Develop Bugs

The Biggest Issues and Gripes of the Galaxy Nexus?

Hey folks, I may be swapping my HTC Amaze 4G for a Galaxy Nexus soon, but before I do, I'd like to know the general opinions of the downsides to owning a Galaxy Nexus! I've read about a lot of the weaknesses of the Galaxy Nexus, but until I actually own one, it's pretty hard for me to pinpoint the legitimacy of these points that I see in video reviews and whatnot, so I'd like to ask you guys regarding your first hand experiences with the device. List your complaints about the Galaxy Nexus here, any contribution is appreciated!
What I've come up with so far:
- lack of microSD card
- camera is decent but not as good as it could've been
- although the screen is gorgeous, the pentile display doesn't allow it to be as clear and crisp as it should be
- build quality of the phone leaves much to be desired
I plan on rooting and installing custom ROMs as soon as I bring the device home, so please put that into consideration as well
Thanks in advance!

- lack of microSD card:
this one had me worried too when i first got the nexus but its not that bad you just have to keep and eye on the storage.
- camera is decent but not as good as it could've been:
its still pretty good and plenty good enough for casual pics. This is a phone we;re talking about, any $200 camera will take better pics than most phones maybe with the exception of the nokia 808 but that thing is more camera than phone.
- although the screen is gorgeous, the pentile display doesn't allow it to be as clear and crisp as it should be:
best screen ive used, imo its the best screen on a phone until the gs3 comes out with its rgb 720p super amoled plus screen. There are better screens that are 720p rgb but they are LCD not amoled, depends what you like better both have their advantages.
- build quality of the phone leaves much to be desired:
My major complaint with build quality are the screen inconsistencies. check out this thread for more info. otherwise the phone is solid, i really like the curved design it feels more natural against your face or in your pocket.
if you are getting a straight trade for the amaze than you are getting the better part of the deal.

There is absolutely nothing I can complain about, as I come from a Nexus One. I'm not even entitled to complain.

- pentile... i can see the pixels very easily on my gnex compared to an iphone4... i still prefer AMOLED though
- frontlit CMOS camera
- no cheap pogo-pin charger
everything else about this phone is pretty much perfect

The screen is totally clear as pentile isn't so noticeable at such a high resolution. Not sure where you heard that.
And the build quality is actually superb, super solid and no creaking at all. Its very impressive.

RogerPodacter said:
The screen is totally clear as pentile isn't so noticeable at such a high resolution. Not sure where you heard that.
And the build quality is actually superb, super solid and no creaking at all. Its very impressive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear a slight creaking from the "lid".

Low ringtone audio

Razer(x) said:
Low ringtone audio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
volume+ will sort that
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

- lack of microSD card
Not an issue for me
- camera is decent but not as good as it could've been
I really wish the camera was better, this is my biggest gripe.
- although the screen is gorgeous, the pentile display doesn't allow it to be as clear and crisp as it should be
Not an issue, love the screen
- build quality of the phone leaves much to be desired
Not an issue, I like the back-plate, curved design and weight off the phone is spread out so it feels optimum light
I was using AKOP and now stock 4.0.4, I sometimes experience data drops, all of a sudden bars turn gray, I just reboot the phone. I'm sure it'll be fixed at some point.
Overall fantastic phone.

My biggest gripe is that I can't think of a gripe. I like being pensive, angry, bitter, despondent, even aggressively violent, but this phone has turned me into a lovable cute like a puppy type cuddle bug.

mudferret said:
My biggest gripe is that I can't think of a gripe. I like being pensive, angry, bitter, despondent, even aggressively violent, but this phone has turned me into a lovable cute like a puppy type cuddle bug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This deserves a thank you.

Biggest gripe? Not being able to make a reliable phone call with this device. My device suffers from what's known as the "audio reboot" or "one-way audio" issue. Not every device has this issue so if you buy Nexus, it's a crap shoot. Or, if you enjoy installing custom ROMs you may also not suffer from this issue. And finally, while I haven't found 100% definitive proof of this, it seems that it's only the Verizon/CDMA version that suffers from this... I don't think anyone with the AT&T/GSM version has this problem.
The next update, which was scheduled for "sometime in March" then "early April" - both which came and went and still no update - is supposed to fix this issue. If it does not, I'm going with another device. I need my phone to function as a phone and right now, it does not do that on a reliable basis.
Honestly, other than that one (but very important) issue, the device is flawless.

No SD card is my only gripe but I knew that going in. So I can't complain all that much. Just gotta manage data more often and can't keep backups on phone as aggressively.
bow chicka wow wow.

My complaints are more so concerning the Os as opposed to the phone itself. Sometimes my widgets stop working, Beautiful Home the time stays stuck and I have to reboot. And often times the YouTube widget will not load. I'm using ADW Launcher EX, don't know if that has anything to do with it but it happens. I have screen burn in too. Where the navigation bar is and the virtual buttons on the bottom of the phone. Whenever I watch a full screen video or movie it's noticeable, and it's hard to ignore once you notice it. I wish they would have put in a better GPU and not one that is 2 years old too because the longer I use the phone the more it lags don't know if it's the ram or GPU but it lags from time to time. And the reason Google hasn't fixed whatever needs to be fixed so it can be as smooth as Crapples IOs is beyond me. But it's better than the Nexus One. So I'm good until the Quad Core Nexus is released.
From my Sexii G Nexii 4.0.4

[email protected] said:
My complaints are more so concerning the Os as opposed to the phone itself. Sometimes my widgets stop working, Beautiful Home the time stays stuck and I have to reboot. And often times the YouTube widget will not load. I'm using ADW Launcher EX, don't know if that has anything to do with it but it happens. I have screen burn in too. Where the navigation bar is and the virtual buttons on the bottom of the phone. Whenever I watch a full screen video or movie it's noticeable, and it's hard to ignore once you notice it. I wish they would have put in a better GPU and not one that is 2 years old too because the longer I use the phone the more it lags don't know if it's the ram or GPU but it lags from time to time. And the reason Google hasn't fixed whatever needs to be fixed so it can be as smooth as Crapples IOs is beyond me. But it's better than the Nexus One. So I'm good until the Quad Core Nexus is released.
From my Sexii G Nexii 4.0.4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nova launcher prime.
bow chicka wow wow.

I only wish that there was universal mass storage or sd card support so the thing would work with my car stereo. Going from stereo integration to aux cable was kind of a buzz kill.
And the camera is ok but I wish it were better too.

The phone is so slick you'll likely drop it and the screen may break. Better get a protective case for it. My Diztronic Rev3 case was inexpensive and adds needed grip. Great phone, otherwise IMHO.

I too came from an Amaze 4g...and man do I miss the camera. I was running bulletproof...but still doesn't come close to how smooth the Gnexus is. If you were looking to upgrade, id say go for it...but if your coming from a sense device, you might wanna check out the HTC one s or X.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

babymatteo said:
I too came from an Amaze 4g...and man do I miss the camera. I was running bulletproof...but still doesn't come close to how smooth the Gnexus is. If you were looking to upgrade, id say go for it...but if your coming from a sense device, you might wanna check out the HTC one s or X.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I saw your name around the Amaze 4G forums before
I'm sure I'll miss the camera too, but it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make for an overall better phone, plus I never really liked Sense anyway since it has way too much overhead on the OS
Thanks so much for input people, much appreciated!
One thing I forgot to mention was the screen burn-ins, I've heard that they get pretty noticeable after 6 months or so... can anyone provide some insight on this and if there's a possible solution/prevention?

what i hate is the sound whenever i set it on a table or something...it rattles (i know its the autofocus on the camera...its waaaaaay to loose on this phone)

Should I move from the Note 3 to LG G3?

I currently have the Note 3 and even though I have to admit, it is an awesome phone when it's rooted and loaded with a custom ROM/Kernel. With that being said, I just don't use the features that make the phone different to the rest, such as the stylus.
I could say that maybe 3-4 times, I've used the stylus, that's it. And lately the dropped calls and the phone as a whole, is getting bit long on the tooth.
Seeing that I really don't need a stylus and the phone is I want to say, a "tad" too big for my hands; is the LG G3 a good phone to switch to?
Would it be an upgrade for me? Or more like a lateral move or perhaps even a downgrade?
Suggestions, advices?
BTW, is it hard to root the LG G3?

