So, now I suddenly own two pretty capable Androids...

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
09/30/2016 at 10:16 • Filed to: Phones

So, last night my parents gave me a new phone. Apparently the motherboard fried in my dad’s old Droid, so they decided screw it, they’re just going to buy new phones. I now have in my possession my old Nexus 5X and a new Galaxy S7.

I love the fit and finish plus the hardware of the S7 much much much more, but I like Cyanogenmod 13 on the Nexus a whole lot more than the silly TouchWiz that comes with the S7.

Interestingly enough, what I do with the Galaxy will be determined by whatever Google whips up in a couple days. If their new phones are really attractive, I might just eBay the S7 and get whatever they cooked up.

For now, the Nexus 5X is going to Miss Tesla. She’s been yearning for an Android OS that’s newer than 4.4, so I removed Cyanogenmod and replaced it with a pure build of 7.0 last night. The Nexus is pretty mint, so if she decides she doesn’t want it, I could turn a neato profit on it.

DISCUSSION (17)

Nibby > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 10:16

Friend of mine lovingly nicknamed TouchWiz TouchJizz. Seriously awful interface.

they-will-know-my-velocity > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 10:21

I have a Oneplus 1 and I love Cyanogen’s build for it.

Bout time for a new one though. Thinking the Oneplus 4 but with Nokia making android phones again...I may wait for that.

BeaterGT > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 10:30

Debating replacing my Nexus 5 for a 5X if the Pixel phones are too expensive. Just not willing to pay Iphone prices.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 10:34

I am also waiting on googles announcement next week. If the smaller phone is not too expensive (I would like it to be under $500 at the most) and has no glaring issues I am going to buy one. Kinda scared by the rumor that the small phone is going to start a $645 for 32gb though.

I wonder if you can put Cyanogen on the S7. I was going to put it on my S4 to fool around with but Samsung locked down the bootloader on the US phones with an update.

Monkey B > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 10:41

Touchwiz is awful. Samsung reliability is questionable at best in my experience...sell and get the Pixel.

Monkey B > BeaterGT
09/30/2016 at 10:43

Starting at $649 is what I’ve read...very disappointed.

Stapleface > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 11:05

This makes me miss my 5x. I only had it for maybe 4-5 months before the screen spiderwebed and became unreadable. You know the worst part about it? I don’t even know how it happened. I just took it out of my pocket and there it was, destroyed. It still pisses me off that they never made an Otterbox for the 5x. I’m convinced if I had one that wouldn’t have happened. Even though I don’t know WHAT happened.

That being said, I have to say I’m fairly happy with my Huawei Honor running CG13. But that phone needs to run CG. Without it it’s almost unusable. It will drain the battery within 2 hours from full charge. Thankfully CG fixed that and it’s a pretty solid phone. The biggest thing I miss from the 5x is the fingerprint scanner, which won’t work on the Honor with CG13.

Jack Does Cars > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 11:30

I’ve had my gold S7 since May and I love it. I had a Moto X 2nd Gen. before and miss it every day.

Mercedes Streeter > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
09/30/2016 at 11:54

The American S7 has a Snapdragon, so it should only be a matter of time before that happens. Looks to me that the best ROM for the S7 is what’s effectively a stock Android ROM. Samsung tries to be like Apple and keep a closed-ish ecosystem...*sigh*

As for the Pixel, I honestly think it won’t be $645 for the smaller one...that would literally be pulling an Apple and just hurt Google in the end.

Mercedes Streeter > BeaterGT
09/30/2016 at 11:56

I wouldn’t get a 5X unless the first thing you do is get Cyanogenmod or another custom ROM. Stock Android is a little bit of a nightmare at handling the 2GB of RAM that the 5X is saddled with. Expect very few apps to be able to run in the background without iPhone style refreshing.

However, Cyanogenmod 13 somehow does what Google couldn’t, and it makes the 2GB work like it’s much more.

Also, the battery backs of the 5Xs are atrocious, heavily prone to “case-rub”.

Mercedes Streeter > Monkey B
09/30/2016 at 11:57

So long as the Pixel doesn’t start at the insane price and has good specs, you bet your bottom I’d be trading!

BeaterGT > Monkey B
09/30/2016 at 12:14

Yea I’m hoping thats the price for the XL but we’ll find out Tuesday!

KirkyV > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 12:38

I love the design, screens and fit and finish of Samsung’s new phones - the Note 7, explosions aside, is just beautiful, and the S7/Edge are great, too - and Micro-SD support is always welcome, but Touchwiz has never done it for me. The only Android skin I’ve ever even somewhat enjoyed is HTC Sense, and even that didn’t really compare to stock, at least when taken as a whole package. Hence my having owned nothing but Nexus phones for about five years. (Galaxy Nexus -> Nexus 5 -> Nexus 6P, currently.)

I’ve been eyeing the S7 phones with some amount of envy, but the software - updates and reliability - still isn’t at the point where I’d be willing to switch.

Intrigued by the idea of the Pixel phones, but the hardware leaks haven’t really inspired much confidence so far--and besides, I generally like to keep a phone for at least two years, so I’ll probably be sticking with my 6P for some time yet.

Mercedes Streeter > KirkyV
09/30/2016 at 13:09

Doing my research on the phones out there, unless Google wows me on October 4th, my Samsung will see itself a new ROM. This phone is gorgeous, like I can’t stop looking at it...and hell, the newest TouchWiz doesn’t even look bad...just the freaking bloat is so aggravating. I don’t even use a third of the apps that come with these things.

KirkyV > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 13:19

Does it give you the option to disable the apps in the settings, like stock, or are you just stuck with them?

And I know exactly what you mean about the way it looks. It’s like... I dunno, finding a perfectly smooth pebble on the beach--you can’t help but stop and admire it.

Mercedes Streeter > KirkyV
09/30/2016 at 14:36

Some of them can be deleted (like the free games that came with it, eww) and most others can be disabled. I’m trying my best to like TouchWiz, because I’m afraid if I go to another ROM, I might lose Samsung Pay, which almost makes living with TouchWiz worth it.

KirkyV > Mercedes Streeter
09/30/2016 at 15:03

I’m happy with Android Pay, but then, it’s really rare to come across a terminal without NFC in the UK. And even rarer to find one that actually supports magnetic strips.