4G Android phone megathread

[LondonSox]

So I was all set to go with the LG G3 given that everyone is being absolutely useless with the Nexus 6 and I'm a bit worried about the size, the price, and the good but not great reviews.
 
Then I see the LG flex 2 is coming out at the end of January on my carrier, I'm interested because it seems to be the first 64 bit phone (810 snapdragon), and the downgraded the screen from the G3, which everything I read says yeah it's great but it's not that much better than normal HD and has battery impacts etc.
It also ships with preloaded lollipop, which is good because here the G3 has updated to it yet at all, because this country sucks.
 
Also it has a micro slot that takes up to.... 2TB ... which is crazy
 
So it seems like a slightly smaller, slightly worse screened curved G3, with better software and hardware. Same camera etc. Anyone have any opinions on this bad boy?

 

[jercra]

What's the appeal of a 64 bit chip right now?  How many apps are going to actually be able take advantage of that?  Is the curved screen something you're interested in?  I've never held one so I have no idea if there's a benefit to it.  Does it fit in normal car docks and such or do you need to buy everything new?  Micro SD slot is nice I guess but I don't really understand the need to store more than 32 GB locally (or even more than 8 really).
 
Lollipop is cool and all but how much longer can we reasonably expect to wait for it in the US on the G3?  It's all over Europe already.  It's probably just a matter of weeks before it's here.
 
So basically, if the curved screen is something you want and you don't mind the decreased clarity of such a screen, and the price is the same then go for  the upgraded HW but I wouldn't do it just for the upgraded HW and newer OS.  The HW on the existing G3 is still very good, even this far after release.

 

[teddykgb]

I just don't understand why you don't pick up a Nexus.  If you're worried about OS updates and the like, there's basically one way to guarantee that it won't be a problem.  Your life will be much simpler.

 

[LondonSox]

I haven't done a nexus because they're being released in dog years here. No store has one in it yet and I want to see how big it really is.
I'm not sure about the phablet size, the LG is a near phablet screen but not much bigger than my galaxy.

I've been waiting for over a month since they went on sale to try one in my hand and.... Still nothing and my current phone has been annoying for a while.

You make good points RE the curve etc. I don't need new anything though.

 

[Monbo Jumbo]

ProClips now has car mounts for Nexus 6 available. 
 
edit - oops - it says 'pre-order.'

 

[smastroyin]

I understand that around here in patriots land this is verboten, but fuck the NFL and fuck Verizon wireless for their stupid resource and data hog app from hell that can't be uninstalled from a Verizon phone without rooting.

You can complain about the shitty apple u2 thing but this is ten times worse.

On a more general note, I have already fallen into hate with my g3 which has terrible battery life, overheats, and ends up with shit Response times and for instance will go into a touchscreen freeze in the middle of calls (so I can't hang up). I think they have wild variances in build quality and weren't expecting to sell so many. Or maybe again it's fucking vzw. My friend on Sprint has much fewer issues. Going to try a third party launcher after I factory reset and if that doesn't do it I'm dropping it in the ocean and using insurance. Of course, I'd prefer a different phone, so that might not be the right thing to do either.

 

[LondonSox]

Yup I was just coming to say that because of other issues I am returning my g3

I like it but....
The battery life is bad and it needs rebooting to stop it chugging and with noticeable slowdown and lag. After a reboot its ok.

I love the case and the circle apps but... Nothing is supported.how is Spotify not an option for example.

The screen is pretty. But pointless. And the battery life just isn't good enough because of it.

The screen size relative to phone size rules.

I may try the flex 2 which has better processors and a good but not ultra hd screen. So that may fix my two main issues.

If I go back to the us then the Verizon turbo thingy seems good.

The charge is slow too. as it's a big battery with no fast charge. Wireless is nice but fussy. It wouldn't work with any other charger bar the official lg one. Plus the cover isn't ideal on the wireless charger as it flops around.

