Question Few questions about the S22

Question Few questions about the S22 - Samsung Galaxy S22

Hi,
I'm thinking of getting an S22, but I would appreciate your help with answering a few questions first: (if you don't want or can't answer these questions, please skip to the end of the post)
1. I understand that the Snapdragon version is much better. Is it also more supported community/ROM wise?
2. How is the battery life, if the phone is usually on idle, with a few phone talks over the day, some music, and lets say about 1 hour of screen time (continuously)? If that is the usage for a day, will it last for two days? (approximately, based on your experience)
3. This One UI, is it good, comfortable to use? Can it be replaced by replacing a launcher, or do you have to flash a new ROM?
4. Speaking of ROMs, I assume flashing ROMs/kernels is still pretty easy? The last Galaxy phone I had is the S1 and a lot of time has passed, but I remember not struggling much, and coursing through ROMs was a breeze.
5. I know you'll probably be biased towards the S22, but I'm debating over it VS the Pixel 7. Considering the fact that I can't use the unique features of the Pixel 7 (Google assistant screening spam calls, making appointments, etc.) since I don't live in the US or a country where these features are supported, and that I prefer smaller screens, which one should I choose?
In general, what do you think of the phone? Are you happy with it? Can you provide examples of pros and cons?
Thank you!

Limited max of 256gb internal storage, max of 8gb of ram, no expandable storage, and a small 3700 mAh for a power hungry Snapdragon.
Rounded display corners and a lousy ~87.4% screen-to-body ratio. blah.
Snapdragon's are notoriously hard or impossible to root. The stock launcher is superior to any 3rd party launcher.
If 5G and a variable refresh rate display (which are known to have multiple issues including less color/gamma accuracy) aren't important to you a N10+ in good condition or new is a better choice and cheaper. It's a solid performer.
Otherwise OP phones seem to have a better track record than the last 2 generations of Samsung's.

Thanks for your answer. Actually I'm perfectly fine with 128GB of storage, the amount of RAM is incredible (I'm not a heavy gamer, not even a gamer on mobile) and the screen size, ratio is fine for me I guess.
I am worried about the Snapdragon version being impossible to root, because the Snapdragon version phone is much faster from what I understand. Also it's very strange, I've had no problems rooting previous phones with Snapdragon.
It will sound funny but I do want a high refresh rate, for me it's important the the phone feels smooth. I'm already hearing about the Pixel 7 having scrolling issues and that concerns me because like I said, I'm also thinking about buying it, if not the S22.

TheeWolf said:
Thanks for your answer. Actually I'm perfectly fine with 128GB of storage, the amount of RAM is incredible (I'm not a heavy gamer, not even a gamer on mobile) and the screen size, ratio is fine for me I guess.
I am worried about the Snapdragon version being impossible to root, because the Snapdragon version phone is much faster from what I understand. Also it's very strange, I've had no problems rooting previous phones with Snapdragon.
It will sound funny but I do want a high refresh rate, for me it's important the the phone feels smooth. I'm already hearing about the Pixel 7 having scrolling issues and that concerns me because like I said, I'm also thinking about buying it, if not the S22.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You lose nothing by waiting. I don't buy a new phone every year or two in part because it's always a crap shoot. Waiting reduces the odds of getting stuck with a dud. 128gb isn't much storage; my minimum is 256 and that's with a 1tb SD card used as a data drive. Basically it's my PC, all my PC's are dual drive, even laptops.
I keep seeing good things about OP, they seem to have less display issues. For a gamer that might be a good choice. My requirements are different from yours, I have one game which runs well
I really like Samsung's UI and the Good Lock family of apps that modify it. The almost endless free icon packs and themes on the Galaxy store. Pixels homescreen's look gaudy and barren by comparison. Not many stock mods either. Samsung's can run very well stock once optimized. They need to be optimized... and that will take time until you're up to speed.
Warning, learning curve ahead. That's another big reason I don't upgrade firmware or devices often if the device is fulfilling its mission. I'm a conservative pragmatist and will use whatever comes in handy. Think it through and get what best suits your requirements and fullfills the mission with minimal maintenance. That's all the counts
Media server in progress; 240gb in mostly .wav files, over 150gb, many are hd movies. All stream seamlessly from the V30 rated card. When watching them from storage my SOT is as low as 6%@hr vs browser streaming at 12%@hr. Writes at about [email protected] from internal storage.
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Because color accuracy and calibration directly impact gamma accuracy/calibration the fixed rate refresh rate display of the superb N10+ display is uniquely qualified for this role. My decision wasn't rushed or arbitrary when I went with a second N10+ as a backup. It was purely mission and fun oriented. For my purposes no other device even today is better suited or qualified... which is sort of sad.

TheeWolf said:
Thanks for your answer. Actually I'm perfectly fine with 128GB of storage, the amount of RAM is incredible (I'm not a heavy gamer, not even a gamer on mobile) and the screen size, ratio is fine for me I guess.
I am worried about the Snapdragon version being impossible to root, because the Snapdragon version phone is much faster from what I understand. Also it's very strange, I've had no problems rooting previous phones with Snapdragon.
It will sound funny but I do want a high refresh rate, for me it's important the the phone feels smooth. I'm already hearing about the Pixel 7 having scrolling issues and that concerns me because like I said, I'm also thinking about buying it, if not the S22.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The P7's screen can "only" reach 90Hz while all S22 variants can go up to 120Hz, so it's not comparable.
Rooting Snapdragon models is a problem mostly for carrier devices. The Snapdragon S90xE models are easily rooted and also have twrp if you need it.
My S901E (regular S22) just got updated to android 13 which I obviously rooted too and it's running great.
Pixel 6 and 7 series are only older samsung exynos (oops tensor) devices with vanilla google os ...
If you're worried about S22's battery, just don't compare it with bigger phones, or at least just do some maths to convert its most relative known SOT to correspond to the target compared device's capacity. You'll end up saying "it's great for a 3700mAh battery, really great ..."

DaReDeViL said:
The P7's screen can "only" reach 90Hz while all S22 variants can go up to 120Hz, so it's not comparable.
Rooting Snapdragon models is a problem mostly for carrier devices. The Snapdragon S90xE models are easily rooted and also have twrp if you need it.
My S901E (regular S22) just got updated to android 13 which I obviously rooted too and it's running great.
Pixel 6 and 7 series are only older samsung exynos (oops tensor) devices with vanilla google os ...
If you're worried about S22's battery, just don't compare it with bigger phones, or at least just do some maths to convert its most relative known SOT to correspond to the target compared device's capacity. You'll end up saying "it's great for a 3700mAh battery, really great ..."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of SOT are you seeing now on an optimized S22? What's SOT with 5G disabled or if locked to 60hz?

DaReDeViL said:
Rooting Snapdragon models is a problem mostly for carrier devices. The Snapdragon S90xE models are easily rooted and also have twrp if you need it.
My S901E (regular S22) just got updated to android 13 which I obviously rooted too and it's running great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good! The model I can buy locally is SM-S901E/DS, and I don't live in the US, so according to what you're saying, I can root it, right?

blackhawk said:
What kind of SOT are you seeing now on an optimized S22? What's SOT with 5G disabled or if locked to 60hz?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was getting easy 5 to 7 hours SOT a day with no special optimization. 120Hz, no gaming, no social networks, just calls, surfing, taking pics, whatsapp messaging, youtube (revanced), ... and some fews other boring apps.
I can even get more if I switch from 4G to 3G and creating a 4G manual routine when needed (because why keep power hungry 4G during the day while I only need its speed occasionally)

TheeWolf said:
Good! The model I can buy locally is SM-S901E/DS, and I don't live in the US, so according to what you're saying, I can root it, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yes, you can!

Battery aside rest phone is awesome and compact. In n era of TV sized phones this phone is a beast

DaReDeViL said:
I was getting easy 5 to 7 hours SOT a day with no special optimization. 120Hz, no gaming, no social networks, just calls, surfing, taking pics, whatsapp messaging, youtube (revanced), ... and some fews other boring apps.
I can even get more if I switch from 4G to 3G and creating a 4G manual routine when needed (because why keep power hungry 4G during the day while I only need its speed occasionally)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, what's 3G? No such thing here anymore.
I run 4G with wifi always disabled. Google play Services, and Gmail are at most times disabled and all cloud apps never run. Playstore is rarely enabled. About 80 packages are blocked.
WhatsApp is likely killing more than it's fair share.
My stock N975U1 is getting a lot better SOT even with a derated battery (3400-3700 mAh).
My question is what's eating so much power, is it the display, 5G, the Android version (scooped storage)?
These newer phones have more efficient ram and the SOC should be more efficient as well.
Even now streaming vids I get 12-14%@hr. The battery is near replacement level (20% degraded)... when I get around to it.

blackhawk said:
Lol, what's 3G? No such thing here anymore.
I run 4G with wifi always disabled. Google play Services, and Gmail are at most times disabled and all cloud apps never run. Playstore is rarely enabled. About 80 packages are blocked.
WhatsApp is likely killing more than it's fair share.
My stock N975U1 is getting a lot better SOT even with a derated battery (3400-3700 mAh).
My question is what's eating so much power, is it the display, 5G, the Android version (scooped storage)?
These newer phones have more efficient ram and the SOC should be more efficient as well.
Even now streaming vids I get 12-14%@hr. The battery is near replacement level (20% degraded)... when I get around to it.
View attachment 5742873
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol HSPA+ and even GPRS are still available in my country. Switching to 3G allows me to have slightly more SOT.
Regarding optimization, I learned the hard way that too much tinkering can give inverse results and even kill the "smart" part of the smartphone.

DaReDeViL said:
Lol HSPA+ and even GPRS are still available in my country. Switching to 3G allows me to have slightly more SOT.
Regarding optimization, I learned the hard way that too much tinkering can give inverse results and even kill the "smart" part of the smartphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No 3G here killed my oldest phone.
Yeah if you go too nuts optimizing it will end up biting you. Beginning with Android 10 Samsung added dozens of small systems apks that mostly to modify the UI. Most shouldn't be touched.
My list of blocked packages is almost the same for the Q loaded N975U1 as used on the Pie loaded N975U though. Took quit a while to work it out the first time... dependencies are a witch.

For me the phone is fine in most regards.
Exynos is plenty fast for daily use and battery life is supposedly better than snap.
I am new to Samsung as well and am not impressed by modding options.
To me it is clear that Samsung is the most Apple like android.
Rooting is no issue, but you will lose DRM verification, so lower quality YouTube Netflix and such.
A PC is always needed to flash an update, which for some of us has been impossible without full wiping by the way.
I can get 2 days with light use similar to what you described.
I do have 5g disabled as 4g is crazy fast already where I live/work.
A bit of debloating, mostly as i am annoyed by all these apps being there.
Oneui is actually quite good, but some mods with good lock and running nova.

bamn said:
For me the phone is fine in most regards.
Exynos is plenty fast for daily use and battery life is supposedly better than snap.
I am new to Samsung as well and am not impressed by modding options.
To me it is clear that Samsung is the most Apple like android.
Rooting is no issue, but you will lose DRM verification, so lower quality YouTube Netflix and such.
A PC is always needed to flash an update, which for some of us has been impossible without full wiping by the way.
I can get 2 days with light use similar to what you described.
I do have 5g disabled as 4g is crazy fast already where I live/work.
A bit of debloating, mostly as i am annoyed by all these apps being there.
Oneui is actually quite good, but some mods with good lock and running nova.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
A bummer with DRM, I thought this was exclusive to Sony (I currently own Xperia XZ2 compact), didn't think I'd encounter the dilemma whether to root or not because of this DRM again.
A question (for everyone here), how is call quality? Can you hear the other person clearly, can they hear you clearly? Is the speaker loud enough when on speaker?
I know it's a basic question but it's something I thought about because Google started rolling out "Clear calling" in the Pixel 7 and although I'm very much leaning to the S22, this seems like an important advantage of the Pixel (unless somehow the feature will reach Samsung or people with other phones).

Yeah DRM sucks a bit, especially since the screen is worth the quality content.
I found out after rooting only, but I can definitely live with it.
To me rooting is still worth it in the end.
Not much to say regarding call quality, i don't call a lot.
I have never been bothered with the quality or speaker volume so I suppose it's not very bad.

TheeWolf said:
Thanks!
A bummer with DRM, I thought this was exclusive to Sony (I currently own Xperia XZ2 compact), didn't think I'd encounter the dilemma whether to root or not because of this DRM again.
A question (for everyone here), how is call quality? Can you hear the other person clearly, can they hear you clearly? Is the speaker loud enough when on speaker?
I know it's a basic question but it's something I thought about because Google started rolling out "Clear calling" in the Pixel 7 and although I'm very much leaning to the S22, this seems like an important advantage of the Pixel (unless somehow the feature will reach Samsung or people with other phones).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DRM can be fixed by magisk modules.
Call quality is great even on loudspeaker.