I have a note 3 and in the same boat as you. I absolutely despise amoled screens and that's the reason I want to move to lg g3. However, I don't know how I feel about the back minted buttons add I often use my phone on the desk and back mounted buttons can be an issue
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

I've had all 3 Notes. I loved the phone. I didn't use the S-Pen that much either. I bought the Note 1, 2 and 3 purely on specs and screen size. Other manufacturers kept an eye on the Note sales and seen they were doing good. Now there is plenty of competition in the 5.5" plus category. If you switched from the Note 3 to to the LG G3 I really don't think you would be disappointed. It's a sweet device. Especially the knock on knock off for the screen.
---------- Post added at 09:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 PM ----------
nohcho said:
I have a note 3 and in the same boat as you. I absolutely despise amoled screens and that's the reason I want to move to lg g3. However, I don't know how I feel about the back minted buttons add I often use my phone on the desk and back mounted buttons can be an issue
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO issue at all, you can tap to turn on screen, as well as turn it off, there is a option for a volume slider in the notification area. I hardly ever use the buttons.

I cant speak for the note 3 but i do love my g3. The specs are better than the note 3 and it doesnt feel as bulky. Only thing the note 3 has is 64 gb opposed to 32 gb memory. But throw an sd card in and your good. The screen on the g3 is awesome plus the camera is pretty legit too. Hope this helps
Sent from my LGLS990 using XDA Free mobile app

nohcho said:
I have a note 3 and in the same boat as you. I absolutely despise amoled screens and that's the reason I want to move to lg g3. However, I don't know how I feel about the back minted buttons add I often use my phone on the desk and back mounted buttons can be an issue
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you hate about the AMOLED screens? I really like the deep blacks when watching a show or movie. It's amazing to see just pitch black where it's supposed to be black.
From what I read, the back buttons take a bit of getting used to until mucle memory kicks in, and it then feels very intuitive. I think I could get used to that.
But back to the screen, what are the pros of the IPS screen over the AMOLED one?
budco2000 said:
I've had all 3 Notes. I loved the phone. I didn't use the S-Pen that much either. I bought the Note 1, 2 and 3 purely on specs and screen size. Other manufacturers kept an eye on the Note sales and seen they were doing good. Now there is plenty of competition in the 5.5" plus category. If you switched from the Note 3 to to the LG G3 I really don't think you would be disappointed. It's a sweet device. Especially the knock on knock off for the screen.
---------- Post added at 09:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 PM ----------
NO issue at all, you can tap to turn on screen, as well as turn it off, there is a option for a volume slider in the notification area. I hardly ever use the buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, seems like everyone is raving about that knock on knock off feature. I agree, the Note 3 is indeed a great phone but I just feel that I'm not the person for it. In other words, like I'm not getting the max potential out of it.

AviatorBimmer said:
What you hate about the AMOLED screens? I really like the deep blacks when watching a show or movie. It's amazing to see just pitch black where it's supposed to be black.
From what I read, the back buttons take a bit of getting used to until mucle memory kicks in, and it then feels very intuitive. I think I could get used to that.
But back to the screen, what are the pros of the IPS screen over the AMOLED one?
Yea, seems like everyone is raving about that knock on knock off feature. I agree, the Note 3 is indeed a great phone but I just feel that I'm not the person for it. In other words, like I'm not getting the max potential out of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also a fan of AMOLED. I like the deep blacks and the vibrant colors. The G3 LCD screen is not bad at all. I've had the last 2 generations of the Nexus 7 so I'm used to both screen types.

AviatorBimmer said:
What you hate about the AMOLED screens? I really like the deep blacks when watching a show or movie. It's amazing to see just pitch black where it's supposed to be black.
From what I read, the back buttons take a bit of getting used to until mucle memory kicks in, and it then feels very intuitive. I think I could get used to that.
But back to the screen, what are the pros of the IPS screen over the AMOLED one?
Yea, seems like everyone is raving about that knock on knock off feature. I agree, the Note 3 is indeed a great phone but I just feel that I'm not the person for it. In other words, like I'm not getting the max potential out of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I do agree that amoled screens display deep blacks and all, but thats just part of a story. The fact still stands that amoled screens aee not very accurate color reproducesrs, blue whites, power consuption when displaying anything other than dark colors, burn in issues.
People love deep blacks beacause those pixels are completely shut of. But oversaturation is an issue that still persists on amoled screens. So thos are my gripes.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

nohcho said:
While I do agree that amoled screens display deep blacks and all, but thats just part of a story. The fact still stands that amoled screens aee not very accurate color reproducesrs, blue whites, power consuption when displaying anything other than dark colors, burn in issues.
People love deep blacks beacause those pixels are completely shut of. But oversaturation is an issue that still persists on amoled screens. So thos are my gripes.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that and those are valid concerns, though I don't hold those high in my list of things when it comes to displays. Personally, I will look for perfection when it comes to the projector in my home cinema which powers my 135", 16:9 screen. For the occasional movie or show I might watch on a 5" screen, I don't worry about oversaturation or if the color hue is a bit off. But that is just me and I respect your opinion.

I got the Note 3 with Sprint as soon as it came out last year, Oct 2013. I was the same as you and only used the stylus for a few months before I didn't use it anymore, just didn't really need to or remembered that I had it. The Note 3, with my added case, was a bit too bulky in my hand and my hands are large. After a while of holding it while reading the news or books, my hand would start to cramp. It's a nice phone but just a tad too large to hold and carry in one's pocket.
Holding the G3 is a A LOT better and easier over the Note 3 and the screen is just about as large (0.2" smaller IIRC from the Note 3). It feels a lot more comfortable, even with the a tad bulky Supcase Beetle case on it. Makes a helluva difference on the train, holding the phone in one hand and the pole in the other.
Though, it was a bit unusual to get use to the G3 colors and screen, coming from the extremely saturated Note 3 AMOLED, especially since I had kept it on extra saturated mode (forgot it was on that) for months. The G3 screen looks a bit washed out compared to the Note 3, but you get use to it after a week, as I did. It did win an award for best RGB color representation, if that matters to you.
As with you, I left Sprint due to the very poor coverage, bad call quality and dropped calls. Tmo is much, much better and the G3 call quality is great, especially when it even tells you on a call if the call is HD Voice or not, it'll let you know. It does have Wi-Fi calling and it *might* get the VoLTE later this year if you're in a market with it or soon will be.
I did root my G3 with Purple Drake and it was the easiest root ever I have ever done with rooting my phones in the past 5yrs over seven separate device models since I started rooting, and it's just unbelievably easy and quick to do with the G3 and thecubed's Windows zip. You won't realize it till you actually root it and go "Wow, that was easy."
Also, I changed the DPI on my two G3's to 560 and the screen is much better to navigate and doesn't look so cluttered over the 640 stock DPI, looks much more streamlined and smooth, but you can change it from 530-640 for your tastes. It's a great screen, but the icons are a bit too large and the Notification panel needs to be scrolled once you just get a few popups, but the new DPI fixes that.
There is an app called G3 Tweaksbox that unlocks and lets you modify PLENTY of features and more on the G3 after you root it and install the Xposed installer. I am still using the free version but will be buying the premium ($1.50), as there are plenty more features unlocked with it and very well seems worth it.
Even with the lack of a full ROM for the Tmo G3 so far, the G3 Tweaksbox makes it almost negligible with the features is gives.
The G3 feels just as smooth as the Note 3 and once I cleaned off the bloatware and other programs and processes, it runs smooth and purrs with battery life comparable to the Note 3. I always had my Note 3 on 100% brightness and I'm getting the same battery life on the G3 with the same settings and all on it.
Coming from the Note 3 to the G3, it does take a little learning curve with the rear buttons, cause I kept reaching for the side power button or the hard Home button. But, once you get use to the buttons and layout, it's a wonder you never thought of this layout earlier.
Add in the Knock-On and you're going to be using it nonstop. The one part I did find a bit annoying was when I had my phone flat on the desk all day, face up, I couldn't access the power button to restart. But, I just installed QuickBoot and dropped a widget for Reboot and use that for a super quick restart without having to flip or pickup the phone.
It's good and it's snappy, I don't think you'll be disppointed but not entirely sure you'll be wow'd by it, coming from the Note 3. If you were coming from a earlier generation phone (like the HTC One M7, that my wife had), you'll be really surprised by it, as she was.
But I haven't complained about it, so that, in my opinion, makes it good, because if it wasn't, I would be swapping it for another device.
The one thing you might not like is the extra sharpening on the text that LG did for some extremely odd reason. It only appears with a semi dark background, like white text on gray or vice versa, the text gets a halo effect. You can find plenty of threads about that on here, it's not too distracting and you get use to it after a while, but it's not overly distracting or straining.
That's my opinion on it, if you root and clean up the bloatware and make some easy changes, I think you'll be happy with the phone and what it can and will do.
Any other questions, I'll try and answer them if I can.

