Android OS phones

Colossus · February 1, 2017

Hi Folks-

I am currently in the market for a new phone. I currently own a Samsung S5 and aside from never ending issues with the screen not rotating and a few other sensor issues as well as very crappy battery life, it has done ok. I am considering the Galaxy S7 Edge or the Moto Droid Turbo 2. Any of you out there own one of these and would be willing to provide feedback? Or other phones I should look into? No apple products, please.

Thanks

Chris · February 1, 2017

My brother loves his s7 edge. I went from a Note 4 to an iPhone 7 plus. I wanted a change. I looked into the Droid z before getting my iPhone

sdeeter19555 · February 1, 2017

I have an S5, two of them actually, and they have worked flawlessly? They're pushing two years old right now. That suck you've had issues.

Both my S5 are on ATT. I have an S6 on Verizon that's the company's phone. The S6 is definitely faster, but lacks a removable battery and external storage capabilities.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

waumo1 · February 1, 2017

I thought my S5 had crappy battery life until I noticed it was due to Google photos killing the battery by constantly syncing. I installed an app "Greenify" which hibernated Google photo and problem solved. I looked at the S6 & S7 but the lack of a removable battery killed the idea for me.

ember1205 · February 1, 2017

I thought my S5 had crappy battery life until I noticed it was due to Google photos killing the battery by constantly syncing. I installed an app "Greenify" which hibernated Google photo and problem solved. I looked at the S6 & S7 but the lack of a removable battery killed the idea for me.

Or you could have adjusted the sync settings for Google Photos.

Colossus · February 2, 2017

I have been concerned about the non-removable batteries as well. Why would they do that?

ember1205 · February 2, 2017

I have been concerned about the non-removable batteries as well. Why would they do that?

iPhones have never had removable batteries, nor have iPods, iPads, or any of the Android tablets. With the proliferation of cases with integrated batteries and portable "power bank" recharging devices, the "need" for a removable battery is pretty much gone.

You can't change batteries without shutting the device down, and there are plugs everywhere now (including ON many airplanes). Fast charging, better battery life overall, and the ability to recharge in so many ways means that removable batteries are no longer required.

Plus, by eliminating the ability to take the back off of the phone, they can seal it better and improve resistance to moisture.

Rosedog · February 2, 2017

Wait for the Note 8, coming out soon.

ember1205 · February 2, 2017

Or I have an AT&T Note 5 64G for sale with a lot of accessories, in like new condition.

waumo1 · February 2, 2017

I have been concerned about the non-removable batteries as well. Why would they do that?

Mainly to make the device cheaper and thinner.

Replaceable battery is important to me so that the battery can be easily replaced when it goes bad or loses some of the capacity. If you trade devices often it doesn't matter. If you keep a device for a few years like I do it is important. I have replaced the battery at least once in every phone I have owned.

Colossus · February 2, 2017

Thank you for the info and insight. I like to hold onto my devices for 2+ years when possible, and I've been in the habit of replacing batteries for my phone once a year due to the life of the battery being greatly diminished come 1 year of use. I don't have charging stations/pads or whatever they use now readily available where I work and with the work I do, so the battery needs to last at least 12 hours as I can't be throwing it on a charger every 8-10 hours like I see so many do. As it stands right now, my S5 with a .5 year old battery just barely makes it 12 hours, if I don't check my e-mail too often and with many background apps turned off. What a PITA.

ember1205 · February 2, 2017

Thank you for the info and insight. I like to hold onto my devices for 2+ years when possible, and I've been in the habit of replacing batteries for my phone once a year due to the life of the battery being greatly diminished come 1 year of use. I don't have charging stations/pads or whatever they use now readily available where I work and with the work I do, so the battery needs to last at least 12 hours as I can't be throwing it on a charger every 8-10 hours like I see so many do. As it stands right now, my S5 with a .5 year old battery just barely makes it 12 hours, if I don't check my e-mail too often and with many background apps turned off. What a PITA.

Lithium Ion batteries are good for about 1000 charge / use cycles. When your phone needs to be charged twice/day, you go through those cycles in less "calendar time" than if the phone only needs to be charged once/day. With manufacturers being pressed to make battery life better, and being able to get a fully day out of a charge, the need to replace batteries because they're worn out is also reduced.

So, better battery life on the new devices also means less need to replace batteries because they're "shot".

Colossus · February 2, 2017

Thanks.

&CDFiXER% · February 4, 2017

You might check (there is even a screen to show you) what is eating your battery life.

I get 3.5(easily)-4.5(occasionally) days in between charges on my S5. Currently on day #3 @ 37% with an estimate of 23 hrs run time.

@2 years old and still on the same battery when new.

I do no video streaming and audio streaming seems to do little to hurt the battery life estimate.

GPS and bluetooth are always turned off, except I turn the bluetooth on when in the car or truck.

No facebook and little to no web browsing.

Tons of (work) emails (24x7) and fair amount of messaging (younger siblings and co-workers who are not aware a phone works for speech too, lol).

Don't overlook how far from your carriers Preferred towers you are for long periods. If your home or office is a long way from your carriers towers, your phone will use more power to stay connected to them. Yes WiFi impacts this.

'01LS1 · February 4, 2017

Thank you for the info and insight. I like to hold onto my devices for 2+ years when possible, and I've been in the habit of replacing batteries for my phone once a year due to the life of the battery being greatly diminished come 1 year of use. I don't have charging stations/pads or whatever they use now readily available where I work and with the work I do, so the battery needs to last at least 12 hours as I can't be throwing it on a charger every 8-10 hours like I see so many do. As it stands right now, my S5 with a .5 year old battery just barely makes it 12 hours, if I don't check my e-mail too often and with many background apps turned off. What a PITA.

As mentioned in post 14, check to see what processes are draining your battery the most. Android runs a lot of things in the background while sitting idle that you can stop if you are not using those items.

If I had to buy today, would be torn between the S7/S7Edge or S7 Active. The S7 Active is only available via ATT, tho can run on any gsm network. The reason I mention that is the battery is 4000mAh vs 3000mAh on the regular S7.

If you can wait another 2 months give or take, the S8 will be released. The screens are slated to grow in size while maintaining the same form factor as your S5.

There will be a lot of info here. http://www.androidcentral.com/