Related
It seems pretty obvious to me that many of the gushing reviews and hard sell on the net is from people who have received a free phone from Huawei, and don't want to jeopardise that position for future releases. I paid for mine, so I can provide an honest overview. I'm reasonably familiar with Huawei stuff, having used a P20 Pro since release.
Hardware:
Simply stunning. Little more to say. I agree with everyone who says that it's beautifully designed and clearly innovative in places. Downside to this is that it feels incredibly fragile. I'm pretty confident in predicting that it will not survive a drop onto any hard surface of more than a few centimetres without cracking or chipping. This is nothing that couldn't be said of pretty much any other manufacturer, though.
Comfort is subjective. I found the rounded edges unpleasantly sharp, but if you invest in a case that'll solve the problem. You will, however, be taking a big phone and making it bigger.
The fingerprint scanner is a neat idea, but stopped recognising my fingers within 12 hours of purchase. The face scanner worked as described, and I didn't have any issues with high contrast environments.
Speakers tinny as expected.
Fast charging very cool, definitely as fast as described. In face, the whole phone is lightning fast in most places.
Software:
"Unfinished" is perhaps the kindest way to describe it. "A bit ****", "lazy", "derivative", are other words, and "what the hell were you thinking" is a phrase you might find yourself applying. Dialog boxes where someone has forgotten to add padding around buttons, strange font size choices, notifications that run off the side of the screen etc etc.
It's as if it's been designed by someone with absolutely no sense of aesthetics, which is even stranger when you consider the simply sterling job that Huawei did on the hardware. It's very similar to iOS of a few years ago, which to be fair you might expect when you buy it. What's unforgivable though is that these lazy design choices conflict with Google's own standards, and it leaves a very conflicted operating system on the phone.
Backing up? Should I use Google or Huawei Cloud? I would use HC, but it experiences exactly the same problem that it does on the EMUI 9 beta on my P20 Pro, where it massively over-calculates the size of the photo gallery and just tries to sell you an upgrade. This is a £1000 phone. It deserves more than 2GB of cloud storage, Huawei. Huawei Calendar will conflict with Google Calendar. OK Google doesn't work. The whole EMUI launcher starts lagging after an hour or two of phone uptime, with elements "popping in" and frame rate drops when returning from an app.
Oh, and the gesture navigation. Jesus. Don't even go there. If you can get it to work, it'll just make you increasingly angry as your palm accidentally sends "back" commands, and the next moment inhibits the one you wanted to do.
Huawei still beholden to the operators with updates. Interestingly it downloaded a small network operator update when I got it, but it never installed, just hanging at 100%. Remember, this is supposed to be a premium device.
Camera:
I've seen a lot of criticism of the camera UI, and I don't really understand why. It works for me, and the Master AI thing was very good at picking out the correct scene. It's suffering from the lack of a monochrome sensor in the dark though, as my P20 Pro is consistently beating it in night shots. All phones should have a wide angle lens, and this is the bit I'll miss most.
Conclusion:
I'm returning mine to EE, and will be getting a Pixel 3 instead. The hardware will feel like a year back in time, but I just want the phone to work and not be beholden to Huawei to apathetically fix bugs. I feel quite sad about this, as it actually feels like huge potential squandered by extremely poor decision making. Had this hardware been fastened to a vanilla Android OS like the Pixel, they wouldn't be able to make enough to keep up with demand.
Hope this helps. It's a really shame and I'm a bit sad to be sending it back, but the software drawbacks outweigh the hardware advances.
David Horn said:
It seems pretty obvious to me that many of the gushing reviews and hard sell on the net is from people who have received a free phone from Huawei, and don't want to jeopardise that position for future releases. I paid for mine, so I can provide an honest overview. I'm reasonably familiar with Huawei stuff, having used a P20 Pro since release.
Hardware:
Simply stunning. Little more to say. I agree with everyone who says that it's beautifully designed and clearly innovative in places. Downside to this is that it feels incredibly fragile. I'm pretty confident in predicting that it will not survive a drop onto any hard surface of more than a few centimetres without cracking or chipping. This is nothing that couldn't be said of pretty much any other manufacturer, though.
Comfort is subjective. I found the rounded edges unpleasantly sharp, but if you invest in a case that'll solve the problem. You will, however, be taking a big phone and making it bigger.
The fingerprint scanner is a neat idea, but stopped recognising my fingers within 12 hours of purchase. The face scanner worked as described, and I didn't have any issues with high contrast environments.
Speakers tinny as expected.
Fast charging very cool, definitely as fast as described. In face, the whole phone is lightning fast in most places.
Software:
"Unfinished" is perhaps the kindest way to describe it. "A bit ****", "lazy", "derivative", are other words, and "what the hell were you thinking" is a phrase you might find yourself applying. Dialog boxes where someone has forgotten to add padding around buttons, strange font size choices, notifications that run off the side of the screen etc etc.
