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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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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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Click to collapse
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.
Hi All,
I decided to do a mini review, in case someone is on the fence with buying the device, or just wants to read a different perspective than what you can find on Youtube about the 9 Pro.
This first post will be a general overview, focusing on changes coming from the 8 Pro. The second will be more development-related, and a deeper dive into the device itself.
The 9 Pro vs the 8 Pro
Coming from the 8 Pro, here are the biggest changes that stick out:
- The screen itself is much higher quality. I used to have black crush as well as a green tint at lower brightness levels on the 8 Pro, but the 9 Pro is free of these issues. Screen gets darker when it's pitch black and no longer burns my eyes out.
- The camera is much better (as advertised). I'm finally able to take photos of my kids running/jumping around and the image is no longer blurred.
- Google Dialer and Google Messages are default. FINALLY. I love the Google Dialer and it's great to see this as the default app on the 9 Pro.
- Battery life is definitely improved vs the 8 Pro, I would say somewhere between 10-20% better.
Setup
It took about an hour to setup from scratch. Yes, I know there is a Oneplus Switch app, but that would rob me from experiencing the setup itself, and I need that. In the past I also had issues with the Oneplus Switch, iPhone backups, etc., so I just prefer to set everything up myself.
Near stock Android experience, with just the right additions. I can tweak to exactly how I like it.
For those who are like me, and want to turn off vibration for everything (since I find it annoying). Go into USB debugging mode, and do:
Code:
adb shell
Code:
appops set android VIBRATE ignore
This disables all standard Android vibrations. If you are finnicky and want to be more granular, or do away with vibrations coming from a certain app:
Microsoft Teams - which I use quite a lot - seems to ignore every single setting I have in notifications, but you can disable app-specific vibrations with:
Code:
appops set com.microsoft.teams VIBRATE ignore
Just substitute "com.microsoft.teams" with the package name you want to turn vibrations off for...
I always disable Sleep Optimization under Battery settings, but keep Adaptive Battery and Enable App Power Consumption enabled.
The screen I always have on QHD+ and 120Hz, and disable power savings in the display setting.
The display
Adaptive refresh rate (LTPO) rocks. This is probably why I'm seeing better battery life. The overall feel of the device is just much smoother than on the 8 Pro (and I was using my own custom kernel on that). Colors are beautiful, the screen doesn't have any tint even on lower brightness, so it's great.
Performance
My primary usage is: emails, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, phone calls, camera, photos. I do tons of multitasking, listen to music in the meantime, etc., and not a glitch, no lag.
Multitasking
Snappy, no reloading of apps, everything stays in memory (and I have 8Gb version). Switching on a "regular" work-day between emails, calendar, Teams, Spotify, etc. is so seamless, it's an incredible experience.
Everything stays in memory (it does get cleared overnight to help with idle drain, but I'm good with that).
Camera
OK, it's camera time! It's now been 3 weeks with the phone, let's talk about the camera. Mainly comparing with the 8 Pro.
Camera - general
This rocks. I'm finding that 80-90% of the shots I do turn out great. It's better than the 8 Pro, where I would say 60-75% of the shots turned out great.
Camera - everyday shots
Excellent colors, sharp images, even though I keep the settings on 12 megapixels to ensure better handling of light.
Camera - videos
Just perfect. I'm now defaulting to 4k 60fps HEVC videos, and they all turn out great. No complaints here. Stabilization of videos is perfect as well.
Camera - low light
Low light shots got a massive boost with the 9 Pro. Much better handling, less noise, better colors overall.
That sums it up (for now), do let me know if you have any questions!
And now for a deeper dive...
Let's start with what has changed in the kernel/source code!
- Linux 5.4.y branch! This is incredible, having such a recent LTS kernel on my device. My build system (Manjaro Linux) is also using the 5.4.y branch, whcih is awesome. Of course, the Oneplus is using a more dated, 5.4.61+ tag, while Manjaro is at 5.4.113 currently, but still. Very nice
- ThinLTO and CFI are enabled and working by default. Very nice.
- Compiled with Clang 11 branch, so it catches more errors and warnings, and most of the warnings also seem to be fixed. A very big plus here.
- There is still a ton of unneeded stuff turned on in the kernel, but then again that is stock CAF, trying to cover all bases.
