XIAOMI MI A2 Review

XIAOMI MI A2 Introduction Second time's the charm, right? That's certainly what Xiaomi would have you believe. The second coming of its Android One line is here, but is it any good? You still might not be very used to the concept of pairing Xiaomi hardware with unadulterated Google software - after all, the company's MIUI is one of the heaviest Android skins you can find. But there's no trace of that in the Mi A2, and this device is definitely as intriguing as its predecessor, which was Xiaomi's debut album in the Android One collection. So we have a handset that is unashamedly borrowing looks from other Xiaomi mid-rangers (and is obviously "inspired" in the design of its rear camera island by a company with a fruity name), but it eschews the meme-worthy Snapdragon 625 chipset to go with the more modern and more potent SD660. That seems like a winning combo on paper, especially at this price point. Sometimes though, things that sound good in theory turn out to be letdowns in practice.

That's where this long-term review comes in - to tell you whether Xiaomi has a winner on its hands or not. Despite how obvious the answer to that question may seem, there are always things that can show up when you live with a device for a long period of time, things that can't be anticipated by a spec sheet or that don't come up in our normal, lab test-driven review process. If you join us over the next few pages you'll find out if the Mi A2 lives up to the huge expectations placed onto its shoulders by die-hard stock Android fans across the globe. We'll tell you what it was like to use every single day as our one and only smartphone for an extended duration that allowed us to both fully appreciate the phone's qualities and become very frustrated with its issues. Design The Mi A2 is a mid-range Xiaomi smartphone, and these have all looked quite similar for a while now. It's clear that the same general design language is used throughout the roster, which might help speed up development of new models and cut on some costs. We're not here to argue with that concept, but we will note that there's nothing incredibly impressive about the way the phone looks. That's not to say it has a bad design. The metal unibody is still used by many devices at this price point, which can't afford to go with the more expensive and heavier glass backs that are so very trendy at the high-end of the market at the moment. Since you get a metal back there's no wireless charging support as these two don't go well together. If you're looking for a 3.5mm headset jack, here's some bad news - it's nowhere to be found. We aren't going to debate how much sense that makes, but device makers' penchant for removing the port is slowly but surely making its way to mid-range handsets too. You do get a dongle in the box, for what it's worth, and it... works. Of course, if you're a die-hard peruser of wired headsets the sheer inconvenience of not being able to listen and charge the phone at the same time might drive you away from this device, unfortunately. On the bottom side of the phone there are two grilles, but only one actually has a speaker behind it. The other is there just to house the microphone, and for the sake of symmetry. Up top you'll notice something that isn't a staple on every smartphone out there - an IR blaster. You can use this to control your electronic devices at home, such as TVs, air con units, DVDs, set top boxes, and pretty much anything that accepts IR input. That's pretty cool and everything works very well with the included Mi Remote app. Overall, the Mi A2's design isn't revolutionary by any stretch of the imagination but it looks nice and it works. The black model has an understated elegance to it that will feel right at home in any office setting. It also comes with a slightly grippier texture on the back compared to the gold one, and because of that it feels much nicer to touch. However, it does show more fingerprints - though not as bad as glass back phones do.

