Android phones, apps and tablets

I was going to get my X2014 sent to Germany as it stopped accepting charge after getting too moist then hitting 0% whilst "off" in a box of rice.

Didn't realise DHL would try to collect, from my home, during office hours, and their drivers struggled to find the large number-less building after arriving at the middle of the postcode.

Still in a box, waiting for me to rearrange sending it.

ZTE Blade S6 been sufficiently OK since September to keep me going through crazy busy times.

Okay, please be kind. Against my better judgement I got a Samsung S6 on contract as it was v cheap and my mk1 Moto G was on its last legs. My wife loved her S3, and on paper the S6 is a good phone - but this thing is laggy as fook and is bugging the hell out of me. Keyboard lags, scrolling and button-presses are frequently unresponsive, pages slow to load (not connection)... I don't have thousands of apps and I make sure to close stuff which I am not using, but the performance of basic functions is simply not what I'd expect from a flagship device.

Maybe it is an app-based glitch, or the way I've set it up - but I'm not really clued up enough to troubleshoot it. What can I do to improve things? I am not prepared to root as I'm not confident to and I kinda think it should just work. Hlp plz?

Factory reset? Has it had any OTA updates since you have had it? My S5 went well laggy after an update but was fine after a reset.

My N5 won't last a day running OpenVPN to iVPNs London node. I'm going to try NL and France to see if they're any better. Something to do with how frequently keepalives are transmitted. Wish they'd put an even bigger battery in the 5X and kept the x,y the same just made it thicker.

I have a moto G. Lucky me. Recommended sd card size max is 32 gb. Has anyone any real life experience of bigger than that working fine?

Just had a new Android update, only changes I've noticed have been the font in the dialler app and new, slightly redesigned emojis... Anyone else?

Has anyone used the nexus 6p? It's getting really good reviews. The only thing putting me off is the lack of external memory. I currently have a HTC One mini which I initially really liked when I got it 18ish months ago, but there's lots of little things that are starting to go wrong and annoy me.

It's a great phone. Just buy the 64GB or 128GB option.

Yeah, 32gb definitely won't be enough!

I have one and I believe @Velocio has one as well.

It's great, wasn't sure at first on the size but they have done a much better job with the ergonomics compared to the 6. My only annoyance is it's a little tall for jean pockets while cycling/sitting.

I have one, it's great. My only criticism if the size. But the benefits are such that I am fine with the size.

The fingerprint reader of probably my favourite thing, the way I'm unlocking it whilst I'm pulling it out of my pocket and spinning it around... Fun.

Put a massive scratch in my Moto X Force screen. It's clearly not very hard at all. Do not recommend. No idea how it happened, never put keys in same pocket, or anything else.

A longer post on the Nexus 6p.

The Good

• Fingerprint reader (fast and accurate) for unlocking the phone and accessing Lastpass
  
• Screen, bright and colourful
  
• Overall device speed, responsive and natural
  
• Sound quality, unbelievably fast and accurate compared to any Android or iPhone I've tried before
  
• Battery life is stunning, especially during idle where the battery usage app flatlines and it doesn't appear to use battery
  
• Rapid charging with USB-C, I'm down to 2 x 15-30 minute charges per day with no overnight charging at all... one in the morning whilst I'm showering and getting ready, and one before I leave work
  
• The size is awesome when you're using it
  
• The screen surface does not get greasy or mark easily, I'm cleaning it less than I've ever cleaned a device screen
  
• The camera, the camera is unbelievable. Low-light indoor photos are accurately coming out sharp and clear, just as they appeared at the time. This is the first Android phone that has actually encouraged me to use the camera, I no longer even reach for my Lumix camera, that has gathered dust since I acquired the Nexus 6p
  
• The notification LED is back! You have to enable it, but it's great: Blue LED = Signal, red = Gmail/Inbox, etc. I can leave the phone silenced and non-vibrating at work and still subtly know precisely what notifications I've received
  
  

The Bad

• The size is too big to comfortably pocket
  
• Because of the size, I'm afraid it may be fragile, so I put it in the only case available that feels like it would save it if I drop it... which makes it larger still and loses the elegance of it
  
• I had to buy a number of extra USB-C cables to make sure I'm covered for travel, at the office, in the car, etc. On reflection, given the battery life perhaps I didn't need to... but I bought the cables as-if it's battery behaved like the Moto X (2nd ed). The Google cables are expensive, but unfortunately cables off of Amazon are mostly shitty and dangerous, so you just have to suck it up and buy the expensive cables.
  
  

The Ugly

• Nothing. This is the best phone I've owned
  
  

General Android 6.0.x benefits:

• Marshmallow monthly security updates
  
• Separation of user space apps from the system, so they get updated even more frequently (Phone, Connectivity Services including Wi-Fi, etc)
  
• Massive improvements of Google Photos, making it actually better than iPhone photo stuff
  
• Play Music Family Plan, though very crappily it's not yet available to anyone, and cannot include anyone, on a Google Apps account
  
• Control over notifications and per-app permissions is really nice. Not quite an outbound firewall, but for app permissions it's very good and a lot of apps already support these
  
  

Was it worth the money? Hell yes.

Would I buy it again? Hell yes.

What would I improve? A tough case that can handle drops and looks attractive would be nice.

but I bought the cables as-if it's battery behaved like the Moto X (2nd ed).

Did you not rate the Moto X battery life? Most reviews I've read (including stuff on here) suggested that it was good.

You have USB-C down as a good and a bad :)

This is probably fair right now but I've had it on my Chromebook Pixel for months and I love it and see USB-C as a reason to buy a Nexus phone (I think I want a 5X, 6P is too big/pricey). It's the future.

Apart from the high-speed charging and being able to put it in either way, I find USB-C plugs in much more securely than the micro-USB on my Moto G (which needs a good shove to get it in now and pops back out given half a chance, possibly because the port is knackered or full of fluff).

The biggest issue I can see with the 5X v. the 6P is the RAM. I'd be interested to know if you think that's a genuine concern? Is 2Gb enough?

It was good.

But it wasn't great.

I separate personal browsing and music listening from work equipment, so I tended to listen to music all day, use the screen occasionally to change music, and check email, etc. So my battery use is probably heavier than most, and so it didn't last as long as other people quote. I was happy when I got 10 hours out of it, and was in the habit of charging it near constantly to avoid being caught out during an evening out.

USB-C is fantastic.

I love the rapid charging.
I love that I can charge other devices from my phone or vice-versa.

But... I have a mix of old USB and new USB. So whereas I used to charge my Kindle in the same charger, now I need both chargers. And same goes for things like GoPro, rear lights for the bike, etc.

It's a temporary thing, a few years of different standards, but USB-C is definitely the way to go.

As for 6p, it's 3GB RAM, and that's way enough.

My average use is apparently 62% of the RAM, right now 47 apps have used RAM in the last 3 hours and I'm using 1.6GB RAM.

I would think that 2GB is enough... for the next year or so. But towards the end of the devices life you'd probably have wished you got the 3GB RAM.

I've only got the 64GB storage, but that's way enough. Only using 10GB storage, and that's with multiple albums saved locally. The photos situation is a lot better, a single click can free space used by photos that are already sync'd to and verified saved to Google Photos. The photos thing is why my wife is feeling the pinch on space on her Moto X (though presumably she could install Google Photos, but she's resistant to change until a new device forces change).

Might be ok for me then as I don't use mine as heavily as that. I'd started looking at it over the Moto G due to comments on the battery.

Just dirty flashed my Oneplus One to CM13 nightly. Running perfectly so far!

Also, signal's pretty good eh? Bit of a struggle trying to get my mates to use it though.

Think I'm sold on the nexus 6p then! Thanks for the review @Velocio it's good to hear from someone who actually owns one.

Conversely USB-C was one of the reasons I didn't get a 5X. It was going to add £40 or so to the cost of the phone to get enough charging cables that I'd be happy. It would also be extra hassle for when I travel. Heaphones, earphones, kindle, radio, etc all use micro USB so I can get away with one cable. I'd have to remember a second cable each time with USB C.

Screen is not very robust, mine smashed into oblivion the first time I dropped it. Replacing the screen basically costs the same as the phone if you get someone else to do it, and roughly 50% of what I paid if decided to do it yourself. Which is why I replaced my n5 screen and went back to that, as it's a much better phone.

Unfortunately I've just broken that one again. Considering n5x - but why you no waterproof Google?

Haven't you got a bumper on it, Dan? I've got a crappy $4 job, most of the rubberised finish has rubbed off but it works fine and it isn't too clunky...

What are people paying for their SIM-only deals?

I'm paying ~£21/month on O2 for one of their old unlimited contracts and for the same money I could get a new Virgin contract which gets me a Samsung phone and a tablet and I guess 4G via EE. Basically I think I'm overpaying O2 for what I get. I barely use it so I'm thinking of getting a 4G contract somewhere else. Any suggestions? Must have awesome coverage. Liked the idea of free roaming on Three but hear they suck a bit. Could get cheap loyalty deal through Virgin.

Um no