[pixantz]

Originally Posted by praful

Any phone other like the Redmi Note 3? It checks most of my needs -

the camera is sub par for me. Need something with RN3 like specs but with a better camera, I can bump up the budget up the budget a bit too.

Im in exactly the same situation. I had hopes from moto g4 plus but reviews say its not upto it. I hate the shape anyways. LeEco Le2 seems enticing but dunno how reliable it is....

[WindRide]

Originally Posted by mukul32

The G4+ is a fantastic overall buy. Has absolutely everything but a magnetic sensor. I use one myself and vouch for it.

Would it make sense to buy g4+ with 3GB option instead of 2GB to make it future-proof? i have heard g4 is generally sluggish, maybe due to android M? what is your experience?

Thanks!

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by WindRide

Would it make sense to buy g4+ with 3GB option instead of 2GB to make it future-proof? i have heard g4 is generally sluggish, maybe due to android M? what is your experience?
Thanks!

The G4+ is anything but sluggish. The UI is pleasantly snappy and fluid to use, it hasn't lagged or stuttered on me once in two months, and memory management is quite good as well.
It would always be better to get the 32GB variant, as it has a sufficient amount of storage and RAM not to go bottleneck too soon, has an improved camera, and the price difference is quite reasonable too.

In case of the 2nd gen Moto E, Motorola only provided the Marshmallow update for the LTE version having the Snapdragon 410, and not the 3G version having the Snapdragon 200 quad. So even the future support might just be better on the better equipped variant.

[JonSnow]

Originally Posted by WindRide

Would it make sense to buy g4+ with 3GB option instead of 2GB to make it future-proof? i have heard g4 is generally sluggish, maybe due to android M?

I haven't used one, but i haven't heard of it being sluggish. Only issue was that of you use the camera app continuously for a while, it starts stuttering. It also heats up a lot during heavy gaming. But for normal day to day usage it doesn't lag. Hopefully the above issues will be fixed by a software update.

Originally Posted by praful

Any phone other like the Redmi Note 3? It checks most of my needs -

1. Big Battery - 4000mah
2. Adequate Memory - 3 gigs (more is welcome)
3. Adequate Storage - 32 gigs (more is welcome)
4. Dual SIM - Added bonus

Only one I can think of is the Lenovo Zuk Z1. It has a better camera than RN3 and comes with 4000 mah battery, 3GB RAM, 64GB storage and dual 4G sim. Drawback might be that Cyanogen OS has been slow with updates, though you can flash CM13 if you are into flashing custom ROMs. It comes with the Snapdragon 801 processor which is still very capable, but a few newer games don't work.

[WindRide]

Originally Posted by mukul32

The G4+ is anything but sluggish. ...

Originally Posted by JonSnow

I haven't used one, but i haven't heard of it being sluggish...

Thanks guys. Was interested on actual user experince, since lag is mentioned in many reviews.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/11/12...review-android

Watch from 8:35 onwards...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2QKKxiSrw8

-

[sairamboko]

Bought the Samsung S7 in reliance digital. 10% cashbook offer and then a free jio sim Initial impressions are good

[EFF-EIGHT-BEE]

Hi guys, just brought my Moto G4 plus today. Great phone, I am just loving the experience. My previous phone was ICS so it's a huge jump for me. One question though, I have observed that widgets aren't getting updated automatically. Any solutions?

[abhjain]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Bought the Samsung S7 in reliance digital. 10% cashbook offer and then a free jio sim Initial impressions are good

It's an awesome device. Got a US unlocked version from eBay for 32K and just love it!

[sairamboko]

Yeah and the jio is another mind blowing thing!! I have no airtel network or other major providers at my apartment. I always have to hang them in a box near balcony for better reception. With jio I am getting very good signal and also lte with almost 10mbps speeds!!

[mayankk]

One week with the redmi note 3, and the best bit about it is the IR blaster! It's handling all the TVs, STBs, and ACs in the house. No setting up or pairing required. Choose the brand and it works.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by nareshov

@_chikku
@landcruiser123
@arindambasu13

Thanks for the pointers!

