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Verizon contract is up in a couple weeks so I'm jumping to T-Mobile (costs less) and getting the Nexus 6. I just have a few questions.
Are there any weird quirks with the phone? Anything I won't find out by playing with the phone in store for 10 minutes? Is the phone as powerful as the specs say it is?
I saw some of the older battery life charts in the other thread and they aren't terrible. Is battery life still decent? I'm looking for 4-5+ hours of screen-on time ideally.
Does the "quick charger" that comes with it work well?
Tl;dr Do you recommend the phone?
It's a loaded post, which is why a lot of views, but nary a reply.
However ....
Your title to me is better than jumping on a N6, which could be disastrous to the phone.
If you have looked over the threads, you'll get varying opinions, and mostly IMO it depends on two things:
What they had/came from
What they expect out of the N6.
I will only speak for myself; I came from a VZ GNex I hung onto for 3 years - anything I may have gone to would be a worthy HW upgrade, however I want to tweak my phone when I'm ready to, and that means a Nexus.
I love the phone, it was a bit of a letdown, as I was already running 5.0 on my GNex, so the experience was to a larger, faster smoother phone than what I had. Other than that, I'm loving every minute of having it, plain and simple.
I have one other person who transitioned to one, and he loves it as well.
I'm not going to tell you to get it, you have to go play with it and decide for yourself.
To your specific questions:
quirks - no more so than any other phone, I haven't found any yet myself - most who post I think have to do with not knowing what they set in Lollipop, I've already had it for a bit, so I'm used to it.
Yup, its fast and powerful, whether or not you decide to go unencrypted is up to you, which goes to what you had and what you expect - are you going to unlock root, mod? You can enjoy this phone for quite a bit of time before maybe even needing a reason to go mod it.
Personally, I haven't yet, nor have a lot of members here (check the what rom are you running on VZ thread) because again, I haven't (other than wanting to change my softkeys) had a good reason (to me) to invest the time to do it.
I'm sure it will happen, but not right now. right now I'm just enjoying the hell out of having it.
Batt time is always subjective, whether or not we care to admit it. No two devices are going to run the same, have the same app load outs, some have different memory it appears, and some may actually (gasp) have a bad batt on arrival.
Mine has ran terrific (remember again - what I had and what I expect), and the QC runs great to recharge if need be. I can say that I love not worrying about the batt right now on it daily, but that's for me and my usage.
Battery is fine and its quick. The fast charger works well. I'm not really a fan of them but its what it comes with. I came from a m8 which was a nice device but I like this one better.
Raikalo said:
Tl;dr Do you recommend the phone?
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My wife and I jumped from Sprint to T-Mobile, handing off our Evo 4G's when the Nexus 6 was released, and wouldn't look back. The Nexus 6 has been nothing short of awesome... the camera, speed, screen, everything - is awesome. We keep ours in thick iBlason "Armorbox" cases, and still enjoy our QI charging (I'm unsure how QI isn't a requirement in modern phones these days!). A lot of friends complained about the size, but those that got it anyway, ended up "getting over it" and now won't go back to the smaller screens, heh! It still fits nicely in my (male) jean pockets -- with the large case -- but you'd be hard-pressed to get it safely in female pockets (sorry ladies... you're not allowed to put stuff in the pockets!).
Quirks: one big thing jumped out at me, but isn't a big deal for most. The phone does have built-in RGB LEDs that sit underneath the top speaker, yet, they chose to block access to this functionality. I guess they reused the underlying board but didn't want the LEDs, but nonetheless, they are invaluable to me: I enjoy knowing if I have something waiting for me *without* having to look at the screen - whether while in bed, sitting on the desk, riding the bike, etc.! The plus, you can get at these LEDs if you're rooted. So... if that's possibly desirable to you, I'd recommend unlocking the phone as soon as you get it, so you can avoid the data wipe down the road. The Lightflow app can handle them quite well (though I believe it requires the "Pro" version, for a couple bucks). ...and as of now, the LEDs are "on or off" - no flashing... but hey, I'll take what I can get!
Oh, and not really related to the phone itself, but a Google-Nexus 6 quirk -- quite annoying at the time, for me -- Google's "My Tracks" app was broken for awhile (unable to acquire the GPS signal). There are a gazillion alternatives out there, but I'd been a long-time daily user of the app, and Google broke it!...for months. It was disappointing that they would break core app functionality on their *current* flagship device, for their own app, and choose to ignore it for such a long time. I think the 5.1 update fixed whatever problem they had, but that was a pet peeve.. On the plus side, I've enjoyed the feature-rich alternatives that I was forced to explore, ha!
We haven't messed with de-crypting ourselves, as the phones are super-duper-fast as-is, but we love them. These are our introduction to the Nexus world, and we love the fact that they no-bars-hold permit unlocking, and that the updates are, of course, front line.
Tl;dr I highly recommend the phone! Phone size is the only recurring complaint among friends.
Thank you everyone for the replies. Yes, battery life is subjective ...so long as most of the reviews say the battery is good enough, that's all I care about. First-hand reviews from users are always the best because I know everyone isn't just trying to sell me a phone . As far as the LEDs being unusable when not rooted, that isn't a big deal for me. My current phone (Razr Maxx HD, xt926 verizon) has the LEDs and fantastic battery life through various mods, but is simply not cutting it anymore for what I need. I've never heard of the My Tracks app, so I guess it's a good thing since I didn't know it was broken lol.
This will be my first Nexus phone... I have the Nexus 7 (2012) tablet that is currently running CM12 nightlies, so I'm familiar with the "Nexus experience" and Lollipop already. I like it quite a bit, but it did take a little getting used to. I was very much planning on unlocking and rooting the N6 immediately, but I'll play with it a bit and enjoy the stock experience first.
@vormund Do you like T-Mobile, now that you switched from Sprint?
@RW-1 Can you explain the encryption you're talking about a little more? This is the first I've heard of it.
Again, thanks everyone for the replies. I'm pretty much sold on the phone at this point.
Raikalo said:
Thank you everyone for the replies. Yes, battery life is subjective ...so long as most of the reviews say the battery is good enough, that's all I care about. First-hand reviews from users are always the best because I know everyone isn't just trying to sell me a phone . As far as the LEDs being unusable when not rooted, that isn't a big deal for me. My current phone (Razr Maxx HD, xt926 verizon) has the LEDs and fantastic battery life through various mods, but is simply not cutting it anymore for what I need. I've never heard of the My Tracks app, so I guess it's a good thing since I didn't know it was broken lol.
This will be my first Nexus phone... I have the Nexus 7 (2012) tablet that is currently running CM12 nightlies, so I'm familiar with the "Nexus experience" and Lollipop already. I like it quite a bit, but it did take a little getting used to. I was very much planning on unlocking and rooting the N6 immediately, but I'll play with it a bit and enjoy the stock experience first.
@vormund Do you like T-Mobile, now that you switched from Sprint?
@RW-1 Can you explain the encryption you're talking about a little more? This is the first I've heard of it.
Again, thanks everyone for the replies. I'm pretty much sold on the phone at this point.
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I am currently using MeanPop 2.11 on my Nexus 6 and it has a blinking LED light for notifications, a blinking red light for while your phone is charging and a green light for when the device is fully charged. I had the phone a couple of hours tops before I rooted it, so I can't really provide an opinion on the device out of the box. My brother is using a non-rooted Nexus 6 and he loves it as well. We both came from the Note Edge, but enjoy the Nexus 6 more than any device we have used up to this point. Out of the box, the device is encrypted (which some people have stated that their performance suffered compared to being unencrypted). You can easily unlock the phone and decrypt it. There is a solid guide for this in the development section. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask them here and I'll assist where I can.
slimc84 said:
I am currently using MeanPop 2.11 on my Nexus 6 and it has a blinking LED light for notifications, a blinking red light for while your phone is charging and a green light for when the device is fully charged. I had the phone a couple of hours tops before I rooted it, so I can't really provide an opinion on the device out of the box. My brother is using a non-rooted Nexus 6 and he loves it as well. We both came from the Note Edge, but enjoy the Nexus 6 more than any device we have used up to this point. Out of the box, the device is encrypted (which some people have stated that their performance suffered compared to being unencrypted). You can easily unlock the phone and decrypt it. There is a solid guide for this in the development section. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask them here and I'll assist where I can.
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That solves the LED issue. I will probably decrypt the device since I don't know why I would need it encrypted. Thank you. I will definitely message you with any questions, but I won't have the phone until closer to the end of April (24th or so), so it will be a bit yet. I'm just glad the phone is shaping up to be as great as I am expecting it to be.
Out of curiosity, what are the benefits of leaving the phone encrypted?
