I frequent the Samsung official forums and the feedback there is pretty bad. People blaming the Nougat update for all their woes, but when you ask them to try wiping cache, or worse yet, factor resetting (after using Smart Switch to backup their phone), they say it's not worth it and they'll just get a new, non-Samsung phone. Isn't that the same as resetting? At least with Smart Switch, you can back up what you have.
In any case, I myself have found little issues with both the main OTA to Nougat, and the recent point release. Over all, the phone has been running excellent for me, and battery life is the same as it was before, which is I can get a full day's use before having to re-charge (unless I'm playing a lot of The Walking Dead: No Man's Land). My only issue (which is a minor issue) is with switching between keyboards. There is no easy way to do it in the Language & Input section like there used to be. Some keyboards, like Swiftkey, can sense it's not the main app and then ask if you wish to switch by popping up a toast message with a set of radio buttons to select which keyboard you want to be the main one. Others, like G-Board, only seem to do that when you install it. Once installed, if you switch to another one (such as Swiftkey), G-Board doesn't seem to sense this if you select it in the Language & Input->Virtual Keyboards section nor from the Virtual Keyboards->Manage Keyboards section. There used to be a way to select the default keyboard under Marshmallow, but that is missing in Samsung's version of Nougat. I have to go to the Manage Keyboards section and keep the keyboard I want to switch to enabled, and disable all the other keyboards. Then it will switch. But that's not a major issue for me.
How has it been for you? I don't seem to see as many negative responses here as I do in the Samsung forums. Probably because those that post there are the ones that are having issues, but those like myself, don't.
I don't recall having any issues with mine. I use the Swype keyboard but I haven't needed to, or felt the need to, switch keyboards. In all it seems very similar to MM but with a bit more polish.
Fantastic here
I've had no issues. My phone is not rooted and I disable bloatware in the app manager for what I can and with package disabler pro for what I can't. Battery life is good, phone is nice and smooth, no crashes or reboots or anything like that. I like the touchwiz skin, but I do use nova launcher, textra SMS, swiftkey keyboard, and google apps for the rest. So the only samsung stuff I use is contacts and dialer.
For me battery life is much better on marshmallow, specially APL2. Other than battery life, everything is better in Nougat.
Amazing on all fronts for me, even battery life sense I use force doze (yes without root) also helps that I am running jrkruse'd TMobile verizon hybrid rom
I just DID the update to a VZW S7 (via Odin and updato.com) using the April update; I'll be applying the June update when I get to full charge. The April update is performing swimmingly - I have zero reason to expect the June update to be worse. (Both are proper V-updates.)
Related
Hi, I have a Verzion TP2 and finally took the plunge to do the VZW WM6.5 upgrade.
Bad decision! I'm experiencing really slow performance and reduced battery life.
I like some of the new features, but the slow performance is not acceptable.
Anyone have any good advice for speeding things up? I know disabling sense UI will help, but then it would just be another crappy WM UI phone.
I did some searching here and wasn't able to find much. (Admittedly I didn't spent tons of time looking.)
Help is greatly appreciated! TIA!
Just put a custom rom on your phone and most of your problems are solved. And believe me, you never want to go back to stock.
THanks for the info. Not certain that I want to go away from stock because my carrier (Verizon) may get quite cranky & not want to support me or service my phone if something goes wrong.
I have an unbranded European version of the phone on the UK Vodafone network, so I'm not sure how much help I can be. But I thought I would offer some advice based on my own experiences.
Firstly I assume the version of WM6.5 you upgraded to is the Sense 2.1 version and not Sense 2.5? I remember when I first upgraded I immediately noticed a big slowdown in comparison to the WM6.1 version which flew. If it's any help, you'll soon learn to live with the slowdown and eventually it will become "normal" and it's only when you downgrade you'll realise the difference.