The build is very solid, with no creaks whatsoever. It's a very slim device and in the hand, it actually seems to be even thinner than it is because of the way the back tapers into the sides. Display The Mi A2 manages to be just a tad narrower than the Mi A1 while packing a larger screen. Don't judge the size difference by the diagonal as the Mi A2 has jumped onto the tall 18:9 aspect ratio bandwagon, which is fitting for 2018 but doesn't make it easy to compare to phones with 16:9 screens. The screen surface area numbers paint the more accurate picture: 82.6 cm2 for the Mi A1, 92.6 cm2 for the Mi A2. Somehow we were spared the notch, and that's something to be praised right now since even cheap(er) phones are starting to sport that 'feature'. On the other hand, the Mi A2's bezels are looking pretty retro even though they've been substantially reduced compared to its predecessor. The mobile world is currently working to eradicate as much of the bezels as possible at a breakneck pace, and only a few months after its release the Mi A2 already looks a bit dated from this point of view. The fingerprint scanner is on the back, and it's well placed but we can't help wonder why it wasn't built into the bottom screen bezel instead since it's definitely large enough to accommodate such a sensor with no issue. Xiaomi's Android One phone for 2018 goes with 1080x2160px resolution. That gives you plenty of pixels, especially considering how much the Mi A2 costs. The display has rounded corners because that's trendy. The panel is very good but not the best we've seen, by a long shot. Indoors it offers plenty of brightness and punchy blacks despite being an LCD, but sunlight legibility isn't its strong suit, to put it mildly. Squinting will be required. Also note that with polarized sunglasses on, the screen is only visible when you hold the phone in landscape orientation - baffling but true, given that most people use their phones in portrait orientation most times. Long story short: it's a mid-range LCD on a mid-range phone. It's fine but won't win any awards. Its pixel density is high enough that you're unlikely to be bothered by seeing individual pixels, and it gets the job done. Unless you have a device with a top of the line panel right next to your Mi A2, you won't be able to tell the difference. Two additional things to keep in mind: first, at the moment the auto brightness doesn't learn from your manual adjustments, but that should be coming with the Android 9 Pie update. Second, the oleophobic coating on top of the screen glass either isn't very good or it isn't there at all. You'll definitely see more oil accumulate faster on it than with other phones. Of course, that's a moot point if you use a screen protector of any kind. Camera app The Mi A2's camera app will look quite familiar if you've used any recent smartphone. Camera app design seems to have become very similar regardless of which manufacturer made it. So you get the viewfinder with swipe-able modes, the last of which is Manual if you want to tweak every possible setting before your shot. You can double tap the power button to quickly launch the camera app. The camera settings aren't that many. If you shoot in anything but the Manual mode you won't even have direct control over the resolution - you can just pick between High, Standard, and Low for Picture quality, and whether you want the frame's aspect ratio to be 4:3, 16:9, or 18:9.

Also in Settings you can toggle the viewfinder gridlines and choose whether to have low light photos automatically enhanced. Though the latter sounds good in theory, we really weren't able to figure out what it does. Conversely, in the 'More' hamburger menu in the viewfinder you can enable the HHT mode which will take multiple photos in low light and then create a shot with minimal noise by stitching those together - we've seen that feature on many Xiaomi phones already. However, even with this setting manually turned on for every single one of our nighttime camera samples (which you can see below), HHT never actually triggered on our Mi A2 for some reason. The viewfinder in the app doesn't offer you a 2x zoom toggle even though the secondary rear camera is reminiscent of the one in the OnePlus 6/6T, which does give you that option. Truth be told, it is perhaps better that this was left out since the secondary cam isn't a telephoto unit anyway. As it is, it seems like its role is simply to capture depth information for portrait mode shots and enhance low-light photos... allegedly. The camera app has been fast and reliable every single time throughout this long-term review process. We've used it for weeks on end and never saw it crashing, freezing, not starting, or anything like that. So while the shots it creates may not be the best in the smartphone world today, at least you know it's always at your disposal to quickly snap something.

