Quick question on build. - Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Are the sides of the phone metal or plastic that looks like metal like the note 3

Aluminum/metal. The build quality IMO is superb, there is no other phone that I've held that comes close (sans other motos of course). This would go in Q&A

Questions go in the Q&A forum

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How does this phone feel?

Hey.
Wanted to ask does this phone feel solid when you hold it (like iphone 4) or plastic (like samsung vibrant)?
Please let me know.
Thanks.
It feels pretty solid to me, not like the Galaxy S or vibrant.
Defo feels solid. Good weight to it. Also liking the raised out camera lense. When holding in you hand upright my finger just sits under it meaning you don't feel it will slip out
Sent from my LG-P990 using XDA App
Sold my Galaxy S for that reason.
2X is more like a HTC device than a piece of plastic (Samsung)
Its very solid, I like it.
It has a very nice feel, i think it has a nicer feel then Iphone4, when i hold an I4 i have the feeling that it is about to slip/jump out of my hand (maybe cuz i know it's made of glass, and my brother already has broken 2 of them by shatterig the glass?)
The O2X feels like it is made from quality materials, and has just the right weight to, not feel heavy, but just plain nice
..........just for the record, i'm not much of an [fruty-phone] kind'a guy, so me comparing it to an Iphone might not be fair to the Iphone......
The O2X has kind'a round edges compared to the I4.......i like that difference!
Go to a shop and try holding it in your hand, then you'l know if you like it.....
Exactly,
I knew I wanted this phone because of it's hardware.. didn't even look at it when I picked up the box at the T-Mo store..
But over the last 4 weeks I have grown very very fond of the phone. It feels very good when holding it, the screen is large, but doesn't feel like it.
I have actually turned off the touchscreen button backlight completely. During the day you can still see the imprint of it behind the glass, and at night.. well.. you tend to get to know the layout by heart.
I would recommend this phone to anyone.
I really like the feeling of the phone. Have it for a couple of days now and I came from an HTC Diamond 2. It has a nice grip cause of the soft plastic back (I had a custom mat backcover on my Diamond 2 too). It does not slide away in the car when on the passengers seat ;-).
The phone is not to heavy and not to light. It does not feel like a toy. Everything's had a nice build quality and feels solid. The sides have a metal feel to it (because it is metal ... ;-).
The screen en glass feels like high quality too. The rounded curves give it a nice feeling when touching it (no, not that kind of feeling ;-P
I recommend this phone too!
My only comment is that it's about 10 grams too heavy and about 8 mm too long.
Other than that it feel great.
I actually like the length. I have long fingers, so I don't have to "hook" my pointer (R) finger too much to unlock like I had to with the Galaxy S Vibrant.
Weight is really nice. Solid build materials, especially the glass (Gorilla Glass) and the curves. Sexiness.
I have actually turned off the touchscreen button backlight completely. During the day you can still see the imprint of it behind the glass, and at night.. well.. you tend to get to know the layout by heart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it withstand reboot?
Feels great in the hand, soft touch plastic on the back is better than it sounds
Also like the curved edges of display, feels quite premium
good to hear, as I didnt like the samsung vibrant plastic feel even though it was a great phone

[Q] Most bothersome item no longer bothersome? ( USB cover flap )

S4 Active. It's been a pretty good phone and my first Android phone. I picked the Active version not because I am "active", but because I am clumsy and break rules around sensitive electronics (*grabs greasy french fry and continues typing, for instance) and because the colors of the TFT display are better in bright sunlight. I do miss the 13MP camera though...
So anyway the most annoying thing about the phone is constantly pulling open the rubber flap that covers the USB port for charging. Today, at some point, the little flap decided to take a vacation and now there is just a little rubber nub. I never pulled on it or twisted it, but I assume with it now missing my water resistance rating is completely nullified. I was hoping it would be a little more durable on par with the rubber flaps that cover the ports on my CANON EOS 20D which have been opened/closed constantly for almost 10 years and don't show a single sign of wear.
Is this part replaceable? OR is there something else I can sub to cover the port and keep at least dust out of there?
Has anyone else had this happen (yet?)
People in thread S4 Active(i9295 and i537) Replacement Parts Page deal with this kind of problems and someone there already asked about usb cover but it's still unanswered.
Thanks! Well at least I found the cover on the floor near my charger at home. I guess I'll just keep it out of the fishbowl :fingers-crossed:
I worry the same way my old samsung rugy pro the flaps felt very good but the active worrys me if it was replaceable easily I would feel bettrt

Does anyone else find the rough edges a bit annoying in daily use?

