[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

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.

I'll tell u three stupid things in MIUI?
a. Inability to read SMSes / mark them read from the notifications itself.
b. TINY height of notification icons. on a 1080p screen they are small. As if someone forgot to scale them from 720p or so. Stupid mistake but I am living with it.
c. Needing to use two fingers (on a heavy as hell 5.5" phone) to expand notification unlike on AOSP where just swiping the said notification down is enough. This is painful. Earlier I would "skim" news by simply reading the 3-4 line notifications. Not on MIUI.

[arindambasu13]

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:

Great decision, and Im sure you will love the experience of One Plus. Its quite different from most of the Android big names around, and its been nothing but a joy and pleasure to handle and use the device as a daily driver! My biggest worry was handling the 5.5 inch size (I was upgrading from a 4.3 inch screen), and I was used to it in a couple of days time. The media experience, as well as typing on a well spaced out keyboard is a pleasure. When I now handle a 5 incher, I feel its too cramped for typing etc. In other words, its all a question of getting used to the size. That said, the One Plus 3 is one of the most svelte and lightweight 5.5 inchers that I have seen, and the company has put in a lot of effort to ensure that the end user experience is pleasurable in terms of handling a relatively big screen device. That glass and metal fusion is really lovely, and Im sure you must be enjoying the device by now

[nareshov]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Great decision,
...
, and Im sure you must be enjoying the device by now

Thanks! Got the device last night.
To my surprise I'm actually liking it. I liked the packaging and founder's note in the box. The safety information mentioned that charging be done only up to ambient temperature of 25 degrees (this means early or late hours) and not to keep it plugged in for more than 12 hours. The dash (quick) charge is fantastic and does not heat up the device. Best operating temperature is up to 35 degrees.

I liked the minimalism in the phone, no bloatware to speak of. The UI is slick and quite responsive. Also loved the dark-mode UI.
I'm fine with the screen size (coming from a 4" screen) when it comes to actually using the phone as a tablet, but holding the phone is still something I need to get used to.

Also liked the night-mode of the display where it tones down the blues when the sun is down which I was used to on iOS.

Another display configuration I changed immediately after the upgrades is to enable the sRGB mode under developer options for a more realistic colour reproduction.

The first thing I did though was to register for the accident protection via Servify.
I also plan to take advantage of the Idea offer (my current network) and the Kindle offer soon.

1. Are you running the stock apps for launcher, SMSes and keyboard?
I turned on SwiftKey and set a DVORAK layout (which I missed on iOS)

2. I'm looking for a nice leather case for the phone, any suggestions?
I'm not a fan of covering up the phone with the hard/soft cases.

3. What's a good way to transfer my photos from iPhone to this device?
I have them all uploaded on flickr but having a local copy would've been nice.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by nareshov

1. Are you running the stock apps for launcher, SMSes and keyboard?
I turned on SwiftKey and set a DVORAK layout (which I missed on iOS)

2. I'm looking for a nice leather case for the phone, any suggestions?
I'm not a fan of covering up the phone with the hard/soft cases.

3. What's a good way to transfer my photos from iPhone to this device?
I have them all uploaded on flickr but having a local copy would've been nice.

Yes Im running the stock apps. I was using SwiftKey on my previous device, but this time, I thought Ill use the stock Google keyboard. It has a lovely minimalism about it which Ive grown to prefer.

Im not a fan of cases either. However, just to maintain the device in pristine condition, Im using a thin transparent silicone case, which I bought off Amazon. Mediocre quality, but it does the job, and somewhat preserves the look of the device. You can check on Amazon for leather cases, not too sure whether those are available for the OP3 yet.

As for transferring data, I used a data migrate app from the Playstore. There are tons of those, just search for "data migrate app from phone to phone", should do the job well enough. Transfers all contacts, pics, media etc. over bluetooth/ Wifi pretty seamlessly.

The biggest headache for me has been tempered glass. Almost all the ones available on the market are poor fits, but I believe the Nilkin tempered glass is a good one. Costs a pretty penny, almost 900 bucks. The one Im using is a local one installed at a brick and mortar store, but Im far from satisfied. Keeping in on till I get hold of the Nilkin one. The preinstalled protector on the OP3 is not great, would advise you to put on a tempered glass asap.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by adimicra

You can't change thex entire UX just by a launcher. ...

I was going to say that you can change almost everything you can going to see and use every day, both cosmetic and functional. For me, on my X Play, much of how my phone looks and works is specifically Nova, not Google or Motorola. Even including stuff that I do every time I use the phone like double-tap to sleep, and the way folders and folder short cuts work. Even my button assignments have some customisation, but I forget if that is Nova or an Xposed module.

(One problem with messing around with a phone is one can forget what bit did what)

Originally Posted by phamilyman

I'll tell u three stupid things in MIUI? ...

But phamilyman points out that we can't, easily, change everything about a rom's appearance and function, even with root, Xposed, etc. We can, however, make most of look and work the way we want, without it being that way out of the box.

