Overall love - LG V40 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 V40, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the LG V40 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Overall I give this phone a solid four out of five. The only thing that is a bit lacking is battery life. That does not really affect me cuz I'm driving all day long and if my battery gets low I just plug in the charger. But if you're someone that doesn't have access to a charger during the day this phone might not be for you. Other than that it's a great phone. The only other flaw that I can find is that some of the games that I used to play on my Sony Z Ultra don't play quite as well on this phone, not due to shear processing power because this phone is smooth as silk, but rather the screen integrates into the bevels of the device so closely sometimes games don't recognize the inputs that you're trying to make because holding the phone by the edges actually makes the game think that you're making some other input (If that made any kind of sense). But at any rate overall, I think this is a great phone. I've had it about a week and was considering turning it in during the 15-day return period but won't. This phone is a keeper. (especially since I got it factory unlocked brand new for $349 and just a year ago this phone was close to $1,000)

Fwiw, my V40 replaced an S7 Edge that died. The V40 was slammed on every review I read for its 'smallish' battery. Android 9 and it's adaptive battery or whatever else is reponsible makes the V40 last a lot longer than the Edge ever did. I've heard Android 10 is even better at battery management
Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

Killer phone. The best deal of the century for $150 on ebay in like new condition. I dont think there is a better deal than LG phones out there. You get a 1-2 year old flagship for like 1/10 of the price. Used iPhones and Samsungs cost a fortune. I've had LG G2, g3, g4, g5,g6, g7, v30, v40 over the last 7 years. I've saved tens of thousands of $ in my family just by getting LG phones for $100-200 instead of buying thousand dollar samsung iphones. not to mention LG had amazing display with much better screen to body ration until almost 2018, back when iphone's screen ratio was like 60%, LG's was 75%+
LG is a top of the line phone for a small fraction of the price.

....do I like saving $15-20 THOUSAND in 7 years from buying LG phones? NO, I LOVE IT!

Related

Who's stilling holding on?

What do you all think? Stilling holding on to the G2 and running strong? With all these shiny new toys released her recently it's got me wanting to upgrade, yet I'm pretty much in the camp of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I've repaired my G2 now a few times and still come out on top. Who else has had really great success with these phones and still loves rocking the G2 even though it's over two years old now?
Definetly holding on.
Wont let go of back buttons and a phone that fits so well for one handed use. Perfect body ratio and screen dimensions for my needs and of course a battery life that to this day can compete with the latest flagships.
The G5? I'm alright. In my eyes, not worthy to pay all that extra $ when nothing much has changed since 2013.
zizuka said:
The G5? I'm alright. In my eyes, not worthy to pay all that extra $ when nothing much has changed since 2013.
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i agree, although i like the camera hardware on g5 which is way ahead G2 (but still not much ahead of g4)
i also agree on the part about the back buttons... i don't get why they abandoned this? it's more ergonomic with the back buttons...
and the bezel to screen ratio goes down again (g2 still has the highest screen to bezel ratio of any g-series devices)
would rather buy LG Xcam than g5...
the force is still strong in g2... does everything i need very well even today...
beankid said:
What do you all think? Stilling holding on to the G2 and running strong? With all these shiny new toys released her recently it's got me wanting to upgrade, yet I'm pretty much in the camp of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I've repaired my G2 now a few times and still come out on top. Who else has had really great success with these phones and still loves rocking the G2 even though it's over two years old now?
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The LG G2's SoC is still a better performer than pretty much all budget and mid-range smartphones of 2015. You got a decent 1080p screen, battery life, and it does not get hot like the G3. The G2 does have significant flaws. The GPS has weak reception, and I personally don't like the camera much because it often takes ages to auto-focus, if it can at all. There is likely no official marshmallow update, although there are a few well established AOSP ROMs like CM13. I applied the cardboard fix to the GPS problem (dunno if it works), installed the stripped down D800 lollipop ROM, boosted the sound, and passed the phone to my dad who only really cares about having big screen and loud sound.
Now that the galaxy s7 is out, I'll be looking for an s6 in a few months when prices go down. As much as I like the g2, the horrible gps and mediocre camera ruin it for me - those two things don't seem that important until you really need them. Plus, it's 2016, time to get a phone with a fingerprint scanner.
The only real upgrade for G2 is a SD820 based phone. Sadly, the majority of announced ones are too gimmicky. X performance and Le max pro seem promising but I bet on new nexuses and Motorola. So, that's one more year of g2 rocking.
Still waiting for Vivo XPlay 5 to be released. I also hope, that some other "Chinese" bands will release something new. I'm not really up to changing my LG G2 with decent hardware, support and battery into some crappy LG G5 with that crappy battery and "fancy" modules. Also bye bye back buttons. Perhaps ASUS will release something new with back buttons again, but based on some newer Intel chipset or S820 with battery at least 4000 mAh.
If nothing will be as good as LG G2 was back then, I'm not even thinking about any changes.
I will definitely buy a G5 this summer, but my g2 will stay strong in my gf's hands.
beankid said:
What do you all think? Stilling holding on to the G2 and running strong? With all these shiny new toys released her recently it's got me wanting to upgrade, yet I'm pretty much in the camp of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I've repaired my G2 now a few times and still come out on top. Who else has had really great success with these phones and still loves rocking the G2 even though it's over two years old now?
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Me, G2 still beat many mid-range phones. Plus, flasholic like me couldn't stand buy a phone then found out that I cant even root it.
I do agree that there hasn't really been anything that has exploded the scene for android phones. I think there is more competition in the race to the bottom with decently priced "mid-range" phones. Pretty excited about the finger print sensor but contactless payments and the added security are really the only reason's I'd argue to upgrade. You know "knock-on-wood" that my phone still stays strong as it's been a great device. Having awesome Devs to upgrade to CM13 and get all the extra software features is awesome!
I am . Not going on another phone ,not now ,I don't really need a fingerprint scanner (to be honest how many ppls are using it ?) ,camera is still doing a great job (don't have any problems with autofocus at all ,maybe in low light condition ) ,battery is still awesome even after 1 year and half of use (still last 1 day with medium use) ,and looking great (just trying to get new cases)
Me too! Not been impressed with the G5 so far. Will still read the reviews and try it out but taller than the G4 with a smaller screen and smaller battery... no thanks. If only they made the G2 again but with the G5 build materials and latest SoC then it would've been perfect for me.
Tried the S7 today but wasn't all that impressed for some reason. Dislike shiny glass back and prefer customisable on-screen buttons.
Hopes resting on the Huawei P9 that is supposed to be 5.2". Hopefully slightly smaller than the P8 with a larger battery.
I'm tying to justify replacing my 2 years old G2 but it appears to be a tough job..
ROM: SRKG2-300
Launcher: Nova Prime. The phone is very smooth.