It's as if it's been designed by someone with absolutely no sense of aesthetics, which is even stranger when you consider the simply sterling job that Huawei did on the hardware. It's very similar to iOS of a few years ago, which to be fair you might expect when you buy it. What's unforgivable though is that these lazy design choices conflict with Google's own standards, and it leaves a very conflicted operating system on the phone.
Backing up? Should I use Google or Huawei Cloud? I would use HC, but it experiences exactly the same problem that it does on the EMUI 9 beta on my P20 Pro, where it massively over-calculates the size of the photo gallery and just tries to sell you an upgrade. This is a £1000 phone. It deserves more than 2GB of cloud storage, Huawei. Huawei Calendar will conflict with Google Calendar. OK Google doesn't work. The whole EMUI launcher starts lagging after an hour or two of phone uptime, with elements "popping in" and frame rate drops when returning from an app.
Oh, and the gesture navigation. Jesus. Don't even go there. If you can get it to work, it'll just make you increasingly angry as your palm accidentally sends "back" commands, and the next moment inhibits the one you wanted to do.
Huawei still beholden to the operators with updates. Interestingly it downloaded a small network operator update when I got it, but it never installed, just hanging at 100%. Remember, this is supposed to be a premium device.
Camera:
I've seen a lot of criticism of the camera UI, and I don't really understand why. It works for me, and the Master AI thing was very good at picking out the correct scene. It's suffering from the lack of a monochrome sensor in the dark though, as my P20 Pro is consistently beating it in night shots. All phones should have a wide angle lens, and this is the bit I'll miss most.
Conclusion:
I'm returning mine to EE, and will be getting a Pixel 3 instead. The hardware will feel like a year back in time, but I just want the phone to work and not be beholden to Huawei to apathetically fix bugs. I feel quite sad about this, as it actually feels like huge potential squandered by extremely poor decision making. Had this hardware been fastened to a vanilla Android OS like the Pixel, they wouldn't be able to make enough to keep up with demand.
Hope this helps. It's a really shame and I'm a bit sad to be sending it back, but the software drawbacks outweigh the hardware advances.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the Mate 20 Pro annoys you in this way, the Pixel 3 will destroy you; It charges slow, has slow wireless charging, the camera crashes and lags the phone, it doesn't save a photo if you switch to another app after taking the photo, it closes apps playing in the background such as spotify/deezer when you want to use the camera, generally has awful memory management, it has very bad battery life, the hardware design is not worth the price, finally, navigating the Pixel 3 via the new gestures is the most infuriating thing about it.
David Horn said:
It seems pretty obvious to me that many of the gushing reviews and hard sell on the net is from people who have received a free phone from Huawei, and don't want to jeopardise that position for future releases. I paid for mine, so I can provide an honest overview. I'm reasonably familiar with Huawei stuff, having used a P20 Pro since release.
Hardware:
Simply stunning. Little more to say. I agree with everyone who says that it's beautifully designed and clearly innovative in places. Downside to this is that it feels incredibly fragile. I'm pretty confident in predicting that it will not survive a drop onto any hard surface of more than a few centimetres without cracking or chipping. This is nothing that couldn't be said of pretty much any other manufacturer, though.
Comfort is subjective. I found the rounded edges unpleasantly sharp, but if you invest in a case that'll solve the problem. You will, however, be taking a big phone and making it bigger.
The fingerprint scanner is a neat idea, but stopped recognising my fingers within 12 hours of purchase. The face scanner worked as described, and I didn't have any issues with high contrast environments.
Speakers tinny as expected.
Fast charging very cool, definitely as fast as described. In face, the whole phone is lightning fast in most places.
Software:
"Unfinished" is perhaps the kindest way to describe it. "A bit ****", "lazy", "derivative", are other words, and "what the hell were you thinking" is a phrase you might find yourself applying. Dialog boxes where someone has forgotten to add padding around buttons, strange font size choices, notifications that run off the side of the screen etc etc.
It's as if it's been designed by someone with absolutely no sense of aesthetics, which is even stranger when you consider the simply sterling job that Huawei did on the hardware. It's very similar to iOS of a few years ago, which to be fair you might expect when you buy it. What's unforgivable though is that these lazy design choices conflict with Google's own standards, and it leaves a very conflicted operating system on the phone.
Backing up? Should I use Google or Huawei Cloud? I would use HC, but it experiences exactly the same problem that it does on the EMUI 9 beta on my P20 Pro, where it massively over-calculates the size of the photo gallery and just tries to sell you an upgrade. This is a £1000 phone. It deserves more than 2GB of cloud storage, Huawei. Huawei Calendar will conflict with Google Calendar. OK Google doesn't work. The whole EMUI launcher starts lagging after an hour or two of phone uptime, with elements "popping in" and frame rate drops when returning from an app.
Oh, and the gesture navigation. Jesus. Don't even go there. If you can get it to work, it'll just make you increasingly angry as your palm accidentally sends "back" commands, and the next moment inhibits the one you wanted to do.
