yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
Little scared to try to add my own Qi wireless coil. I saw some of the teardown videos on the LG G6 and I don't want to ruin an $800-$900 phone. BUT if the European LG V30 Plus has bootloader unlock, but not Qi wireless, I would be tempted. Because I DO need bootloader unlock also.

Please keep me informed in this thread if you go that route.

I NEED Qi wireless. If I didn't want it, I would have long gone with something like last year's ZTE Axon 7 -- which is a wonder with specs (award-winning DAC, front-facing stereo speakers, same 1440p Samsung AMOLED display as Pixel XL, lots of storage) and price. All it lacks is Qi wireless to be perfect.
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
Agreed. If they had even released the LG G6 Plus FIRST (the one with ALL the specs, including Qi wireless charging) even with the Snapdragon 821 it would have given the S8 a run for the money. Instead, with the LG G6 it was "oh Qi wireless here, more storage there, and you get DAC -- but not all these other countries." WHY? :rolleyes: Some countries got 32GB storage but Qi wireless charging, others got only 32GB storage, and even others got 64GB storaga and quad DAC but no Qi wireless. Made no sense whatsoever.

Then months later they released the LG G6 Plus, which made the LG G6 early adopters FEEL STUPID. Ha ha! Here's the phone you REALLY wanted. 64GB storage, quad DAC for all countries! Except they made the European model have unlocked bootloader -- but not the South Korean model, which was the only LG G6 Plus with Qi wireless charging. They still withheld ALL the specs and all the features from some of even the LG G6 Plus models. WHY? :rolleyes:
[Moto Maxx General] Septfox:
Well again, it'll be several months down the road...I can't justify a new phone when both 1) my current one works fine and 2) T-mobile hasn't bolstered coverage in this area yet with their band 71 rollout.

If/when one of those does change, though... :>

More likely someone else will give it a try before I can, I'll be watching out and will definitely link it if so.

---

On a mostly-unrelated note, I dropped by my local Verizon store today to look at phones. They happened to have the various S7/8 models, G6 and v20 on display (though unfortunately the v20 was a dead display model). Things I learned, perhaps they'll be helpful to others buying used:

- the curved display on the S8/+ is atrocious. Not because it's particularly uncomfortable to hold, or because it's particularly ugly - though it is the latter in my opinion - but because the edges of the display are distorted. Viewing the searing white standard Googlesung Settings UI found that the edges were significantly darkened, like viewing a TN display at an angle. People seriously pay a premium for this garbage? Here's hoping that the lesser-curved v30 doesn't exhibit this issue.

- the G6 is pretty nice, trim, solid-feeling. Aside from the rounded display corners, it looks and feels nice. The tiny earpiece speaker was a bit off-putting, though.

- something I didn't realize from looking at pictures: the v20 has bezels on each side of the digitizer. Raised, screen-protecting bezels, like on my old Droid 4! Mind=blown. Does help explain why it's so drop-resistant. If only it had a newer radio...
[Moto Maxx General] NepoRood:
I, personally, thought the G6 felt flimsy, just like the G5...

I don't think there will be a "solid replacement" for the Turbo (Quark), it was and is, what it is :good:

I got mine via upgrade from the RAZR MAXX (which I still have, and it's running CM13, last I booted it), for $400 even, after taxes. And I didn't even know what a bootloader was at the time, lol

So far, I've ruled out several phones, based on what I've read and what's stated in this thread. Granted, there's some features I really don't care one way or the other about. All I want is simple:

1) Good Hardware

2) Unlock-able bootloader

3) Kernel Source

Give me those 3, and I'll make the best of it.

My 2 cents,

Nepo
[Moto Maxx General] johnbravado:
Any thoughts on the essential ph-1 coming out. It looks a decent. I was thinking of maybe going with that one.
[Moto Maxx General] Septfox:
No headphone jack, no SD card slot, no wireless charging, LCD screen.

It's not terrible, but it's not worth the $700 I'd say --- though admittedly the titanium/ceramic construction sounds pretty nice. If you like it regardless, wait until they figure out that pricing it like a flagship without some of the flagship bells and whistles is bad for sales, and get it a bit cheaper. I reckon it won't take too long.

