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A comment on Essential shutting down after failing to launch ‘GEM’ smartphone. Parent comment

Re:Essential shutting down after failing to launch ‘GEM’ sma... by AdmiralAsshat on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @04:00PM (#22312758)
If memory serves, when the XZ1 Compact came out in the US, it was severely handicapped in some way, although memory escapes me as to why. Something like the fingerprint reader inside the power button was disabled due to a lawsuit, and the camera was awful if you went off the stock OS that Sony shipped.

Real pity. I held the phone in my hands at a Best Buy and got incredibly close to buying it.

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Re:Essential shutting down after failing to launch ‘GEM’ sma... by kelnos on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @04:47PM (#22313155)
My last Sony phone was the Z5 Compact, which was the first and last Sony phone in the US to have a fingerprint sensor until they cleared that legal mess up.

I ditched it for the Pixel 2 (and now 4) eventually; Sony's software got worse and slower with every update, and the phone would heat up for seemingly no reason. The camera was really good, but I couldn't install a custom ROM without crippling it due to DRM junk.

As much as the Pixels aren't perfect, and the physical size of them is not what I'd like (I'd really like something like a 4"-4.2" screen), they've at least been consistent in build and software quality (to the point where I haven't been motivated to flash a custom ROM), and the cameras have been wonderful.

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Re:Essential shutting down after failing to launch ‘GEM’ sma... by hedora on Thursday February 13, 2020 @10:59AM (#22318718)
> the camera was awful if you went off the stock OS that Sony shipped

I would have bought that phone if not for this issue. (I can’t remember why the stock OS was unacceptable, even before purchase)

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Re:Essential shutting down after failing to launch ‘GEM’ sma... by phh on Friday February 14, 2020 @02:57PM (#22329776)
> the camera was awful if you went off the stock OS that Sony shipped.

Thankfully they stopped that bullshit , including on this very model in their Android Pie update.

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