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Android |OT4| I/O Silver

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S

Systemwarrior

Member
RoadHazard said:
It makes stuff open/load/run very noticeably faster, so yes, I'd say so. I also experience smoother scrolling in many apps, but I'm not sure if that's thanks to ART or other performance improvements in L (I haven't tried ART in 4.4). But not all apps work perfectly with it yet (though most do), so that's something to think about. Or just try it out. There's no issue with just going back to Dalvik again if things aren't working out, AFAIK.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! I think I'll try it out.
 
O

osiris3355

Banned
BertramCooper said:
Not sure if anyone else is having this issue, but every time I try to use Google Now to dictate a Hangouts message, it always defaults to SMS instead of a Hangouts message. I have to actually open up Hangouts from Google Now if I want to switch it to a Hangouts message.

Is there any way to change this? It's super annoying.
Click to expand...

No. Google search only does SMS at this point. I agree that it is annoying
 
C

Cipherr

Member
show me your skeleton said:
okay so i haven't had an android phone since the htc g1 (was that the name? the og android brick) but i am thinking of getting something this year.
is there still the problem of bloatware, mainly from manufacturers, or is that a thing of the past now? is that the appeal of the 'google play' versions? any guys that don't mess around too much, if at all, with stock android? android l looks so nice i don't want it messed about with and ruined by say Samsung's idea of aesthetic design.
Click to expand...

Google Play versions and Nexus is what you are looking for. No bloat, pure android fast updates. If there is even a little hesitancy on your part, then wait until November. Probably a new Nexus will be out, and the iPhone 6 will already be out too. Then you can make the decision having looked at the entire field. No regrets.
 
G

Groof

Junior Member
reKon said:
That sahppire life: http://youtu.be/5R0_FJ4r73s

I wonder who the 2nd manufacturer will be to adopt this for their displays (we all know who the first will be)
Click to expand...
There are already a bunch of phones that have used sapphire displays. The Vertu Ti being one and the Motorola Aura. Check out the Aura especially, since it's most likely the predecessor to the Moto 360
 
T

terrier

Member
Not totally sold on this sapphire thing, not sure if true but some informations say it is quite heavy and also doesn't allow light through it , that may have an impact on battery life if the screen needs more brightness to work properly.
We will see.
 
C

Crisco

Banned
So picked up a G3 almost on an impulse after seeing it at an at&t store. It's really nice phone to hold. Feels high quality but lighter than any metal frame phone. I think this is the perfect compromise between form and function, we'll see how it wears though. The screen is beautiful but the color accuracy is way off, I thought GAF changed themes or something. Otherwise it's fast and responsive, like any recent Android phone.
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
So we were theorizing on the Nexus 6 in the Android GAF Hangout.

We all know the GNexus sucked in part thanks to the non integrated modem setup in the chipset. As we know since then Qualcomm has had integrated modems in their chipsets since.

The thing is the up and coming 805 stop gap chip does NOT have the modem integrated.

AnandTech

In order to accommodate the wider memory interface but still make Snapdragon 805 suitable for use in a smartphone as well as a tablet, Qualcomm turned to a different packaging technology. Since the Snapdragon 805 is an APQ part, it lacks the integrated modem of the MSM SoCs we've found in most of Qualcomm's recent flagships
Click to expand...

The question is how much of an issue would this be? I am sure Google wouldn't want to flash back to the GNexus days.

The rub comes in the fact that the N5 already uses the 800. The 801 is basically just the 800 overclocked and not a really differentiator. 810 won't be ready till next year.

What will Google do? Someone in chat floated out the K1. Fucking AJ would quit life if that happened. LOL
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Crisco said:
So picked up a G3 almost on an impulse after seeing it at an at&t store. It's really nice phone to hold. Feels high quality but lighter than any metal frame phone. I think this is the perfect compromise between form and function, we'll see how it wears though. The screen is beautiful but the color accuracy is way off, I thought GAF changed themes or something. Otherwise it's fast and responsive, like any recent Android phone.
Click to expand...

Just confirms how fucking bad 90% of the internet reviewers are and how Anand and his crew are top tier. AnandTech was like the one crew to say the high res was extremely baller but the color accuracy was fuck all correct. Of course they provided their usual factual numbers, but nobody cared.
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
Vanillalite said:
So we were theorizing on the Nexus 6 in the Android GAF Hangout.

We all know the GNexus sucked in part thanks to the non integrated modem setup in the chipset. As we know since then Qualcomm has had integrated modems in their chipsets since.

The thing is the up and coming 805 stop gap chip does NOT have the modem integrated.

AnandTech



The question is how much of an issue would this be? I am sure Google wouldn't want to flash back to the GNexus days.

