OnePlus 3T review:

OnePlus 3T review: 

A high-end Android handset tweaked to near perfection - and now running Nougat

OnePlus has updated its already outstanding flagship smartphone, improving battery life, software and speed. It makes for one of the best smartphones on the market today

ONEPLUS 3T REVIEW

OnePlus is a company that doesn’t much like its reputation in the smartphone business as a plucky upstart. Yet that’s what it is, competing as it must with the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google for the crown of best smartphone in the world. The OnePlus 3, launched in June 2016, was a sublime blend of design and performance for just over £300 but nevertheless, here’s our OnePlus 3T review. See also: Best phones 2016.

So it’s odd that just five months later OnePlus has ended production of that handset, sticking to it’s motto of ‘never settle’ and released this upgraded version of the same phone, the OnePlus 3T. The company that prides itself on listening to its fans’ reaction to its products has boldly dared to update a handset that people have had for less than half a year. Will the move gain new fans while annoying existing ones, or both?

It’s hard not to compare this phone, when reviewing it, to the OnePlus 3. Since there’s only five months between iterative updates to a high-end phone, we have to compare the two to fully understand the reasons why.

ONEPLUS 3T REVIEW: PRICE AND WHERE TO BUY

The OnePlus 3T is on sale SIM-free and unlocked directly from OnePlus. Click here to view it – it’ll cost you £399 for the 64GB version and just £40 more for the £439 128GB version. Both are currently available in the Gunmetal colour, which is slightly darker than the Graphite version of the OnePlus 3. 

There will be a Soft Gold version of the 64GB OnePlus 3T out in the next few weeks.

In the UK you can get the OnePlus 3T from O2 on a 24-month contract deal. Bear in mind that it’s only available on O2’s Refresh tariff that allows you to upgrade your handset more regularly.

ONEPLUS 3T REVIEW: DESIGN AND BUILD

Even the ‘s’ iterations of iPhones have an ‘s’ stamped on the back, but in this case there is absolutely no design change from the OnePlus 3 to the OnePlus 3T. The only change is in the darker colour option, the grey of which on the rear is a tad darker than the old model. The forthcoming Soft Gold option is exactly the same, and visually indistinguishable from its five month old brother.

This reinforces that OnePlus sees the 3T as a small tweak for the line, hoping as it does to not frustrate loyal fans that shelled out for a 3. The 3T happily retains an outstanding design, with build quality to rival any premium smartphone maker in the land. It does what Apple has still failed to do and made a 5.5in screen phone slim, svelte and usable with one hand (just).

Apparently carved out of one piece of space-grade aluminium alloy the OnePlus 3T measures 153 x 75 x 7.4mm and weighs 158g. The frame of the handset houses a power/lock button on the right edge, a USB-C port, speaker, mic and 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom and a volume rocker and OnePlus’ excellent Alert Slider on the left, leaving the top edge flat, curved and smooth. With a front facing fingerprint scanner that relies on haptic feedback as opposed to a physical button, this is a phone that screams ‘use me’ from the second you take it out the box.

In that box it also already comes with a screen protector pre-applied, handy if you want to use it with one. The only lines that break the dark gunmetal of our review unit are the aerial lines and the OnePlus logo that sits beneath a 16Mp camera that protrudes ever so slightly from the casing. The front facing camera sits next to the earpiece and is also an amazing 16Mp, something we’ll explore later.

At the launch event for the OnePlus 3T, co-founder Carl Pei explained that the company is always striving to do better; he used Apple’s design as a benchmark and the phone is one of the best looking handsets on the market, rivalling the matte black iPhone 7 Plus in the looks department, which is no mean feat. It does however remain slightly slippy, and is a phone that could be destroyed with one drop onto the pavement. We recommend one of OnePlus’ subtle but grippy cases that fit both this and the older OnePlus 3.

ONEPLUS 3T REVIEW: SPECS, HARDWARE AND PERFORMANCE

Much of the 3T's spec sheet remains the same as its predecssor but there are also some important upgrades. Let's take a look.

OnePlus 3T screen

Despite initial rumours, the OnePlus 3T has exactly the same display as the OnePlus 3. It’s a 5.5in Optic AMOLED with Full HD (1920x1080) resolution and 401ppi. By its own admission, OnePlus continues to ship a screen that recreates colours more vibrantly than most, but with the Oxygen OS skin of Android that it runs this feels right; the handset and feel of the software that the screen runs is right at home with the popping colours and bright whites.

There’s the option to calibrate the colours to your tastes though, and this is one example of the granularity of Android helping the OnePlus 3T more than most become a truly personal device.

OnePlus 3T processor, memory and storage

The OnePlus 3T’s upgrades are mostly all internal, and while they’re all welcome, it took a fair few days of use to see why it’s come to be. We’ve used the OnePlus 3 for a few months, so can draw decent comparisons – straight off, you need not upgrade for fear of missing out on processor power, speed or battery life if you own the older model.