AviatorBimmer said:
What you hate about the AMOLED screens? I really like the deep blacks when watching a show or movie. It's amazing to see just pitch black where it's supposed to be black.
From what I read, the back buttons take a bit of getting used to until mucle memory kicks in, and it then feels very intuitive. I think I could get used to that.
But back to the screen, what are the pros of the IPS screen over the AMOLED one?
Yea, seems like everyone is raving about that knock on knock off feature. I agree, the Note 3 is indeed a great phone but I just feel that I'm not the person for it. In other words, like I'm not getting the max potential out of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One major concern of AMOLED is burn.
Fortunately, I did not have any even after 9 months of use (some look pretty bad on G Flex).

JustLok said:
I got the Note 3 with Sprint as soon as it came out last year, Oct 2013. I was the same as you and only used the stylus for a few months before I didn't use it anymore, just didn't really need to or remembered that I had it. The Note 3, with my added case, was a bit too bulky in my hand and my hands are large. After a while of holding it while reading the news or books, my hand would start to cramp. It's a nice phone but just a tad too large to hold and carry in one's pocket.
Holding the G3 is a A LOT better and easier over the Note 3 and the screen is just about as large (0.2" smaller IIRC from the Note 3). It feels a lot more comfortable, even with the a tad bulky Supcase Beetle case on it. Makes a helluva difference on the train, holding the phone in one hand and the pole in the other.
Though, it was a bit unusual to get use to the G3 colors and screen, coming from the extremely saturated Note 3 AMOLED, especially since I had kept it on extra saturated mode (forgot it was on that) for months. The G3 screen looks a bit washed out compared to the Note 3, but you get use to it after a week, as I did. It did win an award for best RGB color representation, if that matters to you.
As with you, I left Sprint due to the very poor coverage, bad call quality and dropped calls. Tmo is much, much better and the G3 call quality is great, especially when it even tells you on a call if the call is HD Voice or not, it'll let you know. It does have Wi-Fi calling and it *might* get the VoLTE later this year if you're in a market with it or soon will be.
I did root my G3 with Purple Drake and it was the easiest root ever I have ever done with rooting my phones in the past 5yrs over seven separate device models since I started rooting, and it's just unbelievably easy and quick to do with the G3 and thecubed's Windows zip. You won't realize it till you actually root it and go "Wow, that was easy."
Also, I changed the DPI on my two G3's to 560 and the screen is much better to navigate and doesn't look so cluttered over the 640 stock DPI, looks much more streamlined and smooth, but you can change it from 530-640 for your tastes. It's a great screen, but the icons are a bit too large and the Notification panel needs to be scrolled once you just get a few popups, but the new DPI fixes that.
There is an app called G3 Tweaksbox that unlocks and lets you modify PLENTY of features and more on the G3 after you root it and install the Xposed installer. I am still using the free version but will be buying the premium ($1.50), as there are plenty more features unlocked with it and very well seems worth it.
Even with the lack of a full ROM for the Tmo G3 so far, the G3 Tweaksbox makes it almost negligible with the features is gives.
The G3 feels just as smooth as the Note 3 and once I cleaned off the bloatware and other programs and processes, it runs smooth and purrs with battery life comparable to the Note 3. I always had my Note 3 on 100% brightness and I'm getting the same battery life on the G3 with the same settings and all on it.
Coming from the Note 3 to the G3, it does take a little learning curve with the rear buttons, cause I kept reaching for the side power button or the hard Home button. But, once you get use to the buttons and layout, it's a wonder you never thought of this layout earlier.
Add in the Knock-On and you're going to be using it nonstop. The one part I did find a bit annoying was when I had my phone flat on the desk all day, face up, I couldn't access the power button to restart. But, I just installed QuickBoot and dropped a widget for Reboot and use that for a super quick restart without having to flip or pickup the phone.
It's good and it's snappy, I don't think you'll be disppointed but not entirely sure you'll be wow'd by it, coming from the Note 3. If you were coming from a earlier generation phone (like the HTC One M7, that my wife had), you'll be really surprised by it, as she was.
But I haven't complained about it, so that, in my opinion, makes it good, because if it wasn't, I would be swapping it for another device.
The one thing you might not like is the extra sharpening on the text that LG did for some extremely odd reason. It only appears with a semi dark background, like white text on gray or vice versa, the text gets a halo effect. You can find plenty of threads about that on here, it's not too distracting and you get use to it after a while, but it's not overly distracting or straining.
That's my opinion on it, if you root and clean up the bloatware and make some easy changes, I think you'll be happy with the phone and what it can and will do.
Any other questions, I'll try and answer them if I can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW, thanks for taking the time for writing up such a nice and elaborate post. [emoji2]
I will definitely swing by TMO and check it out in person.
From what it seems, there really isn't even a need to install a custom ROM on it. With that app you mentioned, you can tweak your rooted phone and leave it running like a nicely, streamlined, custom ROM, sort of speak. Kudos for that.
Thanks again, buddy!
BTW, is the UI way better than TouchWiz?

I also came from Note 3.
The hardware is far superior than other high end models, but only G3 is comparable.
I don't want M8 because the battery is not removable (I have to replace battery once sometimes).
The reason why I jumped ship is Samsung's attitude. N900T only supports six languages and there's no other "hidden" languages. I am absolutely fine with English, but I'd prefer Trad Chinese interface (my native), but G3 has a lot of different languages even with Japanese and Arabic.
Note 3 screen is good and the contrast is unlimited, but G3 isn't bad at all. The only downside is mine has "cold" tint under outdoor sunlight. Viewing angle on G3 is pretty close to 180 degree without discoloration.
Even the screen is slightly smaller than Note 3, the total size of G3 is smaller and easier to handle (I have big palm and I can hold Note 8 with single hand).
Tap to wake (Knock on) is a pretty useful feature which I just tap twice to wake the phone though I just press home button on Note 3 to wake, but pressing home button causes some mis-operation sometimes in the bag.
Battery is slightly better on Note 3 (3.2Ah vs 3Ah), but it doesn't matter much because the battery is removable.
Both supports FAT64/SDXC.
Note 3 supports MHL2.0 but G3 does not, but Chromecast comes handy if you want to mirror screen to TV.
Calling quality on G3 is second to none. Wi-Fi calling on G3 is same as with cellular; Note 3, on the other hand, Wi-Fi calling is BAD (fading voice, chopping, distortion).
Though VoLTE isn't available on G3 at this time, I'd disable it because I hear nothing with VoLTE where the network is busy, so I have to use UMTS for cellular calling instead.
USB3 does not have much advantage on Note 3. If you have 2A or higher USB power supply, you can't tell the difference when charging.
Speakerphone and music playback is much louder on G3 (this reminds me S3 day which has exceptional speaker quality) than Note 3.
G3 can get hot easily when browsing internet continuously or playing CPU intensive games. It's same problem as S3 but G3 has thermal throttling. Note 3 seldom has overheat problem.
Music playback quality over headphones G3 is better with 192kbps ogg than Note 3, but the music may stutter (it's rare) when the unit is acquiring signal while Note 3 does not have such problem.
Angry Birds Star Wars and Angry Birds Star Wars II cannot be downloaded from Play Store, but it works fine after sideloading.
I personally prefer G3 over Note 3 though both have top notch hardware.