20 best things to buy on Black Friday

These are the 20 best things to buy on Black Friday

With Black Friday comes a fury of discounts. But sorting out which are actually good deals — and which are just hype — can be tricky. Personal finance website WalletHub analyzed deals happening on Black Friday, Nov. 23. The report highlights not only this year's top categories but also the top product deals overall. For its analysis, WalletHub looked at the prices of a variety of items on Amazon between Oct. 19 and Nov. 15. Then, it analyzed the advertised Black Friday 2018 prices for the same items to determine the "Black Friday Price." Deals that didn't have calculable percentage markdowns were excluded. Items were ranked by the overall difference in their prices between the dates. Overall, it found that the best categories for deals on Black Friday are jewelry; books, movies and music; consumer packaged goods (items like food and cosmetics); video games for software and furniture. Meanwhile, the worst product categories for Black Friday deals are apparel and accessories, appliances, consumers electronics and computers and phones. These items — from headphones to computers and toys — are the best Black Friday deals overall, according to WalletHub (in no particular order): Kef Porsche design over-ear noise canceling headphones Store: Newegg Pre-Black Friday price: $669 Black Friday price after discount: $100 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $569 HP Envy desktop computer Store: HP Pre-Black Friday price: $1,390 Black Friday price after discount: $1,100 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $290 ASUS- TUF gaming laptop Store: Best Buy Pre-Black Friday price: $1,200 Black Friday price after discount: $1,000 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $200 Samsung 7.4 ft. electric dryer Store: JC Penn Pre-Black Friday price: $1,060 Black Friday price after discount: $695 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $365 Samsung 55" smart TV Store: Meijer Pre-Black Friday price: $621 Black Friday price after discount: $400 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $221 CAP Barbell Olympic grip weight set Store: Academy Sports + Outdoors Pre-Black Friday price: $399 Black Friday price after discount: $140 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $259 HP Pavilion convertible laptop Store: Staples Pre-Black Friday price: $831 Black Friday price after discount: $590 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $241 Xbox One Minecraft Creators bundle Store: Microsoft Pre-Black Friday price: $300 Black Friday price after discount: $199 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $101 WWE 2K19 Xbox One Store: Best Buy Pre-Black Friday price: $54 Black Friday price after discount: $30 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $24 Kenmore Elite microwave Store: Sears Pre-Black Friday price: $759 Black Friday price after discount: $430 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $329 Apple iPad (6th generation) 32GB Store: Walmart Pre-Black Friday price: $349 Black Friday price after discount: $249 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $100 Shark Rocket ultra light deluxe vacuum Store: Shopko Pre-Black Friday price: $348 Black Friday price after discount: $230 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $118 Netgear Nighthawk smart Wi-Fi router Store: Costco Pre-Black Friday price: $249 Black Friday price after discount: $130 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $119 Seiko Men's Solar Chronograph stainless steel bracelet watch Store: Macy's Pre-Black Friday price: $281 Black Friday price after discount: $149 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $132 Realspace Tresswell bonded leather high-back chair Store: Office Depot and OfficeMax Pre-Black Friday price: $198 Black Friday price after discount: $80 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $118 Bissell little green portable deep cleaner Store: Target Pre-Black Friday price: $160 Black Friday price after discount: $50 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $110 24V Disney princess carriage ride on Store: Walmart Pre-Black Friday price: $425 Black Friday price after discount: $298 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $127 Lifetime 20' x 8' outdoor storage shed building Store: Sam's Club Pre-Black Friday price: $3,000 Black Friday price after discount: $1,999 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $1,001 Osaki OS-4000 massage chair Store: BJ's Pre-Black Friday price: $1,999 Black Friday price after discount: $1,600 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $399 Werner 20 ft. extension ladder Store: Ace Hardware Pre-Black Friday price: $366 Black Friday price after discount: $120 Additional discount for waiting until Black Friday: $246

Reviewtech

dual screen smartphone 2018

ZTE Axon M Smartphone Review

ZTE delivers the first “foldable” smartphone. While we would have imagined something else, the statement is right in principle. With its two displays and hinge in between, the Axon M reminds us a little of the old Nokia Communicator, but it can do so much more. If we are honest, smartphones hardly differ from each other externally: a large display, buttons left and right, and connections on the top and bottom. That is it. So it is refreshing if a manufacturer finally implements a concept announced a long time ago. Even though ZTE did not introduce a “real” foldable smartphone in the sense of a bendable display, its concept with the two screens is still special. Of course, there were other phones with several screens, such as the Yota Phone with e-Ink display, but in this form, there has not been anything like this available on the European market. Until now, ZTE has always shown itself as a solid manufacturer in our tests with classical smartphones, which promised good features on paper, but at the end of the test came in slightly below our expectations, as for example the ZTE Blade V8. Since the dual screen of the Axon M is a unique feature, this would of course be the decisive factor for interested buyers. Yet, we still want to know what performance we can expect from the built-in Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro SoC with an Adreno 530 graphics unit, and how well the 20-MP camera works in the front and back. In our test, we compare the Axon M with similarly equipped smartphones to reach a comparative evaluation leaving the double screen aside. The competitors in this test include the HTC U Ultra and the LG G6, since these two devices are equipped with the same SoC. However, to reflect its price point, the ZTE Axon also has to compete against more expensive smartphones, such as the Google Pixel 2 and Huawei's Mate 10 Pro.

