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Ok. First I would like to say I personally do not own a Samsung galaxy s6/edge. However, I have played around with one at length at the T-Mobile store, and I can definitely say touchwiz still isn't for me. While I was there at T-Mobile I saw a nexus 6 on display and decided to take a look at it. I absolutely fell in love with it for 2 reasons. One, for the size. Two, stock android. The first one is not a deal breaker when it comes to the s6. However, I find stock android MUCH better than touchwiz. Now I understand that making an AOSP ROM for the s6 is hard because of the exynos processor and all, but I really love the physical design, camera, fingerprint sensor, and heart rate monitor. All of this being said WHEN an AOSP ROM starts to be made please contact me so I can put my input in the development for features and stuff.
Stuff that would be ABSOLUTELY necessary.
1. Fingerprint capabilities. (on lockscreen, google play account, and to open certain apps maybe??)
2. Basically stock touchwiz camera. (with double press Home button to get camera feature)
3. Integration of the heart rate sensor. (Just allow apps to use it)
4. Super Stock animations (like on the nexus)
5. A close all button for the multitasking window
Stuff that is optional
1. Certain features not present in AOSP (like keep awake while you are looking at the phone P.S. I forgot what Samsung called it)
2. Xposed Framework module "swipeback" integration (I love that feature in ios)
3. Rest is open to community suggestions. Go wild! just remember this is AOSP based and hopefully won't be too crazy. Performance
and "butter smoothness" are of the utmost importance.
Will get the s6/edge in either March or April (2015)
reyjkl said:
Ok. First I would like to say I personally do not own a Samsung galaxy s6/edge. However, I have played around with one at length at the T-Mobile store, and I can definitely say touchwiz still isn't for me. While I was there at T-Mobile I saw a nexus 6 on display and decided to take a look at it. I absolutely fell in love with it for 2 reasons. One, for the size. Two, stock android. The first one is not a deal breaker when it comes to the s6. However, I find stock android MUCH better than touchwiz. Now I understand that making an AOSP ROM for the s6 is hard because of the exynos processor and all, but I really love the physical design, camera, fingerprint sensor, and heart rate monitor. All of this being said WHEN an AOSP ROM starts to be made please contact me so I can put my input in the development for features and stuff.
Stuff that would be ABSOLUTELY necessary.
1. Fingerprint capabilities. (on lockscreen, google play account, and to open certain apps maybe??) - Not going to happen. Stock Android does not support biometric security yet and this is a secured element of the device.
2. Basically stock touchwiz camera. (with double press Home button to get camera feature) - Again, not going to happen. The TouchWiz camera is built heavily ontop of the Touchwiz framework and is almost impossible to port. An application for Xposed can enable any hardware key combo to access the cam.
3. Integration of the heart rate sensor. (Just allow apps to use it) - Unless Google Fit builds it in and the framework support is through there I dont expect this to happen.
4. Super Stock animations (like on the nexus) - ROM's can change this
5. A close all button for the multitasking window - CM and most AOSP built roms have this
Stuff that is optional
1. Certain features not present in AOSP (like keep awake while you are looking at the phone P.S. I forgot what Samsung called it) - There are apps that can enable this
2. Xposed Framework module "swipeback" integration (I love that feature in ios) - There are modules for this and apps that can help here
3. Rest is open to community suggestions. Go wild! just remember this is AOSP based and hopefully won't be too crazy. Performance and "butter smoothness" are of the utmost importance. - With the Exynos processor this may take some time since a lot of it is closed source
Will get the s6/edge in either March or April (2015)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont want to burst your bubble since you are new, but that really isnt the way to go about asking for features in ROM's and no one is going to "contact you" when something is in development.
That being said I replied to your stuff in bold in the quote. That being said I highly doubt you will be satisfied with this device based on your demands and recommend looking for a device like the One Plus One or a Nexus that has a lot of what you want.
altimax98 said:
I dont want to burst your bubble since you are new, but that really isnt the way to go about asking for features in ROM's and no one is going to "contact you" when something is in development.