Having said that the 3T is faster, yet only noticeably so if you are really hammering it at full pelt. It joins the Google Pixel and Pixel XL in having Qualcomm’s top of the line Snapdragon 821 processor, the current pinnacle of smartphone chips. While only the most graphically intensive games and busiest of multitasking days will make the 820 sweat, the 821 is faster on the OnePlus 3T. Going from the 3 to the 3T, the difference is noticeable if incredibly subtle.

In a full week of use we experienced absolutely no lag, slow app changes or overheating. It is truly like using a desktop at some times, and even has more RAM than some of those computers with 6GB on board. Pair that with Adreno 530 graphics and you have an obscenely powerful smartphone in your pocket – alongside your fat wallet full of the money you’ve saved by choosing it.

Our benchmarks show the OnePlus 3T runs equal with the best smartphones out there, though remember these benchmarks don’t represent real world use. The phones in this graph are the absolute best you can get right now, and broadly all perform to the same unbeatable standards.

OnePlus 3T fingerprint scanner and other specs

The fingerprint scanner is on the front bottom face of the device, which is still where these sensors work best, despite Sony trying the side and Huawei and others the back. The button is non-moving and gives the perfect level of feedback when unlocking the device or using a compatible app like Android Pay to verify your identity. Unlike the iPhone 7, it doesn’t feel like the whole phone is clicking down – it’s way better here.

Tapping the same sensor acts as a home button, and is so good that when we try phones with physical buttons it feels wrong. The best devices change our habits for the good, and the OnePlus 3T has the best fingerprint sensor/home button combo of any current smartphone on the market.

OnePlus 3T battery life

The non-removable battery clocks in at 3,400mAh, a step up from the 3,000 of the OnePlus 3. The internals are exactly the same dimensions but the battery is denser, hence the increase. In general use the phone will last a full working day which is about average. We left the house most days at 8am with 100%, and by the time we rolled in from work at about 6.30pm the OnePlus 3T had about 30% left in the tank.

This was when using the device as our primary email sender and using apps like Slack, Spotify, Pocket, WhatsApp, train timetable apps, GPS battery-drainers like Google Maps and several others throughout the day. The battery percentage chugs down at the expected rate, and we didn’t experience any dramatic unexpected fall-off.

On one particularly busy Google Maps day out in Barcelona even after 12 hours on the go the battery was sitting at 15%, and that was with the phone used to navigate, take photos and video and more besides. Obviously it depends what you’re doing on the device, but for all but the most intensive users, the OnePlus 3T will last the whole day no questions asked and lighter users should be able to get a decent chunk into a second day with the 3T.

Included in the box is OnePlus’ Dash Charger. The brick and cable, only when used together (important to note this point) charge the phone to 60 percent in 30 minutes. This is OnePlus’ claim, and it rings true – Dash Charge is excellent. It means you need not charge your 3T overnight, instead giving it a quick boost when you get up in the morning. There's also a Dash Charger for your car in the shop.

Not only does this encourage a better way to charge your phone (sometimes lithium-ion batteries degrade with overnight overcharging) while allowing you to top up very quickly, but also more importantly means you won’t panic about running out of juice for all but the most phone-focussed of days – and that is something that every smartphone user wants, bar none.

The slight downside is that this fast charging only works with the included combo of plug and cable. Any other USB-C cable will charge it, but at a slower rate. OnePlus sells the Dash Power Bundle for £27.53.

OnePlus 3T cameras

The slim casing of the 3T means the camera protrudes slightly. This is an acceptable pay-off for what is an excellent sensor: a 16Mp lens with f/2.0 aperture and an LED flash. It’s also capable of shooting video at 4K resolution or 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second. We used the camera extensively in Barcelona, and the results were very impressive.

The panorama mode stitched together a mountain view exceptionally well, giving full detail to the scene. A football match in cloudy weather was reproduced well with no blur and in a low-lit church the camera reproduced colour and shadow to a high quality level.

The front-facing 16Mp camera is an upgrade on the 8Mp of the OnePlus 3, and is one of the highest resolution selfie cameras on the market, matching as it does the megapixel count of the rear one. It’s an impressive upgrade, but one that only the most ardent of selfie fans will notice. However, it did improve the quality of video calling considerably, and will benefit those into Snapchat stories and similar services.

ONEPLUS 3T REVIEW: SOFTWARE

Refreshingly the software update that the OnePlus 3T ships with changes the user experience in all the right ways to represent a clean, intuitive and pleasant to use Android version that is every bit as good as Google’s own version. By basing its Android skin Oxygen OS closely to stock Android Marshmallow 6.0, OnePlus has been able to make small tweaks that don’t completely change the way we used the phone, but enough to notice positive improvements day to day.

An update to Android 7.0 Nougat began rolling out for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T at the end of December, ahead of many of its rivals. Note that we have reviewed this phone running Marshmallow, not Nougat.