Certainly, compared to the Quark it's pretty lightweight and thin, especially if I compare it with my Tech21 case on. It didn't seem particularly flimsy to me besides, though, and it passed JerryRigEverything's trying to break it with flying colors. *shrugs*

Don't care for the upcoming v30? Aside from possibly missing wireless charging and a smaller battery, it's looking to be a pretty strong upgrade.

The G5, G6 and v20 for the US market have been unlockable, hopefully that's the case for the v30 as well. LG would be shooting themselves in the foot otherwise.
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
Rather than repeat myself, read that post below. To me, It's very underwhelming for a 2nd half 2017 Android phone priced at "top tier" level. Missing major specs you would expect in top tier phones, especially specs the LG G6 and Galaxy S8 DO have, and which the iPhone 8 WILL have. Rubin could have done much better, especially starting with a clean design slate.
[Moto Maxx General] Septfox:
Yes, I saw it. I disregarded it because of this line here:

If the rest of it had been written perfectly, sure. But it seems like it was a page that was being worked on, a rough draft perhaps, that someone had accidentally made live before it was ready. Like a lot of other things we "know" about the v30, it's inconclusive at best.

I hope it has wireless charging out of the box, but I'm not going to count on it. It'll be a nice bonus if it does, a bit of a project to add if it doesn't.
[Moto Maxx General] felcocs:
Hey ChazzMatt! There is any chance Motorola will update our XT1225 to Android 8? I ask this with very little hope, but still...

I'm stuck at A6.0 and I really don't want to run a custom rom, I know I know... In the end I will probably do that. We are not getting even Security Updates anymore... pretty dead phone atm.
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
No. In fact one Quark (XT1250) never got the official Marshmallow 6.0 firmware, as far as I know. While they gave Marshmallow to the XT1225 in July 2016, it was like December 2016 before the XT1254 got Marshmallow 6.0 -- long after Nougat 7.0 was released.

Why does it take OVER A YEAR (October 2015 - December 2016) to release a new version of Android to a former flagship phone? :rolleyes: And you don't do so until AFTER an even newer Android version is released?

Because the manufacturer or carrier really doesn't want to do it

Because the hardware on that phone was still so good (at least for most of 2016) that new software made it as good as or better than their new phones.

At least on Verizon's part, it was clear they wanted to sell NEW phones with Marshmallow and even Nougat before giving their Quark the Motorola Marshmallow update.

And then Motorola stopped. No official Marshmallow for the XT1250 U.S. Moto Maxx. It's still stuck on 5.0.2! (Since the XT1250 is the exact same phone as the XT1254 -- same radio bands, same FCC ID -- it was just pure apathy on Motorola's part they would not release Marshmallow for the XT1250. The firmware was already done!)

And then no official Nougat 7.0 for any of the Quarks.

So, no there will not be Oreo 8.0 either, at least from Motorola.

As far as Security Updates, all frequently updated custom ROMs have the latest security updates. (At least those not based on stock firmware.) Back when Verizon was more concerned about stopping Sunshine but left Stage Fright unpatched for MONTHS, all the CM-based Quark custom ROMs were already fixed for Stage Fright. Verizon finally fixed for Stagefright, but released at least one "security" update during that time seemingly just to patch for Sunshine, while leaving users open to REAL malware.
[Moto Maxx General] felcocs:
Thanks for replying ChazzMatt!
[Moto Maxx General] Septfox:
See all above for why I won't consider buying another Motorola phone, unless it's absolutely perfect for my needs. And even then, only if the bootloader is unlocked.

And don't only look at the lack of updates, either, look at the quality of the ones that do appear too. The MM update for the Turbo semi-permanently bricked it (due to the locked bootloader) if encryption happened to be on while the OTA ran; Motorola's official response was dead silence, even Verizon was more vocal (even if it was only to the effect of "send it in so we can overcharge you for a replacement").

Granted, I haven't heard of any other massive failures lately - as far as software anyway...the Z2 is the pinnacle of "we're going to ignore everything our customers say and make the 'upgraded' device worse" - but them bricking perfectly good phones because they couldn't be bothered with the most basic of testing is going to stay with me for the forseeable future.

Sure do miss Motorola of the OMAP days. Yea, their bootloaders were welded shut, but at least they sort of gave a damn about their products and the software they ran.
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
Yeah, all that time sure wasn't spent by Verizon/Motorola in TESTING the Marshmallow update.
[Moto Maxx General] Septfox:
More v30 stuff. Definitely favorable this time.