Don't get me wrong, I really like the design (though I kinda miss the awesome looking back cover of N4 and the phone reminds me of current Xperia design a bit too much) but the rough edges make it harder to put inside my pocket, as well as make phone calls a bit painful to my ear.
Rough edges?
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I guess he means the sharp angles. You know...some phones got rounded edges
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
andrei.voinea93 said:
I guess he means the sharp angles. You know...some phones got rounded edges
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant the bezels. I mean I'm coming from Galaxy Nexus and it was very round compared to N5.
Oliie23 said:
I meant the bezels. I mean I'm coming from Galaxy Nexus and it was very round compared to N5.
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Click to collapse
I don't find them rough. They protrude, but smoothly. Is it the fact they're not flush you're referring to.
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I don't get how the edges make it hard for you to put the phone in your pocket. Do you wear skinny jeans? The edges aren't flush or tapered like how it was on my Nexus 4 but it isn't anything terrible. I do admit I wish they were tapered though.
sent from my neXus 5
I like the sharper edge, it's part of the package that makes this phone feel awesome in the hand. I really don't know how it affects putting it in your pocket though...
Oliie23 said:
I meant the bezels. I mean I'm coming from Galaxy Nexus and it was very round compared to N5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see where you're coming from. I came from a VZW GNex too, and the edges are a bit more pronounced than the rounded feel of the GNex. But I, personally, dig it. Plus, I have it in Diztronic TPU case anyways, so they are not as "sharp" as they are without the case.
Sent from my TouchPad using xda app-developers app
yes edges are really sharp for me too, but i have a case which helps a lot
The same here. This is probably the one and only "negative" thing (really minor) about this device I noticed.
When making a phone call, I can clearly feel the sharp edge cutting through my ear (exaggeratedly speaking).
A bit unpleasant, but can be easily avoided by not pushing a phone against the ear too much.
(owning white version)
If I "roll" my thumb over the side of the phone in normal use (pretend you were "swiping out" from the middle of the screen until your thumb totally leaves the surface), I can feel the edge of the plastic housing sticking up just a tiny fraction of a millimeter above the glass.
I'm assuming everybody has this? For me, it's the only thing about the whole device that doesn't feel "premium". I come from a Galaxy S2, so in a way it's better (the S2 edges had a chrome plating that chipped off, which felt gross) but in a way it's worse (at least they were never "sharp"). I figure I'll get used to it, and maybe they'll wear a bit smoother with use.