Oxygen OS 3.5.1 is the new version, compared to the 3.2.7 we had installed on the older OnePlus 3 at the time of writing. Nevermind the decimals, here are the differences. Menus, in settings for example, look cleaner with no lines between options, a neater top bar and a bluer default font from the green of the 3. To be honest, they are minor changes, like the layout of the notification bar that you pull down from the top of the screen. In the comparison pictures below you can see the changes (OnePlus 3 on the left, OnePlus 3T on the right).

The OnePlus 3T cleverly combines a physical slider with profile changes to quickly switch between modes. Here, the three-position switch goes between Silent, Do Not Disturb and Ring. These are customisable and are useful for putting your phone into a quieter mode for meetings or when you go to bed for example. This is different to how the slider worked on the OnePlus 3, where it went between Silent, Priority Notifications and All Notifications. The functions are basically the same, but again have some software tweaks within the settings menu.

All in all, the alert slider is a great idea, improving on Apple iPhone silencer switch, and is a button you’ll miss if you use other phones afterwards.

The best thing about these tweaks is the way they simply blend into the OS and are intuitive, thoughtful upgrades. OnePlus confirmed that the 3 and the 3T will both receive updates to Android Nougat 7.0 in December 2016. We hope there is more of the same incremental updates rather than a full overhaul, because Oxygen OS 3.5.1 is very good indeed. Nor would it make sense for OnePlus to work so hard on an upgrade that most users would only see for one month.

ONEPLUS 3T REVIEW: SHOULD I UPGRADE FROM THE ONEPLUS 3 TO THE ONEPLUS 3T?

So it’s crunch time; you bought a OnePlus 3 in June and five months later, do you upgrade? Well, no, you shouldn’t in our opinion. The OnePlus 3T may have, on paper, a better processor, bigger battery and better selfie camera but if you own the 3, it isn’t worth spending another £400 for those features. If you can sell on your old device for a good price then perhaps you’d be tempted, but if the company has done the 3T this fast, it surely can’t be that much longer until we see a OnePlus 4.

The OnePlus 3 has, like the newer 3T, 6GB RAM and come December will also run Android Nougat. Sure, we love the changes to the 3T and the Gunmetal colour is awesome, but you can’t even see it with a case on and in everyday use, you can barely notice the difference in speed. You can just about tell the battery life is better though, but it was already excellent on the OnePlus 3. Don’t panic – you don’t need to upgrade unless you want a OnePlus phone with 128GB of storage.

ONEPLUS 3T REVIEW: SHOULD I GET THE ONEPLUS 3 OR THE ONEPLUS 3T?

This is a trickier question, and one that ran with a time limit – OnePlus has ceased production, so once they’re gone, they’re gone and the 3T will be the only phone the company still sells. On the day the 3T sent on sale in Europe, the OnePlus 3 was completely sold out on the company's website. 

At the time of writing however the OnePlus 3 was still available on contract from O2. We'd wager this is the last way in the UK to get the old model brand new - otherwise, look to eBay.

At the RRP, if you only need 64GB and want to save £70, the OnePlus 3 remains an outstanding piece of hardware that will be more than adequate at the high end of the market for at least another year and a half. That £70 could buy you OnePlus’ new Bullets earphones, an official case and a spare Dash Charge Bundle with change to spare. 

However, if you want 128GB on board storage, you’ll have to go for the OnePlus 3T, setting you back £439. It’s also the best way to get hold of the Soft Gold colour if you prefer – the OnePlus 3 has sold out of this colour, while the 3T will soon be stocked in it. So you’ll have to wait if you prefer Gold to Gunmetal, but the 3T is the way to go.

Yet for all the similarities, we’re still inclined to recommend the OnePlus 3T. It has a bigger battery, lightning fast speeds and a selfie camera that means video calls are actually worthwhile experiences. While nitpicking indeed, the software updates are also commendable, and the overall experience is (just) better than the five month old, soon-to-be-gone OnePlus 3. It’s an odd dilemma to have from a company that had until now made your buying choice very simple.

In a few weeks you’ll only be able to get a OnePlus 3T, but for now, there’s a decision to be made for prospective buyers.

SPECS

OUR VERDICT

The OnePlus 3T will be unfairly compared, for now at least, to the phone that came before it. So let’s ignore it. On its own, the OnePlus 3T is everything a modern smartphone should be; slim, fast, and responsive, with above average battery life and cameras that produce stunning images. And then there’s the price. OnePlus may not like being known for it, but £399 remains an absolutely amazing price point for the phone on offer.

As long as you don’t want an iPhone, this Android handset stands side by side with the Samsung Galaxy S7 as the best example of a smartphone on the market today – once we’ve all got over that it came a little sooner than we had expected.

Honor 6X review: Dual-rear camera as USP, but is that enough?

Honor 6X review: Dual-rear camera as USP, but is that enough?

