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Hi folks, I liked my HTC One M7, I've been using it for 1 year but recently it has to go to to repair because the camera went purple-tint and vibration motor is dead. Based on my experience local technicians has notoriously sloppy work, so I don't expect this phone will be running trouble-free until my biannual upgrade cycle. So I want to sell my One for a new phone while it still has considerable resale value.
I don't think I liked the bigger-is-better screen hip (One is my biggest phone so far), Being able to operate phone with one hand is definite must for me. So HTC One M8 and Nexus 6 should be out of picture. After a bit of research among the crowd of mini-edition of flagships I think Z3 Compact would be a good candidate.
I used Xperia Pro in the past and I liked Sony build quality mostly.
So HTC One former user, what do you miss when upgrading to Z3 Compact?
I have already thinking about a few downsides:
1. (1080p 4.7 in vs 4.6in 720p), also reportedly Z3C compact has issue with collor accuracy and viewing angle
2. Metal vs plastic -- boy I love my One metallic feel and look, but I guess tempered glass and polycarbonate plastic are classy in its own right?
3. IR Blaster - absolute gem for the lazy me. AC, TV, Stereo with One phone to rule them all (pun intended)
4. Speaker - Both has front firing stereo speakers, but it appears One gain the upper hand?
And of course a few niceties:
1. Waterproof.
2. Smaller footprint with essentially same size of screen.
3. Better processor
So what do you think folks? or should I wait for Z4C which basically will come to my country in mid 2015 (back to bi annual cycle)?
Honestly if you don't need the waterproofness then you are just as good staying with the M7 (all though the camera on the Z3C is better)...
I had the M7 for a year too and in everyday use the M7 is matching the ZC3. I like the size of the Sony better though and you will not miss the full HD screen should you choose to do the change anyways...
Put it in respective for you. I had the m8 and was unlocked and s off. Speakers where giving trouble due to work conditions with dust. Changed to the z3 compact and thought I'd miss having root and customs roms. But I'm not I love the size and feel of the phone. And I'm getting 2 days use of the phone which never happened with any android I have. I'm a heavy user though.
Cell reception and WiFi is better than the m8 as well and both are unlocked from factory
WhizzWr said:
Hi folks, I liked my HTC One M7, I've been using it for 1 year but recently it has to go to to repair because the camera went purple-tint and vibration motor is dead. Based on my experience local technicians has notoriously sloppy work, so I don't expect this phone will be running trouble-free until my biannual upgrade cycle. So I want to sell my One for a new phone while it still has considerable resale value.
I don't think I liked the bigger-is-better screen hip (One is my biggest phone so far), Being able to operate phone with one hand is definite must for me. So HTC One M8 and Nexus 6 should be out of picture. After a bit of research among the crowd of mini-edition of flagships I think Z3 Compact would be a good candidate.
I used Xperia Pro in the past and I liked Sony build quality mostly.
So HTC One former user, what do you miss when upgrading to Z3 Compact?
I have already thinking about a few downsides:
1. (1080p 4.7 in vs 4.6in 720p), also reportedly Z3C compact has issue with collor accuracy and viewing angle
2. Metal vs plastic -- boy I love my One metallic feel and look, but I guess tempered glass and polycarbonate plastic are classy in its own right?
3. IR Blaster - absolute gem for the lazy me. AC, TV, Stereo with One phone to rule them all (pun intended)
4. Speaker - Both has front firing stereo speakers, but it appears One gain the upper hand?
And of course a few niceties:
1. Waterproof.
2. Smaller footprint with essentially same size of screen.
3. Better processor
So what do you think folks? or should I wait for Z4C which basically will come to my country in mid 2015 (back to bi annual cycle)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mate,
i "upgraded" from M7 to the Z3C. here some infos:
1) i personall find the diplay quality and resolution great with the z3c, i have no complains about the angle or colours, it looks perfect for me.
