I personally would like to see a Nexus 7 follow-up. Even if it came from a competitor. High end specs, a great screen (the N7 was 1900x1200), and it ran stock android. The fact Google even killed it off baffles me. If they were losing money on it, just bump the price a bit or lower the specs a bit. I'd pay $400 for a high end 7" tablet with a high resolution screen.
Luckily Lineage OS has an unofficial port and it looks beautiful and performs great.
Not worthwhile to you perhaps, but your single criteria for dismissing it is not mentioned by the original poster so your conclusion based on this single criteria holds little weight in this discussion. Not unlike you, I would also personally avoid an iPad Mini (for a number of reasons), but the original poster only specified $400, high-end, 7", and high resolution. The iPad Mini meets all of these (well 7.9" is loosely 7"). You might be able to draw an implicit requirement on aspect ratio from the Nexus 7 (16x10), but as it isn't explicitly stated, I would not dismiss a product based on this.
Like the original poster, I think a Nexus 7 update would be great. I don't hold out much hope of ever seeing one, but I'd buy several of them for my family if given the opportunity. They are unsatisfied with their current Apple dictated situation.
I suspect that even if Apple did have wireless charging you would not buy an Apple product. People like to hate on Apple, I get it they overcharge and are slow to adopt a lot of features. However when they do adopt features they tend to do it better than anyone else. There phones and tablets simply just work with no tweaking or issues which for many millions of people this is much better than having the latest features.
A5 I am a long time Android phone and tablet user. I recently bought an iPad on a great deal. While the hardware is great, I am astonished how poor the software experience is in some ways. Things like changing your wifi connection take multiple more steps than on Android, the whole app orgaisation system of being confined to left to right, top to bottom i and not being able to resize app tiles. Some of the menu structure in settings is so unitutitive. Realy not impressed.
To be fair, how long do you stay on the home screen for that stuff to really be an issue? Most of that functionality you like is also Nova Launcher (Unless I'm mistaken, I haven't used stock launcher's on my android phone since I found Nova Launcher). Really, the simplicity of iOS is very intuitive, and the main reason I see your discontent is because you like styling your home screen to your exact liking.
As for Wifi... I don't understand that comment. I have had used both, and neither are longer or take more steps...
No, the UI is way behind, and in fact Apple agrees - they're finally updating it this year. Sometimes 'simplicity' is just stubbornness and laziness. They're abandoning 3d touch - not intuitive. Storage is still clunky, not intuitive. Holding down icons to uninstall is still good, but not exactly intuitive and grouping/ungrouping icons by touch is still an exercise in frustration. Why is it so hard to view the clock when I'm in an app on the ipad?
I own both for years now, and Android has a better UI. Simplicity is always good but Android is simpler in some ways. And simplicity really was a cop-out after 3d touch and the multifinger gestures came along. I hardly know how multitasking works on my own year old ipad. And then let's talk about the settings screen and how app store accounts vs imessage works in a family - I'm not convinced even Apple knows how it works.
It's 12 years old. Eliminating skeumorphism is good, but not a real overhaul. It's time for IOS to have a real overhaul in functionality, even if only in the ipad version of it. I still don't see any real ambition from those guys, and on Mac they're arguably going backwards.
I think Nokia gonna struggle in markets where they compete with Xiaomi/Realme who are using SD665 for sub $150 phone and SD710/SD675 for sub $200 phone. 660 was used in sub $150 phone early this year and so Nokia is like 6 months too late.
The only region the Nokia 7.2 might be competing with Xiaomi and Realme is maybe India. Look at their LTE bands. The 7.2 target markets are ROW, USA, and India.
The Xiaomi redmi note 7 works fine in the uk market (all the 4g bands). Tbh when I saw the spec's thought they looked almost identical to that Xiaomi phone, which is dirt cheap and has been out for a while.
You can't even directly compare the 2 devices. It's dirt cheap for a reason. It's Xiaomi, the company that doesn't make a profit on the hardware, they make profit on their 'services' and the user's data. It's also a China market phone. It's like buying an Amazon Alexa edition device, but run by a foreign intelligence agency, without Amazon's service and warranty
I seriously question the support those Chinese brand phones are going to offer, but also how sustainable their market strategy is. Either they go bankrupt or slowly raise their prices. And with China's economy not doing fantastically and the potential for a recession, I wouldn't put much faith in them.