TheeWolf said:
Hi,
I'm thinking of getting an S22, but I would appreciate your help with answering a few questions first: (if you don't want or can't answer these questions, please skip to the end of the post)
1. I understand that the Snapdragon version is much better. Is it also more supported community/ROM wise?
2. How is the battery life, if the phone is usually on idle, with a few phone talks over the day, some music, and lets say about 1 hour of screen time (continuously)? If that is the usage for a day, will it last for two days? (approximately, based on your experience)
3. This One UI, is it good, comfortable to use? Can it be replaced by replacing a launcher, or do you have to flash a new ROM?
4. Speaking of ROMs, I assume flashing ROMs/kernels is still pretty easy? The last Galaxy phone I had is the S1 and a lot of time has passed, but I remember not struggling much, and coursing through ROMs was a breeze.
5. I know you'll probably be biased towards the S22, but I'm debating over it VS the Pixel 7. Considering the fact that I can't use the unique features of the Pixel 7 (Google assistant screening spam calls, making appointments, etc.) since I don't live in the US or a country where these features are supported, and that I prefer smaller screens, which one should I choose?
In general, what do you think of the phone? Are you happy with it? Can you provide examples of pros and cons?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I have SD version. I used to flash Custom ROMs on all my previous phone after those stop receiving updated OS. Also for not missing out new features. Right now, with 4 years of OS guarantee by Samsung, I don't see myself going for custom ROMs on my S22. I use Magisk and a few other modules.
2. Battery life is very subjective and personal. For me, it lasts 24 hours on a single charge with 30% left before I charge it again. I don't play heavy games. I have Sudoko, Alto's Adventure, and Flappy Bird (hahaha).. Just to pass the time when I am waiting for someone or something. That's it. I save the heavy/real gaming for bigger screens and PC (for better experience)
I too had less than ideal battery endurance during the first two weeks. It's been the case for the past Samsung devices I have used. So, I knew it would improve after settling in. I resetted the phone before I manually configured the apps and transferred my old data to S22. (Painfully long process) Usually do with Titanium Backup Pro but I wanted it to be a fresh start.
On a regular day.. Connected on WIFI always. 2 SIM cards (1st 2G/3G/4G and 2nd only 2G). I use Slack with 3 different workspaces. 5 Emails on Gmail ( 3 syncing regularly), 1 Samsung account syncing, 2 more work emails syncing on Samsung Email app. Some Chrome use. FlipBoard, Pocket, and Medium reading at the end of the day. Whatsapp, Whatsapp Business, and Telegram usage. Google Drive and Sheet. A few pics here and there.
10 mins of Social media if neeeded. Sometimes music. No watching videos on a regular day. Some 30-60 mins of calls. Buds Pro and Amazfit T Rex Pro connected always.
I get 4 to 5 hours of Screen on Time with 22 to 24 hours overall usage, still with 30% battery remaining. I don't spend time outdoor during day time, so the screen doesn't have to be fully lit. Auto Brightness manages it. Biggest draw on battery for me is the video call, some 18-20% an hour. Next is the outdoor navigation for 10 mins, lost like 3-4%.
I have removed FB app, MS apps and a few Google apps. Also a few Samsung apps which I found no use for. Though I have Root, I found ADB is much easier than Root for removing/disabling these apps. 120 Hz Adaptive refresh rate on. Adaptive Battery. Add some apps to Deep Sleep. That's it. Greenify didn't seem to make a difference in my usage. So stopped.
Accubattery Stats are like.. Discharge 1% an hour on Standby and 10% an hour on screen usage (Wifi and indoors). (I have installed around 100 third party apps on this phone)
I was waiting on the sidelines for the first few months. Was waiting for Samsung to release some updates and improve the battery endurance (as usual). Online reviews were mostly negative due to their usage patterns. My usage is different from theirs. I am still little upset at Samsung for being a jerk by reducing the battery capacity instead of increasing it, just like any other greedy company. So the negative reviews are necessary to call out their wicked move. Hey, if your usage is something like mine, you can go ahead. It's not bad at all. Better battery than my S8 when it was new and 20% less efficient than my S20 FE 5G or A52.
3. I am on One UI 5.0 Stable/Rooted. So far, So good. Minor but good improvements from One UI 4.1. I am using Nova Launcher Prime.. been like this for the last 5 years. I just don't like the homescreen and app drawer arrangements on One UI. That's all. Everything else is so good. I personally love One UI for its functionality. It has evolved a lot. People complain about bloatware either have not used One UI 3 or later versions on flagship devices. Bloatwares are there in mid and low end devices, that too getting less nowadays (comparing with M12).
4. I too was tempted to try custom Kernel during the first week. But I wanted to wait and see what this device had to offer in terms of battery life. I am happy without custom kernel. Flashing Custom ROMs and kernels are just like any other Samsung phones. But I find it much easier than Moto or Xiaomi phones.
5. I replaced my S8 with S20 FE 5G and I didn't like the size. I replaced it with S22. Compactness, easy to use. Better cameras than S20 FE 5G. Average battery life. Good build. One UI is good. If I had the chance to decide again, I would still choose S22 over Pixel 7 or 7 Pro. Overall experience matters than a few extra features.
I hope this helps!
Edit: One UI 5.0 has come with a feature, Bixby Text Call - similar to Pixel's Call Screening feature. I have no use for it. I haven't tried it. Currently, the translation/transcription only supports Korean language.
Call Quality with and without Wifi Calling/VOLTE enabled, is super clear for both parties. Better than any phone I have used, even their own S8, A52, and S20 FE 5G. Even on loud speaker, I would sit a few feet away from my phone and still it would be clear to both parties without any issues. We also have inbuilt sound quality settings to tweak to our needs. I found this for the first time on One UI 4.0

@Vorion Thank you so much for this very detailed answer!
By the way, about the Bixby text call, from what I understand it's not like the Pixel's call screening feature, it's actually designed to make you communicate with someone in a "text call" - you type messages, the other side hears your messages in a Bixby's automated voice. What the other side says you will read as it will be converted to text.

Related

Jump from S8 to Google Pixel - worth it?

I've never used a Google Nexus/Pixel before, because there are no samples in my region that I can have a run.
Is it true that the Pixel will remain buttery smooth throughout its entire lifespan (say 3 years) and is better than its competitors like Samsung in preventing rogue apps from mysteriously draining the battery over time?
I've been using Samsung all along and frankly quite tired of doing mods just to keep it fast, smooth, low-battery sucking, just like iPhone.
The only reason I've not jumped over to the Apple camp is because of the drag and drop functionality that Apple lacks.
Will the Pixel be very comparable to the iPhone in all aspects?
What will I lose (other than obvious things like the screen) by jumping from S8 to Pixel?
Lastly, when will Pixel 2 be out? Should I hold my breath for it? More interested in camera improvements.

dylansmith said:
I've never used a Google Nexus/Pixel before, because there are no samples in my region that I can have a run.
Is it true that the Pixel will remain buttery smooth throughout its entire lifespan (say 3 years) and is better than its competitors like Samsung in preventing rogue apps from mysteriously draining the battery over time?
I've been using Samsung all along and frankly quite tired of doing mods just to keep it fast, smooth, low-battery sucking, just like iPhone.
The only reason I've not jumped over to the Apple camp is because of the drag and drop functionality that Apple lacks.
Will the Pixel be very comparable to the iPhone in all aspects?
What will I lose (other than obvious things like the screen) by jumping from S8 to Pixel?
Lastly, when will Pixel 2 be out? Should I hold my breath for it? More interested in camera improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 - even after its EOL it will remain smooth, since we'll still have some dev working on it.
2 - mods other than visual customization are not needed on the Pixel XL. At least not to save battery.
3 - Hopefully the Pixel XL (although looking a little bit similar to the iPhone) will never be comparable with an iPhone.
4 - I don't own a S8 as I don't like Samsung devices, so i can't answer, sorry...
5 - Pixel XL 2 will most likely be released this autumn. Camera is already very nice in my opinion. If you have some money, go ahead. Otherwise wait six more months. It's up to you...
Cheers...

As someone who mainly used Samsung phones in past, I will not even consider S8 as anything. Why? Because of two reasons. First one is a personal requirement. I simply need a phone with smoothly working and consistent UI, which will lag the least, which will be reliable and not throw plenty FC and stuffs. And second one is a FACT. You wanna use an Android phone for real? Then use an android phone for real. Pixel IS Android. Samsung phones are Android in name. If you compare features of the two then Pixel will feel really dull, lacking in features.
Out of Pixel vs S8, I don't even see any point why in God's name would one choose the S8 over Pixel. Only one thing better is less bezels causing a huge and better display. Otherwise that glossy back panel, that fingerprint sensor positioning, a hardware second voice assistant button, jeez! And I am not even saying anything about their new Grace UI.
Pixel 2 will come out same time like Pixel 1 came out, around October.
After using Pixel for three months I have to say the phone simply rocked in most parts, incredible software experience, though still no iOS, that's why I sold it, incredible camera, that I can't forget from my mind, tremendous call quality, clean loud speaker etc., if someone really wanna buy an Android then there is no better phone, or nothing comes even close at this point.

I heard the software for the camera is lacking though. There are limited camera controls and the shutter speed can't go up to 30 seconds (not even with 3rd party Android apps). Is that true?
in addition, I noticed Samsung's weakness in GPS accuracy (this holds true from S2 days even to S8!). iPhone always gets the GPS position right the very first time and in quick time. Does the Pixel match up in this case?

dylansmith said:
I heard the software for the camera is lacking though. There are limited camera controls and the shutter speed can't go up to 30 seconds (not even with 3rd party Android apps). Is that true?
in addition, I noticed Samsung's weakness in GPS accuracy (this holds true from S2 days even to S8!). iPhone always gets the GPS position right the very first time and in quick time. Does the Pixel match up in this case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
Can't speak for the camera as for advanced sbot I'd use a DSLR. :good:
My GPS works well, no issue...
Your right, my SII gps.conf had to be tweaked to work properly.
Cheers...

dylansmith said:
I heard the software for the camera is lacking though. There are limited camera controls and the shutter speed can't go up to 30 seconds (not even with 3rd party Android apps). Is that true?
in addition, I noticed Samsung's weakness in GPS accuracy (this holds true from S2 days even to S8!). iPhone always gets the GPS position right the very first time and in quick time. Does the Pixel match up in this case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No manual controls. Only you can increase or decrease exposure that's it. Lowest shutter speed will be 1/4 with HDR+ I think, no less than that. And no, third party camera apps don't do **** here, all are basically meaningless.
But HDR+ as a whole is leagues ahead than other phones. I have never seen any phone capturing this much details in low light. The camera is brilliant in any way you at it. Just there are two problems, sometimes in low light it keeps focusing on the subject, and there is a blown out effect around light sources in a photo, which looks pretty bad when zoomed in.
GPS accuracy of the phone was awesome. Can't speak for iPhone but most accurate Android, fastest too, I have ever used.

I have a question too, since we are on the topic of switching. I'm thinking about switching from the s7 edge to a pixel/xl, and I was wondering are all the bootloaders for the pixel and xl unlock-able or do I have to look for a certain type?

loeffler23 said:
I have a question too, since we are on the topic of switching. I'm thinking about switching from the s7 edge to a pixel/xl, and I was wondering are all the bootloaders for the pixel and xl unlock-able or do I have to look for a certain type?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
All models directly bought from Google can be unlocked.
Verizon, EE, maybe others, not sure. You can find more infos by reading this forum, it's here if you search... Those can be unlocked if the Android version is 7.1 with an exploit called dePixel8: http://theroot.ninja/depixel8.html
On newer version, the exploit has been patched. If i was you, I'd rather look for a Google version if you want an unlockable bootloader...
Cheers...

loeffler23 said:
I have a question too, since we are on the topic of switching. I'm thinking about switching from the s7 edge to a pixel/xl, and I was wondering are all the bootloaders for the pixel and xl unlock-able or do I have to look for a certain type?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went from S7 to Pixel XL and love it, but I'll go ahead and warn you; if you want the unlockable bootloader, don't buy it from Verizon, order it from the Google Store. The Verizon model (includes getting it at Best Buy) has an permanently locked (can't be unlocked) bootloader on current firmware, but the Google Store source Pixel should always be unlockable no matter what firmware it's updated to. Hope that's accurate, I think it is, unless someone comes up with an exploit to allow unlocking the Verizon bootloader.

Although the device works well in some aspects such as the camera and speed, it is the worst I've had in terms of a "phone". The amount of dropped and missed calls is just not acceptable. Do a search on google's pixel support forum and you'll see I'm not the only one. There's also other connectivity problems like bt and wifi that just shouldn't be. Also Google is shoving more and more ads and money makers for them into everything they do. Example: maps now has a Pacman game built in. They're also making it harder and harder on developers to modify their tracking devices. So, after being an Android fanboy for the last 6 yrs, I'll be looking elsewhere when this one dies the normal death (battery already not lasting through the day like when I bought it).