2) the z3c feels very quality, the "plastic" at the sides looks good and fits perfect with the glass front/back. if its too slippy for you, just buy a cheap rubber case.
3) i didnt need it, as i use a app via wlan for my receiver from the provider
4) the speakers from the M7 are definitely better, the speaker from z3c cant get be that good, as they more turned inside for waterproof. its its loud enough. you have an build in equilizer (the m7 just a switch for Beats Audio), with z3c you have multiple surround modes, sudio modes, effects, bass boost, profiles etc.
The Z3C seems to be more fluend in the user interface, buts that personally. i bought it because of his size.
Only buy it if the size of the M7 doesnt fit to you and keep it mind that the M7 has plenty ROMs and Kernels, but the Z3C has near nothing and you risk lose of DRM keys if you unlock Bootloader.
I would flash the Google Play [email protected]
So its not an "upgrade" its more a "switch"
Z3c is the phone that never gives you anything to think/worry about. It's just there, always ready (up to 3 days use for me) never too big to hold, never too small to read. It never annoys you with unlock lag or stutter while using it, even the camera with its dedicated button feels just good...
With my previous phones I always tried to tinker around and improve this and that. With my z3c I never had that urge. It works just the way I expect it to. If I haven't made myself clear enough: I love it.
I agree with all of them here.
Though i would not consider it a necessary upgrade as you already have a nicely running, fast phone.
In your place i would wait at least for the announcement of the new Z generation. If there is a Z4 Compact, i would take a look at the specs and see if it fits your needs. Maybe it gets a metal frame again? Maybe it will get an IR blaster?
I dont think Sony will make their compact series much bigger.Maybe thinner and lighter?
Also the waterproofness will probably stay as it is heavily advertised as such.
I own the Z3C, my roommate the M7, so ill talk about it a bit.
I cannot handle the One with one hand. So in handling and feeling the Z3C wins by far. Just using one hand and being able to do anything is just plain awesome.
720p is enough for this screen size and will consume less battery. you cant have it all . Compared to the M7 I only notice the slightly bigger screen.
The screen is bright and sharp, i dont know why anybody really cares about color accuracy on a smart phone. Hell im not doing photoshop with it. Viewing angles are okay, not the best but again , most of the time you are the sole consumer of its content. I dont find myself looking at videos with another person often enough that this may in any way pose a problem or annoy me. Only funny thing i noted is that the screen turns black when i hold my phone in landscape mode and look at it with polarized sun glasses. Funny, must have to do something with the screens technology.
Battery life is very good, like twice the One (though i dont know how his phone is configured, if at all).
Speakers are totally fine but again you have to question what you really need them for. Calls? sometimes. Gaming? Jeah but who REALLY listens to the (mostly annoying) sound when immersed in some heavy gaming. Music? Hell no, I would start to hate my own music, but ppl are different. But in the end you are right the One delivers better especially at higher volume levels.
Phone fells well made and classy, no downside to metal except the One fells more sturdy, the Z3C a bit more need-a-case-fragile. I wont do the real testing though .
As the announcement will happen in the foreseeable future, I would at least wait until you get your phone back from the repair . In my country HTC gives away new phones pretty quick under warranty repair, so maybe youll get a new one. This again could give you a nice resell value.Though i dont know if your repair is under warranty or not.
In the end if I were you i would stay with the M7 a bit and see what the future brings. The resell value of your M7 will drop but so will the price for the Z3C. The ONLY reason i see for you to switch to the Z3C is really the footprint/size and only then when it really, really annoys you. I would never go back and consider myself having found the perfect size in a smartphone with the Z3C.
Foxhunter123 said:
Honestly if you don't need the waterproofness then you are just as good staying with the M7 (all though the camera on the Z3C is better)...
