Is the xperia z worth to buy in 2018? - Xperia Z Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi proud users of the xperia z,
I needed a phone on my $200 tight budget and I found a new factory unlocked xperia z on amazon for $199.99.
So guys, do you recommend that I buy this?
1. I have a great necessity for custom ROMs and understood the device has very active development.
2. Does the device stutter or face any lag in any modern day versions of necessary daily life apps?
3. How's the overall reliability of the device? Any fails that come with the years?
Please guys leave an honest opinion.
Thanks and regards
(Hope its the right section, title did end with a "?" )

Yes, this device has very active development.
If you a fan of Sony, you'll know that Xperia Z lack of many things, like unable to use the beautiful Loop live wallpaper from Xperia XZP port (due to 32 bit system and old SoC), DSEE-HX, magnetic charging, quick charge, fingerprint reader, etc.
But the positif side, this device has many customization you can apply, like installing unofficial LineageOS 15.1, RR v6.0.0, and some mod like Dolby Atmos-Viper-AM3D all together (Mod created by Ahrion and Zackptg5, compatible with LOS 14.1, tested by myself), systemless Xposed Nougat, and systemless substratum.
In the end, the things you need to consider:
- if all you need is just for light-medium usage like chatting, browsing, listening music, daily device for social media like twitter, facebook, instagram, etc... then this device just enough (you may find some lag with instagram stories, I mean when you make a story, not viewing other stories).
- if all your need including playing heavy games, or simply looking for a fast device, then go get something new.

hmm , i'd say buy a 2nd hand phone...
i did that 2.5 years ago with a z3 , it only costed me € 175 ( $ 200)
i guess that if you look at the correct places you can find the z5 , or maybe an x 2nd hand for around $ 200

Related

[Ice-Breaker]The Ice-Breaker/Self Introduction/Show-off Thread

Hi
i thought we ought need to have some relaxation, fun talk thread around our 4x.
Instead of posting all over the forum how we are missing some functions, how we hate this phone, why not sit down together peacefully and talk about it without the fear of going OT?
So I'm creating this thread for O4X owners to share and talk about your life with O4X,, and what you love about it. Of course, show off what mods or any apps you have on your 4x, why you have it on!
From mods to lockscreen/homescreen wallpapers, lets start the talking! Remember this is also an introduction about you, say something about yourself too!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'll start the dice rolling:
What i use the phone for:
4x to me is a companion that i can always go to to get information at my finger tips particular news & social networking. I also uses it as my camera (most of the time even when i have a DSLR).
With my Sony earphones LOVE IT AS MY MP3 PLAYER!!!!:silly: Also while driving my 4x is my satnav, google navigation and waze in particular.
When im travelling my 4x is literately the only electronic device i brings, besides its 5000mah portable charger and sony earphones. My 4X really is the only thing i ever need when abroad.:good:
What i do love about it?
The display is number 1:good::good::good::good:
Nice enough battery life.
ample internal memory:good:
Looks miles better than samsung's pebbles.:laugh:
Mods/Can't-live-without Apps i have:
CM10.1 - PowerAMP - InDrive - Titanium backup - NFC Task Launcher
I initially thought of staying stock to save me from all the headache moments there will be from modifying my phone. But when i saw that CyanogenMod is officially supporting 4x all that changed. CM10.1 has always been around my ears as THE ROM to use. Now after using it, i really understood why it is it so.
NFC Task launcher: If you hasn't have this app installed, download it now! Together with the NFC tags LG gave it really changed my driving experience. Now instead of fiddling individual settings when i gets into my car all i need to do is to tap the tag and everything is done.
Missing Functions
I don't know any
Your turn to speak now
So for what it is... writing sms, facebook and whatsapp, googeling and something of everything! less gaming many flashing The nice HD Screen is what I love most! The smoothness together with cm10.1 is awesome :victory:
what I dislike the dust grains under the awesome display and something is wrong with my phonespeaker (for hearing other by phoning)...
AND THERE ARE TOO LESS ROMS KERNELS AND MODS OUT THERE WHAT MAKES ME SOOO SAD :crying::crying:
Apps I use mainly are ES File explorer, dolphin browser, feeldy, go sms pro, whatsapp plus and Facebook!
