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Hello,
First, my mini-review is based on a business type of usage. I don't play games on the phone, I rarely use the camera. What I do need from a smartphone is outstanding battery life, great notification management and great web browsing performance and battery efficiency.
I got my S7 Edge after owning an LG G2 for 2 years. That phone was really incredibile at launch, with 3000mAh space-saving, stacked battery and 75% screen to body ratio, very narrow bezels all-around. Although I could afford them, I skipped the G3 and G4 because I thought they were too big and the Snapdragon 808 and 810 processors were quite bad in my opinion, from many points of view, and battery life actually decreased instead of increasing. The Galaxy S6 lacked the battery life I was looking for. It did cross my mind to import a Galaxy S6 Active from the US (it has a 3500 mAh battery), but until I managed to do this the S7 launched...
What I really like about the S7 Edge:
- The screen is gorgeous
- Screen to body ratio is great, 76% is among the best. This is the first and only 5.5" phone that I can fit in my pants front pocket, it is probably the narrowest 5.5" phone in existence.
- The camera quality and focus speed are truly outstanding. RAW capture is great too (I like post-processing photos in Lightroom).
- The general operating speed of the Exynos 8890 processor (especially after 2 years of Snapdragon 800) is incredible
- Web browsing speed is phenomenal
- Ad blocking support in Samsung's browser is truly welcome, now that the Taboola pseudo-malware took over so many sites.
- SD card support (combined with the processing power) opens up new possibilities of easily post-processing pictures from a professional camera directly inside the phone and not inside a laptop.
- The Gear VR using the phone power is incredibly convenient and money-saving if graphics-heavy 3D games are not your main VR focus.
Now my issues with the S7 Edge:
- Lack of double tap to wake (LG's "Knock On" feature) is killing me. That feature is extremely useful, for example when the phone is in a car's cradle I don't have to struggle to reach the home button to wake up the phone, double tap anywhere on the screen and it's on. This feature would also save the home and power button life (list of phones whose power buttons I managed to destroy: Nexus One, Nexus S, Nexus 4). the lack of "double tap to sleep" can probably easily be solved with a 3rd party launcher so this is not a concern.
- The Always-On screen does not display all missed notifications, only missed calls and SMS messages. You can't use it to notify about missed email messages, not even using Samsung's own email app. Whatsapp and other notifications is out of question too. Hopefully this may change with an update sooner rather than later. Also, the Always-On screen does have a significant impact on battery life, 20% in 24 hours is quite high.
- The notification LED is quite low quality. I am a notifications junkie and use software like Light Flow to set up notifications mainly of different duration patterns. Not only the S7 "RGB" LED can't emulate most RGB colors (the white is actually pink or so, basically it can only do red, green and blue) and it doesn't respect the on/off intervals in milliseconds. But thankfully it is there can can be used, unlike many other manufacturers who chose to omit it and provide some half-assed alternatives instead (Motorola for example: how can I see their active display with a single glance if the phone is 1 meter away from me ?). I have to say the G2's notification LED was just about perfect in all areas.
- My first S7 Edge was delivered with a hardware defect (dropped all calls, overheated), this forced me to go through a lot of pain in replacing it, and even so I had to make compromises on the price when I got my second one since the initial deal was not available anymore.
I would have expected better quality from Samsung.
Neutral points:
- Battery life. It is definitely better than my LG G2 with its worn out battery (which can be easily replaced) but I'm not sure it will last 2 full days as I have hoped. The main reason I chose the S7 Edge over the S7 was the 20% larger battery (3600 vs 3000 mAh). I admit, maybe my expectations were too high.
- Lack of IR blaster and FM radio. I really don't mind these, but I did use the IR blaster from time to time, maybe twice a month or so when the TV remote was not nearby. And the FM radio...I would have used it a whole lot more if some manufacturer found a solution to work with Bluetooth headsets and not require the wired headphones as an antenna. So not a concern, I prefer just not to use it even if available.
Conclusion:
I really like the S7 Edge, but if the LG G5 will prove to offer great battery life without battery removal which I don't want to mess with (although I highly doubt it with a 2800 mAh battery and Snapdragon 820 processor, but who knows, maybe their engineers pulled off a miracle) and its always-on screen will show all notifications and consume less power, I may consider giving my S7 Edge to my fiancee and getting a G5 instead.
So, these are my first impressions with the phone. Thanks for reading
Yeah battery life is disappointing
I have used LG G3 for 2 years then after 1 week of Lg G4 usage found out its battery is thrash ordered myself a 2017 barcoded Samsung G935F.
7.0 Nougat update completed.
Pros:
Good battery endurance.
Does not overheat easily.
Thin and light.
Cons:
Impossible to type while laying in bed or armchair bcs there is no palmguard so you keep pressing home or back button during typing.
Camera isnt better than a g3 or g4 as quality wise.
Fingerprint does not work perfectly.
There is no sound volume slider in drop down menu this sucks as hell.
Most apps and websites are not edge screen compatible so you end up sliding page left or right to read.
Does not have hardware for remote controlling.
Flashlight isnt bright enough.
I am open to suggestions as long as they are meaningful.
fatihso said:
I have used LG G3 for 2 years then after 1 week of Lg G4 usage found out its battery is thrash ordered myself a 2017 barcoded Samsung G935F.
7.0 Nougat update completed.
Pros:
Good battery endurance.
Does not overheat easily.
Thin and light.
Cons:
Impossible to type while laying in bed or armchair bcs there is no palmguard so you keep pressing home or back button during typing.
Camera isnt better than a g3 or g4 as quality wise.
Fingerprint does not work perfectly.
There is no sound volume slider in drop down menu this sucks as hell.
Most apps and websites are not edge screen compatible so you end up sliding page left or right to read.