That being said I replied to your stuff in bold in the quote. That being said I highly doubt you will be satisfied with this device based on your demands and recommend looking for a device like the One Plus One or a Nexus that has a lot of what you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
you'll have a LONG wait if you think a developer is going to contact you for input on a list of things that cant readily be included in a rom anyways..
plus, what makes you think a developer would want your input??????
The fingerprint scanner, heartrate monitor, etc.,. (samsung specific features/capabilities) can't be supported with AOSP ROMs.
Sorry.
altimax98 said:
I dont want to burst your bubble since you are new, but that really isnt the way to go about asking for features in ROM's and no one is going to "contact you" when something is in development.
That being said I replied to your stuff in bold in the quote. That being said I highly doubt you will be satisfied with this device based on your demands and recommend looking for a device like the One Plus One or a Nexus that has a lot of what you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I do realize a lot of this stuff is not possible and might take a LONG time to develop.
2. You don't have to burst my bubble, I know it's unlikely. However, I was just feeling creative and wanted to put out my wishlist if all of this were possible
3. When I say AOSP, I really mean AOSP based. I thought incorporating the fingerprint sensor would be fairly easy? just create a few API's with Kernel??
4. I have no idea why I said "contact me" I must've been on something lol.
Thanks for the reply btw. Also too, I love the nexus 6 and I would take it over the one plus one any day. However, I will still give into the s6 cuz of da fingerprint and better processor.
Considering most of the things you are asking for will never happen, it is not matter of the "lenght'. i.e: the camera...this request been in demand since the gs3 (my first android device) I doubt it is going to change anytime soon.
Finger print for touchwiz is the same as camera for touchwiz...
Great way to provide inputs to by giving a "how" on how to do things for what you are requesting. Can always start a "how" in the development section for group projects when it become available for the s6.
reyjkl said:
just create a few API's with Kernel??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude you gotta get these ideas out there... PM all the recognized devs on xda fast. This is way bigger than just the S6
incuvolta said:
Dude you gotta get these ideas out there... PM all the recognized devs on xda fast. This is way bigger than just the S6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing this is sarcasm but I usually can't get the sarcasm straight from context. Is it?
Yes Sheldon. It is sarcasm.
I was thinking about going tomorrow to trade in my LG G3 for a beautiful Mate S. Came here to check what custom ROMs available... huh! Not a single one? Is there another thread somewhere I'm missing? Six months after release and not ONE custom ROM!
I thought those days were in the past when you had to buy a flagship from Samsung, HTC, LG or Sony to get good custom ROM support. Guess I was wrong. Shame, really liked the look of this phone...
Yeah I know...its a real shame...someone did once say because it's not very popular in USA where most of the developers are.
I used to flash a new ROM on my LG G3 almost every week and I have to say I was pretty content with the Mate S...even though I couldn't flash ROMs.
There are just some areas that need improvement like notifications, lock screen functionality to mention just a few and I am hoping the Marshmallow upgrade goes some way to do that.
Based on my experience so far with the Marshmallow Beta it doesn't seem like it's going to happen however will need to wait and see.
As far as I know, this us caused by Huawei itself. They did or do not release the needed information and drivers etc for the Kirin SoC. Without these, it is impossible to create custom roms.
S51B14 said:
As far as I know, this us caused by Huawei itself. They did or do not release the needed information and drivers etc for the Kirin SoC. Without these, it is impossible to create custom roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's probably right. It makes it a lot harder.
To be honest, I haven't tried EMUI, but most manufacturer stock skins are terrible. Can't risk buying a phone and having no options to change ROM.
I asked myself the same question too. I wanted to sell my LG G4 to get the Huawei because I simply fell in love with the looks and the feel of this thing. I was some kind of flashaholic, using a different rim or kernel every week.
I guess using nova launcher or any other third party launcher is mandatory for a lot of people with EMUI devices. The rest of EMUI for example settings and lock screen can not be changed (except for different themes of course) but I can live with that. It is not as bad as TouchWiz if you ask me.
I would say I lost some part of my hobby, with no ability to flash, but gained a very reliable and simply beautiful and consistent device.