Good to hear all different inputs. I'm still undecided though. Note 3 is a serious piece of equipment that still holds up very well. But the smaller size on g3 May win me over as the Note 3 is just stupid big.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Awesome thread so far!!! Nothing better than to read experiences from people just like me and in a similar situation. I agree, the decision is tough because the Note 3 is no slouch! LOL

JustLok said:
I got the Note 3 with Sprint as soon as it came out last year, Oct 2013. I was the same as you and only used the stylus for a few months before I didn't use it anymore, just didn't really need to or remembered that I had it. The Note 3, with my added case, was a bit too bulky in my hand and my hands are large. After a while of holding it while reading the news or books, my hand would start to cramp. It's a nice phone but just a tad too large to hold and carry in one's pocket.
Holding the G3 is a A LOT better and easier over the Note 3 and the screen is just about as large (0.2" smaller IIRC from the Note 3). It feels a lot more comfortable, even with the a tad bulky Supcase Beetle case on it. Makes a helluva difference on the train, holding the phone in one hand and the pole in the other.
Though, it was a bit unusual to get use to the G3 colors and screen, coming from the extremely saturated Note 3 AMOLED, especially since I had kept it on extra saturated mode (forgot it was on that) for months. The G3 screen looks a bit washed out compared to the Note 3, but you get use to it after a week, as I did. It did win an award for best RGB color representation, if that matters to you.
As with you, I left Sprint due to the very poor coverage, bad call quality and dropped calls. Tmo is much, much better and the G3 call quality is great, especially when it even tells you on a call if the call is HD Voice or not, it'll let you know. It does have Wi-Fi calling and it *might* get the VoLTE later this year if you're in a market with it or soon will be.
I did root my G3 with Purple Drake and it was the easiest root ever I have ever done with rooting my phones in the past 5yrs over seven separate device models since I started rooting, and it's just unbelievably easy and quick to do with the G3 and thecubed's Windows zip. You won't realize it till you actually root it and go "Wow, that was easy."
Also, I changed the DPI on my two G3's to 560 and the screen is much better to navigate and doesn't look so cluttered over the 640 stock DPI, looks much more streamlined and smooth, but you can change it from 530-640 for your tastes. It's a great screen, but the icons are a bit too large and the Notification panel needs to be scrolled once you just get a few popups, but the new DPI fixes that.
There is an app called G3 Tweaksbox that unlocks and lets you modify PLENTY of features and more on the G3 after you root it and install the Xposed installer. I am still using the free version but will be buying the premium ($1.50), as there are plenty more features unlocked with it and very well seems worth it.
Even with the lack of a full ROM for the Tmo G3 so far, the G3 Tweaksbox makes it almost negligible with the features is gives.
The G3 feels just as smooth as the Note 3 and once I cleaned off the bloatware and other programs and processes, it runs smooth and purrs with battery life comparable to the Note 3. I always had my Note 3 on 100% brightness and I'm getting the same battery life on the G3 with the same settings and all on it.
Coming from the Note 3 to the G3, it does take a little learning curve with the rear buttons, cause I kept reaching for the side power button or the hard Home button. But, once you get use to the buttons and layout, it's a wonder you never thought of this layout earlier.
Add in the Knock-On and you're going to be using it nonstop. The one part I did find a bit annoying was when I had my phone flat on the desk all day, face up, I couldn't access the power button to restart. But, I just installed QuickBoot and dropped a widget for Reboot and use that for a super quick restart without having to flip or pickup the phone.
It's good and it's snappy, I don't think you'll be disppointed but not entirely sure you'll be wow'd by it, coming from the Note 3. If you were coming from a earlier generation phone (like the HTC One M7, that my wife had), you'll be really surprised by it, as she was.
But I haven't complained about it, so that, in my opinion, makes it good, because if it wasn't, I would be swapping it for another device.
The one thing you might not like is the extra sharpening on the text that LG did for some extremely odd reason. It only appears with a semi dark background, like white text on gray or vice versa, the text gets a halo effect. You can find plenty of threads about that on here, it's not too distracting and you get use to it after a while, but it's not overly distracting or straining.
That's my opinion on it, if you root and clean up the bloatware and make some easy changes, I think you'll be happy with the phone and what it can and will do.
Any other questions, I'll try and answer them if I can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What did you use to change your DPI. I want to try 560 as well. Not sure if I should use an app, xposed, or just change it in the build prop with root explorer

budco2000 said:
What did you use to change your DPI. I want to try 560 as well. Not sure if I should use an app, xposed, or just change it in the build prop with root explorer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
W A R N I N G:
MAKE SURE YOU BACKUP YOUR DEVICE!!!!!
Once you have you phone rooted, edit build.prop the following line:
Code:
ro.sf.lcd_density=640
to
Code:
ro.sf.lcd_density=560

I am currently using the Nexus 5 and looking at changing to the G3. I have used this program to change the dpi size on the nexus 5. It might work on the G3
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.texdroider.texdroider_dpi

I agree with @JustLok and @mingkee.
I had two Note 3s. The first one would not hold a signal at my house, and I live 25 minutes from downtown Houston. The second Note 3 was no better. So I decided to switch to another OEM. The G3 is a little easier to use one-handed. I always used two hands with the Note 3 because I was afraid I would drop it. But I can comfortably use the G3 with one hand.
As others have noted, the G3 colors are not nearly as saturated as AMOLEDs, but you probably won't miss that after a few days. I had a GNex, Galaxy S3, Note 2 and Note 3, and I don't miss the overblown colors (but I do miss the inky blacks). I got my G3 on release day and have not had any overheating issues, but I don't play a lot of heavy 3D games.
Rooting the G3 is brain-dead simple, thanks to PurpleDrake. And spending $1.50 for the full version of G3 TweaksBox is a no-brainer too. If you used Wanam Xposed on the Note 3, then G3 TweaksBox is an absolute must have. Most people spend that much on soda or junk food every day, so $1.50 is a bargain for something that enhances your phone every day.
Call quality is exceptional, especially on Wi-Fi. UI lag is virtually nonexistent if you install a good launcher like Nova and reduce window animations (under main settings > Dev Options)
Battery life is good, but not the best. My Note 2 and Note 3 had slightly better battery, but the G3 lasts all day, so that is really all I need. I think the Note 3 and Galaxy S5 have better cameras, but the G3 is very close.
In the end, it just depends on your priorities. If you like the extra Note features, then stick with the Note 3 or wait for the Note 4. But if you want something a little more compact without sacrificing screen size, and runs all day without lag, then the G3 deserves a look.

After having the G3 for a few weeks now and on my 2nd one since the first one was a lemon. I don't regret it at all. It's actually easier to hold one handed compared to the N3, battery isn't as good as a N3 and IMHO I prefer the AMOLED screen more. But the G3 is still a very good device and the keyboard is awesome.
What I miss the most from the N3 is the stylus for work and SHealth. I wished LG Health was similar to SHealth is all the options it has but it does its one job very good.
G3 is worth the purchase of you're looking for something different.

Not to be a sick in the mud but the note 4 release isn't too far away, I would wait to see what they offer. I am thinking of getting the g3 as well if the note 4 doesn't wow me.