Does not have hardware for remote controlling.
Flashlight isnt bright enough.
I am open to suggestions as long as they are meaningful.
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Click to collapse
Sorry but post lost credibility if ur trying to say a g3 or g4 camera is better then the S7..(laughing out loud)..I'm not a huge S7 fan either but the camera is lightyears ahead of a g3/4..
Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk
Palmguard-Good case will greatly help.
I found fingerprint sensor to work well as long as I set it up properly.(follow the instructions letter to letter and do not change the angle during setup)
Sound volume slider is always there for me or did I misunderstood you?? carrier firmware??
Not sure what you mean by not edge compatible. Website and apps work the same way as any flat screen with just a little distortion on the edge but doesn't affect any usability since it's still visible and readable.
Flashlight have 5 level of brightness and level 5 are super bright I start to worry it will burn. Maybe you're on level 1.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
electech13 said:
Sorry but post lost credibility if ur trying to say a g3 or g4 camera is better then the S7..(laughing out loud)..I'm not a huge S7 fan either but the camera is lightyears ahead of a g3/4..
Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk
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Thank you. I have recorded (default settings, did not touch anything) my sister and dad next to sofa and with G4 and S7 in a row and then streamed video to UHD TV, both looked same except S7 was zoomed in so I disabled stabilizator in options and streamed again. It was same quality. Lights, colors everything.
NonXtreme said:
Palmguard-Good case will greatly help.
I found fingerprint sensor to work well as long as I set it up properly.(follow the instructions letter to letter and do not change the angle during setup)
Sound volume slider is always there for me or did I misunderstood you?? carrier firmware??
Not sure what you mean by not edge compatible. Website and apps work the same way as any flat screen with just a little distortion on the edge but doesn't affect any usability since it's still visible and readable.
Flashlight have 5 level of brightness and level 5 are super bright I start to worry it will burn. Maybe you're on level 1.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply.
Fingerprint reader is too fast to judge I guess, I had to re-apply adding finger process several times to make it working more properly.
When I surf the web, some websites' texts are starting from the very edge screen (left) so I can't read first letters of comments or titles. Not sure how to fix that or those websites need to fix it. This does not happen in apps like Youtube or Facebook, must be optimized already.
Sound slider it is shown when I use hardware sound buttons but I would love to see it also next to brightness slider when I drag down the top menu like in LG. I am not allowed to post an image url yet.
This model isn't customized by any carrier and more like an international unit. Only samsung apps are pre-installed.
I didn't know there was levels for brightness, I will check it out and thank you for that. Hope that level is auto applied also to Flashlight shortcut when I enable it.
My biggest problem is to be able to use phone while laying in bed, holding phone on air and typing, some of my hand have to touch hardware buttons and its not solved yet.
I think I need a case to have more space for holding phone on air and type properly.
Thank you guys for your comments. I have searched the web and did not find much about these worries so I had to make a thread.
you know nothing john snow
@fatihso
Sorry. Respectfully Disagree with you..
I`m using this device for almost one year. I don`t have these isssues (specially regarding camera). I`m happy with this device.
+ for the volume slider in notifications! I have it on my ipad but I have to press a physical button on my phone.
I think he's not wrong on that camera part. Believe me I love this phone and its camera. I had a 6P and Note 4 before. Even though I was sure the S7 captured much better pics, lately when I compared 6P and S7, I found the 6P doing better at post processing with HDR mode. S7 oversharpens images and it looks quite horrible sometimes, specially portraits.
And about the clarity thing, yeah 12 megapixels vs 16 megapixels. It shows when zoomed in. But overall S7 camera is much better than other smartphones (taking in consideration video, low light, pro mode etc).
I think in daylight the G4 may take better pics cos of higher resolution (visible when viewed on a bigger screen). Not sure because haven't used a G4 before.
G4 pro mode doesn't compare with s7 edge...try take a pic at midnight with G4 In pro mode at 30s and one with s7 edge at 10s..see who takes it better...LG?
Obvious troll is obvious.
I have this phone for over one year now,its a great phone,but I would like to make my observation about the camera quality too:
its a great camera for scenes for sure, but for human faces, from a bit distance, will blow them out of proportion due to its large pixels letting in too much light in bright conditions.
And also I miss the volume control from the drop down menu without pressing the hardware keys.
everything else is great and I love it a lot.
I have s7 edge for a year now.
Your cons are funny
1) It is possible, maybe you have small hands, that thing doesnt happens to me.
2) Camera is ok, comparing it to g3 is...idk it's silly.
3) If you set up 4x fingerprints 2x left 2x right, make sure you swipe it in all directions. Mine works much better than on marshmallow, 99% of the time.
4) In dropdown menu, you have ringtone, media, notifications and system tones. Where is a problem there?
5) I am using UC browser, no problems in web surfing.
6) IC port missing, the only one annoying thing for me, cant use it as a remote control sometimes.
7) You have free edge app where you can adjust level of flashlight.
The biggest problem for me is the battery after one year. It's capacity is much smaller, and SOT isn't as good when I bought it.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
OMG troll kiddie
camera not good LOL
I love the phone but I will admit the camera is no where near as good as my g4.
But I do prefer the s7 edge because it doesn't bootloop. Lol.
Only joking . Apart from the camera the s7 edge is better in every way .
NonXtreme said:
Palmguard-Good case will greatly help.
I found fingerprint sensor to work well as long as I set it up properly.(follow the instructions letter to letter and do not change the angle during setup)
Sound volume slider is always there for me or did I misunderstood you?? carrier firmware??
Not sure what you mean by not edge compatible. Website and apps work the same way as any flat screen with just a little distortion on the edge but doesn't affect any usability since it's still visible and readable.
