Related
Update on 5/16:
Not having the heat spikes like I was. Keeping the 510 due to superior battery life and file drivers that work great with all third party apps. Also, being able to power and use my 1tb NTSF drive while watching 1080p mkv movies and not worry about battery life is nice.
End
Kind of torn here, as far as what to do. IMO, the A510 for the price, performance and features beats the other current options (Excite 305 too) for a "total" tablet perspective, but the design (or lack of) for heat displacement is the catch. Since the update, the A510 seems to not get as hot (relative statement), but that could be me trying to justify keeping the A510 (I really like it).
1. If browsing or watching video, the right side gets warm, but not hot. That said, it gets warmer than the other current Tegra 3 devices. This is really ironic since the Prime and its metal should feel more hot. This suggests the A510 is getting a lot hotter inside.
2. If playing games that use the GPU a lot, the right side gets hot to the point of not being fun to hold.
3. If using wifi while playing a game- DANG, it gets even hotter.
I still have over 30 days to mess with the A510 (silver BB member), but I can not see how software will fix the issue, unless they throttle the device, so performance would be hit. Seems this could be a hardware issue and perhaps as significant a design goof as Asus with the Prime radios.
Added: Even more ironic since sold my Thive. I have an iPad 3 as well, but like having both and prefer Android between the two (game emulators, drag and drop (no iTunes) and Flash are main reasons).
Update: Here is an exmaple of why I am conflicted. I agree with this review, but think their opinion of the display is too low (it looks real good to me). Key point is the amazing battery life:
http://www.digitalversus.com/tablet/acer-iconia-tab-a510-p12812/test.html
I am in the keep category. I do notice warmth, but nothing more than my laptop or chromebook do. My prime didn't have that issue, but it came with its own suitcase of baggage.
I'm going to try to tax it later and use our thermometer to see how hot I can get it. Not a super scientific device but it should give me an idea. I for one would like to see ya stick around.
Sent from my A510 using xda premium
I unfortunately only had a week to return my A510 and I decided to do it. It is a great device, but the heat issue was very bothersome, especially because my little guy loves to play 3D games.
If you have 30 days to return this, just enjoy the A510 as long as you can and hopefully you will have more certainty on release dates and pricing for the A700 (I know, it could be hot as well) and Infinity Pad before the end of the period. There is also the the upcoming Galaxy Note 10.1 which is supposed to be quad core.
Before I bought A510 I was waiting for the Asus TF300T. I would have gone for the Asus TF201 if there wasn't an abundance of complaints about wifi reception and screen bleeding (considering the price of the device I think the risk was too high).
Watching reviews on youtube made me change my mind so instead of the Asus TF300T I went for the Acer A510 and I don't regret it.
My experience after 2 weeks of use:
Heat: The device gets warm sometimes, but that doesn't worry me much. Comes in spikes sometimes. When playing Dungeon Defender (which uses the Unreal Engine) it was most noticable.
Sound: Great thanks to Dolby. Good stereo separation.
Screen: I find the colder colors of the screen more appealing compared to the IPS screens in the Asus Transformer series. Viewing angles are nice. I only notice a bit of discoloring at extreme viewing angles where whites turn yellowish.
Stability: Had some issues that only appear after certain actions (I suspect warm boots or app updates or a combination of those) and they disappeared after cold boot (using the reset button). So I think it's software related.
Wifi: Getting 30 ~ 40 Mbit/s up and down and a ping as low as 6 ms to the speedtest server from a distance of 3 m from my router (unobstructed). Speed drops to 25 ~ 30 Mbit/s up and down with a ping as low as 14 ms (usually a bit higher) from 12 m with 2 walls in between. (note: this in an environment where the 2,4 GHz band is quite crowded)
Battery life: I think it's good. I got a 10% drop after watching 70 minutes of 720p content streaming over Wifi with the screen on 50% or 75% brightness (I don't remember it exactly) and this was only on the first or second charge.
My conclusion is that it's definately a keeper, especially when it comes to sound, wifi and battery life.
I agree the A510 leans to being a keeper, but need to understand the heat issue better.
The only thing I can think of when graphics processors get really hot is when rendering is not v-sync'ed or framerate locked.
I saw post about a combination of using wifi and 3D graphics that heats the device up. Maybe because AES encryption/decryption takes some processing power? (just a wild guess) You can it with an unprotected wifi connection and see if there's any difference.
There does appear to be two levels of heat:
Hot = 3D gpu function
Real hot = wifi and 3d gpu at same time.
In comparison, the 300 and Prime do not exhibit the heat issues (but both weaker options for me than A510). If any device should get hot, it would be the same Tegra 3 metal backed Prime. It feels (literally) like Acer made zero effort for heat dissipation in the A510 design.
If this lack of design is correct, the A700 will add two new levels of hot. Testing more, but seems it is what it is- a foe in the summer, but friend in the winter
Added: In spite of also being thin and metal like the Prime, the Toshiba Excite does not get hot either and this is pointed out in the video review at the end- the A510 is mentioned as toasty and the Excite as cool during tests. Catch is about three hours less battery life.
I'm keeping mine, even though I got my a510 to heat up to the point where I get a black and locks up twice. But that's after I was messing with alot of tegra 3 games. I used to have a Asus transformer for a month and I hated it, its problems outweigh the a510 heating issue.
Sent from my A510 using Tapatalk 2
My theory is Acer decided on using the space for more battery and less or no heat dissipation. Perhaps the battery module (the frame or case of it) is being used for dissipation (not the best of ideas).
That would explain why the A510 gets very hot and the other Tegra 3 devices barely get warm.
Strange that I can not replicate the heat spikes I was having. It can still get real warm, but not hot like it was a few times.
I wish I knew what people were doing with their a510.
I have never experienced any issues like that mentioned here
nor anywhere else.
Yeah I notice a warm spot, but I have 4 year old laptops that get hotter.
One time since I got it, it wouldn't wake up. I just held the power button, solved.
GPS, perfect. WIFI, perfect. SPEED, perfect. Feel is solid. Glass feels sexy.
My only real complaint, the proprietary micro port....
I've purchased the HTC M9 as soon as the device was available to order online. After using it for two months, I would like to share my experiences with this device. If you are planning on to purchase this device, I would not recommend it.
There is no doubt that the hardware is overkill for a person like me, who uses the device for regular purposes (email, notes, texting, calls, and occasional gaming), but HTC M9 made me have second thoughts. Since the first day I've used this device, I have noticed the heating issue. The heating issue still persists on this device today even on light uses, such as streaming internet radio through car Bluetooth. Monitoring the CPU temperature through the CPU-Z and AIDA64 applications from Google Play Store, I've noticed the CPU throttles to just under 850mhz once the temperature reaches 61'C. When I contacted HTC support, their response was: "The device will throttle the CPU clock to cool down to prevent possible burns and other injuries. Our software engineers will look into this heat issue that you are facing and an engineer will give you a call to get further information." The engineer gave me a call and replaced the device with a new one, which still came with the heat issue - There's basically no solution to this other than to just opt in for another brand's smartphone.
The device is durable. I've dropped it without any casing and there were only a few minor scratches.
There is no doubt that HTC entered the megapixel game with its 20mp camera sensor on the HTC M9. I am disappointed to admit that the camera is subpar compared to my Galaxy Note 3 from 2013. Fuzzy pictures are not acceptable in 2015, but HTC M9 blows this section out the park (sarcasm)! I believe this is a perfect example that megapixels aren't everything to take a sharp and clear photo.
I am sure that HTC optimized the device's software; but its hardware couldn't handle it because of the heating issue that I mentioned above. One aspect that I like about HTC is that HTC seeds their core apps, such as sense home to the Google Play Store, so everyone can always be on the latest version.
CONCLUSION: I personally do not recommend this device because of its hardware. The device does not function like it's supposed to be with those beefy hardware. With the same price of the HTC M9, I should've waited and opted in for the LG G4 or maybe the Galaxy S6.
LTE-X said:
I've purchased the HTC M9 as soon as the device was available to order online. After using it for two months, I would like to share my experiences with this device. If you are planning on to purchase this device, I would not recommend it.
There is no doubt that the hardware is overkill for a person like me, who uses the device for regular purposes (email, notes, texting, calls, and occasional gaming), but HTC M9 made me have second thoughts. Since the first day I've used this device, I have noticed the heating issue. The heating issue still persists on this device today even on light uses, such as streaming internet radio through car Bluetooth. Monitoring the CPU temperature through the CPU-Z and AIDA64 applications from Google Play Store, I've noticed the CPU throttles to just under 850mhz once the temperature reaches 61'C. When I contacted HTC support, their response was: "The device will throttle the CPU clock to cool down to prevent possible burns and other injuries. Our software engineers will look into this heat issue that you are facing and an engineer will give you a call to get further information." The engineer gave me a call and replaced the device with a new one, which still came with the heat issue - There's basically no solution to this other than to just opt in for another brand's smartphone.
The device is durable. I've dropped it without any casing and there were only a few minor scratches.
There is no doubt that HTC entered the megapixel game with its 20mp camera sensor on the HTC M9. I am disappointed to admit that the camera is subpar compared to my Galaxy Note 3 from 2013. Fuzzy pictures are not acceptable in 2015, but HTC M9 blows this section out the park (sarcasm)! I believe this is a perfect example that megapixels aren't everything to take a sharp and clear photo.
I am sure that HTC optimized the device's software; but its hardware couldn't handle it because of the heating issue that I mentioned above. One aspect that I like about HTC is that HTC seeds their core apps, such as sense home to the Google Play Store, so everyone can always be on the latest version.
CONCLUSION: I personally do not recommend this device because of its hardware. The device does not function like it's supposed to be with those beefy hardware. With the same price of the HTC M9, I should've waited and opted in for the LG G4 or maybe the Galaxy S6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stream bluetooth in my car all day long and have never gotten close to 61 celsius. I even stream bluetooth, have GPS going, plugged in at the same time and have a black car that bakes on the interior and still peaked at 49 celsius. I just don't believe you or that would be a general thing to happen, sorry.
The problem I have with the camera has more to do with the shakey video than the camera itself. In day to day use it takes great pics. Low light pics at night are not that great though. But to make a general statement that all pictures "blow" is an exaggeration.
The S6 has a whole host of issues including battery life and software related failings. It also gets very hot gaming.
