Razer Phone 2 purchase advice: Razer Phone 2 in 300€ promo for a non-gamer

[Dominor]

Hello, folks!
I'm a humble xda forums lurker. I've been resorting to xda forums for all sorts of helpful tips and advice for my devices. However this time, I must ask instead of googling xD.
I've been a long time Samsung user. First the S3, then the S7 and now ... Well that's my issue right now. I can't decide on my next device. Looking to upgrade from my S7 to a better device, even though the Galaxy S7 is still a respectably good device. I came across the big promo for Razer Phone 2 and I've become tempted to purchase it. I had never heard about a gaming smartphone nor am I a mobile gamer. I don't play mobile games at all and I don't plan to in the near future. I'm looking for a device for media consumption like Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, podcast listening on commutes, ebook reading and overall as a sort of mobile, always with me, computer. As such, I value more good specs in terms of CPU, GPU, RAM, available storage (including expandable via microsd) than a camera phone which is what other competing phones tend to in terms of overall design. Despite being aware it is a smartphone "by gamers, for gamers", the special focus on specs not related to camera quality that the Razer Phone 2 seems to have is what made it more appealing to me than the competition, including the Oneplus 6T.
I have already purchased it within the promo available from Razer. However, I'm currently second-guessing my purchase, because I read a detailed review from gsmarena (Razer 2 Phone Review) that praises this phone, especially for the innovation it brings to the smartphone market, but made me wonder ... In their conclusion, they say "If you are simply looking for a great daily driver and simply stumbled here out of curiosity, our best advice is to keep looking. As a 2018 flagship Android smartphone, the Razer Phone 2 simply lags behind the competition in more than a few key aspects." Would you all agree with this assessment? For a non gamer even if a smartphone power user, another more well rounded device like the Oneplus 6T might be a more suitable purchase as a well-performing daily driver?

 

[bay91]

I'm not a big gamer, not in the slightest. I have used the OnePlus 6 T and saw dreadful battery drain! I previously had a Mate 10 Pro, fantastic battery, not the best performance.

Am I unhappy? No. Not in the slightest

Is this a good daily driver, yes.

I'm completely stock without root. The audio is incredible, battery life is great, and frankly I see no issues with the camera quality, but then again I am not expected DSLR quality from a phone like many other people.

 

[jonchance_84]

This phone is perfect as a daily driver. Front facing speakers rock. Don't have any lag issues at all. Being in IT myself, I don't really game either, but it keeps up with how I multitask. My only negative is that the theme engine sucks, and can't use substratum yet. Otherwise, great Android experience being mostly stripped down.

 

[chpimentelpr]

Hello, folks!
I'm a humble xda forums lurker. I've been resorting to xda forums for all sorts of helpful tips and advice for my devices. However this time, I must ask instead of googling xD.
I've been a long time Samsung user. First the S3, then the S7 and now ... Well that's my issue right now. I can't decide on my next device. Looking to upgrade from my S7 to a better device, even though the Galaxy S7 is still a respectably good device. I came across the big promo for Razer Phone 2 and I've become tempted to purchase it. I had never heard about a gaming smartphone nor am I a mobile gamer. I don't play mobile games at all and I don't plan to in the near future. I'm looking for a device for media consumption like Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, podcast listening on commutes, ebook reading and overall as a sort of mobile, always with me, computer. As such, I value more good specs in terms of CPU, GPU, RAM, available storage (including expandable via microsd) than a camera phone which is what other competing phones tend to in terms of overall design. Despite being aware it is a smartphone "by gamers, for gamers", the special focus on specs not related to camera quality that the Razer Phone 2 seems to have is what made it more appealing to me than the competition, including the Oneplus 6T.
I have already purchased it within the promo available from Razer. However, I'm currently second-guessing my purchase, because I read a detailed review from gsmarena (Razer 2 Phone Review) that praises this phone, especially for the innovation it brings to the smartphone market, but made me wonder ... In their conclusion, they say "If you are simply looking for a great daily driver and simply stumbled here out of curiosity, our best advice is to keep looking. As a 2018 flagship Android smartphone, the Razer Phone 2 simply lags behind the competition in more than a few key aspects." Would you all agree with this assessment? For a non gamer even if a smartphone power user, another more well rounded device like the Oneplus 6T might be a more suitable purchase as a well-performing daily driver?

