I learned that the camera2-api will not guarantee functionality you would expect from a camera, even if it’s built into a phone. On my galaxy s7 I miss a Tv or S mode such that I can photograph my children which are never standing still. All auto modes will end up with way too long shutter speed, even in reasonable light. As I learned, time priority is not necessarily possible with the camera2-api. I read a bit into the api doc and this clearly does not look like being made for regular photography.
Regarding similar experiences … A couple of years ago I got a lot of cola into my expensive sun keyboard. Some keys did not work afterwards, even after letting it dry carefully. After a closer inspection I found that the cola had entirely etched away two traces on a foil for about an inch. I was able to fix it with conductive varnish, it’s not looking very good, but it works. Tab water may not be ideal, but cola is orders of magnitude worse for electronics.
Hm, regarding phone choice … recently my son (6) dropped my wife’s galaxy s7 into the … loo*. I did not expect this to happen, but everything kept working and it’s still running after approx 2 months.
*How this could have happened? Hm, it was the first lockdown video call from one of his friends, and they showed each other the houses. We of course tried to clean/disinfect it afterwards, after a full backup run of course. Seems we have been more lucky with this procedure.
Yes, I used dehumidfier initially which is essentially a fan. Looks like Pixel 2XL* has 3 votes. Looking good for it. I could live with the screen like that (as described above). Hope the SIM card works when it arrives in the mail. If it stops working completely, no loss. I already backed up.
I wanted to warn you of such a possibility as it was after all on a clearance sale. So very few units would have been left. Tough luck. It was really a good deal!
The new SIM card arrived but I don’t need it because after another alcohol swab of the inside it worked. Will be using the old one, which is actually a cut mini-SIM to give you perspective.
After a long journey of using hand-me-downs, I purchased a new Samsung A53 5G. There were two scruff marks on the back but I won’t bother going in for an exchange. It doesn’t have an audio jack or charger as per the trend so I got a cheap wireless bud set. I haven’t gotten a charger yet. Vampirism from my work laptop is okay for now. Any suggestions on budget but safe chargers?
I don’t know if the phone is actually expandable by SD card. I hope it works as advertised for longevity. The penultimate thing to note is that it is heavier than I would have liked. Again, part of the trend. The last thing is set up was and still is a pain. Took me a day so far to connect to services, port things over and run updates. Will probably do more of that in the next week or so.
So why did I part with $701 (including ear buds, no charger)? Since my financial situation is still bad, it is a lot to pay! I have an elections role coming up, which will require nonstop phone calls. I need a device that doesn’t drop calls.
You did a good decision, even with all the bloatware and the modern “features”, it will be a reliable device for your work and that’s the most important. For chargers I would recommend Anker, their nano series is pretty good, and you can choose the wattage according to your budget and charging speed needs. Should cost you 15-20 dollars for a new one. I use a 45W version with a Pixel 6 and so far so good.
Do you mean Canadian Dollars? Why are cells so expensive in Canada? I bought an a52 a year ago for almost 400 eur, but I see the a53 are much cheaper…
Btw, so far I am satisfied, but the system is closed source. I think there are also other brands that have good hardware, maybe my next device will be one with Lineageos or something like that. I also discovered recently, finally, that Android works really well without google. My previous phone was a huawei, I used it for… 5 years or so, but towards the end it was really slow.
Don’t forget to switch display mode to natural. This reminds me… i have not measured it’s color space yet.
Edit: 700 and you don’t even get a charger with it?!?!
Yes, CAD 701 for phone and separate lowest budget wireless buds. Everything is expensive here, especially technology. Don’t get me started on how expensive telecoms are. Non-Canadians complaining about their rates should stop.
@hatsnp An Ankler would be CAD 27 at 25W, which is recommended for “fast” charging. Besides cost, would it be bad for the battery to go beyond that wattage?
Our crappy dollar and that may be with tax but still we pay some of the highest rates for service and hardware… too much regulation and not enough competition O think are the culprit.
Most phones don’t really come with chargers anymore, after Apple set the stage. It’s overall a good choice but it should be reflected in a slightly lower price, which it is not. Usb C isn’t going anywhere so a good charger with Power Delivery will outlast multiple phones. Plus, if you get it with enough wattage, it will be able to charge laptops and other devices as well.
The chargers you got for free were quite lame. In particular many phones that advertised “fast charge” would actually do so, but not with the provided charger that wasn’t powerful enough…
And well, on my desk I have six USB ports: 2 on the power strip, 1 in my desk lamp, 3 on my PC, and I can add one more if I connect the USB port of the display. Not all fast-charge, yes…
So all in favor of not adding to the bag of unused electronics that every household keeps these days.
Can wouch for lineage too - I am on sony xperia xa2 with lineageos bundled with microg (floss google services drop-in). Newest android, regular security updates, no bloatware, nice builtin backup, … - I hope I never have to go back to stock ROMs (which isn’t entirely certain with Google and app vendors trying to lock down on usage of custom ROMs). Also exceedingly cheaper, there’s a pretty big market for 2nd hand phones which were leased before - with guarantee and generally good state, so basically you loose nothing and pay more. I like getting the latest trends a bit later, once they matured - though I don’t change phones unless the phone breaks, so usually I get it even later, and it doesn’t bother me either.
Will be using the old one, which is actually a cut mini-SIM to give you perspective.
