Related
UPDATE, here my user unboxing of the UMI ZERO.
MEGA 3D Gaming
UMI ZERO, Inside the phone / Disassembly & How to remove battery
UMI ZERO, Super AMOLED Screen Comparison with the LG G3 & Lenovo S850 (Black values)
UMI ZERO with Android 5 Lollipop
UMI VOIX earphones test
Camera Samples/Tests: (firmware UMI v3.01 - f/1.8)
http://peecee.dk/uploads/112014/IMG_20130101_132417.jpg
http://peecee.dk/uploads/112014/IMG_20130101_132338.jpg
http://peecee.dk/uploads/112014/IMG_20130101_132158.jpg
http://peecee.dk/uploads/112014/IMG_20130101_142548.jpg
http://peecee.dk/uploads/112014/IMG_20130101_142615.jpg
http://peecee.dk/uploads/112014/IMG_20130101_132202.jpg
http://peecee.dk/uploads/112014/IMG_20130101_171746.jpg
More info about the UMI ZERO here at UMI
http://www.umidigi.com
http://www.facebook.com/umicommunity
UMI ZERO: Review
The UMI ZERO is currently one of the most Anticipated smartphones from China. The last two months it has been hyped on the Internet and on a lot of channels, and with the UMI ZERO, UMI wanted to start on a new era and create something new. The UMI ZERO comes with top specifications like Super AMOLED display, Double-sided Gorilla Glass 3, Rapid Charging, 2GB RAM, Camera with aperture f/1.8, the MTK6592 Turbo CPU and is only 6.4MM thin. So in terms of hardware the UMI ZERO is in front, but how will it do in real life?
I have now tested the UMI ZERO for about 1 week to see how the performance is. Note, that the UMI ZERO that I tested is a demo unit with beta software (UMI.V3.01), so the final version could be even better once the firmware is better optimized.
First impressions
When I received the UMI ZERO, the first thing I noticed was the amazing big box and packaging that the phone comes in. It was not just a boring standard box, but a box with a really nice sharply design which fits the ZERO perfectly. In the past I have seen similar on other phones from Xiaomi and OnePlus One.
The first thing I saw when I opened up the box was a big silver Z. At first glance it looked like metal, but it turned out to be some kind of case that you can use to protect the UMI ZERO.
Design & look
The phone itself feels really premium. It is totally made of metal & glass and kind of heavy (in the good way) in the hand, there are no real plastic parts on the phone, and the metal "superbody" together with the double-sided Gorilla Glass III glass makes it feel really high-end and expensive. Some could be a little anxious about the double-sided glass, as it probably would not survive a drop from a higher distance. When the screen is turned off, the phone looks totally black - it has this kind of "Stealth-Look" to it, that makes it look cool and mysterious.
The screen with 1920x1080 pixels on the UMI ZERO is providing a sharp colorful picture, and black is really deeply black and will not use any power. So it is easy to see that it is using an original full hd Samsung Super AMOLED screen. While I tested the phone it was a pleasure to use the screen and both text and graphics were always really good to read/watch.
Unfortunately, the UMI ZERO has no notification LED. And when you receive a SMS, or you have a missed call. You are not able to see that in any way. I would have liked a notification LED in the top of the phone, or maybe a solution where the touch buttons would flash to notify you. Also the touch buttons could be a little brighter in my opinion. UPDATE: You can use the 3 touch buttons light as a notification! with the app called "LG Touch LED Notifications" it just requires ROOT and works great on the ZERO.
ROM & UI (UMIZERO.V3.01)
The UMI ZERO comes with a ROM based on 4.4.2 KitKat, the UI looks very stock (like Vanilla Android) with only small optimizations and changes made by UMI. Inside the settings I also found a Powersaving & Extreme Powersaving mode and the brightness control support "economic brightness" that should save some battery. I did not find any features like Off-screen gestures or double tap to wake, that many other China phones today offers but I believe that the final UMI ZERO ROM will have more features, and that the limited features on mine is because of the beta ROM.
Performance
Inside the UMI ZERO we find the MTK6592T Octa Core chip-set, where T stands for "Turbo". Normal Octa Core phones run with 1.7Ghz, while the Turbo version runs with whole 2.0Ghz. While I used the phone, it was very smooth in the UI and the overall performance was good. Regarding 3D gaming, it also performed really good, and games like Modern Combat 5 ran smooth with the highest graphic settings without any lag. In Antutu 5.1 the UMI ZERO scored 31200 points which is significant better than on other standard Octa Core phones.
The 13 mega-pixel camera (20 mega-pixel interpolated) provides some nice pictures, most pictures I shot with the UMI ZERO were sharp, with good contrast/colors and with minimal noise or blur. The auto-focus is fast and precise. I would definitely say that the camera is above the normal standard that we find on many other china phones.
The GPS is really fast on the UMI ZERO when your outside and have an open sky. It only takes some few seconds to get locked on the satellites. I found that the Voice & WiFi reception is pretty standard, not really better or worse than on other phones.
Sound quality
I was pleasantly surprised by the good sound-quality (from the ear-piece) when I spoke with people using the UMI ZERO. The sound is very loud and clear, and it is easy to hear the part in the other end. Regarding the speaker on the back, it was also good and loud and perfect for gaming, but when the phone was laying top-down on a table, the back-speaker would be a little blocked and the sound would because of that, then be a little lower.
Battery
During my test with the UMI ZERO, I only experienced good battery-life. Inside it has a 2780mAh mah and it can easily last a whole day or more with normal usage. And with the Extreme Powersaving mode enabled I am sure it can last even longer. The Rapid Charger feature is also a very nice thing, and is possible because the charger is on 2,4A. You could say that the rule is, that the charging time up to 80% is about 1 minute for 1%, so 20 minutes would charge the phone about 20%.
Verdict
If you are looking for a stylish phone made of high-end materials and with some good specifications, and the price is no problem. Then the UMI ZERO would be a very good choice. In my opinion, the UMI ZERO delivers good performance & build-quality above the normal standard on the market and really worth the extra money.
-------------------
Specifications:
- 5 inch OGS FHD 1920×1080 pixels (Original Samsung Super-AMOLED)
- Gorilla Glass 3
- MT6592T (8 core MediaTek) 2GHz clock frequency
- GPU Mail 450 mp4
- 2 GB of RAM
- 16 GB of internal memory;
- Battery capacity 2780 mAh with quick charge
- 13-megapixel rear camera with an image sensor: Sony Exmor RS f/1.8
- 8-megapixel front camera
- Dual Sim Dual Standby
- Bands: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 3G
- Android 4.4 KitKat firmware
- Quick charge technology from Texas Instruments
- 137,37 x 66,36 x 6,4 mm
- Powersaving / Extreme Powersaving
- Comes Pre-ROOTED
- Antutu Benchmark score: 30.000
- Air Gestures: Yes, but you need to get close to the sensor
- Google Cardboard works: Yes
- Gyroscope built-in: Yes
- Photosphere works correct: Yes
- GPS: Works fast and good
- Network & WiFi: Works good on my device (3-4 pins in reception)
- See sensors supported here: http://peecee.dk/uploads/122014/Screenshot_2014-12-02-09-36-40_big_thumb.png
UMI ZERO Battery Disassembled (Normally you can NOT open the ZERO or remove the battery!)
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Check MORE pictures here https://plus.google.com/photos/100...ms/6084948747684522081?authkey=CJqPjtbqsMCLJA
i heard it use the same screen with Samsung Galaxy S5, is it really?
watalee said:
i heard it use the same screen with Samsung Galaxy S5, is it really?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes ZERO adopts Samsung's Super-AMOLED. The display is a AMOLED display with an integrated touch function. It has a touch-sensor (on-cell) over the display. Compared with a conventional screen, it is 1.2mm thinner. Self-luminous also means 10% lower consumption. High static contrast ratio and high transparency also makes the color brighter and crisper - with an 178°wide visible angle.
Very good mobile phone, hope the price is not too expensive.
After a long time of waiting. UMI has now released the official specifications for UMI ZERO (source UMI).
What we can see from this, is that the UMI ZERO will be a true high-end smartphone with a lot of power, a big battery and a really good screen.
To your information, I just saw this on UMIs page.
UMI is also now giving away a free UMI Zero to 1 fan.
UMI Give Away Time (only from 20/10-5/11). Win a free UMI Zero read more here http://www.facebook.com/umicommunit...6381240861590/372876502878730/?type=1&theater on the UMI facebook page. And they also have a special 50% off offer here http://www.umidigi.com/About/SpecialOfferActivitives/
Just waiting patiently... But could have been 3Gig ram and 4G lte.
