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Android |OT5| The Sonic Cycle

Nice to see the G4 reviewing well.

Also apparently the S6 isn't doing that well:

F3cgjSH.jpg


For context, this guy leads Strategy Analytics I think which is a firm that collects all this data and news and shit to report on. He still hasn't generated his report but if he says it, it's likely the case.

I think it's a fundamental problem with the Android market in the high end these days. The market is moving toward high specs and lower and lower prices aka the #TheAmazingRaceToTheBottom

He also said that comment was directed to the US market but it's doing "much worse globally". I'm sure Samsung will try to spin it with insane "Shipped" numbers but we all know now lol.

oh and just to add to this for the new page, it also shows that the Note is probably their real flagship as it's the only one growing. BUT that may be because s123 blew up way too fast and peaked early. That's probably it. Interesting none the less.

High end android going in the same direction as high end windows.
yeah I really don't see a way out of it, someone has to do some magical shit.
 

Hasney

Member
oh and just to add to this for the new page, it also shows that the Note is probably their real flagship as it's the only one growing. BUT that may be because s123 blew up way too fast and peaked early. That's probably it. Interesting none the less.

It's weird and very much bittersweet for me, S6 deserves the sales on merit this year and the pre-order buzz was that it would do extremely well based on the links in this thread. Is the bigger phone going to become the only way Android meet expectations?

Also, specifically to you Pyro, what are you thinking about the new Nexus rumours as probably the biggest advocate for smaller phone in this thread? A necessary evil for market growth that unfortunately leaves you out, or a big mistake? Personally, without phones for ants jokes, I still think doing a 5 one year and a 6 the other is the best with people still mostly upgrading every 2 years.
 

RuGalz

Member
Samsung can't compete with Apple in the same premium phone space in Asia or maybe it's world wide. When it costs as much or more than iPhone, the immediate response is just get an iPhone... Maybe Samsung just had unreasonable expectations...
 
Also, specifically to you Pyro, what are you thinking about the new Nexus rumours as probably the biggest advocate for smaller phone in this thread? A necessary evil for market growth that unfortunately leaves you out, or a big mistake? Personally, without phones for ants jokes, I still think doing a 5 one year and a 6 the other is the best with people still mostly upgrading every 2 years.
I think taking a niche device line like the nexus and making it even more niche by making it fucking huge is a big mistake. It's just common sense to me. I know some people like their huge phones but it's pretty alienating. I do feel like there's a decent compromise out there. IMO the G3 was a great size to screen ratio. Kind of a win win for big screen fans and fans of smaller devices. For a 5.5 inch it was pretty decent in size (that's what she said). Even google admitted a decline in nexus sales recently and it's not shocking at all. Perfect storm of hugeness and high price.

But I 100000% agree with Apple's strategy in releasing 2 phones as your flagship with equal specs (mostly, bigger battery in bigger phone makes sense), One 5 inches or less and one 5.5 or more. That way everyone is happy. But no, they'd rather complicate things by gimping one or making 1 huge and the other huger. Maybe have Huawei make a big one and LG make a smaller one. I'll see it before I completely judge it, maybe they have some bezel wizardry going on but at 5.7 inches...it will be big regardless.

5.7 just strikes me as pointless. 5.5 max with really thin bezels would be acceptable. Aint no one missing .2 inches yet a lot more people will be happier with a smaller device. Also Huawei's current flagship the P8 has a 5.2 inch screen, would have been some nice synergy to just keep it at that size.
 
Samsung could have had it. People are buying up the phone but the user reviews are killing them on the battery.

Just go to a US carrier site and look up the customer reviews. Not good. This is going to hurt android.
 

Hasney

Member
I think taking a niche device line like the nexus and making it even more niche by making it fucking huge is a big mistake. It's just common sense to me. I know some people like their huge phones but it's pretty alienating. I do feel like there's a decent compromise out there. IMO the G3 was a great size to screen ratio. Kind of a win win for big screen fans and fans of smaller devices. For a 5.5 inch it was pretty decent in size (that's what she said). Even google admitted a decline in nexus sales recently and it's not shocking at all. Perfect storm of hugeness and high price.

But I 100000% agree with Apple's strategy in releasing 2 phones as your flagship with equal specs (mostly, bigger battery in bigger phone makes sense), One 5 inches or less and one 5.5 or more. That way everyone is happy. But no, they'd rather complicate things by gimping one or making 1 huge and the other huger. Maybe have Huawei make a big one and LG make a smaller one. I'll see it before I completely judge it, maybe they have some bezel wizardry going on but at 5.7 inches...it will be big regardless.

5.7 just strikes me as pointless. 5.5 max with really thin bezels would be acceptable. Aint no one missing .2 inches yet a lot more people will be happier with a smaller device. Also Huawei's current flagship the P8 has a 5.2 inch screen, would have been some nice synergy to just keep it at that size.

I totally agree with you. Even if the 810 was a great CPU and we could ignore that from the equation, I don;t understand why they'd do a 5.7" phone. Speaking as someone who was excited for 64-bit before the 810 launched and assuming it would be as great as their previous editions, I still don't think I would give up the screen size to accommodate that.