Droid1019 said:
Although the device works well in some aspects such as the camera and speed, it is the worst I've had in terms of a "phone". The amount of dropped and missed calls is just not acceptable. Do a search on google's pixel support forum and you'll see I'm not the only one. There's also other connectivity problems like bt and wifi that just shouldn't be. Also Google is shoving more and more ads and money makers for them into everything they do. Example: maps now has a Pacman game built in. They're also making it harder and harder on developers to modify their tracking devices. So, after being an Android fanboy for the last 6 yrs, I'll be looking elsewhere when this one dies the normal death (battery already not lasting through the day like when I bought it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello... If you experience one or more of the issues you describe, why not simply RMA your device? :good:
Cheers...

5.1 said:
Hello... If you experience one or more of the issues you describe, why not simply RMA your device? :good:
Cheers...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because I got it from Verizon while I could still unlock the bootloader. If I get another from them I won't be able to. Also if you read some of the support forums on VZW or Google you'll see getting another phone is not the answer as some have been through 3-5. The problem lies in the way the new technology in the chip interacts with the towers. So it depends more on where where you are and if the towers have been updated which will be a long time coming in the rural areas that I work in.

Droid1019 said:
Because I got it from Verizon while I could still unlock the bootloader. If I get another from them I won't be able to. Also if you read some of the support forums on VZW or Google you'll see getting another phone is not the answer as some have been through 3-5. The problem lies in the way the new technology in the chip interacts with the towers. So it depends more on where where you are and if the towers have been updated which will be a long time coming in the rural areas that I work in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
Ah... I understand you. Yeah the Verizon policy is really annoying for those wanting an unlockable bootloader.
Also, what makes other manufacturers better as they should pack the same technology in their new chips as well, no?
Cheers...

Hell-to-the-nah-naaaah

Without Xposed, I won't even consider an S8.
Actually, I wouldn't even if they got LOS or AOSP ROM's.
Even back when Galaxy phones did get that type of ROM support, they were always buggy A.F.
Wasn't till I got a Motorola X Pure and Google phone till I found out what a "stable" custom ROM was.
I was rooting & ROM'ing Galaxy Skyrocket, S3, S4, Note 3, Note 4... never had such stability as since the Pure and Pixel.
Sucks too, because I want those new slim bezels, 1000 nit screen, extra water resistance and glove mode if they still have it.

dylansmith said:
Is it true that the Pixel will remain buttery smooth throughout its entire lifespan (say 3 years)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it is not true. Pixel XL uses Snapdragon 821 cpu, which is already obsolete today. The most current and fastest cpu in USA is Snapdragon 835, which is about 30% faster than 821 used in Pixel. In 3 years, this phone will be a complete hog, giving you maybe less that 15 frames per second... If Google keeps updating the OS. If it doesn't, it will stay the same speed. Ironic...
dylansmith said:
Is it true that it is better than its competitors like Samsung in preventing rogue apps from mysteriously draining the battery over time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it is not true. Pixel XL is one of the worst battery draining flagship phones on the market today. Its use of Google Assistant constantly in the background is the major source of battery drain, unless you disable it. But when you disable it, you lose a lot of functionality like the weather widget on main screen, or any other functionality associated with it. Even Galaxy S7/8, with always on display technology, drains less battery than Pixel XL. It's a battery hog. On the other hand, it's active usage battery drain is compatible with other flagship phones. But when you turn off the screen, prepare for a beating.
dylansmith said:
I've been using Samsung all along and frankly quite tired of doing mods just to keep it fast, smooth, low-battery sucking, just like iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's not true. You don't actually need to do mods to keep a 1-2 year old Samsung flagship phone running fast, smooth, and low-battery sucking. Perhaps your problems are with Google Services settings and Google's inability to fix bugs in their software. Avoid that software, use Samsung's instead.
dylansmith said:
Will the Pixel be very comparable to the iPhone in all aspects?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that is true. Google Pixel XL will be a very basic phone with limited capabilities.
dylansmith said:
What will I lose (other than obvious things like the screen) by jumping from S8 to Pixel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is true. You will lose quite a bit. Here's a list in no particular order:
1) Infinity Display / Curved edges / sense of style / 84% screen to body ratio.
2) Best brightness and best brightness in sunlight ratings.
3) HDR screen certification.
4) IP68 water and dust proofing.
5) Gorilla Glass 5 durability.
6) Wireless charging and Fast Wireless Charging.
7) Micro SD card expansion.
8) Best in class low light camera performance. Best in class camera sharpness performance. Best in class selfie camera.
9) Bluetooth 5.0
10) Always On Display.
11) LTE-4CA, twice faster LTE.
12) Samsung Pay, which works everywhere, even without NFC terminals. Works with magnetic stripe readers, which is unique, because no other pay systems can do that.
13) Iris scanner security.
14) SpO2 meter, heart rate sensor.
15) Desktop dock option with optimized desktop OS.
16) Bixby - **** Bixby. Minus 10 points here.
So, you see? You would be losing A LOT!

nabbed said:
No, it is not true. Pixel XL uses Snapdragon 821 cpu, which is already obsolete today. The most current and fastest cpu in USA is Snapdragon 835, which is about 30% faster than 821 used in Pixel. In 3 years, this phone will be a complete hog, giving you maybe less that 15 frames per second... If Google keeps updating the OS. If it doesn't, it will stay the same speed. Ironic...
No, it is not true. Pixel XL is one of the worst battery draining flagship phones on the market today. Its use of Google Assistant constantly in the background is the major source of battery drain, unless you disable it. But when you disable it, you lose a lot of functionality like the weather widget on main screen, or any other functionality associated with it. Even Galaxy S7/8, with always on display technology, drains less battery than Pixel XL. It's a battery hog. On the other hand, it's active usage battery drain is compatible with other flagship phones. But when you turn off the screen, prepare for a beating.
...
So, you see? You would be losing A LOT!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2 things
1 - The Pixel XL gives me 7 to 8 hours SOT, location and assistant all on normally. On standby, drain is less than 1%. I call that impressive.
2 - 821 may be the "not the best" but it is still the second best. I have both the iPhone 6 (not S), and the OnePlus One (running a Snapdragon 801) and they're both still rocking it and are smooth as butter. They are both 3 years old. Nothing gets slowed down or becomes heavy and stuttering unless you're installing a crapload of useless things on it. Pixel being a Pixel will get Android O and even Android P, which will surely optimize it even further.

dylansmith said:
Is it true that the Pixel will remain buttery smooth throughout its entire lifespan (say 3 years)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get little pauses at times when some of my Tasker routines run, so realistically I doubt if I would describe the phone that way after three years.
I've been using Samsung all along and frankly quite tired of doing mods just to keep it fast, smooth, low-battery sucking, just like iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an iPhone 7 before getting the regular Pixel. The iPhone clearly had better battery life for my usage patterns out of the box. I've made a bunch of changes to the Pixel so that it's comparable to the iPhone and my previous phone, but out of the box I would tend to expect Apple to have the edge.
Lastly, when will Pixel 2 be out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will probably release during the same time of the year as the last two phones. The wiki has the announcement and first availability dates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_(smartphone)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_6P

alluringreality said:
I get little pauses at times when some of my Tasker routines run, so realistically I doubt if I would describe the phone that way after three years.
I had an iPhone 7 before getting the regular Pixel. The iPhone clearly had better battery life for my usage patterns out of the box. I've made a bunch of changes to the Pixel so that it's comparable to the iPhone and my previous phone, but out of the box I would tend to expect Apple to have the edge.
It will probably release during the same time of the year as the last two phones. The wiki has the announcement and first availability dates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_(smartphone)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_6P
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious, what changes have you made?
Rooting aside - as for the first time I do not feel a need to root a device.

A lot of my setup relies on Tasker to automatically make setting changes, so it requires root or something like AutoTools Secure Settings on an unrooted phone. My impression was that typically turning off adaptive brightness when indoors may be one of the bigger battery savers from the list. I also had issues with my phone burning through lots of battery when I left wifi on, so automatically shutting off wifi when not in use was another big battery saver, although I hadn't tried changing "Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep" before installing Tasker. I doubt if the average person would benefit much by things like turning off Google Assistant, but I was trying to get the best standby battery life that I could for the times when I just use the Pixel as nothing more than a phone for talking and texting.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71146945&postcount=301

How bad is the S20+ Exynos really?

Hi guys,
I understand there are many threads regarding this, and I've spent pretty much the entire day scouring through them, but I still see conflicting information and I want a definitive answer as to whether I should cancel my order of the Galaxy S20+ Exynos. I also wanted to ask a few questions which don't seem to get asked in any other threads.
So my first primary question is: is the S20+ Exynos really that bad? Coming from a Galaxy S8 and the price being quite expensive on contract, am I likely to entirely regret the purchase? Will I still see a significant improvement in terms of battery life and thermals compared to my S8?
I'm generally not a huge power user; would maybe play the occasional game of CODM or Antimatter Dimensions (Pretty much an idle game, so I doubt it'd cause any throttling, but from what I've heard of some users experiencing heat problems when scrolling through Facebook, I wouldn't be surprised.) The one thing that has me on the fence is the lack of consistency; I've read loads of threads talking about it's issues, but then loads of people saying they love the phone and are getting pretty good battery life with it, saying they are on Exynos. I'm wondering whether the whole thing is blown out of proportion or is it completely justified?
One point which I haven't really saw people mention is that originally people were saying that the device 'learns your usage'; the phone has been out for 2 months now, has anyone noticed any significant difference in battery life/thermals?
Another point that I was wondering that I don't really see mentioned is any update to fix the issue; is it possible to fix these issues with software updates? I understand that there's the fix for the green screen issue, but I'm more concerned about the battery life and thermals.
I'm really at a loss here. There doesn't really seem to be any other phone that appeals to me other than the S20+ that I can buy on a carrier that gets good signal where I live, apart from maybe the iPhone 11 Pro, but that is quite a bit more expensive. I'm even debating just getting the normal iPhone 11, but the LCD screen is putting me off. I really don't want to spend this much money on a phone only for the performance and battery life to be so badly hindered.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sammy Fanboi here who, until the S20 had every samsung flagship since S4, I also had Note Series devices. And every device got hate about something... really every device always has some mini scandal/gate... I never saw those flaws on those devices or better said they never affected me. But this time, most things said is unfortunately true.
My issues:
Thermals. This is big because thermals are very important on every device not only phones. If the brains is negatively affected it can't operate at it's full potential and everything suffers from it.
The S20 exynos gets hot very easily and fast which means no 120Hz which is a main feature that you can't use anymore! Oh you wanna play games? ok have fun for 10 minutes because after those 10 minutes you get teleported back a few years and you now playing on s S7. Everything stutters frames start dropping and you notice the change obviously instantly from from the smooth gameplay before. Now you get frustrated and stop playing. This happens faster in warm climates like right now. This happens on everything that stresses the SOC not even in a very extreme way but just medium and over a longer period. And this issue is real.
Besides the fact that there are S20's in the world with SD SOC's that cost the same and don't have this issue or are even more capable is just not fair and such ****ty move from sammy.
But SD S20's are not perfect either, they also suffer when compared to other devices with the SD865! There is this youtube channel called techutopia or something which does emulator tests and he tested in a video 3 SD865 devices and the S20 performed the worst even with the same SOC because of sammys bad thermals!
For this reason alone I would skip the S20 exynos or even the S20 series all together.
Battery is the same on every device of mine! No difference there. Every device I owned get's me trough the day without a problem but I have to charge overnight. No change in that. But don't expect the S20+ to deliver any miracles.
Display seems ok on mine no crazy green tint issue like some people post where the display looks like some cheap lcd with extreme green clouding issues. My Display looks like it changes it's color profile at lower brightness settings on a gray background but at least no clouding. OLED lottery...