Flashlight have 5 level of brightness and level 5 are super bright I start to worry it will burn. Maybe you're on level 1.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
On the finger print sensor, I set both thumbs and both index fingers with multiple angles so I can unlock the phone without having to line up my fingers every time. Other than wet or dirty fingers I haven't had any issues at all. I'm even going to set my touch screen bike gloves as a finger print so I can unlock it when I ride too.
Thank you for replies guys,
It's been like 5 days and I am getting used to the phone. I still don't have any case or alike.
I still have problem typing while on bed. It's not going to be solved without a case to stop my hand touching bottom of the phone while typing in air. My hands are big.
Camera, it has a good camera but in my 1st post I mentioned I recorded a video and then streamed it to TV and I didn't see any difference so it was based on that. I didn't see its worse or better, it felt the same output.
I still would love a volume slider in drop down menu without pressing hardware button. Helps alot if your phone is on table and during watching videos/playing games, you won't need to hold phone and press volume button. Also double tap to lock/unlock phone. I tried some apps but they felt like draining battery after giving them administrative permissions to monitor system.
Anyway, thanks again for your comments.
You had it for 5 days. Man you aren't allowed to speak anything, please.... Use Nova Launcher, standard launcher is annoying. There you can use double tap to lock the phone. And for using it in bed, you just don't know how to.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
vojopd said:
And for using it in bed, you just don't know how to.
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Click to collapse
Maybe he should play with something else than his phone in bed to get some experience.
S7 edge has one for the best camera in any smartphone, G3 G4 aren't even near
gabytzubc said:
G4 pro mode doesn't compare with s7 edge...try take a pic at midnight with G4 In pro mode at 30s and one with s7 edge at 10s..see who takes it better...LG
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Click to collapse
The s7 camera is decent but it's clearly optimised for low light with a 1.7 aperture where it is superb.
It's all about compromising and Samsung has probably quite rightly assumed that most folks will snap their sprogs and pets often in less than ideal conditions.
As an enthsiast I have taken some great shots and provided links before but I admit that 12mp on a fixed lens camera may be inadequate if you want to crop or print a little larger. Samsungs own S6 resolves better in good light thanks to 16 mp.
I haven't read up about the S8 camera yet but it uses algorithm to supposedly improve.
That's not enough for me so I see if the Note 8 brings something useful to the table (not just camera wise) to make me upgrade. If not its the next iphone or the S9.
Very happy with the S7 otherwise in every respect.
Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Samsung Galaxy A70, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Samsung Galaxy A70 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Half baked A70, coming from S7 edge
Half baked Samsung A70, coming from Samsung S7 edge.
Pluses
- enormous screen 6.7", while keeping the size of iPhone 6s Plus (car mount still works )
- some apps do use full screen - youtube being primary
- big battery and 2.5 days battery life (with disabled Samsung Max!)
- fast charger
- price, value ($350 USD from amazon for A705MN): mine came with case, preinstalled screen protector, and microSD 128GB
- CPU/GPU performance is very good even in battery saving mode
- more LTE bands support for me (North America, I have A705MN model)
- integrated Samsung Max data compression VPN, to save mobile data
- dual sim
- sdcard slot
- headphone jack
- Dolby Atmos and Adjust Sound equlizer and customization work well for headphones
- speaker sound and volume is very good, not sure where mainstream reviewers were coming from
- camera is pretty good with updated software, you can also use gCam. I like LiveView and Portrait modes for their fake bokeh effect
- face recognition works, unless you r wearing glasses or your skin is not white
- bootloader is unlockable, xda recovery released, root is available, custom ROMs here we come!
Minuses
- not all apps use full screen estate, leaving unused notch and navbar area
- some apps like Waze have navbar in white background (AMOLED burnout issue), despite theme being black
- I tried autohiding navbar (with swipe gestures for home, back, recent), but that was way too awkward, I reset it back to normal navbar
- dark or black OS-wide mode is desperately needed, I tried some themes, they do not customize all the screens in OS, let alone the apps, apps follow their own theming
- there is no notification led, but u can turn on "notification reminders", which will turn on the screen periodically
- "Samsung Max VPN" and "Cell Standby" are biggest battery drainers. Luckily Samsung Max can be disabled. That tremendously improves battery life.
- camera has no stabilization of any kind, so good luck getting unshaking videos, or trying to zoom in for photos, I tried both updated camera and gCam
- phone piece (on top of phone) is kinda weak sounding (not the bottom speaker)
- headphone jack sound quality is average even after applying Dolby Atmos and Adjust sound gimmicks. S7edge (with Exynos CPU and CS DAC) rules the king of HiFi headphone sound.
- fingerprint reader works at first, but then the reader area gets too smudged and it stops recognizing even after 5 long attempts. do not use.
Bottom line:
none of the minuses are killers.
full screen issue with the apps will be fixed by app developers, I'm hoping.
Black mode for OS either going to be released by Samsung, some good theme developer, or I will use CyanogenMod.
Shaking camera is a let down, but if u don't zoom - u will be perfectly fine. Pictures r good otherwise.
Notification led - there r ways around it. Vibration/screen/flash - pick your poison.
Alternatives - take a big long hard look at S9 Plus. It retails for $333 right now. Has smaller screen 6.2, smaller battery, better everything else. Or, wait til Note 9 falls in price, as of right now (refurbished!) Note9 is double the price of A70. Note9 does have 6.4" screen and big battery. Plus that S-Pen which nobody uses, but it is cool nevertheless. If u want save some money - consider A50 - while offering the cost savings, it also offers everything less. The phones and manufacturers who offer no sdcard and no headphone jack should reconsider (Apple, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus, Oppo), if they want to have my attention.
