[Linus Jian]

Also the Sony has OLED not LED.
The reason Sd card storage was removed is 2 fold.

1. Not really supported in android and previously companies were coming up with work around.

2. Slow. New cameras on these phones should at 4k and 8k and many Megapixels. File sizes are bigger. Saving to a micro SD card is many orders slower which would greatly limit performance of the camera and video function.

W

Also the Sony has OLED not LED.
The reason Sd card storage was removed is 2 fold.

1. Not really supported in android and previously companies were coming up with work around.

2. Slow. New cameras on these phones should at 4k and 8k and many Megapixels. File sizes are bigger. Saving to a micro SD card is many orders slower which would greatly limit performance of the camera and video function.

I agree sony phone is just not as good as iphone or samsung now but the reason is just purely wrong. Seems like you don't understand the phone business, I talked to a guy who is a senior engineer at Oppo/Oneplus, the onlg reason that sd card slot are gone is because the limited space, you can't even find a little space for a bigger battery or bigger motor, (there are so many more important parts) let alone the low priority sd card alot or even micro sd card slot.

 

[C_Lindbergh]

TBH Sony's flagship phone is just not as good as Apple and Samsung's or even Xiaomi's ultra series. Camera is just not as good as Samsung or even pixel, battery life is awful, system is unpolished, 4k screen is a mostly a gimmic since the ppi of a 2k samsung screen is high enough, brightness is lower than samsung, the dynamich referesh rate implementation is also garb. As a 20 year Sony fan I can't even stand it, let alone the general public.

I strongly disagree

Screen is awesome, not talking about the resolution, more the calibration.

Battet life? The 5 IV scores among the highest of the year...

The Ui is far superior to both Xiaomi and Samsung since its mostly stock android with many extra features. Especially compared to the mess Xiaomi calls it's UI

Personally I also like the cameras, the output is so natural, but yeah the point and shoot ability is behind other flagships.

 

[C_Lindbergh]

W

I agree sony phone is just not as good as iphone or samsung now but the reason is just purely wrong. Seems like you don't understand the phone business, I talked to a guy who is a senior engineer at Oppo/Oneplus, the onlg reason that sd card slot are gone is because the limited space, you can't even find a little space for a bigger battery or bigger motor, (there are so many more important parts) let alone the low priority sd card alot or even micro sd card slot.

Well Sony phones have room for SD card, 3.5mm jack and a huge battery, despite being very low weight and rather thin.

It's funny that you mentioned both the haptic motor and Battery when those 2 features were praised my GSM arena.



The SD card is gone because of money, now you can get people to purchase phones with a higher base storage. Seems like you're the one that doesn't understand the phone industry. Obviously the companies themselves won't admit to the real reason why it was taken away.

So I can't see your point tbh, that engineer of yours must be awful, Oneplus is also loosing ground.

 

[Juturna]

I have an Xiaomi mi 11pro and have the exact same problem with my Focus Pro.
As you say,it becomes almost like mono sound when the range between the phone and buds is like 3-4 meters.
The only thing that make them sound normal again is to toggle bluetooth on/off or put the buds back in the cradle.

I have an older Oneplus 8pro that i tried. And with the Oneplus phone my Focus Pro works MUCH better. Better BT range and no "mono" sound.
Very frustrating...

It is strange because none of my other TWS acts like this except my Focus Pro

Hmm, that's a bummer to hear, but maybe a slight relief that it's not just me that it's happening to!
It's weird because I want to blame the phone because it seems like no other phone brands have the issue with the Fokus earbuds, but I want to blame the earbuds because no other earbuds get that issue with the phone... Really strange honestly.

For me it's not even 3 meters, it's like 1m or less even since it's when my phone is in my pocket, and it's more likely to happen when I turn my head to the right haha, so weird.

 

[SynaestheticA]

Hmm, that's a bummer to hear, but maybe a slight relief that it's not just me that it's happening to!
It's weird because I want to blame the phone because it seems like no other phone brands have the issue with the Fokus earbuds, but I want to blame the earbuds because no other earbuds get that issue with the phone... Really strange honestly.

