Develop Bugs

Galaxy Nexus: Do I need an upgrade?

So through work, I have acquired the moto x dev edition for verizon. My gnex is going to a good home (my father). So here are my thoughts which I am going to post on my blog. The main question, is it worth upgrading the gnex? Honestly, if you are buying a phone outright I do NOT think its worth it unless you care about a few new things. The gnex actually performs nearly as good as my new moto x (assuming you have rooted and customized it to). Here is my review:
I currently have 2 verizon phones - the galaxy nexus and the moto x from verizon. Here is what I have done to both phones before I give my review:
Gnex - I have rooted it and installed the latest 4.4 nightly from cyanogenmod. I have installed pacrom, aokp, etc as well and AOKP is definitely my favorite ROM but I am giving this phone to my father and think CM will be easiest for him as it updates itself through an OTA update.
Moto x - I have rooted it, installed Xposed (for gravitybox), deleted bloatware, and got it tether ready.
Reviews:
Speed/lag - I never noticed lag with my motox. Now that I have the moto x I am noticing where there was lag on my gnex. However, I dont think most people would notice it. It is not significant and doesnt make the phone perform any better/worse.
size - both are around the same size. the moto x is a bit smaller and screen appears to be the same size.
camera - i didnt notice a difference here and i dont really use the cams much either.
battery - much better on my motox. I get about 24hrs more. I think i got around 12-15 hours on average on my gnex and am getting 36+ on my moto x. i did have the 2200 size on my gnex too. this could be a breaking point for many people but i was able to go through the day and just charge each night with my gnex.
tethering - tethering was simple on my gnex. i just pushed the button and it works. it worked with a million tethering apps too. the moto x was not easy. it does not work with any of those apps. i had to go in and work in terminal to get tethering to work. i have a feeling i will need to do this with each OS upgrade too. I am not looking forward to it. It was not something a beginner will be able to easily do.
bloatware - none on the gnex. tons on my moto x. i had to delete it all but again this was easy once rooted.
active display - this is awesome. it is on both phones though. on the moto x its just automatically there. on my gnex i need to download dynamicnotifications app. i think each version (the app vs the native moto x app) each have some advantages over one another. this will be a preference thing but both basically function in the exact same way.
moto connect - Now this is new to me and I am really loving it. I can text - send and receive texts from my browser. This is really awesome as I work from home and dont alway have my phone on me. I can also take calls this way too. Very awesome. It could be worth upgrading for just this feature alone.
Dev support - tons of dev support for the gnex. it cant really be beat except for N5. Moto x seems good too just dont think it will ever be as good as a nexus device.
Company support - none for the gnex. phone is past its 18 months. seems like motorola is doing a great job with the moto x and I have a feeling that they will support longer than the standard 18 months given how they are still pushing this phone.
Overall that is my review. I dont think I really needed to upgrade my gnex. It was performing nearly as well as this new phone. I think it has another 1-2 years of life easily. If you do have the money though, it is worth the upgrade but its definitely not necessary.
Here is my blog post: http://raypastore.com/wordpress/2013/12/galaxy-nexus-vs-moto-x/

I'm with you, I love my Galaxy Nexus. My brother has a Droid Ultra he picked up after destroying his phone, and I gotta say my Nexus is better. People on this forum complain about being stuck with a Galaxy Nexus, I don't get it, this is the best phone I've ever played with.

Amtip said:
I'm with you, I love my Galaxy Nexus. My brother has a Droid Ultra he picked up after destroying his phone, and I gotta say my Nexus is better. People on this forum complain about being stuck with a Galaxy Nexus, I don't get it, this is the best phone I've ever played with.
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yea i think overall that if you are on verizon and do not want to lose unlimited that its just not worth upgrading. the gnex is such a good phone. i am moving on to my moto x but it definitely is not a significant upgrade thats for sure.