Note 4 poor design quality deeper perspective

Hi,
I read few threads about build quality of the Samsung Note 4 but mostly I fount speculations and opinions not supported with facts. I am mechanical engineer and I like to think that I know few thinks about processes that are being used in modern industry.
I would like to focus on metal finish which was a decision maker to upgrade from Note 3.
When I first received my new Note 4, first think I did was not turning it on, but inspecting quality of the new body. After few minutes I already knew that there will be problems. I wasn't mistaken...
Lets sort one think up, because there was a big discussion about it in previous threads. Note 4 is not made out of metal. Main body of the smartphone is made purely out of plastic. To better understand it, remove back cover and remove S-pen. This Grayish plastic you see everywhere is actually the main frame of the smartphone. Visible metal sides of the phone as well, are plastic. Metal finish is only metallic coating. There are few processes that allow to cover plastic with metal and most generally it is called metallization. You may ask - so what? Important that it is looking and feeling good... I would completely agree with you if not for the fact that coating is ridiculously thin. I am very careful with my Note 4, but I don't use any covers and additional protection for device. After only few months after using my smartphone I saw first negative signs such as flaking off black metallic paint where the USB receptacle is. Once it stars it gets only worse. later on you have to be even more careful for flaking will continue even when you scratch it lightly with the nail. I would like to point as well, that under this black metallic paint there is plastic. If you expected metal you will be disappointed. Actual silver chamfers are a little bit thicker - around 0,2+-0,05mm. I am not a fan of Iphone but I appreciate real metal body. It bothers me when I see price of the device. I would expect to see real premium device instead of constant covering up with better materials plastic "Samsung madness". Don't think than I am a Samsung hater, because its completely opposite. I didn't change brand since Samsung Galaxy S, and I had all smartphones from Note series.
After Note 3 I'm disappointed by note 4. At least N3 wasn't pretending anything. Not only from build quality newest note is not a good successor of good old note 3 but from software point of view as well but that is topic for other thread.
I covered only one aspect of poor quality of the phone. There are more but to reduce the length of the post I wont describe them. I will mention only at the end that if you are looking for robust made phone this is not what you should look for. I have a feeling that device is made like this to look like **** after warranty period ends.
Peace
Rbn
The Note 4 is metal, here is a metal test of the frame:
https://youtu.be/d-7Yw_XXviI
Go spew your nonsense somewhere else.
EDIT:
The black sides of my Note 4 are fine, no flacking, the USB and area surrounding it are also still fine. I have had my Note 4 since launch (got it 2days early). Used it for 8months with no cover, only recently put a cover as I wanted it to fee thicker and more substantial in hand and to protect it as I do drop it a lot.
Is he touching on the metallic coated chamfer or the actual side of the phone?
POLO_i780 said:
The Note 4 is metal, here is a metal test of the frame:
Go spew your nonsense somewhere else.
EDIT:
The black sides of my Note 4 are fine, no flacking, the USB and area surrounding it are also still fine. I have had my Note 4 since launch (got it 2days early). Used it for 8months with no cover, only recently put a cover as I wanted it to fee thicker and more substantial in hand and to protect it as I do drop it a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you serious with this youtube clip, or it is a joke? I am not sure... He is touching 3cm apart of each other on metallic chamfer which I already said is metallic (if you would read carefully) thickens of the metal he check resistance of i approximately 0,2mm as I as well said before. if he would touch on left and right side there would be no conduction because chamfer are separated in exactly 4 individual points.
Your comment has no sens what so ever apart of some strange attitude.
mark0326 said:
Is he touching on the metallic coated chamfer or the actual side of the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He touched both, 1st the chamfered side and then the side.
He did the video in response to another person who was claiming the Note 4 isn't metal, when in actual fact it is.
POLO_i780 said:
He touched both, 1st the chamfered side and then the side.
He did the video in response to another person who was claiming the Note 4 isn't metal, when in actual fact it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see words them self do not convince you so pictures will have to (self made).
Few words of commentary if you do not understand. picture ***23 show where the coating ends (probably for antenna connection reasons).
Picture ***43 shows that in fact there is a conductivity, therefore metallic surface (like on youtube video you posted)
On picture ***53 you can clearly see that there is infinite resistance = no metallic connection
If you still do not believe on the picture ***22 you can see that housing is in fact non conductive = non metallic
Stop your nonsense argument please.
Rubenqben said:
I see words them self do not convince you so pictures will have to (self made).
Few words of commentary if you do not understand. picture ***23 show where the coating ends (probably for antenna connection reasons).
Picture ***43 shows that in fact there is a conductivity, therefore metallic surface (like on youtube video you posted)
On picture ***53 you can clearly see that there is infinite resistance = no metallic connection
If you still do not believe on the picture ***22 you can see that housing is in fact non conductive = non metallic
Stop your nonsense argument please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All you have proved is that there are parts of the frame that are not metal e.g. the USB area, where the antennas are and may I add where the 3.5mm jack is, this is party to be expected as even with my iPad these areas in particular will have some sort of plastic within.
The frame is mostly metal. Its winter down here and the frame gets icy cold to the touch vs. the back cover plastic and front glass.
You haven't really made any point, the Note 4 at the end of the day is a well built premium phone, in my experience, Samsung have ensured the areas that shouldn't be metal aren't you can actually see them e.g. around USB port is a tiny bump, same with where the antennas are.
People are not satisfied with anything nowadays...
Sent from my Note 4 using Tapatalk
lordoftheriffs said:
People are not satisfied with anything nowadays...
Sent from my Note 4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed.
I can't quite believe you guys are fighting over a mostly plastic phone. I agree with the first poster and what he has posted makes sense. I've also taken my note 4 apart and you can clearly tell it is mostly plastic with the exception being the coated chamfer which is coated with metal then painted and polished, as well as the screws. Ignoring the logic board which contains many elements your left with the screen and glass covering. To be short the phone is mostly plastic and not mostly metal like the users are trying to argue.
Plastic is very inefficient at blocking radio signals, I'm happy.
If it was all metal, someone would say that it is very heavy and signal is poor. If it was glass, people would say it is fragile and a fingerprint magnet. I believe our phone is an ideal blend of premium and other features. I personally love the faux leather back, it is much more robust than a real leathet or gloss plastic.
Sent from my Note 4 using Tapatalk
lordoftheriffs said:
If it was all metal, someone would say that it is very heavy and signal is poor. If it was glass, people would say it is fragile and a fingerprint magnet. I believe our phone is an ideal blend of premium and other features. I personally love the faux leather back, it is much more robust than a real leathet or gloss plastic.
Sent from my Note 4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. This phone is very well built and blend of materials very well thought-out.
The faux leather is brilliant, mine still looks as good as new since launch, while many LG G4 Leather Back owners already have wear and tear within weeks of owning the phone.
While I do think that this is very well designed phone, op is right in his claim that there's not a lot of metal for someone who expected at least outer frame to be aluminum. He is right that under black metallic Paint is only white plastic.
Actually it is amazing how well they have managed to fuse aluminum chamfer, and only that (this is best visible when taking pen out and looking at the cross section). The supposed antenna breaks, on top and bottom, are purely for decoration, and to fool the users into thinking that sections are solid metal and evocative of iPhone of yesteryear that had those cutouts for a reason.
Altogether, there's probably not much more than 5 grams of aluminum on the whole frame. If even that much?
Im just glad that the paint finish on this phone is much more durable than s4 and s5, where even sweat would cause peeling of the fake chrome coating,provided you don't drop phone (it is true that once metallic paints start peeling on certain section, the process accelerates.
All that said, I do agree with polo_i780 last post absolutely.
Note 4 ?
To the op, are you sure your note 4 is not a fake? I mean no disrespect just that mine has been dropped and such without a case, has lots of scratches all around and it doesn't flake as you say. I just tried scratching it with my nails and.... nothing.
If it does indeed have an insanely thin coating then no way would the frame get icy cold as the other poster said (mine does this).
My note 3 never felt like this. Also you're wrong the note 3 did pretend to be something. A leather notebook with the rear cover. But I actually preferred that cover instead of this one lol.
Either way no company is going to please everyone.
I kind of agree with the original poster. There's something "missing" in build quality on the N4, it just doesn't feel as premium as the metal flagships or even the S6. I think it's almost a half and half like Samsung were half way through redesigning their handsets the N4 is the result. I'm not saying it feels cheap or it isn't a nice design, I just don't think it feels like a full premium design.
Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
Disagree. This phone is designed very well. I don't care for metal.
The OP's analysis perfectly describes the very well known problem of the N4's "metal" sides getting very scratched up due solely to the use of certain cases. If you've just recently picked up an N4, search the forum for "scratched metal" and you'll see no shortage of threads where the issue is mentioned (my search for topics with those terms from the main page of the N4 forum yielded 84 results).
@Rubenqben if the edges have become annoyingly scratched, there's a DIY fix that also protects the edges from future damage involving metal polish. Very detailed instructions w/ pics can be found via search, IIRC there have been a few guides in the "General" subforum. I've done this to my device that's now about 7 months old and the edges are even shinier than they were before removing the plastic from the phone (it should be noted that using metal polish on the edges lightens the metal color a few "shades", likely dependent on the specific product that you use... not in a bad way IMO, I actually think that mine looks better with the "Blue Magic Metal Polish Cream" from Amazon).
Now should it be necessary to use potentially damaging chemicals on a $$$ phone so that the edges don't get scratched up by a protective case?
I'm curious what other build quality issues you've discovered that were alluded to in the OP? I've been happy with my N4 overall, but I've definitely encountered some issues that seem like they can only be traced back to hardware design flaws... I'm no engineer though so I'm interested in your other findings :good:
My note 4 is fine its metal and the paint doesnt chip so did you buy a knock off phone.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app
jazzmachine said:
the op's analysis perfectly describes the very well known problem of the n4's "metal" sides getting very scratched up due solely to the use of certain cases. If you've just recently picked up an n4, search the forum for "scratched metal" and you'll see no shortage of threads where the issue is mentioned (my search for topics with those terms from the main page of the n4 forum yielded 84 results).
@rubenqben if the edges have become annoyingly scratched, there's a diy fix that also protects the edges from future damage involving metal polish. Very detailed instructions w/ pics can be found via search, iirc there have been a few guides in the "general" subforum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't agree more. I had a Note 3 and with the exact care and usage it was perfectly fine whereas my Note 4 has scratches on the metal sides! Yes the metal sides looks better but they also loves to be scratched, without even trying to, just by changing covers and cases! Even the Samsung Protective cover wasn't able to prevent the scratches! With S6 Samsung has hardened/improved the metal so hopefully Note 5 will not have any metal issues like Note 4. Btw, can you share the exact guide you tested and confirmed it works? Thank you!