Here's our review of the smartphone



Huawei Honor 6X review: Honor is trying to sell the dual rear cameras as the USP of Honor 6X, but is this the phone to beat?
Smartphones still have a long way to go before they can match up to current DSLR/mirrorless cameras. But it’s hard to ignore the fact that the camera in your phone has drastically improved, and the introduction of a dual camera setup will further enhance the mobile photography experience. 2017 has just begun and Huawei’s brand Honor is one of the few companies to add a dual-camera lens module on a budget phone: The Honor 6X.
In a sea of mid-end smartphones, where most the most manufacturers are either focussed on big batteries or specifications, Honor is trying to sell the dual rear cameras as the USP of Honor 6X. So is the Honor 6X the smartphone to beat? Let’s find out in our review.

Specifications: 5.5-inch Full HD display | octa-core Kirin 655 processor | 4GB RAM+ 64GB| microSD card support| 12MP main camera + 2MP depth sensing camera | 8MP front camera| 3,340mAh battery| EMUI 4.1 with Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Price: Rs 15,999

Last year’s Honor 5X was sober, attractive and came with an eye catching brushed, all-metal chassis. The Honor 6X is an altogether different looking phone. It bears a striking resemblance to the Mate 9 (yet to be launched in India) from the back side, but that’s only because both smartphones are coming from the same design ethos.
The Honor 6X is an altogether different looking phone. It bears a striking resemblance to the Mate 9 (yet to be launched in India) from the back side.
Honor 6X is built from the aluminium-alloy with clean curves. It’s thin, and features a smooth back that rests firmly in your palm. There is a volume rocker above the power button, and a MicroSD and SIM card slot on the other side of the phone. A micro-USB port alongside the two speaker grills is on the bottom, and the standard 3.5mm headphone jack rests on top.

The dual camera is stacked vertically in a single protruding design.
Flip over the phone and you’ll notice the dual camera is stacked vertically in a single protruding design. There’s also the circular fingerprint sensor on the rear which can be programmed to perform additional functions like taking selfies, answering calls and swiping up and down for notifications. It’s fast, accurate and works great. Like the Redmi Note 3, there are plastic caps on the top and bottom of the phone for antenna signals, but they have been aesthetically blended with the metal body.

What’s good?
Honor (or its parent firm Huawei) is no stranger to the dual rear-camera smartphones. Admittedly, its previous efforts, Huawei P9 and Honor 8, were all made available at a higher price. The rear camera setup on the Honor 6X includes a 12-megapixel primary camera and a secondary, 2-megapixel sensor that’s mainly meant to do post photographic effects.
There is a volume rocker above the power button, and a MicroSD and SIM card slot on the other side of the phone.
In our outdoor shots, images were crisp and colours were bright and vibrant, but the level of detail did drop in the evening shots. Auto-focus is fast, and pictures are clear in well-lit settings. The only caveat that goes against the Honor 6X is its inconsistent performance in low-light, which I think is a common problem across mid-end smartphones. Some shots were actually came dull, with fair amount of noise.
Where the Honor 6X triumphs, though, is its ability to take bokeh shots. This isn’t like the Honor 8 or Mate 9, where the second camera is a monochrome sensor. In case of Honor 6X, the dual camera setup is similar to the iPhone 7 Plus. The basic purpose of the secondary camera is to focus on the objects in the foreground and burr out the area behind it.


I was able to focus on the object, and the results seem accurate On the front, there’s a respectable 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The Honor 6X produced some of the most detailed and natural-looking selfies.
Battery life on the Honor 6X is as good as any other smartphone in the similar price range. The phone has a 3,340mAh battery pack. I used the Honor 6X as my primary device (my other phone is the iPhone 5c which is limited for calling) to listen to music, watching videos on the go, three hours spent browsing, spending an hour on gaming and taking photographs throughout the day. I comfortably managed a full day of usage (from 8am to 11pm) with some charge still left.


Honor 6X is powered by a mid-end Kirin 655 processor, and you can buy the device in two variants: 3GB/32GB or 4GB/64GB. My review unit seemed snappy and fast, as it came with 4GB RAM. I didn’t face shuttering or sluggishness in my daily usage. Multi-tasking is smooth , and I was able to run games such as Real Racing 3 and Asphalt 8 without any issue. What I really like about the Honor 6X is that it never heats up, even after a long session of gaming

What’s not good?
With the rear camera, in some situations I got blurred out shots. Also I feel the dual-rear cameras results are not at par with the Honor 8.
Honor 6X ships running Google’s Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with Huawei’s custom EMUI 4.1 layer on top. While the Honor 8 will be updated to the improved EMUI 5 and Android Nougat, the Honor 6X has been launched with much boring EMUI 4.1. I was hoping to see the latest Android version running the Honor 6X, but there’s no confirmation on when Huawei plans to rollout the update.
Honor 6X ships running Google’s Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with Huawei’s custom EMUI 4.1 layer on top.
On thing I noticed on the 6X is the number of preloaded apps from both Honor and third-party developers. You will find a fair amount of bloatware including HiGame, Mopria Print Service, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, TrueCaller, HoToday, UCBrowser and Social Channels. If you’re a fan of the standard Android experience, you will not appreciate EMUI 4.1.
In the 6X, Honor opted for a 5.5-inch Full HD display (1920×1080). Colours are accurate for the most part; and viewing angles and the visuals are crammed with detail. But the thing that annoyed me most about the 5.5-inch display was that it’s not sharp at all. It even looks a little bit dim in comparison when placed next to a Lenovo-made phone with FHD screens. The 5.5-inch display on the Honor 6X may be just fine for web browsing, but don’t expect anything great when it comes to photo viewing and watching films.
With the 6X, Honor has once again proved that it has the ability to make superior camera phones.

