Database Develop

[Q] Do You like your phone?

I am contemplating using my upgrade for this phone. I am coming from a Galaxy S3 on VZW. MOST of the reviews I've read on VZW or Amazon have been pretty good.
How's battery life? Is it difficult to root (for backup purposes)? It looks to be a fairly vanilla Android; is it? Is 16 GB enough for you, should I look for a 32 GB?

Game changers for me...
Radios: I live in a fringe area and always had dead spots around home and in town with my Nexus 4. Not anymore!
Trusted Bluetooth/Skip: Now have the best of both worlds... keeping my phone secure with a password, and not having to mess with it when I am home and in the car.
Speaker/Mics: Speakerphone is the best I have ever used in a smartphone. Folks I talk to over it don't even know I am on speaker... even in my truck. Plus I can actually listen to podcasts on speaker.
Camera: Love having to just shake it to open the camera app, and touch anywhere to snap. I find myself using the camera more and more.
Other things I like...
Active Notifications: Love them.
Touchless Control: Like in the commercial with the guy talking to the phone on the nightstand. It works that well. Still learning to use it more and more everyday.
Cons...
Display: Hard to see it in sunlight.
Camera: While the camera is capable of very good results, the always on auto white balance is often fooled (but it is simple to fix in post). Also miss Photosphere, and the ability to take smaller dimensioned photos and vids.
Can't comment on rooting... I have no need. And I have never needed more than 16GB on a phone (but I don't keep a lot music and vids on it). I have everything I need on it and still have over 8 GB free space.
Simply... it is the best smart phone I have ever had (Nexus, iPhone). It is the perfect size and feel, and just addresses some usability issues other phones don't... plus the actual "phone" part of it is stellar (where way too many smartphones are just barely acceptable).

1. Battery life is better than the S3
2. I personally don't think it was difficult
3. It is mostly vanilla with some fantastic add-ons from Moto
4. 32gb

nhizzat said:
1. Battery life is better than the S3
2. I personally don't think it was difficult
3. It is mostly vanilla with some fantastic add-ons from Moto
4. 32gb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed besides the storsge part is up to the OP and there needs, im coming from a Nexus 4 which i loved dearly but my moto x is great and i love how the added on features are useful.Feels great in the hand also better than than nexus 4 imo and S3
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

Thanks, guys! I appreciate the input. A lot of the posts are old and I was looking for some more recent opinions. How is the camera? The MP is higher, but I've been reading that the pics aren't that great. I take A LOT of photos with my phone.

If you know how to take good photos, the camera rarely disappoints, but is not very good at makingbad photos good (ala iPhone, Galaxy).
Compared to your S3, you'll see less saturation and less in-camera sharpening applied, and as previously stated, white balance can be off in tricky light. The look is decidedly Nikon, as opposed to iPhone and galaxy's Olympus look. As a Nikon fan, I see some advantages to the less aggressive exposure and post processing, but quick and dirty snapshots will more often than not, be more pleasing from an S3 or iPhone.
There is a photo thread here with plenty of examples of how good (and bad) it can be.

I LOVE my X. I personally have the VZW dev edition and can't say a bad thing about the device. As mentioned, the camera might not have the post-processing of some phones, but that's not a deal breaker for me. The touchless controls make the phone though. soo much safer for hands free EVERYTHING.

The X is smartphone done right. Everyone that checks mines out always comment on how nice and how much they like it. It honestly was worth the $400 no doubt about it. Worthy investment. Motorola regained me as a customer after not having a phone of theirs since Jr school.
Take mines and everyone's thoughts about it old or new. It does not disappoint.

How many microphones on Nexus 6?

I cannot find anywhere information documenting how many microphones there will be on the Nexus 6.
The New 2014 Moto X is said to have 4 microphones, this is usually advertised as something further to entice consumers ( better noise cancelling) and better clarity on speakerphone calls.
but nowhere is it listed how many microphones the Nexus 6 has. It's been omitted from the spec sheet on the official website http://google.com/nexus/6
Anybody know?

It will have a number of microphone(s) between 1 and 4.

At least two. The bottom speaker is a mic and speaker. Top speaker is a ear piece and speaker and in the back (more noticeable on the white version) is an additional mic.

Yes, I'm really interested in this question also.
Noise cancellation on Nexus devices has been very poor, since the Nexus One, which had great noise cancellation.
The Nexus One was one of the first phones to use the Audience noise cancelling chip, which is the best noise cancelling solution in the industry. It really amazed people at the time and got a fair amount of press. I remember being in calls on my Nexus One in a noisy bars and having people think I was at home. It was great.
After the Nexus One brought attention to this feature, the iPhone 4 copied it (and also got some good press for it). Bizarrely, with the Nexus S Google dropped active noise cancellation altogether. It totally sucked. The Galaxy Nexus has some sort of active noise cancellation, but it wasn't very good. The Nexus 4 uses Qualcomm's Fluence noise cancellation, which has become the most commonly used noise cancellation solution, I assume because it's included with the Snapdragon chipset and cheaper for manufacturers to use. But Qualcomm's Fluence is really nowhere near as good as the Audience chip. The Nexus 5 also uses Fluence and for some reason does some weird things, like cutting in and out too soon, and cutting off your voice for you caller--so it's not even as good as the Nexus 4.
So for noise cancellation, the Nexus line has the strange lineage of starting out at the top, plummeting to the bottom, and then waffling around in a mediocre middle ever after.
Strangely, even Apple dropped the Audience chip in the iPhone 5, for an inhouse solution that's even worse than Qualcomm's Fluence. HTC used to use Audience in the One X, but dropped it in the One. LG used it in the G2, but dropped it in the G3 for Fluence. Only Samsung has consistently put it in their flagship phones.
Now along comes the 2nd Gen Moto X, which as the OP notes, uses four microphone noise cancellation. As far as I'm aware, it's the first phone with four microphones. Audience has a three microphone technology (Qualcomm might too), but only a couple handsets have ever used it. Motorola uses it's own CrystalTalk noise cancellation. In previous phones, CrystalTalk was okay but not even as good as Qualcomm's Fluence. But there have been good anecdotal reports about the noise cancellation on the 2nd Gen Moto X being a big step forward from the 1st Gen Moto X. I have yet to see a good objective test of it or to try it myself.
So of course, since the Nexus 6 is based on the 2nd Gen Moto X, the idea that it might get the four microphone noise cancellation is enticing.
On the other hand, why aren't they promoting this feature if it's there?