All LG V30 Variants Will Sport Quad DAC, Says Evan Blass.

A couple sites have also speculated that the standard v30 will get wireless charging, while the Plus will get wireless fast charging.

This might mean that the standard v30 gets a lowly standard 5w coil (like our Quark) and the Plus gets a 10w coil, or maybe 10w/15w respectively seeing as LG is already familiar with 15w wireless charging.

15w wireless charging would be pretty damn impressive, seeing as that's what most QC 2/3 chargers deliver to a phone.

Just speculation, though. Could still be that the standard v30 gets no coil at all.
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
This reviewer feels the way I do, Essential is a LOSER especially at this price and to be released in 2nd half of 2017.

The Essential Phone Is Too Expensive to Have a Camera This Bad

https://gizmodo.com/the-essential-phone-is-too-expensive-to-have-a-camera-t-1798408448

He admits it LOOKS nice at first glance.

Then, the reality sets in all the stuff it's MISSING.

Besides all that the camera SUCKS.
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
LG Releases New Teaser Promising "Immersive Sound" On The V30

https://www.gizmochina.com/2017/08/26/lg-releases-new-teaser-promising-immersive-sound-v30/

https://www.phonearena.com/news/New-LG-V30-teaser-sound_id97420

At this point, all I want to know is

will all the LG V30 variants have Qi wireless charging (of some kind) and

which ones will qualify for LG's official bootloader unlock?

And of those that do qualify for official bootloader unlock, do they have U.S. bands?

Hopefully the carrier unlocked V30 will be one of those phones. Wait for the carrier unlocked versions to be released. ;) Some of those are the ones that also qualify for bootloader unlock.

LG Bootloader Unlock - Supported Devices

http://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader.dev?categoryId=CTULRS0703
[Moto Maxx General] NepoRood:
I'm glad I didn't get the Essential, the LG V30 is looking better and better. Will the Pixel 2 XL be similar (as it will also be made by LG)?
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
Pixel XL 2017 will be made by LG and probably shares development with the LG V30, much like the 2012 LG Nexus 4/LG Optimus G (G1) and the 2013 LG Nexus 5/LG G2.

The

2012 LG Nexus 4 and LG Optimus G

were 95% clones of each other. About the only discernible difference in the

2013 Nexus 5/G2

were display size.

The Pixel XL 2017 will not have microSD slot, of course (Google thing) and this year reportedly will omit headset jack (for no good reason, since LG has proven IP68 WITH headset jack).

Last year Google made fun of Apple for removing the iPhone headset jack, as removing it adds no functionality whatsoever and doesn't help the phone be better in any way. You can use Bluetooth ear pods even with a headset jack present. Removing the headset jack doesn't make bluetooth better in any way. Apple claimed they had to do it to get their IP67 rating (less than IP68, by the way), but this year both Samsung and LG got IP68 rating WITH a headset jack -- so all that really proved was Apple's design incompetence. Now this year, with LG building the 2017 Pixel XL Google is showing full hypocrisy by removing the headset jack.
[Moto Maxx General] NepoRood:
My main reason for Pixel is most of the work is already done, lol. With Goobles open source policy, everything is at your finger tips. Very little required for "bringing up a device", as it's already there for you, it just needs a little tweaking

I'll be keeping my eyes out and open for upcoming news, but

right now

it's looking like my next device will be made by LG...
[Moto Maxx General] Septfox:
Well, that's actually something that's puzzling me.

Earlier leaks of the XL2 showed a device with Xbox-huge (I'm old enough to use old memes leave me alone) top and bottom bezels.

But lately, yea, there have been leaks showing a device that looks remarkably like the v30. It's like they realized how terribly dated the prototype looked and were all "just create a different frame, we'll reuse the front and internals of the v30".

*~BRAVERY~* is a reward in and of itself, what more reason do you need :v

----

Someone posted another image "leak" of the v30 over on reddit; note the side frame in a position to actually protect something in the event of a side/corner drop, and the glass over the display appearing to be flat and thus able to have a screen protector easily applied.

LG would have to seriously misstep at this point, for this to not end up being my next phone. No bootloader unlock or their new screens being terrible would be adequate reasons, I suppose.