In terms of speeding up the device there is not much you can do, apart from reduce the ram usage. There are a couple of cabs which significantly lower the ram usage.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=532948
Secondly you might want to install an app called "memmaid" or "sktools" and disable certain processes and apps from starting up. Admittedly I don't really know what most of these processes do, but I've generally found these ones are ok to disable:
certenroll
notificationmanager
htcsipsrvc
gpsprivacy
softwaredisable
htcservices
dtpt
sqmupload
btagsvc
ssw
ussd
htcap
The same goes for startup applications where I have found these are ok to disable. (ignore the apps that are not installed on your device)
poutlook
speedbmonitor
delwmptempfolder
htcstartup
pkg
spbmobileshell (I have a switcher between this and Sense interface so dont need it on startup)
memmaidtweaks
superstarter.exe
Also, I remember seeing certain apps u can download from here that strip certain branded roms of all the bloatware. As my Touch Pro 2 is not branded, I've never used one and don't have any knowledge on them. But I'm sure someone on here will gladly point you in the right direction for a Verizon one. (If it indeed exists)
You might also want to install "advancedconfig" where you can tweak certain things in your phone to speed it up a bit.
I realise you don't want to go down the custom rom route, but unfortunately it may the only way to achieve what you want. I've now customised my official WM6.5 Sense 2.1 rom to how I want it (whilst waiting for my upgrade so I can switch to something like the HTC Desire on Android) and therefore don't use a custom rom, but I've tested the vast majority of the custom roms and I'm sure you'll find something you like. In your case, I'd suggest a hybrid of WM6.1 with the Sense 2.5 interface. If you can get your head around the lack of smooth scrolling in certain apps and what-not, you'll find a nice balance of speed and a very pretty sense 2.5 interface. (I personally couldn't get my head around it haha!)
I'd very much like to use a custom rom as I quite like Sense 2.5, but there was always a problem with the text message app. Be it the very slow "HTC Messaging" or the problem with the unread count after disabling it. I haven't tried a custom rom in a few months now so I'm not sure if this has been resolved. If so, can someone please let me know as I can't keep hard resetting my phone to test.
Anywayz good luck, and I hope this helped a bit. I don't come on this site too often but I will bookmark this page and try and remember to check it so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks fade to black for your well laid out response.
I am also waiting to upgrade to the Desire next month but I am not sure I want to get rid of my Touch pro 2. I am so used to the hardware keyboard plus even though I would have had the phone for 1 year by 30 July, it looks brand new. Carrying 2 smartphones about is not an option for me. I have also just had the screen replaced under warranty after it developed newton rings. HTC returned the phone with the latest WM6.5 i.e. with Sense 2.5 and it seems very smooth. No crashes or nothing since I have had it back about a week now.
You're very lucky then as I still have a year left on my contract :-( Lol..
Yeah losing the hardware keyboard is a bit worrying, but i've not had the HTC Wizard, then the Kaiser, and then the Touch Pro 2. So to be honest I'm quite looking forward to a "thin" device for once. Hopefully will be able to get used to the onscreen keyboard.
You could always try waiting a few more months until HTC release an android device with a keyboard? Tbh it's quite surprising how they haven't already.
@Fade2Black101 Thanks for the suggestions! I have begun looking at things and immediately went for disabling the push internet because my memory is a bit tight. Well, instead of installing the CAB file I went in to manually edit the registry and found that it was not enabled in my ROM. :-(
I'm going to try some of the other stuf you suggested, but have not had time as of yet.
I probably shouldn't be, but I am shocked that Verizon released an update that brings the phone to it's knees in terms of performance.
was there a noticable difference in ram usage after editing the push setting? I remember when I tried doing it manually and it didnt have the same effect as installing the cab. So unless you noticed a big change, i'd suggest using the cab.
I don't have Verizon, but, if the rom's out there for Verizon are like the GSM ones, you can probably download the "stock" Verizon Rom, in case you need warranty service. Just flash back to the stock version before returning it.
Of course, if you phone is unbootable, then, you're pretty much screwed
Sailing_Nut said:
THanks for the info. Not certain that I want to go away from stock because my carrier (Verizon) may get quite cranky & not want to support me or service my phone if something goes wrong.
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fade2black101 said:
was there a noticable difference in ram usage after editing the push setting? I remember when I tried doing it manually and it didnt have the same effect as installing the cab. So unless you noticed a big change, i'd suggest using the cab.
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I checked the registry and the settings weren't even there except for one and it was set to disabled. Also when I check the task manager under processes, opera isn't there. So I'm pretty sure that push internet is not running on my phone.