the only article I found is this, but it may not be credible: http://www.androidheadlines.com/2014/10/phone-comparisons-nexus-6-vs-motorola-moto-x-2014.html
Besides the usual, basic Wi-Fi, NFC Bluetooth and a microUSB port, the Moto X does have a couple features they left off the Nexus 6 – four microphones for noise cancellation and better voice sound, the Dynamic Tuning engineered by Motorola for better reception and the option of a real Leather or Wooden back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you look at a Moto X and a Nexus 6, there is something that the Moto X has that the n6 doesn't have: a hole near the top on the back of the device. so it may be that the n6 may not have 4 mics. the max amount may be 3. that's only based on my observation
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also, the dynamic tuning for better reception not being the the n6 is possible, since the n6 is so large, it probably could fit the antenna somewhere. the metal band could be just for looks. but I find it unlikely that the metal band is only for looks, but rather it has a function

For the huge price increase for the Nexus 6 and the fact that the excuse for this was because the Nexus 6 is now "premium" I would expect it to have 'premium' specifications.
e.g. - HD or QHD screen [TBA - but how vivid it is remains to be seen...likely the same as the Note 3 though, so potential fail]
- 3gb RAM+ [check]
- 64gb storage [check]
- Build quality: premium [check]
- Microphones (4) [TBA - for the size, it should have 4, especially if the smaller Moto which it is based has 4]
- Big battery [check]
- Dual flash [check]
- Front camera HQ [TBA: the HTC One M8 has a 5megapixel front shooter...why not this? At least have 4mp)
- Design: slim? [fail: the phone could at least be a LITTLE slimmer...1+cm is fat for this day and age]
- Rear camera with OIS and smaller than 1/3 [half-check: it has OIS, but the size is still 1/3...should be at least 1/2.5 for the size of this phone]
I think the Nexus 6 should have a better screen, better rear camera (1/2.5 or better at least), 4 mics, be slimmer and have a bigger front camera to really earn the title of 'premium'. I would happy pay the asking price or even $50 more for the added extras. If the Note 4 can have what it has (including stylus) for about $100 more...the Nexus can have all that plus some. They are still earning huge profits on each device sold, why not actually make it the undisputed king of premium instead of "this phone is premium but there are some questions..".

0.0 said:
the only article I found is this, but it may not be credible: http://www.androidheadlines.com/2014/10/phone-comparisons-nexus-6-vs-motorola-moto-x-2014.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I saw that article too. It seems like they are assuming that since the four microphone noise cancellation is not listed in the Nexus 6 specs that this means it does not have it. But I've seen so many omissions in specs from phone manufacturers that I wouldn't make that assumption.
On the antenna design, my understanding is that there is no reason to put the plastic separaters in the metal band around the edge of the phone if it's not an antenna. You need the plastic to keep the separate antennas isolated from each other. This part of the Nexus design is identical to the Moto X. So I think that must be the antenna. I don't know why that article concludes the Nexus 6 doesn't have the dynamic tuning, but it makes no sense.
Probably we'll have to wait for AnandTech to review the Nexus 6 to get an answer, since they're the only site that talks about these things and seems to actually understand all the technology behind them.
0.0 said:
if you look at a Moto X and a Nexus 6, there is something that the Moto X has that the n6 doesn't have: a hole near the top on the back of the device. so it may be that the n6 may not have 4 mics. the max amount may be 3. that's only based on my observation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good catch on the lack of the upper microphone hole in the photo. That does not seems like a good sign. I would not be surprised if the four microphone noise cancellation were left out of the Nexus 6, for a more standard two microphone solution. Motorola mainly developed this feature to allow Moto Voice to better isolate people's voice for voice commands in noisy places. Improved call quality is just a side benefit. Since the Nexus 6 won't have Moto Voice (just some lesser Android L version of it), perhaps they left it out. And maybe Motorola needed to negotiate with Google to keep some features to distinguish the Moto X. They wouldn't want the Nexus 6 to just outclass it in every way and make it seem like a lesser phone.
Also, as I note above, Google has really not given a s**t about noise cancellation since the Nexus One. To take such a big step backwards in technology is pretty bad. So it's completely believable that they can't be bothered on the Nexus 6 either and just used Qualcomm's Fluence again.
*
spartanm99 said:
For the huge price increase for the Nexus 6 and the fact that the excuse for this was because the Nexus 6 is now "premium" I would expect it to have 'premium' specifications.
e.g. - HD or QHD screen [TBA - but how vivid it is remains to be seen...likely the same as the Note 3 though, so potential fail]
- 3gb RAM+ [check]
- 64gb storage [check]
- Build quality: premium [check]
- Microphones (4) [TBA - for the size, it should have 4, especially if the smaller Moto which it is based has 4]
- Big battery [check]
- Dual flash [check]
- Front camera HQ [TBA: the HTC One M8 has a 5megapixel front shooter...why not this? At least have 4mp)
- Design: slim? [fail: the phone could at least be a LITTLE slimmer...1+cm is fat for this day and age]
- Rear camera with OIS and smaller than 1/3 [half-check: it has OIS, but the size is still 1/3...should be at least 1/2.5 for the size of this phone]
I think the Nexus 6 should have a better screen, better rear camera (1/2.5 or better at least), 4 mics, be slimmer and have a bigger front camera to really earn the title of 'premium'. I would happy pay the asking price or even $50 more for the added extras. If the Note 4 can have what it has (including stylus) for about $100 more...the Nexus can have all that plus some. They are still earning huge profits on each device sold, why not actually make it the undisputed king of premium instead of "this phone is premium but there are some questions..".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of the things you list as "TBA" we already know.
The Nexus 6 is QHD. The secondary camera is 2 MP.
I agree that there's no excuse for not using at least a 1/2.5 sensor in a premium phone these days, especially given the size of the Nexus 6. Samsung managed to squeeze a 1/2.5 sensor in the 8.1 mm thick S5. Sony got a 1/2.3 sensor in the 7.3 mm thick Z3. And besides, the curve on the back of the Nexus 6 and extra thickness, I think, is in part an excuse to fit the camera module in without having a camera hump (a camera hump in disguise, if you will). So why not take advantage of the extra room the 10 mm thickness allows and put in a larger sensor?
That being said, it does also seem like given the size of the phone, maybe they could have made it 9 or 8 mm thick at the center instead. No reason it should be thicker than the Nexus 5 and 4.

