[vinodh_eee]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

There is a little known Indian website called 91mobiles.com. I found their smartphone reviews to be the best. Their camera reviews too are excellent, with multiple sample images taken from the phone. The subject matter/location of all photos are the same, so you can compare photo quality of two different phones, side by side.

So Google:

Motorola G84 91mobiles
Motorola Edge 40 Neo 91mobiles
Motorola Edge 40 91mobiles

Example:

Neo specs & sample camera images:
https://www.91mobiles.com/motorola-e...price-in-india
Neo full review:
https://www.91mobiles.com/hub/motoro...40-neo-review/

Thanks. I have been checking most reviews in 91mobiles and GSMArena. However, after reading through a few, I am having trouble distinguishing one from another.
In TBHP, I am looking for real life user reviews. Sorry, if I haven't made it clear. For example, for Moto Edge 40 and Edge 40 neo has overheating reported in some instances. But I want to know how frequent is it with minimal gaming.

[vijaykr]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

There is a little known Indian website called 91mobiles.com. I find their smartphone reviews very comprehensive. Their camera reviews too are excellent, with multiple sample images taken from the phone. The subject matter/location of all photos are the same, so you can compare photo quality of two different phones, side by side

Another good website I use for phone reviews is GSMArena.com Most of the popular budget phones in India also are reviewed by them and they provide comprehensive info about the phones and comparable phones for similar budget. Their comparison tool is pretty good as well. There is also an Android app which is quite neat.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by vinodh_eee

In TBHP, I am looking for real life user reviews. Sorry, if I haven't made it clear. For example, for Moto Edge 40 and Edge 40 neo has overheating reported in some instances.

One problem with real life smartphone reviews is that the reviewer will only have only his previous phone for comparison. When it comes to camera quality especially, professional reviews are the best. But yes, real-life reviews are good for glitch idenitification if any (like overheating) because they would have been using it for a much longer time than a professional reviewer

Originally Posted by vijaykr

Another good website I use for phone reviews is GSMArena.com Most of the popular budget phones in India also are reviewed by them and they provide comprehensive info about the phones and comparable phones for similar budget. Their comparison tool is pretty good as well. There is also an Android app which is quite neat.

They are focussing on Indian audience these days (India launches, prices etc). Although it is quite sad that Angie has quit GSMArena.
GSMArena, 91mobiles and Gadgets360 all have android/iOS app

[Small Bot]

Originally Posted by vinodh_eee

How is the real world performance of Moto's camera? Moto G84 is cheaper than Edge 40 Neo even though the former has more RAM and Storage. Is it because the build quality of Edge 40 Neo is better?

Also, is there any real world difference in performance between Edge 40 and Edge 40 neo, in terms of camera performance, battery life and over-heating?

I can only talk about the phones I've personally seen and touched and used for a bit.

RAM and Storage in themselves are quite useless if not backed by a good processor. And that's where the Edge 40 Neo scores over the G84, with a slightly better processor. I think the Edge 40 has an even better one. There are a few more features in the Edge series like 68W fast charging and curved edges (ergo the name). Also, it looks slightly better when held in your hand, though that's subjective.

And I haven't seen any Moto phone camera at that price point ever be really great. They do the job and that's it.

A friend of mine has the Edge 40, it's pretty impressive looking and the battery life is more than a full day, as per his usage. One issue he did mention was that his phone kept disconnecting on wired Android Auto, if that's a criteria for you.

But the one area where the G84 scores is that it has a 3.5 mm audio jack even for a slim phone, which might be important for those who frequently use wired headsets.

[lxskllr]

Pixel 8 Pro review, coming from a Pixel 5!

TLDR/My verdict: those looking to buy a pixel 8 pro, know what you are getting into. My requirements were to capture the moment in good quality with reasonable battery life and clean software. Pixel does this for me. Overall 7.5/10 for me!