Raikalo said:
@vormund Do you like T-Mobile, now that you switched from Sprint?
@RW-1 Can you explain the encryption you're talking about a little more? This is the first I've heard of it..
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T-Mobile has been equal-to-or-better than Sprint in Tucson, AZ... their customer service is dreadful (store reps are absolutely useless), but if you're persistent, you usually come out alright - which I'm happy to do with the difference in cost (+$10 to join my sister's plan versus $30+ for Sprint's split... among the other (contract, discount, etc.) considerations! Data is hit-or-miss on the outskirts of the city, but so is Sprint (and ATT)...Verizon seems to have solid service out there, though...(then again, you pay for it!)...
Data speeds are almost always slower when compared to Verizon (a friend with Verizon did some speed tests with me...we're both usually LTE, but he'd consistently get 3-4x faster speeds...this probably varies greatly by locale and their networks), but it's sufficient for me. If you're one to watch Netflix or download a ton, it'll probably be quite the downgrade.. but me - I'm on wireless for any big data usage, so network-wise, I'm just mapping, a little music streaming, geo tracking and such.
Encryption: For the extra paranoid or those with ultra-sensitive information on their phones, perhaps?
I suspect it would make things a little more difficult for law enforcement, too... depending on backdoors and such? Actually, yeah, that looks to be the case!
After seeing the speed comparisons, I'd definitely switch over now, even though the phone is fast-as-can-be as it is, ha. One of these days maybe... but for now, it's a few more minutes in a already-crazy day.
slimc84 said:
I am currently using MeanPop 2.11 on my Nexus 6 and it has a blinking LED light for notifications...
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Thanks great to know, thanks for the info! +1 for a custom ROM. I think the reason Lightflow can't do it directly - with rooted stock - as it'd have to keep the phone awake. There well may be ways around that by now... I just wish they'd enable direct access without (there's just no good reason to take away a hardware feature... disabled by default, but come on! ).
vormund said:
T-Mobile has been equal-to-or-better than Sprint in Tucson, AZ... their customer service is dreadful (store reps are absolutely useless), but if you're persistent, you usually come out alright - which I'm happy to do with the difference in cost (+$10 to join my sister's plan versus $30+ for Sprint's split... among the other (contract, discount, etc.) considerations! Data is hit-or-miss on the outskirts of the city, but so is Sprint (and ATT)...Verizon seems to have solid service out there, though...(then again, you pay for it!)...
Data speeds are almost always slower when compared to Verizon (a friend with Verizon did some speed tests with me...we're both usually LTE, but he'd consistently get 3-4x faster speeds...this probably varies greatly by locale and their networks), but it's sufficient for me. If you're one to watch Netflix or download a ton, it'll probably be quite the downgrade.. but me - I'm on wireless for any big data usage, so network-wise, I'm just mapping, a little music streaming, geo tracking and such.
Encryption: For the extra paranoid or those with ultra-sensitive information on their phones, perhaps?
I suspect it would make things a little more difficult for law enforcement, too... depending on backdoors and such? Actually, yeah, that looks to be the case!
After seeing the speed comparisons, I'd definitely switch over now, even though the phone is fast-as-can-be as it is, ha. One of these days maybe... but for now, it's a few more minutes in a already-crazy day.
Thanks great to know, thanks for the info! +1 for a custom ROM. I think the reason Lightflow can't do it directly - with rooted stock - as it'd have to keep the phone awake. There well may be ways around that by now... I just wish they'd enable direct access without (there's just no good reason to take away a hardware feature... disabled by default, but come on! ).
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A wakelock is triggered with the flashing LED even in the custom Rom (burns 1-2% per hour that the LED is flashing). It's definitely worth having though. The ROM is solid and I haven't had a single issue with it yet.
After reading the benchmarking for encryption vs decryption, I'm definitely decrypting the phone when I get it. I'm not overly worried about the LEDs (does seem weird though that it's not like all of the other android phones I've had, where they just work, regardless of ROM). I'm in the middle of the East Coast where (according to coverage maps) 4G is more available, so I'll definitely run some speed tests and see how T-mobile's data speeds stack up on this side of the country. I really just need a fast browser with good, stable internet speeds. I won't complain if it's faster than 3G.
The S6 is a fast and fluid phone by all means and doesn't lag often -but it does. And until Samsung (under AT&T's crippled control) comes forward with some firmware updates we can expect less than optimal software. These steps seemed to help keep performance smooth and lower the frequency of any stuttering for the time being.
Step 1
Disable Bloat
AT&T Bloat - AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T Hot Spots, AT&T Live, AT&T Locker, AT&T Locker, AT&T Mail, AT&T Mobile Locate, AT&T Mobile Transfer. AT&T Navigator, Caller Name ID, Device Help, DriveMode, Milk, Milk Video , Smart Limits (Why is there so much!?!)
Samsung Bloat - S Voice, Keeper, Lookout, Hancom Office 2014,
Other Bloat - OneNote, Skype, Uber, YP, Hangouts, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon
You can disable more or disable less, but honestly the bulk of the bloat comes from AT&T.
Once you disable everything restart your phone. It is important to make sure all of the applications are not loaded in the RAM, and a reboot should guarantee this. Of course, if you root you can delete the applications instead of disabling them - it's your call.
Step 2
Disable Sensors You're not Using
NFC
Motion and Gestures - Direct call, Smart alert, Mute, Palm Swipe to capture
Bluetooth
Themes (These may not actually affect performance, only time will tell)
Account Sync
GPS
Wifi - Network notification, Always allow scanning
News Briefing
Step 3
Stay up to date
System updates
Google Play App updates
Galaxy App updates - new users may not know to check this application for system updates
That about does it for now. Time to wait for both ROMs (if the bootloader is ever unlocked) and firmware updates.
Hippoman13 said:
The S6 is a fast and fluid phone by all means and doesn't lag often -but it does. And until Samsung (under AT&T's crippled control) comes forward with some firmware updates we can expect less than optimal software. These steps seemed to help keep performance smooth and lower the frequency of any stuttering for the time being.
Step 1
Disable Bloat
AT&T Bloat - AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T Hot Spots, AT&T Live, AT&T Locker, AT&T Locker, AT&T Mail, AT&T Mobile Locate, AT&T Mobile Transfer. AT&T Navigator, Caller Name ID, Device Help, DriveMode, Milk, Milk Video , Smart Limits (Why is there so much!?!)
Samsung Bloat - S Voice, Keeper, Lookout, Hancom Office 2014,
Other Bloat - OneNote, Skype, Uber, YP, Hangouts, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon
You can disable more or disable less, but honestly the bulk of the bloat comes from AT&T.
Once you disable everything restart your phone. It is important to make sure all of the applications are not loaded in the RAM, and a reboot should guarantee this. Of course, if you root you can delete the applications instead of disabling them - it's your call.
Step 2
Disable Unnecessary Sensors
NFC
Motion and Gestures - Direct call, Smart alert, Mute, Palm Swipe to capture
Bluetooth
Themes (These may not actually affect performance, only time will tell)
Account Sync
GPS
Wifi - Network notification, Always allow scanning
News Briefing
Step 3
Stay up to date
System updates
Google Play App updates
Galaxy App updates
That about does it for now. Time to wait for both ROMs (if the bootloader is ever unlocked) and firmware updates. Samsung is known for laggy launch software and that is what we're dealing with, folks.
I would appreciate feedback and input.
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Lol, this is almost laughable. You literally have everything on the device disabled? Turn off WiFi Bluetooth GPS??? Why don't you just run your phone in airplane mode since you're only one step away from it....
Even more laughable that you think its "laggy" and not the fastest phone on the market.....
Even MORE laughable that you're actually waiting for the bootloader to get unlocked.... check with the S5 people who bought their phones a year ago and see how that's going for them...
You should just delete Steps 2 and 3 from your list since step 2 is just rediculous, and step 3 is just common sense.
TechSavvy2 said:
Lol, this is almost laughable. You literally have everything on the device disabled? Turn off WiFi Bluetooth GPS??? Why don't you just run your phone in airplane mode since you're only one step away from it....
Even more laughable that you think its "laggy" and not the fastest phone on the market.....
Even MORE laughable that you're actually waiting for the bootloader to get unlocked.... check with the S5 people who bought their phones a year ago and see how that's going for them...
You should just delete Steps 2 and 3 from your list since step 2 is just rediculous, and step 3 is just common sense.
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Coming to terms with lag is hard. Especially after you spend your hard earned money on a new Samsung® Phone. EVEN more so for someone who cries under a guide made for inexperienced users. You sound like you know what you're talking about - why are you here?
