone under warranty would be pretty sweet to have.
Im going to buy it, I made up my mind. If anything, and the camera is way worse than my 6p and they don't release an update I can just sell it, right? Yup.
Bye-bye Nexus.
I'll break up a short review into a few sections.
Design - 9/10
I really like the build quality. The phone looks very similar to a certain device, but I don't mind this. The matte black color looks great and the device, while a bit thin, is the perfect weight (although I am going to buy a case as soon as they become available.) Although I do wish the camera was in the center because when you lay the device down, the protruding camera lens is what your device lays on and makes the device not lay completely flat. The good news is the camera lends is made out of sapphire so durability is there.
Performance | Daily Tasks - 9/10
I have read all about the "Jello effect." This does appear on my device, but it's very minimal and I don't see it as a problem. I did recently watch a video where it was a lot worse in that video. People on social media tend to be hive-mind associated so a lot of negativity tends to spread like wildfire while the positive items are left out of the spotlight. I think the device is extremely snappy and I have noticed the phone doesn't even get warm while playing Pokemon Go for long spurts at a time. No sluggish performance at all.
Wireless Connectivity | WiFi | 4G - 8/10
Cellular Performance
This aspect is generally very important to me. When I compare it to my brother's GS8 on T-Mobile US, we both have a consistent experience in strong signal areas. The OP5 doesn't support 4x4 MIMO on the 4G/LTE side, but it does support 256QAM and 3xCA which is more than enough for the typical power user. Overall, my brother's S8 tends to get slightly less than 10% more speeds on LTE than I do (for comparison, I hit 115Mbps in a spot whereas the GS8 hit 125Mbps.) However, I will note that edge-of-signal, the S8 does win outright. In a few areas where LTE signal is weak (sub -120dBm RSRP), the OnePlus 5 will tend to drop to HSPA or even Edge whereas the S8 will maintain a usable signal. In other words, VoLTE'ers, you may experience more dropped calls when venturing about in weak LTE areas.
WiFi Performance
The OP5 supports 2x2 MIMO and wireless AC so 5Ghz networks is vastly improved over the OP3/OP3T in regards to WiFi coverage/performance. In comparison, I can pull up to 540mbps in a corner of my house on the OP5 whereas the OP3T will only be able to pull 32mbps on the same network. Oneplus has really went above and beyond in terms of WiFi antenna design and has consistently matched the GS8's WiFi performance (Note: I do not have Gigabit internet so I wan't able to test higher-end speeds.)
Battery - 9/10
I am coming from a Le Pro3 (which is one of the best devices for battery), and I'm not too concerned with what I'm getting on the OP5. I am consistently getting through the typical work-day with around 30-40% juice left after a few hours of screen time. If I need a quick charge, Dash charging is there. I will mention that I wish Dash Charging wasn't so proprietary. Because almost all of my current chargers are Qualcomm QC which aren't compatible with the Oneplus. Although it'll still charge the device, just not rapidly like Dash would.
Camera - 7/10
I am not a photographer by any means and a good camera doesn't necessarily sell me on a device by itself. I will say though that while the pictures are not as good as what you'd get on the GS8, they are pretty good shots and I honestly can't see people looking at your facebook pictures and thinking "wow, whatever camera took this picture sucks." I am quite content with the camera because it is better than a mid-range device, but worse than a flagship.
Software/Customization - 10/10
This is the main reason I went with the OnePlus device. Oxygen OS is so smooth and AOSP-like. The nearly bloatless experience and ability to change the theme/accents of your device are amazing. That, and I know the community will be behind some massive developments for this device so I can satisfy my flashing urges as they come up. It all just works.
Sound/Speakers - 9/10
I would have preferred stereo speaker setup, instead of mono speaker. Still, I would say I have been very impressed with the mono speaker on the bottom with the amount of quality and loud sounds that come from it. Music in the car over Bluetooth/Android Auto also works great and is very clear sounding. I actually flashed the Viper/Arise sound mod and disabled it shortly after because stock sounds that good (I don't play around with the Viper/Arise settings too much, so maybe I can improve it but to me there's not much left to be desired.) Voice Calls, people are loud and clear.
Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend the product to a friend!
Man the phones on point. I went hard on my op5 & have yet to hit 34 °c I play the phone for long stretches so not worrying about my phone getting to hot is my favorite upgrade so far. The battery for sure last longer than the 3t but the 3t charges about 10 minutes faster
My phone was delivered on the Friday after the key note and have used this as my daily driver. My most recent phone was the Samsung s7e, but gave to my wife as I found it too slow (and I really wanted to try a one plus 5).
Initial impressions are similar to the (honest) reviews:
1. Damn this thing is quick
2. Damn the fingerprint reader is quick
3. Damn that charges quick
3. Oh, the camera isn't quite as good as it was hyped
I think it looks "fine" (i.e I couldn't care less what it looks like).
Battery life has been good, at least comparable to a 6 month old SGS7e (I bought that second hand) but not as good as my old Sony z3c.
The camera is good, don't get me wrong, and it can take better shots than the Samsung, but it's not as consistent. Low light isn't as good (but again, the Samsung is a very high bar). I'd say that 90% of my photos come out fine first time. It's very quick to take photos though (if Oneplus wanted a "speed" theme to come through in this device then they certainly succeeded)
1080p video is very good. Surprisingly good. Ok 4k recording lacks stabilisation, but hey, do people bother to record in this resolution? (I suppose that do, but I sure as hell don't). They've also said that 4k EIS will come in an update.
