I know this is a bit repetitive but this is my first Google phone. For me, after 4 generational Samsung's,, it feels like its already rooted. The past phones were the S3, S4, Note 4 & 5. It's been a while for me as far as rooting a Verizon Samsung, only because the Note 5 was locked out. All the others were rooted and it was fun, except for the bugs to contend with.
On the Pixel , I ridded myself of all the apps that I wanted to and I'm using Nova to get the feel that I want. I should of pointed out that I'm a performance seeker. The camera need is important but not a deal breaker. Figure it this way on any top level phone, at this point, the camera is great. Lucky for us the Pixel 2 series is #1.
After all this laid out, what would be the gains for rooting.?
Thanks
pbman1953 said:
I know this is a bit repetitive but this is my first Google phone. For me, after 4 generational Samsung's,, it feels like its already rooted. The past phones were the S3, S4, Note 4 & 5. It's been a while for me as far as rooting a Verizon Samsung, only because the Note 5 was locked out. All the others were rooted and it was fun, except for the bugs to contend with.
On the Pixel , I ridded myself of all the apps that I wanted to and I'm using Nova to get the feel that I want. I should of pointed out that I'm a performance seeker. The camera need is important but not a deal breaker. Figure it this way on any top level phone, at this point, the camera is great. Lucky for us the Pixel 2 series is #1.
After all this laid out, what would be the gains for rooting.?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having run the P2XL on stock, and root, I will say this. The most important thing to me is the ability to make the phone truly mine! I like flashing custom kernels, mods, themes, roms, and have the ability to block adds and make backups. Having said that, I will also say that the device is more than capable on full stock. So, it all depends on what you want to do. That's the real question. ?
I've had about 6 Android phones and three Android tablets since 2010 when I got the OG Droid. I was a crack flasher, I would change ROMs every few days, customizing every little thing. Every phone since then (HTC the one with beats heaphones, Samsung Note 4, Motorola Moto X and Nexus 6) and my Asus Transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab, and Google Pixel C were rooted as soon as I was able to do so, no matter what it took. The HTC phone required a hardware mod to make it S-Off and I bricked it hahaha, so that goes to show you the trouble I'll go through to get root.
I got my Pixel XL 2 about two months ago and kept it stock for a month, which was odd coming from a rooted and ROMd Nexus 6, but I didn't miss much. After about 1.5 months I decided to root it, flash a ROM and a kernel, but the process is now more of a PITA due to no longer having a standard partition layout. The security warning is during boot up is also annoying.
The only thing I really needed root for anymore was for ad blocking and theming, custom kernels and ROMs are cool, but after 8 years somethings change.
Since Substratum no longer requires root and I can block ads using AdGuard (even though it is a pay service), I decided to go back to stock....and I don't miss root.
Viper and no ad youtube with background playback. At least thats what Im getting advantage of.
All of the above plus fully enjoying XDA!
It depends what you want to do with your phone. I'm on fully stock since I got my P2XL and don't plan on rooting it any soon. I use blokada for ad blocking, I don't use any themes for quite some time but I do miss my custom fonts.
I guess I'm getting old lol, as I used to root all of my devices from day one for the past 9+ years!
Gas pains and a wtf headache. Rooting ain't what it used to be.
Not too much with me. I root and flash just to do it. Stock without root is pretty good the way it is. That's my opinion. There's some mods you can use but I don't get into those, so I guess it depends on the individual.
I don't really feel the need to root/rom anymore because stock has basically all the features I need now. This also makes it a PITA when it comes time to update. Themes and ad-blocking would be probably the biggest reason for me to rom, but the latter is still possible without root.
Root access
DarkSilentSC said:
Viper and no ad youtube with background playback. At least thats what Im getting advantage of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which app do you use to block youtube ads?
A use adaway and it works great most of the time but youtube.
Eiad Ajam said:
Root access
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:laugh::laugh::laugh:
quera said:
Which app do you use to block youtube ads?
A use adaway and it works great most of the time but youtube.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need Magisk module.
Search up YouTube vanced in Magisk. Download that and you should be good to go.
Root and Magisk are nice, but day to day usage is a lot more seamless without them. Custom ROMs are also pretty amazing, but stock feels very polished and I no longer crave custom ROMs like I once did.
I've also found a lot of functionality I previously looked for via Root/Magisk/ROMs by using modified and/or 3rd party apps which will work rootless, for everything from videos to music to browsing and dealing with ads
pbman1953 said:
I know this is a bit repetitive but this is my first Google phone. For me, after 4 generational Samsung's,, it feels like its already rooted. The past phones were the S3, S4, Note 4 & 5. It's been a while for me as far as rooting a Verizon Samsung, only because the Note 5 was locked out. All the others were rooted and it was fun, except for the bugs to contend with.
On the Pixel , I ridded myself of all the apps that I wanted to and I'm using Nova to get the feel that I want. I should of pointed out that I'm a performance seeker. The camera need is important but not a deal breaker. Figure it this way on any top level phone, at this point, the camera is great. Lucky for us the Pixel 2 series is #1.
After all this laid out, what would be the gains for rooting.?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back in the day, I rooted my phone mostly because I wanted an AOSP ROM on phones that had custom skins like LG, HTC, and Samsung. Then when the Nexus phones came out, it was more about overclocking, and kernels to get every last ounce of performance. Now that hardware has matured, I'm totally happy with my Pixel 2 XL as it is. With the Pixels having multiple partitions, it's not as easy as it used to be, and in my opinion not really worth it. Yes, there a few kernels out there for this phone, but I've not seen a night and day difference in performance like we used to back in the day. The fact is, the stock kernels are really pretty good as is.
