Seriously sam of London , could you stop your trolling every android phone post and spouting utter crap . This a deal any way you look at it (thanks op) and please stop this waffle with band 20 . The crap that we buy from the high street is also " made in China" that includes the iPhone !!
So could you zip it? Or is it too much to ask of you?
dreadzone101
7 Dec 167#56
Here you are talking absolute nonsense about cat 12 lte again, when no UK networks even have cat 12. EE offer the fastest 4G using carrier aggregation of 2 2600mhz and 1 1800mhz. Article here. 800mhz does nothing for the speed. Only improves coverage to more rural areas which is irrelevant for people who get full signal anyway. X12 is not dependant on Snapdragon 820. It can support it but the phone needs to also have it. One Plus 3 for example has X7 modem despite being SD820 so even if Cat 12 LTE existed in UK, it couldn't access it. Article about 4G speeds from Ofcom. O2 is clearly a lot slower than all the rest and uses pretty much only 800mhz, yet you determine "B20 is best UK 4g band". Typical nonsense from you to back up your "opinion"
shadey12
7 Dec 164#89
i have been using phones, tablets and android boxes direct from Chinese sellers (including gearbest) for at least 5 years.
I have used them for my banking and other confidential information without ANY problems.
I have ordered at least 20 items from gearbest and have NEVER been charged by customs.
I had one problem with a delivery and gearbest sorted it.
why do you have such a problem with others liking Chinese (especially gearbest) sellers.
please don't say " I recently bought a phone and it was full of malware"
you were challenged about that and went quiet, I seem to remember even the gearbest rep asking you about it.
please just stop slating everything at every opportunity.
bisoner
7 Dec 163#80
I got mine from Banggood.
Lots of phone for the money. A 20 minute read up on how to install either the Indian or Chinese ROM. I settled for Indian as its like stock Android. My biggest issueswith actually doing the upgrade was with Windows 10.......
Battery is much better than my Nexus 5x. I like the 5" screen size -always a sweet spot for me. I loved my old Nexus 5.
The fingerprint scanner is amazing. The button gestures are useful too.
Just tested 4G - 38Mbps with EE 4g (Basingstoke). For most tasks that will do. :sunglasses: Enough of the Band 20 waffle already...
For me, it feels like an Android iPhone 4. I don't really like the overly closed Apple ecosystem so this phone is great. Performance is off the scale too.
People do rip into the phone for a lack of NFC but I don't use that function anyway. That may be a deal breaker for some who use that feature.
All comments (129)
nitro228
7 Dec 161#1
no band 20 LTE
Deal_HUNT3R
7 Dec 16#2
all those specs yet no battery size?
vervester
7 Dec 16#3
nice and fast, weak points are no band 20 and 3000mah battery. I'd prob go for the slightly cheaper redmi 4 pro if I was after a 5 inch phone.
still hot though
Gollywood to vervester
7 Dec 16#8
Says 3500 mAh
little_green
7 Dec 16#4
Isn't this the phone that needs a rom flashing to make Google play services work
mynameisthehulk
7 Dec 162#5
How do you get additional pictures into the OP?
sms12
7 Dec 162#6
On the site is says 3500 mAh the battery i think for a 5 inch it should be okay.
fishmaster to sms12
7 Dec 161#10
Samsung put a 2550mAh battery in the S6 and that doesn't have the best battery life, 950mAh more should definitely be better.
RHodgett
7 Dec 16#7
Requires a little work when it arrives but it is a great phone. I am very impressed with mine.
CHUNGHO1 to RHodgett
7 Dec 161#11
Could you tell us more about this "little work" that it needs? I thought it would work right out the box?
eliHd452
7 Dec 16#9
no google play installed you need to flash it
steveyboy79
7 Dec 16#12
I think this looks like a very good deal. Does anyone know if a less mainstream phone like this one will run apps like SkyGo, Amazon Instant, Now TV? I know in the past many of these apps only worked with the big name phones though I gather that may be less the case these days. (I appreciate people are saying I'd have to flash Google Play, but I'm not so worried about that.) Thanks in advance if anyone can help.
HammadKhalil
7 Dec 16#13
I bought mine from banggood.com and google play store works on it straight away . :smile: . was i the only lucky one ?
Podge
7 Dec 161#14
I believe that you need to do some fiddling with the ROM stuff. Mainly there may be no Play Store or the usual default Apps (all the Google Play stuff, Youtube etc). However, that depends on what the retailer has done to the phone to get it ready for market.
One fairly major thing is that there may be some spyware on there which you'd need to unlock developer mode to find and get rid of.