Of course, having both ThinLTO and CFI enabled by default on stock kernel has its disadvantages, namely kernel development. Modules can be force loaded from the vendor partition, but then the kernel breaks due to symbol mismatches - which I am now observing with Omega kernel as well, seeing random reboots when the screen turns off.
In the latest source drop from OOS 11.2.4.4, the Oneplus kernel developers actually removed a massive dmesg hog, which is probably a first. Kudos to Oneplus.
thanks for the detailed review, this will definitely help some with the purchase decision.
looking now forward to the first Omega Kernel alpha
Mar-cel said:
thanks for the detailed review, this will definitely help some with the purchase decision.
looking now forward to the first Omega Kernel alpha
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We're past alpha, already at beta. One more bug to iron out actually before it's stable...
AFAIK LTPO still doesn't work on 11.2.4.4 or am I wrong?
DashDashCZ said:
AFAIK LTPO still doesn't work on 11.2.4.4 or am I wrong?
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How do you know?
r4p70r said:
How do you know?
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I myself haven't researched it but many people on oneplus forums claim they have and that it isn't working as advertised during launch event. It is known that LTPO wasn't working at first on the Oppo find X3 pro when it was released and that they fixed it later with a software update so people assume it's the same with op9pro.
DashDashCZ said:
AFAIK LTPO still doesn't work on 11.2.4.4 or am I wrong?
Click to expand...
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It's working fine. Android's built-in FPS counter is not able to handle it.
DashDashCZ said:
I myself haven't researched it but many people on oneplus forums claim they have and that it isn't working as advertised during launch event. It is known that LTPO wasn't working at first on the Oppo find X3 pro when it was released and that they fixed it later with a software update so people assume it's the same with op9pro.
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That's what I thought at the beginning. I checked it with the FPS counter from the developer options. There you could only occasionally see that it went down to 60hz. On reddit I came across a post in which someone wrote that it is not visible with the fps counter but you can see via entries in logcat that the Hz goes down. I found entries there for switching to 11hz and 1hz. The one on reddit said he would only have found entries up to a minimum of 4hz. So I suppose that works as promised.
r4p70r said:
That's what I thought at the beginning. I checked it with the FPS counter from the developer options. There you could only occasionally see that it went down to 60hz. On reddit I came across a post in which someone wrote that it is not visible with the fps counter but you can see via entries in logcat that the Hz goes down. I found entries there for switching to 11hz and 1hz. The one on reddit said he would only have found entries up to a minimum of 4hz. So I suppose that works as promised.
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Indeed it's working fine. I imagine the switch mechanism will be tweaked in the future for more fluidity and smoothness.
@kristofpetho hey man! Sent you a message on Telegram. Just a heads up!
Updated 2nd post with some source code-specific stuff. I will expand it once I get the kernel fully running.
Seeing this kernel is basically all I've ran on OnePlus 8 pro, I'm thinking I might get the 9 pro now, but honestly, this has been one of the only good reasons (so far) for me personally to make the jump. Thank you very much for sharing and thanks for the review
So. Finally. Custom kernel is stable. Release tomorrow if there are no errors in the next 24 hours.
kristofpetho said:
So. Finally. Custom kernel is stable. Release tomorrow if there are no errors in the next 24 hours.
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How to install with no TWRP?
r4p70r said:
How to install with no TWRP?
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Kernel manager ( EX,...FKM)
kristofpetho said:
So. Finally. Custom kernel is stable. Release tomorrow if there are no errors in the next 24 hours.
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I’m assuming you’ll make a post on here?
Is it tomorrow yet?
Shooter7889 said:
Is it tomorrow yet?
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It was tomorrow a couple of hours ago. Thread '[KERNEL] [OOS] Omega Kernel OOS11 [May 2, 2021]' https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/kernel-oos-omega-kernel-oos11-may-2-2021.4271027/
cultofluna said:
Kernel manager ( EX,...FKM)
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Does fkm work? It had many issues with op8
Hi, I am a new owner of OnePlus 7T, I bought it used yesterday, and it runs Oos 11.0.1.1HD85BA
I'm pretty happy with it although I've noticed some overheating when playing games (just 10 minutes of geshin impact or dead cells), when scrolling tiktok or yt.
In general with average use, with about 5/10 minutes of gaming at most, the battery reaches 15/20% in the evening. I think for an used phone it's good? Or for OP standard is not so good?