Anyway not sure why it gets such amazing press and reviews. Has issues.

 

[SumnerH]

The charge is slow too. as it's a big battery with no fast charge.

 
The G3 battery life sucks compared to the G2 by all accounts, but it has fast charge.  You should be able to fully charge it in under 2 hours.  Phonearena.com has it as the #4 fastest-charging phone (the G2 Pro is #2).

 

[smastroyin]

It will only charge at full speed with about 30% of third party chargers though,at least in my experience. For instance my hotel has usb plugs in the outlets but the phone will only charge right if I have its own plug in the normal outlet. And it won't charge connected to my laptop. Etc. Etc.

 

[timlinin8th]

And it won't charge connected to my laptop. Etc. Etc.

Really? That's weird, I have a g3 and it charges off my laptop no problem. I let it charge while transferring music around.

*Edit to note: mine is vzw as well*

 

[LondonSox]

That fast charge with lg chargers makes sense. I have old Samsung and blackberry and its slow but it's not always slow. Also fits with the wireless charger only working with lg charger.

 

[Marceline]

If you look at the specs on those old chargers you can get an idea of how fast it should charge. Most of the older chargers are 1A. Newer chargers tend to be 2A and thus charge twice as fast. If you look at the output specs on the casing of the charger it should tell you.

USB 2.0 ports on a laptop deliver only 500mA, so if you have one of those, it'll charge either not at all or extremely slowly. USB 3 should be somewhat better but I don't recall offhand how much you can get off it or if the extra output even works without having the odd shaped connector.

So in short make sure you're using a charger with at least 2 amps output if your phone supports fast charging.

 

[charlieoscar]

The charger that comes with the LG G3 is labeled as a Travel Adapter and has a detachable USB cable. It is rated at 5V-1.8A.

 

[smastroyin]

Yeah I understand these things, the point is that in order to support the largely pointless screen resolution, the phone is less useful/universal than other phones on the market.
 
Point is, this phone is performing, two months in, like phones usually do after I have had them for a couple of years - in terms of lag and battery life.  I did a factory reset this weekend and will try to track down if there are rogue apps, but analysis of CPU and battery usage didn't show anything.  The battery does seem to heat up easily, I'm suspicious of a charging circuit defect, which then sets off all of the built in performance restrictions that are there to shut the phone down before the battery explodes from heat.  But, if I talk to a Verizon person with this exact conversation, they tell me I'm stuck with it until it actually breaks and becomes completely unusable, even with the insurance.  And of course insurance only sends me a refurbished piece of shit anyway and I have to re-use my own battery.  
 
Basically the entire cell phone industry can eat a bowl of dicks.

 

[jayhoz]

If you look at the specs on those old chargers you can get an idea of how fast it should charge. Most of the older chargers are 1A. Newer chargers tend to be 2A and thus charge twice as fast. If you look at the output specs on the casing of the charger it should tell you.

USB 2.0 ports on a laptop deliver only 500mA, so if you have one of those, it'll charge either not at all or extremely slowly. USB 3 should be somewhat better but I don't recall offhand how much you can get off it or if the extra output even works without having the odd shaped connector.

So in short make sure you're using a charger with at least 2 amps output if your phone supports fast charging.

 
It will only charge twice as fast if the device can take a full 2 amps.  I am not aware of any phones that can at the moment.  Most are in the 1 - 1.4 amp range.
 
If you buy a third party charger, just make sure that the total output is at least as much as the original charger and you should be in good shape.
 
If your phone is Quickcharge 2.0 equipped, then you will need a Quickcharge 2.0 charger.
 
The LG G3 from Verizon does not support Quickcharge 2.0.  I asked and tested my LGG3 at the Qualcomm booth at CES.

 

[Marceline]

 
It will only charge twice as fast if the device can take a full 2 amps.  I am not aware of any phones that can at the moment.  Most are in the 1 - 1.4 amp range.
 