Battery: About 45 hours with 3-4 SOT which is more than enough for me.
Camera: I'm using Xdabbeb's driver so I have 120FPS slow motion and also 4K recording. I also purchased Xcam LG Settings which is awesome too.
So..basically the main reason I want to upgrade is to have manual controls in the camera (specifically long exposure).
With that in mind, I don't really like the G5.. I don't like the design, the smaller battery, the big size (for the screen) and the HUGE BEZELS.
I kinda liked the V10 but the 808 SOC seems stupid when the 820 is about 50% more efficient.
I did look at the Mi5 which looks awesome but I'm waiting to see the camera review of this phone..
All in all, the G2 is holding strong! Too strong..
One of the best phone ever made
Simply the best ..... No lag...photo quality is superb...display and battery are out of this world....what's not to like !!!
How are you able to get 3-4 hours of SOT!? That's crazy, I've never gotten more than 1.5 hours on mine. I know everyone is different in the use and what they keep on but that's very high!
Anyone else still getting really high battery numbers?
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
beankid said:
How are you able to get 3-4 hours of SOT!? That's crazy, I've never gotten more than 1.5 hours on mine. I know everyone is different in the use and what they keep on but that's very high!
Anyone else still getting really high battery numbers?
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
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You bought your G2 second hand? If so, go change the damn battery.
Mine is 1.5 years old and I still get 6 hours sot, sometimes more sometimes less depending on usage. Sometimes it reaches 9 hours if I just read ebooks offline (with low brightness).
But I dont know what is on D800 maybe it's carrier stuff that is causing the battery to suck to terribly.
I'd say about 90% of each charge cycle, I get about 5 hours 30 mins sot if I let it die completely. G2 is no joke.
No mine is not second hand. I've already changed the battery out with one from etradesupply. The original one hit the dirt this past summer and it's not on the original stock rom either so no carrier bloat. Crazy that you guys are getting that amount of SOT! Might make my case for a new phone even sooner then.... hahah Not sure I'd want to go through the hassle of finding a new battery supplier. Finding good screen replacements for this device was a PIA alone.
zizuka said:
You bought your G2 second hand? If so, go change the damn battery.
Mine is 1.5 years old and I still get 6 hours sot, sometimes more sometimes less depending on usage. Sometimes it reaches 9 hours if I just read ebooks offline (with low brightness).
But I dont know what is on D800 maybe it's carrier stuff that is causing the battery to suck to terribly.
I'd say about 90% of each charge cycle, I get about 5 hours 30 mins sot if I let it die completely. G2 is no joke.
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^ this
mine is 2 years old and i'm getting 4:30 hours sot when i play nfs no limits for an hour... without playing - easy 5 hrs+ sot...
Well....looks like mine might be closer out the door than I thought. I didn't think the battery I bought from Etradesupply was bad since it went from 20mintues SOT to over an 1.5hrs SOT. Looks like I was wrong...
I have come back to the G2 from the land of 5.5" phablets phones!
Got to say its good to be back to a sensible sized device, with a perfectly good set of specs even against everything that has followed it! I went for the G3 when it launched, and simply never felt at home with it compared to the 16Gb D802 that I passed to a family member. I've now picked up a 32Gb D802 in red, in perfect condition for just £100. Rooted, flashed CloudyG2 3.3 .. absolutely the best phone I've ever had, not just from a 'preference' perspective, but compared to most devices that are on the market it is not in any way a bad device to own. In particular I am constantly disappointed by screen to device size ratios, very few ever get close the G2's 75.9% which I see as its greatest asset, add to that a great camera, battery life, and the great button layout and I cannot see my self moving out of this gem for quite some time.

The LG G5 is VERY underrated and underappreciated

Sup y'all, I really wanted to post this because I feel like the G5 is not getting the credit it deserves. But first let me give you a little bit of my smartphone background.
For the past 2 years, I have not kept a single phone for more than a month. The phone that I kept one month was the Galaxy S7 which was as recent as 3 weeks ago. Before that it was the HTC One M8 that I kept for 3 weeks. I constantly chang smartphones and I definitely have a condition . Im stating that because I have tried every phone you can possibly think of that came out from early 2014 till now. Prior to 2014 I wasnt going as crazy as I did the last couple of years. I'm slowing down now so that's good lol.
Just to name a few, I had the S7, Note 5, 6P, V10, G4, S6, S6 edge, S6 edge plus, Moto X, Xperias, Iphone 6s and 6s plus...not going to name them all but you get the point. So I'm very familiar with smartphones and I got a pretty damn good idea how they rank imo and in some areas objectively. The LG G5 is top 5 phones I have ever used EASILY. Is it the very best? No. I'll personally give that to the S7 (exynos variant) but it's right up there.
I got my G5 a few days ago and I'm already in love with it. It's not perfect by any means, but its a damn good phone and when I like or love something I feel the need to speak on behalf of it or defend it....whatever you wanna call it.
The phone has been out for over a month now so I got lucky and I didn't get any build quality issues. My module at the bottom Is perfectly lined up, no warping on the back of the phone, I don't notice any light bleed....my unit is as perfect as can be.
This phone has a fantastic display. I can see it very clearly in sunlight. No it's not as bright as the S7 but it's perfectly fine for me and it is super duper sharp. The wide angle camera is probably the best feature this phone has, it's too dope. I wonder why OEMs didn't think of doing that before, it's really really straight ????.
The performance is OUTSTANDING!!!!! This phone absolutely flies without slowing down ever. No lag, no stutter, it just slices through everything. Battery life is good. Not great, not bad, but it's good. I'd say it's slightly above average. I have only had my phone for 3 days but I get 4 1/2 of screen on time every day. In fact I'm on pace to reach over 5 hours of sot today. Plus I have the extra battery and cradle so I just swap batteries. I have yet to charge my phone, So convenient. Also, this is the thing that inspired me to start this post the most, it's the standby time of this phone. I have never ever ever ever seen anything like this before. Whether in wifi or mobile network data, whether the phone is laying down or is in your pocket, if you don't use the phone it does not drop one percent for HOURS. Im so impressed by that because coming from a Samsung phone, Samsung devices have atrocious standby time. But this is even better than an iPhone. It's absolutely insane.
Which leads me to say this. People bash LG for the G5 design, it's ugly, it feels cheap blah blah blah.....I understand all that. But there's another way to look at it. This is the only flagship to offer a removable battery. Whether you care for that or not you still gotta respect it. And the way it's done is pretty stylish to me, I have fun Everytime I switch the battery. Also they are pretty much the only OEM to still offer the IR blaster. Again, even if you don't use it it's there and it's the fact that LG gives us that option that is cool. Same thing with the coating on the back of the phone that ppl say feels plasticky, but it was done to hide the antenna bands. It seems to me that LG did what they did, having the best interest of the consumers in mind. Of course they wanna make money and all that but they could have easily ditched the removable battery, made a full metal unibody non removable battery device a la Samsung and call it a day. Instead they took the risk with the modularity. Today it's not respected but in the future when we look back at that, we will pay homage to LG for that. Great phone and I would recommend anyone to give it a try, it is totally worth it. I love the LG G5 and I'm very proud of it.