The rub comes in the fact that the N5 already uses the 800. The 801 is basically just the 800 overclocked and not a really differentiator. 810 won't be ready till next year.

What will Google do? Someone in chat floated out the K1. Fucking AJ would quit life if that happened. LOL
Click to expand...

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Sony have decided to skip on the S805 because it is an APQ part. They will seek to bring S810 in earlier. The Nexus 6 or whatever they call it will probably use the S801 AC variant like the Z3 and G3.
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
zomgbbqftw said:
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Sony have decided to skip on the S805 because it is an APQ part. They will seek to bring S810 in earlier. The Nexus 6 or whatever they call it will probably use the S801 AC variant like the Z3 and G3.
Click to expand...

How is that really any different than the current N5 tho? Granted it's a simplification, but it's basically just an overclocked version of their current phone. Doesn't really push any boundaries, and it's already in a ton of other phones.

The last couple of Nexus phones have all been more on the front/cutting edge of using the new chips. N4 had the S4 Pro when most phones didn't, and the N5 had the 800 when most phones didn't other than LG's other main phone. Using the 801 would be using a chipset people have already had access to for forever a day.
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
Vanillalite said:
How is that really any different than the current N5 tho? Granted it's a simplification, but it's basically just an overclocked version of their current phone. Doesn't really push any boundaries, and it's already in a ton of other phones.

The last couple of Nexus phones have all been more on the front/cutting edge of using the new chips. N4 had the S4 Pro when most phones didn't, and the N5 had the 800 when most phones didn't other than LG's other main phone. Using the 801 would be using a chipset people have already had access to for forever a day.
Click to expand...

Because there isn't much left in the tank for hardware progression. There was always going to be a slowdown. Now it's all about software progression, cameras and other sensors like the S5. The difference between the S801AC and S805 is not exactly that large anyway. S810 is Qualcomm's octocore chip so who knows how that will perform considering Samsung completely fucked up their version.
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
zomgbbqftw said:
Because there isn't much left in the tank for hardware progression. There was always going to be a slowdown. Now it's all about software progression, cameras and other sensors like the S5. The difference between the S801AC and S805 is not exactly that large anyway. S810 is Qualcomm's octocore chip so who knows how that will perform considering Samsung completely fucked up their version.
Click to expand...

Rough estimates say it'll be 40% faster. I wouldn't exactly call that small. I can see how one wouldn't say it's a massive step forward though. Sure CPU performance is only slightly better, but the GPU is a legit step forward especially if manufacturers are gonna try and do the QHD thing ala LG.
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
Vanillalite said:
Rough estimates say it'll be 40% faster. I wouldn't exactly call that small. I can see how one wouldn't say it's a massive step forward though. Sure CPU performance is only slightly better, but the GPU is a legit step forward especially if manufacturers are gonna try and do the QHD thing ala LG.
Click to expand...

It's not going to be 40% faster in the real world. It may benchmark in that region, but in the real world it is not going to take a third off task completion times. Android suffers from software bloat and it is optimisations like ART which need to feed through rather than brute forcing a faster interpreter.

There are a core of buyers out there who will get the latest and greatest, but the market is moving onto the total experience, which means devices that work without any problems, that have a decent level of non-phone functionality, interoperable with wearable accessories like the smart watches, bands, sports trackers etc... People want the complete experience, it is the key reason that Apple are the most successful brand, they offer a complete experience. I and many on here may not like iTunes and all the bullshit that Apple try and force with iOS, but regular consumers don't care about that stuff. Until Android can offer the same complete experience that Apple offers it will always be second best in the premium sector. S805 or even S810 in the Nexus 6 is not going to make any difference to the overall experience if Google don't offer a proper media manager for Mac/PC and find that Android Wear is not as good as the iWatch.

Android as an ecosystem has coasted on hardware progression over the last few years, that is now over. How companies like Google, Samsung, LG, Sony and others react to that is the key test for the future of the OS. With the G3 LG have staked a claim to the continued hardware progression side, Samsung are clearly hedging their bets with the Galaxy F, Sony are probably on the software progression side given that the Z3 is a slight variation of the Z2.

Apple are still king, and it is their concentration on providing the complete package that keeps them in place. Apple's hardware is lightyears behind the top Android phones, the resolution is a third of G3, the processor is about half the GPU is about a third and the size is too small, and yet there they are at the top. With the next Nexus Google need to ask themselves what they are doing wrong and what Apple are doing right and what they continue to do right. Going for an unoptimised processor which will eat into battery life and a pointless QHD screen which will also eat into battery life, both for little to no real world gain would be a bad sign.
 
N

NYCmetsfan

Banned
Don't know if this is the right place but is there any way to grab apps from another countries store?