Overall, the hardware and software together are fabulous. It is the main reason I am keeping it. The S6 and G4 still isn't as polished and smooth as Sense.
Hi, I've found that this phone runs much cooler than my HTC One M7. Even while gaming it only gets warm, but never hot.
The only time the phone gets hot is after installing a new ROM, when it has to optimize all of the apps.
One has to remember this phone is a metal build with the aluminium case in direct thermal contact with the CPU. The phone is designed to transfer heat away from the CPU. I for one am very pleased with the quality and operation of this phone. Camera low light performance is the only area I find lacking. However it can take reasonable night shots if you hold the camera still. The attached photo was taken by moonlight.
LTE-X said:
I've purchased the HTC M9 as soon as the device was available to order online. After using it for two months, I would like to share my experiences with this device. If you are planning on to purchase this device, I would not recommend it.
There is no doubt that the hardware is overkill for a person like me, who uses the device for regular purposes (email, notes, texting, calls, and occasional gaming), but HTC M9 made me have second thoughts. Since the first day I've used this device, I have noticed the heating issue. The heating issue still persists on this device today even on light uses, such as streaming internet radio through car Bluetooth. Monitoring the CPU temperature through the CPU-Z and AIDA64 applications from Google Play Store, I've noticed the CPU throttles to just under 850mhz once the temperature reaches 61'C. When I contacted HTC support, their response was: "The device will throttle the CPU clock to cool down to prevent possible burns and other injuries. Our software engineers will look into this heat issue that you are facing and an engineer will give you a call to get further information." The engineer gave me a call and replaced the device with a new one, which still came with the heat issue - There's basically no solution to this other than to just opt in for another brand's smartphone.
The device is durable. I've dropped it without any casing and there were only a few minor scratches.
There is no doubt that HTC entered the megapixel game with its 20mp camera sensor on the HTC M9. I am disappointed to admit that the camera is subpar compared to my Galaxy Note 3 from 2013. Fuzzy pictures are not acceptable in 2015, but HTC M9 blows this section out the park (sarcasm)! I believe this is a perfect example that megapixels aren't everything to take a sharp and clear photo.
I am sure that HTC optimized the device's software; but its hardware couldn't handle it because of the heating issue that I mentioned above. One aspect that I like about HTC is that HTC seeds their core apps, such as sense home to the Google Play Store, so everyone can always be on the latest version.
CONCLUSION: I personally do not recommend this device because of its hardware. The device does not function like it's supposed to be with those beefy hardware. With the same price of the HTC M9, I should've waited and opted in for the LG G4 or maybe the Galaxy S6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you when you said the heat is unbarrable and camera is subpar. I've upgraded my HTC M7 to this HTC M9 and regretted it. I will be upgrading to the Galaxy Note 5 when it comes out because this phone probably makes more heat than i7 on full load. Thanks for your review, I agree with you!
I've also had my phone for two months and it doesn't get that hot, not even close. I don't do any gaming, so I can't speak for how hot it will get gaming. When I first got my phone it did get noticeably warm, but four days after having it, I got an update that greatly improved this. During the update process, there was some glitch that forced the phone to hard reset. Because of this, I also decided to wipe the cache partition. I'm not sure if the wiping helped, but I would recommend giving it a shot. Your phone should not be getting that hot with general usage. If the wipe doesn't help and you have already tried a hard reset, I would try to get it exchanged.
AT7197 said:
I agree with you when you said the heat is unbarrable and camera is subpar. I've upgraded my HTC M7 to this HTC M9 and regretted it. I will be upgrading to the Galaxy Note 5 when it comes out because this phone probably makes more heat than i7 on full load. Thanks for your review, I agree with you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You still get heating issues with latest update? I'm sorry to hear that , have you checked to see if there are apps running in the background? Me personally with my device it never goes over 42c and it only gets that high after gaming and full brightness on screen. The hardware is beast mode in my opinion on this device, HTC just has to get their software up to spec (which I've heard 1.40 base is good and 5.1 should be just around the corner.)
@ LTE-X & AT7197
What can I say m8's !!!!!!
Oh, wait I know.:
I don't believe neither one of you :good:
I am using m9 for almost 2 months and have never seen temperatures above 48 degrees, even while i am playing games and i do play a lot...
I play games non stop on M9, it's actually killer in gaming, never crosses 45c
As for camera well just look.at the wonders we are posting in the photo thread
There is a learning curve with M9 camera but it's a powerful camera non the less, especially RAW
Also the 1.40 update greatly Improved things
hija31 said:
@ LTE-X & AT7197
What can I say m8's !!!!!!
Oh, wait I know.:
I don't believe neither one of you :good:
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Click to collapse
This is also just my opinion, but like you I personally haven't seen users with issues with this device show analytical data to support their statements. Well I did see a post from one user with heat and battery issues, but it was from something running in the background keeping all 8 running at Max frequency and after a few days of trouble shooting and help from others in this forum , they figured it out. With 5.1 right around the corner and HTC also saying they are going to push Android M to this device , the only issue is getting them in a timely fashion. Also the fact HTC dropped the ball on marketing and shot them selves in the foot with releasing the m9 + in a select market upsetting the buyers who think a finger print scanner and a higher resolution screen (which anything over 1080 is only noticeably different on a 70+ inch screen) is what the standard is supposed to be. Not to mention the poor sales caused HTC to make a public apology causing them to promise a "hero" device to be released. What I love about xda is there will always be development even if the bandwagon jumps devices.
Again this is just my opinion, I respect everyone's opinion, but do like to see more than just the device gets hot or how a previous device with a year or more development runs better because of multiple software and radio updates.
These threads are dangerous. Troll fest ensuing.......
exocetdj said:
These threads are dangerous. Troll fest ensuing.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is good to feed the trolls in moderation, it also helps from feeding them in meaningful threads. (which I did by accident the other day :crying: )
BUBBA DUB'S said:
Is good to feed the trolls in moderation, it also helps from feeding them in meaningful threads. (which I did by accident the other day :crying: )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol true
And you were in what firmware? Even with the previous firmware, the max temperature that i achieved was 50 degrees using gps and charging on car.
And after the 401.8 update, everything runs cooler and smoother.
Just need to take a few shots and test the camera now.
@BUBBA DUB'S
Don't get me wrong m8, I respect each and everyone's opinion and I never argue about, but I just don't believe what those two are saying.
There are differences between: opinions - findings - lies.
What those two wrote falls in the last category, and this is also just my opinion.
BUBBA DUB'S said:
You still get heating issues with latest update? I'm sorry to hear that , have you checked to see if there are apps running in the background? Me personally with my device it never goes over 42c and it only gets that high after gaming and full brightness on screen. The hardware is beast mode in my opinion on this device, HTC just has to get their software up to spec (which I've heard 1.40 base is good and 5.1 should be just around the corner.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Upon checking background applications that are open, I've noticed HTC sense home was the cause of this heating issue. It is taking up the most resources, but is there a fix for this?Thanks so much for that reminder!
@LTE-X
Does your call drop too when the phone heats up? Because I was talking to someone on the phone few days ago and noticed that the phone disconnected the call while on perfect 4 bar signal.
It's fine if no one believes me, I will not make anyone believe something that they do not agree with. I am fine with that. I was just sharing solely my experiences with the device. I don't know why some of you PM me about the user AT7197 how the user has concurring opinion as me. I don't know that user, so please stop with the PM's that doesn't relate to me.
Here are more details that I should've specified:
1) The firmware I am running is version 1.40.401.3.
2) I've had two identical HTC M9 model. The one that I purchased and the one that the HTC support exchanged out. The new one that I received from support continues to heat up. HTC support is aware of this issue and released the firmware version 1.40.401.8 addressing this issue. I will update the OP after I receive the OTA in the future.
Camera is actually better than S6 in daylight since 1.40.
Yes heating can be annoying (but rarely) and can occur with any app but it's said that drivers for s810 are coming up with heat fix.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using XDA Free mobile app
PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with the LeEco Le Max 2 6GB version compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Max 2 for about 1/2 a week now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 3 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. LeEco Le Max 2 6GB
2. HTC 10
3. Huawei P9 4GB
4. LG G5
5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
6. Huawei Mate 8
7. Huawei Nexus 6P
8. LG Nexus 5X
9. Samsung Note 5
10. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Works with my Huawei Watch
6. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Max 2 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
Lets start out by saying that I'm not a person that needs a phone that has good external speakers... I really have no use for them and as long as they are loud enough for notifications then I'm cool. Also, I am not a cross-training adventure workout junkie that requires 3.5mm in order to do everything with my phone... I state this now so that I clear the air with the Max 2 being one of the first phones not to have a 3.5mm jack and require a CDLA to 3.5mm adapter or CDLA USB Type C Headphones... I think the Max 2 may even come with the adapter and since I so don't give a brown matter from my butt about it, I haven't even taken it out of its packaging. Personally, the only time I use headphones is skiing and I have bluetooth wireless headphones built into my helmet... and like someone in the 21st century I realize I can have wireless headphones. :good: Now, my main sound experience with the Max 2 is bluetooth to my 2016 HR-V. It connects with zero issues, phone and bluetooth audio both work great. As a bonus, the built-in Dolby ATMOS makes my otherwise tinny speakers without equalization sound great. It also doesn't detract from the volume output like other similar apps... It allows me to blast bassy metal to offend anyone I want, which is a great double bonus situation for me. Nothing like driving by a church blasting GHOST and having the lyrics Hail Satan play loud, clear and rockin' hahaha. Seriously though, in recent memory, this is the only phone from 2016 flagships I haven't had to use a workaround app that drastically decreases the volume. Now I will say that the Dolby ATMOS setting works a little wonky and easily resets itself if you enter into the sound settings or back out of sound setting after enabling... once you know about this though, it is easy to workaround just by hitting home button instead. For the external speaker people, the Max 2 is super loud and the speakers do sound crisp... I think it is stereo speakers as well, if you care about those things... bass-wise, the speakers are not the best but not bad also... definitely as good as of not better than the HTC 10 or LG G5.