I don't have everything disabled. I said Disable Unnecessary Sensors(I changed it for you). If any of them are necessary to you, leave them on. Are you still confused?
The phone IS laggy. Every Android phone is to different degrees and your new, shiny Galaxy S6 is no different. ESPECIALLY the AT&T variant. I said the bulk of the bloat comes from AT&T, so other versions of the S6 are probably faster and what you read about. Not this one.
The bootloader might be unlocked, or maybe not. Assuming it definitely won't be is laughable.
There's no need to freak out on a guide for inexperienced users. A TON of people bought the S6 and don't know how it works. You certainly do, so don't waste your time.
This is a good guide and starting point, thank you for taking the time to post it here. As always, other users should take all guides as such; a starting point to customize "your" rig for what "you" use. Take what you like and leave the rest aside. :good:
S6 making more problems than S5
My S5 Goes better then the s6 Egde
I opted to get the iPhone 6+ a chance,,and I don't regret it. with the 8.3 update is just buttery smooth, I was going to get the S6, but will all that bloat and no root in the near future the decision was easy. Now just wait for the LG G4 to come out and see what it brings....
The M9 is just out of the equation since I really hated that bezel when I had the M8
eortizr said:
I opted to get the iPhone 6+ a chance,,and I don't regret it. with the 8.3 update is just buttery smooth, I was going to get the S6, but will all that bloat and no root in the near future the decision was easy. Now just wait for the LG G4 to come out and see what it brings....
The M9 is just out of the equation since I really hated that bezel when I had the M8
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Yay for you. Who cares?
Sent from my SM-P900 using Xparent Red Tapatalk 2
Well the M9 display and camera are quite poor compared to the S6 and iPhone. It's really unfortunate.
The new iPhone is only 5 months away, so enjoy your phone while it's relevant. I've played around with iOS 8.3 and it really is killer, I just don't like iPhones lol.
Hippoman13 said:
Coming to terms with lag is hard. Especially after you spend your hard earned money on a new Samsung® Phone. EVEN more so for someone who cries under a guide made for inexperienced users. You sound like you know what you're talking about - why are you here?
I don't have everything disabled. I said Disable Unnecessary Sensors(I changed it for you). If any of them are necessary to you, leave them on. Are you still confused?
The phone IS laggy. Every Android phone is to different degrees and your new, shiny Galaxy S6 is no different. ESPECIALLY the AT&T variant. I said the bulk of the bloat comes from AT&T, so other versions of the S6 are probably faster and what you read about. Not this one.
The bootloader might be unlocked, or maybe not. Assuming it definitely won't be is laughable.
There's no need to freak out on a guide for inexperienced users. A TON of people bought the S6 and don't know how it works. You certainly do, so don't waste your time.
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Why do people always relate bloat to lag? Do you realize in reality it has almost nothing to do with lag, if at all?
It's like saying "my computer is slower because 70% of my hard drive is full instead of 50%" . It's pure rubbish and simply not true.
So please, I understand you are trying to help but please don't steer people in the wrong direction.
It's just a common XDA myth that everyone jumped on without doing their own research.
WizeGuyDezignz said:
Why do people always relate bloat to lag? Do you realize in reality it has almost nothing to do with lag, if at all?
It's like saying "my computer is slower because 70% of my hard drive is full instead of 50%" . It's pure rubbish and simply not true.
So please, I understand you are trying to help but please don't steer people in the wrong direction.
It's just a common XDA myth that everyone jumped on without doing their own research.
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Click to collapse
You're joking, right?
Many bloat apps run in the background and consume CPU and RAM. They don't just sit there dormant in the storage.
WizeGuyDezignz said:
Why do people always relate bloat to lag? Do you realize in reality it has almost nothing to do with lag, if at all?
It's like saying "my computer is slower because 70% of my hard drive is full instead of 50%" . It's pure rubbish and simply not true.
So please, I understand you are trying to help but please don't steer people in the wrong direction.
It's just a common XDA myth that everyone jumped on without doing their own research.
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Click to collapse
You are an idiot.... Because on physical disk drives (HDD's not SSD's) being fuller does mean slower. That is that the drive will take longer to seek data as the way that the disk writes/reads data it would have to move the heads back an forth much further/more often. as I drive gets fuller it also fragments data more often. his is why a SSD is superior at seek times as it does not have to seek data on a physical level, especially as they get closer to full utilization of capacity.
Beyond that, a HDD writes from outside edge of the disk inward. This is because at the same rpm, each revolution that the disk makes it is able to pull more data on the outside of the disk than the inside. Density of data is uniform so it simply passes more data. Think of a car that has a tiny (diameter) tire vs a large one (same car). At the same rpms in a given gear, the large diameter tire will be moving faster. Why? The outside edge has a higher velocity than the inside of the tire as it spins. The further a spinning object reaches from center, the faster it will be spinning at an outside edge vs inner.
I agree this guide is bs...Just as your understanding of computer storage architecture is.
There really isn't much lag. That may be b/c I disabled everything first thing after unboxing, but I disabled b/c I dont want all those apps downloading updates. Not b/c I noticed any lag. Touchwiz is definitely snappier than the GS5.
I'm running my HTC M8 GPE (just wiped it clean). The M8 is a tad bit quicker/responsive, but the S6 is very, very close. M8 GPE is still an awesome phone
The camera and added software features like multi-window, quick camera access, etc. make the S6 slightly better in my opinion (for me at least).
My main concern with the S6, and why I'm considering returning it and waiting for the Note, is the battery life. So far it just hasn't been good. Probably 3.5hrs of screen time. And I can't replace the battery, so after a year the battery life is going to be bad. It does charge fast, but I don't want to have to worry about that.
brushrop03 said:
There really isn't much lag. That may be b/c I disabled everything first thing after unboxing, but I disabled b/c I dont want all those apps downloading updates. Not b/c I noticed any lag. Touchwiz is definitely snappier than the GS5.
I'm running my HTC M8 GPE (just wiped it clean). The M8 is a tad bit quicker/responsive, but the S6 is very, very close. M8 GPE is still an awesome phone
The camera and added software features like multi-window, quick camera access, etc. make the S6 slightly better in my opinion (for me at least).
My main concern with the S6, and why I'm considering returning it and waiting for the Note, is the battery life. So far it just hasn't been good. Probably 3.5hrs of screen time. And I can't replace the battery, so after a year the battery life is going to be bad. It does charge fast, but I don't want to have to worry about that.
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Yeah the battery has been a disappointment so far coming from the g3... but I only had the g3 for a month and had a nexus 5 for a year before that so I'm kinda used to it. Still a buzzkill tho
I feel like each and everyone of you shouldn't be surprised by any of this. It happened on S3, S4, S5 and the note devices why would the S6 be any different. Until we start putting our foot down(never going to happen) as consumers it's safe to assume that the S7 won't be any different.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using XDA Free mobile app
LeKtRiCzzz said:
I feel like each and everyone of you shouldn't be surprised by any of this. It happened on S3, S4, S5 and the note devices why would the S6 be any different. Until we start putting our foot down(never going to happen) as consumers it's safe to assume that the S7 won't be any different.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using XDA Free mobile app
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I was by no means surprised. I saw the size of the battery before I bought it. I know it's a quality screen that will also impact it. I'm surprised it gets the same kind of battery life as the nexus 5 tbh
This is honestly so dumb. There is no lag...
DigitalUnderground said:
I was by no means surprised. I saw the size of the battery before I bought it. I know it's a quality screen that will also impact it. I'm surprised it gets the same kind of battery life as the nexus 5 tbh
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I'm only disappointed in the fact that we finally get a Samsung battery efficient processor, but then they make the battery smaller than the S5 and seal it. I could see myself keeping this phone for 2 years, but I would need to replace the battery at some point.
brushrop03 said:
I'm only disappointed in the fact that we finally get a Samsung battery efficient processor, but then they make the battery smaller than the S5 and seal it. I could see myself keeping this phone for 2 years, but I would need to replace the battery at some point.
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I can understand that... but remember the device's footprint is smaller and more compact than the s5. There's only so much room. Once you've owned a nexus 5, u learn to keep a charger at the office in case of emergency and a car charger in the center console outlet.
DigitalUnderground said:
I can understand that... but remember the device's footprint is smaller and more compact than the s5. There's only so much room. Once you've owned a nexus 5, u learn to keep a charger at the office in case of emergency and a car charger in the center console outlet.
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Yeah I have a 2A charger at work and in my car. So i'm usually not far away from a charger. But the more you charge, the faster you wear the battery life. If I could replace the battery, not a big problem. But they sealed it!!! arghh!! wth Samsung?!
brushrop03 said:
Yeah I have a 2A charger at work and in my car. So i'm usually not far away from a charger. But the more you charge, the faster you wear the battery life. If I could replace the battery, not a big problem. But they sealed it!!! arghh!! wth Samsung?!
