Develop Bugs

[Q] ZE550ML or ZE551ML?

My old phone was broken last week (eMMC flash half-died for no reason, malfunction charging port and touch part of the screen). :angel:
I'm planning to buy a Zenfone 2, but I'm kinda confuse because there are too many variants
As I know, the different is processor clock, storage and especially RAM and display resolution.
My old phone using 4.7" 1280x800 display, so 1280x720 in 5.5" isn't a big problem.
I think 2GB of RAM kinda enough for me (I'm not playing any heavy game, just some card games, multi-tasking with Facebook, PowerAMP, SwiftKey, BookReader and Skype while using Facebook)
Does the lower spec variant (ZE550ML) give me better battery life? Because it's lower processor clock and especially lower display resolution.
If isn't much (I'm pretty sure it will affect battery life), I will pay more 50 bucks to go with ZE551ML for Full HD display.
I already have a 32GB class 10 so 16GB or 32GB internal is enough for me :laugh:
Sorry for my poor English.
Update: I have new deal for Xiaomi Mi4 (yes, the flagship) with $250.
Now I'm confusing between Zenfone 2 and Mi4

If they sort the OS out, the 550 should definitely give you better battery life, but at the moment android system is the main thing drinking the juice, not the screen. Anyway, I went for the 550 to save money (where I live it was the equivalent of about $100 less than the 551 with the same 1.8ghz CPU, and $150 less than the 2.3ghz model). I don't regret my decision. The 720p screen is good enough for my old eyes and because it is pushing fewer pixels it is near enough as fast as the 2.3ghz model. 2GB memory is plenty - who really needs to do heavy multitasking on a phone anyway? Multitasking for me means, at most, web surfing and checking facebook while listening to podcasts or streaming radio. No problem. I also have zero need for NFC. The reduced storage (16GB V 32 OR 64) is the biggest drawback for me, but with SD card support it is not a big issue - this ain't no iPhone (or S6) Of course the 2.3ghz 4GB 551 is better, but if you are on a tight budget the 550 is exceptional value.

The 550 should be good enough for your uses. 551 is more for heavy gaming and multitasking.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD

I split the difference and went with the 1.8GHz/4GB RAM variant. You'll get the sharper display and double the RAM without having to spend another $50 to get the faster CPU. I think it's a good compromise if you can't quite stretch to the 2.3GHz model. With the fact that you can use a microSD and OTG it isn't a big deal to only get 32GB instead of 64 (for me at least). As was mentioned, the main power drain is due to software issues which will hopefully get patched soon.
The 550 is considerably cheaper though and the max screen brightness is supposed noticeably better for some reason. Might be a consideration if you use the phone outside in bright conditions a lot, since the 551 is pretty poor in that respect.

Thank you guys for replying.
It's kinda hard to find ZE551ML with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage even at grey market here.
The 551 at grey market is the same price with the 550 (distributed by an authorized distributor) but usually out of stock. And they have the same 12-month warranty duration.
The 551 with more 50 bucks that I mentioned above is 2GB RAM/32GB storage version.
I think I will take the ZE551ML. :victory:

Archmage1809 said:
Thank you guys for replying.
It's kinda hard to find ZE551ML with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage even at grey market here.
The 551 at grey market is the same price with the 550 (distributed by an authorized distributor) but usually out of stock. And they have the same 12-month warranty duration.
The 551 with more 50 bucks that I mentioned above is 2GB RAM/32GB storage version.
I think I will take the ZE551ML. :victory:
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Click to collapse
Good choice... Also I just want to mention that not only the OS is drinking the battery juice. Intel's binary translator is called often,too,as soon as you execute a non-x86 compatible app

Update: I have new deal for Xiaomi Mi4 (yes, the flagship) with $250.
Now I'm confusing between Zenfone 2 and Mi4

