Technology Android
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Personally I like GSMArena the most. They test the phones well and are not biased by marketing tricks. They are very up to date too and test a broad range of devices, including underrated ones while giving them credit that they deserve, which is quite rare. The writers still give a feel that they're doing it out of passion for fair tech reviews and they are not afraid to make unpopular conclusions if they are true. They can say that a Xiaomi phone is a better buy than the Pixel, when it was true, or that a Sony phone has a better camera than the iPhone, and they're amongst the last ones to do so. Their audience is also not biased towards mainstream phones, but on pure value for money, and it's a more global audience, so if you see annoying comments at least they are of less ridiculous variety. Not that I recommend reading comments under phone reviews anywhere.
Anandtech is a shadow of what they used to be. They have 2 or 3 guys doing all the work there these days, super late on everything and just test a very limited choice of new products. They've been subtly sponsored by Intel and the owner works at Apple, which strongly affects their tone in reviews. They also skip a lot of news. Deep down inside the writers still have it in them and when they post an article sparked by curiosity about how well something works, they are second to none. Which is a shame to observe their downfall. The comments sections used to be great, now they are full of really smart people who are still sticking with the website but can't believe the conclusions that were made to otherwise very decent tests, which often ends up with editors admitting that they are wrong without reflecting it in the review. For instance, they were the only ones to recommend the new Intel high performance chips, almost ignoring Ryzen in their conclusion, outright recommending Intel, being corrected in the comments, admitting that people might be right, and not doing a thing about it because "they didn't get the new Ryzen chip for a review so they can't recommend it".
Anandtech is a shadow of what they used to be. They have 2 or 3 guys doing all the work there these days, super late on everything and just test a very limited choice of new products. They've been subtly sponsored by Intel and the owner works at Apple, which strongly affects their tone in reviews. They also skip a lot of news. Deep down inside the writers still have it in them and when they post an article sparked by curiosity about how well something works, they are second to none. Which is a shame to observe their downfall. The comments sections used to be great, now they are full of really smart people who are still sticking with the website but can't believe the conclusions that were made to otherwise very decent tests, which often ends up with editors admitting that they are wrong without reflecting it in the review. For instance, they were the only ones to recommend the new Intel high performance chips, almost ignoring Ryzen in their conclusion, outright recommending Intel, being corrected in the comments, admitting that people might be right, and not doing a thing about it because "they didn't get the new Ryzen chip for a review so they can't recommend it".
Yeah, the issue for me is more about the timeliness of their updates. I realize Anand himself went to Apple nearly 4 years ago. Many predicted that would be the end of the site as we knew it. I don't go for hardware news because I don't really pay attention to them anyway. The reviews on CPUs, GPUs, RAM, etc. Way out of my scope of interest. But I did go for the final product reviews, be it phones or laptops and they really have ignored those. I don't know what the last phone review they did was. I'm not even sure it was an iPhone or a Pixel, forget about any other flagship device from an OEM other than Apple or Google.
The only time I check the site is for the live update during keynotes from Apple or Google. Or Samsung, I think, like the unveiling of the S7 over a year ago. I find their live updates to be good and familiar, since I have been using them since 2010's WWDC. But outside of that, it's a real crap-shoot if they're going to do a detailed analysis of a new product or not. Like you said, when they decide to do one, they are very thorough and chalk-full of numbers and graphs. But when they decide to skip the latest MBP or iPhone or Android device, you find an alternative that may not be as good but is at least consistent in providing updates.
I do follow GSM Arena on Twitter. I guess I don't go to the actual site unless redirected from a Twitter post of theirs. It was actually you who recommended GSM Arena and PhoneArena back in the day. Like 2010/11 or so. So I've been following GSM since then. Phone Arena might have just gone and died out or something.
XDA seems to be embracing phone news more and more now. Which reminds me of this
https://www.xda-developers.com/oneplus-5-benchmark-cheating-reviews/
OnePlus criticism they had. r/Android seems to be real upset that OnePlus cheated their tests, and rightfully so. How has Oppo fallen so far when 2-3 years ago they were the Android community's darling company? Forget the cheating, the price has nearly doubled from the original OnePlus to the 5.