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chieco said:
Sammy Fanboi here who, until the S20 had every samsung flagship since S4, I also had Note Series devices. And every device got hate about something... really every device always has some mini scandal/gate... I never saw those flaws on those devices or better said they never affected me. But this time, most things said is unfortunately true.
My issues:
Thermals. This is big because thermals are very important on every device not only phones. If the brains is negatively affected it can't operate at it's full potential and everything suffers from it.
The S20 exynos gets hot very easily and fast which means no 120Hz which is a main feature that you can't use anymore! Oh you wanna play games? ok have fun for 10 minutes because after those 10 minutes you get teleported back a few years and you now playing on s S7. Everything stutters frames start dropping and you notice the change obviously instantly from from the smooth gameplay before. Now you get frustrated and stop playing. This happens faster in warm climates like right now. This happens on everything that stresses the SOC not even in a very extreme way but just medium and over a longer period. And this issue is real.
Besides the fact that there are S20's in the world with SD SOC's that cost the same and don't have this issue or are even more capable is just not fair and such ****ty move from sammy.
But SD S20's are not perfect either, they also suffer when compared to other devices with the SD865! There is this youtube channel called techutopia or something which does emulator tests and he tested in a video 3 SD865 devices and the S20 performed the worst even with the same SOC because of sammys bad thermals!
For this reason alone I would skip the S20 exynos or even the S20 series all together.
Battery is the same on every device of mine! No difference there. Every device I owned get's me trough the day without a problem but I have to charge overnight. No change in that. But don't expect the S20+ to deliver any miracles.
Display seems ok on mine no crazy green tint issue like some people post where the display looks like some cheap lcd with extreme green clouding issues. My Display looks like it changes it's color profile at lower brightness settings on a gray background but at least no clouding. OLED lottery...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn.
Honestly, I was hoping for a different answer, but I think this is the answer I needed.
I've been with Samsung since the S6, got the S7 Edge and then S8 and had no real reason to upgrade since that as it's just been such a perfect phone. Samsung have lost a pretty easy sale here and if this issue didn't exist then I would've been happily using an S20+ right now.
Honestly I don't know what to do from here in terms of my phone; I've never owned an iPhone, and never even thought about buying one until now, but the iPhone 11 or XS are the only phones other than the S20+ that really appeal to me. I would be looking at the OP8 but it's not available on contract with O2. I'm tempted to just keep my S8 until a phone that does appeal to me comes out, but I don't know how much life my S8 still has in it as I've had it for over 2 1/2 years; it seems to be doing alright for now but with some noticeable slow down. One thing I will say is that the S8 has been a damn near exceptional phone and made me a loyal Samsung customer, but this has just completely backtracked that.
Thanks for the post, it was a great help. Definitely going to cancel my order and have a think about other options.

I have an S20+, and personally while I'd "prefer" the SD version, for me the Exynos is not as bad as some people make out.
Yes, the SD version is faster in benchmarks, but the reality is in day to day use who is going to actually notice? And yes, while it's not as quick as the SD, it's not exactly a "slow" chip.
I had the reboot issue at the start, but this has been fixed for me with a software update.
As I said given the choice, I'd have picked the SD version, but we are talking about is it really THAT BAD here, right?
I don't game much on my phone, but I do everything else pretty heavily and my phone never even feels warm in general use. I have read some people say their devices get hot just browsing, watching Youtube etc.
Mine has never even got mildly warm watching Youtube or in general use... I even tested it and it's temp hovered about 34c in use, while at idle it was 31c. This makes me wonder if there's something else going on there? Ie: Configuration issue? Or if maybe not all Exynos 990's are equal? I can't answer that.
I have spent some time tuning the phone, as I do with every phone I have, and I've been generally happy overall. If I run at 96hz I regularly get 7.5hr to 8hr+ SOT a day, after more updates and tweaking, at 120hz I can get 6.5hrs to 7hrs SOT. As I said, I take to time to optimise every phone I have like this, so I'm not doing anything I wouldn't usually do with another phone here.
Apart from Macro shots (which needs fixing), I've been pretty happy with the camera. While there is always room to improve, I'm sure there will be additional firmware updates which will improve it to some degree again.
Not saying everyone's use and experience will be the same, but I'm just speaking for my personal experience with my S20+.
What I need from a phone is good daily performance, good battery life, and a great screen, and that's what I'm getting.
Would I like the slightly better performance and efficiency of the SD for the same money? Yes obviously.
Is the Exynos 990 "that bad"? For me, no it isn't.

Not bad at all. I got my Exynos S20+ on Wednesday and the battery is very good, it was also ridiculously cheap compared to the Snapdragon version, it gets updates faster, and it has never "overheated" like so many people claim it does. Then again, I'm not an 11 year old whose parents buy him everything and who plays fortnite all day so that may affect one's opinion if they fall into that category. Use basic logic: there's maybe a couple hundred people on the entire internet across all websites whining and complaining about their Exynos S20s having issues, millions of people with these phones around the world, and often times you'll find the people complaining about the Exynos battery life are little kids who play PUBG or Fortnite all day and night and complain their phone won't run 120Hz at max brightness on 5G for 8 hours without recharging. Absolutely nothing wrong with the Exynos, it's a great phone and you can usually find it cheaper if you look because of these few whiners (so I guess we do have something to thank them for!)

Everyone's experience with Exynos varies because everyone uses their phone a little differently. One person may have no issues at all (or relatively minor issues), and another person can't make it through a day without dealing with thermal throttling.
The general consensus is Exynos is an inferior SoC. There is no question about that. But if you don't game a lot, don't record a lot of video and don't plan to use 120 Hz, then chances are you won't be significantly affected by Exynos' poor efficiency. For me, those are a lot of caveats for a $1000+ phone.
You can import a Snapdragon model, but it might not support all the bands used by your carrier, and obviously you won't be able to roll the payments into your monthly phone bill.
I am not trying to talk you out of buying a S20, but you did the right thing by postponing your purchase until you decide it is definitely worth the money. And it sounds like you aren't convinced of that.
If you can't get a Snapdragon S20 but you still want Android, then I strongly recommend looking at OnePlus 8/Pro or 7T, all of which would save you some money. Moving to iPhone is a huge deal if you've invested a lot of money in the Play store. You'll also lose a lot of customizability. iPhones are great if you don't mind having essentially the same phone as every other iPhone owner. But forget about custom launchers, widgets and all the other stuff that makes an Android phone your phone. And get real comfortable with iTunes because you can't do anything to your iPhone without it.

If by inferior you mean it gets higher single core performance and slightly worse multi core performance and sometimes heats up slightly, yeah it's just the worst thing on earth!
S20 buying guide:
Do you play games for several hours straight on your phone and don't care about paying $300+ extra for the Crapdragon chipset? Buy the Crapdragon
Do you want a phone that blows all the competition in the same price range away and do literally anything else with your phone except play games for hours on end? Exynos

Sorry if I jump into the conversation, but it's a topic I'm interested in.
I've read that the Exynos variants have a standby battery drain problem. Is that true?
I'm coming from an S10e which has a BIG standby drain issue (I've experienced nothing like that before), and before buying an S20 I'd like to know if those rumors are true or not.
I'm asking this because I don't use the phone for gaming, so having a phone who can support graphic-intensive games for a long playing time is not a crucial point for me.

Basically:
a) You disable a ton of packages and apps through Package disabler = NO overheating, no lag, only minor frame drops when opening the camera (or I guess something else intensive)
b) You don't = all issues above. I used to drop to 60hz pretty often until I tuned everything up.
I have WiFi, 4G, Bt, Location always ON and the battery is fine for me. About 5h-7h SOT.
Coming from a Pixel 2, I'd advise against the S20+ in pursue of a different phone, mostly OP8 Pro or the Pixel 4 (though I'm unsure about the Pixel). I wouldn't get the iPhone since 120hz is so nice.

Coming from a OnePlus 6, I'd advise you buy an S20+. I can't recommend this phone enough and most of the whiners just need something to complain about and in reality haven't even compared the snapdragon and exynos so they have no basis to claim it's the CPU's fault and not just that the phone in general is not for them.
OnePlus 8 Pro is ridiculously underfeatured and overpriced. The only use I can see it having is if you're an OP fangirl and want to play games 24/7 so you absolutely need the slightly better cooling and qualcomm chipset.

madpete said:
I have an S20+, and personally while I'd "prefer" the SD version, for me the Exynos is not as bad as some people make out.
Yes, the SD version is faster in benchmarks, but the reality is in day to day use who is going to actually notice? And yes, while it's not as quick as the SD, it's not exactly a "slow" chip.
I had the reboot issue at the start, but this has been fixed for me with a software update.
As I said given the choice, I'd have picked the SD version, but we are talking about is it really THAT BAD here, right?
I don't game much on my phone, but I do everything else pretty heavily and my phone never even feels warm in general use. I have read some people say their devices get hot just browsing, watching Youtube etc.
Mine has never even got mildly warm watching Youtube or in general use... I even tested it and it's temp hovered about 34c in use, while at idle it was 31c. This makes me wonder if there's something else going on there? Ie: Configuration issue? Or if maybe not all Exynos 990's are equal? I can't answer that.
I have spent some time tuning the phone, as I do with every phone I have, and I've been generally happy overall. If I run at 96hz I regularly get 7.5hr to 8hr+ SOT a day, after more updates and tweaking, at 120hz I can get 6.5hrs to 7hrs SOT. As I said, I take to time to optimise every phone I have like this, so I'm not doing anything I wouldn't usually do with another phone here.
Apart from Macro shots (which needs fixing), I've been pretty happy with the camera. While there is always room to improve, I'm sure there will be additional firmware updates which will improve it to some degree again.
Not saying everyone's use and experience will be the same, but I'm just speaking for my personal experience with my S20+.
What I need from a phone is good daily performance, good battery life, and a great screen, and that's what I'm getting.
Would I like the slightly better performance and efficiency of the SD for the same money? Yes obviously.
It's the Exynos 990 "that bad"? For me, no it isn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another great reply, thanks for the help. You see this is what's getting to me: you've got reply above yours pretty much saying do not get it, then others like yours saying it's generally okay. I understand that everyone has different usage for their devices, but with a device this expensive, it should absolutely cover the vast majority of use cases except the heaviest of loads. That's what's stopping me. It's like buying an Audi RS6 and finding that after 5 minutes it's peak power drops to 490bhp because it has bad cooling. While 490bhp isn't in any way bad, you're still losing a lot of power, and an excess of heat is going to cause a problem further down the line which is really putting me off when I wanted to keep this phone for at least 2 years.
TheNetwork said:
If by inferior you mean it gets higher single core performance and slightly worse multi core performance and sometimes heats up slightly, yeah it's just the worst thing on earth!
S20 buying guide:
Do you play games for several hours straight on your phone and don't care about paying $300+ extra for the Crapdragon chipset? Buy the Crapdragon
Do you want a phone that blows all the competition in the same price range away and do literally anything else with your phone except play games for hours on end? Exynos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As said in my above reply to madpete, that really shouldn't be an issue. I don't play games for hours on end, but it's more about the idea that I have the option to do that if I want to. I have genuinely tried my best to find a way to be happy with buying this phone, spending pretty much all of yesterday researching it and hoping that I find some assurances, but pretty much nothing. The many many speed and thermal tests really don't lie; the Exynos is a bad chip. My question was HOW BAD was it, and did it warrant skipping over the phone, and the answer I got was generally to skip it.
harisyks said:
Basically:
a) You disable a ton of packages and apps through Package disabler = NO overheating, no lag, only minor frame drops when opening the camera (or I guess something else intensive)
b) You don't = all issues above. I used to drop to 60hz pretty often until I tuned everything up.
I have WiFi, 4G, Bt, Location always ON and the battery is fine for me. About 5h-7h SOT.
Coming from a Pixel 2, I'd advise against the S20+ in pursue of a different phone, mostly OP8 Pro or the Pixel 4 (though I'm unsure about the Pixel). I wouldn't get the iPhone since 120hz is so nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the OP8 Pro is my top choice right now, but it's not offered by O2, which is the only carrier around me which gets a solid 4G connection indoors. I've been looking into OnePlus' Klarna scheme thing though, as I'd rather split the cost a bit rather than one big cost at once. As for the 120hz: as much as I love high refresh rates, the main thing stopping me from getting the iPhone (11) is that it doesn't have an OLED screen, along with the resolution. I know the joys of scrolling on a 120hz phone very well, but then I go back to my S8 and it just doesn't really matter to me if you get me?
sublimaze said:
Everyone's experience with Exynos varies because everyone uses their phone a little differently. One person may have no issues at all (or relatively minor issues), and another person can't make it through a day without dealing with thermal throttling.
The general consensus is Exynos is an inferior SoC. There is no question about that. But if you don't game a lot, don't record a lot of video and don't plan to use 120 Hz, then chances are you won't be significantly affected by Exynos' poor efficiency. For me, those are a lot of caveats for a $1000+ phone.
You can import a Snapdragon model, but it might not support all the bands used by your carrier, and obviously you won't be able to roll the payments into your monthly phone bill.
I am not trying to talk you out of buying a S20, but you did the right thing by postponing your purchase until you decide it is definitely worth the money. And it sounds like you aren't convinced of that.
If you can't get a Snapdragon S20 but you still want Android, then I strongly recommend looking at OnePlus 8/Pro or 7T, all of which would save you some money. Moving to iPhone is a huge deal if you've invested a lot of money in the Play store. You'll also lose a lot of customizability. iPhones are great if you don't mind having essentially the same phone as every other iPhone owner. But forget about custom launchers, widgets and all the other stuff that makes an Android phone your phone. And get real comfortable with iTunes because you can't do anything to your iPhone without it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd also love to import a Snapdragon model, but as said above I just don't want to pay everything upfront. Again, I'd absolutely love a OP8, but the lack of carrier support apart from Three in the UK severely affects my decision. As for the iPhone: honestly, if you asked me two years ago if I would ever buy an iPhone I would've 100% say no due to the lack of customisation. Now though? I guess it just doesn't really matter to me anymore. I don't know if it's whether I already like how the S8 is from factory reset (apart from a few changes), but I haven't used Nova in maybe a year or so. Maybe I'm missing some key customisation that I do that an iPhone can't do, I'm just not sure.

