Good bye S9 :( hello Red Hydrogen One

[John Oliver1]

Recently my S9 has been getting really terrible at battery life. I have followed all the threads and did everything from clearing the cache, closely monitoring and uninstalling apps and reseting the phone. I'm not a heavy user, I don't play games or watch videos. I'm not on facebook and have made sure that app was uninstalled. The most I do is light surfing the internet and reading news feeds. The phone started strong when I got it but it just isn't holding up.

This is not my first Galaxy. Though the phone its self is great though I really have gotten tired of the rounded screen and all the extra stuff Samsung has put on their phones. I uninstalled/disabled just about as much as I could. I was thinking about upgrading to the 10 when it comes out but just haven't been feeling it as much lately.

So, I took the plunge and decided to make a radical change. After quite a bit of research I switched to the Red Hydrogen One. So far I love it. There are a lot of bad reviews of the phone for the first month or two when it launched. Once you get past those reviews they become very favorable. They all say to update the software immediately.

Unfortunately it's hard to find a demo to test out so took the jump and blindly ordered it. I figured if I didn't like it then I would return it after a couple of days. So far I am extremly impressed. Once I received the phone and activated it the phone immediately updated twice. Then the Red apps updated themselves twice. It's been nice. Yes the phone is heavy, it's solid. Not sandwiched in glass but built out of Aluminum, Titanium an Kevlar, if it gets dropped I'm pretty sure it will survive the inpact. The large screen is great and the camera is amazing . There are a lack of cases for it, (Only one or two available) Not really worried about one. I like my phones as close to naked as possible. , but there are plenty of screen protectors which I immediately installed.

Operating system is pretty close to stock Android. The battery life is amazing, 2 - 2.5 days on a single charge. Things run really smooth. Hopefully it will be a fun journey with a great phone not really getting the attention it deserves. I have a learned quite a lot from this forum for my S9. I wish everyone the best with their phones.

 

[NIZMOZ44]

If it's an AT&T model, we just got the latest Android 9 Pie update, and it made a huge difference on battery life for my S9+. You should update yours and see the difference since you had issues with battery life so you can compare.

 

[Adam Frix]

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/29/18027782/red-hydrogen-one-review-all-hype

I assume all the software updates you talk about address the issues in this article?

 

[JustTestingTheThing]

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/29/18027782/red-hydrogen-one-review-all-hype

I assume all the software updates you talk about address the issues in this article?

I read through it. Let's discuss each point on the "Bad Stuff" column:

BAD STUFF
> Holographic display is blurry and bad

Either this user had a defective unit, the pre-release software was HORRIBLE, or, most likely, this reviewer has no technical knowledge or experience with 3D tech. The display isn't blurry, at all. It's sharp and high-resolution. It looks better than my Nvidia 3D Vision 1080p monitor. Images on Holopix look almost 4K when in their "4 View" format. In addition, unlike other 3D where you only get two images and one view, in 4V you get 4 images and 3 views, so you can tilt the device to the left and right and see the depth from different angles. In addition, other people can look over your shoulder and see the depth. No other glasses-free solution can do that. The Nintendo 3DS, for example, can't do that. The screen is also high resolution in 2D.

> No accessories yet for expansion pins

That's true, but they're coming soon.

> Phone is huge and bulky

This is totally subjective. It's MARGINALLY(a couple of millimeters) larger than the iPhone Plus series. The people who buy this phone love having a large, beautiful display and a substantial-feeling phone in their hands. Other phones feel like toys after you hold a Hydrogen One.

> Large bezels around sub-par display

The bezels house a 3D camera and a surround speaker system. Worth the trade-off in my opinion. It also gives you a great place to grip the phone when watching video or playing games on it, unlike phones like Galaxy S and iPhone.

> Little 3D content

Tons of content available now, through Holopix, the photo sharing app, lots of games in the App Store, and videos on Hydrogen Network.

> Last year’s processor

It runs Fortnite at max settings at 1440p and can edit 4K videos, I don't know what else I could want this phone to do. The reviewer acted like the difference between the 835 and the 845 is massive and it's a huge downgrade, but this phone is still more powerful than the vast majority of phones on the market today. Only the handful of Snapdragon 845 phones are better, and even then the value is dubious. What does that actually get you in comparison? The 835 does everything I need it to.

> Falls far short of other $1,000+ phones

Except by, you know...having a headphone jack, having twice the battery life, being more rugged, having a model LITERALLY MADE OF KEVLAR AND TITANIUM, having not one, but TWO 3D cameras, outperforming phones like the Galaxy Note in MKBHD's blind 2D photo comparison test, and having exclusive, high quality apps like Holopix that you can't find anywhere else.

I think if you're price sensitive, it's not the phone for you. Clearly, by its price alone, you can realize it's not for everyone. It's for cinema professionals, photographers, and enthusiasts. And I think I got my money's worth out of it.

You can also get it for cheaper like-new from the User groups. You can get it for about $750 like new since some people bought them to shoot a music video or other project and are selling it now that the shoot is done. You can get the Titanium for $1200 brand new from users since people got a free Aluminum with Titanium orders and will stick with that instead of switching to Titanium.

I think a 3 is WAY too harsh for this phone for a regular person. For a regular person, I'd give it a 6 when looking at the value dollar for dollar. But for a professional who needs a color accurate screen, amazing camera, 3D camera, a rugged phone for shoots, or is otherwise entrenched in the RED ecosystem, this phone is priceless. Solid 9/10 if not 10/10 for those who need what it provides.