This Phone is absolutely a monster, One PLus 6T is not near, for the price is a great deal!

 

[CalebQ42]

It's a great phone and you can greatly appreciate the 120hz display outside of games, and if you run the screen at 90 hz and turn off the chroma logo it has fantastic battery life.

 

[Dominor]

Ty so much for the input, addressing most of the points I expected. I was especially concerned for the expectable battery life.
Btw, since I'm here how do you feel about outdoor use. I'm asking this, because in some reviews I read, it was mentioned that, despite the improvement in max brightness to its predecessor, Razer Phone 2 still is worse than competitors regarding use under direct sunlight. It's not decision-changing most likely, but I'd like to know what to expect.

 

[janjanrex]

Ty so much for the input, addressing most of the points I expected. I was especially concerned for the expectable battery life.
Btw, since I'm here how do you feel about outdoor use. I'm asking this, because in some reviews I read, it was mentioned that, despite the improvement in max brightness to its predecessor, Razer Phone 2 still is worse than competitors regarding use under direct sunlight. It's not decision-changing most likely, but I'd like to know what to expect.

In terms of brightness after the pie update I keep my phone at 10% brightness (auto disabled) for indoor use. In direct sun I push the slider to about 50% and the screen is perfectly viewable to me. The rare times I up the brightness to about 100% is when I have to have a barcode scanned off the device for in-store pickup orders.

The only thing that matters is that the device bright enough for your eyes if so and you like the rest of the device and get a good deal on it keep it.

 

[Dominor]

In terms of brightness after the pie update I keep my phone at 10% brightness (auto disabled) for indoor use. In direct sun I push the slider to about 50% and the screen is perfectly viewable to me. The rare times I up the brightness to about 100% is when I have to have a barcode scanned off the device for in-store pickup orders.

The only thing that matters is that the device bright enough for your eyes if so and you like the rest of the device and get a good deal on it keep it.

Thank you for your helpful input. Sadly, I'm not going to be able to test it in person, because I live in an island and no store has this phone, so I'm going to trust you all on this.
Cheers,
Hope I can be the one helping one-day.

 

[keaheng]

Everything is perfect except the hearing issue. I owned 6T Pixel 3 XL Note 9 ane non is over hearting. I have to reduce the screen resolution to 1080 FullHD instead. It seems better but not the best among flagship categories.

 

[Dominor]

Everything is perfect except the hearing issue. I owned 6T Pixel 3 XL Note 9 ane non is over hearting. I have to reduce the screen resolution to 1080 FullHD instead. It seems better but not the best among flagship categories.

I'm sorry, what do you mean by over hearting?
Too loud?

 

[CalebQ42]

Everything is perfect except the hearing issue. I owned 6T Pixel 3 XL Note 9 ane non is over hearting. I have to reduce the screen resolution to 1080 FullHD instead. It seems better but not the best among flagship categories.

The only time that I feel like the phone is hotter then it should be is if I have the chroma logo on all the time, but even that has stopped with Pie. Additionally if you do want to reduce your settings to help with it, changing the refresh rate to 90hz and completely turning off the chroma logo should be first before turning down your screen resolution. Also pay close attention to your battery life when it gets hot. If your battery life is very bad then you should be looking into what apps you have installed to see if any of them are constantly using a bunch of your battery. If none of these work, then you should really contact Razer about the problem.

 

[Hasney]

I'm a big gamer, but I don't play mobile games. I love the high refresh rate and stock Android after coming from the Samsung S8. I really like the phone in general, my only complaint is the lack of LDAC which is noticeable with my headphones.

 

[Dominor]

Well, I've just picked up the Razer Phone 2. Waiting till I get home to power it up. Thank you all for your input. Really decisive.