I can't stand how they went all white. So I do it for ads and themes. And I know you can theme non rooted with Andromedia, you ask me that stupid, anything goes wrong you don't have a recovery.
My Pixel 2 XL is my first phone in years I'm using stock and unrooted.
And I still don't miss it yet. I'll probably stay stock/unrooted and continue enjoying OTA updates as intended
I guess I'm staying put with satock. So ghat's that's main reason why on a Samsung you nees rooting to cleanup the junk apps and Google you don't.
I've never had battery performance like I do with this phone.
Thanks to all!
Aside from all the other reasons mentioned in this thread, Xposed and GravityBox is reason enough for me to root.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
raidflex said:
I don't really feel the need to root/rom anymore because stock has basically all the features I need now. This also makes it a PITA when it comes time to update. Themes and ad-blocking would be probably the biggest reason for me to rom, but the latter is still possible without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree on the first part. Personally i used to root to get a better battery and performance but with this phone's smoothness and battery life I don't think I'll ever root again.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
Related
I have the Galaxy S5 and the Note 4 and I'm trying to decide which to keep. I love that the S5 has root and bootstrap recovery. I'm getting EXCELLENT battery life on the S5 with a custom ROM, but haven't tested much with the Note. So is the Note 4 so good of a device that fellow XDAers would use it even if we never achieve root? I think I've found ways around most of the things I use root for, mostly to debloat and to mount encrypted drives (truecrypt files, an excellent app called EDS). The disable feature seems to works fine and I can encrypt files on my sd card natively even though if something happens to my phone the contents are toast! What do you guys think?
Not missing root at all. Sure, I'd like to hide the att logo, and the nfc and alarm icons. But this phone runs so good I have no desire to root it.
harlenm said:
Not missing root at all. Sure, I'd like to hide the att logo, and the nfc and alarm icons. But this phone runs so good I have no desire to root it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That says a lot considering you've been on xda as long as me! I've been modding my phone since windows mobile 3.
not really missing root, but you can put your money on it if it releases ill root it!
First phone I started messing with was a Treo 650
harlenm said:
First phone I started messing with was a Treo 650
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an Audiovox xv6600!
Im getting angry without ROOT!!!
I cant switch my signal from LTE to 4G...which unthrottles me!!!!
I also cannot use tethering... !!! NEED ROOTT!!
I would love to have root again. However, not for the same reasons that I normally want root.
This device is powerful and works great out of the box. But I would like to be able to remove unwanted apps. Data didn't matter because we should all be on att and able to get 30gb of data. Also tethering cons with my plan so no rooting necessary.
N4 is such a killer device. Rooting it will only enhance its ability
Definitely miss root.
Xposed framework..
Adfree
Tibu
You know.. The important stuff
fbauto1 said:
Definitely miss root.
Xposed framework..
Adfree
Tibu
You know.. The important stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do miss xposed. Root would make a great device that much better.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
Miss it a LOT. Xposed spoiled me in so many ways......so much in fact if we don't have root soon I'm going back to my Note 3 until I can get my Nexus 6
Honestly, Samsung has done a good job as well as Google. I miss root a little but not nothing like I used too.
I picked up the T-mobile Note 4 to use on AT&T specifically b/c of this. For me, using a large screen phone only makes sense if you can actually see more content on the screen instead of the same amount, just bigger.
It makes no sense to me that between the Note 4 and S5, you actually see the same amount of content per browser screen, everything is just larger. So lowering the dpi is a must for me - I'm currently running at 480 and it's perfect. The phone status bar and the browser address bar are far more vertically compact, letting me see more content on the page. Things like Google Now widgets are not obnoxiously large, notifications are much more compact and more can be seen per screen.
Running adaway and wanam are secondary but I could live without them.
I do miss root but only for the custom dpi settings to make everything on the UI smaller. I bet with the crazy high pixel density, it'd look amazing.
Other than that, I don't feel like root is really needed... Maybe for blocking ads...
dawheat said:
I picked up the T-mobile Note 4 to use on AT&T specifically b/c of this. For me, using a large screen phone only makes sense if you can actually see more content on the screen instead of the same amount, just bigger.
It makes no sense to me that between the Note 4 and S5, you actually see the same amount of content per browser screen, everything is just larger. So lowering the dpi is a must for me - I'm currently running at 480 and it's perfect. The phone status bar and the browser address bar are far more vertically compact, letting me see more content on the page. Things like Google Now widgets are not obnoxiously large, notifications are much more compact and more can be seen per screen.
Running adaway and wanam are secondary but I could live without them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is the signal on the T-Mobile note? Also what did you use to SIM unlock?
My Note 4 is being delivered tomorrow. I can tell you right now if it's not rooted by the time the Nexus 6 becomes generally available I'm almost 100% making the switch.
TiBu and CIQ removal. If only TiBu can "restore" without root, that would make my day.
---------- Post added at 11:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:22 AM ----------
frieked said:
My Note 4 is being delivered tomorrow. I can tell you right now if it's not rooted by the time the Nexus 6 becomes generally available I'm almost 100% making the switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See ya!