I didn't know there was a ZE551 model with 2 gb/16gb version, we only have two versions here ze550 with 4gb/16gb/1.8mhz and the ze551 with 4gb/64gb/2.3mhz, for a $125 cdn more I'll take the ze551 hands down because it's faster core and 4x the storage.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

Archmage1809 said:
Update: I have new deal for Xiaomi Mi4 (yes, the flagship) with $250.
Now I'm confusing between Zenfone 2 and Mi4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its s flagship but i heard alot of over heating mi4..if you can deal with that then its up to you
---------- Post added at 05:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:39 AM ----------
gavin19 said:
I split the difference and went with the 1.8GHz/4GB RAM variant. You'll get the sharper display and double the RAM without having to spend another $50 to get the faster CPU. I think it's a good compromise if you can't quite stretch to the 2.3GHz model. With the fact that you can use a microSD and OTG it isn't a big deal to only get 32GB instead of 64 (for me at least). As was mentioned, the main power drain is due to software issues which will hopefully get patched soon.
The 550 is considerably cheaper though and the max screen brightness is supposed noticeably better for some reason. Might be a consideration if you use the phone outside in bright conditions a lot, since the 551 is pretty poor in that respect.
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Click to collapse
no wonder i see lots of people saying zenfone 2 brightness are too low..your correct ..maybe they have the 551 version..as to my 550ml screen brightness is above average and screen brightness when settings high goes really high..i meant literally bright its jus 720 * 1080 p

pato2015 said:
its s flagship but i heard alot of over heating mi4..if you can deal with that then its up to you
---------- Post added at 05:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:39 AM ----------
no wonder i see lots of people saying zenfone 2 brightness are too low..your correct ..maybe they have the 551 version..as to my 550ml screen brightness is above average and screen brightness when settings high goes really high..i meant literally bright its jus 720 * 1080 p
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Click to collapse
I have 551 ang brightness is not an issue.
Posted using my phone.

jose makalolot said:
I have 551 ang brightness is not an issue.
Posted using my phone.
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Click to collapse
I have the same model brightness it's sufficient for my use, not as nice as my super amoled screen on my galaxy but I also didn't pay the price for it, I'm quite happy with my zf2, the features and speed totally out weighs the nice screen.
Sent from my ZF2ze551 with TapaTalk

Converting from a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

I'm planning to sell my old Z1C for a 5.5 inch Zenfone 2 (2gb)... Will it be worth it? How's overall performace on this? App compatibilities (the mobile Intel processor is foreign to me)? Official and dev support?

2k14 said:
I'm planning to sell my old Z1C for a 5.5 inch Zenfone 2 (2gb)... Will it be worth it? How's overall performace on this? App compatibilities (the mobile Intel processor is foreign to me)? Official and dev support?
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Click to collapse
I happen to love my ZF2 ZE551 4/64 since it can run Windoze 7 & 8 w/ a custom kernel supporting kvm. Just my 2 cents

ycavan said:
I happen to love my ZF2 ZE551 4/64 since it can run Windoze 7 & 8 w/ a custom kernel supporting kvm. Just my 2 cents
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Click to collapse
Woah! Windows Phone roms??! That sounds fantastic... But compared to your 4gb device, how will the 2gb one fair? I do basic multitasking, multimedia browsing and my Z1C's 2gb has served me well though...
P.S. My budget doesn't grasp the 4gb model

2k14 said:
Woah! Windows Phone roms??! That sounds fantastic... But compared to your 4gb device, how will the 2gb one fair? I do basic multitasking, multimedia browsing and my Z1C's 2gb has served me well though...
P.S. My budget doesn't grasp the 4gb model
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, no desktop Windoze... not windows phone Please see this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone2/general/zf2-running-windows-7-using-kvm-t3153299
tbh? I'm sure the 2gb phone will be fine for most anything. I have yet to find any apps that don't work on my ZF2 & most Android apps are NOT going to use 2 gigs of ram.