Hi to all of you. I recently did buy a LG G3 with KitKat 4.4.2. Phone is awesome, battery lasts a lot for this screen over a day and a half (medium usage), without lagginess, maybe after restart it takes about 1 second to find everything but generally i am very happy with my purchcase. I have some questions though. Recently i got a OTA update about sth vcalled 20e. Its an update ~555mb and after some search i found out that this is the Lollipop official firmware. After plugging my phone into the LG PC Suite, i found out that even a newer version is available the 20f firmware ~over 1gb. Here starts my questions. Is it worth to go from kitkat to jellybean? Or is it better to stick with kitkat until they fix all the bugs i found out on forums. (So far i saw battery doesnt last so long, wireless charging has problems, lte doesnt work on most devices, others said about lagginess, most apps do not work with the new ART system). So what are your thoughts about this? Also i want to remove some google apps like google drive, and i want to remove this McAfee. Is there any possible way to do that easily without ruining my phone?
SotosTzam said:
Hi to all of you. I recently did buy a LG G3 with KitKat 4.4.2. Phone is awesome, battery lasts a lot for this screen over a day and a half (medium usage), without lagginess, maybe after restart it takes about 1 second to find everything but generally i am very happy with my purchcase. I have some questions though. Recently i got a OTA update about sth vcalled 20e. Its an update ~555mb and after some search i found out that this is the Lollipop official firmware. After plugging my phone into the LG PC Suite, i found out that even a newer version is available the 20f firmware ~over 1gb. Here starts my questions. Is it worth to go from kitkat to jellybean? Or is it better to stick with kitkat until they fix all the bugs i found out on forums. (So far i saw battery doesnt last so long, wireless charging has problems, lte doesnt work on most devices, others said about lagginess, most apps do not work with the new ART system). So what are your thoughts about this? Also i want to remove some google apps like google drive, and i want to remove this McAfee. Is there any possible way to do that easily without ruining my phone?
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Click to collapse
Stay on 4.4.2. Most of your research is correct - 5.0 is laggy, drains battery faster, there is "while on wireless charger, screen turns itself on constanly after charge reached 100%" bug, etc.
No, on 5.0 you can delete mcafee only via code from their support. And there is no way to delete Gapps wout root, which can only be obtained by flashing prerooted rom.
About apps - 99.9% of apps do work with ART. However, some - like Webkit-based apps - do crash sometimes.
About lte - only affects people who bought phones that were intended for different region. Region can be changed, btw, so it's not a real problem - it's just a ton of n00bs whining about "bug" they brought on themselves.
YaDr said:
Stay on 4.4.2. Most of your research is correct - 5.0 is laggy, drains battery faster, there is "while on wireless charger, screen turns itself on constanly after charge reached 100%" bug, etc.
No, on 5.0 you can delete mcafee only via code from their support. And there is no way to delete Gapps wout root, which can only be obtained by flashing prerooted rom.
About apps - 99.9% of apps do work with ART. However, some - like Webkit-based apps - do crash sometimes.
About lte - only affects people who bought phones that were intended for different region. Region can be changed, btw, so it's not a real problem - it's just a ton of n00bs whining about "bug" they brought on themselves.
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So you propose to stick with KitKat 4.4.2 and wait a couple of months until Lollipop gets better?, because i also heard the new art system is faster and more reliable. And generally the Lollipop is meant to be faster than kitkat. If you all advise me so, i will keep this thread open so that i can reply back or even ask more when the time comes
SotosTzam said:
So you propose to stick with KitKat 4.4.2 and wait a couple of months until Lollipop gets better?, because i also heard the new art system is faster and more reliable. And generally the Lollipop is meant to be faster than kitkat. If you all advise me so, i will keep this thread open so that i can reply back or even ask more when the time comes
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Well, i do advise to stick to 4.4.2 until LG fixes 5.0. However, there are thousands of members on xda. You may want to hear other's opinions before deciding anything.
P.S.: ART is faster than dalvik, there is no compilation-in-runtime overhead.
I'd wait and see if it eventually gets to 5.0.2. In earlier versions of LP, there is a memory leak that causes the system to slow down after awhile. 5.0.2 apparently fixes this. However, I have 5.0.2 on my Nexus 7 tablet and after awhile, I still notice performance issues that require a reboot, so I don't know if they really have the memory leak fixed or not. That's a pretty nasty bug that needs to be fixed before I install it on this phone.
Currently, KK runs great. And, if you want the LP look, you can do a few things:
Install Nova launcher and switch to LP icons
Install Xposed (which won't work on LP) and there is an Xposed module to give you the LP nav bar icons
KK on this phone runs great for me. No issues and I have no reason to go to LP at this time. Until they get the memory leak fixed, no dice for me. I love having a phone that doesn't require a reboot.