Pretty excited for the 31st (or the 15th, if reviewers don't end up getting them early) to see what's what.
[Moto Maxx General] NepoRood:
No need to say anything about being "old", I'll be 47 come March of 2018, which is older than most, yet younger than others, lol

And I'm with you, the V30 has much promise, if the new Pixel is any where close, then that'll be awesome. Even though jcase suggested to me to not get anything made my LG, lol
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
I know the smaller Pixel 2 prototype showed HUGE top and bottom bezels. The one made by HTC that is like their current UFO 11 or whatever they are calling it.

Google's 2017 Pixel forgoes increasingly-common flagship features

https://venturebeat.com/2017/08/04/googles-2017-pixel-forgoes-increasingly-common-flagship-features/

https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/...-date-rumours-and-everything-you-need-to-know

HTC doesn't seem to realize you can have stereo speakers AND thinner bezels. Or unlike LG/Samsung doesn't have the expertise to make smaller bezels yet.

But since

Google invested almost $1 billion this year in getting another LG AMOLED manufacturing line going

, I think the near zero-bezel display for the 2017 Pixel XL version (made by LG) was always assumed.
[Moto Maxx General] K3n H1mur4:
Kinda off-topic, kinda on-topic: could we crowdsource a list of phones to replace the Quark based on specific items? I mean, if one sticks to this phone for the screen, we could list the 4K XPerias as an alternative, if they're still with the quark for its battery a good choice would be the Lenovo P2, the Pixels as replacement if one wants a great camera, and so on.

I've been thinking of it because my main concern when buying Quark was battery life (since I bought mine used and later found out its battery was totally worn, I'm still looking for alternatives) and pocketable size, so this could appeal to more people here who are still with their Quarks for some specific specs.

Also, on a side note, I mostly use GSMArena's review charts (batt life, screen brightness, performance, etc) and phone finder to fine tune which devices would be more adequate for me. If there's anyone here (I doubt so) which hasn't heard of it yet, I suggest you take a look there.
[Moto Maxx General] Septfox:
Hmm, crowdsourcing...what comes to mind for that is a Google Spreadsheet, with columns for each spec. Then it'd just be a matter of clicking on a column header to sort by that spec, right? Just have to make sure the entered values are consistently formatted so it sorts properly. I think (not sure) that this would allow sorting by multiple specs too, e.g. sort by biggest battery and then of those, biggest screen.

Dunno, I like the idea well enough. Keeping track of all these phones does get a bit cumbersome, aside from the special few that are almost a straight upgrade.

-------

~24 hours 'til the v30 announcement. I think. Gonna be relayed through at least Youtube that I know of, anyone plan to watch it live?

I'm actually really impatient now. Not to hear general details for the phone - we already know most of what there is to know - but instead to find out if it has band 71 support.

I took it for granted that since it had an SD 835, it had the x16 modem, and thus would support band 71. However, it's been confirmed by Qualcomm that "no existing phones have band 71 support because it requires additional hardware" (probably needs revised antenna geometry and amplifiers). That includes the just-launched Note 8.

Some sites, including the above linked, are speculating that the v30 and Pixel XL2 will ship with support...but the timeframe is awfully close. T-Mobile has said that both LG and Samsung will have supporting phones out by the end of the year, but that's still a pretty big window of time yet and not indicative either way for the v30.

Have to admit, I'm going to be crushed if it turns out that LG didn't push to make sure the v30 has the required components. The phone is looking otherwise great, but I need that additional coverage for it to reliably replace my Verizon Quark. Existing T-Mobile coverage just isn't good enough out here, and if the phone won't be reliable as a phone...can't justify the upgrade :(

TL;DR worried that of all things this will ruin the v30 for me and felt like spewing forth a wall of text to chill myself out. Sorry.
[Moto Maxx General] ChazzMatt:
The only problem is NO ONE is making the phone they should be making, the phone I want. [emoji14]

ZTE came close and Alacatel seemed to want to compete last year, then regressed this year. Both had EXCELLENT front facing stereo speakers with 5.5" 1440p AMOLED displays. ZTE even had the latest Snapdragon 8XX chipset the time, microSD card, lots of RAM and internal storage. But no Qi wireless charging. Alacatel with their Idol 4S even had VR-certified specs, but for some strange reason went with Snapdragon 6XX chipset and no Qi wireless charging. This year, they regressed and went back to 1080p with Snapdragon 6XX. They were ALMOST a contender and decided to jump back firmly into mid-tier anonymity.