Bought it for gaming. Was initially very disappointed. Downgraded to v10a which performs well, but drains so fast! Then after much waiting and pointless retries I got my BL unlocked and now its performing quite good thanks to custom kernels and Tegra overclock. Other than that I use it for emails, editing word docs, general browsing and photos. On kholks kernel for stock at present, but I keep restoring cm10.1 to test kernels for @laufersteppenwolf I like my optimus, and even more so because hardly anyone seems to own one
Sent from my rooted P880
I came from the SE Xperia X8, in the need of a better (performance driven) phone, which was also cheap. So i've found the 4x HD. Checked on xda about root and bough it
Now it's my daily driver wherever i am, school, home, vacation, everywhere
what i like: everything
what i dislike: LG's bad support, for example the fastboot problems...
hmm, showing off... i guess that'd be my Kernel and my ROM
from the first day i've had this phone, i knew i wanted to make my own ROM. The kernel was more a side product than planned
Apps i daily use: Whatsapp, BBS, Tegra Overclock, Hill Climb Race, Subway Surfers, and ADB of course
came from galaxy s2 hd lte, 4x hd is my first quadcore phone. at first it disappoints me, the camera is too weak on lowlight capturing front and back. love taking sceneries. gaming is not superb cause of minimal clocking of the GPU. curse on gameloft not optimizing their games for tegra user >.<, but the display its just great.
i recently flashed from stock to werewolf rom/kernel
while waiting for 3.4 kernel of kholk
and the results are so great. smoothness the ui of the new 4.2.2
well for now i can enjoy the my 4x thanks to Tegra Overclock app and the devs of Werewolf.
hope more custom roms and kernels come to our phone. calling out devs

[Q] regarding Xperia ZR

Hi
I'm planning to buy out Xperia ZR. Couple of questions are confusing me:
1. Will I be able to root/unlock the bootloader?
2. Will I be able to use custom roms like CyanogenMod, MIUI, XDA-Developer's superior roms etc?
3. As I'm learning android development, will this phone be good if I look at that purpose also?
4. I heard there are some issue with call volume as its lower than others? Is it true?
5. Heating up issue? Is there?
Why I choose this phone over nexus 4 or xperia z?
Same hardware as Nexus 4 but having good camra+water proof body+Better battery life+NFC etc. in the same price.
I know I'll miss the s/w updates..Will I be able to use stock android latest updates on this in case I want to?
Comparing to Xperia Z couple of things are more as in the price of 5K..
Why I came to ask here, Coz if I see under Xperia Z or Nexus 4 there are lots of threads regarding android development custom roms, tweaks...but under ZR, I see a few...
Things are pretty much confusing me...
Please guide me even if I miss anything help me to get a better phone ..
Thanks Alot
I think that if you want to learn about android development, any device will be a good device.
Every device works for learning the basics, and any device have your own issues, so you will have to deal with some issues every now and then...
S_Singh said:
Hi
I'm planning to buy out Xperia ZR. Couple of questions are confusing me:
1. Will I be able to root/unlock the bootloader?
2. Will I be able to use custom roms like CyanogenMod, MIUI, XDA-Developer's superior roms etc?
3. As I'm learning android development, will this phone be good if I look at that purpose also?
4. I heard there are some issue with call volume as its lower than others? Is it true?
5. Heating up issue? Is there?
Why I choose this phone over nexus 4 or xperia z?
Same hardware as Nexus 4 but having good camra+water proof body+Better battery life+NFC etc. in the same price.
I know I'll miss the s/w updates..Will I be able to use stock android latest updates on this in case I want to?
Comparing to Xperia Z couple of things are more as in the price of 5K..
Why I came to ask here, Coz if I see under Xperia Z or Nexus 4 there are lots of threads regarding android development custom roms, tweaks...but under ZR, I see a few...
Things are pretty much confusing me...
Please guide me even if I miss anything help me to get a better phone ..
Thanks Alot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes if you're willing to risk your device
4. Not really. The call volume is loud enough for average person, but not the best in the market of course.
5. It's a waterproof dustproof phone with IP58 rating. Expect some heating issue but it won't be serious from my experience. You can always cool it down with water.
CressKH said:
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes if you're willing to risk your device
4. Not really. The call volume is loud enough for average person, but not the best in the market of course.
5. It's a waterproof dustproof phone with IP58 rating. Expect some heating issue but it won't be serious from my experience. You can always cool it down with water.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@CressKH
Thanks alot...
I have a doubt I dont see much developer theard for ZR. I can't see more of Official ROMs from cyan,akop,miui..
please clear me there
Thanks
S_Singh said:
Hi
I'm planning to buy out Xperia ZR. Couple of questions are confusing me:
1. Will I be able to root/unlock the bootloader?
2. Will I be able to use custom roms like CyanogenMod, MIUI, XDA-Developer's superior roms etc?
3. As I'm learning android development, will this phone be good if I look at that purpose also?
4. I heard there are some issue with call volume as its lower than others? Is it true?
5. Heating up issue? Is there?
Why I choose this phone over nexus 4 or xperia z?
Same hardware as Nexus 4 but having good camra+water proof body+Better battery life+NFC etc. in the same price.