Don't think you'll have any problem with the 2GB version. Is it the 1.8ghz or the 2.3ghz model? Again, it shouldn't make a huge difference - the two chips have identical architecture, the same base speed and the same gpu. The only difference is the higher spec one can turbo higher in bursts. There are some corners cut to sell a device as cheaply as the Zenfone range, but powerful performance isn't lacking, and though it is a low to mid-range device I believe you get more than you pay for and it punches above it's weight. I came from an iPhone 5 to my Zenfone ZE550ML and I love it.

kanagawaben said:
Don't think you'll have any problem with the 2GB version. Is it the 1.8ghz or the 2.3ghz model? Again, it shouldn't make a huge difference - the two chips have identical architecture, the same base speed and the same gpu. The only difference is the higher spec one can turbo higher in bursts. There are some corners cut to sell a device as cheaply as the Zenfone range, but powerful performance isn't lacking, and though it is a low to mid-range device I believe you get more than you pay for and it punches above it's weight. I came from an iPhone 5 to my Zenfone ZE550ML and I love it.
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Click to collapse
I understand the ZF2's stance in the high-mid range of the market however I'm concerned whether the ZF2 will be a downgrade from my Z1C... I'm particularly hoping the ZF2 as similarly snappy and capable as my Z1C but with the advantages that come as a phone thats released this year as opposed to the 2013 Z1C.
Also the Z1C has an amazing camera that has served me well. How's the ZF2's camera?

Well, benchmarks suggest the Zenfone 2 has quite a big performance advantage over your Z1C, and most users on here will probably tell you that it is very smooth and snappy to use in real everyday usage too. The camera on the Zenfone has its detractors, but mostly they are comparing it to things like the Galaxy S6 or iPhones. It is not perfect by any means, but a capable camera given the price. All reviews I have read pretty much slate the Z1/Z1C's camera though, so you might find that the Zenfone's is at least on a par.

Life after P8000

I wondered if anyone had any suggestions as to where to go after our P8000 has worn out? What similarly priced and spec phone is best?

Redmi Note 3 with Snapdragon 650 and 3 GB RAM. Best bang for your buck and Custom ROMs Best phone I ever had especially for that price.

BlueFlame4 said:
Redmi Note 3 with Snapdragon 650 and 3 GB RAM. Best bang for your buck and Custom ROMs Best phone I ever had especially for that price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But no LTE Band 20 (800MHz)

Da-Fied said:
But no LTE Band 20 (800MHz)
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Click to collapse
I agree with @BlueFlame4,
i got that device (Kenzo) when my elephone died. best device. even the GPU is better than mid range phones. its like a high end device in the mid range phone.
if you need band 20 then get the device with the codename Kate, this version has the band 20 implemented in it for Taiwan.
only issue is right now regarding that is some say custom roms work from kenzo, others say they don't etc etc.
mind you, it's been a while since i've used this device.
I hope Xiaomi implements NFC in the redmi note 4 SD version when it comes out.
and really good to see the elephone p8000 rocking

Thank you. Very helpful advice. I think I shall have to have NFC in next phone. It seems the time is right. Does the lack of the band 20 affect UK 4G/3G operators?

In my case I opted for an Asus Zenfone 2 with 4Gb RAM and 32 Gb ROM. Recently updated to Android 6 with a very well working rom, unlike P8000. I only miss the fingerprint sensor, but considering it was a bit underused on the P8000, nothing to miss really

fillippe said:
Thank you. Very helpful advice. I think I shall have to have NFC in next phone. It seems the time is right. Does the lack of the band 20 affect UK 4G/3G operators?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes.
all of O2's 4G is on 800MHz and Three uses it too for building penetration in urban areas and for coverage in less built up places. voda and EE use it too. so while aside from O2 you will still get some 4G in short, yeah it is an issue.

Xiaomi Redmi note 4? I know that it has just a mediatek helio x20 version right now, but I've heard some rumors that it'll have a snapdragon variant too, which is better for development.