And I don't even rate myself as a serious Android fiddler! I'm just a guy that spends a certain amount of time making myself feel at home, and then leaves stuff that way.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Im not a fan of cases either. However, just to maintain the device in pristine condition, Im using a thin transparent silicone case, which I bought off Amazon. Mediocre quality, but it does the job, and somewhat preserves the look of the device. You can check on Amazon for leather cases, not too sure whether those are available for the OP3 yet.

The biggest headache for me has been tempered glass. Almost all the ones available on the market are poor fits, but I believe the Nilkin tempered glass is a good one. Costs a pretty penny, almost 900 bucks.

the orzly fusion bumper case seems to be the one to get minimal and yet looking good.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by nareshov

Thanks! Got the device last night.
To my surprise I'm actually liking it. I liked the packaging and founder's note in the box. The safety information mentioned that charging be done only up to ambient temperature of 25 degrees (this means early or late hours) and not to keep it plugged in for more than 12 hours. The dash (quick) charge is fantastic and does not heat up the device. Best operating temperature is up to 35 degrees.

I liked the minimalism in the phone, no bloatware to speak of. The UI is slick and quite responsive. Also loved the dark-mode UI.
I'm fine with the screen size (coming from a 4" screen) when it comes to actually using the phone as a tablet, but holding the phone is still something I need to get used to.

Also liked the night-mode of the display where it tones down the blues when the sun is down which I was used to on iOS.

Another display configuration I changed immediately after the upgrades is to enable the sRGB mode under developer options for a more realistic colour reproduction.

The first thing I did though was to register for the accident protection via Servify.
I also plan to take advantage of the Idea offer (my current network) and the Kindle offer soon.

1. Are you running the stock apps for launcher, SMSes and keyboard?
I turned on SwiftKey and set a DVORAK layout (which I missed on iOS)

2. I'm looking for a nice leather case for the phone, any suggestions?
I'm not a fan of covering up the phone with the hard/soft cases.

3. What's a good way to transfer my photos from iPhone to this device?
I have them all uploaded on flickr but having a local copy would've been nice.

2 ideas:
a. Copy photos from iPhone to PC and from PC to OnePlus. Wonder why you haven't done that already. Less time than you invested in the above query
b. Did you know Swiftkey has a one handed mode? That way the keys are not excessively spaced out on a 5.5" screen. I found the initial key size on the Redmi Note 3 disconcertingly large (compared to the iPhone / Galaxy S3) and hence inaccurate.

PS: I love swiftkey!

[adimicra]

http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi...news-19704.php

Redmi 3S launching in India soon. This seems like a great option to people looking for 5" devices with superb battery life. Also, the Snapdragon 430 chipset seems like a very good alternative to Snapdragon 61* series and the benchmark numbers are simiilar if not slightly better. Also, camera of the Redmi 3S seems to be better than the Redmi Note. I expect the 3GB/32GB version to be priced at 10K which will make it a very good buy. It makes phones like Vivo V3 seem terribly overpriced which has similar specs but a much smaller battery and not as compact as the Redmi.

Must say I am tempted. Looks like it will get 80-90% of the job done at 40% of the price. So, does it make sense to spend 25K to get a slightly better phone?

[mxh]

Originally Posted by adimicra

http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi...news-19704.php

Redmi 3S launching in India soon. This seems like a great option to people looking for 5" devices with superb battery life. Also, the Snapdragon 430 chipset seems like a very good alternative to Snapdragon 61* series and the benchmark numbers are simiilar if not slightly better. Also, camera of the Redmi 3S seems to be better than the Redmi Note. I expect the 3GB/32GB version to be priced at 10K which will make it a very good buy. It makes phones like Vivo V3 seem terribly overpriced which has similar specs but a much smaller battery and not as compact as the Redmi.

Must say I am tempted. Looks like it will get 80-90% of the job done at 40% of the price. So, does it make sense to spend 25K to get a slightly better phone?

The SD 430 processor is really bottom of the barrel. I have the SD 410 in my Redmi 2 and it's barely enough and the 430 is very similar. If I were you I'd go for the mid range SD 600 series which would be much faster. The 25K mobiles are really hard to justify. The camera is the biggest difference. Otherwise the SD 650 performs like the SD 810 from last year. I'm looking for a phone in the mid range 10-15K but can't decide right now. I think I'll wait for a while and see since my phone is working fine for now.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by mxh

The SD 430 processor is really bottom of the barrel. I have the SD 410 in my Redmi 2 and it's barely enough and the 430 is very similar. If I were you I'd go for the mid range SD 600 series which would be much faster. The 25K mobiles are really hard to justify. The camera is the biggest difference. Otherwise the SD 650 performs like the SD 810 from last year. I'm looking for a phone in the mid range 10-15K but can't decide right now. I think I'll wait for a while and see since my phone is working fine for now.

Did you actually check the benchmarks of the SD 430 or just commenting based on your experience with the SD410?
I actually checked a few benchmarks and the performance of the SD430 is similar to the SD 61X series. So, if someone is fine with performance of phones like Moto G4+, he/she should be satisfied with the Redmi 3S as well. The Sd430 has slightly slower CPU cores than the 61X series but has a much better GPU.