I know I'll miss the s/w updates..Will I be able to use stock android latest updates on this in case I want to?
Comparing to Xperia Z couple of things are more as in the price of 5K..
Why I came to ask here, Coz if I see under Xperia Z or Nexus 4 there are lots of threads regarding android development custom roms, tweaks...but under ZR, I see a few...
Things are pretty much confusing me...
Please guide me even if I miss anything help me to get a better phone ..
Thanks Alot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
1. Yes, you will be able to root and unlock the bootloader.
2. This phone has very limited worldwide availability, so very limited dev support too. There are virtually no ROMs for this device save for CM by FXP. That's also why the Xperia ZR forum is under the 'Legacy & Low activity devices' forum.
3. For Android development (both apps & ROMs), the phone should be great. It's basically the same as Xperia Z except for some software changes. If you're learning development and you become good at it, you can contribute to the ZR development forum yourself.
4. I've just got my ZR and haven't put a SIM card in yet, so haven't checked the call volume, but Sony provides a lot of settings to tweak call volume in Settings -> Call settings.
5. Almost every new generation phone gets hot. Unlike PCs, there's no fan heatsink + thermal paste to quickly radiate the heat from the CPU. It has to dissipate from the back of the device, and quad-core CPUs get quite hot during gaming and other CPU intensive tasks. Adding to that, the battery also generates some heat. So it's natural for a high end CPU bearing phone/tablet to get hot. That said, ZR heats up less than Xperia Z from what I know, both having the same processor. I'm guessing this is because of the thicker back on ZR. HTC One, Nexus 4, Samsung Galaxy S4, Nexus 7 all heat up so it's not a deal breaker.
TL;DR -
Custom ROM support - Don't buy ZR, it doesn't have any save for one at the moment. Whether the situation will improve in future, I don't know, but it seems unlikely because of ZRs limited availability. I bought ZR for my dad because custom ROMs and stuff don't matter to him. Regarding upgrades, Sony has already promised to update ZR to 4.3, and they might also update it to the next version too. For that we'll have to wait and see.
Excluding ROM support, there's absolutely no reason not to buy ZR. Compared to Z, the smaller 4.55" 720p screen actually contributes to battery life as there's slightly less backlight area + the GPU has to power far less pixels than a 1080p screen (less that half the number), and the screen clarity is great because of the smaller size (greater pixel density than a 5" 720p screen for example). You really can't make out the difference between 720p and 1080p screens at the normal distance you hold your phone at while using it. Only if you look very, very closely. So the added battery life advantage is a bonus. The battery is also removable, so you can keep a spare with you to swap immediately if you ever need to do that, and even when the battery goes bad you can easily replace it with a new one yourself. This phone also has a higher water-proof rating, and feels very sturdy compared to the glass backed Xperia Z.
The only real disadvantages of the ZR compared to Z are the much lower resolution front facing camera (but then again most video calling apps don't do HD and therefore don't make use of a high-res camera), and 8GB internal storage instead of 16GB. That might be a problem if you install a lot of games and the phone doesn't allow to move them to a microSD card. I'm not sure if it allows that or not, so you'll have to check with others.
If you want ROM support, buy Nexus 4 or Xperia ZR. They have PLENTY of ROMs. If you don't care about that so much, you can't go wrong with this phone. You'll also get at least Android 4.3 officially by Sony, if not the next version too.
Hope that helped.
S_Singh said:
@CressKH
Thanks alot...
I have a doubt I dont see much developer theard for ZR. I can't see more of Official ROMs from cyan,akop,miui..
please clear me there
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you can see, XZR is currently still in Low Activity Devices.
I think primarily it's because the fact that it's the 3rd sibling in Xperia Z series.
People are just happy with Z or ZL, or fed up with the releases.
Nevertheless, it offers much features that Z or ZL can't compare with, and that's why I chose it.
ZR is good for smart phone user,
Nexus family is good for rom tester.
yes fellas....
finally considering all the aspects I got it > Xperia ZR...
excited to test it....will do all type of test for what it stands for...
Thanks for your advices
S_Singh said:
yes fellas....
finally considering all the aspects I got it > Xperia ZR...
excited to test it....will do all type of test for what it stands for...
Thanks for your advices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, congrats! First thing I did was dunk it in a bowl of water. :good:
Be careful. My last phone wasn't water resistant and I had to fight hard with Sony to get it replaced.
Sent from my C5502 using Tapatalk 4
Help!