I had the M7 for a year too and in everyday use the M7 is matching the ZC3. I like the size of the Sony better though and you will not miss the full HD screen should you choose to do the change anyways...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough, I would take your advice if only my HTC One weren't going to repair.
snwman said:
Put it in respective for you. I had the m8 and was unlocked and s off. Speakers where giving trouble due to work conditions with dust. Changed to the z3 compact and thought I'd miss having root and customs roms. But I'm not I love the size and feel of the phone. And I'm getting 2 days use of the phone which never happened with any android I have. I'm a heavy user though.
Cell reception and WiFi is better than the m8 as well and both are unlocked from factory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, I had trouble getting a consistent signal with my One on certain sport, whereas my old Xperia pro is doing just fine. Battery would be a plus
darkarvan said:
Hi mate,
i "upgraded" from M7 to the Z3C. here some infos:
1) i personall find the diplay quality and resolution great with the z3c, i have no complains about the angle or colours, it looks perfect for me.
2) the z3c feels very quality, the "plastic" at the sides looks good and fits perfect with the glass front/back. if its too slippy for you, just buy a cheap rubber case.
3) i didnt need it, as i use a app via wlan for my receiver from the provider
4) the speakers from the M7 are definitely better, the speaker from z3c cant get be that good, as they more turned inside for waterproof. its its loud enough. you have an build in equilizer (the m7 just a switch for Beats Audio), @z3c you have multiple surround modes, sudio modes, effects, bass boost, profiles etc.
The Z3C seems to be more fluend in the user interface, buts that personally. i bought it because of his size.
Only buy it if the size of the M7 doesnt fit to you and keep it mind that the M7 has plenty ROMs and Kernels, but the Z3C has near nothing and you risk lose of DRM keys if you unlock Bootloader.
I would flash the Google Play [email protected]
So its not an "upgrade" its more a "switch"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, when I say "upgrade" it means switch to a more recent phone; built it OEM equalizer sure is nice, I have been fan of Sony's customization since the Mega Bass Era.
2mal16 said:
I agree with all of them here.
Though i would not consider it a necessary upgrade as you already have a nicely running, fast phone.
In your place i would wait at least for the announcement of the new Z generation. If there is a Z4 Compact, i would take a look at the specs and see if it fits your needs. Maybe it gets a metal frame again? Maybe it will get an IR blaster?
I dont think Sony will make their compact series much bigger.Maybe thinner and lighter?
Also the waterproofness will probably stay as it is heavily advertised as such.
I own the Z3C, my roommate the M7, so ill talk about it a bit.
I cannot handle the One with one hand. So in handling and feeling the Z3C wins by far. Just using one hand and being able to do anything is just plain awesome.
720p is enough for this screen size and will consume less battery. you cant have it all . Compared to the M7 I only notice the slightly bigger screen.
The screen is bright and sharp, i dont know why anybody really cares about color accuracy on a smart phone. Hell im not doing photoshop with it. Viewing angles are okay, not the best but again , most of the time you are the sole consumer of its content. I dont find myself looking at videos with another person often enough that this may in any way pose a problem or annoy me. Only funny thing i noted is that the screen turns black when i hold my phone in landscape mode and look at it with polarized sun glasses. Funny, must have to do something with the screens technology.
Battery life is very good, like twice the One (though i dont know how his phone is configured, if at all).
Speakers are totally fine but again you have to question what you really need them for. Calls? sometimes. Gaming? Jeah but who REALLY listens to the (mostly annoying) sound when immersed in some heavy gaming. Music? Hell no, I would start to hate my own music, but ppl are different. But in the end you are right the One delivers better especially at higher volume levels.
Phone fells well made and classy, no downside to metal except the One fells more sturdy, the Z3C a bit more need-a-case-fragile. I wont do the real testing though .
As the announcement will happen in the foreseeable future, I would at least wait until you get your phone back from the repair . In my country HTC gives away new phones pretty quick under warranty repair, so maybe youll get a new one. This again could give you a nice resell value.Though i dont know if your repair is under warranty or not.
