Related
I would like to preface this with a couple of items:
1. I have owned these Samsung mobiledevices:
Vibrant
GS 2
GS 3
GN 2
N 10
So it IS fair to say that I have a preference for Samsung devices
2. My unit, mfg date 5/11 ...does not seem to suffer from some of the screen issues that others are having. As for overheating... my GS 3 and GN 2 get blisteringly hot when running 3D intensive games. That, is a reality of mobile gaming... that much computing power in such a small, passively cooled form factor is a recipe for poor heat dissipation. Thus, I do not find the GS 4 to be any different (neither a step back nor an improvement in heat dissipation.)
Those caveats aside, here are my initial impressions:
1. Aesthetically speaking, this is the closest in form to an iPhone that I have perceived a galaxy device to be. Does it bother me...not particularly, but it does give credence to those who bemoan "copy cat" and others who say that the galaxy design ethos is a bit... "tired".
2. Remaining on aesthetics for a moment, which is a very subjective matter....mind you, the GS 4 does not hold a candle to the HTC one. In my opinion, one is a ground-up rethink of mobile design with "form" being a primary emphasis... the other a simple continuation of a design that has met with success in the market. While the GS 4 is not ugly... the HTC One IS stunning. I tip my cap to HTC... (and to some extent sony), and hope that it will push Mobile Divisions to approach future design, with part ruler and part brush.
3. Durability: Now I don't have the stones to just drop my phone; nor has my ownership period been long enough to rebuke anyone else...but the device feels surprisingly sturdy in my hands. Reading some of the comments on the board... and coming from the Brick that is the GN 2 (which survived several falls unscathed), I expected the GS 4 to be a porcelain doll. Frail and fragile to the touch. Not the case. It is clearly lighter than the GS 3 and slimmer as well, but it does not feel like it was done to so at the expense of durability. Now I know that there are plenty of comments and reviews that dispute this... but, in MY hands, some of the initial concern that was raised by all reports has been dispelled. I hope (keyword) that the hairline fractures some have experienced are a mfg anomaly and not a design flaw.
4. Smart gestures: I am one, who truly thinks that this could be a revolution in mobile technology...and I admire what Sammy is trying to accomplish here. But (you knew one was coming), the current implementation just feels not-ready-for-primetime. The gestures do not respond as intended all the time... and sometimes they just flat out don't work. When they do... it is impressive, and is a window in the future of interaction with technology. Given time, I think samsung will iron the kinks out.... I just don't think we will see that on the GS 4.
5. UI: Touchwiz is a love or hate proposition for many... personally, I tend to use some functions and replace others. That being said, whether its smart gesture integration, poor coding or loads of bloatware...sammy dropped the ball here. The UI feels clunky and gimmiky... and lags on hardware that should easily breeze through transitions, screen renders and app launches. You can literally feel the Snapdragon chomping on the bit... being restrained by a poorly designed UI. This to me, was the largest disappointment. Not because I don't think I can fix with kernel and Rom installations... but rather because I was so impressed with how far touchwiz had come on my GN2. This feels like a huge step back... with stutters and judder reminiscent of my Vibrant. For me aesthetics are a luxury... but function is a necessity. Multi-window does feel much smoother in this implementation...so there is that, but still, for shame sammy (don't take 1 step back for every 2 forward). Again, our community will most certainly solve these issues... but it should not exist out of the box for premium hardware.
6. Camera: Very simply, impressive. Will it replace your D9...or any nice DSLR? No. Does it take sharp photos, with a bevy of adjustments, filters and post processing perks? Yes. Can it serve as an everyday shooter? Absolutely. Crisp photos, quick autofocus and no shutter lag make it a joy to snap shots with. Low light performance does lag behind some other phones (notably Nokia and HTC)... but I find this to be the only shortcoming.
7. GPS: It works. Well. I will never....ever.... ever...forget the vibrant debacle. It is the first thing I check on all my TMO samsung devices
8. Display: I left this for last... because, really if you didn't read anything else (TL;DR) then know this: the display ALONE is worth the price of admission. Maybe I have been conditioned as such... but when it comes to mobile devices give me the deep blacks of AMOLED over LCD. Furthermore, sammy had learned a bit from the community, and toned down some of the intrinsic oversaturation. The clarity, rendering and overall visual candy of the 1080x1920 Super AMOLDED is OUTSTANDING. Apple, HTC, LG all make excellent flagship phones... this is reality. No one touches the display technology of Samsung, yet... this is fact. The pixel density allows for the obliteration of any aliasing due to the pentile arrangement. It is jaw-dropping. For those who have gotten a device with screen issues... I wouldn't wait, return it and return it and return it until you get one that is perfect, because it is well worth the hassle.
Conclusion:
Is the Galaxy design, tired and in need of a refresh...probably. Is the HTC One the "prettiest" device on the market... certainly. Did touchwiz initially sour my excitement...definitely. However, those who compare the GS3 to GS4 evolution to the iPhone X to iPhone Xs tract... neither know android nor samsung hardware. Though the design is not a complete or even partial refresh (though I love the way the GS4 feels in my hand as compared to the GS3 and even my GN2) this phone is clearly the next step forward in Samsungs continued mobile presence. The hardware is top notch and only slightly fettered by TW. The display is stunning and the camera and accompanying software a leap forward from both the GN2 and GS3. The continued dedication to sd card expansion and removable batteries should not be underscored.