WINNER: NO DOUBT SO FAR IN 2016 - LeEco Max 2
BATTERY
From my experience so far, I have had decent battery life out of the Max 2. 3100 mAh does seem a tad small for this larger phalet... but I'm yet to say that its a problem for me. Of recent phones, LG G5 has the worse battery life with the HTC 10 being next in line, then S7 rounded out at the top with the P9... The P9 has a Kirin processor so lets toss it out. Out of the Snapdragons I will say that with my usage so far the Max 2 matches the S7 with battery life from my usage. Max 2 has fast charge as well which helps keep it on par with the other 820's. Just yesterday, I used the Max 2 all-day no recharging with 2 heavy usage periods for a total of 3 hours plus of screen on time playing Clash Royale. The rest of the day was standard usage of checking emails, looking at some news items, etc. It lasted the whole day from 8:30am until 1am in the morning with 15% left. This was on wifi the whole time as well. I feel this adequately meets my needs to last a whole day without recharge (which rarely happens since I always recharge when in my car) with moderate usage all day long.
WINNER: It's close to call but since its the larger phone and still performs well even though no wireless charging - LeEco Max 2
HEAT
I have yet to see a real heat spike with the Max 2. I have heard reports of heat but maybe this is with the 4GB version. Since the lack of need to flush RAM or actively manage memory more critically with the greater space, this may play a factor. Not a super nerdy tech guru on this so someone that understands this more may have to chime in. I have also yet to place it in a what I like to call, a pocket burning situation like at a concert were I'm using the camera a lot, there's high tower saturation causing the radio to work more, etc. I can say the phone barely heated up trying to download a 1.5GB update on LTE... so I guess that says something right? The only other phone that runs this cool is the P9 with it Kirin processor... all the 820's run a little hot when taxed so I would not be surprised if the Max 2 was the same if push to limits. I can say that I have gotten overheat warnings on the S7 when setting up the phone and downloading copious amounts of data.... and my first G5 overheated that it caused an internal malfunction causing me to have to replace the phone under warranty. The HTC 10 seemed to be the coolest out of the other 820's I have tried.
WINNER: Still is the P9 however out of the 820's - LeEco Max 2
SNAPPINESS
I have explained in some of my other reviews, I like to talk about performance in terms of snappiness with normal day to day usage with the phone rather than throw up meaningless to most people AnTuTu stats or whatever. I am going on out on a limp here and saying that the Max 2 dominates of course due to 6GB of RAM... it's like pitting a turbocharged version of a car vs. its not turbocharge version... more under the hood most of the time leads to better performance. No loading issues, no lag from app to app. What I can say is that EUI is a fairly nice GUI take on Android, better than EMUI, but not as nice as the new HTC 10 Sense / Stock like interface. I however did my standard change of porting over the sense launcher to the Max 2 which I just love... as far as getting use to how things work, there is a lot of configuration that can be done with notifications, much like Huawei's EMUI interface that might make it off putting to some... I lucked out and the aliexpress merchant I bought the Max 2 from pre-loaded the Google App Store when I got the phone. I since did 2 updates (one I downloaded and force flashed myself, the other was through LeEco's update system directly) and the app store continues to work fine.... There are redundant apps for email, calendar, message, etc. to google versions... however most of these are built well enough that you might not want or need the google versions. Notifications seem to work OK although some do not like that it does not litter the top of your screen with icons for every single notification.... rather it just typically puts an icon with "..." and a circle at the top... takes a little to get use to, but with a notification LED as well, I think this bypasses this small issue for some. :laugh: Also, people are starting to create ROMs for it and it is easily rootable albeit in Chinese at first, so you can definitely get more out of it with some tweaking.... haven't heard if they released Kernels yet. But it is only a matter of time given it popularity in China.
WINNER: Maybe just because of the 6GB but still... LeEco Le Max 2
DISPLAY
This to me is one of the areas much like sound where if it is not screwing up the way I use the phone then I care less about stuff like resolution. If someone can truly tell a load of difference between QHD, SuperHD, 1080p, etc. etc. good for you. Here what I can say. The Max 2 screen is great! Plus, its the largest compared to the other Flagships I have tried... forgot how nice it is to use a larger phone... It does not suffer from which ultimately made me get rid of the HTC 10 from the screen polarization being applied wrong causing you not to be able to use it outdoors with sunglasses on.... I know right... major f-up IMO that HTC 10 did... I couldn't see it in my car with sunglasses on, too annoying for me. Thankfully, don't have to worry about this with the Max 2 even with a tempered glass screen protector. Since it is somewhat screen related, I can say that the fingerprint sensor is something to be desired. Its slow, sometimes taking 3 tries for it to read properly... I have tried multiple times to reprogram and it does not help. Definitely the G5 and P9 beat it hands down when talking about rear facing fingerprint sensors... Even touchwiz laggy S7 sensor beats it. Hopefully, updates help with this. Like capacitive buttons it has, in the configuration I like with back button on left... apps button also reveals the control center feature on the Max 2... similar to Apples swipe up control center... not placing these toggles in the notification panel is a fresh take on using these toggles and I like it... Color balance seems good on the phone as well if you care about those things... No Always-On feature for the Max 2 either but not a huge deal with a configurable notification LED.
WINNER: The S7 still has the best "looking screen"; G5 has the best always-on screen - Max 2 is ok but not the best in this class of phones.... Does get bonus points for the control center feature and correctly orientated IMO capacitive buttons
PHONE DESIGN
The Max 2 is a good looking phone especially with a premium metal chassis... I do have to say that I had to get the "Gold" version of the phone since it was the only one available at this point in the 6GB Version... I use "gold" here loosely as like other can report... gold is actually rose gold... not that rose gold is bad, but a pinkish phone for a guy is not cool... No matter, I got a Matte black hard case today the covers the back and pretty much takes care of the covering most of the pinkish gold exterior.... I believe there will be other colors out there soon but I could not wait any longer... Camera and button placement is nice. Phone feels great in hand. Although bigger than the other 2016 Flagships, its not gargantuan either... doesn't feel like putting a tablet up to your ear like other phalets can feel like. Pretty thin too and not overly heavy. The biggest design issue is of course no SD Card add-on memory since the SIM tray only accommodates dual SIMs. At 64GB, this isn't an issue for me as I don't save a lot to my phone and jam pack it with needless stuff. The fingerprint sensor is in a good natural position albeit if it only worked on the first try... Its not like Megan Fox / Candice Swanepoel good looking phone rather more like Melissa Benoist / Kate Upton good looking. You ain't going to wake up after a long night of drinking and go "my god... what did I do..." but you are also not getting the top of the heap in design characteristics either. It's nice looking but not someone you'd use your "hall pass" on over your wife, if you get my point..." Notification LED work great and should be noted as not being blinding at night like others can be.... looking at you HTC 10... I like no 3.5mm jack since I don't use it anyway... less holes to get dirt into... in this case, having less holes to stick stuff into wins out!!! :silly:
WINNER: Still S7 for overall design, wireless charging, etc. - Your not bad Max 2, but pinkish gold is makes my balls instantly shrink!!!
CAMERA
Another big deal for some but not really a huge concern for me is the camera on smartphones... Personally and I have gone over the reasons time and time again, I went to school for photography and have used some really great cameras, film and digital. So when you start looking at smartphone cameras, even in 2016, it is still hard to compare to the output of an actual camera. With that said, there is no real gimmick with the Max 2... looks to be an alright camera that I will post examples later of. Doesn't have "superpixels", low light lens, dual lens, etc, etc. etc. It will take pictures decently and in most cases that's all you need it to do. I can say that it does have one of my major pet peeves when it comes to the camera app in video mode... no focus lock.... honestly who uses always on auto focus in video mode.... looks like a bad wedding video... when you are recording something that you are a fixed distance away, like a concert lets say, you don't need for it to re-focus... it annoying. So, I am going to cut this section short and just say, the Max 2 has a camera, its nothing special and if you are ok with a no gimmick no frills nexus like camera than its absolutely fine for what its supposed to do.... :highfive:
WINNER: S7 for low-light, G5 for wide angled, P9 for dynamic range; HTC 10 for camera app & Max 2 for no frills OK no gimmicks camera
CONCLUSION
For my daily usage case, the Max 2 is great! When you consider that it outperforms in most cases phones that are $200 - $400 more than what it costs... It tends to soften the negatives. I think for me the greatest of which is the current functionality of the fingerprint sensor... I hate struggling to get it to read than having to still punch in a pin when it fails. Besides this, all the othe negatives are minor. Camera - its really ok just nothing special. Color - if you can wait, you can get a more manly color unless you want to go with the 4GB version (you can get different colors now). EUI - definitely not as big of a learning curve as EMUI but it does take a little bit of commitment to get use to all the customization you can do. Looks like LeEco plans to release updates frequently since there has been at least one since it released in May... Yeah, it doesn't have a headphone jack... grow up and get with the 21st century... hahaha. To get a 6GB phone, under $500, 64GB internal is not too shabby. Would it be stellar with a SD Card add-on, yep it sure would but I can make do without having the SD Card in most cases unless I really started ROM-ing and backing up TWRPs with it.... I think if you are looking for a good, well performing phone at a good price with some decent specs and killer sound, this does the trick, most definitely. Could it be better, you betcha... but I can say that for any of the 2016 Flagship phones. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guy's Opinion... :good:
Good review, makes it sound really awesome. My experience is very different.
I have the 6GB version and its regularly becoming warm.
Sound is ok, but Huawei Mate 8 is a different class altogether (better).
As a mid level budget phone the Eco Max 2 is very clearly on the cost performance side.
But I think the battery softens its advantage.
The hardware specs on the Max 2 are all top class, but there is definitely muuuch room for improvement. On the paper the network is Cat 12, but tell you the truth in daily usage it doesnt differ speed to Huawei Mate 8. Same for the user experience speed.
Also its not funny if the phone reboots occasionally
LeTV has fixed some of the issues with the upcoming EUI 5.8 release, but they need to do more !!
If you are thinking about getting it and tweaking it for your local marcet you have to do little homework with Google playstore etc. Its a gadget for geeky power users, but not mainstream user, to many changes required.
EverPing said:
Good review, makes it sound really awesome. My experience is very different.
I have the 6GB version and its regularly becoming warm.
Sound is ok, but Huawei Mate 8 is a different class altogether (better).
As a mid level budget phone the Eco Max 2 is very clearly on the cost performance side.
But I think the battery softens its advantage.
The hardware specs on the Max 2 are all top class, but there is definitely muuuch room for improvement. On the paper the network is Cat 12, but tell you the truth in daily usage it doesnt differ speed to Huawei Mate 8. Same for the user experience speed.