Yeah, but does it suffer from standby battery drain? That's a major point, to be honest.
It doesn't matter how you use your phone, if it drains battery just standing there by itself.

NickRaga said:
Sorry if I jump into the conversation, but it's a topic I'm interested in.
I've read that the Exynos variants have a standby battery drain problem. Is that true?
I'm coming from an S10e which has a BIG standby drain issue (I've experienced nothing like that before), and before buying an S20 I'd like to know if those rumors are true or not.
I'm asking this because I don't use the phone for gaming, so having a phone who can support graphic-intensive games for a long playing time is not a crucial point for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No stadby problems at all, at least this is my experience
Actually S20+ is performing similar as S10+ I owned before, which means 3% drop overnight (approx 7 hrs) with wifi and data off
Even with data or wifi on the drain is normal
Sent from my SM-G985F using XDA Labs

TheNetwork said:
Coming from a OnePlus 6, I'd advise you buy an S20+. I can't recommend this phone enough and most of the whiners just need something to complain about and in reality haven't even compared the snapdragon and exynos so they have no basis to claim it's the CPU's fault and not just that the phone in general is not for them.
OnePlus 8 Pro is ridiculously underfeatured and overpriced. The only use I can see it having is if you're an OP fangirl and want to play games 24/7 so you absolutely need the slightly better cooling and qualcomm chipset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mrwhosetheboss and others on YouTube have done great comparisons between exynos and snapdragon and exynos is inferior! Wish I'd have held off and got snapdragon from wondamobile

russellcausier said:
Mrwhosetheboss and others on YouTube have done great comparisons between exynos and snapdragon and exynos is inferior! Wish I'd have held off and got snapdragon from wondamobile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember correctly, they said that it's inferior only when it comes to intense use (i.e. with graphicly demanding games).

NickRaga said:
If I remember correctly, they said that it's inferior only when it comes to intense use (i.e. with graphicly demanding games).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Inferior battery

NickRaga said:
Yeah, but does it suffer from standby battery drain? That's a major point, to be honest.
It doesn't matter how you use your phone, if it drains battery just standing there by itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My s20 + 5g idle drain is the worst I've ever had on a phone coming from S10. On airplane mode im losing upwards of 20% a night having basically everything put to sleep, aod display off. This phone drains battery faster with screen off than on. Really disappointed thus far. Hope Samsung does something to fix this issue as its simply ridiculous.
Edit: This was a SIM card issue nothing more. Hope this edit may help someone else potentially.

mini-Review of the 8 Pro / 12Gb RAM / 256Gb storage version

Introduction
I have never written anything like this before. You might know me as the creator of the Omega kernel for the 6T, and now the 8 Pro. But I wanted to share my experience coming from a OnePlus 6T, to help everyone make a better decision whether to upgrade or not -> I'll cut to the chase... Upgrade now.
I have been using the OnePlus 6T since it was released in November 2018. Before I had almost every OnePlus since the 2, but kept changing between the current top iPhones and OnePlus-es. That changed with the 6T. I was blown away by the speed and responsiveness vs the iPhone 8 Plus I had before that, and Google really upped their game with Android Pie.
Since the 6T I never really wanted to get back into the Apple ecosystem, Android was just too good to use.
Kernel devving on the 6T was also very enjoyable, once a person finds out some of the quirks of the OnePlus code additions.
Enter the 8 Pro
I'll just say this comparing it to the 6T (I never wanted to try the 7 Pro series because of the pop-up camera): OH MY GOD. It's like going from a Fiat Panda (no offense to Fiat) to a Tesla. It's mind-blowing.
The looks. The blue on the 8 Pro is so beautiful, this is the first time I will keep the clear case on the phone that was provided in the box.
The speed. I know, it's mostly a perception, because of the 120Hz display, but oh my does that make a difference... Of course there is the 865 chipset, faster RAM, etc, but that screen is what blows you away the first time you boot it up.
The feel of the device. It's heavier than the 6T, but that's a good thing. You feel it's sturdier.
The experience. It's like opting for the red pill. You never want to go back. I think OnePlus perfectly nailed the combination of hardware and software on this one. After so many years a true flagship.
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. Blazing fast.
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, as I need to have notifications always.
Initial thoughts
Now this is a flagship. Incredible. From the way it feels in your hand, to how blazing fast it is. Battery seems good (see attached screenshots) - I know it has to settle in since it has only been 16 hours, but still. I'm impressed.
By default the screen is set to 120Hz but FHD display. I changed it to 120Hz and QHD resolution. I mean why have a phone like this if you don't enjoy to the max?
How is it vs the 6T?
Huge upgrade.
Camera - will test further over the weekend, but one-two pics I already took are much crisper and more vibrant
Speed - incredible jump forward, and the 6T is still no slouch in 2020...
WiFi - much more stable, seemless roaming now works fully on my home mesh router system. It didn't on the 6T...
OxygenOS - I know most of the added stuff in OOS 10.5 will come to the 6T, but the additions are very nice. Horizon lights, the new fingerprint animation, raise the phone to quiet the ringtone, are all very nice touches.
As I spend more time with the phone I will update this thread accordingly. If anyone has any questions, don't be shy to ask.
The display
OK guys, after two weeks now, let's talk about the display.
Few points: resolution, size, refresh rate, colors, brightness.
Resolution:
You can run in in 1080p or 1440p - some say they can't tell the difference between the two, but I personally can, and I can't go back to FHD... Text is crisper, photos have more detail, it simply looks better. And I read a lot of emails, so it's good to have beautiful fonts on the screen -> BTW I stay on stock Android's Roboto fonts, I simply prefer the more condensed fonts.
Size
6.7". Damn. I never thought I would have such a big screen, but after two weeks my wife's iPhone XR's 6.2" is just small. Because of the size, more calendar entries, more emails, and all my Fitbit stats actually fit on one screen! ...finally
One thing, though. On 1080p, the display density is set differently than 1440p. So if you switch to 1440p (QHD), all text becomes bigger. I'm not that old (yet), so you can actually go into System - Developer options - about 2/3 down Drawing - Smallest width - and change from 411 to 432. Now the scaling is the same as with 1080p, but the fonts are still crisper. (This took me two weeks to figure out )
Refresh rate
This is the biggest jump from my 6T. At first, I was like "yeah it's smooth". After a week, I looked at my son's Pixel 3a, and I asked "what's wrong with it?!?". Then I looked at my wife's iPhone XR, and I asked "what's wrong with it?!?" I'm now spoiled with the 120Hz, and now my work laptop seems slow...
This is the red pill I talked about.
And now the technical part: frame render time is around 6ms, meaning that there is virtually no dropped frame. It took precision to tune the hardware and software to perfection, and it shows!
Colors
Two categories: bright(er) screen is perfect. Colors are accurate, and photos show exactly what it is in real life. Perfect.
Dimmer screens do seem to have a green tint (standard settings), and overblown blacks (DC dimming). But this is something I'm certain will be fixed in an upcoming update, so I'm not worried.
Brightness
After the refresh rate, this is the next best thing. I started testing the phone inside, so it was nothing special. But when I used it in the car as a GPS, even in direct sunlight I was able to see everything clearly. Incredible. Compared to the 6T, and even an iPhone 8 Plus, this thing is bright, and beautiful to look at!
Performance
OK, so next up is performance. It's now been a bit more than 3 weeks with the phone, and I've had ample time to check out performance. Again, this is coming from the 6T.
Few points: general feeling, multitasking, gaming.
General overall feeling
It's fast
In more detail LOL: With the 6T, after booting up the phone, I always had to give it 4-5 hours to "settle in", and after that time performance was great. With th 8 Pro, I'm not really seeing that. It's already fast to begin with.
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.
Some raw performance indicators: snapping multiple portrait shots one after another is finally working. The 865 chipset does wonders for this, and on the 6T I had to wait 2-3 seconds before I could shoot again.
Multitasking
Snappy, no reloading of apps, everything stays in memory. And now with 12Gb of RAM, everything stays in memory even if I use the most memory-hog app of all, the camera. 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). Coming from the 6T (and maybe that has to do with the kernel moving from 4.9.y to 4.19.y), memory management is tons better than before. Background task killing decisions are much better, and not once have I had Fitbit close on me during an exercise, it always was able to track my GPS in the background.
Another (previously taxing) scenario was: biking with Fitbit tracking my stats in the background, checking out Google Maps where I am, and doing a Whatsapp video call (I have a bike mount). On the 6T, after the video call, it started killing either Fitbit or Maps in the background, now it's all good.
I guess all this can be attributed to two things: better memory management code written by OnePlus (YAY!), and the faster LPDDR5 memory. All in all great.
Gaming
I'm not much of a gamer, I'd consider myself a social gamer. I occasionally have Clash Royale installed - when my son also installs it . But, it's limited to 60fps, and on top of that the Android code optimization is terrible, so not much of an experience there.
But lets' talk about two games in particular that manage higher FPS: Fortnite and Pokemon Go.
Fortnite: I just had to try it. I rarely play on my PC, but with all the hype, I wanted to try it on the OnePlus 8 Pro. And WOW - they really mean business...
In the menus and before playing, it's limited to 30fps (I guess to save battery, and it doesn't matter in the menus anyways), but during gameplay it was just as smooth as my gaming PC which has a 90Hz monitor. Impressive. And I even got to 4th place! :victory:
If anyone of you is into playing FPS on your phones, this is a game-changer. Also, because of the high RAM, in-game experience is top notch, with zero lag.
Battery seems decent, based on my 20-minute round, I reckon one can go around 4 hours of playtime, which is quite incredible.
Pokemon Go: Previously, my biggest gripe with Android was the performance (or rather lack of...) of Pokemon Go, especially compared to iPhones. The game takes full advantage of the 120Hz display, and it's simply gorgeous. Throwing curveballs is a breeze, and overall exprerience is now MUCH better than the iPhone. Plus add to that that I could probably manage 5-5.5 hours of game time with a full charge.
Summing up
I guess when you have a powerful phone, it doesn't matter what you throw at it... It simply performs incredibly well. And the 8 Pro is a damn powerful phone.
Camera
OK, it's camera time! It's now been 4 weeks with the phone, let's talk about the camera. Again, this is coming from the 6T.
Few points: general feeling, everyday shots, videos, low light.
General overall feeling
This rocks. On the 6T, I almost always had to shoot multiple shots to ensure I have a good picture there. Now - my use case is mostly taking pictures of the family, and they are always moving Also, family sports don't have when there is good lighting, so I was almost always struggling with getting good pictures...
Not anymore. In the first few weeks I did take multiple photos (habit I guess), but it's no longer needed. 95% of the time the photo I take is simply perfect. I think the biggest testament to this is my broader family, and everyone uses iPhones -> since the 8 Pro, they keep on complimenting me on the quality of the photos, and always ask me what phone I have
Everyday shots
Yes, because the family is always moving around (including our rabbit), it's very difficult to get a decent picture. With the 8 Pro, it's actually very easy to do that now. I guess because of the better sensor, shutter times have been reduced, so motion is no longer showing on the pictures (unless of course there is significant movement). But these are the more difficult scenarios.
For simpler scenarios, like group picture with everyone posing, the rabbit laying down, etc., the pictures are perfect, good enough to immediately take to a print studio, even without editing.
Videos
Honestly, this is the best part I am lucky to have a 21:9 QHD monitor, and I love watching movies on it. I was always bummed that none of the previous phones was able to shoot in that format. With the 8 Pro, they introduced Cinematik 4K. I now always shoot in this mode, in 60fps. And oh my it's beautiful. It already fills the whole screen on the phone, and it's immersive, but when I show the family the videos on my home computer, they are in awe. And it's perfectly fluid with 60fps! And this captures every single detail in sports, so perfect.
Low light
I only include this section because for some reason people actually take photos in low light...
Now in the Netherlands it only gets dark after 11PM, so this is a bit difficult to test, but every single dusk picture I took turned out perfectly, again prompting my family members to ask me what kind of phone I have. LOL
That sums it up (for now), do let me know if you have any questions!

Screenshots attached

My personal setup
Accounts, setups
- One personal Gmail account, IMAP idle
- One family-level Outlook.com account for the family calendar, push sync
- One company Office365 account for work, push sync
Apps
- Calendar: Google Calendar
- Email: Nine Email - works perfectly with all accounts, as well as supports dark mode and email aliases
- Gallery: OnePlus gallery - it's fast and also shows an icon for portraits
- Social apps: Twitter, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, LinkedIn, Google News
Settings
- Screen set to QHD and 120Hz, automatic brightness
- WiFi and Bluetooth scanning both disabled
- Disabled "Hey Google" for the assistant
- Dark mode, of course
- Disabled haptics, as per post #1
- Disabled Bluetooth Discoverable
- Disabled Sleep Standby Optimization - I want to receive all notifications as they arrive, even at night

Great Review, i also had the 6t as my daily driver before. As i bought the 8 Pro i remember your last words about the 6t, that you will not switch to another Phone... And now you bought the exact device as me...
Don't know whats better: The Phone or that it will run with omega Kernel.
Thank you.

xx00xx1990 said:
Great Review, i also had the 6t as my daily driver before. As i bought the 8 Pro i remember your last words about the 6t, that you will not switch to another Phone... And now you bought the exact device as me...
Don't know whats better: The Phone or that it will run with omega Kernel.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I loved the 6T. Like I said, I wasn't too happy about the 7 Pro's pop-up camera, but already the 7T was tempting. But then the leaks came out about the 8, it started to look better.
And I have to say, this is one hellova' phone.