Well it was fun while it lasted but I just got a OnePlus One invite so the Note 4 is going up for sale and I'll be banking the $300+ difference in price and enjoying the much more open approach to smartphones.
Don't miss root. Can use carbon for backups, everything else wasn't that important to me.
adblocking is about all I miss, although most apps/games have a paid version that disabled ads, so thats not even THAT much of a problem. I thought I would miss root but after using this phone since day 1, its been smooth sailing and to be honest, if I rom'd this phone with something non-touchwiz, I would miss some TW features.
Got this phone almost 2 years back and waiting ever since for a proper root. I can't believe this phone didn't get an unlocked bootloader inspite of all the efforts and bounties. At&t is really stubborn it seems. Never going to buy an at&t device. New things now. Sold the Note 4 for around 220$ here in India ( 15,000 INR )
And got the oneplus 3. Never thought I'd move from Samsung to oneplus but I've gotta admit it's a splendid phone. Amazingly fast. Got a display brighter than note 4 ( surprisingly ) Even the fingerprint scanner is so much faster than the Note 4. And best part I just had to put 120$ more for it. You know the best part? The oneplus 3 bootloader is unlockable and can be rooted on DAY 1 itself.
So adios to the Note 4 community. Until next time.
You gave up because of root? Why do you need it so much? Marshmallow isnt even a big update on any phone. Also one plus 3 has no sd card slot,lower screen res, crappy camera...you gave that up just because there is no root?
jerses said:
You gave up because of root? Why do you need it so much? Marshmallow isnt even a big update on any phone. Also one plus 3 has no sd card slot,lower screen res, crappy camera...you gave that up just because there is no root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean to be honest here the oneplus 3 has 16mp camera and as a Note 4 owner the Note 4 definitely sufferers camera quality in low lighting.
As for the 1080p screen a lot people give oneplus a hard time. Honestly it was a great decision for them because is uses less graphic performance which means it can load a game faster than it would on a 2k screen and it's not much of a difference. They still both look beautiful!
Oneplus comes with 64gb of memory and come factory unlocked and the bootloader is unlocked and Oxygen OS is better than Stock Android. People will make custom roms and it will see an AOSP rom of Android N and root way before its even thought of coming to the Note 4.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
I still don't understand how people use Android without root! Why do they use Android without root! I mean there are plenty things you are missing, but first thing, how you are going to install AdAway without root? Do you like a phone with lots of ads? That's like cancer for a phone!
I completely understand OP's frustration, though I don't understand why he couldn't root, he seems India, and G version could be rooted, but whatever. I sold my i9500 just because there was no custom kernel for it, sorry no offence, but Android is meaningless without XDA support, I mean at least to me. But there will always be people who just install different apps and be happy with it and think that's great and achieving something
In any case its great to know that he is liking the OP3. You won't believe it I myself have read full reviews of GSMA and PA, and watched at least five or six Youtube review videos, just because I liked the phone. But the display of the phone seems pure garbage, seriously no sRGB, over 8000K temp? Hmm! Probably could be fixed over OTA, but still! The camera is bound to be better than Note 4, cause its a flagship phone from OnePlus which is released in 2016 in comparisons with a flagship phone which was released two years ago! And basically any OS close to stock Android bound to be better than TouchWiz I think, I am just so tired of it. However, after looking at the whole package, it feels like a different phone from a different league. My main sadness is even after looking at every possible company I could, I couldn't find a phone which suits my needs, darn!
Sold my wife's AT&T note 4 variant yesterday and we couldn't be happier with our new Tmo variant.. Screw you AT&T, never again! We can actually say we own this phone; in it's entirety. Should be illegal to sell locked down phones. You have stolen precious usage time from us and we will wait no more.. Bite me AT&T.. Root.. blah.. blah.. Viper4Android.. blah.. blah.. Ha! Ha! Ha! ( maniacal laugh).. Screw you!!!! (Mic drop)
In my opinion rooting a phone is a huge security risk. If someone gets a hold of your phone with an unlocked boatloader, they can get anything off the phone.
People write news stories and ads pay for those news stories. People write apps and ads pay for their time writing the app. If you block all ads, you are saying, you want everything for free, which is a little selfish, in my opinion. I don't think it is ethical to block all ads.
That said, some apps and sites' ads have gotten out of control, I uninstall nagging apps. I use samsung browser with the plugin to block some ads, but not all.
No root required.
My only need for root is to block some apps from getting excessive personal information which they have no right to anyway. But that is coming in marshmallow...
So... No need for root.
I lost my Att Note4 last Sunday and bought the N910T (Tmobile Variant) this week. I over payed for it ($200) the spen was missing but I knew it was genuine so I figured I'd pay to replace that and after getting home in the dark setting it up I noticed very very light screen burn in which is killing me now that I know that it's there. But I now have root. Running Dr. Ketan S7E/Note5 rom 6.0.1. Waiting on my Spen to get here next week.
To all those above
1) The camera quality is good. Not as good as Samsung's flagship s7 but it's pretty decent
2) You might be surprised after reading this just like I was but the op3's 1080p display beats the Note 4's 2k display. Its brighter, has vibrant colours. Just that 2k is a bit sharper. Nothing that u can notice. But overall the op3 display beat the Note 4. Compared with 3 note 4s. Also compared with s7 edge but yeah here the op3 display wasn't as good. But hey that's manageable for half the price.