Agreed with most of the above. I actually upgraded mine to Lollipop. The experience was horrific. I went back to Kitkat and absolutely have no issues with the phone. It's a dream compared to Lollipop.
I also rooted and use the Tweaksbox to add lollipop styling. I won't be moving to lollipop again any time soon.
SotosTzam said:
Hi to all of you. I recently did buy a LG G3 with KitKat 4.4.2. Phone is awesome, battery lasts a lot for this screen over a day and a half (medium usage), without lagginess, maybe after restart it takes about 1 second to find everything but generally i am very happy with my purchcase. I have some questions though. Recently i got a OTA update about sth vcalled 20e. Its an update ~555mb and after some search i found out that this is the Lollipop official firmware. After plugging my phone into the LG PC Suite, i found out that even a newer version is available the 20f firmware ~over 1gb. Here starts my questions. Is it worth to go from kitkat to jellybean? Or is it better to stick with kitkat until they fix all the bugs i found out on forums. (So far i saw battery doesnt last so long, wireless charging has problems, lte doesnt work on most devices, others said about lagginess, most apps do not work with the new ART system). So what are your thoughts about this? Also i want to remove some google apps like google drive, and i want to remove this McAfee. Is there any possible way to do that easily without ruining my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My advice is go for it. In my experience with the lollipop update all those little hick ups that appear occasionally (especially in animations and while pulling down notification bar) are gone. Lollipop is fluid and smooth, and rock stable. So far i haven't faced any FCs, glitches etc.. Everything is working fine (well, at least on my phone) and better than what it used to be on kitkat. Battery life is as good, if not even slightly better on lollipop.
I came from a nexus 5, and have been a nexus user for the last 3 generations, so i have high standards when it comes to lag and performance.
P.s. i have the 32gb/3gb RAM and i'm on stock firmware.
As an answer from LG Hellas, i got this: That the phone is working whole better and faster than kitkat (as lollipop), and that all errors are fixed. Also the lollipop update can use the whole processing power of the phone and as a result toghether with the art system, the phone is working better and faster with less battery drain than before. Also downgrading to their lg shops costs :/ . That was their answer to me.
I have a question for you guys. When i play a song sometimes particular songs show wrong album arts. And the correct are blurry. What size should i make them in order to show as good quality?
EDIT
Anything from 1000x1000 up to whatever you like you have some decent and good quality on any song. Because i found a problem and i think many of you out there have this problem as well. If some album arts display wrong, change that track's album to something.
The long awaited Lollipop update for Samsung Note 4 is here. For some of us. Maybe it could have waited a bit longer; especially the Developer Edition group who suffers some minor setbacks at the moment... But developers are hard at work trying to snuff out a bug dealing with the brightness control, affected by the reflash of the aboot.mbn (the file we use to put the Note 4 in Developer mode - a.k.a. unlocked), as well as fighting the new Lollipop architecture and compatibility of some applications, including but not limited to xposed framework / modules, and some other not-ready-for-Lollipop-prime-time applications (requiring root, and some not...)
But, while there are a few approaches to getting LP on those devices and keeping the developer option - I wish to report at least my take on Lollipop. I like it. I like it very much. My initial "road test" seems to be quite positive...
I will list the no-so-good items I found so far, which are just a few;
1. As stated above, yes I suffer the lack of brightness control too, where the device stays @ 100% brightness all the time. the other part of that is, if you try and adjust the lighting profile like dynamic, cinema, and or photo etc, it also does not work - I think from the same issue.
2. I also want to report that even with the battery cover off, during all the flashing, my unit got quite hot and reported overheating... but, since the flashing completed, the unit get's a tad warmer (that's my perception) now and then, but in either case, the battery life seems unaffected by it - which is good....
3. Lastly the app installations go a bit slower than KK in my opinion, sometimes a lot slower. But, once installed, and running, all is ok...
So, the "road test" - this is based on a developer version, with the OTA of LP, which hit our devices, just like non-developers - same day.
The noticeable benefits:
1. The phone boots quicker. definitely an improvement over KK
2. Major change in Hardware GPS performance and accuracy. The acquisition is similar to KK, but the accuracy is far better than KK even JB, for sure - Using GPS Test Plus, I get consistent 10ft accurace, whereas before, in KK / JB, it'd get to 10ft every so often, yet seemed to bounce between 13ft and 16ft most of the time... I'm very happy bout this.