Huawei still beholden to the operators with updates. Interestingly it downloaded a small network operator update when I got it, but it never installed, just hanging at 100%. Remember, this is supposed to be a premium device.
Camera:
I've seen a lot of criticism of the camera UI, and I don't really understand why. It works for me, and the Master AI thing was very good at picking out the correct scene. It's suffering from the lack of a monochrome sensor in the dark though, as my P20 Pro is consistently beating it in night shots. All phones should have a wide angle lens, and this is the bit I'll miss most.
Conclusion:
I'm returning mine to EE, and will be getting a Pixel 3 instead. The hardware will feel like a year back in time, but I just want the phone to work and not be beholden to Huawei to apathetically fix bugs. I feel quite sad about this, as it actually feels like huge potential squandered by extremely poor decision making. Had this hardware been fastened to a vanilla Android OS like the Pixel, they wouldn't be able to make enough to keep up with demand.
Hope this helps. It's a really shame and I'm a bit sad to be sending it back, but the software drawbacks outweigh the hardware advances.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally a brave review , totally agree in every point... Had it for a week and i also dont get how reviewers givin it 10 of 10 Spot on mate
David Horn said:
Hope this helps. It's a really shame and I'm a bit sad to be sending it back, but the software drawbacks outweigh the hardware advances.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your feedback. I'm personally expecting bull**** software, it is EMUI after all. Not the unfinished part though.if I do end up returning mine , for the reasons you mentioned, I'll probably get the OnePlus 6t though. I have to give Theis years Pixel a hard pass. I'd even consider the LG V40 before the Pixel 3 xl.
Hey, apologies if this is too long of a post. Was hoping to share my recent experiences.
Background: Was on contract with a carrier using the XS Max. Needed to switch carriers, so sold iPhone to cover the contract balance. Switched carrier and got the Mate 20 Pro. After a week returned the Mate 20 and got a Note 9. And now I'm here I guess posting with the Note 9.
Mate 20 Pro: I ended up returning it because my top half of the screen had a red tint to it and the center part of the display had greenish colour to it. For the record, I've owned a Mate 8 in the past. To my surprise, when I started using the Mate 20 Pro I could immediately tell that (a) it's a beautiful and fast device, and (b) that EMUI haven't changed one bit... Whether it's android 7, 8, or 9 -- frustration levels remain high. I hope no one gets me wrong, I love Huawei. Kinda always did. I love the fact that they copy everything they can from Apple and other manufacturers. That's a good thing because it means its users can enjoy awesome features like 3D face unlock (which worked great for me! I think they implemented it really well) or no headphone jack (I'm joking), or even new features like in display finger print scanner or having the Google now integrated to the launcher, or what about the small zoomed in screen when you're moving the typing cursor? Nice touch! But the truth is, you're gonna be googling for hours trying to understand why you can't receive notifications or so many other things that are unique to EMUI. Even me being a user that is already very familiar with EMUI, I still couldn't figure out why I'm not receiving notifications until I wake up the screen in the morning, or why I can't set a live lockscreen wallpaper, or why am I getting punished for switching to Nova Launcher? Or why can't my DPI settings apply to the notification shade. No kidding the battery is awesome, nothing is allowed to run in the background and gets closed after you open a few apps. Also, the device is not as smooth as people make it seem. You do notice lag, and sometimes in places you wouldn't expect. For example, when YouTube plays as PIP, there's no way you're not gonna notice lag everywhere. Did that make me return the phone? No. But the screen issue did. And while returning, I decided to give the Note 9 a chance.
Note 9: Overall, the Note 9 has a better screen, slightly worse cameras, worse facial recognition, no notch! Worse one handed usability, slightly worse battery, much better speakers, a headphone jack! Comes with headphones you'll actually try to use, has a s-pen (not useful for me), AOD that is actually useful, and a better software experience. Do I hate Bixby? Yes. Am I able to remove Bixby and use nova launcher with zero problems? Yes. The battery probably gives me an hour less screen on time. But remember, this is with all my regular apps refreshing in the background and multitasking that keeps much more apps ready to go in the background. The screen is also noticibly better with better viewing angles and better implementation of how the rounded corners look. This phone actually seem to perform better as well. I don't care about Android versions or what nanometer is the processor... All I care about is my experience using the phone. And with the Note 9 it's simpler and smoother. Here for example, the phone doesn't lag when YouTube is in PIP mode or lags less when I'm double pressing the multitasking button (quick app switching). Having no notch allows me to see all my notification icons in the status bar, which is awesome. In terms of user and multimedia experience, this device delivers.
Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind in the future. As it stands now, the thought of returning this device and getting another Mate 20 Pro (potentially with a better screen) haven't crossed my mind...
Returning this device and getting another Huawei.
Samsung Note9 is not for you.