Also its not funny if the phone reboots occasionally
LeTV has fixed some of the issues with the upcoming EUI 5.8 release, but they need to do more !!
If you are thinking about getting it and tweaking it for your local marcet you have to do little homework with Google playstore etc. Its a gadget for geeky power users, but not mainstream user, to many changes required.
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Click to collapse
Funny mine never rebooted once. No heat even under load. No big modifications to get google play. Mine was stock and able to OTA... Google Play just took a simple APK download and agreeing to "unknown sources." Yes, its not a consumer mainstream phone outside of China... however doing a review on XDA, pretty much means its a review for a more "geeky" crowd easily capable of simple APK downloads from shared sources mentioned at least 10 different times in 10 different posts in this forum. The Huawei Mate 8 succeeds because of Kirin... however of 820's and at this price point, its hard to beat... maybe only by OP3 once they figure out the RAM Management. The camera is better on the Mate 8 but it's not as good as the P9... Plus all in all, its just as difficult to install the Play Store on the Mate8 & P9... both phones I owned and sold, as I was able to get just as good as and somewhat better phone for $200 to $300 cheaper. In the states, all these phones max out our 4G LTE networks so seeing any major difference between the P9, Mate8 and the Max 2 in modem performance is minor. Once again, OGO
Thanks for the feedback, maybe I am just unlucky this time. The apk's I downloaded from apkmirror etc don't seem to work on my Chinese version max 2. I also tried Xiaomi installer version 2, Opengapps, LeTV Playstore zips for same.
I think in terms of price LeTV has found a sweet spot in the marcet, but overall the software quality is just not there yet. However the upcoming update will fix some of it.
Hi,
Thanks for the review. Could you tell me if it has MHL ?
Regards
I tried with my MHL-Adapter, which is working fine with LETV LE 1 (X600). Didn´t work ...
Ok, thanks for the info. MHL is so usefull when you want to see a film at the hotel...
I think it should have MHL (I might have found this hint in some descriptions) but actually it is not working (for me?)...
Having been in IT, the first thing you learn is most problems are usually user problems. Most of the issues that I have come up against are problems of my own doing. For example, some thing may not work because I deleted a necessary file in my quest to remove Chinese Le-bloat. So it has been trial and error. I installed the CM 13 yesterday, but didn't like the tinny sound the speakers were making. Went back to the dev 5.8 stock, installed Google play and a few apps and it's running like a charm. I have not experienced any overheating issues. This phone does everything that one does with a phone very well. I sure you can find an individual that does intense things on their device, but for the average user that surfs the web, watches you tube, plays a few games, sends/reads email and IM's others, this phone is hard to beat. This morning I had an antutu of 140491, which is pretty good considering I only have the 4/32 GB version. Can you say fast phone?!
Hi,
I may add a comparison to a phone that can be considered as the direct competitor to the Le 2 Max : the One+ 3.
There is one area where the Le 2 Max clearly wins : it's the display. I don't care about 2k or FHD. It's hard to tell the difference in real life anyways. But I'm talking about brightness and legibility in sunny daylight conditions. And there, there is no question : the Le 2 Max is superior to the OP3, even after OP3 released the new display drivers that improves things on the brightness side...
And the 0.2" more is a nice addition too... Really noticeable when you used the LeEco for several days and you then go back to OP3
But apart from that (which is really important I admit it), the Le 2 Max is lagging behind in almost every other aspect...
BATTERY LIFE : OP3 wins without a question...In really heavy usage (GPS + BT active +display on all the time) I get about 3h45minutes of battery life with the LeEco... and about 5h30 in the same conditions with the OP3. That's almost 50% better battery. Think the 2K display has a cost unfortunately
SNAPPINESS : the LeEco is OK. But once you compare it to the OP3, the overall feeling is clearly pointing into the OP3 direction !!! And just install a custom ROM like Tipsy, and your device seems to fly, when the Le Eco seems to walk
HEAT : under the heavy usage conditions I described before, the LeEco gets mildly hot. It's much cooler than the Nexus 5 used to be in the same conditions( where it lasted about 1h40 on battery !). But the OP3 is simply almost cool. On that side, OP3 wins...
SOUND : I admit that I don't give a **** about sound coming from the speakers. But on phone calls OP3 clearly wins. On Le 2 Max I have a "ghost sound". I seem to hear everything I am saying to the other person like he has a loudspeaker on. Doesn't happen on OP3.
CAMERA : I am not a great camera user. But both deliver pictures that are good enough for me. But I must say it's difficult to tear them apart
FINGERPRINT SCANNER : it's adictive to use on OP3 because fingerprint is recognized in a fraction of a second and is ALWAYS recognized. I cannot count the times I left my finger on the finger print scanner for seconds before it decided to consider it has to recognize a finger... and then I would say about 30% of the time it doesn't recognize my finger print on first attempt, and about 15% of the time it doesn't recognize it at all so I have to fire it up with the power key and pattern.
DEVELOPMENT : It seems LeEco has no intention at all to consider those phones as an important part of their business. Look at their website : they're ahrdly advertised. Go to their forums : there no activity. An official from LeEco shows up about once every 3 weeks. All in all, discussion and support are simply dead. All tehy keep saying is "Stay tuned, we have a lot to unveil"... but no date nor nothing ! And after 4 months of phone existence what do we have : a tweaked Stock ROM and a CM13 build that is obviously not really actively developped. After 3 weeks of existence, OP3 has tweaked stock ROM, CM13 and 3 derivatives, 3 or 4 AOSP derivatives and just recevied multi ROM... So all problems may have a fix some day... There's really little hope to have that with LeEco
Even CM13 builders doesn't publish their github source which would allow to work on other ROM's...
PERFORMANCE : not that I really care about benchmarks... as I am convinced that 3k or 4k points in Antutu will go unnoticed in real life. But on the OP3 if I run several Antutu tests in a row, I have only a really slight variation in results It goes from 142k to 136-138k on 3rd/4th pass. On x820 results vary from 140k (generally on first pass) and then sink to 110k (sometimes even less) on third/fourth pass... And that sounds really weird to me : maybe there's a throttle on the phone ?
ALL IN ALL : I'd love to keep the LeEco because of it's display. But considering all the "cons" it has, I am afraid it will soon join an ad site for used devices And that's a shame because with a little support from it's manufacturer, it would be THE device to keep
So LeEco : if you hang around here sometime, show us some love and release official device trees.
Well said and your comments are spot on @NexusPenguin
Le needs to release kernel sources to their phones to survive in this industry. They absolutely do not want to go down Xiaomi's footsteps.
If they don't release device trees, most people will simply not buy their Le Max 3 or whatever they release next. Simple to earn bad-will and buey themselves to ground.
it is definitively fast but....
Dear jim262,
it is really fast. With Google Keyboard app, not debloated and after autoupdate to EUI 5.8.016S mine had a Antutu v6.2.1 of 139.159
But:
- I Need a international ROM
- why can´t the user decide wether he want´s the LeTV Software on it or not? So debloate that phone. I don´t want a fixed button on the Screen wich leeds to Chinese Websites. Unfortunately I can´t speak/read Chinese.
- The cam should have more Software ability to take pics with lower size. Actual it doesn´t allow less than 8 MP`s
jim262 said:
Having been in IT, the first thing you learn is most problems are usually user problems. Most of the issues that I have come up against are problems of my own doing. For example, some thing may not work because I deleted a necessary file in my quest to remove Chinese Le-bloat. So it has been trial and error. I installed the CM 13 yesterday, but didn't like the tinny sound the speakers were making. Went back to the dev 5.8 stock, installed Google play and a few apps and it's running like a charm. I have not experienced any overheating issues. This phone does everything that one does with a phone very well. I sure you can find an individual that does intense things on their device, but for the average user that surfs the web, watches you tube, plays a few games, sends/reads email and IM's others, this phone is hard to beat. This morning I had an antutu of 140491, which is pretty good considering I only have the 4/32 GB version. Can you say fast phone?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LeTvNewby said:
Dear jim262,
it is really fast. With Google Keyboard app, not debloated and after autoupdate to EUI 5.8.016S mine had a Antutu v6.2.1 of 139.159
But:
- I Need a international ROM
- why can´t the user decide wether he want´s the LeTV Software on it or not? So debloate that phone. I don´t want a fixed button on the Screen wich leeds to Chinese Websites. Unfortunately I can´t speak/read Chinese.
- The cam should have more Software ability to take pics with lower size. Actual it doesn´t allow less than 8 MP`s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the roms are international roms with the ability to select language when you start.
Yeah, the phone is not a Galaxy S7 killer but I don't think we ever had such a device ~$250 on the market. Oneplus One might have been the only thing that came close but now their devices cost ~400€.
It doesn't have any real weaknesses, only a few things like the camera and software are mid-to-high end.
Clearly we'll see a drop in smartphone prices in the coming years, users won't pay 700€ anymore if you can get the latest for less. And these cheap manufacturers will catch up to Samsung and co. eventually.
mahst68 said:
PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my experience with the LeEco Le Max 2 6GB version compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Max 2 for about 1/2 a week now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at these 3 phones. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. Recently, I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. LeEco Le Max 2 6GB
2. HTC 10
3. Huawei P9 4GB
4. LG G5
5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
6. Huawei Mate 8
7. Huawei Nexus 6P
8. LG Nexus 5X
9. Samsung Note 5
10. Apple iPhone 6s+
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 40 miles everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Bluetooth is fully compatible with my 2016 vehicle
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Works with my Huawei Watch
6. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Max 2 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, heat, speakers, etc. Here goes:
SOUND OVERALL
Lets start out by saying that I'm not a person that needs a phone that has good external speakers... I really have no use for them and as long as they are loud enough for notifications then I'm cool. Also, I am not a cross-training adventure workout junkie that requires 3.5mm in order to do everything with my phone... I state this now so that I clear the air with the Max 2 being one of the first phones not to have a 3.5mm jack and require a CDLA to 3.5mm adapter or CDLA USB Type C Headphones... I think the Max 2 may even come with the adapter and since I so don't give a brown matter from my butt about it, I haven't even taken it out of its packaging. Personally, the only time I use headphones is skiing and I have bluetooth wireless headphones built into my helmet... and like someone in the 21st century I realize I can have wireless headphones. :good: Now, my main sound experience with the Max 2 is bluetooth to my 2016 HR-V. It connects with zero issues, phone and bluetooth audio both work great. As a bonus, the built-in Dolby ATMOS makes my otherwise tinny speakers without equalization sound great. It also doesn't detract from the volume output like other similar apps... It allows me to blast bassy metal to offend anyone I want, which is a great double bonus situation for me. Nothing like driving by a church blasting GHOST and having the lyrics Hail Satan play loud, clear and rockin' hahaha. Seriously though, in recent memory, this is the only phone from 2016 flagships I haven't had to use a workaround app that drastically decreases the volume. Now I will say that the Dolby ATMOS setting works a little wonky and easily resets itself if you enter into the sound settings or back out of sound setting after enabling... once you know about this though, it is easy to workaround just by hitting home button instead. For the external speaker people, the Max 2 is super loud and the speakers do sound crisp... I think it is stereo speakers as well, if you care about those things... bass-wise, the speakers are not the best but not bad also... definitely as good as of not better than the HTC 10 or LG G5.