I would not say I love my A70 pocket computer - I prefer to sleep with my wife
I find it very usefull for many reasons and I'll certainly keep it a long time but
- the finger unlock is poor,
- the camera is really... just a kind of bloc note but really not a camera, shame on Samsung for this,
- I hate the apps that are installed and I cannot remove.
@bravomail "- face recognition works, unless you r wearing glasses or your skin is not white"
You have the option to register your face with glasses and then without. Both options are registered.
Posted update to battery life: disable Samsung Max VPN and get 2.5 days of life vs 1.5
4 week of usage and currently on sg6 firmware with may security patch and every Samsung app updated to its latest version along with disabling/Uninstalling Samsung bloatware as much as i could, I still can't get over the fact that fingerprint scanner is not reliable and the camera is a let down.
Coming from Samsung note 4 snapdragon version, I feel like A70 is a step back rather than a step forward.
Yes the screen is amazing, the battery life is solid and sound quality is okayish ( for music using poweramp makes a huge difference) the cpu/gpu performance is better than my note 4 and the one UI and night mode is something I dearly missed.
But the optical fingerprint scanner works at times and that too slowly and then other times completely becomes a baboon.
The camera megapixels are sort off deception. They don't let you choose megapixels for your pictures. Rather it's all hidden under 1:1 3:4h and 9:16 with 3:4h using the full megapixels count.
The absence of ois is noticeable, the sharpness and focus is soft at times. Low light performance is meh. The camera2api is supported uptil level 3 not allowing for full manual control of every aspect.
Zoom in a little and see how the quality detoriates significantly with absence of OIS really messing with picture capturing.
The two biggest issues namely the fingerprint scanner and camera can be improved via software updates, only if Samsung stops messing with it. Just because this isn't note 10 doesn't mean it need to have its quality artificially messed up
I would love it, very bad software updates, only few setting in camera. Anyway for daily driver OK. It is on the border of regreting that i bought it, and satisfaction. For the money I should have chosen different brand.
samsung phones have the worst quality/price ratio. ?
worst camera, touch screen freezing all the time, fingerprint scanner not reading frequently. phone is awkward, fingerprint scanner needs both hands to be used.
Phone dead after 6 months of normal usage. Samsung denies guarantee and claims it "cannot order spare parts", because it was bought in wrong country (replacement for an S7 of which the battery died during travel). Phone repair shop says mainboard is defect.
Symptoms: bootloop first, then
great phone i kept a70 and got rid of my s10 duel sim brand new
I was so excited that my Pixel 4a arrived yesterday, been shopping for a new phone for quite some times. My old phone is HTC U11, which I still love a lot, but it's getting a bit unreliable, and the picture quality is a bit lacking compared with phones these days.
So, my first impressions:
1. It is so small, almost too small! It's good and bad. Screen size on paper is bigger than my U11, but Pixel 4a screen is narrower, so it's taking some times to get used to.
2. The screen color is a little warm (yellowish) to my taste... I hope there will be tweaks in the future to fix that. Also, the brightness of the screen is not as strong as my U11. I need to set it to around 75% even indoor...
3. The Android 10 gesture navigation needs some getting used to as well. I run an app called "All in One Gestures" on the U11, it allows me to launch 3 different apps of choice on both edges of the screen, swiping in at different directions. So, I don't want to use the Android 10 gestures which take up the side edges for "back" function. Anyway, "All in One Gestures" keep crashing on Pixel 4a, I think maybe it needs root access, or it just won't run on Android 10... I found another app that is similar in functionalities that seems to work ok for now, it can run 4 apps (2 on each side, depending on short vs long swipe). So, I still prefer the traditional 3 button navigation.
4. I wish they have in screen fingerprint sensor, or power button fingerprint sensor, I usually have my phone lay down on a table and I want to unlock it.
5. I miss the edge sense on U11 - squeeze to launch cam, squeeze again to take pictures. I am ok to work with double-tab power to launch camera, but then there is no convenient way to take picture (like squeeze), have to press the shutter on screen. (Edit: just found out can use power down button to take picture, seems quite convenient...)
So sounds like a lot of negatives, but after setting it up to my taste, I am starting to like it. Every good things you heard from the Internet are true. Night mode cameras are magic. I weighted camera as an important feature and so I am expecting that the good camera would greatly offset the other negatives I listed.
My only complaint is the screen brightness. Anything less than 80% and stuff just starts dissapearing on the screen. At the lower levels you can't even tell the screen is on. Just going to have to turn adaptive off and set it to 100% brightness full time.
hmm... Comin from a op7pro, the screen brightness to me seems totally fine out of the box really. maybe 10 or so percent higher than what I kept the 7pro on, ~60% instead of ~50% but don't need it maxed or anything crazy. High brightness is a bit less than HBM mode on 7pro but it works, I also like how they alter the screen colors to help visibility when in direct sunlight. The OP devices don't do that.
My 4a screen looks pretty well calibrated, doesn't look too warm or cold at all to me. No tint issues at low brightness.
Audio quality is actually pretty good, especially for such an inexpensive device, I was having flashbacks of nexus devices and no, this 4a is better than those.
Not seen any stutter or lag at all really, maybe 3 times for a split second during all of phone setup/installing ~80 apps.
Camera takes pics fast, no lag on snapping to seeing the pic. Haven't tried with HDR+ but regular HDR for sure is quicker than anything else but other pixels. The camera preview is indeed garbage, not so much in good lighting but especially in dark/night shots, the picture you get looks a million times better than what the preview showed before you took it.
I got my 4a on 20th, Aug.
I don't have enough time, I haven't tried much yet.
But it's very smooth and fast. Good for me.
I found a Bug(?), NFC cannot ON/OFF by pressing NFC icon in QS Panel.