I still think the Exynos Galaxy S7 is overall the better phone, just because of the crazy battery life. In terms of performance they both cancel each other out. In day to day operation, fluidity and seem less operation I have to give it to the G5. In terms of loading apps, especially games and game play I have to give it to the S7. Both leads are minor but I do notice a difference.
The LG G5 is an incredible phone, I'm confident that if you take a 100 ppl on XDA who don't care for this device and let them test the phone for a few days, most of them will have a different opinion about it. I'm glad LG came out with this phone, much respect to them. Cheers!
Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk
I'd like to say that if you have money like that to burn I could use a donation. PM me for my PayPal
kwkw480 said:
I'd like to say that if you have money like that to burn I could use a donation. PM me for my PayPal
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Lol! But actually I didn't burn money like that, I'm pretty good at reselling and buying so I was barely losing money when I was moving in to a new phone. Sometimes I gained money.
Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk
barondebxl said:
Lol! But actually I didn't burn money like that, I'm pretty good at reselling and buying so I was barely losing money when I was moving in to a new phone. Sometimes I gained money.
Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk
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I'm curious how you did this, were you buying on eBay slightly used or what? If you were buying new I feel like you'd be spending a pretty penny each time you switched. Also all the phone setting up, oy vey! I guess that's the exciting time for phone ownership, the first few weeks, but its also the biggest headache . not sure I could do that.
Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk
Off topic about his money.
I agree with you, I had a s5 and not interrested about s7 (it's close to iphone now) and nothing really new.
Lg have balls to make something new this year.
I don't understand why it is underappreciated.
Modules are just a +, wide angle is pretty fun and removable battery is a need.
I saw benchmarks where g5 is better, like read speed memory and in the comments nothing about the g5, just like it doesn't exist.. all are speaking about s7, htc 10, iphone etc..
I'm not saying this is the best phone, but it doesn't deserve these bad comments.
Anyway I don't care, this is my first lg and I don't regret this choice.
The unsung hero!
Couldn't agree more with OP, Yes the G5 is not perfect and in fact it was my second choice, I had initially pre-ordered HTC 10 but cancelled when it was delayed with shipment and went with G5 instead and I'm glad I did I have no regrets!:good:
Granted the HTC 10 hardware build quality and software is superior to G5's but I think internally this is a better phone. That dual lens is far from a gimmick it super useful and fun when taking pictures.
Pros:
- Dual Lens Wide and Normal
- Phenomenal standby time considering 2800mah battery ( Its the best I have seen from all the android phones I have ever owned!)
- Ergonomically feels better in the hand then the HTC 10
- No Lag blisteringly fast, never get too hot.
- Modular design
- Battery life: Light to Medium usage can get 20hrs, Heavy usage can get 15hrs that is amazing!
Cons:
- Although G5 is unibody metal, the finish is not at the level of HTC,Samsung or apple. (Its a case of LG taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back)
- Low capacity battery
- LG UI/skin not at the same level as HTC sense or Touchwiz (Doesn't bother me as I use Nova launcher)
My main gripes with the phone are inital launch bugs such as the auto brightness issue, the FFC bug, and the shorter battety life. Build quality isn't the greatest but its the finish they used that makes it feel worse. I have had 0 slow downs, lags, or any other SW issue that makes the phone unusable. Coming from the Note 5, this phone runs rock solid.
If LG pays attention to this device and regularly updates it. It just might become a 2 year phone for me.
barondebxl said:
Lol! But actually I didn't burn money like that, I'm pretty good at reselling and buying so I was barely losing money when I was moving in to a new phone. Sometimes I gained money.
Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk
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Exactly. You just have to sell at the right time, and keep the phone in great condition. I've done the same over the years.
I agree 100% as well except i'd call the battery life exceptional. I am getting up to 6.5 hours SOT, over a days battery life and that's with wifi and or 4g on permanently, Facebook, Messenger, Whatsapp, Instagram, and screen brightness never lower than 70%, mostly around 90%.
There's only one other phone which can beat it for battery life (S6 and S7 will die very fast at 75 to 100% screen brightness), and that is the HTC one m8. My GF has it, and always has screen at 100% brightness and gets 7 hours SOT regularly.
I would say the G5 is a keeper for me... until a new phone with dual lenses as they are really important to me now.
gfreek said:
Couldn't agree more with OP, Yes the G5 is not perfect and in fact it was my second choice, I had initially pre-ordered HTC 10 but cancelled when it was delayed with shipment and went with G5 instead and I'm glad I did I have no regrets!:good:
Granted the HTC 10 hardware build quality and software is superior to G5's but I think internally this is a better phone. That dual lens is far from a gimmick it super useful and fun when taking pictures.
Pros:
- Dual Lens Wide and Normal
- Phenomenal standby time considering 2800mah battery ( Its the best I have seen from all the android phones I have ever owned!)
- Ergonomically feels better in the hand then the HTC 10
- No Lag blisteringly fast, never get too hot.
- Modular design
- Battery life: Light to Medium usage can get 20hrs, Heavy usage can get 15hrs that is amazing!
Cons:
- Although G5 is unibody metal, the finish is not at the level of HTC,Samsung or apple. (Its a case of LG taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back)
- Low capacity battery
- LG UI/skin not at the same level as HTC sense or Touchwiz (Doesn't bother me as I use Nova launcher)
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Click to collapse
I am hearing so many bad comments about the HTC 10 on their forums about their phones lagging, saying that their nexus or M8's are way smoother. Also hearing that people who have the 10 that have messed with the G5 say the G5 is one of the fastest phones they have ever used. I'm not liking this, I might not get the 10 anymore and might just wait for the htc nexus or note 6.
PaoloMix09 said:
I am hearing so many bad comments about the HTC 10 on their forums about their phones lagging, saying that their nexus or M8's are way smoother. Also hearing that people who have the 10 that have messed with the G5 say the G5 is one of the fastest phones they have ever used. I'm not liking this, I might not get the 10 anymore and might just wait for the htc nexus or note 6.
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The G5 is super well optimized, and it's funny cause usually they suck at that. But They started with the V10 and carried that on to the G5.
Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk
Totally agree with barondebxl !!!!!
To those like me who find themselves dismayed all alarmist posts, where there are countless jumble defects: catastrophic battery, dead pixels, stains on the screen, bars on the screen, GPS problems, bluetooth problems, catastrophic hardware finishes, crackling headphones, too low light, fingerprint sensor problem, not good pictures etc, etc ...
In these readings, I almost canceled my preorder.
Coming from a Note 3 that still works perfectly optimized by the root, very powerful, I do not really "need" to change (except for Note foist said to my half awaits impatiently ^^)
But I decided to wait and see: possible return within 15 days.
I received April 29 (Darty) and discovered the LG interface after 5 years spent with Samsung.
Balance sheet after two weeks where my point of comparison is the Samsung Note 3:
Connectivity: I have no problem with the Bluetooth (pairing is no problem with my car radio, other smartphones ...), GPS (waze no problems), the sound works well, whether media , headphones, telephony.
My battery holds without problem two examples:
17h22. to reach 26% 41% Desktop / 21% inactive phone / waze 9% / 6% Playstore / facebook 6% / 4% sleep / mood 3% / 1% OS
33h15 to arrive at 18%: 37% inactive phone / 28% screen / 7% waze / 6% cellular sleep / 5% facebook / 5% lge exchange / 3% OS / 2% mood (sms)
Charging is fast (i confess that I did not time it, but it is faster than the Samsung)
I let the still active bluetooth, GPS only with Waze (40 to 50 min / day) network that oscillates much between 4G, 3G and even Edge (travel between city and countryside -network Bouygues), always on the still active there including the night (I should point out that I lose with 0% at night.)
No physical problems: no scratches, bad finishing module that bad snaps from day between the bottom of the phone and body.
I was a little afraid of the boss of the sensors on the back of the device but frankly, I am pleased to see that it does not appear that much, and it is not unsightly.
The battery system is surprising: it is always afraid of the clip / unclip, but no concern to undo and return on the basis or the CamPlus.
No not with accessories problem earphones and CamPlus + official hull that were offered with the pre-order: the CamPlus fits well, is taken well in hand, but is certainly not very "pretty "globally on the phone, but it is not just that.
The shell fits perfectly to the body of the phone works perfectly for the always on, and all notifications which are inter-act: calls, alarms, always on, and it closes well, contrary to what I read.
Side screen and picture, no problem of light leakage spots, bars other dead pixels, or brightness: neither always on (which I find even too bright at night) or read (I often find very / too bright, which I blamed the Samsungs, consistently lowering the brightness).
The colors are true, I was afraid to "come down" to the LCD after enjoying the AMOLED. I actually detects nothing shocking about this change.
The pictures are good, more natural than photoshopped and instagrammé effect affixed by Samsung. The details are present, bright colors without being flashy, the wide mode with the dual sensor is a real plus, not too distorting effects.
I'm always trying to domesticate the manual mode, which offers many possibilities of shots, it's a bit complicated when not used, and there is no manual or explanatory guide.
system side: I'm V10c-EUR-XX is fluid, no lag. I returned to routinely Next launcher, I was pleased that LG will not rot their device with a multitude of useless apps, LG or Google or other partners. I easily off those that do not interest me, very few.
I installed Greenify, following me since its appearance, especially for apps such FB, twitter and G + that tend to reactivate and drain the battery.
No problem with the SD CARD, I can transfer what I want it, no recognition problem with my PC when I connect them together.
Small negatives: the USB3 cable is not plugged really well; it is not set as a USB 2 or 3. If the moves being transferred, it disconnects.
The app LG Health is a little less complete than the S Health (maybe time to get used to it), I especially regret not being able to return data on previous days.
Why the shell has thee an open window? I fear that the screen is scratched. The S view from Samsung was entirely covering the screen, and it worked well....
I do not yet fully tested CamPlus am, I hope to have good weather (and time) to do so soon.
That, I think I have everything reviewed ^^
I am fully satisfied with my choice and happy to have left the Samsung microcosm.
And for those who hesitate, I tell them: go ahead, throw yourself in the water !!
I still dont have the lg g5 because im waiting for the root to be released first. However, for those haters, i would like to say that if you dont like your lg g5 you can send it to me lol i will pay for the shipping.
Now, im going to comment in favor of the lg g5 even if i dont have it yet. Every phone has its flaws. There is not perfect phone yet because every customer has something they would like to add or remove. I currently own an S5 and im desperate to buy the lg g5, and not the s7 nor htc 10. And for me, huge flaws are the following ones: lack of slot for external sd card, no removable battery, burn in screen, and back easily breakable.
I dare you to leave your s7 with screen on and full brightness with an image with very saturaded color, and status bar on for half a day. That would be your biggest mistake(burn in image) . Here i am with my s5 with amoled screen and burn in image. Now, personally, the s5 is way better than the s7 in many aspects. And the s7 to me was like 1 steps forward 4 steps back for samsung. I was a fan of samsung but not anymore.
People who talk bad about the appearance, seems to be obsessed with just that. And i was wondering, do people always carry their phones without the cover? I really doubt that most of them do, and despite covers offer protection, they also cover the (what so many people call premium design and feeling). So, why to argue about the appearance when you will put it inside a cover anyway? Grow up and get over it.
Also, there is the problem with people complaining about the modules. Understand people, that's just an additional feature, and whether you want to buy more modules or batteries or not is not an obligation, it is an option. Thats way better than what samsung has done previously. Which is limiting your options. When you buy an any item, do you buy an item which is very limited on its functionality? Or do you buy an item that do more than it has to offer... I dont know you but LG has just opened a new gate on the era of smartphones. And probably samsung will end up copying it, and all other phones as well. Sure i heard that google was developing a new modular smartphone but they have taken so long, and whoever release their product first thats the one who desetve the 1st place that honors the feature. And that resulted to be LG.
Just my opinion hahaha
Totally agree !
I have burn in on my Note 3: the notification bar on top of the screen
I always use dark wallpapers and themes, night mode, except with Waze- > fatal error... :-/
Send from my LG G5 using Tapatalk
Have to agree with the OP. I absolutely love my G5!
As you can see from my Signature pic I have been through many manufacturers (including Samsung) and ended up sticking with LG for a while now. Loved my G3 (the 2gb/32gb version of course), the G4 was a step up in all aspects (once I got LG to replace the early motherboard with a new one that doesn't get bootloop), and now the G5 is just WOW. So fluid and smooth and the wide angle lens is brilliant. I have just come back from holiday with my partner who has an iPhone 6 Plus - arguably the best iPhone so far. Usually they take all the 'good' shots outside (my G4 beat indoors easily), but this time it was ... ' oh can you take that as I can't fit it all in'... even on the NORMAL angle I fitted more in, and widescreen well... no need to even comment! The picture quality is really good, colours look natural, and even though my Cam Plus module didn't turn up before I went away (grrr) the phone was a godsend!
I have no issues with bluetooth, the GPS works fine (with NavFree, Navigator and Google Maps), all my social apps work great, and thanks to Three UK and their free country roaming I had H+ throughout most of my Scandinavian trip!!
