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!
Does the 1080p resolution result in visible pixels? How well will the phone do with a VR headset due to the low resoution for a 5.5 inch display?
Battery life of my N5 never was good, after 3 years of use it's really bad. How much of an improvement can I expect?
How much more power in real life experience can I expect from the Snapdragon 820 compared to the N5's 800?
Do you think the switch is generally worth it? I was thinking about waiting for the new Nexus devices, but the pricing of the N6P makes me think I won't get as much bang for the buck as I do when buying the Oneplus 3.
It's a great phone if you plan to run stock BUT there's no dash charging for custom ROMs AND there is no good camera on custom ROMs.
Oneplus hasn't released the source for dash charging and camera apk.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
1. cannot see any visible pixels. I don't use VR, so I can't comment on that.
2. Battery life will be a generous increase, at least for me and my usage it was. And I came from a 5X. It last me a full day and then some.
3. Compared to a N5, day to day usage you should see a noticeable increase in speed, especially if you decrease animations to .5. where you will see the most benefits will be multi tasking, gaming and tab intensive browsing.
4. I've had both the 5x and 6p, the former being my favorite. Unless your a huge Nexus fan, in my opinion i would get the OP3. It is just as easy to unlock the bootloader and run custom Roms. At the moment custom is kind of limited because the kernel source not being released, no dash charge. But all the Roms are here, including AOSP. (Slim 6) I'm using stock oxygen rooted, fits my bill. The only other thing would be the 2016 Nexus' but I'm not a big fan of HTC, the RAM will be less and I'm not sure they will be able to beat the OP3 all around.. Check my Sig, I've had a few devices and this is by far my favorite.
Again, these are just my experiences/opinions.
both the 2016 Nexus 5" and the OP3 will likely be amazing and powerful. Camera on the OP3 is not as good as N6P though, FYI. performance is much better than any other phone though. minor customizations are nice too
The only thing i'd recommend is avoiding the 2015 Nexus 5X.
Lownita said:
Does the 1080p resolution result in visible pixels? How well will the phone do with a VR headset due to the low resoution for a 5.5 inch display?
Battery life of my N5 never was good, after 3 years of use it's really bad. How much of an improvement can I expect?
How much more power in real life experience can I expect from the Snapdragon 820 compared to the N5's 800?
Do you think the switch is generally worth it? I was thinking about waiting for the new Nexus devices, but the pricing of the N6P makes me think I won't get as much bang for the buck as I do when buying the Oneplus 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Personally I use VR alot and I don't see any noticeable problem ....it performs like any other 1080 device (comparing with my 5inch 1080p s4) ...even though it's 5.5 inch it still looks good in Vr...coming to those heating ....even one plus 3 gets heated up after using VR for a long time and reaches to 40-45° Celsius or even more sometimes
2.It gives more than 5hours of screen on time to me ....and since warranty isn't void when rooting you can use a custom kernel or lower the clock speed to improve battery life even more
3.personally I never used N5 and coming to performance of AOSP or close to AOSP Roms they perform well even in a snapdragon 400...but snap820 gives a boost in gaming ...games run smoothly and the device can even have another game in its memory and you can keep switching without any lags and there is negligible heating while gaming
4.i'm sure the new Nexus will be costlier ...but if you are a VR fan you might be expecting alot from Google's upcoming daydream and I don't really know what exact hardware it actually needs and Google said that no current device will fully support daydream ...and it's just axon 7 which is said to be daydream ready for now ....you can buy one plus right now or wait for Nexus to come and decide between the 2 ....it will be your final decision ....personally I think you must go for one plus 3 because it's really a "value for money " type of device
Hit thanks if I was able to help you
Thanks everyone, sounds really good! The bug where the phone didn't use the ram to its full extend has been fixed, is that right?
I switched from the Nexus 5 as well and I do not regret it. The device is amazing and you will not get anything better for 400€/$ (IMHO).
The battery life is good so far, but I cannot give you any numbers since I have only used it for about a week and tinkered a lot with it. This makes any estimation for battery life unrealistic. So far I would say it is better than the Nexus 5 but that is all I want to say about this topic .
The larger display, larger storage, better camera and larger RAM are definitely worth an upgrade in my opinion!
That said, my Nexus 5 still works fine with a new battery and cm13 (caf-version (!)) and there are also a few things it does better than the OP3:
* Stronger vibration motor (IMHO) which is useful if you use the device in silent mode most of the time...
* Far more accurate display. I was surprised by the strange colors of the amoled display. I enabled the sRGB mode which mostly fixed this but I did not remember the colors being so different after switching from the Galaxy S1 to Nexus 4 and Nexus 5...
Altogether a very good phone, definitely worth the money and a good upgrade. Make sure to also buy the sandstone-cover if you decide to buy the OP3. The aluminium body makes this thing extremely slippery. And honestly it is still a thin device, even with the cover included.
Best Regards
Michael
P.s.: I have no idea about VR, sry.
Lownita said:
Thanks everyone, sounds really good! The bug where the phone didn't use the ram to its full extend has been fixed, is that right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They did do a fix, but I still dont think it would use all 6 gigs. I see it as more than future proof
I am not sure if it will be a good buy and for how much? Still confused at the right price to pay for it. Any help, I just love the dark blue color...
@LineArc I checked from sources, Price may vary in between 160-200 USD, For Now the device is OUT OF STOCK
an Elephone P9000 user here. in term of hardware vs selling price, no doubt it is value for $$. but this Elephone company couldnt get the hardware works. great hardware with S*h*i*t software/rom. i will say this is my 1st and last Elephone product. Better look at other cheap china brands like MI or Oppo.