It's true, especially in tech, that if you live long enough, you become the villain. The real skill/talent is coming back from that and still staying relevant. Poor Moto/Lenovo. HTC and LG still can't pay people to buy their phones despite having some of the best designs. QC problems are a bitch.
https://www.xda-developers.com/report-lg-to-unveil-its-next-flagship-v30-at-ifa-2017/
The only time I check the site is for the live update during keynotes from Apple or Google. Or Samsung, I think, like the unveiling of the S7 over a year ago. I find their live updates to be good and familiar, since I have been using them since 2010's WWDC. But outside of that, it's a real crap-shoot if they're going to do a detailed analysis of a new product or not. Like you said, when they decide to do one, they are very thorough and chalk-full of numbers and graphs. But when they decide to skip the latest MBP or iPhone or Android device, you find an alternative that may not be as good but is at least consistent in providing updates.
I do follow GSM Arena on Twitter. I guess I don't go to the actual site unless redirected from a Twitter post of theirs. It was actually you who recommended GSM Arena and PhoneArena back in the day. Like 2010/11 or so. So I've been following GSM since then. Phone Arena might have just gone and died out or something.
XDA seems to be embracing phone news more and more now. Which reminds me of this
https://www.xda-developers.com/oneplus-5-benchmark-cheating-reviews/
OnePlus criticism they had. r/Android seems to be real upset that OnePlus cheated their tests, and rightfully so. How has Oppo fallen so far when 2-3 years ago they were the Android community's darling company? Forget the cheating, the price has nearly doubled from the original OnePlus to the 5.
It's true, especially in tech, that if you live long enough, you become the villain. The real skill/talent is coming back from that and still staying relevant. Poor Moto/Lenovo. HTC and LG still can't pay people to buy their phones despite having some of the best designs. QC problems are a bitch.
https://www.xda-developers.com/report-lg-to-unveil-its-next-flagship-v30-at-ifa-2017/
I agree with the OnePlus hate, and I don't think it's about being there long enough in their case.
First of all, I would be ashamed of using the OP5 because of how much it looks like an iPhone copycat. Then technically, the camera sensors are tiny, the screen and bezels are old school, yet they went crazy unjustified with the price. Then there's the issue of cheating (benchmarks, claiming you have a zoom 20mpx camera when in reality it's a tiny sensor with freaking digital zoom). It's the second OnePlus after the OnePlus 2 that I would not recommend to pretty much anyone, and this one is by far the worst value coming from OnePlus. It's like a generic Chinese phone with a huge price tag.
As far as the designs, I think LG has nice ones, but HTC has gotten really chinese generic too. Have you seen the HTC 11? It's their newest flagship. Personally I think it looks awfully cheap.
I think it looks nice. Maybe it's just the color; I like blue though I wouldn't own that shade of blue on a phone.
I mean OnePlus being touted as a "flagship killer" by themselves as well as the tech community. That label lasted so long that now people are expecting better tech for a lower price and that's not what happened this time around.
I mean OnePlus being touted as a "flagship killer" by themselves as well as the tech community. That label lasted so long that now people are expecting better tech for a lower price and that's not what happened this time around.
Masta, I need your help.
I'm somewhat seriously looking to upgrade my MBP to the Kaby Lake MBPs. I've been looking at benchmarks only to determine the value/price for CPUs and I guess the GPU too.
One thing that's confusing me is the i5/i7 of the 13" and the i7s of the 15"
All 13s are dual cores
All 15s are quad cores
Each has different clock speeds and the duals seem to be higher.
I'm positive you know all this but I just want to set the table for what I'm asking.
I dunno WTF is important when trying to gauge performance. I've read that single core performance is important for regular people and that multi core is more for "professionals" that work with photo and video editing. Or people that work in labs and just crunch numbers all day.
That's obviously not me. For me, it's a media device for stream HD video on YouTube, Netflix, HBO, etc. It sees use for Office to type up reports or create educational pamphlets. And it's for streaming music like Spotify via the app. And of course browsing the web and streaming sports in Firefox. Nothing intensive, definitely not a Pro by any means.
