How does the G3 compare to my S5 and M8? My mini review. - T-Mobile LG G3

So after using the G3 for about a week, I picked up an S5 also to compare it to. My G3 will be replacing my HTC One M8.
Performance initially was disappointing, seemed to microstutter everywhere which gives a perception of a laggy device. At first I was very upset but after putting all 3 devices side by side and running and opening apps ect., the G3 is just as quick, if not quicker then the S5 and M8 when opening and switching apps, the key difference here are in the animations.
The S5 and M8 are very consistent with smooth app opening, closing and switching animations. Always seems to run fluid 90-100 percent of the time, the G3 struggles to render them smoothly consistently. The animation stutters, stutters, then closes and vise versa when it opens on many occasions. Drove me insane! In-app performance are pretty much identical between the 3 with scrolling a tiny bit smoother on the S5 and M8.
Screen quality, I would have to give the win to the HTC M8 out of the box, because of the weird over sharpening high contrast setting LG decided to use, text on the G3 looks lower resolution than the HTC as a direct result. Colors on the G3 also looks a little washed out compared to the M8 and S5 out of the box, BUT...you can change the contrast ratio on the G3 in the accessibility menu and make the colors pop to your hearts desire. Very nice.. M8 also has better black levels than G3.
Don't get me started with the S5's screen, I can't believe one report actually gave it the "best display ever tested" title. Looks like garbage compared to the G3 and M8. No matter what setting I chose, adapt display, professional, cinema ect, it was way over saturated to the point where the colors look almost neon like. Everything looks lower resolution also, I blame TouchJizz mostly because once you switch to a different launcher like Nova, the icons look sharper but still not on par with the M8 or G3. The S5's display looks "Okay" once you crank the brightness past 75 percent, anything under that and the screen just looks terrible. Maybe my eyes have gotten accustomed to IPS LCD, I can't see myself going back to AMOLED. If this is the best that AMOLED can offer at the moment.. NO THANKS!
Camera, lets make this simple. The S5 takes the best pictures overall. It also records the best video with options for full 60fps in 1080p. G3 is a close second but the colors just doesn't seem to look as nice as the S5's, clarity and details are similar but the S5 exposes the picture better. HDR is also better on the S5. M8 takes very nice close up and macro shots but sucks big time when you try and take a scenery shot I really haven't tried much night time photography so I can't comment on that.
Battery life, S5 and G3 seems to be neck and neck lasting my entire work day with heavy use, the M8 trails behind and needs to be plugged in for my drive home.
Design and in hand usage. This is very subjective, I find the S5 the most comfortable to hold but it's also the most godawful looking. There's no denying it, the S5 is one ugly phone compared to the other two. Looks and feels terribly cheap, huge bezels giving the phone a very dated look. M8 looks great, build quality is nice but it's also very uncomfortable to use. It's slippery, the edges are sharp and it's just a pain (literally) to hold on to. It just doesn't give you a reassuring feel when using it especially over any hard surface. It also feels a lot heavier. The G3 is the perfect blend between the two, it looks beautiful, perfectly weighted, comfortable to hold, feels solid in the hand and has just enough "grip". Hands down I think it looks the best, just gorgeous.
Audio, as you guessed it the HTC One M8 tops it here, it sounds great with the Boom sound external speakers and with headphones plugged in. Bluetooth audio streaming also sounds very clean with the M8, the G3 matches the M8 in headphone audio output and bluetooth streaming quality but obviously gets smoked when it comes to external speaker quality. G3 still sounds very loud and pretty full for having only one rear firing mono speaker. The S5 is the worst performer here, headphone audio performance is just dismal compared to the other two even after playing with the built-in EQ. Bluetooth audio streaming on the S5 is also weak, audio tracks sound very degraded over bluetooth. Another weird issue I had with the S5 was it didn't play nicely with my Lexus Mark Levinson system, I had to crank the volume to twice the level to get the same output as the M8 and G3. (Yes, the bluetooth output volume was set to max on the S5) The S5's external speaker is also the tinniest, almost painful to listen to at higher volumes. It has piercing highs with no mids or lows. I guess when you make the phone IP67, sacrifices must be made.
Conclusion, as you can see all the phones have their pros and cons but overall I think we all made the right decision with the G3. I've been on a search for the "perfect" phone since I can remember, for me at the moment, the G3 is the closest one yet. I'm sure performance will improve with updates so I am excited for the G3's future. I'm also glad I gave it a second chance, I literally had it all boxed up with the return label slapped on it back to T-Mobile. Looks like it will be sticking with me for a little bit longer.

Woot

Here's my copy and paste from another site reviewing the same three phones. This may be a good thread for people to detail their experience with the three big players.
"Alright so I've had it a few days now and here's what I think of it. Out****ingstanding.
Hardware - The metal looking plastic back is actually pretty nice. I think it actually has some metal in it, it doesn't feel plastic and cheap in the hand like the GS5 does. It doesn't have the heft of the M8 but it's also not as slippery as the M8 either. It's just about right. It's removable so it's easy to throw a spare battery in your car or camera bag or pocket or whatever if you're going to be out all day. That being said, the battery life is surprisingly good given the resolution/size of the display. Which brings me to the display. It's also outstanding. The first G3 I got had a weird yellowish tint to the display, did a little research and it seems there's some inconsistency among the displays from manufacture, I took it back to T-Mobile and they swapped it out without any hassle. It's huge, it's bright, it's incredibly sharp. There really isn't much bad I can say about the display. The buttons on the back took a little getting used to, but after a day you're used to them and it's actually quite natural to use them. The camera is awesome, I think it's bright light capabilities are on par or better than the M8 and definitely better than the S5. Under lower light it's at least on par or slightly better than the S5 and ****s on the M8. The OIS and "frikkin laser" focus is awesome, makes it really easy to pull it out and snap a pic really quick without the fuss the other two give. Wireless charging is available with an appropriate back cover, but more on that later. The single rear speaker is similarly placed to the S5 but it's much louder and your hand doesn't muffle it in regular use. Clarity is much better than the S5 as well. The M8 destroys all comers in this area with it's front facing speakers.
Software - The LG overlay is actually quite nice. I think it's just as good as HTC's Sense and kicks Touchwhiz in the grundel. It's easy enough to disable most stock LG apps if you want to. There's a faint touch of lag to the OS, not as bad as Touchwhiz but just a hair worse than Sense. If you kick the animations down to 0.5x from 1x in developer options it goes away. There's a health app, the people on xda seem to like it a lot but I don't use it.
Daily use - This thing really shines. The size is marginally bigger than the others in one dimension or another, but the shape of the back cover makes it perfectly comfortable to use and it doesn't feel at all as big as it actually is. The M8 feels really skinny next to it and the S5 feels like a giant, rectangular brick. Easy to use one handed, especially with the rear buttons. The OIS of the camera is really quite good and it's probably the first Android phone I've used that I think has a camera comparable to the quality output from the iPhones under all scenarios. Battery life has been great, I can easily get through a whole 12 hour shift at work and have plenty of battery to spare and I use the phone quite heavily and have music playing probably 10 of those 12 hours.
Signal strength - So I originally got the AT&T version before realizing those ****s disabled Qi charging in favor of PMA so I actually have some experience with the d850 (ATT) and d851 (TMo). The modems are the same between the two, the only hardware difference between the two devices I believe is AT&T's hardware removal of Qi. Both phones were on the same rev and they picked up signal the same as the S5 and a little worse than the M8 on AT&T. I have all Qi stuff so I said **** it and switched to TMo and have been quite pleasantly surprised. Their service in my area is great (better than AT&T coverage was) and the calls/sms/mms over WiFi is actually awesome, especially at work as most of the hospital is well insulated from outside communication. I also have unlimited everything for about $40/mo less than I was paying for 4gb at AT&T.
Advanced nerdy stuff (root) - If you root the phone, which is available for all variants and most with a one click utility, then the thing outshines the other 2 on all fronts. There's a mod for camera quality that kicks the image quality above the other 2 under all lighting conditions and increases the video recording quality to 1080p/60 and increases the bitrate of the 4k recording. There's a tweakbox that lets you customize the LG overlay to your personal taste and with a couple minor tweaks it is fastest experience of the 3. You can tinker with the volume of the speaker and the volume increments which is needed (30 vs stock 15 options). Then of course you can use Titanium Backup to freeze/uninstall all the carrier bloat. Xposed Framework of course brings hundreds of mods for just about anything you'd want to do.
Overall - Out of the box within confinements of not being rooted 9/10
----------- After root 10/10"

I agree with most of what you said, except I think the S5 has a better screen overall. I came from a Note 2, so I am used to the saturated colors. But regardless of your preference of saturated vs natural colors, I think most people would agree that the S5 has better brightness and viewing angles. I also think text on the G3 is oversharpened/overprocessed.
I think LG got the "feel" of the G3 just right. The S5 is a freaking brick and looks like it was beaten with an ugly stick. The M8 is disproportionately tall, and also heavy & slippery.
As far as sound, the G3 falls in between. The S5 speaker is anemic. The M8 blows everything else out of the water. I always listen to music via headphones or my car system. But if you absolutely *must* listen to audio via speakerphone, then the M8 has no equal. I must admit, sharing videos with friends is a much more pleasant experience on the M8. The G3 speaker does a respectable job, but you still have to cup your hand around the back to hear anything (at least at my age).
Despite its flaws (which are very minor), I think the G3 is the phone to beat this year. The Note 4 will no doubt offer some serious competition, but I think the Note line targets a different demographic. People that don't want or need the Note's special features will probably find the G3 to be an almost perfect compromise of size, features and performance.
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

Dan37tz said:
Camera, lets make this simple. The S5 takes the best pictures overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have my G3 yet, but based on images I've seen online, I, ever so slightly, prefer the G3's photos as it seems to get slightly better detail. What I mean is that, at least from what I'm seeing, it looks like the S5 is trying to over-sharpen details in software instead of just using what is available through the sensor. For instance, outlines of leaves in front of the bright sky shows a tiny bit extra outlining to me.
Oddly enough, this shouldn't be the case since the S5 has a slightly larger sensor, more megapixels and a slightly wider aperture @ f/2.2. Perhaps that new isocell sensor isn't all it's cracked up to be or maybe they just haven't fine tuned the software for it. However, with the G3 you also get dual flash, which is a feature that might come in handy for macro shots, and there is that laser focus thingy the G3 has. So, I dunno, I was leaning towards the S5 myself, but after seeing test photos and reading reviews about all the other aspects of the phone itself I went with the G3.
Perhaps completely manual shooting with the S5 would render better results than the G3.
In the end though, I just wanted something that could compete with my old T-mobile 4G Slide. My Google Nexus 4 certainly didn't and I'm glad it's paid off and done with.