Verdict
With the 6X, Honor has once again proved that it has the ability to make superior camera phones. I have no doubts about Honor’s claims. But the company cannot sell a phone just on the basis of the camera alone. A display is equally important, so is the software.
That’s not to say that the Honor 6X is a flawed phone. It does a lot of things well. The processor is fast and zippy; the phone hardly heats up (surprisingly). And let’s not forget the battery life that can be last a day or maybe more.
But in my opinion you are willing to spend Rs 14,999 for an attractive phone, consider the Lenovo Zuk Z2 Plus. It may not have a dual-camera setup, but for the mainstream consumer, it’s the better choice. 

Google Pixel XL Vs. iPhone 7 Plus: Long-Term Review

Google Pixel XL Vs. iPhone 7 Plus: Long-Term Review

The Pixel XL is impressive for the first Google branded phone but is it good enough to give the iPhone 7 Plus problems? Read on.
 Switched, as an experiment, from the iPhone 7 Plus to the Pixel XL. This is to take after more than a month. What follows is meant to wrap up, as briefly as possible, earlier takes.

Note that I did not -- and will not -- ditch my iPhone 7 Plus. It's still sitting right next to the Pixel XL on my desk.

And note that reportedly holiday sales of the Pixel were strong, with Pixel devices accounting for 12.3 percent of phone activations with Verizon, according to Bloomberg. Some stores didn't have enough inventory to meet demand, the report said -- which I can confirm, after canvassing local Los Angeles Verizon stores.

Chassis: For me, this is a pretty big deal. The weight, how it sits in your hand, and the ability to fit a large screen into a relatively small chassis (aka, bezel size) for one-handed operation are all boxes to be checked when buying a phone. Google succeeds here. Though slightly thicker (we're talking only about a 1mm difference) than the 7 Plus, it's lighter and, side by side, the Pixel XL is smaller and feels that way in your hand. That said, I can't definitively say that the XL's chassis is better than the 7 Plus' (I've always liked the feel of the iPhone 6/6s/7). What I can say is that, at the very least, it's the iPhone's equal. And I'm guessing some may prefer the XL because of its smaller size despite having the same 5.5-inch display.

UX (user experience): Subjective yet important. The only thing I'll say here (because it's so subjective) is that it was a painless switch to Android 7.1 Nougat from iOS*. Everything I need is on both phones and once you're inside an app, it's often impossible to tell which phone you're using. And compared to the Android that ran on my Moto X (2nd gen) a couple years back, Android is smoother/vastly improved.

Performance: Cite all the benchmarks you want but for what I do it's a draw. Some benchmarks show the iPhone 7 Plus' A10 Fusion processor beating the XL's Snapdragon 821. Fine. But I don't see it. Both phones are fast and smooth -- and when I'm doing something as simple as scrolling a graphics-intensive Web page or more processor-intensive stuff like working with photos/video, both are faster than any smartphone I've used before.

Display: The Pixel's AMOLED display is the future, Apple's LCD the past. That said, Apple and its display partners have come up with the best LCD on an iPhone yet, as pointed out by DisplayMate Technologies. Just to look at casually, however, I like the Pixel XL's AMOLED display better. It tends to be brighter, the colors more vibrant but the iPhone tends to reproduce more accurate colors in photos (in my experience). Not always but often. The upshot is that Apple's LCD is so good that it's able to keep up with Google's AMOLED. But I don't think that will be the case going forward as AMOLEDs pull away and yield devices that bend and fold.

Camera: I covered this already in previous write-ups, so I won't delve a lot into it here. Suffice to say, I've taken lots of photos with both cameras and neither disappoints. The scary thing is, how good the XL's camera is right out of the gate (previous experience with Nexus phones notwithstanding). Photography review sites have praised the Pixel XL's excellent HDR+ mode and image detail, among other things.  One of the few XL shortcomings is the lack of 7 Plus’ optical zoom. Upshot: I think the two cameras are almost a draw though an amateur photographer I've consulted with favors the Pixel XL over the iPhone 7 Plus. So, I'll defer to him.

Battery Life: The XL has a “Doze” mode that is better than the iPhone 7 Plus at sipping energy. Depending on how much I'm using the phone on a particular day, this  alone can extend battery life beyond the iPhone 7 Plus for me. But with more active use, the two phones are battery-life equals. (See this YouTube test for guidance.) I usually can get a day and a half (or longer) from both phones.