But the 15" has the better resolution screen. I got burned a few ways with my 2010 when purchasing it. The minor burn was the screen: the 15" back then was still not 1080p so my 1280x800 didn't pinch too much. But the CPU was a big burn as I got the entry level MBP and that stuck me with a Core 2 Duo vs the i5 or i7 of the 15".
This machine lasted me 7+ years and I'm hoping this one does at least 5, so future-proof is a big thing for me.
I aggregated the CPU stats here: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html
The top 3 are the 15" models, hence the 4 cores. I need help choosing between them and whether I should stick to the base model, 2.8 GHz or look further.
The rest are the 13" 75xx and 72xx are the Touch Bar versions and the others are non-Touch Bar.
I just need help figuring out which route to go. I do want the bigger screen and better res but I don't want to be foolish and stack the specs on a system that's never going to hit even 50% of it. The GPUs offered for the 15" are the Radeon Pro 555 and 560. It's $90 to bump from 555 to 560. I don't even know what the 13" are and how they rank.
Will the Average Joe benefit from multicore or should I go based on single core stats and comparing it with price? As it stands, the 7700HQ is fine for me with 16 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. That's the base model and I'm fine with it. But if there's a noticeable bump in performance to 2.9 (unlikely) or 3.1 (maybe), I'll spring for that. And if the quads of the 15" are still overkill and I would be OK with a 13", I'd reluctantly consider that too.
I'm somewhat seriously looking to upgrade my MBP to the Kaby Lake MBPs. I've been looking at benchmarks only to determine the value/price for CPUs and I guess the GPU too.
One thing that's confusing me is the i5/i7 of the 13" and the i7s of the 15"
All 13s are dual cores
All 15s are quad cores
Each has different clock speeds and the duals seem to be higher.
I'm positive you know all this but I just want to set the table for what I'm asking.
I dunno WTF is important when trying to gauge performance. I've read that single core performance is important for regular people and that multi core is more for "professionals" that work with photo and video editing. Or people that work in labs and just crunch numbers all day.
That's obviously not me. For me, it's a media device for stream HD video on YouTube, Netflix, HBO, etc. It sees use for Office to type up reports or create educational pamphlets. And it's for streaming music like Spotify via the app. And of course browsing the web and streaming sports in Firefox. Nothing intensive, definitely not a Pro by any means.
But the 15" has the better resolution screen. I got burned a few ways with my 2010 when purchasing it. The minor burn was the screen: the 15" back then was still not 1080p so my 1280x800 didn't pinch too much. But the CPU was a big burn as I got the entry level MBP and that stuck me with a Core 2 Duo vs the i5 or i7 of the 15".
This machine lasted me 7+ years and I'm hoping this one does at least 5, so future-proof is a big thing for me.
I aggregated the CPU stats here: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html
The top 3 are the 15" models, hence the 4 cores. I need help choosing between them and whether I should stick to the base model, 2.8 GHz or look further.
The rest are the 13" 75xx and 72xx are the Touch Bar versions and the others are non-Touch Bar.
I just need help figuring out which route to go. I do want the bigger screen and better res but I don't want to be foolish and stack the specs on a system that's never going to hit even 50% of it. The GPUs offered for the 15" are the Radeon Pro 555 and 560. It's $90 to bump from 555 to 560. I don't even know what the 13" are and how they rank.
Will the Average Joe benefit from multicore or should I go based on single core stats and comparing it with price? As it stands, the 7700HQ is fine for me with 16 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. That's the base model and I'm fine with it. But if there's a noticeable bump in performance to 2.9 (unlikely) or 3.1 (maybe), I'll spring for that. And if the quads of the 15" are still overkill and I would be OK with a 13", I'd reluctantly consider that too.
The fact that LG are making it makes it more attractive to me. The dilemma I now have is whether to go for this or the Pixel 3. But I don't want the Pixel 3 to be what the Samsung Galaxy S5 was to the Galaxy S4 (i.e. not much of an upgrade and feeling like a waste of time in waiting). I may go for the Pixel 2 maybe in January to see if there is an offer for it post-Christmas.