Was in the same boat had both, if I could just keep the facial unlock and cameras from the 20
both iris scanner and face unlock are obsolete coming of congress in Barcelona in 3 weeks, all flagships will greet us with punch hole cameras and in display scanners , same for P30 series on 31st march, with trend to get rid of that front facing camera gimmicks at the end of 2019. As for Note 9 vs Mate 20 pro there's absolutely no contest here to speak of, every professional reviewer concluded that current quad bayer sensors are lackluster compared to 12mp offerings which was to be expected.. hype train is pretty much the only thing Huawei has, and it lost momentum with poor processing and worst software experience on android
Hello, i also had the Mate 20 Pro since day one, and i had the famous LG screen problem , i had to return it and get another one, but after few weeks i couldn't stand the screen that is sooo edged, it was annoying to me, also the weird screen size, it looked so long and not even while watching videos, after all i had to return it and get the Note9 and i never looked back, i found Note9 screen to be a lot better, Always on display with full features is awesome unlike the Basic AOD on the Mate 20 Pro, and the One UI/ Android 9 update made the Note 9 even better.
Cheers
hey guys, mate is still best! What do you think???
https://youtu.be/6EHQvYTKSWo
i picked mate 20 pro because the the camera punch hole in the s10 would drive me completely insane, worst design i've ever seen on a phone i think
mate 20 here would trade if i could
s10+ becausemy opinion only)
its newer
best battery :less capacity but better performance
best sound: louder and clearer
best screen : its a samsung nothing can beat this guys
camera photo same results dxomarks but its release firmware so it will get even better
best selfie by far
best video by far: we all know mate 20 pro is very bad
best 4k and 4k60fps: jelly efect on mate. cant deal with 4k60fps
best slow mo not fake 960. mate 20 pro was a interpollated 240 fps to seem it is making 960 fps
i have a mate 20 pro because what i said was kinda valid instead of note 9 some months ago.
mate 30 or even p30 pro i think will beat s10+
this is a 3 months king phone period so what you choose today in months it will be old news.
Yeah, the s10+ on paper is better than mate 20 pro.
Better screen, a faster chip, louder speakers, better camera software ( imo mate 20 raw camera performance is better),...
But in day to day use there will not be any huge differences except the punch hole display vs notch. With that said most of the games or apps I use even with the hole punch u will have black bars on the side, hell even youtube app has those unless u are willing to zoom in and cut part of the video (I hate all those reviews on youtube that zoom in the content just for the sake of having it fullscreen while in reality u will have to deal with blackbars if u dont want to cut off the top and bottom).
One thing I absolutely love it about the mate 20 pro but others seems to sleep on is the charging speed. I usually fall as sleep while watching random stuffs on my phone at night. And this is when super charge come in to save my ass. It charges a whooping 70% after my brushing, showering and shaving routine in the next morning. Im doubted the s10+ or even future note 10 could do the same. For me thats a game changer, now I can freely enjoy my sleep without waking up in the middle of the night remembering havent charge the phone yet.
I have the S10 plus arriving this week.
Ultimately it will be nice to have a proper functional always on display again, the lack of this on the Mate 20 pro has become something that bugs me every day and if Huawei added a proper AOD I'd probably cancel my S10 pre-order. It will also be nice have the volume sync properly on my bluetooth headphones.
Is a shame as the Mate 20 pro gets so much right.
arsenal74 said:
I have the S10 plus arriving this week.
Ultimately it will be nice to have a proper functional always on display again, the lack of this on the Mate 20 pro has become something that bugs me every day and if Huawei added a proper AOD I'd probably cancel my S10 pre-order. It will also be nice have the volume sync properly on my bluetooth headphones.
Is a shame as the Mate 20 pro gets so much right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow, orders a new phone just because of AOD? do you have to much money or sever OCD ither way hope u like your new s10+
yes i'm jelly
I will obviously be selling the Mate if I keep the S10+ I'm not made of money!
AOD is a feature that I value, hoped I'd get used to it on the M20 pro maybe if the LED was not so small I would have but ultimately it just continues to bug me.
Overall I think the S10+ is the better phone except for not having proper face unlock.
Huawei really do need to up their AOD game but can't see it happening.
I don't think the hole punch design would bother me. I've never been bothered by notches (I had an iPhone X before the M20pro.)
Still, I can't upgrade until November so will see what the Mate 30 Pro has to offer.
3D face unlock is a gimmick of the past, from now on manufacturers will rely on Under display sensors and maximizing screen to body ratio in the coming years, Samsung is light years ahead in terms of UX and unmatched audio/video quality for android device, although they slack with implementing new camera tech, it's a choice
i just got the mate 20 pro with my carrier . To get the s10 would of costed me 500$ extra so for me it was an easy decision to get the mate 20 pro.
arsenal74 said:
I have the S10 plus arriving this week.
Ultimately it will be nice to have a proper functional always on display again, the lack of this on the Mate 20 pro has become something that bugs me every day and if Huawei added a proper AOD I'd probably cancel my S10 pre-order. It will also be nice have the volume sync properly on my bluetooth headphones.
