[Ferruccio]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Guys, any recommendation for a good android watch and ear-pods?

Studied the entire ear-pods category and decided still premature to buy. Got a pair of OneMore Quad Driver wired earbuds for $149 (Sis brought from US). Am loving it - sound quality eats my Bose QC for breakfast, plus it is compact enough to carry in my back pocket!

Use a FitBit Alta HR as an Android watch - silent alarms, notifications, health tracking et al plus 6 days battery life. All this in a svelte, minimalist package that doesn't scream look at me, I am Mr. Moneybags!

I used to do 'even' Samsung flagships S2, S4 . . . you get the drift. Took a detour to Lenovo in between, because the S6 was too expensive and discovered that there is such a thing as a bad phone. Back with Samsung S8 and happy as a cat that got the canary and the cream!

Originally Posted by GTO

My Mom's 3 year old iPhone is still lag-free & seamless. In comparison, my S6 Edge was struggling like a fully-loaded Alto 800 climbing up a steep ghat. I had to perform a factory reset to make it usable.

That's because possibly your Mom doesn't load up the phone with apps and content like you are likely to! But then I am possibly stereotyping Moms - she might be outdoing Milind Soman's Mom in doing planks, Ironmans and trading BitCoin on her self developed app on her iPhone

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

And the software needs hardware for it to run. Pixel 2 have a special chip in the SOC which handles the functions that you described. The other reason is that Google is sitting on a mountain of private data of user sitting in Google Photos which it can use to train its AI. The better the training, the better the results. Apple does not have this luxury because even the analysis of the photos happens on the phone and not on their server like Google.

Its difficult to trust displaymate when their review came right after phone's launch and they said they were provided "pre-release units" for evalutation. This is not to say that it does not have a good display but for real evaluation refer to this.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/12520...xy-s9-review/7

Brand pull does not exist in vacuum. For it to work, the product has to be good. The amount of thought that goes into every component of the iPhone is staggering. For reference look at the image of Galaxy S9 opened up and then iPhone. Which one is better though out?

For all the innovation from Samsung that you speak of, what exactly are they innovating on - they use off the shelf SOC's (qualcomm), off the shelf software (Android but only make it worse). They do not have any services to speak of (apple/google music, app store etc etc). And for all their talk of high end design, they cant even get their ports aligned. The bottom and the top of Galaxy S9 is a complete mess as far as industrial design is concerned. Huawei is doing far better when it comes to innovation than Samsung who has always been an also ran.

Samsung has always been lacking in tighter hardware+software integration and I am not aware of them having any special SoC hardware like Apple Motion Chip, Touch ID, Pixel Core etc. They definitely need to innovate and have tighter integration on this front. Many of the brilliant things they do seem to be a waste because it seems everyone is building things in silos instead of working towards 1 product.

The S9 display is the best on the market, I've read the Anandtech review as well. It is their calibration and modes which they are not happy about since they don't follow any color standard per se.

How the insides of the phones look is irrelevant I feel, plus neither of them are good on repairability scale but I've noticed Samsung has an option to just change the back glass for 5K and entire frame + display for 15k on my S8 Plus vs Apple charging 20-30k for full replacement.

Samsung has its own Exynos line of chipsets I'm sure you're aware, they have a long list of innovations and industry-leading hardware in key areas like display, memory etc. Having ports in a certain place is subjective, also industrial design doesn't necessarily make the product more usable or 'better'. I think the biggest problem used to be the offset fingerprint sensor even today the sensor is below the camera lens and you'll end up smudging your camera more often.

Yeah, Samsung has always struggled to bring out a coherent and tightly integrated experience, I think they just throw things at a wall and hope some of them stick, there is a long list of features they quietly sunset (some of them were very useful like IR blasters). They have their own assistant, app store and other services (even photos). Touchwiz has really improved but there is still a lot to be desired.

Also, I am not a Samsung fanboy. Heck, I've started this thread 9 years ago! I've been exclusively on Mac's for twice that time. It's important to realize you can admire one brand without hating the other

I'm just curious as to how the popular opinion about Samsung propagated, I believe there is no perfect Android phone currently. Having used Pixel 2 XL, S9 Plus and now on Razer Phone. I guess you need to pick the flaws you can live with.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

You are talking about Samsung the semi conductor company, I am talking about Samsung the mobile company. Sony also produces everything that you just mentioned but that does not make the Xperia range any good. A phone is more than sum of its parts.