I am also planning to buy Xperia ZR but my only concern is Call Recording feature. Will any developer work on any custom rom for xr?? Or the support will be less?? SHould I go for S4 then? (But, I dislike S4's design).. Pls. guide..
techie_vintage said:
I am also planning to buy Xperia ZR but my only concern is Call Recording feature. Will any developer work on any custom rom for xr?? Or the support will be less?? SHould I go for S4 then? (But, I dislike S4's design).. Pls. guide..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cyanogenmod and FXP guys are already doing great job for our phones,so yes there is an active developement.Go for the ZR,its great phone. (S4 sux a..s for me too )
techie_vintage said:
I am also planning to buy Xperia ZR but my only concern is Call Recording feature. Will any developer work on any custom rom for xr?? Or the support will be less?? SHould I go for S4 then? (But, I dislike S4's design).. Pls. guide..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use acr and it records my calls perfectly, even on Bluetooth.
Sent from my C5502 using Tapatalk 4
djpeesh said:
I use acr and it records my calls perfectly, even on Bluetooth.
Sent from my C5502 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is this soft available on google play? What is it's full name? Can u pls. Send a sample clip of d rec?? Pls..
Here's a link to the software. Will update a clip soon. Btw, I bought the premium version that uploads the recordings to Google drive.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nll.acr
Sent from my C5502 using Tapatalk 4

Would you still recommend Motorola Razr i?

Hi guys, sorry for opening a new topic.
The question is this: A year ago I had a Xperia Ray, wich was a good phone. I did the stupid move of trading it for a LG optimus black, and this ****ty phone didn't last for more than 4 months... Then, according to my posibilities, I got an ipod touch 4G and a small normal phone to stay in touch. Long history.
Now I have the chance of getting a new smartphone. First, I wanted the Motorola Razr D3 and I liked it but I see no development for it here in XDA, probably because this phone is mainly focused to the latin market. That phone has a very cheap price, and I see that it has a guaranteed Android upgrade, this makes me wonder if the phone is gonna be upgradable to 4.4 Kitkat or just to Android 4.2 or 4.3... Nobody seems to know it at the moment.
Then, I started to check the Motorola Razr i closely, and I saw a video of it when technically crushes the samsung galaxy s3 in performance and multi-tasking, then I saw there's development for it and that's a good thing. Now one important question: You guys honestly think Razr i will be upgraded to Android 4.4 KitKat?
There would be a big chance considering that Motorola is now part of Google.
In conclusion, I have only $385 US dollars available for getting my next phone. I don't have any phone service plan, I hate them, I always get my phones to work in prepaid mode. And I consider that spending more than $500 US dollars for a phone is not very intelligent (sorry about this if I offend somebody), plus, I'm not precisely rich to get the latest flagships.
This are my options at the moment:
-Motorola Razr i: intel inside, good performance, but I don't know if will be updated to Android 4.4. It's one year old. They also say camera has bad quality.
-Motorola Razr D3: dual core, but kinda old chipset and GPU, it comes with the promise of an Android update guaranteed (they don't specify wich version tough)
-Xperia L: I like Sony, and this one comes with dual core and Adreno GPU 305, but Sony fails hard when it's about upgrading their phones.
-Xperia M: Same case as L, plus the fact that it isn't available in my country yet.
-Any other option you would want to recommend me?
Now, why I'm opening this topic here? Because I like Motorola and I consider that this brand is synonymous of quality. I got Motorola phones years ago and they were very good. I really like Razr i and D3, they're small, compact, beautiful and give stock Android experience. Please guys, give your opinion and recommendations and anwer the main question.
Thanks in advance.
Yeh i recommend it, it's a nice phone and can get some updates, and it's a pretty smart, and have "low cost", if u can pay a bit more of course u can have some better phone with quad-core.
I find it a likeable phone, good for everything but it does not excel. Above all, reliable (after 9 months).
But it's currently updated to JB 4.1.1, and that's I think where it'll stay. (I kept it on the original 4.0.4 so I kept FM functionality and haven't noticed I've missed anything important). Moto are developing the Moto X (I think). The Razr is history, a bit of an in-betweener. So if a phone which gets the latest updates is important to you I wouldn't sadly touch the Razr i.
My other phone is an Xperia Z, bigger and better. But day to day I prefer the Razr i, and don't feel I'm missing out. But neither am I obsessed with the latest tweaks and mods. And because its processor is Intel, I think a bit of patience, intelligence, a willingness to learn and not to expect everything to be handed to you on a plate is in order; and it isn't a piece of electronic jewellery to impress your friends. But that's just like many good things in life.
mervluk said:
I find it a likeable phone, good for everything but it does not excel. Above all, reliable (after 9 months).
But it's currently updated to JB 4.1.1, and that's I think where it'll stay. (I kept it on the original 4.0.4 so I kept FM functionality and haven't noticed I've missed anything important). Moto are developing the Moto X (I think). The Razr is history, a bit of an in-betweener. So if a phone which gets the latest updates is important to you I wouldn't sadly touch the Razr i.