Sent from my UMI C1 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Jeffylaw said:
Just waiting patiently... But could have been 3Gig ram and 4G lte.
Sent from my UMI C1 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but I think then the price would have been too high also. Under normal circumstances 2GB should be enough. 4G would have been nice, but not all places you can even use 4G LTE yet.
Ye you are right... Hope also the camera will live up to the hype too cos my umi c1 camera is a crap...
Sent from my UMI C1 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Post #1 is now also updated with my unboxing video. So far the device is stunning, camera seems also to be very nice, sharp pictures. But need to test it some days before I can say more about it.
Saw a video that otg not supported? If true then a very big No for me...
Sent from my UMI C1 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Waiting for your full review of the phone and it's retail price is quite high though.
Jeffylaw said:
Waiting for your full review of the phone and it's retail price is quite high though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the price is high, but it is because the phone is made all in metal and glass. There are almost no plastic parts on this phone. So the materials are of high quality. So far I am impressed with the camera, it is clearly much better than on many other Chinese phones I have tried. Also the screen is a joy to look at with the Super AMOLED FHD. Unfortunately, The phone doesn't support OTG, according to UMI it is because of the fast charging technology that the phone uses via the micro USB port, they could not combine it with OTG.
Who needs a quick recharge on just 27380mah battery? I was considering this but without otg I'll look at a better and complete phone else where!
Great unboxing video!
Would it be possible for you to post some sample pictures taken with the camera?
Also - does it have a separate LED for notifications, or it uses the bottom buttons? If it's the buttons, then I assume it doesn't allow any customization in color or pulsing?
Thank you!
JankyLV said:
Great unboxing video!
Would it be possible for you to post some sample pictures taken with the camera?
Also - does it have a separate LED for notifications, or it uses the bottom buttons? If it's the buttons, then I assume it doesn't allow any customization in color or pulsing?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I have added some camera samples now to post #1. Unfortunately there is no LED for notications or in the buttons. But they may make something for the buttons if it is possible, UMI are still working on the software, it is not final yet.
The pictures look good. Although the ones with the helicopter - are the colors correct? Aren't they actually more saturated?
The buttons don't even light up when you have a missed call or a message?
JankyLV said:
The pictures look good. Although the ones with the helicopter - are the colors correct? Aren't they actually more saturated?
The buttons don't even light up when you have a missed call or a message?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My lamps in the ceiling, are spots with cold temperature light, I think that's why the helicopter looks like that. With warm light or normal daylight it would have been more colourful. As told, my phone is currently using a beta software - and it has no kind of notifications after a call or sms, so I think they will release a much better software/ROM in the final version with this, let's hope so.
The quick-charge function is really as good as advertised?
I'm looking for a new phone, and my main concerns are the camera and good GPS.
GPS on mediatek devices are usually.. Well.. Not that good How about this one?
Re
OP, have you tried rooting the umi zero and whats the application memory size?
Hey!
I'd liked to share a bit about mine. So what you'll see in this picture is a phone that I called "Omni ZenLynx" (I know, it's a bad name lol, but please bear with me), it has a somewhat "huge" specs inside. I can't photoshop so I draw it inside my 'drawbook' (that drawbook is actually a notebook ).
Specs:
- 25.4 Megapixels Camera
- 5.5" Display with 4K Resolution
- Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision Capabilities
- Sapphire Crystal body (front, rear, right, and left sides) and Magnesium Alloy (top and bottom side of the frame), 7 mm thick
- 4050 mah Battery
- 6GB/8GB RAM, 512GB Internal Storage
- Quad Core 3.2 GHz Processor
- AutoAdapt™ Pro technology, my own technology that makes camera, display, and audio of the phone automatically adapt to produce the best possible audio/imaging/viewing experiences without having to set anything by yourselves.
I think that's it for now, I hope it will come true and be even better. Excuse me for my bad english and maybe, my delusion :laugh:
Oh yeah, there are two pictures, one of them is what I've just made recently, and the other is my last year's creation that is my earlier sketch of this phone (the old design is too crowded and doesn't have many innovations to me). Then, I'm open to any constructive feedback and please don't judge me or my creation too harshly
What is your imaginary phone? Share it here!
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It must be stylish.
Screen 5.5 inch
8GB RAM
256GB Storage
Camera must have DSLR quality
Battery 6000 mAh
Android 7+ (Android only!!!!!)
Screen 4.5-5 inch
1920x1080
4GB RAM
64GB Storage
proc 821+
Qi
Battery 3000+
the ways things are goin
my dream phone is one that dont hardware bootloop battery doesnt explode and has a unlocked bootloader
- 5.5-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
- 13-megapixel iSight® camera with Optical Image Stabilization
- A8 chip with 64-bit architecture.
- 1080p HD video recording
- Battery 4000
Magento Website Development
hire magento developer
Magento installation
My dream phone is the one which is may be solar powered and is not battery / charge dependant. Scratch Proof. Unbreakable screen. Space available in TBs instead of GBs. High Resolution. High RAM. And last but not least, an ability for the phone to be able to read my eyes and scroll up and down or click a certain button based on my eye lens focus when I am busy with my toddler.
The April Fool's joke of XDA. I love it and I hope it will be soon crowdfunded.
Sent from either my Galaxy S7Edge or my Galaxy Core
A new Sony Ultra Z with updated hardware.
AlvinZahran98 said:
Hey!
I'd liked to share a bit about mine. So what you'll see in this picture is a phone that I called "Omni ZenLynx" (I know, it's a bad name lol, but please bear with me), it has a somewhat "huge" specs inside. I can't photoshop so I draw it inside my 'drawbook' (that drawbook is actually a notebook ).
Specs:
- 25.4 Megapixels Camera
- 5.5" Display with 4K Resolution
- Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision Capabilities
- Sapphire Crystal body (front, rear, right, and left sides) and Magnesium Alloy (top and bottom side of the frame), 7 mm thick
- 4050 mah Battery
- 6GB/8GB RAM, 512GB Internal Storage
- Quad Core 3.2 GHz Processor
- AutoAdapt™ Pro technology, my own technology that makes camera, display, and audio of the phone automatically adapt to produce the best possible audio/imaging/viewing experiences without having to set anything by yourselves.
I think that's it for now, I hope it will come true and be even better. Excuse me for my bad english and maybe, my delusion :laugh:
Oh yeah, there are two pictures, one of them is what I've just made recently, and the other is my last year's creation that is my earlier sketch of this phone (the old design is too crowded and doesn't have many innovations to me). Then, I'm open to any constructive feedback and please don't judge me or my creation too harshly
What is your imaginary phone? Share it here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ill second it patent it. Ill order one
Very slim and transparent with holo functions.
A Smartphone with a hologram function, Thought control and with a good Battery Life time.
Xperia Play 2 with SD 835 or better.
Please let my dream become reality.
An Android phone with 2 partitions.
One is the main partition. Can be modified (e.g. Custom ROM, Kernel, Recovery, etc.)
Other is safe partition. Cannot be modified and can only be accessed when something is wrong with the main partition. Just in case the main partition gets corrupted when flashing, it will boot up to the safe partition to restore the main partition files. Preventing hard bricks.
Right Now "Google Pixel"
any phone with a 10 day battery life
TheMadScientist420 said:
Ill second it patent it. Ill order one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to but don't know how to patent it lol. I'll be happy if you order one when it becomes available
Parsram said:
Awesome design. Patent your design
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your kind words! I will but I don't know how do I patent them lol.
--------
Well I have some new designs and features to talk about, I took an inspiration from S8's launch and I'll share it tomorrow
Probably something like Google Glass with some improvements
Omni™ ZenCaelum™
-149.3 x 68.8 x 7 mm body, 90.44% screen-to-body ratio, 141 grams light, Sapphire Crystal front and rear, Magnesium Alloy frame (top and bottom), Stainless Steel frame (right and left).
- 23MP Camera, UltraGraph™ EYE Camera Module, 1/1.9" Sensor size, 2.4 μm pixel size, Xenon flash, OIS, AutoAdapt™ Pro.
- 6" Display, 4500 x 2250 Resolution in 16:8 Aspect Ratio, HDR-enabled (class 12), 829 ppi, UltraView™ VISION Display Module, OLED Panel, Advanced Depth Sensing, Dolby® Vision, 4K ReelFeel™ Pro (Advanced HDR Upscaler).
- 6GB RAM, 128GB UFS Internal Storage, up to 2TB External Storage.
- Dolby® Atmos, Adaptive Audio, 4K FLAC HiRes Audio, Dual Invisible Stereo Speakers (Similar technology to Sony BRAVIA OLED TV), UltraHear™ ECHO Audio Module, DSEE HX, Deep Audio Sensing Technology (DAST).
