Tag: Smartphone

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Mobile Syrup

Upcoming Motorola Razr’s massive cover screen revealed in leak

Source: Evan Blass

Following a leak that claimed an upcoming Razr-branded foldable from Motorola would sport a huge cover display, leaker Evan Blass shared images of the device on Twitter.

Blass, whose account is currently private, shared four images of what he says will be called the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra. The images mostly highlight the cover display, though a couple also showcase some personalization options.

The images show a cover display that takes up almost the entirety of the lid of the flip phone. It’s a stark difference from previous Razr foldables and even Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip line, which have offered — by comparison — minuscule cover screens.

Perhaps the most interesting part is that the cover display extends down around the dual camera lenses and the flash, creating a little area for notifications and weather information and leaving a larger portion to show the time and presumably for interacting with notifications — such as reading incoming messages or for call display.

Beyond the images, Blass didn’t share much else about the device. He did, however, note that Motorola plans to launch a second, “down market” flip phone in 2023. The device, codenamed ‘Venus,’ reportedly won’t sport the name Razr Lite has some have reported. Instead, Blass says it will be called the Razr 40.

Previous leaks said the Razr 40 Ultra’s cover display would measure 3.5-inches, beating out the rumoured 3.4-inch cover screen that will reportedly ship on Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5.

It’s also worth noting that Motorola’s previous foldables haven’t had great Canadian availability. The first Razr foldable launched in the U.S. in February 2020 but didn’t arrive in Canada until April — when it did show up, it was only available at Telus and its subsidiaries, and Freedom Mobile. Motorola’s subsequent foldables haven’t come north of the border.

Images credit: Evan Blass

Source: Evan Blass

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Mobile Syrup

Unihertz Titan Slim Review: The BlackBerry I never had

I lived through the era when BlackBerry phones were incredibly popular but to this day regret that I never got to be a part of the craze. They were the thing to have and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) had become a status symbol of sorts among my peers. That’s where the conversation was – if you weren’t on BBM, you were missing out.

I wanted a BlackBerry so badly, but when the time came for me to pick up my first smartphone, the craze had mostly passed, in part because Apple’s iMessage had started taking over the position of defacto messaging platform for the in-crowd, while BBM barely hung on among those who were stuck with BlackBerry phones. I opted to pick up an Android phone instead (the iPhone wasn’t a consideration, not that I could have afforded one anyway).

Because of this, I never had the core Canadian experience of click-clacking away on a BlackBerry keyboard. To be clear, I’ve tried BlackBerry keyboards numerous times, but messing around with one for a few minutes is a far cry from it being a key point of interaction with your smartphone. I’ve always thought I’d enjoy using one of these keyboards, but after spending time with the Unihertz Titan Slim, I no longer believe that’s the case.

Unihertz offered me a Titan Slim to test out and I jumped at the chance when I saw the physical keyboard. Nothing else really mattered to me – not the camera, not the lack of 5G (not that Canadian carriers have made 5G compelling in any way), not the middling display. And looking back now, if having a physical keyboard is really important to you, then the Titan Slim might just be the phone for you.

Specs

The Titan Slim (left) is an absolute unit.

Unihertz Titan Slim

Display

4.2-inch 768 x 1280 pixel resolution with Corning Gorilla Glass

Processor

MediaTek Helio P70 Octa-Core

RAM

6GB

Storage

256GB

Dimensions (in.)

146.85 × 67.6 × 12.75mm

Weight

204g

Rear Facing Camera

48-megapixel with autofocus

Front Facing Camera

8-megapixel

OS

Android 11

Battery

4100mAh

Network Connectivity

4G LTE, 3G, 2G

Sensors

Fingerprint sensor, G-Sensor, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, Compass

SIM Type

Dual Nano SIM

Launch Date

Misc

Colour: Black

Display

Unihertz Titan Slim

4.2-inch 768 x 1280 pixel resolution with Corning Gorilla Glass

Processor

Unihertz Titan Slim

MediaTek Helio P70 Octa-Core

RAM

Unihertz Titan Slim

6GB

Storage

Unihertz Titan Slim

256GB

Dimensions (in.)

Unihertz Titan Slim

146.85 × 67.6 × 12.75mm

Weight

Unihertz Titan Slim

204g

Rear Facing Camera

Unihertz Titan Slim

48-megapixel with autofocus

Front Facing Camera

Unihertz Titan Slim

8-megapixel

OS

Unihertz Titan Slim

Android 11

Battery

Unihertz Titan Slim

4100mAh

Network Connectivity

Unihertz Titan Slim

4G LTE, 3G, 2G

Sensors

Unihertz Titan Slim

Fingerprint sensor, G-Sensor, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, Compass

SIM Type

Unihertz Titan Slim

Dual Nano SIM

Launch Date

Unihertz Titan Slim

Misc

Unihertz Titan Slim

Colour: Black

Tappity tapping on that board

It turns out I really don’t like physical keyboards on smartphones. This isn’t a knock against Unihertz or the Titan Slim, because it’s not that the keyboard is bad. Instead, I found it surprisingly hard to adapt my muscle memory to a keyboard that’s surprisingly different from what I’m used to.

Part of that is the layout, little things like the spacebar sitting between the ‘V’ and ‘B’ keys, or having various punctuation marks hidden behind verbose keyboard commands. I missed the period and comma keys right next to the spacebar. More than that, I’ve come to appreciate the various “intelligent” features available in virtual keyboards, like autocorrect and swipe typing. The Pixel series’ excellent Assistant Voice Typing has also turned me into a big voice-to-text user.

The first thing I noticed with the Titan Slim is the distinct lack of these features. Autocorrect is still there, but it feels odd transitioning between the physical keyboard and the screen to make use of it, not to mention my penchant for fat-fingering the row of navigation keys between the keyboard and the suggestion bar. Speaking of, virtual keyboards have a degree of predicting what you meant to type even when your fingers miss the mark, which has given me a false sense of my own accuracy when typing on my phone.

The Titan Slim made it abundantly clear that my thumbs have no clue where any key is and my messages became riddled with typos. This resulted in my slowing down to make sure I was getting the right keys, cratering my typing speed.

To be clear, I don’t think the keyboard is bad. The Titan Slim just doesn’t feature several of the comforts I’ve come to rely on, which made it difficult for me to adapt. For anyone in the opposite boat, who struggle with digital keyboards and doesn’t rely on these intelligence features, the lack of them on the Titan Slim shouldn’t make much difference.

Scroll assistant won my heart, despite issues

While I may not have enjoyed typing on a physical keyboard, there were some keyboard-related features I really enjoyed. ‘Scroll assistant’ was among the best of these even with glaring imperfections.