The below lists are in no particular order, and are no categorized into buckets. I've the latest January patch installed. Using the device for more than a month now

Pros

1. Reasonably quick vs Pixel 5. Although you won't notice it in everyday tasks - phone calls, WhatsApp and Google pay
   
2. Excellent cameras - good details captured and front facing camera is an improvement over pixel 5. Portrait mode could be improved though. The edge detection is poor
   
3. 7 years of software support and parts availability
   
4. Excellent haptics Didn't know what I was missing
   
5. Excellent brightness outdoors and in direct sunlight
   
6. Pixel UI - arguably the best Android experience, although misses out on some of the good features from other skins. We had icon shape customization in A11, why remove it?
   
7. Voice typing - super fast and quick in English (US), although does not work for local languages
   
8. Build quality - feels premium and the back glass finish is well done. Attention to detail: the inside of the USB C port is the same color as the body. Display bezels could be thinner - see 15 Pro series
   
9. Magic stuff - what even is a photo? I appreciate the best take for group photos
   
10. The loudspeaker and staging of sound between the two speakers is well done
    
11. Clear call - excellent, I could hear the other person very clearly and they could hear me clearly without any background noise
    
12. Decent support for phone accessories - cases and screen protectors. iPhone is class leading, but this is neck and neck with Samsung S series!
    
13. Screen attention: works well to keep the display on when I'm look at content on the screen
    
14. Face unlock - works well in well lit environments
    
15. Now Playing: underrated feature which works well without your input
    
16. Recorder summarization and speaker identification works beautifully
    
17. The live translation feature is handy. I don't have to copy paste stuff into the translator. And this works in some third party as well - like WhatsApp

Cons

1. When I'm traveling, if it switches to 2g, it doesn't automatically go back to LTE. I gave the phone more than 5 mins to do so. Had to toggle flight mode and it immediately switched to LTE
   
2. Fingerprint sensor is sluggish vs P5. Also blasts your face with a bright light in dim lit environment
   
3. Somehow the scrolling and animations don't feel like they are running at 120Hz. Maybe micro stutters or poor animations. Redmi phone with 120hz feels smoother, so does iPhone pro models
   
4. Call screening and many other features are not enabled in India.
   
5. The brightness slider - I understand it's not linear, but the first 60% the brightness does not change much. Last 30-40% it changes a lot
   
6. Hit and miss experience with Pixel watch - after promoting to pair, and pairing finished, it couldn't configure itself properly and asked me to reset and setup from scratch
   
7. Migration from Pixel 5 was painful - although it copied over all the app, home screen settings - I had to re-login to all of my apps. I understand banking apps, but uber etc should move seamlessly
   
8. Temperature sensor? - Unless we are able to measure human skin temperature, used it once and then that's about it. The space could have been used for lazer autofocus or LIDAR sensor
   
9. Gripe which I also had with my Pixel 5 - cannot connect to work network. iPhone can download the certificate and connect
   
10. Price @ 1300 USD in India without the watch bundle for 128GB it's expensive for what it offers, S23 U is around 1400 USD which is a better deal
    
11. Doesn't retain the resale value as much as the iPhone. Doesn't matter to those who plan to keep the phone for 5+ years
    
12. Warranty support: one service center in India, Google will pickup at the doorstep and then get it repaired. Limited transparency and poor experience as per online reviews
    
13. Personal safety: Earthquake alerts don't work on Pixel or Androids in general. Why does Google advertise this officially in India then?

Note: Work provides an iPhone. So I didn't consider iPhone. One UI - not to my liking.

Macro Shot:


Regular Lens:


Action Pan(in low light):


5x Telephoto at sunset:

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by lxskllr

Pixel 8 Pro review...
...

Thanks for the detailed review. I just picked up a Pixel 8 as I got a good deal (53k) and always wanted to come back to Google as a Nexus user.

My previous 2 phones were Samsungs and although One UI has more functionality, there is something nice about how the Pixel UI works.

Coming from a Flip4, I don't see any issues with the screen refresh rate on my Pixel 8, and the stuttering issue seems to be a common one on the Pro with the LTPO display.

The haptics does take you by surprise in a good way and now my work iPhone feels horrible to type on

[Bhargav7]

Originally Posted by Small Bot

So, will Samsung S24 be launched in India with an Exynos 2400 chip instead of an SD 8 Gen 3? I might think of going for the S23 only, if that's the case. Hopefully it stays on the Samsung corporate website for a while after the launch.