The screen is very good. Having had the S6 and S7e, I've experienced excellent screens (i.e. high resolution) but really don't see the point for 99% of the time (I played with vr for a couple of days about 12 months ago so I really do mean 99%). 1080p is absolutely great for a 5.5" screen.
My only complaints have been:
1. Jelly (yes, either I'm susceptible to seeing it or my device has it)
2. Camera not as good as hyped
3. Some vague software oddities which I'm sure will be sorted (notification issues with eBay)
I'll post up some photos...
Some photos #shotonaoneplus
The best thing about OnePlus 5 is support from this community. I ordered on the conference day and there was TWRP and root solution available before this phone even arrived to my home. Another great thing is overall performance, clean OS, no bloatware.
Time for bad things. It is always bad sign when the company behind any device lies to you. They lie about camera peformance, they lie about screen issues... I wonder what will be next. Had I waited few days and seen how OnePlus acts, I would not buy it again.
Still I have it, so let's talk about user experience. I am switching to OnePlus 5 from my 4 years old OPPO Find 7, so this is my point of reference.
Form factor. The phone is a bit slippery and uncomfortable to grip. It has some sort of additional sharp line on the edge, and I ordered a cover to make it feel better. Other than this, it looks great and sexy. Shame it is not original design, but it is still good if you don't care about such things (I personally don't).
Screen. Screen has great colors and real blacks. It doesn't have the best resolution but just looks better than 2K IPS of Find 7. Use some dark wallpaper and you will be in heaven. At the same time you have this jelly effect and before I got used to it, it felt wrong. If you are motion sick, you should stay away from this phone.
Camera. The only good thing I can say about camera is its tonal range. You get all the colors instead of washed whites when you shot something with high contrast. At the same time I have seen way more details on the Find 7, which is four years old than on the OnePlus 5. Maybe it is poor compression of images, maybe it is some de-noising algorithm... anyway when you zoom in, you will see only blur in the image. Also, the telephoto camera is almost never used indoors (easy to check - cover one lens and see yourself which lens your phone is using) and used outdoor only when light is perfect (hello sun). When you click this magical 2x zoom in your camera app you will newer know whether you are doing software zoom loosing even more details or actual optical zoom... which even in best case is software-processed.
OS. Is great. Clean, fast android. Easy to root, easy to mod.
Battery life. Mixed. It will give you a full day, easily, but also drops significantly when you don't use the phone. Still, you have the DaSH/VOOC fast charge, so that's not a big issue.
Summary - this phone is great when you love messing with your phone, you are going to try custom rooms, you need root and great community support. It should be your choice if you with to have hardware that has enough power to stay with you for years. If you are looking for "clearer photos" look somewhere else. This is outward lie, and camera peformance is just average. It is also not a device for you if you must have the latest technology in hand or a very decent screen.
It is also not a steal anymore. You pay a bit less than premium range and you get a bit less then premium quality. Consider what you are looking for, and if your boxes are matched go for it.
ab7casper said:
How I typically use my phone is all day, everyday. It's a bit of an ADD thing where I have to keep myself busy. Games, XDA, more games. I play VainGlory a lot, and it's pretty heavy on my phone. Does anyone else play this, and how does the 5 perform while playing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never played that game but I play some games (the Idolmaster rhythm games) that are pretty heavy and made my Nexus 6 very sad. They run very smoothly at highest settings on the 1+5, and thanks to the massive amounts of ram, I can switch between several games with no problem.
The one complaint I have is the placement of the speaker. If you are playing a game landscape orientation your hand will keep covering it. Big problem when playing rhythm games.
j0ff said:
Some photos #shotonaoneplus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those are more than acceptable pics for a smartphone. I don't expect DSLR quality, and it looks like it could be an improvement over my 6p.
I really appreciate everyone's responses. They all are very insightful, and definitely put my mind at ease about the purchase.
ab7casper said:
Those are more than acceptable pics for a smartphone. I don't expect DSLR quality, and it looks like it could be an improvement over my 6p.
I really appreciate everyone's responses. They all are very insightful, and definitely put my mind at ease about the purchase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will be happy with it, I'm sure!
From the forums you might think it's nothing but problems, but overall it is still a really​ great phone. Keep in mind most of the folks who even know about this phone are the pickiest of the pickiest!
yubimusubi said:
You will be happy with it, I'm sure!
From the forums you might think it's nothing but problems, but overall it is still a really​ great phone. Keep in mind most of the folks who even know about this phone are the pickiest of the pickiest!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, true that. I might say that camera performance means a lot to me. But I have no actual "training" in being a photographer, or what is supposed to look like what. I just like taking pictures for myself, and I throw em up on Instagram. I use a lot of my pictures for wallpapers for my phone, mainly.
If anything, the better the phone is performing at games the better it would be for me, and this sounds like a beast. I'll be doubling my ram, and storage capacity so I'll be more than happy at that fact alone. Haha
Edit: I hope this post stays near the top for anyone on the fence about the purchase. I was just thinking about you're only hearing so many users complaining about the phone, but how many other users out there that are completely satisfied.
I bought it just an hour after the event, and I'm returning it tofay. I love taking pictures with my phone and I don't like op5 photos at all. I'm sending it back this week before the 14-day period is over, I'm moving to the S8 which I found at the same price...
I just hate how it deals with low-light and with colour, in particular in the details, which are just awful. I come from three and an half years with the Nexus 5, which had OIS and an awesome HDR. In this phone, HDR pics are way too noisy and sometimes colours look much worse than non-HDR photos.