3) I didn't give away the Note 4 only due to no root availability, but also coz SD 805 was getting old, and slow. You can't imagine how amazingly quick the op3 is. Especially the fingerprint hahaha seems like I've come from the 1990s in the Note 4 to this wonderful fast finger scanner on the op3. Everything. I repeat , everything is better on the op3 than the note 4
The processor
The smooth OS
The root availability ofcourse
The display ( surprisingly )
The design
The fingerprint scanner
The camera
And all this is after personal usage and comparisons
But yeah I miss expandable storage but 64gb is enough for me.
Hence. Its a win win situation for me
Plus you guys really don't know how important root is for an Android phone.
Shanghai.Knight said:
In my opinion rooting a phone is a huge security risk. If someone gets a hold of your phone with an unlocked boatloader, they can get anything off the phone.
People write news stories and ads pay for those news stories. People write apps and ads pay for their time writing the app. If you block all ads, you are saying, you want everything for free, which is a little selfish, in my opinion. I don't think it is ethical to block all ads.
That said, some apps and sites' ads have gotten out of control, I uninstall nagging apps. I use samsung browser with the plugin to block some ads, but not all.
No root required.
My only need for root is to block some apps from getting excessive personal information which they have no right to anyway. But that is coming in marshmallow...
So... No need for root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If anyone tries to misuse your phone u can root before hand and set up android lost as a system app.
The battery life too on the op3 is brilliant due to the light OS
I get 5.5 - 6 hours of SOT everyday.
jerses said:
You gave up because of root? Why do you need it so much? Marshmallow isnt even a big update on any phone. Also one plus 3 has no sd card slot,lower screen res, crappy camera...you gave that up just because there is no root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did after the first week of owning it when it came out. It's been sitting in its box unused ever since I couldn't remove the bloatware and prevent apps I want to use from accessing permissions they don't need (read: can't install Xprivacy)
EkriirkE said:
I did after the first week of owning it when it came out. It's been sitting in its box unused ever since I couldn't remove the bloatware and prevent apps I want to use from accessing permissions they don't need (read: can't install Xprivacy)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to tell you how to waste your money....
But you purchased a high end phone when it first came out (~$800) and have let it depreciate (worth about ~$200 now) without any use since because of root?
sodomanaz said:
Not to tell you how to waste your money....
But you purchased a high end phone when it first came out (~$800) and have let it depreciate (worth about ~$200 now) without any use since because of root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a gift. and yes. I should have sold it, absolutely, but I was hopeful.
Making the switch myself now. Was going to go note 7 but after hearing airlines are/will be banning its use and continued problems I decided to get an inbetweener in the oneplus 3.
The random restarts were just too much. I tried trouble shooting if it was an app and came up empty. The annoyance of having to use a password to simply see the time and current activities (calls,messages, etc ) when I wake was just too much. I would have given this phone a few more months but marshmallow update has made this useless for my work.
I could live without root but this last month has been far too annoying to deal with especially since I need constant contact with business, sleep or not.
Kind of in a hard spot right now, both amazing phones but which one do you guys recommend?
Camera on the Pixel still beats the S8 & due to pure Android it feels much faster
Do you care about an unlocked boot loader, custom ROMs, root?
Pixel xl bought straight from Google you have a lot more freedom, and best part of all you can try out Google project fi. Also pure Android is the best in terms of speed, no bloatware, and you'll get the latest updated with the pixel XL. Or you can wait for the pixel 2 which is soon to be unveiled
Yeah i decided to go for the xl, i don't wanna wait for the s8 to get root and also i love flashing custom roms etc..
Mother of God. Of course the Pixel! Why would you want a lagfest phone? And this isn't because this is Pixel section, create same topic on Samsung section and my answer will be same, except there won't be any answer as I don't visit their section.
Congrats in advance by the way.
kel29738 said:
Kind of in a hard spot right now, both amazing phones but which one do you guys recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having used both the pixel XL and the samsung s8 plus, I would definitely recommend the pixel XL for the below reasons
1) The HDR+ is excellent in the google pixel XL. The front camera is also great for selfies
2) Stock android, haven't seen it lag till date. After a few weeks quite a bit of lag is visible in the S8 plus
3) in my view the Pixel XL is easier to hold and use on a daily basis. The Samsung S8 plus is quite scary to hold especially if you are a person who moves around a lot and travels
4) The google assistant is of some use. I didn't use the Bixby at all while it was there (no voice support)
5) The battery life is brilliant and gets me through the day
The only downside is the speaker output in the google Pixel XL but yeah I have bluetooth speakers. I miss the Always on Display but I love my Pixel XL that I got back to it and wouldn't look for a replacement
Shawn haz root said:
Do you care about an unlocked boot loader, custom ROMs, root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you do the Pixel XL isn't actually a great phone. Google made the Pixels to run stock Android. They want Pixel users to run stock Android. Independent development is almost nonexistent for the Pixels compared with the wide variety of roms, kernels and tweaks that were available for the earlier Nexus devices. The Pixel is a headache to flash on, root and develop for. There is no official version of Magisk for the Pixel and according to the dev there may never be. Custom kernels for the Pixel are missing the most basic modification that custom kernels usually provide --the ability to change the governor. The Pixel XL is an excellent phone if you want to run stock Android but anyone who claims it's a great phone for development and flashing is either lying, stupid or completely delusional.
jhs39 said:
If you do the Pixel XL isn't actually a great phone. Google made the Pixels to run stock Android. They want Pixel users to run stock Android. Independent development is almost nonexistent for the Pixels compared with the wide variety of roms, kernels and tweaks that were available for the earlier Nexus devices. The Pixel is a headache to flash on, root and develop for. There is no official version of Magisk for the Pixel and according to the dev there may never be. Custom kernels for the Pixel are missing the most basic modification that custom kernels usually provide --the ability to change the governor. The Pixel XL is an excellent phone if you want to run stock Android but anyone who claims it's a great phone for development and flashing is either lying, stupid or completely delusional.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But still I don't see the S8 being in a better place with knox when it comes to custom ROMs and kernels. On the contrary I would say it is worse in that section.