If you buy a third party charger, just make sure that the total output is at least as much as the original charger and you should be in good shape.
 
If your phone is Quickcharge 2.0 equipped, then you will need a Quickcharge 2.0 charger.
 
The LG G3 from Verizon does not support Quickcharge 2.0.  I asked and tested my LGG3 at the Qualcomm booth at CES.

 
I have a Galaxy Note 3, and with a 2A charger, it will charge at 1800mA, so it makes a significant difference.

 

[jayhoz]

 
I have a Galaxy Note 3, and with a 2A charger, it will charge at 1800mA, so it makes a significant difference.

 
I'm sure it does on your phone.  It won't make a lick of difference if the phone's limit is less than 2A.

 

[jercra]

Is it possible it's the different radios in VZW vs GSM in ATT/T-Mobile.  I've seriously had none of these issues.  I've got nearly 13 hours on battery including phone calls, music streaming and lots of SoSH browsing and I've still got 51% battery.  The battery has also never been hot for me.  With both of my last phones on VZW (Moto X and HTC One M7) my phone would get very hot and once that happened the battery would die a fast death.  I know it's a single data point and anecdotal, I'm just surprised to see all the hate.

 

[smastroyin]

I guess now we'll see if lollipop will help... And I guess if vzw will be rolling lollipop

 

[LondonSox]

Yeah I understand these things, the point is that in order to support the largely pointless screen resolution, the phone is less useful/universal than other phones on the market.
 
Point is, this phone is performing, two months in, like phones usually do after I have had them for a couple of years - in terms of lag and battery life.  I did a factory reset this weekend and will try to track down if there are rogue apps, but analysis of CPU and battery usage didn't show anything.  The battery does seem to heat up easily, I'm suspicious of a charging circuit defect, which then sets off all of the built in performance restrictions that are there to shut the phone down before the battery explodes from heat.  But, if I talk to a Verizon person with this exact conversation, they tell me I'm stuck with it until it actually breaks and becomes completely unusable, even with the insurance.  And of course insurance only sends me a refurbished piece of shit anyway and I have to re-use my own battery.  
 
Basically the entire cell phone industry can eat a bowl of dicks.

 
Mine gets noticeably hot for relatively low load stuff too. They all do, but this brand new super clean phone I'm not adding lots of crap too.
 
I really don't get the prioritization of a screen better than the human eye can detect over having a phone that can do what you want and need it to all day every day without melting itself, your leg or dying. I don't want to have to constantly fuck with bluetooth, wifi etc on and off. I want it work ALL DAY

 

[Monbo Jumbo]

I've been researching new phones and changing carriers from Sprint. Trying to compare the options - bring your own phone vs 2 year contracts is difficult as carrier websites makes comparisons difficult.
 
But here's where I'm at now - leaning Nexus 6, waiting on proclips to start shipping car mounts before I order one.
 
I do qualify for a corp discount, and so I got a customer rep on ATT Premier chat to give me the numbers.
 
If you bring your own phone and your plan is more than 10 gb, the savings is $25 a month. But under 10gb and it's $15. I'm looking at a 3gb plan.  ATT quoted me @$71 for that plan with a 2 year contract if I buy their phone, or @$56 with no contract if I bring my own. Those prices don't include fees and taxes.
 
The Nexus 6 is $650 on google play.  So the math is (15x24)+the 250 for a phone from ATT, or 650 from google play. Bottom line, it's $40 more to bring my own phone - but then I get an unlocked phone without the bloatware which seems worth it.
 
I am having sticker shock at the total capital outlay I'm looking at upfront - $650 for a phone, $99 for 2 yrs squaretrade insurance, $60 for a car mount - plus I'm sure taxes and shipping on some of this crap - Yikes!!
 
But it looks like it makes sense, and the smaller new phone bill will be nice.
 
Any input or suggestions welcome - and feedback from Nexus 6 owners encouraged.  