Dual camera, horrible photos I'd say
I was really excited about this phone, so I'm very disappointed. I know they might fix it in the future, but I don't feel like trusting OnePlus seeing how they are dealing with the OP3 update and with the jelly effect
P.S. Sorry for bad English, I'm new to the forum world
giaesse said:
I bought it just an hour after the event, and I'm returning it tofay. I love taking pictures with my phone and I don't like op5 photos at all. I'm sending it back this week before the 14-day period is over, I'm moving to the S8 which I found at the same price...
I just hate how it deals with low-light and with colour, in particular in the details, which are just awful. I come from three and an half years with the Nexus 5, which had OIS and an awesome HDR. In this phone, HDR pics are way too noisy and sometimes colours look much worse than non-HDR photos.
Dual camera, horrible photos I'd say
I was really excited about this phone, so I'm very disappointed. I know they might fix it in the future, but I don't feel like trusting OnePlus seeing how they are dealing with the OP3 update and with the jelly effect
P.S. Sorry for bad English, I'm new to the forum world
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK have fun in the s8 forums. deuces
I love it ?
Camera can't complain needs few extra features I think there's always pro mode but I'm not cam savvy so just use normal mode sure it will be improved in updates , ?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk
DoobyDroid said:
I love it ?
Camera can't complain needs few extra features I think there's always pro mode but I'm not cam savvy so just use normal mode sure it will be improved in updates , ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice pics
Here are some pics I couldn't update earlier. You can see how bad the camera works in some conditions (like in the tree in two of the photos, which looks very unreal). Also in low light HDR is too noisy and I had to take twice the photo in the square and still I couldn't get a sharp image. Also you can see some artifacts in the two road pics. This is what convinced me to send this phone back, I take lots of pics and my old Nexus 5 worked better in all of these conditions
Edit: I might sound crazy, but look at the details
DoobyDroid said:
I love it ?
Camera can't complain needs few extra features I think there's always pro mode but I'm not cam savvy so just use normal mode sure it will be improved in updates , ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured I would take one picture and edit in Snapseed to see how that pans out. I'm posting both the original and edited.
Honestly, I don't think I'll be upset at all for the quality. I like it. The pro mode will be fun as well to play with,
Had a great time in NY with it this past weekend.
I have to say that I love the phone. I have an s8+ too and I actually don't miss it at all. I bought the LG G6 last month an lasted 1 day with it and some would, well do argue that it's a better phone than the s8.
What I like: The performance. That phone is fast in every aspect. The best example I can give is the setup. I have 161 apps. It took 2 and a half hours to download on the s8+. Guess how fast it was on the OP5 25 minutes. I've never see that before.
The screen is fine, the camera is no prize winner but no slouch either. I'm sure SW updates can make it better. The sound is good.
What I don't like: So far it's that damn screen that flips to landscape for no reason.
I didn't think of returning the phone until I saw the thread with all the people whining about the most trivial things.
The way I see it is. If the camera really matters to you. S8+, Pixel XL, U11. If not, by all means. You cannot go wrong with this. 8gb of ram 128 GB of storage and this community. Your kids can use it 6 years from now it will still be a top contender.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Sony Xperia XZ2, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Sony Xperia XZ2 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I've come from a Pixel 2 XL and I loved that phone, I'm in a fortunate position that through work I can change phones pretty much every few months.
Over time I've discovered that personally I'm a stock android person.
Having said that loving this phone the skin is pretty lightweight, and some of the Sony tweaks are generally pretty useful like the one handed mode.
Battery life is amazing I thought the pixel was good this is even better 2days moderate use no problem.
Camera is pretty good not Pixel 2 standard but not bad either.
Much nicer to hold, the shape is way better than the pixel 2 XL, will be a while before I change phones, don't think it's getting the positive reviews that it should, it does everything well, bit like the HTC U11 from last year very underrated...
If your thinking of buying one do it, you won't be disappointed...
Sent from my H8216 using Tapatalk
Agree, i dig this phone and couple of times i acidently switched to one handed mode and cannot repeat it what is the procedure or gesture to activate it, thanks!
Swipe along the nav keys [emoji16]
Sent from my H8216 using Tapatalk
I come from a Xiaomi Mi A1; i was getting bored of Android Stock and had an amazing offer through an Italian provider. I am basically paying 350€ for my XZ2 which is amazing. I was torn between this and the XZ premium which would've cost me the same, but I decided to go with the newer model, not sure I made the right choice.
However, I simply cannot express how much I love this phone. It has that Stock feeling whilst allowing users to tweak it and customize a little, albeit not as much as the EMUI. Battery life is pretty good, considering it's a 3180 and a powerhouse!
Camera could definitely use some software improvement but HDR does wonders more often than not.
It's incredibly elegant and the materials are definitely premium both to the sight and to the touch.
However, I would like to get some 18:9 gestures that would allow us to "get rid" of the navigation buttons and further highlight the beauty of the display.
my white one reminds me of BMO with that little face on the top bezel, how can you not love that
Came from Pixel 2 back to Sony.. This is hands down my favourite phone ever.. No regrest!
I'm in love with Sony again because of XZ2!
A rock solid device with a "Swiss clock" system, fast, smooth, awesome battery, superb display, superb sound, awesome camera and a lot of other things that simply work as it should on this device!