WINNER: NO DOUBT SO FAR IN 2016 - LeEco Max 2
BATTERY
From my experience so far, I have had decent battery life out of the Max 2. 3100 mAh does seem a tad small for this larger phalet... but I'm yet to say that its a problem for me. Of recent phones, LG G5 has the worse battery life with the HTC 10 being next in line, then S7 rounded out at the top with the P9... The P9 has a Kirin processor so lets toss it out. Out of the Snapdragons I will say that with my usage so far the Max 2 matches the S7 with battery life from my usage. Max 2 has fast charge as well which helps keep it on par with the other 820's. Just yesterday, I used the Max 2 all-day no recharging with 2 heavy usage periods for a total of 3 hours plus of screen on time playing Clash Royale. The rest of the day was standard usage of checking emails, looking at some news items, etc. It lasted the whole day from 8:30am until 1am in the morning with 15% left. This was on wifi the whole time as well. I feel this adequately meets my needs to last a whole day without recharge (which rarely happens since I always recharge when in my car) with moderate usage all day long.
WINNER: It's close to call but since its the larger phone and still performs well even though no wireless charging - LeEco Max 2
HEAT
I have yet to see a real heat spike with the Max 2. I have heard reports of heat but maybe this is with the 4GB version. Since the lack of need to flush RAM or actively manage memory more critically with the greater space, this may play a factor. Not a super nerdy tech guru on this so someone that understands this more may have to chime in. I have also yet to place it in a what I like to call, a pocket burning situation like at a concert were I'm using the camera a lot, there's high tower saturation causing the radio to work more, etc. I can say the phone barely heated up trying to download a 1.5GB update on LTE... so I guess that says something right? The only other phone that runs this cool is the P9 with it Kirin processor... all the 820's run a little hot when taxed so I would not be surprised if the Max 2 was the same if push to limits. I can say that I have gotten overheat warnings on the S7 when setting up the phone and downloading copious amounts of data.... and my first G5 overheated that it caused an internal malfunction causing me to have to replace the phone under warranty. The HTC 10 seemed to be the coolest out of the other 820's I have tried.
WINNER: Still is the P9 however out of the 820's - LeEco Max 2
SNAPPINESS
I have explained in some of my other reviews, I like to talk about performance in terms of snappiness with normal day to day usage with the phone rather than throw up meaningless to most people AnTuTu stats or whatever. I am going on out on a limp here and saying that the Max 2 dominates of course due to 6GB of RAM... it's like pitting a turbocharged version of a car vs. its not turbocharge version... more under the hood most of the time leads to better performance. No loading issues, no lag from app to app. What I can say is that EUI is a fairly nice GUI take on Android, better than EMUI, but not as nice as the new HTC 10 Sense / Stock like interface. I however did my standard change of porting over the sense launcher to the Max 2 which I just love... as far as getting use to how things work, there is a lot of configuration that can be done with notifications, much like Huawei's EMUI interface that might make it off putting to some... I lucked out and the aliexpress merchant I bought the Max 2 from pre-loaded the Google App Store when I got the phone. I since did 2 updates (one I downloaded and force flashed myself, the other was through LeEco's update system directly) and the app store continues to work fine.... There are redundant apps for email, calendar, message, etc. to google versions... however most of these are built well enough that you might not want or need the google versions. Notifications seem to work OK although some do not like that it does not litter the top of your screen with icons for every single notification.... rather it just typically puts an icon with "..." and a circle at the top... takes a little to get use to, but with a notification LED as well, I think this bypasses this small issue for some. :laugh: Also, people are starting to create ROMs for it and it is easily rootable albeit in Chinese at first, so you can definitely get more out of it with some tweaking.... haven't heard if they released Kernels yet. But it is only a matter of time given it popularity in China.
WINNER: Maybe just because of the 6GB but still... LeEco Le Max 2
DISPLAY
This to me is one of the areas much like sound where if it is not screwing up the way I use the phone then I care less about stuff like resolution. If someone can truly tell a load of difference between QHD, SuperHD, 1080p, etc. etc. good for you. Here what I can say. The Max 2 screen is great! Plus, its the largest compared to the other Flagships I have tried... forgot how nice it is to use a larger phone... It does not suffer from which ultimately made me get rid of the HTC 10 from the screen polarization being applied wrong causing you not to be able to use it outdoors with sunglasses on.... I know right... major f-up IMO that HTC 10 did... I couldn't see it in my car with sunglasses on, too annoying for me. Thankfully, don't have to worry about this with the Max 2 even with a tempered glass screen protector. Since it is somewhat screen related, I can say that the fingerprint sensor is something to be desired. Its slow, sometimes taking 3 tries for it to read properly... I have tried multiple times to reprogram and it does not help. Definitely the G5 and P9 beat it hands down when talking about rear facing fingerprint sensors... Even touchwiz laggy S7 sensor beats it. Hopefully, updates help with this. Like capacitive buttons it has, in the configuration I like with back button on left... apps button also reveals the control center feature on the Max 2... similar to Apples swipe up control center... not placing these toggles in the notification panel is a fresh take on using these toggles and I like it... Color balance seems good on the phone as well if you care about those things... No Always-On feature for the Max 2 either but not a huge deal with a configurable notification LED.
WINNER: The S7 still has the best "looking screen"; G5 has the best always-on screen - Max 2 is ok but not the best in this class of phones.... Does get bonus points for the control center feature and correctly orientated IMO capacitive buttons
PHONE DESIGN
The Max 2 is a good looking phone especially with a premium metal chassis... I do have to say that I had to get the "Gold" version of the phone since it was the only one available at this point in the 6GB Version... I use "gold" here loosely as like other can report... gold is actually rose gold... not that rose gold is bad, but a pinkish phone for a guy is not cool... No matter, I got a Matte black hard case today the covers the back and pretty much takes care of the covering most of the pinkish gold exterior.... I believe there will be other colors out there soon but I could not wait any longer... Camera and button placement is nice. Phone feels great in hand. Although bigger than the other 2016 Flagships, its not gargantuan either... doesn't feel like putting a tablet up to your ear like other phalets can feel like. Pretty thin too and not overly heavy. The biggest design issue is of course no SD Card add-on memory since the SIM tray only accommodates dual SIMs. At 64GB, this isn't an issue for me as I don't save a lot to my phone and jam pack it with needless stuff. The fingerprint sensor is in a good natural position albeit if it only worked on the first try... Its not like Megan Fox / Candice Swanepoel good looking phone rather more like Melissa Benoist / Kate Upton good looking. You ain't going to wake up after a long night of drinking and go "my god... what did I do..." but you are also not getting the top of the heap in design characteristics either. It's nice looking but not someone you'd use your "hall pass" on over your wife, if you get my point..." Notification LED work great and should be noted as not being blinding at night like others can be.... looking at you HTC 10... I like no 3.5mm jack since I don't use it anyway... less holes to get dirt into... in this case, having less holes to stick stuff into wins out!!! :silly:
WINNER: Still S7 for overall design, wireless charging, etc. - Your not bad Max 2, but pinkish gold is makes my balls instantly shrink!!!
CAMERA
Another big deal for some but not really a huge concern for me is the camera on smartphones... Personally and I have gone over the reasons time and time again, I went to school for photography and have used some really great cameras, film and digital. So when you start looking at smartphone cameras, even in 2016, it is still hard to compare to the output of an actual camera. With that said, there is no real gimmick with the Max 2... looks to be an alright camera that I will post examples later of. Doesn't have "superpixels", low light lens, dual lens, etc, etc. etc. It will take pictures decently and in most cases that's all you need it to do. I can say that it does have one of my major pet peeves when it comes to the camera app in video mode... no focus lock.... honestly who uses always on auto focus in video mode.... looks like a bad wedding video... when you are recording something that you are a fixed distance away, like a concert lets say, you don't need for it to re-focus... it annoying. So, I am going to cut this section short and just say, the Max 2 has a camera, its nothing special and if you are ok with a no gimmick no frills nexus like camera than its absolutely fine for what its supposed to do.... :highfive:
WINNER: S7 for low-light, G5 for wide angled, P9 for dynamic range; HTC 10 for camera app & Max 2 for no frills OK no gimmicks camera
CONCLUSION
For my daily usage case, the Max 2 is great! When you consider that it outperforms in most cases phones that are $200 - $400 more than what it costs... It tends to soften the negatives. I think for me the greatest of which is the current functionality of the fingerprint sensor... I hate struggling to get it to read than having to still punch in a pin when it fails. Besides this, all the othe negatives are minor. Camera - its really ok just nothing special. Color - if you can wait, you can get a more manly color unless you want to go with the 4GB version (you can get different colors now). EUI - definitely not as big of a learning curve as EMUI but it does take a little bit of commitment to get use to all the customization you can do. Looks like LeEco plans to release updates frequently since there has been at least one since it released in May... Yeah, it doesn't have a headphone jack... grow up and get with the 21st century... hahaha. To get a 6GB phone, under $500, 64GB internal is not too shabby. Would it be stellar with a SD Card add-on, yep it sure would but I can make do without having the SD Card in most cases unless I really started ROM-ing and backing up TWRPs with it.... I think if you are looking for a good, well performing phone at a good price with some decent specs and killer sound, this does the trick, most definitely. Could it be better, you betcha... but I can say that for any of the 2016 Flagship phones. Lastly and as always, this is just Some Guy's Opinion... :good:
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot this is thorough.. Impressive stuff
I really like my Le Max2. It's not perfect, but no phone is. It is certainly a fast and powerful phone. No lag and handles everything I throw at it with ease. Antutu scores of over 140K are crazy in a $230 device!! I am enjoying its audio output and have been mostly very impressed with the photos I have taken so far. The fingerprint scanner is very fast and reliable for me. I quite like eui as it is fairly light and has some very useful features, especially for power management (I have generally been getting 5 to 7 hours SOT). This is my first 2K display phone, and the clarity is fantastic. The black levels are good, and the colours are vibrant. Probably my main criticism of the phone is the viewing angles and max brightness level of the display. Colour shifting is pronounced when viewing at any angle much off straight, and the max brightness is just OK - I would like to be able to crank it up a fair bit more at times.
kanagawaben said:
I really like my Le Max2. It's not perfect, but no phone is. It is certainly a fast and powerful phone. No lag and handles everything I throw at it with ease. Antutu scores of over 140K are crazy in a $230 device!! I am enjoying its audio output and have been mostly very impressed with the photos I have taken so far. The fingerprint scanner is very fast and reliable for me. I quite like eui as it is fairly light and has some very useful features, especially for power management (I have generally been getting 5 to 7 hours SOT). This is my first 2K display phone, and the clarity is fantastic. The black levels are good, and the colours are vibrant. Probably my main criticism of the phone is the viewing angles and max brightness level of the display. Colour shifting is pronounced when viewing at any angle much off straight, and the max brightness is just OK - I would like to be able to crank it up a fair bit more at times.