I don't understand why GSM users are still buying up the Galaxy Nexus when they should be purchasing the new Moto G.
Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk

ztmike said:
I don't understand why GSM users are still buying up the Galaxy Nexus when they should be purchasing the new Moto G.
Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk
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I think Moto G isn't any better in performance. Plus, it doesn't have much development as of now (not even a CM build). But to be honest I'm also tempted... though I have something else on my mind.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM11

Go for it if you can afford it.
Beamed from my Maguro

AndyYan said:
I think Moto G isn't any better in performance. Plus, it doesn't have much development as of now (not even a CM build). But to be honest I'm also tempted... though I have something else on my mind.
Sent from Google Nexus 4 @ CM11
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It might not have any Dev support but its already getting 4.4.2 kitkat from Motorola and runs pretty much stock Android ..far as performance I've yet to see a VS video but I'm sure the Moto is faster.
Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk

I had the S3 and I had a worse experience on it than I currently do on my recently acquired VZW Nexus. There is no lag or bloatware. The only down side is battery life. I will be buying another battery. Either stock or extended. I am near a charger all day so it's not a big deal for me. I'm not tempted to flash a different ROM either because it is already an aosp phone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

ztmike said:
I don't understand why GSM users are still buying up the Galaxy Nexus when they should be purchasing the new Moto G.
Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk
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I seriously thought about it. I still am. I'm so used to the 4.7" display such that I fear going back to 4.5" would be too much.

Galaxy nexus was my first smartphone and it made these almost 2 years since I own it very special. A real adventure. Have bricked it, have drppoed it but it never let me down in the end.

Had a great experience with my GNex but the battery life was a real deal breaker for me. Went with the G2 and am loving the larger screen not to mention outstanding battery. Thought I would hate the UI but so far I'm ok with it and I know I can ROM it when I get bored with it. Haven't parted with the GNex yet but I'm not really seeing a need to keep it now.
Sent from my LG-V500 using xda app-developers app

i really dont need more than my GNex, and have it with android kit-kat before some top devices is amazing..

I went from a Gnex to Droid RAZR m, only because the screen cracked on my Gnex, needless to say I miss my Gnex badly!!!
Sent from my XT907 using xda app-developers app

Sticking with GNex til it dies plus I love my charging dock...
I have a spare battery so either way I'll never have to worry about running out of power.

Sdobron said:
Sticking with GNex til it dies plus I love my charging dock...
I have a spare battery so either way I'll never have to worry about running out of power.
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Yup I feel the same way. I've been on cm 10.1.3 since september and I've experienced very minimal lag. All the 4.3/4.4 roms are just too unstable. Just the battery life sucks. Even on the 2100maH battery, the best screen on time I could get is 3 hours.I just keep the stock battery in handy for when I run out of battery.

ztmike said:
I don't understand why GSM users are still buying up the Galaxy Nexus when they should be purchasing the new Moto G.
Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk
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Yep Im doing that!

ztmike said:
I don't understand why GSM users are still buying up the Galaxy Nexus when they should be purchasing the new Moto G.
Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk
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Getting a moto g would be like buying a phone with 3 year old specs with no development, complete waste of time.At least the gnex has plenty of development but is still obsolete an crappy in the current smartphone world.Even the iPhone 4s which is 2 an a half years old beats the gnex hands down.

I love my GNex.. And with CM11 it rocks.. I will probably wait to it dies..
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

fux0r99 said:
Getting a moto g would be like buying a phone with 3 year old specs with no development, complete waste of time.At least the gnex has plenty of development but is still obsolete an crappy in the current smartphone world.Even the iPhone 4s which is 2 an a half years old beats the gnex hands down.
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Moto G doesnt have a 3 year old specs...
Its still quite a new phone hence lack of major development.
Furthermore we can use gravity box for many things.
For me CM11 couldnt save my GNEX it was slugglish

King p1n said:
Moto G doesnt have a 3 year old specs...
Its still quite a new phone hence lack of major development.
Furthermore we can use gravity box for many things.
For me CM11 couldnt save my GNEX it was slugglish
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Hmm. If you could lag a CM11-wielding GNex, then a MotoG wouldn't surprise you either. It's a Snapdragon 400 after all. Me, I feel my GNex is always as smooth even when compared to my 2 more powerful devices.
Sent from Lenovo Erazer Z500 @ Android-x86 4.3

Buying a Galaxy Nexus in 2014?