My other phone is an Xperia Z, bigger and better. But day to day I prefer the Razr i, and don't feel I'm missing out. But neither am I obsessed with the latest tweaks and mods. And because its processor is Intel, I think a bit of patience, intelligence, a willingness to learn and not to expect everything to be handed to you on a plate is in order; and it isn't a piece of electronic jewellery to impress your friends. But that's just like many good things in life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I will give you some ideas regarding the razr i
Keep in mind that the z2480 processor from the Razr i is single core WITH hyperthreading.
Gaming is going to be limited mostly by the GPU on these "cheap" phones.
If the game is written with native ARM code there will be binary translation occurring on the fly on the Razr i / and some games are not compatible.
The phone lasts 2 days of typical use, or 1 day of really heavy use (For example 1 day with 7-8 hour screen time while indoors).
The camera benefits with software tweaks, and with decent/good lightning it can take very good photos. Take a look at these photos which were taken and lightly post-processed -- they are outdoor photos as you can see.
https://plus.google.com/photos/111844992738896496541/albums/5580215365238675713/5911088854762682674?pid=5911088854762682674&oid=111844992738896496541
https://plus.google.com/photos/111844992738896496541/albums/5580215365238675713/5910640578764419058?pid=5910640578764419058&oid=111844992738896496541
https://plus.google.com/photos/111844992738896496541/albums/5580215365238675713/5911088709076616770?pid=5911088709076616770&oid=111844992738896496541
https://plus.google.com/photos/111844992738896496541/albums/5580215365238675713/5910638421938261330?pid=5910638421938261330&oid=111844992738896496541
Thank you so much guys, you're helping me to take a decision.
Just for the facts: I'm a gamer but not a phone gamer, I don't use my phones to play very much, just games like Tetris, Angry Birds and maybe Asphalt, I rather to play in my console or PC.
Also, photography is not a big deal for me, but yeah, I want good quality in the pictures and videos I take.
If somebody else wants to contribute with more opinions and information please go ahead.
El Brillantinas said:
Thank you so much guys, you're helping me to take a decision.
Just for the facts: I'm a gamer but not a phone gamer, I don't use my phones to play very much, just games like Tetris, Angry Birds and maybe Asphalt, I rather to play in my console or PC.
Also, photography is not a big deal for me, but yeah, I want good quality in the pictures and videos I take.
If somebody else wants to contribute with more opinions and information please go ahead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Certainly not.
I used to have a Moto Defy, with a huge developer/modding community around the globe.
I Miss it badly now, as moto does give a f* for us. The intel thing make the modding very hard, and and I don't think the benefit is worth it.
Seriously thinking in make the switch to the Moto X, which probably will have a bigger base for modding.
I would not recommend the RAZR i anymore .. I won't judge too hard on it, because it's still not rooted yet (since one year exactly) and i was and still am used to rooted android devices. With the RAZR i after a year, battery life decreased, i am in constant RAM problems as the 1gb are full with not that much apps, so for example, if i switch from whatsapp to the browser and back, it most likely killed whatsapp by then. That's annoying as hell, especially because my old Desire HD did a better job with AOSP/4.04. The worst part is that the RAZR i isn't updated and there's no development such as cyanogenmod for it. For me, this means a lot. My RAZR i is in repair right now because i got it with a broken audio jack and i'm using the much older galaxy S2 by a friend, broken display, sensors sometimes fail, but it runs so much better. Why? Because of the rom, HellyBean/4.2.2, it runs so much better despite it has less ram and should have the slower processor.
Ah, almost forgot, the VERY handy camera button (which i absolutely love and miss on the S2 i use right now) somehow seems broken too, maybe software, most of the time i have to press it twice before it launches the camera. It triggers well though, so i guess that's software too. It just doesn't run that fine as i wished it would.
I would still recommend it, but ONLY if you're fine with the possibility that this probably won't be getting Kitkat. It's a very capable phone, I use it mostly for news email and browsing and like Omar said it usually lasts two days (something not a lot of phones can brag about, sadly.) the battery life I'd say is one of this phone's best features. If you root it and run a custom rom the phone preforms beautifully too. Just be prepared to live with *some* compatibility issues with certain apps.
In my opinion, buy it. For the price I'm seeing it at these days which is about ~150 dollars, it's a crazy good deal. Just don't expect it to see any updates from Motorola any time soon.
Sent from my XT890 using xda app-developers app
I think it's still a great phone, i dont want a bigger phone and if you too don't want anything bigger than this then i think that still there is no better phone as all the other are bigger with the same screen size or bigger screen size.
There might be one that i would trade it for but it's still a rumor just, huawei d2 mini, 4.3 screen, quadcore, 2gb of ram...