Great review & sums it up rather nicely, I have the 12/256gb Glacial Green and I just love it.....? For the same reasons as yourself. Owned every OnePlus from the 3T but this is the first that really is a true flagship......:good:

Duncan1982 said:
Great review & sums it up rather nicely, I have the 12/256gb Glacial Green and I just love it.....? For the same reasons as yourself. Owned every OnePlus from the 3T but this is the first that really is a true flagship......:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I loved the 3T. That selfie camera was a league of its own. I remember trying to compile CyanogenMod for it. Good ole days...
And back to 8 Pro - I was testing frame rendering this morning, and per-frame rendering time is ~5ms. So even on QHD resolution with 120Hz there are no frame drops. Simply incredible.

kristofpetho said:
I loved the 3T. That selfie camera was a league of its own. I remember trying to compile CyanogenMod for it. Good ole days...
And back to 8 Pro - I was testing frame rendering this morning, and per-frame rendering time is ~5ms. So even on QHD resolution with 120Hz there are no frame drops. Simply incredible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh yes the good ol' days .......? To me I'm like chainfire i used to root and mod all my devices, now there is not so much of a need to, as much as I'm sure your kernel is fantastic, I'll just stay stock, locked.....?
Which is unusual for me as with all OnePlus devices it's been the first thing I have done, now im not so much compelled to (again I'm sure your kernel is fantastic).
Enjoy and have fun with it, I'm sure you will.......:good:

Duncan1982 said:
Ahhh yes the good ol' days .......? To me I'm like chainfire i used to root and mod all my devices, now there is not so much of a need to, as much as I'm sure your kernel is fantastic, I'll just stay stock, locked.....?
Which is unusual for me as with all OnePlus devices it's been the first thing I have done, now im not so much compelled to (again I'm sure your kernel is fantastic).
Enjoy and have fun with it, I'm sure you will.......:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... Don't tell anyone, but I'm also bootloader locked currently...

kristofpetho said:
Well... Don't tell anyone, but I'm also bootloader locked currently...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shhhhh you typed that out loud .......? Who knows I might get tempted to unlock, but like I said it would only be for kernel, as all other mods are not needed or there are no other reasons.......root is something that has unfortunately died.
Before we needed to, there was a reason to, now it's not so much......anyway broken record .....?
#Oneplus you nailed it with the 8 Pro......?

Duncan1982 said:
#Oneplus you nailed it with the 8 Pro......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely agree

Duncan1982 said:
root is something that has unfortunately died.
Before we needed to, there was a reason to, now it's not so much......anyway broken record .....?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have to disagree on this, as I think it still mostly depends on what you're going to do with your device, the way you use it, the level of 'freedom' you need to have on your system/apps.
Having been root on each and every device I've had for the past 10 years, I know I could never go backward. Not just because of adblockers (yeah, I could use a vpn-based adblocker but battery consumption is not comparable) or for Lucky Patcher, but for the level of control that you get on almost every part of your system and apps.
But I guess it depends on people, different devices for different needs
(no intention here to start a debate on whether root or non-root is best, just sharing a different opinion, peace ^.^ )

Surfeur-des-Reves said:
Have to disagree on this, as I think it still mostly depends on what you're going to do with your device, the way you use it, the level of 'freedom' you need to have on your system/apps.
Having been root on each and every device I've had for the past 10 years, I know I could never go backward. Not just because of adblockers (yeah, I could use a vpn-based adblocker but battery consumption is not comparable) or for Lucky Patcher, but for the level of control that you get on almost every part of your system and apps.
But I guess it depends on people, different devices for different needs
(no intention here to start a debate on whether root or unroot is best, just sharing a different opinion, peace ^.^ )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely some do require for a few things, also some like the freedom of the device is theirs.....no debating and each has their own take on the matter .......:good:

I still root, but it's definitely far less necessary than it was a few years ago. I do it for Google dialer and vanced and that's about it now
Sent from my IN2025 using Tapatalk

Duncan1982 said:
Absolutely some do require for a few things, also some like the freedom of the device is theirs.....no debating and each has their own take on the matter .......:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
crzycrkr said:
I still root, but it's definitely far less necessary than it was a few years ago. I do it for Google dialer and vanced and that's about it now
Sent from my IN2025 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. For some people, root is still a necessity. To each their own.

kristofpetho said:
Introduction
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats on your new phone and kernel.

Sounds like a great device. The price tag on the purchase of two of them right now which is what I would need, is a little too steep. If I'm able to switch, I'm glad to have the 6t's as a backup device if needed

Great review kristfpetho!!!
I will be getting one soon..

Good Read! I'm impressed with my 8Pro Green Machine! Cool ?

Thanks for the review, I am waiting till end of November for buying a new phone so probably go for this or for the 8t but don't know what the price will be and if it's worth the upgrade or go for the cheaper 8pro at that moment... I guess 6 months difference in hardware or software won't make it a huge difference I assume.

General Disappointment the Pixel 6

Well after being excited to get the Pixel 6 Pro with all the hype of best pixel phone in years, i have returned the phone after finding it disappointing. Probably the phone i have been most disappointed with ever, So i have gone back to my Huawei P30 Pro
main issues are battery life, after finding the phone struggling to get through a day on a charge, after googling and finding turning off the 5g and 120hz display improves battery life. WHAT the main features of the phone drain the battery too much, battery life on P30 is 2 days for me constantly (i know peoples usage will vary), but after Lumia phones and Huawei it was like going back to Iphone 3 days barely getting 24hrs on a charge.
also the UI is terrible, how is this an improvement the notification area with the huge tiles take up so much room that you have to scroll to the right to see most of the shortcuts etc. P30 is much more intuitive and fewer steps to do the same action
The Google search bar/ assistant and clock can't be moved or resized so much for customising android, none of these restrictions on P30
Colour theming what a joke to the point of being pointless couldn't pick the colour i wanted and the choice of 4 colour LOL, P30 has a huge colour theming section and is easy pick what colour you want and away to go
You will need a case for the phone it will literally slide off everything, i know a lot pf people fit cases but you wont have any choice with the Pixel 6 or it'll end up in broke
I would go as far to say EMUI 4 was better than android 12 on the Pixel 6, only good point was the camera

Only thing I'd agree with is that Huawei makes some of the best phones and I wish they were sold for US carriers. As for this phone, it's getting better every day for me. Of course there are some annoyances here and there but battery life isn't bad for me. I still have mine on 5g and 120hz and getting 8ish hour SOT with full day use. Mostly Twitter, Reddit and cryptocurrency apps and some YouTube music. The UI I feel takes some learning and adjusting to get used to.

nighthawk626 said:
Only thing I'd agree with is that Huawei makes some of the best phones and I wish they were sold for US carriers. As for this phone, it's getting better every day for me. Of course there are some annoyances here and there but battery life isn't bad for me. I still have mine on 5g and 120hz and getting 8ish hour SOT with full day use. Mostly Twitter, Reddit and cryptocurrency apps and some YouTube music. The UI I feel takes some learning and adjusting to get used to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kinda hard to trust a device made literally by the espionage wing of a hostile foreign country...

96carboard said:
Kinda hard to trust a device made literally by the espionage wing of a hostile foreign country...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not saying I don't get that. I just really miss Huawei phones.

Podster16 said:
Well after being excited to get the Pixel 6 Pro with all the hype of best pixel phone in years, i have returned the phone after finding it disappointing. Probably the phone i have been most disappointed with ever, So i have gone back to my Huawei P30 Pro
main issues are battery life, after finding the phone struggling to get through a day on a charge, after googling and finding turning off the 5g and 120hz display improves battery life. WHAT the main features of the phone drain the battery too much, battery life on P30 is 2 days for me constantly (i know peoples usage will vary), but after Lumia phones and Huawei it was like going back to Iphone 3 days barely getting 24hrs on a charge.
also the UI is terrible, how is this an improvement the notification area with the huge tiles take up so much room that you have to scroll to the right to see most of the shortcuts etc. P30 is much more intuitive and fewer steps to do the same action
The Google search bar/ assistant and clock can't be moved or resized so much for customising android, none of these restrictions on P30
Colour theming what a joke to the point of being pointless couldn't pick the colour i wanted and the choice of 4 colour LOL, P30 has a huge colour theming section and is easy pick what colour you want and away to go
You will need a case for the phone it will literally slide off everything, i know a lot pf people fit cases but you wont have any choice with the Pixel 6 or it'll end up in broke
I would go as far to say EMUI 4 was better than android 12 on the Pixel 6, only good point was the camera
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You really should have waited a bit to try a pure aosp build. I found the google [bloat|spy]ware to be bad enough that I couldn't put my sim card in it because it was completely unusable. Running pure aosp built from source and its like a dream.
Under very heavy use since about 7am this morning (its now after 3), I'm still over 70% battery, including leaving 120hz enabled. Not 5g though, my carrier only has LTE for now.
Some of your complaints don't really matter. The quick settings pane for example is a feature of android 12, not the google build, so no matter who sells you the phone, you'll have that eventually anyway.

96carboard said:
Kinda hard to trust a device made literally by the espionage wing of a hostile foreign country...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hostile wing of USA or China take your pick

nighthawk626 said:
Only thing I'd agree with is that Huawei makes some of the best phones and I wish they were sold for US carriers. As for this phone, it's getting better every day for me. Of course there are some annoyances here and there but battery life isn't bad for me. I still have mine on 5g and 120hz and getting 8ish hour SOT with full day use. Mostly Twitter, Reddit and cryptocurrency apps and some YouTube music. The UI I feel takes some learning and adjusting to get used to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had no where near that battery time, fully charged at 9:00am out on the mtb for 6 hrs with pics on the way normal use after that by 8:00 pm 15%
The UI is just not as intuitive, take restricting apps working in the background pixel you have to go to each app individually, P30 the settings for all apps are on one page, just simpler

2021 has been a mediocre year at best for smartphones. Android 11 and 12 forced cpu cycle eating scooped storage sucks.
After the N20U Samsung released nothing I like and their last really great flagship is the N10+ running on Q.
2021, issues with variable rate displays, 5G and scoped storage galore. The usual Samsung Fold display delamination issues. For flagship SD card support you either got to use older Samsung flagships or go Chinese.
The Pixel Pro seems to numerous rude surprises. OK, maybe it's not horrible but not a flagship level device either... it's ok at best. It's user interface is subpar as usual with no substantial speed advantage to show for it. Why not just get an Apple rather than a Pixel at this rate?
I doubt even Samsung can modify Android 11/12 enough to make it user friendly; Pixel barely tried to fix their nightmare OS.
Small wonder Pixel as such a dismal market share... they earned it.

blackhawk said:
2021 has been a mediocre year at best for smartphones. Android 11 and 12 forced cpu cycle eating scooped storage sucks.
After the N20U Samsung released nothing I like and their last really great flagship is the N10+ running on Q.
2021, issues with variable rate displays, 5G and scoped storage galore. The usual Samsung Fold display delamination issues. For flagship SD card support you either got to use older Samsung flagships or go Chinese.
The Pixel Pro seems to numerous rude surprises. OK, maybe it's not horrible but not a flagship level device either... it's ok at best. It's user interface is subpar as usual with no substantial speed advantage to show for it. Why not just get an Apple rather than a Pixel at this rate?
I doubt even Samsung can modify Android 11/12 enough to make it user friendly; Pixel barely tried to fix their nightmare OS.
Small wonder Pixel as such a dismal market share... they earned it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note 9 owner
Everyone knows the 10 lineup was literally a downgrade in all the ways literally a minor cpu bump and a 3rd camera.
You lost iris scanner, spo2 ,heart rate , headphone jack and sd card slot on certain models.
It was also the mark of samsung making like 4 3/4 different models of phone which had worse hard ware than previous versions unless you get the top top end.
For example the fact screens on the note10 itself are worse than 9.
It literally started the mark of samsung killing off the note line with the making it a glorified Samsung Galaxy with a pen in which case then note 20ultra is worse that the galaxy 20 ultra in a lot of ways.
It's not even ahead of software updates since the note 10 lite uses the same chipset as the s9/n9 so it's easily ported to them.
So yeah the fact you said that means you literally have no clue on the state of it.
Also you think Samsung will simplify it gl they literally need to make a new ui every year because they can't do it right it's improving but still , if you don't like stock android get different launcher.
At least we know we going to get software support for a long time and direct also support