Speaking of Exynos, their 9810 in the S9 has been slammed compared to Qualcomm 845 as they have made some basic mistakes not befitting a semi conductor company. For more refer to Anadtech's review and numerous reddit threads on the same issue.

In the same review you will also read that iPhone X's OLED better's the one in Galaxy S9. Manufacturing something is not the same as designing that thing. Apple and Qualcomm have outsourced the manufacturing to Samsung while keeping their own designs.


For every useful software feature, there are 10 that do not work. There is a duplicate app for every native Android app (mail, calender etc etc) Samsung's usual way is to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. A very bad way to design software. There is a reason why Samsung's slow down as they age or as you put more stuff into the phone. More important than doing it first is doing it right.


I have already addressed this but will repeat it anyway. Manufacturing something for someone is not the same as designing.

Ok, I saw this reply to another thread so I thought it is prudent to add this here, please don't echo opinions on the internet if you don't have one of your own. Your arguments sound silly and seem like you're a Samsung hater (which is a very popular opinion on Reddit etc.) Samsung has launched the S9 Plus at a fantastic price in India in the day and age where Google charges 80k+ for their crappy Pixel 2 XL and over a lakh for an iPhone X by Apple. Apple Display calibration being ruled as more accurate than Samsung in display tests is moot if people prefer the 'Samsung' look in the real world. Minor difference in mobile SoC peak performance is irrelevant. Everyone knows Apple is able to create a much better product and their recent trillion dollar valuation reflects that, but arguments citing geeky review website don't do anything about falling sales for iPhones in India and abroad.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

For all the innovation from Samsung that you speak of, what exactly are they innovating on - they use off the shelf SOC's (qualcomm), off the shelf software (Android but only make it worse). They do not have any services to speak of (apple/google music, app store etc etc). And for all their talk of high end design, they cant even get their ports aligned. The bottom and the top of Galaxy S9 is a complete mess as far as industrial design is concerned. Huawei is doing far better when it comes to innovation than Samsung who has always been an also ran.

Not at all a Samsung fan (not even using one and I have several arguments for why I don't like their phones) but they do use their own Exynos chips and make the best displays in the business. For example all the other good oled displays are sourced from Samsung (pixel 2 which received no complaints as against the LG supplied display of the XL, iPhoneX, Oppo X) You simply cannot deny that Samsung displays are the best out there (barring stock color calibration which if you are really bothered about, there are always ways around it with android).

[vsrivatsa]

In my opinion, the Camera Technology on SmartPhones are still advancing quite a bit. With the advent of Dual Camera Phones, even budget phones having dual camera provides a huge improvement in image quality and low light image quality over Premium High End Phones of the previous generation.

For example, I upgraded to the Honor View 10 from an LG G4 in Feb this year and the Rear Camera feels really advanced. The improvement in the clarity of the pictures can really be noticed on the Honor View 10. This, given that at the time when LG G4 was released it was rated as one of the best cameras in the market. In addition, due to the dual camera, the phone offers the bokeh effect as well which was a forte of the dSLR cameras earlier.

A few months later to that I read that Huawei released a Triple Camera Phone - the Huawei P20 Pro which is currently rated as the #1 Smartphone Camera. Given that the iPhone today is rated at #7 in SmartPhone camera ranking (DxOMark Ranking) shows how much the other manufacturers have caught up in terms of camera improvements.

Although I must admit the Camera is only a side use-case for the Phone and the primary usage is different...

[Chrome6Boy]

I find it interesting that in the team-bhp community where DIY and modding cars is discussed and I dare say even encouraged, most of the users on this thread seem to like Apple over Android.

Imagine a car manufacturer which expressly doesn't allow any DIY or any modding (like Apple does). Most Android manufacturers will advice you that it voids warranty if you change software on the phone but won't ban you or brick your phone if you do (like Apple does with jail broken iPhones).

Why such different standards for phones and cars?

If you want the main difference between Apple and Android it is "freedom to do what you want with the product you purchased".

Visit XDA and see the wonderful things people are doing there. Innovation hasn't peaked, use Viper4Android and see how it changes the sound in your car!

For crying out loud, the new iPhone facial recognition feature has been around on Android since 4 years ago albeit implemented poorly.

There are exceptions to the rule however now with Huawei not allowing unlocking of bootloaders and becoming more like Apple. I hope this trend doesn't continue.

Buy a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 pro and mod it, you can make it look like anything you want and get features which don't exist anywhere else all for Rs. 15,000.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Chrome6Boy

For crying out loud, the new iPhone facial recognition feature has been around on Android since 4 years ago albeit implemented poorly.