Google Assistant vs. Siri: The Pixel is the first Android phone to implement Google Assistant, an intelligent personal assistant. Google is the early leader here. In my experience, Google Assistant more often than not provides better responses to the kinds of questions I ask: spoken responses were usually more relevant/helpful than Apple’s Siri, which too often resorted to spitting out a bunch of search results.

Fingerprint reader: Per a reader's comment, I forgot to cover this! The fingerprint reader on the back of the Pixel XL is actually pretty easy to get used to. Yes, you have to pick it up but it's very accurate. Note that I had to return the first iPhone 7 Plus I got (and get a replacement) because it could not consistently read my fingerprint. My 7 Plus replacement is better but not as good/fast as the Pixel.

Shortcomings vs iPhone 7 Plus: The Pixel XL is not as water resistant as the iPhone 7 Plus and, as I said above, raw performance benchmarks tend to favor the iPhone 7 Plus. Also, on a personal note, I am a heavy user of the Apple Watch Series 2. In fact, these days I probably spend more time on the Watch than I do the iPhone. So, I hope that Google and a  partner follow through with a smartwatch, as has been rumored. A smartwatch that is tailored for its Pixel phones would be welcome and something I would use immediately and would make the Pixel experience that much better.

Lenovo Phab2 Pro Tango-enabled smartphone launched in India at Rs 29,990

Lenovo Phab2 Pro Tango-enabled smartphone launched in India at Rs 29,990

Lenovo Phab2 Pro, the world's first Tango-enabled smartphone, has finally made its debut in India.


Lenovo Phab2 Pro is based on Google’s Project Tango technology.
Lenovo Phab2 Pro, the world’s first Project Tango-enabled smartphone, has been landed in India . Priced at Rs 29,990, the phone will be exclusively made available on Flipkart, starting from today. The smartphone was first announced at Lenovo’s Tech World Congress in San Francisco last year.
Google’s Tango technology is a platform that allows mobile device to perceive space and depth exactly like humans do. Basically, the Tango technology will enable devices to interact with the 3D environment around them. That’s probably the reason why the Phab2 Pro has special depth-sensing cameras and sensors to allow it to use augmented reality. With a device like the Phab2 Pro, you can actually sense space and motion – and visualise surrounding objects.

The Phab2 Pro features a 6.4-inch display with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor paired with 4GB RAM, 64GB of internal storage, microSD support ( up to 128GB), and a 4,050mAh battery. There’s also a 16MP rear camera, depth-camera, and a motion camera on the back. The selfie camera is packed at 8MP.
Also read: Asus Zenfone AR at CES 2017: How this Project Tango smartphone works
It also features Dolby Atmos surround sound and Dolby Atmos Capture 5.1 that allows 5.1  recording sound. The phone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and there’s no update when Lenovo plans to update the device to the latest Android 7.0 i.e Nougat.
Tango opens a whole new world – and its potential is immense. It allows users to visualise furniture or cars, just by pointing a Tango-certified device; even walk about a museum for that matter. Other than Lenovo, Asus is another smartphone maker that has shown interest in Google’s 3D-sensing technology. The ZenFone AR, which was announced at CES 2017, is the first smartphone to feature Google’s Project Tango and Daydream VR in one device.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Launched at Rs 9,999:

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Launched at Rs 9,999: 

Here is All You Need to Know

Redmi Note 4 Specs:

5.5 FHD display
MIUI 8 (Android)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC
Adreno 506 GPU
RAM/ROM options- 2GB/ 32GB, 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB
13MP rear camera
5MP front camera
4,100mAh battery
VoLTE support
Fingerprint scanner

Prices:

2GB/ 32GB- Rs 9,999
3GB/32GB- Rs 10,999
4GB/64GB- Rs 12,999

Its a 4G dual SIM phone and comes with a hybrid SIM card slot.
There is a fingerprint scanner at the back and doubles up as a selfie clicker.

The Redmi Note 4 comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD, fully laminated display with reading mode.

There is 5MP front camera and
The Redmi Note 4 comes with a 13MP rear camera with PDAF.
Xiaomi claims that the Redmi Note 4 offers better life than iPhone 7 Plus and Google Pixel XL. Xiaomi claims that the Redmi Note 4 lasts 70% longer than both the Apple iPhone 7 Plus and Google Pixel XL.

Redmi Note 4 offers better battery life than the older Redmi Note 3. It lasts 25% longer and  is powered by Snapdragon 625 SoC.

The Redmi Note 4 will be available exclusively on Flipkart starting January 23 on open sales. 

LG X300 with 5-inch HD display, Snapdragon 425 SoC and Android Nougat goes official

LG X300 with 5-inch HD display, Snapdragon 425 SoC and Android Nougat goes official

“The LG X300 is a budget offering with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a fingerprint sensor”

LG has added a new smartphone to its portfolio with the launch of the X300 in its home market of South Korea. The LG X300 is budget offering that comes with a curved glass display and a microscopic pattern pattern at the rear to prevent scratches and enhance grip. The phone boots Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box, and offers a fingerprint sensor that’s located on its back.