Great work, Sony!
miker71 said:
my white one reminds me of BMO with that little face on the top bezel, how can you not love that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great now every time I look at my deep green XZ2 I see BMO too. lol. Nah it's all good Adventure Time FTW!
I love this phone. Had several Xperias over the years - Ion, TL, Z1, Z3, an XZ Premium, a OnePlus 5T for a week, several shameful years of boring iPhones. 4 weeks with the XZ2 (H8296) it has become my favorite smartphone ever, hands down. I love everything about this phone and look forward to future phones from Sony.
What drive me nuts?
- No fingerprint sensor shortcuts (notification bar swipe down for example)
- No possibility for vibration pattern set or its strength
- No call recording or vibration when other side answers
- Something's wrong with wireless charging (only 20% per hour)
- Sometimes camera is stuck and can't open, need to reboot device
- No option to turn off blinking LED when device is below 15% (it irritates when you use phone)
- Can't skip tracks with volume buttons while listening music on headphones
- No info on phone if it's using quick charge or not (while charging)
- No face unlock
- No double tap to wake (screen)
Everything else is good, but that software is horrible. It's too Vanilla, it's too close to Android One.
Monolithus said:
What drive me nuts?
- No fingerprint sensor shortcuts (notification bar swipe down for example)
- No possibility for vibration pattern set or its strength
- No call recording or vibration when other side answers
- Something's wrong with wireless charging (only 20% per hour)
- Sometimes camera is stuck and can't open, need to reboot device
- No option to turn off blinking LED when device is below 15% (it irritates when you use phone)
- Can't skip tracks with volume buttons while listening music on headphones
- No info on phone if it's using quick charge or not (while charging)
- No face unlock
- No double tap to wake (screen)
Everything else is good, but that software is horrible. It's too Vanilla, it's too close to Android One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- you can download fingerprint shortcuts from google play
- You can use face unlock from smart lock
- Actually, you can do the double tap thing, just enable raise to wake. Not quite the double tap from older xperia phones, though.
AlvinZahran98 said:
- you can download fingerprint shortcuts from google play
- You can use face unlock from smart lock
- Actually, you can do the double tap thing, just enable raise to wake. Not quite the double tap from older xperia phones, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know I can achieve almost all of that things using 3rd party apps, but problem with them is that they don't run as system functions so they'll consume a lot more battery than if they were built-in. Come on, it's a Sony flagship, I'm a little bit surprised.
I think I'll return my xz2 to my carrier. Touch screen is terrible. Settings app force closes to often and its had to many random reboots. Sony needs to up their game. Best phone they ever made was the X10.
I have been using P10, S8, OP5T and now XZ2. My review is based on the comparison with these phones and also the price I paid for it (USD526). Mine is a 6GB RAM HK set H8296 Rev.2. At the time of writing, it is running on .265 firmware and I've been using this phone for two weeks. Will edit this if future updates fix some of the issues.
Overall, the phone is worth the money for USD $526. But definitely not worth the MSRP $800! At the price I paid, it's one of the cheapest non-China brand with 845 out there.
Pros:
- Great overall speed. 845 + 6GB RAM + Sony lightweight skin = smooth experience. Subjectively, OP5T feels slightly smoother in scrolling performance. My Exynos S8 stuttered after I updated it to Oreo and 4GB doesn't cut it anymore.
- Feels comfortable in hand. I like the overall size. The main reason I switched from OP5T is the size. It was really stretching my limit. Otherwise, it's a very good phone and I find no reason to switch.
- The camera is A-. Not top grade (P20/S8/S9/Pixel 2) for low light.
- Lots of unique/proprietary features but not all of them are really useful:
- Useful:
- 1080p 960fps, PS4 DualShock controller support out of box, HDR BT.2020, aptX HD, dual front speakers, Triluminos display, X-reality engine, Hi-res Audio (not as good as top end though), DSEE HX, strong Dynamic Vibration System, dedicated physical camera button (I use it to trigger camera app)
Cons:
- Touchscreen issue. It had hold-and-drag sensitivity issue which is fixed in the .265 update. However, the touchscreen sensitivity goes haywire and I noticed I started to make a lot of typo on Gboard. I have to depend on autocorrect in almost all the letters I type!
- Fingerprint scanner and camera position. Very easy to mistaken these two.
- WiFi signal reception is bad/shorter distance vs my other phones Worse than even my Redmi 5A!
- Cellular signal reception seems to be weaker after the .265 update. Then again, I only had the phone for a week prior to .265 update.
- Whilst the skin is lightweight and quite bare, it looks dated and lacking ergonomics like OnePlus Oxygen OS.
- Does not support Camera 2 API. Means porting the gcam app is much harder.
- Not useful/hype proprietary features:
- Speakers clarity and volume is the biggest let down. It sounds thin without bass, and is nowhere as good as Samsung S9 and HTC Boomsound.
- S-Force is a hype. Can't hear the difference at all!
- Stamina mode makes the phone laggy. This feature had been great in the past Xperia. Not sure why it's badly tuned in the XZ2.
- Dynamic Vibration System is partially hype; while strong, the accuracy is questionable. When the audio has arrays of low frequencies sources, the vibration tends to feel random or off-timing.
- The physical camera button without OIS is not easy to use.
Yet to test: mic quality in terms of clarity and high decibel environment. Will update soon.