In the end if I were you i would stay with the M7 a bit and see what the future brings. The resell value of your M7 will drop but so will the price for the Z3C. The ONLY reason i see for you to switch to the Z3C is really the footprint/size and only then when it really, really annoys you. I would never go back and consider myself having found the perfect size in a smartphone with the Z3C.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the problem is in my country there is no such thing as "new replacement" (we have weak to non existent consumer protection law). Everything is going to be repaired if possible, even 1 weeks old item. My repair is still covered under warranty, but the problem is loca technician works are sloppy, this is not isolated to HTC, I have experienced this kind of service with various official brand-name repair shop (laptop, tv, phone). In fact my HTC one is returned with a faulty volume button, just yesterday. (I kinda have predicted something like this would happen). So I have to return it back for re-repair.
I hope you get the idea, say if If I wait for Z4 compact I'm honestly afraid if my One decided to act up again in the future (which is likely thanks to imperfect repair job). The repair cost would diminish the resale value! So better be safe than worry, get a new phone, be it lower spec but I have peace in mind.
I can't agree more with using a phone one handedly and doing another things with the other hand. That said I can handle One with one hand just fine.
It isn't terribly nice coming from a good screen to less than good screen, IMO. Regarding speakers in some emulated console game such as Pokemon and Zelda, music and FX are awesome elements.. so nice speaker is nice
--
Everyone, thanks for the input.. more or less I get the picture of the pros and cons. Anything else I should know before I bite the bullet?
I think you are good to go. I also think you wont notice the "downgrade"as regards certain aspects as screen and speakers except in described scenarios. Ignoring the Ir blaster issue of course. Get Nova launcher to get rid of the Sony ui, get a tempered glass Front screen protector a magnetic charger (the "annoying " flap opening for charging was not discussed) and a micro sdcard if you need it and you will be fine. And ensure your phone is water proof with the pressure Sensor Test right when you get your new phone. At least that's what I would do.
Would be Nice to hear your impressions afterwards (since I think you already made up your mind about the switch )
no regrets (almost...)
The M7's display is still one of the best. I definitely notice a difference, but the Z3c's is sharp enough that I dont miss the extra pixels. The Sony's DPI is better than my Nexus 7 (2013), which is more than fine for me.
Metal v. Plastic, meh, I prefer that the Z3c doesn't have the sharp edges of the M7. The Sony feels MUCH more comfortable in-hand. As for durability, just don't drop it and you'll be fine
I do miss the IR blaster, but I only used it occasionally. Besides, I have a Harmony, so I'm ok with the loss. You might not be though!
The Sony's speakers are really good, even great, but the M7's are in a different class. On my Sony, the speakers are close to if not as loud as my M7, but the M7 is definitely clearer, with more bass. However, I rarely listen through the speakers. In most situations there are others around me, plus earphones are just so much better anyway, so not a big deal for me.
For me, the SD slot of the Z3c outweighs the better speakers and screen on the M7. 16 gigs is enough for my music and apps. I use a 64 gig card for videos/photos. Feels great! I know the M8 has an SD slot too, but it's just too big for me.
Another big thing for me is the waterproof rating. With kids, being able to take pictures anytime, anywhere is a huge benefit. Now, I can do it with my phone instead of having to carry a waterproof camera.
The only regret I have after making the switch, is that the M7's flashlight app is better, with the 3 brightness levels. Seriously. That's it. For everything else, I'm loving my Z3c!
hi, after two years of good service my z1c screen has a crack in it which makes upper part pf my screen unuseable. So i am thinking of buying the z3c but then i read all the reports about (spontaneous) cracks on front and back. I try to get an objective view on this but this is quite difficult. How often is this happening? If i read amazon.com comments most people seem happy. If i read german amazon comments, much mure people complain about broken screens... What do you suggest i do? I was looking at alternatives like htc mini 2 but one of the things i really dont want to give up is the battery capacity! Your opinion?