I have now bought the Leeco le 2 internationally.
The phone is really great!
Real compass, gyroscope, LTE 20 (800MHz)
Root and Xposed work top.
A nice EUI ... and the best is the kernel source is available.
Perfect successor for 180 € from DE

I bought the LeEco Le Pro 3 for 300 bucks. It's just freakin awesome, does everything, has dual SIM, BIG battery, nice stereo speakers, 4k camera, superfast CPU/GPU etc etc.
Will continue using the P8000 as a navigation system.

I've got P9000 now. Very happy so far.

I ended up getting a Leeco Max X2 x829 for $220. Works great on ATT. 3GB ram, 2.15Ghz quad core, 1080p screen, and 64GB storage. There is no sdcard slot or headphone jack, but easy solution is keeping a 32GB USB stick with a USB type C flat connector on it, attached to my car key ring for backups (Roms, gapps, twrp backup etc...). And keeping the Type C headphone jack on the end of my headphones.

Elephone P8 mini

I will never ever get Elephone again. Like.. not in a million years. They have 0% respect for their customers, 0% support for their phones. Maybe their phones are cheaper than the usual, but f*ck it..it is not worth it. I'm stuck with this damn P8000 for 1,5 years now.. I'm satisfied with the phone and the performance, but i strongly dislike the company. My next phone will definitely be Xiaomi or HTC.
Xiaomi - Cuz they are cheap and have great performance + great customer care
HTC - They have outstanding performance + their OS are very very good.
My .02

Don't laugh at me now but I've gone back to my Galaxy S5 with extended 7000mah battery. Gave the P8000 to my 9 year old daughter.

After Elephone M3 (mine) and P9000 (my wife's):
M3 is/was GREAT after final update. Absolutely no issues.
P9000 - mixed feelings. Elephone never got rid of all bugs and on top it's blacklisted for androidpay. Despite Android 7 and LineageOS14.1 it never lived up to it's position as Elephone's "flagship"
Both phones of course now suffer from the 2 year old Helio-P10-SoC, which was good at that time but now already feels a bit outdated. On the P9000 more than on the M3.
I searched for a worthy successor for the M3 (my wife got my M3 and won't give it back to me...) and compared all available phones in the <200$-class.
With my keystones I came with only one: Elephone P8.
I got one for 163€ (!!!) and after updating it felt nearly perfect. Considering the price it's real blast.
Sadly, mine was defective. No SIM-connection, otherwise ok.
At first I suspected a software-problem and contacted Elephone's customer-support.
And here I must say: They were very very good. Responded very fast (despite the time-difference), explained a lot of things, advised a lot of things to try, even went with me through the flashing-process and a lot of settings.
16 eMails (!) were exchanged between me and Elephone customer-service within one day.
Never had such a good customer-support-experience in my life.

I've now upgraded to Huawei P20 Pro because I find great contract deal. All is very good!

Oneplus3 vs xiaomi mi5s plus, which one to get?

Hey guys, I'm really frustrated about this. I know oneplus 3 is a great smartphone. With a couple of problems. Like storage battery and camera. There are various other options out there too especially mi5s plus. Having snapdragon 821, more battery, 6gb of ram ,better camera and more storage 128 gb for almost the same price. Availability is not a problem as I'm in China. So guys please help and guide me about what should I do and what will be the better buy.

the camera of op3 is great. it's awesome. the real problem is people; they don't know how they can take good pictures with it. Most of the time, the photos of op3 are even sharper than S7 Edge pics...
with manual photography option you can take even more great pictures.
OP3 is a Leader in performance. you can compare it to everything (except iphone). The Dev Support of OP3 is just incredible. and don't forget about price...
So i can clearly tell that Oneplus 3 is sort of best android phone you can buy right now... don't let people and reviews fool you...