Is a shame as the Mate 20 pro gets so much right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2 things that are prolly the weakest points on this phone. However I have decided to keep the mate 20 pro (for now though I'm very tempted) and not get the s10 plus. For me the best feature of the mate is the super charge vs the slow ass charge on the s10. Like another poster above mentioned, I have not micro managed this phone charge wise ever since I got it. I used to charge all my Samsungs every night to 100 but on this phone I never do!
Also, I love the fact that EMUI desktop can be done wirelessly unlike the s10 plus Dex. There's just too many things that I really love about the mate. I have been on ever Galaxy s and note device ever been out. I just came from the note 9 , which is collecting dust, to the mate 20 pro and I really really love this phone. From the way it feels in the hand (it's still slimmer by about 2mm compared to the s10 plus, to the way it looks. I think it's very unique looking and much better than the generic looking s10. Also the mate is a beast and I still think that EMUI (no matter how much people hate it) is a far more optimized and efficient software than Samsung's. I'm running Nova launcher and I have it set just the way I like it, so EMUI doesn't give me anything negative, only the positive such as awesome battery management, supeer fast and responsive interact interface, etc...
What are others folks thoughts on this??
mike2518 said:
2 things that are prolly the weakest points on this phone. However I have decided to keep the mate 20 pro (for now though I'm very tempted) and not get the s10 plus. For me the best feature of the mate is the super charge vs the slow ass charge on the s10. Like another poster above mentioned, I have not micro managed this phone charge wise ever since I got it. I used to charge all my Samsungs every night to 100 but on this phone I never do!
Also, I love the fact that EMUI desktop can be done wirelessly unlike the s10 plus Dex. There's just too many things that I really love about the mate. I have been on ever Galaxy s and note device ever been out. I just came from the note 9 , which is collecting dust, to the mate 20 pro and I really really love this phone. From the way it feels in the hand (it's still slimmer by about 2mm compared to the s10 plus, to the way it looks. I think it's very unique looking and much better than the generic looking s10. Also the mate is a beast and I still think that EMUI (no matter how much people hate it) is a far more optimized and efficient software than Samsung's. I'm running Nova launcher and I have it set just the way I like it, so EMUI doesn't give me anything negative, only the positive such as awesome battery management, supeer fast and responsive interact interface, etc...
What are others folks thoughts on this??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on the fence re S10 vs the plus. The normal 10 looks a great size and is slightly smaller than the mate too. I too had the Note, it was a beast but I managed it, it was also easier in the hand vs say the Xs max, I have also had the S9 plus. There is something about the normal S10 or Mate though that falls into that goldilocks zone size wise. I think the bigger phones are nice with the larger screen but even if you ignore the one-handed use thing they are also more of a burden to carry around at times.
I'm concerned re the camera and expect the mate to have the better shooter. The battery management on the Mate will also be better I think even if it does come with the downside of it sometimes shutting down apps that you do not want it too.
I'm currently in the same boat to renew my contract with my service provider and really struggle with the decision which phone to pick...
IMHO the Mate 20 Pro is still the best phone out there, but Huawei's and FunkyHuawei's recent stupidities are both not making this decision very easy.
I currently own a Sony and was always happy with it and their software / firmware update policy and speed, except for the bootloader unlock, which wipes a DRM key and breaks some phone capabilities, which can't be restored anymore. For older phones it's still possible to circumvent that, but forget it on newer phones. That drived me away from Sony and although I really love the Mate 20 Pro's specs and internals... I think I would have a very hard time without an unlocked bootloader. F***, why are companies so stupid?!
That said... and although I'm not a Samsung fanboy... I'm that close to just turn around from this phone and choose an S10 model or pick an LG instead. Also for a higher price... Currently I'm just desperately waiting if anybody provides a bootloader unlock service for Huawei and that recent dark chapter for this brand becomes again less relevant.
My 5 cents...
As far as I see it, Samsung is the Apple of Android so won't touch them. Never been one to go for the companies with the biggest advertising budgets mainly HTC's and Sony's perviously and now on the Mate 20 Pro and so far it's been exactly what I thought it would be. Some reviewers go on about how bad the EMUI skin is, can't say I'm too bothered, if I have to tap the screen once more than a Samsung device to get to a particular setting (you know one that's "buried deep down" in the system) then I'm sure I'll live. The S10+ is basically a Mate 20 pro with newer internals that give marginally better performance levels, in the real world there's no difference - you might lose 0.01 of a second opening an app - if that's too long to wait you might have to re-evaluate where you are right now Both phones will still be holding their own in two years time and with the Mate's price dropping steadily you could pick one up for £200 less than the S10+, is there that much of a difference between the two? No, paying £200 more for a name is the preserve of the rich or daft, and I'm neither of those
djingonthenet said:
As far as I see it, Samsung is the Apple of Android so won't touch them. Never been one to go for the companies with the biggest advertising budgets mainly HTC's and Sony's perviously [...] No, paying £200 more for a name is the preserve of the rich or daft, and I'm neither of those
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could not agree more to the statements. Same as you I have also always chosen the underdogs (loved my HTC Desire HD by the way), but when you seriously start to think who actually are the current bad guys, I would not name Samsung first. IMHO companies should ship their phones with an unlocked bootloader and not penalize the users for unlocking their phones (Sony) or not allow them to do so (Huawei). If it would be still possible to get the unlock codes I wouldn't even think twice which phone to pick. Sadly as things stand I have to confess to consider buying my first Samsung phone. LG would also be an option, but the problem on the latter is as well, that they simply don't allow to unlock every of their phones... Crap...