The LG X300 features a 5-inch In-Cell IPS display bearing a resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels. The phone is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, mated to 2GB of RAM and Adreno 308 graphics. The storage capacity on board is 16GB, which can be further increased by inserting a microSD card.

The LG X300 comes with a 13-megapixel primary snapper with an LED flash, and a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter for selfies and video calling. It also comes with some other camera features like auto shot, gesture shot, and multiple shooting modes. In terms of connectivity, it offers 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, and GPS. A 2,500mAh battery keeps the package running.

The LG X300 has been priced at 2,53,000 Korean Won, roughly Rs 14,750. The phone will initially be available in South Korea in two hues – silver and dark blue.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus dimensions show compact phones with huge screens

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus dimensions show compact phones with huge screens

The case maker that sent us 3D renders of the Galaxy S8 sent us more info on the upcoming flagship duo - precise measurements of both the S8 and S8 Plus.

The large Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus measures 152.38 x 78.51 x 7.94mm. That’s taller and wider than the current S7 edge and for good reason - the screen is surprisingly big. We measured 6.3” apparent size when viewed head on, the true size will be slightly larger (since the sides are curved).

The smaller Galaxy S8 is 140.14mm x 72.20 x 7.30mm, slightly shorter and thinner than the current S7, but wider. Actually, we need to be comparing it to the S7 edge as the screen size works out to 5.7” (again, not accounting for the side curves). That means the Galaxy S8 will have a larger screen than the S7 edge while being about the size of the S7! These readings come close to the 5.7”/6.2” dimensions rumored in December.

Yes, the phones are wider, but Samsung did everything it could to minimize that - the yellow portion of the S8 schematic is the screen. There’s barely any side bezel to be seen. And we’re digging the thin top and bottom bezels.


You can just about see the camera stick out the back in the bottom view, it doesn’t look like much. We wonder what the battery capacity is going to be like - there’s not much more internal volume in the Galaxy S8 compared to the S7.

We’re not sure about the Power button either (it moved to the left) and this schematic also shows microUSB 2.0 instead of USB-C. We didn’t quite believe it the first time around, but it’s getting harder to deny now - a case maker needs to leave enough room for the plug and the two USB standards are quite different in width.

HTC takes the covers off its all-glass U Ultra and U Play smartphones

HTC takes the covers off its all-glass U Ultra and U Play smartphones

“The HTC U Ultra is the company’s first smartphone to feature a secondary ticker display”

HTC didn’t make any smartphone announcements at the recently concluded CES, but less than a week later, the company has unveiled its new U series of smartphones. The brand has unveiled the HTC U Ultra and U Play at a dedicated event. The HTC U Ultra is the Taiwanese manufacturer’s first smartphone to flaunt an always-on secondary ticker display above the main screen. It features an aluminium frame and glass on both the front and back. The brand said this design will be a key feature of the upcoming HTC devices.

The new HTC U series phones are packed with HTC’s Sense Companion, which is powered by artificial intelligence to learn a user’s daily activity and adapt accordingly. They come with four low-power always-on microphones that respond to voice commands. They also feature biometric voice unlock and control features. They feature U-Sonic, a sonar-based technology, which delivers sound tuned for user’s listening preference. Both phones skip the 3.5mm audio jack in favour of USB Type-C audio.

The HTC U Ultra is a phablet-grade offering featuring a huge 5.7-inch QHD display with Sapphire or Gorilla Glass 5 on top. The 2-inch secondary ticker display on top of the main screen gives you access to frequently-used apps, reminders for upcoming events, and more. It also displays prioritised notifications discreetly.



As for the other specs, the U Ultra is powered by a 2.15GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, mated to 4GB of RAM. It comes in 64GB (Gorilla Glass 5 protection) and 128GB storage (Sapphire glass protection) variants, further expandable via a microSD card. The phone sports a 12MP UltraPixel 2 rear camera with OIS, PDAF, laser autofocus, dual-tone LED flash, and 4K recording. For selfies, it gets a 16MP camera with an UltraPixel mode, a BSI sensor, Panorama selfie, and full HD recording. The other features include a fingerprint sensor, Android Nougat, a 3,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 tech, a USB Type-C port, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, NFC, and GPS.

Coming to the HTC U Play, it features a 5.2-inch Super LCD full HD display with a Gorilla Glass on top. It is fuelled by a MediaTek Helio P10 processor. It comes in different RAM and storage configurations – 3GB / 4GB and 32GB / 64GB. The device features a 16MP rear snapper with OIS, PDAF, a BSI sensor, a dual-tone LED flash, and full HD recording. The selfie shooter on board is a 16MP sensor with an UltraPixel mode and 1080p recording. The other specs include a fingerprint sensor, Android Marshmallow, a 2,500mAh battery, NFC, and a USB Type-C port.