spartanm99 said:
For the huge price increase for the Nexus 6 and the fact that the excuse for this was because the Nexus 6 is now "premium" I would expect it to have 'premium' specifications.
e.g. - HD or QHD screen [TBA - but how vivid it is remains to be seen...likely the same as the Note 3 though, so potential fail]
- 3gb RAM+ [check]
- 64gb storage [check]
- Build quality: premium [check]
- Microphones (4) [TBA - for the size, it should have 4, especially if the smaller Moto which it is based has 4]
- Big battery [check]
- Dual flash [check]
- Front camera HQ [TBA: the HTC One M8 has a 5megapixel front shooter...why not this? At least have 4mp)
- Design: slim? [fail: the phone could at least be a LITTLE slimmer...1+cm is fat for this day and age]
- Rear camera with OIS and smaller than 1/3 [half-check: it has OIS, but the size is still 1/3...should be at least 1/2.5 for the size of this phone]
I think the Nexus 6 should have a better screen, better rear camera (1/2.5 or better at least), 4 mics, be slimmer and have a bigger front camera to really earn the title of 'premium'. I would happy pay the asking price or even $50 more for the added extras. If the Note 4 can have what it has (including stylus) for about $100 more...the Nexus can have all that plus some. They are still earning huge profits on each device sold, why not actually make it the undisputed king of premium instead of "this phone is premium but there are some questions..".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The QHD screen will not be as good as Samsung's one, especially if you compare the n6 to the Note 4. I read the new Super AMOLED QHD screen is a beast on the Note 4. Now for a slim design, there is a point where too thin is too thin. I don't like the route the iPhones are going (not that I will ever own one lol). I want to hold something, and not a paper-like object. I would say semi-check for design. It does slim toward the bottom, since it is curved (I think?). Everything else I agree with
---------- Post added at 11:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:18 PM ----------
cb474 said:
Yeah, I saw that article too. It seems like they are assuming that since the four microphone noise cancellation is not listed in the Nexus 6 specs that this means it does not have it. But I've seen so many omissions in specs from phone manufacturers that I wouldn't make that assumption.
On the antenna design, my understanding is that there is no reason to put the plastic separaters in the metal band around the edge of the phone if it's not an antenna. You need the plastic to keep the separate antennas isolated from each other. This part of the Nexus design is identical to the Moto X. So I think that must be the antenna. I don't know why that article concludes the Nexus 6 doesn't have the dynamic tuning, but it makes no sense.
Probably we'll have to wait for AnandTech to review the Nexus 6 to get an answer, since they're the only site that talks about these things and seems to actually understand all the technology behind them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got a point. But it may just have the plastic separators, but not the capacitive thing that allows the antenna signal thing move according to where your hand position is. I mean, the device is so big, I doubt you'll be blocking the radio from getting signal
cb474 said:
Good catch on the lack of the upper microphone hole in the photo. That does not seems like a good sign. I would not be surprised if the four microphone noise cancellation were left out of the Nexus 6, for a more standard two microphone solution. Motorola mainly developed this feature to allow Moto Voice to better isolate people's voice for voice commands in noisy places. Improved call quality is just a side benefit. Since the Nexus 6 won't have Moto Voice (just some lesser Android L version of it), perhaps they left it out. And maybe Motorola needed to negotiate with Google to keep some features to distinguish the Moto X. They wouldn't want the Nexus 6 to just outclass it in every way and make it seem like a lesser phone.
Also, as I note above, Google has really not given a s**t about noise cancellation since the Nexus One. To take such a big step backwards in technology is pretty bad. So it's completely believable that they can't be bothered on the Nexus 6 either and just used Qualcomm's Fluence again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget Crystal Talk, which could have improved in the Moto X. I don't think the Nexus 6 will have it

To 0.0 and cb474 thank you for your feedback; for some reason I cant get the multi-quote to work.
I agree with the points you both made however.
I'm just hoping the Nexus 6 replacement next year gets a 1/2 camera at least and a 4 or 5mp at the front. By that time the One M8 would've been close to 2 years old and have had the 5mp front camera and the Z3 would be a year old with the 1/2.3 rear camera. Seriously no excuses for Nexus not to have a decent camera (especially in a large body).
For the 'premium' title they are going for, the phone has only a 'premium' processor (currently), premium amount of RAM (3gigs), premuim casing (plastic/aluminium) and a QHD screen (which I would not call premium as 1080P displays can look just as good or better; e.g. iPhone 6+). Qi charging, big battery, cameras, NFC etc are not really qualities only found on 'premium' devices so they cant be passed off as such. Thus in my opinion the phone really has two main premium traits going for it, not really justifiable and not what I would've done if I was in charge of putting together a new Nexus. Oh well, such is life.

0.0 said:
You got a point. But it may just have the plastic separators, but not the capacitive thing that allows the antenna signal thing move according to where your hand position is. I mean, the device is so big, I doubt you'll be blocking the radio from getting signal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your hand is still going to touch a lot of the metal on the edge of the phone and attenuate the signal. The claim with the 2nd Gen Moto X is that Motorola would not have gone with the external metal antenna design, if they had not developed the dynamic tuning to counter problems usually found with this sort of antenna design. It's just hard for me to imagine they would transpose only half of the antenna design to the Nexus 6. The two things were designed to work together. But stupid things do often happen.
0.0 said:
Don't forget Crystal Talk, which could have improved in the Moto X. I don't think the Nexus 6 will have it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Blech, that would be so dumb if the Nexus 6 just has Qualcomm's Fluence noise cancellation.
Personally, I've been underwhelmed by Crystal Talk and found it to be not even as good as Fluence. On the 1st Gen Moto X it was really subpar, comparing it side by side to Fluence, let alone Audience. I know the 2nd Gen Moto X is supposed to be an improvement, but is that because of the Crystal Talk signal processing or just because of the four microphones?
And I still have experienced the 2nd Gen Moto X myself or seen it reviewed seriously by someone like AnandTech. I know there have been anecdotal reports that it's good. But I've pretty much seen that kind of claim about noise cancellation on every phone that has it, even when there are real and dramatic differences if you test it more objectively.
I also hadn't checked in a while, but there are some reports now in the thread I started on the 2nd Gen Moto X noise cancellation that aren't very positive: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-2014/general/hows-four-microphone-noise-cancellation-t2896205. Those reports are making Crystal Talk sound like it has some of the same failings that I observed in the 1st Gen Moto X. It's a bit disappointing, sine I've been holding out high hopes for the four microphone solution. Maybe it doesn't matter how many microphones you have if you don't get the chip right, for the signal processing. The Audience chip on the Nexus One was the best I've seen with only two microphones.
(Audience does also have a three microphone solution, but I've never tried a phone that has it. On the other hand, the OnePlus One has three microphone noise cancellation that I think is Qualcomm's Fluence. It sounds like it has some of the problems of Fluence with two microphones. A lot of times they just add the extra microphone for stereo sound recording on video, more that because it is used to add a lot to the noise cancellation.)