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Click to collapse
Anything special you did to improve fingerprint response
Mine does work but it becomes unresponsive if not used for a while but after first unlock the consecutive ones are fast
Which rom are you on?
Did you never had any fingerprint problem?
[email protected] said:
Anything special you did to improve fingerprint response
Mine does work but it becomes unresponsive if not used for a while but after first unlock the consecutive ones are fast
Which rom are you on?
Did you never had any fingerprint problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am currently using the Parasite debloated version of S19. I have also used Cuoco92, stock Chinese 17S and 19S, and Indian 16S. Haven't had the slightest problem with fingerprint on any of them. I always register two with the same finger (my right index) and the other with my left index. I'd say it is 99% accurate - it really only misses if I put my finger in at a very weird angle or move it too much. Fast too, not instant but pretty near it - less than a count of one.
kanagawaben said:
I am currently using the Parasite debloated version of S19. I have also used Cuoco92, stock Chinese 17S and 19S, and Indian 16S. Haven't had the slightest problem with fingerprint on any of them. I always register two with the same finger (my right index) and the other with my left index.
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Click to collapse
So you never have problems like the fingerprint doesn't recognize the first touch?
Or after all night standby the fingerprint takes a few seconds to unlock?
Do you think my fingerprint problem is hardware?
I bought it like 2 weeks ago I can return?
But it's a really good phone for the price
Only things that annoy me is fingerprint and lack of custom rom support both of which letv is to blame
[email protected] said:
So you never have problems like the fingerprint doesn't recognize the first touch?
Or after all night standby the fingerprint takes a few seconds to unlock?
Do you think my fingerprint problem is hardware?
I bought it like 2 weeks ago I can return?
But it's a really good phone for the price
Only things that annoy me is fingerprint and lack of custom rom support both of which letv is to blame
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly never. Scanner has been rock solid for me. What ROM are you on?
To be honest I'm a little underwhelmed with the gaming speed of the XZ.
I only play one game, its a game in KIK called Galatronvs which is a basic Shootemup.
And to be honest , it is REALLY LAGGY on the XZ compared to the S6......The S6 stays smooth , doesn't judder, doesn't pause, doesn't jump.
All these things happen on the XZ as the game gets busier and there are more bullets and ships on the screen..ultimately i die because its becomes a slide show.
After reading all the articles about the Snapdragon 820 and the Adreno 530 I feel more than a little bit down that my two year old S6 with an Inhouse Mali-T760MP8 outperforms it.
Don't get me wrong, in day to day use it's a dream to use..I don't know what it is about Samsung that their hardware is so good but it translates so badly on software that using the phone feels like work rather than fun, even Swiftkey runs like crap on the Samsung.
I haven't tried any other phones yet, but my friend has just gotten a Google Pixel XL and he's going to let me install Kik and have a 30 minute game next week.
If it lags as well, I'd have to say either the Adreno 530 isn't all that good, or the game is terribly optimised.
Either way , at the moment I'm underwhelmed by my Platinum flagship phone gaming experience.
batfink1 said:
To be honest I'm a little underwhelmed with the gaming speed of the XZ.
I only play one game, its a game in KIK called Galatronvs which is a basic Shootemup.
And to be honest , it is REALLY LAGGY on the XZ compared to the S6......The S6 stays smooth , doesn't judder, doesn't pause, doesn't jump.
All these things happen on the XZ as the game gets busier and there are more bullets and ships on the screen..ultimately i die because its becomes a slide show.
After reading all the articles about the Snapdragon 820 and the Adreno 530 I feel more than a little bit down that my two year old S6 with an Inhouse Mali-T760MP8 outperforms it.
Don't get me wrong, in day to day use it's a dream to use..I don't know what it is about Samsung that their hardware is so good but it translates so badly on software that using the phone feels like work rather than fun, even Swiftkey runs like crap on the Samsung.
I haven't tried any other phones yet, but my friend has just gotten a Google Pixel XL and he's going to let me install Kik and have a 30 minute game next week.
If it lags as well, I'd have to say either the Adreno 530 isn't all that good, or the game is terribly optimised.
Either way , at the moment I'm underwhelmed by my Platinum flagship phone gaming experience.
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Your problem is very strange. I have xperia xz and i don't have laggy game xperience. The games goes smooth really. What games did you try? Or you play with stamina active?
djgigi94 said:
Your problem is very strange. I have xperia xz and i don't have laggy game xperience. The games goes smooth really. What games did you try? Or you play with stamina active?
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Click to collapse
I really only play the one game called Galatronvs via the instant messaging app KIK.
my phone is unlocked,rooted and still on MM 39.0.A.3.30 because i want to still use Xposed Framework.
I don't use any stamina settings at all , they are always turned off, nor do i use any power saving apps such as greenify.
I don't even use a kernal control program that will let you route more processes into a single core thus saving battery.
Bluntly put, the phone is running at full speed with no power saving.
I would imagine unless you've moved from a different phone to your XZ and play the same games you wouldn't notice the difference..Also it would very much depend on the kind of game.
Any game thats not already pushing the old phone isn't going to show any difference on the XZ is it.
Galatron is an upwards scrolling shootemup that gets increasingly more difficult, more bullets , more ships ...thats when you notice the difference ..only when it really starts to get busy.
So i dunno, Guess I'll have more of an idea when i try the Pixel XL with the 821 and the Adreno 530...Though technically the 821 isn't supposed to impact gaming, just multitasking , better power usage etc.
I'll be spewin bickies if its much better , I really don't want the Pixel..it's a little too small and the XL is a little too big :laugh: ... And i hate using a phone without Xposed which i can't do with N
batfink1 said:
I really only play the one game called Galatronvs via the instant messaging app KIK.
my phone is unlocked,rooted and still on MM 39.0.A.3.30 because i want to still use Xposed Framework.
I don't use any stamina settings at all , they are always turned off, nor do i use any power saving apps such as greenify.
I don't even use a kernal control program that will let you route more processes into a single core thus saving battery.
Bluntly put, the phone is running at full speed with no power saving.
I would imagine unless you've moved from a different phone to your XZ and play the same games you wouldn't notice the difference..Also it would very much depend on the kind of game.
Any game thats not already pushing the old phone isn't going to show any difference on the XZ is it.
Galatron is an upwards scrolling shootemup that gets increasingly more difficult, more bullets , more ships ...thats when you notice the difference ..only when it really starts to get busy.
So i dunno, Guess I'll have more of an idea when i try the Pixel XL with the 821 and the Adreno 530...Though technically the 821 isn't supposed to impact gaming, just multitasking , better power usage etc.
I'll be spewin bickies if its much better , I really don't want the Pixel..it's a little too small and the XL is a little too big :laugh: ... And i hate using a phone without Xposed which i can't do with N
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I compared the games with mate 9 for example,i think it is more fluid than mate 9. I ONLY use for games android N ,because android N on xz is much better than M in overall (battery and performace in particular). I think your version of firmware is the less optimized and old. What do you use xposed in particular? I have z2 and there i use often xposed. But on xz i stay so good with android n and latest firmware. And i don't care actually for root and xposed. Is fully stock.
I think you might be experiencing the same thing as me. This happens on all of the Xperia devices I've owned (Z2 Tablet, Z3, Z3C, and Z5.). My XZ is on order, and I'll be sure to test this again. Yes, benchmarks have about the same high scores as all the other flagships, but 3D games stutters on Xperia devices. I think most users are not able to notice it. Hardcore FPS PC gamers like myself would notice this easily.
Here's a thread I created on the Z3 forums a while back: https://forum.xda-developers.com/z3/help/stuttering-games-t2949670 . There's a video in there with my Z3 and LG G2 playing Riptide GP 2.
I just learned to live it with since gaming is not my priority on my phone, and because I don't like all the other phones.
Honestly I'm not a hardcore gamer, I only play the one game Galatronvs via the KIK APP, it's basically a BOT game which is a downwardly scrolling shootemup... However you do compete online against other players.
And I've confirmed it's definitely a heat issue.
Sadly Sony were supposed to have solved their heating issues with the release of the snapdragon 20...but they haven't.
I can actively connect the lagginess of the game directly with the heat of the phone, the ambient heat of the room, and that you can feel the phone getting hotter and hotter in direct relation to how laggy it gets.
I've even been in the middle of a laggy game with the phone feeling very hot and deliberately moved in front of an air cooler with the back of the phone directly in the path of the cool air and had the lagging start to recede as the phone cools down.
I was given an opportunity to try a pixel xl on the same game in an air conditioned room and they were similar.
Then I went outside in the summer heat and the pixel stayed smooth, the Sony rapidly heated up and started to lag.
When you exit the game the Sony stays laggy for about 6 to 7 seconds.. I imagine this is as it cools down.
I love Sony phones, I love that they stick with standard HD screens for good battery life.