- Lithium Ion, 4300 mAh Battery, Flexible and thin Battery Design, so it could have a larger capacity battery without increasing the size of the battery and phone themselves, Advanced Thermal Control.
Omni™ ZenHilex™
This is actually inspired by MI MIX, but its bezels are much smaller and has a transparent display
it only has 0.5 mm bezel around the display (except for the bottom bezel which is around 13 mm). Speaking about bottom bezel, that bottom bezel is actually what I called "Core unit" because it is a modular (interchangeable) module that has a huge battery (4500 mAh) and again, it is flexible, then there's also a processor, graphic unit, a primary speaker, and basically every other components in the core unit.
(I know it is impossible to create lol)
You could twist the core unit (I mean it works like Nokia 5700 XpressMusic where you could twist the bottom side), it actually has a single camera a bottom left corner but I forgot to add it, so if you want to take a picture as rear camera, you could twist the core unit.
That's all, again, I'm open to critiques, so feel free.
I would like to have a phone which has every cool features and which can work with any Android system and should be future proof
When I see OP, I thought, wow my old design looks bad, so I made a new one
This is called Omni ZenVega, it has 5.8" display in 142 x 72 x 8 mm body (I've calculated everything and this is already perfect). So it has a mind-blowing 90.65% screen-to-body ratio.
It has a 13 MP rear camera with 1/1.7" sensor size and 2 µm pixel size, it has dual 12 MP Motion Sensing Cameras too, beside its primary camera, but it has a smaller sensor and pixel size.
It also has a new sophisticated technology/feature called Edge Motion Surface, this new sensor-based surface is placed at the edge (frame) of the phone, it is a motion, pressure, and gesture-based device controls to control volume, power on/off, music, camera, and more, this technology lets this phone to be the world's first buttonless phone, yes.. A smartphone with NO BUTTON. This phone has a Natural Body Language Recognition System so you don't have to worry about accidental touches on the frame.
The phone's front and back are made of Sapphire Crystal, top and bottom sides of the frame are made of Reinforced Ceramic, and left and right sides of the frame are made of Stainless Steel that is mixed with another alloy.
Feel free to download the attached full phone specifications below, there are a lot of things and terms that you might not understand but yeah it's my world
Notes:
- Zerstonhornde Electricalism is the company name (I know, this is a bad name, but I'll figure out a simpler and better name, since that name has been into my mind since I was a little kid).
- Omni is the company's product series name (like Galaxy on Samsung, Xperia on Sony, and more).
- You might notice that there is a currency called UR$ and 'country' names listed there, just ignore them because those are also my imaginary countries, please don't judge me too harshly.
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Honor has recently been putting out some great new phones. Their budget lineup currently consists of the Honor 7X and the Honor 9 Lite. The Honor 7X is one of our favorite budget phones right now, and has even become the best selling phone in the Amazon unlocked phones category. The Honor 9 Lite has just recently launched in India and is quickly gaining traction due to its super low price.
If you own either of these phones, this is your chance to win a Google Home Mini. Leave a short review in the comments of this article, detailing what your thoughts are on your phone so far. Talk about the camera, performance, battery life, display quality, or anything that you feel is noteworthy.
Honor listens closely to the XDA community and takes your opinions seriously, so now is your chance to tell them what you think. We will pick one lucky reviewer to win a Google Home Mini!
A beauty behold !
It's been eight days I BOUGHT it
USED it for alot of time until now.
COLOR is Midnight Black (personally wanted this, although other colors were tempting too)
Things that necessarily require mentions:
Network Bands (4g,3g,2g)
The network strength is perfectly fine, the signal doesn't fool. It correctly takes the receptivity to the exact extent needed, you wont loose any even in remote areas. If an iphone user has a network strength like one bit in his notification bar, you too are having surely. So, here network isn't a problem with this phone.
The Weight
In today world, we could be of carrying any weights, but when it comes to the phones, the weight really matters. If it's above 180g, boy, take it in written, so much pain in hand, soo much when talking calls, soo much in holding it straight infront. Soo much in pocket too. This phone instead is only 149g, which is excellently lightweight. The utmost benefit would be for people who waited for a phone which had good specs and stands equal to others of its range aswell. For the lightweight phones preferring people, finally the wait is over
Body Built
A strong phone doesnt mean an awesome phone. A weak phone doesnt mean poor quality. Firstly, one should know there is no such thing like strong or weak in phones of major brands. It is purely specs that decide to the needs of people and make phones accordingly. This phone has Severely flaunting looks. Totally an eye catcher. The glass back is soo beautiful & makes you want to look at it rather than looking at the screen most of the time
Display Screen
The 18:9 ratio is more than you can ask for in this phone. I mean, you are getting a 428ppi screen, what more do you want expect that huge clarity and detail in this price range and phone screen This looks more crisp than the any other budget phones, i guarantee you baby, its 428ppi, you donno how good the screen gets when its 428. Most of the phones were 403ppi and looked already good enough. This is much better now.
Platform
You are not in line, like before a person or after a person. You are right next to each other, like holding hands. Which means, you are in such a thing called " Happiness comes in all sizes and quantities :victory:." Because, its HiSilicon Kirin 659 in all the phones of the honor budget class range. Which would benefit you highly in performing without causing any complexities. Games are good to play, if one knows how to tweak better, then it's kickass
Memory
4GB and 64GB, is more than enough and perfect. You wont require more for this processor and budget.
Camera
This is the core purpose of this phone. Damn, the photos are soo good, sooooo good that you will for the first time find yourself have a true "Wow" reaction on your face when you snap them. Selfies are great aswell. People mentioned alot in the comments session in major sellers websites that the nighttime shots are horrible in the rear camera. You should know one thing, you aren't carrying a DSLR or HandyCAM, its your phone. its primary utility was to communicate. You are wrong to expect it to do well in a lowlight location. Not even a DSLR with a flash can be capable of better picture quality. Even professionals use heavy lights for the good feel in a photo when movies are made. So, a phone you are expecting to do this night capable photography job is totally a myth. Think once, there is no point of expecting some heavy landscape photography over night. Even James Cameron would shoot his film in the day with soo expensive cameras. If still you arent happy then when it's night time you want to snap something, its not phone you require, that's surveillance camera you need to carry with yourself having night vision lens :laugh:
Sound
That's loud. You will be totally fine with it. Just as loud as it can fit in there. Music has clarity and crispness, bass isn't an element for music through speakers, earphones does the job well if someone needed bass.
Software
The Android 8.0 is soo well designed, it would understand your interests. Even would show you few that you wouldn't have imagined to find them in phone. There are all the modifications possibly existing in every popular custom ROM readily available in this honor phone stock ROM itself. The settings hold various toggles to change according to your liking. Below they are listed...
Huawei ID It takes care of backing up all the contacts, messages, calender and necessary stuff to the cloud provided by Huawei.
Wireless & Networks Lte, VoLTE configurations can be modified, data usage with specific networked apps is added advantage.
Apps & Notifications Apps to uninstall or disable, enable is available. Default apps, App twin & notification mods such as network meter, etc are here too.
Battery setting In this option, there is a power saving mode that can give you more than 4days standby if stuck to only few basic utilities with the phone.
Display setting Eye Comfort which can exchange color of screen to cool, warm feel. Screen resolution modification which is only in honor that enables to reduce screen density which can result in great power save.
Storage setting You get around 52GB free out of 64GB internal space. The RAM Management is nice too. There is always somehow 2.4GB RAM remaning in 4GB available though around 13apps are in the multitasking window. The software of honor does the RAM allocation very well for tasks processing.
Security & Privacy Fingerprints soo fast (0.25sec), file safe to hide files, App lock, Screen Pinning.
Smart Assistance setting Double tap to wake screen or lock screen.
System setting inside here, there are data transfer, backup & restore, reset, update, etc.
Themes These look soo beautiful and give a punchy look to the phone.
The Magazine Lockscreen This is the best part of the phone when you unlock, the pictures are soo beautiful that just by looking at them, your mind strikes at wow which really is relaxing and refreshing all the time you want them.
Navigation Buttons the onscreen buttons can be exchanged places from right to left which is way convenient for southpaw's.
Battery & Power Consumption
The moderate usage of phone can last a whole day, from 100% in the morning, you can use the phone till next day until same time u charged if you are only on 4g data usage and checking messages, attending calls, by then your battery will be around 10%. In the night, the percentage of drop in non usage is only 2% which is super less. The charging time is alot, but there's something honor's very concerned about, it takes alot of time to charge because, the module of charge input itself is designed by honor in such a way it takes charge slowly (Not to mistake as snail slow) to not spoil the battery life. Hence, this doesn't heat up phone very much. It keeps cool and does its job CooL without messing around. It takes 2hrs15min for full charge. This is same with many mobiles, almost 2hr15min is common with most mobiles.