It's worth it for me
Nothing is as bad as TouchWiz
I will have a long play around with the phone in the shop. Maybe EMUI will be ok. Excuse my laziness for not searching, but is there some kind of Xposed module like Tweaksbox/Gravitybox you can use to modify UI & settings?
SimboXXX said:
Nothing is as bad as TouchWiz
I will have a long play around with the phone in the shop. Maybe EMUI will be ok. Excuse my laziness for not searching, but is there some kind of Xposed module like Tweaksbox/Gravitybox you can use to modify UI & settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive never really got on with any stock launcher on my phones, EMUI is prob my fave one of all ive tested (Sense,TouchWiz etc). ive always used Nova Launcher anyway.
as for Xposed, could be a while...if ever!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-s/general/xposed-mate-s-t3303845
SimboXXX said:
I was thinking about going tomorrow to trade in my LG G3 for a beautiful Mate S. Came here to check what custom ROMs available... huh! Not a single one? Is there another thread somewhere I'm missing? Six months after release and not ONE custom ROM!
I thought those days were in the past when you had to buy a flagship from Samsung, HTC, LG or Sony to get good custom ROM support. Guess I was wrong. Shame, really liked the look of this phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the same
There is talk on a Huawei Forum I follow in china of a ROM for the Mate S based on Flyme5.1 I think it said.
I agree though, EMUI is pretty good, I used to flash ROMS weekly on my other devices and now thats all stopped, however EMUI has some pretty neat features I just wish the Marshmallow upgrade would happen a little quicker and that notification would revert to to stock approach
Can any body help me with this update EMUI update CRR-UL004C433B146, after updating i lost wifi connectivity its always stuck in (obtaining IP address) but not connecting at all i tried different router but its not working and also themes are not working as well i can not apply any EMUI themes, but i am using third party launcher and their themes
Like some have already posted here, I too was a flashaholic in the past few years and i could never imagine having a stock phone.
The hardware of the Mate S fits my needs though (not any other phone on the market including LG G5, and Samsung S7 does) so i dug into reviews and videos and was positively impressed how nice the software and included features looked to me. I said to myself "I'm going to give this phone a chance and I won't be able to flash anything. If i figure out after some weeks that i can't live with its software and the possibility of flashing/altering different aspects of the phone then I will sell it again".
I've been using it for 2-3 weeks so far and i simply have to quote S51B14 when he says "I would say I lost some part of my hobby, with no ability to flash, but gained a very reliable and simply beautiful and consistent device."
I use nova launcher of course and have the on-screen buttons completely hidden. Instead i use good ol' LMT Pie for home, back and recent apps so that i effectively have a 5.5" screen. My DPI is set to 420 so everything is nice and small systemwide.
Lovin' it so far!
vercetti said:
Like some have already posted here, I too was a flashaholic in the past few years and i could never imagine having a stock phone.
The hardware of the Mate S fits my needs though (not any other phone on the market including LG G5, and Samsung S7 does) so i dug into reviews and videos and was positively impressed how nice the software and included features looked to me. I said to myself "I'm going to give this phone a chance and I won't be able to flash anything. If i figure out after some weeks that i can't live with its software and the possibility of flashing/altering different aspects of the phone then I will sell it again".
I've been using it for 2-3 weeks so far and i simply have to quote S51B14 when he says "I would say I lost some part of my hobby, with no ability to flash, but gained a very reliable and simply beautiful and consistent device."
I use nova launcher of course and have the on-screen buttons completely hidden. Instead i use good ol' LMT Pie for home, back and recent apps so that i effectively have a 5.5" screen. My DPI is set to 420 so everything is nice and small systemwide.
Lovin' it so far!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear you. But got CM13-based custom rom running so sweetly right now. Not sure I can give it up...
vercetti said:
Like some have already posted here, I too was a flashaholic in the past few years and i could never imagine having a stock phone.
The hardware of the Mate S fits my needs though (not any other phone on the market including LG G5, and Samsung S7 does) so i dug into reviews and videos and was positively impressed how nice the software and included features looked to me. I said to myself "I'm going to give this phone a chance and I won't be able to flash anything. If i figure out after some weeks that i can't live with its software and the possibility of flashing/altering different aspects of the phone then I will sell it again".