3. Bluetooth sync / paring - It was like I had a whole new phone, faster sync, it actually found my speakerphone without me having to make the unit visible, nice...
4. Using TWRP, backups to the internal sdcard0 were 94 seconds to completion, and that was with TWRP, SuperSU, and Root Explorer installed. The best time, after I de-bloated the phone, removing a bucketload of Samsung apps, Some Google, Some Verizon, Virtually all Location Service Software (I'll explain briefly later) and a great handful of applications - brought the TWRP backup time to just 72 seconds - just amazing!!!!
5. DE bloating went smooth, no app stoppages upon reboot, pretty dang clean... Aside from SuperSU and Root Explorer, I was down to about 18 visible apps - "The Naked Lollipop!!"
6. I think I am seeing an improvement on fast charge, if anything, it's not getting worse, which is great...
7. I like the whole UI / UX of Lollipop better than the other OS's, more ergonomic, more notifying, flatter look n feel - but, maybe it's me, cause it's new...
8. Native Call Recording works great (have to be rooted) - this is an app flashable if rooted, not associated w / xposed. General phone use seems to be cool - still getting used to the end button in the middle of the screen...
I have not tried a full audio / video / media test yet, on fidelity etc... that will be a bit later on...
What is everyone's experience with LP, rooted / non-rooted etc.?
The talk in the other Lollipop Threads is that battery life is a lot worse. Do you think that might be a Retail Edition problem that doesn't affect DE's? Maybe caused by the OTA flash? When I tried it I found an unacceptable problem that I may have missed the fix for. Possibly it'll be OK the next time I try. The real problem was I was unable to restore my KK backup in TWRP 2.8.5.0. I ended up having to start fresh. Another real problem is the inability to turn down the screen brightness on all of the white backgrounds gives me a headache. I'm probably going to wait for the fix for that.
Starting from scratch isn't a real problem because I usually think of improvements for my new installation. I am concerned about not being able to restore though. I'm going to replace my last back-up but I was wondering if TWRP 2.8.6.0.might be better. Are there any thoughts on that matter?
I've been on the fence about upgrading to my main 2 XL (O 8.1) to Pie mainly to get Night Sight -- so appreciate hearing any main issues on Pie that haven't been addressed/patched yet.
Only stayed on 8.1 this long because it's been remarkably rock solid for me on everything. I've read the various Bluetooth, connectivity, battery life, and other issues reported for months after Pie was released. So I've been pretty lukewarm on Pie other than missing out on Night Sight.
It sounds like the BT "disable absolute volume" issue in Pie was fixed via an update just several months ago, so I'm assuming that eliminated one big problem. (I use this with a bunch of BT speakers and headsets so it was a dealbreaker until fixed.) Appreciate it if someone can confirm just to be sure. As much as I really want Night Sight, it's not worth losing battery life or reliable connectivity to get it -- those come first in my book. (I tried sideloading the earlier adapted camera apk with early Night Sight but it won't install on 8.1 -- I surmised it requires 9.0.)
Sure, I could wait for Q, but for my usage, I prefer updating to mature, stable releases whenever possible for my daily driver phone.
So how is Pie doing today on the Pixel 2 XL? Any remaining issues?
Actually, I didn't face any issues except RAM management, I mean this is the same with Pixel3 series. To deal with this, I use ZRAM mechanism to solve, just flash a custom kernel and download EX kernel manager or some tweak tools and then enable and expand the ZRAM to 1024M. The battery life is amazing that SOT could reach 8 hrs as common sense. Night sight has been a default feature in the stock camera when you upgrade to the latest version, also, you can use custom Gcam if you like, which contains more new features such as long exposure, etc. Hope you can be happy with your device.
T-888 said:
I've been on the fence about upgrading to my main 2 XL (O 8.1) to Pie mainly to get Night Sight -- so appreciate hearing any main issues on Pie that haven't been addressed/patched yet.
Only stayed on 8.1 this long because it's been remarkably rock solid for me on everything. I've read the various Bluetooth, connectivity, battery life, and other issues reported for months after Pie was released. So I've been pretty lukewarm on Pie other than missing out on Night Sight.
