One week with the Nexus… A long ass review. - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Ok, I picked up the Nexus on December 15th at 9:30 am from Best Buy. I said it on another thread; I think I’m one of the lucky ones that got a good unit. The list of issues that some phones are having I THANKFULLY have not seen. First thing I did with it was unlock it. It is a nexus after all. I’m not rooted as of yet.
First off, the screen is amazing. It’s a PenTile display, fine, who cares. Anyone worried about that, get over it. I think sometimes we spend so much effort researching every little detail on paper and forget that the real world execution of the tech is all that really matters. It’s not a perfect display but I can’t think of too many phones that have a better one. It’s right on par with the iPhone 4S (if not richer), and almost an inch bigger. The whites are ALMOST perfectly white (on mine anyway) and I’m not seeing any blue or green tint. The blacks are just about pure black.
The only lag I have seen on this phone is with home screen swiping (this is very rare), and app drawer especially in the widgets section (this is consistent). From what I have read, this is a bug with 4.0.2 and hopefully fixed with 4.0.3. I know people have roms up and running and say its butter smooth again. The phone is fast has hell. It doesn’t have the break neck speed of the SGS2 but it has a smoothness you really only see on the iPhone. All the native google apps load quick and are very responsive. I have run into some games and general apps that simply don’t play nice with ICS, but these will be fixed in time I’m sure. I also picked up the Xoom on day one, so I’m used to having some apps not working out of the box.
The camera is good, not great, but good. I have read people calling it total garbage; I don’t think that’s true at all. For the life of me I don’t know why they DIDN’T go with the 8 mega pixel one from the SGS2, but they didn’t. It is what it is. My thinking, and I could be totally wrong here, is that the “no shutter lag” was a big selling point. A 5 mega pixel image may have worked better at achieving this. The no shutter lag thing btw is very cool. Great for getting the shots that normally blow by you when you are waiting for the damn phone to snap already… hehe. The only down side is you will get some blurry pictures. Just have to learn to have a steady hand and it works just fine. I have noticed a yellowing of indoor shots when the flash is on. If you can get away with it and there is enough light in the room, just leave the flash off. Without flash the pictures actually look better. Outdoor shots look great. No complaints at all here. Pictures to have on your phone; show friends, post on twitter or facebook, the camera is more than good enough. If you want professional level pictures that you can blow up to poster size, get a real camera.
I spend a lot of time around wifi. I normally have a very strong signal but I will say that as I get further from the router location the weaker the signal gets. This is true for all phones, obviously, but more with the nexus then other phones I have used. My house has almost no coverage from Verizon, but there is enough to make calls and text. When I’m home, wifi is all I use for data. I have had the phone a week, and have yet to drop a single call, miss a text or have a text not go through. People I call say I sound like I’m on a land line. It’s been crystal clear on my side and theirs. I know others have had problems, but I can only speak to my experience. When I leave my house I pick up 3g with no problem. I get the same 3g signal strength as my old Droid Incredible. When I go into town and get into 4g area, I pick it up NO problem at all. Pops right on, and holds it strong. Web browsing is lightning fast and doesn’t drop. To save battery, I leave LTE off when not in town. It’s a good habit to get into. If the coverage isn’t good, don’t try and force it. As far as batter life, I was worried at first. After a few days of charging with the phone off, then letting it run all the way down to dead, the life has been great. (see the screen shot) Admittedly, it was a light use day, but I spent time on wifi, some 4g, some 3g. 46% on 12 hours and 36 min. Can’t complain.
Overall I would have to say it’s the best phone I have ever used. Is it a perfect phone? Nope… But lets think about this. New hardware mixed with a brand new OS on Verizon’s “work-in-progress” LTE network. Anyone who thought this was going to be bug free coming out of the box was kidding themselves. This is a Nexus phone. We will be getting regular updates. Some will fix things, some will break things. One thing you can count on is Google will be supported for at least 18 months. This is something you can’t say for most every phone. If you have the patience to put up with early growing pains, this is a device that will reward you.
I think I have babbled enough… To sum up, phone good…

It’s right on par with the iPhone 4S (if not richer), and almost an inch bigger.???
it makes the iphone 4s look like crap. and just to throw this out there... 4.65">>>3.5".

pukemon said:
it makes the iphone 4s look like crap. and just to throw this out there... 4.65">>>3.5".
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I was trying to be diplomatic... yes, i agree completely i should have just said it...

nice review!
i CAN'T WAIT to pick up mine on saturday, SO EXCITED
coming from my first android phone t-mobile g2
must be an amazing upgrade

GinoSylum said:
I was trying to be diplomatic... yes, i agree completely i should have just said it...
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I dont care, its not an iPhone.....I want a iPhone five.

Related

First Impressions.

Surprise no one did a first impressions thread yet lol.
In here we give our first impressions of the phone so far like your opinion on the performance, screen, sound, camera, build quality, battery life etc.
First I'll like to say that the build quality is amazing. Coming from an epic 4G, I am not sure if my words have any strength but it just feels so nice. It looks very sexy as well. I can't stop staring at it lol.
This is the best screen I have ever seen. It is so sharp and detail in a way I would have never expected. I personally liked the over saturated colors on Samsung's amoled screens but this screen made me feel as if it was too cartoony looking now.
As for performance, I feel like reviewers gave me false expectations. Don't get me wrong, this is a super fast phone but people made it seemed like there would be no lag at all but I notice occasionally hiccups. Note that this is a minor complaint because for most of the time, this is a very smooth experience. The quadcore processor makes this phone a beast!
Battery life has surpassed my expectations. The standby time is great for me. I can use this phone heavily, stop using it and barely experience a drain. Eco mode helps and it charges fast as well.
I came from an Epic 4G so even the cons of the phone is a pro for me since everything is an upgrade. I have nothing but praise for this phone.
latindor17 said:
Surprise no one did a first impressions thread yet lol.
In here we give our first impressions of the phone so far like your opinion on the performance, screen, sound, camera, build quality, battery life etc.
First I'll like to say that the build quality is amazing. Coming from an epic 4G, I am not sure if my words have any strength but it just feels so nice. It looks very sexy as well. I can't stop staring at it lol.
This is the best screen I have ever seen. It is so sharp and detail in a way I would have never expected. I personally liked the over saturated colors on Samsung's amoled screens but this screen made me feel as if it was too cartoony looking now.
As for performance, I feel like reviewers gave me false expectations. Don't get me wrong, this is a super fast phone but people made it seemed like there would be no lag at all but I notice occasionally hiccups. Note that this is a minor complaint because for most of the time, this is a very smooth experience. The quadcore processor makes this phone a beast!
Battery life has surpassed my expectations. The standby time is great for me. I can use this phone heavily, stop using it and barely experience a drain. Eco mode helps and it charges fast as well.
I came from an Epic 4G so even the cons of the phone is a pro for me since everything is an upgrade. I have nothing but praise for this phone.
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I agree with your statements. I also do notice small occasional hiccups which are most likely software related. Hopefully LG will address this in a future update or Jelly Bean release.
Camera is pretty much the only complaint I have about the phone. It's really disappointing. Another software issue that I hope LG will fix in the future.
I just played with one 10 minutes ago at the Sprint store and walked away thoroughly impressed. Loved the sleekness and the feel of the phone. Screen was amazing and the camera was awesome. The speed of the phone was blazing fast. Loved the phone. Looking forward to possibly owning one in the near future.
Beamed From My CM10 GS3
This is definitely one of the best phones available I love everything only things that could be better would be jb, aokp or cm10
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
I see little bugs in lgs software sometimes but overall not issues whatsoever. My experience has been in line with everyone else as far as battery it just overheats too much. Im cool with keeping brightness at 31 but i shouldn't have to. I'm sure its the beasty processor i live with it but im hoping for an amazing jellybean ota update. Fingers crossed. .....
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
genaro12543 said:
I see little bugs in lgs software sometimes but overall not issues whatsoever. My experience has been in line with everyone else as far as battery it just overheats too much. Im cool with keeping brightness at 31 but i shouldn't have to. I'm sure its the beasty processor i live with it but im hoping for an amazing jellybean ota update. Fingers crossed. .....
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
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I am seeing small bugs here and there as well. Like the home screen animations "skips" sometimes when swiping through the screens.
Or the Music player list scrolling is pretty smooth and as soon as you play a song, it becomes choppy. What's up LG? A quad-core CPU can't handle playing music and scrolling through a list?
The Korean version is expected to get Jelly Bean next month so hopefully LG and Sprint and get their stuff together and give us the update quick.