Perhaps the GN3 or the next GS will feature an aesthetic redesign befitting the hardware inside... and if that is of the utmost importance, than by all means you can wait. Or buy the One, (which in my time with, I did truly enjoy...). But...
If you are eligible for the upgrade... or have some coin kicking around, I can say with all confidence that Galaxy S4 is a top flight device... and quite possibly the best available on the market today.
Nice review Poser. I too have had an GS2, GS3, GN2 and now GS4. I feel you have hit it right on the head. TW is disappointing and the hardware isn't very exciting (except cam). But the device is top notch and Sammy did a good job overall. I came from VZW to Tmobs because of Wifi call/text. Such a great feature!!!
I just got a s4. My old phone was the s3. The phone is great but heres my view on it. It is no different than the s3 except it is faster cpu wise and has a higher res screen. If u had an s3 next to an s4 (like i do) and played around with both of them you would think its the same phone. Some of the features are pointless on the s4. Like air guestures (in my opinion). They are novelties. Why wave my hand 3 inches above the screen to scroll through pictures when i could simply just lower my finger 3 inches and swipe through my pics? All and all it is the fastest phone out and im happy i got it. But if i was goin to keep my s3 though, there wouldnt be much differance.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
As much as some people despise TouchWiz and the Samsung Apps that are preloaded, I actually like using some of the features.
I think, so far, my favorite is the Air Hover where I can preview emails.
Nice op. I had the S3 on Sprint, which was a great device as long as I was on Wifi. So far I have been very happy with the S4 on T Mobile. All the pros as noted above, plus an affordable data plan with excellent coverage for my areas. The wifi calling feature is simply awesome and all carriers should have this technology built in. As far as touchwiz goes, I find it to be functionally quite similar to vanilla android, meaning the basic functions work the same way. For example, adding widgets or adding a shortcut to the dock is done easily (as opposed to how the latest Sense does it). The esthetics are a different matter but are easily altered. Lag is zero with some basic tweaks.
Very well worded essay, Poser. My thanks for addressing aspects of the phone that are important to me (how well the GPS works in particular, which few people seem to comment on). I too hope (and expect) that the reports of screen cracks are an indication of defective samples and not a design flaw. I find it hard to believe that the design would not have been subject to a battery of stress tests.
I spent some time looking at and handling the phone at Best Buy, and I liked how it felt in my hand. That experience makes me dismiss comments about the plastic construction. Seeing the phone up close and personal also showed me just how gorgeous the display is (it truly is eye candy), and thanks for emphasizing this point.
Some additional thoughts:
1. Wifi calling is exceptional when it works flawlessly... I have noticed that it does experience voice dropouts, call answering issues and connecting issues. This was a problem that was present in my S3 GN2 and S4, and does seem to be software propigated (independent of access point).
2. Disabling smart gestures and home key activation of S Voice... SIGNIFICANTLY reduces lag
3. The screen is Amazing. I cant say this enough,
Coming form sgsii
While rebooting, flashing roms, running ANY benchmark, taking video, or browsing the web the phone compared to my SGSII gets way hotter than i would have ever imagined. maybe it is just my phone, however i cant get a stable overclock at all. my MAX stable OC is 1999mhz..... really? that's just a 100mhz overhead from stock........ a 5.2% increase in speed is all i can get.......... in contrast my SGSII i was able to get 300mhz out of it (25% increase in speed) and it would run cooler than this phone on stock.....
however at stock speeds the SGS4 is snappy, lag free, FAST, comfortable to hold, poor battery life, bright screen, alright overall
7 out of 10 is what i give MY phone. as it did meet my personal expectations. I was hoping for 2.2ghz cpu stable 550mhz gpu and then i could see it getting as hot as it is now. i guess i just got a poor OC phone
I'm thinking about shorting the circuit board while it is on, and if that doesn't work, i will hook up usb cable to straight 120VAC wall current and see if it explodes. at least i would get a different phone....
overall disappointed in the phone i got, however the phone itself, like most Samsung products is GREAT!
jimmboonline said:
While rebooting, flashing roms, running ANY benchmark, taking video, or browsing the web the phone compared to my SGSII gets way hotter than i would have ever imagined. maybe it is just my phone, however i cant get a stable overclock at all. my MAX stable OC is 1999mhz..... really? that's just a 100mhz overhead from stock........ a 5.2% increase in speed is all i can get.......... in contrast my SGSII i was able to get 300mhz out of it (25% increase in speed) and it would run cooler than this phone on stock.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, IIRC the GS2 only had a dual core CPU clocked around 1.2-1.5GHz, so to be fair you can expect the GS2 to be cooler and more stable since the stock speed is lower and less cores.
jimmboonline said:
I'm thinking about shorting the circuit board while it is on, and if that doesn't work, i will hook up usb cable to straight 120VAC wall current and see if it explodes. at least i would get a different phone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to see a video of that...
Poser said:
I would like to preface this with a couple of items:
1. I have owned these Samsung mobiledevices:
Vibrant
GS 2
GS 3
GN 2
N 10
So it IS fair to say that I have a preference for Samsung devices
2. My unit, mfg date 5/11 ...does not seem to suffer from some of the screen issues that others are having. As for overheating... my GS 3 and GN 2 get blisteringly hot when running 3D intensive games. That, is a reality of mobile gaming... that much computing power in such a small, passively cooled form factor is a recipe for poor heat dissipation. Thus, I do not find the GS 4 to be any different (neither a step back nor an improvement in heat dissipation.)