Dan37tz said:
Camera, lets make this simple. The S5 takes the best pictures overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have to disagree there, I think the G3 pictures are better. I took some pics of my car today and was actually quite impressed with how they came out compared to similar shots at the same place and same time of day and same subject matter. I do agree the HDR shots from the S5 are better, but who uses that anyway

boosting1bar said:
Have to disagree there, I think the G3 pictures are better. I took some pics of my car today and was actually quite impressed with how they came out compared to similar shots at the same place and same time of day and same subject matter. I do agree the HDR shots from the S5 are better, but who uses that anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if it is due to the lens itself?
Perhaps the G3 is using a better lens (Sony?) and it is of better quality than what Samsung is using on the S5. There is actually a list of people with cracked and broken S5 lenses, so I'm guessing the glass they are using isn't very good.
From what I've seen, the M8 appears to take cleaner night shots, at least with macro and no flash, However; I do not know how low the ISO settings will go with it. I think the G3 can do ISO 50, so if the image stabilization is as good as LG claims and the focus laser is really fast it should end up taking pretty good night shots in manual mode.
In the end I think all three are good cameras for a cell phone, I just feel like the G3 has more options for covering different kinds of shooting. Then again, I haven't used any of these phones personally yet.:silly:

I suspect with the XPOSED module Viper4Android, you can tweak the sound on the G3 to be on par with boomsound or even better.
Also, have you taken many pictures in low light? It's my understanding that the g3 has a much better camera for low light than the s5. It's not as good in direct sunlight, but better everywhere else making it a better "overall" camera. I don't have an s5 to compare the G3 to, so I'm just going off what I've read. It would be nice to hear from someone that has both.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I must not be getting the same bluetooth results as you...
This is the worst I've heard in the past few years, as far as bluetooth media pairing goes..
it sounds like the bit rate of a 320 mp3 goes down to 96 or 128.
I'm quite concerned about this...
I'm pairing up to a VW/Dynaudio setup.
Iphone, GS4, lumia 925...all sound 10x better.
did you do any bluetooth tweaks?

sic0048 said:
I suspect with the XPOSED module Viper4Android, you can tweak the sound on the G3 to be on par with boomsound or even better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The M7/M8 have front facing stereo speakers. The G3 has one small speaker on the back, facing away from the user. Sorry, but no amount of mods will make the G3 external speaker sound like the M7/M8.
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