WOw! This smartphone has 5 cameras

This smartphone has 5 cameras

The LG V40 ThinQ is the latest flagship smartphone from LG. In order to compete with Samsung, Apple, and Google LG has packed a ton of features into this device. The V40 ThinQ has 5 cameras — two front-facing cameras and a triple camera system on the back. There's also a 6.4-inch screen, headphone jack, and Hi-Fi amp. Antonio Villas-Boas: I've been using LG's brand new V40 ThinQ smartphone for the last few days and I've come away so far pretty impressed. It has a really sort of very premium-looking glass back and it looks great but it is, as with all phones with glass backs, a total fingerprint magnet. One thing in particular about this phone that is actually really, really impressive is how light it is. It's absolutely lighter than the Galaxy Note9 which is a pretty hefty, heavy phone. The LG V40 is just a really nice light phone to hold and use. And just because it's light, again, it doesn't mean that it's not premium. The phone feels solid. One of the reasons I think the phone is so light is because the phone actually has a very small battery. The V40 has a 3,300 mAh battery. It's a little on the low side for a phone this big and this powerful. Battery life isn't superb, it's fine. It's not as good as the Note9. It has quick charge which obviously is very useful. It has wireless charging which is very useful.

In true LG fashion, this is LG's signature thing, they have a sort of high-end, Hi-Fi amp inside the phone which makes audio sound a lot better through wired headphones. Now again, the key here is wired headphones. Yup, the LG V40 has a headphone jack. But, the real reason this phone stands out, the biggest unique feature here is the cameras. All five of them, to be exact. So, that's three on the back and two on the front. One of the cameras is just a regular wide-angle normal lens that almost every smartphone comes with. The other lens or one of the other lenses is LG's sort of signature ultra-wide angle lens so that means it captures a really wide version of what you're seeing. It's really good. It has less of that fisheye effect that we saw in previous LG phones so it's actually a pretty great thing to have. And now, the third lens is ta-da, it's a 2X zoom lens. Now, LG is incorporating all those lenses into one phone and you don't have to choose anymore. So, now for the front, we have two cameras like I mentioned earlier. One of them is, again, a normal wide-angle lens that all selfie cameras are. And the other camera is also an ultra-wide angle lens so that means bigger, broader selfies with more people inside. This is a great move by LG, for sure, and just including so many options and so much versatility in this phone and with the cameras, there's just something for everyone there. I've taken some test shots. This is nothing like definitive or anything but it looks good to me. It looks really good to me. LG's cameras on their smartphones have kinda always disappointed me in the past. One thing that the triple-lens system does which is pretty cool is you can take a photo with all three lenses at the same time. The photo quality on that sort of triple shot feature isn't great yet. I'm wondering if maybe it has to get a couple of updates from LG to get it improved but for now it's kinda just blowing out lights. It's not setting the aperture correctly enough and the photos don't look very good. Perhaps it's something LG can fix with a software update. Now, here's another thing that's pretty impressive. Three cameras, no bump. Pretty amazing there when you consider other phones like I don't know, iPhone, and its massive camera bump on the back. I've been saying this word, ThinQ, along with the LG V40's name. So, the ThinQ part is the sort of smart part of the LG V40 and LG put the smarts into the camera. So, it's what they call AI cam. So artificial intelligence cam. What it does is you point the camera at something and the camera sort of recognizes what you're pointing at. So, you're pointing at flowers, for example, it'll say a little flowers icon on the bottom right of the screen and it'll adjust the settings automatically for flowers. Does it work? Uhhh, I don't know. I took a photo of flowers yesterday and it said flowers on the little, on the bottom right there of the screen, and the flowers looked terrible. They look absolutely awful compared to the regular flower shot I took with the sort of auto mode of the phone. I think it's - sure, fine, but the auto mode on smartphones and the LG V40 is fine too. It takes great photos. Actually, I probably prefer just using the auto mode to be honest. So, let's talk about software a little bit. LG, like a lot of other smartphone makers, they put their own skins or layers of software like kind of a user interface on top of Android. And this one's pretty good. Usually I'm not a fan of LG's sort of extra layer on top of Android but this is pretty nice, pretty minimal. You do get a bunch of LG apps on there but it's not too offensive, really. Turning the wheels inside the LG V40 ThinQ is a Snapdragon 845 and that means great performance. The phone just glides through my day, has no problem switching through apps, and just multitasking is not a problem either. Great performing phone. The V40 has an OLED display and that means really, really nice colors, deep, deep blacks. It's just a really nice screen, it's sharp too at 1440p and it's also one of those taller displays with an aspect ratio around 19:9, I believe. It's also a large screen at 6.4 inches. Now, that's exactly the same size as the Galaxy Note9. It's actually a smaller phone than the Galaxy Note9 despite having the same screen size. Inescapable these days is the notch. I'm sorry notch haters, the notch is here to stay, and it's fine to be honest. Actually, it works quite well on Android phones. It means you can get the notification bar up there around the notch and it's out of the way of your apps. The great thing about Android is you can kind of hide the notch, right? You can turn it off or turn the colors black so it looks like just a notification bar up there. LG made a great phone with the V40 ThinQ. If you're getting tired of those really heavy phones, the LG V40 will totally cater to you. It's a really nice light phone to hold and use. It's especially appealing to audiophiles out there or if you just like music, or if you use wired headphones. But, the real reason this phone stands out, the biggest unique feature here is the cameras. If you like having a lot of options for the cameras, LG V40 is definitely for you. After moving from the Note9 to the V40, is Google home. I have Google Home again when I swipe left, not Bixby Home.