(NFC can be turned ON/OFF by following the setting menu)
a few functions I've confirmed:
aptX music playback with Bluetooth Headset (w/ Shure RMCE-BT2)
LTE Carrier aggregation by "4G+" sign
VoLTE (call and receive)
I will try various things from now on.
First evening of using. I agree with points already mentioned. But the one thing bothering me most I'm noticing is the adaptive brightness constantly jumping around. Anyone else with adaptive brightness issues?
More thoughts after 1st full day of use (work from home due to COVID-19):
1. Battery barely lasted my full day at home. I think my phone usage is less while working from home compared to a"normal" day at work. So a little disappointed, probably need to charge mid day.
2. I love the call screen function, it's so useful, can read what the other party on the line has to say.
I think it's too early to decide/discuss battery life.
At this moment, as you say, it feels like "keep one day".
But I don't think it's right for now.
I think that Currently the "Screen On Time" is longer than in normal(usual) use.
my previous phone (Motorola Moto G5 Plus) was kept for about 3 days with one full charge.
I would like to expect the same for my 4a....
About "Adapitive Brightness"
no problems found. my pixel4a looks like working properly.
andyshinn said:
First evening of using. I agree with points already mentioned. But the one thing bothering me most I'm noticing is the adaptive brightness constantly jumping around. Anyone else with adaptive brightness issues?
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Yes! This has been driving me crazy. I can't always reproduce it but it seems to be the worst in a dimly lit room.
I am loving the phone so far. I was previously using a OnePlus 3T so this is my first new phone in 4 years. It's much snappier than the 3T (obviously) and I'm not having any problems with the apps I've migrated over. The only complaint I have is a lack of a pulsing notification light. I've seen a few alternatives that add a ring around the camera but would prefer to wait for an official app made specifically for the 4a.
Quick question,
I have the pixel 3a XL. I am looking for an overall smaller phone, and do not use the phone for gaming, etc. Am an average user at best, really use the phone more as a phone than a multimedia unit, etc.
on paper, the pixel 4a seems to meet my needs and is an upgrade in ram / memory, etc. I enjoy the simplicity of the pixel experience and appreciate the security update schedule.
I did pre-order and still have two / three weeks before they start shipping in Canada so am tracking feedbacks and issues reported. My intention is not to cancel the order with Google, but.....
Based on first impressions - would anyone see an immediate reason to not go ahead with the purchase ?
thanks in advance,
Sent from my coral using Tapatalk
I gave the battery a good test today. Constant Spotify pass through to bluetooth + constant GPS program running and tracking movement for 7.25 hours. The screen was off for most of this time, though screen-on time was ~40 minutes. Battery was at 50% and 18W car charger then charged it at about 1%/minute. My previous phone, a OnePlus 5, with a slightly larger capacity and running at three-years old, exact same setup running A10 except for a custom kernel that underclocks the CPUs and GPU, was giving me about 35% remaining several weeks in a row under the same usage. So, Pixel 4A was draining at 7%/hr and the OP5 was draining at 9% with an underclocked kernel.
HolyAngel said:
hmm... Comin from a op7pro, the screen brightness to me seems totally fine out of the box really. maybe 10 or so percent higher than what I kept the 7pro on, ~60% instead of ~50% but don't need it maxed or anything crazy. High brightness is a bit less than HBM mode on 7pro but it works, I also like how they alter the screen colors to help visibility when in direct sunlight. The OP devices don't do that.
My 4a screen looks pretty well calibrated, doesn't look too warm or cold at all to me. No tint issues at low brightness.
Audio quality is actually pretty good, especially for such an inexpensive device, I was having flashbacks of nexus devices and no, this 4a is better than those.
Not seen any stutter or lag at all really, maybe 3 times for a split second during all of phone setup/installing ~80 apps.
Camera takes pics fast, no lag on snapping to seeing the pic. Haven't tried with HDR+ but regular HDR for sure is quicker than anything else but other pixels. The camera preview is indeed garbage, not so much in good lighting but especially in dark/night shots, the picture you get looks a million times better than what the preview showed before you took it.
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I have the 7 pro and thought about getting a 4a. Does the 4a feel more like a side step or an actual upgrade? I can't imagine it's faster than the pro, but Google support would be nice.
This is def an upgrade from my Pixel 3a and I loved that phone! I kinda like the smaller form and the display seems as good as or better than previous iterations. For the price point you really cant beat this phone.
I recently bought a op 7t for 400$ on sale. I really like the specs, os, and performance but prefer the headphone jack an smaller size of the 4a. How do you both devices compare in terms of performance and experience overall? I'm worried that the 4a would lag or whatnot due to its processor. What do you guys think?
nickster1 said:
I have the 7 pro and thought about getting a 4a. Does the 4a feel more like a side step or an actual upgrade? I can't imagine it's faster than the pro, but Google support would be nice.
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Compared to the 7pro, the 4a is a downgrade in every way except for maybe the camera. And if the smaller size is a plus to you or not..
I made the switch for development as I'm tired of OP's crap sources and late af updates, in that regard, this phone is totally fine. But in no way does it feel like a side-grade much less an upgrade. It's a downgrade for sure, but you'll be on latest OS updates.. The phone is definitely worth it for the money though, no argument here.
I got a mi9t but it is too heavy and too big for me. Do you think performance and autonomy will be better with the 4a ? I got 8 hours sot with lineage actually..
andyshinn said:
First evening of using. I agree with points already mentioned. But the one thing bothering me most I'm noticing is the adaptive brightness constantly jumping around. Anyone else with adaptive brightness issues?