Those caveats aside, here are my initial impressions:
1. Aesthetically speaking, this is the closest in form to an iPhone that I have perceived a galaxy device to be. Does it bother me...not particularly, but it does give credence to those who bemoan "copy cat" and others who say that the galaxy design ethos is a bit... "tired".
2. Remaining on aesthetics for a moment, which is a very subjective matter....mind you, the GS 4 does not hold a candle to the HTC one. In my opinion, one is a ground-up rethink of mobile design with "form" being a primary emphasis... the other a simple continuation of a design that has met with success in the market. While the GS 4 is not ugly... the HTC One IS stunning. I tip my cap to HTC... (and to some extent sony), and hope that it will push Mobile Divisions to approach future design, with part ruler and part brush.
3. Durability: Now I don't have the stones to just drop my phone; nor has my ownership period been long enough to rebuke anyone else...but the device feels surprisingly sturdy in my hands. Reading some of the comments on the board... and coming from the Brick that is the GN 2 (which survived several falls unscathed), I expected the GS 4 to be a porcelain doll. Frail and fragile to the touch. Not the case. It is clearly lighter than the GS 3 and slimmer as well, but it does not feel like it was done to so at the expense of durability. Now I know that there are plenty of comments and reviews that dispute this... but, in MY hands, some of the initial concern that was raised by all reports has been dispelled. I hope (keyword) that the hairline fractures some have experienced are a mfg anomaly and not a design flaw.
4. Smart gestures: I am one, who truly thinks that this could be a revolution in mobile technology...and I admire what Sammy is trying to accomplish here. But (you knew one was coming), the current implementation just feels not-ready-for-primetime. The gestures do not respond as intended all the time... and sometimes they just flat out don't work. When they do... it is impressive, and is a window in the future of interaction with technology. Given time, I think samsung will iron the kinks out.... I just don't think we will see that on the GS 4.
5. UI: Touchwiz is a love or hate proposition for many... personally, I tend to use some functions and replace others. That being said, whether its smart gesture integration, poor coding or loads of bloatware...sammy dropped the ball here. The UI feels clunky and gimmiky... and lags on hardware that should easily breeze through transitions, screen renders and app launches. You can literally feel the Snapdragon chomping on the bit... being restrained by a poorly designed UI. This to me, was the largest disappointment. Not because I don't think I can fix with kernel and Rom installations... but rather because I was so impressed with how far touchwiz had come on my GN2. This feels like a huge step back... with stutters and judder reminiscent of my Vibrant. For me aesthetics are a luxury... but function is a necessity. Multi-window does feel much smoother in this implementation...so there is that, but still, for shame sammy (don't take 1 step back for every 2 forward). Again, our community will most certainly solve these issues... but it should not exist out of the box for premium hardware.
6. Camera: Very simply, impressive. Will it replace your D9...or any nice DSLR? No. Does it take sharp photos, with a bevy of adjustments, filters and post processing perks? Yes. Can it serve as an everyday shooter? Absolutely. Crisp photos, quick autofocus and no shutter lag make it a joy to snap shots with. Low light performance does lag behind some other phones (notably Nokia and HTC)... but I find this to be the only shortcoming.
7. GPS: It works. Well. I will never....ever.... ever...forget the vibrant debacle. It is the first thing I check on all my TMO samsung devices
8. Display: I left this for last... because, really if you didn't read anything else (TL;DR) then know this: the display ALONE is worth the price of admission. Maybe I have been conditioned as such... but when it comes to mobile devices give me the deep blacks of AMOLED over LCD. Furthermore, sammy had learned a bit from the community, and toned down some of the intrinsic oversaturation. The clarity, rendering and overall visual candy of the 1080x1920 Super AMOLDED is OUTSTANDING. Apple, HTC, LG all make excellent flagship phones... this is reality. No one touches the display technology of Samsung, yet... this is fact. The pixel density allows for the obliteration of any aliasing due to the pentile arrangement. It is jaw-dropping. For those who have gotten a device with screen issues... I wouldn't wait, return it and return it and return it until you get one that is perfect, because it is well worth the hassle.
Conclusion:
Is the Galaxy design, tired and in need of a refresh...probably. Is the HTC One the "prettiest" device on the market... certainly. Did touchwiz initially sour my excitement...definitely. However, those who compare the GS3 to GS4 evolution to the iPhone X to iPhone Xs tract... neither know android nor samsung hardware. Though the design is not a complete or even partial refresh (though I love the way the GS4 feels in my hand as compared to the GS3 and even my GN2) this phone is clearly the next step forward in Samsungs continued mobile presence. The hardware is top notch and only slightly fettered by TW. The display is stunning and the camera and accompanying software a leap forward from both the GN2 and GS3. The continued dedication to sd card expansion and removable batteries should not be underscored.
Perhaps the GN3 or the next GS will feature an aesthetic redesign befitting the hardware inside... and if that is of the utmost importance, than by all means you can wait. Or buy the One, (which in my time with, I did truly enjoy...). But...
If you are eligible for the upgrade... or have some coin kicking around, I can say with all confidence that Galaxy S4 is a top flight device... and quite possibly the best available on the market today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great review OP, thanks!
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10411/the-oneplus-3-review/4
I like the Anandtech site. But sorry, I can't understand his harsh criticism of the display.