I'd like to see a new budget tablet as well.
I'd like to see a new budget tablet as well.
Hey, sorry I am late, I didn't check Streethop in a while as I'm visiting home and I've been crazy busy
I see you made a choice you are happy with and I think it was the right one for you. The faster processors are not perceivably faster even.
And there it is. Aw yeah. Definitely getting this.
I also really, really like that there are no dual cameras. There's a chance that the sensor will be actually large and good like on the original Pixel.
It's also the first Pixel phone I am looking forward to now. Now that the bezels went from outrageous to really neat, the cam looks promising, software probably will be more refined for the second gen and with a chance that it will be cheaper, I hope it will actually be much better value and thus seriously worth considering. Especially with the Galaxy S series getting behind the curve for the first time and rumors of Samsung also going dual cam instead of moving forward with camera quality, I am curious to see what LG and Google will have to offer with their Pixel.
Hey, sorry I am late, I didn't check Streethop in a while as I'm visiting home and I've been crazy busy I see you made a choice you are happy with and I think it was the right one for you. The faster processors are not perceivably faster even.
I like that LG is making it as historically they made some of the best and definitely best value Nexus devices. I am a huge fan of how the front looks, but wish they changed up the rear - I really thought it was ugly on the first Pixel, and they kept it despite turning the thing around into something otherwise nice.
I also really, really like that there are no dual cameras. There's a chance that the sensor will be actually large and good like on the original Pixel.
It's also the first Pixel phone I am looking forward to now. Now that the bezels went from outrageous to really neat, the cam looks promising, software probably will be more refined for the second gen and with a chance that it will be cheaper, I hope it will actually be much better value and thus seriously worth considering. Especially with the Galaxy S series getting behind the curve for the first time and rumors of Samsung also going dual cam instead of moving forward with camera quality, I am curious to see what LG and Google will have to offer with their Pixel.
I see you made a choice you are happy with and I think it was the right one for you. The faster processors are not perceivably faster even.I like that LG is making it as historically they made some of the best and definitely best value Nexus devices. I am a huge fan of how the front looks, but wish they changed up the rear - I really thought it was ugly on the first Pixel, and they kept it despite turning the thing around into something otherwise nice.
I also really, really like that there are no dual cameras. There's a chance that the sensor will be actually large and good like on the original Pixel.
It's also the first Pixel phone I am looking forward to now. Now that the bezels went from outrageous to really neat, the cam looks promising, software probably will be more refined for the second gen and with a chance that it will be cheaper, I hope it will actually be much better value and thus seriously worth considering. Especially with the Galaxy S series getting behind the curve for the first time and rumors of Samsung also going dual cam instead of moving forward with camera quality, I am curious to see what LG and Google will have to offer with their Pixel.
Can you explain why dual cameras are not as good as singular?
Also, someone once made a point that the original Pixel should have been more expensive than the iPhone 7 as most people believe that if it we're priced most expensive (not matched in price) then people would believe it to be more premium and therefore a better choice and that would help with sales. It's like Android has a bad reputation and a higher price tag would scream "PREMIUM" towards iPhone loyalists. But while I understand that, I think it's stupid that people think this way and that's why they fall into the 95% of people who haven't a clue! I'm looking for good value, improvements on the original and a well polished experience and I would probably buy it instead of keeping the LG G4 past three years and possibly into a fourth year.
Hey, sorry I am late, I didn't check Streethop in a while as I'm visiting home and I've been crazy busy I see you made a choice you are happy with and I think it was the right one for you. The faster processors are not perceivably faster even.
I like that LG is making it as historically they made some of the best and definitely best value Nexus devices. I am a huge fan of how the front looks, but wish they changed up the rear - I really thought it was ugly on the first Pixel, and they kept it despite turning the thing around into something otherwise nice.
I also really, really like that there are no dual cameras. There's a chance that the sensor will be actually large and good like on the original Pixel.