Regards
Frederik
I was in the same situation 1 month ago. Galaxy alpha was the only compact alternative, but i didnt want to give up my almost 4 years old sgs2 with 16+32 gb storage for fixed 32gb, not to mention battery capacity. So i called a service that replaces the fronts and backs of new phones, and they told me not to buy sony, because they are overhelmed with their handsets. So, i went and got myself a Z3C
I ordered 0.3mm glass for front and 3 different cases for back (using cheap silicon case with screen protection atm) to make it as safe as i can - so far everything is working as it should, and i'm very happy with it
Btw, glass on the back is 13$, front digitizer is 33$, and whole front with display is around 170$ (parts only)
Camera glass (which is plastic actually) is 4$, but its not easy to replace any of these. I also got myself a magnetic cable to minimize the use of flaps for usb port.
Thats about it... I also read many bad reports about spontaneous cracks, but decided to try my luck... As i said before, so far - so good
Hope this helps, sorry for being biased, but i really like it.
You get the gamble of an issue with every phone, but there'd be a call back if there was a wide spread complaint that exceeded a high enough number. That said yeah, there's a fair number of reports but most people are happy - it's unlucky people that aren't for obvious reasons.
I cracked my Xperia Z (C6603) and wondered if it was time to upgrade, or repair it. The repair cost would've been 280$ for a legitimate repair (I don't like buying third-party materials), and buying a new one would've been 350$. Since the Z3C was out and I found the Z too big for my hand anyway (Barely reach notifications when holding it), I figured I'd sell my cracked one (the current eBay est was roughly 100$), and 550$ for the Z3C in my country.
Since the Z3C was pretty much a no brainer if you want quality + hardware (All 'compact' variants don't compare spec wise) so I jumped in, and about 2 months I think now and my phone has been perfect to me besides the Cyanogen I'm using.
Figured the 100$ of selling the Z could effectively 'make up' what I paid for the Z3C... if I'd sold it. Still on my desk.
So maybe you can sell your old, cracked phone and 'save' with a Z3C. If you want compact, honestly there's no better choice if you're looking to upgrade.
If you want to save then you can always just get a repair or sell and rebuy a new Z1C.
If I were you, I'd assume that you'll get a perfect phone that wont ever crack unless you drop it. Weigh the other factors; Save Money or Upgrade.
If you aren't having any performance issues with anything like games, why bother upgrading?
Just like with any device, if something goes wrong, people write about it. I've had zero problems with my device, and I have not started any threads stating so. If the screen does spontaneously crack, you should be able to get it repaired or replaced under warranty, so why avoid it?
This is the best phone you can get under 5 inches. The performance is top notch, the battery life is amazing, the camera is just okay, but its waterproof and isn't bogged down by a heavy skin like Touchwiz. It's not a flawless phone, but none are! Even the fan favorite iPhone has it's issues (too slippery, camera lens that sticks out, large bezel around screen, poor battery life).
Get what works for you and don't look back!
Ok guys, i guess these posts were all i needed. Got mine via amazon yesterday. Took the mandarin red one.
My OP5 has replaced my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge which unfortunately was dropped and shattered the front glass. It's expensive/difficult to replace the glass on these so I treated myself to a new phone. So this is what I Love and Hate about my new OnePlus 5!
Love
The Snapdraggon 835 -The phone is Fast and bang up to date in connectivity support.
Fast storage and lots of memory- More Speed
No bloatware and streamlined Android -Contributes to the speed and simplicity.
The silent/DnD slider button -No more taking my phone out and turning the display on to switch it to silent! Fantastic.
Fast responsive finger print unlocking.
Solid Home button -Sooner or later the push down home buttons on galaxies start to wear causing rocking, noises/rattles, missed clicks etc because of their frequent use. Hopefully nothing to wear out here.
The deep blacks and saturation from the AMOLED panel
3.5mm jack -Can still use my headphones without an adapter.
Battery -Amazing battery life and the DASH charge is great too.
USB C -So easy to plug in the charger in the dark now.