Related

HTC Desire Eye mini review

So, I picked up a Desire Eye on launch day. I feel like I was one of the few people intrigued by this device when it was announced. Since then, it has received almost zero attention: Few reviews, no posts on XDA, very little buzz on the internet in general. So, if you're even remotely considering this device and want a little info, here's a personal perspective from someone who bought the phone.
Disclaimer: I have owned dozens of flagship phones over the last several years. I'm also quite a fan of Sense UI and HTC in general. I did not buy this phone for the front facing camera. I don't care about selfies, so I'm probably not the target audience. I really just wanted an M8 with a better camera.
Display
The display is probably my one gripe about the device so far. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it looks washed out to me. When I first turned it on in the store, it immediately looked dull. A lot of the HTC wallpapers and themes are a sort of pastel, so it's really hard to tell, but next to my iPhone 6 Plus, and even a Windows M8 in the store, it just doesn't look as vibrant as I'd expect. Compared to my Note 4, it looks positively depressing, but that's to be expected. That said, it does get plenty bright. I just wish I still had my M8 to compare it with because I swear the M8 had more contrast and vibrance.
Camera
My only real beef with the M8 was the camera, mainly the low megapixel count which made cropping nearly impossible. It also had trouble with exposure and focus. I was really hoping that they fixed that with this phone. I know it's not their flagship and is, in fact, marketed as mid range, but it's really just an M8 with a different build and cameras. I have taken quite a few photo samples and compared them online to the Z3 Compact, iPhone 6 Plus, OnePlus One, G3, and Note 4. There is definitely more detail and you can crop in much further than the M8, but it still gets soft when you do. I also noticed the same issues with exposure. If you're not careful about where you tap to focus, you'll get a blown out sky or dark subject. Focus is fast, but not always accurate. It sometimes blurs the subject instead of the background. Definitely not on par with the focusing systems found in the Note 4 and iPhone 6 Plus. Colors are good, if not great. They lean toward the warmer and more vibrant side, which I personally prefer. Overall, it's an upgrade over the M8 and on par with phones like the OnePlus One and G3, at least in my testing.
Build
I know a lot of people are fans of metal, but there are advantages and disadvantages to metal and plastic. The advantages here are water resistance and weight. This is a light phone and it feels good in the hand. Coming from my Note 4, it is significantly lighter and easier to hold. It's also fairly grippy. I don't feel the need for a case. My one complaint about build is the size. This thing is big. It's nearly as big as the iPhone 6 Plus and Note 4, which is kind of sad when you consider the 5.2" screen. Part of this is the 13mp front-facing camera. Part is the speakers, even though the grills are much smaller this time around. They still needed that blank "HTC" strip on the front for components and that adds to the overall size. The camera shutter button is very difficult to press. I only see using this thing under water. If you try to use it for normal pictures, you'll get blur because the phone will move when you try to press it. I find this to be a problem on a lot of phones with dedicated shutter buttons, but it's much more pronounced here.
Battery
My other primary concern with this phone was battery. It's the same internals as the M8 with a bigger screen and a smaller battery. While disappointing, so far it's not as bad as I expected. It seems to be about on par with the M8, though I'm not sure how. Standby time is pretty good (in my limited testing so far) and it doesn't drain horribly fast when the screen is on. Since HTC doesn't show screen on time and I had to install GSAM, I don't have any screen on results yet, but I will be testing that over the next few days.
Performance
This is the reason to get an HTC phone, in my opinion. Sense and stock Android are easily the fastest, best performing versions of Android, in my experience. But Sense brings some nice enhancements to the table that I think are worth it over stock Android. There's no lag or delay anywhere on the phone so far. Everything is fast and fluid. It makes my Note 4 look positively slow. Just the gallery lag on the Note 4 alone is enough to drive someone mad. HTC is doing it right. I'm actually a fan of Blinkfeed, too, though I know other people hate it. Since the introduction of Blinkfeed, I almost always end up putting a widget on my left most homescreen of every other Android phone that gives me a full page of news, though nothing quite compares to HTC's solution. I like their enhancements to the gallery, contacts, etc. Very nice overall experience.
Misc.
1. Minor annoyance, but the stock email client makes you tap to show images on every HTML email. Since I actually use it, it's kind of annoying. I wish they would at least give an option in the settings to "always show".
2. Some of the camera features are really need, like face merge and photo strip. I do miss slow motion video and 4k recording, though.
3. Internal storage is only 16gb. You have a little over 9 free out of the box. This is the only other con to this phone, in my opinion.
4. I'm a pretty big fan of the screen on gestures. I basically never have to use the power button. And now we can launch straight into the camera, too.
5. I received an update yesterday and it auto installed. There's no info anywhere on what it was. The phone just rebooted and installed with no warning.
6. There is a ton of bloatware on this thing (AT&T). Seriously, brace yourselves. It's even more insulting with only 16gb to start with.
7. Bootloader is unlockable at HTC Dev so, there's at least hope that we'll get root soon. The main issue will be S-Off, as usual. But I really only want/need root.
8. The front-facing speakers are every bit as good as you'd expect, despite the water resistant membrane and smaller grills. It's pretty impressive how small and unnoticeable they are.
Wrap Up
Overall, I really like the device. My main concerns are camera quality and battery life, which I will continue to test. I really like the user experience overall, though, and it's one of my favorite phones of the year. I don't think this phone is really getting the attention it deserves. Even the tech bloggers seem to be ignoring it. I hope this helps anyone who's on the fence about this phone and/or looking for more information.
Obligatory Camera Samples
Here are some camera samples. XDA is compressing them, but you get the idea.
Thanks for the review and photos. The camera was better than what I was expecting from the sensor HTC is using, to be honest. The only downside from what I've read in your review is the screen: while I don't like oversatured screens, I also don't appreciate "dark" screens (it hasn't to do with brightness, but with the white tone).
Regarding the speakers, I know you don't have a M8 to compare, but do you notice much of a difference between the devices?
Can you please confirm that it has MHL and it works?
For what it's worth, I held my One M8 side by side with a Desire Eye in store and compared the screens while displaying the same images and websites. They looked pretty much exactly the same to me other than a slight difference in size. Didn't think it looked dull. Of course, the lighting in AT&T was pretty harsh so it wasn't the best environment for comparison. Maybe you just got used to the super punchy over saturated colors of the Note 4?
gtg465x said:
For what it's worth, I held my One M8 side by side with a Desire Eye in store and compared the screens while displaying the same images and websites. They looked pretty much exactly the same to me other than a slight difference in size. Didn't think it looked dull. Of course, the lighting in AT&T was pretty harsh so it wasn't the best environment for comparison. Maybe you just got used to the super punchy over saturated colors of the Note 4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's actually what I was thinking too. Not a bad display by any means.
Thank you for this mini review! Really helpful.
Could you please state in which degree you can use the phone with one hand?
Would it feel closer to the use of a One M8/Galaxy S5/LG G2 or would it compare more to a One Plus One / Iphone 6 Plus (which is for me slightly to big).
The 5.2 inch of the LG G2 is of perfect size, but that phone had way smaller bezzels, so this is in fact something that scares me of the HTC desire EYE.
Waarez said:
Thank you for this mini review! Really helpful.
Could you please state in which degree you can use the phone with one hand?
Would it feel closer to the use of a One M8/Galaxy S5 or would it compare more to a One Plus One / Iphone 6 Plus (which is for me slightly to big).
The 5.2 inch of the LG G2 were perfect.. but this phone had way smaller bezzels, so this is what scares me of the one M8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's definitely closer to the OnePlus One or iphone 6 Plus size wise, but it is MUCH lighter, which does make it easier to handle with one hand. Unless you have gorilla hands, though, you definitely won't be able to reach all four corners of the screen with one hand.
It's tall, rather than wide.
I got the Desire EYE in the mail 2 days ago, it's a really good phone, really fast, takes nice pictures, overall I'm happy about it, the only downside about it is the internal storage, it has like 7 gb out of the 16 dedicated to the OS and stock apps... But other than that, really good phone!
To start off, I will say I am a big HTC fan. I talked about 7 people into buying the One M8 over the S5 this year. I love Sense, Blinkfeed and the snappiness of their devices. I have since sold my One M8 earlier this summer, around May, and have been jumping around to different devices. I strayed from the One M8 mostly due to the camera and the fact that I like to try the latest and greatest devices. I have been using an iPhone 6 since it launched. When I saw the Desire Eye was announced, I got excited. I was really hoping for an M8 Eye, which I think would have been the perfect smartphone for 2014, but this was almost as good. I picked one of these up on Friday at an AT&T store. The guy kind of looked at me funny when I said I wanted one, I don't think he was trained on the device or knew what it was. I didn't open it until Saturday night, but in the store, when playing with it, the first thing I said was, this screen looks washed out. I think it has something to do with the default theme, when I changed it back to one of the same Sense stock themes on the One M8, it didn't look as bad. It is something to do with that pink color they are using. I am torn on the device, it is like 2 steps forward, a couple steps back. I didn't like the first few indoor pictures without flash I took of my 3 month old daughter, so I switched back to the iPhone 6 yesterday because it was her baptism and I didn't want to miss any shots, or risk them coming out badly. One thing that Apple knows is how to make a camera that focuses fast and gives you good pictures. The Boom Sound is also a bit of a disappointment. The bass and clarity seems to be lacking compared to the M8. I played some Vevo music videos on the demo models in store. I am currently thinking about trying to find a second hand M8 Google Play Edition in mint condition (so I have full T-Mobile support for the $30 SIM I have for my play phone line), and keep either it or the Eye and my iPhone 6.
Y2J
Thanks for the review!
The camera doesn't seem bad but for some reason i was expecting it to have a bit more "wow" factor, don't know why and they the shots seem good enough.
You mentioned no-slow motion (i had actually talked about this in the other thread) and the info i read was that it didn't have. However, i was just watching a video review of the desire eye and in the settings i noticed the slow motion icon and the review actually pressed it and it sayed it was slow motion (its an italian video, i actually looked it up to see the translation lol). It was in the camera interface under the " ... " icon and on the modes (it usually says auto) it has the slow motion icon/cartoon - Here is the video @ 11:45
Still no mention of 4k, so that is not from stock but maybe with a mod.
griffin_1 said:
Thanks for the review!
The camera doesn't seem bad but for some reason i was expecting it to have a bit more "wow" factor, don't know why and they the shots seem good enough.
You mentioned no-slow motion (i had actually talked about this in the other thread) and the info i read was that it didn't have. However, i was just watching a video review of the desire eye and in the settings i noticed the slow motion icon and the review actually pressed it and it sayed it was slow motion (its an italian video, i actually looked it up to see the translation lol). It was in the camera interface under the " ... " icon and on the modes (it usually says auto) it has the slow motion icon/cartoon - Here is the video @ 11:45
Still no mention of 4k, so that is not from stock but maybe with a mod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see a slow motion option anywhere in the settings. The only video options are for the resolution (MMS, 1080, etc). One thing they did do right, though, is put the video record button back on the main interface full time next to the camera shutter button. They were crazy to ever take that away.
Quality is okay. It's about on par with the OnePlus One and G3, in my testing. Most of the shots I took were on an overcast day, so not the best testing environment, but overall I think it's acceptable. I think I'd still grab my Note 4 or iPhone 6 Plus if I was going somewhere to take a lot of pictures, but I don't feel like I'm carrying around a bad camera when I have this phone.
griffin_1 said:
Thanks for the review!
The camera doesn't seem bad but for some reason i was expecting it to have a bit more "wow" factor, don't know why and they the shots seem good enough.
You mentioned no-slow motion (i had actually talked about this in the other thread) and the info i read was that it didn't have. However, i was just watching a video review of the desire eye and in the settings i noticed the slow motion icon and the review actually pressed it and it sayed it was slow motion (its an italian video, i actually looked it up to see the translation lol). It was in the camera interface under the " ... " icon and on the modes (it usually says auto) it has the slow motion icon/cartoon - Here is the video @ 11:45
Still no mention of 4k, so that is not from stock but maybe with a mod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, I was totally wrong about slow motion. I just found the option. It was not where I expected, but I'm stoked to see that it's there!
Great Slow motion on htc is good, at least if its like on the m8. I think only htc and sony in Android lets you record 120fps and then edit what parts to slow down, which is how slow motion should be. Glad to see its there and websites like gsmarena should mention it and update the specs info with that.
battery update?
G1_enthusiast said:
battery update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery is really good for the capacity. Idle drain with my apps and setting was about 3%/hr. With the screen on, it does seem to lose battery pretty fast, but I was still able to get about 10-13 hours of use with around 3 hours screen time. That's not much worse than most of my other phones do, actually.
I would post screenshots, but I no longer have the phone. As much as I really liked it, I just couldn't live with the camera quality. I was really hoping for better. But if camera isn't your #1 priority, this is a great all around phone. Camera is definitely better than phones like the Moto X. I was just hoping for closer to Note 4/iPhone quality.
How do the camera quality and pictures compare to Samsung S4 or S5?
Thanks.
struff said:
How do the camera quality and pictures compare to Samsung S4 or S5?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My mom has the S5 And I prefer the Eye´s camera, It´s just... sharper and more clear.
sidle said:
My mom has the S5 And I prefer the Eye´s camera, It´s just... sharper and more clear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to politely however completely disagree. There's no comparison. S5 is one of the best cameras you can get.
Sent from my HTC Desire Eye using Tapatalk
robstunner said:
I'm going to politely however completely disagree. There's no comparison. S5 is one of the best cameras you can get.
Sent from my HTC Desire Eye using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And yet, I like this one more.
Front HTC Desire Eye:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/143110-image/HTC-Desire-EYE.jpg
Front Galaxy S5:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/143127-image/Samsung-Galaxy-S5.jpg
Back HTC Desire Eye:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/143113-image/HTC-Desire-EYE.jpg
Back Galaxy S5:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/143130-image/Samsung-Galaxy-S5.jpg
Let the photo's speak for themselves. The HTC Desire Eye clearly wins this battle, or even HTC in general. The S5 is litteraly crap in low to medium-light area's.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Firs...-HTC-One-M8-and-the-Samsung-Galaxy-S5_id61506
Fair enough, but in better lighting the s5 proves much better and rarely overexposed the pictures.

Galaxy s7 Switchers?