I love that they stick with the 5.2" screen... I don't have huge hands.
SwiftKey seems to work better on a Sony than on a Samsung definitely that's for sure.
Though to be honest I am always a little let down by Sony's cameras on their own phones.. It's like they make better lenses for everybody else.
The Samsung will focus INSTANTLY on something small and upclose... Like say... A windows 7 sticker (I'm a computer tech)... Whereas I have quite a lot of difficulty getting the Sony to focus up close.
I've just ordered a oneplus 3t which I'll root and put similar xposed framework modules and compare it to the XZ.
I'll update this for anybody that's interested.
let me say something about these issues...i had xperias before and now i own XZ wich i thought that it wouldnt have overheating problems like on the z5 but it still has some wierd isuues...for example:i ran a game and even when it got hot it worked smoothly and i was surprised and i sad well done sony or Qualcom LOL...so i was feeling happy and after 2 or 3 weeks of usage i get random lags even if the phone is just a little bit warm with no intence gaming yet but somehow the phone works good when its hot but lags when its cooler...this is so wierd...i dont know anymore whats going on with there phones but im seriously thinking of not buying xperia phones again...a guy at waranty sad to me that this is not overheating but its just heating and its up to sony and not them OMG.... i was so angry when he replied me in that way,that i was in the mood to hit that guy strait on the nose really.these phones are not cheap and im not letting them making me a fool.but at the end they will get me back becouse im a Sony fan and also love there design language...sick bastards
Even though I'm a huge nerd, I really did avoid smart phones.. Or even mobile phones for a long long time.. I hated the idea that somebody could contact me no matter where I was.. I didn't get my first smartphone till March 2012.
That was the Samsung Galaxy nexus now more commonly known as the Google nexus.
After that I got an LG G2 and a week later I bought a Sony Z1... And the very first thing I noticed was that even though the LG g2 and the Z1 were based on the same SOC... The Z1 felt vastly superior to use.. It felt faster and more responsive... But i ended up using the LG g2 due to its amazing battery life.
After that I got a Z3 which also had fantastic battery life and I kept that for numerous years till the Z3+ came out.
That was a bad decision.. I was an early adapter.. I wish I'd waited.
So I got an S6 edge.
Worst phone EVER.... The middle of the screen is so unresponsive.. That curve does not make perfect contact with the digitizer or whatever is underneath it.
So I got a S6 flat version... And still a terrible phone experience... Honestly the technology in Samsung phones is amazing... It's like their memory technology is twice as fast as the competition.
It's like comparing a computer with a hard drive to one with an SSD, but they're just let down by poor implementation of software.. It's hard to explain.
I love haptic feedback.. I can't type on a phone without it.
The Z1's haptic feedback was so amazing you could practically hear it across the room if you turned it up.. And if you kept pressing a button fast it's like it would set up a constant vibration..
Same for the Z3+, the Z3 had pretty average feedback as does the XZ I'm writing on now.
However the S6 has the worst feedback I've ever used on a phone.. It's a very high frequency.. It makes typing on the phone unpleasant, it makes using the navigation buttons unpleasant.. The S6 has issues with SwiftKey, yet SwiftKey worked flawlessly on the LG g2, Z1, Z3, Z3+ and the XZ.
So I've not really had that many brands of phones.. That's why I'm giving the Oneplus 3t a go... I've given Sony my loyalty and been burnt twice now.
I'm a big fan of notification lights so I won't go HTC since their too cheap to put a decent light in... And they hide it in the speaker grill.
I wish phone reviewers would review notification lights and feedback... There's more to a phone than how fast it launches a program or what the launcher looks like... There's how it "feels" to use as well.
Just my two cents worth on my thread.
batfink1 said:
Honestly I'm not a hardcore gamer, I only play the one game Galatronvs via the KIK APP, it's basically a BOT game which is a downwardly scrolling shootemup... However you do compete online against other players.
And I've confirmed it's definitely a heat issue.
Sadly Sony were supposed to have solved their heating issues with the release of the snapdragon 20...but they haven't.
I can actively connect the lagginess of the game directly with the heat of the phone, the ambient heat of the room, and that you can feel the phone getting hotter and hotter in direct relation to how laggy it gets.
I've even been in the middle of a laggy game with the phone feeling very hot and deliberately moved in front of an air cooler with the back of the phone directly in the path of the cool air and had the lagging start to recede as the phone cools down.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for that info. I'll be sure to test for heat problems when I receive mines. Now I fear that I may have two problems when it comes to gaming, suttering and heat LOL.
I haven't had any heat problems with my current Z5 though. The only time was when recording in 4K during a heat wave (around 95F).
Meh the play store is still full of *****y games that weren't even optimised for the adreno 530, the phone has no fault, the 530 destroys not only the competition(in the same category), but especially older mobile GPUs, ask the dev to use his fingers to make a proper app, the XZ has no fault.
I play EA sport - UFC game (i think this is a first-classe game for smartphone, close to PS3 games graphic and textures!!!)
i see lag when conect charger and play this game... this is normal for any phone when actived soc thermal controll (I have galaxy S6 before XZ too!)
any phone have good performance in gaming is "iPhone" but i am ok with freedom in android platform
* sorry for my bad english...
i test some apps i don't if it s the case or not but most games are developed by unity3d!
they are fine on other phones! on xperia this is the similar issue between games that slowing down
batfink1 said:
To be honest I'm a little underwhelmed with the gaming speed of the XZ.
I only play one game, its a game in KIK called Galatronvs which is a basic Shootemup.
And to be honest , it is REALLY LAGGY on the XZ compared to the S6......The S6 stays smooth , doesn't judder, doesn't pause, doesn't jump.
All these things happen on the XZ as the game gets busier and there are more bullets and ships on the screen..ultimately i die because its becomes a slide show.
After reading all the articles about the Snapdragon 820 and the Adreno 530 I feel more than a little bit down that my two year old S6 with an Inhouse Mali-T760MP8 outperforms it.
Don't get me wrong, in day to day use it's a dream to use..I don't know what it is about Samsung that their hardware is so good but it translates so badly on software that using the phone feels like work rather than fun, even Swiftkey runs like crap on the Samsung.
I haven't tried any other phones yet, but my friend has just gotten a Google Pixel XL and he's going to let me install Kik and have a 30 minute game next week.
If it lags as well, I'd have to say either the Adreno 530 isn't all that good, or the game is terribly optimised.
Either way , at the moment I'm underwhelmed by my Platinum flagship phone gaming experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sometimes im playing game in my xz but i dont have really issue in heating or laggy (my phone have nougat version)
maybe your issue because you are in MM, lets try to nougat.
or use custome rom.
I received my XZ (F8331) a few days ago. I don't seem to be experiencing any heat issues when it comes to gaming. Also the stuttering I mentioned for Xperia devices is now almost gone. It's still there, but it's so little that it doesn't bother me anymore.
I've only played 3 games so far:
Skyforce Reloaded
Riptide GP Renegade
Asphalt Extreme
Running the Stability Test app from the Play store, the XZ does throttle down much much sooner than my Z5 (the Z5's heatpipes seems to work really well), but that app puts all CPU cores on full load.
I'm curious about this game Galvatronvs you're playing. I'd like to see if it runs the same on my XZ. Could you point me in the right direction to download this game?
need for speed no limits lag like hell
iSpammer said:
need for speed no limits lag like hell
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Hello ,
No problem here , i have try now about 30 minutes and no lag
Check my videos:
Recored the screen:
1:
2:
Okey i test with "game benchmark"
And no difference between S6 and XZ in game frame rate...
Asphalt8: get 30fps in both devices.
Zombi Highway 2: get 60fps in both devices.
From that test you find:
1) some games locked in lower frame rate, or bad optimized. (asphalt lock on 30fps, zombi highway lock on 60fps)
2) android use "vsync" lock the hardware for limitted fps. Adreno 530 is more powerful then mali T760 (and T880 too!). but there are some software limitations.
3) limited adreno 530 result: gpu not need all his power for reach to 60fps. In my Xperia XZ gpu never reach to 60% load, because not need more load for recive to 60fps.
4) from number#3: none overheating feel when compared with my galaxy s6! s6 need more gpu load for reach to 60fps and gpu core loading heat up the device.
5) unlock software limitations needs custom kernels, and risk of overheating and hardware damage! You don't need more than 60fps for mobile gaming.
6) bad news: Snapdragon 808 can reach to 60fps easily. You can only see "hardware war" between companies. When older SoC can do perfect the end-user works!
This is one of the most unbelieveably slow tablets I have ever experienced. It is VERY interesting that there is such a high percentage of people on this forum who claim their tablet doesn't show any signs of slow down and is very snappy, no lag at all, and gaming performance is top notch. I am here to tell you that these people either work for Samsung or literally have something wrong with the connection between their eyeballs and brains.
Now before I get into the details I would like to say that not all is lost for this tablet and it may someday be the best thing money can buy. Let me explain.... I noticed something very similar when using this tablet. I couldn't put my finger on it right away and then it hit me. This thing feels just like that terribly sluggish s7 edge I used to have. HMMM what do those two have in common you say??? Same SOC, same manufacturer, same-ish software. This thing CHUGS! and I don't want to hear anyone try to refute it. It is unbearable. Just exactly like the s7 edge.
I figured I might be able to clean up the performance on this thing with a custom kernel, just as they have done over on the s7 forums. I was wrong. I rooted and installed a kernel that would allow me to set the governor to performance to see if it helped. It did, but not enough. And performance smokes your battery in no time anyway so isn't a real solution. Samsung has literally destroyed this chip with their DVFS junk just as they have done in the past. I can't belive this was allowed to be released like this AND at this price.
Now for the good part. The s8 was pretty slugglish at release as well (not quite like the s7), but was recently updated to Oreo and it FLIES, just like the Note 8 does. It seems Samsung has finally started taking performance seriously and has figured out how to make their phones have great performance without sacrificing battery life. The tab s3 is slated for the Oreo update in 2018, so we will see what it does to the performance.
