It is customary to contrast dry characteristics with the emotions from use that a particular device can give. Personally, I do not think that such an opposition makes sense at all, for example, comfortable interaction with the interface is impossible without a fast CPU and large RAM. Unboxes, first impressions, and reviews of a wide variety of devices have long exceeded reasonable levels. In this article I will try to talk about how these very “emotions from use” change when switching between very different devices, each of which gives very different sensations.
Moto X Style 2015, in my opinion, was one of the most successful flagships in terms of price / quality ratio in the entire history of smartphone construction. It is on a par with 1 + 1, which, recall, cost only $ 350, the flagships Xiaomi of the first years and the first three iPhone (since there was nothing similar to them on the market , their price was very attractive for the emotions and sensations that they gave).
Well, isn't he handsome?
By the time Moto X Style came out, I was already a very advanced user. My very first smartphone was a mid-priced Samsung Galaxy for $ 400 (at that time 12 thousand rubles). I still remember him with a shudder. Anti-human TouchWiz, glitches, brakes, uncomfortable small screen. I don't think I'll ever buy myself a Samsung again. Then I dreamed of SonyEricsson Xperia Arc for a long time and passionately. But in the end I bought HTC Sensation for 30 thousand rubles. It was like a breath of fresh air after Samsung for 12 thousand rubles. Since then, I have firmly hacked myself on the nose that the phone should only be a flagship. Although the market has changed a lot now, and “quality experience” has long come to the middle segment, the experience gained in my youth will probably remain with me forever.
This is an ingenious design. Why did Sony abandon it? (crying emoticon)
Then there were all sorts of perversions with Asus PadFone 2 (I must say, very sweet), a long and happy family life with 1 + 1, a long and not happy family life with Asus Zenfone 2, which confirmed my belief that a smartphone should only be a flagship. In general, by the end of 2015 I approached with a clear understanding – what and at what price I want to see in my new phone. And when the Moto X Style was announced, I squealed with delight: not just a 5.5 “, but a 5.7” screen – you can look at it like that, and it will be convenient to surf the Internet. High-quality matrix, 2K resolution, front-facing stereo speakers (hurray!) – films should go with a bang. Clean Android, no more Touch Wiz and Zen UI. Water resistant – listen to podcasts in the shower. Other attributes of the flagship: high-quality oleophobic coating, beautiful design, fast charging, etc. For the first time in my life, for the sake of Moto, I got confused with delivery from the United States via mail forward (intermediary). I chose a bamboo case, 64 gigabytes of memory and did not even stint to insure the package.
This is a very sensible concept, by the way. Hopefully someone will revive it.
When the package arrived, my joy knew no bounds. The phone met expectations one hundred percent. But, as often happens, even a love marriage brings unexpected twists and turns, when a loved one suddenly turns his dark side to you (this is not the author's personal experience, if that). My Motorola unpleasantly surprised me when a fall from a low chair led to a crack on the screen, a small crack – 2.5-3 centimeters in the corner of the screen, I would have walked with this without any problems if because of it the sensory layer did not fail. The replacement cost exactly half the price of a smartphone. From 1 + 1 experience, I knew that the original screen can be ordered very cheaply from AliExpress. the fact that with Motorola it turned out to be wrong, perhaps even stopped me from buying.
After spending a couple of days googling, studying forums and communicating with different masters, I found out the following:
- There are manufacturers whose sensor works without problems even if the glass is covered with a mesh of cracks (for example, Apple). Motorola refers to those in which any crack anywhere turns off the touch layer completely or on a large chunk.
- A and B-brands strictly control the circulation of original components, and unauthorized services can only get them by extracting them from used devices. If you have a popular device, then you will always find an original part at a reasonable price, but if not, then alas. OnePlus and other Chinese people are much more loyal, and their parts can be easily found on AliExpress.
- After returning to Russia Motorola, I opened authorized SC. But they can only be repaired under warranty. Even if you bought Moto in the Russian Federation, in case of a breakdown due to your fault, you will have to look for masters on the Internet, an authorized SC will send you.
- After 8 months, my Moto's battery started to swell and after another three months it completely lost capacity. Several different craftsmen said that this is a common problem for Motorola, it was still in Nexus 6. For six months, it was not possible to find a replacement battery, due to high demand this is a wildly scarce spare part.
Not about repairs anymore, but since I started, I complain further:
Motorola The update to Android 7.0 has been delayed a lot, and for some reason discriminates against devices by region. The European firmware has just been updated, and the American firmware has not been updated yet!
This is a feature of all smartphones, but you don't expect from a flagship that over time it will start to glitch so much. I don't know why, but over time mine began to slow down terribly.
I don’t know if this is a problem Android or a feature of Moto firmware, but my Moto X worked very badly with two accounts. The second account is limited in everything: it does not have full access to the memory card, overlays are prohibited (and cannot be enabled), by default it does not have access to calls and SMS (but at least you can enable them). If it's not difficult for you, write down in the comments how your smartphone works with a second account. My 1 + 5 does not have a memory card, but there is no problem with overlays – the selection function in Now on Tap works without problems.
This thing didn't work on the second account in my Moto. Perhaps a firmware glitch, perhaps a flaw in the previous version Android
This is how my love with Moto X ended. A wonderful, but capricious and too old lover (motorola is feminine, moto is average or masculine, phone / smartphone is masculine, so let him be a lover). OnePlus 5 is no longer love, it is a classic marriage of convenience. I am with him, because he is rich in operatives, and he has a position in society. But it doesn't evoke any emotions like HTC Sensation, 1 + 1 or Moto X.
The first thing that caught my eye during the transition was that the downgrade from 2K to full HD is visible to the naked eye. Of course, everything is learned in comparison, but most likely it is PenTile-matrix's fault, since I had no such complaints about the 1 + 1 screen, and it was also 5.5 ”full HD. The first thing that rushed to my ears – even a loud mono speaker at the end – is much worse than the front stereo. You can only be content with sound from the corner of the screen if you have never watched a video with front stereo. In addition, you often accidentally cover it with your hand.
In general, I do not understand manufacturers who stubbornly assign the upper speaker solely for conversations. Why use AMOLED if you are not Samsung or LG, I also don’t understand. The “true” black is more than offset by the “dirty” white. Due to the PenTile structure of the pixel, pixelation is clearly visible. This is not nitpicking, the pixelated outlines of the fonts on a white background are visible even if you don't look closely. Also, I would note the rapid eye fatigue from AMOLED a. I will not paint in detail, if you are interested, google – “PWM AMOLED”.
Also, of the non-critical minuses, I would note the lack of support for a memory card (my 128 GB card from Moto goes to the closet), lack of moisture protection (no more podcasts in the shower), lack of optical stabilization and a narrow viewing angle of the camera (this is a much more important drawback than the optical zoom x1.33 instead of the claimed x2).
The Dash Charge proprietary fast charging is indeed faster than the Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, which was in my Moto, but much slower than the QC 4+ (supported by the Snapdragon 835). For this love of the Chinese for “their own way” you have to pay with the USB 2.0 standard instead of the standard USB 3.1 for all flagships. According to rumors, it is the features of the technological implementation of fast charging in Dash Charge that prevent the introduction of newer USB versions.
The guys from OnePlus clearly set a goal to hit everyone on paper. Hence, the record size of the RAM, the first place in the benchmarks, the use of AMOLED, two cameras with supposedly 2x optical zoom, etc. They thought about what emotions the device would give the user obviously second. It is already known that the real optical zoom of the device is x1.33, and it can be adjusted to x2.0 by software, shoots 1 + 5 is no better than 3T with one camera, the question is: why was it necessary to spend money on the second module? – for the sake of marketing?
If OnePlus put the user first, and not marketing, then in 1 + 5 we would see a completely different distribution of resources: 4/6 gigabytes of RAM, instead of 6/8 would be enough with a margin for the future. Why would a user need extra RAM? Just to know that it is there? But he would feel the frontal stereo every time he watched any video. Why did you insert the second module if it does not bring a real improvement in the quality of images? Spend this money on moisture protection – it would be a real benefit for users, not a marketing one. Using Qualcomm fast charging instead of a proprietary self-starter would give not only faster charging speed and USB 3.1, but also compatibility with a large number of accessories. My powerbank with Quick Charge support would not have gone to the closet with a memory card, and any USB cables could be used, not just Dashev's.
As you can see, by 1 + 5 I don't have any warm feelings. We're only together because of cold calculation. Google brought us together. Since I watched a few YouTube videos about 1 + 5 and opened its reviews in Chrome, the Google Now hints (now also in the main Google app) told me that 1 + 5 is now being given a big discount over the regular price. The 8 / 128Gb version could be ordered for $ 451 with free shipping. After weighing everything and evaluating the alternatives, I decided not to wait for the Pixel 2, but to save money. But this union will definitely not be long, I will jump off as soon as a better option appears. I'm pretty sure this will be the next Pixel. Expensive, but it is clear what you pay for: perfect optimization, fast OS updates, no lags not only in the first month of use, but also over time, unlimited in Google Photos, the only smartly implemented 'live wallpapers', Google Dailer and other goodies from google. Alternatively, I can consider 1 + 6. All other vendors either require an unreasonable premium for the brand (Samsung, Sony), or are not widespread and again there will be problems with the service (Nokia, Motorola), or they are wise with their shell (LG , Meizu, Xiaomi). Almost everything is known about Pixel 2, but in light of the purchase by Google HTC, I am very interested in what they will be able to implement in Pixel 3 The Pixel is now perhaps the only flagship that is worth the money.
And at the end, a few words about the process of buying a smartphone, I bought on JD.ru, they scared many at the very beginning of their launch by announcing a super-action for Lenovo ZUK Z1, and then the customs did not let phones, because phones do not have FSB notification. I try to pay with PayPal whenever possible – their purchase protection program is amazing. It not only insures against non-delivery and fraud of the seller, but also allows you to return purchases for free, even if the goods simply did not fit, it is very convenient when ordering clothes.
Google's tips for a cheaper product work really well. Google has never confused a product that I was really interested in with one that I just accidentally looked at. He rarely gives hints, but aptly, when a really big discount from the average price. In addition to 1 + 5, I was also actively interested in Pixel, and I also received an article about him in the recommendations with an overview of prices for refurbished Pixels from reliable sellers on Ebay. A five-inch version with a new look could be bought from 18 thousand rubles plus mail forwarding services (about $ 20 with package insurance). All in all, Google hints are a very useful thing.
PS Big request to the owners of 1 + 5, flashed from Chinese to global firmware, please write down in the comments, do Android Pay work for you? I ran into a problem: when I bring the phone to the terminal, the phone vibrates, and even the terminal makes some sounds, but the payment does not go through, the bank does not even see the payment attempt. The bank's support suggested that since the device was intended for the Chinese market, the NFC module of the device does not support the required encryption protocols. I checked all the settings that I can.
I would be very grateful if you share your experience.