The Galaxy Note 8 is a curious smartphone

Rising from the ashes of the Galaxy Note 7, this year's Galaxy Note has a lot to live up to. After a few weeks with Samsung's flagship, one thing is perfectly clear to me: the Galaxy Note 8 is a curious smartphone.

With an illustrious history of devices that helped usher in the big screen smartphone trend, each new addition to the Galaxy Note range comes with expectations that it'll live up to the example of its predecessors. The Galaxy Note 7 was Samsung's biggest breakout handset in the US market, but it unfortunately proved to be a short-lived affair.

High expectations

The Galaxy S8 was the first flagship to follow the Galaxy Note 7, albeit under a different product line, with minimal negative reactions. The Galaxy Note 8 arrived soon after to much aplomb. With record pre-orders and sales, it certainly looks to have delivered the follow-up superstar the Galaxy Note 7 deserved.

The Galaxy Note 8 somehow doesn't feel the same as previous Galaxy Note devices.

Yet it somehow doesn't feel the same as previous Galaxy Note devices. I've used every Galaxy S and Galaxy Note flagship released – including the Galaxy Note 5 which I had to import into Europe – and the Galaxy Note 8 elicits very different feelings than previous devices.

It could be because past Galaxy Note devices have often launched when the smartphone industry was looking for something new and shiny to fawn over. This year, the smartphone industry has so much competitive choice that the allure of a shiny new Galaxy Note doesn't have quite the same appeal.

Almost-flawless fundamentals

Fundamentally, the Galaxy Note 8 is almost flawless as a smartphone. With a few tweaks over the Galaxy Note 7, it offers a lot of the same refinement and polish as its popular predecessor and brings an experience that is mature in many ways.

Six weeks in, it can get a little hot, especially around the camera area, but there are no safety concerns with the Galaxy Note 8.

The 3,300 mAh battery shows that Samsung is playing it safe, much like with the Galaxy S8. I'm happy that they're not taking risks like in the Galaxy Note 7, but sadly the battery doesn't last as long as I'd like. Average battery life is in the 18 to 24 hours range, with around 4 to 5 hours of screen-on time. Given the screen size, a larger battery would have been welcome but the old adage that advancements in batteries haven't kept up with advancements in other technology is certainly apparent.

The biggest criticism of the Galaxy S8 was the odd choice of fingerprint placement, and the Note 8 somewhat addresses this with a slightly rearranged order of the camera and sensors. The Note 8 features the dual cameras on the left, with the heart rate sensor and flash in the middle and the fingerprint sensor on the right. The sensor itself is slightly recessed, which makes it easier to find than the Galaxy S8 – with fewer fingerprints on the camera lenses.

The S-Pen delivers exactly what you expect – an excellent life-like writing experience, lots of customization, and plenty of legitimate uses. The screen-off memo now supports 100 pages of editable text that can be pinned to your Always On Display (AOD). I use it a lot to jot down notes, shopping lists, and reminders while walking down the street or when I just want to scribble something, and then pin them to the AOD.

At the launch of the Note 8, Live Message was the most interesting app tweaked for the S-Pen. Like most gimmicky features, I barely actually use it. This is more than likely down to the lack of an iMessage-like single messaging system, although it works pretty well as a GIF inside WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. It would be great for Samsung – or most likely Google as it would need Android-wide support – to develop a single messaging system. Unfortunately it's unlikely to happen as attempts like Google Talk, Hangouts and Allo have all fallen by the wayside.

The new software feature that makes this the king of productivity is App Pairing, which allows you to set up two apps to launch side-by-side in multi-window, in a single shortcut. I use Asana and Slack a lot, as well as Twitter and YouTube and having both these shortcuts easily accessible definitely made things easier. I prefer to have them on my home screen though as I still don't use the Edge Screen features, even several generations after they were first launched.

Bereft of innovation

It has taken weeks to figure out exactly why the Galaxy Note 8 makes me feel this way. With an almost-perfect overall experience, you'd expect it to be a firm favorite. It was a few days ago that it came to me; the Galaxy Note 8 doesn't feel like a Galaxy Note at all, it feels like a Galaxy S8 Plus with an S-Pen.

Last year, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge offered a lot of the same design features as the Galaxy Note 7, but there were a number changes which made it feel like a different smartphone. The Iris Scanner was new. The wider body and overall feel were new. The S-Pen had several new features. Overall the handset felt a lot more polished than either of the earlier devices.

The problem for the Note 8 however, is the mere existence of the Galaxy S8 Plus

Samsung has had the benefit of an extra year, as well as the lessons of the Galaxy Note 7, to give the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus a little extra finesse. The result is two smartphones that, like the Note 8, were almost perfect. The problem for the Note 8 however, is the mere existence of the Galaxy S8 Plus. Samsung's super-sized Galaxy S flagship has a similar screen size, near-identical design, and almost identical specs sheet.

Aside from the S-Pen, dual camera, additional RAM and a few minor tweaks, the Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are essentially the same device. This is a product differentiation problem. The Galaxy Note always brought big new features to the Galaxy family, and the Note 8 has only a handful. If anything, Samsung is relying on the minor updates to the S-Pen and the addition of a dual camera to appeal to would-be Galaxy Note users, which simply doesn't fit the mold of previous Galaxy Note devices.

The dual camera itself is definitely able to hold its own against any other smartphone but Samsung hasn't innovated here. Rather, the company is playing catch up to rivals who have offered dual cameras for years. The addition of OIS in the second lens – a first for smartphone cameras – offers something unique and the camera performs incredibly, but it's not exactly the groundbreaking innovation we've come to expect from the Galaxy Note line.

The success of the Galaxy Note 8 may simply be because, for the first time in three years, it's a widely available Galaxy Note device.

Lost in translation

A thought that's been going through my mind since the launch of the Galaxy Note 8, is that it feels like Samsung has forgotten what the Galaxy Note means. After the failures of the Note 5 global availability and the Note 7 recall, the success of the Galaxy Note 8 may simply be because, for the first time in three years, it's a widely available Galaxy Note device.

The Galaxy Note has always represented the best of smartphones, but the homogenization of Samsung's smartphone range seems to have substituted iteration for innovation. Updates make already-great smartphones even better, but nothing that truly wows us.

The homogenization of Samsung's smartphone range seems to have substituted iteration for innovation.

Maybe this is where the meaning of the Samsung Galaxy Note name has changed. Instead of innovation, maybe we can now only expect these devices to offer a slightly upgraded and better experience than the Galaxy S flagship.

Sure, the Galaxy Note may continue to be where Samsung offers its new features first, but these are no longer a guarantee with each device. The switch to the all-screen Infinity Display and taller aspect ratio for the Galaxy S8 family, coupled with it being a global hit every year, may mean this has now become Samsung's focus. Even the new chipsets arrive in the Galaxy S line first.

Despite it all… a blockbuster

The Galaxy Note 8 is a fantastic smartphone and one that I still recommend. If you haven't had a Galaxy Note in a few years, this is definitely a device worthy of your money. However, if you have the Galaxy S8 Plus – or even the Galaxy S8 – it's just not worth spending more and upgrading to the Galaxy Note 8.

>> Why the LG V30 has all the ingredients for success

It's not the only device worth buying this year. The LG V30 is one of the standout devices of the year. Google's new Pixel 2 XL takes a more holistic approach to the smartphone. Huawei's new flagships focus on an AI-first world. And there's more to come.

Make the Note… note-worthy again!

The Galaxy Note always stood out from the crowd for so many reasons. The Galaxy Note 8 continues this trend, just, but the lack of truly groundbreaking innovation means it doesn't feel as much a Note as past Notes have.

I'd love to see Samsung go back to the Note's roots and make innovation a focus of the device again. Why not further explore what is possible with the S-Pen? Add truly original dual camera software? Offer design features you can't get anywhere else?

As the only mainstream smartphone with an inbuilt stylus, Samsung has the ability to push the boundaries for the S-Pen and set a standard for productivity that doesn't exist in smartphones today. But if the only thing separating the Note 9 from the S9 Plus is the S Pen, then we have a problem.

Will the company bring innovation back to the Galaxy Note range? Will we see a Galaxy Note that's really a Note again? Is the Galaxy Note 8 a sign of things to come? Personally, I don't know.

The Galaxy Note 8 is definitely an excellent smartphone, despite the lack of groundbreaking innovation. When I ordered one, it was mostly due to the nostalgia of having a Galaxy Note again, rather than because the Note 8 itself offers something groundbreaking. But nostalgia can only carry you so far.

What do you think of the Galaxy Note 8? Did you buy one? Did you pick another device? Which one and why? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: The Galaxy Note 8 is a curious smartphone

REVIEW: There's only one reason you should buy LG's latest smartphone — and plenty of reasons not to

Business Insider

One of the things I consider when it comes to reviewing new smartphones is whether it could comfortably replace whatever device I'm currently using.