As for larger batteries, for some reason the BUDGET phones get those -- Motorola C Plus and E Plus with 4,000 mAh and 5,000 mAh batteries. The more money you pay (Z2 Force), the less battery you get. Makes no sense.

Unless some manufacturer comes out of the blue, like a Sharp (which makes excellent displays) and decides to run the field to replicate the Nexus 6 in a modern updated form. THAT is basically what I want --- a near zero bezel phone with "Nexus 6" type specs but UPDATED.

1440p AMOLED,

front facing stereo speakers,

Qi wireless,

latest Snapdragon chipset,

tons of storage (at least 64GB, probably 128GB),

lots of RAM (forget 4GB, I want 6GB),

decent camera with hardware based rear OIS.

headset jack

IP 68 RATING,

unlocked bootloader

for extra points, a microSD card expansion port

No, the Nexus 6 didn't have all that (like IP68 and it wasn't zero bezel by any means) -- but it had most of that list (or the equivalent in 2014 -- back then 3GB RAM is what 6GB would be today). And the frame was too big, which is why I never bought it and got the Quark instead. But you go zero-bezel and 5.95" display isn't so bad. It's what the LG V30 will be.

Point it, only a Sony, HTC, LG, Samsung, Motorola or Google -- or possibly ZTE will pull off something like that. OnePlus could if they tried, but they also like being also-rans. The like PRETENDING, not really being a leader. Sharp could also do it, as they've made zero-bezel display but they also prefer to remain in the 1080p, Snapdragon 6XX sandbox of mediocrity.

Essential couldn't even do it and they are a startup with a clean design sheet who could make whatever they wanted!

Guess you didn't see this, then did you. T-mobile demoed their new spectrum using some "new" phone that looks suspiciously like a camouflaged V30.

Did T-Mobile just leak video of the LG V30 in the wild?

http://bgr.com/2017/08/16/t-mobile-600mhz-lg-v30-release-date-leaks/

T-Mobile’s 600MHz LTE network is now live

http://www.tmonews.com/2017/08/t-mobile-600mhz-lte-network-now-live/

https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/6u1y2j/tmobile_lights_up_worlds_first_600_mhz_lte/
[Moto Maxx General] Septfox:
ZTE is doing some weird things lately. It seems like the Axon 7 was their latest real attempt at making a flagship, and that was...well, more than a year ago now. It's too bad, because it was a damn good attempt.

The battery thing makes sense. More battery means more thickness. If you're trying to push a flagship at the moment, you need:

Glass back

Curved glass front (2.5d is oK)

Small bezels

Thickness <9mm

IPx(6-8)

To hear phone manufacturers talk, people who buy high-end phones want a thin device at all costs. If you're trying to push a low- to mid-range phone for the everyman, well, you can afford to go wild and add a couple millimeters.

Essential is an unfortunately example of what happens when a startup company with no experience whatsoever thinks they can grab a bunch of fads and buzzwords, spackle them together, and end up with a bestseller.

They weren't trying to create something special - note no headphone jack, middling-size unremovable battery, no removable storage, no wireless charging - they were trying to hype their product as something special and reap the rewards when people bought the hype. For that, I regard them...ehh, I guess saying "as highly as Apple" would be going a bit far, but at the very least I don't have much use for them.

I did. It's inconclusive at best.

It could easily be an XL 2 running AOSP; they'd probably have a lightweight ROM to build a custom service menu and cell settings into for testing. Google makes their sources readily available (and I have no doubt if a major carrier approached them offering free field testing for their product to make sure it works properly with upcoming network deployment, they'd make their sources available early), so building such a ROM would be a snap. If we look at the launch windows as indicative of development cycle timings, Google got started later and is far more likely to be able to change their design to capitalize on T-Mobile's unscheduled burst of enthusiasm regarding b71 deployment.

Or not. Who knows, the answer should be 10 hours or so. Thanks for bringing it up though, it'd slipped my mind. I still feel it's inconclusive at best and leans towards the Pixel at worst, but it's a bit of hope at least.

One thing that I don't get though, is the text you bolded:

Why? I realize that Google sells through Verizon, but even then it's an unlocked phone as per the Block C agreement. The global version is...well...global. b71 support would definitely benefit them.