They indeed launched it with Exynos in India. Waited all this while and ended up buying S23 today.

It is still available in the corporate portal.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Thanks for the detailed review. I just picked up a Pixel 8 as I got a good deal (53k) and always wanted to come back to Google as a Nexus user.

53k is palatable. How did you get this deal? Did you exchange an earlier phone?

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

53k is palatable. How did you get this deal? Did you exchange an earlier phone?

Flipkart had this offer at the end of December where there was a 16k off via credit cards plus a no cost EMI for 18 months (HDFC) which shaved off another 7k off the upfront price (Total discount of 23k). HDFC allows merchant EMIs to be cancelled without any pre closure charge, hence you get to keep the upfront discount as well . Keep checking out the offers as it keeps changing.

Sold my Flip 4 separately for 28k, so for ~25k, the Pixel 8 worked out for me. See this as a better long term phone than the Flip.

Anyone looking at the S23, with the above mentioned steps you can pickup the phone at 50k with a HDFC card on the Samsung online shop.

[fhdowntheline]

How is the build quality of Pixel 8 series? My S21 Ultra is nearing 3 years and will look out for a change soon. Torn between all three flagships ( Iphone 15 pro max/ Pixel 8 Pro / S 24 Ultra). Also a bit skeptical of the One Plus flagship series with repect to data privacy.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by vinodh_eee

How is the real world performance of Moto's camera? Moto G84 is cheaper than Edge 40 Neo even though the former has more RAM and Storage. Is it because the build quality of Edge 40 Neo is better?

Also, is there any real world difference in performance between Edge 40 and Edge 40 neo, in terms of camera performance, battery life and over-heating?

I am using Moto Edge 40 for past 2 months.

It is an excellent phone. Snappy performance. No lag. Almost pure android experience. Almost a compact form factor for easy one handed operation.

Camera is above average. I would not say good. But I am not too much of a phone photography person and hence I am happy with what the camera offers.

Yes, there is heating issue especially if you use the phone outside in sun. It does heat up to an uncomfortable level to hold. With the vegan leather back like mine, it takes more time to cool as well compared to the normal plastic back cover. So the heat dissipation is not that great.

I have fixed the display refresh at 60Hz and selected 4G as preferred network selection. With this combo, I get 24+ hrs of battery life with my average usage. With 5G and 120Hz refresh selected, the battery lasts from 7AM to 10PM.

Hope this helps to make a decision

[Small Bot]

Originally Posted by Bhargav7

They indeed launched it with Exynos in India. Waited all this while and ended up buying S23 today.

It is still available in the corporate portal.

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Anyone looking at the S23, with the above mentioned steps you can pickup the phone at 50k with a HDFC card on the Samsung online shop.

Exactly what I've decided too. The S23 is available for a sweet deal of INR 53.5K via Samsung corporate website, and using my wife's HDFC credit card. Will be ordering that over the weekend then. I hope this lasts for the next four years sans any fuss.

[F150]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

How is the build quality of Pixel 8 series? My S21 Ultra is nearing 3 years and will look out for a change soon. Torn between all three flagships ( Iphone 15 pro max/ Pixel 8 Pro / S 24 Ultra). Also a bit skeptical of the One Plus flagship series with repect to data privacy.

I am also in same boat. I am unable to see the value in upgrading to S24 Ultra. The offers are not attractive. Looks like, I will have to wait till S25 Ultra or Fold 6.

[CptSlow]

Originally Posted by lxskllr

Pixel 8 Pro review, coming from a Pixel 5!

1. Personal safety: Earthquake alerts don't work on Pixel or Androids in general. Why does Google advertise this officially in India then

Any source for the earthquake alerts not working? I got the alert on my Pixel 7 in less than a minute of feeling the tremors. Maybe it's not that consistent?

[lxskllr]

Originally Posted by CptSlow

Any source for the earthquake alerts not working? I got the alert on my Pixel 7 in less than a minute of feeling the tremors. Maybe it's not that consistent?

No trusted source, but in the 3 years I’ve owned Pixel 5, never received any alerts. Nor on the pixel 8 pro. I understand, this feature was recently released, but I recollect feeling the tremors but the phone didn’t notify me !