When I reviewed Google's Pixel 2 XL, it made me want to switch from my iPhone 6s Plus, and I've been using the Pixel 2 XL ever since. The $800+ LG V30, on the other hand, has not made me want to switch.

To be clear, that's not to say that the LG V30 is a bad phone. Samsung's mighty Galaxy phones haven't made me want to switch, either, and the Galaxy phones' success is a clear sign that people love those phones. 

There's a lot to love about LG's new flagship, and it offers plenty of great features currently found in other high-end Android phones, like the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Google Pixel 2. In fact, there's little that differentiates the LG V30 from those other high-end Android smartphones — but it's those little differences that make the biggest impact. 

Check out the LG V30:

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Source: REVIEW: There's only one reason you should buy LG's latest smartphone — and plenty of reasons not to

A second opinion on the Mi MIX 2, Xiaomi’s shot at the flagship segment in India

Last year, the Mi MIX by Xiaomi was launched as a sort of concept phone pushing the boundaries of smartphone design and innovation. While it managed to capture the attention of everyone across the world, it's availability was limited.

The Mi MIX was one of the first smartphones to go beyond the 16:9 aspect ratio ditching the bezels along the way, and was crafted from ceramic. The beautiful design with the edge-to-edge display made it a head-turner, and different from anything we had seen before.

Editor's Pick

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 review

All screen, all the time - that was the philosophy behind the Xiaomi Mi Mix, one of last year's hottest smartphones. Coming before offerings from Samsung and LG, it was Xiaomi that made such a …

The Mi MIX 2 goes a step forward while making some practical pullbacks but now finds itself in a crowded market of smartphones with tall displays – a trend that the company pioneered in a way. It's more mainstream now, packs in the most number of radio bands ever (so it works anywhere in the world), and is more widely available.

Launched in India recently, it competes with other mid-range flagship smartphones like the OnePlus 5, Honor 8 Pro, and Nokia 8. Does it manage to be a great, well-rounded option on this table? Here's what I think of the Mi MIX 2.

Design

The Mi MIX 2 is one of the most beautiful devices I've seen in recent times. The ceramic back looks stunning and it is crafted with symmetrical elegance. It's a phone that stands out in a crowd and catches everyone's eyes in the room. The Mi MIX 2 is special, really.

Unlike the super-sized display on the original Mi MIX, the Mi MIX 2 opts for a more manageable 5.99-inch IPS LCD and the bezel-less design means that the Mi MIX 2 offers that large screen experience on a phone that's almost the same size as a OnePlus 5 with a 5.5-inch screen. It feels great in the hand and is quite comfortable to grip, especially because of the rounded edges.

Yet, because of the ceramic back, it is quite slippery. Xiaomi does bundle a slick protective cover in the box, but putting it on hides the beauty of the gorgeous device – something I'll rather not do, and be careful with the device instead. It is also a smudge magnet and picks up a bunch in short time. Each time I pick up the Mi MIX 2, I have to rub it along my shirt's sleeve to wipe off the smudges.

The original Mi MIX had a distinct blocky look that looked more enticing but the company has now traded that for familiarity. The device feels solid in hand and the ceramic at the back feels much better than glass or metal.

The rear of the phone has a branding phrase – MIX Designed By Xiaomi – which is grammatically awkward. It could've just been 'Designed By Xiaomi' or have a hyphen or period or something after 'MIX'. It's not a showstopper, but my Grammar Nazi instincts get riled up each time I look at it.

Display

Over 80% off the front of the Mi MIX 2 is taken up by that IPS display – and it stretches up to the very top of the phone. There's no notch like the iPhone X or the divot like the Essential. Thankfully.

On the Mi MIX last year, Xiaomi placed a piezoelectric acoustic speaker under the screen. While it was an innovative solution in theory, it offered poor sound experience and a lack of privacy with others around you able to hear what's being said at the other end.

This time around there is a small slit at the top that houses an actual speaker, and hence the display stretches to 'almost the top' but not till the top edge. It's a minute difference, though, and no one would mind it.

The Mi MIX 2 sports a beautiful 5.99-inch Full HD+ display with a resolution of 2160 x 1080. It's not OLED and the lack of Quad HD resolution on a large display slightly garbles Xiaomi's flagship pitch. Yet the display offers a wonderful viewing experience despite the lack of color saturation.

While the phone fits nicely in the hand, the size of the display means that getting up and down across the screen real estate requires some hand gymnastics.

Performance

The Mi MIX 2 packs in top-of-the-line specifications like any other flagship smartphone in the market. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, the Indian variant packs in 6 GB of RAM. Like the OnePlus 5, the Mi MIX 2 doesn't include a microSD card slot for storage expansion, but 128 GB of internal storage should be good enough for most people.

The powerful internals underneath that beautiful chassis make the device shine. It can take on anything that you throw at it with aplomb ease and doesn't break a sweat even when you push it during gaming or aggressive multitasking.

The battery life on the Mi MIX 2 is pretty good, aided by the efficient 10nm-fabricated Snapdragon 835 chipset and a reasonable screen resolution. The 3,400mAh battery would last a day-and-a-half on typical usage and the support for Quick Charge 3.0 rounds off a great specifications sheet.

Camera

The camera is the weakest link in the Mi MIX 2 juggernaut. Both front and rear have cameras with great optics, yet are missteps in one way or the other.

Up front, is the biggest compromise Xiaomi had to make for that striking finesse at the top. The front-facing camera is located at the bottom corner of the phone. It is absolutely the most awkward position for a camera. The odd angle is annoying while clicking selfies, and while shooting videos or in during video calls, you'd look disoriented to the viewer because instead of looking at the screen (which one does for the intuitiveness, helped by the placement of the camera) you're looking at the bottom of the phone.

The default camera app prompts you to turn the phone upside down to click selfies in a conventional way, but that's not an option in apps like Facebook and Snapchat. Essentially, it is very hard to recommend the Mi MIX 2 to anyone who clicks a lot of selfies or broadcasts everyday shenanigans on Facebook or Snapchat or WhatsApp, despite being a great device otherwise.

Things aren't bad on the rear, but the Mi MIX 2 chooses to not jump in the dual-camera bandwagon. The company did debut the Mi 6 earlier this year with the dual camera setup at the back and even the affordable Mi A1 launched last month, but looks like the design considerations trumped the feature on this one.

The 12 MP shooter sports 4-axis optical stabilization and the manages to click pretty good pictures in the day – some of them very impressive in both color reproduction and the amount of details. But in low light, it's a struggle to capture a few good ones.

Overall, it's a good camera, but a tad underwhelming when compared to other smartphones at the price point. Even with a single camera, the Pixel 2 manages to offer something special, but the Mi MIX 2 doesn't try too hard in that department.

Software

The Mi MIX 2 runs MIUI 9, Xiaomi's proprietary UI layer over Android 7.0 Nougat. MIUI is an integral part of the Xiaomi experience and has garnered quite a lot of fans – except for the ones who prefer stock Android experience. It packs in quite a few nifty additions and handy features to improve overall user experience.

In his review, my colleague Joshua Vergara mentioned that the software on this phone is just short of ready for primetime outside China. The lack of polish here and there irked him. However, that isn't true in India – a market where Xiaomi has had a strong focus for a while. Since MIUI 7, we've seen several useful features like better SMS experience introduced specifically for the Indian audience.

Final thoughts

Xiaomi has established itself as a force in the budget smartphone market in India, and as the number two smartphone vendor in the country, it is inching closer to the market leader Samsung with every launch.

So, is the Mi MIX 2 the right phone for the company to go up the value chain to take a shot at the mid-range flagship smartphone market? Absolutely. Does it deliver a perfect product to win the segment? Well, not really.

At ₹35,999 ($550), the Mi MIX 2 is of course a brilliant device. It looks stunning and can match any flagship device in performance. Yet, it is not a well-rounded smartphone because of the average camera experience and the novelty of bezel-less smartphones fading away in the market now since the Mi MIX first introduced the concept. And there's no headphone jack! It actually boils down to what you're looking for in your smartphone.

Source: A second opinion on the Mi MIX 2, Xiaomi's shot at the flagship segment in India

Best camera phones 2017: Mobile photography masters

What is the best camera phone you can buy right now? We pick the best mobile phone cameras in 2017, from great-value budget shooters to the most advanced premium mobile cameras which can shoot RAW images and 4K Ultra HD video.

One of the most important features for a modern mobile phone is the camera stuck away on the back. After all, we've pretty much all ditched our digital cameras in favour of that tiny snapper, to capture everything from family fun days out to that hilarious time Dave got wasted and puked up on the cat.