Another bug I've noticed is the inability to launch the task manager at times, some inaccuracies in gesture handling, that is pretty imprecise, also I've notice that sometimes notification when the screen is off are not so precise. So I thought:
Do you guys think it's better to go back to Android 10? (if possible, i've read that most of OP user loves OOS10 more than 11) Or is it better to wait for more hotfixes for 11?
I do not know the oneplus world so I rely on you, I've already installed all my apps and backup from my old phone, and If I have to format I won't continue to organize my things.
Just one things: if you have some optimization tips, or something to do when you first have the phone, please tell me... I don't even own a AMOLED display before and I've read that it could become green!!!! What can I do to avoid this problem?
Thank you all in advance
Reset all data
If above does not fix then unlock bootloader, root, install Dora kernel latest, sdcardfs version
Some people are still arguing about this purely from anecdotal experiences.
That's a very good question and now I want to find this out as well... I've installed Gsam Battery Monitor, Greenify, Servicely and Naptime.
I'm on Xiaomi.eu Custom ROM (Stable). I used to have better battery life (especially on Standby!) when I was still on an AOSP-based Custom ROM (ArrowOS). I have a feeling that the MIUI Always-On-Display causes Android Doze to not activate and that my device is essentially awake the whole time. I'm not sure about this observation, but Settings > Battery > Sort by "Details" tells me that my device is on. The whole time...
I've unrestricted the Battery monitoring apps I've installed, I'll leave AOD enabled, and see for another night if it is actually preventing my phone from going into Doze Sleep. Next night I'll disable AOD, and the night after that I'll enable Extreme Doze-Mode in Naptime and see the behaviour then.
Rant about Xiaomi LOL:
One thing I know for sure is that MIUI is so horribly coded. I don't need to be an OS developer to know this, you can just feel how dirty their custom implementations are. Ranging from their AOD, their Navbar/Gesture Controls, to the Adaptive Refresh rate.
It's like Xiaomi is trying to make the software deliberately feel cheap, because otherwise their phones would be too good, because their hardware is really good for the price. You can't just make a Poco F3 300€. The hardware is insanely good, but the Stock ROM is crap.
cyanGalaxy said:
I've installed Gsam Battery Monitor, Greenify, Servicely and Naptime.
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I have stop using Greenify (it has not updated for 2 years) and lately have also replaced Naptime and Gsam/AccuBattery for BatteryGuru which combined both the main features (battery monitoring and aggressive Doze function).
I'm on ArrowOS 12.1 now, it seems Android11 gave me the best battery life, A12 was horrible and A12L is bearable.
I think it's time I stop worrying about battery and just replace the damn thing every 3 years lol.
mocmocmoc said:
I have stop using Greenify (it has not updated for 2 years) and lately have also replaced Naptime and Gsam/AccuBattery for BatteryGuru which combined both the main features (battery monitoring and aggressive Doze function).
I'm on ArrowOS 12.1 now, it seems Android11 gave me the best battery life, A12 was horrible and A12L is bearable.
I think it's time I stop worrying about battery and just replace the damn thing every 3 years lol.
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I don't think Battery Life is related to the Android Version you're using, but more which brand's ROM you use. For example Samsungs OneUI seems more trustable than MIUI in terms of Reliability.
But you're likely best served on Clean Vanilla Android, in terms of Battery Life at least.
But also make sure to use a trusted and genuine AOSP ROM. Not one of those, where the Main Dev can't write proper English and uses some obscure Custom Kernel or whatever.. Use one that's known and popular.
I did figure out that MIUI's Always-On-Display kept the CPU awake at all times. I could see it in Settings > Battery, and changing "Ranking" to "Details".
I don't know if that's normal for AOD or if it's MIUI's implementation of AOD, but my god.. AOD shouldn't drain that much. But now my battery life is normal again. ^^
cyanGalaxy said:
I don't think Battery Life is related to the Android Version you're using, but more which brand's ROM you use. For example Samsungs OneUI seems more trustable than MIUI in terms of Reliability.
But you're likely best served on Clean Vanilla Android, in terms of Battery Life at least.
But also make sure to use a trusted and genuine AOSP ROM. Not one of those, where the Main Dev can't write proper English and uses some obscure Custom Kernel or whatever.. Use one that's known and popular.
I did figure out that MIUI's Always-On-Display kept the CPU awake at all times. I could see it in Settings > Battery, and changing "Ranking" to "Details".