It's also the first Pixel phone I am looking forward to now. Now that the bezels went from outrageous to really neat, the cam looks promising, software probably will be more refined for the second gen and with a chance that it will be cheaper, I hope it will actually be much better value and thus seriously worth considering. Especially with the Galaxy S series getting behind the curve for the first time and rumors of Samsung also going dual cam instead of moving forward with camera quality, I am curious to see what LG and Google will have to offer with their Pixel.
I see you made a choice you are happy with and I think it was the right one for you. The faster processors are not perceivably faster even.I like that LG is making it as historically they made some of the best and definitely best value Nexus devices. I am a huge fan of how the front looks, but wish they changed up the rear - I really thought it was ugly on the first Pixel, and they kept it despite turning the thing around into something otherwise nice.
I also really, really like that there are no dual cameras. There's a chance that the sensor will be actually large and good like on the original Pixel.
It's also the first Pixel phone I am looking forward to now. Now that the bezels went from outrageous to really neat, the cam looks promising, software probably will be more refined for the second gen and with a chance that it will be cheaper, I hope it will actually be much better value and thus seriously worth considering. Especially with the Galaxy S series getting behind the curve for the first time and rumors of Samsung also going dual cam instead of moving forward with camera quality, I am curious to see what LG and Google will have to offer with their Pixel.
Yeah, I ended up keeping the rest of my thoughts on the MBP in the Apple Thread we have.
Notebookcheck helped a ton and you recommended that site months ago for other stuff.
Also, the Pixel 2 leaked, supposedly https://twitter.com/OnLeaks/status/890157163347406848
When was the last widely-appreciated Google Phone released? I can't remember the last time people weren't so polarized on a phone by Google. Nexus One, maybe? Every time a new one is announced, people look at the stats and nit pick it; most recently the price hikes since the 6P. Maybe having more choices now vs January 2010 has people being more critical.
But I feel like the Nexus S might have been OK but then the N4 had the camera qualms, the N5 had screen or battery issues. The 6P might have been safe too, though people had those bootloop issues, along with the 5X. I know people always complain but if it's coming straight from Google and they're still not happy, maybe they should start using their phone less and not expect so much from them.
Samsung might have an S8 "Emperor" edition with 256GB of storage. Why? How? What's wrong with Spotify or Google Music? If your most listened to music can't overlap with a few GB from your library and Spotify, you might need to lay off the music, too. I can imagine a few special cases where someone would need a ridiculous feature like a computer's worth of storage but for any OEM to exceed 64 GB of internal storage is just lunacy.
Sure, because of physics and limited space inside of the device. Fitting two small camera sensors takes more space than a single larger sensor. In turn, camera quality on phones used to improve year by year mostly because (~70%, others being brighter optics and software processing) each year each big manufacturer would actually fit a slightly larger sensor than the previous year.
With dual cam, pretty much all dual camera phones have tiny, garbage sensors, except the iPhone Plus devices that had free space in the large bezel to house a regular size sensor next to the secondary one. The LG G5, which did not have such "luxury" for instance, was the biggest regression in terms of camera quality, with the G4 having a far superior sensor, and the G5 using two sensors of Samsung Galaxy S4 era. That is true about all dual cam setups other than the iPhone's, which will be difficult to replicate in the new iPhone if it gets rid of the gigantic bezels.
Essentially dual cam stops the camera quality race, even regressing on the progress that we have been benefitting from over the years. It's an easy way out for the manufacturers, as it takes more engineering effort to fit an even larger sensor into the same case size. Giving people tiny sensors, but two instead is easy. It takes space but no need to think about how to make a large sensor thinner, and manufacturers are surely happy that through a little marketing they can pull it off without an outrage.
The Pixel came the closest in terms of camera sensor size, with the S7/S8 right behind, but those sensors were still merely half the size of what Nokia did with their 808 and 1020 Pureview masterpieces years ago.
Glad I could help indirectly!
While I don't understand the need to have 256GB of storage in a device that can easily fit a 256gb SD card, maybe it will have its enterprise uses, I guess. It's clearly not a mainstream edition, nothing to justify spending money on in a personal use device.