V30 First Impressions Thread

Figured we probably needed a place to put everyone's first impressions.
I'll start with first, this thing is small and light! Coming from a V20 and a Nexus 6 before that, this thing is tiny. Last time I felt like I had a phone this size was the Galaxy Nexus. (Yeah, I know. That one was probably actually smaller than this but still, this thing feels that small in hand to me. I've been using nothing but phablets since that phone.) It feels closer in size to my work iPhone 6s than my V20. That's going to take some getting used to. It's in a case now but still feels small.
Still trying to get used to some app behaviors that seemed to have changed. For instance, Weather Channel app is having all kinds of issues. Shows as a sensitive notification on the lock screen vs my V20 where it isn't, because it isn't. The widget doesn't display information without being cut off. I still need to go log into all my apps and get them set up.
Camera. Haven't really taken any shots with it yet but I did dig through it. First, I'm not happy that it always opens in auto mode. The V20 would open in whatever mode you last had it in. I prefer manual mode and liked that I could just open it, make a quick adjustment to the settings and shoot. Now I have to dive into a menu to get to manual then make adjustments and shoot. It'll slow things down quite a bit. I am happy that Graphy can be shut off. Also, noise reduction can be shut off in manual. It was actually disabled by default. Going to do a lot of test shooting today.
Hoping to hit up the museum I used to work in and always test every camera I own there. Also hitting up an outdoor night event here as well as the jazz club. It's going to get one helluva workout today! Going to take my V20 and Nikon V3 along too. Not sure how much I'll use the V3 outside of the outdoor event. Not going to bother taking my DSLR. (I'm actually in the process of downsizing my photography to smaller cameras. DSLRs have gotten way too clean and clinical for my tastes.)

Nice! I can’t wait to see the pics it takes.

I played with this at Verizon yesterday, and I'm still on the fence. The front facing camera was HORRIBLE. I held my G5 next to it and took a selfie, and the G5 was so much better. The rear camera did seem to take awesome shots, but still slow to take and delay in swiping between front and back cameras, something I really thought they'd have a better handle on by now since I had the same issues in the G4 and G5. I loved it otherwise, I think it's a gorgeous phone, I like the looks a lot more than the Galaxy phones.
I went in wanting the phone, but two separate Verizon reps were adamant in saying I should stay away from LG, that they have nothing but problems, they only sold maybe 2 G6's, they have class action lawsuits against them, and they tell customers to go take a hike when asking for a new phone after having multiple of them die in a row from a known defect. Theyd rather keep sending you defective phones repeatedly under warranty. So idk. I'm reeeally torn between this and the S8+ which has very similar specs and is cheaper at this point, but I don't like having only one rear camera.

Initial results at the museum are looking pretty good. I'm impressed so far for the most part. As for selfie camera issues, I was disappointed at first until I figured out those stupid settings at the bottom of the screen. After you turn off the skin toning and lightning, the images are much better. Then they work well with post processing.

Have you had a chance to play w Bluetooth, GPS, Wifi/Data connection? My G4 had bad bluetooth disconnections and busted gps in the G5. Just curious how the different antennae have been working for you. Good battery life?

ryanpm40 said:
Have you had a chance to play w Bluetooth, GPS, Wifi/Data connection? My G4 had bad bluetooth disconnections and busted gps in the G5. Just curious how the different antennae have been working for you. Good battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't played with GPS yet. I can't really speak to how well or not how well it works. I used wifi during set-up. It worked but my wifi is slower than my network connection and I regretted using it. Not a knock on the wifi of this phone, it's just that my carrier network is that much faster than my home wifi. Only BT I've done so far is to connect it to my car. That went much better and smoother than my V20. It took me many attempts over an hour and a half to get my V20 and car paired. The V30 paired the first time. The next test will be to see if I have to restart my phone after a few days to keep the connection from going wonky. (Which is a ritual with my V20 that occurred at least once a week.)

I got mine this past Friday. It is slippery to hold, you will def need a case to keep it from sliding out of your hand. I'm still not sure why designers can make insanely powerful devices but can't figure out that you actually need to hold on to it to use it. I'll probably get a DBrand skin or equiv when they are available. It is super light. Kinda feels flimsy it is so lightweight even though it is not. My last phone was a Nexus 6P, before that an HTC M9, before that an HTC M7. All three of those feel like tanks by comparison. I'm not sure yet if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Camera is nice but uses a lot of noise reduction. It has endless options that will take some time getting used to. I'm not sure yet if it is as good as HTC's U11 which as an incredible camera IMO (my GF has a U11). Looks better than my Nexus 6p for sure though. Much faster too. I love the wide angle lens!
Audio from Headphone jack is insane. I'm using the BEATS headphones from my old HTC One, I can only imagine how good it would sound with high end headphones. Phone speaker is ehhh. Nowheres near as good as HTC or Google phones with front facing speakers. Or HTC U11 which seems to have crazy sound magically radiate into space.
As for speed, its as fast as any other 2017 phone I have tried, the hardware is all the same. The screen is amazing. I mean AMAZING! I can't really see a difference between 1080 and 1440 quality or speed wise. I thought at first there was but now think it is more of a placebo effect. I have been keeping it maxed mostly for the bragging rights of it being higher rez than Apple's silly Superduper mega retina display, what ever that means.
It is to early for me to tell if battery life makes a difference with resolution. I have read it is supposed to eat more power with the higher rez. It isn't as near bezelless as I thought it would be. It seems to be a marketing trend for company renders to show super edge to edge displays until you actually get it and there are good sized bezels. Not that I mind, it is just something I noticed. The screens are not any larger, the phone is just shrinking around it making the device seem small and the screen seem smaller than it is. My Nexus 6p dwarfs the V30 in the hand and the display just feels larger on the Nexus even though it is not. Kind of another odd placebo effect.
Speaking of battery, it seems to last well over a day of playing hard with it but is still to early to tell since I keep plugging it in to transfer files. After the newness wears off I think I will be able to get 2 days out of it.
The power button, or lack there of is great I think. Instead of a dedicated button, it is just the fingerprint scanner. You can click it, hold it to open restart options etc. Works great and is non intrusive by comparison to a dedicated button that I usually hit by accident all the time.
The UI is not terrible. It is fast and responsive. For the record I am a fanboy of Sense and Stock. LG's UI has a lot more options for customization over Stock but some things seem like they just changed from stock to say they did. Especially in the Settings menu where they feel extra pages of settings tabs is preferable than a simple list. The worst part is LG's apps that are mostly broken or limited.
Contacts doesn't work right and crashes sometimes when I try and edit a contact. You can not fully disable it. I'm using Google Contacts when it will let me.
Calendar is ok, about the same as Google Calendar. Again you can not fully disable it for some reason.
Camera app is good so far, or at least I like it.
Messaging app sux. It freezes sometimes and when it works you can't insert gifs. Again you can't disable it. I'm using Google's Messenger.
Keyboard is limited, I just use the Google Keyboard.
Gallery is simple and works for on device pix but doesn't allow cloud access. Since most of my pix are on GoogleDrive I just use Google Photos. And again you can't disable it.
Smart Cleaning is a cleaner app. The phone is so fast I can't see any difference after using it.
LG Health I haven't tried yet.
LG Smart World is just some LG app browsing thing. Haven't really played with it other than browsing themes.
So far I love the phone. Out of 2017 phones I have used the HTC U11 and Essential Phone I like the V30 best of those 3. My biggest complaint is I just wish you could at least disable the LG bloatware apps so they can't start up. Maybe there is a special way to do it aside from rooting the device and going that route.
Hope this helps anyone considering the V30
CHH2 said:
Figured we probably needed a place to put everyone's first impressions.
I'll start with first, this thing is small and light! Coming from a V20 and a Nexus 6 before that, this thing is tiny. Last time I felt like I had a phone this size was the Galaxy Nexus. (Yeah, I know. That one was probably actually smaller than this but still, this thing feels that small in hand to me. I've been using nothing but phablets since that phone.) It feels closer in size to my work iPhone 6s than my V20. That's going to take some getting used to. It's in a case now but still feels small.
Still trying to get used to some app behaviors that seemed to have changed. For instance, Weather Channel app is having all kinds of issues. Shows as a sensitive notification on the lock screen vs my V20 where it isn't, because it isn't. The widget doesn't display information without being cut off. I still need to go log into all my apps and get them set up.
Camera. Haven't really taken any shots with it yet but I did dig through it. First, I'm not happy that it always opens in auto mode. The V20 would open in whatever mode you last had it in. I prefer manual mode and liked that I could just open it, make a quick adjustment to the settings and shoot. Now I have to dive into a menu to get to manual then make adjustments and shoot. It'll slow things down quite a bit. I am happy that Graphy can be shut off. Also, noise reduction can be shut off in manual. It was actually disabled by default. Going to do a lot of test shooting today.
Hoping to hit up the museum I used to work in and always test every camera I own there. Also hitting up an outdoor night event here as well as the jazz club. It's going to get one helluva workout today! Going to take my V20 and Nikon V3 along too. Not sure how much I'll use the V3 outside of the outdoor event. Not going to bother taking my DSLR. (I'm actually in the process of downsizing my photography to smaller cameras. DSLRs have gotten way too clean and clinical for my tastes.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Deztroyah said:
My biggest complaint is I just wish you could at least disable the LG bloatware apps so they can't start up. Maybe there is a special way to do it aside from rooting the device and going that route.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. This method works on G6, so it should work on V30 also, be careful on what you disable, you could potentially brick the device.
BTW any display problems? And what variant did you buy?