I'm coming from the SGSII (ET4G). Off the back, the build quality of this phone is amazing. The phone is beautiful and it feels great in hands. Not that I ever really had any complaints about samsung but wow, now i REALLY feel the difference. Because of sleekness though I am alot more paranoid about dropping this phone. Going to order a case today for it. The display is also great. Although its taking some time to get used to (as far as colors). Performance wise, the phone is much faster than my rooted sgs2. I have noticed a hiccup here and there but its not enough to complain about. After getting official ICS on the SGS2, there were days I just wanted to throw that phone because all the ICS builds were so buggy and battery life was horrendous. So comparing to that, ICS on the LG is great and battery is far better than what I had so it's good for me. Camera wise, I am still playing with it. The photos are okay but not great. Although, has anyone tried the video camera? As far as video is concerned I am very pleased with what I am seeing. All this phone needs is some Jelly.
I'm getting a terrible batter life on mine...down to about 5% by the end of the day. I looked in the battery info and it says Android OS is at 66% for battery use. Anyone have any idea why?
sarspants said:
I'm getting a terrible batter life on mine...down to about 5% by the end of the day. I looked in the battery info and it says Android OS is at 66% for battery use. Anyone have any idea why?
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I get high android os usage also... averaging 8 ish hours
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Android usage is also top battery drainer for me but supposedly this display is supposed to be pretty low power? The display on my 3D absolutely destroyed battery but I'm getting a lot longer out of this phone.
My opinions pretty much reflect everyone else's. This phone is simply amazing in every way. Huge props to LG on this thing. Sleek and professional design with superb build quality, matched with a high quality screen and a fairly loud speaker. Performance is always snappy, there are very minor stutters every once in a while but such is android. 95 percent of the time it is extremely fluid though. And I actually like LG's UI and the ease of quick memo, much better than Sense.
One thing I'd like to add that I don't think I've heard anyone say yet is that the audio quality is simply amazing. Sounds SO much clearer and natural compared to my Evo (using headphones obviously).
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
I got mine Thursday on my lunch break. That particular one had a problem where I could hear myself in the phone. Not an echo like you get from time to time, but almost like it was going physically through the case of the phone. 24 hours later took it back and exchanged it. The one in the store DID NOT do this and neither does the exchanged one.
Coming from a S2 Epic 4g Touch, which feel off my kitchen table and busted the screen and having to go back to my Evo, this thing flies. I absolutly love the speed. I have not fully tested out what I need it to do, but so far, I have no complaints on the performance.
The things I do dislike. No swappable battery, but this seems to be going the way of the dodo bird anyway. Hopefully the battery consumption is, as great, as they say it is. I was also dissapointed in no SD card and the ringer is crazy quiet, especially when you lay it down with the speaker down. I have never had a phone be this quiet before and the speaker was on the back as well.
Great upgrade but...
I had the HTC EVO 3D last which eventually died on me. Two strips on the phone became unresponsive (had to use predictive texting all the time m ><) and the back camera failed so every time I switched the camera it would just flip the image.
LG Optimus G
PROS
Gorgeous screen
Incredibly fast
Lots of memory space
Light weight
Thin
Beautiful construction
High res camera
Nice software usability
Amazing contact profiles
Great social integration
CONS
Searching contacts takes a long time (it searches every field)
Large white space at the keypad which SHOULD contain most recent contacts
Most recent contacts is in the history tab, a second action to dial
Clicking a user after searching their name in the keypad pastes their phone number instead of auto dials
The home widget screens sometimes lag horribly and visibly refreshes each icon
Camera has a yellow tint
Camera has a blue tint with flash
Poor reception in Atlanta?
Folders can only contain so many icons
Cannot choose picture associated with user
im10er said:
[*]Poor reception in Atlanta?
[/LIST]
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You're in Atlanta, too? I've noticed, at least in my area, the only places I get 4G is when I'm in my car, on the road. Have only had the phone for a week, though, with not much traveling (just to and from work, and some shops in Edgewood and Ponce area).
My overall impression with this phone, coming from an EVO 4G, is that this thing is simply beautiful. The phone I originally purchased had color-banding issues as well as a slight backlight bleed on the top of the display (viewing a photo in fullscreen from the gallery app, without zooming, shows this bleed, I've noticed), so I took it back for a replacement. The replacement had an even worse backlight bleed in the same place. With some complaining and nagging at the store, I managed to get a second replacement which still has the backlight bleed and color-banding issue. I have since discovered that this is a manufacturing defect that exists on all Optimus G's, which is unfortunate, but I'm learning to live with it. The backlight bleed is easy to ignore, but the color-banding is very noticeable. A simple swipe down of the notifications panel will show the quick settings bar, which has a striped/banned effect on the gradient. Comparing this device's screen to others (SGSIII and iPhone 5) shows that this display is unique in this regard. Such a shame, considering all the great things about this phone.
Also, while the camera isn't flawless, it certainly isn't always trounced by Camera Zoom FX - For example, the other day I was in the coffee shop and took some sample shots with the stock camera that were too dark. Switching to Camera Zoom FX produced an over-exposed picture that wouldn't change exposure, despite metering in different areas of the viewfinder. This left me very confused. Hopefully the stock camera will be fixed (more or less) in the Jellybean Update due this December. I won't root until I get it. Haha
This phone is sex. The camera, although not always top notch, turns out good, detailed photos with very natural tones. I adore this display. I like Samsung's super amoled, so I didn't quite know what to expect, yet this display has stunned me with a warm variety of natural colors.
I personally love the stock keyboard. I had bought swiftkey on my Nexus S and assumed I would need it for this phone as well, but I have been impressed with the stock keyboard to a tremendous extent.
Now, a complaint I do have is regarding the temperature of this processing beast. It tends to run hot. Which sometimes prevents me from putting the screen at 100% brightness. I was a bit shocked, but it seems a small price to pay for a quad core processor and a huge screen.
This is a very nice phone. Love it.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
im10er said:
I had the HTC EVO 3D last which eventually died on me. Two strips on the phone became unresponsive (had to use predictive texting all the time m ><) and the back camera failed so every time I switched the camera it would just flip the image.
LG Optimus G
PROS
Gorgeous screen
Incredibly fast
Lots of memory space
Light weight
Thin
Beautiful construction
High res camera
Nice software usability
Amazing contact profiles
Great social integration
CONS
Searching contacts takes a long time (it searches every field)
Large white space at the keypad which SHOULD contain most recent contacts
Most recent contacts is in the history tab, a second action to dial
Clicking a user after searching their name in the keypad pastes their phone number instead of auto dials
The home widget screens sometimes lag horribly and visibly refreshes each icon
Camera has a yellow tint
Camera has a blue tint with flash
Poor reception in Atlanta?
Folders can only contain so many icons
Cannot choose picture associated with user
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try contact sync from play store. You can use contacts fb pic as contact pic.. If I'm not mistaken ever since 4.0 Facebook stopped allowing to sync FB contacts to mobile contacts
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
this phone is pretty g
so i have been waiting to get an upgrade since march... i was on a blackberry 8530 and it was falling apart. through the months i managed to bypass the evo lte for the gsIII, then to be later completely let down by that device. i guess it came down to value, i couldnt see myself spending 200 bucks for either of these phones so i continued to wait. come october i hear the specs for the OG and it seemed like it was going to be the phone that the gsIII should have been. quad core, 13 mp shooter, and 2 gb ram... epic. I knew the phone was going to come out for 200, compared to the evo lte for about 100 and the sg3III for about 150 regular price. Expecting for there to be deals on these phones, I was still debating on making the purchase for 200 and not too just wait for a price drop. When I saw the preorder price of 150 I got pretty damn excited. heres a phone that just came out for the same price as the sgIII, with better specs. Well I ended up having to wait a little longer for a discover card that I had just been approved for. Come last week I see the best buy price... $100, no freaking way. I got my card walked in the best buy with confidence at made my purchase, actually got one for my dad too. So yeah anyways after one week I have come to some of the same conclusions as the rest of you guys.
Build quality/screen: The phone looks and feels fantastic. This screen is great, I put a couple hd .mkv's and they run so smooth and look so good. I can even play them as a text!
The OS: ICS seems to run with few hiccups, and LG's skin is pleasing. But yeah everything is so smooth and accessible. Apps load so quick. I dont know how much of this is just because its my first android phone or the phone itself. I notice some of you all noticed the stutter when swiping through the home screen menus. I got this alot, especially when exiting apps or switching to landscape mode. I think I found a semi-solution by switching the scroll effect to carousel. It seems much more smooth to play with. I have also noticed the lag when scrolling through longer menus, like in the music app while scrolling through songs. I have a hard time believing this is not a software issue, the cpu and ram on this phone should run those things like butter. Also i think this is a glitch ive experienced like 3 times. I'll be sending a text, usually a long one, and suddenly the delete key gets stuck or something. I cant do anything except sit there and watch my message get deleted. Its super frustrating. It seems to stick even after, backspacing any new character I type. I think I have to exit out and return to the message for it to actually stop.