Of course, not everyone can afford the very latest flagship phone packing the best camera around, so we've also covered the best camera phones that can be picked up for a budget of £200 or less. Here's our complete round-up of the best camera phones in the UK in 2017, however much you spend.

What are the best camera phones in 2017?

Here's our full list of the best camera phones you can buy in the UK in 2017. Scroll down for links to our in-depth camera reviews.

Best camera phones

HTC U11

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

LG G6

Sony Xperia XZ Premium

Sony Xperia XZ1

iPhone 8 Plus

iPhone 7

Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro

Huawei P10 and P10 Plus

HTC 10

Best budget camera phones

Moto G5

Moto G5 Plus

Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus

Lenovo P2

We'll start with the most expensive models and finish with the best budget camera phones you can buy right now.

Best camera phones 2017: HTC U11 Price: £645 Release Date: June 2017 Our Review: HTC U11 review Camera specs: 12-megapixel rear, 16-megapixel front

Samsung used to be the king of smartphone snappers, until HTC rose to steal its crown in 2017. The latest U11 flagship phone boasts a truly remarkable 12-megapixel snapper with a f/1.7 aperture lens, which captures stunning shots in any conditions. That includes low light conditions, a realm previously ruled by Sammy.

That HDR Boost feature helps out considerably, when contrast levels are a little tricky. You get well-balanced, great-looking photos packed with detail, even when snapping against a bright sky and the like. In fact, only the image stabilisation when shooting video is beaten by other handsets. In every other area, the U11 is at least as strong, if not stronger.

Check out our in-depth HTC U11 camera review and our comparison with the best Android camera phones of 2017.

Best camera phones 2017: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Price: £799 Release Date: September 2017 Our Review: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review Camera specs: 12-megapixel dual lens rear, 8-megapixel front

One of the fastest growing smartphone trends in 2017 has been the rise of dual lens cameras. This concept isn't all that new, yet the likes of Apple and Nokia have jumped on the bandwagon in recent months, slapping double shooters on their flagship phones.

Samsung, for all its market-leading innovation, was strangely absent from this race - at least, until the Galaxy Note 8 was unveiled near the end of the year.

Part of the appeal with the Note's main camera is that both the wide-angle and telephoto sensors that sit side by side, packing a 12-megapixel resolution while boasting independent optical image stabilisation. The main wide-angle snapper and the front-facing 8-megapixel camera pack impressively wide f/1.7 apertures, for superior low light performance, whilst the telephoto lens shoots with a narrower f/2.4 aperture.

Have a gander at our Galaxy Note 8 camera review for full samples and our analysis.

You can also see this Samsung snapper in action in our dual lens camera comparison, where the Note squares off against the likes of the iPhone 8 Plus and Huawei Mate 10.

Best camera phones 2017: Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus

Samsung's latest smartphone snapper on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus handsets is truly remarkable, mostly because it churns out gorgeous results every time, even if you don't really know what you're doing.

That f/1.7 aperture 12-megapixel camera on the back shoots detailed, beautiful images in almost any conditions. That includes dark pubs, brightly lit exteriors and everything in-between. Like last year's Galaxy S7 camera (see below), it's the night shots that really impress. You can also capture up to 4K resolution video, with impressive image stabilisation.

Around the front the S8 and S8 Plus also impress, with a great f/1.7 selfie camera that's again great in low light.

Check out our guide to the S8 and S8 Plus' camera modes for a closer look at the S8 shooter's best features, and our in-depth Galaxy S8 camera review for all you need to know.

Best camera phones 2017: Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

If you're after a simple-to-use point n' shoot smartphone camera, then Samsung's Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge flagships from 2016 are still among the very best. This 12-megapixel snapper is the same on both phones and brilliant in almost any conditions, with low light proving its specialty. Home movies also look great, with Full HD, Quad HD and 4K recording all on offer.

Our Galaxy S7 camera review tells you everything you need to know, and we've also taken an in-depth look at the Galaxy S7's many camera features, including the Pro mode for confident photographers and the streaming feature for live broadcasting on platforms like Facebook.

Best camera phones 2017: Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

Although most mobile manufacturers have leaped onto the dual lens camera bandwagon, Google has stuck firmly with its single lens snappers for the second round of Pixel smartphones. We can't argue with that decision either, as these handsets really do impressive when it comes to the optics.

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL both sport the exact same camera tech, namely a 12.2-megapixel shooter with f/1.8 aperture lens. French optics experts DxO Labs reckon the new Pixel mobiles sport the best cameras of any smartphones to date, after awarding them a mighty 98 DxOMark Mobile score. We reckon they're definitely at least on par with the mighty Note 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, capturing beautiful photos in even the most challenging conditions.

Have a gander at our Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL camera review for more info.

If you can't quite afford the new Pixel phones, last year's Pixel and Pixel XL original handsets also feature a 12.3-megapixel rear camera which can shoot up to 4K video, with most of the same features. You'll still enjoy a fast shutter speed and strong results for photo and video capture.

Take a look at our in-depth Google Pixel and Pixel XL camera review to see full photo and video samples.

Best camera phones 2017: LG G6 Price: £TBC Release Date: April 2017 Our Review: LG G6 Review Camera specs: 13-megapixel and 13-megapixel dual rear cameras, 5-megapixel front camera

Dual-lens mobile cameras are suddenly all the rage, and you'll spy a fair few in this best camera phones round-up. The LG G6 is one of the latest blowers to sport such a setup, a full year after the LG G5 introduced LG's first double lens snapper.

The G6's first lens is your go-to shooter, offering an f/1.8 aperture for detailed night shots and rich, good-looking everyday photos. Built-in image stabilisation helps to reduce blur and keep your movies steady. At any point however you can switch to that second wide-angle lens, which is a great way to capture sweeping vistas or fit a large group into a single photo.

LG has as usual packed a wealth of bonus camera modes in, such as the ability to preview photos as you shoot them on that 18:9 widescreen display. You can snap collages and shoot up to 4K resolution video, along with the now-standard timelapse and slow-motion footage.

Check out our full LG G6 camera review for all you need to know.

Best camera phones 2017: Sony Xperia XZ Premium

Sony has plenty of experience when it comes to world-class camera tech and so it's no surprise that the optics on the latest Sony Xperia phone is truly brilliant. In fact, the Xperia XZ Premium's snapper actually upstages the phone's supposed stand-out feature, that 4K HDR-ready screen.

One of the biggest talking points is the insanely good (yet hard-to-master) Super Slow Motion feature, which captures incredible footage at a staggering 960-frames-per-second. However, it's the XZ Premium's everyday photography chops that really make it a solid smartphone snapper. You can shoot gorgeous-looking pics in any conditions, including really dark environments, using Sony's Superior Auto mode.

Check out our full Sony Xperia XZ Premium camera review for all you need to know, plus full photos and video samples.

Best camera phones 2017: Sony Xperia XZ1 Price: £549 Release Date: October 2017 Our Review: Sony Xperia XZ1 review Camera specs: 23-megapixel rear, 13-megapixel front

Sony's Xperia XZ1 flagship phone, launched towards the end of 2017, boasts plenty of fantastic features. However, one of the biggest strengths of Sony smartphones has always been the camera tech, and the spruced-up Motion Eye snapper that sits in this mobile is definitely a highlight.

As well as packing the usual (and brilliant) Superior Auto mode, for snapping your everyday life with minimal effort, the XZ1 is perfect for action shots thanks to the smart autofocus burst mode. Even better, the video mode has been boosted by the Xperia XZ Premium's Super Slow Motion feature. That means you can capture a home movie with stunning 960 frames-per-second segments, for impressive results.

On top of that, you can even use Sony's 3D Creator tool to map out your mate's head and make a virtual character out of them. Utterly pointless, yet still great fun.

Check out our full in-depth Sony Xperia XZ1 camera review for photo and video samples and more of our thoughts on this highly capable smartphone snapper.

Best camera phones 2017: iPhone 8 Plus Price: From £719 Release Date: October 2017 Our Review: iPhone 8 Plus Review Camera specs Dual 12-megapixel rear, 7-megapixel front

Jutting out of the back end of the iPhone 8 Plus you'll spy what appears to be the same dual-lens camera setup to last year's iPhone 7 Plus. Have a squint at the specs and you might think it really is identical. Once again you have a 12-megapixel wide-angle snapper, backed up by a secondary 12-megapixel telephoto lens, which gives you a closer view of your subject thanks to the 2x optical zoom.

While the specs remain very similar to the 7 Plus, Apple has made some clear changes between the launch of these two flagship phones. Photo capture has improved, with cleaner results for moving subjects as well as tweaked night time performance. Meanwhile video recording can be boosted to 4K resolution footage at 60 frames-per-second. Your home movies have never looked so natural.