Thanks! As for the variant, I have the AT&T 64gig one. There are a few AT&T apps, all can be disabled. I actually use a few of them. And no display problems that I have seen. I think the display is one of the best parts of the device.

Deztroyah said:
I got mine this past Friday...
Hope this helps anyone considering the V30
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Click to collapse
Awesome overview :good: Although I already ordered v30 (black, 64gb) from South Korea, it was still nice to read, especially regarding the screen/size. I am not a fan of 18:9 in general since native support is still behind (cropped,zoomed videos), but I like what LG does - basically putting 18:9 screen in a more like 16:9 frame.. this makes it look much better than sausage-style s8/s8+/note8.

Here’s my V30+ first impressions. Will do a deep dive on the camera and audio soon.
https://gavinsgadgets.com/2018/01/0...adphone-jack-with-quad-dac-wireless-charging/

gavinfabl said:
Here’s my V30+ first impressions. Will do a deep dive on the camera and audio soon.
https://gavinsgadgets.com/2018/01/0...adphone-jack-with-quad-dac-wireless-charging/
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Click to collapse
Interesting review. Where did you get your B&O branded V30+ in UK? I thought they only had the V30? Did you get it from Italy or elsewhere?
I watched your full YouTube review and I agree people are selling the camera on this phone short. Interesting that all your friends chose the LG V30+ pictures over the Pixel 2 XL pictures. That's one reason I'm not really going to mess with the Pixel camera port.

ChazzMatt said:
Interesting review. Where did you get your B&O branded V30+ in UK? I thought they only had the V30? Did you get it from Italy or elsewhere?
I watched your full YouTube review and I agree people are selling the camera on this phone short. Interesting that all your friends chose the LG V30+ pictures over the Pixel 2 XL pictures. That's one reason I'm not really going to mess with the Pixel camera port.
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Click to collapse
Thanks. You’re right. UK only gets standard V30. Wondamobile supplied the V30+. The Pixel 2 will take better pics , but like everything it depends on the scene. I was out this morning with my Canon & V30+ and will get a post up next week with the results.

Ok. Audio review now done on the LG V30 covering speaker, Bluetooth, wired and type c. Over a dozen headphones used too.
https://gavinsgadgets.com/2018/01/1...-wired-over-12-different-headphones-compared/

I'm on my second Sprint lg v30 plus. Had to exchange the first one due to digitizer issues. On one side of the screen. It only responded to taps. My luck I guess.. Overall I like the device. It's light, fast and has a nice design. The camera sucks tho compared to my s8+ especially in low light. Not a bad camera but no where near the pixel 2 or Samsung phones. Was going to get the note 8 but I doubt that will ever get twrp. Hopefully this device gets root and twrp

Ok full review is finished now. Includes a camera showcase and 32 reasons why it's the best phone in the world, with the 32nd reason the best one.
https://gavinsgadgets.com/2018/01/28/lg-v30-review-camera-showcase-this-is-the-best-phone-in-2018/

First impressions coming from a V20

Well, I started this about eight different times, and decided I'd finally actually write down my thoughts and hit send.
I've had the phone for a week now, upgraded on Friday from my rooted (stock ROM) V20, on Verizon. My main reason for staying on the V20 was to keep root for my hotspot as I was one of the lucky ones with the old unlimited plan (the one that VZW kept jacking the prices up on). Well after getting my girl an iPhone X, and knowing I was going to need to feed that thing a lot more data than a 2GB plan, I bit the bullet and changed to the "new" unlimited (ugh, I know). And then after having my V20 start exhibiting some random power off's in the middle of the day at 50+%, I decided to see what was out there. I compared the V30 to the S8+, Note 8, and Pixel 2XL.
The Pixel, while a great device, lost out with the lack of an SD card, headphone jack and wireless charging. I missed using the wireless charging on my old LG G2, and having a nice plump SD card already, seemed a waste to drop that. Yes I can use a dongle to plug in headphones for listening at my desk at work, but I lose sh*t left and right enough as it is. The Note 8 is amazing, but just a touch larger than I wanted to hold full time. I wouldn't use the pen, and comparing it to the S8+, you lose a tiny bit of screen density for... largeness. And that wouldn't have been noticeable anyway, but I would need something I could hold comfortably. Over to the S8+, then. Nice phone, great build quality, and I've never had an issue with Samsung phones before. Before my V20, I had an S6 Edge, and that's still on my plan as a backup phone. Which is actually one of the reasons why I decided against the S8+ - it looks too familiar now. Other than a little length and the lack of a physical home button, it just reminds me of my Edge. That's not to say it's a bad thing, but the design of the V30 was a refreshing change from anything else. I knew I'd lose selfie quality (the horror!), but I figured how bad could it be? Though, a little interesting that the S8 having been out so much longer than the V30, and they are almost identical in spec. So was Samsung that far ahead back then? Or are we just slow on the take? Well whatever. So I picked up the V30.
First, yes, the selfie camera is lackluster. In good light, and if you can hold your hand steady enough, it's ok. It won't win awards. There's the Google Camera Mod floating around that people enjoy. A little on that- it's fine for what it is, and adds a few neat features. And I haven't found a mode that will let you record higher than 1080 video, either. Not that I'm making movies but I will be using it for video so the higher resolution on the stock cam is preferred. I took a pair of pictures on the LG camera on Auto, and the Google camera on default settings, and they both look close enough to not make a difference. I did notice that the selfie camera seems to be better in the actual camera apps but inside other apps (Snapchat, IG, ect), they seem to lose quality. Or rather, did. Randomly today, it seems to be a little better, but who knows. For all I know, maybe I had a tiny smudge on the front camera the whole time? But I'm ok with it now. HOWEVER: Holy crap the rear camera glass scratches easily. I bought the phone, and refused to spend 50 dollars on the limited cases at the store. I ordered one Saturday, it got here today. And in five days, it's noticeable to look at, scratches on the camera glass. That's from a pocket with no other items, and from sitting on my desk at work. Not playing hockey with my phone. Recommendation: Get a freaking case ASAFP if for nothing else than to protect your back camera. Spend 5 bucks on Amazon for a cheap pos if you have to, but get something on it. It isn't bad enough to effect the camera in any way that is noticeable, but man it's going to bug me now, just knowing.
The home buttons are a pain in the a$$. I mean, they work fine, but the showing/hiding tricks take some getting used to. I've found some apps are a lot less receptive to working with it. Snapchat (yeah, I know) is notorious for it. You send someone a message, and then try to swipe up from the bottom to bring up the buttons to go home, and it does - while swiping all over the keyboard again, so then you have unwanted characters coming up, people are waiting for whatever you're "typing" to send, etc. So you have to go into the settings and disable that for certain apps. Side note on that: Apps that you've changed that for, you have to go BACK and change the setting for that app any time it's updated. So if you update the app, you have to go back and turn off the home button hiding for that app again, it seems to reset every time.
This isn't so much on the phone, but the Tempered Glass protector from Verizon is garbage. All $35 worth of it. Leaves a massive air spot under most of the phone, so tapping on the phone results in a lot of audible clicking sound and less precise sensitivity. Just throwing that out there. I normally wouldn't have, and I'll be taking this off if I can find a case I like better. The one I got, is nice and slim, but doesn't protrude tall enough to protect the screen if set face down. This is 6 dollar insurance for the interim.
The fingerprint sensor so far is snappy as can be. Even to a point that when I just want to light the screen up to check a notification (had Always On disabled), and it would actually unlock just trying to tap the power button half the time. Not a bad thing, just surprising. Volume buttons feel great, as does the rest of the phone. It might lack the feel of the Samsungs, but it does feel decent. Slippery as hell though, another reason to keep a case on if you're even remotely clumsy. The screen itself is wonderful to look at, and I think it's only a matter of time and tweaks as apps catch up to full Nougat and extended ratios and things, between apps and phones where things look better.
Obviously there are still a lot of things I haven't gone through in the settings to find and personalize, but so far, I'm loving the upgrade. Feels good in the hand, more comfortable being a little smaller than the V20 was. Battery life so far has been good, but I do watch a lot of videos and listen to alot of music at work, so I tend to burn through it quick. The quick charge is a godsend coming back up. Other than the frail camera glass on the back (and really that seems to be a common complaint with a lot of phones) and the weaker than expected front camera, I'm glad I picked it. It stands out design-wise, and it's right up there in spec with everything else out there. Not massive to hold, quick and snappy, and with your launcher of choice, worth the investment so far.

