Debating between some phones

TheAsker64

Active member
Mar 10, 2014
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Hey there,

First of all...I'll explain the requirements.

- Two phones.
- One with a single sim. One with a dual sim.
- One of the phones to have more than 32GB.
- Cameras aren't a huge plus for me. It's nice. Won't buy a phone just because the camera is THE BEST.
- Battery life is big.
- I'm not a fan of large phones so anything above 5.1"-5.2" is out of the question.
- Unlocked. Will use the phones in my travels all over the world.
- I'd like to root them, so if there's no root for one of those models (as the case with my current S5), then... no good.

I came down to a final list of:
Galaxy S7.
Pixel.
P9.
P10.

Trying to decide on the best duo. Obviously if I get the Pixel then the other one will be the Dual Sim one.

Worries re each of the options:
Pixel - Price ; If that's the one with more than 32GB then the next option is 128GB which is too much and $100 more expensive, which is obviously a rip off ; If I get a 32GB Pixel then it forces me to get the other phone with 64GB cause that other phone will be Dual-Sim and all three of them have only two slots for - 2 SIMs + SD Card.

Galaxy S7 - User Reviews are good not great ; Battery?

P9 - Possible eMMC ; Mixed reviews on battery life ; Can spend the extra $200 on a P10, just not sure if it's worth it.

P10 - Possible eMMC ; Mixed reviews on battery life ; Is it worth the $200 over the P9?

I prefer to go around with an extra battery than a thick-heavy mobile charger, yet all the finalists have a non-removeable battery. If you think of another phone that is as good as the finalists but has a removeable battery...would be happy to know.

Big thanks!
 
Re: Debating between phones

TBH, I'd probably go with the Google Pixel as your primary single-SIM option and the Galaxy S7 as your dual-SIM option.

They're both very good phones and both have solid dev support if you're into rooting and custom ROMs.

The P9 and P10 are great phones too, but dev support is a little lax on those.

All the phones you listed have good battery life at moderate use. Should last you a full 12-hour day or more if you're not taxing it hard constantly.

Note that the S7 I'm talking about is the global SM-G930FD variant running on an Exynos 8890. The Snapdragon variant (specifically the US models) don't receive as much third-party dev support.
 
Re: Debating between phones

OK. Good to know re the SM-G930FD.

Is there a difference between that one and a SM-G930F?

Also, I was unable to find a SM-G930FD with 64GB.

Is it possible they don't make them?
 
Debating between phones

OK. Good to know re the SM-G930FD.

Is there a difference between that one and a SM-G930F?

Also, I was unable to find a SM-G930FD with 64GB.

Is it possible they don't make them?
Difference is just that the 930FD is officially supported when it comes to dual SIM capability. Regional differences may play a role, though.

I'm not sure if Samsung ever made a 930FD with 64GB of storage.
 
Re: Debating between phones

Yeah, so far seems like the answer is negative.

Which takes me back to the drawing board, as one phone must have more than 32GB, and I'm not sure I wanna pay an extra $100 on a Pixel to have 128GB.
 
Re: Debating between phones

Yeah, so far seems like the answer is negative.

Which takes me back to the drawing board, as one phone must have more than 32GB, and I'm not sure I wanna pay an extra $100 on a Pixel to have 128GB.
If ROMs aren't imperative, the P10 might be worth a look.
 
Re: Debating between phones

Will research on the HTC 10 then.

Thanks for the tip!

Any other opinions in the crowd out there?
 
Not super excited about the HTC 10.

Can you help me understand what are the difficulties with ROMs if I get the P9/P10?
 
Not super excited about the HTC 10.

Can you help me understand what are the difficulties with ROMs if I get the P9/P10?
They run on Kirin processors, so development can be tricky.

There's good news though. Some time after I wrote my first reply, Huawei released the source codes for the P10. It should be back on your radar.
 
They run on Kirin processors, so development can be tricky.

There's good news though. Some time after I wrote my first reply, Huawei released the source codes for the P10. It should be back on your radar.

Hmmmm... what are your thoughts on my concerns re the Ps? eMMC memory and is the P10 worth the extra money over the P9.

Source codes release means the ROMs will be available soon without a problem?
 
Hmmmm... what are your thoughts on my concerns re the Ps? eMMC memory and is the P10 worth the extra money over the P9.

Source codes release means the ROMs will be available soon without a problem?
The P10 had an issue with hardware lotteries, where you either get a model with LPDDR3 or LPDDR4 memory, alongside eMMC, UFS 2 OR UFS 2.1 storage, in a completely randomized order.

Huawei's consumer division CEO, Richard Yu, basically admitted that they didn't handle it the right way in an internal memo, which may imply that the hardware lottery is not as obvious.

That said, make sure the store you're buying from has a no-nonsense return policy just in case.

Also, the release of a kernel source code makes it significantly easier to build custom firmware on top of the code. As such, you should see more stable AOSP-based custom ROMs for the P10 over on XDA soon.

And I would say yes, the P10 is worth the extra. It has better cameras, more powerful hardware, has a newer version of the EMUI skin and already has its source code released.
 
The P10 had an issue with hardware lotteries, where you either get a model with LPDDR3 or LPDDR4 memory, alongside eMMC, UFS 2 OR UFS 2.1 storage, in a completely randomized order.

Huawei's consumer division CEO, Richard Yu, basically admitted that they didn't handle it the right way in an internal memo, which may imply that the hardware lottery is not as obvious.

That said, make sure the store you're buying from has a no-nonsense return policy just in case.

Also, the release of a kernel source code makes it significantly easier to build custom firmware on top of the code. As such, you should see more stable AOSP-based custom ROMs for the P10 over on XDA soon.

And I would say yes, the P10 is worth the extra. It has better cameras, more powerful hardware, has a newer version of the EMUI skin and already has its source code released.

BIG BIG thanks man. You're a great mod. Just the way it should be.

Keep it up!