Since Google completely messed up their last tablet (the Pixel C's wifi is worse than a 5 year old Nexus 4) and left the market, samsung is the only player left in the so-called highend Android tablet space so here we are with a SD820 from early 2016 instead of a SD835 and broken wifi power-saving since launch. I fully expect Samsung to continue this crap with the Tab S4: copy the 10.5 screen size from the new ipad pro so it looks good on paper but then use the SD835 from 2017 instead of the SD845 which will have been shipping for 6 months by the time they launch the S4 in mid 2018. Hopefully we get a fully working device this time and not something like the Tab S3 and it's totally borked wifi sleep. But hey, could be worse, a fast wifi chip that doesn't sleep and causes power drain is arguably much much better than the slow as molasses crap Google put in the Pixel C (google Pixel C wifi or head over to Anandtech for a deep analysis).
Gone are the good days of the Tab S2 and Nexus 9, both good devices with small shortcomings.
undertaker2k14 said:
Since Google completely messed up their last tablet (the Pixel C's wifi is worse than a 5 year old Nexus 4) and left the market, samsung is the only player left in the so-called highend Android tablet space so here we are with a SD820 from early 2016 instead of a SD835 and broken wifi power-saving since launch. I fully expect Samsung to continue this crap with the Tab S4: copy the 10.5 screen size from the new ipad pro so it looks good on paper but then use the SD835 from 2017 instead of the SD845 which will have been shipping for 6 months by the time they launch the S4 in mid 2018. Hopefully we get a fully working device this time and not something like the Tab S3 and it's totally borked wifi sleep. But hey, could be worse, a fast wifi chip that doesn't sleep and causes power drain is arguably much much better than the slow as molasses crap Google put in the Pixel C (google Pixel C wifi or head over to Anandtech for a deep analysis).
Gone are the good days of the Tab S2 and Nexus 9, both good devices with small shortcomings.
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Click to collapse
Oh the irony!
So I bought 5 tablets this week: Tab s2, Tab s3, Shield Tablet, Nexus 9, and Pixel C. I thoroughly tested all 5 and came to the conclusion that I am keeping the Pixel. And now you hit me with this! lol
So I ran to the tablet with my Note 8 in hand and started doing side by side speed tests and range tests. I found that the Pixel is getting up to 3 times faster download speeds, about the same uploads, and the range seems consistent between the two. Hmmm. I already have the Pixel on Oreo so maybe that has something to do with it?
Not sure, but even if the wifi performance is slow or range bad, it is much better than the other 4 in my opinion. I made a post over on the Pixel C forum to inquire and will try to get to the bottom of it.
I needed a tablet that would game well, multi task, and word process fairly easily. The s2 was my favorite of the bunch but just didn't have the horsepower I was looking for, you know how I feel about the s3 already lol (it would be my fav by far without the lag), the shield has a crap touchscreen, and the good ole Nexus 9 actually does very well for it's age once you get the stock software flashed off. The Pixel C was winner by default, not by choice. I hope 8.0 fixes the Tab s3 so I can buy one 2018. I really didn't want to go above 9 inch due to portability, but there just isn't anything out there and I was forced to look at the bigger ones.
What's most aggravating about the Pixel C situation was that Google employed their forum mods and drones for months on end to drown out folks like myself who were complaining about the wifi situation until anandtech confirmed what we had known all along:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/9996/revisiting-the-google-pixel-c/4
With samsung, they have kind of acknowledged the wifi power drain exists on their official forums, they are just indifferent to it.
I have had no issue's with my Tab S3 SM T825 I do have to wait on it on occasion hey it's SD 820 but it's only about a second or two so not an issue.
This is from from am Android developer so
And rooting it pretty much renders Netflix useless and I want HDR so won't go into magisk and all that crap just a clean plain Samsung tablet with developer mode on
My OnePlus 5 is more than enough for root stuff
Plus you can always sideload apps so I don't know what you're ranting about and you don't even mention specifically where you found to slow
Gaming is good only game that didn't detect Adreno 530 was Telltale Batman. Video binge watching lasts me 8 hours from 100 percentage at 67 percentage brightness.
What else do you want from this tablet word office s pen
What the heck you trying to do? MOVE A MOUNTAIN?
---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:34 PM ----------
undertaker2k14 said:
What's most aggravating about the Pixel C situation was that Google employed their forum mods and drones for months on end to drown out folks like myself who were complaining about the wifi situation until anandtech confirmed what we had known all along:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/9996/revisiting-the-google-pixel-c/4
With samsung, they have kind of acknowledged the wifi power drain exists on their official forums, they are just indifferent to it.
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WiFi power drain I tested today its fine from 33 percentage it went down to 27 after 3 hours that's ok with me. I charge my tab s3 once in two days or so
Fully agree with OP
Chrome is unusable. I check everyday for a stock rom. It'd embarrassing from Samsung for this price..
SS2006 said:
Fully agree with OP
Chrome is unusable. I check everyday for a stock rom. It'd embarrassing from Samsung for this price..
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It's all in the software man don't worry. Oreo will turn the tablet into lightning just like the note 8. Go look at the oneplus 3, same 820 chipset and it flies and never slows down. Samsung destroyed all the 820 devices with bad software. It will be fixed sometime this year.
It still amazes me that there are people on this site that will argue with you until the end of time that this device doesn't lag lol I can't relate to these people at all.
seh6183 said:
It's all in the software man don't worry. Oreo will turn the tablet into lightning just like the note 8. Go look at the oneplus 3, same 820 chipset and it flies and never slows down. Samsung destroyed all the 820 devices with bad software. It will be fixed sometime this year.
It still amazes me that there are people on this site that will arguing with you until the end of time that this device doesn't lag lol I can't relate to these people at all.
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Click to collapse
Haha I've given up hope on this thing.
It's basically just a Netflix display and PDF reader for me.
Multitasking just kills it, and I'm sure the skeleton Dev team Samsung has put on this device will not be able to implement Oreo properly either.
seh6183 said:
This is one of the most unbelieveably slow tablets I have ever experienced. It is VERY interesting that there is such a high percentage of people on this forum who claim their tablet doesn't show any signs of slow down and is very snappy, no lag at all, and gaming performance is top notch. I am here to tell you that these people either work for Samsung or literally have something wrong with the connection between their eyeballs and brains.
Now before I get into the details I would like to say that not all is lost for this tablet and it may someday be the best thing money can buy. Let me explain.... I noticed something very similar when using this tablet. I couldn't put my finger on it right away and then it hit me. This thing feels just like that terribly sluggish s7 edge I used to have. HMMM what do those two have in common you say??? Same SOC, same manufacturer, same-ish software. This thing CHUGS! and I don't want to hear anyone try to refute it. It is unbearable. Just exactly like the s7 edge.
I figured I might be able to clean up the performance on this thing with a custom kernel, just as they have done over on the s7 forums. I was wrong. I rooted and installed a kernel that would allow me to set the governor to performance to see if it helped. It did, but not enough. And performance smokes your battery in no time anyway so isn't a real solution. Samsung has literally destroyed this chip with their DVFS junk just as they have done in the past. I can't belive this was allowed to be released like this AND at this price.
Now for the good part. The s8 was pretty slugglish at release as well (not quite like the s7), but was recently updated to Oreo and it FLIES, just like the Note 8 does. It seems Samsung has finally started taking performance seriously and has figured out how to make their phones have great performance without sacrificing battery life. The tab s3 is slated for the Oreo update in 2018, so we will see what it does to the performance.
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Click to collapse
I've had a Tab S3 for a year now, and am absolutely delighted with it.
Previously a Tab S, that was getting long in the tooth. Prior to that Nexus 7 and the updated version.
The Tab S is as fast as I could wish for, and great battery life.
I object to your characterisation of people who like it. I expected better from a Senior Member of this forum.
I bought my S3 off Amazon and it was pretty sluggish but flashing another region's firmware on it made it fly, been really happy with its battery life and performance over the last six months or so.
Having said that I really don't think high end android tablets are worth it so this is probably my last for a while yet, the cost is too high for the marginal improvement in functionality over a high end smartphone. I knew HDR was a gimmick going in but I was hoping that I'd be able to replace a laptop with the S3 but it just can't quite hang when it comes to any sort of real work load.
Look at my posts
HDR is no gimmick. There is no such possibility. It's like the js7200 which has HDR but they haven't shown it. But tab has better brightness.
And for all here saying tab lags it just doesn't it's the best flagship tablet to get besides the ipad but oled mean my eyes don't redden anymore or strain at all.
So it's not like a phone flagship ok. But most of your PC's would do a worser job on word than this! Also pixel c just don't match.
Chrome does drain battery I read twd comics entire and every single time it drained 1 percentage for 5 to 10 mins each. Samsung internet had zero to minimal drain considering and in stark comparison. Don't blame the tablet blame google.
Everything is smooth sometimes rarely it acts weird like it's dead but then it's ok like it's got the Hangover once or twice every month for a few minutes.
Stop the hate, this is the only tab that you can love if you can't use ipad or want OLED. I mean it's better than the TV. Now my TV is just the playstation monitor.
Kizznyc said:
HDR is no gimmick. There is no such possibility. It's like the js7200 which has HDR but they haven't shown it. But tab has better brightness.
And for all here saying tab lags it just doesn't it's the best flagship tablet to get besides the ipad but oled mean my eyes don't redden anymore or strain at all.
So it's not like a phone flagship ok. But most of your PC's would do a worser job on word than this! Also pixel c just don't match.
Chrome does drain battery I read twd comics entire and every single time it drained 1 percentage for 5 to 10 mins each. Samsung internet had zero to minimal drain considering and in stark comparison. Don't blame the tablet blame google.
Everything is smooth sometimes rarely it acts weird like it's dead but then it's ok like it's got the Hangover once or twice every month for a few minutes.
Stop the hate, this is the only tab that you can love if you can't use ipad or want OLED. I mean it's better than the TV. Now my TV is just the playstation monitor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you get tab S4 :cyclops:
It is a great tablet, but it has its faults, a limited battery, limited software to take advantage of the Spen, the lack of mechanism to hold the Spen is another serious error, to mention some opportunities.
It's not hate, it's the feeling that it could have been an unparalleled tablet that finally feels like a tab 2.5 and not a real tab s3, and Android does not help much to take advantage of our tab.
Definitely I have enjoyed my tab S2 more than my tab s3, the deficiencies are there and it is something that Samsung will have to improve in the future tab s4. And any laptop with the same retail price its seriously better for daily work over our tab.
In conclusion, great tablet that could have been something that did not finish to achieve.
I have asked the mods to remove this thread or close it permanently, so it should be going down soon. I will be replacing it with a new post soon. The new post will explain everything.
Closed per OP request