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Click to collapse
I've never replaced a battery in any phone I've had and I don't use microsd so I actually like the device being sealed. It adds to the build quality and the sturdiness. You couldn't have the glass back if it was removable
i currently own the nexus six, which i've had since march. my previous experience with the nexus line was the galaxy nexus on verizon (which we all know was severely handicapped by verizon). i had a note 4 on sprint before i switched to the nexus 6 because i was sick of the slow updates. 1) the nexus 6 is slow. it completely lags when doing simple searches and opening apps. 2) updates are great, but still missing wifi calling. 3) i just updated my tab s 8.4 to lollipop 5.0 and it SMOKES my nexus. seriously what gives? why is this phone so slow? im currently on the latest update and i'm really disappointed. 4) the battery life is TERRIBLE. i dont think i've ever had a phone with such poor battery life. i'm thinking this is going to be the last nexus i ever get. with the note 4 i had expandable storage and a removable battery. what are your guys' thoughts? how happy are you with your nexus? i can't believe touchwiz is faster than vanilla android. im in complete disbelief.
You sure something isn't wrong with your device?
My Nexus 6 pretty much smokes the Galaxy S6 I had in terms of smoothness.
Battery life is pretty good but does leave something to be desired, but remember.. this screen is huge and it takes some power to push all the pixels on this huge Quad HD screen. On top of that, we are still in the early days of phones having Quad HD displays. I think some software updates will help with battery life in the future.
ford12acing said:
i currently own the nexus six, which i've had since march. my previous experience with the nexus line was the galaxy nexus on verizon (which we all know was severely handicapped by verizon). i had a note 4 on sprint before i switched to the nexus 6 because i was sick of the slow updates. 1) the nexus 6 is slow. it completely lags when doing simple searches and opening apps. 2) updates are great, but still missing wifi calling. 3) i just updated my tab s 8.4 to lollipop 5.0 and it SMOKES my nexus. seriously what gives? why is this phone so slow? im currently on the latest update and i'm really disappointed. 4) the battery life is TERRIBLE. i dont think i've ever had a phone with such poor battery life. i'm thinking this is going to be the last nexus i ever get. with the note 4 i had expandable storage and a removable battery. what are your guys' thoughts? how happy are you with your nexus? i can't believe touchwiz is faster than vanilla android. im in complete disbelief.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to root install benzo as a rom and either zen, vindicator or hells as your kernel
ford12acing said:
i currently own the nexus six, which i've had since march. my previous experience with the nexus line was the galaxy nexus on verizon (which we all know was severely handicapped by verizon). i had a note 4 on sprint before i switched to the nexus 6 because i was sick of the slow updates. 1) the nexus 6 is slow. it completely lags when doing simple searches and opening apps. 2) updates are great, but still missing wifi calling. 3) i just updated my tab s 8.4 to lollipop 5.0 and it SMOKES my nexus. seriously what gives? why is this phone so slow? im currently on the latest update and i'm really disappointed. 4) the battery life is TERRIBLE. i dont think i've ever had a phone with such poor battery life. i'm thinking this is going to be the last nexus i ever get. with the note 4 i had expandable storage and a removable battery. what are your guys' thoughts? how happy are you with your nexus? i can't believe touchwiz is faster than vanilla android. im in complete disbelief.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, the heavier the OEM layer is the faster the device will be, this is common knowledge. Please hold on to this feeling and get another device. We have plenty of winers allready :silly:
I was also very disappointed with the battery life of my Nexus 6. It was then giving me some major problems (It would turn off very frequently and not turn on until it was plugged in, even at 100% battery). I then RMA'd it and my replacement Nexus 6 has way better battery life (5+ SOT instead of 3 or less). I'd recommend RMA'ing it if you're having issues because this phone is blazing fast and a great device.
drkboze said:
I was also very disappointed with the battery life of my Nexus 6. It was then giving me some major problems (It would turn off very frequently and not turn on until it was plugged in, even at 100% battery). I then RMA'd it and my replacement Nexus 6 has way better battery life (5+ SOT instead of 3 or less). I'd recommend RMA'ing it if you're having issues because this phone is blazing fast and a great device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try rooting the phone and use for instance Greenify or Servicely to slumber apps/services when they are not needed. A custom kernel stretches batterylife too in my xperience.
1. Mine isn't slow at all, it's as fast if not faster than the G3.
2. Why are you expecting Wi-Fi calling?
3. *shrug* my experience is completely different
4. I don't know what people are doing to get poor battery life with this phone. I've done no optimizations and I work 8-10hrs while my phone is jumping between poor 3G/LTE. I unplug around 8am and get home with usually 60% battery left.
5. What do I think? This isn't the phone for you. Enjoy your Samsung. If you haven't tried the G3, you should.
Don't take this in the wrong way, but did we need another thread on this?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/nexus-6-worst-phone-google-t3094624
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/nexus-6-issues-thread-t2946743
You said you're on Sprint so:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/nexus-6-sprint-users-thread-t2949996
You also could have posted here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/google-nexus-6-t3077130
Thanks.
OP,
Don't really know what to say to you, other than my experience was the complete opposite. I had the Note 4 for exactly 2 days before I got sick of the lag, bloat, and ridiculously cluttered settings page and returned it. My N6 is so fast that it's becoming annoying to use my 2nd gen ipad because of how slow it it.
jiv101 said:
You need to root install benzo as a rom and either zen, vindicator or hells as your kernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock is quite speedy unencrypted.
i've got my phone rooted, but im not going to install a custom rom or kernel. i love android over ios, but im just disappointed with this device. As far as the g3, i've messed around with the device and it too lags. i had a g2 and it lags as well. actually speedwise, i would say my n6 is on par with my old g2, which was crap. yeah samsung has bloatware, and i used a different launcher because i couldn't stand touchwiz, but man, im surprised that out of the box, it ran faster than my nexus 6. my tab s 8.4, which i just upgraded to lollipop, that also has touchwiz, is running significantly faster than my nexus 6. it's pretty unbelievable that a bloatware loaded version of android is running better than vanilla android. sometimes when im doing a google search, and the phone just freezes. sometimes i open an app, and it literally takes two minutes to open. doesn't happen all the time, but enough to be a nuisance.
i've been loading custom roms on my phones since the old galaxy s days, but im no longer doing that. too many issues with stability, battery life, etc. you shouldn't HAVE to load a custom rom just to have a decently running device.
ford12acing said:
i currently own the nexus six, which i've had since march. my previous experience with the nexus line was the galaxy nexus on verizon (which we all know was severely handicapped by verizon). i had a note 4 on sprint before i switched to the nexus 6 because i was sick of the slow updates. 1) the nexus 6 is slow. it completely lags when doing simple searches and opening apps. 2) updates are great, but still missing wifi calling. 3) i just updated my tab s 8.4 to lollipop 5.0 and it SMOKES my nexus. seriously what gives? why is this phone so slow? im currently on the latest update and i'm really disappointed. 4) the battery life is TERRIBLE. i dont think i've ever had a phone with such poor battery life. i'm thinking this is going to be the last nexus i ever get. with the note 4 i had expandable storage and a removable battery. what are your guys' thoughts? how happy are you with your nexus? i can't believe touchwiz is faster than vanilla android. im in complete disbelief.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I read things like this, I see someone who got the Nexus 6, didn't like the device itself, and therefore nitpicked it to death to the point of convincing themselves of getting a new device.
1. Its encrypted by default. Encryption is always a trade off in performance (moreso on the N6), and your Tab isn't encrypted. A simple fix and a wipe was all that was needed.
2. You bought a Nexus knowing you wouldn't have carrier niceties. I think you missed this very important point and found out you like carrier additions.
3. See number 1.
4. Sure you have, the Galaxy Nexus. That said, you gave no details on your carrier, signal, battery usage, SOT, or anything else. You aren't looking for a solution, just a reason to get out.
Touchwiz is not faster than vanilla. Never has been, never will be for obvious reasons.
adrynalyne said:
When I read things like this, I see someone who got the Nexus 6, didn't like the device itself, and therefore nitpicked it to death to the point of convincing themselves of getting a new device.
1. Its encrypted by default. Encryption is always a trade off in performance (moreso on the N6), and your Tab isn't encrypted. A simple fix and a wipe was all that was needed.
2. You bought a Nexus knowing you wouldn't have carrier niceties. I think you missed this very important point and found out you like carrier additions.
3. See number 1.
4. Sure you have, the Galaxy Nexus. That said, you gave no details on your carrier, signal, battery usage, SOT, or anything else. You aren't looking for a solution, just a reason to get out.