I've been using it for 2-3 weeks so far and i simply have to quote S51B14 when he says "I would say I lost some part of my hobby, with no ability to flash, but gained a very reliable and simply beautiful and consistent device."
I use nova launcher of course and have the on-screen buttons completely hidden. Instead i use good ol' LMT Pie for home, back and recent apps so that i effectively have a 5.5" screen. My DPI is set to 420 so everything is nice and small systemwide.
Lovin' it so far!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how did you change the device dpi ??
The simplest way I know: texdroider_dpi. Available for free in the play store.
greetz,
v.
Android Version
vercetti said:
Like some have already posted here, I too was a flashaholic in the past few years and i could never imagine having a stock phone.
The hardware of the Mate S fits my needs though (not any other phone on the market including LG G5, and Samsung S7 does) so i dug into reviews and videos and was positively impressed how nice the software and included features looked to me. I said to myself "I'm going to give this phone a chance and I won't be able to flash anything. If i figure out after some weeks that i can't live with its software and the possibility of flashing/altering different aspects of the phone then I will sell it again".
I've been using it for 2-3 weeks so far and i simply have to quote S51B14 when he says "I would say I lost some part of my hobby, with no ability to flash, but gained a very reliable and simply beautiful and consistent device."
I use nova launcher of course and have the on-screen buttons completely hidden. Instead i use good ol' LMT Pie for home, back and recent apps so that i effectively have a 5.5" screen. My DPI is set to 420 so everything is nice and small systemwide.
Lovin' it so far!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you let me know what version of Android you are using and how did you manage to remove the on-screen buttons using Nova Launcher
del
bugarrun said:
Can you let me know what version of Android you are using and how did you manage to remove the on-screen buttons using Nova Launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
it has nothing to do with nova launcher. It's a simple guide i followed from andromodgod, to be found in this xda-thread, post #4 :
Hide navigation bar
I would recommend a nandroid backup before you do it though. In the thread you can see that the user BT73, using the Mate S firmware B110 could not get his onscreen buttons back. He had to do a factory reset... So on B110 it might not work.
I on the other hand had absolutely no problems at all! I click the arrow pointing downward and the onscreen buttons disappear. To get them back i swipe up from anywhere on the bottom (doesn't have to be there where the downward pointing arrow was before). I'm running the European firmware version B114 (CRR-L09C432B114).
Here is a short video to demonstrate: Huawei Mate S - Disable onscreen buttons
Swiping up from the bottom of my screen makes the onscreen buttons appear. The menu appearing on the right side is the LMT pie launcher (swipe in from the side and it appears, but can be configured to appear swiping in from any side). A swipe up on my homescreens also triggers the recent apps menu (nova launcher gesture). A swipe down on my homescreens pulls the status bar down (nova launcher gesture), it's nice to not have to reach all the way to the status bar in order to pull it down (of course you could just use the fingerprint scanner and pull it down, but sometimes i like pulling it down from the screen and onehanded it's kind of hard to get my thumb all the way up there).
To enter onehanded mode the onscreen buttons must be visible, then swipe either left or right across the onscreen buttons to start onehanded mode, as seen in video.
greetz,
v.
no custom rom for mate s .... CM please help with CM13
Hiya!
I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, the 9.2". I am really pleased with the performance, looks, weight (it's like a feather!), but there is one thing I miss greatly from my old Nexus 7: Material Design
I really like how simple and neat it looks, honestly. I've been doing some research and the only options I'm finding are installing the Samsung 6.0.1 firmware. Has anyone successfully managed to install and run the stock Marshmallow, like the one that the Nexus device runs?
For the moment we only have cm12.1 and cm13 which are close to stock (plus cm theme and tweaks) Android but are still in development (not considered as stable build)
mysa50 said:
For the moment we only have cm12.1 and cm13 which are close to stock (plus cm theme and tweaks) Android but are still in development (not considered as stable build)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Considering OP just bought the device, it is more than likely a 2016 model that does not have an available Cyanogenmod yet.
m0rf0 said:
Hiya!
