I love Sense... Confessions of a AOSP lover

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altimax98

Senior Member
Nov 7, 2008
2,227
676
Florida
I've been a die hard AOSP guy. Came from a OG Droid then went to the Tbolt and helped port AOSP/Miui with that RIL but I hated it because it wasn't a full AOSP supported device. I got the Galaxy Nexus then a N7, N10 and finally a GSM Galaxy Nexus.

I swore I would be on AOSP the moment I got the device, but I held out. I tried it and I love it. There are some things I hate like the lack of quick notifications (4.2.2 issue more than anything) and a few quirks here and there. But I am in l am in love with the beautiful interface, perfect keyboard (AOSP, Swype, & Swiftkey had a three way and this is it's baby) and most of all I am in love with the gallery and camera app. It's a very intuitive interface on the camera although autofocus can be wonky. BUT that's all made up for by the gallery.... The events (initially annoying) is fantastic. I love Zoe because it adds just that little bit to the memory and I am loving the way highlights creates a montage of images to music. I wish the music had more choices but it is almost perfect. I have a 10 month old and it makes the memories that much more special...

Thanks HTC for putting your heart and soul into this device and coming out with the best smartphone I have ever used :)

Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
 

aaronlam

Senior Member
Apr 30, 2013
70
8
Until we get 4.2... I have WidgetLocker and NiLS that gives me notifications on the lock screen.
 

Lexmazter

Retired Recognized Developer
Aug 7, 2011
1,082
870
Timisoara
ASUS ZenFone 7/7 Pro
Honestly, i am also an AOSP lover and i was pleasently surprised by sense 5, the only things that i miss now is the notification panel for my shortcuts, but i can get by pretty easy.

Also, hi there One community :D
 

Von Ropen

Senior Member
Apr 19, 2009
859
296
Murcia
There is messing a lot of things on this unfortunate and basic sense 5. Widgets, most practical sense widgets gone, skins (there are not any) only three different a kinds of unlock, application list never gone, always there. If you close your phone and open it, application list is there. Like blink feed but useless if you cannot add more feeds... So sense is very nice but there is munch things that missing...
 

rizevnarastek

Senior Member
Apr 9, 2012
1,120
674
you can expand some notifications in sense by zooming (pinching) out, there are no toggles though (altough older versions of sense used to have quick toggles before anyone else got them but somehow htc decided to ditch them in sense 4...)

Use Power Toggles or Notification Toggles apps... download from PlayShop ;)
 

kxfrog

Senior Member
Oct 23, 2010
93
19
London
I agree, Sense 5 is much better than previous versions of sense, but the app drawer really doesn't do it for me, still prefer almost everything about AOSP
 

Silellak

Senior Member
May 17, 2012
1,089
525
I've been a die hard AOSP guy. Came from a OG Droid then went to the Tbolt and helped port AOSP/Miui with that RIL but I hated it because it wasn't a full AOSP supported device. I got the Galaxy Nexus then a N7, N10 and finally a GSM Galaxy Nexus.

I swore I would be on AOSP the moment I got the device, but I held out. I tried it and I love it. There are some things I hate like the lack of quick notifications (4.2.2 issue more than anything) and a few quirks here and there. But I am in l am in love with the beautiful interface, perfect keyboard (AOSP, Swype, & Swiftkey had a three way and this is it's baby) and most of all I am in love with the gallery and camera app. It's a very intuitive interface on the camera although autofocus can be wonky. BUT that's all made up for by the gallery.... The events (initially annoying) is fantastic. I love Zoe because it adds just that little bit to the memory and I am loving the way highlights creates a montage of images to music. I wish the music had more choices but it is almost perfect. I have a 10 month old and it makes the memories that much more special...

Thanks HTC for putting your heart and soul into this device and coming out with the best smartphone I have ever used :)

Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

I'm right there with you. I usually prefer the look and feel of AOSP - I couldn't stand Sense 4 or Sense 4+ - but Sense 5 is surprisingly good. It's almost as coheisve of a user experience as AOSP, if not more so.

I prefer a few things about Sense to AOSP – most notably the camera and the e-mail app. It also has some nice widgets, though nothing I couldn’t live without. I’ve actually come to kind-of like Blinkfeed when I have a few minutes to kill, but again, it’s nothing I couldn’t live without.

Occasionally, it even feels more cohesive than AOSP – for example, you can swipe left and right through e-mails in the e-mail app, the same way you can in the Gmail app. The last time I tried the AOSP Android mail client, it still didn’t support that, which was mildly infuriating.