As far as defects in this phone i would say:
- Low earpiece volume( i will try viper4android app for this )
-It´s heavier on the top so it would be more confortable to use if that was reversed
-If you updating any app the phone will lag a bit
-Original camera is not great, the pics are a bit without color
I dont play on the phone i say nothing about that
If you buy this phone try the infinirom v6, its great, it leaves a lot of free ram and the rom it's basically the original one so everything works great but with a lot more ram free
I still think razr I is a great phone (not the best) even with 1 year past
Sent from my XT890 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

[Q] Is this a good phone?

Hey, in some few days i will recieve this phone, i was asking if is better to sell it or take it, i was planning to sell it ans buy a moto g, but in my country they are all sold out, i think they will come in 2 weeks.
Bye
Recommend that you do not stay there with very few mini s3 rom and all have many bug ...
Daks32 said:
Hey, in some few days i will recieve this phone, i was asking if is better to sell it or take it, i was planning to sell it ans buy a moto g, but in my country they are all sold out, i think they will come in 2 weeks.
Bye
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is rubbish with stock Samsung OS and software! Slow often glitchy, long waits for simple stuff like switching between apps or even going back to the home screen.
BUT - with a custom ROM this phone is potentially AWESOME. Lag is gone, battery life much better. I make my girlfriend jealous and she has an iPhone 5S, lol.
Slightly bigger screen than iPhone, much lighter, more sturdy, expandable memory, FM tuner, and with a custom ROM loads more features and better interface.
Some ROMs are not available for this phone but a lot are: Many available from maclaw.pl, I've tried CM11 but found Carbon (latest unofficial KitKat) has a few more options and some nice optimisations to maximise battery life without sacrificing performance at all.
Games
james.faction said:
The phone is rubbish with stock Samsung OS and software! Slow often glitchy, long waits for simple stuff like switching between apps or even going back to the home screen.
BUT - with a custom ROM this phone is potentially AWESOME. Lag is gone, battery life much better. I make my girlfriend jealous and she has an iPhone 5S, lol.
Slightly bigger screen than iPhone, much lighter, more sturdy, expandable memory, FM tuner, and with a custom ROM loads more features and better interface.
Some ROMs are not available for this phone but a lot are: Many available from maclaw.pl, I've tried CM11 but found Carbon (latest unofficial KitKat) has a few more options and some nice optimisations to maximise battery life without sacrificing performance at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thank you, i think i will stay with it, and what can you tell me about games?, is good enough?, thanks bye
With stock, framerates go slow sometimes - since going custom no probs at all. Play a lot of Real Steel World Robot Boxing, a 3D effects-heavy game, runs without a hitch. Screen quality good, graphics good.
I just got one yesterday as a replacement for my work phone. I was using an iPhone 4 on iOS 7. thdevicee mini is a about the same size, but I have the benefits of android, root, larger screen, and the Google kit Kat keyboard. compared to the outdated iPhone 4 it's a decent upgrade.
my personal line is a galaxy s4. the s3 mini doesn't compare, but given that the s4 is my primary device and the s3 mini is for work calls and email only it's pretty dang good.
its a good phone but we have only a few developers for custom roms
---------- Post added at 12:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 AM ----------
also we still dont have miui rom for example, wich almost every other phone already have one stable :/
custom ROM support, or lack thereof, doesn't make a phone good or bad...
if flashing ROMs is a priority, get a nexus as AOSP based ROMs on pretty much anything else sucks. any device with a Google Play Edition version and an unlocked boot loader will be a very close second.
I think the S3 Mini is a very nice phone but there are many other phones which has better performance and battery but they are not so cheap like the S3 Mini The Moto G is okay but the Gaming Performance is bad.. sry for my bad english
It's typical mid-range, with a decent custom ROM every day tasks are quick and the phone is very responsive. It'll gobble up casual games easily and some old intensive games but unsurprisingly you're not going to playing brand new high end games!

It is Dec. 2015 already. How is your Xperia Z3+? Is it worth to buy?

Hi guys. It has been few months already since Xperia Z3+/Z4 was made available. Sony has also given Z3+ some updates to fix its bugs. After few months of use, what is your feedback about Z3+? Is it worth buying? (Unfortunately, Xperia Z5 is way out of my budget so don't suggest that I buy it even if it is so great. Haha.)
mark_q07 said:
Hi guys. It has been few months already since Xperia Z3+/Z4 was made available. Sony has also given Z3+ some updates to fix its bugs. After few months of use, what is your feedback about Z3+? Is it worth buying? (Unfortunately, Xperia Z5 is way out of my budget so don't suggest that I buy it even if it is so great. Haha.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overall I'm happy with it. Mine don't get to hot. Only wish the was more devs for this device. I'd recommend it
pikeylfc said:
Overall I'm happy with it. Mine don't get to hot. Only wish the was more devs for this device. I'd recommend it
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Click to collapse
Well, that is good to know. I also read some comments from Z3+ users on facebook. According to them, Z3+ gets warm sometimes but only while taking a 4k video and AR mask. Still, I want to know the experience of Z3+ users here in XDA. Haha.
