The Essential Phone now $499

[Lazy8s]

Originally Posted by lviz

I've been using Garmin watches with Samsung phones for some years now. The Garmin app is not a battery drain and doesn't use much data in day-to-day use. This should be true for Essential also, unless there are bluetooth issues in it. The Garmin app has evolved quite a lot and is pretty good these days. It used to be pretty poor back in the early Vivoactive days.

One thing to consider is your use of a smartwatch. The Garmins don't do as much as proper smartwatches, but you get notifications from the phone, can do some music control etc, and the training tools of your chosen model. You also get significantly better battery life. The original Vivoactive needed charging perhaps once a week in my use, my current 935 goes 1.5 to 2 weeks on a single charge in mixed use. There are Android Wear devices that have wider app support than what Garmin's devices offer, but you lose the battery life etc.

Thanks lviz - I don't have any particular make or model in mind yet, but I've heard lots of good feedback on both Garmin and Samsung watches. The bells and whistles are nice to have, but I'm primarily interested in time/approximate calorie burn and HR. The HR doesn't need to be accurate to the beat, which is good because I just don't want to wear a chest strap.

I'm still undecided on the phone too. I loath the thought of spending on another iphone, but I lose a couple hundred dollars in iOS only apps if I don't. At this point my 6+ is still stubbornly chugging along, so I'm thinking Christmas sales now. We'll see ...but an Android device is almost a sure thing at this point. iOS 11 turned me off of Apple that badly.

[Razeus]

New photo software update.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbrea...era-app-update

Essential has rolled out yet another update to its camera app that adds new features and promises to help alleviate some of the photo issues seen with the Essential Phone. Notably, the update brings a new background-blurring portrait mode like those found on the Pixel 2 and iPhone X, among others. It also fixes some stability issues while improving image quality by reducing JPEG compression and adding exposure compensation to more camera modes.

[Elysian]

Yeah I saw that download this morning, I'll give it a whirl.

I'm really hoping the Oreo update helps fix a lot of this too. The slowness of taking a picture is one of the worst on a smartphone I've owned in a long time.

[curio]

What is this 2012? Sorry but Android is now very much up to par with iOS - even exceeding it in most areas now. From apps to 'it just works', there's really not much about iOS that's better any more. I have to fiddle with my wife's 6s Plus far more than I do my S8+. Hell the only way I can get her 6s+ to work most of the time is by having constant beta OS versions.

[curio]

Originally Posted by Elysian

I think a lot of that was related to the storage speed. The Essential Phone is UFS 2.1, which has a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 1200MB/s, it's been pretty good to me. Just ran Androbench to see what the storage speeds are like, screenshot:



I think that's not too shabby.

btw for comparison

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by curio

btw for comparison

Wonder why my SQLite stuff is so much slower, interesting. Everything else is pretty comparable.

[GTwannabe]

Originally Posted by curio

What is this 2012? Sorry but Android is now very much up to par with iOS - even exceeding it in most areas now. From apps to 'it just works', there's really not much about iOS that's better any more. I have to fiddle with my wife's 6s Plus far more than I do my S8+. Hell the only way I can get her 6s+ to work most of the time is by having constant beta OS versions.

Android's real problem is fragmentation. Everyone gushes about Samsung phones but even something like a Galaxy S8 is 14 months out-of-date on the OS.

Google needs to lock down Android at a core level. Allow partners to add their own default skins/launchers but always have stock Android as a fallback.

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by GTwannabe

Android's real problem is fragmentation. Everyone gushes about Samsung phones but even something like a Galaxy S8 is 14 months out-of-date on the OS.

Google needs to lock down Android at a core level. Allow partners to add their own default skins/launchers but always have stock Android as a fallback.

I can't figure out where this "problem" manifests itself. My phone is one version behind, and it's great. Oreo is around the corner, but what am I really missing? Considering this is the "biggest" problem, surely it would have hindered adoption rate by now?

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by curio

What is this 2012? Sorry but Android is now very much up to par with iOS - even exceeding it in most areas now. From apps to 'it just works', there's really not much about iOS that's better any more. I have to fiddle with my wife's 6s Plus far more than I do my S8+. Hell the only way I can get her 6s+ to work most of the time is by having constant beta OS versions.

Same, I kept my iPhone on the beta build all the time.