I came from a pixel 2xl and a p20 pro... Yep, tha p20 cam isnt that great.. to over sharpened...and the so-called 40mpx is actually 4 x 10mpx images merged... Plus EMUI, is too top heavy for me
I love my black xz2... Speakers sound amazing... and are better than my old pixel 2 xl, the 5.7" screen is fantastic... the bezels are a perfect size (i like a bit of bezel...offers the phone protection and strength).. fingerprint reader is a bit low down, but within a day or so of finger training.... no problems.. very fast and liquid smooth... No lockups, crashes or app issues... battery is awesome 2 - 3 days on light use..
My only niggle is the camera, while vastly improved over anything from the old Z range... and improved over the XZPrem... the xz2 cam can stll be a little quirky sometimes and images can range from stunning to a blurry mess for no reason, but thankfully on the xz2, these blurry images dont happen, ever Auto mode is pretty good in daylight... However, Sony phones do take some work and camera is good in Manual mode...so not for the Samsung and Apple "point and shoot" sheep.
Great phone Sony, and the xz2 camera is great, although camera software processing could use some work...
What's there to love?
Sorry but I've only thing for about a week now. I absolutely hate it the colors even in the vibrant mode are extremely oversaturated so much so that they blur the lines and make some games too dark to even see. And we won't mention the horizontal lines from pressing on the screen at all ever. Which is if you haven't encountered this you will. This phone is absolute garbage
Madgnarthebloody - just because your experiencing these issues, does not mean that everyone else is.
Perfect for me

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Sony Xperia 1, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Sony Xperia 1 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I received it today and after 2 hours I've sent it back. Horrible photos compared with my s10+, shaky videos,bad stabilisation, no volte calling possibility or Wifi call,terrible side sensor.
I've tried again with Sony because I like the design but again it's only smoke. Anyway great display
Sure?
https://youtu.be/2GepE25czo4
Enviado desde mi G8141 mediante Tapatalk
marko68 said:
I received it today and after 2 hours I've sent it back. Horrible photos compared with my s10+, shaky videos,bad stabilisation, no volte calling possibility or Wifi call,terrible side sensor.
I've tried again with Sony because I like the design but again it's only smoke. Anyway great display
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm i see later posts of you in what you supposedly "still" has the phone. And i see you posted the same about p20 pro and s10+... That take away all of you credibility
Ergonomic and productivity champion, full stop.
I seriously cannot go back to 18:9 anymore. Never used something quite like the Xperia 1. Video on top email at bottom with keyboard up, still plenty to read and write. Single hand grip is way better than XZ3, even with this tall screen, reaching the top for notification is no acrobatics at all.
Anyway, absolutely enjoying the 1, I'm evening considering to get the Xperia 10 Plus for my family now.
Sony always has a way of making desirable devices (Xperia S), but with crazy marketing decision. So after using my OnePlus5 for almost 2yrs I decided to buy into Sony's gimmick of 21:9 screen. Never held one in my hand before, but once I did, I really fall for it. The device feel so nice in your hand. The long narrow shape feel so good and secure! Haven't held a phone so secure for a while... and the screen! The screen is a beast! The screen is unbeatable watching 21:9 in Netflix, totally awesome experience. But, when you watch the normal 16:9 you will feel a little underwhelmed. The camera is also very nice. But for me personally, the size and shape and the screen is the best features of this phone. And actually I'm glad that when I pre-order the grey color went out, and I ended up getting the beautiful Sony Purple.
I bought it in black, it's really a jewel, ergonomic and light, very balance design but it looks very delicate and glides on smooth surfaces.
This phone really stands out for beauty and elegance. I really appreciate the bezel-less Chinese top look, but Sony is a step ahead. The bezels are shiny, it takes up the style of the old Z3 plus, this color ''reduces'' its thickness and adds an elegant mono-block look
A really nice comeback in Sony for me, I had been missing since XZPremium, beautiful one but did not last because frames were too square and big
Got the purple one since 19th june, so far the phone beyond my expectation and it's really good in my hand, i thought the size of phone makes it uncomfortable to hold but surprisingly very gewd.
marko68 said:
I received it today and after 2 hours I've sent it back. Horrible photos compared with my s10+, shaky videos,bad stabilisation, no volte calling possibility or Wifi call,terrible side sensor.
I've tried again with Sony because I like the design but again it's only smoke. Anyway great display
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you'd have surely known there was no volte calling/wifi calling before purchasing? Video capabilities are excellent and have been lauded in many reviews. As for your "it's only smoke" judgement, a tad harsh given that you only used it for 2 hours....still, what do you expect from a Samsung user?
I've had one for nearly 4 weeks now, it's the best Android phone I've used to date. Admittedly, I am a bit of a Sony fanboy but that is down to personal preference having used countless other phones from HTC, Motorola, Nokia, LG, even the awful Samsung down the years...I've been through them all. I've come to realise I like the Sony approach the best.
Great screen, very good photos if you know what you're doing, excellent video, I love the form factor which is almost the spiritual successor to my beloved XZ1. Nice weight and balance in the hand, the usual excellent audio capabilities as well. And none of that stupid curved screen sides, an utterly pointless feature/design aspect that will go down in history as being purely faddish.
Gotta say, loving this Xperia 1 as it is a great all rounder.
quick info - i have owned and daily used s7, s8, s9 (1+ years) mi note2, redmi note 7, mi 5 and 10 other mid-range ones (2-3 months) in the past 7 or so years. i do not like the way samsung processes the images on their phones and the way their phone behaves as they always seem to lag. apart from this i consider all of the previous mentioned samsung's great phones and the rest good phones. btw has anyone noticed how fast even the low spec xiaomi's are ?