When I compare the colors with my LG G2 and my Galaxy Tab S2, they are a bit different (like they are on any device...), but absolutely ok and in no way extreme. And you can set the color balance yourself - the reviewer doesn't write anything about that...
Only thing is the resolution, I can see that indeed the pentile matrix isn't optimal; but I don't think that is a point which justifies such a hard criticism.
Not for some. Personally the display is the main interacting point. I kind of question OP's decision to economise there.
Snapdragon do very good midrange processors, especially the latest series which are plenty fast enough for the latest games and heavy multi tasking. They went for shop headlines instead with a (relatively) pointlessly fast processor and 6gb ram which no one really needs.
A better display, larger battery, water proofing and perhaps better camera would have made more sense IMHO. Of course it wouldn't quite have blitzed benchmarks and thus lost headline appeal. Need proof? Just read how many on here quote Antutu results of 120'000 + even if that is absolutely pointless in real life use.
Still, not taking anything away from OP, the phone seems like good value and I may get one yet at some stage but I don't like to adopt to early. Rather let others do the field testing first!
I currently have a 64GB OnePlus One and I am thinking about replacing it with a P2. For me it seems that the positives in doing so are...
+ Metal body design
+ AMOLED screen
+ Fingerprint Sensor
+ HUGE battery
+ 4GB RAM
+ MicroSD expansion
+ Current supported model
+ Will get decent return on OPO to offset cost
Whilst the OPO had a flagship SoC of the time (SD801) that does still perform well enough, I imagine that the "mid range" SD625 probably isn't a massive step back. It has a slower clock speed, but twice as many cores.
Obviously I would be dropping from 64GB to 32GB storage, but the P2 allows for MicroSD expansion. In doing so, does it give the option of adding this as adoptable storage that is then seen as one big lump of internal storage?
I have almost convinced myself, but I am not quite there yet. Has anyone else gone from the OPO to this? If not, what phone did you move from? Do you still see it as a worthwhile move? Can you add anything to the arguments for or against making the change?
Thanks.
SilentBob said:
I currently have a 64GB OnePlus One and I am thinking about replacing it with a P2. For me it seems that the positives in doing so are...
+ Metal body design
+ AMOLED screen
+ Fingerprint Sensor
+ HUGE battery
+ 4GB RAM
+ MicroSD expansion
+ Current supported model
+ Will get decent return on OPO to offset cost
Whilst the OPO had a flagship SoC of the time (SD801) that does still perform well enough, I imagine that the "mid range" SD625 probably isn't a massive step back. It has a slower clock speed, but twice as many cores.
Obviously I would be dropping from 64GB to 32GB storage, but the P2 allows for MicroSD expansion. In doing so, does it give the option of adding this as adoptable storage that is then seen as one big lump of internal storage?
I have almost convinced myself, but I am not quite there yet. Has anyone else gone from the OPO to this? If not, what phone did you move from? Do you still see it as a worthwhile move? Can you add anything to the arguments for or against making the change?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I moved to the P2 from the Huawei Honor 8. The main reason that i moved to the P2 is because of it's battery. Truly has been amazing. I've been using it for a few weeks now and I have not faced any issues. I am a heavy user and the 4 GB ram + the SD 625 chipset have been handling everything that I do on the phone quite well. The storage is adaptable as I've seen the option available. The metal design is not only good but feels quite solid as well. I have used the Lenovo Zuk Z1 a little while ago which has the same 801 chipset as on the OPO phone that you have and you are right, performance wise on a day to day basis, the 625 is pretty reliable. The amoled screen on the P2 is pretty awesome. I am not an expert on screens but I have come to prefer amoleds over lcds, IPS screens etc. So yes, personally for me, it has been a worthwhile move. I switch and change phones quite regularly. But I am thinking of keeping the P2 for while longer than most of the other phones that I've used so far.
Had an Moto x2014. Uses 801 chip. Had a 1080p amoled. I can confirm no obvious performance difference. If anything the p2 seems slicker. Battery is a massive win. Screen is brighter than Moto x2014. Not used opo1 tho.
I've upgraded form Oneplus 3 and it was worth it, battery life is amazing over 12hours sot, color calibration is different, fast charging is quicker 25watts over 20 in Oneplus 3, Android is snappy and all games that I was playing on op3 run smoothly on p2. Op3 has better sound quality on headphones, on p2 sound is OK by using blackplayer ex and built-in equalizer or poweramp+eq. and p2 has a Fm radio with record option but mine only works in mono, build quality is similar, camera definitely is better in op3, but I don't make too much photos so for me p2 is straight winner maybe if op4 will have bigger battery and sdcard slot I will comeback to Oneplus.
It's good to see from your responses so far that you all seem happy with the device, and with no real regrets. So making it look more likely that I'll go for it. I must say though, I am a little surprised to see anyone choose this over the OnePlus 3, which I would imagine would be better in every aspect except the battery. Perhaps this really should send a message to the industry that people really care about battery life?
I might have to have a look to see if I can source a reasonable case and glass screen protector before taking the plunge, just so that I can be protected from day one.
SilentBob said:
It's good to see from your responses so far that you all seem happy with the device, and with no real regrets. So making it look more likely that I'll go for it. I must say though, I am a little surprised to see anyone choose this over the OnePlus 3, which I would imagine would be better in every aspect except the battery. Perhaps this really should send a message to the industry that people really care about battery life?