Anyone who decided to return their s7 and go for the HTC 10, is there anything you miss from your s7?
Thanks!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-10/help/planning-to-switch-s7-edge-t3371639
I really want the HTC 10 but their shoddy release so far is making me very impatient. I may be forced into an S7, sadly.
The only thing I miss is the wireless charging.
I have both phones currently.
What I've noticed so far that I miss about the s7: it's narrower. With the leather case on it, it's only 20 thousandths of an inch thicker than the htc10 without a case. The case selection for the s7 is so much better. I'm sure it's more than cases, but that was the issue I encountered the most. The screen auto brightness adjusted faster on the s7. The s7 being waterproof... I actually have this cross my mind every day or two, but I haven't been in a situation yet where it would have mattered.
For the HTC, the radio is better. I'm on Verizon, specifically the CDMA radio has better reception for longer. The speakers are better for sure. I'm getting 30 to 45 minutes better battery life on average. It's nice not theming everything black by necessity. The home button being capacitive is so nice compared to the s7. Fluid Android is fluid.
Both phones are Verizon.
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using XDA-Developers mobile app
Forgot the waterproof thing. Would be nice to have, but in 20 years I've never lost a phone due to water damage so not a huge loss. Screen on the S7 is brighter outdoors.
I miss the multi window on most Samsung's
I miss the battery life my exynos s7 edge provided. However I'm still making it the entire day with my HTC so it's not a big deal
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the replies!
Came from a T-Mo S7 Edge to a T-Mo HTC 10.
Right off the bat, the most glaring advantage that I missed from the S7 Edge was the screen. The colors just pop on that gorgeous amoled. In the days since I've bought my HTC 10 I've grown to like the cooler color temp on the LCD but I'd trade it for those oversaturated colors in a heartbeat lol.
Battery life has been a wash for the most part between both devices with the S7 Edge pulling ahead slightly (3600 mah battery so its to be expected).
Performance wise -- Sense blows Touchwiz out of the water. Its gotten better with each iteration of Touchwiz but micro-lag and even sustained lag rear their ugly heads when navigating through Samsung's flavor of Android. The HTC 10 handles everything with ease and never slows down. S7E does as well for the most part, but the lag is unavoidable in some instances. All of this being said, I did find the S7E to run much cooler than my HTC 10.
Finally, if you plan on making any modifications or if you're somebody who is into tinkering with your Android devices, avoid the S7/S7E at all costs. The HTC 10 is the best device for this due to dev friendly community and HTC's willingness to allow you to modify their devices. The HTC 10 has an unlockable bootloader and some day has a very good chance of seeing many competent AOSP roms. AOSP on the S7/S7E is currently a pipe dream. Even custom roms are a no go at this point and Samsung's knox/bootloader security only becomes more of a pain in the ass for devs with each iteration. It really has taken a toll on what used to be a thriving community for the Samsung devices.
All in all, I am extremely satisfied with switching from the S7E to the HTC 10 for what its worth.
I actually went through the S7, HTC 10 and landed on the S7 Edge. Here's my opinion for what it's worth:
I really thought this would be the perfect HTC phone, and I actually really wanted it to be the one since I think the company has had great ideas in the past that have been trampled by poor execution. My first Android phone was the HTC One M7, and aside from the so-so camera, it was one of my favorite phones ever. BoomSound, Sense, and the phone's overall look were something totally new and refreshing. After reading the reviews of the M8's camera, I decided to pass and went back to Apple for a year. When the M9 came out, I jumped on it, and quickly jumped off after I had a few days to learn all about the Snapdragon 810 and its thermal issues. I picked up an LG G4 next, which was serviceable, but nothing special. I always had my eye on HTC though waiting for the 10.
Once it came out, I made sure to read all the reviews that I could, crossing my fingers that HTC would hit the mark. After I saw that the camera was finally up to snuff, I took the plunge and bought it. $699 is a steep price for a phone, but I managed to catch the $100 discount offer and got it for $599 before tax, which was great. I also got it in 2 days, which was nice considering I heard that some people here on XDA were having ordering problems.
After using the phone for a few days, and comparing it side-by-side to the S7, I started to make a mental list of pros and cons
PROS
- Screen: HTC has always had good screens on their flagships, and the 10 is no different. Bright and vibrant colors with great viewing angles. Obviously they're not as saturated as Samsung's AMOLEDs, but you can set the LCD display to vivid mode to approximate it, or sRGB mode for nice accurate colors
- Sound Quality: While the external speakers aren't as good as the original BoomSound, they're more than capable and produce an interesting sound. The BoomSound equalizer settings also makes your music sound great with headphones. I didn't get to test out HTC's own earbuds though since they didn't come with the US version
- Build Quality: The phone feels as solid as ever, but that's also a con that you'll see below
- Battery Life: I never had any trouble getting through a whole day of texting, web browsing, light gaming and listening to music
- Camera: While it might not be able to quite pass Samsung, it gives them a good fight. Easily the one of the top cameras on the market behind the Galaxy Brothers, and HTCs best camera ever. The selfie cam is great too, and it's actually better than what Samsung has to offer on it's S7 models. My only little gripe with the rear camera is that the laser autofocus can be a little spastic, going in and out of focus when you activate it, but I feel like another software update can take care of that
- Fingerprint Scanner: One of my favorite features. It was really quick to read my fingerprint, and since it's a a capacative sensor instead of a physical button, you don't have to press it down to activate the display and scanner. Just put your finger on it and it works
CONS
- Sense: I loved the previous versions of Sense, but I think HTC toned this one down a little too much. I appreciate the fact that there aren't any duplicate apps like there are on most devices, but I feel like taking out the HTC Gallery and Music apps was a mistake. Visually, this version is a mix of classic Sense and stock Android, which doesn't always combine well. Some of Sense's elements (like the weather clock) are starting to look a little dated compared to the competition too, so the contrast between MM and Sense is a little jarring on some menus. I also don't understand why HTC kept the 4x4 homescreen now that the phone has a 5.2" display. With so much real estate to work with, the gaps between apps are pretty big, and I feel like there should be a setting to go to 5x5 since most other OEMs include that. The Quick Settings menu also can't be modified like it could be in older Sense versions and competitor UIs, and you have to either double pull to extend it, or swipe down with two fingers. If I wanted a Nexus, I'd have bought one
- Build Quality: As I mentioned above, the phone feels really solid, almost to the point of being heavy. It weighs 6 grams more than my old G4, which was mostly plastic, and you can feel it. It's very noticeable when it's in your pocket, and makes a bit of a thud when you put it down on a table. Even adding a thin TPU case to it also increases the weight to the point where I felt uncomfortable handling it one-handed
- Screen-Body Radio: My LG G4 had a 5.5 inch display and was 148.9 mm tall. The HTC 10 has a 5.2" display and is 145.9 mm tall. So the phones are relatively the same size and the 10 has a noticeably smaller screen.
- FM Radio: HTC has included FM radio support from the M7 - M9, and I was really surprised that it didn't continue that trend with the 10. Carriers like T-Mobile & AT&T are requesting that OEMs enable their device's FM chips, and T-Mo just got Samsung to flip the switch on the S7's radio, so I don't understand why HTC didn't just keep doing what they were already doing.
- Headphone Jack: Most phones had their headphone jack at the top up until a few years ago. Putting it at the bottom made it easier to just slip the phone in your pocket without tangling the headphone cord. With the advent of fingerprint scanners, it made even more sense, since you could grab the phone and unlock it before you even got it out into the open. Having the jack back up at the top made me have to think every time I pulled it out and have to flip it back around.
- Notification LED: Back when I had the M7, I was OK with having a tiny notification LED embedded in the speaker grid that only flashed 2 colors, even though other OEMs already had multicolor LEDs that could be programmed using their own software or apps like Lightwave. Three years later, the only thing HTC has changed is that the LED is just below the speaker. It still only blinks amber or green, so there's almost no opportunity to customize
I really wanted to like this phone, and I tried very hard to convince myself that it was good enough, but at the end of the day I was disappointed that HTC spent the last year getting so many things right like the camera and the phone's overall look, and blew it on some other areas that would have been really easy wins. Granted, nothing that I listed above is a horrible flaw, and I know that everyone has their own list of requirements for their ideal device, but I felt like I was making too many compromises with the 10. I know that I could always load up a ROM or download a new launcher, but it would only solve a few of my cons.
Again, these are my personal opinions, and my thought process is that if I'm going to spend that much on a flagship device that I want to keep for 2 years, I need to feel like I'm getting what I paid for. Unfortunately the 10 didn't quite hit that mark. It's not a bad phone by any stretch, and it may be the one for you. I decided to return my S7 and the HTC, and went with the S7 Edge, which rocks a 5.5" screen, 3600 mAh battery, and is only 5 mm taller than the 10. It's also 4 grams lighter and 1.3 mm thinner, and feels a lot better in my hand even with a case. It costs about $70 more the 10 at full retail, but I feel like you get a lot more for your money.
Maybe the water resistance feature, otherwise, I didn't care for anything else. The 10 seems solid, doesn't lag as much as the samsung. I am unlocked and rooted , so it is something I am grateful for after rocking the s7 for only 1 months.
I am getting better battery performance with the HTC 10 compared to what I got with the s7.
Personally nothing is missed I had the s7, now it's my wife's lol
Love this HTC 10
Got the s7e one week to test, before i got my preordered htc 10. Screen(manufacter;sharp) is much better and much more natural than the S7 "comic style" display no matter which calibration i used. Also there are "pentile micro dots" visible while zooming in a white page on the amoled of the s7.
UI: Much smoother, and the stockish design of the ui is perfect for me as i came from a thc m7 gpe. Also less bloatware on the 10.
Cons: thermal throttling seems to be more a problem of the 10 as on the s7e exynos. Hope custom kernel or software update will change the clocking, as it throttles the CPU at 38degrees celsius to 1,36 max clock at the moment.
S7e cam is slightly better in my opinion.
Which fingerprint sensor do you guys think is better?
I had a s7e, I find the fingerprint sensor on the 10 better. I haven't really had too much throttling so far either.
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers mobile app
I've heard in quite a few reviews that the HTC 10 sensor is superior to the S7/S7 Edge.
Alot of S7/S7 Edge reviews describe the sensor as hit or miss.
Sammae7 said:
I've heard in quite a few reviews that the HTC 10 sensor is superior to the S7/S7 Edge.
Alot of S7/S7 Edge reviews describe the sensor as hit or miss.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I see.
Just to be clear, I own neither but have played with both in store and I do extensive research before purchase.
Based on the above, I do much prefer the HTC 10.
xperia x root said:
Got the s7e one week to test, before i got my preordered htc 10. Screen(manufacter;sharp) is much better and much more natural than the S7 "comic style" display no matter which calibration i used. Also there are "pentile micro dots" visible while zooming in a white page on the amoled of the s7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to be kidding. If you set any Samsung phone to "Basic," it is the most color accurate display on a smartphone, period. There is no "comic-ness" to it. It is a true reproduction of sRGB which actually looks extremely dull and boring, but it's accurate. The 10 is an LCD which is vastly inferior to OLED panels in phones. Worse viewing angles, and subjectively terrible contrast since 1700~:1 is garbage compared to infinite contrast.
I find it hard to believe you can see "micro dots" on a 500+ PPI screen. I can make out the edges of pixels on my 6P due to lack of antialiasing, but I haven't tried to on the S7E. Either way the 6P had to be up in my face, and I had to look hard to see it. But there were certainly no visible dots.
Lifehags said:
Which fingerprint sensor do you guys think is better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 10's fingerprint sensor pad is too small in my opinion, but it is still better than the S7/E. Reason being it's capacitive, and a hair faster. Samsung are idiots for continuing to use a physical home button, and one you have to press to unlock the phone. But the accuracy rate of the S7/E is a lot better than it ever used to be - especially if you program the same finger twice (something I do on every device anyway). It may tell you the finger is already programmed, but just do the initial scan really far back from the pad of your finger, then it will let you scan wherever you want to again.
Have my exynos s7 edge on sale while I got this one to use. The HTC 10 is a great phone but in my opinion, not better than the s7 edge. What I miss mainly is the screen. I love LCD but the AMOLED display on the s7 edge is quite Good. Don't like the over saturation but got used to it. It's a darn good display. Sadly my HTC 10 display has a pink tint to it and the bottom of the phone has a strong pink tint to it (likely not a sharp panel from the few comments I've seen here and there). So far, battery life has not been great. My s7 was one of those that went long on battery. I can Un plug at 7 am and plug back in at midnight with 7 hours screen on time. With the same usage on my HTC, I'd be charging only @ 6pm with less screen on time. Also the camera is descent but doesn't focus like the s7 edge does @ night and ui wise, I've spent the phone micro stutter much more than my edge but not to the annoying degree. That's about it. What I live about this phone...the damn DAC. Holy crap it's good. Even listening to spotify feels like I'm listening to something almost magical lol.
Small things. GPS takes a while to lock and wifi module isn't as good as the exynos. I have 175mbps connection. I get the full thing in my room with both phones. In my restroom, 20 feet away from my room, my HTC only pulls 50mbps while the galaxy pulls 125mbps. Also, I got wifi in my car while parked in the street in front of my house. With the HTC, wifi disconnects in the exact same spot.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