I know it has it's flaws. The screen has very slight 'bend' in the lower corners, and I hope this will be OK with my new glass protector when it arrives, but if not I will simply get it swapped out for one that doesn't have the bend issue. Compared to some issues I've had that is so minor it's not worth mentioning. Compare it to my friends who spend £700+ on top end iPhones who had them go all 'curved' simply by having them in their pockets!
I've had my G5 for a little over 3 weeks now and I must say that I am seriously digging this phone. I was team HTC up until the M9 which wasn't a bad phone...just very mediocre in most regards. One thing I LOVE about this phone is the camera, man this thing takes amazing pictures and the wide angle lense is a very welcomed plus. Battery life for me has been good but not great, standby is great but it drains a little on the fast side under moderate usage, overall not bad. The build has some minor detail issues that I no longer see because I put the phone in a case.
A lot of phones receive negative press and do not fully deserve it. I believe the G5 and HTC 10 both have received tough reviews, but both seem to be damn good phones. A lot of people subconsciously base their opinion off of the opinions of reviews and it seems to muddy the waters.
lilhaiti said:
I've had my G5 for a little over 3 weeks now and I must say that I am seriously digging this phone. I was team HTC up until the M9 which wasn't a bad phone...just very mediocre in most regards. One thing I LOVE about this phone is the camera, man this thing takes amazing pictures and the wide angle lense is a very welcomed plus. Battery life for me has been good but not great, standby is great but it drains a little on the fast side under moderate usage, overall not bad. The build has some minor detail issues that I no longer see because I put the phone in a case.
A lot of phones receive negative press and do not fully deserve it. I believe the G5 and HTC 10 both have received tough reviews, but both seem to be damn good phones. A lot of people subconsciously base their opinion off of the opinions of reviews and it seems to muddy the waters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, all the reviews keep saying S7 Edge... so I went to buy an S7 Edge. Luckily, last minute I followed my guts and got the G5. Boy I'm happy with this phone!
I had it with me in Europe and it is amazing. :good::good::good:
Angie* said:
Totally agree !
I have burn in on my Note 3: the notification bar on top of the screen
I always use dark wallpapers and themes, night mode, except with Waze- > fatal error... :-/
Send from my LG G5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahahah that's what i thought at first. That the notification bar was the one burned in the screen, but it is the opposite, because the notification bar is pure black, it doesnt degrade the pixels from is true colors. The areas of pure blackness in the phone with amoled screen doesnt use the pixels, instead it turn them off. You just have to search on google for a white image and put it in a full screen mode. You will see that there are 2 whites. One one kind of yellowish turning brown, and the other one is the best one an amoled screen can achieve. Therefore, your situation is just like mine. We have our screen about 95 percent completely burn, the other 5 percent is not burn. And if you leave an image with multiple colors and some sections with pure black then only the color parts will burn in. Then black part wont.
joseguillen1994 said:
hahahah that's what i thought at first. That the notification bar was the one burned in the screen, but it is the opposite, because the notification bar is pure black, it doesnt degrade the pixels from is true colors. The areas of pure blackness in the phone with amoled screen doesnt use the pixels, instead it turn them off. You just have to search on google for a white image and put it in a full screen mode. You will see that there are 2 whites. One one kind of yellowish turning brown, and the other one is the best one an amoled screen can achieve. Therefore, your situation is just like mine. We have our screen about 95 percent completely burn, the other 5 percent is not burn. And if you leave an image with multiple colors and some sections with pure black then only the color parts will burn in. Then black part wont.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These amoled now operate differently than it used too, the black is still on now, they are slightly lit, unlike the very early version, just go into a totally dark room and use a pixel tester for a total black screen, you can see the black is still lit.
@joseguillen1994 : ouch !!
Is it true ? It's frightening !
I'll always use dark wallpapers and themes, to preserve the screen !! ?
Send from my LG G5 using Tapatalk
kms108 said:
These amoled now operate differently than it used too, the black is still on now, they are slightly lit, unlike the very early version, just go into a totally dark room and use a pixel tester for a total black screen, you can see the black is still lit.
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Click to collapse
HA! to make it worst hahaha. well, i think im ready to change to the lg g5 as soon as the root for the h830 is released. Just imagine that i bought my father an LG g3 and i almost told him to exchange it with me lol! It is way faster than the s5, sure, the picture of the lg g3 is not as good as the s5, however, i bet the lg g5 can beat the s5 camera even if they have the same amount of mega pixels. It's not that im against samsung, but a dont feel like buying a new screen everytime i leave the screen on, or that every 6 month to 1 1/2 i have to buy a new screen. The day that AMOLED screens solve this issue then i might consider to go back to them. Otherwise, im out of AMOLEDs . I dont really care about pure black colors in a phone, in the end when you pass the photos to computer they all have the same black lol. By the way. thanks for letting me know about how AMOLED works now.
---------- Post added at 04:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------
Angie* said:
@joseguillen1994 : ouch !!
Is it true ? It's frightening !
I'll always use dark wallpapers and themes, to preserve the screen !! ��
Send from my LG G5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why they suggest to use dark wallpapers, because by using it you will use less battery, but that only qualifies for AMOLED screen, However i put IPS and AMOLED Phones in a balance and (i will take samsung again as an example because i have followed the flagship of samsung since the S2 and Note 1 and all of then got burn in screen) i just see that there is not significant improvement in AMOLED devices now. In fact, for me the samsung galaxy s5 is better than the S7 or the S6. The S6 removed the waterproof, the S7 added back the waterproof, the S6 added the IR back, the S7 Removed it. Both S6 and S7 removed the ability to change the battery (unless opened the phone=remove warranty), The S6 had 16 MP of camera, the S7 lowered the pixels of the camera. As you can see i dont really see any real improvement in the s7 or S6 . Removing and putting back, then removing again. In exchange, the LG has show improvement (sure in a slow way, taking its time but the have done it). they even kept the ability of IR which S7 removed. sure, it is not important for many people, however it is there. What makes a phone great or interesting is that even if you dont use a feature at all, the feature is there for if any day something happens, or your interest to use it awakes all of the sudden. It's the same thing people dont understand about the modules, they say that modules are crap , but they don't see the real point of those modules. They are not a need, they are a want (You use it if you want them, not if you need them). And also there are rumors that LG is open for developers who wants to create new modules and they will earn a significant percent of the income generated. So,,,, who knows if there will be even more interesting things than we are currently seen on the LG G5. (I have always appreciate the smartphone developers who give us the option in case we need them :good::good::good::good::good

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 Moto G5S Plus, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Moto G5S Plus is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
XDA_RealLifeReview said:
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 Moto G5S Plus, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Moto G5S Plus is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well Said..!
I was a pixel user. After trying this phone. I totally moved to G5S. Specifically the battery backup....loving it overall....