I might have to have a look to see if I can source a reasonable case and glass screen protector before taking the plunge, just so that I can be protected from day one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, op3 wins in benchmarks but in real life p2.
SilentBob said:
It's good to see from your responses so far that you all seem happy with the device, and with no real regrets. So making it look more likely that I'll go for it. I must say though, I am a little surprised to see anyone choose this over the OnePlus 3, which I would imagine would be better in every aspect except the battery. Perhaps this really should send a message to the industry that people really care about battery life?
I might have to have a look to see if I can source a reasonable case and glass screen protector before taking the plunge, just so that I can be protected from day one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if you find a good screen protector let me know!!! All have found is complete rubbish. Too big, poor quality. Terrible reviews on Amazon and eBay. So yeah, if you find a good one, post the seller here it will be appreciated!!
Great User Experience
I bought this as I needed a phone while my S7 Edge had to be repaired due to faulty memorycard slot.
Other than a slightly mediocre camera on the P2, I feel the P2 is a much better user experience. So I've decided to sell my S7 Edge once it's been repaired.
I will however order me the LG G6 when it launches, but the P2 is a keeper as my second phone. It's absolutely great for my use. Phoning, SMS, Browsing the Web, email, Youtube(just a little annoying delay) and such tasks. When P2 get upgraded to Nougat it will be even more of a killer budget phone.
just think about the best phone you can have at the budget.There is lenovo z2 plus at the same price,which has better processor,but i think lenovo p2 is better than that when considering user experience.or you can go for mi 5
What if I come from a Moto G3, snap 410 and 1 of ram
Typing this post while lagging lol, chrome keyboard and already slowed down phone :|
Kicroy said:
What if I come from a Moto G3, snap 410 and 1 of ram
Typing this post while lagging lol, chrome keyboard and already slowed down phone :|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will be amazed at the difference.
Came from an LG G2 and find the P2 amazing,battery is King and phone runs well.
A few bugs to be sorted out yet but nothing that puts me off the phone too much.
Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Tapatalk
Kicroy said:
What if I come from a Moto G3, snap 410 and 1 of ram
Typing this post while lagging lol, chrome keyboard and already slowed down phone :|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from same Phone :highfive:
but i am on AOSP based ROM 7.1.1 on my MotoG3
it opens apps faster and organizes RAM better than my Lenovo P2
you must give a try to flash any AOSP roms on MotoG3
nandakis4 said:
from same Phone :highfive:
but i am on AOSP based ROM 7.1.1 on my MotoG3
it opens apps faster and organizes RAM better than my Lenovo P2
you must give a try to flash any AOSP roms on MotoG3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will swap from lineage to aosp then
You have the 1gb variant of Moto G?
edit what is your rom exactly?
I have a oneplus 2 and i think about to switch to the p2. It's a pity that the p2 has almost no custom rom comunity
I came from the OnePlus One and I don't regret it at all.
My primary annoyance with it was the battery life. I never get the insane battery life people claim from a phone, usually 50-75% of what they get. When it was new, I got around 4-4.5 hours SOT, by the time I retired it after 2 years and custom Android upgrades, a meagre 2.
With the P2 a lot of people report 12 hours SOT, I get around 7-8 hours which feels incredible. As a general rule, I don't charge my phone for 3 days. And it doesn't matter what I do with it for the most part, I get that battery life. The main thing that drains it for me is 3G/LTE, that drags me down to about 6 hours. I use relatively high screen brightness, BT, NFC etc. so I don't skimp. Only thing I don't use is GPS, that is also a battery hog and don't need it most of the time.
Camera isn't amazing, but I don't use mine very much. Again, I agree, the 625 for most intents and purposes is fine against the 801. The one thing my OnePlus didn't feel was slow, though my friend's Moto Z Play did feel snappier in the menus than it. I don't think the GPU is amazing for gaming, I don't play many 3D games but have played some Hitman Sniper, and that does bog down to some degree but can't compare it to other phones. Doesn't bother me a bit though, my phone is mainly for messaging, web browsing and 2D gaming and it does all of those things perfectly. And I got mine for £200 which was even cheaper than I got my OPO for at £269.
I do hope we get one or two custom ROMs in the coming months, since I'd like to move to total stock from the P2 ROM, but it's not a bad OEM ROM really.
helppme said:
Well if you find a good screen protector let me know!!! All have found is complete rubbish. Too big, poor quality. Terrible reviews on Amazon and eBay. So yeah, if you find a good one, post the seller here it will be appreciated!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still haven't had any luck in finding a screen protector either from a trusted brand or with good feedback. Not even the wet apply ones. I will keep looking. Will probably just have to go with a cheapy to begin with, just to have something on there. I had a nightmare trying to get a glass protector for my daughters' Samsung A6 (2016), as they were all much smaller than the screen and didn't stick properly around the edges. I think it is because it looks like the screen actually tapers towards the 2.5D curved edges. Looking at the P2 in the shop, its screen looks to be flat all the way to the slightly curved edge, so hopefully won't have those problems.
Russbo said:
I came from the OnePlus One and I don't regret it at all.