I don't know if it is a manufacturing issue or a mic hole surrounding the camera module at about the 2 o'clock position? I see it in a couple of different images of the n6. (like the second from the right midnight blue) Could be a stretch

mbonus said:
I don't know if it is a manufacturing issue or a mic hole surrounding the camera module at about the 2 o'clock position? I see it in a couple of different images of the n6. (like the second from the right midnight blue) Could be a stretch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's better to look at hands on photos than renders. Look at The Verge to see some good hands on photos
Edit: so I looked at the photos, and there seems to be a hole, like you said. Could be a mic. We'll never know until someone checks it out and/or explains. But idk why it would be in the flash ring
sent from my Moto X (2014)

mbonus said:
I don't know if it is a manufacturing issue or a mic hole surrounding the camera module at about the 2 o'clock position? I see it in a couple of different images of the n6. (like the second from the right midnight blue) Could be a stretch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice catch, I see it too.
0.0 said:
It's better to look at hands on photos than renders. Look at The Verge to see some good hands on photos
Edit: so I looked at the photos, and there seems to be a hole, like you said. Could be a mic. We'll never know until someone checks it out and/or explains. But idk why it would be in the flash ring
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just speculating, but I wonder if the distance from the other microphones matters, assuming this is a microphone.
My understanding is that part of how this technology works is that it times the difference between when background noise reaches the back of the phone and when it reaches the microphone by your mouth a split second later. That way it knows what sound is background noise (it reaches the back of the phone sooner) and what sound is your voice (it reaches the microphone by your mouth sooner). So perhaps since the Nexus 6 is so large, instead of positioning the microphone at the top back of the phone like on the 2nd Gen Moto X, it made more sense to put it by the camera ring. Here's hoping.
Another possibility is that, if it is a microphone, this it has something to do with recording sound in video. Having a microphone right by the lens could somehow allow the phone to properly center the sound on the video image? (I'm really totally making that up. And it doesn't make much sense since that's not how micing is done in high quality film making anyway. If fact, putting a microphone right by a lens is usually bad, because the mic picks up any sounds made by mechanical elements in the lens.)
Anyway, here's hoping there's some chance the Nexus 6 will get the four microphone noise cancellation.

just hoping
only thing making me hold back from getting the nexus 6 (aside from it not being for sale yet lol) is the mics thing and yes that matters to me cuz i ditched my htc one m8 for the moto x just for the voice control features but then the nexus 6 is announced along with android 5.0 lollipop with the "ok google" feature when screen is off which gave me hope and made me rethink whether to get moto x or wait for the nexus 6 so i am still waiting to see how many mics ... and as for customizing the launch phrase i am more than sure it will be ported over as a mod or rom feature by our amazing xda devs. community. one thing though thats keeping my hopes up that i just noticed today, despite the lack of the small hope on the back top along the metal frame of the nexus 6 unlike the moto x there is actually another hole on the camera frame but shows only in some pics not all of them but i guess it was removed while editing to make ring flash look more fancy
this is the one that's not showing cuz of the effect
here too its showing
so after all there might be 4 .. heck i will be happy with three but if its 2 moto x it is !
let me know what u guys thing and sorry for the long reply lol
---------- Post added at 04:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:36 PM ----------
mbonus said:
I don't know if it is a manufacturing issue or a mic hole surrounding the camera module at about the 2 o'clock position? I see it in a couple of different images of the n6. (like the second from the right midnight blue) Could be a stretch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
crap just saw that after posting :angel:
edit:
last edit i promise lol: found in a hands on video its actaully showing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fn8OnzDO5Y just jump to minute 1:15 so i am almost sure now it has 4

Peter Baher said:
only thing making me hold back from getting the nexus 6 (aside from it not being for sale yet lol) is the mics thing and yes that matters to me cuz i ditched my htc one m8 for the moto x just for the voice control features but then the nexus 6 is announced along with android 5.0 lollipop with the "ok google" feature when screen is off which gave me hope and made me rethink whether to get moto x or wait for the nexus 6 so i am still waiting to see how many mics ... and as for customizing the launch phrase i am more than sure it will be ported over as a mod or rom feature by our amazing xda devs. community. one thing though thats keeping my hopes up that i just noticed today, despite the lack of the small hope on the back top along the metal frame of the nexus 6 unlike the moto x there is actually another hole on the camera frame but shows only in some pics not all of them but i guess it was removed while editing to make ring flash look more fancy
this is the one that's not showing cuz of the effect
here too its showing
so after all there might be 4 .. heck i will be happy with three but if its 2 moto x it is !
let me know what u guys thing and sorry for the long reply lol
---------- Post added at 04:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:36 PM ----------
crap just saw that after posting :angel:
edit:
last edit i promise lol: found in a hands on video its actaully showing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fn8OnzDO5Y just jump to minute 1:15 so i am almost sure now it has 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol 4 mics is awesome, assuming stereo recording?

dazed1 said:
lol 4 mics is awesome, assuming stereo recording?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not only that but amazing voice recognition that works even with screen off that trains to ur voice specifically after a while.

Peter Baher said:
not only that but amazing voice recognition that works even with screen off that trains to ur voice specifically after a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if it has more then 2 mics, it will have stereo recording for sure?

dazed1 said:
lol 4 mics is awesome, assuming stereo recording?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More importantly (to me) improved call quality in noisy settings (your caller can here you better).
I'm trying to be hopeful about the possible mic spotted on the camera ring, but I don't really get why they would leave the four microphone thing out of the specs on the Motorola website (it's there in the specs for the 2nd Gen Moto X) and not promote the point, since it was promoted for the 2nd Gen Moto X when it came out.

cb474 said:
More importantly (to me) improved call quality in noisy settings (your caller can here you better).
I'm trying to be hopeful about the possible mic spotted on the camera ring, but I don't really get why they would leave the four microphone thing out of the specs on the Motorola website (it's there in the specs for the 2nd Gen Moto X) and not promote the point, since it was promoted for the 2nd Gen Moto X when it came out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One guy is saying that the mics are in the speakers, he got the phone, check out the thread Nexus 6 exclusive fist look or something like that

dazed1 said:
One guy is saying that the mics are in the speakers, he got the phone, check out the thread Nexus 6 exclusive fist look or something like that
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Click to collapse
I think I saw that comment and discounted it as making no sense and having no basis other than the author making an assumption.
The main mic for picking up one's voice may well be in the bottom speaker and this is sometimes done on phones. But it would make zero sense to put a mic in the top speaker that is pressed against your ear when talking on the phone and producing the sound of your caller. For noise cancellation purposes you want the mics on the back of the phone, facing away from your mouth and toward the source of background noise.
So that comment, to me, just seemed like someone who doesn't know what they're talking about making something up.
It would be interesting to know where each of the four microphones on the Moto X are.

Moto Z2 Force $500 @ T-Mobile!

Finally, they've listened and the price has been dropped. This price is exclusive to T-MOBILE though!

yep, just got mine last night, so far so good

Do you still get the projector mod free at that price?

Shaffer678 said:
Do you still get the projector mod free at that price?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, submitted my request last night. Better get it, one of the bigger reasons I got this phone. Don't think Moto can do anything when a carrier drops their price, you know

Just got me second one still haven't got my first projector

joemossjr said:
Just got me second one still haven't got my first projector
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kinda wish they would let you choose your mod, i would rather have the Hasselblad camera over the projector

I'm definitely pulling the trigger at the end of the week. A price drop was all that I was waiting on.