Hoping to see ROM's soon...
smooth performance ,
good memory mgmt ,
good display ,
bit a small battery for a 5.5" FHD display !!!
but , SD 625 helps there
rasik107 said:
smooth performance ,
good memory mgmt ,
good display ,
bit a small battery for a 5.5" FHD display !!!
but , SD 625 helps there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does that mean SD 820 / 825 is optimized for greater battery backup or its just the SD 625 that does the magic?
Just curious to know.
Premkrishna said:
So does that mean SD 820 / 825 is optimized for greater battery backup or its just the SD 625 that does the magic?
Just curious to know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
both chipsets are great and manufactured on 14nm FinFET Process...
both are battery friendly also due to 14nm process !
for great performance + power efficiency we can consider 820 and ,
for mid-range performance + power efficiency we can consider 625 (625 performs well , not doubt )
Really worth of money
In Love
I am in love with this baby. Only the thing I am upset with Moto team is of the disabled LED light near the front camera. What logic is that? If that is for rooted phones then why rooting should void warranty? Nonsense! They don't want customers to enjoy the features in legal way.
Moto Singh said:
I am in love with this baby. Only the thing I am upset with Moto team is of the disabled LED light near the front camera. What logic is that? If that is for rooted phones then why rooting should void warranty? Nonsense! They don't want customers to enjoy the features in legal way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you need LED light when you have Moto Display...?
Geogliff said:
Why do you need LED light when you have Moto Display...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because moto display wakes up at the slightest hint of movement. If I place it on my bed and I sit on the other end of bed it will light up. That's going to waste a lot of battery
1 star less for the camera.
Premkrishna said:
Well Said..!
I was a pixel user. After trying this phone. I totally moved to G5S. Specifically the battery backup....loving it overall....
Hoping to see ROM's soon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi I am new to xda I would like to ask u on a scale from 1 to 10 how much would u give to pixel and how much to g5s plus.
Aayush124 said:
Hi I am new to xda I would like to ask u on a scale from 1 to 10 how much would u give to pixel and how much to g5s plus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't speak for Pixel but can speak for Nexus 6P.
I loved my Nexus. Had been a Nexus user since the Nexus 4. The 6P, when it worked, was the capstone of the Nexus range. Gorgeous big screen, well built, excellent performance. I would still be using it now if the well known battery issues (check the forums) hadn't come and bit me. Replaced the battery twice and maybe eked another 6 months out of the phone but I realised recently I needed to get rid of the 6P now if it was to have any resale value.
Looking around there was nothing that real worked as a successor. Wasn't taken with either of the first gen Pixels, and the prices of comparable current phones to the 6P is just insane. Even if I could afford £800-odd I wouldn't pay it for a phone.
For a replacement my criteria was:
5.5 inch or better screen
Half decent ram and processor (so min 3Gb and a Snapdragon 625)
Decent battery life
Ideally no more than £300 - or £400 for a demonstrably premium device.
I had been looking at importing one of the Xiaomi devices, and had briefly looked at a few of the Motorola devices. The G5 series screens were too small, and while I considered the Z Play range they didn't really hit the killer piece/performance mark for me.
When I read the reviews of the G5S Plus I thought "hmmm" - £250 and fulfils my performance, screen size and price criteria. Battery seemed acceptable if not stellar. What sold me was a video where I saw the use of the fingerprint scanner for swipe navigation and the gestures for one handed mode. I'd used a custom rom on the 6P with a one handed mode (which is essential for a big screen) and knowing the G5S Plus had this as stock was the deal clincher.
Have been running it for a little under a week and I have to say I'm impressed.
The screen is very nice. The colours don't "pop" like on the 6P but otherwise it is excellent. Clear and bright, very visible in the day even under direct sunlight. The difference in resolution (1080p v 1400ish p) is not very visible (to my eyes).
Build quality is excellent and it feels just as premium as the 6P did.
The phone runs fluidly and in daily use for email, browsing and general comms needs the experience is pretty much indistinguishable from the 6P. I am also enjoying the swipe to navigate, which is very intuitive and gives me back some of the screen real estate I lost from the 6P.
I am not someone who is particularly bothered about cameras. The couple of pictures I have taken look like the objects I was taking a picture of. The rest I'll leave to someone who cares to give a judgement on!
Overall though, I am very pleased. You get a lot of phone for your money. It is perhaps not quite as good value as the some of the Xiaomi devices, but if you are in the UK I think you'll struggle to find something that's better value and works as well without importing (with all the complications that go with it).
How much would I give the Nexus 6P when the battery is fully charged and it isn't randomly powering off? 9 out of 10 - marvellous phone, the best I've ever had. I will miss it.
How much would I give the Moto G5s? A very close honourable second with 8 out of 10. Does virtually everything the Nexus does (for me) at a much more economical price.
Moto Singh said:
I am in love with this baby. Only the thing I am upset with Moto team is of the disabled LED light near the front camera. What logic is that? If that is for rooted phones then why rooting should void warranty? Nonsense! They don't want customers to enjoy the features in legal way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is my biggest gripe with this phone too. Disabling the led notification light makes no sense. I don't like the Moto notifications. Turning on the screen again and again at the smallest movement uses a lot of battery.
Otherwise, this is a great phone. I moved from the LG Stylo 2 plus. I really like the screen, more RAM, faster processor, and fingerprint scanner on the front.
The phone was good, very good in terms of performance. But I had one only for 11 days because my screen cracked after just a 3 feet drop (!). Sold it and bought a Mi A1, and the latter one is better.
Pretty solid phone. The stock ROM is very sufficient with a non-too-shabby camera and focus features, however I found using Open Camera yielded faster and crisper results. The battery life is quite expected to last a day and charge times are usually an hour and a half with fast charge. There's a much anticipated Oero update on its way which might improve a lot of the features. On custom ROMs, this instance being Oreo, it is very much faster and succintly utilises battery and RAM to apply a wide variety of tweaks. The dev environment is quite good for the XT1806 because of its prevalence in the US, however compatability of ROMs with other NFC-enabled variants (such as the XT1805) would be appreciated. Overall, very solid phone and worth it's price tag.
Just order my 32GB Sanders, Open box from Best Buy, for $212. Its basically new and comes with all accessories, so I couldn't pass up the price. Less than I paid for my G5 Plus! Excited to get it next Tuesday and will post my thoughts on whether it was worth the upgrade over Potter once I receive it.
I could only give this phone 4/5 stars.
I'm glad I pre-ordered the phone directly from Motorola because I paid $299 USD for the 64GB US version and received it as soon as available. It seems to be worth more, now.
I'm NOT glad I ordered the phone at all, because despite having very acceptable specs at a good price, the radios seem to work terribly. It's not my area, it's definitely the phone. Both my girlfriend on her Verizon iPhone and me on my previous Virgin Mobile Moto G3 had 4G LTE all the time at home, and most of the time driving around. Occasionally my girlfriend's VZW phone would have service in rural pockets where my VM/Sprint phone lost network, so for the G5S Plus I switched my carrier to Straight Talk with a ST/Verizon SIM.