Check out our in-depth iPhone 8 Plus camera review, complete with side-by-side comparisons with the 7 Plus so you can see the improvements and changes.

Best camera phones 2017: iPhone 7 Price: From £599 Release Date: October 2016 Our Review: iPhone 7 Review Camera specs 12-megapixel rear, 7-megapixel front

Apple's iPhone snappers are among the easiest to use, yet consistently prove to be some of the best smartphone cameras you can buy. Just point and shoot and you can guarantee solid results in almost any conditions, with plenty of detail packed in.

The iPhone 7 boasts better low light results than ever before, while still offering that ease of use we've come to expect from Apple. And of course you get the usual slow-mo mode, timelapse and the ability to shoot up to 4K resolution video.

Check out our in-depth iPhone 7 camera review for more info. And we've also compiled an iPhone 7 camera tips and tricks feature to help you get the most from your Apple snapper.

Best camera phones 2017: Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro Price: £699 Release Date: October 2017 Our Review: Huawei Mate 10 Pro review Camera specs 12-megapixel and 20-megapixel dual lens

Whilst Leica's level of involvement is still questionable, the Mate 10 and 10 Pro both possess a serious imaging setup. Similar to last year's Mate 9 and this year's P10 and P10 Plus (see below), these phones pack in a 12 and 20-megapixel dual sensor arrangement on the back with an 8-megapixel front-facer, sporting an f/2.0 aperture.

The SUMMILUX-H lenses on its main camera have been completely reworked, to boast the widest aperture of any smartphone around (f/1.6). With strong low light performance, plus extra detail and depth in your shots thanks to that secondary lens, the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro certainly offer some of the best smartphone optics of 2017.

There are still clear areas for improvement of course. An improvement to video stabilisation at any resolution is a must, as well as HDR shooting by default. Plus, that busy and initially confusing camera UI could use a little tweaking. Those minor complaints aside, this is a great dual lens setup - and a rival to the likes of the iPhone 8 Plus and Note 8, as you'll see in our dual camera comparison.

Wander on over to our in-depth Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro camera review to see our samples and more on these great dual snappers.

Best camera phones 2017: Huawei P10 and Huawei P10 Plus Price: £599 Release Date: April 2017 Our Review: Huawei P10 review Camera specs 12-megapixel dual-lens rear, 8-megapixel front

Like the Huawei P9 before it, the P10 boasts a dual-lens rear camera designed in collaboration with optics experts Leica. This updated mobile snapper offers a 20-megapixel monochrome lens and a 12-megapixel colour lens, complete with Optical Image Stabilisation, PDAF and a two-tone LED flash. You can even shoot in 4K now, something missing from the P9. Nice.

If you want to know what all of that gubbins means, take a close look at the P10's camera and video modes and browse some photo and video samples shot on the P10, check out our in-depth Huawei P10 camera review.

The P10 Plus is a small step up in terms of image quality. That f/1.8 aperture lens can soak up more light, for improved performance in dim conditions. However, it's still not quite as strong as rivals such as the Pixel and Galaxy S7.

Check out our in-depth P10 Plus camera review for more info.

Read next: P10 Plus vs Pixel vs Galaxy S7 camera comparison

Best camera phones 2017: HTC 10 Price: £499 Release Date: April 2016 Our Review: HTC 10 Review Camera specs: 12-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera

You get some vibrant and detail-packed photos with the HTC 10's excellent 12-megapixel camera phone, which rivals the Samsung Galaxy S7's shooter for best camera phone of 2016. The camera app is nice and simple but boasts some solid features like RAW image support. And moving subjects are well handled, good news for parents and pet owners.

Video recording is a winner again, with up to 4K resolution supported. Video quality is excellent with some strong image stabilisation to cut down on hand judders.

Check out our full in-depth HTC 10 camera review for more info on one of the best mobile phone cameras of 2016.

Best camera phones 2017: Moto G5 Price: £199 Release Date: April 2017 Our Review: Moto G5 review Camera specs: 13-megapixel rear, 5-megapixel front

Last year's Moto G4 Plus really impressed us by packing some solid optics for under £200, including full phase detection autofocus (PDAF) for a near instant shutter speed. That feature has trickled down to the new Moto G5 handset, which is even faster at locking onto your subject than before.

The G5 packs a 13-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture lens, which is pleasingly capable in almost any kind of conditions. HDR support sorts out any kind of vicious contrast and even low-light performance is decent enough. Meanwhile the 5-megapixel front-facing camera on the Moto G5 features a wide-angle lens for cramming in plenty of heads.

Great news if you take lots of spontaneous shots too, as the Moto G5's camera app can be activated just with a double-twist of the phone, even when the phone is hibernating.

Check out our full Moto G5 camera review for samples and analysis.

Best camera phones 2017: Moto G5 Plus

The Moto G5 Plus may have stripped back to a 12-megapixel rear camera, which means less pixels crammed into each shot compared with the standard Moto G5 and last year's Moto G4 Plus. However, the Dual Pixel Autofocus technology and f/1.7 aperture lens matches Samsung's brilliant Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge cameras and that kind of smartphone mettle for a budget price is definitely enticing.

Moto's camera app is pleasingly simple to use and the main interface is free of clutter, giving you access only to the most essential settings and features. The auto mode with built-in HDR offers attractive shots even in a range of tricky conditions, while the f/1.7 aperture lens sucks up plenty of light to produce respectable night shots. You can also shoot up to 4K resolution video, on demand.

For our in-depth thoughts, check out our Moto G5 Plus camera review.

Best camera phones 2017: Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus

British brand Wileyfox really impressed us with the Swift 2 Plus, which captures detailed snaps pretty much the moment you tap the shutter button.

Our test photos look great when viewed back on a big screen, providing lighting conditions are reasonable. You get realistic colour reproduction, while the autofocus deals well with everything from up-close macro shots to sweeping vistas. Even fast-moving subjects like pets and kids are usually caught without too much blur to ruin the photo.

You can also shoot up to Full HD video, while the 8-megapixel front-facing camera captures every sag and wrinkle. Nice.

Best camera phones 2017: Lenovo P2 Price: £199 Release Date: January 2017 Our Review: Lenovo P2 Review Camera specs: 16-megapixel rear, 8-megapixel front

The Lenovo P2 sports a low £199 asking price and offers a whole bunch of great stuff in return. This handset's main USP is its mighty 5100mAh battery, which delivers up to three full days of use between charges. But thankfully the P2 isn't a one-trick pony, also packing a smart and dependable 13-megapixel camera on the rear.

Complete with a two-tone LED flash, the P2's shooter is a perfectly decent budget effort. Lenovo's 'Smart' auto mode does a respectable job of figuring out the best settings for each shot on the fly, while the Phase Detection Autofocus locks onto your subject in double-quick time.

Check out our video features on the best camera phones you can buy in 2017 below.

Source: Best camera phones 2017: Mobile photography masters

Google Investigations Reports of Defects in Pixel 2 Smartphones

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Source: Google Investigations Reports of Defects in Pixel 2 Smartphones

Nordstrom Rack Plants a Flagship in Midtown Manhattan

"It was my first fitting for my first @chanelofficial show that I got, and obviously you expect for Karl to be there in the fitting when you get there, but I wasn't quite prepared because the second I walked into the building Karl and Anna walk out together, going to lunch — and I hadn't met either of them [yet]. So walking into that and just having to introduce myself like 'Hi, I'm Gigi, I don't know if you care," said @gigihadid on the very first time she met @karllagerfeld. The iconic designer – who is in New York for tonight's WWD Honors, where he will receive the John B. Fairchild Honor – was celebrated last night by @vmagazine with a dinner. #wwdeye (📷: @clint_spaulding)

Source: Nordstrom Rack Plants a Flagship in Midtown Manhattan

Google Leads in AI Powered Smartphones, says Strategy Analytics

Google Leads in AI Powered Smartphones, says Strategy Analytics

BOSTON, Oct. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, one out of every three smartphones sold worldwide this year�will use artificial intelligence (AI) to power virtual assistants. But cloud-based AI which powers virtual assistants results in slower response times � On-device machine-learning will significantly speed smartphone AI.

Ville Ukonaho, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said "Google has a narrow lead in total smartphones sold with onboard virtual assistants in 2017. That lead will only grow as Android smartphone sales, with Google Assistant onboard, continue to expand into lower price tiers."