I do hope we get one or two custom ROMs in the coming months, since I'd like to move to total stock from the P2 ROM, but it's not a bad OEM ROM really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least, from what I have seen, all the system menus, etc, retain the stock look, rather than being heavily skinned. So I reckon that once I chuck Nova Launcher on there it'll pretty much look stock anyway. :good:
So I went for it, and so far am quite happy that I did so. There are still a few differences to get used to or to find a way to get them as I like, but well worth the money I'd say. I am getting 3 days use out of it quite easily.
helppme said:
Well if you find a good screen protector let me know!!! All have found is complete rubbish. Too big, poor quality. Terrible reviews on Amazon and eBay. So yeah, if you find a good one, post the seller here it will be appreciated!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I initially bought a tempered glass screen protector from Amazon (sold by Topaccs), but this was awful. It was, as expected, smaller than the screen, but it did just about go from edge to edge of the actual display area. So I wasn't that bothered by the size. But it didn't stick properly, the edges weren't fully rounded and it picked up fingerprints so badly that even after trying to clean it I was just left with a horrible misting across the whole thing.
After looking around some more, I went for the BROTECT AirGlass protector from EBay (sold by protectionfilms24). I was skeptical to say the least about their claims regarding this "real glass" protector that is much thinner and more flexible but just as hard. But as it goes I am, so far, very impressed. It is a much better fit and looks MUCH better on the phone. If anything, it is a tiny amount too big as it appears to go onto the screens' curves, but it really isn't that noticeable with a case on. It has proper hole cut outs, rather than two big cut outs from the top and bottom edges that you get with the glass ones. Clarity and feel are great, and I tried scratching the leftover button cutout piece, and it certainly appeared to resist scratches.
Whilst I was waiting for this to be delivered, I noticed that Ultimate Shield are now selling a tempered glass protector for the P2. I have had good experiences with their products in the past, so would certainly have given them a go. However, I will be sticking with the Brotect for now as I am more than happy with it.
Ultimate shield on Amazon UK full coverage (zagg/skinomi type) now available.
So I just broke my Oneplus One and bought a P2 for 180€(!) Can anyone tell me how the camera compares to the OPO? I know, apparently it isn't that good but I didn't find the camera on the OPO to be any good either. Is it a step up from this?
Coming from op2 I feel camera is worst in low light and slower focusing, software side has better stock experience than that horrible lagging (throttling) oxygenOS, but video bug is terrible
Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Tapatalk
So, I wanted to put a word in for Vernee, and specifically for this phone.
I looked around for a forum and didn't find one.
This is a wonderful budget phone, absolutely. A sleeper.
At $180 roughly, it's fantastic.
Everything about it IS a step down from Flagship but the package it delivers punches well above it's class.
This is just a set of observations to help those thinking about digging around the lower priced Chinese offerings.
I'll try and give a comparative review.
The phone is just a few millimeters taller than the OnePlus 5T, a few shorter than the Galaxy 8+ and roughly the same width as the HTC U11.
The screen is 18:9 and tinted in such a way that the screen appears to take up the entire front surface before you fire it up.
Although I have seen reviews that say it is a metal phone, it is not. The back is a very solid form of plastic, treated and painted to look like metal.
Don't get me wrong; it's not a bad look at all. The deep blue looks radiant in the sunlight and the soft texture of it feels wonderful in the hand.
The phone is as heavy as the Mate 9 but feels perfectly weighted. It really feels great to hold and they've curved the back in such a way that it feels far slimmer than it is - which at 9.8mm, it is not.
When you turn the screen on, you notice that Vernee has done a great job with slimming the bezels, and the glass, though not Gorilla glass has a nice, slick feel to it.
It's built to a very high standard; compelling when you think they just begun to make phones in 2016.
The P23 mediatek chip is perfectly adequate for everyday use - I'd say think Qualcomm 820/821 (Lg G4).
There are a few stutters and it's not as fluid as say the OnePlus 5T but it IS quick and the management of it's 4Gbs of ROM keeps lots of apps on tap.
And now, the killer. They've stuffed a huge battery in there. They say it's a 6000 but My Device reads it at 4000.
Any which way, the battery is a revelation. On, and on, and on - It will easily give you 2 days of normal use, all in a relatively tight package - but I'm not like that. I am on it ALL DAY doing everything, with everything on from 08:00 and still, as I come to charge at 23:00 there's 15% in it.
Astonishing.
And I think that's where this phone hits its home run.
It looks good, it feels good, it runs well - you'd be hard pressed to be embarrassed laying it on the table beside the absolute big guns - and you could have five of them for the price.
It's an Astonishing feat.
Think 4 by 4 Beemer or Merc in the bush against the original Toyota Prado.
But unlike a bear-bones interior, you have leather seats, good stereo, manual sun-roof and proper differentials.
You know what I'm talking about.
The Vernee X is not rugged but it's handsome, sure footed, tireless and a joy to carry around.
It will take you dancing all night long, and that, at least, in Miyake.
Yes. There is a catch. The camera.
It's not bad but you'll want great light all the time. And don't try that blurred shallow focus thing, it's not good.
Still there pictures are adequate sometimes and very good at other.
This phone has climbed into my pocket and the company, won my heart and I can't wait to see what Vernee has for us this year and next.
The Doogees, Elephones...are on notice.
So are, in another few years I think, Samsung et.al.