Phone is Awesome! Best purchase ever!

blackhawk said:
2021 has been a mediocre year at best for smartphones. Android 11 and 12 forced cpu cycle eating scooped storage sucks.
After the N20U Samsung released nothing I like and their last really great flagship is the N10+ running on Q.
2021, issues with variable rate displays, 5G and scoped storage galore. The usual Samsung Fold display delamination issues. For flagship SD card support you either got to use older Samsung flagships or go Chinese.
The Pixel Pro seems to numerous rude surprises. OK, maybe it's not horrible but not a flagship level device either... it's ok at best. It's user interface is subpar as usual with no substantial speed advantage to show for it. Why not just get an Apple rather than a Pixel at this rate?
I doubt even Samsung can modify Android 11/12 enough to make it user friendly; Pixel barely tried to fix their nightmare OS.
Small wonder Pixel as such a dismal market share... they earned it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you stated in so many posts you have 2 Note 10's so I can only assume that your opinion is pure speculation! Did a clean install and don't have any issues at all. When the Note 20 Ultra first came a lot of members were having issues with it to because of importing data and apps from an old phone, once they did a FDR all the problems magically disappeared! Just saying...........................

ggrant3876 said:
As you stated in so many posts you have 2 Note 10's so I can only assume that your opinion is pure speculation! Did a clean install and don't have any issues at all. When the Note 20 Ultra first came a lot of members were having issues with it to because of importing data and apps from an old phone, once they did a FDR all the problems magically disappeared! Just saying...........................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read a lot. The Pixel UI... well each to his own is the best I can say.
The N20U has display issues caused by the variable frequency, the N10+ color rendering exceeds the N20U, S21U and likely the P6pro.
I have extremely good color perception, top 1% so I find color aberrations annoying with displays. The 10+ is near spot on even after two years of heavy usage. I'll do a color test between the new and old one to see how tight the calibration is just for kicks sometime.
The N20U is running on R, enough said.
Some of both have 5G, not worth the increased battery usage. This problem persists in most of the newest devices. Variable rate displays, 5G and especially scooped storage are not mature technologies and continue to underperform.
Stats with pics... or it never happened.
Here's what a stock N10+ Snapdragon/P variant did just today with a 4300mAh battery. About one hour is watching utube vids, the rest browsing. The N10+ isn't even breaking a sweat...

The entire pre-order mess has soured my excitement for the phone. Google showed early November delivery, now shows mid January. It seems to cut costs, Google went with outdated and inferior parts and made some strange sacrifices. Samsung always gives it's competitors last year's display tech. Android 12 feels largely incomplete, much like hipster aesthetics were put before functional changes. I have been excited to get a flagship that has a clean base, can be rooted and built upon, but if the hardware is subpar, it may not be worth it.
With Samsung phones, I've debloated and modded almost every element to my liking without even needing root. Custom themes, custom fonts, custom clock styles and placement, always on display scheduling, ability to hide the navigation bar, and endless GoodLock modules to fine tune the UI are all things stock Android 12 can't do. That said, it's always bugged me that Samsung phones have roughly 300 preloaded system apps, where stock Android has about 100. I'm debating whether to cancel the P6P preorder and wait for the S22 Ultra.

Guyinlaca said:
The entire pre-order mess has soured my excitement for the phone. Google showed early November delivery, now shows mid January. It seems to cut costs, Google went with outdated and inferior parts, and made sacrifices to keep costs down. Samsung always gives it's competitors last year's display tech. Android 12 feels largely incomplete, much like hipster aesthetics were put before functional changes. I have been excited to get a flagship that has a clean base, can be rooted and built upon, but if the hardware is subpar, it may not be worth it.
With Samsung phones, I've debloated and modded almost every element to my liking without even needing root. Custom themes, custom fonts, custom clock styles and placement, always on display scheduling, ability to hide the navigation bar, and endless GoodLock modules to fine tune the UI are all things stock Android 12 can't do. That said, it's always bugged me that Samsung phones have roughly 300 preloaded system apps, where stock Android has about 100. I'm debating whether to cancel the P6P preorder and wait for the S22 Ultra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was comparing my 2 N10+'s, one running on 9, the other 10. The 10 variant has dozens of small apks that show on the package disabler, but they're not bloatware. Samsung deliberately moded Android 10 to make it more user friendly and functional. It runs very well.
The S21 isn't anything I want but it shreds the P6pro.
However both are having display issues. I would at least wait for the dust to settle...
Hold out until Samsung gets their act together again if you can... it may take a year or two. Latter 2022 or perhaps 2023. I wouldn't hold my breath... it may take until 2024 to arise from the ashes of mediocre and lack of features.

Guyinlaca said:
I'm debating whether to cancel the P6P preorder and wait for the S22 Ultra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind you can't unlock the bootloader on recent Samsung phones without breaking the camera completely. I had nothing against them until now but this is major BS on their part.

Ghisy said:
Keep in mind you can't unlock the bootloader on recent Samsung phones without breaking the camera completely. I had nothing against them until now but this is major BS on their part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair, on a Samsung, one doesn't really need root. So much debloating can be done using ADB. Many developers have found ways to utilize Samsung's theme engine and font engine to customize the phone however one prefers. I installed an AOSP theme using Hex Installer that made the UI look 95% stock.

Guyinlaca said:
To be fair, on a Samsung, one doesn't really need root. So much debloating can be done using ADB. Many developers have found ways to utilize Samsung's theme engine and font engine to customize the phone however one prefers. I installed an AOSP theme using Hex Installer that made the UI look 95% stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running 2 stock N10+'s using Samsung Galaxy mods, a package disabler, a firewall and heavily optimizing them.
That's all you need... they run great and look/function exactly how I want them too.
No plain Janes here... some assembly required.

Samsung phones are pus*y phones, pardon my language. If you can't unlock the bootloader have any kind of development opportunities, you're just a sheep. Last Samsung phones I had were the Galaxy Nexus and the Note 2. Seems like a lot of Samsung Fanboys here. I get it because we're here to talk about phones, but this is an XDA Development site - Development. It's all about development. So move forth and go forward with your beautiful Sammy phones and enjoy those locked bootloaders!

darbylonia said:
Samsung phones are pus*y phones, pardon my language. If you can't unlock the bootloader have any kind of development opportunities, you're just a sheep. Last Samsung phones I had were the Galaxy Nexus and the Note 2. Seems like a lot of Samsung Fanboys here. I get it because we're here to talk about phones, but this is an XDA Development site - Development. It's all about development. So move forth and go forward with your beautiful Sammy phones and enjoy those locked bootloaders!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
darbylonia said:
Samsung phones are pus*y phones, pardon my language. If you can't unlock the bootloader have any kind of development opportunities, you're just a sheep. Last Samsung phones I had were the Galaxy Nexus and the Note 2. Seems like a lot of Samsung Fanboys here. I get it because we're here to talk about phones, but this is an XDA Development site - Development. It's all about development. So move forth and go forward with your beautiful Sammy phones and enjoy those locked bootloaders!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I had two glasses of wine.

darbylonia said:
Sorry, I had two glasses of wine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good thing it wasn't WT 101
Stability, functionality, speed and good battery life are all that matters. This "pu$$y" phone in my hand right now has all four, it's current load is over 1.5 years old with minimum maintenance/zero updates.
Yeah, I really hate it...

Question Replace a Galaxy S21 Ultra with a Pixel 6 Pro?

Hey everybody!
Quick question: would you replace your Galaxy S21 Ultra with a Pixel 6 Pro?
I'm asking it because I'm a S21 owner but I've never been completely in love with the Samsung design (those squircle icons...) nor all the Samsung apps I don't use and can't remove. I'm into Google apps and services and I'm attracted by the simple and minimal design of the Pixel 6. On the other hand, I like Samsung for the plethora of options and features they add to the Android system, most of which are not in the Pixel.
I've been reading around a lot and it seems that in terms of performance and battery the two phones are basically the same - and the S21 is one year old almost. The S21 could have a slightly better camera, whereas the Pixel can count on the Tensor chip and specific features.
So, what's your thought?

_JuSteR_ said:
Hey everybody!
Quick question: would you replace your Galaxy S21 Ultra with a Pixel 6 Pro?
I'm asking it because I'm a S21 owner but I've never been completely in love with the Samsung design (those squircle icons...) nor all the Samsung apps I don't use and can't remove. I'm into Google apps and services and I'm attracted by the simple and minimal design of the Pixel 6. On the other hand, I like Samsung for the plethora of options and features they add to the Android system, most of which are not in the Pixel.
I've been reading around a lot and it seems that in terms of performance and battery the two phones are basically the same - and the S21 is one year old almost. The S21 could have a slightly better camera, whereas the Pixel can count on the Tensor chip and specific features.
So, what's your thought?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're probably not going to be happy with a Pixel. The UX is polar opposite of Sammy's and a few cool features aren't probably going to be enough for you to unlike what you liked about Sammys in the first place.

Icons? There are hundreds of free icon packs, themes and more at the Samsung Galaxy store.
You can use a package disabler to block apps you don't want.
Personally I rejected the S21U because of no SD card slot or spen.
The Pixel is a bare bones UI, just the opposite of Samsung. I've seen the homepage screen shots for the Pixels and they're damn weak.
You can really trick out stock Samsung's... Good
Lock family of apps, etc.
My two N10+'s look and behave like I want them to...
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"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

I personally just made the exact switch you're thinking of doing. It doesn't have all of the "custom" additions that the S21U does but I feel like because of that the Pixel feels better.
The biggest reason I switched was for the performance. The S21U felt laggy and slow even compared to my previous phone (OnePlus 8 Pro). The Pixel feels way smoother of an experience.
Camera is subjective but I've always been a fan of the "Google" processing so I've installed a GCam mod on every phone I can, S21 included.
I'm much happier now on the Pixel 6 pro than the S21U so if you're okay with a more minimalistic phone without all of the Samsung goodies, then this might be worth the switch.

Yes, I would replace any Samsung with the P6P. My wife and I were happy with the first Pixel, which we used until they stopped updating it almost two years ago. I was waiting for Google to come out with a 512 GB model, and since they hadn't yet we got the Samsung Note 10+ 512 GB.
When the P6P 512 GB model was revealed, I knew it was time to buy, and sell our Samsungs, which I did on Swappa without wasting much time. The only thing we slightly miss is the included stylus.
I could go on and reiterate a list of things I didn't like about Samsung's version of Android (the hardware was great). One major thing I couldn't stand about the software was the erratic, unreliable notifications of my GMail, Hangouts, and Google Chat.
I don't have a work phone because I don't want to use iOS, and I count on prompt notifications when I'm busy multitasking on my work PC. Sometimes I wouldn't get notifications for two hours after the email was sent. My work uses Google for everything. Sometimes I would get a notification of an email hours after I had already seen it on the PC and had deleted it.
I tried everything I could to try to fix it with no luck. My brother's family has their very first smartphone in the last several years when they bought the Samsung Galaxy S9+. When I told him about my notification issue, he said he assumed that's just the way Android is (no, it's not).
As I said, I could detail a long list but I've been over it before so it gets tiring.
Good luck, whatever you choose.

blackhawk said:
Icons? There are hundreds of free icon packs, themes and more at the Samsung Galaxy store.
You can use a package disabler to block apps you don't want.
Personally I rejected the S21U because of no SD card slot or spen.
The Pixel is a bare bones UI, just the opposite of Samsung. I've seen the homepage screen shots for the Pixels and they're damn weak.
You can really trick out stock Samsung's... Good
Lock family of apps, etc.
My two N10+'s look and behave like I want them to...
View attachment 5469201
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can trick out any android phone. Not hard to put a different launcher and icons on it. The homescreen you attached there looks no better than any of the other homescreens on any other phone.

i have both devices, ehm three(s21, s21u, p6pro) and i will say, P6pro is better, same performance, a lot better battery, comparing camera(what i miss so much is better zoom with S21U). p6pro is battery friendly, same usage and you get 10h SOT, with S21U only 5-7(but with profiles - data, bt off, in night Flicght mode...)

Same here. I still have my s21u and currently using the p6p. As of now, I'm content with the 6 pro. Battery can be better. This phone is fairly new and there will be lots of updates.

I'd stick with the S21 Ultra. If you want a better UI, download Nova Launcher and a Pixel icon pack. Also #Hex Installer allows you to completely redesign the UI with Pixel style icons and less rounded elements throughout. I'm not sure if it's working with Android 12 yet though. If you hate the bloat, there are ways to disable the majority of it using ADB.
I like the Pixel 6 Pro a lot, but I'm not gonna lie, there are A LOT of things that Samsung phones do better. Samsung has GoodLock for endless customization, Always on Display Customization, the 5G modem works better, and charging seems to be faster and more reliable.

