[nibedk]

Originally Posted by nibedk

Stay away from MI A1. Get a Moto G5 Plus. Near stock and better in every possible way except camera and design. And way better where it matters the software experience. I have both and Moto G5 Plus gives a much better user experience. Since all of us were using Moto phones at home thought of getting The MI A1 for change. Stock Android and similar hardware lured me. I was so wrong. I got it for 13.5 k. Not even worth half the money. It's like one of those handsome hunks. They look great and as soon as the open their mouth you understand they do not have personality to go with the physicality. Stick with the MI now. Will exchange it whenever I can afford another one.

The best part of Android One program. Prompt OTA updates and security updates every month. Got the second security update since I bought MI A1. Every time I get the monthly updates I tend to forget the problems.

The phone had become extremely sluggish with RAM usage mostly around 70-80%. Google App used to stutter, freeze, hang and what not. It was like point of no return where I considered resetting the phone completely and selling it off taking some monetary loss.

Google App is one of the most used app where I get all updates related to my interest areas. I use this app 3-4 times a day. Tried noticing the behavior and saw that the memory usage shot up almost always when I used Google App. On clearing off the memory things used to get slightly better.

When I saw the security update yesterday , for a moment I was glad as that was one of the sole reason to get the MI A1. I thought to check if I could uninstall Google App. But as you would know one can't uninstall Google Apps completely. Checked on Google Play Store and it gave an option to Uninstall. What it does is uninstall all updates on the App. The app would still be there but all updates since I started using the phone. Voila ! The problem was gone. Google App now opened smoothly. No stutter, no freeze or hang. Installed all updates again through Google store and the problem seem to have vanished.

Last step downloaded October security patch, installed it and restarted the phone. Was hoping for the problem to not comeback.

And I am happy to report that the most important problem on my MI A1 is gone now. Google App runs smooth now. The whole experience is still not as butter smooth as my Nexus or Moto G5 Plus but it has improved dramatically.

Feeling a lot better and waiting for the Oreo update.

[tanwaramit]

As I continue to use Mi A1, there is one more thing that I am missing from MIUI.

MiUI gives me a call log of every number.

In MIUI - If there is any (unsaved, unknown) number which I missed the call, I could see all the previous calls (incoming/outgoing) from that number and if any conversation I have done with that number for what duration.

In Android One - Cant see any such feature.

This is apart from other missing features which I mentioned earlier.

[procrj]

I purchased the Honor 9i last weekend primarily because:

• Wanted a dual cam setup which can handle low light photography as well
• 4GB RAM with a mid range processor was all I needed as i dont game on the phone and multitasking needs are minimal
• Dual sim with 4G capablity
• Decent battery life that can last a minimum of a day
• Minimum 5.5 inch screen
• Fingerprint sensor

After using the device for a week, I should say that I am pretty impressed with the phone. It checks the basic hygiene factors of good call quality, decent build, fast GPS lock and No hanging/freezing. The Kirin 659 seems to be energy efficient and combined with EMUI 5.1 running Android N, it should give almost a full day even to heavy users. Havent had any issues with EMUI and it feels quiet intuitive and very similar to stock android.

Got the phone for ~11K after the discounts and exchange of my old Moto and at that price, this is a steal because:

• Dual Cams - both front and back. The women in my house did like the portrait mode of the front cam and I the back cam
• 18:9 Display - while the screen doesn't come with gorilla glass, the display is one of the best I have seen in the 15-20K INR mark. The Moto G5s just cant hold a candle to this
• 5.9 inch display - because the bezels have been minimized, the size of the phone is only 5-7mm longer than conventional 5.5 inch phones. Feels almost the same but has more screen space
• Performance - the kirin processors are not slow & can easily compete with the mid range snapdragon processors as long as you dont play heavy graphic loaded games
• Charging - even though its not fast charge enables, you get close to 40% of charge in about 30 minutes

What could have been better

• Audio - the position of the speaker and the quality of audio doesnt match that of my old Moto X Play. Position of the speaker is such that your hand would cover it when in portrait mode
• Headphone jack - would have liked it to be on the top of the phone. Need to keep the phone upside down if you listen to music and walk

Few pics:
Phone


Bokeh - rear cam


Light painting - rear cam


night mode - rear cam


Screenshot - 35% brightness

[wrongturn]

Google Pixel now available for ₹35k and Pixel XL for ₹40k.