Tmobile will adjust the price too if still within your 14 days, just did that today.

Midnight_Rider said:
kinda wish they would let you choose your mod, i would rather have the Hasselblad camera over the projector
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I work for TMobile and got all the mods free as well as the phone being the brand ambassador of Motorola. Pony up for it, it's sick.

Got the deal with 2 days left for the projector mod promo submitted my proof so no idea if i will every use the projector but seems cool anyway.

Just bought mine......so far no complaints. Will definitely root this joint later
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

JodyBreeze901 said:
Just bought mine......so far no complaints. Will definitely root this joint later
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a beautiful device. I have NO regrets whatsoever! I'm rooted and loving it!

Picked mine up a few days ago. The screen scratches very easily:crying: Does anyone know of a good screen protector on Amazon? Other then that it is an excellent phone The performance is great as well as the battery life especially considering the small battery.

I picked up a few of these, for the family and I am working my way through the device. Battery life is great, BUT I think some CPU throttling is going, by Lenovo design--- as my device renders websites, forum threads (xda labs/Tapatalk) VERY slow. Tidal streaming take 20-30 seconds to buffer the first song in HiFi mode. This is very different than any of my other Samsung, LG,Sony phones on the same network, same plan, same city etc. The CPU and 4GB ram should not be this slow, especially when the phone transitions from app to app quickly and scrolling is very fast.
Screen is great at the $500 price, the DPI should be 480 out the box though. 640 is far to big. Also with the huge bezels, they should have made the navbar smaller, directly above the huge lower bezel. Or just capacitive buttons in the huge bottom bezel, like old Samsung devices. It should not be big ole navbar, mated to a big ole bezel [emoji38]
The music/podcast speaker output is awesome for such a thin device and only one speaker. The phone call speaker output is subpar, though.
The button placement is great, but I keep wanting to use the Motorola circle on the back as the finger print sensor [emoji38]. Its in the PERFECT rear position where my fingers sits when holding the phone rt handed.
The audio out dongle is ok, but the noise floor is pretty bad ( for those music based). It works, but this is NOT a multimedia device if that is your focus. Some background hissing, and electronic background noise, almost like a ground issue in the port. I am using some pretty sensitive iems though. If you are using $20 dollar headphones, doubt you would mind.
Bluetooth strength is good, but this output also suffers from the slight interruptions, here and there. Just small minute sound buckling, not full on stopping the songs. It's as if the phone falls out of range for a millisecond. Again I think this is a software background ram/cpu management design.
Also the notifications (silent or sound on mode), interrupt music pretty hard. That's another reason I think the software is throttling the cpu's pretty hard.
Great job TMobile for the unlocked bootloader with a US snapdragon. This may be the only option for rooting a USA 835 CPU based device.
Rooting Kills the warranty though, So I may not root my other devices. As I found out last night, even if you RELOCK the bootloader, the first screen still notifies you of a different OS. Basically no way to return to TMobile for a warranty fix, if something does fail. Early adopters might want to wait a bit to see if a Dev can mask the unlock/relock black screen back to full stock.
Signal strength is great, in my area. The size (slimness) and weight (super light) feel of the phone is amazing for all that's in this phone.
Camera loads fast, images are just OK, but the auto focus speed it good. Not great, just good.
This is basically a OnePlus 5, without the bubble scrolling issue [emoji38].
Back to enjoying a great, low priced, high spec option. Couple this with the projector mod/free offer, this is an AWESOME deal.

vibraniumdroid said:
Picked mine up a few days ago. The screen scratches very easily:crying: Does anyone know of a good screen protector on Amazon? Other then that it is an excellent phone The performance is great as well as the battery life especially considering the small battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
any screen protector is better than none. i was gonna get a glass one but saw this 8 pack so grab it, im pretty careful will my phones (knocks on wood)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B071LQHCM5/
---------- Post added at 05:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:10 PM ----------
Amd4life said:
I picked up a few of these, for the family and I am working my way through the device. Battery life is great, BUT I think some CPU throttling is going, by Lenovo design--- as my device renders websites, forum threads (xda labs/Tapatalk) VERY slow. Tidal streaming take 20-30 seconds to buffer the first song in HiFi mode. This is very different than any of my other Samsung, LG,Sony phones on the same network, same plan, same city etc. The CPU and 4GB ram should not be this slow, especially when the phone transitions from app to app quickly and scrolling is very fast.
Screen is great at the $500 price, the DPI should be 480 out the box though. 640 is far to big. Also with the huge bezels, they should have made the navbar smaller, directly above the huge lower bezel. Or just capacitive buttons in the huge bottom bezel, like old Samsung devices. It should not be big ole navbar, mated to a big ole bezel [emoji38]
The music/podcast speaker output is awesome for such a thin device and only one speaker. The phone call speaker output is subpar, though.
The button placement is great, but I keep wanting to use the Motorola circle on the back as the finger print sensor [emoji38]. Its in the PERFECT rear position where my fingers sits when holding the phone rt handed.
The audio out dongle is ok, but the noise floor is pretty bad ( for those music based). It works, but this is NOT a multimedia device if that is your focus. Some background hissing, and electronic background noise, almost like a ground issue in the port. I am using some pretty sensitive iems though. If you are using $20 dollar headphones, doubt you would mind.
Bluetooth strength is good, but this output also suffers from the slight interruptions, here and there. Just small minute sound buckling, not full on stopping the songs. It's as if the phone falls out of range for a millisecond. Again I think this is a software background ram/cpu management design.
Also the notifications (silent or sound on mode), interrupt music pretty hard. That's another reason I think the software is throttling the cpu's pretty hard.
Great job TMobile for the unlocked bootloader with a US snapdragon. This may be the only option for rooting a USA 835 CPU based device.
Rooting Kills the warranty though, So I may not root my other devices. As I found out last night, even if you RELOCK the bootloader, the first screen still notifies you of a different OS. Basically no way to return to TMobile for a warranty fix, if something does fail. Early adopters might want to wait a bit to see if a Dev can mask the unlock/relock black screen back to full stock.
Signal strength is great, in my area. The size (slimness) and weight (super light) feel of the phone is amazing for all that's in this phone.
Camera loads fast, images are just OK, but the auto focus speed it good. Not great, just good.
This is basically a OnePlus 5, without the bubble scrolling issue [emoji38].
Back to enjoying a great, low priced, high spec option. Couple this with the projector mod/free offer, this is an AWESOME deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tl;dr
most of the things you are complaining or pointing out can and just might be updated or fixed in a custom rom (cpu, speaker output, audio, bluetooth, camera)
my dpi was set at 360 out of the box and can be changed in Developer options/Smallest width
when you get an unlock code from Motorola it states that by just getting the code you void the warranty so yeah, we know that going in
people put too much in the bezel thing, sure an edge to edge screen is cool, but not a game changer (for me anyways). i was gonna get an LG G6 or V30 simply for the fact that both phones are almost the exact same size as my G4 but with a bigger screen. it was basically the price drop and the free projector that pulled me over to the Z2 Force, plus when i tried the camera and saw how fast it was, that helped too