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i'm having the same issue. adaptive brightness seems to be wonky. hopefully they will have a fix for this.
btw, don't use blokada app! it tracks your data and it borks the keyboard (it bugs out the keyboard)
overall i like it. i'm using this as an extra 'just in case' phone if needed for certain trips or need a better phone than the xs max.
comparing xs max and 4a side by side, clearly the display is better on the xs max (less blue tint, more natural colors), and brighter.
photos are much better on the 4a obviously. i like the smaller form factor. its a no frills phone so i'm content with what it can do and okay with the limitations.
Front camera is a big negative on this phone,the selfies are very very soft even with outstretched arm over 16 inches as said by Google experts,don't know why no one is highlighting this issue,this has been going on from pixel 3a ,the lens is set to infinity focus and it's so wide that face will never be in proper focus unless you use a selfie stick to hold it way further
Delete, please
Hi guys. I bought an A52 4G for myself a few weeks ago and here is my brutally honest review. As you will see, there are some things I wasn't satisfied with but I needed a phone quickly and for my budget and availability, I thought I'd give Samsung a chance.
Pros
1. Lots of QoL services by Samsung like always on display and apps like Gallery by Samsung can be more useful than Photos by Google. I also mapped the double tap power button to start the flashlight.
2. The 720G chipset along with a 90hz display feels plenty powerful especially for those coming from an older midrange device. However, it's not as fast and instantaneous as stock Android or OxygenOS. Also, you will face lots of stutters and bugs if you enable animation to .5x. At default 1x, animations are too damn slow.
3. Stereo speakers. Sound quality is average though. I don't use it much so I don't care.
4. Water resistance. It's nice of Samsung to bring this feature to a midrange device.
5. The macro camera can be useful for taking pictures of very small items like coins. The selfie camera seems alright.
6. The display, despite having kind of inaccurate colors is actually a lot better looking than most Chinese brand (OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Realme, etc) phone displays. Most Chinese brand displays tend to have a washed out, pale look to them despite having high refresh rates.
7. Battery life is pretty decent. If you don't use it much, it'll last a couple days easily. Of course, battery will degrade over time so a few years later, you might need to change the battery or the phone itself.
Cons
1. Sound quality output through the 3.5mm jack is very bad. My previous phone (Moto G5s Plus) had a much better built-in DAC. But at least the jack is there so I guess it's better than nothing but I'd suggest you get a good type-c to 3.5mm converter and use that instead if you're looking for decent audio.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very inaccurate and kind of pale. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Also, the amoled screen can be fatiguing to your eyes. Not everyone faces this but personally I have this problem.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. It would be better if Samsung didn't provide this crappy 15 watt charger and made the phone cheaper so I could buy a 25 watt charger myself. I don't see the logic in this. The phone supports 25 watt charging but Samsung includes a 15 watt charger in the box.
4. The lightly colored matte plastic back looks awesome in the beginning but with some mild use, the colors are already starting to fade and become yellowish. So put a case or skin on it if you wanna preserve that awesome color.
5. The colors and details of the main camera are not very good for an upper midrange device in 2021. I saw some reviews on YouTube with review units provided by Samsung that showed much better camera quality than what I'm getting with my retail unit. Especially after you take a picture, if you zoom in on a person's face for example, the details are just not there. Also, the colors are inaccurate and not life like. Hopefully, someone can make a good GCAM for this phone. Otherwise, expect to live with an average camera.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions. EDIT: Luckily, it stopped doing this.
7. If the bezels were a bit narrower especially the sides and top, it would have quite a flagship killer look. Even the A51 has narrower bezels on the side. But I know Samsung did this on purpose so their more expensive S series phones would look more special than the A series.
8. It's a bit on the heavier side if you compare it to the A51. Putting a case and tempered glass on it will only increase the weight further. I find myself having to put the phone down on a table or bed to use it. I can't hold it in the air for long due to its weight.
Bugs1. "Force dark mode" option in developer settings automatically turns itself off whenever you restart your device.
2. If you set animation to .5x instead of the default 1x, and cycle through your recent apps, there's a weird stutter.
Conclusion
If you can live with Samsung's annoying OneUI stutters or slow animations, this isn't a bad phone especially if you can get it for around $300 USD. I'd call this a good phone for moms/dads and grandmas/grandpas. If you're a young millennial trying to live on the cutting edge, I'd pass on this one and get something that's a little faster, maybe the new Nord CE (it has a more washed out display than the A52 though).
Well! My phone have just arrived. I'm switching from an S7 edge that I've been using for the last 4 years. So far I find that the screen is pretty good! Better than the S7E. The speed is excellent and of course, the ONE UI 3.1 is superb. I've already uninstalled some unwanted apps. As regards the camera, haven't tested it yet. But obviously, the GCAM will make it better.
LanguageSoez said:
Well! My phone have just arrived. I'm switching from an S7 edge that I've been using for the last 4 years. So far I find that the screen is pretty good! Better than the S7E. The speed is excellent and of course, the ONE UI 3.1 is superb. I've already uninstalled some unwanted apps. As regards the camera, haven't tested it yet. But obviously, the GCAM will make it better.
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Of course it'll be better than a 4 year old phone lol. If you think one UI is superb, try using stock android or oxygenos, you will be blown away.
I got A72 and the picture quality coming out from the stabilized Sony IMX 686 sensor with pixel binned 16 MP pictures is superior to Samsung HM2 108 MP giving just 12MP images ... So is A52, I don't believe your "honest review" ....
neoxcool said:
I got A72 and the picture quality coming out from the stabilized Sony IMX 686 sensor with pixel binned 16 MP pictures is superior to Samsung HM2 108 MP giving just 12MP images ... So is A52, I don't believe your "honest review" ....
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A72 is not A52. Specs are one thing, software is another. You don't have to believe anything. As I said in my review, you should experience the phones in person preferably from friends who bought it and then make a decision.