Or a place that has regularly updated apk files? I need something from the UK store but even with DNS unblockers I can't change the store.
 
Bboy AJ

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Tegra is so awful. If the next Nexus phone doesn't have the 810, and it seems like it won't, it's a fine year to skip. The N5 is great and the L optimization just makes it that much better.
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
zomgbbqftw said:
It's not going to be 40% faster in the real world. It may benchmark in that region, but in the real world it is not going to take a third off task completion times. Android suffers from software bloat and it is optimisations like ART which need to feed through rather than brute forcing a faster interpreter.

There are a core of buyers out there who will get the latest and greatest, but the market is moving onto the total experience, which means devices that work without any problems, that have a decent level of non-phone functionality, interoperable with wearable accessories like the smart watches, bands, sports trackers etc... People want the complete experience, it is the key reason that Apple are the most successful brand, they offer a complete experience. I and many on here may not like iTunes and all the bullshit that Apple try and force with iOS, but regular consumers don't care about that stuff. Until Android can offer the same complete experience that Apple offers it will always be second best in the premium sector. S805 or even S810 in the Nexus 6 is not going to make any difference to the overall experience if Google don't offer a proper media manager for Mac/PC and find that Android Wear is not as good as the iWatch.

Android as an ecosystem has coasted on hardware progression over the last few years, that is now over. How companies like Google, Samsung, LG, Sony and others react to that is the key test for the future of the OS. With the G3 LG have staked a claim to the continued hardware progression side, Samsung are clearly hedging their bets with the Galaxy F, Sony are probably on the software progression side given that the Z3 is a slight variation of the Z2.

Apple are still king, and it is their concentration on providing the complete package that keeps them in place. Apple's hardware is lightyears behind the top Android phones, the resolution is a third of G3, the processor is about half the GPU is about a third and the size is too small, and yet there they are at the top. With the next Nexus Google need to ask themselves what they are doing wrong and what Apple are doing right and what they continue to do right. Going for an unoptimised processor which will eat into battery life and a pointless QHD screen which will also eat into battery life, both for little to no real world gain would be a bad sign.
Click to expand...

Which market are you talking about? I'm honestly confused. The only metric by which Apple is lightyears ahead of the competition is profit from hardware sales.
 
Z

zedge

Member
Vanillalite said:
Nobody wants the wiz, and I mean nobody.

Also results show the G3 is on equal if not better footing except for low light.
Click to expand...

Wat? Regardless of what some techy types think of touchwiz the S5 (galaxy phones period) will outsell the G3 by a landslide. Most people out there only know android in the form Samsung skins it.
 
RoadHazard

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Bboy AJ said:
Tegra is so awful. If the next Nexus phone doesn't have the 810, and it seems like it won't, it's a fine year to skip. The N5 is great and the L optimization just makes it that much better.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can't see the N5 feeling slow or outdated any time soon. Shit is so smooth on L, and it's only gonna get better in the final release. Google has been hard at work optimizing Android to allow it to run on less powerful hardware, so that even cheap low-end phones can ship with the latest version instead of being stuck on some old crap. KK and L run on lower specs than ICS (which was released 2.5 years ago), at least in terms of RAM requirement (ICS required 1GB, now you just need 512MB). So yes, this phone will be absolutely fine for another 1-2 years, perhaps even longer. The only tangible improvement you're gonna see in the near future is more RAM allowing more apps to stay loaded. And 3D performance in the most demanding games, I suppose.

zedge said:
Wat? Regardless of what some techy types think of touchwiz the S5 (galaxy phones period) will outsell the G3 by a landslide. Most people out there only know android in the form Samsung skins it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and that's s damn shame. But it doesn't mean most people would choose TW if they were more aware of what options they really have. It just means Samsung is by far the best marketed and most visible brand in Android phones. It's like people buying Beats headphones purely because of their status, while being oblivious to the fact that they could get much better sound quality for less money if they were to do a little research.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Bboy AJ said:
Tegra is so awful. If the next Nexus phone doesn't have the 810, and it seems like it won't, it's a fine year to skip. The N5 is great and the L optimization just makes it that much better.
Click to expand...

I still have a bad feeling about buying a Nexus 5 now. Found a red one for 315€, but if there is a Nexus 5 2014 after all, I'd probably be really bitter.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
Bboy AJ said:
Tegra is so awful. If the next Nexus phone doesn't have the 810, and it seems like it won't, it's a fine year to skip. The N5 is great and the L optimization just makes it that much better.
Click to expand...

My first-gen Nexus 7 is pretty much unusable now, even after Google supposedly fixed the memory issues in one of the OS updates.