Exhibit 1: Global Virtual Assistant Smartphone Sales % Share by Type: 2017 & 2022

Global Intelligent Personal Assistant Smartphone Penetration Rate : %*

2017

2022

Google/Android

45.9 %

60.3 %

Apple

41.1 %

17.0 %

Samsung

12.7 %

5.4 %

Baidu

13.0 %

22.7 %

Others

0.1 %

0.1 %

Total

100%

100%

Strategy Analytics: EDS

*Note: Personal Assistant smartphone penetration rate exceed 100% due to multiple assistants being present on the same phone (i.e. Samsung Galaxy S8 with both Bixby and Google Assistant)

�

Virtual assistants have already become common in premium tier smartphones. In 2017 already over 93% of premium tier smartphones (with a wholesale price above US$300) sold worldwide have a virtual assistant integrated out-of-the-box. The penetration will expand fast to lower price tiers, mainly with the help of Google Assistant. In 2020 we estimate that over 80% of the smartphones sold with a wholesale price of over US$100 will have a virtual assistant integrated natively.

As AI-powered virtual assistants become common across smartphones, the speed with which they are able to accomplish tasks and return results will become key differentiators. AI is at a nascent stage with lots of improvements and lessons to be learned. One of the major issues for AI powered virtual assistants right now is that very little of the actual computation that powers the assistants is done on the phone itself. According to Ville Ukonaho, "AI is computational intensive and most of the heavy lifting is done in the cloud. This requires a solid data connection, something that isn't always available."

Over the last few years, since the first virtual assistants on smartphones emerged, beginning with Siri on Apple's iPhone, most of the data processing has been done in the cloud, due to the limited processing power of smartphone CPUs. AI applications require huge amounts of data processing, even for small tasks. Until recently smartphones did not have the computational power to handle this.� However, recent advances in smartphone operating systems and related software and components have brought increased processing power to the newest flagship smartphones.

Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics says that "A number of vendors have created more advanced processing engines or are combining the power from the CPU, GPU and DSP to form a subsystem capable of handling complex machine learning and other computational AI tasks." However, only high-end flagship smartphones will have these advanced AI processing engines and subsystems, meaning that on-board AI-powered virtual assistants will become key differentiators for premium smartphones.

"Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics stated that "By combining software enhancements through machine learning and hardware enhancements in the form of AI engines, we can expect the abilities of virtual assistants to improve significantly over the next several years. This will result in increasingly responsive virtual assistants and more interactive experiences from the devices.

Key questions which still need to be considered include:

Which vendors will drive AI to the all important mid tier?

Which segments or clusters will pay for or value AI features?

How strongly will AI contribute to brand purchase consideration? For how long?

Will AI become table stakes?

How will AI on smartphones interact with the smart car and smart home use cases?

The full report, Global Artificial Intelligence Technologies Forecast for Smartphones: 2010 to 2022, is published by the Strategy Analytics Emerging Devices Strategies service, details of which can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/y9wp9s44.

About Strategy Analytics:Strategy Analytics is a global, independent research and consulting firm. The company is headquartered in Boston, USA, with offices in the UK, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India and China. Visit www.strategyanalytics.com for more information.

EMEA Contacts:Ville Ukonaho / +44 1908 423 634 / VUkonaho@strategyanalytics.com�Neil Mawston / +44 1908 423 628 / NMawston@strategyanalytics.com

Americas Contact:Ken Hyers �/ +1 617 614 0757 / Khyers@strategyanalytics.com

Asia Pacific Contact:Woody Oh / +44 1908 423 665 / WOh@strategyanalytics.com

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/google-leads-in-ai-powered-smartphones-says-strategy-analytics-300543160.html

SOURCE Strategy Analytics

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Source: Google Leads in AI Powered Smartphones, says Strategy Analytics

iPhone X: Verizon and T-Mobile announce big discounts for Apple’s flagship

On Monday, Sprint was the first carrier to offer a huge discount for the iPhone X. Hours later, Verizon and T-Mobile announced their own discounts for Apple's latest flagship in an attempt to lure to it services.

Let's start with Verizon's plan. Verizon is offering up to a $300 discount with eligible trade-ins if customers are on its "Go Beyond" or "Beyond Unlimited" data plan. It's not as all-encompassing as Sprint's deal is with the restrictions, but it is still a nice discount.

Here's how the discounts break down with eligible trade-in devices:

$300 off: iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, Pixel XL, LG G6, Moto Z2 Force, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus

$200 off: iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE, Pixel, LG V20, LG G6, Moto Z Force, Moto Z Droid, Moto Z2 Play, Galaxy Note 6, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus

$100 off: iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, HTC 10, Moto Z Play, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Note 4

That's an extensive list that should net you a sweet discount off the iPhone X on Verizon.

T-Mobile's iPhone X deal also has certain limitations. Customers will have to be on one of its installments plans, be it the Equipment Installment Plan or the Jump! On Demand leasing plan.

The discount you get with T-Mobile is $300, the same as Verizon, but it works a little different. T-Mobile is handing out the discount up front when you trade in the device, unlike other carriers. Meaning, if you trade in an eligible device worth the full $300, it'll be applied right away instead of the way other carriers handle discounts with monthly credits during the duration of the installment plan.

T-Mobile didn't get into the specifics about the phones that would qualify for the discounts other than saying the iPhone 6 or newer will qualify (except the iPhone SE).

Here's a quick breakdown of T-Mobile's installment plans for the iPhone X:

Equipment Installment Plan:

64GB: $279.99 down (required) – $30 a month

256GB: $429.99 down (required) – $30 a month

Jump! On Demand:

64GB: $0 down – $41.56 a month

256GB: $429.99 down (required) – $24 a month

Just keep in mind that those figures will change when you receive the discount of a trade-in. That's a good thing, because those down payments are extremely high.

Verizon and T-Mobile's discount still falls short of the $350 discount Sprint is offering, but it's better than nothing. AT&T has yet to announce an iPhone X discount, making it the only carrier offering the iPhone X (64GB) for $33.33 a month over 30 months—that's two and a half years. Get with the program and offer customers something better, AT&T.

Check out these plans and see what works best for you before the iPhone X pre-orders go live this Friday.

Source: iPhone X: Verizon and T-Mobile announce big discounts for Apple's flagship

How To Install Google Camera with HDR+ on Flagship Snapdragon Smartphones

It is no secret that the Google Pixel still offers one of the best smartphones cameras on the market. The recently launched Pixel 2 takes things further and is being touted as the best smartphone camera for 2017 by DxOMark.

The overall performance of the camera depends on the hardware, but Google has equally powerful software. I am talking about the Google Camera app which has evolved over the years into a really solid camera app. Sadly it is only available on Nexus and Pixel devices but now thanks to a developer, a modified version of the app is now available for a bunch of new Android phones.

So if you own a Snapdragon 820, 821 or 835-based Android handsets chances are that this modded app might work and utilise the features, especially the HDR+. Some of the confirmed devices include the Samsung Galaxy S8, OnePlus 5 and LG G6.

If you are up for it, follow this guide to install the camera app.

The modified Google Camera app with version 4.4.012.156195200 has been made by a Ukrainian developer called B-S-G. It is said to be the same that featured on the third Android O Developer Preview released back in June. Basically, he managed to pull it out and modify the app so that it can work with any device that uses the Hexagon 680 ISP or above.

The app should bring in all the enhanced features that one may find on the Pixel smartphones. According to XDA, it should work on the above-mentioned devices although we tried on a OnePlus 5 and a Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 (both running on Snapdragon 835) only to be left with the app crashing every time we try to fire it up. However, on a second attempt, we did manage to run it on a OnePlus 5 unit. There is a visible difference between the standard HDR on the OnePlus camera app and the Google Camera app with deeper colours and better dynamic range.

If you are keen to try it out, you can grab the .APK file from here. Just copy it onto your phone's internal storage and run it. Make sure you have gone into Settings, Security and enabled Unknown sources under the Device Administration tab. Once installed, you should see it in your apps drawer. In case the app crashes, try removing it and install again, it should work. In case it doesn't then bad luck, your phone might not support it.

Source: How To Install Google Camera with HDR+ on Flagship Snapdragon Smartphones

Why Glass is Replacing Aluminium and Plastic in Flagship Smartphones, and Why it Shouldn’t

Smartphone design trends come and go, but one trend which has been persistent for the past few years has been the transition to premium materials used in the construction of smartphones. While there was a time when it seemed like every single Android phone was made of plastic, design paradigms have slowly but steadily changed since 2013.

HTC was the OEM which pioneered aluminium unibody phones back in 2010 with the HTC Legend, and then innovated again with discrete antenna brands on the One M7 released in 2013. However, for much of 2013 and 2014, it seemed HTC and a few Chinese OEMs were the only ones taking smartphone build materials seriously. This was because the elephant in the room of the Android world – Samsung – still opted to stubbornly keep the polycarbonate design in its flagship Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series of smartphones, up until they began flirting with metal through the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Alpha.