@Midnight_Rider
That protector has very bad ratings do you know of any other one?

vibraniumdroid said:
@Midnight_Rider
That protector has very bad ratings do you know of any other one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
really? it has 3 reviews, 2 of them are 5 stars and 1 is 1 star cause the guy didnt like the fact that it did not cover the entire screen. i wouldnt call that "very bad ratings"
search Amazon or google, im sure you can find one that suits you

The Verizon Flexible Glass Display Protector is the best.
I had last years version on my Moto Z Force Droid on Verizon and it never had an issue.
I have this year's version on my T-Mobile Moto Z2 Force and it works great.
I actually am on my 3rd Z2. First one was pre-ordered and would not connect to voice mail so Tmo replaced it.
2nd one was fine other than the texting issue on Tmo, but I fell for the hype and Jumped to the Note 8.
A week and a half later I jumped back to the Z2 Force and got it for $500

I could kick myself for not waiting to get this until T-Mobile dropped the price. :/
The one thing that's really impressed me with this phone is the battery life, given the smaller (compared with the last Z2) nonremovable battery.

pgg285 said:
I could kick myself for not waiting to get this until T-Mobile dropped the price. :/
The one thing that's really impressed me with this phone is the battery life, given the smaller (compared with the last Z2) nonremovable battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how long ago did you get yours? 2 years ago when i got an LG G4, they dropped the price like this 2 months after i bought it, went back to the store and while they did not give me the full discount, they did give me $80 bucks off, reduced my number of payments by 4 months

Con me out of selling my 6T.

So, I landed a 6T for a steal. I wasn't even in the market to replace my G6 (US997, rooted), but here I am.
As of right now, the only distinct advantages the 6T has over the LG G6 are:
Pie
Far smoother operation
Larger screen
Infinitely better aftermarket support (roms etc)
The G6 has my heart in:
Power button being on the back (Yes, I know I'll get used to the side button again).
SD Card Slot (I have a 256gb collecting dust now)
Pixel density
Quick Charge
Always On Display
Integrated headphone jack (although I rarely use my wired headphones anymore)
And right now, I'm on the fence:
Call quality (seems to be a wash)
Display clarity (wash again, despite the pixel density)
and the biggest thing to me, is the camera. I know I'm missing the wide angle from the G6. But is it just me, or is the camera just sort of meh on the 6T?
It seems to charge very slow when not connected to the included charger (which I can't seem to find in stock anywhere?)
I landed it with a case and screen protector for 350. I know I can sell it for that or maybe even up to 400. But I'm not sure I want to. I want to love this thing. It feels so nice in my hand. The battery on it is as big as a freakin car battery. It's more modern than my G6, has better specs. Is definitely faster.
So tell me, what do I do here?

I sorta did the same. My previous phone was a G6. In my case that phone I got it basically for free when I renewed my contract.
LG G6
I hated the fact that I could not root it (in my country that model is bootloader locked).
I loved its camera, but the glass on top of it it's real trash because it scratched in a month or so even with a case and TLC.
I hated the battery not lasting more than 2 hours screen on time.
I hated the button and FP on the back.
I hated the OS, stuttered and most of all, bloated (more of a carrier problem than a phone problem I know).
I hated being stuck on an older Android version.
I hated the screen because I got some screen burn-in issues, but fortunately with no permanent damage (reversible).
I too used it with a 200GB memory card, but the horrible management of the 4GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage meant that I was constantly running out of space. Even if you move apps to external storage, some huge chunks of data remain internally.
I was on the fence between getting the Huawei P20 Pro or the OP6T, and I decided to try the OP6T with 8GM RAM and 256GB Storage and boy o boy, I can't complain at all!
OnePlus 6T
The sheer speed of this phone is amazing! In all these years with Android (I started in 2007) I have never enjoyed a phone this much!
I love the fact that I'm always getting more than 7 hours screen on time with extensive use!
I love the tiny camera notch!
This phone is stupid FAAAAASTTTT!!!
And the fast charge on the OP6T is far FAR superior to that on the LGG6. Every morning I charge my OP6T while getting ready for work and about 40-45 minutes later is already at 100%. No more leaving the phone on my nightstand charging overnight!
OxygenOS is simply the best Android iteration ever created!
OnePlus Android updates and beta program is amazing!
So freaking easy to root.
OnePlus community is awesome (not that xda forums are not cool, but you get my point).
The huge RAM and Storage makes it future proof for many years to come if I desire to keep it that long.
Last but not least, the on-screen fingerprint scanner is a great conversation starter and wow factor. (mine works flawlessly)
This is simply no fair comparison, the LG G6 feels dated in comparison.
I don't miss the audio jack because I'm always listening over Bluetooth.
I don't miss the higher DPI because the OP6T screen despite having less DPI looks stunning!
I don't miss the external storage option on the LGG6
I don't miss the wide angle lens on the main camera, but I do miss the wide angle lens on the front camera.
This is my experience so far!
Cheers mate!

sell it; I'll give you 50 bucks for it

aNGERY said:
So, I landed a 6T for a steal. I wasn't even in the market to replace my G6 (US997, rooted), but here I am.
As of right now, the only distinct advantages the 6T has over the LG G6 are:
Pie
Far smoother operation
Larger screen
Infinitely better aftermarket support (roms etc)
The G6 has my heart in:
Power button being on the back (Yes, I know I'll get used to the side button again).
SD Card Slot (I have a 256gb collecting dust now)
Pixel density
Quick Charge
Always On Display
Integrated headphone jack (although I rarely use my wired headphones anymore)
And right now, I'm on the fence:
Call quality (seems to be a wash)
Display clarity (wash again, despite the pixel density)
and the biggest thing to me, is the camera. I know I'm missing the wide angle from the G6. But is it just me, or is the camera just sort of meh on the 6T?
It seems to charge very slow when not connected to the included charger (which I can't seem to find in stock anywhere?)
I landed it with a case and screen protector for 350. I know I can sell it for that or maybe even up to 400. But I'm not sure I want to. I want to love this thing. It feels so nice in my hand. The battery on it is as big as a freakin car battery. It's more modern than my G6, has better specs. Is definitely faster.
So tell me, what do I do here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
G6 has your heart with Quick charge? The OnePlus 6T is one of the fastest charging phones there is.