I understand going with China and I can understand Googles position, no-one going to want to be the manufacturer of the "other" Nexus so no-one will compromise. They're either the Nexus phone for the year or they're not. but I really think they're going to alienate a lot of their current market if it plays out like the rumours.

The only thing I can think of to make it right next year is getting Sony or someone willing to make 2 sizes involved. A Nexus 6 and a Nexus compact the same year?
 

jey_16

Banned
im averaging 4 1/2 - 5 hours SOT with my S6 and nearly all of that is LTE browsing so i'm happy, actually kind of surpassed that i'm getting that considering how small the battery is
 
The only thing I can think of to make it right next year is getting Sony or someone willing to make 2 sizes involved. A Nexus 6 and a Nexus compact the same year?
I feel like google either doesn't give a shit or just isn't smart. They're just a company that does random things with no rhyme or reason from software to hardware to everything.

They don't design their hardware "for the people". They design it for themselves. Google glass was the same. Clueless ass shit. No offense of course to those who like it but it's clear why most don't. Nexus 6 is a good phone. But it's not a good phone for a lot of people. Simple as that.

The best selling phone on the planet is a 4.7 inch phone. The best selling nexus phones were the 4 and 5 I believe. But I feel like google is generally clueless. They still haven't written good camera software....in 2015. Good (all round hardware, including size) hardware good camera good battery life. It aint rocket science but in the android world having the trifecta seems like some forbidden art.
 
im averaging 4 1/2 - 5 hours SOT with my S6 and nearly all of that is LTE browsing so i'm happy, actually kind of surpassed that i'm getting that considering how small the battery is

I used the Verizon model and 2.5 hours was a good day. (Advanced calling off).

Here's plenty of reviews that aren't happy with the battery either. Unless there is a huge difference between carriers but I doubt it.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s6/
 

RuGalz

Member
Unless there is a huge difference between carriers but I doubt it.

When my wife and I used to be on different carrier but same phone, my Vzw one definitely didn't last as long. It was noticeable when I had to use her phone a few times. They were setup the same way so difference in background task was minimal.

They don't design their hardware "for the people". They design it for themselves. Google glass was the same. Clueless ass shit.

These devices are essentially their science projects. The Google culture doesn't have the traditional sense of someone on top overseeing a consumer product. Nothing they do feels like a finished product. To me, N5 is still the best Nexus. If no one produce a satisfactory 5" phone when my N5 retires in Android land, I maybe forced to switch.
 
Apparently enough people are happy that it's averaging 4.5 stars.




That's a heavy day for me.

It doesn't matter if Verizon shows an average of 4.5 stars. If you read the reviews there is something left to be desired in most of them. Battery Life.

Knowing your carrier would help.

When my wife and I used to be on different carrier but same phone, my Vzw one definitely didn't last as long. It was noticeable when I had to use her phone a few times. They were setup the same way so difference in background task was minimal.

I agree. Usually CDMA carriers get slightly worse battery life but not 2 hours sot less.
 

Husker86

Member
Apparently enough people are happy that it's averaging 4.5 stars.




That's a heavy day for me.

That's not what most people are getting. I remember people getting 4 hours SoT on the Nexus 5, too. That was never me.

I don't really care, since I have a wireless charger at work and quick charging is great, but my battery life on AT&T S6 is maybe, maybe 3 hours SoT. I have yet to use a full cycle without charging, though.

Right now I'm at 83% with 21 min SoT.
 

Talon

Member
Oh man, I held the One M9 today. What in the hell were they thinking? It's the most uncomfortable to hold phone I've ever seen. The edges are sharp all the way around.

Obvious why their past two design heads have left.
 

Husker86

Member
All you supposed nerds using the useless SoT metric to measure dicks with...come on, you're better than that.

It's the closest you can get to comparing two people's devices.

Anyway, I use my S6 just like I used my Nexus 5, and with that said...battery life isn't much better.
 

Wreav

Banned
Nah, SoT is useless for comparing two people with different usage habits, and different cell coverages.

It's more useful for comparing phones against each other with the same user doing the comparison.
 

ILoveBish

Member
I think a congrats are in order, my verizon note 4 will be here friday. Finally moving on from the note 2. Now where can i get a cheap Gear VR for it?
 
I still wonder if google is teaming up with huawei because they got that fingerprint sensor hookup. If google spends a lot of I/O talking about google pay we will know for sure.
 
Guys.

I am in need of a new phone. Here are my want list:

Phablet is required. More than 5 inches.
Good battery life. I will theter a lot.
Must work on lte band 4
Unlocked or unlockable

I have a nexus 4 and the battery is terrible
 

longdi

Banned
Got an email from Sony that my Z3 has a software update to v. 23.1.A.1.28 available via computer. Just says for bug fixes so I'm guessing that isn't 5.1 yet?

Updated, nice improvement with the standby battery ime.
So far so good with Sony's Android L rendition. While it is users/apps dependent, Sony seems to do well in cutting off a lot standby drain.

