Honest opinions please; tell me about your experience!

[strangelady]

Hey friends in the sub $300 range!

I'm shopping around for a new device. Currently I'm using an Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 5.5" -- it has served me well (very well) since November 2015. Unfortunately the battery seems to be failing, so it seems the time has come for me to replace my precious. I'm actually in the sub $250 range, trying VERY HARD to not go over (which is why I'm considering the Axon 7 Mini and not the full-featured Axon 7).

I've been looking at all different phones for a couple days now and I'm stuck. I'm really drawn toward the Axon 7 Mini but from the reviews I've been reading the word is that it's just not that great for a $299 phone. Is it great for a $199 phone? Should I pay the extra $50 and get the Honor 6X (which I'm shying away from because of its overall durability -- yes, yes, I know to put a screen protector and case on it but it's the what ifs that get me), or do you think I'll be satisfied with the Axon 7 Mini? Normally I wouldn't hesitate to get a phone like this because I'm no stranger to the world of root and custom ROMs, and I know the dev community is stellar in making a stuttery device smooth like butter, but I see there hasn't been much luck with this one. I feel like my Idol (and Galaxy SIII before it) have spoiled me. Both devices just WORKED. They do and did what I needed them to do with minimal fuss and absolutely no worry about installing a custom ROM. Is the 7 Mini one of those phones that you just keep saying to yourself "I know CM would vastly improve my experience with this phone"?

Or should I give up on both phones and hope my Idol lasts a bit longer to see if I can get a really fantastic deal on the full featured Axon 7?

 

[strangelady]

Probably should clarify: I am not by any means a heavy user. I may have a couple apps open at the same time, but I'm not running demanding games or social media apps (unless you count Snapchat as demanding; the Idol cannot handle Snapchat for some reason and it drives me nuts).

 

[d3cay]

the word is that it's just not that great for a $299 phone. Is it great for a $199 phone?

It depends on what you are looking for. The main reason why the reviews have been complaining is the somewhat weak CPU.
As someone who does not play 3D games on a phone, the performance has been absolutely fine for me.
Just going by the rest of the specs, it is hard to find anything that compares (without heavy compromises) at a $199 price point.

Should I pay the extra $50 and get the Honor 6X

Hard to tell for me honestly. Just comparing the specs, the Axon has an AMOLED screen and better sound, while the Honor should have better battery life.
I'd go by what features you prefer. (more on that further down)

Is the 7 Mini one of those phones that you just keep saying to yourself "I know CM would vastly improve my experience with this phone"?

Vastly improved? Not really. Somewhat improved? Definitely yes.
The stock system is not bad, but it has some quirks going against it. (somewhat questionable power management, bad stock UI)
If the Android N update goes well, I don't see that much need for a custom rom. It would of course be great to have, but it's not a deal breaker for me.

Overall pros/cons:

pro:
- beautiful display
- outstanding sound (both speakers and headphones)
- quick charge works very well

subjective pros:
- metal case
- usb type c
- overall great hardware design

meh:
- mediocre battery life (will get you through the day just fine, don't expect anything beyond)
- mediocre performance (will perform everyday tasks just fine, you won't be happy if you want to play demanding games though)
- mediocre camera (I don't really use it, but the pictures are unimpressive)
- updates happen every once in a blue moon, but they do happen

cons:
- no root
- no custom roms
- battery can't be swapped
- bad default UI (just using a different launcher will vastly improve your experience with the phone)

 

[Beauterham]

Aight! Summed up nicely, the screen is actually very qualitative although the UI is a bit messy.. Right, nova or evie launcher change this to the good, honestly this is the phone I'm the most satisfacted with, didn't expect a timeless piece like this, woah! The Nubia Z17 Mini is also very nice!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=is.shortcut

http://www.nubia.com/en/presscenter.php?a=showArticleDetail&id=14

http://m.gsmarena.com/zte_nubia_z17_mini-8615.php

Check these links, nubia 17, better photography (although dslr is the queen) idk yet about the audio chip, will share it if you like. Although on 28nm, 652/653 is a nice improvement!
Screen looks great quality too!

 

[Robnw]

I came to the mini 7 from a broken Galaxy S6 ($300 to repair it so I figured I'd look at a newer phone). Now that I've got the performance improved (via a soft reset), I'm generally happy with the phone. Admittedly, my S6 was starting to get slow too, it probably also need a reset or cache cleared.

I bought the mini for $199. I think for that price it's a pretty decent phone.

Robnw

 

[acejavelin]

The Mini is easy to get for $199, most Best Buy stores stock both colors for that price (they are quite plentiful in the Minneapolis area at least)... For $199 if you don't need Verizon or other CDMA support, it's a pretty solid device.

- The display is beautiful and the sound is something you don't expect for a phone under $500.
- Performance is good for everything but heavy gaming.
- Battery is decent, pretty easy to get a full day with 4.5-5 hours SOT average in mixed LTE/WiFi
- Camera is pretty good and quick, I'll take it over my Moto X Pure edition's 21MP camera any day
- It is a very "premium" feeling phone

- The fingerprint reader is sometimes questionable (my son quite using it because it was so inconsistent, but last few updates it's better)
- MiFavor, the UI, is really disappointing and tries to be too Applish with no app drawer. And there is no usable battery stats in settings?!?!

The custom ROM and root thing is less and less important all the time, personally I don't think it will effect my next decision to get a phone at all. I'm with the previous poster CM might make it a little better, but the stock ROM isn't bad all and it wouldn't make it "amazing" or anything like that.

Add Nova Launcher and GSAM as your first installed apps and it's a good buy at $199, but if it's at $250-$300 I would skip it and get a Moto G5 Plus.

As far as the Honor phones go, I can't stand EMUI... the software ruins what would be an otherwise decent phone. Honor devices are solid hardware, but the software ruins it especially it actively prevents you replacing the launcher or using some other customizations, it's unfortunate they didn't stay with a more simple UI or even stockish Android, they would be a real consideration then.

 

[darksoulesp]

meh:
- mediocre camera (I don't really use it, but the pictures are unimpressive)
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Actually the camera is very good! Check my instagram @zteaxon7mini and get impressed by its results

 

[chris23445]

As far as the Honor phones go, I can't stand EMUI... the software ruins what would be an otherwise decent phone. Honor devices are solid hardware, but the software ruins it especially it actively prevents you replacing the launcher or using some other customizations, it's unfortunate they didn't stay with a more simple UI or even stockish Android, they would be a real consideration then.

Just wanted to say that with EMUi 5.0, their skin has gotten a lot better. And the Honor 6X is getting it in Q2 this year. Also they don't make it difficult to replace the launcher or anything like that. Got an Honor phone for my Mom and girlfriend and I easily got them on Nova Launcher, Android Messages, Gmail, and even the Google phone app (an older version).

In regards to OP, the Honor 6X does seem like an all around better phone, if you can stand their skin. The performance seems to be better (going by reviews), battery life seems to be better, screen quality seems to be similar. I know the Axon is AMOLED and the Honor is IPS LCD, but all of the reviews (and my in person opinion) state that it is a very capable screen, especially for the price. The Axon does have great audio quality, but the Honor seems to have better performance and battery life. The design of the two is quite similar in that it's mostly aluminum with some glass. Also the Honor is currently on a flash sale for the next few days at $220 on Honor's website. So I definitely think it's up to you, but there's another opinion for ya!