Since day one, my G5S Plus has NEVER shown full bars, at any service level. Most of the time AT HOME, I have 1 or 2 bars of oldschool 4G (non-LTE) -- occasionally it drops to 2 bars of 3G and most of the time when I'm driving around it's either a low 3G signal or a low 1X signal - even in the middle of Albany, a city well covered by Verizon, there are spots where MY phone drops to 1X! Meanwhile my girlfriend still has 4G LTE on her iPhone.
This is getting to be a real dealbreaker for me. I found a thread someone else posted about having more or less the same problem. He was using Verzion as well, through a different MVNO. Is this phone known to have poor performance when used on Verizon's network? Lemme ask a different question, is this phone known to have GOOD service on ANY particular network? For anyone?? I would love to know what experience the majority of people are having. Maybe another poll...
I've noticed this problem exists regardless of the ROM (tried stock nougat ROM, lineage oreo, gzr validus oreo - all the same result). My guess is the all-metal body wasn't designed with the pre-existing G5 Plus hardware in mind, since the only things they changed are the screen size, cameras and the chassis, maybe they goofed and the radio inside the metal body sucks. Or it's not selecting the proper APN automatically. I suppose there is a small chance it's a software issue which may be addressed with a future radio update, but for now I'm miffed.
---------- Post added at 08:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:46 PM ----------
itslels said:
Just order my 32GB Sanders, Open box from Best Buy, for $212. Its basically new and comes with all accessories, so I couldn't pass up the price. Less than I paid for my G5 Plus! Excited to get it next Tuesday and will post my thoughts on whether it was worth the upgrade over Potter once I receive it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad you got such a good deal. Actually back in September, Amazon had the G5 Plus 64gb (W/OUT ads) for $229 so I bought it. The phone I received worked fine and I don't mind smaller screens, but there was a sort of banding effect in the screen. It was like a transparent layer between the LCD and the backlight where every 10 pixels down, or so, there was a faint line. No matter what was on the screen, I always noticed the banding. I figured it must be a dud so I asked Amazon to send me a replacement. Second G5 Plus looked exactly the same. I returned both. A month later I preordered the G5S Plus and while I know the graphics driver and pixel output are identical to its predecessor, it is a different display panel and this one is flawless.
So my G5s plus arrived today and I've had a little time with it. Here are my initial thoughts on this as a replacement to my G5 plus.
A lot of people might think it's silly to get the G5s plus if you already own the G5 plus, but I'm glad I did. This phone is what the G5 plus should of been originally. The build quality alone is a nice upgrade. It feels so much nicer and sturdier in the hand. And the buttons feel much nicer when pressed and not mushy at all. I actually love the buttons on this device lol.
The little extra screen space is nice and the panels used in this phone are clearly of better quality then the G5 plus. Battery life seems equal to the G5 plus and the camera, sadly, is about equal too. The camera should of been a bigger improvement and is probably my only complaint. It's still a serviceable camera though.
All this added to the fact that I got it cheaper than I paid for my G5 plus, and it has 1GB more ram, doesn't having me feeling any regrets. This is an amazing phone for $214.
one of the worst phones i have ever bought slow laggy near impossible to restore to stock if you unlock bootloader either keep a rom or throw in a bin avoid the phone and motorolla in general not a good phone
I realy like this phone . Good battery backup, cant get this much battery backup from any other 3000 mah battery phone i have used. Minimal heat from screen in brightness conditions, only camera is a bit disappointed, compared to my moto x play. Sound clarity is also good.

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 LG G7 One, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the LG G7 One is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
i'm coming from the G4, which i have a lot of negative things to say about due to LG basically abandoning it not too long after launch - i said i wouldn't buy LG again but the super bright screen and android one lured me back in (plus i needed to know all the LTE bands would be supported here in canada).
overall i'm enjoying the device, the screen is gorgeous and performs very nicely in bright light. the operating system is pretty darn zippy and responsive, the CPU doesn't run too hot and although i would prefer more RAM it's performing pretty well all told. no real issues so far other than the abysmal rollout on "monthly" security updates (they skipped february and took until the 21st for march's). the default camera app is okay i spose, although i installed the gcam apk from the relevant thread here and have been pretty happy with it other than what i perceive as a bit of lag in taking images. the device boots up quickly, the fingerprint scanner is accurate and fairly fast, but i have to say that the speaker itself does not sound as "full" as my G4 in everyday use although it definitely goes louder - it sounds a bit shrill in the hand, but my bluetooth headphones sound just dandy. haven't actually tried wired cans, but bluetooth in general is quick to connect and my amazfit bip watch is much happier than with my previous phone. range is excellent and i've had no disconnect issues as of yet.
personally i can't stand the google assistant key, so i ended up buying "button remap" by the fabulous @flar2 and made it dance to my satisfaction, which had the side benefit of uncoupling the volume key controls so i can manage just the ringtone/notifications separate from media (pie has some weird ideas, imo). LTE reception is excellent, all the bands worked out of box and my Fido sim had no issues with automagically choosing the correct APN, and overall data throughput is good, call quality is good. handfeel is pretty decent, although without a case it's slippery as all out and i definitely wouldn't try to operate it that way. the design is not particularly inspired, and availability/price is atrocious and typical of LG not seeming to care about their mobile division. battery life isn't the best, i'm not sure why they went with a 3000mAH sized cell, but the fast charge works excellent - although the included usb c cable does NOT support the full 18w (my inline meter says it peaks at 12w, and i had to get a different cable to get it to charge at rated speed/voltage).
personally, i find the notch to be rubbish (nacho notch improved things visually) and the notification led is small, not bright, and seemingly not very adjustable. obviously the speed of security updates is garbage, as is the lack of an actual usb driver and the likely never to be unlocked bootloader is typical LG. the screen has a slight curve on the sides, which meant that the tempered glass screen protector i picked up with the phone doesn't cover the entire screen side to side which is silly as there was no need to curve the screen other than trying to look cool/riding samsung's tip ;b
overall the phone feels like kind of an afterthought by LG, and i don't get the impression that they're going to support this device very much. i paid $539 CAD for it on amazon and definitely wouldn't want to pay more for it, but android one and the screen are definite saving graces. perhaps not enough to justify it versus other devices on the market, but it is what it is. /rant
I concur with most of what you said. I got the phone for $0 with a two-year plan on Bell. They dropped the price quickly. The price you paid for the phone outright seems good.
I would add that sometimes the scrolling is jumpy and stutters, maybe depending on what site you are on. Sometimes it is as smooth as butter. Maybe 4GB is not enough. Also, despite having the option for and SD card, I think this phone should have shipped with 64GB.