What would be in your dream smartphone for 2018?

If you could have your perfect dream phone in 2018, what would it be? I'm not necessarily thinking in terms of phones currently on the market (although if one of those is so absolutely perfect you don't think the manufacturer could have done any better you're free to say so), but rather if you could take all the currently available (or soon to be available) features and tech and put them into the perfect phone for you, what would it look like?
Here's what I've come up with:
Hardware:
Display: 5.7" 120Hz 2560x1440 IGZO (from Razer phone) with Trivex NXT polyurethane instead of glass (i.e. pretty much indestructible while still having great optical quality)
SoC: Snapdragon 845
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB (plus microSD)
Speakers: Quad front-facing
Connectivity: 2x USB C, 3.5mm headphone jack with high quality DAC, USB-C to 3.5mm can be used to get a 2nd headphone jack (or let me charge the phone and a second USB-C device at the same time)
2.4/5 GHz dual MIMO wifi
Bluetooth 5
Radio: Global, dual active sim (2nd sim slot NOT shared with microsd card)
Battery: 5,000 mAh removable with fast and wireless charging
IR blaster
FM radio
Slide-out landscape keyboard with 5-way dpad/trackball (would be closely tied with a slide-out gamepad and shoulder buttons like the old Sony Xperia Play had)
Active digitizer and stylus (like the Galaxy Note phones)
IP68 rating
Dual front cameras (one color, one monochrome/IR for very low light and facial recognition if I want it)
Triple rear cameras (two color (one with 4x zoom), one monochrome/IR for very low light), RAW file support for both cameras, no camera bump (extra thickness would be for battery)
Case material: carbon fiber with titanium endoskeleton
Buttons: power, volume rocker, two additional customizable buttons (camera, voice assistant, etc), hardware tactile navigation buttons below screen (not capacitative), fingerprint scanner in home button
Software:
Unlockable bootloader (no OEM code, just fastboot oem unlock and done)
TWRP-like stock recovery
Near-stock android, minor tweaks with a few extra customization options and toggleable root in developer settings (no need to unlock bootloader and install magisk/supersu)
Pretty much what I want is a big, powerful phone with the latest, greatest features and some features that manufacturers have sadly abandoned (removable battery, slide-out keyboard). Thickness and weight aren't really a concern (the carbon fiber over glass will keep the weight reasonable anyways) and smoothing out the back instead of having an annoying camera bump will give some extra volume for a properly large battery.
I abhor the notch abomination that Apple has unleashed on the world of smartphones, so the top and bottom would have bezels (the sides would have some slim bezels as well to make room for cases to hang on, provide a place to actually hold the phone from the front, and give a bit more room for hardware). The corners of these bezels would make room for the quad speakers (which should be nice and loud, although maybe not quite as over-the-top as the razer phone with how much space those took up), and the top bezel would also have plenty of room for front-facing cameras and light sensors. The bottom bezel would have the tactile navigation buttons.
The slideout keyboard would be similar to what the old Droids had with 5 rows (numbers on top, 3 rows of letters, bottom row with spacebar/special keys) and the d-pad/trackball would be similar to what the old HTC Desire Z had. It would be backlit with variable colors (controlled through an app).
Appearance wouldn't be anything too crazy, I envision it looking somewhat similar to the Razer phone (although with black carbon fiber or gold kevlar) with a textured finish so it's not going to slide out of your hand. It should be very durable (if I get a case, should just be a slim rubber thing to prevent scratching and scuffing) so if I fumble my phone and it tumbles on concrete, should have minor cosmetic damage at worst. The device should be water and dust resistant (even if I have to keep the keyboard closed to keep dust out of the slider), and I should be able to clean any dust out of the mechanism by rinsing the phone under a water tap. This would likely be the biggest challenge, but should still be possible if electronics are properly treated and given proper coatings. Case should be easy to open with a screwdriver, no glue or plastic clips. Battery doesn't have to be quick swap as long as it's easy to replace by just removing screws.
Anyways, that's my dream phone. What's yours?
eric.clay42 said:
If you could have your perfect dream phone in 2018,...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see why new threads regarding the Dream Smartphone and similar is needed when the following 2 threads already covers this topic...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2475908
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1491271
Just my Member opinion...
or should I state "My Dream Thread Topic" Opinion... LMAO!
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I DO NOT provide support via PM unless asked/requested by myself. PLEASE keep it in the threads where everyone can share.
Thanks for sharing those threads, but the first one looks like more of a list of existing phones people want (which wasn't really what I was going for) and the other is 6 years old.
The point of this thread is to see what people would want in a smartphone if they could effectively design it themselves using modern hardware.
eric.clay42 said:
Thanks for sharing those threads, but the first one looks like more of a list of existing phones people want (which wasn't really what I was going for) and the other is 6 years old.
The point of this thread is to see what people would want in a smartphone if they could effectively design it themselves using modern hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm, there's this current dream phone thread as well, just a few threads below yours,
https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/off-topic/imaginary-dream-phone-t3538365
I'll close this one. :good:

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