Gorilla Glass 5 -better drop resistance, the gorilla glass 4 on my Galaxy S7 drop failed
Glass on one side. Feels less premium in a way, but reduces the weight of the phone. This means less force when it falls and less chance of shattering the screen. However metal dents and scratches easily.
Hate
The Camera. So much hype and so much disappointment. Good on paper and for taking 'benchmark' photos. But very poor in real world phone usage. The S7 camera is WAY better. I'm so disappointed I gave it it's own thread.
Only 1080P screen. Also if the brightness is turned up I can see 'noise' on the display. Also get some weird distortions when scrolling. Viewing angle is good, but not excellent. Automatic brightness control is also hit and miss. The S7 was much better. A big downgrade on the S7 display in all areas.
Design is good. But it doesn't look as nice as say a galaxy S8
Having DRM issues, such as reduced quality Netlix streaming. I hope this gets sorted soon.
Sound is loud, but quality is average.
Not waterproof
No SD Card support. Who really wants two sim card holders? Make the other slot for an sdcard like Samsung.
Price. £450 is not a value bargain like the old versions. You can buy a Samsung S8 on Amazon for £550 now.
In a nutshell. It's a mid range phone in regards to features and design, but with high end performance. I don't think it's a bargain. I think the price is about right for what you get.
Sometimes I ask myself why do people actually upgrade from S7 or equal??
The S7/S7 edge is only one year old. I think it's also nonsense to upgrade from S7 to S8 for example.
What do people expect to get? A whole new smartphone experience? Ppl knew the specs right from the start, before they bought it. Of course a 1080p screen will be worse than a QHD.
It's not waterproof, you knew that. It has no SD-Slot, you knew that as well.
For the smoothness and the speed to exist, as well as the great batterylife, there need to be some things that can't be amazing as well for this price. And it's not even bad on this phone.
I understand disappointment, but it's mostly because people expect too much from a phone that is only 1 year younger than the one they own.
I'm coming from a Nexus 5 and I'm totally happy with the OP5. My gf has a S7 edge. They are both good phones. The Samsung might have a better camera, but the Android experience and smoothness is GALAXIES better with the OP5.
Sometimes ist also about people's priotities.
Just my 2 cents. Hope you'll enjoy your new device
Gesendet von meinem ONEPLUS A5000 mit Tapatalk
I don't think you can add lack of water proofing and no SD card slot and only 1080p to the list of hate since you should have known this already but continued to purchase the phone.
bamfsig45 said:
I don't think you can add lack of water proofing and no SD card slot and only 1080p to the list of hate since you should have known this already but continued to purchase the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If he truly does hate the feature, or lack of, why can't he put them on the list? It's HIS list.
sireniankyle said:
If he truly does hate the feature, or lack of, why can't he put them on the list? It's HIS list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because I said . honesty though, I just hate complaints on lack of features when it was a known fact prior to purchase. So I'm going to stick to my opinion on the subject.
bamfsig45 said:
Because I said . honesty though, I just hate complaints on lack of features when it was a known fact prior to purchase. So I'm going to stick to my opinion on the subject.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is possible that he thought he could look past it, but ended up failing at it. idk. All I can say is that it has happened to me. Mostly with iPhone, but that is a whole other beast.
I've been considering getting a new phone for a while now as my S8's battery life has fallen off a cliff and the screen also has a minor crack.
My Xperia Z3 is probably my favourite phone I've ever had and I've always been tempted by going back to Sony. I've heard some brilliant things regarding the screen but wondered if anyone could tell me what the camera and battery life are like on this phone? The S8 has a very good camera and I would want something that is at least on a par with that.
I'm toying with the idea of getting this or waiting until April for the P20 Pro's successor. Would really appreciate any user opinions of the XZ3 to help inform my decision.*
I've used the phone for two days now (so not too much time) but battery seems to be great! Had 60% left after my day (with relatively light usage: messaging, an hour or two of youtube a few calls). The camera is not special though. With good lighting the shots are really good, but performance drops fast with lower light (even compared to my previous phone a Nexus 6P). I would check out some camera reviews as I haven't had that much time.