Yeah, call me when somebody makes a smartphone with an OS that doesn't constantly spy on me. Nokia would've been still alive and kicking, if they wouldn't have sold out to Microsoft but instead had dveloped and used MeeGo on all their devices.
There was and Nokia had the resources to make it happen. It just was riskier and in the short term less profitable. The infighting between MeeGo and Symbian (decent OS, but it needed a lot of work to modernise it) didn't help.
They tried that and failed, because by the time they did, it was too late. I loved Nokia phones and wish we could go back to those times with some nostalgia, but they became complacent, and missed the train.
This phone (and all of the Nokia branded smartphones) is designed by HMD, which is a Finnish company run mostly by ex-Nokia staff. As far as I know, only some of the Nokia branded feature phones are designed by FIH Mobile, which is a subsidiary of Foxconn.
HMD Global was founded by executives from Nokia. My understanding was that it was basically a small executive staff in Finland and then all manufacturing and the vast majority of employees are Foxconn.
It is somewhat beneficial having USB plug that can be plugged either way.
That said, I really don't understand why is Nokia so shy with Qi wireless charging. That hardware cannot be expensive nowadays. I am personally finding it a must, and most people I know (who already have it on their current phones) are putting this feature reasonably high on their wish lists for the next phone. It is really convenient feature.
If you are talking USB-C, the Nokia 7.2 does use that connector. The person I was replying to was bemoaning that it is on USB 2 instead of USB 3. Not having had experience with the Qi wireless charging, I'm not particularly invested in that technology and it's not a deal-breaker for me. I would also think it's a feature reserved for high-end or flagship phones rather than something I'd expect to see on a mid-level phone.
I found personally that wireless charging became less important when fast charging became a thing. Nokia's recent phones have been excellent at fast charging to 80% in 45 mins.
That has nothing to do with USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 3.mytitsareonfire, etc. You mean USB C, which can be any of those (and Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort...), which it does have.
Really? Do you have any examples you can point to? The only other ODMs I've seen that offer this level of hardware for same or less are the Chinese China-market phones, and I wouldn't touch those unless they had an unlocked bootloader. I'll actually pay extra for Android One and a company that provides warranty and service in my own country.
"For those who care, there still is a 3.5-mm audio jack for headsets."
Come on AnandTech, enough with the snark. I'd have thought you lot would have learned from the whole replaceable battery and storage (microSD) furore that happened a few years ago.
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eek2121 - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
I personally would like to see a Nexus 7 follow-up. Even if it came from a competitor. High end specs, a great screen (the N7 was 1900x1200), and it ran stock android. The fact Google even killed it off baffles me. If they were losing money on it, just bump the price a bit or lower the specs a bit. I'd pay $400 for a high end 7" tablet with a high resolution screen.Luckily Lineage OS has an unofficial port and it looks beautiful and performs great.
A5 - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
iPad Mini says hello.I've been a long-time Android guy on phones, but the iOS tablet app situation is miles better.
skavi - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Hardware situation is much better too. They've got an A12 in that thing.yetanotherhuman - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
Oh shit, does it have wireless charging?... No. So it's not worthwhile
BurntMyBacon - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
Not worthwhile to you perhaps, but your single criteria for dismissing it is not mentioned by the original poster so your conclusion based on this single criteria holds little weight in this discussion. Not unlike you, I would also personally avoid an iPad Mini (for a number of reasons), but the original poster only specified $400, high-end, 7", and high resolution. The iPad Mini meets all of these (well 7.9" is loosely 7"). You might be able to draw an implicit requirement on aspect ratio from the Nexus 7 (16x10), but as it isn't explicitly stated, I would not dismiss a product based on this.Like the original poster, I think a Nexus 7 update would be great. I don't hold out much hope of ever seeing one, but I'd buy several of them for my family if given the opportunity. They are unsatisfied with their current Apple dictated situation.
FreckledTrout - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
I suspect that even if Apple did have wireless charging you would not buy an Apple product. People like to hate on Apple, I get it they overcharge and are slow to adopt a lot of features. However when they do adopt features they tend to do it better than anyone else. There phones and tablets simply just work with no tweaking or issues which for many millions of people this is much better than having the latest features.Speedfriend - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
A5I am a long time Android phone and tablet user. I recently bought an iPad on a great deal. While the hardware is great, I am astonished how poor the software experience is in some ways. Things like changing your wifi connection take multiple more steps than on Android, the whole app orgaisation system of being confined to left to right, top to bottom i and not being able to resize app tiles. Some of the menu structure in settings is so unitutitive. Realy not impressed.
Xyler94 - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
To be fair, how long do you stay on the home screen for that stuff to really be an issue? Most of that functionality you like is also Nova Launcher (Unless I'm mistaken, I haven't used stock launcher's on my android phone since I found Nova Launcher). Really, the simplicity of iOS is very intuitive, and the main reason I see your discontent is because you like styling your home screen to your exact liking.As for Wifi... I don't understand that comment. I have had used both, and neither are longer or take more steps...
nico_mach - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
No, the UI is way behind, and in fact Apple agrees - they're finally updating it this year. Sometimes 'simplicity' is just stubbornness and laziness. They're abandoning 3d touch - not intuitive. Storage is still clunky, not intuitive. Holding down icons to uninstall is still good, but not exactly intuitive and grouping/ungrouping icons by touch is still an exercise in frustration. Why is it so hard to view the clock when I'm in an app on the ipad?I own both for years now, and Android has a better UI. Simplicity is always good but Android is simpler in some ways. And simplicity really was a cop-out after 3d touch and the multifinger gestures came along. I hardly know how multitasking works on my own year old ipad. And then let's talk about the settings screen and how app store accounts vs imessage works in a family - I'm not convinced even Apple knows how it works.
It's 12 years old. Eliminating skeumorphism is good, but not a real overhaul. It's time for IOS to have a real overhaul in functionality, even if only in the ipad version of it. I still don't see any real ambition from those guys, and on Mac they're arguably going backwards.
trivik12 - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
I think Nokia gonna struggle in markets where they compete with Xiaomi/Realme who are using SD665 for sub $150 phone and SD710/SD675 for sub $200 phone. 660 was used in sub $150 phone early this year and so Nokia is like 6 months too late.bug77 - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Eh, for ~300 euros I got the Nokia 8.1, so this looks kinda pricey even disregarding Chinese alternatives.Namisecond - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
Looking at their specs, they seem to be fairly comparable devices. I'd personally get the 7.2 because it has the LTE channels for my region.Retycint - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Yeah this is definitely not a good value proposition. The Realme Q, for instance, has a SD712 for about $140Namisecond - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
That's a China-market phone designed/built by a Chinese company. No western company is going to be able to beat that price.Haawser - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
Yeah, I suspect the Redmi Note 8 Pro is going to eat its lunch, just as the Redmi Note 7 eat pretty much everybody elses in the budget sector. https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_note_8_pro-9...Namisecond - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
The only region the Nokia 7.2 might be competing with Xiaomi and Realme is maybe India. Look at their LTE bands. The 7.2 target markets are ROW, USA, and India.Dribble - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - link
The Xiaomi redmi note 7 works fine in the uk market (all the 4g bands). Tbh when I saw the spec's thought they looked almost identical to that Xiaomi phone, which is dirt cheap and has been out for a while.Namisecond - Sunday, September 22, 2019 - link
You can't even directly compare the 2 devices. It's dirt cheap for a reason. It's Xiaomi, the company that doesn't make a profit on the hardware, they make profit on their 'services' and the user's data. It's also a China market phone. It's like buying an Amazon Alexa edition device, but run by a foreign intelligence agency, without Amazon's service and warrantyTams80 - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - link
I seriously question the support those Chinese brand phones are going to offer, but also how sustainable their market strategy is. Either they go bankrupt or slowly raise their prices. And with China's economy not doing fantastically and the potential for a recession, I wouldn't put much faith in them.FSWKU - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Yet another phone with a stupid notch. Pass.The True Morbus - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
I'm probably gonna get a Xiaomi 9T, no notch, AND headphone jack.This one is a nice contender though.