I'm already using Nova and tried so many times with #Hex but I've never achieved a complete and consistent customisation - unfortunately I have a thing for design done well.
What's really holding me is that:
- the P6P modem is actually worse than the S21U
- charging time is the same if not worse than S21U, in contrast to what Google initially promised
- battery life is basically the same
- the P6P display is less brighter (least worst)
And I also consider that the S21U is one year older than the P6P. So I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle. On the other hand I know the P6P is new, so it's expected to receive fixes and updates - but improving the modem or battery sounds like a miracle

skimminstones said:
you can trick out any android phone. Not hard to put a different launcher and icons on it. The homescreen you attached there looks no better than any of the other homescreens on any other phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't get it. No 3rd party launcher needed as the icons packs, theme etc plug directly in. One UI is fast and uses far less resources and battery than Nova.
My homescreen is purposely devoid of display degrading, lame top bar icons and battery eating crap. I could junk it to the max if so inclined
Smooth completely user controlled pull down notifications, none of the Pixel snap stuff. Animations can be completely disabled (yes they are disabled) without unwanted side effects unlike Pixel.
Pull down notifications... any colors or shade my evil heart desires.

Nope

blackhawk said:
You don't get it. No 3rd party launcher needed as the icons packs, theme etc plug directly in. One UI is fast and uses far less resources and battery than Nova.
My homescreen is purposely devoid of display degrading, lame top bar icons and battery eating crap. I could junk it to the max if so inclined
Smooth completely user controlled pull down notifications, none of the Pixel snap stuff. Animations can be completely disabled (yes they are disabled) without unwanted side effects unlike Pixel.
Pull down notifications... any colors or shade my evil heart desires.
View attachment 5469237
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but youre missing the point yourself. Samsung is just another launcher on top of android letting you customise it. No different to buying any phone and choosing which launcher you want to put on.

skimminstones said:
but youre missing the point yourself. Samsung is just another launcher on top of android letting you customise it. No different to buying any phone and choosing which launcher you want to put on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Big difference.
One UI is integrated into the device. It's extremely stable, fast, and efficient. Currently it's using 83mb of ram. Current total ram usage 5.1 of the 12gb with 2 browsers open.
Many of the customizations are built into the base load of the N10+. Keep what you like, disable the rest.

blackhawk said:
Big difference.
One UI is integrated into the device. It's extremely stable, fast, and efficient. Currently it's using 83mb of ram. Current total ram usage 5.1 of the 12gb with 2 browsers open.
Many of the customizations are built into the base load of the N10+. Keep what you like, disable the rest.
View attachment 5469245
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For fairness’s sake, every UI has its quirks and bugs. Neither Googles Launcher, nor Samsung are perfect.
Samsung users claimed a heckload of bugs when the One UI versions came, for anecdotal purposes
One UI 2
Samsung One UI 2 problems we know so far
It’s been a couple of months since Google’s grand Android 10 unveiling. Apart from Google’s Pixel lineup, a few other companies, such as OnePlus, Xiaomi, Essential Phone, and Noki…
nerdschalk.com
One UI 3
Many (!!!) bugs in OneUI 3.0 full release
I installed OneUI 3.0 when it released for my S10 (Germany, no SIM-lock) a couple of days ago (no beta!). So far, I found several bugs, at least one is a CRITICAL SECURITY FLAW, missing features and removals of options for no good reason. These problems must get fixed immediately! When someone...
eu.community.samsung.com
One UI 4
Samsung One UI 4 Beta review: Phenomenal cosmic bugs, itty bitty feature set
The stable release of Android 12 hasn't happened yet, but Samsung has decided to go ahead and give us our first taste of its new One UI 4 update. In some ways, this beta is even better ...
www.androidcentral.com
Et cetera. And we all know Googles bugs, even though it's sometimes hard to differentiate between general Android version bugs and specific Google Launcher bugs.
In the end, it's a question of personal taste.
Most people in a Google Pixel forum will tell you "Go Google Pixel".
Most people in a Samsung Galaxy forum will tell you "Go Samsung Galaxy".
Why? Because people freakin paid money for a product they want to like. Nobody wants to buy sh*t. Nobody wants to get ripped off. Nobody wants to feel like the id*ot that bought a broken product.
It's normal for people to say "my product is awesome, buy it!!!" - it's not always a rational decision, or a good one, but it's a human one.
(You have to mind the trolls though, meaning people that never owned a device, but trying to tell people what to think about it. Or people trying to go on a personal level because they lack arguments, often or not found here at XDA).
In the end, what matters is that manufacturers fix their stuff, and both Google and Samsung tend to do that, so I'd give both a recommendation. The S21 Ultra has the better screen and battery life and a slightly better processor, Google has the better camera, connectivity (in terms of notifications that are not delayed, not modem) and unique software features (now playing, live translate, automatic call screening, whatever - since all Samsung features can be easily ported over to a (rooted) Pixel, but not vice versa - and no, Shazam cannot replace now playing, it's not nearly as convenient and efficient). So it's up to you to decide whats more important.
Even though there were certain Samsung that tended to explode in your pants, you know the whole recall with specialized explosion safe packaging story, that was a bummer of the magnitude 8.
Personally, I can't Samsung. But not because their products are ****. No, Samsung just behaves like an a**. They want to forcefeed you huge mountainsized ADS on your 9000 Dollars expensive television and that's just unacceptable on the magnitude 10. They will not get a single dime from me in the future. That kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated. If I pay thousands of dollars for a product, I have earned the right to never again have to bother with ads - if that company disagrees, f*ck them.

Morgrain said:
For fairness’s sake, every UI has its quirks and bugs. Neither Googles Launcher, nor Samsung are perfect.
Samsung users claimed a heckload of bugs when the One UI versions came, for anecdotal purposes
One UI 2
Samsung One UI 2 problems we know so far
It’s been a couple of months since Google’s grand Android 10 unveiling. Apart from Google’s Pixel lineup, a few other companies, such as OnePlus, Xiaomi, Essential Phone, and Noki…
nerdschalk.com
One UI 3
Many (!!!) bugs in OneUI 3.0 full release
I installed OneUI 3.0 when it released for my S10 (Germany, no SIM-lock) a couple of days ago (no beta!). So far, I found several bugs, at least one is a CRITICAL SECURITY FLAW, missing features and removals of options for no good reason. These problems must get fixed immediately! When someone...
eu.community.samsung.com
One UI 4
Samsung One UI 4 Beta review: Phenomenal cosmic bugs, itty bitty feature set
The stable release of Android 12 hasn't happened yet, but Samsung has decided to go ahead and give us our first taste of its new One UI 4 update. In some ways, this beta is even better ...
www.androidcentral.com
Et cetera. And we all know Googles bugs, even though it's sometimes hard to differentiate between general Android version bugs and specific Google Launcher bugs.
In the end, it's a question of personal taste.
Most people in a Google Pixel forum will tell you "Go Google Pixel".
Most people in a Samsung Galaxy forum will tell you "Go Samsung Galaxy".
Why? Because people freakin paid money for a product they want to like. Nobody wants to buy sh*t. Nobody wants to get ripped off. Nobody wants to feel like the id*ot that bought a broken product.
It's normal for people to say "my product is awesome, buy it!!!" - it's not always a rational decision, or a good one, but it's a human one.
(You have to mind the trolls though, meaning people that never owned a device, but trying to tell people what to think about it. Or people trying to go on a personal level because they lack arguments, often or not found here at XDA).
In the end, what matters is that manufacturers fix their stuff, and both Google and Samsung tend to do that, so I'd give both a recommendation. The S21 Ultra has the better screen and battery life and a slightly better processor, Google has the better camera and unique software features (now playing, live translate, automatic call screening, whatever - since all Samsung features can be easily ported over to a (rooted) Pixel, but not vice versa). So it's up to you to decide whats more important.
Even though there were certain Samsung that tended to explode in your pants, you know the whole recall with specialized explosion safe packaging story, that was a bummer of the magnitude 8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think both of those devices suck; hardware and firmware. I wouldn't touch either... to be fair.

blackhawk said:
I think both of those devices suck; hardware and firmware. I wouldn't touch either... to be fair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, if you want a good camera and don't want a chinese spy phone, there is not much to go around a Pixel. It's the old dilemma. If Apple had made jailbreaking and updating easier, plus had the decency to actually pay for codec licences (the **** do they not support aptx/ldac?! Music from Iphones (if you are used to custom tailored v4a with custom ddcs/convolvers) sound like sh*t - I would have probably made the switch, but iPhone is still a joke in terms of customization.
Besides, I don't think that neither Samsungs or Pixels suck, they both serve specific needs and make some compromises, as does Apple. Sadly, there is no perfect phone. In theory, it should be easy to achieve, but as of now, no manufacturer ever tried hard enough.
For my personal need, the pixel 6 pro comes in as almost perfect. There are a couple minor things (why not all camera modi in 60fps Mode? Improve battery life, improve VRR, fix Android 12, give us modern camera sensors, improve post processing, more efficient panel, more efficient processor...) and some major ones (Modem, heat, I want Faceunlock AND ultrasonic, plus give me back improved Soli and edge sense and make battery replacement easy) that bother me. Once that's fixed/such a kind of device gets released, I'm going to keep that device until it breaks down and probably buy a spare phone to replace my own, since I know that manufacturers will f*ck it up again.

I have the had the s21 ultra since it came out. Nothing wrong with it but I travel and there's no s21 ultra model that has all the 5G bands in all locations... But the pixel (and iphone!) does. So I gave it a try and it's incredibly similar to the ultra especially in a leather case. In fact, using Nova I mimicked it almost completely!
Pixel charges slower, and I felt battery was slightly worse (but it needs time to settle in) but sound is good. Camera is good on both. Each has its benefits. Screen is slightly dimmer and less saturated and I felt that immediately, sort of like an LG device, felt a year or two behind the Samsung, but not a deal killer. They are about as fast as each other.
The difference is in the software. Whereas Samsung is well rounded, with years of maturity, Pixel is stock. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, just different. The only issue for me is lack of a decent email (and calendar to a lesser extent) on the pixel. I don't like Gmail and I have yet to find a comfortable 3rd party email package that meets my needs. The Samsung on the other hand has fantastic email and calendar software. That's a deal breaker for me.
One thing I would note is that, aside from radio bands, there's no area that I felt the pixel was actually better than the ultra (which is incredible considering that the ultra is nearly a year old). As good as, in most cases, but never a step up. And therefore I didn't think it made sense to switch as the software experience ultimately is more important to me than I originally realized.
Hope that helps.
As a side note, when I compared the pixel 6P on T-Mobile's 5G UC Network to an iPhone 13 pro at the same time, the iPhone 13 pro was nearly twice as fast (400mbs v 230). No idea why that was. I tested it many times in different places and it was almost always slower than the iphone on 5G. Not sure what to make of that!

Morgrain said:
Well, if you want a good camera and don't want a chinese spy phone, there is not much to go around a Pixel. It's the old dilemma. If Apple had made jailbreaking and updating easier, plus had the decency to actually pay for codec licences (the **** do they not support aptx/ldac?! Music from Iphones (if you are used to custom tailored v4a with custom ddcs/convolvers) sound like sh*t - I would have probably made the switch, but iPhone is still a joke in terms of customization.
Besides, I don't think that neither Samsungs or Pixels suck, they both serve specific needs and make some compromises, as does Apple. Sadly, there is no perfect phone. In theory, it should be easy to achieve, but as of now, no manufacturer ever tried hard enough.
For my personal need, the pixel 6 pro comes in as almost perfect. There are a couple minor things (why not all camera modi in 60fps Mode? Improve battery life, improve VRR, fix Android 12, give us modern camera sensors, improve post processing, more efficient panel, more efficient processor...) and some major ones (Modem, heat, I want Faceunlock AND ultrasonic, plus give me back improved Soli and edge sense and make battery replacement easy) that bother me. Once that's fixed/such a kind of device gets released, I'm going to keep that device until it breaks down and probably buy a spare phone to replace my own, since I know that manufacturers will f*ck it up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I mean is both hardware and firmware wise across the board 2021 has been a bust year for Android. Android 11 and 12 are a mess.
At least 2 years until scope storage is straighten out.
Issues with displays are common and 5G is still not mature. Slight improvements in cams but that technology was fairly mature 2 years ago so no big surprises there.
Any hardware improvements are being offset by cpu hogging scoped storage and forced encryption. Even the heavily modified Samsung UI can't clean up that mess.
You might think that Apple must be bribing Google to belly flop... but no, Google is really is this inept. No end in sight, Android is in a full self induced high G flat spin... maybe full afterburner will help

vlubosh said:
i have both devices, ehm three(s21, s21u, p6pro) and i will say, P6pro is better, same performance, a lot better battery, comparing camera(what i miss so much is better zoom with S21U). p6pro is battery friendly, same usage and you get 10h SOT, with S21U only 5-7(but with profiles - data, bt off, in night Flicght mode...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What p6 pro are you using lol?

Develop Bugs

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