Thanks for this!

Agree with you on all points! Thanks!
Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the OnePlus 8, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the OnePlus 8 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

My review of an OP8.
OK - here's my 4 day review of my OnePlus 8. Just FYI, I had (and still have) a OnePlus 5, whic I will probably give to my Father.
Day 1. The box arrives. I ordered one of the PopUp boxes which has in it two extra backs (green and black) as well as a transparent one. It also comes with the OpenPLus Z headphones. It's a large box and came in an even larger cardboard box with padding.
I unboxed it and checked - it had 51% charge, so I deemed it OK to start installing. It connected to my network and immediately did an O/S upgrade. All the normal Android stuff then proceeded and I was up and running.
I used InePlus switch to get all my apps and data across from the old OP5. The only thing it missed was all my WhasApp history - but that may be because I installed it first.
Day 2. I'd fully charged it during the day and I left it unplugged overnight. It lost 5%. Considering it's a new device, I thought that was OK. So, out for a walk to check the GPS (my OP5 would not work properly) and see how the camera was. GPS still suffered and I was considering sending it back. See Day 3. Camera is lovely. Just having OIS is a vast improvement and the quality is well acceptable for a phone (I'm a camera nut and have some quite good ones). I'll play more later. I ordered a 5G sim.
Played with the OP Z headphones. They are nice but a bit bassy. So, as I use VLC and that has an equaliser, I turned the bass down a bit - and that made all the difference.
Day 3. Decided that OnePlus can't have screwed up GPS that badly. So investigated. I found that GPS was set to 'advanced' which meant it pulled in location information from phone masts and wifi. Not sure how that makes it advanced, so I disabled it. Went out for another walk with my tracking app - no issues. Humm. I wonder if my OP5 would have done that?
Played with panorama mode. It's interesting, but I'm not sure I'll use it much as it curves everything around the horizon which is not what I expected. Tried out the slo-mo mode. Yes, I can see some uses for that.
Played around with the screen. Decided I don't like curved screens that much as the edges (where it tails away) are hard to press and that's where odd things are that you need to press. But I guess I'll get used to it. Tried my Kindle app. It went over the camera. OK - set it so the screen doesn't include the camera, but it would be nice if that could be done pn an app by app basis rather than all or nothing. OnePlus decided I needed yet another O/S upgrade, so I let it do that.
Day 4 - Out for another walk, this time with a couple of Garmin devices. GPS is still OK - a bit optimistic (it gave me 2.6 miles where Garmin gave me 2.5) but that may be the app. Had my OP Z headphones on - very comfy. Played more with the camera. The macro is really good. 2x is OK, more than that, I won't bother.
Tried my Readly app (magazine reading) whic doesn't really suit the phones aspect ratio. Oh yes, tried making phone calls. Call quality is superb.
I've ordered a flip case. Should be here by the end of May (has to come from China).
Overall? If I'd know what I know now, I'd probably have ordered a 7T but only because it has a flat screen, and I'd lose out on the 5G (which we have in my area). The PopUP version gave me £100 worth of freebies which was nice.
Comments and questions welcomed.
Alan

alan sh said:
OK - here's my 4 day review of my OnePlus 8. Just FYI, I had (and still have) a OnePlus 5, whic I will probably give to my Father.
Day 1. The box arrives. I ordered one of the PopUp boxes which has in it two extra backs (green and black) as well as a transparent one. It also comes with the OpenPLus Z headphones. It's a large box and came in an even larger cardboard box with padding.
I unboxed it and checked - it had 51% charge, so I deemed it OK to start installing. It connected to my network and immediately did an O/S upgrade. All the normal Android stuff then proceeded and I was up and running.
I used InePlus switch to get all my apps and data across from the old OP5. The only thing it missed was all my WhasApp history - but that may be because I installed it first.
Day 2. I'd fully charged it during the day and I left it unplugged overnight. It lost 5%. Considering it's a new device, I thought that was OK. So, out for a walk to check the GPS (my OP5 would not work properly) and see how the camera was. GPS still suffered and I was considering sending it back. See Day 3. Camera is lovely. Just having OIS is a vast improvement and the quality is well acceptable for a phone (I'm a camera nut and have some quite good ones). I'll play more later. I ordered a 5G sim.
Played with the OP Z headphones. They are nice but a bit bassy. So, as I use VLC and that has an equaliser, I turned the bass down a bit - and that made all the difference.
Day 3. Decided that OnePlus can't have screwed up GPS that badly. So investigated. I found that GPS was set to 'advanced' which meant it pulled in location information from phone masts and wifi. Not sure how that makes it advanced, so I disabled it. Went out for another walk with my tracking app - no issues. Humm. I wonder if my OP5 would have done that?
Played with panorama mode. It's interesting, but I'm not sure I'll use it much as it curves everything around the horizon which is not what I expected. Tried out the slo-mo mode. Yes, I can see some uses for that.
Played around with the screen. Decided I don't like curved screens that much as the edges (where it tails away) are hard to press and that's where odd things are that you need to press. But I guess I'll get used to it. Tried my Kindle app. It went over the camera. OK - set it so the screen doesn't include the camera, but it would be nice if that could be done pn an app by app basis rather than all or nothing. OnePlus decided I needed yet another O/S upgrade, so I let it do that.
Day 4 - Out for another walk, this time with a couple of Garmin devices. GPS is still OK - a bit optimistic (it gave me 2.6 miles where Garmin gave me 2.5) but that may be the app. Had my OP Z headphones on - very comfy. Played more with the camera. The macro is really good. 2x is OK, more than that, I won't bother.
Tried my Readly app (magazine reading) whic doesn't really suit the phones aspect ratio. Oh yes, tried making phone calls. Call quality is superb.
I've ordered a flip case. Should be here by the end of May (has to come from China).
Overall? If I'd know what I know now, I'd probably have ordered a 7T but only because it has a flat screen, and I'd lose out on the 5G (which we have in my area). The PopUP version gave me £100 worth of freebies which was nice.
Comments and questions welcomed.
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is the overall size and weight of the device compared to the OnePlus 5?