Scroll assistant turns the Titan Slim’s physical keyboard into a large touchpad, enabling users to scroll through apps by swiping on the keyboard rather than the screen. In the grand scheme of things, scroll assistant isn’t a game-changer, but it’s nice to have a way to navigate without blocking the screen with a finger, especially on a phone like the Titan Slim that has a smaller display to make room for a keyboard.

The feature includes some thoughtful additions. The Titan Slim will automatically turn off the scroll assistant when the battery falls below five percent. Users can also force-enable scroll assistant on a per-app basis if it doesn’t work in some cases, something you’ll need to do a lot because, at least in my testing, it was a total toss-up if scroll assistant would work. When it does work, it works fairly well, although the scrolling has some quirks. For example, while scrolling down is always smooth, scrolling up feels janky, which I suspect is related to the angle of the keys.

Moreover, it’d be nice if scroll assistant expanded to cover some common navigation gestures. For example, swiping left or right on the keyboard could trigger the back gesture, or switching between feeds in apps like Twitter. As is, swapping between swiping on the keyboard to swiping on the screen to go back (or pressing the back button) felt jarring.

Along with the scroll assistant, the Titan Slim includes several other features nestled away in a Settings menu labelled ‘Intelligent assistance.’ This includes a network manager that lets users block apps from accessing the internet through Wi-Fi or data, customizations for the LED notification light (welcome back, my beloved), configurable keyboard shortcuts, a QR code scanner, flip to mute and more. There’s also a ‘Toolbox’ app loaded with little tools like a compass, flashlight, bubble level and even a plumb bob.

Another notable feature is the programmable ‘utility key.’ It’s a red key on the left side of the device, and users can freely map a variety of functions to it for long, short and double presses. I set it up as a way to open my camera quickly or take a screenshot, but there are plenty of other functions too.

These are all welcome additions, but none of these are must-haves for me. Others might disagree, but I’ve used smartphones for years without any of those things and have been perfectly fine (though I do miss things like the notification light on modern smartphones).

All these features don’t save the Titan Slim from mediocrity

Despite jamming in all these features, it takes more than helpful features to make a good smartphone. Once again, the Titan Slim’s standout feature is the physical keyboard. If you haven’t chosen to die on the physical keyboard hill, this phone is not for you.

The Titan Slim’s performance isn’t great. I didn’t expect groundbreaking performance, given the specs. Of course, the phone is still plenty usable, but standard phone tasks like bouncing around apps, sending messages, browsing the web and scrolling social media didn’t feel as responsive as on other lower-spec phones I’ve tried.

Although benchmarks aren't the be-all and end-all when it comes to measuring performance, they can be helpful for comparisons. Unsurprisingly, the Titan Slim's Helio P70 chip didn't perform as well as other devices in Geekbench 6, though it's worth noting we had limited budget devices to compare against. The Pixel 6a is the closest in terms of price, but benefits from having the same chip as Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, arguably a 'flagship' CPU despite its own underwhelming performance.

Again, the Titan Slim was useable, but that's not a particularly high bar to pass. I'll take slow and reliable, but the Titan Slim didn't meet that level, either. I had some issues with apps not quite working as expected, including Geekbench itself, which errored out and failed to complete the test multiple times before it eventually worked.

Speaking of things not working, I had a number of issues with Wi-Fi on the Titan Slim. On my home network, the Titan Slim would connect for a few minutes and then act like there was no internet connection, despite still being connected to the Wi-Fi. I also tried connecting it to a hotspot from another phone, but that didn’t work either. Data worked fine, however.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment for me was that the Titan Slim runs Android 11. Now, Android 11 isn’t that old, but coming from a Pixel running the latest version of Android coupled with other niceties like Material You, the Titan Slim’s Android 11 feels positively ancient.

I could forgive the use of Android 11, but it does leave me concerned with the phone’s longevity. Even if Unihertz adheres to a lengthy and rigorous upgrade schedule, it’s still starting off two releases behind.

But what about the 48-megapixel camera?

Don’t let the numbers fool you – the Titan Slim’s cameras are not good. Neither the 48-megapixel rear camera or the 8-megapixel front camera take good photos. The most egregious issues are the speed of captures and, for the rear camera, the weird, splotchy marks.

The Titan Slim's weird, splotchy camera.

The rear camera has these bizarre, strange marks/splotches that appear in photos and in the viewfinder when taking a picture. Much to my surprise, they’re not super visible in some images -- somehow, I missed the splotches in the first few pictures I snapped but looking back at them, I can make them out. You can see the splotches clearly in the below photo I snapped of a beige wall.

titan slim camera samples_0009_IMG_20230228_115248_090
titan slim camera samples_0000_IMG_20230124_153305_976
titan slim camera samples_0000_IMG_20230228_104133_510
titan slim camera samples_0001_IMG_20230124_134632_316
titan slim camera samples_0001_IMG_20230228_154507_215
titan slim camera samples_0002_IMG_20230124_134013_901
titan slim camera samples_0002_IMG_20230228_154500_213
titan slim camera samples_0003_IMG_20230228_154353_847
titan slim camera samples_0004_IMG_20230228_154345_851
titan slim camera samples_0005_IMG_20230228_153516_240
titan slim camera samples_0006_IMG_20230228_153442_280
titan slim camera samples_0007_IMG_20230228_115258_212
titan slim camera samples_0008_IMG_20230228_115253_900

There are two prominent white splotches in the upper half of the image and two smaller white splotches towards the bottom, as well as a weird blue splotch that runs a loop from the top right corner down the left side and back to the bottom right corner – the blue discolouration is most visible toward the bottom of the picture. It almost looks like some sort of liquid stain, but the Titan Slim I tested hasn’t touched any liquid while under my care. Wiping down the camera lens also made no difference.

Though the splotches and discolouration are frustrating, I’ll give Unihertz the benefit of the doubt and assume I got a bum unit. It’s also far from the only issue present. As mentioned up top, the camera is slow – not slow to open, but slow to capture. Far too many pictures came out blurry because I moved the phone well after I thought it had finished capturing the image.

Even when I managed to capture an image that’s half decent, it doesn’t measure up to other options. And sure, maybe it’s not entirely fair to compare a phone like the Titan Slim to a high-end smartphone like the Pixel 7 with a well-regarded camera, but even the Pixel 6a -- a budget phone closer in price to the Titan Slim and arguably worse camera hardware (12-megapixels to the Slim’s 48-megapixels, among other things) -- blows the Titan Slim away.

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It looks like the Pixel 4a will just miss Android 14

While smartphone nerds are digging into Android 14 DP1, Pixel 4a owners are sadly left out of the fun.

As spotted by Android Police, Google’s excellent Pixel 4a likely won’t make the jump to Android 14 because of Google’s lame update policy. This time around, however, it stings a little more — the Pixel 4a turns three years old in August, meaning it will just miss eligibility for Android 14.