Wifi, bluetooth, GPS, OTG are all working flawlessly too.
Frankly speaking, cost is soo low, quality we get is really good, more than pleasing for the price we pay for.
Mentions that need to be considered:
I know the camera in our phone is enough capable to get the exact software enhancements i find in HonorV10 Camera app. I clearly see honor is trying to limit these enhancements for the sake people would fall dull that they invested double the price and got exactly the same software loaded in half priced model (which is ours). Sure, many people might question this out. But, Please, middle class people require somebody to bother them. It's us who suffer the loss or gain equally and still keep calm without having no other choices rather than to convince ourselves we cant get more, nobody cares. The rich complain, they sue, you bother them. We request, we ask things soo much, we are many & loud but unheard (-_-) , you have established soo well in our country market this time, the what we have lost (beauty, power, feel ) in xiaomi phones, we found in yours. Your phones made us feel alive. I felt soo good looking at my Honor 9 Lite, it was worth all the effort you put on. I didnt even buy a Xiaomi phone for myself until date, i felt like us were being played by that company. It didnt feel good. They sold cheap stuff with good software tweaks. It was Hugo Barra who designed software, only because of this Xiaomi phones were a hit. You lagged at it alot in the past until Honor 6X. I never bought any Xiaomi device, i loved the Honor 4x, but found there were no updates. But this time you came superawesome into the market, your software is wayyy better than Xiaomi in looks and feel, all that it finally require is bug fixes, proper tweaks to utilize the whole capacity of the hardware, you do everything from scratch and created us this antique designed masterpiece phones. You should be proud. All you require is massive tweaking in the software, thats all. The processor's are superb, the screen buttersmooth, sound clear crisp and loud. Its the tweaking that's missing. I really wish honor this time you keep alot of effort in giving us customers in the country who bought your phones a huge happy smile. Ask how?? Here's how, we like gifts, gift us like 2 or 3days before festivals an OTA update that solves all the bug issues in our honor phones and then look at the news, scroll down, check the comments session. You would be very well liked. We'd then even feel honored to have had you bothering us and all together. Straight outta heart, we would be TRULY overjoyed that you did care for us this time on.
Dear Honor,
The world is a happy place for as long you, atleast hereafter consider to help us better .
It's the best you can get for the price with some small compromises
Let's start with not so good stuff before we get on to the great stuff!
I've got the 3GB variant and Midnight Black Color, I'm using it now for about 23 days.
Memory Management - Well the RAM/Memory management on this device is very aggressive, Here's how I was watching some dope stuff on YouTube and few Minutes in and I got a call and was talking for about 15 - 20 Mins and after the call ended, I was hoping the youtube app will be in the same state I left it! But, no The app was closed completely and I had to relaunch the app again, and also if you are running music in the background you get this stupid notification saying the app is running in the background and drains battery which can annoy anyone!
Hopefully, they will fix these in future software updates.
And (Not sure whether it's the Memory management or the app's problem), I'm running NOVA Launcher as default After 2 or 3 days, it automatically switched back to the default Launcher, well this only happened twice and after that, I didn't face this problem anymore, I thought it was worth mentioning.
Camera - Well the only thing that I felt weird was with the rear camera when I switched to Portrait mode or Wide Aperture mode It Changed the Resolution to 8MP, but the same with the front camera it was 13MP and there is no option to switch to 13MP, and maybe that's why most of the Tech YouTubers say the front cam of this device is good then the rear.
And also I wish it had EIS hopefully, in future software update we will get it!
It would really help the video quality!
Well, that's the things that annoyed me the most, now let's get to the good stuff!
Design and Build Quality - Well, you might have heard a lot about this, but the device screams Premium, They have nailed the design with this device, it's absolutely gorgeous and It's really light to hold tho, some people may like it, and people like me may want a heavy device (Personal preference).
OS and UI - Well it's really smooth didn't have any lag issues or any of such kind, it's snappy and didn't face any heating issues or so, the only thing is RAM management which I mentioned it earlier and apart from that, it's really good.
Battery and charging speed - I could easily get through a day, I have no complaints about the battery it's really good and I'm happy with it. From 20% to 100% the charging time it took was somewhere around 1hr 15 mins to 1hr 40mins, which is reasonable for a 3000mAh battery, it doesn't support fast charging but I don't think that's an issue as I can get a day's worth of battery and I have no complaints about it, But I did wish it had a Type - C port, it's fine not a big issues but it could've had a Type - C
Speaker and Headphone output - The speaker is loud and clear, there is no Distortion at full volume, there is a bit bass which you can feel and its' good but a finger can cover it and the whole sound can be lost, that's the only issue and that's the issue with all mono down facing speaker.
And for the headphone output, I don't own a premium headset, I have a cheap one and it worked fine with it, it was loud and clear.
Call and Network - Call quality was really good, No issues Tried with Jio, Vodafone and BSNL didn't face any issues, the receiver was able to hear me clear and loud and the data was also at a good speed and with 4G it didn't affect the battery much as I thought it would, Wifi Bridge is one of the really cool features and it works really good.
and Finally
Camera - Well I've already told the problem I faced apart from that I don't have any issues,
It focuses really fast and also takes photos really fast, it's super snappy! I really loved the quality of images that I got in this price segment.
The Pro Photo and Pro Video mode are really good if you know to use them well, There are several other modes The food mode is also good and Timelapse is awesome.
Well, the front cam in portrait mode does fail sometimes to recognize people's face if there are more than 2 persons in the shot, it just happens sometimes and not every time. And I wish it had a Slo-Mo Mode tho.
The images are of really good quality tho, good enough to post on Social Networking sites.
Conclusion - I think it worth the money I paid, It does have some minor issues which can be fixed via Software Update apart from that it's a really good device and I'm Lovin it.
PS - I had actually added images and since I'm a new member XDA doesn't allow new users to post links.
Not very impressed with the Honor 9 Lite.
I did online research and read lots of review on the Honor 9 Lite.
What convinced me was a comparison some reviewer did with his current daily driver, a 1+3t, and was, as he put it, 'pleasantly surprised'. Since my current daily driver is also a 1+3t I relented and bought one, the 3+32GB version.
After using the Honor 9 Lite I don't think it comes anywhere close to a 1+3t. Now I appreciate and understand that it is cheaper than my 1+3t (even at its current value) but I'm not very impressed, especially with the way EMUI 8 completely rapes Android stock ! I knew this going in but never realised to what extent EMUI restrict customisation.
Let me give examples.
1. First thing I always do with every phone i buy is disabled all apps I don't need/use. Some of the apps on the Honor 9 Lite are cooked in and without root cannot be disables, frozen or removed; e.g. Files, Huawei Mobile Service, Themes.
2. Next thing is to replace any homelauncher with my favourite 'Nova'. Well as soon as you do this on the 9Lite you get a pop-up message stating something like 'changing home launcher uses more battery'...What ? Anyway you can force it through and then just change the default home launcher to Nova. Then some of the EMUI widgets, like weather, don't work anymore. That's ok, I expected that, what I did not expect is for it to show up as available but when you try to add it to your homescreen you get a FC and Huawei launcher is back, in effect removing your default launcher you just set.
3. Huawei badges also obviously don't work under Nova; again as expected.
4. Next I fired up Chronus widget so i can get a replacement for the now non-working Huawei weather service (which at least you can disable). Chronus now does not update the alarm. So you set an alarm in clock but Chronus does not pick up the changee unless you go into chronus change something and save it. This was even after i loaded up Google clock and set alarm through that.
All the above works flawlessly in my Oreo based 1+3t.
5. Lag..yes it is a lot worse than my 1+3t, now like i said because of the price difference i did not expect the Kirin659 to be on par with the Snapdragon 821 but the lag difference was much more noticable on the Honor9 lite than i expected.
6. Since Nova was basically non functional I had to return to Huawei's own launcher.
7. No way of hiding status bar. By the way I also tried play store apps, like GMD Full Screen, but it did not work properly.
8. Battery life is one day on normal use.
9. Cameras are acceptable but no better than my single camera 1+3t.
Conclusion:
Not impresssed, it looks great, weight is spot on for me, size is also great so is the screen brightness, but everything else is nothing special and that EMUI8 man, it just restricts you from most customisation which is the reason we all love android. If i wanted restrictions i would have gone for an iphone.
Why should i have to unlock BL and root to be able to do simple things like use full immersive mode. I'd like to keep android pay functioning so don't want to unlock,root and battle with magidisk to hide root. I just want control back of my phone.
Anyway, thought i would put this together outlining my experience with the Honor 9Lite, hopefully yours will be better and find acceptable.