This right there is a proof that you have no idea what you are talking about.

[itwasntme]

Gents, maybe a slightly tangential but relevant question but what is the smartphone with the biggest screen and relatively fast processor? I do a lot of office work using Word/Powerpoint etc on my phone itself including detailed editing and new documents, and hence need to screen space.

Has to be a smartphone and not a tablet.

[rdst_1]

Note 8 has a 6.3 inch screen. Honor Note 10 (not yet released) will have a 6.95 inch screen and a 5000mAh battery to run it all day long. If you can wait, that would be the phone to buy if screen size matters to you. Otherwise, most flagship phones are around 6 inches these days

[myavu]

I am using my Mi Max 2 for 10 months now and it is an incredible phone. I love big screens. I am already eyeing Mi Max 3 now with 6.99 inch and 5500 mAh battery. Qualcomm has listed Mi Max 3 Pro with SD 710 in their website but Xiaomi recently denied existence of Mi Max 3 Pro. Still believe there is a chance. Else will consider normal Max 3 with SD 636. If Honor Note 10 is less than 24K I may consider but very unlikely

I am already a fan of gesture navigation in Note 5 Pro and it will be there in Max 3 too. Hence can utilize that entire 6.99 inch productively.

Cheers!

[chinkara]

Originally Posted by am1m

I stick with Samsung because their models consistently have the lowest SAR ratings. Is that not a factor for anyone else?

For me also, SAR is a pretty important criteria. And yes, I also use a Samsung.

[GTO]

Just remembered it's a similar situation with computers!

My 2013 Dell Latitude with an SSD is 99% as fast as my 2018 Dell Latitude. Yes, just like the S9 has some new features (Samsung Pay etc.), even the '18 Latitude has some useful stuff like a SIM card slot. But unlike the S9, the '18 Latitude does feel like more of an upgrade because of 3X the battery life, 1/2 the weight and a new OS (Win 7 vs Win 10). In terms of speed & performance though, there's no difference unless you are into editing videos or playing heavy video games.

[revvharder]

Originally Posted by GTO

My 2013 Dell Latitude with an SSD is 99% as fast as my 2018 Dell Latitude. In terms of speed & performance though, there's no difference unless you are into editing videos or playing heavy video games.

You are absolutely correct even my HP Pavillion bought in 2013 is 99% for what is offered in the market in my budget. Even I was thinking to upgrade as it is 5 years old and the itch to upgrade was there but did not find it worth spending 40 to 50k for laptop with similar specs as the current one is doing its duty faithfully.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by myavu

I am already eyeing Mi Max 3 now with 6.99 inch and 5500 mAh battery.

If Honor Note 10 is less than 24K I may consider but very unlikely

Yup, both Mi Max 3 & Honor Note 10 looks interesting! Please PM me if you get any further details on launch dates etc.

[mxx]

The fact is that it has come to a point where most users need only a mid-range phone -ie the ones powered by the newer snapdragon 6xx series Soc- for their use. Please note that I am talking about function, not form/design. The only exceptions to this are hardcore mobile gamers who plays the most cutting edge games (which require better soc/gpu) and users who need excellent camera. Even here, the lower priced flagships like oneplus 6 are giving a stiff competition to premium flagships like samsung s9. Samsung still has a better camera, but an year down the line, even the lower price flagships and maybe even some mid-range phones will catch up.

[typlo]

I thought my OnePlus 5 was fast. I waited for just one year and here is OnePlus 6 which blows the 5 out of the park. I think the correct approach is: our devices aren't getting slower, they just feel slower post experiencing faster devices within a short timeline (say about after a year, for example). There are many factors including software updates which inevitably slow a device down though, trading performance for features.

That said, my willingness to upgrade will always be limited by how fast is the fastest product in the market is than my smartphone or PC for example. I'm noticing a trend of smartphones becoming obsolete much (MUCH!) faster than a PC or a laptop of equivalent age. Maybe the technology is progressing faster in mobile devices too, but I refuse to fully digest that.

To summarize it, the itch to upgrade is highly dependent upon workload. If I'm a movie editor, tech reviewer or influenced by hip-culture, I might go to extreme lengths to get my hands on the latest and greatest because the progress in speed/tech outweighs the loss of my wealth. If I'm a businessman, a professional or just a daily user, my device would just be at the bottom of my priorities. If it performs well and gets work done reasonably fast, it stays with me. My $.02