I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, the 9.2". I am really pleased with the performance, looks, weight (it's like a feather!), but there is one thing I miss greatly from my old Nexus 7: Material Design
I really like how simple and neat it looks, honestly. I've been doing some research and the only options I'm finding are installing the Samsung 6.0.1 firmware. Has anyone successfully managed to install and run the stock Marshmallow, like the one that the Nexus device runs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There were some improvements, but nothing to write home about. I'm irritated that Sammy gives theme support to their new phones and don't even allow us to set to a darker theme to preserve battery without doing the salt the earth battery saver feature. :silly:
I don't think you're missing much with this update, more disappointment than anything, I also don't think OP's tablet is a 2016 because s/he isn't already on MM... I heard it shipped with MM. :laugh: Sammy knows best. Sammy also leaves flagship android tablet with broken promises... and dreams. "Theme support coming" my eye.
I think it's telling that you can mod your build prop and install theme store from a shady source and it works... (haven't tried, the topic is floating around here somewhere.)
I hope at least this will mark an acceleration of update cycles for security purposes, especially since some researcher endorsed sammy devices for update speed.
Thanks everyone for the quick answers! I guess my only option is to wait for a more stable and fully functional Cyanogen then. I guess patience will be the key here :-/
My model is definitely the 2015, as it came with Lollipop and I had to download Marshmallow myself via the update tool, btw. Not much worried as the changes seem to be minimal though.
Hello Guys, Good Day
i have been using samsung mobiles from past 6 years, this time i switched to oneplus 3T but i didnt like the user interface it comes with. For Eg: while making a call In samsung could just swipe right on a contact to place a call and swipe left to compose msg....even creating contacts were easy. Likewise there are lot many other functionalities that i liked in samsung compared to 3T.....the only reason i opted for 3T was its hardware...... My question is, Is it possible to have the same functionality or user interface on 3T as well.
would really appreciate your views and replies
Kind Regards
The interface and functionality in OP3T is almost the same as stock Android with a few little tweaks here and there. So, if you like Samsung's iteration on Android, just get the Galaxy S series.
I didn't think I'd ever see someone saying they like Samsungs TouchWiz over Stock Android. Welp, to each their own. I respect your preference.
But unfortunately, It's not possible to get the Samsung UI i.e. TouchWiz without porting it to the 3T and i dont think anyone has attempted porting the same just yet, and i highly doubt someone ever will.
Wait and hope someone does port it and if that doesn't happen, you'll get used to OxygenOS soon enough!
Don't feel bad. Many long time Samsung users get used to features that many Android "puriest" never heard about. The one you mention is one I also liked when I had the s1.
To answer you. No. Touch wiz is not something you can get. But. You maybe able to use some separate apps to come close.
Stock Android is kinda bland compared to some of the other UI out there. Just need to find things that will work for you the way you want.
You can consider using third party apps to get some of the similar functionalities. For a swipe to call feature I use ExDialer and it's a fantastic dialer app. On OP3T having 6GB helps helps the cause of using 3rd party apps without feeling the pinch. Gluck with tweaking the phone to your liking.
Just got the Mi 8 after 7 years on iPhone.
At first, I felt like MIUI 9's UI was quite dated. Now, MIUI 10 is rocking Material Design that fits better with the rest of Android. Yay!
Having said that, I'm not yet sure what kind of software updates/maintenance to expect from both Google and Xiaomi...
So far, I notice that there are some inconsistencies and annoying bugs due to the MIUI layer. Lack of "Ok Google", One-handed mode tends to stop working, Text to speech is missing, the text editing is sometimes MIUI sometimes Android, etc etc etc... While there are nice things about MIUI as well for sure.
Ok...
Overall, I want to prepare myself for the kind of attention I'll pay to maintain this phone in the next year or two.
Thinking if I should install custom ROMs and how often I should spend the time to customize & fix little things.
Based on your experience with Xiaomi and Android in general, how much will the manufacturer take care of things for me so "it just works"?
Normally I would recommend you to buy a pixel phone, it's the best Android you can have if you use to have iPhone.
Prepare yourself to wait for updates and new features from Android.