Well, I bought this device as my ex-device was quite old enough(I was using grand 2 as my daily driver).Next,when I was searching for new devices,I was looking for a device which is better in all aspects(camera,looks,sound,performance,signal quality) and also in a moderate price.Then I stumbled across Honor 9 Lite.It was the old phone in my budget range which was able to cater to my demands.It looks gorgeous as ever.The glass body,its colour (I got the Sapphire blue one) and its modern looks with minimal borders made me order the phone without even checking for other details(I already knew it supports 4G and fingerprint sensor) .When I got the phone,I found that it is not too heavy but is indeed slippery due to glossy back,so I applied the cover to increase friction and to prevent falling .
These are the following pros and cons of the phone I found:-
PROS
1.Camera->Both the front and back cameras are awesome and can even capture good amount of detail even in low light condition.Maybe the 4 cameras(2 in pairs does the trick)
2.Android OS->Being latest is the best.This device packs with Android Oreo which many 2017 flagships like S8(they got it but Samsung removed the OTA update) haven't recieved properly
3.Processor->I haven't heard about this processor's name earlier but was shocked by its insane frequency(greater than 2 Ghz) so I decided to do an Antutu benchmark and found that this processor's performance is comparable with Snapdragon 625.
4.Display->Display is awesome.Nothing to say about it
5.Battery->Battery life is a bit-tad low (It lasts 9 hrs for me),so I need to charge atleast once a day.No fast charging support and no USB C was a dissappointment
6.Storage and Ram management-Plenty of Ram(3 GBs) and storage(around 22 GBs),so no complaints there
The long awaited Honor Magic 2 has been released last night in Beijing. Let's have a quick recap of what this new phone has to offer.
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Exterior Design
The Magic 2 has a seamless design – its 6.39-inch AMOLED "Magic screen" takes up the entire front of the phone. With a 90,000:1 contrast ratio, colors pop vividly – blacks are darker, and whites are brighter.
The in-screen fingerprint sensor has been upgraded in size, making it so you can unlock your phone faster and more easily.
With 3D curves, even the edges have been engineered for your holding and handling comfort.
The back of the Magic 2 is equally impressive, using a similar optical vacuum coating process previously deployed on Huawei's P20 series, to produce the trademark iridescent effect. Slowly turning the phone in your hand will reveal a breathtaking display of colors.
Possibly the most anticipated feature of the Magic 2 is the dual-rail sliding screen design, finalized after millions of trials and tweaks for perfection and durability. Sliding the front camera out and in might bring back some nostalgia, but the innovative dust-resistant structure is specially designed to keep things safe and clean.
Released in three gradient color schemes: black, blue, and red.
Themes of cosmos, starry skies and galaxies have been chosen to expand your creativity beyond our world.
Artificial Intelligence
In December of 2016, the Honor Magic kick-started the research and development of AI on smart phones.
This year, the next-gen Magic 2 is unveiled with greater intelligence on its chip, OS, and apps.
The Magic 2 is powered by the world's current best smartphone chipset – the Kirin 980, first debuted with the Mate 20 series. Adding another NPU since the previous generation Kirin 970, the 980 offers 2.2 times the computing power.
The 7nm 980 is the first to use Arm's Cortex-A76 CPU, yielding a performance improvement of 75% and power efficiency enhancement of 58%. Paired with the Mail-G76 GPU, the latest Kirin chip brings another 46% improvement in performance and 178% in battery efficiency. It supports the super-fast LPDDR4X DRAM technology, offering a 20% higher bandwidth and 22% lower latency.
Introducing Magic UI 2.0: Magic 2's AI-enhanced OS
Magic UI 2.0 delivers comprehensive AI capabilities, including natural language understanding (NLU), computer vision, deep learning, as well as improved resolution, decision-making and recommendation services.
At the base of all the magical intelligence is the Magic 2's digital assistant YOYO, scoring 4,556 in AI, the smartest of its kind.
YOYO has the ability to grow with you. From the moment you turn your phone on, YOYO starts to learn and become familiar with you – your fingerprints, your voice, your face, and your phone usage habits – making your mobile experience unique to you.
Although facial recognition is a rather common feature in many phones today, the Magic 2's proprietary 3D bionic photosensitive technology can capture facial details more accurately and boasts much higher security. It even works in low light environments where traditional algorithms usually fail.
Bone voice recognition: YOYO responds to your voice and your voice only.
All-around assistance: YOYO offers great help whether you're driving, traveling, shopping, or in need of translation and interpreting services.
DeepThink option, an improvement on the 2016 Magic model, can be activated by sliding down the screen.
Just by pointing the camera at your meal, YOYO can instantly figure out the calorie count. It can also detect your skin's health status and offer advice accordingly.
YOYO can even let you control your drone with voice commands.
By linking your YOYO to your Honor account or using the self-developed Phone Clone app, it will be by your side through all the future generations of Magics.
AI Prowess
The Honor Magic 2 features AI-assisted dual-frequency GPS navigation. It’s equipped with the dual-frequency (L1+L5) Broadcom BCM4775X sensor hub, which offers location at an accuracy of 30 meters. The Magic 2 takes the precision even further, down to 15 meters, by incorporating a self-developed Hi1103 AI chip. If that doesn't sound impressive, keep in mind that current single-frequency smartphone solutions can only provide an accuracy of about 300 meters.
As shown in the track tests above, the Magic 2 can record the exact path of the runner’s route while the path the iPhone XS recorded deviated greatly from the actual one.
The HiGeo navigation engine that comes with the Magic 2 ensures normal service provision in complex and weak/no signal environments.
The Magic 2's innovative, fast, and safe 40W (10V/4A) charging brings the battery from zero to 50% in a mere 15 minutes. An additional 15-min charge takes the power up to 85%.
If you are interested in screen projection but can never be bothered to find and carry the right cable, the Magic 2 should be able to fit your needs with its wireless projection technology. With literally just a few touches, you can view and control your phone screen on a computer or TV screen.
The Magic 2 offers lightning fast download speeds of up to 1.7 Gbps when connected to a Wi-Fi network, with a 100% higher bandwidth. This means downloading a TV series of 10GB only takes 78 SECONDS.
Worried about your phone overheating while binge-watching? Graphene is used as the core material to keep the Magic 2 cool, which is 1.4 times more efficient than graphite and 2-3 times more than copper.
AI Camera
The Magic 2's sliding screen design means the build quality of its front camera won't be compromised at all by the truly bezel-less display design, nor the other way round.
The Magic 2 offers similar self-portrait functions as Huawei and Honor's flagship series: AI-assisted scene and object recognition, shooting mode selection, wide aperture (background bokeh), 3D contouring and beautification, and 3D portrait lighting effects.
The rear tri-lens camera adopts a vertical layout like the Huawei P20 series. While the P20 Pro boasts its whopping 40MP 1/1.7" lens, the Magic 2 prides itself on its 16MP ultra wide-angle sensor (17mm focal length). Together with a 24MP monochrome and 16MP color lenses, the Magic 2 offers utterly fantastic phonetography experiences.
Kirin 980's dual NPUs allows the Magic 2 to recognize over 60 kinds of scenes and objects, providing expert advice on more than 1,500 settings.
If you've noticed that reds are frequently messed up in portrait photography, cheer for the Magic 2 as this won't be an issue for its triple-camera.
Another thrilling camera feature the Magic 2 has taken from the P20 is AI-supported Image Stabilization (AIS) technology, which enables handheld night shooting with up to 6 seconds of exposure.
Here's another cool camera feature: When you take a long video with the Magic 2, it can intelligently sort through and produce a 10s clip spotlighting each subject.
Conclusion
All in all, the Honor Magic 2 is another important mark in the evolution of smartphone artificial intelligence. It's also packed with the brand's ground-breaking proprietary innovations. While the first Magic model released in 2016 was more of a "concept" phone, Honor has turned mature device-end AI into reality with the Magic 2. As benchmarking and testing start on the Magic 2, you'll soon be able to see for yourselves whether this lesser-known but equally extraordinary series has truly disrupted the competition.
I will try to be simple for this review and give my opinion with no filter.
Build, Specs, Build Quality/Design
Unboxing
Specifications
Golden Ratio
Video tour
Screen
Performance
ColorOS and Connectivity
Camera
Battery
My thoughts
1. Build Quality and Design
Let’s start with a quick video unboxing of the OPPO Reno 8 Pro 5G:
As you can see, you will have in the box:
-Phone x 1
-Charger SuperVOOC 80W x 1
-USB data cable x 1
-SIM Ejector Tool x 1
-Safety Guide x 1
-Quick Guide x 1
-Protective Case x 1
All you need to get your smartphone ready to go.