It's like any Xperia Z. It's a solid phone, it gets warm but that is no issue in normal use. Updates are as delayed as usual. And of course, there is never reliable information on their update plans.
root82 said:
It's like any Xperia Z. It's a solid phone, it gets warm but that is no issue in normal use. Updates are as delayed as usual. And of course, there is never reliable information on their update plans.
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Click to collapse
I agree on this. I love my aqua green Z3+. It's sleek and minimalist (That's what I like), it doesn't get hot, sometimes warm on web browsing, cpu temp <60C though (might be due to Lollipop bug?). It's responsive with Nova launcher, switching between apps is a breeze and there's no noticeable lag in general. Don't believe what some might say that SD810 is a toaster chip, throttling all the time or superior auto mode is crap. I admit that superior auto do get misses at times (especially for lots of wood/greenery/reds) and manual mode helps but when it works the picture quality is great. I like the gourmet mode, it does detect food magically and the night mode for low light city photos. Recommended with price drop.
Build quality is great imho, I come from Samsung S3, S4 and S5 Mini and Sony is way above those in build quality. WAAY above actually. It´s just extremly solid and wellthought and makes many competitors look like old and more toyish...
My phone has never had the heat problem. I play Hearthstone, Simpsons Tap out and Game of War on mine all the time and it does get warmer but all phones do while gaming. I have recorded atleast 100 clips on highest setting from a few seconds to several minutes and never had any popups about closing app due to heat.
What I do find disturbing is the non existing development scene for this phone I´m a flashohlic from My S4 and HTC Desire HD days and I miss setting up new ROMs to try every other day. I honestly feel this phone is already abandoned and people have moved on to Z5. Damn shame as the phone is pretty darn nice...
Does it self crack?
---------- Post added at 03:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:44 PM ----------
Would you recommend getting this over the HTC M9? Also, I'm quite certain this has way better design than the z5. Shame Sony went for a boxy look this time.
I'm very happy with mine hardware-wise, it is a great device. Finish quality is superior than most brands, I think. The Z3+ is seriously the most premium feel I've ever had with a phone since my 10+ years old Motorola E398. Issues are: gets warm fast depending on what you do, and I wish Sony had upgraded it to the latest Android version. But it did receive one or two updates in the last few weeks, so at least Sony did not forget about it, plus it will be getting Marshmallow.
Honestly I don't see that much difference between the Z3+/Z4 and the Z5. I would recommend it easily.
Stilleh said:
Build quality is great imho, I come from Samsung S3, S4 and S5 Mini and Sony is way above those in build quality. WAAY above actually. It´s just extremly solid and wellthought and makes many competitors look like old and more toyish...
My phone has never had the heat problem. I play Hearthstone, Simpsons Tap out and Game of War on mine all the time and it does get warmer but all phones do while gaming. I have recorded atleast 100 clips on highest setting from a few seconds to several minutes and never had any popups about closing app due to heat.
What I do find disturbing is the non existing development scene for this phone I´m a flashohlic from My S4 and HTC Desire HD days and I miss setting up new ROMs to try every other day. I honestly feel this phone is already abandoned and people have moved on to Z5. Damn shame as the phone is pretty darn nice...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a little too sad about this too...
Couldn't afford a z5, and the phone is too damn nice to be abandoned...
But mine get pretty hot with every damn task I do... there's something I can do about this, except waiting for a update?
iurylima said:
I'm a little too sad about this too...
Couldn't afford a z5, and the phone is too damn nice to be abandoned...
But mine get pretty hot with every damn task I do... there's something I can do about this, except waiting for a update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the comments that I read in the past, after updating their Z3+ to the latest firmware update, they reformat their phone. According to them, it seems to lessen the heating issue on their Z3+. I don't have Z3+ (sine I'm still choosing between Z3+ and Z5) but I hope my comment can help you
Yeah. How I wish it has many and active developers just like the Xperia Z2 and Z3 have. I hope many developers will realize that this phone is worth the shot
Stilleh said:
Build quality is great imho, I come from Samsung S3, S4 and S5 Mini and Sony is way above those in build quality. WAAY above actually. It´s just extremly solid and wellthought and makes many competitors look like old and more toyish...
My phone has never had the heat problem. I play Hearthstone, Simpsons Tap out and Game of War on mine all the time and it does get warmer but all phones do while gaming. I have recorded atleast 100 clips on highest setting from a few seconds to several minutes and never had any popups about closing app due to heat.