The HTC U Ultra will be up for pre-order in the US today at a starting price of $749, roughly Rs 50,900. The U Play will be available in limited markets, and pricing for this hasn’t been announced yet. The smartphones will be available in four different hues – Brilliant Black, Cosmetic Pink, Ice White, and Sapphire Blue.

ASUS ZenFone AR with 8GB RAM unveiled

ASUS ZenFone AR with 8GB RAM unveiled

“The ZenFone AR is the world’s first smartphone to flaunt 8GB of RAM, and Google’s AR and VR platforms”

At CES 2015, ASUS unveiled the ZenFone 2 , which was the world’s first smartphone to boast 4GB of RAM. Now at this year’s CES, the company has introduced the ZenFone AR as the world’s first smartphone to flaunt 8GB of RAM. In addition, the brand has also unveiled its latest ZenFone Zoom series smartphone dubbed the ZenFone 3 Zoom.

The ASUS ZenFone AR is the world’s first smartphone that is compatible with both Google’s Tango augmented reality platform and Daydream VR platform. The 8GB RAM on board on the phone is mated to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 SoC, which is fully optimised to deliver VR experience. The phone sports a 5.7-inch quad-HD Super AMOLED display with a layer of Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4.

The phone comes in multiple configurations – 6GB or 8GB RAM, in storage options of 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. The phone boots Android Nougat out of the box with Zen UI 3.0 on top. At the rear, it gets a fisheye depth lens, a motion tracking sensor, a 23MP Sony IMX318 camera with a dual-tone LED flash, three-axis EIS, and laser autofocus. At the front, it houses an 8MP shooter with 85-degree wide-angle lens. The other specs include ASUS SonicMaster-powered speakers, DTS Headphone: X with virtual 7.1 surround sound, dual-SIM slots, 4G, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, a USB Type-C port, a fingerprint sensor, and a 3,300mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging.

Android-powered Nokia 6 marks the brand’s return to smartphones:

Android-powered Nokia 6 marks the brand’s return to smartphones:

The Nokia brand is finally back in the smartphone game as today HMD Global, which holds the rights to the name, announced the Android 7.0 Nougat-powered Nokia 6. The bad news is that it’s a mid-range device for the Chinese market, so we’ll have to wait a little longer to get a premium global device.

Atypically for a mid-range device, the Nokia 6 comes with an aluminium unibody carved from a single solid block of 6000 series aluminium. It then undergoes two separate anodizing procedures to acquire a look far above what its price tag suggests.

Nokia 6 is powered by the Snapdragon 430 chipset with an octa-core Cortex-A53, Adreno 505 GPU and an ample 4GB of RAM. It’s built around a 5.5” 1080p screen that has a curved 2.5D Gorilla Glass sheet on top.

   
Nokia 6

On the camera side, the Nokia 6 offers a 16MP main snapper with PDAF and reasonably bright F/2.0 lens. On the front sits an 8MP camera with the same aperture. The 64GB of storage make sure you’ll have enough room for all your photos, but unfortunately the chipset limits the video recording to 1080p@30fps.

Apple working on iPhone 8 with bigger display

Apple is working on a larger version of the iPhone 8, which will sport an AMOLED display

Apple is working on a larger display version of the iPhone 8, and it looks like there will be three different sizes for this phone. According to a report, Samsung is going to be the exclusive supplier for AMOLED panels in the new iPhone series, and the report quotes Taiwan-based supply sources for the same.

The report claims Apple will have three size options. There will the regular 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch size iPhones ,which will have the TFT-LCD panels that Apple has always used. Finally there will be a 5.8-inch one with an AMOLED display, and according to the supply chain sources global shipments of this bigger iPhone are estimated at 60-70 million units.

Given that Samsung is the AMOLED supplier, there are rumours Apple will finally introduce a version of the iPhone with a dual-curved edge display similar to the S7 edge or Note 7 phone, but that remains to be seen. It was earlier reported that Apple is cutting production for the iPhone in January-March quarter.

Another report in The Korean Herald also said Apple will use Samsung-made curved plastic OLED panels for the iPhone 8. Noted Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo has said in the past the new iPhone 8 will have an all-glass body as well, and that Apple is likely to go for an OLED display.

According to the report in Korean media, Apple has placed an order for Samsung to produce curved plastic OLED displays in millions. It is believed the curved, plastic OLED display will be wrapped around the edges to create a bezel-less design.

Additionally well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (KGI Securities) has said iPhone 8 will sport a wireless charging system similar to the one on Apple Watches. Kuo said the expected glass body of the iPhone 8 will help achieve faster speeds in wireless charging with ‘minimum disruption from frequency interference’.

Apple iPhone 8 will be the tenth anniversary iPhone from the company; the first iPhone was introduced in 2007. According to the rumour mill, Apple is planning something big for this anniversary.