The problem with others companies it's that next year you'll have mi9 and they will get there attention, so the updates Will be first to the new versions.
On Google pixel and iPhone that doesn't happen.
To my that's the problem with Xiaomi, Samsung, etc etc
anthroplus said:
Just got the Mi 8 after 7 years on iPhone.
At first, I felt like MIUI 9's UI was quite dated. Now, MIUI 10 is rocking Material Design that fits better with the rest of Android. Yay!
Having said that, I'm not yet sure what kind of software updates/maintenance to expect from both Google and Xiaomi...
So far, I notice that there are some inconsistencies and annoying bugs due to the MIUI layer. Lack of "Ok Google", One-handed mode tends to stop working, Text to speech is missing, the text editing is sometimes MIUI sometimes Android, etc etc etc... While there are nice things about MIUI as well for sure.
Ok...
Overall, I want to prepare myself for the kind of attention I'll pay to maintain this phone in the next year or two.
Thinking if I should install custom ROMs and how often I should spend the time to customize & fix little things.
Based on your experience with Xiaomi and Android in general, how much will the manufacturer take care of things for me so "it just works"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably will get now the next 4 years updates from MIUI, so it's no problem. In the worst case just flash a custom rom if necessary
anthroplus said:
So far, I notice that there are some inconsistencies and annoying bugs due to the MIUI layer. Lack of "Ok Google", One-handed mode tends to stop working, Text to speech is missing, the text editing is sometimes MIUI sometimes Android, etc etc etc... While there are nice things about MIUI as well for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok Google is broken on many many many devices, even Samsung ones. Voice match is grayed out and you can't voice retrain it.
NightScap3 said:
You probably will get now the next 4 years updates from MIUI, so it's no problem. In the worst case just flash a custom rom if necessary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool stuff.
So far, I'm getting the impression that Xiaomi is particularly good at software upgrades.
In general, I want updated software regardless of the new stuff coming from Google or Xiaomi.
ArmedandDangerous said:
Ok Google is broken on many many many devices, even Samsung ones. Voice match is grayed out and you can't voice retrain it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see... Seems like I'll have to live with these things related to Android in general.
I'm learning to enjoy using parts that work while training myself to ignore buggy stuff... As if they were never an option.
By focusing on features that work (no more and no less), it's far easier to enjoy this device.
But of course. Easier said than done. There's always temptation to feel FOMO for knowing that these basic things are supposed to actually work.
anthroplus said:
Just got the Mi 8 after 7 years on iPhone.
At first, I felt like MIUI 9's UI was quite dated. Now, MIUI 10 is rocking Material Design that fits better with the rest of Android. Yay!
Having said that, I'm not yet sure what kind of software updates/maintenance to expect from both Google and Xiaomi...
So far, I notice that there are some inconsistencies and annoying bugs due to the MIUI layer. Lack of "Ok Google", One-handed mode tends to stop working, Text to speech is missing, the text editing is sometimes MIUI sometimes Android, etc etc etc... While there are nice things about MIUI as well for sure.
Ok...
Overall, I want to prepare myself for the kind of attention I'll pay to maintain this phone in the next year or two.
Thinking if I should install custom ROMs and how often I should spend the time to customize & fix little things.
Based on your experience with Xiaomi and Android in general, how much will the manufacturer take care of things for me so "it just works"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the world of Xiaomi. Dated MIUI 9? HOW DARE YOU We have a wonderful theme store with tons of themes, something that cannot be said for other manufacturers that have added theme stores or theme apps (cough cough Asus). I'll give you a detailed summary of how things work.
UPDATES, MIUI, ANDROID:
A LARGE majority of Xiaomi smartphone users buy it for the chap price and expect it to work like every other Android smartphone; Android updates bring you features. That is totally fine, but many seem upset when their phone is still rocking an ancient version of Android as compared to other phones (both other brands and Xiaomi phones as well). For MIUI, this is not the case, and again, people still haven't realized this sadly. Xiaomi pushes features and improvements through MIUI versions, so for the most part, Android versions are irrelevant to us. Obviously some features from the Android version are important such as the upcoming support for notches and multiple cameras, but for the MIUI ecosystem, everything you need to for your experience comes in the form of MIUI updates. Focus on MIUI version updates first, unless there is something very important in an upcoming Android version.