Hi,
I was just wondering whether you think it is worth buying a Galaxy Nexus in 2014. There is a huge price gap between the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4/5 over here in Australia. $190 AUD for a Galaxy Nexus, compared to $400/450 for a Nexus 5. I would flash a rom on the Galaxy Nexus anyway, such as CM or Paranoid Android.
It would be great to hear your thoughts,
Thanks,
Joe :laugh:

Chipotleez said:
Hi,
I was just wondering whether you think it is worth buying a Galaxy Nexus in 2014. There is a huge price gap between the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4/5 over here in Australia. $190 AUD for a Galaxy Nexus, compared to $400/450 for a Nexus 5. I would flash a rom on the Galaxy Nexus anyway, such as CM or Paranoid Android.
It would be great to hear your thoughts,
Thanks,
Joe :laugh:
Click to expand...
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Any thoughts?

Chipotleez said:
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hear are my thoughts, and this is coming from a unique perspective...
i owned one on verizon when it first came out, loved the phone, then got fed up with verizon and dumped my contract (paid my etf i was so mad)
switched to ting and rocked a epic 4g touch for over a year. then it broke, power button failure.
so now feb. 2014 i found a good deal on a lightly used sprint gnex on ebay and bought it, love the phone still. i'm on cm11 m6 without any 4g/3g issues running the ting apn's.
now with the back story out. are you a power phone user? are you always looking at the next thing? i've stopped when i quit verizon. i use my phone for some pandora, some facebook uploads, and a game (like kingdom rush) every once and a while. with the factory extended battery, it will last me a full day (12-16 hours) but i'm also near plug in's all the time. if you are just wanting a good functional phone that can still do all the modern things with android for a cheap price, its hard to go wrong.

I bought mine in October 2013 (used) and am still very happy with it, the only real annoyance is that 1GB RAM doesn't cut it when many apps are installed, I get Launcher restarts on both 4.3 and CM11...however, CM11 gave me so many of Kitkat's features that it felt like a new phone.
So, go for it!

If you want to play gpu intensive games this phone is not for you (it has the same gpu as the galaxy s, go figure). However if you just use it for browsing, social media and that sort of stuff then it will serve you well. When you flash a rom and a kernel and tweak it a bit, it becomes perfect imo. Its not a very powerful phone by todays standards but better than the majority of cheap phones today (similair to a moto g).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Free mobile app

Chipotleez said:
Hi,
I was just wondering whether you think it is worth buying a Galaxy Nexus in 2014. There is a huge price gap between the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4/5 over here in Australia. $190 AUD for a Galaxy Nexus, compared to $400/450 for a Nexus 5. I would flash a rom on the Galaxy Nexus anyway, such as CM or Paranoid Android.
It would be great to hear your thoughts,
Thanks,
Joe :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GNex is a good phone but today with some years on its shoulders, cpu is dual core only can lag with some heavy apps (maps, tomtom, and similar).
Check the price of Moto G, it's the best buy today here in EU.

Swaying towards buying one, does anyone know how well the different colour variants (White or Grey) stand up to scratches, dings etc. I would imagine them to be far more visible on the white edition

EDIT: Went and bought a Moto G two moths ago....
Great phone, as good as I am sure a GNex would have been

I think you made a good choice, Moto G is no worse performance-wise, same screen size plus it has amazing battery life compared to the GNex.
:good:

Is the Nexus 7 still worth buying?

Hey guys.
So, I was thinking about buying an Android tablet, so, as I am a Nexus 5 owner, my first thought was the Nexus 9, but the thing is just too expensive for me, I want something on the cheap side.
So after thinking for a bit I remembered the N7, it's got great hardware, it runs Lollipop and its freaking cheap. But it's from 2013, which I know its not necessarily a bad thing, so I want your opinion as you actually have the tablet.
Is it still worth buying? Amazon is selling it for $197.

I bought my Nexus 7 eleven months ago. I'm very satisfied with it. If you're planning to root it and unlock the bootloader, you'll be able to update with custom ROMs for quite awhile. If you're planning to run it stock unrooted, you may want to consider a newer tablet.