The lack of proper face unlock on the S10 might be a deal breaker. It's now been proved to be really insecure. The face unlock on the Mate is amazing.
Apart from that, the phones are really similar.
giorgoxxi said:
The lack of proper face unlock on the S10 might be a deal breaker. It's now been proved to be really insecure. The face unlock on the Mate is amazing.
Apart from that, the phones are really similar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*100000
Love my mate 20 pro, I was fortunate I didn't have the green screen problem! I do like switching phones but brought it outright and just on a monthly sim only contract for £10 a month.
As others have said, I used to charge my old Samsung's to 100% every night, I top mine up and normally keep mine between 25-85% doesn't really matter where as I have the 40w charger at work and home and can get that 50% in about 20 mins.
Love the phone wide angle & telephoto cameras, the reviews are raving about these on the s10plus but seem to forget these were already available for years on the LG G series and the mate 20 pro since Sept last year. I know there is a slightly wider FOV on the S10plus.
Going to keep going with the mate 20 pro battery has not seen any performance degrade over the 6 months I've had it too which is great, with Nova launcher I don't use the EMUI.
I choose s10+.
because finger reader better other phone. But I like face Id in iphone. Mate 20 pro face id is a joke.
And green screen problem, I skip mate 20 pro.
SPfuns said:
I choose s10+.
Mate 20 pro face id is a joke.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, right.
:silly:
PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my first 24-Hours experience with the Nokia 9 PureView compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Nokia 9 for about 24-Hours now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at this phone. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. Samsung S10 128GB / 8GB
2. Google Pixel 3 XL
3. Xiaomi Mi 9 Global Version 64GB / 6GB
4. iPhone XS Max
5. Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro Transparent Global
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 45 miles each way everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Android Auto / Apple CarPlay Compatible w/ My 2018 Honda
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Nokia 9 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, camera & software. Here goes:
BATTERY
This has been a hot topic as of late as the larger phones continue to dominate this field (duh... larger phone mean more room for larger battery), however 3340 - 3800 mAh batteries seemed to be the "standard" for phones the size of the Nokia 9. During setup, from 100%, I tortured it setting up all my apps from scratch while on AC-wireless connection... then after all the app downloading, logging apps in and setting up further. I would say a good 5 to 6 hours of heavy use on Wifi drained it to 56% battery... decent performance given the amount of hammering on it I was doing. If normal day away from home is 12 hours with normal use, I feel it goes the distance... Is it a battery champ like the iPhone XS Max, no. Is it one of the better phones in its group like the S10 and Xiaomi Mi 9... you bet. I feel Android One has everything to do with it... More on Android One later.
SCREEN
At a 5.99" OLED at 18:9 aspect, I do feel that the forehead and chin on the phone is a little circa 2017 - 2018. With that said, I do feel it is more pleasant than "Mein Fuhrer" mustache going on with the Pixel XL 3... so much so I had to toggle no notchiness in the developer settings. The "Little Mac" swing and a miss punch out on the Samsung S10 is definitely not my cup of tea ... I found it annoying for one and the fact that they have graphics to swirl around it to make that much more noticeable is even more unsettling. As for the actual screen itself, the colors, brightness and clarity is awesome albeit small especially if you toggle down the screen size in settings... with that, it is a little difficult to manage photos properly with the size of screen. Not impossible but it can try your patience... but the screen itself is definitely better than the Xiaomi Phones and the Pixel 3 XL... the S10 still has the nicest screen but Samsung is getting me annoyed with the continue elongation of the phone... soon it will have a 76:5 aspect ratio... and will look like a Hershey Bar... btw Samsung, don't take design cues from a candy bar company... just sayin'
THE FINGERPRINT SCANNER
Probably the most controversial item on the Nokia 9. Yes it is not great.... I would place it below the scanner in the S10 & Xiaomi Mi 9 but better than the Mi 8.... Pixel 3 XL , you don't count with your don't rock the boat rear sensor... which of course is super fast. Honestly, this tech is not ready for prime time on any of these phones. The S10 comes with a plastic screen protector that makes it hard at first to register the scanner. I felt like I pressing my finger through the display. It did start working decently at about a 90% success rate, after programming fingers a few different time. The Nokia 9 is definitely 75% at best with just one scan of each of my thumbs... as mentioned in different threads, going to add a second scan of each thumb to see of that improves... I feel though that Nokia HMD will patch it to make it slightly better. With facial recognition available, although not as secure, helps for getting into the phone and really the finger print is only needed for the different apps requiring. There's a learning curve for sure to get it to work well but the same goes for the S10... Definitely, not the "deal breaker" everyone's trying to paint... it's the price of new technology
SOFTWARE