Touchwiz is not faster than vanilla. Never has been, never will be for obvious reasons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think may statements have been misconstrued. i don't like bloatware, and i do like quick updates. the features i do miss are microsd slots (i still think it's stupid for google to not include them on the nexus - set yourself apart from apple), and removable batteries. i wanted wifi calling because the nexus 6 is supposed to have it (at least on tmobile) by the end of q1, still not here)
don't misconstrue this either, i hate apple, but ios comes encrypted out the box, and it doesn't lag like this. has google not found a way to keep up with apple? so i have to sacrifice the security of encryption in order to compete with a crappy iphone?
btw, my galaxy nexus got better battery life than mine nexus 6.
ford12acing said:
i think may statements have been misconstrued. i don't like bloatware, and i do like quick updates. the features i do miss are microsd slots (i still think it's stupid for google to not include them on the nexus - set yourself apart from apple), and removable batteries. i wanted wifi calling because the nexus 6 is supposed to have it (at least on tmobile) by the end of q1, still not here)
don't misconstrue this either, i hate apple, but ios comes encrypted out the box, and it doesn't lag like this. has google not found a way to keep up with apple? so i have to sacrifice the security of encryption in order to compete with a crappy iphone?
btw, my galaxy nexus got better battery life than mine nexus 6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but you knew it didn't have an sd slot when you bought it. So if thats a reason to dislike it and you still bought it, you will have to blame yourself.
The wifi calling is a shortcoming of Tmo. Google had no intentions of writing that by themselves.
iPhone does very little I/O work. Of course encryption doesn't affect it. That said, you could have found a solution here to run encrypted with better performance too. You never looked it would seem. My daughter has an iPhone 6. I see nothing fast about it. Smooth, though Im sure some of it is covered up by long animations.
If your Gnex got better battery life than your Nexus 6, one of two things are happening here:
1. You are lying
2. This is a troll thread.
adrynalyne said:
When I read things like this, I see someone who got the Nexus 6, didn't like the device itself, and therefore nitpicked it to death to the point of convincing themselves of getting a new device.
1. Its encrypted by default. Encryption is always a trade off in performance (moreso on the N6), and your Tab isn't encrypted. A simple fix and a wipe was all that was needed.
2. You bought a Nexus knowing you wouldn't have carrier niceties. I think you missed this very important point and found out you like carrier additions.
3. See number 1.
4. Sure you have, the Galaxy Nexus. That said, you gave no details on your carrier, signal, battery usage, SOT, or anything else. You aren't looking for a solution, just a reason to get out.
Touchwiz is not faster than vanilla. Never has been, never will be for obvious reasons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, i don't like the device itself. why? because it's slow and has poor battery life.
1) i understand my tab s is not encrypted. i hate apple and will never buy anything from them, but iphones are encrypted out the box, and do not have issues like the nexus
2) the nexus 6 is supposed to have wifi calling by the end of q1 (im on tmobile). this is not a carrier nicety, but also a huge feature for google's own project fi.
3) encrypted or not, to the typical user, out the box, there is a marked difference between "touchwiz" and vanilla android. sorry, you can give the excuse that its encrypted, but this lag is unacceptable.
4) this device has worse battery life than my galaxy nexus. i would say battery life is worse than my thunderbolt from years ago. i reboot the phone several times a day, and i clear all the apps from my cache several times a day as well.
adrynalyne said:
Yeah but you knew it didn't have an sd slot when you bought it. So if thats a reason to dislike it and you still bought it, you will have to blame yourself.
The wifi calling is a shortcoming of Tmo. Google had no intentions of writing that by themselves.
iPhone does very little I/O work. Of course encryption doesn't affect it. That said, you could have found a solution here to run encrypted with better performance too. You never looked it would seem. My daughter has an iPhone 6. I see nothing fast about it. Smooth, though Im sure some of it is covered up by long animations.
If your Gnex got better battery life than your Nexus 6, one of two things are happening here:
1. You are lying
2. This is a troll thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rofl, you assume im trolling/lying when i'm down to 37% by 12pm? right. god forbird i check emails, make phone calls, and listen to music/podcasts via bluetooth in my car. im constantly tethered to a portable charger because of this.
i knew it didn't have a microsd slot, i thought it was a worthy tradeoff for vanilla android and timely updates.
wifi calling IS a shortcoming of google, they were working with tmobile to implement it, and are going to use it with project fi. perhaps if you weren't a pretentious know it all, you would have taken 10 seconds to look that up.
if you think i'm just trollling, then pass on through buddy. im not sitting here begging for your advice or comments.
ford12acing said:
yeah, i don't like the device itself. why? because it's slow and has poor battery life.
1) i understand my tab s is not encrypted. i hate apple and will never buy anything from them, but iphones are encrypted out the box, and do not have issues like the nexus
2) the nexus 6 is supposed to have wifi calling by the end of q1 (im on tmobile). this is not a carrier nicety, but also a huge feature for google's own project fi.
3) encrypted or not, to the typical user, out the box, there is a marked difference between "touchwiz" and vanilla android. sorry, you can give the excuse that its encrypted, but this lag is unacceptable.
4) this device has worse battery life than my galaxy nexus. i would say battery life is worse than my thunderbolt from years ago. i reboot the phone several times a day, and i clear all the apps from my cache several times a day as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Again, you did nothing to fix the issue. You can get better performance from encryption as well. My Turbo had no discernible performance hit encrypted, so that should be a clue to you it can be remedied.
2. Project FI has diddly squat to do with Tmobile's Wifi calling, which again requires Tmobile to get it done. Blame the Nexus of course.
3. Put them on equal footing and decrypt your data. No? Then don't make claims like this.
4. The thunderbolt would die within 4 hours of medium use on LTE. The Gnex in 6-8. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and tell you your hardware is messed up, though I doubt you have zero interest in hearing that.
PS. Have you ever looked in your cache? It spends 95% of its life empty. What did you hope to accomplish by clearing it?
ford12acing said:
rofl, you assume im trolling/lying when i'm down to 37% by 12pm? right. god forbird i check emails, make phone calls, and listen to music/podcasts via bluetooth in my car. im constantly tethered to a portable charger because of this.
i knew it didn't have a microsd slot, i thought it was a worthy tradeoff for vanilla android and timely updates.
wifi calling IS a shortcoming of google, they were working with tmobile to implement it, and are going to use it with project fi. perhaps if you weren't a pretentious know it all, you would have taken 10 seconds to look that up.
if you think i'm just trollling, then pass on through buddy. im not sitting here begging for your advice or comments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yet you posted in multiple threads ont he same subject. Sounds like attention seeking to me.
ford12acing said:
yeah, i don't like the device itself. why? because it's slow and has poor battery life.
1) i understand my tab s is not encrypted. i hate apple and will never buy anything from them, but iphones are encrypted out the box, and do not have issues like the nexus
2) the nexus 6 is supposed to have wifi calling by the end of q1 (im on tmobile). this is not a carrier nicety, but also a huge feature for google's own project fi.
3) encrypted or not, to the typical user, out the box, there is a marked difference between "touchwiz" and vanilla android. sorry, you can give the excuse that its encrypted, but this lag is unacceptable.
4) this device has worse battery life than my galaxy nexus. i would say battery life is worse than my thunderbolt from years ago. i reboot the phone several times a day, and i clear all the apps from my cache several times a day as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just solved your own battery dilemma. 1) stop rebooting so much. I do it once every 24 hours.
2) stop clearing app cache so frequently. Each time you reopen the app, it has to rebuild cache, thus using more battery.
Bonus) Signal strength and reliability play a huge roll on battery life.
My Nexus is 100% stock, locked, and encrypted. I achieve 5 to 6 SOT with heavy use, everyday. I experience zero noticeable lag other than in Chrome. The Chrome lag is Chrome related, not Nexus related.
Have you ever tried greenify? Do you use the Facebook application? (Notorious battery drain) How many apps do you have auto-syncing? Is your location set to high battery use? Can you post screenshots of your horrible battery life? Evidence, please.
A Mod should close this thread. This OP is disgruntled because he spent his hard earned cash on something he doesn't like. It happens, sure, but why must you frustrate other people on this forum? My advice, stop arguing on a forum thread about a moot point and just sell your phone for something else.
Hi all, ready to move on from my Nexus 6. Would love some pro's/con's from this community on how happy I'd be to make this switch. I've ready G5S plus give great bang for buck and has a good modding community which is a must have for me.
Any thoughts on making the G5S + my primary phone??
All I can say is I love mine and I came from a Nexus 4.