Now, let’s go with the not-funny part, the specifications:
OPPO Reno8 Pro 5GUltra-Clear Imaging Processor: MariSilicon X NPU
4K Ultra Night Video
80W SUPERVOOCTM
Streamlined Unibody Design
MediaTek Dimensity 8100-MAXSize and WeightHeight about 16.12cm
Width about 7.42cm
Thickness about 0.734cm
Weight about 183gStorageRAM and ROM Capacities
8/GB12GB + 256GB
LPDDR5
UFS3.1
USB OTGDisplaySize 6.7 inches
Screen Ratio 93.4%
Resolution FHD (2412 × 1080)
Refresh Rate Max to 120Hz
Touch Sampling Rate 125Hz by default and 360Hz for gaming mode.
Some games support up to 720Hz with frame interpolation technology.
Colour Gamut Vivid mode: 100% DCI P3
Gentle mode: 100% sRGB
Colour Depth 1.07 billion colors (8 + 2 bit)
Pixel Density 394PPI
Brightness Normal: 500nits HBM: 800nits Peak value: 950nits
Panel Flexible AMOLED display
Cover Glasses Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5CameraRear
Main camera: Sony IMX766, 50MP, 1/1.56"; f/1.8; FOV: 86°; 7P lens; AF supported; closed-loop focus motor
Ultra-wide angle camera: f/2.2; FOV: 112°; 5P lens
Macro camera: f/2.4, FOV: 89°; 3P lens; FF
Front Sony IMX709 32MP, 1/2.74"; f/2.4, FOV 90°, 5P lens, AF, open-loop focus motor
Shooting Mode
Rear: Photo, Video, Night, Pro, Panoramic, Portrait, Time-lapse, Slow-motion, Text scanner, Extra HD, Macro, Movie, Dual-view video, Sticker, and Soloop Templates.
Front: Photo, Video, Panoramic, Portrait, Night, Time-lapse, Sticker, and Dual-view videoVideoRear
[email protected], [email protected]/30fps, [email protected]/30fps
Video stabilization: EIS, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Video zoom: [email protected], [email protected]/30fps, [email protected]/30fps
Slow motion video: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Movie mode: [email protected]
Time-lapse video: [email protected]
Dual-view video: [email protected]
Front
1080P/[email protected] (Default: [email protected]; retouching turned on)
Video zoom: Supported
Slow motion: Not supportedChipsNPU MariSilicon X
CPU MediaTek Dimensity 8100-MAX
CPU Speed Cores 8 cores with a maximum clock rate of 2.85GHz (4 big cores + 4 little cores)
GPU Arm Mali-G610 MC6BatteryBattery
2 × 2185mAh/16.99Wh (Rated value)
2 × 2250mAh/17.50Wh (Typical value)
Fast Charge
80W SUPERVOOCTM, 65W SUPERVOOCTM, 50W SUPERVOOCTM, VOOC, PD (9V/2A), QC (9V/2A)
*Note: For regions that use a voltage of 110V, including Taiwan, North America, and Latin America, the charging supports up to 66W. (80W cannot be supported.)BiometricsFingerprint In-display fingerprint sensor
Facial Recognition SupportedSensorsGeomagnetic sensor
Light sensor
On-screen proximity sensor
On-screen optical sensor
Accelerometer
Gravity sensor
Gyroscope
Step recording function supportedCellular NetworkSIM 2 Supported
SIM Card Type Nano-SIM card
Frequency Band
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: UMTS (WCDMA) bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
4G: TD-LTE bands 38/39/40/41
4G: LTE FDD bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/18/19/20/26/28/32
5G: n77/78/38/40/41/1/3/5/7/8/20/28 BlockA&BlockBConnectivityWLAN
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), 802.11a/b/g/n/; Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5.1GHz, Wi-Fi 5.8GHz;
Wi-Fi Display and Wi-Fi tethering;
2 × 2MIMO; 8 Spatial-stream sounding MU-MIMO
Bluetooth Version Bluetooth v5.3, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
Bluetooth Audio Codec
SBC, AAC, LHDC, aptX HD, and LDAC supported
USB Interface USB Type-C
Earphone Jack Type-C
NFC Supports reading from and writing to 13.56MHz NFC cards
Supports NFC-SIM card (Only supports SIM 1) and HCE paymentOperating SystemColorOS 12.1, upgrade to ColorOS 13Location TechnologyGNSS GPS, A-GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
Frequency Antenna GPS: L1+L5, GALILEO: E1+E5a, BeiDou: B1I+B2a, QZSS: L1+L5, GLONASS: G1
Others AGPS, Wi‑Fi, Cellular, Digital compass
Maps Google Maps and other third-party map apps are supported
The OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G get you covered for all your day-to-day usage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What we learned about these specs:
The Mediatek SoC, the Max Variant of the Dimensity 8100, but also the integration of the NPU MariSilicon X, only the Find X5 series got so far.
It means it is the 1rst one in the mid-range, or Reno series, to be equipped with it. While in China, the Dimensity Variant of the X5 Pro was without it. Interesting choice here.
The Dimensity 8000/8100 Series:
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Click to access MediaTek-Dimensity-8100-8000-Infographic.pdf
You got your back cover. In the benchmark part of this review, you will have enough horsepower for 99.9% of your daily usage, including gaming. But here, I tried to understand the need for an additional NPU as the Mediatek ISP is more than capable in many photography scenarios (4K, 60fps, HDR10+, AI motion Unblur, Lossless Zoom, Dual camera recording with both in HDR…). On paper no need for it.
MariSilicon X, NPU by OPPO:
● Featuring best-in-class power efficiency, 20-bit ultra-high dynamic range, real-time RAW processing, and Enhanced RGBW Pro Mode.
● Enabling high-quality 4K AI Night Video and live preview on Android smartphones for the first time.
So, if you take a look at the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G website, it seems OPPO markets the NPU as a powerful addition for:
4K Night Video
4K HDR Video
Night Portrait
Well, It might not be overkill, but hey, why not? We’ll see it later in the dedicated part.
The Design
The OPPO Reno8 Pro is a tribute to Antics maths and Archichecture splendor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since last year, OPPO has decided to adopt a unibody chassis with a dedicated form factor for the optical block. This year and for the Reno 8 series, they managed to improve it and got it right. I am a big fan of it.
Slim, lightweight, flat screen, well balanced, nice grip, and any flagship should be close to it.
The company communicates about Reno 8 Pro’s design and declares the smartphone is based on the Golden Ratio (1:.618). For a reminder, Golden Ratio is a mathematical proportion that is in its nature aesthetically attractive, used since Antiquity. OPPO added that its designers used the same proportion for the rear camera optical block but also for the handset form factor, horizontally and vertically, to create its pleasing aesthetic.
I will say the job is done here.
You can take a look at it in this video, and judge by yourself:
OPPO Reno 8 Pro 5G Quick TourI know flavors and colors. Personally, I really got a flagship vibe with this color and form factor. I can put it on a table, be casual, or work-ish; it will blend with any occasion.
So I have the Glazed Black variant; however, a second color exists, the Glazed Green.
Clearly, the Green one is a wonderful summer, splashy color and appealing too. Black is more classic but has a more day-to-day professional vibe. I’m more into mate colors than shiny ones like the Black Find X5. However, the X5 Pro was also glossy, so maybe a way to show the Reno8 uses top-notch materials and gives him a flagship feel.
Just for the beauty of it:
The Screen
Lot of Flagships should take example
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It’s flat. And I like it. Period. I’m fed up with this curved waterfall, edge, whatever the name. In a sense, the only purpose is to make the phone thin with small edges, thanks to this trick. But Reno8 Pro doesn’t need it. It’s already thin and well-balanced; the flat screen is absolutely the best choice here.
It’s a 10Bit Panel (8+2 to be precise) compatible 120Hz and up to 720Hz touch sampling rate (with compatible games that support frame interpolation tech).
100% DCI P3 or sRGB depending on the screen mode, 6.7 inches with HDR support up to nearly 1000 nits at peak (950).
I know flagship with lower luminosity than that.
Plus, it is Gorilla Glass 5.
For color restitution, by default, it’s too over-saturated for me, you can go further, or you can switch to more natural colors, a thing I’ve done. I’m pleased with it, especially under the bright sun, while riding my back and checking for navigation instructions with Google Maps.
It’s interesting to see this year’s mid-range products providing the same specs in so many departments, including this one, of past end years’ flagships or even surpassing some flagships that are only one year old.
2. Performance
OPPO Reno 8 Pro or a Flagship?
Why choosing, with the Reno 8 Pro, you got both.