For me it's not even 3 meters, it's like 1m or less even since it's when my phone is in my pocket, and it's more likely to happen when I turn my head to the right haha, so weird.

Have you tried turning wifi off? Not 100% sure if it works for me but about 60% sure it helps with my Nuratrue Pro connection issues.

 

[Juturna]

I strongly disagree

Screen is awesome, not talking about the resolution, more the calibration.

Battet life? The 5 IV scores among the highest of the year...

The Ui is far superior to both Xiaomi and Samsung since its mostly stock android with many extra features. Especially compared to the mess Xiaomi calls it's UI

Personally I also like the cameras, the output is so natural, but yeah the point and shoot ability is behind other flagships.

I don't know... I think you both have a point.
I think Sony are stuck in the (not-so-distant) past with their phones. Which brings some benefits (SD Card slot, 3,5mm jack)...
But I think their design language is starting to look very dated, and when it comes to their OS it's even worse. I think their Android skin is one of the worst ones just because of how dated it looks. Whenever I pick up a Sony phone I feel like it looks so similar software-wise to what their phones were like 7 years ago, and that's not a compliment.

Also I really don't like their cameras, but that's just because I personally do prefer point and shoot.
Their priorities are just weird to me... it's like they're extremely slow on the ball with some features (they were super late with 120hz, they still haven't done in-screen fingerprint scanners, etc), and they went instead with 4K display that is completely unnecessary with that display size.

Don't get me wrong, I do like Sony as a brand, and I want to like their phones because I once did... but to me it's getting hard, they're not especially good value for the money either, but if you buy a Sony flagship, sure, you are getting a decent phone... just definitely not the best and not the most bang-for-the-buck device either.

 

[webvan]

Amazon UK have a deal on the new EarFun Air 3 Pro I posted a few pages back, BT 5.3+LE audio and L3C+Multipoint (the Chipset support a lot more but not sure if they added support for it all).

EarFun Air Pro 3​

The world's 1st LE-audio ANC true wireless earbuds

• Personalize Your Buds with EarFun Audio App
• All-new Multi-device Connectivity
• Build-in Qualcomm® QCC3071 SoC with aptX™ adaptive Audio Tech
• QuietSmart™ 2.0 Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation up to 43dB
• Enhanced 6-mic array + cVc™ 8.0 tech for Superior Clarity Call Quality
• Bluetooth 5.3 + Next-gen LE Audio & LC3 codec, for ultra-low power consumption and stable transmission
• Premium Immersive Sound with 11mm Wool Composite Drivers
• <55ms Ultra Low Latency Mode for Better Video & Gaming Experience
• IPX5 Sweat & Water Resistant
• 45-hour Playtime: 9 Hours + 36Hours with Charging Case
  Fast Charging, 10 Min Charging = 2 Hours Playtime
• Wireless Charging Compatible
• Intuitive Touch Control

Chipset: QCC3071

Bluetooth:
Specification Version: Bluetooth® 5.3, Bluetooth® 5.3 Qualified
Connection Technology: Bluetooth® Low Energy, Bluetooth® Classic, Dual-mode Bluetooth
Topologies: Qualcomm TrueWireless™ Mirroring technology
Classic Data Rate: 3 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps


Audio:
Qualcomm® aptX™ audio technology support: Qualcomm® aptX™ Audio, Qualcomm® aptX™ Voice, Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive, Qualcomm® aptX™ Lossless
Qualcomm® Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology support: Adaptive Transparency, Feedforward, Feedback, Adaptive, Hybrid
Qualcomm® cVc™ Echo Cancelling and Noise Suppression (ECNS) technology support: 1-mic Earbuds, 3-mic Earbuds, 2-mic Earbuds


https://www.qualcomm.com/products/application/audio/qcc30xx-series/qcc3071


I bet this sound warm due to the wool drivers!

So has anyone gotten them ? I'm a big fan of the Earfun Free Pro 2 and Air Pro 2, best value for money IMHO, with really good ANC, so quite tempted.

Our friend Gamesky has a review :

Oh wait he has a follow-up review :

For my running needs I've been using the Bose Sports and they're ok. Very comfortable to wear but still annoyed that the audio sounds a bit "processed" and as a result wind noise feels amplified, a poor decision for running !

 

[Juturna]

I don't have a xiaomi so I can't speak with any experience with that particular phone. I do have a Samsung and it performs fine with it. Do you have any friends with a Samsung that you could perhaps give it a performance test with?

I have a Samsung that I used previously just before this phone. It worked fine with that phone.
It's still weird how no other earbuds I've tried so far have any issues on the new phone though. Makes it super hard to know where the issue actually lies...

 

[blomman77]

Hmm, that's a bummer to hear, but maybe a slight relief that it's not just me that it's happening to!
It's weird because I want to blame the phone because it seems like no other phone brands have the issue with the Fokus earbuds, but I want to blame the earbuds because no other earbuds get that issue with the phone... Really strange honestly.

For me it's not even 3 meters, it's like 1m or less even since it's when my phone is in my pocket, and it's more likely to happen when I turn my head to the right haha, so wei

Hmm, that's a bummer to hear, but maybe a slight relief that it's not just me that it's happening to!
It's weird because I want to blame the phone because it seems like no other phone brands have the issue with the Fokus earbuds, but I want to blame the earbuds because no other earbuds get that issue with the phone... Really strange honestly.

For me it's not even 3 meters, it's like 1m or less even since it's when my phone is in my pocket, and it's more likely to happen when I turn my head to the right haha, so weird.

Have you tried another phone to see if the problem goes away?

 

[EvilJesus]

Hmm, that's a bummer to hear, but maybe a slight relief that it's not just me that it's happening to!
It's weird because I want to blame the phone because it seems like no other phone brands have the issue with the Fokus earbuds, but I want to blame the earbuds because no other earbuds get that issue with the phone... Really strange honestly.

For me it's not even 3 meters, it's like 1m or less even since it's when my phone is in my pocket, and it's more likely to happen when I turn my head to the right haha, so weird.

Had the same problem with the Mystique and my Fiio M6. Connection is fine with my Samsung phone and a105. The M6 paired with my campfire Orbits and MW08s with no problems.

 

[jant71]

So has anyone gotten them ? I'm a big fan of the Earfun Free Pro 2 and Air Pro 2, best value for money IMHO, with really good ANC, so quite tempted.

Our friend Gamesky has a review :

Oh wait he has a follow-up review :

For my running needs I've been using the Bose Sports and they're ok. Very comfortable to wear but still annoyed that the audio sounds a bit "processed" and as a result wind noise feels amplified, a poor decision for running !

Gamesky is not going to help you there. What does he know or care about wind noise? He should get off his ass more and do real crowd noise instead of a simulated and do wind noise while he is out there

 

[webvan]

Actually I'm not too worried about wind noise for these as I don't intend to run with them. The only proper way to deal with wind noise is to turn off ANC/Ambient so if that's available (always actually APART from the Bose QC that I sent back) that's fine by me. Obviously the more recessed earbuds are the less wind noise they will pick up and the Earfun Free Pro 2 are really decent there.

 

[tiagopinto]

Oh wow, that's a hard one. There's a Bang & Olufsen store in West Hollywood, not close. Outside of that, it's really only Best Buy. These days there aren't many audiophile stores here in LA. I do know there are a couple stores at Los Angeles International Airport. You're right, hard to find. Most of the good ones I have to buy online. Sad but true. If someone else knows of a great place, please do share!

Well, I figured as much. Since I always read you’re buying online or the more “common stuff” at Best Buy. But I thought I’d give it a try.
Thanks anyway.

 

[erockg]

Well, I figured as much. Since I always read you’re buying online or the more “common stuff” at Best Buy. But I thought I’d give it a try.
Thanks anyway.

@Aramaki suggested this: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/goi...soon-or-are-we-there-yet.861024/post-17413882

 

[tiagopinto]

https://thesourceav.com/

Yeah, still an hour drive from where she is. I should be there, haha. The store looks amazing. But thanks anyway.