The chassis is slippery as hell, bought a TPU case off Amazon and it makes a huge difference.
Because LG promised two years of software updates, we should be getting TWO major updates AFTER Pie, to Android R, but I'm not holding my breath. If it stops at Q, and LG tries to tell us it's because we had Oreo out of the box, the Android One program will lose a lot of credibility. Watch it happen though. I don't think LG will bother supporting a two-year old phone with the latest Android version.

Z4- The phone for me

Anyone who has their doubts about this phone... I get it. Motorola is in a unique situation with their Z lineup of phones. What once started out as a phone with an unbreakable screen and flagship specs has now become a mid-range device with a breakable screen and an attractive price point. This phone is a steal on Verizon for just $10 a month on a new line. The unlocked price of $499 with the 360 camera mod is a pretty good value as well. So Motorola is pushing value with the Z4, and I'm here for it. So I bought a Z4 despite watching every YouTube review that told me to buy a Pixel 3a instead... And I'm so glad that I did. This phone is a BEAST... And I'm coming from an LG G8.. a "high-end" Android device. Don't get me wrong I loved my G8, and had no intentions of abandoning it as my daily driver. I bought the Moto Z4 for two reasons. Value & Fun. I still had a lot of my Moto Mods from my Z2 force and I missed playing emulators on my phone with the Moto Gamepad so I figured for the price, this would be a great "fun" second phone. Now it is my daily driver. The killer feature on this phone is battery life. The 3a doesn't come close, nor does my G8. I can literally go for two days without needing a charge-up, and I'm on my phone 24/7. What made me apprehensive about this phone was the Snapdragon 675 processor. I knew my performance that I'd come to love would take a hit. Especially with gaming and running so many apps... To my surprise, this "mid-range" processor has surpassed my expectations. Yes, I notice a difference coming from the G8, but I'd put it on par with the prior year's G7. The main place that you notice slow down with the mid-range processors is on System boot-up and gaming. Day to day activities like Web Browsing, GPS, Snapchat, YouTubing, etc... You won't be able to tell a difference. Going from 6 gb of ram to 4gb was never a big deal to me because no one really needs 6gb of ram on their device. The Camera on this phone is INCREDIBLY detailed and it beats my G8 for most shots. I'm assuming Pixel's 3a would probably win the camera war, but that's about it... And that's why so many reviewers were wrong about this phone. I love the backwards compatibility with all of the Moto Mods and they all fit quite nicely despite what you may read online. LTE speeds on this phone are really nice. I live in a rural area and don't always have the best 4G speeds or signal strength but the Z4 hasn't let me down. I hope to see more development grow for this device being that Bootloader Unlock and root is as simple as unlocking from Motorola's website and patching your boot image with Magisk. After unlocking and rooting, I've been hard at work pushing this "mid-range" device to its MAXIMUM and trust me when I say it flies.
And here are some random camera samples!
I second this. I was apprehensive about buying the Z4 at first, and even smack talked it a bit when I first seen the specs compared to previous Z line products. Boy was I wrong. I absolutely love this phone.
My only complaint at first was the fingerprint scanner. But simply adding the same finger twice fixed that issue.
This from the guy with the Android tattoo ??
I fully agree with you! Came from a OnePlus 6T McLaren, but missed all the fun I had with my Moto Mods the time I still had my Moto Z and Z3 Play devices. When I got the opportunity to buy a second hand Moto Z4 directly from Germany, I took the chance and bought it with the hope, it would be sufficient to me. I have had it for less than a month now and I still do not regret to have bought it! I do not miss my OnePlus 6T at all! Especially, the usage of InstaShare Projector and 360° Camera is great fun and I have not yet noticed any deficiencies regarding the "weak" mid-range processor (but I am definitely NOT a gamer).
Especially the screen is fantastic! I noticed a huge difference in comparison with the screen of Z3 Play - the Z4 screen's haptics are very much better (it is not that sensible towards input - so it is much easier to write messages free of errors). Microsoft surface stylus types support is very nice, too - for testing purposes, I bought such a cheap pen supporting the MS surface protocol and writing with this stylus really works like a charm!
The only thing I miss with this phone is Dual SIM support.
Excellent and appreciated review but if like to hear more about build quality compared to the LG devices as I was eyeing those as a possible replacement for the S5.
Unfortunately I do not have the unlocked version since I'm in a rural area but without steady work.
Edit: For the much shorter version of this read the last paragraph or two.
I've only owned a few phones
The Droid X goes without saying.
The s3 new from big red but I was able to ditch touch wiz immediately the very first night (but an excited all night with lots of reading) since development was already about six months in.
And an S5 that was one year old when I bought it for like 140 us bucks (she wanted an iPhone). After some quick searching I said yeah 140 will work with me but I detest the gold color. It's cid 15 which I determined before my purchase.
The Droid X was tough as nails I'm telling you. I got it from big red as my first smartphone I got this huge ottorbox(sp?) where I could probably drop it from a cliff onto some rock in the mountains and not hurt it. That case was way too bulky for me.
Very long story a bit shorter for me anyway. I was coming home from working late one night and was going about 60mph on a short but winding road home. But I got home and didn't have my phone, I went back to the office, not there either. I drove slowly home that night in first gear all the way looking for it and was very lucky to spot the phone in the road. I stopped right there put the flashers on as it was an emergency to me... I found the back that night and took a machete to the weeds along the road and found the battery.
Excellent. The screen was not cracked, the phone was scratched on all four corners (probably got lucky) but I put the battery back in and it fired right up no problem and without one scratch on the screen.
The Samsung's were nice too with some development still going on both (for sure my S5 is running pie). But the s3 lasted a couple years and the screen died.
My S5 has fared much better but the screen finally cracked and I'm on my second "extended" battery. I still use it when using a weed eater and the rocks are flying for tunes.
This z4 is way better {fairly heavily disabled apps and permissions with adb) and the build quality reminds me of my first smartphone.. it's made of metal and feels like a high end device should feel in the hand.
I looked at s lot of phones and weighed all my limited options. Save up for a used phone a few years old, or get the g7 power fairly cheap unlocked or get the z4 with big red again.
I'm so glad I made the investment and look forward to finding a used (hopefully) gamepad mod for emulation. Phones in general have come a long way but this device is the best choice for me now.
I'd love root and all that but I'm not missing it as much as I thought I would right now.
After my few days off research on debloating I'm happy and only recently added a new Google account for testing s few things.
I do miss my microg and Google free life I've had with the S5 but again no regrets yet.
I know this wasn't so about the z4 but hope the comparisons help..
The Galaxy's felt cheap for top tier devices compared to my original dx. And this phone brings back that quality feeling.
Edit2 Damn your UI looks more stock than mine but maybe it's the wallpaper or volume.

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