Google has offered three years of OS upgrades for a while now (starting with the Pixel 6, it tacks on five years of security patches too). Unfortunately, this update policy means the Pixel 4a  will miss the Android 14 update. Google’s Android 14 timeline points to an August or September release for the new OS. Moreover, Android 14 DP1 isn’t available on the Pixel 4a.

What’s worse is there’s nothing actually preventing the Pixel 4a from running Android 14. Sure, it’s not the most powerful smartphone, thanks to its Snapdragon 730G chipset, but we also know these decisions aren’t based on a phone’s capability. Otherwise, the Pixel 4 and 4 XL — which are more powerful than the 4a — wouldn’t have just got their last patch.

Anyway, Google should really improve it’s update policies to at least be in line with other Android manufacturers, like Samsung (who’d have thought Samsung would be the model for Android updates?).

As for Pixel 4a owners, if you don’t want to get a new phone, you may want to start learning how to flash ROMs to squeeze more life out of your device.

Source: Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

How to manage your smartphone’s cloud backup

A critical part of owning a smartphone these days is managing the associated cloud storage holding backups of your photos, messages, contacts, and more. Unfortunately, most people neglect this, often to their detriment, when an ageing smartphone gives up the ghost, or a clumsy hand sends it rocketing to the floor, never to work again.

As someone who spent years working at a cellphone store (and who still serves as the resident IT guy for friends and family), cloud storage often ended up causing problems during the upgrade process. With that in mind, it might be a good idea to check in on your cloud storage, make sure you have space for your phone’s backups, and more. Here’s how to manage it.

iPhone

Every Apple ID comes with 5GB of free iCloud storage that can be used for backups, but chances are you’ve already filled it with photos and other storage-heavy content. To clean up your iCloud from an iPhone, open Settings > Tap your name > iCloud. In this menu, you’ll see a breakdown of what’s using up your storage, followed by an option to manage your storage. Below are some apps that use iCloud, like Apple Photos, a Device Backups section, ‘Advanced Data Protection’ (which will let you encrypt your iCloud data, although the feature isn’t available in Canada yet), and finally a toggle to turn on access to your iCloud data from the web. You may also see ads pushing you to upgrade your iCloud storage.

Tapping ‘Manage Account Storage’ brings up a list of everything stored in your iCloud along with how much space is being used by that thing. Most of my storage is used up by Backups and Messages because I disabled Photos backup (more on that in a moment). This list can be handy if you want to clear out any large items — simply tap an item and tap ‘Delete’ on the next screen to remove it from iCloud. You can also expand your iCloud storage from this screen with the following options and prices in Canada (as of January 6th, 2023):

  • 50GB – $1.29/mo
  • 200GB – $3.99/mo
  • 2TB – $12.99/mo

Paying for iCloud also gives you access to iCloud+ features like Private Relay, Hide My Email, and more — learn about those here.

iCloud Photos will likely be the thing gobbling up most of your iCloud storage. It’s a system for backing up photos and videos from your iPhone and it’s a great way to protect your pictures in the event you break or lose your iPhone. As I mentioned above, I don’t use iCloud to back up my pictures because I prefer Google Photos and I primarily use Android phones. If you don’t want to back up images to iCloud, you can turn this feature off (but I’d strongly recommend using another backup service to protect your pictures, whether that’s Google Photos, Microsoft OneDrive, or something else).

Most importantly, check the Device Backups section to ensure your iPhone is backing up to iCloud. This will make it easier to restore your data on a new iPhone.

Android

Android’s backup system is fairly complex, thanks partly to manufacturers offering their own backup systems on top of what’s available as part of Android. My recommendation is to make sure the Android backup system is set up and good to go first, and then look into setting up the manufacturer backup system (for example, Samsung Cloud backup for Galaxy phones).

You can manage your backups from two places on Android. The first is through the Google One app, and the second is by heading into the Settings app and going to the ‘Backup’ section. It might be in a different spot depending on your phone — on my Pixel 7, it’s in Settings > System > Backup, while on a Galaxy S10e I checked it was in Settings > Accounts and backup > Back up data under the Google Drive header.

Regardless, you should end up on a screen showing your Google account storage, an option to manage the storage, and then backup details for your device, including a ‘Back up now’ button and a list of what’s included in the backup and how much space it takes up.

Android backups are stored in Google One cloud storage, which is shared across various Google services, including Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos (it’s worth noting that while photos are listed in the device backup section, the Google Photos app handles the backup). You get 15GB for free and can upgrade your storage to:

  • 100GB – $2.79/mo or $27.99/year
  • 200GB – $3.99/mo or $39.99/year
  • 2TB – $13.99/mo or $139.99/year

Controlling what gets backed up and what doesn’t is a little more confusing than it is with the iPhone. In the Backup menu in my phone’s Settings app, I could only view a list of what was backed up. However, if you head into the Google One app to view your backup, there’s a ‘Manage backup’ button that takes you to a menu with options to toggle off certain categories, such as device data, multimedia messages, or photos and videos. However, other parts of the Android backup interface will bounce you to Google Photos to manage what gets backed up.

Again, your photo library will probably take up the most space in your device backup, so being able to manage that separately is the most important thing — none of the other stuff in my backup takes more than 100MB of space.

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Nothing in talks with carriers to launch a ‘future product’ in the U.S.

Nothing co-founder and CEO Carl Pei confirmed in an interview with CNBC that the company is in early talks with U.S. carriers to launch a “future product” in the U.S., but it won’t be a sequel to the Nothing Phone (1).

The U.K.-based company launched its first smartphone back in July, but it wasn’t available in the U.S. or Canada. Ahead of the launch, Nothing said it wanted to focus on the U.K. and Europe, where it had strong carrier partnerships. It also suggested that the Phone (1) wouldn’t work well on North American networks and planned to launch a U.S. smartphone in the future.

Pei reiterated those reasons to CNBC, saying, “The reason why we didn’t launch in the U.S. is because you need a lot of additional technical support, to support all the carriers and their unique customizations that they need to make on top of Android.”

“Now we are in discussions with some carriers in the U.S. to potentially launch a future product there,” Pei said. Although Pei doesn’t specify whether it’s a smartphone, that’s likely what the “future product” is, especially if Nothing is in discussions with carriers.

While that may have some people excited about a potential ‘Phone (2),’ Pei took to Twitter on December 5th to quell any hype about a sequel to the Phone (1):

“Phone (2) isn’t launching anytime soon. We’re focused on doing a few things well, and won’t churn out dozens of products a year like many others. Phone (1) is our main focus. We’re cooking something really great in terms of software, Android 13 and beyond.”

Aside from Pei’s subtle shot at his former company, OnePlus, the tweet suggests the phone Nothing launches in the U.S. will be something else, although it’s not clear what. Whatever the product ends up being, hopefully it comes to Canada as well as the U.S. and Canadians get a little something from Nothing.

Header image credit: Nothing

Source: CNBC, Carl Pei (Twitter) Via: Android Police

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Pixel 7 Review: Well refined

It feels like Google’s Pixel line finally got a boring, iterative update — an ‘S’ year, if you will — and it may be the best thing to happen to Google’s smartphone line in a long time.

The ‘S’ year term comes from Apple’s old pattern of launching a big iPhone update followed by a minor, iterative update denoted with an S (iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, etc.). That naming scheme has gone away, and the pattern has changed, but the general cycle of big updates followed by iterative updates remains.

The Pixel 7 is most definitely an ‘S’ update, boasting almost exactly the same design as the Pixel 6, but with a few minor tweaks and improvements (plus a few new features mostly enabled by an improved Tensor chip and software). Some might be inclined to criticize Google for pulling an Apple and rolling out an iterative update, but I think it’s exactly what the Pixel line needs.

Here’s the thing: the Pixel line hasn’t had a truly recognizable identity. Most people can identify an iPhone when they see one. To a lesser extent, Samsung’s Galaxy S phones have a consistent, recognizable design. Aside from the two-tone back panel, each Pixel phone has looked fairly unique

Like it or not, Google has chosen the Pixel 6 design with its recognizable camera visor and decided to stick with it. And by avoiding the effort of redesigning the phone this year, it’s allowed Google to refine the Pixel 6 design into something better on the Pixel 7, as well as bring quality improvements to other areas of the phone.

If you want to learn more about the Pixel 7 Pro, check out the full review here. You can also read the Pixel Watch review here.

Specs

Pixel 6

Pixel 7

Pixel 7 Pro

Pixel 6a

Display

6.4-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2400) OLED display, 411ppi, 90Hz refresh rate

6.3-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2400) OLED display, 416ppi, 90Hz refresh rate

6.7-inch, (1440 x 3120) QHD+ display, 512ppi, 10-120Hz refresh rate

6.1-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2400) OLED display, 429ppi, 60Hz refresh rate

Processor

Tensor

Tensor G2

Tensor G2

Tensor

RAM

8GB of RAM

8GB of RAM

12GB of RAM

6GB of RAM

Storage

128GB, 256GB

128GB, 256GB

128GB, 256GB, 512GB

128GB

Dimensions (in.)

160.4 x 75.1 x 8.2mm

6.1 x 2.9 x 0.3in (155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7mm)

6.4 x 3.0 x 0.3in. (162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9mm)

152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9 mm

Weight

207g

197g (6.9oz)

212g (7.5oz)

178 grams

Rear Facing Camera

50-megapixel (primary) + 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

50-megapixel (primary) + 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

50-megapixel (primary) + 48-megapixel (telelphoto, x5 zoom) + 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

12.2-megapixel (primary) + 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

Front Facing Camera

8-megapixel

10.8-megapixel

10.8-megapixel (ultrawide)

8-megapixel

OS

Android 12

Android 13

Android 13

Android 12

Battery

4,600mAh

4,355mAh

5,000mAh

4410mAh

Network Connectivity

LTE/ 5G

LTE/ 5G

LTE/ 5G

GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G

Sensors

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass

Fingerprint (in-display), Face Unlock, accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

SIM Type

Nano SIM, eSIM

Dual SIM (single nano-SIM and eSIM)

Dual SIM (single nano-SIM and eSIM)

Nano SIM, eSIM

Launch Date

October 28, 2021

October 13, 2022

October 13, 2022

July 28, 2022

Misc

Colours: Kinda Coral, Sorta Seafoam, Stormy Black | IP68 water and dust resistance

Colours: Obsidian, Snow, Lemongrass

Colours: Obsidian, Snow, Hazel

No headphone jack / colours: Chalk, Charcoal, Sage

Display

Pixel 6

6.4-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2400) OLED display, 411ppi, 90Hz refresh rate

Pixel 7

6.3-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2400) OLED display, 416ppi, 90Hz refresh rate

Pixel 7 Pro

6.7-inch, (1440 x 3120) QHD+ display, 512ppi, 10-120Hz refresh rate

Pixel 6a

6.1-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2400) OLED display, 429ppi, 60Hz refresh rate

Processor

Pixel 6

Tensor

Pixel 7

Tensor G2

Pixel 7 Pro

Tensor G2

Pixel 6a

Tensor

RAM

Pixel 6

8GB of RAM

Pixel 7

8GB of RAM

Pixel 7 Pro

12GB of RAM

Pixel 6a

6GB of RAM

Storage

Pixel 6

128GB, 256GB

Pixel 7

128GB, 256GB

Pixel 7 Pro

128GB, 256GB, 512GB

Pixel 6a

128GB

Dimensions (in.)

Pixel 6

160.4 x 75.1 x 8.2mm

Pixel 7

6.1 x 2.9 x 0.3in (155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7mm)

Pixel 7 Pro

6.4 x 3.0 x 0.3in. (162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9mm)

Pixel 6a

152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9 mm

Weight

Pixel 6

207g

Pixel 7

197g (6.9oz)

Pixel 7 Pro

212g (7.5oz)

Pixel 6a

178 grams

Rear Facing Camera

Pixel 6

50-megapixel (primary) + 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

Pixel 7

50-megapixel (primary) + 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

Pixel 7 Pro

50-megapixel (primary) + 48-megapixel (telelphoto, x5 zoom) + 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

Pixel 6a

12.2-megapixel (primary) + 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

Front Facing Camera

Pixel 6

8-megapixel

Pixel 7

10.8-megapixel

Pixel 7 Pro

10.8-megapixel (ultrawide)

Pixel 6a

8-megapixel

OS

Pixel 6

Android 12

Pixel 7

Android 13

Pixel 7 Pro

Android 13

Pixel 6a

Android 12

Battery

Pixel 6

4,600mAh

Pixel 7

4,355mAh

Pixel 7 Pro

5,000mAh

Pixel 6a

4410mAh

Network Connectivity

Pixel 6

LTE/ 5G

Pixel 7

LTE/ 5G

Pixel 7 Pro

LTE/ 5G

Pixel 6a

GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G

Sensors

Pixel 6

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass

Pixel 7

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass

Pixel 7 Pro

Fingerprint (in-display), Face Unlock, accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass

Pixel 6a

Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometor, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

SIM Type

Pixel 6

Nano SIM, eSIM

Pixel 7

Dual SIM (single nano-SIM and eSIM)

Pixel 7 Pro

Dual SIM (single nano-SIM and eSIM)

Pixel 6a

Nano SIM, eSIM

Launch Date

Pixel 6

October 28, 2021

Pixel 7

October 13, 2022

Pixel 7 Pro

October 13, 2022

Pixel 6a

July 28, 2022

Misc

Pixel 6

Colours: Kinda Coral, Sorta Seafoam, Stormy Black | IP68 water and dust resistance

Pixel 7

Colours: Obsidian, Snow, Lemongrass

Pixel 7 Pro

Colours: Obsidian, Snow, Hazel

Pixel 6a

No headphone jack / colours: Chalk, Charcoal, Sage

Cut from the same cloth

At least the ‘Snow’ Pixel 7 doesn’t show finger smudges as much.