[lordvader]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Music sounds different and I am hearing new sounds! Best audio player app. Exploring nova launcher.

Try sauron audio mod

https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...audio-t3450516

Nova is the best among the ones that are out there

[phamilyman]

Is there any music service on android, that's cheaper than google play? I hate the useless Wynk by Airtel. Their ads are annoying. despite signing up for ad free usage, they keep bringing the ads back and their customer service is non existent.

I loved Jio Music that ways. Beautiful UI and no stupid ads.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Is there any music service on android, that's cheaper than google play? I hate the useless Wynk by Airtel. Their ads are annoying. despite signing up for ad free usage, they keep bringing the ads back and their customer service is non existent.

I loved Jio Music that ways. Beautiful UI and no stupid ads.

Saavn UI is the best of the lot. Costs as much as Google Music and unlike GM, has english music collection too.

[lordvader]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Is there any music service on android, that's cheaper than google play?

I loved Jio Music that ways. Beautiful UI and no stupid ads.

Gaana, I have tried them all and gaana beats them hands down. It is priced reasonably at 99 with both hindi and english collection. Curated playlists by mood/occasion are available along with standard top 10 & top 50 for different genres.

They have the Diwali offer going on where the entire 1 or 3 month subscription fees is refunded to paytm along with 30% off on renewal s.

[djpeesh]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Saavn UI is the best of the lot. Costs as much as Google Music and unlike GM, has english music collection too.

Google Music has English music too. It's just something you can't get ready made. You have to create your own radio stations. The best part of Google Play Music is the integration with Google Assistant. I tried it first hand when I was listening to some EDM on a ride and then I felt like country, so I just pressed the phone button on the sena and said "Play Country Music" and it created a pretty awesome mix.

On the way back, I said "Play Classic Rock" and the list wasn't as awesome as I got into city traffic. That's another story.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by djpeesh

Google Music has English music too. It's just something you can't get ready made. You have to create your own radio stations.

Depends on how one listen to music. I want to hear music of my choice. I download my collection and keep for listening.

For radio, there is the radio, why Google Music?

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by lordvader

They have the Diwali offer going on where the entire 1 or 3 month subscription fees is refunded to paytm along with 30% off on renewal s.

Can't find that link - https://gaana.com/subscribe/buy-gaana-plus has no such offer. Please share.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Can't find that link - https://gaana.com/subscribe/buy-gaana-plus has no such offer. Please share.

I would not recommend Gaana even though the UI itself is pretty okay, the content is the issue. I would recommend going for Apple Music which offers the full catalogue of international music as well has hindi music. I havent come to a situation where I was not able to find a song on the service.

[lordvader]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Can't find that link - https://gaana.com/subscribe/buy-gaana-plus has no such offer. Please share.

Its in the app under settings > subscribe for gaana+

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

I would recommend going for Apple Music which offers the full catalogue of international music as well has hindi music. I havent come to a situation where I was not able to find a song on the service.

Apple hasn't shown much love to its android app. It has been nothing but buggy for me. And I have used the paid version as well. Catalogue, no doubt, is the best that I have come across. To be honest, for english music, its better to stream using Spotify unless downloaded music is a key requirement.

[spindoc]

Originally Posted by lordvader

Its in the app under settings > subscribe for gaana+



Apple hasn't shown much love to its android app. It has been nothing but buggy for me. And I have used the paid version as well. Catalogue, no doubt, is the best that I have come across. To be honest, for english music, its better to stream using Spotify unless downloaded music is a key requirement.

Yes. Apple need to do a better job. Had to go through the flow 4 times now, just to add my card and sign up. It kept getting stuck on one screen or the other!

I have had mixed results with every app:
Saavn - content licensing or drm issues. Stuff that i have downloaded just don't play after a few days and requires re-downloading.
Gaana - song management / local search wasn't great when I was using it (1.5 yrs ago).
Play Music (currently using it) - confusing interface. Add to library sometimes doesn't create offline copy. Stations don't always sync completely (and some songs stream instead). The "automagically" created mixes aren't to my liking often.

[wrongturn]

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

MiUI gives me a call log of every number.

It is present, just tap on the icon before the number and you will be able to see the call log under recent tab.