lg sucks i own 2 still but UI is slow they mess a kernel up don't support developers less everything that's like pulling out the old Razer phone

aNGERY said:
So, I landed a 6T for a steal. I wasn't even in the market to replace my G6 (US997, rooted), but here I am.
As of right now, the only distinct advantages the 6T has over the LG G6 are:
Pie
Far smoother operation
Larger screen
Infinitely better aftermarket support (roms etc)
The G6 has my heart in:
Power button being on the back (Yes, I know I'll get used to the side button again).
SD Card Slot (I have a 256gb collecting dust now)
Pixel density
Quick Charge
Always On Display
Integrated headphone jack (although I rarely use my wired headphones anymore)
And right now, I'm on the fence:
Call quality (seems to be a wash)
Display clarity (wash again, despite the pixel density)
and the biggest thing to me, is the camera. I know I'm missing the wide angle from the G6. But is it just me, or is the camera just sort of meh on the 6T?
It seems to charge very slow when not connected to the included charger (which I can't seem to find in stock anywhere?)
I landed it with a case and screen protector for 350. I know I can sell it for that or maybe even up to 400. But I'm not sure I want to. I want to love this thing. It feels so nice in my hand. The battery on it is as big as a freakin car battery. It's more modern than my G6, has better specs. Is definitely faster.
So tell me, what do I do here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG G6 a lot slower.
Snapdragon 821 vs Snapdragon 845.
Not even in the same league. 6 month old phone vs almost two year old phone.
I had an LG G6 and traded it for an Essential PH-1.
Sold the Essential when the 6T came out and have not looked back.
The 6T is just a better all around phone.
The 6T is dual SIM which made it a no brainer for me. I was carrying a work phone and a personal phone.
I carry one phone now.

I don't have 2 sims, but I don't disagree about the hardware being superior. I actually wiped the phone last night, put my sim in my G6, and about an hour later, I started setting up the 6T again. I'm on it now.
I'm not going to make any hasty decisions. Probably will give this thing a week.
As I type this, the biggest thing to adapt to is the SD card slot being absent.
Am I being too hard on the camera?

G6 is garbage

If 6T it's slow or seems slow, format the phone or do a MSM tool.
Yes the camera is maybe the cheapest..., but in daylight take good pictures. At night not so good. For camera you can try Google cam.

Reuben_skelz92 said:
G6 is garbage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Compared to a 6T it is.

For camera, try the Pixel camera. See separate thread.

aNGERY said:
I don't have 2 sims, but I don't disagree about the hardware being superior. I actually wiped the phone last night, put my sim in my G6, and about an hour later, I started setting up the 6T again. I'm on it now.
I'm not going to make any hasty decisions. Probably will give this thing a week.
As I type this, the biggest thing to adapt to is the SD card slot being absent.
Am I being too hard on the camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also came from the G6. I do miss the wide angle camera and the overall photo quality from the G6. Also was a fan of water resistance rating, mil-spec drop rating, and the power button/fingerprint sensor on the back. The G6 really felt good in the hand, but the performance difference between it and my 6T are night and day. I don't think I could go back to the G6 from a performance standpoint.

I think you should sell it.
However, having someone else decided what phone you use will never end well.

Only thing that bothers me about the phone is that fp doesn't work on custom ROMs wich combined with the bad ram management on stock oos is kinda annoying.
About the camera. I find it rather inconsistent. Sometimes i get pretty good shots and sometimes they are just lousy. Anyway it's a tiny phone cam and as such it simply suffers physical limitations.

Sell it!

You paid for it.

tet-bundy said:
Only thing that bothers me about the phone is that fp doesn't work on custom ROMs wich combined with the bad ram management on stock oos is kinda annoying.
About the camera. I find it rather inconsistent. Sometimes i get pretty good shots and sometimes they are just lousy. Anyway it's a tiny phone cam and as such it simply suffers physical limitations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bad RAM management?
Do you have a 6GB device?

I'm reading through this post on my g6 while I let the 6t sit and try to figure out what's giving me wakelocks.
This thing is tiny and slow in comparison lol. I'm glad I'm giving it another go. Appreciate the opinions.

Reasons why I buy OP phones
Nearly native Android experience
Always rootable - I will not touch a phone I can't put Adaway on
Fast updates - almost as fast as the Pixels
Battery that lasts and lasts
Price/performance that can't be beat
Things that could be better
Camera is definitely a meh. Shutter delay is notable and limiting for anything but static scenes. Auto WB is way out of wack in anything but mid day blue sky conditions, and even setting WB manually leaves you with funky casts. This is particularly troublesome with skin tones, where your choice is between a "boiled shrimp" and "jaundice sickness" appearance. I don't use the camera for anything other than utilitarian purposes so this is a don't care, but if my phone was my primary camera I would definitely think twice.
Designs are somewhat bland, but this is probably partly how they keep the price as low as it is. I could not care less, as long as the formfactor is right. Which it is.

tech_head said:
Bad RAM management?
Do you have a 6GB device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
8 GB

Phone worth buying at 300$ if ill receive it in feb 2020?

hey guys so my country does not have this sale (black fri) and i really like the phone... so a friend agreed to get one for me but he will come around feb next year
so according to you all is it a good purchase or shall i wait for anything else?
thanks in advance

Crusiefire said:
hey guys so my country does not have this sale (black fri) and i really like the phone... so a friend agreed to get one for me but he will come around feb next year
so according to you all is it a good purchase or shall i wait for anything else?
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this phone is a spec monster. Great deal for 300!

chpimentelpr said:
Yes, this phone is a spec monster. Great deal for 300!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for replying
but will it be a good buy in 2020 as well?

Crusiefire said:
thank you for replying
but will it be a good buy in 2020 as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, there's no other phone at that price point with the specs included.

right before the black Friday when I went to Amazon for the 300$ deal, I saw that they are out of stock. expected delivery February 2020, so went to razer. com and found that they have in stock for the same 300$. so I ordered it right away, shipped on November 28th, coming tomorrow December 6th.
yesterday went back to their website and noticed price is 399$ now.

curious
Hey, akmsr
Let me know how you like it. Mine is coming the 9th. Curious how your experience will be.
Thanks!!

This device is a beast, it will be viable for a pretty long time IMO.

Eagle0527 said:
Hey, akmsr
Let me know how you like it. Mine is coming the 9th. Curious how your experience will be.
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using it for couple of weeks now. I have OnePlus 6T which is exactly razer 2 (same spec except dual sim and 256 GB storage.)
Signal..... Razer 2 edges out by a tiny margin
User comfort..... 6T
Gaming..... Razer 2
Smoothness..... Razer 2 at 90hz
Sound loudness... Razer 2
Sound using Bluetooth headset , notifications, calls, keyboard experience..... Hands down 6T
Battery life..... Same even though Razer 2 has bigger battery (maybe 90hz)
6T has OLED display so more pleasing to the eye.
I have some apps that don't run properly on Razer 2. After you reboot sometimes it doesn't recognize keystrokes properly. Both phones fast charge with their respective charger. Only reason i got it because of price. Its essentially a 6T with microsd support and 120hz refresh rate for 300$. When you game with higher refresh rate, it shines. It's smaller screen than 6T and I kinda miss the bigger immersive vivid screen but it's okay.