Funny. I just sold my galaxy s8+ for a regular pixel .... Yes 5" pixel. I really wanted an xl but finding a use 128gb google version pixel for $100 was a no brainer. Here is my little story and why i say PIXEL ALL THE WAY.
i bought this pixel has a spare since is was.such a great price. I had my galaxy s8+ since launch. amazing phone until i used the pixel for a few minutes. There i learned how laggy and stuttery the sg8 is. I couldnt even use it anymore since i already experience how smooth the pixel was. I sold my gs8+ 2 days after and kept the pixel. The gs8 is a great phone and has all this feature. But software which is my main purpose i purchase the phone doesnt cut it. I want a smooth OS experience and not the lag hell like touchwiz even with its 835 chipset. Things are much more laggy than this.
By the way. I got the pixel for $100 but in black. I was tired of black phones and took mine to ubreakifix. They charged me $250 to do an entire very blue conversion. Looks brand new out of the box white face screen and blue housing. One of the few with a very blue 128gb version.
jimmmysil said:
But still I don't see the S8 being in a better place with knox when it comes to custom ROMs and kernels. On the contrary I would say it is worse in that section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might be true but I still don't think you can recommend a Pixel based on independent development and custom Roms and flashing. There is much more independent development for the One Plus phones if that is a big reason you want to own an Android phone. I've tried a number of custom Roms on the Pixel XL, more out of long standing habit than anything else. None ran better than stock and the only one I found that ran without a single issue was Dirty Unicorn. All of the other Roms I tried would either have bugs or would lag over time, which doesn't happen with stock on the Pixel. The only reason to run a custom rom on the Pixel is either that you can't live without Substratum theming or the custom rom has some feature that is vitally important to you--but it's almost guaranteed that you will be sacrificing some performance and stability on a custom rom because the Pixel was made to run stock Android and does so remarkably well. That's just an opinion of course and I'm sure people on the Pixel love their custom roms. The only thing I miss (I went back to stock) is using a dark theme. I think if Google actually allowed theming natively like the OnePlus and some Sony phones do the Pixel would be close to perfect. The only obvious problem is the Pixel speakers which are unforgivavly bad for such an expensive phone. I swear to God that I'm not exaggerating --my friend got a 20 or 30 dollar phone from the Cricket Store and it has better speakers than the Pixel does. Google never should have released this phone with such terrible speakers. Otherwise as long as you want to run stock Android the Pixel is great.
There are actually people, normal users, who purchase a phone based off on development? Yes OnePlus and all them inferior devices have much more development, but you are gonna buy that thing over a Pixel because it has more development? I mean what the heck is wrong with people? A heavily modified OnePlus will still not perform as good as a bare stock Pixel at first place!
Take the developers out of the picture obviously, they can buy a OnePlus just for development's sake, but I am saying about us normal users.
TouchWiz is realy ugly, so I recommend a Pixel XL
ithehappy said:
There are actually people, normal users, who purchase a phone based off on development? Yes OnePlus and all them inferior devices have much more development, but you are gonna buy that thing over a Pixel because it has more development? I mean what the heck is wrong with people? A heavily modified OnePlus will still not perform as good as a bare stock Pixel at first place!
Take the developers out of the picture obviously, they can buy a OnePlus just for development's sake, but I am saying about us normal users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well one plus has a lot worse camera but unfortunately breasts pixel in speed and battery life by far...
I have seen ppl owning one plus 5 having over that 12 hours of sot with custom rom and kernel...
I am a pixel user myself and I would love to see Google boosting so much our battery life. It is too bad that Google gets beaten in its own operating system in performance and battery life by a a smaller company and a bunch of developers...
I would definitely wait 2 month and get the xl 2.
I purchased the S8, HTC U11 and Sony XZ Premium. Nothing is as smooth as Google Pixel XL. Returned all of them and kept my Pixel XL.
Sent from my Pixel XL using XDA-Developers Legacy app
LOL no one gonna tell you to get an s8 on a google forum buddy.
I have both.
if you want faster update and some noticeable speed. get pixel xl
if you want gorgeous phone, with latest hardware, more features , SD card, wireless charging, water proof. get S8
TheUndertaker21 said:
LOL no one gonna tell you to get an s8 on a google forum buddy.
I have both.
if you want faster update and some noticeable speed. get pixel xl
if you want gorgeous phone, with latest hardware, more features , SD card, wireless charging, water proof. get S8
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does anyone know why samsung phones always lag so horribly? can it be fixed on a users end or is it something that samsung would have to change as a company? ive noticed its had lagging issues every since the galaxy s5 but i didnt know if it was something that had to do with the cache or something slowing it down i remember on my galaxy s5 it would build up like a gb of cache within a day or two and soon as i cleared it out it would work extremely well again for a few minutes then itd be really crappy again.