Microsoft Surface Studio 2

Microsoft Surface Studio 2

We have reason to believe Microsoft's 'Surface Studio 2' codenamed Capitola is currently in the works. Here's our wish list for what we hope to see in Microsoft's next Windows 10 all-in-one PC. SURFACE STUDIO 2 SPECS -28-inch, 4500 x 3000-pixel touchscreen -7th Gen quadcore Core i7 7820HQ -16GB or 32GB RAM -1TB or 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD -Nvidia GTX1060 6GB or GTX1070 8GB GPU -Four USB 3.0 Type-A ports -One USB Type-C (non-Thunderbolt 3) port -Gigabit Ethernet -Full-size SD card slot -$3,499 and up..

Microsoft's original Surface Studio is a beautiful yet imperfect Windows 10 AIO. It's been over a year since the original Surface Studio was announced, so now it's time to start thinking about what might be next for Microsoft's unique AIO. Factoring in all the issues the first Surface Studio had, here's my wish list for what I'm hoping Microsoft will address with the Surface Studio 2, which we're hearing could make an appearance at some point this year.

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 REVIEW

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 REVIEW

The Good The best looking console game there’s ever been Easily the most surprising story in open-world history A ludicrous and lovely number of side distractions The Bad Lack of fast travel makes this one long game The ending isn’t as brave as its predecessor There’s no way to say the following without sounding wildly definitive, so here goes…. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best looking video game of all time. Yes, EVER. And that includes Uncharted 4. It’s also the best game of the past five years. Compare this Wild West epic to GTA 3’s blocky Liberty City and its cast of fugly thugs you probably kneecapped on a tiny TV 17 years ago, and the evolution is astounding. At times, it’s scarcely believable how good Rockstar’s latest sandbox looks and feels. Not counting GTA 5’s remaster, this is the first game the studio has properly released this console generation. Unsurprisingly, in the years since the Los Santos sensation launched, Rockstar has built up a wealth of things to say. As such, RDR2 is a game of big themes and even bigger ideas. The evils of creeping capitalism. Corrupt regimes. The loss of long-held beliefs. With its contextual conversations, where its outlaw lead can either greet or antagonise hundreds of bespoke NPCs, the game also tries to move open-worlds forward. Here, your main interactions often involve swapping pleasantries (or devastating, old timey disses), while significant portions of the main story involve quiet, peaceful character-building. Compared to the wanton carousel of slaughter so many other sandboxes choose to ride, RDR2’s more thoughtful, less trigger-happy approach feels like a progressive step. Although that said, you still end up shooting hundreds of dudes. Don’t worry, most of ‘em deserve it. Playing on Xbox One X at 4K, this frontier fable isn’t just incredibly sharp, it boasts the most impressive lighting and weather effects around. Wait until you see a soupy morning mist coat the game’s southerly plantation fields or get caught in a screen-shaking thunderstorm, then try to disagree. If you’re lucky enough to own a high-end 4K TV, the visual splendour RDR2 routinely spits out is a match for even the most cutting-edge games on PC; remarkable seeing as this is running on (slightly) ageing consoles, not an insanely expensive graphics card. Even if you’re ‘only’ playing at 1080p on a standard Xbox One or PS4, this supremely pretty open-world is filled with incredible environments and super expressive character models.

