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Google Nexus 5x and 6P

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Re: Google Nexus 5x and 6P

#471

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you don't. Encoding a video should not be CPU, so let's get that out of there. Most of the rest is more GPU dependent than CPU dependent. The amount of CPU time you should be spending on these tasks is really low. For example, web browsing and reading , the CPU should be asleep most of the time. Now, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of very silly little tasks for A53's to do, but what you listed are not those…

The amount of CPU time you should be spending on these tasks is really low. Which is exactly the point. They are not CPU intensive, but the CPU is constantly doing a multitude of little things, whether simply moving memory around from the GPU to storage, sending the render buffers for the 60fps display, etc. Another comment mentioned, rightly, that cores are put to sleep in they don't have anything to do in a quantum…

"You have zero expertise to be saying this."

This is 100% false. I do bringup on these platforms. I know a lot about them.

"I'm going to favor the industry's interpretation of this a bit more than your anecdotal, occasional compiler-writer knowledge. "

Dude, i literally do the toolchain bringup on these platforms you claim i have no knowledge of. This is not "anecdotal occasional compiler-writer knowledge". This is "I get paid to make the stuff you keep talking about work fast and get good battery life out of it".

If what you say was true, then one would expect that when they were brought up, they would have worse performance and better battery life. Instead, the exact opposite is true in most cases. They have slightly better performance, and much worse battery life. Try it sometime.

Battery life is gotten back mainly through .. wait for it ... compiler optimization ... to speed up the software so things can sleep faster.

Not to "move things onto the little cores to save power", as you seem to think.

Since you want to attack my experience, remind me again, what background do you have in this again? (FWIW - I would stay away from this argument line as it is unlikely to serve you well)

As swetland (who was android's main kernel guy for a long time) pointed out to you, you literally have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to CPU sleeping and what the main power policies are.

BTW, much earlier i asked if you had anything other than self-serving industry press releases to back up your claims. I'm guessing the answer is "no", given what you've written.

Anyway, i'm going to stop responding now, because i'm just some anecdotal compiler writer, and clearly i can't compete with your vast knowledge store and experience on this one.

Re: Google Nexus 5x and 6P

#472
post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think Google and Samsung have decided to ditch sd cards to prevent the user having a shitty experience. This line of reasoning makes absolutely no sense. How could having the option to use an SD card with your device make for a shittier UX. The use of an SD expansion slot is completely optional, if you don't have the desire to use an SD card it has absolutely no bearing on the UX, and if you do , no matter how sh…

Because there is an opportunity cost to having an SD slot. Remember it takes up physical space inside the device, which could be used for more internal memory, battery space etc. they would have opted for something everyone wants over a smaller subset of users

> Because there is an opportunity cost to having an SD slot. Remember it takes up physical space inside the device, which could be used for more internal memory, battery space et

There are opportunity costs for everything, but microsd readers are a cheap, mature, commodity technology that's been in top-end phones for ages, its impact on the phone's available real-estate for battery and memory is nearly negligible.

Re: Google Nexus 5x and 6P

#474
post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wrench, meet plausible deniability: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_deniability#Use_in_c...

People who say this never game this out. 1. Attacker sees random data. 2. Attacker knows you might be smart enough to use a plausible deniability file system. 3. Attacker starts beating you with the wrench. At this point, there are several possibilities that could happen: 1. You give up the secret and give the attacker what he wants. The beating continues after this point, because the attacker really has no idea if y…

If your threat model involves wrench, you are OOL. Fortunately, its not true for most of us.

Re: Google Nexus 5x and 6P

#475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the thing is, the Nexus 5 was a near-perfect phone (especially considering it was released two years ago), and it's totally reasonable to think it's still doing the job very well -- it is. But that's a fact about the N5, not the N5X/6P. I mean, what would you want from a new phone that would show up on a spec sheet? Faster? Check, both of these are. The 808/810 aren't gigantic generational leaps over the 800, but…

Interestingly my problems with it are exactly three things that aren't addressed in the new models: 1. The wireless charging, while seemingly a small thing, was to me a huge improvement in my experience of using the phone. The fact that I can sit down at my desk, plop the phone down, and it'll just work, and when I get up to leave I can just pull it off my desk. Removing the USB cable interaction made the phone a muc…

Aside from the wireless charging which comes as a surprise since the last few generations all had it, I feel like your points don't constitute much of a disappointment for the 5X. #2 and #3 haven't been a part of the Nexus line since at least the N4, so you're in the realm of wishful thinking. I agree having everything you said would be nice, but it's hardly a surprise.

Re: Google Nexus 5x and 6P

#476
post #395
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am in the same boat. Wireless charging seems to be something very few people use, but those that do love it so much they would not want to trade it. Being able to simply lay my phone on my bedside table at night and have it fully charged the next morning is such a nice thing to have.

I'm hooked. I never worry about the battery. It's dead simple to drop my phone on a charging pad at home, at work, and in the car.

What do you use for the car? I haven't found a good qi charger for the car last time I looked

Re: Google Nexus 5x and 6P

#477
post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm only talking about the physical connector.

Well if you go by the spec then USB1 and USB2 can only deliver 0.5A. Apple seems to have settled as 2.1A as the most current you can run through a USB connector without getting it too hot.

The power delivery spec requires special cables but allows 5 amps over normal* type A connectors.

*except for a detection mechanism for higher-power cables

Re: Google Nexus 5x and 6P

#478
post #367

As nice as the new fingerprint sensors are, they come with some nasty drawbacks[0]: Namely, your defense against legally compelled decryption is significantly weakened via use of a fingerprint sensor, since the phone's unlock mechanism is the same authentication system that the phone's encryption mechanism uses (it would be really nice to have some sort of separation there). The last drawback, I'll simply quote verba…

I'd argue that the fingerprint sensor has no effect on your second scenario, as manufacturers could make a backdoor to send the government your normal password too. The fingerprint sensor doesn't make that bit any easier.

Re: Google Nexus 5x and 6P

#479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get a clip zip (~$30) and a 128gb sd card (~$50), put rockbox on it ($0), enjoy your entire collection in whatever codec you want, in a form factor that works better for exercising, with a week battery life to boot.

Clip zip only accepts up to 32GB.

On paper. They work with SDXC cards if you format the cards as FAT32.

Re: Google Nexus 5x and 6P

#480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The bottomline is that someone doesn't need to hack a server to steal your fingerprint, you leave those everywhere you go as virtual gifts to any passers-by. All they need to do is steal your phone, and that's pick-pocketing level easy.

Ummm, if I lose my phone, I'm just going to remotely disable it so there's no way the person who stole my phone can reach my data.

So, you're using full-disk encryption on your phone and the remote kill switch flushes the key?

Otherwise the data is still there in the plain, accessible by anyone who can read the flash.

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