Anyone coming from the M8? Worth it?

I have the HTC One M8 since launch and love it. The looks, the smoothness, Sense UI. Best smartphone I ever had (came from a couple of Samsung, which were dissappointing).
The only thing failing is the battery but I already bought a new one and will be replacing it soon. But I'm debating if I should upgrade to the new HTC 10...I also thought about the Pixel but seems too expensive, only reviews will tell of course.
To anyone who went from the M8:
Is it worth it? Is it definitely faster and with better battery life? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Cheers
i came from an m8 and would definitely recommend it. it's much faster and the battery life is much better. also, given that it's unlocked (i had an att m8), the updates are more frequent.
things i don't really like about it, the headphone jack is on the top instead of the bottom. i also preferred the m8's method of turning the camera on (by double clicking on the volume) instead of the 10's method of swiping down on the screen since i seem to always be turning the camera on by accident.
Badelhas said:
I have the HTC One M8 since launch and love it. The looks, the smoothness, Sense UI. Best smartphone I ever had (came from a couple of Samsung, which were dissappointing).
The only thing failing is the battery but I already bought a new one and will be replacing it soon. But I'm debating if I should upgrade to the new HTC 10...I also thought about the Pixel but seems too expensive, only reviews will tell of course.
To anyone who went from the M8:
Is it worth it? Is it definitely faster and with better battery life? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from M7 and happy with battery live, fast charging, memory card slot, Android pay, finger print and other small things.
via [email protected]
vksf01 said:
i came from an m8 and would definitely recommend it. it's much faster and the battery life is much better. also, given that it's unlocked (i had an att m8), the updates are more frequent.
things i don't really like about it, the headphone jack is on the top instead of the bottom. i also preferred the m8's method of turning the camera on (by double clicking on the volume) instead of the 10's method of swiping down on the screen since i seem to always be turning the camera on by accident.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have the M8 since it was launched? Did you get to replace the battery? I've noticed that battery life is not the same has it was at the beginning but to be honest the worst moment was when we got the Android 5 Lollipop update. Other than that it's still blazing fast so I can't really imagine something much faster than this. Is the 10 that much faster?
The Google Pixel is going to be announced tomorrow so I might as well wait for the first reviews. Even though I would love fast software updates from Google (and that will last not 2 but 3 years) I doubt that the sound quality will be has good and it is on the M8 and the 10.
badzi0r said:
I came from M7 and happy with battery live, fast charging, memory card slot, Android pay, finger print and other small things.
via [email protected]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not really what I was looking for since, in my humble opinion, the M8 was already a big step up when compared to the M7. But thanks for your input.
Cheers
Badelhas said:
Did you have the M8 since it was launched? Did you get to replace the battery? I've noticed that battery life is not the same has it was at the beginning but to be honest the worst moment was when we got the Android 5 Lollipop update. Other than that it's still blazing fast so I can't really imagine something much faster than this. Is the 10 that much faster?
The Google Pixel is going to be announced tomorrow so I might as well wait for the first reviews. Even though I would love fast software updates from Google (and that will last not 2 but 3 years) I doubt that the sound quality will be has good and it is on the M8 and the 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I had the M8 since launch although ATT replaced it when they upgraded to lollipop because their update made my GPS go haywire (it couldn't be turned off and so drained my battery like crazy). the replacement m8 has worked fine. Both m8's didn't really have any issue with the battery. I still have my m8 which i'll use as a backup.
I'd also wait for the pixel phone reviews to see what they're like.
I ran M8 from launch day right up until the 10, and is absolutely worth it. The development is wonderful as well.
I do agree, however to see what the Pixel devices are like.
I honestly didn't think the 10 was a huge upgrade over the M8, but in certain key aspects, the 10 is a marked improvement. The battery on the 10 is similar to what I used to get when I first got the M8 on Kitkat, but my M8 was getting pretty worn down by the end. The camera of course is a huge upgrade, even in low light and optical stabilization is a fantastic thing to have. The software is not that much faster in my opinion. I had my M8 running really well and the 10 is similar, though scrolling is noticeably smoother especially in chrome. Game performance is also much better understandably. One thing I find really useful is the fingerprint scanner and side mounted power button, they both make the phone a lot easier to access if you use a lock of any sort. The display is interesting, I have the Tianma version and it had a prominent pink tinge at first, but it definitely has cleared up using my m8 and Nexus 5X as reference. The 10 is better calibrated than the M8 and the vivid mode does add a lot of punch for movies and games, max brightness is similar even if a lot of reviews have measured lower readings. Auto brightness still sucks.
As far as audio quality goes, I'll copy what I wrote earlier on Head-fi:
Owned the M8 since release day, just picked up the 10 about a month ago, currently working on a review, so here are some of my notes:
As far as SQ through the headphone jack goes, the quality is noticeably better with a very low noise floor even with my most sensitive iems, the Shure SE215, Westone UM 50 Pro and Oriveti Primacy, it's barely noticeable if at all. The M8 by comparison had a lot of hiss with those earphones.
Output impedance is definitely lower as it sounds more inline with my Oppo HA-2 than the M8 does with particular earphones.
Volume is pretty similar between both, I don't own anything particularly hard to drive and I'm more of a low level listener so hiss is usually a bigger issue to me.
Overall, I'm really liking the headphone out on the 10, it has HTC's usual quality AMP with plenty of voltage for high impedance gear and also plenty of current for low impedance monitors but this time, the discrete DAC is of much higher quality (Likely the Aqstic DAC), reproducing songs with a lot more dynamic range, everything sounds a lot cleaner.
As for speakers, it's a mixed bag as others have stated. I do think that the full range driver on the bottom/side of the phone is of slightly higher quality than the drivers used on the M8 but the top tweeter is pretty average.
The bottom speaker is mostly dominant with the front speaker complimenting certain sounds. The 10 does have the immediacy of sound that the M8 produces through this setup, where purely bottom/rear firing phones can sound more diffuse, but it lacks the sense of depth produced by the stereo setup.
The 10 has more extension in either direction, treble in particular is much crisper though the lower midrange has less body. Bass notes are punchier through the 10 though the midrange sounds somewhat skewed due to the uneven speaker output. More detail and clarity on the 10's speakers are great for videos and vocals in general.
I think the sound quality of the 10's speakers is ever so slightly better but the placement is of course inferior. The M8 has an extra notch of volume but distorts slightly at the top two notches, the 10 does not, so in that sense, the usable volume range is higher, but overall volume doesn't get quite as loud. You'll notice a lot of internet reviews use the music preset, the movie preset actually produces a lot more volume but soundstage effects can make vocals sound more hollow.
If you use the phone speakers to listen to music, definitely check out this video detailing some eQ settings though Poweramp, it does produce a much nicer sound than stock when used in conjunction with the Dolby music present. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEQsxcoh3Uw)
Be sure to assign this eQ to speakers and the flat eQ preset to headphones so Poweramp will automatically switch between to two when headphones are plugged/un-plugged.
So in my testing, the 10 has small upgrades in most areas and large upgrades in a few. I would say it's like a very refined M8 which I already found to be a fantastic smartphone (I hated using the M9). The 10 has no real disadvantages compared to the M8 except the speakers and it's a little wider in dimension.
ryanjsoo said:
I honestly didn't think the 10 was a huge upgrade over the M8, but in certain key aspects, the 10 is a marked improvement. The battery on the 10 is similar to what I used to get when I first got the M8 on Kitkat, but my M8 was getting pretty worn down by the end. The camera of course is a huge upgrade, even in low light and optical stabilization is a fantastic thing to have. The software is not that much faster in my opinion. I had my M8 running really well and the 10 is similar, though scrolling is noticeably smoother especially in chrome. Game performance is also much better understandably. One thing I find really useful is the fingerprint scanner and side mounted power button, they both make the phone a lot easier to access if you use a lock of any sort. The display is interesting, I have the Tianma version and it had a prominent pink tinge at first, but it definitely has cleared up using my m8 and Nexus 5X as reference. The 10 is better calibrated than the M8 and the vivid mode does add a lot of punch for movies and games, max brightness is similar even if a lot of reviews have measured lower readings. Auto brightness still sucks.
As far as audio quality goes, I'll copy what I wrote earlier on Head-fi:
Owned the M8 since release day, just picked up the 10 about a month ago, currently working on a review, so here are some of my notes:
As far as SQ through the headphone jack goes, the quality is noticeably better with a very low noise floor even with my most sensitive iems, the Shure SE215, Westone UM 50 Pro and Oriveti Primacy, it's barely noticeable if at all. The M8 by comparison had a lot of hiss with those earphones.
Output impedance is definitely lower as it sounds more inline with my Oppo HA-2 than the M8 does with particular earphones.
Volume is pretty similar between both, I don't own anything particularly hard to drive and I'm more of a low level listener so hiss is usually a bigger issue to me.
Overall, I'm really liking the headphone out on the 10, it has HTC's usual quality AMP with plenty of voltage for high impedance gear and also plenty of current for low impedance monitors but this time, the discrete DAC is of much higher quality (Likely the Aqstic DAC), reproducing songs with a lot more dynamic range, everything sounds a lot cleaner.
As for speakers, it's a mixed bag as others have stated. I do think that the full range driver on the bottom/side of the phone is of slightly higher quality than the drivers used on the M8 but the top tweeter is pretty average.
The bottom speaker is mostly dominant with the front speaker complimenting certain sounds. The 10 does have the immediacy of sound that the M8 produces through this setup, where purely bottom/rear firing phones can sound more diffuse, but it lacks the sense of depth produced by the stereo setup.