Which country do you live in and does the Mi5S support LTE there? Here in the US, no LTE at all.

i have the same question right now...
the only thing that make me hesitating about Xiaomi
is:
1- its not fully supporting all LTE frequency in France as Oneplus 3
2- it based on marshmallow 6.0 while Oneplus 3 on 6.0.1
while for Xiaomi
1- newer processor 821 vs 820
2- faster charge
3- bigger storage 128 vs 64
4- 2 cameras of 13mb vs one 16mb
5- bigger battery 3800 vs 3000
for price, it does not make that difference 2500 CNY vs 2600 CNY in china (375 $ vs 390 $)... 15$ !!!!!!
for warranty, in Europe, we don't have official dialer for both of them
for support, both of them supported by XDA
for both of them, as i live in Europe, i have to buy it through internet dealer
but this is not a problem for you since you are already in China

alirezamatrian1 said:
the camera of op3 is great. it's awesome. the real problem is people; they don't know how they can take good pictures with it. Most of the time, the photos of op3 are even sharper than S7 Edge pics...
with manual photography option you can take even more great pictures.
OP3 is a Leader in performance. you can compare it to everything (except iphone). The Dev Support of OP3 is just incredible. and don't forget about price...
So i can clearly tell that Oneplus 3 is sort of best android phone you can buy right now... don't let people and reviews fool you...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I know, ofcourse but the real problem is the storage. And the new xiaomi mi5s plus is the new leader in performance it's benchmark has landed it above even the one plus 3 and the dual camera setup takes way better pictures. But there is OIS in it and the design and finger print reader makes me a little worried in buying it.

darkjedi said:
Which country do you live in and does the Mi5S support LTE there? Here in the US, no LTE at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I plan to stay in China for a while. But personally what do you think about this ? I don't like the design of the plus varient

DR_ASHK said:
i have the same question right now...
the only thing that make me hesitating about Xiaomi
is:
1- its not fully supporting all LTE frequency in France as Oneplus 3
2- it based on marshmallow 6.0 while Oneplus 3 on 6.0.1
while for Xiaomi
1- newer processor 821 vs 820
2- faster charge
3- bigger storage 128 vs 64
4- 2 cameras of 13mb vs one 16mb
5- bigger battery 3800 vs 3000
for price, it does not make that difference 2500 CNY vs 2600 CNY in china (375 $ vs 390 $)... 15$ !!!!!!
for warranty, in Europe, we don't have official dialer for both of them
for support, both of them supported by XDA
for both of them, as i live in Europe, i have to buy it through internet dealer
but this is not a problem for you since you are already in China
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG borther!!!
Same thinking, but I actually think the fast charging on op3 is alot better and the fingerprint reader seems to be faster then 5s plus. Also the design the main thing that is making me think the decision of buying plus. I really love op3 but this storage is really making me think. As 5s plus is almost the same price for double the storage with better performance and camera. I hoped that they would make the 5s plus also look a little better in term of design.

You know I have Mi5s plus and I don't observe any lags in finger scanning. Also it is located in Perfect place. I had S7edge and Home Button sometimes got me frustrated. And about LTE800- yes it is a bit confusing to go outside of big cities and have only UMTS speed. But for me is not a very big issue because I dont transfer huge files over mobile data. The big problem is OTG support - it is not supporting external hdd drives and even ssd disks. I used sucessfully only pendrive with 64gb- this is the thing which gives Mi5s plus a big minus. Rest are Perfect.
Sent from my MI 5s Plus using XDA-Developers mobile app

Switching from Galaxy Note 5 to Mi Max 3. Wise Decision?

Hello Friends,
I am a currently using Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Love the phone EXCEPT the battery. in terms of Screen-On time, It hardly lasts for 3.5 hours. I use my phone a lot and have to charge it 3 to 4 times a day. Moreover, there is no SD card slot and am hanged with 32 GB storage ONLY.
I was in market looking for a new phone by replacing note 5. Things I want in new phone:
a) bigger screen
b) bigger battery
c) Dual sim
d) SD card support
e) Ram over 4 GB
f) Camera with OIS
g) Under $300
h) S-Amoled Screen
Now it ticks many boxes except point F and H. I am huge on camera. I love taking pics and videos. The lack of OIS is sorta deal breaker for me but IF the camera works really well without it, I can live.
Anyhow, I want your suggestions, moving from Galaxy Note 5 to Xaomi, is it a wise decision?