The turning point came with the release of the Galaxy S5 in 2014, which was heavily criticized for yet again having an all-plastic construction (made worse by the "Band-Aid" look and feel). The Galaxy S5 failed to sell as well as its predecessors, and a lot of blame for that was put on the design internally in the company. To rectify that, Samsung started over with Project Zero, which eventually became the Galaxy S6 when it released in April 2015.

Although Apple had started to move away from glass with the iPhone 5 (which featured a unibody aluminium body combined with glass cutouts at the top and bottom) and went on to completely move away from it with the iPhone 6 in 2014 (full aluminium unibody with discrete antenna bands), Samsung opted to release a metal-and-glass sandwich design with the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge. Unlike Apple, Samsung used aluminium instead of stainless steel for the frame.

Samsung might not have predicted it at the time, but the basic feature of that design – an aluminium-and-glass sandwich – is what most flagship smartphones today are trying to emulate and perfect.

Those smartphone OEMs which had been making plastic phones switched to metal-and-glass phones. The ones which had been making plastic phones for the budget smartphone market switched to making phones with aluminium backs and plastic frames, and then even switched to full unibody aluminium construction. Finally, the smartphone OEMs who had been making smartphones with full aluminium unibodies are switching to the metal-and-glass sandwich design.

The state of smartphone design

These sweeping changes have made it increasingly harder (though certainly possible) to find a unibody metal Android flagship smartphone, and it is nearly impossible to find a flagship Android smartphone made of plastic. While the death of plastic in smartphone construction is something we won't miss too much (especially the cheap, glossy plastic used by Samsung and LG in the past), the slow and looming death of unibody aluminium construction is a real cause for concern as this industry-wide shift occurs.

Samsung, for example, still uses an aluminium frame with the Galaxy S8, S8+ and the Note 8, but the aluminium frame has been polished to look and feel like glass (most apparent in the "Orchid Gray" models). It doesn't even have the traditional sand-blasted aluminium coating any more.

Apple began moving away from aluminium with the Jet Black version of the iPhone 7, which looked and felt like glass. With the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X, the company has stopped making aluminium unibody phones in favour of the metal-and-glass sandwich design. The iPhone 8 uses a series 7000 aluminium frame, while the iPhone X uses a stainless steel band, reminiscent of the iPhone 4.

In the Android world, the pioneer of aluminium unibody smartphones itself released a metal-and-glass sandwich as its flagship smartphone for 2017. While the HTC 10 was the quintessential HTC phone with an all-metal build and tank-like build quality, the HTC U11 represents the end of an era as there is no unibody metal (ingot) construction; instead, 3D glass is used in conjunction with an aluminium frame. Except for a few OEMs such as OnePlus with the OnePlus 5, HMD Global with the Nokia 8, Motorola with the Moto Z2 Force and Google with the Pixel 2, few major international OEMs have an aluminium unibody flagship phone to sell.

Why are manufacturers moving from metal to glass?

Why are OEMs switching to glass backs? There are a few reasons for that. Firstly, according to them it makes the back of the phone "look more premium." Secondly, it's easier to engineer the radio interfaces through glass than through metal. Thirdly, imitation is the name of the game in the smartphone industry, as manufacturers tend to follow successful design philosophies. In this case, Samsung knocked it out of the park with the designs of the Galaxy S6, S7 and S8, so it's being imitated.

However, is this trend a positive one, or a negative one? The correct answer for that, of course, is that it depends on personal preference, but that's not all there is to it. Overwhelming demand for phones with glass backs such as the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy Note 8 as well as the upcoming iPhone X seem to prove that consumers are fine with glass backs.

However, there are objective reasons why one type of build construction (in this case, unibody metal) is superior to another type of smartphone build construction (metal-and-glass sandwich). Let's look at these arguments one-by-one:

Why pay more for flagships, when budget and mid-range phones now have aluminium unibody construction?

Phones like the Xiaomi Mi A1, Xiaomi Mi Max 2, Moto G5S Plus and others now have full metal unibody construction, which means that, in many cases, they have better structural rigidity than glass-backed phones. Their fit and finish is impeccable, to the point where you can't tell a phone's price on the basis of its design alone. For example, the Mi A1 looks and feels strikingly similar to the OnePlus 5 (and, in turn, the iPhone), which costs more than two times as much as the Mi A1.

A few years back, consumers felt compelled to move up to flagship smartphones because of the improvements in build quality over budget and mid-range smartphones. Although 18:9 aspect ratio displays with smaller bezels and curved screens with rounded corners are fulfilling the role which at one time build quality used to fulfill (as adoption of this design feature is slow in the lower price segments), it is still more difficult to make the case for moving up on the basis of design alone.

Metal as a heat sink

We have seen it time and time again: metal unibody smartphones can perform better than smartphones which have glass backs during sustained usage. Glass backs are not heat conductors. They trap the heat inside, forcing the processor to throttle. On the other hand, a metal unibody allows for better heat dissipation and may allow the processor to run at high clock speeds for a longer period of time For example, the OnePlus 3 posted fantastic results in the performance over time section of its XDA review (prior to benchmark cheating), outclassing their glass-backed competitors using the same chipset.

Throttling has a very real impact on device responsiveness during prolonged sessions, and while the latest SoCs are focusing on sustained performance, there still remains a long way to go. While we focus on achieving the long-term goal, it's important to have the right tools for the job, and in this case, that can mean just having a metal unibody construction. In specific usage scenarios like gaming, metal phones have an inherent (albeit not necessarily enormous) advantage that can lead to better performance over time.

Scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass is still not good enough

With each new generation, Corning promotes the improved scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass. While Gorilla Glass is effective for display protection, it doesn't do such a great job when it comes to protecting the back of the phone (especially given how phones are normally laid down). The bulk of the improvements we saw in Gorilla Glass 4 and 5 were focused on shock resistance instead of scratch resistance as well.

Suggested Reading: Gorilla Glass 5 and Shattered Expectations: Revisiting Old Solutions to Current Problems

At the end of the day, Gorilla Glass is still glass and glass will scratch to the point where microscratches will be visible after wear-and-tear. The scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass won't match the intrinsic properties of aluminium, and aluminium phones tend to be very hard to scratch as long as the coating used is of a high-quality variety.

The collection of fingerprints on glass backs

While the front glass of phones such as the Galaxy S8 is relatively free from fingerprints, the back glass is a mess of fingerprints that will have to be cleaned frequently in order to keep the phone looking pristine.

On the other hand, aluminium unibody phones don't have a problem of fingerprints. Black-coloured aluminium phones did have a problem with the cleaning of fingerprints, but this year we are seeing unibody devices launch with smudge-resistant coatings which do work well quite well.

The major problem: shatter resistance

To put it simply, aluminium will not break after a drop — in the worst of cases, it will dent leaving an inconvenient mark (that will forever remind you to be a bit more careful with your purchase). Glass, on the other hand, has a high chance of shattering. You can improve shatter resistance, but you cannot fix the problem entirely. You can reduce the chances of a catastrophic breakage of glass, but you cannot eliminate the possibility of it happening. Phones like the Galaxy S8, G6 and the U11 have been said to be some of the most fragile devices ever — they might pass bend tests, but they don't fare quite as well upon drops.

High repair costs make an accidental smartphone drop a nightmare

Accidental damage is not covered under warranty. In India and other developing countries this is especially troublesome as you have to send the phone for repair and pay the repair costs yourself. As these repair costs are outrageously high, what was an accidental drop turns out to be a nightmare. There have been many cases where buying a brand new lower mid-range phone is cheaper than repairing a flagship phone.

Also, service centers of most OEMs provide laughable service in India. It's so bad that customers have shared all over the Web horror stories of experiences at official service centers. The problem isn't with the quantity of the service centers, but rather the quality of service provided. Imagine cracking your glass-backed smartphone and waiting for up to one month to get it repaired. But this happens in India. It happens, sadly, with a depressing regularity.

The "use a case" argument is null and void

When proponents of glass backs on smartphones are presented with the above arguments, they have a simple answer: "Just use a case." However, just using a case doesn't solve the intrinsic issues of glass backs.

Firstly, official cases are expensive in India and many third world countries, where counterfeit cases from "popular" brands are also common. Apple, Google, and others are guilty of selling cases at inflated prices compared to the official Western prices, and import tariffs make many alternatives nonviable. They can blame currency conversion rates all they like, but the consumer doesn't care about that in the end. The consumer only sees that these companies have hiked up their accessory prices, to the point where they are launching a case at $60 when you can get, say, the Xiaomi Redmi 4 brand new for $110.

Using a case should never be essential; instead, it should be optional to provide an additional layer of protection. With glass backs, cases are more of a necessity if you want to protect your $1000 flagship phone.