The OP is obviously a satisfied customer
Griping about it being water resistant is really picking at nits. It adds little cost and help to seal out dust, extending the usable service life of the device.
Charging a phone while using isn't a good idea and it should charge slow whilst using regardless of the wattage capacity of the charger brick being used.
NiceGuyIncel said:
Hi guys. I bought an A52 4G for myself a few weeks ago and here is my brutally honest review. As you will see, there are a lot of things I wasn't satisfied with but for my budget and availability, this was one of the better ones.
Pros:
1. Lots of QoL services by Samsung like always on display and apps like Gallery by Samsung can be more useful than Photos by Google. I also mapped the double tap power button to start the flashlight.
2. The 720G chipset along with a 90hz display feels plenty smooth especially for those coming from an older midrange device. It's not as fast and instantaneous as stock android or oxygenos but this is probably the fastest that Samsung OneUI has ever been.
3. Stereo speakers. Quality is average though. I don't use it much so I don't care.
4. Water resistance. It can be useful if you like to take your phone to the bathroom or live in a rainy area but I feel this feature is more suitable for flagship phones. The 4G version of the A52 really don't need this feature and it would be better if the device was slightly cheaper instead.
Cons:
1. Sound quality output through the 3.5mm jack is very bland. My previous phone (Moto G5s Plus) had a much better built-in DAC. But at least the jack is there so I guess it's better than nothing but I'd suggest you get a good type-c to 3.5mm converter and use that instead if you're looking for quality audio.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very boring and washed out. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Hopefully, the xda community will do something about this, maybe a graphics engine or some app that can tinker with the display settings more finely.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. So I really don't know why Samsung pulled an Apple with the charger.
4. The lightly colored matte plastic back looks awesome in the beginning but with some mild use, the colors are already starting to fade and become yellowish. So put a case or skin on it if you wanna preserve that awesome color.
5. The colors and details of the main camera really sucks for an upper midrange device in 2021. I saw some reviews on YouTube with review units provided by Samsung that showed much better camera quality than what I'm getting with my retail unit. Luckily, some people have already started working on gcam for this device and from what I've heard the results are much better than Samsung's default camera app.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions.
7. If the bezels were a bit narrower especially the sides and top, it would have quite a flagship killer look. But I know Samsung did this on purpose so their more expensive S series phones would look more special than the A series.
8. It's a bit on the heavier side if you compare it to the A51. Putting a case and tempered glass on it will only increase the weight further.
9. The amoled screen can be fatiguing to your eyes. Not everyone faces this but personally I have this problem.
Conclusion: That wraps up my brutally honest review of the A52 4G. I hope you enjoyed the fact that I didn't jump up and down and say this is the best phone ever like most YouTube "reviewers". They say that whenever a new phone comes out. Of course the people who are gonna upgrade from a 5 year old phone will also say this is the best phone they ever used. From their perspective, it makes sense but I believe you should thoroughly research the market and only buy what YOU like the most. I was moving to another country where phones are quite expensive so I just grabbed this cause I was in a hurry. If you have the time, research other phones and try to use them in person. That way you will know for sure what you're getting because specs can be misleading. I'd suggest you look into Poco F3, OnePlus Nord, Moto G100, Moto G60 and other similarly priced devices before going for the A52. Don't assume that just because it's a Samsung, it's gonna be a great phone. Samsung intentionally nerfed this phone so there is more incentive for people to go for the more expensive S series phones.
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I appreciate your feedback. I'm certain most of those who are still undecided will as well.
To be frank, this device has received overwhelming amounts of good press, which, as a consumer, is a good thing.
That said, constructive criticism is a key component towards improving upon future A series models and/or polishing the current user experience.
AHE_XDA said:
I appreciate your feedback. I'm certain most of those who are still undecided will as well.
To be frank, this device has received overwhelming amounts of good press, which, as a consumer, is a good thing.
That said, constructive criticism is a key component towards improving upon future A series models and/or polishing the current user experience.
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Paid press is always good press...
The Samsung Fold series always get rave reviews but they're expensive, fragile and limited devices. Worse I'm being kind in my criticism.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions.
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Weird, I have never encountered this.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. So I really don't know why Samsung pulled an Apple with the charger
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I don't mind this at all since it's already proven that fast charging does hurt your battery longevity.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very boring and washed out. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Hopefully, the xda community will do something about this, maybe a graphics engine or some app that can tinker with the display settings more finely.
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Click to collapse
I agree with this, although I prefer it for the occasional media consumption. For general usage, it might lead to some eye strain for some people which includes me.
The build despite plastic is decent enough considering the trade-offs with its other specs at this price point and an IP6X is always welcome. The camera is nothing spectacular but not bad, given that it's harder to quantify the expected degrees of quality per $ at this price range. Performance is fine for the majority of the time but there are occasional stutters or lag you will encounter. Overall, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. It's also worth noting that warranty and software support tend to get overlooked when looking at the price.
I was considering Poco F3 as an alternative before getting my A52 however, I didn't go through with the Poco F3 because of various issues and concerns that I can't be arsed to list.
This phone is on my list to upgrade from my Essential PH-1. Keeping an eye on ROM development and Gcam development. I can get it for around $354 depending on the COP to USD conversion rate in Colombia. Anyone know better deals out in the wild?
NiceGuyIncel said:
Hi guys. I bought an A52 4G for myself a few weeks ago and here is my brutally honest review. As you will see, there are some things I wasn't satisfied with but I needed a phone quickly and for my budget and availability, I thought I'd give Samsung a chance.
Pros
1. Lots of QoL services by Samsung like always on display and apps like Gallery by Samsung can be more useful than Photos by Google. I also mapped the double tap power button to start the flashlight.
