From PRIV to KEY2, some questions about my personal usage.

(Please note that I am not a native english speaker and I may do some strange phrasing/mistakes, I am sorry for that !)

Hello !

I am planning on maybe getting myself a KEY2 as I have currently a PRIV.

But KEY2 is kinda pricey and if you don't mind I have a few questions to know if it is really an improvement for me considering the way I'm using a phone.
Btw I have read some threads and since everybody doesn't do the same : I use the physical keyboard rather than the digital one.

1) I use to write a lot, using google doc since no other things like Word seems to work very well. But as the doc gets heavier, the PRIV is getting slower. At times doing big mistakes it would be hard to describe. (Maybe… like you know the word proposition when you typed half a word? It valids itself multiple times, typing showwewewewewer instead of show-runner for ex.) Making it impossible to use boards or to put multiple pictures in the doc without lagging a lot.

2) The PRIV is rather slow compared to other phones, for task that are supposed to be easy.

3) The wifi sometimes acts strange, if there is a mistake in the parameters it sometimes make the wifi-box disappear from the list of available wifi… Well it's annoying but it is not a major problem.

4) The PRIV I have overheat ! And very quickly sometimes ! Slowing it down (even more)

5) I have the bad habits to never put my phone off because it takes ages to go on again. (The triangle/square/round animation if you see what I mean, takes a long, long, looong time) And I think it affected somewhat the well being of my phone.

6) Accents are very slow to type. I have to push the keyboard for one second and then chose on the digital keyboard after, and there isn't so many choices, for examples I needed the ~ on the "n" for spanish in my studies, and it is not available. There is maybe a parameter for that but I did not find.) I know it seems to be rather petty, but it really slows down the typing and it is uncomfortable. I am well aware that there might not be a better system yet.

(The PRIV has been a really good phone and I am not criticising it in a bad way, but I think in 2020 it has done its time)

I think that's pretty much it, does KEY2 improves on these subjects?
(And if you have a way to correct this things while I'm still using my PRIV you are very welcome to give me the info !)

Also there is a lot of different models of KEY2 and I am a bit lost about what to buy. I have a nice budget but I am not sure that it is worth it to buy the best of the best model of KEY2 available. If you have an idea of the best option quality/price…

Thank you for ready and your advices !

Hello @Enlokan , welcome to the forum.

I own both devices so I'll give my opinion based on my experiences.

The Key2 is considerably faster and runs at a far lower temperature than the Priv. You also get the benefit of a newer OS version and improved encryption (File based vs Full Disk Encryption on the Priv).

I think you will enjoy the keyboard on the Key2. I find it considerably easier to type on than the Priv because it's larger with improved key travel and click.

The battery life on the Key2 is also far greater than the Priv.

The only area where the Priv outshines the Key2 is the camera in my opinion. While the Key2 does have a dual camera setup with the ability to take portrait shots and a 2x "optical" zoom using the second camera, the Key2 cameras do not have OIS (stabilization) and they are 12 MP.

The Priv camera on the other hand has OIS, an 18 MP camera and an absolutely excellent ability to take high quality zoom shots using just the digital zoom. I find I consistently take better shots with the Priv, mostly due to OIS.

That said, the Key2 camera is still respectable and can take some really nice shots with a steady hand. It also does well with HDR in challenging scenes where other cameras I've tried (Sony Xperia 10 which is also a 12mp dual lens setup), simply fall flat.

To help decide which Key2 to buy, I recommend referring to Conite's Key2 OS update sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1381535354

This will show you which devices are receiving regular updates. You can see that not all the Key2 devices receive updates. The big ones to avoid are devices for the Indian, HK and Latin American markets because those either stopped receiving patches entirely (India) or they don't receive them often.

So before purchasing a Key2, make sure to double check what it's PRD# is and refer to this chart to make sure it can be updated to the latest possible security patch which TCL provides.

Regarding how to fix some of the issues with your Priv in the mean time... All I can suggest is attempting a fresh start. Do a factory reset and see if that helps.

Cheers

Hello Chetmanley thank you for you answer !

Interesting doc, it will be useful !

For the factory reset I'm afraid it doesn't work , I've tried...

Thanks for your advices !

Originally Posted by chetmanley

referring to Cobalt's Key2 OS update sheet:

*conites'.

Originally Posted by Ben xfg

*conites'.

Oh that's embarrassing. Absolutely thanks for catching that. Fixed