 

[PortlandSoxFan]

I have a Nexus 6 and am very happy with it.  The phone fits (barely) in the same adjustable ProClips mount I've had for several years.
 
I have the phone on Net10, and pay $43/month including fees for 'Unlimited' data that is capped at 3 gig then slows down.  Never an issue with me going over data.  This is on the AT&T network.  If you only have one phone, you're price will be about $5 more than that; there is a discount for going on auto-refill ($5) and then another $5 off if you have multiple lines on your account (I have 3; so 3 phones with unlimited talk/text and 3 gig LTE is costing me $129/month).

 

[jayhoz]

I've been experiencing a weird bluetooth issue lately.  With my phone paired with either the BT adapter in my car or with BT headphones my streaming music comes through the phone speakers.  If I go into the settings of the BT device and uncheck "Call Audio" then the sound immediately comes from the BT device.  Pairing/Unpairing, rebooting, etc. does not fix the problem.  I was able to fix the issue once be going into application manager and clearing the data on the "Phone" app, but that has not solved the issue since.
 
Any thoughts?

 

[wibi]

What phones are being released in the next few months on ATT? 
 
Both my wife and I are up for new phones at this point but have no clue what to get.  She's using a Galaxy S4 and loved it until this latest OTA just screwed a ton of functional things up.  I've got the HTC One M7 and love it also but its starting to show wear and tear.  I'm grandfathered in to an unlimited ATT data plan so my options might be more limited versus the Next program they are pushing like crazy now.

 

[Monbo Jumbo]

HTC's new One M9 is close. The phone may have 2 of 3 different size iterations. 

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

OK, I'm due for an upgrade (Verizon). I've been in the Galaxy Note 2 for the last two years and I'm in what my eye doctor describes as "in my 6th decade", which is a shitty thing to say to a 50 year old. Regardless, I've come to enjoy the big screen as my eyesight doesn't play in the Ted Williams 20/10 sandbox. 
 
I'm initially thinking of either of the two iphone 6's or the GN4, so I swung by to look at them today. Leaning toward the GN4, but I have a questions. 
 
Is it practical to get a smaller device to use as the main device and phone, like maybe the S5 or iphone5, and still keep the GN2 to use as the phablet when I'm hooked up to wifi. Does anyone use two devices like this?
 
Also, is the GN2 going to be a supported device over the next two years where its wifi use will resemble what I have today. I'd hate to get a smaller smartphone for partial use and then find out its my main device for a year or so. I'm mainly on the GN2 to surf the web, etc., don't use the top of the mark features(s pen, split screen) that often, just like the big screen when I'm on the web.

 

[Rsox4life]

I also love the note [I have the 3] is there a reason you don't want the note 4?

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

No. Just thinking about having a smaller unit for calls, etc..

 

[Foulkey Reese]

Check out the Droid Turbo Paul. Close to stock Android with ridiculously good battery life.
 
If you were thinking a non phablet phone, that would be my choice over the S5 or iPhone 6.

 

[Traut]

How bad has google screwed the pooch with Lollipop? Still no date for my 2nd gen Moto X which was supposed to get 5.0 within a month of release. They're going to announce M in June.

This is one area that Apple has it all over Android.

 

[jayhoz]

It's much more the carriers fault than Google's.  I guess you could say it's Google's fault for not having more influence on the carriers, but it's the carriers who decide when they have the time to add their bloat and marketing to the OS and when they push the updates.
 
Improving the handsets of people no longer on contract is not very high on the priority list for the carriers.
 
If you want the newest OS when it launches, you have to go Nexus.  My ancient Nexus 10 is rocking 5.0 while my less than 6 month old LG G3 is not.

 

[Blacken]

The Xperia Z3 Compact is the best phone on the market. Not best Android phone, but phone.