You are going to get a lot of people say they owned a billion devices and they sold them all for the Pixel. You are also going to get people say that the pixel is great because it doesn't lag.
I guess you could say that a Galaxy S8 might lag, but you have to keep in mind, that it does ALOT more than a Pixel. Literally all the pixel has software wise over the S8 is that it is fast. That's it. The Galaxy S8 software features blow the Pixel out of the water. It can do so much, and has so many features built in right out of the box. Also keep in mind that S8 currently has full theme support which the Pixel cannot do (incase you get board of the layout/appearance etc). Something to also consider, is that the Pixel XL is wider and could be considered harder to hold than the S8+. Personally I find them both too big, but the S8+ is easier to hold, especially in portrait. Also that the S8 and the s8+ have bigger screens and better battery life in general than both Pixels.
In the end I think it's just software based. If you like to pay for extra apps, and get varied user experiences over UI's created by different developers, and put up with the Google issues they have with their own devices and how many updates and bug fixes they get, and you value speed over software features then Pixel is the best choice.
If you think aesthetics, software features, hardware features (water resist, better speaker, bigger screen, bigger battery etc) then S8+ is the best choice.
I'm sick of the issues with this Pixel XL and I am going to preorder the Note 8 as soon as it's available. Really wanted this Pixel to work but too many issues, mostly bluetooth but there are feature on the Note line that I actually used and never realized how much until I didn't have one.
So currently I took a break from Android and have an iPhone x. Great phone btw so before anyone says apple sucks or replies keep that in mind.
I have been thinking about returning it and exchange for the pixel 2 XL. My only concern is no root, adblock. I know rootless substratum works so that's a plus. The question is would it be worth the trade in? I've heard of the LCD color issues and screen burn in as well. At this point it's live with a non jailbroken iPhone or a bootloader locked Android.
Any advice or opinions are appreciated.
fix-this! said:
So currently I took a break from Android and have an iPhone x. Great phone btw so before anyone says apple sucks or replies keep that in mind.
I have been thinking about returning it and exchange for the pixel 2 XL. My only concern is no root, adblock. I know rootless substratum works so that's a plus. The question is would it be worth the trade in? I've heard of the LCD color issues and screen burn in as well. At this point it's live with a non jailbroken iPhone or a bootloader locked Android.
Any advice or opinions are appreciated.
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IMHO, no. You can't unlock the bootloader of Verizon model so unless you get a Google version that you can unlock, root, etc. I would stay with the X. Rootless Substratum works but only with Andromeda on your PC. A PITA for me
If you find iOS is a good way to operate (don't like it myself) stay. If not, get a Google version and sell your X.
fix-this! said:
So currently I took a break from Android and have an iPhone x. Great phone btw so before anyone says apple sucks or replies keep that in mind.
I have been thinking about returning it and exchange for the pixel 2 XL. My only concern is no root, adblock. I know rootless substratum works so that's a plus. The question is would it be worth the trade in? I've heard of the LCD color issues and screen burn in as well. At this point it's live with a non jailbroken iPhone or a bootloader locked Android.
Any advice or opinions are appreciated.
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I had both side by side and I ended up going with the Pixel 2 XL just because the fact I know I'll come back to Android. The X IMO is better quality, better feel in the hands, better screen and better video. Pixel 2 XL Camera is a lot better to me when comparing pictures side by side when I would take pictures of my kids or animals, experience and I felt Pixel was just a tad bit quicker to do things (Prob me being bias and trying to find a reason to stay with Android) You cant go wrong with either, I have apple tv's and macbook and miss the ecosystem with everything (i dont use iMessage so that wasnt a dealbreaker as most of my messaging is done inside Facebook Messenger) . Hope that helps!
Coming from a Nexus 6 where I flashed weekly on it, I gave it serious consideration about getting the Verizon version of the Pixel 2 xl. Knowing I would be losing root (no custom kernel, no Adaway, ROMs) it was tough. But after owning it for a week. I'm glad I made the switch. Blokada works just as good as Adaway, and I came across some articles where the bootloader CAN be unlocked...been too busy to look into the whole A/B partition since I didn't think it was an option. Get the phone. You won't be disappointed.
After playing with the XL and pixel 2 I'd probably go with the smaller one. IMHO I like the small form factor and design. Plus there's root for now. I'm on the fence as I really like my iPhone x. It's just I miss tinkering and flashing ROMs. I'm meeting a guy to look at his pixel 2 today. Not sure if I'll trade or just pass and pick up a cheap Android handset like a Moto e4 or g5 to satisfy my Android fix and keep my X as my main device.
From what I know of Samsung phones(I have never owned a Samsung), the moment you root Knox kicks in or something. I am on the iPhone X now. Wanted to moved to the Pixel 2 XL but many Pixel owners have told me to wait for the Pixel 3 since the 2 is plagued with issues apparently. Thanks for your input!
sacredsoul said:
From what I know of Samsung phones(I have never owned a Samsung), the moment you root Knox kicks in or something. I am on the iPhone X now. Wanted to moved to the Pixel 2 XL but many Pixel owners have told me to wait for the Pixel 3 since the 2 is plagued with issues apparently. Thanks for your input!
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My pixel 2 xl has no issues.
And yes exynos sammy devices have root, twrp etc etc. Stay away from NA snapdragons they are locked and will not get unlocked. They might see root but it wont be great and there will be issues with it like on the S7 and S8.
