I am getting my phone later this evening according the UPS tracking, and with a little time on my hands before then, I thought I'd post first with the things I Intend to do with this phone.
I will update this post with latest results from my modifications, and learning curve.
I will also share some info from XDA developers, (which is the deep end of the pool, while I consider android forums to be more about power users as opposed to development) and other sources as they become available.
Reasons I chose this phone.
Being neither an audiophile, or video junkie where my phone is concerned, (I prefer my iTunes, and my HD large screen TV for those) left me free to get a phone for slightly more industrial reasons.
I needed a phone to replace my Motorola Moto X pure, (which I am now realizing was during the time that Google owned Motorola before they sold to Lenovo) which four years ago when I got it, was a stripped down monster, with proprietary moto voice custom wake up phrases, a larger screen, (5.7'), and a fairly pure android experience, which easily allowed me to tweak and kill apps at my command. I also was not interested in storing 128 GB of data on a phone, (Anyone who is doing this without two backups is courting disaster)
Given that I don't listen to music, play games or watch videos on this phone, I simply wanted more RAM, a faster chipset, and processor, a larger screen, and better battery life.
The Xiaomi came through on all fronts, with 6GB RAM, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
2.45GHz octa-core Kryo 280 chipset, an Adreno 540 GPU, a 6 inch display, and a 3400mAh battery.
For the $420, I was willing to sacrifice a couple of premium features, like:
Wireless charging:
Because I use WSKen magnetic USB 3 charging cables. (NOTE: If you worry about wear and tear on your charger port, (The place where you insert your charger chord end) look into WSKen. they are magnetic cord connections that create no wear and tear on your phone. I Get mine on Ebay)
Headphone jack:
Also since I do not listen to music on phones, I didn't care that there is no standard headphone jack to speak of, and an adapter is needed to listen with standard headphones. I"ll probably get wireless earbuds anyway.
Schedule:
I will:
1: Remove all bloatware, including all facebook apps, that allegedly come bundled with it.
I am told I can do this without rooting, by using ADB, however if this does not work, I will root the phone with a custom Global ROM for MiUi
2: Attempt to hack a solution to make my phone respond to a wake-up phrase other than "Ok Google"
3: Re-create my all black, zero information desktop with all hidden buttons,
4: Lose 20 pounds, feel a new sense of vigor and health and be a better citizen.
If interested, stay tuned!
Thanks!
PM
FULL SPECS:
Operating System MIUI 9
Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Display 5.9-inch 18:9 IPS LCD 2160 x 1080 (403ppi)
Sunlight mode
Reading mode
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
2.45GHz octa-core Kryo 280
10nm FinFET
GPU Adreno 540
RAM 6GB LPDDR4X (8GB LPDDR4X special edition)
Storage 64GB/128GB/256GB UFS 2.1 flash storage (128GB special edition)
Expandable No
Battery 3400mAh
Charging USB-C
Quick Charge 3.0 (9V/2A)
Rear Camera 12MP (Sony IMX 386) f/2.0, 1.25-micron pixels
4-axis OIS, two-tone flash, PDAF
4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps
Front Camera 5MP
1080p video<Beautify mode
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MU MIMO, 2x2 MIMO LTE with VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0
GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/BeiDou
Network bands FDD-LTE: Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/27/28/29/30
TDD-LTE: Band 34/38/39/40/41
TD-SCDMA: Band 34/39
WCDMA: Band 1/2/3/4/5/6/8/9/19
CDMA EVDO: BC0, BC1, BC6, BC10
GSM: Band 2/3/5/8
Security One-touch fingerprint sensor at the back
SIM Dual nano-SIM slot
Dimensions 151.8 x 75.5 x 7.7mm
Weight: 185g
I will update this post with latest results from my modifications, and learning curve.
I will also share some info from XDA developers, (which is the deep end of the pool, while I consider android forums to be more about power users as opposed to development) and other sources as they become available.
Reasons I chose this phone.
Being neither an audiophile, or video junkie where my phone is concerned, (I prefer my iTunes, and my HD large screen TV for those) left me free to get a phone for slightly more industrial reasons.
I needed a phone to replace my Motorola Moto X pure, (which I am now realizing was during the time that Google owned Motorola before they sold to Lenovo) which four years ago when I got it, was a stripped down monster, with proprietary moto voice custom wake up phrases, a larger screen, (5.7'), and a fairly pure android experience, which easily allowed me to tweak and kill apps at my command. I also was not interested in storing 128 GB of data on a phone, (Anyone who is doing this without two backups is courting disaster)
Given that I don't listen to music, play games or watch videos on this phone, I simply wanted more RAM, a faster chipset, and processor, a larger screen, and better battery life.
The Xiaomi came through on all fronts, with 6GB RAM, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
2.45GHz octa-core Kryo 280 chipset, an Adreno 540 GPU, a 6 inch display, and a 3400mAh battery.
For the $420, I was willing to sacrifice a couple of premium features, like:
Wireless charging:
Because I use WSKen magnetic USB 3 charging cables. (NOTE: If you worry about wear and tear on your charger port, (The place where you insert your charger chord end) look into WSKen. they are magnetic cord connections that create no wear and tear on your phone. I Get mine on Ebay)
Headphone jack:
Also since I do not listen to music on phones, I didn't care that there is no standard headphone jack to speak of, and an adapter is needed to listen with standard headphones. I"ll probably get wireless earbuds anyway.
Schedule:
I will:
1: Remove all bloatware, including all facebook apps, that allegedly come bundled with it.
I am told I can do this without rooting, by using ADB, however if this does not work, I will root the phone with a custom Global ROM for MiUi
2: Attempt to hack a solution to make my phone respond to a wake-up phrase other than "Ok Google"
3: Re-create my all black, zero information desktop with all hidden buttons,
4: Lose 20 pounds, feel a new sense of vigor and health and be a better citizen.
If interested, stay tuned!
Thanks!
PM
FULL SPECS:
Operating System MIUI 9
Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Display 5.9-inch 18:9 IPS LCD 2160 x 1080 (403ppi)
Sunlight mode
Reading mode
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
2.45GHz octa-core Kryo 280
10nm FinFET
GPU Adreno 540
RAM 6GB LPDDR4X (8GB LPDDR4X special edition)
Storage 64GB/128GB/256GB UFS 2.1 flash storage (128GB special edition)
Expandable No
Battery 3400mAh
Charging USB-C
Quick Charge 3.0 (9V/2A)
Rear Camera 12MP (Sony IMX 386) f/2.0, 1.25-micron pixels
4-axis OIS, two-tone flash, PDAF
4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps
Front Camera 5MP
1080p video<Beautify mode
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MU MIMO, 2x2 MIMO LTE with VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0
GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/BeiDou
Network bands FDD-LTE: Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/27/28/29/30
TDD-LTE: Band 34/38/39/40/41
TD-SCDMA: Band 34/39
WCDMA: Band 1/2/3/4/5/6/8/9/19
CDMA EVDO: BC0, BC1, BC6, BC10
GSM: Band 2/3/5/8
Security One-touch fingerprint sensor at the back
SIM Dual nano-SIM slot
Dimensions 151.8 x 75.5 x 7.7mm
Weight: 185g
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