Yes, I think so. There's one 1 other tablet that can compete in terms of price, support, and price: the LG G Pad 8.4 GPE. Good luck finding one though. I didn't buy my Nexus 7 until this summer and I couldn't be happier.
Updates for the rest of this year, at a minimum. My only issue is with deb updates, which get held up due to LTE. Save yourself some more money by buying a refurb unit.

This may sway you... Check your local Staples store - they're having an unpublished clearance on 2013 Nexus 7. $98 for 16GB or $128 for 32GB. Many stores no longer have stock, but of you can find one it's a great deal.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

UncleMike said:
This may sway you... Check your local Staples store - they're having an unpublished clearance on 2013 Nexus 7. $98 for 16GB or $128 for 32GB. Many stores no longer have stock, but of you can find one it's a great deal.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
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Definitely gonna check this out. Thanks a lot ?
And thank you all for your quick reply.

I just bought mine like 2 weeks ago.... It was a decent price (before the groupon deal)
and it does exactly what I need it to... which is work dual purpose as a home/car tablet.
Honestly I would have rather had a Nexus 10, just because I am a bit of an HTC fanboy,
But in just home use it's still faster than my HTC One M7. actually.... a lot faster.
Has decent dev support, not so much in the way of car roms/mods but still a good overall tablet.

Im still using my 2012 version

I was really excited for the Nexus 9 but I think it'll be too big and the price point is too high. I have repurchased my Nexus 7 a few times due to dropping and theft. The touchscreen on the Nexus 7 2013 is flaky when using a case or 1-handed operation because of a grounding issue with the device. Using the device 2 handed like normal you will rarely see any issues.
Gaming on the other hand is retarded on the Nexus 7 2013.
I try to play Terraria and it is just a frustrating mess. The dual thumbpad touchscreen controls get confused occasionally and causes me to either shoots or run off in the wrong direction. You have to take both thumbs off to reset it temporarily. Just FYI. This is normal across all Nexus 7 units as far as I have known. Some are more noticeable than others but they all have it. There are some flashable fixes that update the touchscreen firmware to have various degrees of sensitivity to help fix this but nothing is ever fixed completely. The fixes have helped make my tablet more enjoyable to use day-to-day but gaming will never be 100%.
I have purchased a Asus MeMoPad 7 for $20 for my son. A little lackluster tablet but plays games better then my Nexus 7.
Personally I was looking at the Nvidia Shield Tablet with a digitizer pen enabled screen. It seems to have issues of its own. The LG G Tabs, as mentioned above, are really solid tablets. I know you can pick up an LG version (with LG software) for pretty cheap. There isn't much development on that tablet though, unfortunately.
The Nexus 7 2013 is a steal at $128 if you can find one. Very solid unit. If my Nexus 7 2013 broke today, I would look else where.

Its worth every Penny..
Go for it.. I just received mine .. and flashed with the Android 5.0.2. factory image
Its magical

phoenix08 said:
Its worth every Penny..
Go for it.. I just received mine .. and flashed with the Android 5.0.2. factory image
Its magical
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I have had my Nexus 7 2013 for well over a year and I wouldn't replace it for anything. I did break last month when I slipped it into my back pocket like an idiot I sat on it and it broke the screen. Although Asus lost my Nexus for almost a month, it was still covered by its warranty..and they repaired it for free.. I Now use a Galaxy Tab 4 8.0, but its no Nexus.. I like the bigger screen, its the Nexus is still better in every way except there is no Micro SD slot.. I need a device I can carry with me that has a Micro SD.. Hence the use for the Galaxy tab.. But if you'd ask me to choose between the 2.. I'd take the Nexus any day..

If the price is right I don't think you can go far wrong. Internally, it's pretty much a Nexus 4 with a Full HD screen and a much better battery. :highfive:
I've had the LG Gad 8.3 for a day and whilst its a nice piece of kit, the aluminium back is slippery and being that touch bigger, you can't get your hand around it like the Nexus 7. There is also a ton of bloat.
Whilst I'm not convinced by Lollipop on my phone, it runs great on the Nexus 7. :victory:

i bought mine from tweakers.nl for 117 € it was a used one without warranty

Upgrade to OP3 now or wait for the next nexus?