The battery: I dont know if I'm satisfied. I haven't tried it standby with music for very long, but it seems to drop pretty quick on with normal use. Ive been playing around with leaving wifi off, or on with the data, and either way it still seems pretty draining. Im not even at full brightness. Im really worried how long this thing will last watching movies or playing games. Android is at 44% right now. Also its a shame it isn't removable.
Temp: The phone can get pretty hot also. There is actually a spot, on or right under the logo on the back that actually can get intolerable at times. Maybe it only happens when using the phone while charging, but it was still surprising. The rest of the phone stays pretty cool
The camera: From what I've taken, I'm pretty happy. I like the "cheese shutter" feature for taking self portraits with the main camera. It is weak in low light, but isnt every phone camers? One issue that exists is the flash and the actual taking of the photo seem out of sync. I can't tell if its just me, but I get fulled when the actual photo is snapped, especially when the screen shows a photo right before the flash. I'm sure this could be solved with future updates.
The RAM: Yeah there are two gigs, but I seem to always have around one being used. Even with all tasks stopped, I can't get it under ~960mb in use. It was actually around 1.07gb until I did a restart. I dont know if this is all being sucked up by ICS, but should I be worried?
Storage: Im really upset over the absence of microsd slot, but I knew about that before I made my purchase. I mean 32gb built in is quite a bit more than what comes standard in other phones. I have no idea how people survive with an 8gb iphone, to me with some high quality music and bigger apps, that memory will vanish. I have noticed, though, on the stock file manager, the main directory is "/mnt/sdcard". This is pretty suspicious. I'm wondering if there actually is a card slot, but we just can't access it? Has anyone opened her up to see?
Overall: I love it, and at $100 I can't complain. I am looking forward to the Jelly Bean update or to possibly rooting the device to run a custom rom. Either way great phone!
PS. This is my first post. I wouldnt have registered if I didnt have so much to say.
Mrichelo said:
I managed to get a second replacement which still has the backlight bleed and color-banding issue. I have since discovered that this is a manufacturing defect that exists on all Optimus G's, which is unfortunate, but I'm learning to live with it. The backlight bleed is easy to ignore, but the color-banding is very noticeable. A simple swipe down of the notifications panel will show the quick settings bar, which has a striped/banned effect on the gradient. Comparing this device's screen to others (SGSIII and iPhone 5) shows that this display is unique in this regard. Such a shame, considering all the great things about this phone.
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Click to collapse
Hate it when people say what I'm about to say, but I'm saying it - I have none of these problems. There is no gradient on my quick settings bar. It's solid gray with no banding anywhere. With photos, I've got several with totally black or dark edges around the entire frame and I see no light bleed. My wife has the same phone and doesn't have these issues, either. Not trying to diminish your problem because it's obviously a problem. Only reason I'm saying it is that I haven't read anywhere that these are manufacturing defects.
@mosesjohn, That was a nice post, enjoyed reading through it. About the ram thing, I experience the same thing and I find it quite odd. When I had my Epic 4G using Jellybean, over half of my 512GB of ram was being use so to find that this phone is using half 2GB shocked me. I assumed that android just reserves a certain percentage of ram kinda like all OS reserves memory in a HDD/SSD. Either that of LG's UI is taking up a lot of resources.
Kchitown1977 said:
Try contact sync from play store. You can use contacts fb pic as contact pic.. If I'm not mistaken ever since 4.0 Facebook stopped allowing to sync FB contacts to mobile contacts
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can merge/join contacts if you log into LG Social+. I'm able to get FB photos for contacts (as well as their social statuses). Though, I wish the auto-suggest worked better. Took me a while to get all my contacts linked right.
latindor17 said:
@mosesjohn, That was a nice post, enjoyed reading through it. About the ram thing, I experience the same thing and I find it quite odd. When I had my Epic 4G using Jellybean, over half of my 512GB of ram was being use so to find that this phone is using half 2GB shocked me. I assumed that android just reserves a certain percentage of ram kinda like all OS reserves memory in a HDD/SSD. Either that of LG's UI is taking up a lot of resources.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks!
about the ram... it helps knowing im not alone. it might just be that ICS likes to utilize whatever it can, without taking up more than half of the ram. I mean its going to be really hard to use 1 gb of ram with apps/games, and if ICS runs smoother because it uses the rest, fine by me. I just hope its as efficient as possible, without sacrificing performance.

If you are not a developer, this phone is quite bad

I know I'm not the only one thinking this, but looks like I'm the only one who has the courage to admit this:
I thought that people who were calling this device a developer phone were exagerating.... Before buying it I was thinking: "Come on, those adds google put on youtube about the gnex are definitely not targeted towards developers"
I thought: "Wow a phone with stock android, future updates ensured, and those high end specs!..... Bought"
The thing is that hardware wise this device sucks.
And I'm not talking about the CPU and the ram (that's the hardware that matters for the developers, and the nexus is fast, we know it).
But i'm talking about the important hardware! The one that matters on a smartphone for normal people like me.
..as I said: I'm not trying to troll. I just want to talk with people who have my same thoughts
BUILD QUALITY: feels too cheap and it definitely doesn't give you that "built to last" feeling in your hand that Nokia or Motorola phones give you. But hey: you get a curved glass and super thin body...
ANTENNAS (GPS, WIFI, CELLULAR): while on my gsm galaxy nexus the 2g and 3g antennas are quite decent ( still not comparable to Motorolas or Nokia though) The Wi-Fi and the GPS are super weak in comparison to even low end smartphones made by Nokia Moto or Htc.
DISPLAY: worst 720p screen on a smartphone ever. First being a pentile display, ON YOUR EYES it's not a true 720p. Take a look to an IPS 720p display, THAT is sharpness. Though on paper it is 720p, so its perfect for developers who need to test apps on 720p screen. White color tone usually looks perfectly white on every phone, until you compare it to another phone side by side that has better whites. On the galaxy nexus you find yourself constantly thinking that what you are looking at, is not pure while.
SPEAKER: probably a very cheap speaker, just like all the "hidden parts" on this phone and all the hidden parts on Samsung phones in general. Don't ever compare it to a Nokia side by side or you'll cry.
(Why is the volume so lower on notifications and on YouTube? LOL Google)
VIBRATION: if you are used to the amazing vibration feedback that Nokia and HTC devices give you, hearing and feeling the galaxy nexus vibrate will be a pain. It just looks like Samsung didn't spend a penny on the vibration system on this device.
[Small story: I had a GS2 some months ago, one day I came back home and threw it on the bed, it did even had a case on... From that day the vibration became much weaker, almost nonexisting]... just for the lols
That said let's come to the part where we all agree:
Stock android is awesome and developers are probably having a much easier time working with this device
Its also really cheap now. Let's not forget that.
my quick thoughts:
BUILD QUALITY: this category will always be subject to personal preference
ANTENNAS (GPS, WIFI, CELLULAR): I don't get the same strength as with the Razr HD on Verizon, but no drops and data is still more than plentiful in speed
DISPLAY: I find it pretty sharp vs the S3 and some others, the whites are a little yellowy vs others but the blacks are way darker. So you have to pick do you want whites or blacks
SPEAKER: who uses the external speaker with all the bluetooth speakers/docks out there now?
VIBRATION: I like the vibration cuz this way when ur in class/work you feel it but can't hear it, hearing a phone vibrate defeats the purpose of having it on vibrate
I strongly disagree that HTC outperforms Samsung in terms of connectivity / signal strength. According to my (and many other users' ) experiences HTC devices used to have constant issues with WiFi, data signal drops etc something I've never experienced on my samsung devices. I find WiFi signal slightly weaker on Gnex than on my previous S2 or my brother's Droid RAZR but it's not a big deal since I've never experienced random connectivity drops. I do find lack of gorilla glass more irritating.
Comparing "new" IPS displays to our "old" SAMOLED it's little like comparing exynos 5 to our tiomap in terms of speed. (Anyway white will always look better on LCD screens while black on AMOLEDs.)
Before I bought Gnex I read a lot about very low max volume level, but to be honest I've never found it so low that I couldn't hear incoming notification or a phone cal.
this screen is awesome if you tweak it a little.... Reviews still praise the display to this day.
I personally love this phone, Go watch drop tests of the nexus vs. other phones and then come back and talk about build quality.
This is easily the best phone Ive ever owned, bar none. (and I am in no way a dev)
Phone is over a year old. What did you expect compared to newer models? It still holds fine. The build quality is a Sammy trademark.
Sent from my A100 using xda app-developers app
OP, though I see where you're coming from. I personally wanted a Nexus solely for the massive dev community (and just to clarify, I'm not a dev, just a ROM flashing addict). Personally, I feel that getting a Nexus for other reasons (like hardware) is kind of missing the point...