I guess at worst a factory reset, update, clear cache, would bring your phone working well with L...?
 

Aizo

Banned
I've been having a major issue since updating my S5 yesterday. Anything that uses the interent has become frustratingly slow. I cleared my cache, but that didn't help.
 

Soodanim

Member
Updated, nice improvement with the standby battery ime.
So far so good with Sony's Android L rendition. While it is users/apps dependent, Sony seems to do well in cutting off a lot standby drain.

I guess at worst a factory reset, update, clear cache, would bring your phone working well with L...?
I just came to talk about my Z3 Compact. When I had my N4 I didn't want anything but stock Android ever again, but aside from a few bloat apps (I have a couple network provider ones too, but with Nova's folders and hiding they don't bother me) everything else is pretty much just better. I'm definitely glad that they changed some app icons for Lollipop, the KitKat ones were atrocious.

The only fairly big thing that I did try to fix was the theming, because it seems like the only ones to download are tacky sponsored ones. Luckily the white theme makes the notification bar the material dark grey, and that's about the same visually as the stock black. Better than a constant bright colour, at least. There are a couple pop ups that don't look fantastic but they're minor.

The battery saving stuff is fantastic. I'm so glad that I upped my budget and got this phone. Even a normal day at work when my phone does about an hour of music and maybe an hour of browsing would leave me with less than 25% when I got home, but this little champion sits above 50% with far more screen on time. I know the battery is bigger and the screen is .1" smaller, but Sony have made me not want stock Android in future. I'm definitely not going back to phones without memory card slots. £22 for 64GB to add to the 16GB and I spent 2+ years struggling with the 8GB model N4. And Sony let you move some apps to the memory card, even better!

Something I noticed yesterday: the Google Photos app doesn't seem to load the full resolution of photos. Luckily I have no need for it with QuickPic and even the Sony app. Installed Google Calendar though, the stock one is garbage.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
oh and just to add to this for the new page, it also shows that the Note is probably their real flagship as it's the only one growing. BUT that may be because s123 blew up way too fast and peaked early. That's probably it. Interesting none the less.


yeah I really don't see a way out of it, someone has to do some magical shit.

This is depressing. The S6 seemed to get everything right, including a marketing blitz - posters are everywhere in the UK. If the market is moving to a point where android can't really sustain high end products that will be shitty. I guess if you have money for an S6 you're more naturally inclined to just buy an iPhone?

I suppose Samsung etc could plan a lower volume of high end devices, but keep them as a halo to help sell the lower end?
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Something I noticed yesterday: the Google Photos app doesn't seem to load the full resolution of photos. Luckily I have no need for it with QuickPic and even the Sony app. Installed Google Calendar though, the stock one is garbage.

Is there a workaround for Google photos? This is my first ohone with a camera good enough that I'd want to store full resolution images online to merge with my other photos. Otherwise I'll need to check out if onedrive will do it like on ios
 

Husker86

Member
Is there a workaround for Google photos? This is my first ohone with a camera good enough that I'd want to store full resolution images online to merge with my other photos. Otherwise I'll need to check out if onedrive will do it like on ios
Google can store full resolution, it just counts against your storage.

I think the person you quoted was talking about viewing pictures in the app.
 

longdi

Banned
I just came to talk about my Z3 Compact. When I had my N4 I didn't want anything but stock Android ever again, but aside from a few bloat apps (I have a couple network provider ones too, but with Nova's folders and hiding they don't bother me) everything else is pretty much just better. I'm definitely glad that they changed some app icons for Lollipop, the KitKat ones were atrocious.

The only fairly big thing that I did try to fix was the theming, because it seems like the only ones to download are tacky sponsored ones. Luckily the white theme makes the notification bar the material dark grey, and that's about the same visually as the stock black. Better than a constant bright colour, at least. There are a couple pop ups that don't look fantastic but they're minor.

The battery saving stuff is fantastic. I'm so glad that I upped my budget and got this phone. Even a normal day at work when my phone does about an hour of music and maybe an hour of browsing would leave me with less than 25% when I got home, but this little champion sits above 50% with far more screen on time. I know the battery is bigger and the screen is .1" smaller, but Sony have made me not want stock Android in future. I'm definitely not going back to phones without memory card slots. £22 for 64GB to add to the 16GB and I spent 2+ years struggling with the 8GB model N4. And Sony let you move some apps to the memory card, even better!

Something I noticed yesterday: the Google Photos app doesn't seem to load the full resolution of photos. Luckily I have no need for it with QuickPic and even the Sony app. Installed Google Calendar though, the stock one is garbage.

Sony Zperia phones are awesome.

I hope Sony can follow up with Z4 and not m9'ed.

After a full day of use, i can confirm Firmware 23.1.A.1.28 extends the standby battery life beautifully. It is now much better than even 4.4.4, and i let the GPS stayed on the whole day today!
 

3phemeral

Member
Trying to remain hopeful for my Lollipop update for my 1st gen Moto X, but all of these bug reports, nonsensical updates, and Google bricking devices is making me not want it anymore. *anxious* And now with Android M being so close to unveiling. Google plz!
 
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