Aluminium vs. Plastic vs. Glass

The glass back is a textbook example of form being chosen over function; it may look good, it may look flashy, but it comes with real compromises. Considering the increasing fragility of 2017's full-screen devices as we move closer towards a bezel-less future, it would be a better decision to go unibody and minimise the risk of damage. The stronger the construction, the less likely damage will occur, and the less likely users will have to suffer headaches, especially in much of the developing world.

What do you think of this paradigm shift towards glass backs in flagships? Do you prefer it to metal unibody or polycarbonate designs?

Source: Why Glass is Replacing Aluminium and Plastic in Flagship Smartphones, and Why it Shouldn't

Taiwan market: Xiaomi launches new flagship smartphone

Taiwan market: Xiaomi launches new flagship smartphone

Irene Chen and Sammi Huang, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Friday 20 October 2017]

China-based Xiaomi has launched its new Xiaomi Mix 2 smartphone in Taiwan, featuring an all-screen 18:9 ratio 5.99-inch display, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor, 6GB memory and 64GB/128GB storage.

The company pointed out that its sales in Taiwan for the first nine months in 2017 already surpassed NT$300 million (US$9.924 million), growing more than 70% on year. At the same time, the company's shipments of IoT-supported smart home devices have reached over two million units since its entry to Taiwan.

General manager of Xiaomi Taiwan Henman Lee expressed his optimism about IoT smart home devices' potential in Taiwan and noted that the company is planning to release more related products in the market in the first quarter of 2018. Lee also expects the company will have a clearer development strategy for Taiwan's smart home market by then.

Xiaomi's top-5 bestselling products in Taiwan are Redmi Note 4X smartphone, Mi Air Purifier, Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner, Mi Band and Mi Power Bank, and Xiaomi will release more consumer electronics and home appliances in Taiwan after passing related certifications.

In addition, Xiaomi has been sponsoring e-sport teams in Taiwan to enhance its marketing strength.

Beside Taiwan, the company has also been aggressively promoting its smartphones in India, taking the second title with a 14% share in the market in the second quarter of 2017.

Xiaomi Mix 2 smartphonePhoto: Company

Source: Taiwan market: Xiaomi launches new flagship smartphone

ZTE's foldable Axon M smartphone debuts with two displays

Smartphone makers are looking for new features to try out and ZTE has gone all-in on its new flagship model unveiled today at a New York City event. The Axon M has not one but two 5.2-inch, 1080p displays with a hinge in the middle allowing the phone to be unfolded into one massive display.

ZTE has chosen to power the Axon M with a Snapdragon 821 processor running Android Nougat 7.1 paired with 4GB of RAM. No dual cameras are in store for the Axon M. Due to the folding design, only a single 20MP camera is present that can be used to take pictures in any orientation you desire. Unfortunately this creates a somewhat clunky user experience, having to turn the phone around in order to switch between the two different screens if you want to take a selfie.

Packing two displays and last year's high-end processor, battery life is going to be a major concern. A non-removable 3,180mAh battery can be found inside the phone. ZTE claims the handset should be good for one day of use although it is unclear if that rating was tested with both displays active. Having only 1080p screens instead of higher pixel count 18:9 displays could result in reasonable battery life but it still will not be all that impressive.

One advantage of the dual screens is that tent mode becomes an option. Sharing videos and pictures with friends can be done by mirroring the display contents when the phone is partly opened. This is a somewhat practical idea but how much anybody intends to use this capability is unknown. It may turn out that end-users keep the phone closed and use the front display most of the time because it is inconvenient to constantly open and close the phone.

Having a tablet-sized screen that can shrink down to fit in your pocket does have some productivity benefits.

Multitasking on the Axon M may be a great experience. Similar to having dual monitors on a desktop, once you get used to the extra screen real estate, it may be very difficult to go without it. Opening applications side-by-side makes it very easy to reference documents and web pages while responding to e-mail or checking your messages.

One potential drawback is app support as it relates to extended displays although ZTE claims that the top 100 Android apps are all supported in dual-screen mode. Android apps that do not have a tablet version are typically limited to use on one display and cannot be stretched across the entire 6.75-inch combined screen.

Since the hinge only allows 180 degrees of movement, both displays are always on the outside and thus, exposed to environmental conditions. Finding a durable case for the Axon M may be difficult as well due to limited support from accessory designers. ZTE's previous Axon smartphones lacked support from both OtterBox and LifeProof; the Axon M is not expected to be supported by either of them.

Overall, the Axon M appears to be a fairly average smartphone aside from the fact that it comes in an unusual form factor. Launching in November as an AT&T exclusive priced at $24.17 a month for 30 months, the Axon M costs a total of $725.10. Coming in clearly at a premium price just below the Galaxy S8, only time will tell whether the unique display offering is enough to garner the interest of consumers.

Image Credit: Axon M Tent Mode, Florence Ion

Related Reads
Source: ZTE's foldable Axon M smartphone debuts with two displays

Hands-on with the ZTE Axon M – A Compelling Modern Dual Screen Smartphone

In 2017, smartphone companies have had to implement all sorts of gimmicks to differentiate their products. There's the HTC U11 with its squeeze gimmick, the LG V30 with its floating bar gimmick, and the Huawei Mate 10 Lite with quad cameras just to name a few. Some of you may disagree with me labeling these features as gimmicks—and you're right. The overuse of the word gimmick to describe new features has made us cynical towards anything new a company might unveil. I went in to the ZTE Axon M unveiling 2 days back expecting a gimmick, but left with an appreciation for the dual screen smartphone concept. This is my hands-on preview of the ZTE Axon M.

ZTE Axon M Display 2 x 5.2″ @ 1920×1080.  (6.75″ 1920×2160 "single screen" when unfolded). Gorrilla Glass 5. Size & Weight 150.8 x 71.6 x 12.1mm, 230g SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (2x Kryo @ 1.996 GHz + 2x Kryo HP @ 2.15GHz), Adreno 530 GPU RAM 4GB Battery 3,180 mAh with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Internal Storage 64GB MicroSD Slot Yes (up to 256GB) SIM size Nano SIM Connectivity Bluetooth: 4.2

USB: 2.0 Type-C

VoLTE

Camera Photo: Single 20MP f/1.8 aperture, PDAF, dual-image stabilization, dual LED flash.

Video: Up to 4k @30fps. Slow motion: 720p @ 120/240fps

3.5mm Headphone Jack Yes Audio Dual speakers. Dolby Atmos audio codecs. AKM 4962 Hifi chipset. Fingerprint Scanner Yes (integrated into power button) Software Android Nougat 7.1.2 with October security patch and Linux kernel version 3.18.31 Price ~$725 Availability U.S: AT&T ($24.17/month on AT&T Next) this Holiday 2017

Japan: NTT Docomo

China: China Telecom and JD.com in Q1 2018

Europe: Q1 2018

Design

The ZTE Axon M is undoubtedly thicker than most other flagship smartphones on the market, but that doesn't mean it's too thick or heavy to be held comfortably. On the contrary, I found it pretty easy to hold in one hand (in its folded state) with my only complaint being that you have to grip the second screen while doing so.

If you were thinking this device would fold and unfold like the Nintendo DS, then you were mistaken. The dual screens don't fold on top of each other like the DS because that would prevent use of the sole camera on the device.

That's right, there's only a single camera here which sounds obvious once you stop to think about it, but may take a few seconds to initially wrap your head around. The camera is affixed to the front of the primary display panel of the phone (where all of the other internals are located). There's no "rear" or "front-facing" camera distinction to be had—you simply flip the phone to see the viewfinder on the primary screen when taking selfies and on the secondary screen when taking regular photos.

Speaking of flipping the phone, there's a pretty sturdy hinge that connects the two display panels. ZTE told us that the cable connecting the two display panels (located within the hinge) can withstand 20,000 folds and unfolds of the hinge before the cable starts to wear down. They estimate that the average consumer will be able to use the phone for 3 years before experiencing any issues.

On to the buttons: they're all located on the left side of the primary screen, opposite the hinge. You have your standard volume up/down button, a power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor, and an additional "quick launch" button that can either open the camera when double-tapped or start TV Mode/launch an app when long-pressed.

At the top, you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack. We live in a world where this is now considered a feature, hence why it's bolded here. Finally at the bottom you'll find the dual speakers and a USB 2.0 Type-C port that supports fast charging via Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

Displays

While each 5.2″ 1080p TFT LCD may not stand up in terms of quality to other display panels on other flagship smartphones, the Axon M makes up for this when considering the functionality that the combined 6.75″ 1920×2160 display brings. Of course, that combined resolution isn't contiguous due to the hinge separating the two panels. In my opinion, though, the hinge is something you grow to overlook once you get used to the phone, much like owners of the Essential phone state ignore its camera cutout up top.

According to AIDA64, each display panel is a model "zteTruly_td4322″ so it seems to be an in-house panel. The pixel density is 428 dpi (recognized as xxhdpi). What's most interesting is that, when unfolded, the Android system truly sees the two displays as one. To apps, the unfolded ZTE Axon M is seen as a 6.75″ tablet with a resolution of 1920×2160 while the folded Axon M is seen as a 5.2" smartphone with a resolution of 1920×1080.

In case you're interested in the full hardware specifications, here is the breakdown from AIDA64:

Performance

Due to the fact that my time with the ZTE Axon M was limited at the launch event, I can't proclaim that it has excellent performance just yet. That will have to wait for a full review from us before we can really evaluate the Axon M on its performance.

But in the limited time I did spend with the device, it performed admirably. The most stress you can put the device's hardware under is in its "Dual Mode" where two applications run simultaneously, one on each display. I didn't have any issue watching a video on one screen while browsing the web on the other, or using the Maps application while reading the forums with XDA Labs. I wouldn't expect the Axon M to fail these kinds of tasks—that's exactly what it was built for, after all.

I'll have to stress test the device to make sure it really can handle dual screen applications of all kinds, but given that it has last year's Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (while not the latest and greatest, still performs incredibly well) and 4GBs of RAM I'm confident that it will hold up to these tasks. The reason I'm confident is because the software on the ZTE Axon M is surprisingly light, which otherwise could have contributed to poor UI performance like it did with the ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

Dual Screen Modes and Settings

The phone can be used in a single screen view (what ZTE calls "Traditional Mode"). This is basically using the primary 5.2" screen just like any regular smartphone, though the existence of the second screen and the foldable design means you can fold the phone into a tent mode to hold it up on a table.

There are three other modes that the ZTE Axon M can be used in: Extended Mode, Dual Mode, and Mirror Mode. With Extended Mode, a single application is displayed across both screens to fill up an entire 6.75″ 1920×2160 screen area. In Dual Mode, you can run two different activities on two different screens. In Mirror Mode, the same app is mirrored across both displays.

ZTE actually did a live demonstration of each mode on stage. You can watch the demonstration starting here, but we'll summarize our thoughts on each below.

Dual Mode

Dual Mode will probably be the most used screen mode on the ZTE Axon M because it opens up a lot of multi-tasking capabilities that aren't feasible on a traditional single screen smartphone. Think about scenarios where you would want to use Android Nougat's native split-screen functionality. Now think about how little screen real estate you have to work with when you actually try to run two apps at the same time on a single screen Android smartphone. The Axon M in Dual Mode makes Nougat's split-screen feature actually usable.

I can already imagine a few scenarios that I would personally find Dual Mode fairly enjoyable. For instance, I could watch two Twitch streams at once, browse for hotel information with Trivago while looking up its location with Maps, or watch a video while browsing Reddit. What helps is that the navigation bar is only present in the last screen that was tapped, so it's only there where it's needed.

What's not so great about Dual Mode is trying to type on one screen when the phone is upright, because the keyboard app in Dual Mode will only show up on one screen causing the other screen to impede your typing if you're holding the phone. There's a technical reason why ZTE can't simply stretch a keyboard across both screens in Dual Mode, though we still think this limitation is unfortunate.

Extended Mode

This is the next most useful feature in my mind. Here, the device acts as a single 6.75″ Android tablet so that apps can draw across both displays. Some applications that are specifically optimized for Extended Mode, like the YouTube application, make perfect use of the display by splitting parts of its UI where it makes sense.

For instance, with the YouTube app videos play on one screen while the description and comments are shown on the other. ZTE states that 100 of the top apps on the Play Store have already been optimized for Extended Mode, with more to come. From what I've seen of the developer documentation, it's actually fairly easy to optimize for the ZTE Axon M—though more on that in a future article.

In case you come across an app that the system tells you isn't optimized, there's a setting located under Display Settings which forces all apps to work in Extended Mode.

The one annoying aspect of Extended Mode is right in the middle around the hinge. If you're trying to select something near the middle, half of it might show up in one screen while the other half might show up on the other. For example, the cut/copy/paste context menu did this for me on a few occasions. All you would have to do to get around this is to just scroll a bit up or down, though, so it's not that big of a deal. It's still a limitation to be aware of, though.

Mirror Mode

By far the least useful of the different modes on the ZTE Axon M, Mirror Mode just shows the same thing on both displays. I honestly can't think of a really good reason why one would use this mode outside of a handful of games, so I think ZTE just added this mode in to cover all of their bases.

Mirror Mode

Dual Screen Settings

Switching between each of the different dual screen modes can be easily done through the special navigation bar key that is always present. The button's icon is simply an "M" that when tapped, shows 4 icons representing the 4 different dual screen modes.

There are also a few gestures to note. First, you can swipe left or right on the navigation bar to switch between screen modes. Next, there's a gesture where you swipe across screens with 3 fingers to move one app to the other screen in Dual Mode. Lastly, there's also a 3 finger screenshot gesture that isn't directly related to any the screen modes, but it certainly beats having to reach for the power button and volume down key on this phone!

Other Settings

The software skin on the ZTE Axon M is surprisingly light. I haven't really seen any features that I would say are unnecessary besides the preloaded AT&T applications (which we know how to get rid of without root).

To start off with, there are only 3 additional submenus added to the settings screen on top of the AOSP ones—TV Mode, Quick Launch button, and Gestures. The rest of the Axon M-specific options are tucked away in the settings area they make the most sense in.

"TV Mode" is basically just launching a specific video app such as DIRECTV NOW. I'm not even sure what's special about "TV Mode" as I haven't had time to really test it. Plus, ZTE hasn't advertised or talked about it at all so I'll have to wait until I get a review unit to see what the big deal is.

The Quick Launch button settings allow you to launch TV Mode or any other app of your choosing. That's pretty much it. I'm not sure if the Quick Launch button can be remapped to do anything else, but that's something that will need to be tested.

Night Light from the first generation Google Pixel is there, and it functions identically to it. There are also a few "themes" such as the stock theme, a sports theme, and a theme based on ZTE's older Mifavor skin. I wish there was more to pick from or even a theme store, but given ZTE's promise for a quick update to Android Oreo I would probably just hold out until Oreo arrives so you can take advantage of its native theme support.

Camera

I couldn't test the camera quality at the event, but I'm not the greatest photographer anyways so I wouldn't be the best to judge the Axon M on its picture-taking prowess. I did grab a bunch of screenshots of the camera app itself in case you are wondering what features it has.

The camera app has all of the features you would expect in a decent camera app such as manual mode with controls for shutter speed, ISO, exposure, white balance, and focus. There are the more gimmicky features such as filters and other effects, too. There's a "LIVE photo" option which presumably operates similarly to the Motion Photo feature in the Google Pixel 2. You can browse through the screenshots above to get a sense of what else is available.

Accessories

We were able to get a brief look at some of the accessories that ZTE will be offering when they release the Axon M. First, due to the unusual nature of this phone, you won't find traditional cases available for it. Instead, you'll need to use some kind of pouch case like the ones that ZTE will be offering.

These pouch cases grip the phone really well so it won't fall out, but also allow for easy access to the phone when you squeeze the sides to loosen up the top. Then, you just pull the phone out by gripping the phone at the cutout up top.

The more interesting accessory is the Axon M backpack made in collaboration with TYLT. The backpack comes with an additional zipper bag that contains a 20,100 mAh battery pack with a USB Type-A Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 output, a USB Type-C output with USB-PD, and another USB Type-A output for standard charging. The bag also contains the appropriate charging cables for use with each port. Charging the actual battery pack itself can be done with the Type-A or Type-C inputs.

We don't have any pricing or availability information on either the cases or the backpack yet, but we should hopefully learn more information soon.

Conclusion

Without testing the device's long-term performance or battery life, we can't say for sure if the device is worth buying. Furthermore, the phone's AT&T exclusivity in the U.S. and high price makes buying it a tough pill to swallow since you would be investing in a smartphone concept that has failed in the past. The phone will be sold in Japan, China, and Europe as well, though, so maybe this phone will take off in at least one market.

But without a doubt, ZTE is the first manufacturer to actually pull off the dual screen concept. The software just works and there are definitely legitimate use cases for the device's screen modes (some more than others). ZTE has proven that dual screens should be treated as more than just a gimmick, though whether or not we can consider the Axon M to be the flag-bearer of dual screen smartphones is still up in the air until we perform a full review.

Android is finally ready to support dual screens, but is the market ready for it? We'll find out when the smartphone actually launches.

Source: Hands-on with the ZTE Axon M – A Compelling Modern Dual Screen Smartphone