The Pixel 6 and 7 are so similar, it’s hard to argue anyone should make the upgrade from the 6 to the 7. Looking at the two phones specifically could help someone choose between the newer Pixel 7 or save some money with the Pixel 6 (if they can find it on sale elsewhere since it’s no longer available from Google). Plus, understanding what’s different between the Pixel 6 and 7 helps focus on what’s improved on the latter.

First, there’s the design. As I mentioned, these phones look incredibly similar, with a glass front and back (made with Gorilla Glass Victus this time) and a camera visor sporting two cameras – a primary 50-megapixel shooter and a 12-megapixel ultrawide. The Pixel 7 sports a matte aluminum frame just like the Pixel 6, although this time around, the frame sports different colours matching the phone’s back panel. The Pixel 6 had a matte black frame regardless of the phone’s colour.

Moreover, the frame wraps around and covers the camera visor this year, adding a more unified look. Aside from looking better, I think the aluminum camera bar adds a level of protection compared to the glass visor on the Pixel 6.

Just as slippery

The Pixel 7 didn’t carry on the tradition of a two-tone back with a different colour above the camera bar (arguably, the visor itself now acts as the second colour tone). The smartphone remains just as slippery as the Pixel 6, although the slightly smaller size makes it a little easier to grip for the small-handed folks like myself.

The Pixel 7 is a little lighter, smaller, and narrower too, which helps in that regard. That’s in part because the screen is slightly smaller (6.3-inch vs 6.4 on the Pixel 6).

Still, you’ll want to invest in a good case. Google has not brought back the matte glass textures that made previous Pixels so wonderfully grippy, and that remains one of my biggest gripes with the Pixel 7.

As an example of how slippery the Pixel 7 is, it slid off my counter with no provocation and tumbled a few feet onto tile floor. Despite ending my multi-year streak of not dropping review phones before the review went live, the Pixel 7 didn’t break (although the tile did put a sizable scratch in the aluminum frame). Another reason to get a case: the frame is durable, but scratches easily.

Better display, but still 90Hz

Pixel 6 (left) and Pixel 7 (right).

Despite being a nearly identical display on paper, the Pixel 7’s screen seems to be more high-quality than the Pixel 6. The 6.3-inch FHD+ 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution OLED screen is the same resolution as the Pixel 6, but with a slightly higher pixel density.

However, where it really stands out is brightness, both low and high. The Pixel 7 boasts up to 1,000 nits brightness for HDR and 1,400 nits peak brightness. I found the display to be very viewable outdoors in my brief time with it. On the low end, I also noted that the Pixel 7 doesn’t exhibit the discolouration issues the Pixel 6 did.

If you haven’t noticed this for yourself, the Pixel 6 screen (and many of the 90Hz panels featured in past Pixel phones) often showed discolouration at low brightness, especially with grey tones like the ones commonly used throughout Android’s dark mode. The most common seemed to be a slight green tint to grey shades, but I’ve noticed purple tints too. Regardless, the OLED panel in the Pixel 7 appears to be higher quality and more consistent than the Pixel 6 display.

As someone who prefers the smaller Pixel phones, it’s a nice change of pace not to be disappointed (and actually to be happy) with the display in the smaller Pixel model this year.

Not a battery champ, but it gets the job done

Like the exterior design, the inside of the Pixel 7 didn’t see many significant changes. Like the Pixel 6, the Pixel 7 sports 8GB of RAM and 128 or 256GB of storage. However, Google did bump up the processor with its new Tensor G2 chip.

The search giant claims Tensor G2 has lower power consumption than Tensor while also boosting performance. For the power consumption claim, well, it really comes down to how you use the phone. I do think there’s something to the lower power consumption as the battery seems to be doing about as well as, if not better than, my Pixel 6 on average despite being smaller (4,355mAh vs. 4,600mAh in the 6).

Despite having a smaller battery, the Pixel 7 surprised me with battery life that matched or beat the Pixel 6. Unfortunately, it’s tough to make a good assessment in just five days, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on it going forward, but initial impressions are good.

I made it to the end of most days with about 40 percent left in the tank and about four hours on average of screen-on time. Heavy users could likely drain the battery quicker, but it’s been good for me so far.

Fly like a G2

On the performance side, Tensor G2 benchmarked better than the Tensor chip, with my Pixel 7 clocking 1,023 single-core and 3,004 multi-core scores in Geekbench. The Pixel 7 Pro my colleague Dean Daley reviewed scored slightly better.

Interestingly, the single-core score was about on par with the Pixel 6, 6a and 6 Pro, which all landed around the 1,020 mark, while the Tensor G2 was about 200 points better with multi-core.

Widening the lens to look at other devices sporting chips from Qualcomm and Apple, Tensor G2 remains on the lower end in terms of performance. That’s not a huge surprise, though, given that Google’s focus with Tensor G2 is to boost the Pixel’s on-device machine learning (ML) capabilities.

Those capabilities are central to core Pixel features like Google Assistant, voice typing, translation, and various camera functions – most of which Google improved in some way with Tensor G2.

Before we move on, it’s also important to keep in mind that benchmarks seldom tell the whole story. Even though the Pixel 7 loses on the performance front, it always felt snappy. Moreover, it handled my daily use with ease, which includes messaging friends and family, taking pictures and videos of my daughter, work tasks like email and Slack, watching the occasional YouTube video, browsing social media, listening to music or podcasts, and even playing some games like MTG: Arena.

Small improvements to an already excellent camera

One area that saw a lot of benefits from Tensor G2 was the Pixel 7 camera. The handset once again has a 50-megapixel primary sensor and a 12-megapixel secondary sensor, both of which perform very well.

In most side-by-side comparisons, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 produce very similar results from the rear cameras. However, not all is equal.

For example, Google introduced a new zoom technique in the Pixel 7 which uses sensor cropping to produce a “zoomed” image. For most pictures, the Pixel 7 (and 7 Pro) use pixel binning techniques to create a 12-megapixel image from the 50-megapixel sensor, effectively turning every four pixels on the sensor into roughly one pixel in the image.

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With 2x zoom images, however, the Pixel 7 captures an image using just part of the sensor. This sensor crop can make the subject of a photo look closer than it actually is by effectively shrinking the sensor. It’s not truly ‘zoom,’ but then neither is typically smartphone zoom. Regardless, zoom shots from the Pixel 7 provided more clarity than the Pixel 6 thanks to this technique. Moreover, the Pixel 7 Pro does this with the 58-megapixel telephoto shooter to hit 10x zoom, but you’ll need to check out Daley’s 7 Pro review to learn more.

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Another area that benefited from Tensor G2 was Night Sight, which now processes twice as fast. Trying Pixel 6 and 7 side-by-side, the Pixel 7 is noticeably faster. Interestingly, the Pixel 7 camera app also has a slightly different Night Sight UI that lets you select how long it captures.

In my test, it captured in three seconds, but I also did another test at the maximum five seconds. The five-second Night Sight was closer in quality to what the Pixel 6 produced, although it still felt slightly faster (but not as fast as the three-second Night Sight).

The Pixel 7 also boasts a better 10.8-megapixel selfie camera, the same as what’s in the Pixel 7 Pro. However, in side-by-side comparisons, the Pixel 7 and 6 selfie camera results were nearly identical. The Pixel 7 selfie camera does have an ultrawide option, which is helpful for taking group selfies.

 

Google says it improved Real Tone on the Pixel 7 as well, expanding the data set with over 10,000 new images to improve how the camera captures various skin tones.

There are several improvements on the video side as well, including 10-bit HDR, 4K 60fps recording support, Active Stabilization, Cinematic Blur and more. You can learn more about some of these in the Pixel 7 Pro review. I haven’t had enough time to play with these but look for a more in-depth look at the video features to come.

5G and other things

Beyond the camera features, the Pixel 7 offers improvements in other areas. The Recorder app can now automatically add speaker labels to make it easier to identify who said what when reviewing transcriptions.

Similarly, the Pixel 7 features faster ‘Direct My Call,’ which improves the experience of navigating option menus when calling a business. There are also ML enhancements to calls, which Google dubs ‘Clear Calling.’ Unfortunately, I haven’t tested this as much as I’d like in the last five days, but the calls I received sounded clear, and the person on the other end could hear me well too.

Pixel 7’s face unlock doesn’t do much to change the experience with the phone. Since it just relies on the camera and doesn’t use extra hardware (like the iPhone or the Pixel 4) to increase security, the Pixel 7 face unlock only works for unlocking the screen. The fingerprint scanner is still required for more secure features, like authenticating payments or unlocking secure apps (banks, password managers, etc.).

The only real benefit is that the face unlock often works faster than the fingerprint scanner, which means unlocking the Pixel 7 is surprisingly fast. Moreover, kudos to Google for setting up the system so that tapping the area where you scan your fingerprint also opens the phone once it’s been unlocked with your face – most of the time I try to unlock the phone with my thumb and face unlock beats the fingerprint scanner to it, but the phone still unlocks seamlessly.

A common issue people had with the Pixel 6 was with its signal; at least so far, it seems like the Pixel 7 has improved that too. Over the Thanksgiving long weekend, I visited family in the Brechin, Ontario area and noted I had more bars and better service on the Pixel 7 than I had on previous trips with the Pixel.

Moreover, running Ookla Speedtests on Bell 5G at my apartment in Whitby, Ontario, yielded slightly better results on the Pixel 7, with an average download speed of about 130Mbps and an upload of about 6Mbps, compared to about 100Mbps and 4Mbps, respectively on the Pixel 6. That said, I had noticed previously on my Pixel 6a, which also sports a first-gen Tensor chip, that I had better speeds in Toronto than in Whitby. I haven’t had a chance to compare the Pixel 7 in Toronto yet.

Still, it seems like Tensor G2 at least somewhat improves signal issues, but as I’ve said before, 5G in Canada remains underwhelming.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Motorola’s new Edge (2022) will come to Canada in the ‘coming months’

Motorola unveiled its latest flagship, the Motorola Edge (2022), on August 18th. The successor to last year’s Edge (2021) looks to continue building on the brand with new features, but Canadians won’t be able to get their hands on one for “months.”

Yup, like last year, Motorola would only vaguely promise that the phone would eventually come to Canada, but didn’t offer up any dates or other information. For U.S. residents, the Edge (2022) will be available starting today starting at $498 USD (about $642 CAD).

Motorola Edge (2022)

Motorola Edge (2021)

Motorola Edge+

Display

6.6-inch FHD OLED 10-bit 144Hz display

6.8-inch Full HD+ LCD display, 144Hz refresh, up to 576Hz touch latency

6.7-inch FHD+ OLED Endless Edge display, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+

Processor

MediaTek Dimensity 1050

Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865

RAM

6GB/8GB

6 or 8GB

12GB DDR5

Storage

128GB/256GB

128 or 256GB

256GB UFS3.0 with Turbo Write

Dimensions (in.)

160.86 x 74.24 x 8.24mm

168 x 76 x 8.85mm

161.1 x 71.4 x 9.6mm

Weight

170g

200g

203g

Rear Facing Camera

50-megapixel f/1.8 ‘Ultra Pixel’ with OIS | 13-megapixel f/1.5 120-degree ultra-wide | 2-megapixel depth sensor

108-megapixel main with Ultra Pixel Tech, f/1.9 aperture | 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle | 2-megapixel depth

108-megapixel f/1.8 Quad Pixel with OIS | 16-megapixel f/2.2 Ultra-wide angle and Macro Vision | 8-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto 3x optical zoom and OIS | time of flight sensor

Front Facing Camera

32-megapixel f/2.45 with ‘Quad Pixel’ technology

32-megapixel with Quad Pixel Tech

25-megapixel f/2.0 Quad Pixel

OS

Android 12

Android 11

Android 10

Battery

5,000mAh

5,000mAh

5,000mAh

Network Connectivity

5G (mmWave and Sub-6), 4G LTE, 3G, 2G

5G (Sub-6 and mmWave), 4G/LTE, 3G, 2G

5G: mmWave and Sub-6 | LTE/UMTS/HSPA+/GSM/EDGE/CDMA

Sensors

Proximity, Ambient Light, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Sar sensor, Magnetometer (compass)

Proximity, Ambient light, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer (compass), barometer

In-display fingerprint reader, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, ambient light, sensor hub, barometer

SIM Type

Nano SIM or eSIM

Single nano SIM

Nano SIM

Launch Date

August 19, 2022

September 2, 2021

April 22, 2020

Misc

Colours: Mineral Gray

Colours: Nebula Blue

Colours: Smoky Sangria, Thunder Grey

Display

Motorola Edge (2022)

6.6-inch FHD OLED 10-bit 144Hz display

Motorola Edge (2021)

6.8-inch Full HD+ LCD display, 144Hz refresh, up to 576Hz touch latency

Motorola Edge+

6.7-inch FHD+ OLED Endless Edge display, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+

Processor

Motorola Edge (2022)

MediaTek Dimensity 1050

Motorola Edge (2021)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G

Motorola Edge+

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865

RAM

Motorola Edge (2022)

6GB/8GB

Motorola Edge (2021)

6 or 8GB

Motorola Edge+

12GB DDR5

Storage

Motorola Edge (2022)

128GB/256GB

Motorola Edge (2021)

128 or 256GB

Motorola Edge+

256GB UFS3.0 with Turbo Write

Dimensions (in.)

Motorola Edge (2022)

160.86 x 74.24 x 8.24mm

Motorola Edge (2021)

168 x 76 x 8.85mm

Motorola Edge+

161.1 x 71.4 x 9.6mm

Weight

Motorola Edge (2022)

170g

Motorola Edge (2021)

200g

Motorola Edge+

203g

Rear Facing Camera

Motorola Edge (2022)

50-megapixel f/1.8 ‘Ultra Pixel’ with OIS | 13-megapixel f/1.5 120-degree ultra-wide | 2-megapixel depth sensor

Motorola Edge (2021)

108-megapixel main with Ultra Pixel Tech, f/1.9 aperture | 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle | 2-megapixel depth

Motorola Edge+

108-megapixel f/1.8 Quad Pixel with OIS | 16-megapixel f/2.2 Ultra-wide angle and Macro Vision | 8-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto 3x optical zoom and OIS | time of flight sensor

Front Facing Camera

Motorola Edge (2022)

32-megapixel f/2.45 with ‘Quad Pixel’ technology

Motorola Edge (2021)

32-megapixel with Quad Pixel Tech

Motorola Edge+

25-megapixel f/2.0 Quad Pixel

OS

Motorola Edge (2022)

Android 12

Motorola Edge (2021)

Android 11

Motorola Edge+

Android 10

Battery

Motorola Edge (2022)

5,000mAh

Motorola Edge (2021)

5,000mAh

Motorola Edge+

5,000mAh

Network Connectivity

Motorola Edge (2022)

5G (mmWave and Sub-6), 4G LTE, 3G, 2G

Motorola Edge (2021)

5G (Sub-6 and mmWave), 4G/LTE, 3G, 2G

Motorola Edge+

5G: mmWave and Sub-6 | LTE/UMTS/HSPA+/GSM/EDGE/CDMA

Sensors

Motorola Edge (2022)

Proximity, Ambient Light, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Sar sensor, Magnetometer (compass)

Motorola Edge (2021)

Proximity, Ambient light, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer (compass), barometer

Motorola Edge+

In-display fingerprint reader, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, ambient light, sensor hub, barometer

SIM Type

Motorola Edge (2022)

Nano SIM or eSIM

Motorola Edge (2021)

Single nano SIM

Motorola Edge+

Nano SIM

Launch Date

Motorola Edge (2022)

August 19, 2022

Motorola Edge (2021)

September 2, 2021

Motorola Edge+

April 22, 2020

Misc

Motorola Edge (2022)

Colours: Mineral Gray

Motorola Edge (2021)

Colours: Nebula Blue

Motorola Edge+

Colours: Smoky Sangria, Thunder Grey

The Motorola Edge (2022) sports a 6.6-inch OLED 10-bit display with a 144Hz refresh rate. Motorola says the screen supports HDR10+ with 100 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space. Moreover, the phone sports Dolby Atmos technology and two stereo speakers to deliver full, multi-dimensional sound.

A 5,000mAh battery powers the Edge (2022), alongside a MediaTek Dimensity 1050 processor with support for both mmWave and Sub-6 5G and Wi-Fi 6E. Motorola says the phone can get up to two days of battery life, although I’ll believe that when I see it. When you do need to top up the battery, the Edge (2022) supports ‘TurboPower 30’ 30W fast charging and wireless charging. Finally, the phone offers 128GB or 256GB of storage and either 6GB or 8GB of RAM.

When it comes to the camera, the Edge (2022) boasts impressive specs, at least on paper. The main rear camera is a 50-megapixel shooter with optical image stabilization. There’s also a 13-megapixel ultra-wide, a two-megapixel depth sensor and a 32-megapixel selfie camera.

To wrap things up, Motorola promised three years of updates and four years of security patches for the Edge (2022). However, the phone will launch on Android 12, so the Android 13 update will take one of the three major software updates. Still, it sounds like better software support than Motorola has offered for some of its other phones.

Images credit: Motorola

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Samsung sitting on 50 million unsold phones: report

LONDON, UK – FEBRUARY 20, 2020: Samsung tech brand leterring logo in Harrods shopping mall.

Samsung reportedly has 50 million unsold smartphones in inventory, comprised mostly of its Galaxy A-series devices.

The report comes from South Korean publication The Elec (via BGR), which noted that Samsung aimed to ship 270 million phones in 2022. The 50 million unsold devices make up about 18 percent of that sales goal.

Typically, companies aim to have unsold inventory make up about 10 percent of total shipments. Samsung’s higher unsold inventory indicates Samsung may be struggling to sell phones and likely overestimated sales.

The Elec also reports that Samsung produced around 20 million phones per month in January and February, but the number dropped to 10 million in May. The drop is likely a response to Samsung’s growing inventory.

Although the news certainly isn’t good for Samsung, it’s worth contextualizing the apparent decrease in phone sales. BGR points to an IDC report from earlier this month that warned of an expected 3.5 percent decline in smartphone shipments in 2022, with research director Nabila Popal pointing to “weakening demand, inflation, continued geo-political tensions, and ongoing supply chain constraints” as potential reasons.

Given ongoing economic turmoil, it makes sense that people would be less inclined to spend money on a new smartphone. Plus, Samsung isn’t the only company impacted — A Nikkei Asia report from March said Apple planned to produce 20 percent fewer iPhone SE units than originally planned for the quarter due to lower demand.

Header image credit: Shutterstock

Source: The Elec Via: BGR

Categories
Mobile Syrup

ZTE’s Axon 40 Ultra pushes the camera game forward… kind of

ZTE has been slowly fading from the Canadian phone landscape over the past few years, but the company’s latest flagship, the Axon 40 Ultra, has at least one interesting trick up its sleeve.

Like last year’s Axon 30, the Axon 40 Ultra features an under-display selfie camera that gives the phone an impressive screen-to-body ratio unobstructed by any notches or cutouts. There’s no denying it looks fantastic, but similar to last year, it comes at a cost.

That said, the primary camera, fast charging specs and its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset add up to create a compelling phone — at least it would be if a Canadian carrier sold it.

Unfortunately, the Axon 40 Ultra is only available directly from ZTE for roughly $1,000 CAD.

A phone falling part

The Axon 40 Ultra does look good, I’ll give it that.

I wanted to like the Axon 40 Ultra when I first unboxed it. The phone’s design felt thin and comfortable in my hand. Plus, this year I was able to use a third-party launcher, the Niagara Launcher. It’s not that I hate ZTE’s MyOS launcher, but it’s fairly basic, and the folders open up towards the top of the screen, making them annoying to use with a single hand.

Another frustrating quirk is that there are numerous ways to customize the clock on the home screen, the always-on display and the lock screen. However, few options match up across all three. It’s a small thing, but being able to have a more unified design would go a long way towards helping this phone feel more premium.

After a few hours of testing, I was happy to see ZTE utilizing a few parts of Material You’s adaptive colour principles. But the first software update I applied scaled this back considerably. I could only find it working in the Google Keyboard after that, but it seemed strangely inconsistent even then.

When I first hopped into the camera app, I found it a bit overwhelming, but the lens setup and the ‘Street mode’ struck me as interesting.

However, then I opened the Axon 40 Ultra’s photos app…

Immediately I noticed something strange. Every photo looked like it had a subtle grain filter. You need to pixel peep a bit to notice it, but once I made note of it, I couldn’t unsee it. It permeates everywhere, from the lock screen to all the apps. This is disappointing since ZTE’s marketing hyped up the new 120Hz 10-bit screen this year.

The best way to explain the effect is that it looks like the screen has a subtle texture, almost like a thick piece of cardstock. It’s actually kind of nice when reading content on white backgrounds since it looks a little more like paper, but it’s bizarre for every other use. I’ll also concede that under some lighting conditions, it’s less intense.

My other main gripe is less with the Axon 40 Ultra, and more with ZTE as a company. Last year I spent time testing the Axon 30 Ultra and the standard Axon 30, and while I had my issues with the software, I initially walked away impressed. But then, when I went to re-test the smartphone roughly eight months later to prepare for this new ZTE Axon 40, both were broken. The Axon 30 Ultra’s battery had swollen and pushed the back plate up, and while there were no obvious give-aways as to what happened on the Axon 30, it won’t charge anymore, so I expect its battery is also busted.

There’s an argument to be made that if you use a phone often and maintain a steady cycle of charges/discharges of its battery, this won’t happen. But it’s also worth pointing out that every other device in my phone drawer (some of which are years old) still function. I will update this review in six months regarding the status of the smartphone’s battery.

Camera tests

Regardless of the above issues, I still used the Axon 40 Ultra for a few days and took some great photos with it. The phone is interesting since it uses the new custom Sony IMX787 sensor attached to a 35mm equivalent lens. Most smartphones range somewhere from 23-26mm for their primary cameras, so the extra bit of zoom on the ZTE Axon 40 has been unique to shoot with.

The Ultrawide lens has a more standard 16mm focal length and uses the same sensor as the primary camera. The telephoto punches into 91mm, but it’s a slightly downgraded sensor. All three sensors can take 64-megapixel images, but they’re binned down to 16-megapixels for sharing.

The selfie camera is more hidden than the Axon 30’s, but it’s like using a camera with 10 greasy fingerprints smudged across the lens. Even taking a selfie in my office resulted in insane rainbows being cast from each light. In perfect lighting, the camera is a bit better, but it’s easily the worst selfie camera to come out this year and even worse than last year’s Axon 30. Even with images where it’s not blowing out the highlights, there’s still strange editing going on to keep the photo from overexposing bright spots.

Photos from the primary camera are way better but still don’t offer the contrast or vibrancy I’ve come to expect from other smartphones. That said, since the Axon 40 Ultra utilizes a 35mm focal length, it captures an excellent amount of depth and blur to help make images more isolated, which helps make subjects pop more.

The 35mm example is from ZTE Axon 30 Ultra, and the 26mm example is from the iPhone 13 Pro. (Image credit: Vector Stock)

Most smartphone cameras shoot at around 23-26mm, which is considered near the widest angle for a standard lens before you start to encroach on ultra-wide territory. Thirty-five millimetres, by contrast, is the narrowest field of view to be still classified as a wide lens, but it offers more isolation and focus, which I’m fond of. I’d like to see OnePlus or even Apple adopt a slightly longer main lens in the future since this one is so much fun. Now that the quality of many ultra-wide cameras is on par with the primary lens, I think this is a smart compromise.

Speaking of that, the 16mm equivalent ultra-wide on the Axon 40 Ultra is sharp but delivers photos with poor contrast like the main lens. That said it doesn’t have terrible distortion and can look fine after a simple edit. The telephoto lens punches in all the way to 91mm which is fun, but it’s not a particularly stunning image sensor. However, it’s a nice length and is totally usable.

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I would have liked to take RAW photos right from the main camera interface like I can on the Pixel 6 but on the Axon 40 Ultra you need to navigate into Pro mode to use this feature.

A fun ‘Street mode’ also gives photographers access to filters based on film stocks, a grain switch, manual focus and beauty filters right from the camera interface. This mode is fun, but there’s no way to set it as the default, which would have been a nice touch.

This phone feels like a prototype

Every year it feels increasingly strange that ZTE continues to try to compete at the near flagship level. Its OS is getting better, but it’s still incomplete and filled with random software instead of a smooth experience.

Considering the battery issues I faced last year, I wasn’t expecting great hardware this year, but the Axon 40 Ultra feels great in my hand. The screen could be better, but overall it’s passable.

The camera is pretty fun, and I love that 35mm focal length for photography. I’d like to see more companies adopt something similar in the future. The under-display camera, on the other hand, is terrible and ZTE should probably give that up.

You can pre-order the phone from ZTE for $799 USD (roughly $1,000 CAD).

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nothing shares picture of Phone (1) backplate ahead of July reveal

Carl Pei’s Nothing published images of its upcoming ‘Phone (1)’ Android smartphone across social media and the company’s website. The images show off the full back of the phone in the company’s latest bid to boost hype ahead of its July 12th reveal event.

Nothing tweeted an image of the Phone (1) with a parrot perched on the top of the device, similar to the recently released teaser image. This time around, the picture shows the full back of the phone, revealing a semi-transparent design.

Unfortunately, the design isn’t as transparent as some had hoped. The phone doesn’t show the internals like some other transparent tech designs — instead, everything appears to be wrapped in some kind of white plastic with what appears to be clear glass on top. It almost looks like there are layers beneath the (presumably) glass panel.

The images also show off the odd glyphs Nothing previously shared as a teaser of the phone. There’s the odd C-shape around the dual rear cameras, the G-shaped white line wrapping around the wireless charging coil, and the two other small lines are present too.

In a previous interview with The Verge, Pei hinted that the Phone (1) might include light-up strips. It’s not clear how these will work, and whether it’s the glyphs that will light up or some other part of the phone.

Nothing describes the phone as “bold,” “warm,” and “full of soul,” which seems a stretch when talking about a plain, white smartphone with the boxy industrial design popularized by Apple’s iPhone line.

If you’re itching for more information about the Nothing Phone (1), the company published a teaser video yesterday you can check out. Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for the next info drop — my guess is we’ll continue to get little tidbits from Pei and Nothing until the official reveal on July 12th.

Header image credit: Nothing

Source: Nothing, Twitter, Instagram Via: 9to5Google