With dual cam, pretty much all dual camera phones have tiny, garbage sensors, except the iPhone Plus devices that had free space in the large bezel to house a regular size sensor next to the secondary one. The LG G5, which did not have such "luxury" for instance, was the biggest regression in terms of camera quality, with the G4 having a far superior sensor, and the G5 using two sensors of Samsung Galaxy S4 era. That is true about all dual cam setups other than the iPhone's, which will be difficult to replicate in the new iPhone if it gets rid of the gigantic bezels.
Essentially dual cam stops the camera quality race, even regressing on the progress that we have been benefitting from over the years. It's an easy way out for the manufacturers, as it takes more engineering effort to fit an even larger sensor into the same case size. Giving people tiny sensors, but two instead is easy. It takes space but no need to think about how to make a large sensor thinner, and manufacturers are surely happy that through a little marketing they can pull it off without an outrage.
The Pixel came the closest in terms of camera sensor size, with the S7/S8 right behind, but those sensors were still merely half the size of what Nokia did with their 808 and 1020 Pureview masterpieces years ago.
Glad I could help indirectly!
While I don't understand the need to have 256GB of storage in a device that can easily fit a 256gb SD card, maybe it will have its enterprise uses, I guess. It's clearly not a mainstream edition, nothing to justify spending money on in a personal use device.
Couple of shockers here.
First off, Anandtech seemed to do a comparison for mobile devices for the first time in a long time.
It was the US vs International versions of the S8. http://www.anandtech.com/show/11540/samsung-galaxy-s8-exynos-versus-snapdragon
And the SD beat the Exynos in a lot of things and was the recommended version to get. Real different story with the S7.
Also, the Pixel 2 is rumored to be losing the headphone jack? Yet another OEM possibly following in Apple's footsteps? I thought people thought it was a poor decision on Apple's part to do this but now Google themselves are following suit. Interesting. I do enjoy the wireless Beats Solo3 I got with my MBP and it helped get me on board with the whole bluetooth audio thing because good BT headphones are pretty expensive, like the Jaybirds and such.
I will miss not being able to use the AUX cord in my car since my car has BT but not the ability to transmit music through it. It does phone calls, not music or other apps' sound. Which is odd....
First off, Anandtech seemed to do a comparison for mobile devices for the first time in a long time.
It was the US vs International versions of the S8. http://www.anandtech.com/show/11540/samsung-galaxy-s8-exynos-versus-snapdragon
And the SD beat the Exynos in a lot of things and was the recommended version to get. Real different story with the S7.
Also, the Pixel 2 is rumored to be losing the headphone jack? Yet another OEM possibly following in Apple's footsteps? I thought people thought it was a poor decision on Apple's part to do this but now Google themselves are following suit. Interesting. I do enjoy the wireless Beats Solo3 I got with my MBP and it helped get me on board with the whole bluetooth audio thing because good BT headphones are pretty expensive, like the Jaybirds and such.
I will miss not being able to use the AUX cord in my car since my car has BT but not the ability to transmit music through it. It does phone calls, not music or other apps' sound. Which is odd....
Personally I would not get a phone without a headphone jack as long as there's a single company making them. To me that's like a smartphone coming without a camera.
I have great headphones that I don't plan on replacing for years to come, and that's how I primarily listen to the music, especially since sound on most flagship phones is quite great even by audiophile standards. There are no Bluetooth headphones that are as good, and I can't imagine having another device to charge. I hope for Google's sake that it does come with a headphone jack. I thought everyone learned from Apple's mistake and that's one thing nobody would copy.
And about the S8 chipsets, I was also surprised. It seems like deep down inside the Exynos didn't change since the S7 apart from process, and got an overpowered GPU (for a smartphone). I largely blame reviewers who benchmark smartphones on raw unsustained performance, which is stupid, but manufacturers have to cater to that. The 835 seems more sane, and balanced, but most reviews show that the Exynos is better because it's graphics run most benchmarks better, without regards to throttling or battery life. I'm glad Anandtech did that analysis.