FEATURES, IMPROVEMENTS, BUGS and YOU:
Your opinions DO matter, many of the features present on MIUI came from the voiced opinions of users like you and I. Second space, dual apps, themes, etc. Many of the are thanks to what we have made of it. This is the same for bugs. There is a feedback app within the phone which is in the Tools folder of most if not all official MIUI versions. Do provide screenshots and suggestions, they are listening, and I myself have seen bugs I have mentioned be fixed in later versions. Could have been me, could have been millions of people who noticed it as well. I think MIUI 7 was the most successful MIUI version out there in terms of overall stability, but I could be wrong
DEVICE QUALITY:
Obviously cheaper devices will demonstrate that they are cheap at some point. Most Xiaomi phones are solid companions, but the lower priced devices tend to suck at times. I owned the Redmi Note 2, and boy the battery life was dreadfull. Some other mid range devices of theirs have physical issues. I owned a Mi Max, it began to slightly bend like the iPhone 6 Plus. The Redmi Note 3 Pro had what seemed like paint on the antenna areas that was chipping off from just putting it in my pocket. The Mi A1 unfortunately had a major issue with the power button that many experienced, and after a drop in it's case, the screen began to lift slightly. This is not at all to scare you as things happen, and all of those phones were outstanding in terms of performance and battery life. Not to mention that all of these phones have been top notch perfomers (no, thats not a pun). Their flagships are pretty darn good for the price, same goes for quality in these. Another thing to note, flagships have better band support than the mid range or lower end (even if they have a Snapdragon processor). This is why I gave the Mi A1 up. I had LTE, but no data during calls, calls would not come though because of the lack of 3G or even 2G support for my carrier, no VoLTE and so on.
CUSTOM ROMS AND XIAOMI PHONES:
Not a good mix in my own experience, but there are some great roms. It's gotten better now that Xiaomi releases source codes even though it takes them a while, but usually the common issue is a lack of a variety of official roms, with many being buggy ports or so on. I hate LineageOS, but typically other roms use this as a base instead of being built from scratch. This is usually what I have come across Xiaomi phones, but who am I to talk, I love MIUI and have not touched a custom rom on Xiaomi phones since the...well A1 actually. MIUI is not for everyone however. There are some setbacks to some of their featues. The browser app for example is great, but auto playing videos gets very annoying, and it falls behind many other browsers out there (I use Chrome). Heavily modified manufacturer builds of Android such as MIUI usually runs better than custom roms though, so keep in mind that you may not get the 6 hour average of screen on time with heavy usage, or may experience more heat, etc.
THINGS YOU MENTIONED:
Now for some of the specific things you mentioned, MIUI always seemed to want to distance itself from Google, but it has gotten better over time. Look at the Mi A1 and A2 for example. I believe that these features just need better implementing. One thing I miss about stock Android is the newsfeed on the left side of home, like the iPhone. I don't understand why the MIUI launcher even had this section, it is useless as all it does is display things I could care less about, and I have to go to the Google app to access this newsfeed. Text to speech I believe now resides within the Google keyboard? Go to Settings > Additional Settings > Languages and Input > under Input Methods > Gboard > Preferences and enable Voice input key. Now you can tap the mic on the top right of the keyboard and talk to type. The text editing MIUI vs Google part has me confused. I believe it might depend on which app you use? If it's a Google app, it's a Google thing, if it's a MIUI app it's a MIUI thing maybe? If you could give some examples, I could investigate and see if there is a proper workaround.
BONUS:
A few secrets! VoLTE not working for you? Try changing your region to India or Hong Kong. Notifications not arriving on time or at all? This is a default battery saving featue, go to Settings > Battery & performance > under Battery Saver tap Choose apps and look for the app that's not receiving notifications (example Kik) and set to No restrictions. Missing your Facebook (or other app) chat heads? Go to Settings > Permissions > Other permissions and select the app in question. You will see Display pop-up window is disabled (red circle with an "X"), tap it and tap Accept. This is commonly referred to as drawing over other apps. I keep it off since it sometimes becomes a headache for changing other app's requested permissions on the fly. This is something that was added to Android after I believe Android 5.0 or so. It's a "security" feature, but if you just installed a new app lets say, have a Facebook chat head open, and that new app requests permission for contacts or so on, it may tell you to turn off the drawing app to change the permission, so I guess this explains why Xiaomi decided to keep it off by default.
anthroplus said:
I see... Seems like I'll have to live with these things related to Android in general.