MAIN SUBJECT - XPERIA 1
For whoever is concerned:
I bought the phone NEW and the network and wi-fi were always disconnecting in no more than 2 minutes from the moment they were up and running. Sent it to repair and it came back with some SW update.
After 1 week of using it, only the test call dropped and the network got disconnected. It works and the signal is semi-stable with occasional drops in power but never did I see it disconnect, apart from the test call of course.
It is a nice phone and does not really feel outdated (if someone was thinking that NOT having the whole front side as a display might make it look outdated) it is well balanced in the hand and the width helps in having a VERY COMFORTABLE grip BUT the GLASS is more slippery than any phone I have touched. Probably 80% of these phones (with no case or decal) will probably get damaged because of it. (someone should start a thread with pics of broken Xperia 1 glass front or back). It is fast, very fast... faster than all the last Galaxy S10 to S7 (owned for at least 1 year 7-9 and i have access to the s10 daily. Also not "+" versions so please don't start) but I still have to see how it will fare in the long run. Battery is also good, I would get the same from my S9, but the S7... ow how I miss 3 days of running time....
Other things worth noting: Cameras, Notification LED, Camera button with 2step press, weird colors on front camera and bad quality, no-pin SIM tray.
Last thing, the FINGER PRINT sensor. Take note of this - "Couldn't process your fingerprint. Please try again." Is anyone else having issues with this ? I have my finger enrolled 5 times and i still cannot unlock it with the fingerprint in 7 out of 10 tries.
Best of luck to all who want to buy one and/or have bought one. I am not sure now, after 1 week if I want to change it.
I've been using this phone for over 2 months now and I feel I'm ready to share my opinion over this device.
After 9 years of using android phones, mostly Samsung, after considering my options I took the decision to buy this phone. The main decisional factor was that is has no notch, punch holes or any other thing in the display. Other reasons were the display both the aspect ratio and the technology used, and the last but not the least was the camera.
I'm going to share my experience over the main 3 points of my decision, was I expected, what I actually encountered.
Form Factor
I remember the day when Samsung came with the 18.5 displays and everyone were like the doom day is on and what not... The first day I had my note 8 I was stunned to see how much of a difference is there is content when reading and article or a book. When I got the Xperia 1 and boot it up, took the first look of the screen felt exactly the same. It's ideal for content.
The phone sits very well in the hand it has an ergonomic feeling, materials are premium. I had no issues with the grip of the phone and I have big hands... I could hold the note in hand but it's not the same, 1 hand operation on the xperia is more easier than on the note.
Another thing over the Samsung phones I would give a plus for not having curved displays. They look good but the first time I dropped the note on the ground it broke in the corners, the second time the same.... I dropped the Xperia 1 over 5 times on the ground and I could see the dent on the frame, but the display has no issue.... Kudos for this
For the form factor I would give 5 stars with no second look over it
Display
It's an immerse viewing experience.
Some say that the 4K over 2K resolution displays the human eye cannot see the difference. From my point of view this is not the truth, I moved my sd card from the note8 into the Xperia, I looked at the same photos on the note and on the Xperia, the look minimum twice as sharp, and this looking over the photos taken with the note8.
Colour reproduction is good, I took the white balance settings found on the anandtech review and went along with it.
Brightness is also ok, I didn't had a situation when I found myself unable to look at the phone in direct sunlight.
For the display I would give 5 stars also
Camera
Here is where I mostly disappointed with this device... It has a ton of features and everything, it has engines worked with professional teams, eye focus, burst shots, super slowmo, what ever else... Sony sensor’s are found in half of the phones around the world... You would say that the camera should be the strongest point of this phone... Also their marketing campaign is based on the cinematic capabilities of this phone..
I take around 1000 pictures with the phone in a month, I like taking pictures, I like playing with the camera of the most as much as I can. For me the camera is main feature of any mobile phone.
With the Xperia 1, the most annoying thing is the touch focus... I like playing with the focus, focusing on objects that are not in centre of the sensor, with the Xperia 1 this is almost impossible. I touch the screen on the object, the focus circle turns green the image is still in a blur... Try this 10 times, maybe one works.
Another issue with the camera is the burning of highlights due to the HDR failure... In sunny conditions I have to take 2-3 photos for maybe one to be good and not burned, or to go to manual mode...
The telephoto camera is some of a joke... The images look better on a regular phone with 2x digital zoom.
Now these are all mainly software issues but they are a part of the whole phone experience and sadly it makes this a very bad one... I know that if you study a scene and find the best spot and the best settings you can take very nice pictures but this should not be the case.. it's not a professional camera for the experienced ones only to use... The auto mode should do the job for a regular user but it doesn't
For the video camera I cannot give many thoughts because I do not use it, occasionally I record something but not that much
Overall I would give 2 stars for this, maybe with luck over the future someone will fix these in a future software update
Others
Battery life is another thing that could have been done better... It takes me from day to day but that's not something that's meant to be praised. I have the same battery life as my 2 year old Note8
Speakers sound really good in my opinion.
Software updates / Community of developers, sadly I have to say that the updates are just security updates, the first update had some fixes but the rest were mainly security updates... This not something ok from my point of view. As for the community of developers, sincerely I hadn't seen one, there is a lack of people who would actually develop something for this phone.
Fingerprint sensor is working 30% of the time
Final thoughts
Overall I like this phone, I will continue to use it, I like the display and the form factor more than I hate the camera.