Honor 10 review

Iridescent, incredible, imperfect Design and display Last year's Honor 9 featured a reflective pattern at the back that was made up of 15 layers of glass, and the Honor 10 outmatches that with its Aurora Glass design. The phone comes with a “nano-scale optical coating” with the Phantom Blue and Phantom Green color options that consists of 15 layers of shimmering color, and the result is breathtaking. The design alternates between various hues of blue and purple depending on how light strikes the back panel, and the iridescent pattern makes the Honor 10 stand out. If you're not a fan of the shimmering effect, the Honor 10 is also available in black and grey color options. The Honor 10 is perfectly proportioned, with curving sides that extend out to meet the mid-frame. It fits comfortably in-hand, and the rounded edges and curved back make it more ergonomic. The downside of a glass back — particularly one this glossy — is that it is prone to smudges, and the device is also very slippery. You'll find a 3.5mm jack, USB-C port, and a single speaker at the bottom, power and volume buttons on the right, and an IR blaster up top. Honor has switched to on-screen keys, but you do get an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor on the bottom bezel.

The sensor is housed underneath the glass, and while it's not quite as fast as some of the other, more traditional ones I've used this year, it does a great job authenticating your fingerprints when they're wet. The phone itself isn't rated for water resistance, however — more on that later. You won't find many phones that look better than the Honor 10. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor itself doesn't pose any problems, but its placement is less than ideal. It's unclear if, as with the P20 series, Huawei required such a large chin below the display to accommodate electronics underneath, adding a front fingerprint sensor in the process, or if the fingerprint sensor was the cause of the chin. Either way, its presence nullifies the effect of the notch — which is designed to maximize screen space. Therefore, the notch doesn't add any value to the device, and it's easy to see that Honor included it just because everyone else is doing the same. It's the one aspect of the Honor 10 that I don't find myself onboard with, but it looks like Android manufacturers will continue to offer the notch for a few generations. Like the P20 Pro, there is an option to disable it in the software settings, which merely blacks the display parallel to the cutoff. As for the display itself, the 5.84-inch IPS LCD Full HD+ (2280x1080) panel is one of the best in this category. Colors are punchy, contrast levels are great, and it gets sufficiently bright that it wasn't an issue reading the contents of the screen under direct sunlight. Honor offers a wealth of customization options for the display: you can tweak the color mode (it's set to Vivid by default), and adjust the color temperature to warmer or cooler colors. Like most devices, the Honor 10 comes with a blue light filter, and you can set the intensity and schedule it to kick in from sunset to sunrise. You can also change the display scaling and font size options, and lower the screen resolution to HD+ (1520x720) to conserve battery life.

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs iPhone 7

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs iPhone 7: Which should you choose The iPhone 7 may now have been superseded by both the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, but Apple is still selling the device, and has even sliced £50 off the asking price. How does it compare with 2017’s best Android phone? Read on to find out. When Apple launched the iPhone 7 last year, we weren’t overly impressed. While the build quality and features seemed decent enough, battery life hampered the experience enough to warrant a 3.5/5 overall score. Still, the iPhone 7 remains one of the UK’s most popular smartphones, and it’ll be top of the list for many looking to upgrade. Enter the Galaxy S8, Samsung’s latest flagship and the iPhone’s chief Android rival. With its sloped screen edges, top-spec processor and refined software, it’s an Android flagship that most phones are now measured against. Samsung Galaxy S8 vs iPhone 7 Design It’s easy to claim that smartphones all look the same these days, but the Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7 are world’s apart when it comes to design. Apple hasn’t made any significant changes to the iPhone since the introduce of the iPhone 6 back in 2014. It’s still a slim (7.1mm), lightweight (138g) and mostly flat handset, with the exception of a small camera bump!! iPhone 7 By comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is thicker at 8mm, heavier at 155g, and boasts a curvy ‘Edge’-style screen that wraps around the sides of the phone. So it certainly feels more hefty in the hand, which will suit some more than others. But the main difference is Samsung’s ‘Infinity Display’, which is marketing jargon for a screen that occupies nearly the entire face of the phone. Compared to the iPhone’s lowly 65.6% screen-to-body ratio, most of the Galaxy S8’s front is display. This was made possible by shifting the fingerprint scanner to the back and jacking up the size of the display panel to 5.8 inches (from a previous 5.1 inches). As a result, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has a much bigger screen than the 4.7-inch iPhone 7. The good news is the dimensions haven’t changed significantly from generation to generation with the Samsung flagship, so the Galaxy S8 measures a still-manageable 148.9 x 68.1 x 8mm, compared to the iPhone 7 at 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm. Samsung Galaxy S8 Both phones are waterproof, although the Samsung Galaxy S8 has a better IP68 waterproof certification. This means it’s been tested at depths of 1.5 metres for 30 minutes. By contrast, the iPhone 7 is IP67-certified, which means it survived a more shallow one-metre dunk for 30 minutes. The Samsung Galaxy S8 is available in, black, silver, and blue colour options, while the iPhone 7 is available in Jet Black, Black, Silver, Gold, Rose Gold and, most recently, (RED). Samsung Galaxy S8 vs iPhone 7 specs: Which phone is more powerful? For a start, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has a 5.8-inch display (or 6.2-inches with the Galaxy S8+). It uses a quirky 18.5:9 aspect ratio, which means you’ll get a seriously widescreen image. You’ll also benefit from a fairly generous QHD+ screen – that’s 2960 x 1440 pixels, giving you an overall pixel density of 567ppi. By comparison, the iPhone 7 has a much smaller 4.7-inch display with a less impressive 750 x 1334 pixels, which works out at a pixel density of just 326ppi. That means the Galaxy S8 has a significantly sharper display, which means it should be sharper and more detailed. Add that to the fact that Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is using an AMOLED panel, which should have richer colours and better contrast than the LED-backlit LCD screen on the iPhone 7, and we’d expect that the Galaxy S8 screen is far more impressive than the iPhone 7. In terms of computing power, the Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7 are very different beasts. For starters, the iPhone 7 uses an older Apple A10 Fusion processor, which while not exactly slow, isn’t the latest and greatest as far as processor tech goes. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Samsung Exynos 8895 in the Galaxy S8 are much more modern and more efficient chips. But, as we all know, performance isn’t about raw specs, and in actual everyday use we’ve consistently found the iPhone 7 to feel faster, which is a far more important benchmark than any synthetic software you can throw at it. I The iPhone 7 has proved itself more than capable with a 12-megapixel camera that boasts a wide f/1.8 aperture and built-in optical image stabilisation (OIS). But Samsung’s Galaxy S8 also features a 12-megapixel shooter with OIS, and an even wider f1/.7 aperture, which means more light can reach the phone’s image sensor – that’s a good thing. In our full reviews, we’ve found the Galaxy S8 to have a superior camera in most situations, but the iPhone 7 isn’t far behind. The iPhone 7’s front-facing camera turns out 7-megapixel shots, and has a respectable f/2.2 aperture. But Samsung appears to trump Apple on hardware again, offering higher resolution (8MP) selfies, and an exceptionally wide f/1.7 aperture. While the iPhone 7 may boast waterproofing and a fingerprint scanner, Samsung wins for features. The Galaxy S8 is waterproof and has a fingerprint scanner too, but unlike the iPhone 7, it can be wirelessly charged, unlocked using an iris scanner, and still has a 3.5mm headphone jack too. Better still, base storage starts at 64GB (compared to Apple’s 32GB), and there’s a Micro SD card slot to boot. Samsung Galaxy S8 iPhone 7 Screen 5.8 inches (Super AMOLED) 4.7 inches (LED-backlit LCD) Display Resolution 2960 x 1440 (567ppi) 1334 x 750 (326ppi) Aspect Ratio 18.5:9 16:9 Primary Camera 12 megapixels | f/1.7 | OIS 12 megapixels | f/1.8 | OIS Secondary Camera 8 megapixels | f/1.7 | AF 7 megapixels | f/2.2 Chipset Snapdragon 835 (10nm) or Exynos 8995 (10nm) Apple A10 Fusion (16nm) RAM 4GB 2GB Storage 64GB 32GB Battery Capacity 3000mAh 1960mAh Waterproof? Yes (IP68 certified) Yes (IP67 certified) Fingerprint Scanner? Yes Yes Headphone Jack? Yes No Primary Port USB Type C Lightning Iris Scanner? Yes No Micro SD Slot? Yes No Dimensions 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0mm 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm Weight 155 grams 138 grams Software Android 7.0 Nougat