The 10 has more extension in either direction, treble in particular is much crisper though the lower midrange has less body. Bass notes are punchier through the 10 though the midrange sounds somewhat skewed due to the uneven speaker output. More detail and clarity on the 10's speakers are great for videos and vocals in general.
I think the sound quality of the 10's speakers is ever so slightly better but the placement is of course inferior. The M8 has an extra notch of volume but distorts slightly at the top two notches, the 10 does not, so in that sense, the usable volume range is higher, but overall volume doesn't get quite as loud. You'll notice a lot of internet reviews use the music preset, the movie preset actually produces a lot more volume but soundstage effects can make vocals sound more hollow.
If you use the phone speakers to listen to music, definitely check out this video detailing some eQ settings though Poweramp, it does produce a much nicer sound than stock when used in conjunction with the Dolby music present. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEQsxcoh3Uw)
Be sure to assign this eQ to speakers and the flat eQ preset to headphones so Poweramp will automatically switch between to two when headphones are plugged/un-plugged.
So in my testing, the 10 has small upgrades in most areas and large upgrades in a few. I would say it's like a very refined M8 which I already found to be a fantastic smartphone (I hated using the M9). The 10 has no real disadvantages compared to the M8 except the speakers and it's a little wider in dimension.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I had already read your answer on Head-fi and you've been very helpful once again. I am actually very glad to know that speed and smoothness is not that different between the M8 and the 10 since I love this phone and was hoping to keep it a while longer, not letting the "upgrade bug" bite me
Indeed battery life on the M8 got worse after they updated it to Lollipop because before that I always got to bed with 30% at least, which stopped happening afterwards. Of course 2 years of heavy use also had its toll and I am hoping that replacing the battery with a new original one will help regaining some of the battery life I used to have but I dont really know if it will help. I actually love my M8 camera but I didn't try the HTC 10 so probably it´s because I haven't tried anything better. I also love the sound that come from the speakers (the guy that replaced my once faulty micro usb port cleaned the speakers grills and sound is once again very nice, just like it was when I bought it). I particularly love the sound when using headphones. I came from the Galaxy S3 and S4 and there's not even a comparison.
I believe I have very nice hearing but I only use the Xiaomi Piston 3 headphones, if you participate in the Head-Fi forums you surely know they have nice and balanced sound quality for the price (20 bucks) but I wanted to ask you another question, if you dont mind: would you recommend me a better in ear headphones, ones that cost less than, lets say, 60 bucks or so? Will I see significant better sound quality than my Xiaomi Piston 3?
Thanks again for your input
Cheers
Badelhas said:
Thanks, I had already read your answer on Head-fi and you've been very helpful once again. I am actually very glad to know that speed and smoothness is not that different between the M8 and the 10 since I love this phone and was hoping to keep it a while longer, not letting the "upgrade bug" bite me
Indeed battery life on the M8 got worse after they updated it to Lollipop because before that I always got to bed with 30% at least, which stopped happening afterwards. Of course 2 years of heavy use also had its toll and I am hoping that replacing the battery with a new original one will help regaining some of the battery life I used to have but I dont really know if it will help. I actually love my M8 camera but I didn't try the HTC 10 so probably it´s because I haven't tried anything better. I also love the sound that come from the speakers (the guy that replaced my once faulty micro usb port cleaned the speakers grills and sound is once again very nice, just like it was when I bought it). I particularly love the sound when using headphones. I came from the Galaxy S3 and S4 and there's not even a comparison.
I believe I have very nice hearing but I only use the Xiaomi Piston 3 headphones, if you participate in the Head-Fi forums you surely know they have nice and balanced sound quality for the price (20 bucks) but I wanted to ask you another question, if you dont mind: would you recommend me a better in ear headphones, ones that cost less than, lets say, 60 bucks or so? Will I see significant better sound quality than my Xiaomi Piston 3?
Thanks again for your input
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thought that username looked familiar! I had the Pistons 3's for a while and they're very good for the price. They're warmer and bassier than neutral so I would look at the Shozy Zero for $60 on the dot. They have a similar warm sound, they're a really nice step up but you'll perhaps miss the remote. I found them to sound better than my Klipsch X10's which cost me over $100 and they're also lot better than the Shure SE215 in the sound department. There's heaps of reviews on the net, it's definitely a model to consider.
ryanjsoo said:
Thought that username looked familiar! I had the Pistons 3's for a while and they're very good for the price. They're warmer and bassier than neutral so I would look at the Shozy Zero for $60 on the dot. They have a similar warm sound, they're a really nice step up but you'll perhaps miss the remote. I found them to sound better than my Klipsch X10's which cost me over $100 and they're also lot better than the Shure SE215 in the sound department. There's heaps of reviews on the net, it's definitely a model to consider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I will read some reviews about them. Cheers
Ryan's review is spot on.
I came from the M8. In short, I upgraded because of the upgrade bug mainly. After a couple of months of usage, I can say that I could have stayed with the M8 longer. The major differences are (1) improved build quality (e.g. no dust under the lenses; no scratches), (2) much better camera, (3) finger-print scanner, (4) punchier audio jack output.
As you can see, the only two things that really make a difference are the camera and the fingerprint scanner. Otherwise, I generally feel I haven't gotten a new phone, if not for the visually different front side.
In the end, if you take lots of photos, it's probably justifiable to upgrade. If you don't take too many photos, then the upgrade bug is the only real reason to upgrade.
Cheers.
PS: I love the 10. It's easily the greatest phone I've ever held/seen. It's just that the M8 was so amazing in its own right that it's a small upgrade to the 10.
samisax said:
Ryan's review is spot on.
I came from the M8. In short, I upgraded because of the upgrade bug mainly. After a couple of months of usage, I can say that I could have stayed with the M8 longer. The major differences are (1) improved build quality (e.g. no dust under the lenses; no scratches), (2) much better camera, (3) finger-print scanner, (4) punchier audio jack output.
As you can see, the only two things that really make a difference are the camera and the fingerprint scanner. Otherwise, I generally feel I haven't gotten a new phone, if not for the visually different front side.
In the end, if you take lots of photos, it's probably justifiable to upgrade. If you don't take too many photos, then the upgrade bug is the only real reason to upgrade.
Cheers.
PS: I love the 10. It's easily the greatest phone I've ever held/seen. It's just that the M8 was so amazing in its own right that it's a small upgrade to the 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for another great input, very helpful to sustain my decision to keep this great smartphone
Cheers
I came from the M7, so I know I'm answering slightly out of place, but I did have a few M8 Dev phones I used and played with, but didn't use as a daily driver.
I paid full US Unlocked retail cash money, so it was a substantial investment upfront to get the M10, not just a monthly finance charge.
My honest opinion, it was totally worth it. I considered the nexus or one of the CM or blu type devices because of instant OS updates and unlocking. I'm SOOO glad I went with the HTC 10.
It offers me HTC Sense, and unlocking it thanks to sunshine (it's actually S off, not unlocking, but for ease of use we will call it unlocking) was easier than some of my nexus devices, literally.
Hardware and build quality is amazing, and the sense software and rom selections are too notch.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
I went through 2 M8s and loved them. Definitely one of the best devices I've ever used. The only reason I ended up upgrading to the 10 was because my second M8 got wet and the screen died. To me, it was worth upgrading rather than trying to repair it. There are some definite benefits of upgrading.
The phone is more comfortable to hold.
The all-glass front looks incredible and has resisted fingerprints and smudges much better than my M8 did.
The cameras are much better (although the "laser autofocus" does mess up from time to time, especially looking through a window)
The screen is larger and even more crisp. Colors are brighter.
Battery life is MUCH improved.
Quick-Charge 3.0 is like magic. It's seriously impressive how quickly this phone charges.
USB-C is "future proof" and a better connector. Not more finding the right orientation or loose connections with old cables.
I thought I'd hate the power button on the side, but I actually love it. It's a solid button and it makes taking screenshots (pwr+vol dn) easy with 1 hand.
The fingerprint scanner is a HUGE plus. I still keep a lockscreen password as a backup, but 99% of the time, it unlocks with a single finger press.
I don't know if you still have your M8 stock (if you're on XDA, I hope not ), but I had a big issue with my M8 when I first got it, with the "wipe after 10 failed unlock attempts" that was built into the OS. It ended up trying in my pocket and when I took my phone out, it was wiped. Installing a custom ROM fixed that for me. On the HTC 10, they changed it very wisely. After 5 failed finger print attempts it will lock you out for 30 seconds. To unlock in this window, you need to use your passcode/PIN. If you try and fail on the passcode, it will give you 3 more tries until locking you out from that too for 30 seconds. After 5th failed unlock attempt, it will then ask you to trace a pattern on the screen, before it will let you try again. If you don't follow the pattern pretty closely, it won't let you try again. This makes it virtually impossible to accidentally wipe your device, while still preserving the security feature. I'm not sure if this is a MM feature or an HTC feature but it's great and has saved me a few times already.
There are some cons about switching from the M8 to the 10 though....
No more IR blaster.
No more Barometer.
Headphone jack is moved to top of the phone.
Rear camera sticks out.
Speed / performance increase is not very noticable. The M8 is still a competitive phone.
Neutral is the boomsound speakers. The M8's front stereo speakers were definitely louder, but not significantly so. The front/down combo on the 10 works fine.
A negative of both the M8 and the 10 is the IP rating. IP53 just doesn't cut it. I learned first hand how intolerant to water the M8 is, and the 10 is no better. HTC needs to get next year's flagship up to IP68 or they're going to really struggle.
CharliesTheMan said:
I came from the M7, so I know I'm answering slightly out of place, but I did have a few M8 Dev phones I used and played with, but didn't use as a daily driver.
I paid full US Unlocked retail cash money, so it was a substantial investment upfront to get the M10, not just a monthly finance charge.
My honest opinion, it was totally worth it. I considered the nexus or one of the CM or blu type devices because of instant OS updates and unlocking. I'm SOOO glad I went with the HTC 10.
It offers me HTC Sense, and unlocking it thanks to sunshine (it's actually S off, not unlocking, but for ease of use we will call it unlocking) was easier than some of my nexus devices, literally.
Hardware and build quality is amazing, and the sense software and rom selections are too notch.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using stock rom, tried several Google based and sense based and didn't like them, I actually think that the stock one is better, especially since Marshmallow.
drumz0rz said:
I went through 2 M8s and loved them. Definitely one of the best devices I've ever used. The only reason I ended up upgrading to the 10 was because my second M8 got wet and the screen died. To me, it was worth upgrading rather than trying to repair it. There are some definite benefits of upgrading.
The phone is more comfortable to hold.
The all-glass front looks incredible and has resisted fingerprints and smudges much better than my M8 did.
The cameras are much better (although the "laser autofocus" does mess up from time to time, especially looking through a window)
The screen is larger and even more crisp. Colors are brighter.
Battery life is MUCH improved.
Quick-Charge 3.0 is like magic. It's seriously impressive how quickly this phone charges.
USB-C is "future proof" and a better connector. Not more finding the right orientation or loose connections with old cables.
I thought I'd hate the power button on the side, but I actually love it. It's a solid button and it makes taking screenshots (pwr+vol dn) easy with 1 hand.
The fingerprint scanner is a HUGE plus. I still keep a lockscreen password as a backup, but 99% of the time, it unlocks with a single finger press.
I don't know if you still have your M8 stock (if you're on XDA, I hope not [emoji14] ), but I had a big issue with my M8 when I first got it, with the "wipe after 10 failed unlock attempts" that was built into the OS. It ended up trying in my pocket and when I took my phone out, it was wiped. Installing a custom ROM fixed that for me. On the HTC 10, they changed it very wisely. After 5 failed finger print attempts it will lock you out for 30 seconds. To unlock in this window, you need to use your passcode/PIN. If you try and fail on the passcode, it will give you 3 more tries until locking you out from that too for 30 seconds. After 5th failed unlock attempt, it will then ask you to trace a pattern on the screen, before it will let you try again. If you don't follow the pattern pretty closely, it won't let you try again. This makes it virtually impossible to accidentally wipe your device, while still preserving the security feature. I'm not sure if this is a MM feature or an HTC feature but it's great and has saved me a few times already.
There are some cons about switching from the M8 to the 10 though....
No more IR blaster.
No more Barometer.
Headphone jack is moved to top of the phone.
Rear camera sticks out.
Speed / performance increase is not very noticable. The M8 is still a competitive phone.
Neutral is the boomsound speakers. The M8's front stereo speakers were definitely louder, but not significantly so. The front/down combo on the 10 works fine.
A negative of both the M8 and the 10 is the IP rating. IP53 just doesn't cut it. I learned first hand how intolerant to water the M8 is, and the 10 is no better. HTC needs to get next year's flagship up to IP68 or they're going to really struggle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the time you took mentioning the advantages and disadvantages of making the upgrade. My only gripe currently is battery life, that's why I ordered a battery and will be replacing it. 2 years of heavy use takes its toll. Let's see how that goes.
I won a blackberry DTEK50 (it's the Alcatel idol 4 hardware rebranded with blackberry software on top of Android) and a UMi Max Smartphones on 2 Internet giveaways (in the same day, talk about luck, right?) , they haven't arrived yet but I believe none of them would be a proper upgrade over my M8 so I think I'm selling the DTEK50 and giving the UMi Max to my niece. Do you guys agree that the DTEK50 is more of a sidegrade as well?
Cheers
I wasnt planning on upgrading to the 10 but broke my m8 a couple weeks ago. Things i like right away; better camera (faster focus/snapping and quality) battery seems to last longer/charges faster, phone is quicker in general and audio from headphones is better (more on this last one below.) The USB C is nice (other than having to buy a few extra cables to keep around the house/car,) nice not having to align the direction when plugging in. Transferring data to/from computer is quicker.
One of the main reason i was interested in the 10 if for its audio, i use Sennheiser Momentum 2, over ears. Noticeable improvement of the M8 in back to back listening of the same songs. Momentum 2's are lower impedance (compared to most headphones in that price range) and the 10 get louder than i can comfortably listen to but even fully cranked, sound is clean. I'd be curious to see how well it could power a higher impedance headphone without a standalone amp. Also, noticed an improvement with my old M8 Harmon Kardon ear buds (new 10 doesnt come with any, which i didnt plan on using but found odd)
ROM support seems pretty good, still waiting for a daily driver AOSP style rom but VIPER has been issue free.
Down sides, the phone feels larger in the hands, not so much heavier/dimensionally but maybe weight is in different place? I know, that sounds odd but just how it feels holding it one handed. The power button on the side was easier to get used to, no longer phantom touching the top of the phone. I liked having the headphone jack next to the charging port on the bottom, made it easier to use both at the same time. No more IR blaster, which i didnt use often but still used on occasion.
Speaker audio seems quieter, not really liking the ear and bottom firing speaker vs dual fronts of the m8. If holding the phone in landscape and watching videos, your hand can easily muffle the sound depending on how its held. Dual front speakers seemed to direct the sound towards your head better. The sound range seems to come mostly from the bottom speaker, depending on how you holding the phone can change that.
Overall, pretty happy with the device. Waiting to see if I can get a second one on sale/contract for the wife. Scored my Sprint version from Bestbuy.com for $100 but havent had luck finding a second in stock at that price.
I came from the m8 too. The HTC10 is a brilliant phone with a few flaws.
The camera (or at the very least, the software) can be a little temperamental. The sound does not match up to the M8's boomsound at all. With that in mind, however, its better than pretty much every other phone without a similar set up.
You would also be moving from USB Micro to USB-C. A much needed improvment, but maybe stock up on cables, and make sure they support quick charge
As for things that I prefer over the m8, the black navigation bar at the bottom of the screen is gone, and replaced by hardware navigation. This is much better to me, as I always felt the onscreen navigation just wasted screen space really.
The finger print scanner is one of the best I have used on any phone, and using that to wake up and unlock the phone makes getting used to the moved power button a non-issue.
I did have issues with the headphone jack being on the top, but im just used to it now.
I have installed custom roms (you dont need to S-OFF to do this whatsoever, just unlock the bootloader using HTCDev) and this improves much. In a default stock condition though, its a pretty damn good phone. Certainly happy to be using it for the next two years.
I came from the M8, but am returning to it once I get it unlocked for use with my current carrier. Cameras (I never take pictures) were a non-issue for me, I could care less about them. For me, it is a software issue. I like Sense and the way it is/was implemented. With each iteration of HTC phones, Sense seems to be in a state of retreat, abdicating to standard Android apps. Many things that have been removed are the very items I liked. Vanilla Android is not for me. Soooooo, for me it's back to the M8 and a dilemma over what my next phone will be. Certainly not an HTC unless miracles occur.
silegeek said:
I came from the m8 too. The HTC10 is a brilliant phone with a few flaws.
The camera (or at the very least, the software) can be a little temperamental. The sound does not match up to the M8's boomsound at all. With that in mind, however, its better than pretty much every other phone without a similar set up.
You would also be moving from USB Micro to USB-C. A much needed improvment, but maybe stock up on cables, and make sure they support quick charge
As for things that I prefer over the m8, the black navigation bar at the bottom of the screen is gone, and replaced by hardware navigation. This is much better to me, as I always felt the onscreen navigation just wasted screen space really.
The finger print scanner is one of the best I have used on any phone, and using that to wake up and unlock the phone makes getting used to the moved power button a non-issue.
I did have issues with the headphone jack being on the top, but im just used to it now.
I have installed custom roms (you dont need to S-OFF to do this whatsoever, just unlock the bootloader using HTCDev) and this improves much. In a default stock condition though, its a pretty damn good phone. Certainly happy to be using it for the next two years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
KC013 said:
I came from the M8, but am returning to it once I get it unlocked for use with my current carrier. Cameras (I never take pictures) were a non-issue for me, I could care less about them. For me, it is a software issue. I like Sense and the way it is/was implemented. With each iteration of HTC phones, Sense seems to be in a state of retreat, abdicating to standard Android apps. Many things that have been removed are the very items I liked. Vanilla Android is not for me. Soooooo, for me it's back to the M8 and a dilemma over what my next phone will be. Certainly not an HTC unless miracles occur.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you both for your answers I am more and more inclined to keep my M8, replacing the battery, of course.
Cheers!
I still have my M8 and to me, the 10 makes the M8 look generic. The screen is much better and much more beautiful, it is much faster and smoother and although the sound doesn't seem louder from the speakers, it is mainly because it is much clearer and sounds much better. Especially certain ringtones just sound much better. This lie I keep hearing that the M8 boomsound speakers are much better is aggravating lol. I mostly hear it in the same post where they are talking about the S7. The 10 is an absolutely perfect phone and the development is amazing. Viper 10 is the most perfect ROM I have ever experienced. I always thought I would hate hardware buttons but after going back to my M8 when flashing ROM's, the onscreen buttons are annoying. I liked my M8 and M9, was disappointed with the M9 luckily I was able to trade it in for the 10, but I absolutely love my 10. There is no doubt it is a worthy upgrade. Having it now, I would hate to have not ever experienced it. You would have to be very picky to have anything bad to say about it.