I just hope that someone from Sony will give me something for the 900e that I payed for this phone and fix the issues with the camera
here are my thoughts:
Display: I am wowed! it could be problematic viewing 16:9 videos but still, when I see that [email protected] HDR video on youtube or whatever this is soo stunning I have not seen any device perform better than this.
Battery: I see a lot of people argue about this, on 50-70% brightness by manual all the time, (usually I used to keep it 40% on previous devices this lacks a bit in manual-ill get to why in a second) got 24 hours of usage, 7 of them SOT, that and where I work I have trash signal so it takes out more juice, but even then Im still left out with 27% (including a bit of call of duty gaming, clash of clans here and there, lots of social media and some camera usage).
Lets talk about the brightness, if you all do the research of oled screens you will see a lot of information about pixel burn, which leaves the screen with a little ghosting effect, now that happens potentially on high brightness levels and if you know Sony, you know they care about their longevity of their devices (remember the fast charge that takes the same time? XD) thats why their max brightness cant be reached in manual settings, now compare that to samsung's s10 or s10+ their brightness go crazy high on manual (not their highest potential on manual but still very high) and people reported screen burn-ins just weeks after, battery on samsung goes trash after a little while too, phone becomes laggy, thats why the cute little things people care about in a phone like brightness and SOT is something pretty irrelevant because this brightness on the Xperia 1 is enough for you to view things even outside (with auto brightness tho) and the battery is more than enough to keep you charged for more than a day and even if other phones can last longer, lets be real, when you come home from school work etc... the first thing you do is charge your phone! doesnt matter what % youre left with, everyone charges their phone whenever they get the chance so they make sure they are not stuck at some point so thats very irrelevant to me...
Camera: A subject of debate here, since some people report disappointing opinions but here is mine, IT IS CRAZY GOOD! yes maybe in auto mode other phones can be more pleasing due to their HDR being enabled in auto mode unlike Sony, but using the manual is a huge step up for the sony and I havent seen any phone out perform it, you also have to know, Sony is great with cameras, but not even DSLR cameras have good stabilization without a tripod... yes samsung and iphone have better stabilization but that results in trash quality especially at night! I am no joking! photos and videos on Sony takes out samsung and iphone at night! and their Wide angel is trash compared to the xperia 1.
Overall if you want to buy a phone so you can have the best camera, there is no clear winner in flagships there will always be phones better than others in some cases or worse in other cases, so just buy a camera.
for social media its amazing especially with that 21:9 its simply so smooth and fills a lot of content and again WOW those colors ARE ACCURATE!! not over-saturated or artificially pleasing like other devices but STILL VERY SHARP AND COLORFUL! Its CRAZY!
all in all if youre looking for a great device that will still perform the same after a year or two, no battery issues or performance, or screen ghosting, a camera that on manual could look like a DSRL!! then yah go for the sony!
if you want a more pleasing devices for a couple of months in terms of unrealistic but more pleasing colors in both camera and display, with a battery thats only better for a couple of months, there are better phones out there. Unless its an iphone 11 pro since it has very natural display and camera overall go ahead pay that amount and enjoy their very closed minded software (but people say its smooth LMAO yah have you even seen a none smooth phone in 2019? XDDD)
I hope you enjoyed
You should shoot 5000 more photos to learn how to use it
Enviado desde mi J9110 mediante Tapatalk
madshark2009 said:
Lets talk about the brightness, if you all do the research of oled screens you will see a lot of information about pixel burn, which leaves the screen with a little ghosting effect, now that happens potentially on high brightness levels and if you know Sony, you know they care about their longevity of their devices (remember the fast charge that takes the same time? XD) thats why their max brightness cant be reached in manual settings, now compare that to samsung's s10 or s10+ their brightness go crazy high on manual (not their highest potential on manual but still very high) and people reported screen burn-ins just weeks after, battery on samsung goes trash after a little while too, phone becomes laggy, thats why the cute little things people care about in a phone like brightness and SOT is something pretty irrelevant because this brightness on the Xperia 1 is enough for you to view things even outside (with auto brightness tho) and the battery is more than enough to keep you charged for more than a day and even if other phones can last longer, lets be real, when you come home from school work etc... the first thing you do is charge your phone! doesnt matter what % youre left with, everyone charges their phone whenever they get the chance so they make sure they are not stuck at some point so thats very irrelevant to me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is auto brightness on the Xperia 1 in regards to screen longevity / pixel burns? Is it safe to always use auto brightness? I really like the auto brightness on the Xperia 1, first Xperia I actually use auto brightness on (previous LCD Xperias were like, far too bright in auto brightness mode).
EliasAlucard said:
How is auto brightness on the Xperia 1 in regards to screen longevity / pixel burns? Is it safe to always use auto brightness? I really like the auto brightness on the Xperia 1, first Xperia I actually use auto brightness on (previous LCD Xperias were like, far too bright in auto brightness mode).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it is related because some people like to use max brightness even in lowlight which will hurt the screen because its oled, if you want you can check out the reports on youtube using oled screens.
if you also search you will find that apple has made it very hard to find the switch to turn off auto brightness on their latest devices that use oled, its not as easy as it was finding that option because they want to prevent users from using bright settings in lowlight conditions because that will help prevent pixel burns. and sony's approach is to simpley minimize the max brightness on manual so users dont over-use brightness in which case this will also help prevent pixel burn which leaves the device more pleasing in terms of screen in the long run.
now if you are using auto brightness this will not hurt your screen because the device will lower itself when you are in lowligh/in doors and will only go high when youre outside.