I don't know if that's normal for AOD or if it's MIUI's implementation of AOD, but my god.. AOD shouldn't drain that much. But now my battery life is normal again. ^^
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For all practical purposes, the best/definitive experience of Android is obtained on a Samsung device nowadays. So much so that Google released certain new features in some of their apps on Samsung devices ONLY to begin with, not even their own Pixel devices. And Pixel software experience is terrible. And Samsung has innovated so many new features that Google slowly incorporates into stock Android. Samsung Dex is still unparalleled. I personally don't like some aspects of Samsung UI. The squircle icons, the excessively round UI elements with large paddings.. Sadly, Google seems to have incorporated some of this into Android 12's Material You styling. Android 12 looks more like a Samsung One UI skin. That was my FIRST impression when I played around with Material You, i.e. how much it reminded me of Samsung's style.
I agree that Xiaomi's MIUI has a load of flaws in them. The latest is their custom per-app dark mode override has been broken since they released MIUI 13 and before that you had to do some funky things to make it show the list of apps. They never allowed us to see notification history for some strange reason. These are two issues I can think off right away. But otherwise I feel that the software is pretty decent and I had no major issues with it and the battery life with Stock ROM is quite good. I personally don't understand the vehement negativity towards MIUI. Perhaps in the past it was attrocious, but now it is decent. Just like Samsung's One UI. Remember the awful TouchWiz days!? I still have an old tablet with Samsung's touch wiz on it! Bottom line, MIUI is nothing exemplary, but definitely usable and fine, with some minor issues.
In fact, I do like some of the things in MIUI versus stock. I like the fact that the Settings button is immediately visible in the notification shade (like it USED to be on Stock Android) rather than having to swipe again to reveal the quick toggles. I do like some of their built in apps, like the Clock, Calculator (which is very feature rich) and Compass app. So, overall not too shaby.
But I ranted a lot in this thread and none of this is relevant for this topic! So back to relevance...
I do use GSam battery monitor and after a lot of usage I feel like my battery life on Stock MIUI is similar to Arrow OS. I used Arrow OS 11, I used MIUI 12 and 13 and the battery life on all of them was very similar. Arrow OS 11 had some weird bugs with incoming phone call sound and Bluetooth when using Navigation. But Stock MIUI has no such issues. I've slowly decided to stop paying close attention to battery life as it is mostly very good for my usage.
litetaker said:
For all practical purposes, the best/definitive experience of Android is obtained on a Samsung device nowadays. So much so that Google released certain new features in some of their apps on Samsung devices ONLY to begin with, not even their own Pixel devices. And Pixel software experience is terrible. And Samsung has innovated so many new features that Google slowly incorporates into stock Android. Samsung Dex is still unparalleled. I personally don't like some aspects of Samsung UI. The squircle icons, the excessively round UI elements with large paddings.. Sadly, Google seems to have incorporated some of this into Android 12's Material You styling. Android 12 looks more like a Samsung One UI skin. That was my FIRST impression when I played around with Material You, i.e. how much it reminded me of Samsung's style.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me the hate for MIUI stems from all the little things.
Notification History & Log being hidden (Can be accessed through an Activity Launcher),
Holding a notification and clicking "More" doesn't bring to you to the specific notification channel,
No Gestures on 3rd Party Launchers,
Recents-Animations broken on 3rd Party Launchers,
Dolby Atmos Sound effect doesn't apply to the first volume step.
Touch Sounds are way too loud, regardless of users volume,
For Google Clock to work properly, you need to disable MIUI Battery Saver,
MIUI Boot Sound is way too loud, also regardless of users volume,
Annoying additional restrictions/permission-manager which cannot be turned off anymore,
Fullscreen Pop-Up with user-unfriendly 10 second timer when trying to change sensitive permissions,
Adaptive Refresh Rate only activating when Screen-brightness is >80%, and only after 2 second delay,
YouTube, Games etc are forced to 60 Hz,
MIUI Camera doesn't respect Default-Gallery setting and always uses MIUI Gallery,
Default Camera cannot be changed,
Monet Colours cannot be customised,
Almost all apps used to get forcibly themed dark (even when the app already had Dark Mode), and you had to individually disable it for all apps. This made text from some apps unreadable.