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The Geek/Nerd paradise with numbers and benchmarks. First, in everyday use, I have no issue with this matter. The OPPO Reno 8 Pro runs smoothly for applications, translations, live transcripts, gaming, videos, or even photography. You got way enough horsepower here. It’s pretty much the same level of performance as last year’s flagship. No overheating, no throttling so far I’ve experimented. So far, so good.
Let’s start with AnTuTu:
No surprise here, The phone is top 10%, close to Oneplus 9 Pro under SD 888 and Oneplus 10R under the same SoC as the OPPO Reno 8 Pro.
AI Capability:
AITuTu:For a reminder, here is the last ranking available:
And now the result:
No need to go further, the Max variant of the 8100 got its AI boosted vs. the 8000, and it seems they did a good job (usually around 750K for the 8000).
Geekbench ML:In this case, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 hits 500/550 for CPU, 1800 for GPU, and Google Tensor around 1700 for NPU.
Geekbench ML wasn’t able to fully perform the NPU test, maybe due to the one from Mediatek and the one from OPPO, both at the same time?! I’m still wondering if it’s a software, app, or hardware issue.
Throttling?It seems not, even after a burn-in-test with CPU Throttle:
Now for gaming:I tried Genshin, The Division Resurgence, and some others. No lag, 90 fps, plus OPPO integrate some nice Gaming tools to change some settings and permit running them how they should be. It is compatible with Razer Kishi (What I used); the thin design and flat screen are just green lights for this. I enjoy more playing with it than some other smartphones. The battery was impressive too. When I played The Division Ressuregence, I played straight for more than 4 hours (with AC, my favorite license), and I was still able to use the smartphone until the end of the day.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...ivision.mobile.combat.shooting.open.world.rpg
3. ColorOS and Connectivity
OPPO reached with ColorOS 12.1 the maturity needed to move to the next step.
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ColorOS… ColorOS… ColorOS
A second time I got this UI after the X5. First of all, Android 13 and ColorOS 13 will be available for this product. Beta starts in October. It should have 2 Major Android updates with four years of security updates, including A13. Usually, the security updates are only quarterly.
The first boot is Android 12, out of the box, with ColorOS 12.1 material design. You will surely have a D1 OTA (July Patch, in my case).
A few days ago, I received the August security patch with some corrections included.
It’s themed like many OEMs. However, you can see the Android 12 base behind the curtains and sometimes even Android itself with no customization.
However, when you dig into it, OPPO made many customizations in their system. Launcher, notifications, Icons, settings, smart sidebar, their own privacy sub-menu, including the Android functionalities. They have tons of applications such as OPPO Share, Omoji, gallery, video, even the clock, files app, O Relax (?), and so many apps like App cloner, App Enhancement, App services or others OPPO in-home system apk. Not mentioned on top of the Android Framework, you will also find an OPPO/OPlus framework to make all these works together (surely necessary for the Phone Manager that looks like the security center in MIUI).
We are on Google App for Android for the Phone Dialer and SMS/Messages APP. No OPPO system apps for that. And I like that. So, no debate here.
At first glance, all these apps are just giving the users some native functionalities Android already integrates into Android 12. And give the impression that they are reminiscence of a China firmware variant without Google services in this local market. But lots of them are marked as EU APK variants. And many system apps can’t be uninstalled (disable only). And all of them are not available on the Google Play store as they should be if we follow Android Guidelines. I’m really waiting for all system apps under Aarch64 and available on the Play Store with uninstalling possibility.
I said earlier, no biases. I started to get used to ColorOS, it was hard at first, but now it’s becoming way better.
It gives the impression that OPPO has integrated Android 12 functionalities made by Google, added theirs on top to expand them, and managed to balance it somehow.
Let’s start with the launcher. It’s fast, allows many options, got the discover/at glance functionality, and you can add widgets (works well with OPPO widgets, less with 3rd party apps/Google widgets), change the layout of the home screens, change the shape or even colors of the icons, notification shade icons. So, you will say Material You. It seems an OPPO solution, including a wallpaper color picker.
I still think the Notification shades can be ameliorated, and they are a struggle for me. Too many operations to have a global view and enter the app. I have many email accounts and receive many emails. You can have all the notifications grouped for each inbox; that’s great. You can unfold them and see each notification for each mail. Great. But when it’s folded, clicking on the shade, you should get you in the inbox with all read and unread mail. Here, you need to unfold, select an email, go into the email in the app, go back, and then be in your inbox.
And the system is still responsive, the battery is good, and no drain due to these additions; you customized the Reno 8 Pro to get a closer look at a Pixel/Stock OS. Some options or functionality will pop, giving you more of this feel… or the opposite.
I choose the US region on the phone, meaning lots of functionalities are deactivated to comply with local regulations… No Omoji, Themes, or way to customize the OS. Usually, when these options are free (like themes), the product is you (and your data). It can be a nice touch; for me, it’s just a gimmick, like a quick ball, smart bar. I tried them. I understand the addiction, but it’s not for me. At least the goal of Android, personalize it for your own usage. And it was the same for O Relax. It allows you to relax with a mix of music and video for the time you have decided. Zen attitude. Yep, great for those who need it, nope for me.
For the quick ball, is there an example that van is handy if you need, on the fly, translation, for instance:
Quick Ball Translation toolsYou can also easily use the splitting screen functionality
Dual windows/Split windows function
For Privacy, OPPO stated, “User privacy is about transparency. OPPO has been improving data compliance through storage and process. With servers deployed in multiple locations worldwide, OPPO guarantees that user data stays in the nearby servers, saved in a non-plain text transmitted using a proprietary protocol.”
ColorOS 12.1 comes with Private System, Private Safe, App Lock, and more security features with Android 12 Privacy Dashboards. However, on the phone, their privacy notice is outdated from November 2020. It seems the servers are in Germany for EU users, so OPPO complies with GPDR.
Okay, user data are safe and encrypted. ColorOS even integrates the new A12 guidelines as permissions of apps to use the camera, microphone, localization (approximate or precise), the data used, and the green dot to indicate whether an app uses a microphone or camera. Android 13 should bring more features concerning user privacy.
Anti-peeping feature is also included, and the system will recognize if it’s the viewer looking at the screen, so the notification or content can be hidden if tuned this way.
So, with the integration of Android 12 Features, OPPO custom-made additions, a new 3D engine for rendering, the wallpaper-based theming stuff, the smart sidebar, the nearby share integration, the quick return bubble, and all the animations On, what about the battery?
Surprisingly… Good. OPPO reaches, updates after updates, a great maturity for ColorOS 12 (12.1). It’s even a shame they move to ColorOS 13 so quickly. Fingers crossed it will keep the same stability I have now.
So far, with 3 Gmail accounts + 2 Exchange ones + photography + not a great network as fewer frequencies available here in the US with an EU variant + YouTube + some casual games here and there… You are good to go for the day. As usual, I turned my smartphone by restricting apps I don’t use, and I need to refresh when I go inside them (and believe me, it makes a massive difference as ColorOs allows Foreground Activity, Background Activity, and Auto Launch options to enable or disable).
And if there is an issue, you can activate the Super power-saving mode making your smartphone a feature phone. You can add three apps on top of the clock, dialer, and messaging apps. It will help you be reachable until you find a way to recharge your phone.
Like many OEMs, OPPO integrates the virtual RAM gimmick, adding virtual memory using your storage as paginated space for the less used apps still in memory and the multitasking mode. So, you will have from 2Gb to 7Gb more than the 8Gb or 12Gb RAM available in this variant. With UFS 3.1, the less used in-memory apps, no slowdown with that… I received the 12Gb, I decided to disable this feature.
Floating windows are also available with the OPPO Reno 8 Pro, here are some screenshots
It’s fully functional; the animations are great, nothing to add. Some OEMs have an issue implementing on top of their framework, but this is not the case here. If you’re a fan of it, you will enjoy it with the Reno8 series.
Connectivty
5G DSDS, BT 5.3 LE, aptX audio, wireless cast, close to perfect.
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ColorOS also integrates all you need for casting your screen. From Miracast to Chromecast, all wirelessly. So far, I wasn’t able to cast via the USB-C VS the X5 Series; maybe they cut corners here to keep the price low.
To share your screen on your computer, you will need to download an app, PC Connect client for Mac or Windows, allowing the connection with your phone… And that’s it. You will have a floating window on your desktop mirroring your OPPO screen. Fast and easy. Sharing clipboard functionality is also available.
https://connect.oppo.com/en-US
Wifi Situation:
The Wi-Fi 6 is 2.4Gbps compatible in the Connectivity part. However, with my device, I couldn’t connect over 1.2Gbps, while my X5 or P6Pro or even SSI smartphones were able to achieve it. I’m still wondering if we got here only 80Mhz x1 or 2x 40Mhz Antennas. I’m still waiting for an answer from OPPO in this matter.