Android One to me, besides the Pixel 3 XL and the iPhone XS Max, is in a class of android that Samsung and Xiaomi can't touch. Vanilla Stock Android (for the most part) is a breath of fresh air. Everyone is creaming in their pants that One UI is so much better TouchWiz for Samsung. When your yardstick is the garbage that was TouchJizz, saying One UI is better without qualifying it further is not a great state of affairs. I personally did not find it "that much better" and was immediately looking to replace the launcher with the pixel launcher or similar iteration immediately. I feel as soon as they take away the google assistant screen to the left on the homepage, its a failure... that's of course is a personal preference. Bixby blows... kill him/her off Samsung... and have Bixby take Siri with them... Google Assistant, the swipe left news screen should NEVER be removed... if it happens, then google and android lose a customer for life... just saying... can't wait for timely security updates that will never come to Samsung. Xiaomi on their own do a great job to update. not much to say about their interface other than like most Xiaomi phones... notifications can sometimes be a pain to get to work right due to aggressive battery savings. Xiaomi also does not have the assistant screen to the left :crying: replaced easily with pixel launcher... the S10 was not as easy... could not just use pixel launcher from apkmirror and had to buy action launcher to mimic. The experience of as close to vanilla android on the pixel 3 xl and the nokia 9 just can't be touched. The 6GB phone rocking the 845 performs IMO better than the 855 8GB S10. Even the Xiaomi Mi 9 feels faster than the S10, 845 or 855.
CAMERA
Ok, camera... or as you all know cameras when speaking about any of these phones except you, you "one-eyed monster" pixel 3 xl. Although I haven't put it through the regiment of use cases, The Pentacular camera explosion that is the Nokia 9 is something I'm digging. If your looking for a point and shoot and send master class phone, get the iPhone 8 XS Max, Google Pixel 3 XL or the Xiaomi Mi 9 in that order. For me, Samsung always supposedly has good cameras in their phones but being a person that went to photography school, shot professionally and still cares about the pictures they take... the software non-sense that the S10 does with pixel smoothing, HDR, etc., etc. makes everything no genuine. The other phones too suffer from this at times as well. Don't get me wrong... Night Shot on the Pixel 3 XL is a feet of software magic... quite frankly, google needs to share this tech with other OEMs to make the sustainability of Android that much better. But if your looking for a genuine picture with great image detail and the ability to adjust in-box, the Nokia 9 excels. Yes, you pay for it in processing time. Are you going to want to take this phone to Monaco to caught a F1 car in motion... hell no, but if you want on par caliber shots with a DSLR with RAW Images on outdoor, standard to semi-low light situations... I don't believe there's a camera that compares... for the price... and that leads to...
VALUE FOR YOUR DOLLAR
Although not the cheapest phone, at $600 USD (pre-sale pricing, $700 now), you get a lot of phone for the dollar. The only better value is you just want to go the point, shoot and send route is the Xiaomi Mi 9 at about $530 USD. As always, Samsung at over $800 is not worth it. Not worth it for camera, not worth it for software, design, etc. Samsung Pay to me is the only thing Samsung uniquely has that I wish every phone did. The Pixel 3 XL which I was able to get around $550 was a good value too, but is barely worth it north of $600 buying new. Yes it has the best single shooting camera of practically any phone in its class, but I feel it doesn't run as smoothly as the Nokia 9 with the extra 2GB RAM increase. Of course, Apple cost to value is in a different class... yes the phone is $1100... but you'll also be able to probably sell it in 2 years for $600 as well. Try that with an android phone and you'll get laughed at that it retains 60% value after 2 years. The Nokia 9 packs the right amount of stuff to make it a great value IMO. It would be a slam dunk of course if it had a SD 855 as opposed to 845 but it would be probably $100 more expensive without adding much value. Android One is wonderful and a great choice. Wireless charging (OnePlus, you can't add wireless charging, are you just dumb or what at this point?) The 5 cameras is a great gimmick and works as advertised. Everyone expecting the world out of a $600 phone... it has a better camera then phones $200 - $500 more than what it costs. Can you shoot in a pitch black room... no? Why are you? You creep... you spying on me... it is a little weird
OVERALL
The Nokia 9 is not the phone for everyone. It's the phone for a person that want great value in a phone capable of taking amazingly detailed photos in its price category. Can you point, shoot, send... sometimes. Does the fingerprint reader work ok? Sometimes. Is it a phone pushing some new hardware envelopes in a cost affordable package? Always! The fingerprint reader hate is just that... hate without a 100% justification. Is it an annoyance, it can be... does it overshadow the value of this phone for those of us wanting more from their phone cameras, absolutely not. It is also by no means cutting edge on design... but it doesn't have to be sporting 5 cameras... chins and foreheads are nice when done tastefully (look at Angelina Jolie... maybe not 2019 Angelina maybe circa 2005 Angelina :highfive: ) It not an ugly phone is all I'm saying. Can the big boys in the cell phone game learn something from the once dominate Nokia (actually HMD) is that innovation is needed to remain relevant... think if Apple put 5 cameras on its next phone (would never happen) but what if it did. They'd be like "The Job-biness is Back at Apple" "Apple, the innovators again" and a multitude of other stupid headlines. Lets face it, this phone has a gimmick, a fairly great one but gimmick nonetheless. Will it catch on? Is it years ahead of its time? It just maybe. As always, this is just Some Guys 24-hour Opinion....... :good:
Great first 24 hour impressions
Camera question
Thanks for the review, mine arrives March 18 and looking forward to the camera. The processing time has been mentioned all over the place but I am still unclear as to whether the processing time prevents you from taking the next shot. For example, I would most likely always shoot raw with the full depth turned on. I am more interested in being able to take the next exposure quickly than looking at the last shot on the phone's screen. So, wondering how quickly one can take the next shot.
Thanks!
jhw61032 said:
Thanks for the review, mine arrives March 18 and looking forward to the camera. The processing time has been mentioned all over the place but I am still unclear as to whether the processing time prevents you from taking the next shot. For example, I would most likely always shoot raw with the full depth turned on. I am more interested in being able to take the next exposure quickly than looking at the last shot on the phone's screen. So, wondering how quickly one can take the next shot.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From experience it doesn't keep you from taking the next shot... I haven't done it with say more than 2 or 3 shots though... don't know how far it will let you go and tell you it can't process anymore. The processing is not unbearable either.... its just kids nowadays, if it isn't ready in 1.5 seconds, time to troll Nokia on a phone that is at least trying to change things up.... :victory:
Hey everyone!
I noticed this section was a bit dry so thought I'd kick it off as a happy new owner of a grey Nokia XR20 in Australia. Still on 4G but will be giving Optus 5G a shot soon.
My last phone was a Razer Phone 2 and I was hesitant about going from a past bleeding edge to low-mid range phone today, but the XR20 seems decent enough for a tough phone.
So far all my go to apps like Gmail, Evernote, Plex, Youtube, WhatsApp and others are working better than they did which is all I needed. The phone is definitely miles ahead of my last tough phone a Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 which was pretty cool but felt further from the mainstream of capability than this does.
I have only two gripes and they're about the software:
I wish I could change the Google Assistant button, I've tried a few apps but they don't seem to pick it up when pressed to reassign it. I'm keen to hear if anyone has tips, even if they're developer ones!
The camera app seems.. OK? I tried a Google Camera port for the X20 but the colours were all wrong
Final though - I know this device is on Android One, but I am a tinkerer and Linux geek so am keen to hear thoughts on how we can get some of that action on this unit.
Cheers!
Gday? Also from Oz mate, & just bought an XR20 my first non Motorola or Google phone in the last 12 years & my first tough phone since my first ever Android which was the Moto Defy a very legendary tweaker phone from the early days, up there with the HTC HD2 for modding, running CyanogenMod9 the Defy was a little beast...
I'm glad this is an Android one handset ( I've tried a few) as the update schedule has not gone to **** [email protected] Moto & it's the only way to get more stock than Moto was,
Coming from an Edge 20 pro my only gripe is the downgrade in refresh rate, I don't care if its powerful or fast & since the Edge 20 broke way too easily after owning it only 3 weeks, I just wanted something durable...Moto aren't what they were during the X series heyday...
And there's nothing else out there that's anywhere near as decent so I made the jump..
It's actually a great phone, though it's a tank of a thing , I'll be happy with it for a year or so I'd say
Hi guys. I have just one question, is there any way to disable the uninstalled apps reinstalling after every restart? It is quite annoying...
When I bought this it was advertised as having Wifi 6 (AX). I have never managed to use on Wifi 6 network (Nighthawk)
I was searching for a "myself proof" phone. The last one had fallen in salted water and not appreciated it ...
This one is "myself-proof"
It has fallen from 1.50m several times and still works.
It has fallen into salt water and still works (just try to clean eat with fresh water as soon as possible, better with demineralized water).
By the way I love the fact that water will not stay on the screen, the screen behave quite like hydrophobic. Funny.
Compared to other "rough" phone it looks more casual and is quite powerful. Battery can stand easily for a full day with full use. Sound is quite powerful (I'm a bit hard hearing).
Camera is ok for me since I have a DSLR when I want to make photo. I use either google camera or Open Camera.
Unpleasant stuff:
The red button is linked to Google Assistant and if you don't use it, it's absolutely useless. No way to reassign it.
It seems - as for now- completely non-rootable. So you are locked with Android 13.