Just for a quick reference, Antutu scores
SD 410 ~ 25K
SD 430/SD 61x ~40K.

As you can see, the SD 430 has similar performance to SD 61x and way better than the Sd410.

Some links to check some performance benchmarks below -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfi-uBEK06s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ6soOjfwNs

Now, the SD 65x series is a different beast and way better than the 61x/430.

Ideally, I would like to have a 5" phone similar to Redmi 3S but with the SD 65x series or even the new SD 625 within 12-13K.
But sadly, none are available.

So, Redmi 3S makes lot of sense to me for anyone looking for a compact phone with budget of ~10K.We can have better options in the future but I am not aware of anything coming up with this kind of specs in the near future.

[civic-sense]

I can't just understand the hate for MIUI. Is it because it looks like iOS and Android fans are supposed to hate anything that is remotely linked to Apple? True, MIUI copied iOS, but they copied it well, completely, not in bits and pieces like Samsung and the likes.

MIUI looks beautiful. Even the material design in Android which looks better than earlier iterations look gaudy. The stock android icons are horrible (For one, look at the camera. The phone, The settings). God, they should hire a designer, and stop using developers as UI designers.

[mxh]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Did you actually check the benchmarks of the SD 430 or just commenting based on your experience with the SD410?

It was more of a general statement. Sorry for the confusion. What I meant was that SD 430 is like this generations 400 series processor. 410 was the one available around 1 year ago. It's like you are buying an i3 6th generation rather than i3 4th generation. Both are in the lower category, just with different launch dates. And both would start struggling sooner than the i5 or i7 of their same generation.

Originally Posted by civic-sense

I can't just understand the hate for MIUI. Is it because it looks like iOS and Android fans are supposed to hate anything that is remotely linked to Apple? True, MIUI copied iOS, but they copied it well, completely, not in bits and pieces like Samsung and the likes.
.

The most annoying thing I've experienced in my Redmi 2 is that the software is too buggy and similar settings scattered around all different menus. I also face notification problems wherein some notifications are not delivered till I open the respective apps, even though they have been whitelisted to allow background running. Xiaomi is also rather poor with Android version updates. They promised Lollipop for the redmi 2 but never delivered on it. Even MIUI 8 beta is based on Kitkat! Another issue is that things like Smart Lock with Bluetooth and Google now don't work properly in MIUI. I have replaced the launcher with Google now launcher, but the bugs and memory usage are the major downsides I see in MIUI. The confusing thing for me in the sub 15k range is that all phones seem to have some or the other serious weakness.

[pratyush6]

Guys, I have a two strange problems with my phone. I am currently using a OPX as my daily driver. After the last update 2 weeks back:

(1) I suddenly find that the home button gets pressed on it own, so much so that I have a hard time bringing the app back
(2) Phone turns unresponsive sometimes while paired with bluetooth car audio and I have to physically do a hard reboot

I have thought of resetting the phone but it has its own hassles with the settings and all gone. And downloading apps - which will take me a good day if I am lucky. I am using a tempered glass protector (from a long time, and that does not seem to be the problem). Both problems are pronounced when using the stock launcher, tried using Nova and Google both but they don't go away entirely.

Any ideas?

[naveenroy]

Well, I have used ZenUI, TouchWiz and now MIUI. I initially installed and used Nova on my Mi Max too but have gone back to MIUI. I think it is the best of the Android customizations by any big company! I like it.

Update - the battery life on the Mi Max is just kickass - lasts forever!

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by mxh

It was more of a general statement. Sorry for the confusion. What I meant was that SD 430 is like this generations 400 series processor. 410 was the one available around 1 year ago. It's like you are buying an i3 6th generation rather than i3 4th generation. Both are in the lower category, just with different launch dates. And both would start struggling sooner than the i5 or i7 of their same generation.

Not to prolong the topic but if you look at the SD 652 for example, it is definitely better than the SD 801 or may be the SD808 as well (or comparable).
So, the series might not be the indicator that the performance is sub par.

I have a 1st Gen Moto X which has 2 cores only (powerful though) with Antutu score of only 25K. It seldom lags but I am not happy with battery life, frequent Wifi drops and camera quality (awful). I am not into gaming etc. So, I need to ask the question - do I really need the latest processor? I think not.

Also, for phones costing <15K, I guess the Redmi Note and may be a a very few provides SD65x.. rest all are SD 61x series. My point was that the Sd 430 seems at par with the SD61x series. So, that is not a drawback for the Redmi 3S considering it is likely to be priced under 10K.

I have many friends who use Xiaomi phone as most of them are happy though I do hear complaints about bugs now and then.

On the other hand, I was watching some comparisons between Huawei P9 and Xiaomi Mi5. The Mi5 comfortably beats the P9 in benchmark tests but in real life experience, the P9 seems to be faster. Looks like MIUI is pretty heavy duty stuff. Anyone here has experience with Huawei's EMUI?