The chinese and latin America snaps are unlockable but hardly see and form if development so kinda of useless anyway
Knox is useless anyway but yes it gets tripped and that breaks a few things such as samsung pay and secure folder.
sent from my Pixel 2 XL or Note FE
If you like to use custom ROMs and mods on your device stay away from Sammy devices with Knox.
force70 said:
My pixel 2 xl has no issues.
And yes exynos sammy devices have root, twrp etc etc. Stay away from NA snapdragons they are locked and will not get unlocked. They might see root but it wont be great and there will be issues with it like on the S7 and S8.
The chinese and latin America snaps are unlockable but hardly see and form if development so kinda of useless anyway
Knox is useless anyway but yes it gets tripped and that breaks a few things such as samsung pay and secure folder.
sent from my Pixel 2 XL or Note FE
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This is really disappointing to me. I'm in NA and was planning on taking advantage of my carrier's buy one get one free deal on the S9 but to the best of my knowledge (immodes)tmous only has the snapdragon version available.
Is the no unlock and root thing also true of the snapdragon s8? Because honestly the bogo was really the only thing that was making me opt for paying an extra $120 for what is functionally the same phone. Aside from FM radio, a tiny soc upgrade, and adding dual aperture to the rear camera, the S9 is just the S8 with a repositioned fingerprint scanner moved just enough so as to need whole new cases lol
Sent from my XT1686 using XDA Labs
force70 said:
My pixel 2 xl has no issues.
And yes exynos sammy devices have root, twrp etc etc. Stay away from NA snapdragons they are locked and will not get unlocked. They might see root but it wont be great and there will be issues with it like on the S7 and S8.
The chinese and latin America snaps are unlockable but hardly see and form if development so kinda of useless anyway
Knox is useless anyway but yes it gets tripped and that breaks a few things such as samsung pay and secure folder.
sent from my Pixel 2 XL or Note FE
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This is really disappointing to me. I'm in NA and was planning on taking advantage of my carrier's buy one get one free deal on the S9 but to the best of my knowledge (immodes)tmous only has the snapdragon version available.
Is the no unlock and root thing also true of the snapdragon s8? Because honestly the bogo was really the only thing that was making me opt for paying an extra $120 for what is functionally the same phone. Aside from FM radio, a tiny soc upgrade, and adding dual aperture to the rear camera, the S9 is just the S8 with a repositioned fingerprint scanner moved just enough so as to need whole new cases lol
Sent from my XT1686 using XDA Labs
agentfusion said:
This is really disappointing to me. I'm in NA and was planning on taking advantage of my carrier's buy one get one free deal on the S9 but to the best of my knowledge (immodes)tmous only has the snapdragon version available.
Is the no unlock and root thing also true of the snapdragon s8? Because honestly the bogo was really the only thing that was making me opt for paying an extra $120 for what is functionally the same phone. Aside from FM radio, a tiny soc upgrade, and adding dual aperture to the rear camera, the S9 is just the S8 with a repositioned fingerprint scanner moved just enough so as to need whole new cases lol
Sent from my XT1686 using XDA Labs
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Yes NA snap S8 also locked down, this has been the case since the S7 so nothing new the last few years.
In this case gotta pay to play bro, literally. I just got my exynos S9 plus though and couldn't be happier despite my wallet being a bit lighter lol.
sent from my Exynos S9 plus, Pixel 2 XL or Note FE
force70 said:
Yes NA snap S8 also locked down, this has been the case since the S7 so nothing new the last few years.
In this case gotta pay to play bro, literally. I just got my exynos S9 plus though and couldn't be happier despite my wallet being a bit lighter lol.
sent from my Exynos S9 plus, Pixel 2 XL or Note FE
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Oh, well then, screw it. I'm getting the S9 buy one get one free then. If I'm stuck with stock I might as well get something good out of it, like a free phone lol
Sent from my XT1686 using XDA Labs
force70 said:
Yes NA snap S8 also locked down, this has been the case since the S7 so nothing new the last few years.
In this case gotta pay to play bro, literally. I just got my exynos S9 plus though and couldn't be happier despite my wallet being a bit lighter lol.
sent from my Exynos S9 plus, Pixel 2 XL or Note FE
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So between the S9 and Pix2, which would you recommend?
DenisEhm said:
So between the S9 and Pix2, which would you recommend?
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Hard to say i havent had the s9 plus very long.
So far Id say camera are close and so is battery life which is a shocker.
S9 plus more comfortable to hold and it certainly visually more appealing.
Speakers are louder and sound better on the S9 plus and the screen just kills the pixel.
And the main reason i got it, good ole sd card slot, i was running out of space on my pixel.
I really love the pixel but now after using the s9 plus i wont miss ut as much as i thought. Also for a google device being out as long as the pixel has been the development scene for it sucks as compared to all the nexus devices ive had. Thats big deal breaker for me
Most definitely s9 over pixel, pixel 2 XL IS OVERATED. ITS JUST THE CAMERA THATS GOOD. Even though s9 is also extremely good, better in low light. Touchwiz is way better than stock. You dont even need to root phones nowadays and honestly wouldn't recommend it.
stevenl23 said:
Most definitely s9 over pixel, pixel 2 XL IS OVERATED. ITS JUST THE CAMERA THATS GOOD. Even though s9 is also extremely good, better in low light. Touchwiz is way better than stock. You dont even need to root phones nowadays and honestly wouldn't recommend it.