I do like a few changes Xiaomi has done to Android with MIUI, like bringing back down the Brightness-bar (retarded change from Google), Custom Fonts, the really cool Live Wallpapers, its Dolby Atmos and much more...
I also do like many of their apps like Mi Fitness and the Calc...
But all the little issues give me micro-aggression. It's not a 100% reliable OS in my opinion and I'm still a tiny bit concerned about its Privacy & Tracking.. it's still a chinese company and China is ruled by CCP. The chinese Gov't can control their Tech companies.
Samsungs OneUI does indeed seem like a good and stable experience. But I'm also not a fan of goofy rounded corners and padding.
I bought my Galaxy Note 8 when TouchWiz was still a thing. Then a System update came and upgraded me to OneUI 1.0 and I kinda didn't like it all that much. TouchWiz looked a bit more professional to me, but that's just personal preference.
I'm more into Edgy than Curvy ;D
Yes, Naptime still makes quite a difference with its agressive dove settings and disabling sensors.
Even with how optimized Android 12 is you cannot escape bad programmed third party apps, so use something like IceBox to freeze not often used apps too
cyanGalaxy said:
For me the hate for MIUI stems from all the little things.
Notification History & Log being hidden (Can be accessed through an Activity Launcher),
Holding a notification and clicking "More" doesn't bring to you to the specific notification channel,
No Gestures on 3rd Party Launchers,
Recents-Animations broken on 3rd Party Launchers,
Dolby Atmos Sound effect doesn't apply to the first volume step.
Touch Sounds are way too loud, regardless of users volume,
For Google Clock to work properly, you need to disable MIUI Battery Saver,
MIUI Boot Sound is way too loud, also regardless of users volume,
Annoying additional restrictions/permission-manager which cannot be turned off anymore,
Fullscreen Pop-Up with user-unfriendly 10 second timer when trying to change sensitive permissions,
Adaptive Refresh Rate only activating when Screen-brightness is >80%, and only after 2 second delay,
YouTube, Games etc are forced to 60 Hz,
MIUI Camera doesn't respect Default-Gallery setting and always uses MIUI Gallery,
Default Camera cannot be changed,
Monet Colours cannot be customised,
Almost all apps used to get forcibly themed dark (even when the app already had Dark Mode), and you had to individually disable it for all apps. This made text from some apps unreadable.
I do like a few changes Xiaomi has done to Android with MIUI, like bringing back down the Brightness-bar (retarded change from Google), Custom Fonts, the really cool Live Wallpapers, its Dolby Atmos and much more...
I also do like many of their apps like Mi Fitness and the Calc...
But all the little issues give me micro-aggression. It's not a 100% reliable OS in my opinion and I'm still a tiny bit concerned about its Privacy & Tracking.. it's still a chinese company and China is ruled by CCP. The chinese Gov't can control their Tech companies.
Samsungs OneUI does indeed seem like a good and stable experience. But I'm also not a fan of goofy rounded corners and padding.
I bought my Galaxy Note 8 when TouchWiz was still a thing. Then a System update came and upgraded me to OneUI 1.0 and I kinda didn't like it all that much. TouchWiz looked a bit more professional to me, but that's just personal preference.
I'm more into Edgy than Curvy ;D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess these can be frustrating issues for some, but none of this is an issue for me. I tend not to get overly worked up by minor software issues. In fact I do not mind the additional 10 second delay for sensitive permissions. For power users it maybe too annoying, but for ordinary users it is useful to show such warnings to help them avoid making big mistakes and messing up their phones or falling for scams. And anyway, it is just an extra 10 seconds delay. I do admit that blocking access to notification history is annoying but I have learned to live with it. Having the per app dark mode option is genuinely useful as it allows me to force dark mode on only some apps that I use that don't have a dark mode built in, rather than forcing it on all apps via Developer tools. Although this is not working anymore on MIUI 13.
litetaker said:
I guess these can be frustrating issues for some, but none of this is an issue for me. I tend not to get overly worked up by minor software issues. In fact I do not mind the additional 10 second delay for sensitive permissions. For power users it maybe too annoying, but for ordinary users it is useful to show such warnings to help them avoid making big mistakes and messing up their phones or falling for scams. And anyway, it is just an extra 10 seconds delay. I do admit that blocking access to notification history is annoying but I have learned to live with it. Having the per app dark mode option is genuinely useful as it allows me to force dark mode on only some apps that I use that don't have a dark mode built in, rather than forcing it on all apps via Developer tools. Although this is not working anymore on MIUI 13.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the Warning with 10 sec-timer is the most infuriating one. :x
About Notification History, you can download Activity Launcher, search "Notification History" and make a shortcut for that hidden Activity to your Home screen!