I was quite enamoured by the UI and size of the Mi5. But given the issues stated by Arindam, I can't live with them.

Decided to give-in and purchase a 5.5" device - the OP3 which was quite well reviewed by Anandtech in two parts:

- http://www.anandtech.com/show/10411/...eplus-3-review
- http://www.anandtech.com/show/10445/...-the-oneplus-3

I briefly considered the LG-G4 (primarily due to the camera) but it felt like a "side"grade compared to my iPhone 5S in most departments. So did the Nexus 5X.

I also toyed with the idea of Moto G4 but looked no further on noticing the heat-throttling prone Snapdragon 61X series. I thought I'd go cheap with the Vivo V3 (right size, 32GB internal ROM storage, GPS+GLONASS), but then again same 61X series Snapdragon.

The Moto Turbo would've been ideal as a package but again has the laggy 80X processor and no LTE band 40 support.

Past two weeks were quite fatiguing in making this buying decision because for me:
- there are barely any decent phones sized below 5.2"
- Apple phones are weirdly priced in India <http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadgets-computers-software/38465-iphone-thread-608.html#post4024886>
- A whole generation of snapdragon chipsets were prone to heating issues and heat throttling

Exactly same situation as yours but decided to wait for the next 3-4 months as I can see some ray of hope.

Initially, decided to buy the Nexus 5X but backed off due to complains of poor build quality, below average battery life and 2 GB RAM might not be good enough for the next 2 years or so.

Then, almost bought the MI5 as Flipkart was having some excellent deals but after the advice here by @arindambasu13 regarding poor network reception, indoor camera etc, decided not to.

Upcoming phones which should be launched in India soon and meet my criteria -

ZUK Z2
Honor 8
Nubia Z11 mini
New Nexus

..

One thing I have realized about buying any of these Chinese brands is that we need to think about the UX. All of them have heavily skinned Android which looks like a bad mish-mash of Android and IOS. Also, some of them are really bad with updates and you can get stuck on an old version.

Given all these, I feel the Chinese brands worth considering are - Xiaomi/Huawei (Honor)/Vivo/Oppo.Out of these, I see that Vivo and Oppo phones are highly priced and not really value for money. Better to buy an established brand if you are going to pay a premium. I feel XIaomi and Honor provide excellent value. In fact, I would have bought Honor 5C if it had a 3GB RAM version with a slight premium. I would be hesitant to buy phones from others like Leco/ZTE/ZUK etc.

I will most probably buy the Honor 8 when launched in India (should be by October-November) unless it is highly overpriced. I feel the new Nexus will be costly and way above my budget as it is being made by HTC.

[_chikku]

Originally Posted by mayankk

One week with the redmi note 3, and the best bit about it is the IR blaster! It's handling all the TVs, STBs, and ACs in the house. No setting up or pairing required. Choose the brand and it works.

The AC .. which brand and model ? Carrier didn't work with mine

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by adimicra

One thing I have realized about buying any of these Chinese brands is that we need to think about the UX. All of them have heavily skinned Android which looks like a bad mish-mash of Android and IOS. ...

I don't care about the user interface. I'm going to use Nova anyway. Out-of-the-box user interfaces don't matter.

What's below the surface does, of course. The options and functionality in the settings menu are going to be those of the supplied (or flashed) operating system, whatever launcher we choose. And, I would consider, for instance, Android 6's doze to be a vital battery saver.

If I ever buy another Xiaomi phone, I might well stick with MIUI rom, but the MIUI launcher would be the first thing to go. So it wouldn't bother me: I'm not going to use it anyway.

[adimicra]

You can't change thex entire UX just by a launcher. As you rightly said the UX is a much bigger thing than just a launcher. I am not just talking about an app drawer and how the icons look. Anyways I have my concerns on some of these IOS inspired skins offered by the Chinese manufacturers. Many of them are buggy, provides a sub optimal or frustrating user experience and might not provide timely updates. So a buyer needs to be aware of which brand he is buying and not just go by the hardware specs or looks.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by _chikku

The AC .. which brand and model ? Carrier didn't work with mine

Carrier.
Actually, carrier was not in the list. But Midea works.