Still no one ROM for this model... Someone from the owners of this unit, could you make a full backup of the firmware and put it in the public domain.
room for vernee x 4gb ram / 64gb
Welcome, we hope that a friend will introduce a Vernee x 4gb / 64gb phone room
Dyxless1986 said:
Still no one ROM for this model... Someone from the owners of this unit, could you make a full backup of the firmware and put it in the public domain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some roms here. Ive not tested but some activity it seems
https://www.needrom.com/category/others/u-v-w-x-y-z/brands-v/vernee/x/
kolembo said:
So, I wanted to put a word in for Vernee, and specifically for this phone.
I looked around for a forum and didn't find one.
This is a wonderful budget phone, absolutely. A sleeper.
At $180 roughly, it's fantastic.
Everything about it IS a step down from Flagship but the package it delivers punches well above it's class.
This is just a set of observations to help those thinking about digging around the lower priced Chinese offerings.
I'll try and give a comparative review.
The phone is just a few millimeters taller than the OnePlus 5T, a few shorter than the Galaxy 8+ and roughly the same width as the HTC U11.
The screen is 18:9 and tinted in such a way that the screen appears to take up the entire front surface before you fire it up.
Although I have seen reviews that say it is a metal phone, it is not. The back is a very solid form of plastic, treated and painted to look like metal.
Don't get me wrong; it's not a bad look at all. The deep blue looks radiant in the sunlight and the soft texture of it feels wonderful in the hand.
The phone is as heavy as the Mate 9 but feels perfectly weighted. It really feels great to hold and they've curved the back in such a way that it feels far slimmer than it is - which at 9.8mm, it is not.
When you turn the screen on, you notice that Vernee has done a great job with slimming the bezels, and the glass, though not Gorilla glass has a nice, slick feel to it.
It's built to a very high standard; compelling when you think they just begun to make phones in 2016.
The P23 mediatek chip is perfectly adequate for everyday use - I'd say think Qualcomm 820/821 (Lg G4).
There are a few stutters and it's not as fluid as say the OnePlus 5T but it IS quick and the management of it's 4Gbs of ROM keeps lots of apps on tap.
And now, the killer. They've stuffed a huge battery in there. They say it's a 6000 but My Device reads it at 4000.
Any which way, the battery is a revelation. On, and on, and on - It will easily give you 2 days of normal use, all in a relatively tight package - but I'm not like that. I am on it ALL DAY doing everything, with everything on from 08:00 and still, as I come to charge at 23:00 there's 15% in it.
Astonishing.
And I think that's where this phone hits its home run.
It looks good, it feels good, it runs well - you'd be hard pressed to be embarrassed laying it on the table beside the absolute big guns - and you could have five of them for the price.
It's an Astonishing feat.
Think 4 by 4 Beemer or Merc in the bush against the original Toyota Prado.
But unlike a bear-bones interior, you have leather seats, good stereo, manual sun-roof and proper differentials.
You know what I'm talking about.
The Vernee X is not rugged but it's handsome, sure footed, tireless and a joy to carry around.
It will take you dancing all night long, and that, at least, in Miyake.
Yes. There is a catch. The camera.
It's not bad but you'll want great light all the time. And don't try that blurred shallow focus thing, it's not good.
Still there pictures are adequate sometimes and very good at other.
This phone has climbed into my pocket and the company, won my heart and I can't wait to see what Vernee has for us this year and next.
The Doogees, Elephones...are on notice.
So are, in another few years I think, Samsung et.al.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im having same phone, camera is useless much better choice is ulefone power 3 or 3s, they have same hardware with much better camera.
I think vernee have problem with drivers, i have tryed to fix it but im not developer if you have any idea for new firmware or update for this camera problem please let me know.
Regards
Dino
After using the phone for a couple of months;
It is slow. The mediatek chip is nowhere near flagship level and it shows.
And the camera is badly optimised - the photos are ok in very good light.
The best thing about this phone is it's amusing battery life.
The screen is also, surprisingly, very good.
In all other respects you must be willing to compromise.
I just got this phone and for the price, you cant beat it. But you are right the chipset is not as good as the snapdragon and thats the major difference here. I dont use the camera so it doesnt bother me.
But great value nevertheless.
kolembo said:
After using the phone for a couple of months;
It is slow. The mediatek chip is nowhere near flagship level and it shows.
And the camera is badly optimised - the photos are ok in very good light.
The best thing about this phone is it's amusing battery life.
The screen is also, surprisingly, very good.
In all other respects you must be willing to compromise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ulefone Power 3 or 3s has better camera optimisation, hardware is the same, so it is better choice in my opinion...
Yes, I think Verne is still too young to optimise Android for it's phones.
It's hardware is very good though - the X is very strong, has a beautiful screen and an unbeatable battery.
It has to do more work getting it's software lined up to it's hardware.
Having used this phone for a year, it's biggest problem is software.
The phone feels sluggish and jittery.
The battery remains excellent. On experimentation, the speed increases vastly when I switch: settings>duraspeed>off
with disable animation to 0 in devolper settings also same lag ?
regards
i will try aslo root the phone later when i have my order , presumably same way as my thread Root vernee M5 page 7
Regards
Hi all, I am thinking of finally upgrading my Google Pixel 2 with a new phone. I am looking into this phone along with the Nord 2. I am curious how good this phone is. I am really pleased that there are tons of custom ROMs available for this compared to nothing for the Nord 2 so that is a huge plus already.