I originally posted my review over at Android Central, but it's fitting here because I wrote it in the context of being a cheap phone and value for the price. Only in my case, I got it for $250 from Best Buy. Long story short, definitely worth it at $300.
------------------------------------------------------------------
After using the Razer Phone 2 for about two weeks now on Verizon, overall I'm happy. I'm actually keeping signal now in places I thought were just dead zones when I was using an LG V20. While that's a major benefit, the V20 has also spoiled me. It's my benchmark when comparing phones because nothing has ticked all the boxes like it did (not even the successors, V30-50).
First the good stuff:
Reception and faster mobile data speeds
VoLTE and HD calling (at least on Verizon)
Flat LCD screen
SD card slot
Loud front facing stereo speakers
Telephoto camera lens
Rear Razer logo lights up with cool effects
Decent battery life
Nova Prime launcher included as OEM stock
Customizable performance options
The bad stuff:
No secondary display or quick slide functions
Speakers are a little muffled (due to water resistance)
Non-removable battery
Glass back
Wireless charging quirks
Power and volume button placement hit and miss
User interface a bit clunky
No headphone jack (USB dongle included)
Camera performance laughable at times
Auto-brightness reacts too quickly
I'm not going to expand on every single point, but there are a number deserving a greater explanation.
In the pros section, the logo lighting up isn't just a static color. It's a multi-LED logo that can cycle through colors, flash as a notification light, simply fade in and out, and a "wave" feature that has the colors shift across the logo. It's not extremely bright and I leave it off most of the time except for notifications. I read it can eat 3%/hr of your battery, so no point leaving it on when I'm mostly alone. If using in public, I'll turn it on to show off. Lol. The performance options allow you to adjust the processor speed, resolution, and maximum frame rates either across the board or on a per app basis. For example, I'll run Shadowgun Legends full tilt, but some of my more relaxing games I run at the lowest settings because they only run low graphics anyway and it saves battery with no performance loss on them.
On the down sides, this phone leaves a lot to be desired. By giving up the secondary display and quick slide functions when I left the V20, a number of actions now take longer. What use to be available from any screen as a single tap or two now requires exiting to the home screen and going to whatever function I wanted. If you've never had that kind of quick actions before, then you're not losing anything going to the RP2. If you have used those features before, you know my pain.
The phone does have wireless charging, but is not fully up to the Qi standard. The reason why is because the charging coil sits lower than standard, making it hard to align on Qi pads. On stand up charging stands, it may be impossible to charge wirelessly. Instead, Razer sells their own Qi charger stand for the phone that does work correctly. It has lighting effects that can sync with the phone, but is also pricey at US$100. I've never bothered to jump on the wireless charging bandwagon, so this isn't a big deal for me. If you want to wireless charge, good luck unless you buy their charger.
The power and volume buttons are on both sides in the middle of the frame. The case I have for it makes the volume buttons hard to push, which can result in also pressing the power button if your fingers or thumb are not spaced right. The fingerprint sensor in the power button is slow to register, making it easy to get "finger moved too fast" errors. It also only activates the reader with the screen on. I think overall I preferred the power button on the back and the FPS to activate even with the screen off. On the RP2 you either put more wear on the power button, or you can turn on the double tap to wake option to turn on the screen and FPS without pressing the power button.
The user interface is also somewhat odd at times. On every other phone I've used, pressing the volume buttons with no audio paying would adjust the ringer volume. Not so on the RP2. The volume buttons only work media volume. To adjust the ringer, or other volume settings, you have to press a volume button, then the settings button on the pop-up (which is located opposite of the buttons, completely non-intuitive). There's is at least a silence toggle on the pop-up. The navigation bar use two buttons + gestures. I think gestures can be great, but the back button is on the far left and hard to reach with my right thumb. Again, I'm missing V20 features, where I had 5 navigation buttons that were able to be arranged in a way I liked. If I could at least have one more on this phone, it would be one to drop the notification shade from any screen for better one handed use. Nova does have a swipe down gesture for this, but that only works on the home screen.
So about this laughable camera. Well everyone is slamming the app for being buggy, having limited controls, and mediocre photos. It's a gaming phone, so some tradeoffs are to be expected. Thankfully I haven't encountered any bugs (I took a system update right after setup that was supposed to address those camera bugs). What made me honestly laugh when I checked some samples is how bad HDR photos are compared to normal photos. HDR is supposed to give greater details and lower noise. Check the two sample photos and you'll see the exact opposite. The non-HDR photo on the left looks better in almost every respect.
The Gcam app has been ported over to the RP2, but I haven't looked into using it. From what I've read, those using it are saying it's worlds better than the stock app. I'd personally rather use a more manually focused (no pun intended) camera app, but it seems the api is firmware limited. When using an app with manual controls, I'm only able to get 1/4" exposure at most. I'm use to 30" maximum exposures.
With all that said, what's it like in everyday use? Mostly good. It's a gaming phone, and as such, plays games very well. Running in full performance mode, nothing has made it so much as hiccup. The screen has a 120Hz refresh rate to really run things buttery smooth, but I've kept things mostly to 90Hz. I don't really see enough difference between the two, so not worth the extra battery hit. The developer options allow showing the current frame rate on screen, and most of the games I play don't make much difference. On one hand, Shadowgun Legends looks phenomenal, but is app locked to 60fps. Actual game play on ultimate graphics hovers around the mid 40's, but still runs smooth. I'll take that over Unkilled, which is a 120Hz rated game from the same developer but doesn't look near as good.
Everything else is nothing special, with the camera app being the lone downfall so far. Being a hobby photographer, that was a huge tradeoff for me, and even average users will dislike it. So with all those downsides and quirks, why do I say it's worth it? Price. I picked the phone up during a Black Friday sale at Best Buy for $250. I basically stole it at that price, and makes those tradeoffs worth it without question. If it were still full, or even half price, that would be another story. It's currently $330 at Best Buy with activation today, but otherwise $380 through them, or $400 direct from Razer. Those prices still aren't too horrible, but anything above $350 would start tipping the scales on the value judgement for me.
Also, an honorable mention for the Dolby Atmos demo video. You can view it on YouTube here, but it's included in the Atmos app on the RP2. I never thought virtual surround sound could be that good, at least not from standard two speakers. Wow!
https://youtu.be/3VZFpwlXKpg