2. The 720G chipset along with a 90hz display feels plenty powerful especially for those coming from an older midrange device. However, it's not as fast and instantaneous as stock Android or OxygenOS. Also, you will face lots of stutters and bugs if you enable animation to .5x. At default 1x, animations are too damn slow.
3. Stereo speakers. Sound quality is average though. I don't use it much so I don't care.
4. Water resistance. It's nice of Samsung to bring this feature to a midrange device.
5. The macro camera can be useful for taking pictures of very small items like coins. The selfie camera seems alright.
6. The display, despite having kind of inaccurate colors is actually a lot better looking than most Chinese brand (OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Realme, etc) phone displays. Most Chinese brand displays tend to have a washed out, pale look to them despite having high refresh rates.
7. Battery life is pretty decent. If you don't use it much, it'll last a couple days easily. Of course, battery will degrade over time so a few years later, you might need to change the battery or the phone itself.
Cons
1. Sound quality output through the 3.5mm jack is very bad. My previous phone (Moto G5s Plus) had a much better built-in DAC. But at least the jack is there so I guess it's better than nothing but I'd suggest you get a good type-c to 3.5mm converter and use that instead if you're looking for decent audio.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very inaccurate and kind of pale. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Also, the amoled screen can be fatiguing to your eyes. Not everyone faces this but personally I have this problem.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. It would be better if Samsung didn't provide this crappy 15 watt charger and made the phone cheaper so I could buy a 25 watt charger myself. I don't see the logic in this. The phone supports 25 watt charging but Samsung includes a 15 watt charger in the box.
4. The lightly colored matte plastic back looks awesome in the beginning but with some mild use, the colors are already starting to fade and become yellowish. So put a case or skin on it if you wanna preserve that awesome color.
5. The colors and details of the main camera are not very good for an upper midrange device in 2021. I saw some reviews on YouTube with review units provided by Samsung that showed much better camera quality than what I'm getting with my retail unit. Especially after you take a picture, if you zoom in on a person's face for example, the details are just not there. Also, the colors are inaccurate and not life like. Hopefully, someone can make a good GCAM for this phone. Otherwise, expect to live with an average camera.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions. EDIT: Luckily, it stopped doing this.
7. If the bezels were a bit narrower especially the sides and top, it would have quite a flagship killer look. Even the A51 has narrower bezels on the side. But I know Samsung did this on purpose so their more expensive S series phones would look more special than the A series.
8. It's a bit on the heavier side if you compare it to the A51. Putting a case and tempered glass on it will only increase the weight further. I find myself having to put the phone down on a table or bed to use it. I can't hold it in the air for long due to its weight.
Bugs1. "Force dark mode" option in developer settings automatically turns itself off whenever you restart your device.
2. If you set animation to .5x instead of the default 1x, and cycle through your recent apps, there's a weird stutter.
Conclusion
If you can live with Samsung's annoying OneUI stutters or slow animations, this isn't a bad phone especially if you can get it for around $300 USD. I'd call this a good phone for moms/dads and grandmas/grandpas. If you're a young millennial trying to live on the cutting edge, I'd pass on this one and get something that's a little faster, maybe the new Nord CE (it has a more washed out display than the A52 though).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I will answer this from the perspective of an Indian Millenial coming from Mi A2 (and having only used crappy Micromax and Redmi phones in the past, this is something which I think most Indian youth can relate to). Let's go point by point :
1. UI
Having used stock android and MIUI, I can confidently say that OneUI is definitely a bit clumsy, but it is easy to get used to compared to FuncTouch and MIUI. Also, *there is no Google dialer*, meaning you can safely do call recording. Also OneUI has "Link to Windows" baked right into it, which is a huge boon in my opinion as it kinda compensates for the lack of DeX support, I think this is one of the most underrated feature of Samsung phones.
2. Ads and Bloatware scene
Now this maybe specific to India only. I set the device up using GeekyRanjit's guide on "How to setup Samssung devices" on YT, and so far (1 month later) I have got no ads except wallpaper services message when I swipe from right on lock screen. Also, all bloatware can be either disabled or uninstalled (unlike MIUI and ColourOS), so no problem there. Overall it is much much better than Redmi, Poco and Realme offerings. Though here Oneplus NORD maybe better.
3. Camera
TBH I bought this phone for the camera, and consider the competition it did not let me down, sure there is a bit of over sharpening going on in most images and indoor/low light photos and videos have a ton of noise but considering the competition in 15k-25k INR, it is definitely better. I use Gcam 7.3.018 by Urynx05, and it does improve video stabilisation a lot thanks to OIS (only Oneplus NORD has OIS in this price). For night mode, stock night mode is better than night sight (much brighter and well balanced). Daylight pics, it is a mixed bag, macro camera is good but could have been better,but considering how rarely it is used, it is fine.
4. Display
Most Indian milllenials like me are currently upgrading from LCD to Amoled. I having never used an Amoled, am satisfied with the display. But yeah you are right Amoled displays do cause more eye fatigue than LCD.
5. Availability and Customer support
This is where this phone shines! Here in India, this phone is available like everywhere, in most mobile shop in any market no matter, how small or rural the area, this unfortunately is not the case for OnePlus and Redmi, POCO (infamous for flash sales and black-marketing)etc., thus Galaxy A52's actual competitors are phones from Vivo and Oppo, which are usually more pricey. Also, Samsung customer services is next to Apple.
Set your priorities before buying a phone and you won't be disappointed, my suggestion, if you want good camera hardware and reliable phone go for it, but if you want to do gaming I would suggest you to look elsewhere say iQOO Z3 for 20k INR.
I am trying to get either this phone or s10? I was leaning more towards a52 since it could get up to android 14 opposed to 12 on s10.
Which one should i get?