Let's not forget the Gnex cost $350, and it's over a year old, and it's now out of production. Is a Porsche 911 comparable too and in the same class as a VW GTI? The Gnex at that price point was absolutely the best bang for your buck...shortcomings and all. What more could you ask for in a $350 phone? Well, time passes and the Nexus 4 arrived at the same price, so now we can come to expect more features and better hardware for the same price :victory:
Funny though your comparing to a company who are now struggling to be afloat , even going so much so as sleeping with there's once enemy Nokia's!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
wannagofast said:
Let's not forget the Gnex cost $350, and it's over a year old, and it's now out of production. Is a Porsche 911 comparable too and in the same class as a VW GTI? The Gnex at that price point was absolutely the best bang for your buck...shortcomings and all. What more could you ask for in a $350 phone? Well, time passes and the Nexus 4 arrived at the same price, so now we can come to expect more features and better hardware for the same price :victory:
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It cost $350 for the late adopters. I paid $560 and others paid even more.
I wouldn't recommend nexus for an average smartphone user. OEM flagships are imo definitely more suitable here, they offer more eye candy ui, and usually more customization and user friendly options (t9 dialer, regular toggles, more camera options etc). Nexus line with the most lightweight firmware is for those who know why they want it.
polonordo said:
I know I'm not the only one thinking this, but looks like I'm the only one who has the courage to admit this:
I thought that people who were calling this device a developer phone were exagerating.... Before buying it I was thinking: "Come on, those adds google put on youtube about the gnex are definitely not targeted towards developers"
I thought: "Wow a phone with stock android, future updates ensured, and those high end specs!..... Bought"
The thing is that hardware wise this device sucks.
And I'm not talking about the CPU and the ram (that's the hardware that matters for the developers, and the nexus is fast, we know it).
But i'm talking about the important hardware! The one that matters on a smartphone for normal people like me.
..as I said: I'm not trying to troll. I just want to talk with people who have my same thoughts
BUILD QUALITY: feels too cheap and it definitely doesn't give you that "built to last" feeling in your hand that Nokia or Motorola phones give you. But hey: you get a curved glass and super thin body...
ANTENNAS (GPS, WIFI, CELLULAR): while on my gsm galaxy nexus the 2g and 3g antennas are quite decent ( still not comparable to Motorolas or Nokia though) The Wi-Fi and the GPS are super weak in comparison to even low end smartphones made by Nokia Moto or Htc.
DISPLAY: worst 720p screen on a smartphone ever. First being a pentile display, ON YOUR EYES it's not a true 720p. Take a look to an IPS 720p display, THAT is sharpness. Though on paper it is 720p, so its perfect for developers who need to test apps on 720p screen. White color tone usually looks perfectly white on every phone, until you compare it to another phone side by side that has better whites. On the galaxy nexus you find yourself constantly thinking that what you are looking at, is not pure while.
SPEAKER: probably a very cheap speaker, just like all the "hidden parts" on this phone and all the hidden parts on Samsung phones in general. Don't ever compare it to a Nokia side by side or you'll cry.
(Why is the volume so lower on notifications and on YouTube? LOL Google)
VIBRATION: if you are used to the amazing vibration feedback that Nokia and HTC devices give you, hearing and feeling the galaxy nexus vibrate will be a pain. It just looks like Samsung didn't spend a penny on the vibration system on this device.
[Small story: I had a GS2 some months ago, one day I came back home and threw it on the bed, it did even had a case on... From that day the vibration became much weaker, almost nonexisting]... just for the lols
That said let's come to the part where we all agree:
Stock android is awesome and developers are probably having a much easier time working with this device
Its also really cheap now. Let's not forget that.
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Click to collapse
If you do not like the Gnex then go buy what is evident you really want, a Nokia or a Motorola. Everything you have just pointed out is opinion and nothing more. My mother doesn't know the first thing about anything tech, I build her computers for her and she loves her galaxy nexus, she has not a single complaint. I have many female friends that had iPhones that love how easy and smooth my phone runs as well. To say it's only for developers is ridiculous. What you should have done is called this thread "My rant about how Nokia, Motorola and HTC are better than Galaxy Nexus".
No offense but not one thing you have to say is based on fact. My phone has no issues with connectivity, whether it be data or wifi. My gps locks on instantly as long as I'm outside and within 10 seconds indoors. My screen is amazing, if you don't think this is 720p then you are blind (that's my opinion, not fact.). Vibration is no different than the last two HTC phones I owned, I have no problems with volume either. As someone already said, there is no reason to be using your device speakers for anything besides your ringtones and notifications in the age of Bluetooth.
Now onto build quality, you may personally want a oversized heavy lug of a phone but I love how lightweight and thin my Gnex is, I have not a single scratch on it nor a ding or dent and I do not use a screen protector or a case, this is coming from someone that keeps it in the same pocket as his car keys a lot of the time as well.
Now a lot of what I said is opinion as was what you said but out of the two of us, I at least point that out. You posted an entire comment speaking as though all these issues are fact and that this phone is only meant for developers, sorry man, I'm gonna have to go with "no" on both of those.
i dunno where to start man, are you trying to throw this thing against a brick wall? if they made it "tougher" people would complain that its too heavy. people (me included) like the thinness, it can go in my pocket without looking like a bannana or am i happy to see you joke. the build quality is fine, it feel like quality electronics but not tough enough to get run over by a bus. the speaker is fine, every music app has an eq, play musics eq works on the internal speaker and boosting the lower end clears up the tinny crappy tiny speaker sound pretty good. boohoo, pentile. the pentile argument is so overblown, my fascinate had a pentile screen and it looked amazing. i cant see any jagedness or pixels on my nexus, its plenty resolution. the radios are fine unless you live in the middle of nowhere (not bashing people who do) and if you do live in the sticks then why did you buy a phone knowing that it has a weak radio? you want a phone with loud vibration? get a rezound, jesus that things louder than the actual speaker in it. the point of vibrate is so you can feel it but dont hear it.
not trying to fight but man, it seems like you are posting to complain for the sake of complaining.
username8611 said:
i dunno where to start man, are you trying to throw this thing against a brick wall? if they made it "tougher" people would complain that its too heavy. people (me included) like the thinness, it can go in my pocket without looking like a bannana or am i happy to see you joke. the build quality is fine, it feel like quality electronics but not tough enough to get run over by a bus. the speaker is fine, every music app has an eq, play musics eq works on the internal speaker and boosting the lower end clears up the tinny crappy tiny speaker sound pretty good. boohoo, pentile. the pentile argument is so overblown, my fascinate had a pentile screen and it looked amazing. i cant see any jagedness or pixels on my nexus, its plenty resolution. the radios are fine unless you live in the middle of nowhere (not bashing people who do) and if you do live in the sticks then why did you buy a phone knowing that it has a weak radio? you want a phone with loud vibration? get a rezound, jesus that things louder than the actual speaker in it. the point of vibrate is so you can feel it but dont hear it.
not trying to fight but man, it seems like you are posting to complain for the sake of complaining.
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I agree with all of the above, I even stated most of the same things above you lol.
A lot of people forget that they can actually get apps that will increase vibration levels without even having to be rooted.
dankblaze said:
If you do not like the Gnex then go buy what is evident you really want, a Nokia or a Motorola. Everything you have just pointed out is opinion and nothing more. My mother doesn't know the first thing about anything tech, I build her computers for her and she loves her galaxy nexus, she has not a single complaint. I have many female friends that had iPhones that love how easy and smooth my phone runs as well. To say it's only for developers is ridiculous. What you should have done is called this thread "My rant about how Nokia, Motorola and HTC are better than Galaxy Nexus".
No offense but not one thing you have to say is based on fact. My phone has no issues with connectivity, whether it be data or wifi. My gps locks on instantly as long as I'm outside and within 10 seconds indoors. My screen is amazing, if you don't think this is 720p then you are blind (that's my opinion, not fact.). Vibration is no different than the last two HTC phones I owned, I have no problems with volume either. As someone already said, there is no reason to be using your device speakers for anything besides your ringtones and notifications in the age of Bluetooth.
Now onto build quality, you may personally want a oversized heavy lug of a phone but I love how lightweight and thin my Gnex is, I have not a single scratch on it nor a ding or dent and I do not use a screen protector or a case, this is coming from someone that keeps it in the same pocket as his car keys a lot of the time as well.
Now a lot of what I said is opinion as was what you said but out of the two of us, I at least point that out. You posted an entire comment speaking as though all these issues are fact and that this phone is only meant for developers, sorry man, I'm gonna have to go with "no" on both of those.
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Click to collapse
We may have argued in the past but this is a quality post and I fully agree
Since this phone receives a lot of support from devs, you'll have plenty of custom roms and mods to toy with. Everyone can flash a custom rom or mod if they read the instructions carefully, you don't need to be a dev to do that.