With OPPO Reno 8 ProSame spot with a Pixel 6 Pro
For LTE, LTE-A, LTE NR, SA, NSA, 5G, or whatever, sorry, EU variant, and I am in the US, so it won’t be representative.
For USB type c onboard, a lot of websites advertise a USB-C 2.0. Well, I’m not so sure, or it was fast. I transferred more than 8Gb in less than 5mn, and it’s more than 10-15mn with a USB 2.0 port. So maybe not 3.1 or 3.2, but 3.0 is a possibility here.
For the Bluetooth connection, it is 5.3 LE. I’m a big fan of Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound. Even if the device is not compatible with lossless codec for the last Snapdragon Sound as it is for Snapdragon SoC and Fastconnect like the 8+ Gen 1, it is also compatible with aptX codec as LDAC (Sony). And it’s a big welcoming surprise. So Well done, OPPO, on that. It’s worth the extra money.
And also, there are no 3.5mm jack nor USB-C to Jack adapter in the box, so having a flawless BT Audio experience was needed, even for a mid-range device (Premium Mid-range in this case)
4. Camera and Photography
Great for every day situations, with an emphasis for portrait and night videos
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First, I want to remind all the readers that the Reno Series is a mid-range device. Not here to cannibalize the Find series or other flagship from the brand.
Meaning, if it was a Flagship worth $1000 or more, I would be pissed. Even if I still don’t understand some choices here.
Let’s take it off directly, No OIS, No Raw file option, no 4K/60fps, no long exposure or vlog options.
OIS is hardware; however, EIS is doing the job, especially with video modes. But the rest is only software. Worst, with all the NPU and Mediatek ISP, integrating them into the Reno 8 Pro should even be a problem. I’m still wondering why they didn’t, if there is any hardware limitation here or even the marketing reason, product managers, or whatever. Literally, it’s frustrating as it could blow away the competition if these basic features were integrated. Again, so far, for me, except for OIS (optical stab), it’s only software limitations.
I had one issue with the Gallery app, the HEIC to JPG tool while exporting to social networks, and the HEIF File format. It seems some apps, some websites, or even sharing them may result in no way to view the result with a different device. If you are sharing your work or just storing it, you should choose what suits you the best. The last update from Google Photos fixed a lot of glitches related to it, but so far the OPPO Gallery is still behind.
For the selfie part, OPPO introduced a new 32MP RGGW (W for white) custom sensor, the Sony IMX709. The aperture is f/2.4. It would have been better with an f/2.0, but again, we got one dedicated to capturing more light with its white layer. Remember, this selfie camera was the rear main Reno 7 sensor, with its cat-eye lens (not the case here). The OPPO F21 Pro is also equipped with it.
Now for the results, they are pretty good, nevertheless. As usual better to see vs. explain, so here are some examples:
Some Colors shots:
Food here and there:
Flowers:
Low Light Portraits shots (by playing with editing tools and filters available on the gallery and camera apps):
The post-treatment can be super aggressive in portrait mode, I advise you to tune it before and do some tests, or deactivate it. Again depending on the subject, the feminine population was more tend to push it to the limit and was happy about that. Flavors and colors…
Night shots:
A big part here is the use of the NPU, MariSilicon, for the 4K HDR vs. no HDR recording videos (in H265, meaning they might not be played in your browser, so here is a shared drive in Google Photos: ):
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9ErYqbTped3Thjxa8
No HDRHDR
So here, more saturated colors, blacks are deeper, and contrast is stronger than with no HDR enabled.
Here is an example of a street video with a lot of lights, smoke, and people moving around:
Let’s go a last one:
As you can see, I hit it hard in a low light environment, not an easy task, with no gimbal too, and obviously no OIS.
The result is still here, exploitable and way enough for your social media or even for editing.
You also got slow motion and timelapse video options too, so here 2 “How-To” videos and timelapse examples (post-encoded in 720P for space-saving):
Panorama Trick
Timelapse, 3 hours in 2mn
Slo-Mo
Here are some random videos in daylight:
Now, from a tech point: I was surprised to see the NPU added to X5 Series with the last Qualcomm and Snapdragon SoC. I’m still thinking the Triple ISPs are in fine better. Now we got the same with this Reno 8 Pro. Again, on my side, Mediatek ISP is better too than a 3rd party solution (especially since we don’t have 4K/60fps or even 8K available, or triple video streams at the same time recording capability, or 4K HDR selfie videos… etc etc). So Why?
The only things I’m thinking about right now are:
You don’t pay your supplier for their tools and licensing
You can have a dedicated team tuning and pushing updates whatever the SoC on the devices
You can push the same updates to every device with this NPU less time and resource consuming
Having the same NPU here and there allows them to train it more quickly and feed him with data and case scenarios.
Maybe some stuff I forget and am not aware of.
Is it right or not, it’s the trend now from Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO etc. Do I like it? Nope. And I’m pretty sure we won’t see the benefits, as users, until mid-next year if it’s still alive.
5. The Battery and Charger:
Charging is blazing fast, really fast. And the battery stands long.
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First, for the USA, with 110V, it’s 66W fast charging (SUPERVOOC), others 80W. It reminds me of the OnePlus 10 Pro situation, except it was 65W (coughing…). If you got a 150/160W SUPERVOOC charger from Realme, OnePlus, it would be 80W. But whatever, it’s only a 3mn difference for a full charge between 65/66W and full 80W.
It’s just surprising OPPO decided to port X5 fast charging capability to a mid-range like the Reno, while a lot of 2022 flagships are still using 18/27/33/50/55/65W charging instead of 80/120/150W available on the market.
Yep, that’s right; the Reno8 Pro doesn’t need to be jealous of the top tiers of flagships available in the market concerning this point.
Indeed, from 17% to 100% in 33 minutes. Take a shower, grab a coffee, listen to a podcast, and you’re fueled up for more a day of battery. And yes, with many push email accounts, listening to music with TWS, smartwatch connected, GPS navigation, some gaming sessions in the commute (or streaming), social media, and posting photography shots… Your smartphone will handle it. Worst, you are a heavy player, just 5mn of charging here and there, and that’s it.
Now, two things bother me with the power outlet/charger. No USB-C port, it’s an old USB type A. I can understand the idea is to have the cable able to connect to a computer port or even Android Auto, where usually it’s still “type A.” Plus, no Type A to USB-C adapter to make the USB cable type C to type C. But again, it’s a mid-range and not a Flagship device.
The second is the size of the outlet. It’s huge for an 80W. Now we got GaN technology, and I’ve seen 150W chargers smaller than this one.
As you can see, OPPO should release a GaN 80W, the same size as the Xiaomi 65W in the photos. It would be a killer product.
6. Final thoughts:
Do you want the best for BTS, in its category? No Brainer, the OPPO Reno8 Pro is for you.
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Yes, if you’re searching for the best premium mid-range device with an incredible feeling in your hands, the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G is for you. If you don’t have the money to pay for a $/€1000 flagship device, the same, the device is for you.
Now, you will think twice if you can put your hands on a new H2 2021 (or even an H1 2022 flagship for a lower price than the OPPO Reno8 Pro).
You will have to consider what is your usage of the device for every day: more into photography, selfie, night videos with HDR, gaming, social media, and maybe some stuff I’m forgetting.
And it will be a hard decision as the OPPO Reno8 Pro can easily be mistaken for a flagship with some software addition. The line is growing thinner than usual between next year’s mid-range device and the previous flagship. Usually, it was a one-year and a half gap; now, we’re even close to 6 months. And worst, the new OnePlus 10T only got the latest Snapdragon SoC + the charging time for him (around 10mn faster for a full 0 to 100 charge) VS. the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G, and they are available at the same time on the market. However, the OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G surpasses the OP10T for all photos and videos matter.
The End
Happy to see here, there's a threat about the Oppo Reno 8 pro. I'm using this wonderfull phone now since one week, as replacement for an Galaxy S22 ultra.
The Reno 8 pro runs as we can aspect from an flexible phone. Mine is the 8 gb version, but everything runs much smoother than on that S22 ultra with 12 gb.
In my contacts I have made more groups of persons. Now I want to give every group its own ringtone. Probely, I'm not looking on the right place but I can't change this for the whole group at ones.
Can someone help me, where to find this setting?
This is what I found online, but its not working for the Reno 8 pro:
1. Open [Phone] > [Contacts] > [My Groups].
2. Tap the group you wish to set the new ringtone for.
3. Tap [Ringtone
] at the bottom and select the desired ringtone for the group.
Is the coloros China or globel edition? Can you test gps using gps test app to see if it support beidou gps?