What I do find disturbing is the non existing development scene for this phone I´m a flashohlic from My S4 and HTC Desire HD days and I miss setting up new ROMs to try every other day. I honestly feel this phone is already abandoned and people have moved on to Z5. Damn shame as the phone is pretty darn nice...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. How I wish it has many and active developers just like the Xperia Z2 and Z3 have. I hope many developers will realize that this phone is worth the shot
mark_q07 said:
From the comments that I read in the past, after updating their Z3+ to the latest firmware update, they reformat their phone. According to them, it seems to lessen the heating issue on their Z3+. I don't have Z3+ (sine I'm still choosing between Z3+ and Z5) but I hope my comment can help you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, have done that, it indeed got better!
iurylima said:
Thank you, have done that, it indeed got better!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! I am happy reformatting your Z3+ helps lessen the heating issue. Enjoy your Z3+ experience!
By the way, what is your satisfaction rating (1 to 10) after reformatting your phone?
mark_q07 said:
Wow! I am happy reformatting your Z3+ helps lessen the heating issue. Enjoy your Z3+ experience!
By the way, what is your satisfaction rating (1 to 10) after reformatting your phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the delay to answer...
After the reset I did a restore on PC and it seemed to worse things, will do the reset again...
I'm very satisfied with the phone, if it stops butning my hand will be around 9!
iurylima said:
Sorry for the delay to answer...
After the reset I did a restore on PC and it seemed to worse things, will do the reset again...
I'm very satisfied with the phone, if it stops butning my hand will be around 9!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shouldn't restore. Start fresh. All you did is restore the problem
pikeylfc said:
You shouldn't restore. Start fresh. All you did is restore the problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did reset now, started fresh and I'm getting this temperatures just by using Relay for reddit... It seems cooler overall, but don't know if the problem is gone, if I should send it to warranty...
Here in Brazil the Z5 goes for about US$1000, while the Z3+ goes for about US$500 and the Z3/Z3C for about US$400. My Z1 has finally bitten the dust, and I'm looking at these for an upgrade. I honestly cannot justify the cost of the Z5 in any way (heck, you can get an old-but-working CAR for less money!), so that one is out. What I wonder is whether the Z3+ is worth ~20% more than the Z3: the Z3+ has unquestionably better hardware and unquestionably worse development, though FXP will release their CM13 for all supported Krait/A53 phones after Sony gets a Marshmallow build out, so we will have a way out after Sony support abandons the phone. The point is, how usable is the software right now without unlocking the bootloader? And looking at the forums I couldn't get an idea of whether the development is slowing down, heating up or just keeping the same rate, so I ask, how likely is it that development will heat up this year?
Steve_max said:
Here in Brazil the Z5 goes for about US$1000, while the Z3+ goes for about US$500 and the Z3/Z3C for about US$400. My Z1 has finally bitten the dust, and I'm looking at these for an upgrade. I honestly cannot justify the cost of the Z5 in any way (heck, you can get an old-but-working CAR for less money!), so that one is out. What I wonder is whether the Z3+ is worth ~20% more than the Z3: the Z3+ has unquestionably better hardware and unquestionably worse development, though FXP will release their CM13 for all supported Krait/A53 phones after Sony gets a Marshmallow build out, so we will have a way out after Sony support abandons the phone. The point is, how usable is the software right now without unlocking the bootloader? And looking at the forums I couldn't get an idea of whether the development is slowing down, heating up or just keeping the same rate, so I ask, how likely is it that development will heat up this year?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the Sony software out-of-the-box is perfectly fine to use. I think Sony didn't load a ton of crapware/unwanted software onto Android that it becomes a nuisance although I disabled a few Sony apps that I didn't like or found useless. I'm comparing my experience with software loaded out-of-the-box from a Nexus 4 (my previous phone) to a Sony Xperia Z3+ and it's been a pleasant experience.
I'm not sure what you're looking for in rooting or unlocking the bootloader of a Z3+ but I feel it's unnecessary. I rooted my previous phones to achieve better battery life. With the Z3+, Sony's Stamina mode has been more than sufficient in providing me with that feature, so no need for rooting or unlocking the bootloader.
I don't think the development is going to pick up anytime soon. I've kept up with news sites and forums (XDA and Sony Support Forums) on the Sony Xperia Z3+ and it has a bad reputation because of the Snapdragon 810 causing overheating issues.
No. Don't touch it. This phone is a piece of crap. My last two phones, both $30 cheapos from metro out perform this high tech blunder. this is the worst buying decision I have ever made.
Battery life? I'm lucky if it lasts 3 hours.

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