100% wise decision. Order 6gb/128gb variant with xiaomi.eu rom from TradingShenzhen (theirs is the one with least headache and hiccups), and I'll walk you through the process. We have excellent camera and even better quality with camera2api enabled via magisk(root) for Google camera.

opasha said:
100% wise decision. Order 6gb/128gb variant with xiaomi.eu rom from TradingShenzhen (theirs is the one with least headache and hiccups), and I'll walk you through the process. We have excellent camera and even better quality with camera2api enabled via magisk(root) for Google camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was planning to get it from Dubai. I am visiting there in January. I hope to get it under some deal(s).
You think the price will be even more stable (drop) by Jan?
And by the way, my experience with non-flagship phones has been bizarre. I mean after 1.5 years their parts start failing like microphone etc. I mean companies use really mediocre parts for non-flagship phones.

filthykid said:
I was planning to get it from Dubai. I am visiting there in January. I hope to get it under some deal(s).
You think the price will be even more stable (drop) by Jan?
And by the way, my experience with non-flagship phones has been bizarre. I mean after 1.5 years their parts start failing like microphone etc. I mean companies use really mediocre parts for non-flagship phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dubai is overpriced. I'd avoid the wait and order online and have it in a few days. That's just me. Prices will stay around the same. They've hovered around $300-350 US for some time. No issues with this phone so far. No complaints either from month long users. Xiaomi is on another level. My bro has a mi book pro that is running flawless. It's all in how you care for your products. I would never recommend anything bad to anyone especially if not owning or wanting it for myself. I'm a heavy user from rooted Note 8 to rooted Mi Max 3. Absolutely no regrets.

lol, lot of people even switched their Note FE, note 8 to Max 3 ...

filthykid said:
Hello Friends,
I am a currently using Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Love the phone EXCEPT the battery. in terms of Screen-On time, It hardly lasts for 3.5 hours. I use my phone a lot and have to charge it 3 to 4 times a day. Moreover, there is no SD card slot and am hanged with 32 GB storage ONLY.
I was in market looking for a new phone by replacing note 5. Things I want in new phone:
a) bigger screen
b) bigger battery
c) Dual sim
d) SD card support
e) Ram over 4 GB
f) Camera with OIS
g) Under $300
h) S-Amoled Screen
Now it ticks many boxes except point F and H. I am huge on camera. I love taking pics and videos. The lack of OIS is sorta deal breaker for me but IF the camera works really well without it, I can live.
Anyhow, I want your suggestions, moving from Galaxy Note 5 to Xiaomi, is it a wise decision?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from a Note 4 ( destroyed it by accident) The thing that strikes me most is the good build quality and the brightness of the huge screen.The screen quality also seems very good compared to an amoled screen. Obviously no stylus support on it.The Camera seems good in the light, but needs to be improved in the dark...to much noise.However there are options with the Camera app to have manual control or install the Open Camera app.Screen on time using that 5500mah is also very good....just make sure you've got large hands and large pockets

I was having a Galaxy Note 4 before the mi max 3
Im realy happy with the phone
The battery life is very good , i only got like 5-6 hours screen on time , but please note im using it outside with mobile data , bluetooth gps always on and the sreen is nearly max brightness, the S G note 4 lasted 1-1.5 hours with the same settings / apps
Call quality is good
Camera is way better thn my S G note 4
The eis in the video does a very good job( please check out this video i made with the mi max 3 handheld https://youtu.be/VayuQmvZ-Kw )
The ringtones and notification sound are not that loud as the S G note 4
Size wise its a big and heavy phone but you know what , couple of years ago when i bought my S G Note 4 i said and my friend said the same :laugh: