Moto Z4 General Discussions

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Sajo

Sajo

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Thanks! I'm sure I'll have questions

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My only initial advice is this: if you bought from Verizon and are picking up in a store, don't let them turn it on and activate it. If you know enough about setting up a phone (which you do), tell them no thanks you'll set it up yourself. They can give you a 1-800 number to call if the new phone / SIM don't activate instantly. When they activate for you they blow by all the important on-screen prompts for things that are handy to setup right away (like Assistant hands free, etc ). I hate how they just blast past all that stuff just to get to the "your phone number is..... and is now activated..." screen. There are things that Google will prompt you to do that make things easier later. If they swipe it away, the user has to try and find those things later.

Sorry, that's my rant for the day.

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Gudasau

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My only initial advice is this: if you bought from Verizon and are picking up in a store, don't let them turn it on and activate it. If you know enough about setting up a phone (which you do), tell them no thanks you'll set it up yourself. They can give you a 1-800 number to call if the new phone / SIM don't activate instantly. When they activate for you they blow by all the important on-screen prompts for things that are handy to setup right away (like Assistant hands free, etc ). I hate how they just blast past all that stuff just to get to the "your phone number is..... and is now activated..." screen. There are things that Google will prompt you to do that make things easier later. If they swipe it away, the user has to try and find those things later.

Sorry, that's my rant for the day.

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What great advice! Thank you!!!! I hadn't thought about the whole activation thing. I'll definitely do it myself. Thanks again!

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Gudasau

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Settings > System > About Phone > find the Build Number > tap Build Number 10 times rapidly. You should see a pop-up message that you are now a developer. Reboot / restart and you will have Icon Shape options in your Launcher / Home app Settings as discussed earlier.

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Okay, a little late to this party, but......
I'm able to change the shape, but what I'm not crazy about is:
My little icons have changed shape, but if I have them clustered in group icons, those group shapes stay round. The little icons within the group icon have changed their shape, but.... Kinda weird and I'm wondering why they didn't go the extra step and make those change shape, as well. Weird....
 
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I had not really noticed that, but you are correct. The folders retain their default circular shape regardless of the app icon shape. I only have two folders of icons and had not noticed that before now.

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Gudasau

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I had not really noticed that, but you are correct. The folders retain their default circular shape regardless of the app icon shape. I only have two folders of icons and had not noticed that before now.

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It's nothing in the grand scheme of things, but a little annoying. This may be the phone I actually hit @PereDroid up for assistance in customizing my icons. I've been wanting to do it for years, but ...

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Gudasau

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Just powered up my old phone to compare. It appears the backgrounds for the "folders" is dark on my Z and very light -- almost white, on my Z4. I'm assuming there's a setting for that....
 
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With Android 9 Pie the background color for app folders, and the app drawer is auto-set based on your wallpaper. If you have a darker wallpaper then folder backgrounds are black and the app drawer background is black. If you have a lighter / brighter wallpaper (like the stock Z4 wallpaper) then those backgrounds are white. It's one of those new Google "features".

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I think you can change that by going to Settings > Display > Advanced > Device Theme > pick dark if you want your backgrounds to always be black.

I kind of like the auto setting based on wallpaper, but that's just my preference. I think if you change it in the Display Settings it will always be dark or light based on your selection.

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Gudasau

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I think you can change that by going to Settings > Display > Advanced > Device Theme > pick dark if you want your backgrounds to always be black.

I kind of like the auto setting based on wallpaper, but that's just my preference. I think if you change it in the Display Settings it will always be dark or light based on your selection.

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Awesome! Thank you! I knew it was probably somewhere, but hadn't had time to fish around yet. Changed and much happier!
 
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It's nothing in the grand scheme of things, but a little annoying. This may be the phone I actually hit @PereDroid up for assistance in customizing my icons. I've been wanting to do it for years, but ...

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According to a Moto tech support agent, this is the intended functionality of the stock Launcher (and maybe even stock Android?); the folder retains the circle shape regardless of the app icon shape.
 

Gudasau

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According to a Moto tech support agent, this is the intended functionality of the stock Launcher (and maybe even stock Android?); the folder retains the circle shape regardless of the app icon shape.
It's not a deal-breaker (HA! I own it now, so....), and will get used to it. I guess it was that way on my Z, but it wasn't as obvious for some reason. Darkening the background made a huge difference.
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Wish I had seen this earlier. I'd have talked you into the OnePlus, G. The hype is real.
Seriously guys, why are you all still on the Moto train? I don't get it. This from a former Moto fan boy. I don't even get Moto anymore!?! And my opinion of that is only solidified after reading this entire thread.
IF I had stayed with Moto I'd have gotten the Z3. Much better phone. Mods fit. High end processor.
I can't believe mods don't fit...


Tapatalk'ing on my 1+ 6t
 
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The One Plus seems like a great phone, I personally have nothing against it. I stuck with Moto for a few reasons, a new phone for $240 - hard to beat that. Great build quality, and their customer support has always treated me very good when I need something. And so I could continue to use all my Moto Mods when I want to / need to. The larger Moto Mods like batteries fit OK, the lip is not too noticeable; and some say it makes it easier to remove them. The Style Shells are what don't fit right in my opinion, and look silly to me. But....since it's a Gorilla Glass screen I am not going to use it naked with just a Style Shell like I did on my Z Force & Z2 Force. Once I realized that, I put my style shells away and use a cheap TPU case.

Like I mentioned, the One Plus is nice, would be a great phone for anyone. For me personally, it's either a Moto phone or a Pixel. Those are the only 2 options I will spend my money on.

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Style Shells don't fit

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