Im in sort of a mid life crisis. I currently own a Nexus 6 but I want a more beefy phone. The N6 is great and all but its starting to lag, battery is degrading, and the front camera sucks. I really like the nexus line and I have never owned a OP device. From the rumors im seeing the next nexus should be pretty damn good, so to all of you who own the OP3, are you happy with the purchase? Would you recommend buying it or should I just wait? Thanks!

I just got the OP3 and I was in the same dilemma as you. I like the nexus phones as the are pure android and will always get the security updates asap. But for me the current 6P is too big of a phone and has already been out for what, 9 months? You have to figure that going on past performance, the next generation Nexus phone won't be announced until Sept and will not be available until Oct. I didn't want to wait 4 months. Plus, the price is almost certainly going to be a lot more that $399. Having had the OP3 for a week, I know I made the right decision.

No mistake about it, if you buy the OnePlus 3 then you will be buying a premium phone. From the build to the cases, it's top notch.
Don't think that the lower price means a compromise. It's sleek, powerful and most importantly the OS is stable and well supported by the company. No bloatware..

When Nexus comes out you will be waiting for next Galaxy
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using XDA-Developers mobile app

I love Nexus but...
OnePlus really has done it with the OP3. It really could be the best damn phone ever! Build, OS and dev support is up there with Nexus and I honestly would say I like the OP3 way better than my wife's S7. Honestly. I love it. I have owned Samsung's, nexus and OPO, OP2 and now OP3 and this is by far the best of them all. And the cherry on top for me is OFFICIAL Slimrom support on the way.
Oh, and dash charge.. how the hell did I ever live with out it???

well I sold my 6p for this baby then will probably get the next nexus or whatever google throws at us. depending if it's worth it tho

is the nexus5x still worth it ?

Hi guys !
I was plaining to buy a nexus5x in the last 4 mounths , but I hesitated a lot especially after the bootloop problem that a lot of people are claiming to have on their phones.
the reason that I wanted a nexus5x is basically the low price , besides the fact that it's a great phone with amazing specs + I already had a Smsung Tab A(6)(free) so I tought it would be wiser to keep it and buy a nexus 5x, instead of sealling it and spend all the money on a galaxy s7 or somthing like it.
So what do u think is the best choice :
to keep the Tab + buy nexus 5x(just a 16gb is available , with no warranty so if it brokes I'm done !!!)
or
to buy the s7
and thanks to all

The answer to the question whether Nexus 5X is still worth it depends on the price you pay for it. I got mine last summer for just 240USD and I still think it was worth it. It has a bright screen with objectively proven accurate colors. It has a very good photo camera and an extremely fast fingerprint reader. It has a very lean ROM, and very frequent monthly updates. The Nexus 5X was the first smartphone to receive the Nougat update (along with other Nexus devices). Even today, the only device that can challenge the Nexus 5X in the price-performance ratio (in USA at least) is the Huawei Honor 8.

Compare it to what else you can get for the same price. I'm still enjoying mine after over a year but there are different options to choose from at this point.

I just got my nexus 5x 2 weeks ago. and if you ask me i will say you that go for it man, its amazing device with less money. S7 is great too but you have to pay more for that, and what i love abt nexus 5x is its stock android and frequent updates if u are a stock android lover and want your phone to be updated than nexus 5x is for you.

Its not worth it. Trust me, the parts to fix it are expensive, it heata up during summer like crazy. The back is made of crap material and overall battery life while active is terrible. Get the OP3 or OP3T if you can. I should have bought that, but I was impatient so I opted for this crappy device

As others have said, it really depends on what you pay. I'm loving mine. I've had no problems so far, battery is acceptable, and running Nougat without problem. I couldn't ask for more from a device which I paid only $300 USD for.

Check out http://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-3
( Kenzo) The snapdragon variant. Lots of development.
Thanks
KnieveI

16GB isn't worth it unless you're getting it for like $100.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk