Recommend an upper midrange plain Android phone

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timmmay

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#2411925 3-Feb-2020 15:08

Xiaomi has crippled smart unlock so it only works with their branded bluetooth devices, and doesn't work at all with Wifi. Between that and the relatively slow fingerprint reader (compared with dedicated hardware) unlocking is a PITA.

It's also only a so-so phone. Because they wanted maximum possible screen area the speaker is right on the top of the phone, so you have to position your ear really precisely to be able to hear through it properly. It's ok, but not great. I think I'd go for a phone with a top bezel and /or a notch next time, far more practical.

jonathan18

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#2411931 3-Feb-2020 15:20

timmmay:

It's also only a so-so phone. Because they wanted maximum possible screen area the speaker is right on the top of the phone, so you have to position your ear really precisely to be able to hear through it properly. It's ok, but not great. I think I'd go for a phone with a top bezel and /or a notch next time, far more practical.

This may be a wide-spread problem given the trend of minimalist bezels and large phones - I face exactly this issue with my Galaxy S10+, where the top speaker sits on along the edge of the top. To hear properly I need my ear in line with that, but if I do that my mouth is too far away from the microphone and people I'm speaking to complain they can't hear me properly. I guess the solution could be how my in-laws take any phone call no matter where they are: using the speakerphone!

TENKAN

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#2411933 3-Feb-2020 15:21

So you can unlock with a pin or pattern right? (which I use, never bothered with any fingerprint reader) don't use the built in speakers on any phone either so this is not a deal breaker for me, I always use Bluetooth, so what's the Bluetooth integration like with any of your devices? No dropouts or anything?

tanivula

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#2411937 3-Feb-2020 15:24

timmmay:

Xiaomi has crippled smart unlock so it only works with their branded bluetooth devices, and doesn't work at all with Wifi. Between that and the relatively slow fingerprint reader (compared with dedicated hardware) unlocking is a PITA.

It's also only a so-so phone. Because they wanted maximum possible screen area the speaker is right on the top of the phone, so you have to position your ear really precisely to be able to hear through it properly. It's ok, but not great. I think I'd go for a phone with a top bezel and /or a notch next time, far more practical.

Yeeep, I did try to warn you about Smart Unlock with MiUi... But that can be resolved with a Pixel Exp ROM (or one of the many AOSP based ones).

And I sympathise with you re the speaker - totally understand and it's comparable with the 9se I've got - if you're a little off the 'sweet spot' then it turns to custard.

For the fingerprint, try re-adding your current finger as a 2nd fingerprint. And strange but true, in an older build of MiUi, I noticed the unlock speed changed depending on FOD animation selected.

timmmay

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#2411962 3-Feb-2020 16:07

TENKAN: So you can unlock with a pin or pattern right? (which I use, never bothered with any fingerprint reader) don't use the built in speakers on any phone either so this is not a deal breaker for me, I always use Bluetooth, so what's the Bluetooth integration like with any of your devices? No dropouts or anything?

yeah I can use a pattern. The process there is double tap the phone, swipe up, then type pin or pattern, so it's about the same amount of effort as the slow fingerprint reader.

Bluetooth integration works fine, but I only put on my headphones for long calls. Calls work fine with it so far :)

tanivula:

Yeeep, I did try to warn you about Smart Unlock with MiUi... But that can be resolved with a Pixel Exp ROM (or one of the many AOSP based ones).

And I sympathise with you re the speaker - totally understand and it's comparable with the 9se I've got - if you're a little off the 'sweet spot' then it turns to custard.

For the fingerprint, try re-adding your current finger as a 2nd fingerprint. And strange but true, in an older build of MiUi, I noticed the unlock speed changed depending on FOD animation selected.

I probably didn't understand as I haven't had smart unlock before. If the fingerprint reader worked fine I wouldn't need it. I have my fingerprint added twice. If I get it centered properly on the sensor, fingers are completely clean, it's fast enough, it's just impractical and slower than a regular reader.

How well do the Pixel Experience ROMs work? Most third party ROMs are bugging, waste battery, etc. Right now I probably wouldn't bother. I wouldn't mind rooting, but that will have to wait until I have time to find a root method that doesn't block OTA updates.

Echoe

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#2412006 3-Feb-2020 18:25

I highly recommend the Pixel Experience rom. No major bugs and battery life is better than MIUI.

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TENKAN

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#2412009 3-Feb-2020 18:51

What about Netflix HD and TVNZ apps,any issues with any of these, I'm still in the market for the Mi 9T Pro and with very little else coming close on the specs and price I'm hoping for a special deal for waitangi weekend, I still haven't been able to find a demo model of the Motorola G8 Plus at PB tech to compare the two.

Echoe

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#2412010 3-Feb-2020 18:57

TENKAN: What about Netflix HD and TVNZ apps,any issues with any of these, I'm still in the market for the Mi 9T Pro and with very little else coming close on the specs and price I'm hoping for a special deal for waitangi weekend, I still haven't been able to find a demo model of the Motorola G8 Plus at PB tech to compare the two.

Those apps should work with no issues. The phones pass safteynet so it's a non issue. The G8 Plus has a far weaker soc compared to the K20 Pro. I've just seen the Oneplus 7T can be had from expert infotech for $840. If you can stretch that far I couldn't recommend that phone more.

timmmay

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#2412012 3-Feb-2020 19:11

Echoe: I highly recommend the Pixel Experience rom. No major bugs and battery life is better than MIUI.

What are the downsides of Pixel Experience on the 9T? Third party ROMs are never perfect. Does in-screen fingerprint reader work ok, even if slowly? Smart lock? All three cameras usable?

Is it easy to install, and switch back? I might try it at some point, but time is usually scarce and MIUI works ok.

TENKAN: What about Netflix HD and TVNZ apps,any issues with any of these, I'm still in the market for the Mi 9T Pro and with very little else coming close on the specs and price I'm hoping for a special deal for waitangi weekend, I still haven't been able to find a demo model of the Motorola G8 Plus at PB tech to compare the two.

I have 9T and the G8 plus so I can compare those - I've read the 9T is as fast as the 9T pro for everyday tasks. The 9T Pro will beat the G8 plus for speed for anything intensive, but the G8 holds its own fine and most things aren't really CPU intensive, the G8 works plenty fast enough for 99% of things. The hardware on the G8 is more standard, notch and nice fast fingerprint reader. Every app I've tried works fine on both phones.

Only problem with the UK sourced G8 Plus is data cuts in and out occasionally. I can't do any diagnostics because my wife won't authorise me to talk to the carrier, and Motorola won't do anything until I talk to the carrier.

timmmay

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#2416090 11-Feb-2020 11:55

I'm still mostly liking the 9T, once it's unlocked. The unlocking process is really annoying me though. As soon as the screen turns off the phone is locked, and the screen fingerprint unlock process is unreliable and slow. If you get your finger perfectly on the sensor it works more often than not, but it usually takes a couple of goes to get it there. All in all the time to unlock is on average 2-5x slower than my old Huawei P9 with the dedicated fingerprint reader. If I'd know this before I purchased it I would not have purchased it.

Pattern / pin works, but for some reason you have to swipe up to be able to enter your pattern / code. That swipe up has no value, and makes it only marginally faster than the dodgy fingerprint reader.

All in all I would discourage anyone from buying a Xiaomi device with an in-screen fingerprint reader if you want to use said fingerprint reader, and be wary of any brand.

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#2416095 11-Feb-2020 12:03

Just to I've loaded my thumb on 3 slots, don't seem to have much trouble any more.

Plus also find it pretty easy to swipe up for camera to pop up for face recognition

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timmmay

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#2416101 11-Feb-2020 12:14

I have my thumb in two slots, but I need the others for fingers I use to unlock it. I don't use face recognition, I don't want the camera popping up constantly.

Hammerer

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#2425441 22-Feb-2020 15:02

@timmmay, now that you've decided to sell xiaomi mi 9t you bought, what generic advice would you give to help anyone else making a similar decision?

timmmay

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#2425449 22-Feb-2020 15:18

I'm selling it, but tough decision because I really like it other than unlocking being a touch slow at times.

I'd say if you have dry skin and need to use moisturiser the in-screen fingerprint sensor may not work well for you. It's not awful, and improves as you get used to it, but I'm very impatient with technology. Tips include pushing firmly and scanning main finger 3 times. Most people will probably find it ok. I'll stick with hardware fingerprint sensor which is more forgiving.

Once unlocked it's a nice phone. Fast hardware, nice screen, good cameras, regular updates, every app I've tried works, WiFi and Bluetooth are good. MIUI is good, slightly flashier than stock Android. Only downside is smart lock is disabled, it only works with Xiaomi devices.

timmmay

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#2444995 23-Mar-2020 22:10

With my old P9 doing odd things like running from 80% battery to 20% battery in 30 minutes occasionally, I made a dash to PBTech today to get another phone before we were locked in and the phone failed completely. I got a Moto G8 Plus, and so far it seems fairly quick, decent features, nice plain Android 9 - hopefully updating to Android 10 or 11 at some point. It's fairly chunky in the Spigen case, heavier than the old phone, but it should be a reliable workhorse until I find something else to replace it - be it in 3 months with the Pixel 4a (unlikely now) or later.

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