Oh and btw the thing I was most scared about, the fingerprint scanner placement, isn't really a problem now I have it. It's not as cramped as it looks to reach it.
Battery life is great, camera is mediocre. The screen is also great, and the fingerprint reader placement is surprisingly ergonomic. The phone is way too slippery though, and will slide & fall off any surface that isn't perfectly level. The curved screen edges are nice in that they give you a sense that there are no bezels, but in practice when faced head-on, there is a viewing angle effect where the edges are darker than the rest of the screen, which is pretty annoying. Android Pie is great and the skin is almost purely AOSP as we've gotten used to with Sony, although there are the usual suspects with a locked boot loader and no root where certain notifications can't be dismissed and other annoyances like apps that you can't uninstall but only "disable" (I call this "Microsoft syndrome").
The battery life is pretty much at par with the other flagships. Around 6-7 hrs SoT with medium to heavy usage. The camera is good, however there's a very annoying lens flare present. It was mentioned also in one of the reviews on YouTube. Lowlight photos IMO are great. Clean, and definitely does not have the "oil painting" effect.
Screen is super great. I upgraded from the XZP, so it's a huge difference from the IPS display on it.
The phone is indeed slippery, so you might want to throw a case on it.
Check out my full "observations" after 2 days with Camera Images over at Android Central Forums:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/sony-xperia-xz3/921989-i-own-xz3-any-questions.html#post6393260
Ide be interested what you think of the images... Sorry theyre in jpeg
Just an FYI... I just ordered mine from Clove, headed for me here in the states. The Clove price in USD is about $100 less than I can get here, AND it includes the Sony BT speaker.
My preordered, brand spankin' new Galaxy S21 Ultra came in on Wednesday, and here are my initial impressions (coming from a Galaxy S20+):
- The overall design is really as beautiful as what you see in early reviews on YouTube. The camera bump just melts into the overall design. Nicely done, Samsung! Having said that, as soon as you slap a case on it, you don't really see it.
- It's a bit annoying that the camera bump means the phone won't lay completely flat on a table and will rock a bit. That's something I really haven't noticed with my old Galaxy S20+.
- This thing is heavy! It's only 1.5 oz heavier than my old Galaxy S20+, but you can definitely feel it.
- The screen is absolutely gorgeous. It's cool that you can do 120 Hz at the full WQHD+ resolution.
- The U.S. version definitely does not come with a preinstalled screen protector, just a film that you pull off. I chose to add the ESR Liquid Skin Screen Protector (item B08QJ4XCH1 on Amazon). Yes, the screen has Gorilla Victus glass, which can definitely take a beating, but I like having a basic layer of protection against scuffs, micro-scratches, and the like. I can't stand a phone screen that's anything less than pristine.
- Adaptive motion smoothness works really well. Everything is buttery smooth. I don't really play games on this thing, but I'm sure this makes a big difference in day-to-day use as well. Now you don't have to choose between high refresh rates and screen resolution.
- The official Samsung silicone case is actually quite nice, with just the right 'grippiness'. I got it free as part of the $200 Samsung credit for preorders. What I especially like is that this case also covers the actual camera bump (minus the camera lenses, of course)---something that many other cases, including my usual go-to, the Speck Presidio Grip, don't do; they just have one big hole there. I had already ordered the Speck Presidio Grip, as I do for all my phones, but I may actually use this Samsung case instead.
- The fingerprint reader is much more responsive than on my Galaxy S20+. I basically never used it on my Galaxy S20+, since it was just too finicky, but it's much faster and reliable on the S21 Ultra. Having a more reliable fingerprint reader is nice, given that we're wearing masks a lot nowadays, so face recognition isn't as useful. Nothing beats Smart Lock, though, where proximity to my Watch3 basically keeps my phone unlocked.