Finally, Sense 5 is at least polite enough to try and compliment the Holo theme of AOSP – TouchWiz and Sense 4, on the other hand, look and feel like someone glued Gingerbread to Jellybean.

(I will still be SwiftKey 4 Life, though :p)
 

altimax98

Senior Member
Nov 7, 2008
2,227
676
Florida
I never even setup Blink Feed... Thought it was stupid from the get go.

I installed Nova and have been loving the drawer and all the other great features.. the stock app drawer is lame though

Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
 

Abandoned-Trolley

Senior Member
Nov 10, 2008
304
35
Essex
Yeah I'm not a fan of Sense and put another launcher on pretty quickly. I would love to move to something like CM10 but until I hear things like the camera has no loss in quality or the IR sender is working then it's a no go. I just hope that HTC at some point change the layout and allow the notification panels. Also their lockscreen is like arse!
 

rizevnarastek

Senior Member
Apr 9, 2012
1,120
674
(I will still be SwiftKey 4 Life, though :p)

I do find HTC's keyboard really great and full of features but I too think SwiftKey is the greatest (wish they had more themes)

...at least till Minuum takes over the wold ;)

I never even setup Blink Feed... Thought it was stupid from the get go.

I think BlinkFeed is awesome. No more "what to do I'm bored" whenever I have a 2 minutes to check my phone. All the content I'm interested in is right there, waiting for me on the homescreen ;)
 

biffsmash

Senior Member
Nov 19, 2007
795
200
I absolutely love sense 5 on this phone. I admit I have had to as Nova and other launchers run like ass on it, but it's faster and smoother than any other launcher anyway, and blinkfeed is brilliant.

AOSP CM etc are so ugly and featureless compared to sense. There is no single feature on 4.2.2, CM, AOSP or any launcher, I would now take over sense.

All I would take is the gallery app fom HTC One X or from the Xperia Z

Well done HTC.
 
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xcomputerman

Member
Mar 3, 2011
47
17
Hi, my name is xcomputerman and I'm a Sense lover.

My previous phone was a Galaxy S II. I managed Touchwiz for a few months but couldn't stand it anymore, so I finally went back to AOSP. For a while I spent time with ParanoidAndroid, then later gave up the joys of hybrid phabletism for the sheer purity of CM10.1. It was Android nirvana. Or so I thought.

HTC's Sense 5 has blown me away. It is better than stock Android. Flat out better. I'll say it. I do have a couple of niggles with it (I'd rather have BlinkFeed as a home screen widget instead of the way they have the launcher set up), but man. Sense is slick. Slick, refined, polished. The email client is five times better than the stock Android one. The SMS app is gorgeous. The dialer is so sexy. The fonts are clean. I had this longstanding annoyance with AOSP email in that the formatting in Exchange email replies was always a little different/weird, but HTC does it right. Everything looks cohesive and well thought out. The camera app is brilliant. The syncing is really well done.

I'm not looking to go back to an AOSP ROM anytime soon. As it is, despite my annoyances with the sense launcher, I'm even hesitant to replace it with my favorite (Nova).

Well done, HTC. Well done.
 

altimax98

Senior Member
Nov 7, 2008
2,227
676
Florida
I do find HTC's keyboard really great and full of features but I too think SwiftKey is the greatest (wish they had more themes)

...at least till Minuum takes over the wold ;)



I think BlinkFeed is awesome. No more "what to do I'm bored" whenever I have a 2 minutes to check my phone. All the content I'm interested in is right there, waiting for me on the homescreen ;)

For me though BlinkFeed doesn't seem grown up enough. The selection is very limited and the app drawer is a nightmare lol

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
 

Gambler_3

Senior Member
Oct 30, 2011
1,072
158
The things you like have nothing to do with the skin of the phone. HTC could have just made a new gallery, camera and keyboard app without changing anything else.

Just because someone is an AOSP lover doesnt mean that they love all the stock android apps as well.

And lol at the person who said that cm10 looks bland, well you know you can just theme it however you like!

Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app
 

jags_the1

Senior Member
Aug 26, 2010
1,344
247
The things you like have nothing to do with the skin of the phone. HTC could have just made a new gallery, camera and keyboard app without changing anything else.

Just because someone is an AOSP lover doesnt mean that they love all the stock android apps as well.

And lol at the person who said that cm10 looks bland, well you know you can just theme it however you like!

Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app

Most themes are horrid . If you like a clean theme your going to have hard time with cm. And sooner or later everyone gets over flashing. I did it for 3 years but now I know it's not even worth it and for such people sense is more then perfect. Clean simple and elegant.

Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
 
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Angandi

Member
Mar 13, 2011
11
1
I love Sense 5 too, but I miss the big Gallery widget very much! Don't understand why they threw out so many of the old widgets.
 

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  • 19
    I've been a die hard AOSP guy. Came from a OG Droid then went to the Tbolt and helped port AOSP/Miui with that RIL but I hated it because it wasn't a full AOSP supported device. I got the Galaxy Nexus then a N7, N10 and finally a GSM Galaxy Nexus.

    I swore I would be on AOSP the moment I got the device, but I held out. I tried it and I love it. There are some things I hate like the lack of quick notifications (4.2.2 issue more than anything) and a few quirks here and there. But I am in l am in love with the beautiful interface, perfect keyboard (AOSP, Swype, & Swiftkey had a three way and this is it's baby) and most of all I am in love with the gallery and camera app. It's a very intuitive interface on the camera although autofocus can be wonky. BUT that's all made up for by the gallery.... The events (initially annoying) is fantastic. I love Zoe because it adds just that little bit to the memory and I am loving the way highlights creates a montage of images to music. I wish the music had more choices but it is almost perfect. I have a 10 month old and it makes the memories that much more special...

    Thanks HTC for putting your heart and soul into this device and coming out with the best smartphone I have ever used :)

    Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
    3
    Hi, my name is xcomputerman and I'm a Sense lover.

    My previous phone was a Galaxy S II. I managed Touchwiz for a few months but couldn't stand it anymore, so I finally went back to AOSP. For a while I spent time with ParanoidAndroid, then later gave up the joys of hybrid phabletism for the sheer purity of CM10.1. It was Android nirvana. Or so I thought.

    HTC's Sense 5 has blown me away. It is better than stock Android. Flat out better. I'll say it. I do have a couple of niggles with it (I'd rather have BlinkFeed as a home screen widget instead of the way they have the launcher set up), but man. Sense is slick. Slick, refined, polished. The email client is five times better than the stock Android one. The SMS app is gorgeous. The dialer is so sexy. The fonts are clean. I had this longstanding annoyance with AOSP email in that the formatting in Exchange email replies was always a little different/weird, but HTC does it right. Everything looks cohesive and well thought out. The camera app is brilliant. The syncing is really well done.

    I'm not looking to go back to an AOSP ROM anytime soon. As it is, despite my annoyances with the sense launcher, I'm even hesitant to replace it with my favorite (Nova).

    Well done, HTC. Well done.
    2
    (I will still be SwiftKey 4 Life, though :p)

    I do find HTC's keyboard really great and full of features but I too think SwiftKey is the greatest (wish they had more themes)

    ...at least till Minuum takes over the wold ;)

    I never even setup Blink Feed... Thought it was stupid from the get go.

    I think BlinkFeed is awesome. No more "what to do I'm bored" whenever I have a 2 minutes to check my phone. All the content I'm interested in is right there, waiting for me on the homescreen ;)
    2
    The things you like have nothing to do with the skin of the phone. HTC could have just made a new gallery, camera and keyboard app without changing anything else.

    Just because someone is an AOSP lover doesnt mean that they love all the stock android apps as well.

    And lol at the person who said that cm10 looks bland, well you know you can just theme it however you like!

    Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app

    Most themes are horrid . If you like a clean theme your going to have hard time with cm. And sooner or later everyone gets over flashing. I did it for 3 years but now I know it's not even worth it and for such people sense is more then perfect. Clean simple and elegant.

    Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
    2
    Sense 5.....credit to HTC where it is due.

    I have used TW since 2010, I thought it was fine, used a LG Optimus 2X, again some really good parts like the music player - was very nice, but the phone itself was laggy, but not as bad as the S1. Since then S2, Nexus and S3.

    Touchwiz was/is fine its just no otpimised well enough on the hardware, it should run alot better/smoother considering what it runs on. The S3 was my last TW phone and it had a lot of updates, but the Phone/Contacts app took so long (2-3 seconds) to load up most of the time, why!!

    After having used the One now, I will not go back to another phone that is not as smooth as the One. Sense 5 is the first Android UI to be lag free, Love it!

    I tried Nova twice now on this phone, but I just end up taking it off.

    I love AOSP and the CM teams that undertake this labour of love. And will probably try it at some stage, but this is the only phone that I have left untouched as stock so long into ownership.