After that experience I'm never buying a Tegra-powered device again.
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
zedge said:
Wat? Regardless of what some techy types think of touchwiz the S5 (galaxy phones period) will outsell the G3 by a landslide. Most people out there only know android in the form Samsung skins it.
Click to expand...

I meant in terms of people round here.

Nobody gonna recommend the Wiz other than like Super being a Note fanboi and the usual OG Samsung dudes.

Nobody with any sense around these parts will tell you to get a touchwiz device.
 
Z

zedge

Member
Vanillalite said:
I meant in terms of people round here.

Nobody gonna recommend the Wiz other than like Super being a Note fanboi and the usual OG Samsung dudes.

Nobody with any sense around these parts will tell you to get a touchwiz device.
Click to expand...

Toucwiz aside the G5 is a good phone and a good choice for many. Sometimes the best available depending on the carrier. I don't think you can base you decision on a phone to just the skin being used. That's just me though. I use an N5 BTW.
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
V

VoxPop

Member
zedge said:
Toucwiz aside the G5 is a good phone and a good choice for many. Sometimes the best available depending on the carrier. I don't think you can base you decision on a phone to just the skin being used. That's just me though. I use an N5 BTW.
Click to expand...

You absolutely can.

Which is why people pick up the Nexus devices despite the mid range specs. Casuals just don't know any better.
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Toki767 said:
I was under the impression that the M8 Prime was trashed in favor of the E8 which is the M8 with an actual 13MP camera.
Click to expand...

I also heard what we are actually getting is a refresh of the HTC One Maxx ala Samsung and a new Note.

Like I said YMMV because nobody can really agree on what the Prime actually was in the first place, and if we are getting anything else this year from HTC.
 
C

Crisco

Banned
Vanillalite said:
Just confirms how fucking bad 90% of the internet reviewers are and how Anand and his crew are top tier. AnandTech was like the one crew to say the high res was extremely baller but the color accuracy was fuck all correct. Of course they provided their usual factual numbers, but nobody cared.
Click to expand...

Yeah, although the thing about phones and displays especially is the user experience can be extremely subjective. I read the Anand review and color being off was obvious, but I can see why LG did it. The phone is also not all that bright for direct sunlight conditions, so the over-saturated colors give you a bit more perceived contrast. It's all in the eye of the beholder.
 
RoadHazard

RoadHazard

Gold Member
VoxPop said:
You absolutely can.

Which is why people pick up the Nexus devices despite the mid range specs. Casuals just don't know any better.
Click to expand...

Nexus phones aren't mid-range anymore though. The N5 was one of the most powerful phones you could buy when it was released, and it has still only been slightly bested by a few flagships (which often run worse anyway, thanks to bloat). So you get top-of-the-line hardware (except for the camera, arguably) and the best software experience, at a significantly lower price than most other flagships. And still people choose Samsung phones with that awful TW. It really is a shame.
 
RoadHazard

RoadHazard

Gold Member
rhfb said:
Reading the OnePlus review on Ars... Man what I wouldn't give for right corner drag down to access the quick options!
Click to expand...

That's a great little feature of CM that I really appreciated when I was using it on a SGS3 I borrowed for a while as I was waiting for the N5 to be released (my GNex had been stolen). Wish Google would make something like that an option in stock Android. But now with L they've removed the one shortcut they did have (two-finger swipe down), so now you have to swipe down twice instead. Really hope they bring back one or the other in the final release.
 
Y

Yaboosh

Super Sleuth
rhfb said:
Reading the OnePlus review on Ars... Man what I wouldn't give for right corner drag down to access the quick options!
Click to expand...


Does stock let you swipe the notification shade when down to get to quick settings or is that a custom rom thing?
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Is there any way to restrict certain apps to use wifi only? My wife has been using live365 a lot at home, but for some reason her phone dropped off our wifi, so it burned through 100Mb in a day and triggered the data cap (she only has a cheap tariff, most of her data usage is at home)

So I'd like to have it so live365 only uses wifi. If I use the data usage settings in android, I can restrict *background* data usage to wifi only, but that isn't enough - I need the app to never use mobile data.

Phone is an Xperia m2 with 4.4.4
 
K

kharma45

Member
RoadHazard said:
Nexus phones aren't mid-range anymore though. The N5 was one of the most powerful phones you could buy when it was released, and it has still only been slightly bested by a few flagships (which often run worse anyway, thanks to bloat). So you get top-of-the-line hardware (except for the camera, arguably) and the best software experience, at a significantly lower price than most other flagships. And still people choose Samsung phones with that awful TW. It really is a shame.
Click to expand...

If only the battery in it wasn't pish.
 
T

Toki767

Member
I really have to wonder if LG was privy to Android L's design while making the G3 software. It seems like the elements they have already included in L like heads up notifications and the color range for material design are already in the G3.
 
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