I lost my Moto X in a cab and bought an iPhone 6. Then I realized I would never properly use this thing because my hands are not the size of entire Midwest states. Took it back, got a Z3C on the recommendation of a friend, and it's fantastic. The build quality and design aesthetic are great--it takes some cues from the iPhone 4, which is a compliment because it's still the only phone I've actually liked holding aside from the Z3C itself--and the not-quite-stock OS is close enough to be fine.

Having a real (focus-stop) camera button is great, too.

And it's bright orange. My Nexus 5 was bright red. Bright-colored phones are the shit.

 

[Blacken]

And, personally, I wouldn't want Android 5.0 on my own devices. I think it's the first big step backwards since 4.0 came out and a huge step back from 4.4 in aesthetic, usability, and performance.

 

[teddykgb]

And, personally, I wouldn't want Android 5.0 on my own devices. I think it's the first big step backwards since 4.0 came out and a huge step back from 4.4 in aesthetic, usability

 
Why on these two points? I think it's a gigantic leap forward on both of those.  Where material design is adopted, there's a cohesion to the apps that makes them far more intuitive IMO.  They managed to add color but not go completely flat, like Microsoft and even Apple have done.  I use it daily on a Nexus 10 and think it's far better than Kit Kit, which I find consistently dark and disjointed.

 

[Blacken]

Well, since you asked: I think Material is a fuck-ugly trainwreck with poor affordances (anti-skeumorphic, "flat" design is cancerously bad) and, compared to Holo, much worse instant-recognition of features in conformant applications. I think the move to combinations of gestures ("swipe down twice to get at settings") are Apple-esque, which is not a compliment. The one unambiguous interaction with a capacitive touchscreen is the tap; use it.

It's tolerable, if stupid, on my Nexus 10, but I find myself having to think about the OS and that should never happen. I would have scaled my Nexus 5 across the room if I had to use it on a regular basis with Android 5.0.

 

[PortlandSoxFan]

I like Lollipop; used it on my N5 for a month or so and now on the N6.  I've been nothing but Android since Verizon's first Droid.
 
The only thing I dislike is the app switcher; it really sucks that it stores every app you've ever opened on there until you take a few minutes to swipe a shitload of them away.
 
And Traut; if you want the latest updates, Nexus is the way to go.  

 

[FL4WL3SS]

I like Lollipop; used it on my N5 for a month or so and now on the N6.  I've been nothing but Android since Verizon's first Droid.
 
The only thing I dislike is the app switcher; it really sucks that it stores every app you've ever opened on there until you take a few minutes to swipe a shitload of them away.
 
And Traut; if you want the latest updates, Nexus is the way to go.  

The silver lining to the app switching is that the OS seems to do a fantastic job of resource management. So even though those apps are cached, they don't seem to be chewing on memory or battery.

 

[sonsoftrotnixon]

Anyone have experience with the new Moto-X?  I have the original and have enjoyed it but suddenly I can't get through a work day without charging it. 

 

[milfordsoxfan]

Anyone have experience with the new Moto-X?  I have the original and have enjoyed it but suddenly I can't get through a work day without charging it. 

 
I have the original Moto-X, but I've been experiencing similar battery life issues lately, and as near as I can tell, nothing new has been installed/is sucking battery at an unusual rate.  I got it on launch, so it must just be the battery aging.  I don't think there's much I can do about it, and the battery wasn't the phone's strong suit to begin with.
 
I'd also be curious to hear from anyone who has the new Moto-X.

 

[Monbo Jumbo]

Can we talk about batteries?
 
I mean - cell phones are getting to the mature stage where one doesn't need the latest every 2 years. There's no reason these can't last a lot longer.  Is it possible to get batteries replaced by a service tech - seeing as almost all phones now have non-removable batteries.

It seems insane to buy a new $600+ phone every 24 months because the $40 battery craps out.

 

[charlieoscar]

I bought the LG G3 because it had a replaceable battery...as well as allowing one to use an SD card.