You calling it "moving on" rather than an upgrade is pretty accurate. It's an upgrade overall, but not as much as you might think for a 3-year newer model. You need to realize that the Nexus 6 was a $700 phone (when first released) and the G5S Plus is a $300 phone. The improvements with the G5S Plus is that it's 64-bit hardware, even though the stock ROM is 32-bit and most people highly suspect the Oreo update (if it ever comes) will also be 32-bit. Because it's not a Nexus, the G5S Plus has a microSD slot so you have the potential to have a lot more storage, but the camera hardware is not great (despite the fancy dual lens). The camera works out if flash a 3rd-party 64-bit ROM and use the Google Camera, but I can't do that (see below). On the US model there is no NFC, so no AndroidPay (I didn't care, but some might).
My personal experience with unlocking/rooting/ROMing the two phones has been very different when I thought it would be far more similar (since they're both Motorola). The best way to describe the process with the G5S Plus is kludgy, and it's not all that easy to go back to stock since there are no official, signed stock images for the G5S Plus. Stock updates (even security updates) are few and far between. This just isn't a Nexus. The Nexus 6 had a lot more 3rd-party development options and support, and the G5S Plus has now been out long enough that what you see here now is probably all we're going to get. I haven't had much luck with the existing 3rd-party ROMs working well with my carrier (Sprint). The ROM features seem to mostly work fine, but the carrier settings don't work at all on Sprint, and when I try to change them I completely lose my mobile signal and don't get it back until I reset network settings. This makes it highly questionable how successful I'll be with these 3rd-party ROMs when roaming, even just locally in the USA. I have no faith in these ROMs working when roaming internationally. The reason why I'm encountering the same problem with all of these 3rd-party ROMs is I'm pretty sure all of them are using the same base from the same developer. So if you're like me and have a problem with any of these ROMs, you'll likely have the same problem with all of them.
Overall? I wish I'd gotten the Pixel 2 XL. But although I can afford to pay $1000 for a phone, I'm not going to because that's just ridiculous. I've looked around...thoroughly. There just isn't really anything out there any better featured that doesn't at least cost $700, so I'm still using the G5S Plus. I may be a little more limited than you because I'm Sprint (CDMA) whereas people on GSM networks might have more options. I've had to go back to stock rooted 7.1.1, which isn't horrible but not really ideal (and not what I'm used to with the Nexus 6). But I can't successfully get the G5S Plus back to stock unrooted to even take security updates, so I'm on the October security patch. When the stock Oreo update is released, I don't see me being able to take that either. I'm hoping that development community here will put out a flashable stock Oreo ROM then, but then I'll still be in the same boat with OTA Oreo security patches. This is a very capable phone with some nice features, but if you liked being a flashaholic on the Nexus 6, I wouldn't necessarily expect the same experience on the G5S Plus.
FYI, I'm not a developer, but far from being a noob. I've been rooting/ROMing/modifying Android devices (HTC, Samsung, Motorola) since the Froyo days. I would have to rank this phone as the most difficult Android device I've owned to do all that.
I can tell a slightly more upbeat story.
Migrated from a Nexus 6P which I loved dearly, but after spending a small fortune on battery replacements realised it was time to call it a day.
I am very pleased with the Moto. Honestly? I see very little functional difference between this and the 6P in my use case. The screen is slightly smaller. From a Nexus 6 it would be more noticeable I suspect. I recovered the real estate by turning off the nav bar and using fingerprint swipe gestures (which are nice once you get used to them). It is fast and fluid in use and I genuinely don't see anything different in use from the 6P from the end user's perspective. I use my phone mainly for work and the intertubes so not fussed about the camera. When I point it at things what ends up on the phone looks vaguely like what I pointed the phone at. That fulfils my criteria although I have recently started tinkering with some of the hacked GCam apps from the Pixel just for the "because I can" factor.
Internetpilot is right, the development scene is a fraction of what you'd see on a Nexus or Pixel. However, as a long standing flashaholic from the very early days of Android (HTC Magic anyone?) I found myself more than happy with rooted stock for a long time. Moto's stock rom is bloat free and works extremely well. I did try a couple of custom roms early on and found them not as smooth or stable as the stock one, so reverted and ran stock for about six months until very recently.
Internetpilot is right in that it is very difficult to get the thing back to a stock state once you start tinkering. I was in a similar boat whidh meant I couldn't accept OTAs. This was what finally prompted me to try the custom ROM scene again. It has improved in leaps and bounds since last year. Currently running Pixel Experience Oreo and it is rock solid. It's been a keeper for me. But it is worth bearing in mind that if you root then you will be on your own and probably end up forced down the custom ROM boat as I have. It would be a lot easier if Moto had flashable stock images, but it's not a show stopper if your plan was basically to go custom from the get go.
I can't agree with Internetpilot hat it's any major difficulty to unlock, root and flash. You go to Moto's website, you get an unlock code, you unlock your bootloader, you flash TWRP and away you go. Not significantly different from the process I've done on most phones I've had since the HTC Magic days. I've had Sonys that were more grief than this.
I can't speak for any of this CDMA stuff as I am not transatlantically challenged . I've had no problems with my own network provider (Vodafone UK) or roaming on any rom. But if you're stateside clearly that's something you'd need to consider. It's worth also noting that most of the community are in developing countries eg India where this phone has quite a bit of a foothold.
But generally this is a lot of phone for the money. It's a good time for the low-mid range Android phone market. I chose this phone because I didn't want to pay stupid money for a top end device and I really didn't like the 18:9 form factor. The Moto is generally the same form factor as my beloved 6P and the price is right. Now if you have a bit more to spend, the Oneplus 5T looks interesting and perhaps might have a more Nexus-like community. Other options in the Moto's price range include the Honor 7X which I might well have bought instead if it'd been available when I bought the Moto. I am also intrigued by some of the Xiaomi devices. But the tl;dr version? The Moto is highly commended. Would buy again.
Wow, thank you both for your elaborate remarks, really helpful and exactly what I was looking for. So yes I've been rotting for awhile as well (since HTC Eris) and have had some pleasant and less than pleasant experiences. Some earlier Moto droids were obv torture to get unlocked, while the Nexus 6 was certainly quite the opposite.
I'm disappointed to hear dev is so sparse, as the usual spots (Android Police, Auth, 9to5Google, etc) all said this was the best phone to look at for modding after Pixel 2 & OnePlus given it's ease of unlock and robust community. Honestly I find such great value in the ability to unlock, root etc that I do plan on doing so right away and it heavily influences my purchase decision. I suppose if I wanted just one locked in phone experience I would just go to an IPhone, but I want to be able to customize.
From a hardware perspective, I appreciate both viewpoints. Yes don't like the thought of losing screen real estate but not sure what the alternative is as other options I've looked at are 18:9. Played with the 2 XL today and was shocked at the lack of screen space in landscape. Web browsing already is limited given ads in landscape and it seems even worse in the 18:9 ratio. As to software, Internetpilot certainly makes me wary as I'm on VZW, another CDMA. Personally I've generally had a good experience with my network relative to friends of mine on Sprint, but persisting network issues concern me as I also want a smooth experience when on a different rom.
As to the financial point, agreed on both sides. Certainly bang for the buck kind of phone. There are better out there but I too can't stomach the thought of dropping a grand on these, just seems a bridge too far given where the prices were just a few years ago. But at the same time I really don't want to have a phone that is nothing but hassle and constant re-flashes. I'd like to find a rom that is stable, supported and simply support it and continue on.
Well, I thank you both for the time and opinions, really helpful to be sure. Internetpilot I'll certainly dig for other posts with similar concerns but if you care to share some you've come across I'll def have a look.
Thanks again to the both of you.
To clarify a bit -- the phone is no more difficult to unlock, root, and ROM than the Nexus 6. However, the reason I gave it my "most difficult" award (haha) out of all the phones I've owned, is that gaining root on a device that isn't very well supported in the 3rd-party development arena doesn't really do you much good if you can't unroot just as easily. I can't get SuperSU working on this device, so I had to resort to Magisk (which is new to me -- I've always used SuperSU) and when I perform the unroot option via the Magisk Manager app, I end up with a "bad key" error on the bootloader screen and the ROM won't boot. The same thing happens if you try to restore all the original stock partitions via TWRP. Restoring any one of the boot, recovery, and one other partition that I can't remember results in the same "bad key" error. It's gotten to the point that even though I want to get it back to stock unrooted so I can grab the latest OTA security update (and eventually get the stock Oreo update when it's released), I really hate to mess with it. It's not because I think I'm going to brick it -- it's just I know I'll end up spending hours without a phone while trying to get passed that stupid "bad key" error, and then when I finally do that, my data partition will re-encrypt so I'll lose everything and have to set the phone up all over again. Since I'm trying to get it back to stock unrooted, I can't just easily restore my apps/data with Titanium Backup (because I don't have root), so everything is either gone or all messed up, so it's a huge pain in the posterior. Both versions of TWRP we have available for this phone don't reliably backup/restore the data partition either, so you can't rely on TWRP to backup everything if you want to mess around with flashing other ROMs, etc. That's what I mean by most difficult out of all the devices I've owned. When a new ROM is released, you really have to think twice before just backing everything up and flashing it to try it. You just might end up without a working phone for 3 or 4 hours before you get everything restored back to a working state.