According to GSMArena though, the Exynos variant has better stand by endurance which makes it last longer under mixed workloads. It would be great if the next Exynos could be more balanced under heavy load, but I'm worried it won't happen as then it will lose in benchmarks and people will say it's crap :| But there's a reason we don't get core i7s and whatnots in smartphones.
I have great headphones that I don't plan on replacing for years to come, and that's how I primarily listen to the music, especially since sound on most flagship phones is quite great even by audiophile standards. There are no Bluetooth headphones that are as good, and I can't imagine having another device to charge. I hope for Google's sake that it does come with a headphone jack. I thought everyone learned from Apple's mistake and that's one thing nobody would copy.
And about the S8 chipsets, I was also surprised. It seems like deep down inside the Exynos didn't change since the S7 apart from process, and got an overpowered GPU (for a smartphone). I largely blame reviewers who benchmark smartphones on raw unsustained performance, which is stupid, but manufacturers have to cater to that. The 835 seems more sane, and balanced, but most reviews show that the Exynos is better because it's graphics run most benchmarks better, without regards to throttling or battery life. I'm glad Anandtech did that analysis.
According to GSMArena though, the Exynos variant has better stand by endurance which makes it last longer under mixed workloads. It would be great if the next Exynos could be more balanced under heavy load, but I'm worried it won't happen as then it will lose in benchmarks and people will say it's crap :| But there's a reason we don't get core i7s and whatnots in smartphones.
Haven't more OEMs followed Apple's lead of removing the headphone jack? I can't remember who but was it HTC or Moto that released a phone without one?
I do know people are lauding LG for saying they'll be keeping it on their phones but LG is circling the drain, from what I understand, at least in the mobile division.
I do love LG's 5K screens, though. I just wish it wasn't $1000+ for one. The new MBPs look/work amazing on it.
I do know people are lauding LG for saying they'll be keeping it on their phones but LG is circling the drain, from what I understand, at least in the mobile division.
I do love LG's 5K screens, though. I just wish it wasn't $1000+ for one. The new MBPs look/work amazing on it.
I think pretty much any Android phone that got rid of headphone jack is not too popular. I believe it was HTC that dropped it. For iPhones, most people still buy them despite the lack of a headphone jack but I'm sure even on camp iOS it cost them some unhappy users who stayed with their current iPhones because of this or even switched to Android in some cases. On Android, flagships are too alike to most users and lack of a headphone jack is a big enough negative differentiator to simply look elsewhere, as there are similar phones that have one.
LG makes the best LCD IPS panels. They are slowly switching production to OLEDs, but it will be a couple years until they get enough yields to offer them in mainstream. I am happy where they're going with their display division. They already make better flagship TVs than Samsung, thanks to what they can get out of their OLED plants already.
If you're considering getting a display, there's a great one to get at the moment. I got one myself.
It's a 27 inch 4K IPS display based on LG's best 4K IPS panel.. that I got for 399$ (in form of an earlier model that had a non-adjustable stand). It's nicely designed at that too. Here's the link for the US, currently for 429$ on sale for the newer model with better stand:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-27ud...c-monitor-black-white/5770300.p?skuId=5770300
The interesting part is that despite the price, it's literally one of the best displays on the market. It's a rare case of insane value for money. Very highly recommended.
5K displays are simply less practical due to 4K being standard for next gen content that is cropping out now, and 4K content looking much better on 4K displays due to pixel mapping. After that it will likely be 8K, still many years from now to be standardised and impractical outside of really huge screens (40+ inch) right in front of your face. 4K is already four times as pixel dense as 1080p, and about three times as dense as 2K (which is a misleading name):
4K YouTube also requires >50mbit/s internet connection just for the compressed video to stream in real time, ~200GB of data per movie at mainstream compression levels. A no-no in Canada where there are still data caps, and hilariously tiny ones at that.