I'm learning to enjoy using parts that work while training myself to ignore buggy stuff... As if they were never an option.
By focusing on features that work (no more and no less), it's far easier to enjoy this device.
But of course. Easier said than done. There's always temptation to feel FOMO for knowing that these basic things are supposed to actually work.
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It's actually the first time I've experienced a bug with any of Google's own apps. Frustrating since it's a new phone and I can't use it to it's full extent, but it'll fix itself eventually soon
ArmedandDangerous said:
It's actually the first time I've experienced a bug with any of Google's own apps. Frustrating since it's a new phone and I can't use it to it's full extent, but it'll fix itself eventually soon
Click to expand...
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Looking forward to the fix!
Google Assistant is a major selling point that got me to move from iOS (Siri) to Android.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply!
Crossvxm said:
We have a wonderful theme store with tons of themes, something that cannot be said for other manufacturers that have added theme stores or theme apps
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I hear you... It's just that I'd rather stick to stock Xiaomi themes as most themes come with hiccups. Could be a couple missing icons or generally hit & miss quality.
In any case, I'm delighted by where MIUI 10 is visually and where it's headed!
Crossvxm said:
For MIUI, this is not the case, and again, people still haven't realized this sadly. Xiaomi pushes features and improvements through MIUI versions, so for the most part, Android versions are irrelevant to us. Obviously some features from the Android version are important such as the upcoming support for notches and multiple cameras, but for the MIUI ecosystem, everything you need to for your experience comes in the form of MIUI updates. Focus on MIUI version updates first, unless there is something very important in an upcoming Android version.
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Great point! I'm embracing this now actually.
MIUI is far better than TouchWiz, EMUI, and whatnot.
It doesn't matter if the updates come from Google or Xiaomi. I just want enough vendor attention so my phone stays secure and generally updated.
If Xiaomi can offer its own flavor of upgrades, I don't really care about missing out on Google's. Especially since I didn't buy the phone from them.
Crossvxm said:
CUSTOM ROMS AND XIAOMI PHONES... so keep in mind that you may not get the 6 hour average of screen on time with heavy usage, or may experience more heat, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm most inclined to keep it simple and just use the latest & greatest stable software from the manufacturer.
My hope is that Xiaomi will take care of me enough so I'd focus on using my phone over trying to do the job that I paid them to do.
Crossvxm said:
One thing I miss about stock Android is the newsfeed on the left side of home, like the iPhone. I don't understand why the MIUI launcher even had this section, it is useless as all it does is display things I could care less about, and I have to go to the Google app to access this newsfeed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I miss it too but I'm learning to accept that configuring this feature on my own is a hassle that I'd rather ignore.
I'd rather enjoy the Poco Launcher, which works well with the rest of MIUI. Without trying to make my phone mimic Google's ways.
Crossvxm said:
Text to speech I believe now resides within the Google keyboard? Go to Settings > Additional Settings > Languages and Input > under Input Methods > Gboard > Preferences and enable Voice input key. Now you can tap the mic on the top right of the keyboard and talk to type.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My problem is getting the phone to read what's on the screen.
I can't summon this button: https://cl.ly/11b07bb89e9b
Crossvxm said:
The text editing MIUI vs Google part has me confused. I believe it might depend on which app you use? If it's a Google app, it's a Google thing, if it's a MIUI app it's a MIUI thing maybe? If you could give some examples, I could investigate and see if there is a proper workaround.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the Google-style text selector appears mostly on Google-made apps and others like Evernote. Mysteriously, Google Search uses the MIUI style highlight buttons (the one with Select, Select All, Paste, etc)
Looking forward to hearing your feedback!