I want to know if the camera quality is good. Compared to the Google Pixel 2, would you say the camera quality is decent for this phone? Is the battery life good? I really wish to get 2 days of battery on moderate use from my phone, is that possible with this phone? Is the fingerprint sensor on the side reliable? I noticed that under screen fingerprint sensors are usually not very accurate. But this one has a side mounted one, so hopefully it is better. And lastly is the vibration motor high quality? Some cheap phones like the Samsung A52 5G have crappy vibration motors making it feel very cheap. And how is the sound quality in phone calls?
That is a LOT of questions! I hope to get some good feedback from you all so that I can make a decision. Thanks a lot!
Don't buy man ! You will have regrets !
Every single feature that's flagships quality is broken in aosp ROMs . Camera , Display ( Jagged edges on corners , touch stuttering , much lower touch polling and who knows what else , all ik is that touch feels like ass compared to stock ROM ) , charging...
You won't like miui for one or another reason guaranteed... It's loaded with very nice features but miui has something called adaptive refresh rate which is a fancy word for dogshet display refresh limiting that you can't even disable - refresh rate jumping all around 60 - 120hz.
I bought this phone thinking its loaded with good hardware and software support can be achieved via aosp , but no. Everything is closed source , lots of stuff is broken and the very little that someone gets to work is closed source and not shared with other ROM developers....
That on top of snapdragon 870 being the very worst processor you can get. 865 and 888 are much better processors performance wise after overclock/undervolt.
If you can I'd save the money and get a phone next year January/February once newer generations come. If you can't wait then maybe get a cheap snapdragon 888 phone ( Use kimovil to find which one that is but it sells for 400$ ... I really regret not getting that one ).
I'd sell this piece of sheet phone in a blink of an eye , I paid 500$ for it and now I doubt I'd be able to sell it for even 200-250$ lmfao.
Oh man, you seem to have a very horrible experience. Are you saying the performance of ROMs is very buggy?
litetaker said:
Oh man, you seem to have a very horrible experience. Are you saying the performance of ROMs is very buggy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Performance wise aosp is decentish, but severely falls behind miui... Arrow os comes up to pretty much same benchmark results as stock miui but still fps ain't even close to being stable like on miui.
Touch is the major deal breaker for me , arrow os is almost there but I can still feel the touch lagging behind my finger... Something you don't see on miui.
I just wanted a phone good enough to play games on ... but I spent last 2 months or whatever running around like a dog trying out various ROMs with every single one lacking something that's a deal breaker. I even went back to miui but gave up and went back to aosp once I couldn't disable dynamic refresh rate.
I hate this phone now with passion , community might be able to cook something up close to miui in 6months , a year , who knows when but I'll be getting myself a better phone ASAP
That is some solid feedback. Thanks for the information. What phone do you recommend instead of this then?
I don't know exactly why Rstment has so many problems, my phone has been running pretty smooth for the last month. On AOSP ROMs the only issue I have is broken pocket mode, which I read should be working on some of them but I can't find the time to switch ROM and reinstall everything at the moment.
I run the phone at fixed 120 Hz and it's super smooth. I don't understand how someone can say that the touch response is laggy because it's basically instantaneous. The phone runs at something like 340 Hz touch sampling, which is WAY overkill. Performance is the #1 reason to get this phone. It's really, really smooth and much better than most phones in the same price range. It also doesn't get warm during normal use (I really don't game much, but it stays cool even when I do). The screen is plenty bright and it has decent colors, with excellent contrast being OLED.
Back to your questions...
Camera is average. Don't expect miracles, it takes pretty good pictures with gcam, but it can't compete with proper flagship phones. I don't have a pixel 2, but I'd be surprised if the camera quality is better.
Battery life is pretty good, especially considering the performance. Maybe not 2 days with moderate use, but more than one day for sure. I charge it up to 85% once a day and I rarely go below ~10%.
The fingerprint reader works fine, it's quick and reliable. Nothing to complain there.
The vibration motor is a linear motor, so it's pretty good! It's not iphone-like, but noticeably better than basically every other phone in this price range.
The two things people seem to complain about are a green tint on the top of the screen and the proximity sensor.
In my case the green tint is almost unnoticeable (I can only barely notice if you have the brightness at 0 in a dark room and the screen is dark grey). The proximity sensor is... weird, as it uses other sensors to "guess" where you're holding the phone, including the gyro. If you reply to a phone call with your head somewhat vertical it works fine, but if you do something like lying down in the middle of a call it can act up.
Ok, good to know. Is the performance with custom ROMs like LineageOS etc snappy? I expected the camera to be not that great as it is a budget phone but I hope it is good enough and not total crap. And what do you mean by linear vibration motor?
I've only used AOSP roms, so I can't compare with MIUI. My wife has MIUI on her phone and I hate it so much I just waited a week to unlock my bootloader without even using the phone. So yes, performance on AOSP roms is fine (haven't tried Lineage specifically, but it should be similar).
Vibration motors can come in two shapes: rotating and linear. The rotating one is much smaller (and I assume cheaper), which is why it's the most used in cheap phones, but the linear one is much better. Compared to my old oneplus 6 this phone's vibration is both much stronger and more silent. It's also... more accurate? As in it can produce a very sharp, short vibration.
Good to know. I think I will probably buy this phone.
short and sweet I am very satisfied with my decision that I bought the poco f3!
Sample Photo look attach
a decent phone. the performance it's good and aosp roms have improved in the last months... (crdroid, arrow os and havoc os are the most stable roms that i have flashed).
pocket mode and aod are broken in aosp roms, they drain a lot of battery.