While it sounds daunting, I had to reinstall the OS on my current phone using instructions online and it was relatively time consuming but fairly straight forward with instructions online. The instructions tend to be a little jargon-laden, which can be tough to begin with, but I figured it out in a day or two! There was a thread for this phone about 2-3 weeks ago (from Banggood) which had quite a lot of info and links about the stuff you'd need to do.
mazaky
7 Dec 16#15
Does anyone know how long will the shipping take realistically? What is the chance of getting it before Christmas?
Podge
7 Dec 16#16
IMO this is a good deal, but not outstandingly so in comparison to other deals for the phone. The phone has been around the £155 mark from Banggood for the last month or so.
However, for the specs and reviews for a phone of this price, its an amazing deal.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#17
There is B20 version of this phone. Buy it instead.
Arjun7 to sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#18
Are you talking about the Z2 Pro ?
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#19
Yes maybe cost little more but work much better in long run
mazaky
7 Dec 16#20
And why would that be? The specs are the same, the only differences are LTE band 20 and slightly larger screen (but lower ppi).
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#21
Because it would also work as a phone not just as a tablet in UK.
mazaky
7 Dec 16#22
What do you mean? 3G will work just fine on this one.
kreames
7 Dec 16#23
Seems good value does it have a fingerprint unlock?
neil26581 to kreames
7 Dec 16#27
It seems so built into the home button on the front.
mazaky
7 Dec 16#24
Also EE 4G and potentially Three and Vodafone should work as well.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#25
Yes but not as it should if you buy phone in UK. B20 is best UK 4g band with all networks including 3 and ee. Cat 12 Lte and higher which use carrier aggregation, download speeds are possible if only all bands working. If you are looking for voice and WiFi only you will be fine. But is it worth the hassle and money to get the phone to UK from China when it is not going to work properly on 4g. Plus customs cost and administration free from courier.
The_Hoff
7 Dec 161#26
My biggest issue with the phone (other than B20) is the lack of NFC which means no Android Pay, something I've become reasonably fond of.
Pro model is nearly £300, but for that money I'd choose a OP3.
Darjeegangy
7 Dec 16#28
Oh no
lukec36
7 Dec 161#29
Sam is a funny one who thinks that phones without B20 won't work at all for data service. You'll see Sam on any thread for import phones, saying the same thing then being silent once challenged. Either a persistent troll flogging a dead horse or just incredibly wrong.
What happened Sam, who hurt you?
mazaky
7 Dec 16#30
I'm perfectly happy with 3G for data, and this phone will support it just fine for all the networks. For 4G I can use EE as it operates solely on 1800 and 2600, which again this phone supports. Other networks use 800 (this spectrum is missing) plus some other that this phone can use. source
cullies
7 Dec 16#31
is import duty paid?
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#32
Good for you. But for most people like me if they spend £200 and go through the time and hassle of getting phone from China, it should work properly on all networks and have fast download speeds just like if you bought the phone on the High Street.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#33
No one hurt me, it's you misleading everyone especially those technically illiterate, that phone with missing UK bands will work as good as one with all the bands
sam_of_london
7 Dec 161#34
How much commission does Gearbest give you to sell their stuff here? Why don't you recommend UK sellers with all UK bands and UK warranty, instead of grey imports from Gearbest China with no warranty and many time are full of viruses, pups and root kits to help Chinese hackers steal personal data of people in Uk.
mazaky
7 Dec 16#35
But I just said 4G will work on EE with full speed. Also, unfortunately I can't afford a £600 phone from your High Street, because this is how much I'd have to spend to get this sort of specs.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#36
No 4g Lte only works with carrier aggregation at full speed, which is only possible if all network bands are working. B20 is the best UK 4g band as it is lower 800 frequency so more able to penetrate buildings and longer reach. All the networks paid millions of pounds to buy this band from the government when it was sold after end of analog TV transmission in UK.
CHUNGHO1
7 Dec 16#37
Thanks for the reply. I'll have a look at the previous threads.
Podge
7 Dec 16#38
To help people see the fact from conjecture in the "will it work" debate, here's a link: http://willmyphonework.net/
EDIT: Probably worth saying that there will be differences in speed on networks and so on based on phone, network, where you are, what websites you go on and so on, and then whether this speed is "fast enough". All of which no one except you can actually determine.
duncancosgrove
7 Dec 161#39
this makes my pixel seem like a massive waste of money. nice looking phone too.
Podge to duncancosgrove
7 Dec 162#40
On the other hand, if your Pixel goes wrong, you have Google support plus warranties from whatever company you bought from, plus potentially random phone fixer companies if those two fail. On this one, while there's a warranty, it involves posting to China, hoping they get it, hoping they fix it, and hoping they send it back. Or, alternatively, going to a random phone fixer and hoping they have the weird specific parts. Or sourcing those parts yourself and fixing it yourself.
So yeah, its cheaper than the Pixel. But you're paying at least some of that for reliability/peace of mind.
cullies
7 Dec 16#41
stuck on android 6?
uk3g
7 Dec 16#42
This is a good price and I note the comments about the lack of B20 which is important for O2 users and of course people may decide to switch providers to O2 and then 4G won't be available to you on this device.
But my question is, reading the comments above, people mention flashing the phone to potentially remove any spyware but also to get access to Google Play. Does flashing the phone not break your warranty?
Grass is always greener on the other side. Pixel will always get latest updates. Already on nought with Google assistant and all UK bands, nfc and dream Vr. This phone is not phone but phone shaped object. :smile:
asanchez
7 Dec 16#45
have some heat
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#46
There is no warranty to break. The phone is a grey import so as such you are at your own unless it is dead on arrival.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 161#47
There is difference between working and working properly. Missing UK bands for few quid is not advisable. Snapdragon 820 has cat 12 modem inside so capable of cat X12 speeds. The new snapdragon 835 will come next year with x16 modem with cat x16 will have theoretical gigabit download speeds available if all bands working with carrier aggregation/lte advanced.
jedisteel
7 Dec 163#48
I wouldn't waste my money I've seen a few people say after buying these phones they break down their on their own they don't have the full bands and some have to be flashed save your self their stress pick a sim free at Argos or Carphone all bands no spyware no flashing roms and if it breaks down replaces or repair done
Podge
7 Dec 16#49
So now you are saying it doesn't make phone calls? Bold.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#50
I am just joking. I mean it wont work as smartphone bought in UK with UK bands. I will definitely work like Nokia feature phone or WiFi tablet, no doubt about that.
Podge
7 Dec 16#51
I think (and I may be wrong on this, it was something I came across in passing and found interesting, rather than something I actually looked into) the European Court (or some such) decided that jailbreaking or whatever a phone is not in itself something which breaks the warranty. I think its something to do with the difference between hardware and software (the manufacturer have to demonstrate that what you did to the software, which isn't the manufacturer's, is what broke the hardware [the phone]).
That being said, I'm not sure if that would apply to a Chinese made phone bought from a Chinese location, and even if it did, good luck trying to have that argument. So I'd say that's definitely a buyer beware thing.
However, because you're only editing the software, pretty much anything which you do should be recoverable. You'd be very unlucky to truly break the actual phone from a software update in a way that fixing the software wouldn't rectify.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#52
How will you take Gearbest China to court without going to China? I guess the ticket will cost more and lack of Chinese language make it futile. :smile: Only you can ask PayPal for remedy if dead on arrival.
Podge
7 Dec 16#53
Except that it definitely will work as a smartphone. It just won't work on 4G on certain networks. Yeah, its not as reliable that it will work and work well as a phone bought on a 2 year contract for £800 from a high street retailer. But I ordered one of these a week or two ago after satisfying myself from research. I'm willing to move from O2 (which I understand uses Band 20) to 3 (which uses other brands). Other people need to decide whether they are willing to make similar changes (if they have to).
I understand that you are trying to help people, but it isn't helpful to give people unnuanced and inaccurate information (just as it isn't helpful for people to totally dismiss your comments, they are a valid concern for some people - if you are in the middle of a 2 year SIM only deal with O2 on 4G, this wouldn't be the phone for you).
Podge
7 Dec 16#54
I agree, which is why I said technically it doesn't break the warranty (so if you happened to find an EU based retailer at a similar price, that might be a preferable), but that with this specific deal from this specific retailer it might as well.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#55
My friend, you are better of buying a model of this with B20 for some more money. It may work on 2g or 3g or even 4g with 3g speed but nothing more. So instead of wasting your money and later regretting , buy one which works on all networks and bands in UK. There are always EU and global models of most phones now which have UK 4g bands so no big deal.
dreadzone101
7 Dec 167#56
Here you are talking absolute nonsense about cat 12 lte again, when no UK networks even have cat 12. EE offer the fastest 4G using carrier aggregation of 2 2600mhz and 1 1800mhz. Article here. 800mhz does nothing for the speed. Only improves coverage to more rural areas which is irrelevant for people who get full signal anyway. X12 is not dependant on Snapdragon 820. It can support it but the phone needs to also have it. One Plus 3 for example has X7 modem despite being SD820 so even if Cat 12 LTE existed in UK, it couldn't access it. Article about 4G speeds from Ofcom. O2 is clearly a lot slower than all the rest and uses pretty much only 800mhz, yet you determine "B20 is best UK 4g band". Typical nonsense from you to back up your "opinion"
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#57
No you are quoting the article wrongly. The isp review one is really good. It says ee 90 speed of 4g + and 800 network already deployed in London and Volte possible on it. The more bands you miss, the less speed you get.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#58
Also networks did not have your wisdom to buy 800 band for millions of pounds to use for UK 4g. Only you have the wisdom to buy phones without it.
dreadzone101
7 Dec 16#59
"Works by combining two blocks of spectrum in the 2.6GHz and 1800MHz bands per device (e.g. Smartphone); this is called Category 6 (Cat 6)."
"Specifically, EE combines 20MHz of 1800MHz spectrum with 35MHz of 2.6GHz to create 55MHz of spectrum deployed for 4G services."
"The operator is also switching on more than 3,500 sites with low frequency 800MHz spectrum for improved indoor coverage, which can support their new 4G Calling (VoLTE) service."
What am I quoting wrongly? What part of the article suggests that having 800mhz missing = less speed?
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#60
Two bands only make cat 6. To get cat 9 or above, you need three brands,which is already implemented in London and 3500 other locations.
dreadzone101
7 Dec 16#61
Again talking nonsense. The article is titled "EE UK Deploys 4G Mobile Speed Boost with 450Mbps Cat 9 LTE Tech" before they even started deploying 800mhz. It also said it is achieved by carrier aggregation of 2 bands from the same spectrum and 1 of another. It is not achieved by 3 different bands. Although it can be is is not a necessity. All that 800mhz does is improve coverage which as I said initially is irrelevant to people who achieve full signal anyway.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#62
Go on tell this to EE or Three management that they dont need 800 band and wasted millions on buying it. Or the UK government, that UK does not need fast mobile Internet only, Chinese slow TDE Internet not the FDD we use here . I dont want to be rude like you but you are the one talking nonsense and **** here, trying to sell Chinese Gearbest.
misterleoni
7 Dec 162#63
I can't take these seriously - surely sometimes it's worth spending more money for peace of mind. These sort of phones always seem like a bit of a punt in the interests of 'spec' but what does all this spec matter if you have a phone with no warranty that you have to root and hack to remove spyware (or even to get the Play Store in some cases), and which often seem to have incredibly glitchy ROMs with unpredictable performance, and which - once rooted and hacked - won't work with certain banking apps, or Sky Go, or Android Pay (not that they tend to have NFC anyway). I understand some people like to be different and some people have a lot of time on their hands to tinker; but much as I enjoy looking at these sort of threads I'm yet to be convinced that the headache is worth it VS just shopping around in the U.K. - e.g. I picked up an Huawei P9 with a UK warranty for £192.
dreadzone101
7 Dec 161#64
Yes apparently opposing your opinion regarding B20 being a necessity = trying to sell Chinese Gearbest. Just like the people who post these deals who are apparently being paid to post them. Great logic once again. "I don't want to be rude like you" says the person who calls people brainless and an idiot for buying phones without B20, despite them not even needing it.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#65
This is not £5 phone where B20 is not a necessity. Even if you get full signal like me all the time in London , the bandwidth is shared with thousands or other people. So more changes of not able to download fast by missing bands becomes even greater or by working inside a concrete jungle . I never called you brainless or idiot. I only called you rude and ignorant. I do think B20 should be must have for £200 phone in UK.
thecresta
7 Dec 162#66
And what do you plan to be downloading at gigabit speeds on a phone? Over a data connection with a 2-4GB cap?
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#67
I dont have data cap on my phone. Don't even use to download large files by themselves. But it is situations like checking for train times, checking various websites, video conferencing using WhatsApp and Skype, using phone as Gps navigation in car , using phone inside moving train, using phone in busy London station or airport, good signal with fast download speed is a must.
dreadzone101
7 Dec 163#68
"Says the person who calls people brainless and an idiot", isn't specifying myself. I meant the rude comments you leave on various phone threads like this:
You always tout Chinese Gearbest so I think you work for them. And I did not call you brainless, only said brainless person in UK will buy phone with Chinese TDE Lte and missing UK FDD bands. Stop touting Chinese Gearbest phones with missing UK FDD bands. Already lots of people have problems with them and other Chinese Internet sellers who post from China but you are full of praise of them.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#72
Maybe you are in China not in UK because you always tout Chinese products sold directly from China.
cheaperbythe12
7 Dec 16#73
Does this phone have NFC and decent GPS? Thinking about getting something like this since my Z3 compact is now on its last legs. Any help on that would be greatly appreciated.
dreadzone101
7 Dec 161#74
*Sigh* I said "isn't specifying myself" so why are you again stating that you weren't specifically calling me that when I was pointing out that wasn't what I was saying to begin with. Also the point about commission accusations was pointless too since apparently not only do people get commission from them, but apparently they work for them too. How does arguing against your views of lack of B20 equate to "touting Chinese Gearbest phones" and being "full praise of them" other Chinese sellers when I've said nothing about the phone itself or Gearbest for that matter.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#75
I got a offer myself as well to post Chinese Gearbest stuff here and get paid. I declined it and blocked that email. Maybe you are on their books. Who knows.
dreadzone101
7 Dec 162#76
You got an email offering you to post on here and get paid? Everyone will believe you.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#77
No I deleted it as it had attachment(could be virus). Sorry. I don't want to deal with them. Full stop.
thecresta
7 Dec 162#78
You can do all of those things easily over a 3G connection.
hamzahuk
7 Dec 16#79
This has to be the cheapest Snapdragon 820 phone I've seen and IMO is a killer deal for £150. Its technically got the same specs as the S7 for 1/3 of the price. Would have ordered this IF I didn't order my Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro for £103. HEAT <3
bisoner
7 Dec 163#80
I got mine from Banggood.
Lots of phone for the money. A 20 minute read up on how to install either the Indian or Chinese ROM. I settled for Indian as its like stock Android. My biggest issueswith actually doing the upgrade was with Windows 10.......
Battery is much better than my Nexus 5x. I like the 5" screen size -always a sweet spot for me. I loved my old Nexus 5.
The fingerprint scanner is amazing. The button gestures are useful too.
Just tested 4G - 38Mbps with EE 4g (Basingstoke). For most tasks that will do. :sunglasses: Enough of the Band 20 waffle already...
For me, it feels like an Android iPhone 4. I don't really like the overly closed Apple ecosystem so this phone is great. Performance is off the scale too.
People do rip into the phone for a lack of NFC but I don't use that function anyway. That may be a deal breaker for some who use that feature.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#81
No it does not . Tried several times. Especially voip. Three used to let Skype calls go directly on their network as voice calls, and I loved them for uninterrupted Skype till they took away the facility. EE canabalised their own 3g network to convert to 4g forcing me to upgrade to 4g.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#82
S7 comes with UK B20 Band and UK warranty. This does not. And it is not £150 either. After long wait, customs and administration free , it will go up to £200 hoping it is bricked during the rom change process.
karl100100
7 Dec 161#83
this or the ZTE Axon Elite for £199???
dockishen
7 Dec 1623#84
Seriously sam of London , could you stop your trolling every android phone post and spouting utter crap . This a deal any way you look at it (thanks op) and please stop this waffle with band 20 . The crap that we buy from the high street is also " made in China" that includes the iPhone !!
So could you zip it? Or is it too much to ask of you?
shadey12
7 Dec 162#85
+1 Pringles, gearbest, burger king, CPC are amongst his favourites.
he just can't stop.
then have a look at the random high street deals he posts with 'high quality photos' from his phone.
a2tmfk
7 Dec 162#86
Gearbest? Rather do business with Dodgy Dave down the market!!
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#87
The high street stuff can be returned with full guarantee, trading standards and small court action. Buying from abroad is a gamble more so directly from Chinese Gearbest.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#88
Most of my deals are from UK based sellers on high not Chinese hackers or their commission agents in uk. I am not installing root kit, pup or back door in your mobile to spy on you
shadey12
7 Dec 164#89
i have been using phones, tablets and android boxes direct from Chinese sellers (including gearbest) for at least 5 years.
I have used them for my banking and other confidential information without ANY problems.
I have ordered at least 20 items from gearbest and have NEVER been charged by customs.
I had one problem with a delivery and gearbest sorted it.
why do you have such a problem with others liking Chinese (especially gearbest) sellers.
please don't say " I recently bought a phone and it was full of malware"
you were challenged about that and went quiet, I seem to remember even the gearbest rep asking you about it.
please just stop slating everything at every opportunity.
sam_of_london
7 Dec 16#90
All lies from you as usual about them helping me. I trusted the deal posted here by agent here and got burnt. The fact the some people will sell their soul to the devil or their country to make profit seems true when dealing with Gearbest.
shadey12
7 Dec 16#91
now why don't you try explaining that in a comprehensible way that most people have a chance of understanding?
serious question Sam,
have you been drinking some of your deals when you post on here?
fs39
7 Dec 16#92
:disappointed: Unfortunately it's now out of stock.
irradiated
7 Dec 16#93
typical, ive just recently ordered another redmi note 3, yes this costs more but it gives more, nice find, have some heat.
as for having to fiddle with them for google play store etc, took me about 10 mins on my note 3 and im a complete novice, youtube is your friend
nitro228
7 Dec 162#94
it hasn't 'technically got the sane specs as the S7' it has the same processor as the american S7 (820) the European version has an exynos processor which performs better. it also doesn't have NFC, amoled screen, QHD resolution, band 20, and the camera doesn't come close to the one in the S7. also cones with no warranty. but aside from all that it's identical!
neil26581
7 Dec 16#95
There seems to be another listing that is £10 more at £160 Your text here
fs39
7 Dec 16#96
Found it here at £151, but it's banggood and I haven't bought anything from them so now I'm wondering if to take the plunge there or stay with gearbest, I got quite a few things from them over time.
shadey12
7 Dec 161#97
my Chinese masters haven't told me to say this.
I don't make you sound drunk Sam.
only one person can do that.
iDealYou
7 Dec 16#98
I have this phone. I bought it from a UK ebay seller for £180.
I'm quite please with it as I'm a Three customer, the 4G works perfectly as I live in a major town. I've not used it in rural areas yet. Note that I flashed the official Indian firmware so that I can get OTA updates. Google apps/services are fully supported by the Indian official firmware.
If you want some semblance of warranty then UK seller is the way to go.
sam_of_london
8 Dec 16#99
You want to prove me drunk and disorderly because I have nothing in praise of your Chinese masters.
woldranger
8 Dec 16#100
Any idea what kind of screen on time's your getting? I know battery life is dependent on a lot of factors, but it's a really important factor for me-you can have the most powerful processor and gb's or ram, but if the phones flat.....
Battery stats shows over 6 hours screen on time yesterday with 29% battery left. Brightness around 50% which is ample bright for me. Stock Indian ROM. Watched. Videos and browsing mostly.
rasdonny
8 Dec 16#104
cold from me due to functionality:
- no SD card slot
- no NFC
Throbbo
8 Dec 161#105
Just to note that the price for this phone has dropped further on Banggood if you use the code 'zzukxmas'. Down to $169.46 which is just £136.20 at the current exchange rate!
You'll not find any other Snapdragon 820 phone anywhere near to this price.
Lack of Band 20, NFC and SD card expansion is a pity, but I've had NFC on my past two phones and have never used it! I'll get myself an OTG adapter which will partially make up for the lack of SD card expansion and I'm on BT Mobile so the lack of Band 20 isn't too much of an issue.
I see that Lenovo have just announced a Nougat ROM for the Z1 and Z2 Pro so hopefully we'll see one released for the Z2 soon as well. If they don't go to the trouble of releasing an official Z2 Nougat ROM, it shouldn't be too much of a problem as they do actually release their sources and there isn't a great deal of difference between the Z2 and Z2 Pro. I'd imagine there will be plenty of Developers who will work on producing a good Android 7 ROM.
aaronace1011
8 Dec 161#106
more identical to the S7 than say similarly priced Moto g4 Play or HTC 810
nice specced out phone. a tonne of horsepower but no AMOLED. damn you samsung for spoiling me with AMOLED...
i have a samsung A7 (2015)
Throbbo
8 Dec 16#109
Yeah, the Z2 Pro has AMOLED, but that costs a heck of a lot more (though it also comes with 6GB/128GB). Otherwise, I'd certainly have been tempted with that one. In the event, the basic Z2 was such a good deal that I decided I could live with its few shortcomings.
hcc27
8 Dec 16#110
Yup totally agree. Your only hope is PayPal, and they're not the best when it comes to parting with money.
bisoner
8 Dec 16#111
PayPal are indeed terrible. I find credit card companies far more helpful and offer much more protection.
Podge
8 Dec 16#112
Is the ZTE also from Gearbest? For me, I'm happy spending £150 with a company like this (for all the drawbacks about warranties etc), but £200 might be slightly too rich for me. If its from a company with more approachable returns/customer service procedures, I might plump for that. I think this is a fairly significantly better phone than the ZTE.
karl100100
8 Dec 16#113
The ZTE is from laptopsdirect. I need a good camera, it looks like the ZTE has a better camera
Although it doesn't seem to get updated much but at least might tell you if it's in the UK.
DavidMeek
22 Dec 16#121
Great news fingers crossed mine arrives soon. Seems like an age since ordering.
neil26581
22 Dec 16#122
My last order took a week and this one has taken two weeks which I expected.
Try this tracking site to see if it's at least in the UK Tracking website
DavidMeek
22 Dec 16#123
Great It is in Hatfield so only 100 miles away :-)
woldranger
22 Dec 16#124
I'm intrigued to see how you guys get on with these. For my part, I just received my used Samsung Note 4 (looks to be in great condition) for £155 last night.
neil26581
22 Dec 16#125
Mine still says that and has been delivered so fingers crossed.
cbrown1979
22 Dec 16#126
do you have to download the apk file for Google play for this phone?
neil26581
22 Dec 16#127
Yes if you use the Chinese rom no if you use the Indian one.
carpediemjay
14 Jan 17#128
Just ordered one. What ROM is pre installed? In the Questions section the sellers replied that it was a custom chinese ROM. Hopefully it has play store installed. If not, will it be very difficult to install play store? Anyone know any good links for me to check out to prepare?
Opening post
Lenovo ZUK Z2 5.0 inch FHD Screen 4G Smartphone Android 6.0 Snapdragon 820 64bit Quad Core 2.15GHz 4GB RAM 64GB ROM 13MP Rear Camera Type-C U-Touch 2.0
Main Features:
Display: 5.0 inch, FHD Screen, 424PPI
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 64bit Quad Core 2.15GHz
GPU: Adreno 530
System: ZUI 1.9 (base on Android 6.0)
RAM + ROM: 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM
Rear Camera: 13MP 6P, f/1.8
Front Camera: 1.4μm 8MP 5P, f/2.0
Sensor:
Pressure Altimeter Sensor, Tri-Axis Accelerometer, Three-axis gyro, G-sensor, Three-axis Compass, Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Hall Sensor
Bluetooth: 4.1
Navigation: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. Dual Nano SIM Cards
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 850/900/1700/1800/1900/2100/2600MHz
Top comments
So could you zip it? Or is it too much to ask of you?
I have used them for my banking and other confidential information without ANY problems.
I have ordered at least 20 items from gearbest and have NEVER been charged by customs.
I had one problem with a delivery and gearbest sorted it.
why do you have such a problem with others liking Chinese (especially gearbest) sellers.
please don't say " I recently bought a phone and it was full of malware"
you were challenged about that and went quiet, I seem to remember even the gearbest rep asking you about it.
please just stop slating everything at every opportunity.
Lots of phone for the money. A 20 minute read up on how to install either the Indian or Chinese ROM. I settled for Indian as its like stock Android. My biggest issueswith actually doing the upgrade was with Windows 10.......
Battery is much better than my Nexus 5x. I like the 5" screen size -always a sweet spot for me. I loved my old Nexus 5.
The fingerprint scanner is amazing. The button gestures are useful too.
Just tested 4G - 38Mbps with EE 4g (Basingstoke). For most tasks that will do. :sunglasses: Enough of the Band 20 waffle already...
For me, it feels like an Android iPhone 4. I don't really like the overly closed Apple ecosystem so this phone is great. Performance is off the scale too.
People do rip into the phone for a lack of NFC but I don't use that function anyway. That may be a deal breaker for some who use that feature.
All comments (129)
still hot though
One fairly major thing is that there may be some spyware on there which you'd need to unlock developer mode to find and get rid of.
While it sounds daunting, I had to reinstall the OS on my current phone using instructions online and it was relatively time consuming but fairly straight forward with instructions online. The instructions tend to be a little jargon-laden, which can be tough to begin with, but I figured it out in a day or two! There was a thread for this phone about 2-3 weeks ago (from Banggood) which had quite a lot of info and links about the stuff you'd need to do.
However, for the specs and reviews for a phone of this price, its an amazing deal.
Pro model is nearly £300, but for that money I'd choose a OP3.
What happened Sam, who hurt you?
EDIT: Probably worth saying that there will be differences in speed on networks and so on based on phone, network, where you are, what websites you go on and so on, and then whether this speed is "fast enough". All of which no one except you can actually determine.
So yeah, its cheaper than the Pixel. But you're paying at least some of that for reliability/peace of mind.
But my question is, reading the comments above, people mention flashing the phone to potentially remove any spyware but also to get access to Google Play. Does flashing the phone not break your warranty?
That being said, I'm not sure if that would apply to a Chinese made phone bought from a Chinese location, and even if it did, good luck trying to have that argument. So I'd say that's definitely a buyer beware thing.