Although if you can notice also, the brightness on auto will be like manual on max even outside, but will only go brighter when youre using camera or watching media, but using normally like instagram or chrome or whatever it will only be as bright as manual on max when youre outside, which is an even more inelegant approach to help prevent pixel burn.
Bottom line is, Oled screens WILL have pixel burns, but in terms of how soon? or how bad the effect? that depends on the usage of brightness, thats why Sony's oled screens will last longer because of their approach.
Pros:
Screen
Speed
Design
System
Camera
Memory
Cons:
Average Battery life
A bit bigger
No Edge screen as XZ3
No 90-120Hz touch
Price and market availability
Fingerprint sometimes mess

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Nubia Red Magic 5G Lite, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Nubia Red Magic 5G Lite is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Good Specs, Bad Software (China Rom)
I'm not sure if I am right to post this here as I'm using Nubia Play 5G. I've read that it's almost identical to the Nubia Red Magic 5G lite and seeing that no one else have posted anything yet, I thought I could share my opinion. -Mods, do inform me if my review isn't right to be posted here-
Firstly, the design and comfort of use.
I have fairly short thumbs and I didn't realized how that I would be making a jump coming from the Pocophone F1. The phone is definitely heavier than the F1 due to the larger 5100mah battery compared to the 4000mah of the F1. Holding the phone (with a cover), its comfortable in my hands. The weight distribution is just right for me. Not heavy at the top. This is a big plus for me as I have rather small hands & thumbs. To access the top of the screen, there's an in built option for the 3 button navigation where I hold the home buttons, and the notification panel would come down.
For gaming, I do apologize for not being a phone gamer despite the phone being marketed towards gamers. I've tried playing PUBG. I'm by no means a pro. Definitely a noob as I literally just started playing it. The shoulder capacitive buttons is pretty comfortable to use. I used to play PS3 and this is somewhat familiar to me. I would recommend gamers making use of the shoulder buttons.
Secondly, 144hz display
Silky smooth AMOLED display. No noticeable ghosting. Scrolling is darn smooth. Switching to 90hz for the balance of smoothness and battery life is pretty great as well. It's still smooth.
Brightness, solid sunlight visibility. I constantly work in the sun and the display is brightly lit that I could see it clearly even without having to focusing much. The big 6.65" could be a factor to seeing this clearer. Definitely solid display for me. Also, speakers darn loud and pretty clear. Only distortion when you put it on max volume but I doubt you'll do that on everyday use
Thirdly, 5100mah battery
5100mah is solid. I'm getting 7hrs of SOT with almost max brightness + GPS for 3-4 hours and bluetooth earpiece.
On days of normal usage. Get easily past 24 hours with 20+% or even more if you're a light user.
- Display set to 90hz
Forth, RESTRICTIVE Software.
I'm not kidding when I say its darn restrictive. I roughly understand what I'm getting into when I was purchasing a china rom version of this phone. However, I was still horrified. Unable to change launcher, no support for OK GOOGLE, unable to change default sms messenger, and a few more restrictions that I couldnt remember but these few are my main concern.
- As a driver for my job, I often use OK GOOGLE to help me change music/navigate me around town while I'm driving. This phone (China ROM issue probably) has no support for OK GOOGLE. The option of OK GOOGLE is greyed out. I've tried numerous "fix" or "workarounds" but to no avail. I'm honestly disappointed with this.
- Launcher wise, the default launcher is pretty much like the old iOS where there's no appdrawer (no settings I could see that can change this) however there is folders and widget. Coming from Nova Launcher this is darn restrictive to me.
- Notifications is a hassle at first. I was wondering why my pocophone was still receiving notifications from social media whereas the Nubia was silent. I soon realized that I had to manual set the notifications for all downloaded apps to be turned on. Reminds me of the days when Android Marshmallow was released and there were few buggy Samsung ROMs with this issue. After setting up for every app it works now.
DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE IF YOU'RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH ANY OF THE ISSUES THAT I'VE MENTIONED. THERE'S NO WORKAROUNDS AS FAR AS I KNOW
Fifth, mediocre camera
48MP? more like 12 or 16MP then upscaled to 48MP.
I like to capture lots of photos and I wasnt expecting much from this phone as it is catered for gaming.
- 48MP is very, very mediocre. My F1 can take better photos with better dynamic range and better details (On GCAM). Even trying with GCAM the details is bad (I could be using the wrong config for the GCAM)
- Low light is horrible. On the default camera app. It looks upscaled from a 2MP camera with mediocre brightness. With the GCAM, its brighter. No change to the amount of detail
- Wide angle, as I know, can only be used in the default camera app. It pretty decent imo. I have no experience with other phones with wide angle. I do apologise for this as I dont often shoot with wide angle.
Sixth, in screen fingerprint.
My experience with fingerprints is usually a dedicated fingerprint sensor. On the F1, it was blazzing fast. On the Nubia, its pretty good too. Mostly accurate even at weird angles.
Seventh, overall speed.
Coming from F1 which was a Qualcomm 845, the Nubia feels pretty much the same on everyday use. I use the latest Youtube Vanced and its a bit buggy. Random crashes while watching videos fullscreen. I just downgraded to the older version, still testing it out. Multitasking is pretty good. Few apps in the background that doesnt get killed while using other apps.
That's my personal review of this phone. Do reply if you have any questions on the other aspects of the phone that I didn't cover in this post.
Thank you for taking your time to read this long post. Cheers!

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