I've heard how CN rom even change to English language, still got some Chinese UI etc etc, can you confirm?

And anyone.. can vouch or offer experience erc on seller Monmar..?

I suppose I will have no use for those Moto CN apps..? As long as standard Google apps/banking/local e wallet apps are usable.

Somehow with the 8.8 bonus I found one Blue unit (8/256) tad cheaper than Fastech lol. Thanks for the feedback.

Still thinking if I should just get a 12/256 regular 40 over Ultra hahahaha. But even then sometimes I'm let down by pics on my 30 Pro, makes me doubt on downgrading the cameras on the regular 40.

We have a few experts in here that can easily do the same, aye?

Oh come on I've seen you guys talked about it easy like ABC lol 🤣

So guys, I'm sorry to say but I've decided to go with a 12/256 Razr 40 instead of Ultra. For now I just want to try it out since rather bored of candybar phones, and I'm not really a heavy user type, so a regular 40 should suffice. Read a few reviews here and there... should fit my use. More of like.. a not so expensive experiment, for the time being.

Say if I like it, perhaps in future iterations (Razr 50? Lol) then I can step up and get a flagship model, maybe?

Thanks, no doubt the guide you've made would be very helpful. Will update when I get it, and probably a short review/simple comparison with my current 30 Pro!

The current problem would be finding a suitable case, though..

Yea I'm expecting some downgrade on pictures quality and perhaps battery life and maybe some.. total usability but perhaps not by much. At least I hope not

But if you have no qualms from your S23U then I suppose I should not too, lol.

My unit is perhaps.. a week away but I've heard how CN Rom phones cant share location thru Whatsapp?

Uh oh

So I got my unit like 5 days back or so, and have been using it since. Many thanks for bro ijuanp03 for his guide on CN rom, really helped me stumble along the setup process! I still need to tweak a few things, but so far all my regular apps are installed, and works okay (except for Android Auto)





Yep, I like white





Bought an Imak case off Shopee, fits okay, has felt material inside to prevent slipping I guess.. and it has a lanyard loop which I like.

So in my couple days of usage - I like the screen, it's.. nice, vivid and brighter, it seems, compared to my old Edge 30 Pro, at comparable levels. Yes the crease is there, of course, although barely noticeable when the screen is lit but still visible when you look at an angle. Refresh rate is great, seems smoother than my E30P too. Although I find.. the taller but less wide screen not too much to my liking, somewhat. Reminds me of those slim Sony Xperia phones.. I prefer wider screens, to the point of I buy a separate tablet for use at home after work, because.. I feel like I'm getting old and need bigger screen to focus on things lol.

Yes the folding mechanism is smooth, I guess? Although I have nothing to compare to. I recall flipping my old Razr V3 one handed haha, being young and rough I am. No issues there, but I do find myself being veery careful in folding/unfolding it and moving around. But taking it out and flipping it open in front of people? The 'ooohhhh' is priceless indeed

For the hardware power, I suppose the limitation in lower tier soc and storage speed is prevalent when installing apps, and snapping pictures..? On my E30P I can download/install apps while keep using the phone and feel nothing - it stutters a bit on the Razr40, and snapping pics takes a good second or so to save on the 40 at times. But for normal use - either it surfing/browsing/banking/shopping, it's smooth with no hiccups, and I don't game, either, in fact I prefer the Razr40 for browsing due to how smooth it feels compared to the E30P. For battery life, I guess more usage/test is needed, but it feels roughly the same to me, despite the huge battery capacity difference, I got home every evening with roughly 30%+- battery left under my usual normal usage, on both - plus, I always have access to a reasonably high power GAN charger at office, and I usually plug in during lunchtime (I don't go out for lunch), and a wireless charger in my car. But yea, the 65W charging on the E30P feels faster - I can plug in, have a quick bite/bath etc and get a good chunk of % charged.

On usability - I was somewhat expecting it, but I kind of miss using my E30P - the phone with the Spigen case is nice to hold, just fine in my hands, and slips in my side pocket just nice, and while both have the Moto action wiggle/chop for cameras/flashlight, I find its easier to use on the E30P, yea, I can use it with the Razr unfolded too, it just feels.. odd - I can whip out my E30P and immeadiately do whatee And the feeling that I need to be extra careful with the Razr keeps me.. on the edge at all times. I use my phone as an additional work tool, and perhaps the form factor of the Razr40 is unsuited for that, I feel - which is somewhat surprising.

And while I'm no professional, in fact I'm very bad with cameras/taking pictures (a stark contrast from my brother which is our family's designated photographer), still, here you go for some comparison - although I keep which pictures were taken with which phone a secret, till.. the end picture.



This.. potted plant of my wife's that I have no idea what the name is




The unimpressive .. vegetation shrub behind my house




My Primaris Dark Angel, on vigil for any trespassing.. cats



My beloved 4 year old, taken in my room, right after he wakes up and went straight for his favorite dinosaur videos on my PC. I suppose this can be categorized as low light, being in my room with only light from the monitor..?

Please note this were all taken snap shots - no setting or adjustment whatever, and taken as-is, and I didn't bother with zoom/macro shots or what not.

And to my untrained noob eyes.. there doesn't seem to be a big noticeable difference between my old E30P, which are pictures on the left, compared to the Razr40, which are on the right, plus the extra 'Hi-Res' mode on the third Astartes picture. Good enough for daily picture snap, I suppose. Although at times, I miss my previous Pixel 4A.. I do feel the pics taken on it, even with how unimpressive the hardware being - nicer to my eyes

That all said.. I'll probably will use the Razr 40 for a couple more days, and pass it on to my wife, which depends if she doesn't like it, I guess I'll sell it off, lol? Yea it's cool, solidly build, and gets a lot of attention from my colleagues and such, as well as scratches that nostalgia Razer V3 itch I have - but in the end, at least for the moment, I appreciate being able to whip out my candybar E30P and straight away search stuff/reply messages/open flashlight/quick snap pictures without having to flip it open. Some might say purchasing the Ultra, I might be able to do some of these on the cover, but like I mentioned - I feel like I'm having problems on small-ish screens lately, to the point of where I purchased a tablet for home use, and upgrading my workstation to 34". I'm getting old, that's .. for sure lol. And my current life is quite hectic either at work, or at home, so having a phone that I need to be extra careful with doesn't feel right. Maybe when I retire perhaps

In fact this test makes me considering of getting the X40 - till I realized it has on-screen FP, and not the side-mount like the E30P and Razr40 which I oh so-like. And if not due to the battery life/charging speed of the current Pixels, I'd consider those too. While something like the S23U would be far out of my budget, I tried out my collegue's unit and found it quite.. unwieldy for me

So I guess for now, I'll probably stick with my E30P, for the time being But I'm open to questions and what not! And thanks to those that read this!

And sorry for the picture alignments.. quite sure I arranged them right.. if anyone can advise on how to rotate them properly, please feel to do so 😅

This post has been edited by bahjan_2000: Aug 25 2023, 12:35 PM

I see. Thanks, but I'm quite sure there is no case included with the phone, and reading around, I think only the Ultra unit has a free case included. But so far it seems.. like there's no pronounced lip, around the display, on the Imak case?

If you mean from side to side at the top when folded, yes. Just a little, but its there. Not that.. I want to try out how much it wiggles anyway