However, because you're only editing the software, pretty much anything which you do should be recoverable. You'd be very unlucky to truly break the actual phone from a software update in a way that fixing the software wouldn't rectify.
I understand that you are trying to help people, but it isn't helpful to give people unnuanced and inaccurate information (just as it isn't helpful for people to totally dismiss your comments, they are a valid concern for some people - if you are in the middle of a 2 year SIM only deal with O2 on 4G, this wouldn't be the phone for you).
"Specifically, EE combines 20MHz of 1800MHz spectrum with 35MHz of 2.6GHz to create 55MHz of spectrum deployed for 4G services."
"The operator is also switching on more than 3,500 sites with low frequency 800MHz spectrum for improved indoor coverage, which can support their new 4G Calling (VoLTE) service."
What am I quoting wrongly? What part of the article suggests that having 800mhz missing = less speed?
And commission accusations like these:
http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/12/07/lenovo-announces-nougat-update-zuk-z2-pro-z1/
Lots of phone for the money. A 20 minute read up on how to install either the Indian or Chinese ROM. I settled for Indian as its like stock Android. My biggest issueswith actually doing the upgrade was with Windows 10.......
Battery is much better than my Nexus 5x. I like the 5" screen size -always a sweet spot for me. I loved my old Nexus 5.
The fingerprint scanner is amazing. The button gestures are useful too.
Just tested 4G - 38Mbps with EE 4g (Basingstoke). For most tasks that will do. :sunglasses: Enough of the Band 20 waffle already...
For me, it feels like an Android iPhone 4. I don't really like the overly closed Apple ecosystem so this phone is great. Performance is off the scale too.
People do rip into the phone for a lack of NFC but I don't use that function anyway. That may be a deal breaker for some who use that feature.
So could you zip it? Or is it too much to ask of you?
he just can't stop.
then have a look at the random high street deals he posts with 'high quality photos' from his phone.
I have used them for my banking and other confidential information without ANY problems.
I have ordered at least 20 items from gearbest and have NEVER been charged by customs.
I had one problem with a delivery and gearbest sorted it.
why do you have such a problem with others liking Chinese (especially gearbest) sellers.
please don't say " I recently bought a phone and it was full of malware"
you were challenged about that and went quiet, I seem to remember even the gearbest rep asking you about it.
please just stop slating everything at every opportunity.
serious question Sam,
have you been drinking some of your deals when you post on here?
as for having to fiddle with them for google play store etc, took me about 10 mins on my note 3 and im a complete novice, youtube is your friend
I don't make you sound drunk Sam.
only one person can do that.
I'm quite please with it as I'm a Three customer, the 4G works perfectly as I live in a major town. I've not used it in rural areas yet. Note that I flashed the official Indian firmware so that I can get OTA updates. Google apps/services are fully supported by the Indian official firmware.
If you want some semblance of warranty then UK seller is the way to go.
I'm not suggesting anything more than that, but you can look in that thread for more feedback from users
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lenovo-zuk-z2-5-0-inch-4gb-ram-64gb-rom-snapdragon-820-2-15ghz-quad-core-4g-smartphone-2538468
- no SD card slot
- no NFC
You'll not find any other Snapdragon 820 phone anywhere near to this price.
Lack of Band 20, NFC and SD card expansion is a pity, but I've had NFC on my past two phones and have never used it! I'll get myself an OTG adapter which will partially make up for the lack of SD card expansion and I'm on BT Mobile so the lack of Band 20 isn't too much of an issue.
I see that Lenovo have just announced a Nougat ROM for the Z1 and Z2 Pro so hopefully we'll see one released for the Z2 soon as well. If they don't go to the trouble of releasing an official Z2 Nougat ROM, it shouldn't be too much of a problem as they do actually release their sources and there isn't a great deal of difference between the Z2 and Z2 Pro. I'd imagine there will be plenty of Developers who will work on producing a good Android 7 ROM.
i have a samsung A7 (2015)
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/zte-axon-elite-gold-5.5inch-32gb-unlocked-and-sim-free-zte-axoneg-a2016/version.asp?tduid=9c2cb2ed08221bc13dd21c5cfa2cb25a&utm_source=HotUKDeals_1018132&utm_medium=tradedoubler&tduid=9c2cb2ed08221bc13dd21c5cfa2cb25a
GOD I'M OLD
z2 has 3500mAh battery and the
z2 pro has 3100mAh battery
Use your tracking number here Tracking website
Although it doesn't seem to get updated much but at least might tell you if it's in the UK.
Try this tracking site to see if it's at least in the UK Tracking website
http://www.hotukdeals.com/misc/zuk-z2-owners-resources-thread-2616184