Well, it's cheap for a reason. That said, it's still bloody cheap regardless lol.

How do they do it? Easy, Xiaomi is a bloody corporate giant. Even is they sell the Poco with very little profit (or even at a loss), they're more then rich enough to take that hit (hell, they have various other stuff to sell that DO make money) - and in turn grind other companies unable to match their cash flow prowess to the ground.

What's worrying if this assumption IS true, is that subsequent Poco phones aren't gonna be as cheap any more and - once their key rivals are all in the kubur or close to it - prices will start going up ala OnePlus as they slowly try to make up for the initial low profit margins.

Though the good thing is usually when that happens, some other upstart will probably show up with a "Flagship Killer's Killer's Killer", and the cycle continues all over again - meaning that this entire shebang is of no real loss to us anyway lolz.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 30 2018, 06:05 PM

Hoh Digital Mall PJ also got stocks edi lol, not sure AP or Ori though but seems Ori...

(dabel post)

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 30 2018, 08:21 PM

But GoogCam has better cloud computations TBH (for HDR+ anyway), though for raw performance (sans HDR) I think stock or Qualcam would probably work better.

INB4 OP users jelly you guys get easy GoogCam integration when they have to play around with rooted apps and magisk modules (me included lar lol).

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 30 2018, 09:23 PM

Funny because it WAS on that list. Or at least the XDA news story about it. I'm pretty sure because I clearly remember being all jelly about it lol.

Hmm XDA y u planted false hope?

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 30 2018, 10:09 PM

Ahhhhh. So now the wait begins for a port, probably Annova's.

Not sure if that's out of focus or just EXTREMELY heavy handed noise processing. I mean, it's like watercolour zoomed up close. And trust me, I know watercolor as OP is king of watercolouring (if you don't Camera M the hell out of the stock cam anyway).

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 30 2018, 10:19 PM

Prolly. I'm on mobile so zoom far far see watercolor only.

Maybe it's focusing on the window glass... or just contrast detect being naff as usual lol.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 30 2018, 10:23 PM

In that case xisan we finally found one of the places that 1k diff came from then (auto cam algorithm), especially compared to your #papan9 pic...

... which BTW is good enough it's making me rethink my life choices right about now. Damn you Sammy.

But yeah that 2s shot ain't bad at all TBH. It's pretty good for what it is.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 30 2018, 11:40 PM

True that. Still the cheapest 845 phone for what it's worth. Just that Xiaomi threw expectations sky high with what Tubers were saying about the phone lol.

Not that it doesn't happen with other phones TBH (overpraise), just not THIS sky high.

On the flipside I know which reviewers to take seriously now. GSMDome (the first unboxing guy) actually got relatively similar results to you camera-wise.

Well for one Malaysia is hazier yes, so far away detail will indeed be compromised. But for the second, street level set that's a very, very close shot.

So yeah, you can't fault air density or haze so easily there. I'm blaming the AI TBH, that watercolouring is atrocious. Also that flaring right smack dab in the middle.

Manual mode should be fine, as can be seen from xisan's manual shots... as long as there's not too much lights in your scene. I'm thinking the lens might not be glass either, but I can be wrong until Jerry brings his razor into this party.

But still guys, it's a $300 phone. Please tell me you did expect something like this.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 31 2018, 12:01 AM

The API is unlocked. It still needs a modded APK apparently, and yes someone tried edi with the stock APK, no joy.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 31 2018, 12:21 AM

FB had this link hanging around though:

https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/...beta-test-9.apk

Maybe that would work.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 31 2018, 12:31 AM

P9 has monitor refresh compensation methinks (as did my old Honor 8), which the Poco does not. Yeah it's all about the algorithms really, and fortunately this part can be improved in time.

The Poco auto mode doesn't like lowlight conditions (even slightly lowlight lol) that's probably why. It does kinda fine in manual mode though. Also, it's not entirely unfixable with updates so it might get better moving forward, and you can always go GoogleCam once a port is out (for a slight improvement).

If you care more about photos I'd say the 5(z)'s wide angle shooter (and slightly better sensors/algorithms) is of better value... IF Asus actually gets to squashing out more of the firmware bugs.

I mean, I don't like MIUI any more then the next Android snob (lol), but for sure it's more well built and stable then what Asus has in the 5(z) IMHO. But again, this is also fixable... if Asus cares enough to do it consistently.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 31 2018, 06:34 PM

Well kinda, but even the 8 doesn't have the wide angle lens the 5z has. Which WILL be pretty useful over any form of telephoto (or... God forbid, depth sensing) everybody else has, trust me.

Unfortunately, Asus firmware is meh like I said earlier, at an OS level. They're currently fixing it though (a new update came a few days back) and if they continue filling in the holes it should be a decent soon.

Also, Asus warranty. Errr...

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 31 2018, 06:49 PM

Notch too big lol, maybe it won't fit without bumping the cellular bars off the bar.

True, kinda expected it from the very beginning myself. Obviously not the "everything killer" Xiaomi hyped it to be.

That said, spec/price wise it's STILL pretty awesome even WITH the compromises TBH. I mean if you can live past the cost cuttings, it runs like greased lightning really, and for some folks, that's all that matters.

As can be evidenced from it being sold out everywhere.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 31 2018, 07:23 PM

Err if you screenshot home screen mana nampak quality screen camna TBH.

Kena take photo screen externally ler. I think xisan can do side-by-side with his #papan9 because he has both.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 31 2018, 07:37 PM

Yeah was just thinking about "similar" brightness levels and same wallpaper. Also pick a wallpaper that has both a dark and bright area, and vibrant colours as well. The angles you're shooting the ori pics at is nice though, already its showing that the Poco kinda darkens at slight angles.

Sure, the OLED will rape the IPS but that's not the point here . It's HOW MUCH raping that is actually happening that we want to see. The #papan9 has a stunning screen yes, but it's a known quantity. Everybody kinda knows how good that screen is. That's why it will probably give some context to how the Poco screen compares.

Its not about winning or a losing ler hadoiyai.

And yes, for folks who don't know, that's the #papan9 being put against the Poco there.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: Aug 31 2018, 08:44 PM