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.)
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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/

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 Xiaomi Mi A3, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Xiaomi Mi A3 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I was skeptical and very dismissive of it due to the 720p spec of the display. Yet having it changed my opinion. I placed it next to a 2k LCD and found little difference at a typical daily use distance. I can only see pixelation when viewing very carefully, or using lens.
With that concern out of the way, the 720p display was an excellent choice when it comes to saving battery life. In fact it probably has the longest battery run time of the current crop of xiaomi phones, in large part due to the 720p OLED. With the minute visible difference (I don't understand how people can claim it to be obvious inferior, when to me it clearly isn't), I'm actually willing to take the trade off for better battery life. It is far more vibrant than LCD to boot. Most people I showed it alongside with 1080p LCD on the redmi note7 picked the A3 display, due to color vibrancy.
The camera is excellent. I did side by side comparison with the 64mp gm1 on the redmi note 7. I have to say GM1 did a great job catching up to Sony, but the IMX586 still have the clarity edge at low lights with less noise and clearer RAW images (yup I compared using RAW to take post processing out of the way). However, I can't really say it's a clear winner, as IMX results seem to "smudge" a bit. I'm wondering if by using 48mp marketing gimmick that requires pixel binding was actually a step backwards compared to just straight large-cell 12mp sensor (yet lower MP count sells fewer phones evidently). Nevertheless, no complaints with the cameras. Wide angle and front sensor are both excellent as well. A great phone for selfie lovers, and better than most xiaomi phones except maybe mi9.
Loudspeaker is loud but only above around 800-900hz. So even mids are kinda subdued, and shrieking sounds are pretty loud. Mine buzzes at mid range frequencies which is really annoying. Some built in notifications would result in a buzz at the loudest and 2nd loudest volumes. It's not terribly loud and so the loudest volume is easily required when outdoors or in an urban setting. I think mine's probably defective, as it developed after a few days (past the refund period. :-/) It's not exactly malfunctioning, but annoying nevertheless.
I still love the phone, because of the smaller form factor for true one handed handling. It feels thin and light, yet packs a punch in terms of display colors, battery life, and camera quality. If it can be rooted with AOSP rom, or have native gcam support (I use RMN7's port and it works sans wide angle), it'd be even nicer.
It definitely feels like a better build, with better looks and feel over A2. I think it's a great little package, and if you can get it at a good price, it really is bringing the flagship camera and battery life with clean android to the masses. Something Pixel 3a is trying to do but A3 truly does it better in many ways, not the least its price.
Phone is pretty nice, but it needs some custom rom support. I feel stock is not so optimised as it could be, sometimes it slows down opening apps etc.
Also, max screen brigtness is too low. I didn't pay attention to this while buying it, but anything below 400+ nits is too dim on sunlight.
After using both, Miui and Stock Android, i feel stock is getting overrated. Miui is as fast and packed with features and customization, and Miui's dark mode is way better than google's implemetation.
I personally think Cc9/Mi9 Lite is a better buy although it's cost is a little higher.
Absolutely love this phone, resolution doesn't bother as much as you think it would. My only complain with this phone is vibration motor, but apart from that, it's a fantastic phone (probably the best) in this price range. Biggest loving factors for me are
*Super fast storage (UFS 2.1)
*sAmoled screen
*Build quality and size
*Stock Android
Battery life is super. That's very important for many people
I REALLY recommend that phone, it's amazing for the price... the display is not disappointing as a lot of people say (and anyway, who the F really needs a 1080p display??? what for??? it's not as if the phone was the size of a TV!!!). It's rootable, fast, has a great camera, but doesn't have NFC... In my case, I didn't want it anyway (had it on previous phone, and only used it to show off when reading CC details).
After about two weeks of usage, I really like the phone. Really suits my disabled hands. I wish the screen were a little wider than tall because the extra height doesn't help me so much but extra width would make a lot of things bigger and easier.
I got this for the OLED screen and was not disappointed. Would not trade for a better spec'ed LCD screen. I am all in on OLED. Now do I wish it were 1080 so text would be crisper? Sure. That or a non pentile screen. But for this price, it's not happening at this point in time.
Speed and responsiveness is quite good. It does slow down and lags at time but overall I'm happy with it.
Camera is fine. I don't take pictures much so as long as the pictures I do take aren't embarrassingly bad I'm happy. And I think it's way better than not bad.
Where it falls down is in the audio department. I'm coming from a hand me down iPhone 5 and by comparison the speaker is tinny and kind of painful to listen to. The 3.5mm output isn't great either. I notice a real drop in quality with my grado sr60. I've done the af.resampler.quality tweak too. I'm using an equalizer to make it sound better, but wish they hadn't cut this corner.
Overall, if there's a better OLED phone at this price I don't know about it. I would be willing to pay more to get 1080p and better audio, but not like $150 more after tax like the Mi 9T or Samsung S50. I wish Xiaomi had a phone in the middle. I don't need pop up selfie camera or fancy back. I would be happy with a plastic body and have the money go inside the phone. Lighter to boot.
I love u
still loving it. Audio recorder should be available in the next update.
I love my A3 too. Battery life is insane, sadly i find the Finger Unlock sensor very very slow. It takes so long to unlock that i always using a Pin number instead to be faster. :crying:
I love it. Just got mine a week ago and I really like it. Certainly reminds me of Nexus in many ways. A lot better than MIUI iny opinion. Used Redmi 4X before.
Sent from my Mi A3 using Tapatalk

Categories

Resources