I don't think you'll have a problem with Verizon. I know several people who are running 3rd-party Oreo ROMs on this phone on Verizon and they don't have the same issues I do with the carrier settings blowing everything up. It just seems to be Sprint. And to clarify my problems on Sprint, the stock rooted (and unrooted) ROM works flawlessly on Sprint. I can change the carrier settings, update my PRL, even use the "secret" dial codes to change APN settings, etc. But I can't do any of that on any of these 3rd-party Oreo ROMs. The carrier settings default to Global (which strangely works on Sprint's CDMA network), but I can't change Preferred Network Type to "LTE", can't turn on data roaming, can't change the CDMA roaming mode, and can't update the PRL or device config. Like Loccy said, all of the development on this phone is from India where the phone is very popular, so they probably don't know anything about Sprint. But even with these ROMs working fine on Verizon, how long will they be updated/supported? The Moto G6/G6 Plus is likely going to be released during the Summer, and that will probably fizzle the minimal development that the G5S/G5S Plus currently has. I think Moto is going to likely support this phone longer than the 3rd-party development community will.
Yeah, those are all great points. I agree with the heart of your contention in that I absolutely love tinkering with my phone, trying new ROMs, seeing what sort of added and better features I can apply to my device, making it mine instead of having some company tell me what to do with my device. But conversely I absolutely dread those lost days when something doesn't go right and you spend days and weeks scouring the forums and doing research just to get your phone to what you deem to be an operable state. Certainly that can be part of the fun of owning a device like this but with multiple kids, job, and other life stuff getting in the way and not being an engineer by trade or anything technology related it does become a bit of a hindrance at times. I suppose I just want my cake and to eat it too, but that's not the landscape that Android lives in right now.
I also take your point that this is a mid range device that has Hardware limitations and a development community that will only support it for so long. I'd like to make a choice that has a little more longevity built into it like the 4+ years I got out of my Nexus 6.
I think I may actually go for a verizon pixel to xl give it all these conversations, can get one on payment for less than 500 out the door. While I absolutely recognize that I will probably greatly miss having total control over my device, I really like the Android software landscape and it still offers a much richer customization experience than does an iPhone.
Look, really appreciate all your feedback and thoughts. Will let you know some months down the road if the decision was a good one. Cheers.
I am trying to compare the specs of the "Pixel 5" and the recently released "Samsung S20 FE" and would actually want to know, why Pixel 5 and not the S20 FE?For the reference, GSMArena comparison here.
Currently i see the following pros and cons comparing those devices:
S20 FE pros:
SD card slot
Bigger battery
Better SoC
Better GPU
120hz scree refresh rate
Front fingerprint sensor (debatable, but definitely my personal preference)
More cameras and (hopefully) better camera sensors (but not better camera software)
Available (unlike Pixel 5, that is still on pre-orders)
Pixel 5 pros:
More RAM
Better camera software
Less bloatware
Direct updates from Google
Usable eSIM (none of the S20 series have their eSIM enabled on US models)
Unlocakble bootloader (just an assumption, but the QC based S20 FE is unlikely to have it's btl unlockable)
Missing SD slot (which a find to be a pretty big deal) and a somewhat weaker SoC/GPU/battery make me lean toward the S20 FE, yet there seem to be a pretty big fan base on the Pixels those days, and i want to know why. So, what Pixel 5 pros did i miss?
Thanks in advance for replies.
You might not care what I think but I'm gonna reply anyway. Im using a Note 9 now.
The reason the P5 beats any Samsung phone, again this is IMO, is because it runs STOCK ANDROID OS. One UI is trash, TouchWiz was trash. Samsung can make a great, beautiful, crazy spec'd phone every time but it still runs a trash OS. And plz dont try to tell me its not that bad. It is and my wife has a Note 20 5G and its trash on there too even with the newer updates. This one thing is the reason I will never buy a Sam phone again.
And do I have to get into the bloat ware. Oh MY God! I have like 25-30 apps. When my phone updates, its says its optimizing 450+ apps. WTF. And forget about removing them cuz u can't UL BL to debloat. EVER.
Also don't let Sammy fool u with this quick monthly security updates. When it comes to new Android versions they still lag behind, especially if your device is a year or more old.
TokedUp said:
You might not care what I think but I'm gonna reply anyway. Im using a Note 9 now.
The reason the P5 beats any Samsung phone, again this is IMO, is because it runs STOCK ANDROID OS. One UI is trash, TouchWiz was trash. Samsung can make a great, beautiful, crazy spec'd phone every time but it still runs a trash OS. And plz dont try to tell me its not that bad. It is and my wife has a Note 20 5G and its trash on there too even with the newer updates.
And do I have to get into the bloat ware. Oh MY God! I have like 25-30 apps. When my phone updates, its says its optimizing 450+ apps. WTF. And forget about removing them cuz u can't UL BL to debloat. EVER.
Also don't let Sammy fool u with this quick monthly security updates. When it comes to new Android versions they still lag behind, especially if your device is a year or more old.
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I actually do agree on that, yes, the crap on Samsung stock ROM is pretty bad, but is it THAT bad? On a carrier branded CSC - yes, absolutely. Just a """"clean"""" (yea, i know, i know) stock Samsung - bad, but not THAT bad. And thats the main factor that makes me lean toward Pixel indeed.
Latest and greatest Android? Well, i can live without that. Heck, i am typing it from an Android 8 device right now, lol.
But... lower specs, and ESPECIALLY, the SD card slot do bother me. I've got Nexus7 FHD tablet, bought it more or less a few month after its release, still using it sometimes, and one damn feature i've missed every single time i've boarded a long flight is having an SD card slot! I don't know why the heck Google hates SD cards so much, but thats definitely bothers me.
In any case, i did mention "less bloatware" in my pros list, guess i should have called it "clean android". Do i turst it to remain totally clean? NO! Don't get me started on Google, their platforms, and ****loads of ads, some blockable, some may soon be less so. Just a few things to list on that topic, though - YouTube midroll ads (that drove me to finally start using alt client) and Android TV leanback launcher update with a huge ad on the top 1/3 of the screen (which has forced me to disable apps updates, cause on a TV Play market its all updates or no apps update).
I'm sorry. I do not agree. OneUI is far worse than u think. Im using it now. Go try for yourself. And I dont mean go to the store and look at it. Actually use a phone with it on it and u will want to throw it against a wall.
I have a 400gb mem card in my phone now. There is nothing an it. I used to need it for music but now everything is streaming. Photos and vids get backed up to cloud. I dont think I need a mem card anymore and I was a firm believer in them.
Please dont ever compare Google with Sam in terms of bloatware. It makes you look like u have no idea what u are talking about. Its not even a competition. I mean Sammy tried to put ads to our lockscreens at one point. If u think the Pixel has bloatware, go look at an app list on a new Sam phone. The Note 20 is an absolute joke.
I'm in the same debate as you... Pretty sure p5 wins due to unlocked bootloader. My p2 stands up still to processing power, I suspect I'll get 3 years out of the p5 since I've always found more ram is more important than more processing power and the 765g does hold up next to the p4 865.
Why do we run Pixels? Stock android, superior experience, no/limited bloat, reliable updates, and superior camera performance. But, you likely knew that already, and you came here to discuss specs. It's not the specs; it's the real world performance. You ever run a Windoze comp with a fresh install? See how snappy and smooth the performance is? Well, that's what a Pixel is like all the time. You're basically asking the PC equivalent of asking a tech forum "should I buy an Acer (or Dell or whatever) or build my own?" The answer will likely be build your own or reinstall Windoze and upgrade what you have. Look man, I was a Samsung lover for many years. But their bloat is intrusive and very poorly implemented, and I got sick of it. To complete the analogy: if you want a Dell (even if it is an Alienware) running the latest Intel, go ahead. I'll build my own AMD machine that rocks its socks off.
Come down to long term experience for me.
Pixel phones have been great to use and continue to feel great after a couple of years. Samsung phones haven't faired so well. Lots of slow down, lots of duplicate apps, lots of clutter.