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Adaway, SD Maid, Titanium backup. Pretty decent reasons to root I think.
True, but doesn't that trip knox? Will I still be able to samsung pay, pass etc? Basically is there a lost of function?
I won't settle on a phone I cannot root. Recommending not rooting is one thing, but to state that it is not needed, I disagree with. Perhaps the majority of people don't use it, but for me its a critical option to have. Data recovery, data filtering of web traffic, removal of limitations set by carrier. Lets not forget the volume loudness notification that is still present on the s9, my biggest personal pet peeve from Samsung. I could go on and on.
stevenl23 said:
Touchwiz is way better than stock.
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Only if you like your phone laggy and bloated - I don't know anyone who does.
You dont even need to root phones nowadays and honestly wouldn't recommend it.
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ummm, put the crack pipe down, how are you planning to block annoying ads in apps and remove manufacturer and carrier bloatware without root? - seriously, don't drink & post, these are the type of moron statements that show up when you do
WTF? said:
Only if you like your phone laggy and bloated - I don't know anyone who does.
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No lag in TouchWiz these days
WTF? said:
ummm, put the crack pipe down, how are you planning to block annoying ads in apps and remove manufacturer and carrier bloatware without root? - seriously, don't drink & post, these are the type of moron statements that show up when you do
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Plenty of non root adblockers available, and package disablers that are also non root
Time you educated yourself instead of insulting people
stevenl23 said:
Most definitely s9 over pixel, pixel 2 XL IS OVERATED. ITS JUST THE CAMERA THATS GOOD. Even though s9 is also extremely good, better in low light. Touchwiz is way better than stock. You dont even need to root phones nowadays and honestly wouldn't recommend it.
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*Detection* said:
No lag in TouchWiz these days
Plenty of non root adblockers available, and package disablers that are also non root
Time you educated yourself instead of insulting people
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Ummm ... no
there are no effective adblockers on the level of AdAway that can block ads in all of your apps, as well as in youtube videos etc. - you need to "educate yourself" - the sheer design of the Android OS limits what an ad blocking app can do without root privileges, same goes for removing bloatware. You must be thinking of browser based ad blocking such as u-block, etc., which is the least of my worries. If root wasn't a critical thing, XDA wouldn't even be a thing. And TouchWiz is just less laggy than it used to be, but still nothing like the same phone with stock Android, not to mention high memory usage and additional processing adds heat and sucks down battery life. - Man, that crack pipe is really getting a workout today!
WTF? said:
Ummm ... no
there are no effective adblockers on the level of AdAway that can block ads in all of your apps, as well as in youtube videos etc. - you need to "educate yourself" - the sheer design of the Android OS limits what an ad blocking app can do without root privileges, same goes for removing bloatware. You must be thinking of browser based ad blocking such as u-block, etc., which is the least of my worries. If root wasn't a critical thing, XDA wouldn't even be a thing. And TouchWiz is just less laggy than it used to be, but still nothing like the same phone with stock Android, not to mention high memory usage and additional processing adds heat and sucks down battery life. - Man, that crack pipe is really getting a workout today!
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OK, so I guess you've never heard of VPN adblockers then, strange that as there are a few on the XDA forums developed by devs here, and surprise surprise, they block ads in apps and browsers alike
An example of a non root adblocker that blocks ads everywhere
https://blokada.org/index.html
And Package disablers remove bloatware and any system app you want without root just fine
A word of advice:
1. Stop with the insults or you'll be reported
2. Go learn about what you're talking about, you're just making yourself look bad
The guy you quoted originally is correct, Root is almost unnecessary for most these days, last phone I rooted was my S5, I had a non rooted S7 and now S9 since then, no root and never missed it
I think root is a must adaway tb Hotspot hack audio mods I can go on what a rooted device can do I kick myself every day for buying a locked phone.. Yea there's ways to block ad non rooted but to truly modify your phone to be your own does require root. No dogging on ppl who don't want root to each there own
WTF? said:
Ummm ... no
there are no effective adblockers on the level of AdAway that can block ads in all of your apps, as well as in youtube videos etc. - you need to "educate yourself" - the sheer design of the Android OS limits what an ad blocking app can do without root privileges, same goes for removing bloatware. You must be thinking of browser based ad blocking such as u-block, etc., which is the least of my worries. If root wasn't a critical thing, XDA wouldn't even be a thing. And TouchWiz is just less laggy than it used to be, but still nothing like the same phone with stock Android, not to mention high memory usage and additional processing adds heat and sucks down battery life. - Man, that crack pipe is really getting a workout today!
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I have unlocked S9, sure there's like 1 or 2 apps that i don't want, i can just disable them. If you use samsung internet, you can download the adblock addon which works perfectly. For youtube i just need to download youtube vanced for an ad free experience. Sorry mate, but i really like how secure folder and samsung pay works. Also i like getting my monthly security updates and minor tweaks and stuff without hassle. Rooting isn't necessary and the disadvantages outweigh the advantages in my opinion.
All you guys preaching that root isnt needed...wth are you doing here on this site then lol?
Its a development site (or used to be anyway) for gods sake...your preaching to the wrong crowd for the most part.
Now dont get me wrong, everyone is absolutely entitled to have an opinion and their own preferences of course, but really.... trying to convice the majority here root isnt needed lol....your definitely on the wrong site people.
Maybe iphones are more your speed (jk) lol.
sent from my Exynos S9 plus, Pixel 2 XL or Note FE