iOS 10

iPhone XS Max and iPhone XS

It's obscene. No, I'm not talking about the price, although $1,099 is a lot to pay for a smartphone. I'm referring to the mammoth display on the iPhone XS Max. At 6.5 inches, this thing is like a mini movie theater you carry around in your pocket. The 5.8-inch iPhone XS ($999) has all the same enhancements as its supersize sibling, including a faster A12 Bionic processor that blows away Android phones (again), as well as improved cameras with Smart HDR and impressive bokeh controls. But it's the XS Max that I didn't want to put down. iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Cheat Sheet The cameras are better, especially in low light, and the new Depth Control for portraits works well. Apple's A12 Bionic chip is once again faster than any Android phone. The iPhone XS Max is more compelling than the regular iPhone XS because of its larger 6.5-inch screen and longer battery life. The lack of USB-C fast charging out of the box for both phones is a bummer. The iPhone XS Max and iPhone XS are worth upgrading to if you own an iPhone 7 or earlier device, but some may prefer the cheaper iPhone XR. Design: Regular and Supersized As someone who carried the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus for more than a year before moving on to the 5.8-inch iPhone X, the iPhone XS Max feels familiar in my hands and pocket. Note I didn't say that it feels great. That's because the iPhone XS Max is about the same size as the larger iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus while packing in a larger 6.5-inch display. The good news is that you get more screen real estate in the same size chassis as Apple's Plus handsets, minus the bezels and Home button. The bad news is that this is definitely not a skinny-jeans phone (not that anyone should ever wear them), and that you'll need two hands to use this 7.3-ounce behemoth comfortably. By comparison, Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 is a lighter 7.1 ounces but it's also taller and a little bit thicker.

+Massive and beautiful OLED display +Superfast A12 Bionic processor +Longer battery life than iPhone Xs +Improved cameras with Smart HDR and better bokeh +Split-view mode in certain apps +Gigabit LTE THE BAD -Fast charging still costs extra -More storage should come standard the iPhone Xs Max delivers an immersive 6.5-inch display, blazing performance and excellent cameras in an elegant design.

Iphone X Review

iPhone X was a huge gamble from Apple.. yet one that really paid off six months into our testing. Losing the home button and altering the design was a dangerous move, but one that was sorely needed after years of similarity and the premium design, extra power, all-screen front mix together to create - by far - the best iPhone Apple's ever made. It's impossible to give a perfect score to something that costs this much - but this is the closest to smartphone perfection Apple has ever got. +Super quality screen -expensive price

+Hot design -Metal rim scuff without case +Powerful Camera quality