It's personal preference of course, some love Samsung apps over Google apps. For these people, pixel comes full of bloatware!
mrkhigh said:
I'm in the same debate as you... Pretty sure p5 wins due to unlocked bootloader. My p2 stands up still to processing power, I suspect I'll get 3 years out of the p5 since I've always found more ram is more important than more processing power and the 765g does hold up next to the p4 865.
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Click to collapse
Unlocked bootloader is sadly, becoming less and less useful as the time goes. TBH, i am sick and tired to try & look for yet another way to hide root from apps, while i find myself actually customizing the system less and less using that root. Add Widevine dropping to L3 and all the streaming apps that use it going below HD, and you get yourself one more reason not to unlock.
Is slightly more RAM more important than slightly more CPU/GPU? Yea, i think it is. Is it massive, either way? Nope, probably not.
Again, one big thing that turns me away from P5 is the SD slot. From the other side, 2 pretty big things that pull me toward it are cleaner Android and eSIM.
dudeman1st said:
...It's not the specs; it's the real world performance...
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Click to collapse
The specs are the very first thing that affects real world performance. Yes, you can bog it down to a crawl with junk, but is it so? If you look at the Samsung side of XDA, i don't see that many complains about it, so realistically, in the real word words, i honestly don't know.
I've used an OG Pixel XL, and Pixel 3 XL as well as a OP 6T.
T-mobile had a "too good to pass up" trade in deal for the S20 FG and I received it on Friday. It is an awesome phone. The telephoto lens is neat, but the wide angle is awesome. Samsung's awful OS and lack of BL unlocking are really the only faults of it lol. Pixels got me over the need for an sd slot, although the lack of free unlimited storage since the Pixel 3 has me concerned. With that said, I'll be buying a Pixel 5 assuming there's some kind of a deal on black friday.
InfX said:
The specs are the very first thing that affects real world performance. Yes, you can bog it down to a crawl with junk, but is it so? If you look at the Samsung side of XDA, i don't see that many complains about it, so realistically, in the real word words, i honestly don't know.
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Fair enough, if specs are your measuring stick, sounds like you want the Samsung with the 8-series ARM. Go for it. I wouldn't shame you at all.
If you want to really understand what I am saying, try running a 3 or 4 year old Samsung (an S7 or S8) on Sam's version of Android 11 (if that's even possible) and then run Google's Android 11 on a Pixel or Pixel 2. I haven't tried it, but I know my old Samsungs ran like crap after just one or two updates, including severely reduced battery life. I am guessing that the Sams will run horribly for one reason or another. I know that Pixels run great on 11.
I run a Pixel (2 XL) stock, don't have to root it, don't have to monkey with flashing unless I want to try, don't have to constantly be looking for updated modems/ROMs/recoveries/kernels . Sure, most phones can be rescued with a good custom ROM, but you run the risk of bricking and voiding warranty. I used to love that hobby, and I loved my experience flashing with other phone hobbyists. But, I don't want to monkey with my daily driver anymore. I only flash my old phones.
jsbeagle said:
I've used an OG Pixel XL, and Pixel 3 XL as well as a OP 6T.
T-mobile had a "too good to pass up" trade in deal for the S20 FG and I received it on Friday. It is an awesome phone. The telephoto lens is neat, but the wide angle is awesome. Samsung's awful OS and lack of BL unlocking are really the only faults of it lol. Pixels got me over the need for an sd slot, although the lack of free unlimited storage since the Pixel 3 has me concerned. With that said, I'll be buying a Pixel 5 assuming there's some kind of a deal on black friday.
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Those are definitely not the only faults of it .Less RAM isn't exactly a good thing. If you look at the he S20 FE forum here, you'll immediately notice a "touch issues" thread, which is worrying. The eSIM being disabled on US CSCs, while Pixels, iPhones and even their own Fold got it is one heck of a turn off, too.
InfX said:
Those are definitely not the only faults of it .Less RAM isn't exactly a good thing. If you look at the he S20 FE forum here, you'll immediately notice a "touch issues" thread, which is worrying. The eSIM being disabled on US CSCs, while Pixels, iPhones and even their own Fold got it is one heck of a turn off, too.
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What are you doing that you actually need eSim?
Considering T-mobile and Samsung are essentially giving me the S20 FE, plus $60, plus $70 Samsung store credit for my Pixel 3XL, I'll take it and let my kids use it as a hotspot. T-mobile also gave me another completely free line a couple weeks ago in an unrelated deal.
jsbeagle said:
What are you doing that you actually need eSim?
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Click to collapse
I don't "need" eSIM, but its a useful feature assuming the dreaded COVID19 is eventually going to end, so one could travel again. It allows you to get and install a local plan in a different country without having to physically get the SIM card, a feature i'd actually like to have on my next phone. Not a must. But definitely a bonus. And most definitely a turn-off to get a device with the actual hardware being there, but having it disabled because Sammy and the carriers told so.
InfX said:
Unlocked bootloader is sadly, becoming less and less useful as the time goes. TBH, i am sick and tired to try & look for yet another way to hide root from apps, while i find myself actually customizing the system less and less using that root. Add Widevine dropping to L3 and all the streaming apps that use it going below HD, and you get yourself one more reason not to unlock.
Is slightly more RAM more important than slightly more CPU/GPU? Yea, i think it is. Is it massive, either way? Nope, probably not.
Again, one big thing that turns me away from P5 is the SD slot. From the other side, 2 pretty big things that pull me toward it are cleaner Android and eSIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree on root becoming less and less important.
However the ability to update the device after it's eol is handy, and installing a custom rom is often nice as well.
Pure Android is where it is at for me, plain and smple. I might go for another non google device now and then if the bootloader is unlockable so I can end up flashing a pure android rom but I always end up back on a pixel. It is a shame that samsung has not allowed bootloader unlocking lately, especially on a so called "fan edition". What a joke!
Physical size of the device. Sure the size of the screen on my current phone is bigger and show more but it's also physically a larger phone.
That one of the main selling points for me. I also look forward to having the FP reader on the back again, current phone is under display and I'm not a fan!
---edit---
Another selling point is vanilla android vs having to find a reliable custom rom for my Mi 9T (pixel experience is good though).
InfX said:
I don't "need" eSIM, but its a useful feature assuming the dreaded COVID19 is eventually going to end, so one could travel again. It allows you to get and install a local plan in a different country without having to physically get the SIM card, a feature i'd actually like to have on my next phone. Not a must. But definitely a bonus. And most definitely a turn-off to get a device with the actual hardware being there, but having it disabled because Sammy and the carriers told so.
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Click to collapse
Just get Fi, homie. Pay for the data you use, capped at 6 GB cost (60 bucks + 20 for the line), no international charges for phone or data, and it works almost everywhere. If it's a small country, Fi might even pick up neighboring service. I have been from Barcelona to Bratislava, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Columbia on Fi, and I had no problems whatsoever. Fi even sends you a nice little welcome text to let you know that you are in a different service area. And, no, I don't work for Google, lol. I changed because I love to travel and hate other carriers' intl fees or messing around with local SIMs.
dudeman1st said:
Just get Fi, homie...
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Click to collapse
Thanks but no thanks, been there, done that. Yes, the international data on the Fi is definitely a plus. But:
Its expensive
I am currently on Cricket (AT&T MVNO), their lowest plan is $30 for 2gb, but before the COVID times i'd usually pay $35 for 5..10gb, slowed down afterwards, with similar plans also available directly from AT&T. My actual consumption now is close to 0, but has been somewhere in range of 2..3gb per month pre-COVID on average, so i've ended up paying $40..50, plus tax, as far as i recall, while most prepaid plans have tax included. Way too expensive just to have the same expensive data abroad, which is usually much cheaper there than it is in US.
It's coverage in US is pretty bad
In US its basically a T-Mobile MVNO. It got some contracts with US Cellular as well, i think, but its mostly just T-Mobile. I've been to many places i;ve just got NO reception whatsoever, where Cricket (read - AT&T) works perfectly fine, notably, on the ski sites in VT near #100, but this is just one example, the T-Mobile reception is generally just BAD.
Pay per use data is more annoying than i though it would be
You are basically paying $10/gb until you hit 6gb, which makes me think twice about everything i do online. Play Spotify? Nah, i don't remember if i have it downloaded, it will eat data, i'll pay for that. Watch that video on YouTube on the go? Nah, screw that, its probably 100mb in HD or so, that's $1 for a stupid video. And i absolutely hate this line of thinking. I want unlimited data which doesn't punish you financially if you go over the limit. And i don't want to pay $80+tax for that.
Sorry bro, but you DO sound like a Google sales person, lol
If you just want to text, make calls, twatter, and freakbook. Get the Samsung.
If need more independents, get the Pixel 5.
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