That's what I did, because I use Notification Log & Notification History regularly.
However Notification-History on MIUI is a bit broken. You have to enable Light Mode to see the text properly
cyanGalaxy said:
I think the Warning with 10 sec-timer is the most infuriating one. :x
About Notification History, you can download Activity Launcher, search "Notification History" and make a shortcut for that hidden Activity to your Home screen!
That's what I did, because I use Notification Log & Notification History regularly.
However Notification-History on MIUI is a bit broken. You have to enable Light Mode to see the text properly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the tip on how to get Notification History! That is very useful! It is stupid that Xiaomi blocks us from accessing this useful information natively and we need to use a third party app to expose this activity, but at least now I can see the history and get some info! Sometimes I get a ping on my phone and I am not sure which notification caused it. Now I can get more clarity! Yay!
BrokeBloke1969 said:
Yes, Naptime still makes quite a difference with its agressive dove settings and disabling sensors.
Even with how optimized Android 12 is you cannot escape bad programmed third party apps, so use something like IceBox to freeze not often used apps too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are now 1 year on, and Naptime + Servicely doesn't matter one bit on new devices. I've been running Android 13 for a while now and have never felt the need to install these two apps.
With Android 14 around the corner, app efficiency will be addressed even further by TARE and the introduction of new background APIs.
I'm still using naptime since a9/10. And see no reason to not use it. Induce deep sleep faster.
BTW, anyone noticed that naptime was removed from play store?
lapirado said:
I'm still using naptime since a9/10. And see no reason to not use it. Induce deep sleep faster.
BTW, anyone noticed that naptime was removed from play store?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup i think Naptime and Servicely do improve my battery life! I can see from the Naptime Doze-logs that my phone goes to Deep Doze faster and the battery life does seem improved.
I just checked, and Naptime seems to be gone from Play Store, tho not Servicely. I think Google are being twats again...
cyanGalaxy said:
Yup i think Naptime and Servicely do improve my battery life! I can see from the Naptime Doze-logs that my phone goes to Deep Doze faster and the battery life does seem improved.
I just checked, and Naptime seems to be gone from Play Store, tho not Servicely. I think Google are being twats again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I could not run Naptime on Oxygen OS without Root. Did you find a solution? It worked fine on OOS11.
skyNET said:
Hi, I could not run Naptime on Oxygen OS without Root. Did you find a solution? It worked fine on OOS11.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the app not start for you? You don't need Root, you can grant the permissions via ADB.
cyanGalaxy said:
Does the app not start for you? You don't need Root, you can grant the permissions via ADB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all thanks for your answer.
Yes, of course, it doesn't start properly, it shuts down quickly. I gave permissions with adb in OOS11 and it was doing its job really well (Naptime). But after I upgraded to OOS 12, I saw that the following command string "adb -d shell pm grant..." did not work and gave an error. I can't get around this problem, have you tried it? Naptime is a really successful app and OOS needs it.
skyNET said:
First of all thanks for your answer.
Yes, of course, it doesn't start properly, it shuts down quickly. I gave permissions with adb in OOS11 and it was doing its job really well (Naptime). But after I upgraded to OOS 12, I saw that the following command string "adb -d shell pm grant..." did not work and gave an error. I can't get around this problem, have you tried it? Naptime is a really successful app and OOS needs it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What error?
Enable USB debugging, connect your phone to PC, get the Google SDK Platform Tools, open the folder in Terminal, and type the commands exactly as written.
If you are on MIUI, you also have to enable "USB Debugging (Secure Settings)"
cyanGalaxy said:
What error?
Enable USB debugging, connect your phone to PC, get the Google SDK Platform Tools, open the folder in Terminal, and type the commands exactly as written.
If you are on MIUI, you also have to enable "USB Debugging (Secure Settings)"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me show you the simplest with BBS!
skyNET said:
Let me show you the simplest with BBS!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try "adb shell" -> "pm grant ..........."
cyanGalaxy said:
Try "adb shell" -> "pm grant ..........."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like this?