heffeque - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
I vouch for the 9T. Real great phone for the price. No notch, all screen is priceless.Namisecond - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
Only Xiaomi phones I'd consider getting are their Android One offerings, and the Mi A3 just doesn't cut it. Also, 7.2 will have a headphone jack.jrs77 - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Yeah, call me when somebody makes a smartphone with an OS that doesn't constantly spy on me. Nokia would've been still alive and kicking, if they wouldn't have sold out to Microsoft but instead had dveloped and used MeeGo on all their devices.damianrobertjones - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
At that time there wasn't space for MeeGo.Tams80 - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - link
There was and Nokia had the resources to make it happen. It just was riskier and in the short term less profitable.The infighting between MeeGo and Symbian (decent OS, but it needed a lot of work to modernise it) didn't help.
niva - Thursday, September 12, 2019 - link
They tried that and failed, because by the time they did, it was too late. I loved Nokia phones and wish we could go back to those times with some nostalgia, but they became complacent, and missed the train.CityBlue - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
No Qi wireless charging? No thanks.Tunnah - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
300-ish quid for a phone with those specs, and not Chinese, might get one of thesesorten - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Not Chinese? This is Nokia's ghost and is all Chinese except for the name.cfenton - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
This phone (and all of the Nokia branded smartphones) is designed by HMD, which is a Finnish company run mostly by ex-Nokia staff. As far as I know, only some of the Nokia branded feature phones are designed by FIH Mobile, which is a subsidiary of Foxconn.sorten - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
You are correct. HMD Global is a Finnish company.HMD Global was founded by executives from Nokia. My understanding was that it was basically a small executive staff in Finland and then all manufacturing and the vast majority of employees are Foxconn.
eddman - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
HMD designs the phones, other companies (including the Foxconn-owned FIH) make them; basically the same business model as apple.LiverpoolFC5903 - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - link
Nokia is as chinese as apple, given that the same company is licensed to manufactures their phones. You think Apple is chinese?Tams80 - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - link
I mean, how many smartphones aren't made in China?Teckk - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Title says SD660 but take says 636?Also, doesn't 3500mAH battery feels somewhat weak for that resolution?
Teckk - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
*tableHyoyeon - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Snapdragon 660? That's a bit old.bug77 - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
Old isn't such a problem, as the performance is more than adequate. But it's 14nm, that will have some impact on battery life.Namisecond - Sunday, September 22, 2019 - link
Would take it over an SD665 or an SD670. Maybe even an SD710lejeczek - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
I'm surprised to see that even Nokia still do not get that usb 2.0 is a massive bummer!!Namisecond - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
It doesn't matter if it's USB 2 or 3 or eMMC or UFS. It will all be bottlenecked by the flash storage chips.nikon133 - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
It is somewhat beneficial having USB plug that can be plugged either way.That said, I really don't understand why is Nokia so shy with Qi wireless charging. That hardware cannot be expensive nowadays. I am personally finding it a must, and most people I know (who already have it on their current phones) are putting this feature reasonably high on their wish lists for the next phone. It is really convenient feature.
Namisecond - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
If you are talking USB-C, the Nokia 7.2 does use that connector. The person I was replying to was bemoaning that it is on USB 2 instead of USB 3. Not having had experience with the Qi wireless charging, I'm not particularly invested in that technology and it's not a deal-breaker for me. I would also think it's a feature reserved for high-end or flagship phones rather than something I'd expect to see on a mid-level phone.doggface - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
I found personally that wireless charging became less important when fast charging became a thing. Nokia's recent phones have been excellent at fast charging to 80% in 45 mins.Tams80 - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - link
That has nothing to do with USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 3.mytitsareonfire, etc.You mean USB C, which can be any of those (and Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort...), which it does have.
Gunbuster - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - link
So a variation of every other ODM (BLU, UMIDIGI, Whatever is on Amazon) but twice the price. Ride that name... ride it hard.Namisecond - Sunday, September 22, 2019 - link
Really? Do you have any examples you can point to? The only other ODMs I've seen that offer this level of hardware for same or less are the Chinese China-market phones, and I wouldn't touch those unless they had an unlocked bootloader. I'll actually pay extra for Android One and a company that provides warranty and service in my own country.Tams80 - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - link
"For those who care, there still is a 3.5-mm audio jack for headsets."Come on AnandTech, enough with the snark. I'd have thought you lot would have learned from the whole replaceable battery and storage (microSD) furore that happened a few years ago.