 

[SumnerH]

Can we talk about batteries?
 
I mean - cell phones are getting to the mature stage where one doesn't need the latest every 2 years. There's no reason these can't last a lot longer.  Is it possible to get batteries replaced by a service tech - seeing as almost all phones now have non-removable batteries.

It seems insane to buy a new $600+ phone every 24 months because the $40 battery craps out.

 
Yes, you can get service folks to replace the batteries.  
 
You can also do it yourself if you're moderately handy; youtube vids show how (I replaced the screen on my phone last year for $70 using a youtube vid, and some patience; it had fallen 20 feet betway the jetway and an airplane onto the tarmac and cracked, and now looks good as new).  It'll void the warranty, but that's probably already over on a 2 year old phone.

 

[Monbo Jumbo]

 
Yes, you can get service folks to replace the batteries.  
 
You can also do it yourself if you're moderately handy; youtube vids show how (I replaced the screen on my phone last year for $70 using a youtube vid, and some patience; it had fallen 20 feet betway the jetway and an airplane onto the tarmac and cracked, and now looks good as new).  It'll void the warranty, but that's probably already over on a 2 year old phone.

 
 
thanks
 
As to option two - I tried that with my HTC 4G LTE - followed the youtube vid - the new battery didn't work, and I managed to break the front camera in the process - lol.  So there will be no more self repair here. (also managed to screw up the rocker switch, but Sprint fixed that)

 

[jayhoz]

I bought the LG G3 because it had a replaceable battery...as well as allowing one to use an SD card.

 Ditto

 

[EddieYost]

 Ditto

 Me three.  Hopefully more phones go back to that (replaceable batteries, SD card slot). 

 

[Traut]

Having owned the GS2 and GS4, I don't see how replaceable batteries matter. On each phone, when the battery started sucking, I replaced it with a new battery. The new battery gave me a temporary bump in battery life and then started sucking weeks later. I can't help but think these phones are programmed to suck after 18 months.

 

[Monbo Jumbo]

Having owned the GS2 and GS4, I don't see how replaceable batteries matter. On each phone, when the battery started sucking, I replaced it with a new battery. The new battery gave me a temporary bump in battery life and then started sucking weeks later. I can't help but think these phones are programmed to suck after 18 months.

I wonder if the new batteries were manufactured at the same time three phone was, and are already going downhill.

 

[jayhoz]

Having owned the GS2 and GS4, I don't see how replaceable batteries matter. On each phone, when the battery started sucking, I replaced it with a new battery. The new battery gave me a temporary bump in battery life and then started sucking weeks later. I can't help but think these phones are programmed to suck after 18 months.

The vast majority of replacement batteries on Amazon or Ebay are expired and or fake. That is usually what causes the lack of performance.

 

[Traut]

I bought them directly from Samsung.

 

[Couperin47]

The vast majority of replacement batteries on Amazon or Ebay are expired and or fake. That is usually what causes the lack of performance.

 
As far as I can tell, all the major cell phone makers insist on a slightly different formfactor for the battery in each new model, a production run gets done and since the batteries are assumed to be non-replaceable, there is no incentive for the battery maker to continue to make, stock or supply the battery after production of the phone ceases. In theory these lithium batteries should not deteriorate too fast, but that assumes reasonable storage/handling and the sources for replacements all, in the end, originate from Chinese dealers. I acquired replacement batteries for my last two Motorola phones, reasonably certain they were not 'fakes' as there's little incentive to produce fakes for such a small demand. In both cases it was clear the replacements were made during the initial production run of the phone.  It is true there is a huge market in fake laptop batteries, which are replaceable, cost a lot more and people want. As an example: more than 2/3 of the replacement laptop batteries for Lenovo laptops (Thinkpads or otherwise) are the right size/formfactor but do not include the required proprietary logic chips and simply will not work with any Lenovo laptop made in the past 5 years.