That awkward moment when you realize this device is a year old.
It was great for its time.
People still use the Nexus One.
I completely disagree with this thread because I had a One S before and I know that this phone is better.
You know, specs aren't everything.
It's your personal preference.
Their could be a device with amazing specs, but looks like a pile of ****.
Or vice versa.
In my opinion, this device wins in both.
You still get decent specs, a nice screen, and a beautiful slim phone.
If you don't like it buy a new one, simple.
I'm happy with it, and I'm not a developer. I must be a frickin vampire or something.
Had my GNex for a year, switched to the Galaxy S3 for a month and came back to the GNex. Can't beat stock AOSP.
What version do you own?
I came from a CDMA Day 1 Toro. After a few months, I hated the phone with very much the same regard and issues you had. Then I got a GSM when I switched to T-Mobile.
I learned I had a dud in the Verizon version. The new GSM one is amazing, the screen is spectacular, the signal is strong and I cannot complain much about it. I prefer low vibration, I have my phone on silent or sound only.
Honestly the GSM Nexus is still one of the top performers of all time, it sits next to the iPhone 4 and Motorola Droid as the best/game changing smartphones of all time as well. The Galaxy Nexus became both a benchmark and a leaping off point for so many people, projects and development. True it has its issues, but when my Galaxy Nexus will out perform my Nexus 7 and a Galaxy S3 in normal day to day operation, it is a testimony to greatness.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
polonordo said:
If you are not an enthusiast, this phone is quite bad.
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Click to collapse
FTFY
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

First Impressions, and initial Issues?

Hardware is beautiful and working great thus far, coming from a blackberry z10.
issues:
- noticed the best buy demo units are slightly snappier and quicker vs the verizon one that was released
- spigen cases i tried covered up thr mic holes at bottom by charger so need to change cases now (reported in another thread)
- i config'd my 5 non-gmail email accounts (hotmail, outlook, yahoo, etc) and noticed my battery was draining like crazy, 50% gone in like an hour, phone was super hot, and then i realized ghe inbox for all accounts was not syncing and phone keeps retrying constantly. after thorough testing, the issue was that if "group by email conversations" was setup for each account under account advanced settings, once i disabled this for all my accounts, the device was flying, no hot phone, and battery was great
1. I am surprised Wiz is not the usual mess and I am not compelled to go to Nova yet.
2. Radio reception for data is the same as the S3 and S4. Same high battery drain and hottish device in weak signal areas. Good though in medium or better signal areas.
3. Display is great, but still would rather have a great 1080p for battery more battery life.
4. Audio output is low from the audio jack, but Poweramp's gain increase fixes this.
5. Sound quality from the audio jack is good.
6. The speaker is okay, but could be better.
7. Charge time with included charger is fast.
8. Performance is as great.
I would like to agree with everything above and add:
1. Switched to Nova Launcher and is a bit snappier.
2. Not sure how much faster this phone is compared to my LG G3 real world.
3. I must say the N4 stock UI is faster than the LG G3 stock UI.
4. Samsung should really take a page from HTC One M8 or the LG G3 for audio sound quality and output. Both of those phones smoke my N4 especially in volume loudness.
Using Neutron Player and Westover W40s with all lossless recordings. Definitely need to crank up the preamp a bit.
5. Feature set is Awesome so far.
Arie McD said:
I would like to agree with everything above and add:
1. Switched to Nova Launcher and is a bit snappier.
2. Not sure how much faster this phone is compared to my LG G3 real world.
3. I must say the N4 stock UI is faster than the LG G3 stock UI.
4. Samsung should really take a page from HTC One M8 or the LG G3 for audio sound quality and output. Both of those phones smoke my N4 especially in volume loudness.
Using Neutron Player and Westover W40s with all lossless recordings. Definitely need to crank up the preamp a bit.
5. Feature set is Awesome so far.
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Click to collapse
agree note 4 stock ui smokes g3 stock ui
Everything is a positive for me but recent app button (wish it was menu on one tap and recent button was long press on home button hopefully root will fix) and screen wake for text msgs besides that its perfect
any bluetooth issues? Or is it just my accessories (jawbone speaker, car stero)--doesn't even see device
Yes I put it in discover mode while scanning
minor issues
I'm finding that the audio jack is really finnicky with different types of headphones. Some don't work at all. I've seen in the store some are compatible with Apple or Android, is there a way to tell the difference by looking at the plug?
Also I agree that this phone looks incredible, however when looking at the black version, if you look inside the USB port it does appear to still be plastic with some sort of metal coating. This is also evident if you remove the s pen and look at the back case. It is a whitish gray color. The antenna lines through the sides of the case are also white where the bevel is on the front and back. It doesnt bother me at all, just something that I noticed.
One last thing is that on certain videos on YouTube I don't have the option for 1440p. I know on my tab s I had to go back to an earlier version of youtube to get this. Does anyone else have this option for videos on YouTube that are 1440p on their computers or tablets?
Are any of you getting extreme lag with Facebook and instagram?
Cons:
1. The stock launcher is slow. Nova is tons better.
2. Had to turn off all those animations within the developer menu. Device is much speedier now.
3. Glass protectors shows this halo effect because of the 2.5 glass. Wish they just left the screen completely flat.
4. Fingerprint scanner works great with my index fingers but not my thumbs. But once lollipop hits I won't be using the fingerprint scanner for unlocking purposes. A Bluetooth or NFC device will work nicely.
5. Root on the Verizon model may come to Kitkat but it might be near impossible on Lollipop.
6. And where the heck is Gear VR?
Pros:
1. The display quality is better vs Note 3
2. Touchwiz actually looks nice when it comes to the settings menu.
3. The IR blaster strength is so much better vs the Note 3. I don't have to point straight at my devices.
4. The build is a clear step up. Feels super solid.
5. Best camera I've used in a smartphone.
6. Gear VR is the primary reason for upgrading to the Note 4.
The 3 apps I recommend for this phone is:
AcDisplay = Moto X like notifications
Gravity Screen = Turn phone on and off without the power key. Wave hands over the proximity sensor to see AcDisplay and place phone face down to turn off.
Smart Remote = Unleash the true potential of the IR blaster.
Yes I get the the lag on Facebook as well
arkgrotto811 said:
Are any of you getting extreme lag with Facebook and instagram?
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no phones flies on everything.
new issue. bezels are chipping and scratched already. going to go in and get new note or ask for refund
oneandroidnut said:
no phones flies on everything.
new issue. bezels are chipping and scratched already. going to go in and get new note or ask for refund
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Same here. Mine came with scratches on the bezel right out of the box. Might just be exchanging for the turbo or getting a new note 4. Still in my 14 day return period! ?
asides from technical issues, physical issues included from other posts
- not that many cases have the proper mic holes for VZW N4
- most glass screen protectors are causing halo effects, manufacturers still working on them
Chuckleb0ne said:
Same here. Mine came with scratches on the bezel right out of the box. Might just be exchanging for the turbo or getting a new note 4. Still in my 14 day return period! ?
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seriously!? glad im not the only one. i am returning for the refund (minus $35 restock fee) and probably going to buy dev ed note but we will see. going to go in tomorrow or this weekend when turbo is out. i have until nov 5th
oneandroidnut said:
seriously!? glad im not the only one. i am returning for the refund (minus $35 restock fee) and probably going to buy dev ed note but we will see. going to go in tomorrow or this weekend when turbo is out. i have until nov 5th
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Click to collapse
Yea, I watched the Verizon employee take it out of the box and immediately hand it right to me. The first thing I noticed was the scratch on the top lol. It really disappointed me. Anyways I hope the turbo is in the stores tomorrow so I can make a quick exchange. Does it take a couple days to do a even exchange? I bought my phone from a Verizon retail store.
Chuckleb0ne said:
Yea, I watched the Verizon employee take it out of the box and immediately hand it right to me. The first thing I noticed was the scratch on the top lol. It really disappointed me. Anyways I hope the turbo is in the stores tomorrow so I can make a quick exchange. Does it take a couple days to do a even exchange? I bought my phone from a Verizon retail store.
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wow i dont know how mine got it. it came off all in my case and it is a mess. and i am just returning for refund. i havent even opened factory battery yet lol and they should exchange in store no problem
oneandroidnut said:
wow i dont know how mine got it. it came off all in my case and it is a mess. and i am just returning for refund. i havent even opened factory battery yet lol and they should exchange in store no problem
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Click to collapse
Yea they have to accept it if it doesn't show screen damage and really bad damage.
Chuckleb0ne said:
Yea they have to accept it if it doesn't show screen damage and really bad damage.
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Click to collapse
yup im just going to go in and not say a word about anything just say i want to return too many good phones right now i dont know what to get and check out turbo while i am there lol
My wife and I both got new note 4s this weekend. I wanted to wait for a black one (BB only had white), but yesterday was the last day to get the $200 trade in on my ancient Evo. Overall, it's been a good experience. I noticed that I have a bit of a gap on the right side of my white note 4, but it is less of a gap than I had on my old GS3. I got a case that covers the gap, anyway.
Things I love:
1. The spen is very cool. There's so much that I can do with it, and am still figuring it all out.
2. I've never had a phone that had such good radios. Places that I normally struggle with 3g get me a couple of bars of 4g. My GS3 was terrible with the radios. Really, just terrible. I'm not sure if there is another current phone that has radios this good.
3. The screen really is a thing of beauty. Pictures are sharp, and colors are bright and vibrant.
4. The build quality is solid. The phone feels great. The buttons all have solid click feedback. Serious thought went in to the aesthetics of this phone. I've never had a complaint about that on any Samsung phone that I've had or used.
Issues that I'm having:
1. The wifi is terrible. I have a Netgear Nighthawk router. I've played with the settings a bit, and nothing that I've done has made a difference. None of my other electronic devices are having a problem. Well, except for my wife's note 4.
2. There is an ever so slight greenish tint at the very bottom of the screen that's only visible on white screens. Sometimes I am not even sure if I'm seeing it. My wife does not see it at all. I do tend to be picky about screens, and will willingly return an electronic device because of screen issues. It's most noticeable on lower brightness, and not noticeable on full brightness.
3. The viewing angles on this aren't that great. Mine is actually better than my wife's. If I tilt her phone even a bit, it starts to look greenish. Mine will do it as well, but it takes a more extreme angle.
4. The colors ARE amazing, except for white. White isn't really well represented on either of our phones, unless the brightness is cranked up.
5. Chalk this one up to personal preference. The phone is huge! The GS3 is so much smaller than this. I've read a lot of comments that say that you just need to give it a bit of time to get used to the size. I've only had it for a day, so it remains to be seen if I will adapt.
These seem like a lot of complaints, but really, they're minor. For the most part, this is a solid phone with a TON of cool features. I've been looking at all of the phones for quite a while, and there simply isn't another phone with this array of neat stuff.
The thing is, I feel like there really aren't any phones out there that as good as this one. Looked at the iPhone like I do every time my contract is up, and there's really nothing new there. I really have to laugh at NFC that can only be used for Apple Pay. The droid turbo seems ok, but looks a bit dated. And it's sort of a fat phone, though it's much more pocketable than the Note. I also spent some time looking at the G3, and just didn't like it. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it was the skin.
I am not sure what I'll end up doing with it, because I don't know what I'd get if I did return it. I don't want to exchange this one just for a perceived screen issue that might only exist in my mind and that I probably won't notice two weeks from now. Participating in a screen lottery only leads to madness, and I've been down that path before. My GS3 didn't have the most uniform screen, and I totally forgot about it. Because both of our Note 4s have wifi issues, I'm guessing that it's not hardware related.
I think what it comes down to is, can I adapt to the size?
usmaak said:
My wife and I both got new note 4s this weekend. I wanted to wait for a black one (BB only had white), but yesterday was the last day to get the $200 trade in on my ancient Evo. Overall, it's been a good experience. I noticed that I have a bit of a gap on the right side of my white note 4, but it is less of a gap than I had on my old GS3. I got a case that covers the gap, anyway.
Things I love:
1. The spen is very cool. There's so much that I can do with it, and am still figuring it all out.
2. I've never had a phone that had such good radios. Places that I normally struggle with 3g get me a couple of bars of 4g. My GS3 was terrible with the radios. Really, just terrible. I'm not sure if there is another current phone that has radios this good.
3. The screen really is a thing of beauty. Pictures are sharp, and colors are bright and vibrant.
4. The build quality is solid. The phone feels great. The buttons all have solid click feedback. Serious thought went in to the aesthetics of this phone. I've never had a complaint about that on any Samsung phone that I've had or used.
Issues that I'm having:
1. The wifi is terrible. I have a Netgear Nighthawk router. I've played with the settings a bit, and nothing that I've done has made a difference. None of my other electronic devices are having a problem. Well, except for my wife's note 4.
2. There is an ever so slight greenish tint at the very bottom of the screen that's only visible on white screens. Sometimes I am not even sure if I'm seeing it. My wife does not see it at all. I do tend to be picky about screens, and will willingly return an electronic device because of screen issues. It's most noticeable on lower brightness, and not noticeable on full brightness.
3. The viewing angles on this aren't that great. Mine is actually better than my wife's. If I tilt her phone even a bit, it starts to look greenish. Mine will do it as well, but it takes a more extreme angle.
4. The colors ARE amazing, except for white. White isn't really well represented on either of our phones, unless the brightness is cranked up.
5. Chalk this one up to personal preference. The phone is huge! The GS3 is so much smaller than this. I've read a lot of comments that say that you just need to give it a bit of time to get used to the size. I've only had it for a day, so it remains to be seen if I will adapt.
These seem like a lot of complaints, but really, they're minor. For the most part, this is a solid phone with a TON of cool features. I've been looking at all of the phones for quite a while, and there simply isn't another phone with this array of neat stuff.
The thing is, I feel like there really aren't any phones out there that as good as this one. Looked at the iPhone like I do every time my contract is up, and there's really nothing new there. I really have to laugh at NFC that can only be used for Apple Pay. The droid turbo seems ok, but looks a bit dated. And it's sort of a fat phone, though it's much more pocketable than the Note. I also spent some time looking at the G3, and just didn't like it. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it was the skin.
I am not sure what I'll end up doing with it, because I don't know what I'd get if I did return it. I don't want to exchange this one just for a perceived screen issue that might only exist in my mind and that I probably won't notice two weeks from now. Participating in a screen lottery only leads to madness, and I've been down that path before. My GS3 didn't have the most uniform screen, and I totally forgot about it. Because both of our Note 4s have wifi issues, I'm guessing that it's not hardware related.
I think what it comes down to is, can I adapt to the size?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a note 3, give it a few weeks, and the phone becomes "normal" size. I had issues with size when I first got my note 2.
No voice command to turn off the alarm clock?
I don't know if I just am unable to find it but have you guys figured out if there's a voice command to "STOP" the alarm clock? I loved it back when I was using my Note 2. I am pretty sure that this feature also existed on the Note 3. Did Samsung decide to take this feature out on the Note 4? It may not be a big deal but it still was such a convenient feature.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the OnePlus X, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the OnePlus X is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Best smartphone I've owned and it's affordable
Administrators and Moderators!
Please take up the order in the old forums.
Nice performance and premium looks..
Nothing not to love about oneplus X. And so much development its amazing.
You mean people love their phone? What is this world coming to. Pretty soon I'm going to be walking around saying, "When I was your age we used to sleep and bang chics but nowadays virtual pornhub handles that'
Not perfect, but a lot of bang for the buck.
Absolutely love oneplus-x.. I am in love with this, the best phone i have ever bought.
Though i am not a very hard core user ???? never play games,
What i love all about is its premium look and user friendly interface i am totally addicted to this...
Love oneplus.
the best thing about the phone is the screen
its much better than many other high end phones
overall performance is also great
never felt like a mistake after buying it
The best phone I have ever had!
After my beloved HTC Desire HD retired, I had multiple other phones which made me long for my old Desire HD.
But honestly - I love the OnePlus X even more! Especially: What's up with this insanely fast internal storage!?
I came from the fantastic Nexus 4, but this OnePlus X is awesome, I really love the deep dark of the display!
And the community around it make the phone soooo better than stock!!
Brilliant phone for this price. Battery could be better, but using a custom kernel with UV profile can make il last longer.
Only one smartphone was comparable to onyx and it was Xiaomi Mi2 with Miui4. Then Xiaomi turned crazy and started producing bunch of useless bricks every year and now Im with this lovely piece of technology
I'm a Nexus guy. More specifically a Nexus4 guy. When I was out to buy, there was no other "5-inch or less, sleek & classy looking, developer-friendly, microSD-card-supported, best-bang-for-the-buck" phone. Period.
And yes, i'm totally in love with it. An expression which only people here can understand.
Love for OP-X
Yes I love my Oneplus X. Even more so now, knowing that its no longer available for purchase.
I'm a descendant fan of the Nexus 4. In a lot of ways, the Oneplus X reminds me of it. (Heck, they are right in front of me).
The affordability, the style, the professional appearance, the classy look, the microSD (must have for me) card slot, the ability to use the full screen and the openness to modification (thanks to XDA) are all that endears this phone to me.
Decent phone. They say it lacks 4g on ATT and has a weak radio. It does have 3.5G on ATT indicated by an "H". I have no problems loading videos and and apps at home or on the road. lack of 4g on ATT is not an issue for me. The GPS signal likes to crap out from time to time. I say these things because the GPS issue is the only flaw i've found COUNTER to what professional reviewers are/were saying. Also screen is plenty bright out side even with a bright sun and wearing sunglasses. I feel reviewers were unjustly harsh on the phone or paid off to bash it.
Like many others on this thread I come from a Nexus 4 that was great and I wanted something sleek and developer friendly, this turned out to be a great buy.
I've lost count how many times I dropped it and always fearing the worse, but this is a plucky phone. Edges may be scuffed a little now but I've never put a case on it because it would no longer fit in my pockets! It's my faithful daily driver and keeps me company with youtube vids and assorted randomness on my commute to and from work. May be just a London thing but the network is always excellent. Driving and using GPS has also been fine, but I have learnt to carry a portable charger on long journeys and that may be caused by having 2 SIMs.
What I do not like is how soon OnePlus stopped supporting this phone, but it is more than made up by the rest of the devs still releasing new roms to this day, so thank you all!
I come from a OnePlus One, got this X a week ago and I must say I really love its size. It performs especially well, especially when switching from wifi to 3G (was **** on my oneplus one) Great battery life as well on a 15.1 Custom Lineage ROM.
Unlocking bootkoader and installing TWRP/ custom ROM was breeze. I'm convinced there's nothing of this size that performs this well on the market right now.
Tl;dr, Came from OnePlus One and couldn't be happier.
I really like my OnePlus X. The screen is real nice, especially if you use totally black themes at night. I've had videos playing where text fades in on a black screen, and at night it looks like it's just appearing out of nowhere, since there's absolutely no backlighting (contrary to another phone's AMOLED screen I used for a bit). The hardware buttons are also so nice to have, since it helps clean up the display and lets you use the whole screen. The SD card slot is super handy too, since I just dropped a 128GB card into it, and I'll probably never run out of space (and if I do, I'll just get a 256GB card, problem solved). The battery lasts long enough for me, with the phone almost never dying during the day, unless I forgot to charge it the night before. Edit: and it's easy to root and flash a new OS to get things up to date. I'm also on an unofficial LOS 15.1, and it's been smooth sailing the whole time I've been using it.
It's not all perfect though. A case is pretty much required, since the glass back will probably not last long if you drop your phone at all, which you will since it's horribly slippery. Thankfully cases are cheap on Amazon, so my phone has gone unbroken (and undropped, mostly) for the past couple years. Without 5GHz wifi support, it's kind of slow at times. The wifi also conflicts with Bluetooth, so you have to pick one and only one when using the phone. This only came up a few months ago, when I wanted to use the Steam Link app to stream games while using my Steam Controller, only to find out that when I'm using Bluetooth my wifi is too slow to stream anything (>1Mb/s speeds, if I remember right). I could (probably) use my data instead and then connect to my home VPN, but then I'm blowing through my terrible Canadian data limits, and getting bad latency. And yes, I'm still, salty about this.
Over all, I'd rate it 4/5, not perfect and sometimes frustrating, but the negatives rarely come up in a meaningful way, while the positives keep sticking around. Easily worth the money I paid.
Mcsticken said:
I really like my OnePlus X. The screen is real nice, especially if you use totally black themes at night. I've had videos playing where text fades in on a black screen, and at night it looks like it's just appearing out of nowhere, since there's absolutely no backlighting (contrary to another phone's AMOLED screen I used for a bit). The hardware buttons are also so nice to have, since it helps clean up the display and lets you use the whole screen. The SD card slot is super handy too, since I just dropped a 128GB card into it, and I'll probably never run out of space (and if I do, I'll just get a 256GB card, problem solved). The battery lasts long enough for me, with the phone almost never dying during the day, unless I forgot to charge it the night before. Edit: and it's easy to root and flash a new OS to get things up to date. I'm also on an unofficial LOS 15.1, and it's been smooth sailing the whole time I've been using it.
It's not all perfect though. A case is pretty much required, since the glass back will probably not last long if you drop your phone at all, which you will since it's horribly slippery. Thankfully cases are cheap on Amazon, so my phone has gone unbroken (and undropped, mostly) for the past couple years. Without 5GHz wifi support, it's kind of slow at times. The wifi also conflicts with Bluetooth, so you have to pick one and only one when using the phone. This only came up a few months ago, when I wanted to use the Steam Link app to stream games while using my Steam Controller, only to find out that when I'm using Bluetooth my wifi is too slow to stream anything (>1Mb/s speeds, if I remember right). I could (probably) use my data instead and then connect to my home VPN, but then I'm blowing through my terrible Canadian data limits, and getting bad latency. And yes, I'm still, salty about this.
Over all, I'd rate it 4/5, not perfect and sometimes frustrating, but the negatives rarely come up in a meaningful way, while the positives keep sticking around. Easily worth the money I paid.
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Click to collapse
Hello!
Don't you find its internal storage as insufficient? (Approx 10 GB Usable)
Or is there any way to install Whatsapp on memory card on this phone? If there is, can you pls. help me out? Because my internal storage gets filled pretty fast becuase of the apps data (primarily Whatsapp).

V30 First Impressions Thread

Figured we probably needed a place to put everyone's first impressions.
I'll start with first, this thing is small and light! Coming from a V20 and a Nexus 6 before that, this thing is tiny. Last time I felt like I had a phone this size was the Galaxy Nexus. (Yeah, I know. That one was probably actually smaller than this but still, this thing feels that small in hand to me. I've been using nothing but phablets since that phone.) It feels closer in size to my work iPhone 6s than my V20. That's going to take some getting used to. It's in a case now but still feels small.
Still trying to get used to some app behaviors that seemed to have changed. For instance, Weather Channel app is having all kinds of issues. Shows as a sensitive notification on the lock screen vs my V20 where it isn't, because it isn't. The widget doesn't display information without being cut off. I still need to go log into all my apps and get them set up.
Camera. Haven't really taken any shots with it yet but I did dig through it. First, I'm not happy that it always opens in auto mode. The V20 would open in whatever mode you last had it in. I prefer manual mode and liked that I could just open it, make a quick adjustment to the settings and shoot. Now I have to dive into a menu to get to manual then make adjustments and shoot. It'll slow things down quite a bit. I am happy that Graphy can be shut off. Also, noise reduction can be shut off in manual. It was actually disabled by default. Going to do a lot of test shooting today.
Hoping to hit up the museum I used to work in and always test every camera I own there. Also hitting up an outdoor night event here as well as the jazz club. It's going to get one helluva workout today! Going to take my V20 and Nikon V3 along too. Not sure how much I'll use the V3 outside of the outdoor event. Not going to bother taking my DSLR. (I'm actually in the process of downsizing my photography to smaller cameras. DSLRs have gotten way too clean and clinical for my tastes.)
Nice! I can’t wait to see the pics it takes.
I played with this at Verizon yesterday, and I'm still on the fence. The front facing camera was HORRIBLE. I held my G5 next to it and took a selfie, and the G5 was so much better. The rear camera did seem to take awesome shots, but still slow to take and delay in swiping between front and back cameras, something I really thought they'd have a better handle on by now since I had the same issues in the G4 and G5. I loved it otherwise, I think it's a gorgeous phone, I like the looks a lot more than the Galaxy phones.
I went in wanting the phone, but two separate Verizon reps were adamant in saying I should stay away from LG, that they have nothing but problems, they only sold maybe 2 G6's, they have class action lawsuits against them, and they tell customers to go take a hike when asking for a new phone after having multiple of them die in a row from a known defect. Theyd rather keep sending you defective phones repeatedly under warranty. So idk. I'm reeeally torn between this and the S8+ which has very similar specs and is cheaper at this point, but I don't like having only one rear camera.
Initial results at the museum are looking pretty good. I'm impressed so far for the most part. As for selfie camera issues, I was disappointed at first until I figured out those stupid settings at the bottom of the screen. After you turn off the skin toning and lightning, the images are much better. Then they work well with post processing.
Have you had a chance to play w Bluetooth, GPS, Wifi/Data connection? My G4 had bad bluetooth disconnections and busted gps in the G5. Just curious how the different antennae have been working for you. Good battery life?
ryanpm40 said:
Have you had a chance to play w Bluetooth, GPS, Wifi/Data connection? My G4 had bad bluetooth disconnections and busted gps in the G5. Just curious how the different antennae have been working for you. Good battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't played with GPS yet. I can't really speak to how well or not how well it works. I used wifi during set-up. It worked but my wifi is slower than my network connection and I regretted using it. Not a knock on the wifi of this phone, it's just that my carrier network is that much faster than my home wifi. Only BT I've done so far is to connect it to my car. That went much better and smoother than my V20. It took me many attempts over an hour and a half to get my V20 and car paired. The V30 paired the first time. The next test will be to see if I have to restart my phone after a few days to keep the connection from going wonky. (Which is a ritual with my V20 that occurred at least once a week.)