[Lazy8s]

Originally Posted by curio

What is this 2012? Sorry but Android is now very much up to par with iOS - even exceeding it in most areas now. From apps to 'it just works', there's really not much about iOS that's better any more. I have to fiddle with my wife's 6s Plus far more than I do my S8+. Hell the only way I can get her 6s+ to work most of the time is by having constant beta OS versions.

My wife's 6s is still running iOS 10 (whatever the last version was) and has zero problems. iOS 11 murdered my 6+ - so yeah, with the release of iOS 11 Android FAR surpasses iOS.

[Sasquach]

Originally Posted by Elysian

I can't figure out where this "problem" manifests itself. My phone is one version behind, and it's great. Oreo is around the corner, but what am I really missing? Considering this is the "biggest" problem, surely it would have hindered adoption rate by now?

I don't think its much of a problem now than it was before.
Before you needed the best phone to get Android to run without any limitations or performance issues. lower end Android was a crapshoot and you wanted to stay the hell away from anything less.
It was where iPhone and windows phone had an advantage cuz those ran smooth and fine on the lesser end hardware.

Nowadays I think Android runs fine on anything. Its just the lower end hardware will drop OS support sooner than the higher end. Don't think it's any different than iPhone hardware support.

[Elysian]

Went around the mill and took some pictures using the new Portrait mode.





That last one makes my machine look really small

The phone also takes pictures faster with the latest camera app.

[curio]

Originally Posted by GTwannabe

Android's real problem is fragmentation. Everyone gushes about Samsung phones but even something like a Galaxy S8 is 14 months out-of-date on the OS.

Google needs to lock down Android at a core level. Allow partners to add their own default skins/launchers but always have stock Android as a fallback.

Yup mine is still rocking ole 7.0. Lame.

[Elysian]

Obligatory beer photos.

[Eisberg]

There is something so wrong about having a toddler picture on a beer bottle.

[ASCI Blue]

Originally Posted by Sasquach

I don't think its much of a problem now than it was before.
Before you needed the best phone to get Android to run without any limitations or performance issues. lower end Android was a crapshoot and you wanted to stay the hell away from anything less.
It was where iPhone and windows phone had an advantage cuz those ran smooth and fine on the lesser end hardware.

Nowadays I think Android runs fine on anything. Its just the lower end hardware will drop OS support sooner than the higher end. Don't think it's any different than iPhone hardware support.

There is still some wonkiness which seems to effect a large number of people even if they don't use the capability. Bluetooth in it's data sharing capability is supposed to transfer track names of songs to car stereos that support the function. Elysian talked about it on page 2 iirc. As of Android 6 it seems like this worked for most people. When 7 was released phones that previously worked stopped properly displaying the tracks and some people have claimed issues with data transfer as well. This particular issue isn't limited to a single phone, manufacturer, or any other addons. It appears to be an issue with Android 7.

Sadly I went from an iPhone to my Android, what I can say is that on my iPhone I could get to the playlists via stereo and navigate them. On Android I can't use that entire function and more often than not the tracks don't have any data displayed. This is across two or three filetypes, all of which are supported and all of them worked just fine on iOS.

[Lazy8s]

Just pulled the trigger on the PH1. I'll hang on to the old iphone for a couple of weeks just in case, but man, this thing is just sweet. Off to run updates and configure.

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by Lazy8s

Just pulled the trigger on the PH1. I'll hang on to the old iphone for a couple of weeks just in case, but man, this thing is just sweet. Off to run updates and configure.

Nice I'm still very happy with the purchase, and the recent camera update has made my pictures much better.

Had the flash on accidentally on this one:

[Lazy8s]

We get our first snow tomorrow lol. I haven't even gotten to the camera yet. It's pretty much updated, but I can't get my contacts to sync, unless it's just taking forever. Google contacts shows all of them, so it's working properly on the iphones end. Meh, I'll wait a while.

Gorgeous screen, feels solid and absolutely premium in the hand. I just have to relearn Android. You are so right, it's come a long way. I cannot believe how smooth and quick everything is

Oh, letting my iphone and watch go for $350, so a nice upgrade for dirt cheap

[Elysian]

This is the first time I've seen snow here since I moved here in 2012

I love snow though, so I was pretty happy last night

[Lazy8s]

Originally Posted by Elysian

This is the first time I've seen snow here since I moved here in 2012

I love snow though, so I was pretty happy last night

You can have ours! Free!

Is the google play store known for slow DLs these days? 63 Mb takes 15 minutes And it doesn't like my fingerprints - still working on it.

If I had any idea how smooth android was now, I wouldn't have waited.

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by Lazy8s

You can have ours! Free!

Is the google play store known for slow DLs these days? 63 Mb takes 15 minutes And it doesn't like my fingerprints - still working on it.

If I had any idea how smooth android was now, I wouldn't have waited.

It's lightning fast for me on Wifi or LTE.

[Lazy8s]

Originally Posted by Elysian

It's lightning fast for me on Wifi or LTE.

I thought I was finished updating lol. Now with all updates installed, everything works just stellar. Fingerprint, LTE and wifi are...yeah, lightning fast. Loving this.

I can't wait to hand it to my buddy who just dropped more than twice the $$ for an X

[Elysian]

I know some people who got iPhone X's at work, and seeing them use their phones... Just makes me happy I got the phone I got. Even the "notch" is better thought out on my Android phone than what I've seen on the X.

[Lazy8s]

So I've had the PH1 for about 3 weeks now and just could not be happier.

No lag, no crashes, excellent battery life although some VR apps shorten it drastically as could be expected.

Crystal clear text on every single app I use including word/bluemail/chrome/firefox and so on.

Google cloud experience just eclipses apples. I can download as many photos as I want at a time. That alone is priceless for me.

AR is great fun with the kids (using Holo) and music management is easy. That usb c connector is sweet as well.

I went with the Huawei watch 2 Titanium for my Android fitness needs, and that's not as polished as apples watch, but it has all the functionality and then some.

So, still a zero regret purchase. Just can't ask for more than that.

My best friend and his iphone X? Not so much. I kind of feel bad for him

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by Lazy8s

So I've had the PH1 for about 3 weeks now and just could not be happier.

No lag, no crashes, excellent battery life although some VR apps shorten it drastically as could be expected.

Crystal clear text on every single app I use including word/bluemail/chrome/firefox and so on.

Google cloud experience just eclipses apples. I can download as many photos as I want at a time. That alone is priceless for me.

AR is great fun with the kids (using Holo) and music management is easy. That usb c connector is sweet as well.

I went with the Huawei watch 2 Titanium for my Android fitness needs, and that's not as polished as apples watch, but it has all the functionality and then some.

So, still a zero regret purchase. Just can't ask for more than that.

My best friend and his iphone X? Not so much. I kind of feel bad for him

I loaded up the Oreo beta (skipped beta 1, started on beta 2), and it's damned good. You'll be very happy I think with the upgrade. My battery life is better just from that. Quite happy with it.

[Lazy8s]

Originally Posted by Elysian

I loaded up the Oreo beta (skipped beta 1, started on beta 2), and it's damned good. You'll be very happy I think with the upgrade. My battery life is better just from that. Quite happy with it.

I was reading about that the other day, and I'm sorely tempted. I think I will once I have my apps sorted out. I have multiple versions of some installed just to test them out. Oreo would be a good place to start with a fresh install once I have it exactly how I want it.

[ASCI Blue]

Has the AVRCP issue been fixed yet for 8.0? It's a universal Android issue starting at 7. Claims are it will be resolved in 7.1.1

[WarlorD721]

Originally Posted by Elysian

I loaded up the Oreo beta (skipped beta 1, started on beta 2), and it's damned good. You'll be very happy I think with the upgrade. My battery life is better just from that. Quite happy with it.

I skipped beta 1 also, and loaded beta2 on Christmas, I've had my PH1 for over 2 months, with little complaints at all, and now having Oreo on it, It almost feels like a even newer brand new phone! I'm really happy with mine as well.

Even on Sprint my signal and data speeds have improved. I actually clocked 140mbps the other day, which I've never seen on a Sprint network, (had been using HTC 10 and the M8 previously).

[Trunks0]

Originally Posted by GTwannabe

Android's real problem is fragmentation. Everyone gushes about Samsung phones but even something like a Galaxy S8 is 14 months out-of-date on the OS.

Google needs to lock down Android at a core level. Allow partners to add their own default skins/launchers but always have stock Android as a fallback.

They kinda sorta have. Starting with phones launching on Androud 8.0, they have to implement a feature of 8 called Treble. Allowing the OS to stay nice and updated.

Should be noted, that the Essential Phone PH-1 will be implementing it for Android 8.0.