From a person that has a dark blue on his hands, I've got to say it is a very unique piece of hardware. I really like the way it feels on the hand, and even with a bigger screen than my old IUNI U2 4.7'' I have a much more confortable touch with it.
Also, the amazing tickness of it make him a wonderfully attractive phone.
Now, regarding hardware,
Camera 13MP could be better, but that would involve a bigger one. This one takes good quality pictures with a very good flash. Single one, but very powerfull.
The CPU is very good. You can see in most of site reviews everyone complaining about the bad deca-core because the 2 high speed cpu shutdown when it get's to acertain CPU threshold.
In my oppinion, that if great.
I use it heavily with all sort of app's, and I just feel it a little warm, nothing more. More, I don't even feel a difference on the speed, because it performs amazingly smooth.
Comparing to other mobiles, that are indeed very fast (2.4GHz+) where you can't even touch the mobile because it's very hot.
Please note that I have this mobile for only a couple of weeks, but as a heavy user, I test it the most of my capabilities, and till now I rather preffer it over many available phones.
One last note, regarding the software problems that @ckleon said, can you please be more specific, so that I can also check them in mine?
lotryf said:
From a person that has a dark blue on his hands, I've got to say it is a very unique piece of hardware. I really like the way it feels on the hand, and even with a bigger screen than my old IUNI U2 4.7'' I have a much more confortable touch with it.
Also, the amazing tickness of it make him a wonderfully attractive phone.
Now, regarding hardware,
Camera 13MP could be better, but that would involve a bigger one. This one takes good quality pictures with a very good flash. Single one, but very powerfull.
The CPU is very good. You can see in most of site reviews everyone complaining about the bad deca-core because the 2 high speed cpu shutdown when it get's to acertain CPU threshold.
In my oppinion, that if great.
I use it heavily with all sort of app's, and I just feel it a little warm, nothing more. More, I don't even feel a difference on the speed, because it performs amazingly smooth.
Comparing to other mobiles, that are indeed very fast (2.4GHz+) where you can't even touch the mobile because it's very hot.
Please note that I have this mobile for only a couple of weeks, but as a heavy user, I test it the most of my capabilities, and till now I rather preffer it over many available phones.
One last note, regarding the software problems that @ckleon said, can you please be more specific, so that I can also check them in mine?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm this. Got mine yesterday.
The ONLY negative points are: touchscreen-sensor is a little too weak and the brightness could be brighter Maybe in future we get new roms which could soulve this problem! LineageOS would be perfect imo.
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.
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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.
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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
With the Pixel 7 potentially using the older A76 core architecture instead of the more efficient A78s has me looking at different devices. I'm upgrading from a Huawei P20 Pro that has been fantastic for battery life and a good camera https://tutuapp.uno/ ]https://vidmate.cool/.
Any recommendations for a upgrade? I don't require a flagship but open to that option. My main criteria is a 6-6.4" screen.
Note 10+, 60hz AMOLED but it exceeds probably all the new variable refresh rate displays in color and gamma accuracy. It's a gorgeous display. Up to 1tb of fast V30 rated expandable storage. Bt Spen. It's a beast and a solid workhorse that runs like a bat out of hell. Newer phones are only marginally faster for most tasks.
New and used are available.
sasaki11 said:
With the Pixel 7 potentially using the older A76 core architecture instead of the more efficient A78s has me looking at different devices. I'm upgrading from a Huawei P20 Pro that has been fantastic for battery life and a good camera.
Any recommendations for a upgrade? I don't require a flagship but open to that option. My main criteria is a 6-6.4" screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blackhawk said:
Note 10+, 60hz AMOLED but it exceeds probably all the new variable refresh rate displays in color and gamma accuracy. It's a gorgeous display. Up to 1tb of fast V30 rated expandable storage. Bt Spen. It's a beast and a solid workhorse that runs like a bat out of hell. Newer phones are only marginally faster for most tasks.
New and used are available.
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Click to collapse
Agreed: go Sammy or or a Chinese mark with highest specs, not a Pixel. If you're concerned with minutiae in benchmarks, etc.then you know you won't be happy when you get it.
Pixel is more about the Google experience which is extremely comfortable and something fans rely on.
Personally, I wouldn't touch a Samsung or latest-spec-Chinese-brand with a ten foot pole because their speed, rich screens, etc don't mean anything to me for my tasks that I rely on and their UI and UX is extremely annoying to the point that they become literally unusuable and I end up selling or returning them sometimes within 1 day.
So, yeah, stick with what you know makes you happy and don't change.
FoneWatcher said:
Agreed: go Sammy or or a Chinese mark with highest specs, not a Pixel. If you're concerned with minutiae in benchmarks, etc.then you know you won't be happy when you get it.
Pixel is more about the Google experience which is extremely comfortable and something fans rely on.
Personally, I wouldn't touch a Samsung or latest-spec-Chinese-brand with a ten foot pole because their speed, rich screens, etc don't mean anything to me for my tasks that I rely on and their UI and UX is extremely annoying to the point that they become literally unusuable and I end up selling or returning them sometimes within 1 day.
So, yeah, stick with what you know makes you happy and don't change.
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Click to collapse
I don't recommend the newer Samsung's. The Note 9 is noticeably slower than the N10+.
All Samsung's should be optimized for best results. One UI is fast, stable and very customizable stock, one of Samsung's hallmarks. They can be a handful until you understand them... which takes time. Of course there's iPhone on the other extreme but you may die of boredom and the one size fits all blandness...
I've heard good things so far about the Motorola 30 Edge Ultra (reviews should be coming out pretty soon). It's £750 in UK which looks really good value for 200mp main camera phone and Snapdragon processor gen 1