I got mine this past Friday. It is slippery to hold, you will def need a case to keep it from sliding out of your hand. I'm still not sure why designers can make insanely powerful devices but can't figure out that you actually need to hold on to it to use it. I'll probably get a DBrand skin or equiv when they are available. It is super light. Kinda feels flimsy it is so lightweight even though it is not. My last phone was a Nexus 6P, before that an HTC M9, before that an HTC M7. All three of those feel like tanks by comparison. I'm not sure yet if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Camera is nice but uses a lot of noise reduction. It has endless options that will take some time getting used to. I'm not sure yet if it is as good as HTC's U11 which as an incredible camera IMO (my GF has a U11). Looks better than my Nexus 6p for sure though. Much faster too. I love the wide angle lens!
Audio from Headphone jack is insane. I'm using the BEATS headphones from my old HTC One, I can only imagine how good it would sound with high end headphones. Phone speaker is ehhh. Nowheres near as good as HTC or Google phones with front facing speakers. Or HTC U11 which seems to have crazy sound magically radiate into space.
As for speed, its as fast as any other 2017 phone I have tried, the hardware is all the same. The screen is amazing. I mean AMAZING! I can't really see a difference between 1080 and 1440 quality or speed wise. I thought at first there was but now think it is more of a placebo effect. I have been keeping it maxed mostly for the bragging rights of it being higher rez than Apple's silly Superduper mega retina display, what ever that means.
It is to early for me to tell if battery life makes a difference with resolution. I have read it is supposed to eat more power with the higher rez. It isn't as near bezelless as I thought it would be. It seems to be a marketing trend for company renders to show super edge to edge displays until you actually get it and there are good sized bezels. Not that I mind, it is just something I noticed. The screens are not any larger, the phone is just shrinking around it making the device seem small and the screen seem smaller than it is. My Nexus 6p dwarfs the V30 in the hand and the display just feels larger on the Nexus even though it is not. Kind of another odd placebo effect.
Speaking of battery, it seems to last well over a day of playing hard with it but is still to early to tell since I keep plugging it in to transfer files. After the newness wears off I think I will be able to get 2 days out of it.
The power button, or lack there of is great I think. Instead of a dedicated button, it is just the fingerprint scanner. You can click it, hold it to open restart options etc. Works great and is non intrusive by comparison to a dedicated button that I usually hit by accident all the time.
The UI is not terrible. It is fast and responsive. For the record I am a fanboy of Sense and Stock. LG's UI has a lot more options for customization over Stock but some things seem like they just changed from stock to say they did. Especially in the Settings menu where they feel extra pages of settings tabs is preferable than a simple list. The worst part is LG's apps that are mostly broken or limited.
Contacts doesn't work right and crashes sometimes when I try and edit a contact. You can not fully disable it. I'm using Google Contacts when it will let me.
Calendar is ok, about the same as Google Calendar. Again you can not fully disable it for some reason.
Camera app is good so far, or at least I like it.
Messaging app sux. It freezes sometimes and when it works you can't insert gifs. Again you can't disable it. I'm using Google's Messenger.
Keyboard is limited, I just use the Google Keyboard.
Gallery is simple and works for on device pix but doesn't allow cloud access. Since most of my pix are on GoogleDrive I just use Google Photos. And again you can't disable it.
Smart Cleaning is a cleaner app. The phone is so fast I can't see any difference after using it.
LG Health I haven't tried yet.
LG Smart World is just some LG app browsing thing. Haven't really played with it other than browsing themes.
So far I love the phone. Out of 2017 phones I have used the HTC U11 and Essential Phone I like the V30 best of those 3. My biggest complaint is I just wish you could at least disable the LG bloatware apps so they can't start up. Maybe there is a special way to do it aside from rooting the device and going that route.
Hope this helps anyone considering the V30
CHH2 said:
Figured we probably needed a place to put everyone's first impressions.
I'll start with first, this thing is small and light! Coming from a V20 and a Nexus 6 before that, this thing is tiny. Last time I felt like I had a phone this size was the Galaxy Nexus. (Yeah, I know. That one was probably actually smaller than this but still, this thing feels that small in hand to me. I've been using nothing but phablets since that phone.) It feels closer in size to my work iPhone 6s than my V20. That's going to take some getting used to. It's in a case now but still feels small.
Still trying to get used to some app behaviors that seemed to have changed. For instance, Weather Channel app is having all kinds of issues. Shows as a sensitive notification on the lock screen vs my V20 where it isn't, because it isn't. The widget doesn't display information without being cut off. I still need to go log into all my apps and get them set up.
Camera. Haven't really taken any shots with it yet but I did dig through it. First, I'm not happy that it always opens in auto mode. The V20 would open in whatever mode you last had it in. I prefer manual mode and liked that I could just open it, make a quick adjustment to the settings and shoot. Now I have to dive into a menu to get to manual then make adjustments and shoot. It'll slow things down quite a bit. I am happy that Graphy can be shut off. Also, noise reduction can be shut off in manual. It was actually disabled by default. Going to do a lot of test shooting today.
Hoping to hit up the museum I used to work in and always test every camera I own there. Also hitting up an outdoor night event here as well as the jazz club. It's going to get one helluva workout today! Going to take my V20 and Nikon V3 along too. Not sure how much I'll use the V3 outside of the outdoor event. Not going to bother taking my DSLR. (I'm actually in the process of downsizing my photography to smaller cameras. DSLRs have gotten way too clean and clinical for my tastes.)
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Click to collapse
Deztroyah said:
My biggest complaint is I just wish you could at least disable the LG bloatware apps so they can't start up. Maybe there is a special way to do it aside from rooting the device and going that route.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. This method works on G6, so it should work on V30 also, be careful on what you disable, you could potentially brick the device.
BTW any display problems? And what variant did you buy?
Thanks! As for the variant, I have the AT&T 64gig one. There are a few AT&T apps, all can be disabled. I actually use a few of them. And no display problems that I have seen. I think the display is one of the best parts of the device.
Deztroyah said:
I got mine this past Friday...
Hope this helps anyone considering the V30
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Click to collapse
Awesome overview :good: Although I already ordered v30 (black, 64gb) from South Korea, it was still nice to read, especially regarding the screen/size. I am not a fan of 18:9 in general since native support is still behind (cropped,zoomed videos), but I like what LG does - basically putting 18:9 screen in a more like 16:9 frame.. this makes it look much better than sausage-style s8/s8+/note8.
Here’s my V30+ first impressions. Will do a deep dive on the camera and audio soon.
https://gavinsgadgets.com/2018/01/0...adphone-jack-with-quad-dac-wireless-charging/
gavinfabl said:
Here’s my V30+ first impressions. Will do a deep dive on the camera and audio soon.
https://gavinsgadgets.com/2018/01/0...adphone-jack-with-quad-dac-wireless-charging/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting review. Where did you get your B&O branded V30+ in UK? I thought they only had the V30? Did you get it from Italy or elsewhere?
I watched your full YouTube review and I agree people are selling the camera on this phone short. Interesting that all your friends chose the LG V30+ pictures over the Pixel 2 XL pictures. That's one reason I'm not really going to mess with the Pixel camera port.
ChazzMatt said:
Interesting review. Where did you get your B&O branded V30+ in UK? I thought they only had the V30? Did you get it from Italy or elsewhere?
I watched your full YouTube review and I agree people are selling the camera on this phone short. Interesting that all your friends chose the LG V30+ pictures over the Pixel 2 XL pictures. That's one reason I'm not really going to mess with the Pixel camera port.
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Click to collapse
Thanks. You’re right. UK only gets standard V30. Wondamobile supplied the V30+. The Pixel 2 will take better pics , but like everything it depends on the scene. I was out this morning with my Canon & V30+ and will get a post up next week with the results.
Ok. Audio review now done on the LG V30 covering speaker, Bluetooth, wired and type c. Over a dozen headphones used too.
https://gavinsgadgets.com/2018/01/1...-wired-over-12-different-headphones-compared/
I'm on my second Sprint lg v30 plus. Had to exchange the first one due to digitizer issues. On one side of the screen. It only responded to taps. My luck I guess.. Overall I like the device. It's light, fast and has a nice design. The camera sucks tho compared to my s8+ especially in low light. Not a bad camera but no where near the pixel 2 or Samsung phones. Was going to get the note 8 but I doubt that will ever get twrp. Hopefully this device gets root and twrp
Ok full review is finished now. Includes a camera showcase and 32 reasons why it's the best phone in the world, with the 32nd reason the best one.
https://gavinsgadgets.com/2018/01/28/lg-v30-review-camera-showcase-this-is-the-best-phone-in-2018/

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