KingUsman said:
How is the overall size and weight of the device compared to the OnePlus 5?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same width and a bit taller.
Alan

alan sh said:
OK - here's my 4 day review of my OnePlus 8. Just FYI, I had (and still have) a OnePlus 5, whic I will probably give to my Father.
Day 1. The box arrives. I ordered one of the PopUp boxes which has in it two extra backs (green and black) as well as a transparent one. It also comes with the OpenPLus Z headphones. It's a large box and came in an even larger cardboard box with padding.
I unboxed it and checked - it had 51% charge, so I deemed it OK to start installing. It connected to my network and immediately did an O/S upgrade. All the normal Android stuff then proceeded and I was up and running.
I used InePlus switch to get all my apps and data across from the old OP5. The only thing it missed was all my WhasApp history - but that may be because I installed it first.
Day 2. I'd fully charged it during the day and I left it unplugged overnight. It lost 5%. Considering it's a new device, I thought that was OK. So, out for a walk to check the GPS (my OP5 would not work properly) and see how the camera was. GPS still suffered and I was considering sending it back. See Day 3. Camera is lovely. Just having OIS is a vast improvement and the quality is well acceptable for a phone (I'm a camera nut and have some quite good ones). I'll play more later. I ordered a 5G sim.
Played with the OP Z headphones. They are nice but a bit bassy. So, as I use VLC and that has an equaliser, I turned the bass down a bit - and that made all the difference.
Day 3. Decided that OnePlus can't have screwed up GPS that badly. So investigated. I found that GPS was set to 'advanced' which meant it pulled in location information from phone masts and wifi. Not sure how that makes it advanced, so I disabled it. Went out for another walk with my tracking app - no issues. Humm. I wonder if my OP5 would have done that?
Played with panorama mode. It's interesting, but I'm not sure I'll use it much as it curves everything around the horizon which is not what I expected. Tried out the slo-mo mode. Yes, I can see some uses for that.
Played around with the screen. Decided I don't like curved screens that much as the edges (where it tails away) are hard to press and that's where odd things are that you need to press. But I guess I'll get used to it. Tried my Kindle app. It went over the camera. OK - set it so the screen doesn't include the camera, but it would be nice if that could be done pn an app by app basis rather than all or nothing. OnePlus decided I needed yet another O/S upgrade, so I let it do that.
Day 4 - Out for another walk, this time with a couple of Garmin devices. GPS is still OK - a bit optimistic (it gave me 2.6 miles where Garmin gave me 2.5) but that may be the app. Had my OP Z headphones on - very comfy. Played more with the camera. The macro is really good. 2x is OK, more than that, I won't bother.
Tried my Readly app (magazine reading) whic doesn't really suit the phones aspect ratio. Oh yes, tried making phone calls. Call quality is superb.
I've ordered a flip case. Should be here by the end of May (has to come from China).
Overall? If I'd know what I know now, I'd probably have ordered a 7T but only because it has a flat screen, and I'd lose out on the 5G (which we have in my area). The PopUP version gave me £100 worth of freebies which was nice.
Comments and questions welcomed.
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The curved edges is the only thing putting me off from buying this phone. Would have already ordered one otherwise. Almost bit the bullet and ordered one anyways, thinking maybe I wont hate the curved edges that much, but since you've already done that for us I'd rather just get your impression first. I'm considering getting the OP7T, Realme X2 Pro, Oppo Ace2 or Poco F2 Pro at this point, do you think you would have liked one of these flat display phones more?

I've got used to the curved edge and don't really notice it any more. Is it better than at 7T? I can't really say, but considering I use my headphones when out and they are really comfy, I'm glad I got the boxed set on day 1.
At the moment, the only irritating thing is the display - the adaptive stuff doesn't really work (too granular) but I have to use it in bright sunlight as it seems to be brighter with it on. But even that is very minor. Battery life is very good. With all my apps loaded and just display off, it loses less that 0.4% each hour. (in 12 hours of not using it, it lost 4%). That's with Wifi and bluetooth turned on and a poor 4G signal.
It's had 3 or 4 O/S upgrades since I bought it. Which is good as it means OnePlus are on the ball. I'm just waiting for Wifi Calling to be enabled in the UK (OnePlus - are you listening here?).
Alan

Coming from an OP6, I'm slightly finding it hard to love. Or love as much.
I had the OP5, went to OP6 and I loved the changes.
Now going from the 6 to the 8, not sure I made the right choice!!
Let me explain..
1. The 6 was far easier to hold, the 8 just feels a bit cumbersome compared.
2. The fingerprint sensor on the 6 was amazingly good. On the 8, it's not as accurate, on the wrong side, and at night it's like the flash light coming on. Should have kept it at the back. But I suppose Apple got rid of it so OnePlus had to pretend it got rid of it too.
3. The curved screen is just annoying, as selecting anything on the curved part is bound to fail on the first try.
4. No head phone socket? Just why? Again I suppose Apple got rid of it so OnePlus had to copy.
5. The new sandstone cover isn't as thin, looks a bit budget and rather chunky like the old bumper covers. Without the cover is very slippery and hard to hold.
6. No more notification LED on the 8, Oneplus phones don't have an always on display, so the LED light was a nice feature. Now you get neither.
I'll keep using it, hopefully will get used to it more..

shock-UK said:
Coming from an OP6, I'm slightly finding it hard to love. Or love as much.
I had the OP5, went to OP6 and I loved the changes.
Now going from the 6 to the 8, not sure I made the right choice!!
Let me explain..
1. The 6 was far easier to hold, the 8 just feels a bit cumbersome compared.
2. The fingerprint sensor on the 6 was amazingly good. On the 8, it's not as accurate, on the wrong side, and at night it's like the flash light coming on. Should have kept it at the back. But I suppose Apple got rid of it so OnePlus had to pretend it got rid of it too.
3. The curved screen is just annoying, as selecting anything on the curved part is bound to fail on the first try.
4. No head phone socket? Just why? Again I suppose Apple got rid of it so OnePlus had to copy.
5. The new sandstone cover isn't as thin, looks a bit budget and rather chunky like the old bumper covers. Without the cover is very slippery and hard to hold.
6. No more notification LED on the 8, Oneplus phones don't have an always on display, so the LED light was a nice feature. Now you get neither.
I'll keep using it, hopefully will get used to it more..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's something I've always wondered.. why use a screen side fingerprint scanner. Backside ones are easier to use, faster and more accurate.

I don't have any issues with the fingerprint reader where it is. I came from a OP5 so I guess I'm just used to it being there.
Alan

shock-UK said:
6. No more notification LED on the 8, Oneplus phones don't have an always on display, so the LED light was a nice feature. Now you get neither.
..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some really good Apps available to use the pixels around the camera for notifications. Give that a try.

What apps can do that?

mrozu615 said:
What apps can do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xander.android.notifybuddy
I am using this app. Purchased the Pro version. Really useful.

firoz3321 said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xander.android.notifybuddy
I am using this app. Purchased the Pro version. Really useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it work with the screen off?

BeardKing said:
Does it work with the screen off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
Can add LED simulation by default, in pro more flexibility to choose icons of apps as notification and size can be changed. I ended up using LED option though i purchased premium.
It definitely serves the purpose as a notification LED. no issues so far. Battery usage is also less.

firoz3321 said:
Yes.
Can add LED simulation by default, in pro more flexibility to choose icons of apps as notification and size can be changed. I ended up using LED option though i purchased premium.
It definitely serves the purpose as a notification LED. no issues so far. Battery usage is also less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Thank you.

alan sh said:
I've got used to the curved edge and don't really notice it any more. Is it better than at 7T? I can't really say, but considering I use my headphones when out and they are really comfy, I'm glad I got the boxed set on day 1.
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
I have a 7T and I'm considering the 8 for the 5G, the 12 GB of RAM, the great battery life, and the slightly lighter weight, but the curved edge can be turn-off, and of course the 8 Pro is heavier and more expensive.
What are your thoughts on the 8 after almost a year? Are you rocking a case? Would you make that switch from a 7T if you had it?

No, I wouldn't switch. I don't think it's enough of a leap. To be honest, my OP5 was nice enough apart from the camera and the GPS, both of which were substandard. I think the 7T is plenty good enough. I have only ever had a 5G signal once since I got it and 4G seems to be fine.
Alan