It sounds like the BT "disable absolute volume" issue in Pie was fixed via an update just several months ago, so I'm assuming that eliminated one big problem. (I use this with a bunch of BT speakers and headsets so it was a dealbreaker until fixed.) Appreciate it if someone can confirm just to be sure. As much as I really want Night Sight, it's not worth losing battery life or reliable connectivity to get it -- those come first in my book. (I tried sideloading the earlier adapted camera apk with early Night Sight but it won't install on 8.1 -- I surmised it requires 9.0.)
Sure, I could wait for Q, but for my usage, I prefer updating to mature, stable releases whenever possible for my daily driver phone.
So how is Pie doing today on the Pixel 2 XL? Any remaining issues?
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Out of curiosity, what is this "disable absolute volume" feature that you speak of?
Sentheb3ast said:
Out of curiosity, what is this "disable absolute volume" feature that you speak of?
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[Hmmm, just tried posting this from my phone browser and it didn't appear here. So, let me try this again -- might be a near-duplicate posting, but I added more here.]
Here's my perspective on "Disable Absolute Volume" (DAV), and why it's important:
It's buried under the "Developer options" under "System" settings in Oreo once you enable the Developer options. Essentially DAV gives you finer control over the volume steps for Bluetooth-connected audio devices. Think Bluetooth speakers, headphones, hands-free headsets, and your car.
For instance, without DAV enabled, the volume might jump up or down too much (sometimes drastically) or nowhere near enough with each press of your phone's volume keys. So it makes it really hard or sometimes impossible to find the sweet spot for volume control from your phone. IIRC, without DAV enabled, my music volume to my various BT speakers from my Pixel 2XL was far too low, with only the last couple of volume steps jumping it way up loud -- nothing moderate in the middle. And my BT speaker was sometimes in another room from the phone, so you can guess how frustrating that was.
With DAV enabled, you get more moderate/finer steps in volume from the phone, like we used to have in earlier Android versions. In other words, we have to turn off absolute volume control by enabling DAV to get back to where we were. I guess that's called progress these days. There were a small number of earlier reports that Pie 9.0 broke DAV, but seem to recall seeing just a few users say it was fixed via a monthly update in late 2018 (Dec?). So I'm looking for confirmation here. IIRC, Google wasn't even acknowledging it as an issue for months on their support forums.
I listen to so much music from my phone via BT (near-daily) and use a hands-free headset for calls, that as much as I REALLY want Night Sight for the camera, it's not worth it to me if I lose DAV or have additional wireless connectivity issues or other deal-breakers.
So that's why I posted my original query above. I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading to 9.0 now vs. holding pat with Oreo 8.1 (but no security updates sucks) vs. waiting for Q (and its bugs as a new release). The fact that Pie isn't getting a 9.1 update isn't comforting either. Sure, Google can push some updates via the monthly patches, but it tells me that they're putting their dev resources mainly into Q instead.
Hope this helps, and I'd appreciate any responses that could help me make a more informed decision either way -- as this is my main phone.
jayxiao171735 said:
Actually, I didn't face any issues except RAM management, I mean this is the same with Pixel3 series. To deal with this, I use ZRAM mechanism to solve, just flash a custom kernel and download EX kernel manager or some tweak tools and then enable and expand the ZRAM to 1024M. The battery life is amazing that SOT could reach 8 hrs as common sense. Night sight has been a default feature in the stock camera when you upgrade to the latest version, also, you can use custom Gcam if you like, which contains more new features such as long exposure, etc. Hope you can be happy with your device.
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Click to collapse
Thanks jayxiao171735. I'm not rooting or installing custom kernels, so this one is stock Android. Appreciate your other comments.
So are you saying that RAM management is worse on Pixel 2 XL with stock Pie just like the Pixel 3's issues in this regard (closing other apps more quickly, etc.)? I do stream music in the background a lot -- been hearing how a number of users have reported Spotify closing on the P3 when you do something else RAM-intensive like open the camera app. (I don't use that service, but guessing it'll be similar for other background streaming apps.)
I'm starting to wonder if I should just skip Pie and wait for Q since I've waited this long already. Do we keep the onscreen buttons as an option in Q? Not having tried the gestures in Pie, for the moment I really like having the buttons. As long as we keep them as an option either way, I'm good with that.