- To me, the absence of a microSD card slot is not a huge deal. I opted for the 256 GB S21 Ultra (was only $50 more), so that gives me plenty of storage space (for me, at least). My Galaxy S20+ has 128 GB plus a 256 GB microSD card, but I only used about half of the phone storage and a fraction of the SD card storage, so 256 GB is plenty for me.
- I have yet to play with the camera thoroughly, but I really like what I'm seeing so far, especially when zooming. Having 3x and 10x optical zoom rocks!
- Battery life seems excellent. That has never been much of an issue for me, since I'm typically close enough to an outlet to top off my phone if necessary (in the car, for example). My phone battery rarely goes below 60%. S21 Ultra battery life seems at least as good as for my Galaxy S20+.
- I also got one of those SmartTags for free as part of the preorder. I'm struggling to find a use case for it. I've attached it to my car keys, but that's mostly because I can't think of anything else. To me, it seems like a solution in search of a problem (but I may well completely miss the point).
All in all, I'm very happy with my Galaxy S21 Ultra, and I'm planning to keep this phone for a while (after cycling through several phones in 2020).
--Ron
I've had mine for 2 days now. The first day the battery life was bad but that is normal. Today so far I've had an hour of screen on time and I'm at 88%. That is pretty good. You can see that I will have good sot by time this phone dies today. I am happy with that.
I upgraded from an Note10+ and got myself a S21 Ultra 256GB. I own the device for about 48hours and so far the battery, screen and camera are the main points that have improved dramatically.
Battery lasts me way longer than Note10+ and it only the second cycle
Screen is very sharp and vivid
And cameras,damn, that zoom is amazing
Edit: Exynos model (EU variant)
you're on the SD version, guys? any overheating problems? seems there's a lot reported on Reddit. waiting for my carrier here in the Philippines to get this. getting a tab a too as part of the preorder freebies. excited but that overheating stuff is quite concerning. went with OnePlus after the S3 and it felt liberating . hope i don't get disappointed now
Anyone faced Auto restart problem on this phone yet?
I have faced the issue 2 times in till now.
dutch_in_seattle said:
.
- I also got one of those SmartTags for free as part of the preorder. I'm struggling to find a use case for it. I've attached it to my car keys, but that's mostly because I can't think of anything else. To me, it seems like a solution in search of a problem (but I may well completely miss the point).
--Ron
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I intend to use it on checked luggage. I can see it being very useful for that.
maxq1 said:
you're on the SD version, guys? any overheating problems? seems there's a lot reported on Reddit. waiting for my carrier here in the Philippines to get this. getting a tab a too as part of the preorder freebies. excited but that overheating stuff is quite concerning. went with OnePlus after the S3 and it felt liberating . hope i don't get disappointed now
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I have the snapdragon version and haven't had any issues with overheating.
Pls all, provide always what chip in your phone, Snapdragon or Exynos, also what storage did you choose. Thanks.
nightoo said:
Pls all, provide always what chip in your phone, Snapdragon or Exynos, also what storage did you choose. Thanks.
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And if anyone is not sure which chip they have (as they're not aware of the country codes), they can just install CPU-Z from the Play Store (free app - I use it on PC as well) and it'll tell them ALL of their phone's specs right away.
I can't believe I'm still waiting for mine. I ordered it the moment the 256 was available (Sprint/T-Mo) and it's on back order until the 17th at the earliest.
dutch_in_seattle said:
- The U.S. version definitely does not come with a preinstalled screen protector, just a film that you pull off. I chose to add the ESR Liquid Skin Screen Protector (item B08QJ4XCH1 on Amazon). Yes, the screen has Gorilla Victus glass, which can definitely take a beating, but I like having a basic layer of protection against scuffs, micro-scratches, and the like. I can't stand a phone screen that's anything less than pristine.
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Isn't there a preinstalled screen protector underneath that film that you pull off? Look around the front facing lens.
pathaniliyas said:
Anyone faced Auto restart problem on this phone yet?
I have faced the issue 2 times in till now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn it off in battery settings