Other than missing out on Night Sight, pretty much everything has been rock solid on my Pixel 2 XL on 8.1. It's been hands-down the best phone I've owned to date. Snappy, reliable, great battery life, awesome camera even without NS, and no bloatware!
Got it as a free carrier warranty replacement for an older phone past its prime, so I'm not complaining at all. I'm just trying maximize my enjoyment. It's great as-is, but as an amateur photographer, I feel like I'm missing out on Night Sight on occasion. But it's not worth it to me to take on other more substantial issues, annoyances, etc. to get it. So that's why I'm trying to find out what's in store if I upgrade to Pie currently. Typically late OS releases tend to be the most stable and fixed, but not always.
Thanks.
T-888 said:
Thanks jayxiao171735. I'm not rooting or installing custom kernels, so this one is stock Android. Appreciate your other comments.
So are you saying that RAM management is worse on Pixel 2 XL with stock Pie just like the Pixel 3's issues in this regard (closing other apps more quickly, etc.)? I do stream music in the background a lot -- been hearing how a number of users have reported Spotify closing on the P3 when you do something else RAM-intensive like open the camera app. (I don't use that service, but guessing it'll be similar for other background streaming apps.)
I'm starting to wonder if I should just skip Pie and wait for Q since I've waited this long already. Do we keep the onscreen buttons as an option in Q? Not having tried the gestures in Pie, for the moment I really like having the buttons. As long as we keep them as an option either way, I'm good with that.
Other than missing out on Night Sight, pretty much everything has been rock solid on my Pixel 2 XL on 8.1. It's been hands-down the best phone I've owned to date. Snappy, reliable, great battery life, awesome camera even without NS, and no bloatware!
Got it as a free carrier warranty replacement for an older phone past its prime, so I'm not complaining at all. I'm just trying maximize my enjoyment. It's great as-is, but as an amateur photographer, I feel like I'm missing out on Night Sight on occasion. But it's not worth it to me to take on other more substantial issues, annoyances, etc. to get it. So that's why I'm trying to find out what's in store if I upgrade to Pie currently. Typically late OS releases tend to be the most stable and fixed, but not always.
Thanks.
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First, I think keeping on Oero is not bad, Pie is pretty good, since I have used Oero version for a long time, I cannot say they are completely different. Although Pie has a better UI design and system animation, it doesn't interfere with your casual usage. Don't try Q now, it is far more stable and reliable, also I feel it is really laggy compared to Pie. As you said, stay on Oero might just miss the night sight camera feature, but you can still take brilliant pics on daytime. If you like to take pics of the night scene, Huawei P30 series might be more suitable for you. Apart from that, I didn't face any issue of RAM management on Oero like Pie. Overall, I do believe you can stay on Oero if you like. By the way, I like taking photos same as you, my INS is freman004, we can follow each other. Thanks.
I'm currently on the summer 2021 release of the Verizon stock rom based on Android 11 and ONE UI 3.1, but have been hearing about newer versions based on Android 12. I'm fairly happy with the performance of the existing combination, (the speed and battery life are nothing short of epic) but have never found a solution for the longstanding bug where audio playback inside of Shazam is choppy.
My question to the community is if newer builds of the stock rom fix the choppy Shazam audio playback, and also, whether or not they break the Wichita version of the Google Camera app, which I rely on extensively (unless there's a less-broken distribution that I haven't heard about yet, in which case, lay it on me!).
Well, I finally bit the bullet and chomped down all the dirty/in-place updates for both the stock rom based on Android 11 and Android 12. After I inserted a T-Mobile-branded sim card, it set off a whirlwind of changes, including switching the stock rom from the Verizon rom to the T-Moible one all by itself somehow. Lots of nasty packages to disable, but it calms down well enough after doing so. Among other things, the T-Mobile stock rom is extremely aggressive about software updates. I let it push me around this time, but after getting through the batch, I did disable the obnoxious & pushy updater.
I can confirm that choppy Shazam audio was fixed by one of those (can't remember which one) and that the Google Camera app still works in the new rom, so that's a win. The sidecar widgets are degraded, and the little animation that appears when power is connected looks kind of weird, but everything else is alright, except for the horrible widget shaping on the newer stock Samsung launcher. Also, the friendlier band switching menu is stripped out, requiring use of the dialer code to prompt the more primitive one.
If anyone was on the fence about it, as long as you're okay with those minor caveats, I'd recommend going along for the upgrade.