As far as phones go, I am happy more and more manufacturers are using OLED. Samsung and LG are at it, with Samsung dominating global production (and quality). I hope LG will follow suit and switch to their own OLEDs in the G series phones soon. Apple is pumping money in their OLED production now, as Samsung is reserving their newest generation Super AMOLEDs to their own mobile division, selling only previous gen to others as a rule.
http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_to_pu...oled_panels_for_future_iphones-news-26462.php
I think pretty much any Android phone that got rid of headphone jack is not too popular. I believe it was HTC that dropped it. For iPhones, most people still buy them despite the lack of a headphone jack but I'm sure even on camp iOS it cost them some unhappy users who stayed with their current iPhones because of this or even switched to Android in some cases. On Android, flagships are too alike to most users and lack of a headphone jack is a big enough negative differentiator to simply look elsewhere, as there are similar phones that have one.
LG makes the best LCD IPS panels. They are slowly switching production to OLEDs, but it will be a couple years until they get enough yields to offer them in mainstream. I am happy where they're going with their display division. They already make better flagship TVs than Samsung, thanks to what they can get out of their OLED plants already.
If you're considering getting a display, there's a great one to get at the moment. I got one myself.
It's a 27 inch 4K IPS display based on LG's best 4K IPS panel.. that I got for 399$ (in form of an earlier model that had a non-adjustable stand). It's nicely designed at that too. Here's the link for the US, currently for 429$ on sale for the newer model with better stand:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-27ud...c-monitor-black-white/5770300.p?skuId=5770300
The interesting part is that despite the price, it's literally one of the best displays on the market. It's a rare case of insane value for money. Very highly recommended.
5K displays are simply less practical due to 4K being standard for next gen content that is cropping out now, and 4K content looking much better on 4K displays due to pixel mapping. After that it will likely be 8K, still many years from now to be standardised and impractical outside of really huge screens (40+ inch) right in front of your face. 4K is already four times as pixel dense as 1080p, and about three times as dense as 2K (which is a misleading name):
4K YouTube also requires >50mbit/s internet connection just for the compressed video to stream in real time, ~200GB of data per movie at mainstream compression levels. A no-no in Canada where there are still data caps, and hilariously tiny ones at that.
As far as phones go, I am happy more and more manufacturers are using OLED. Samsung and LG are at it, with Samsung dominating global production (and quality). I hope LG will follow suit and switch to their own OLEDs in the G series phones soon. Apple is pumping money in their OLED production now, as Samsung is reserving their newest generation Super AMOLEDs to their own mobile division, selling only previous gen to others as a rule.
http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_to_pu...oled_panels_for_future_iphones-news-26462.php
LG makes the best LCD IPS panels. They are slowly switching production to OLEDs, but it will be a couple years until they get enough yields to offer them in mainstream. I am happy where they're going with their display division. They already make better flagship TVs than Samsung, thanks to what they can get out of their OLED plants already.
If you're considering getting a display, there's a great one to get at the moment. I got one myself.
It's a 27 inch 4K IPS display based on LG's best 4K IPS panel.. that I got for 399$ (in form of an earlier model that had a non-adjustable stand). It's nicely designed at that too. Here's the link for the US, currently for 429$ on sale for the newer model with better stand:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-27ud...c-monitor-black-white/5770300.p?skuId=5770300
The interesting part is that despite the price, it's literally one of the best displays on the market. It's a rare case of insane value for money. Very highly recommended.
5K displays are simply less practical due to 4K being standard for next gen content that is cropping out now, and 4K content looking much better on 4K displays due to pixel mapping. After that it will likely be 8K, still many years from now to be standardised and impractical outside of really huge screens (40+ inch) right in front of your face. 4K is already four times as pixel dense as 1080p, and about three times as dense as 2K (which is a misleading name):
4K YouTube also requires >50mbit/s internet connection just for the compressed video to stream in real time, ~200GB of data per movie at mainstream compression levels. A no-no in Canada where there are still data caps, and hilariously tiny ones at that.
As far as phones go, I am happy more and more manufacturers are using OLED. Samsung and LG are at it, with Samsung dominating global production (and quality). I hope LG will follow suit and switch to their own OLEDs in the G series phones soon. Apple is pumping money in their OLED production now, as Samsung is reserving their newest generation Super AMOLEDs to their own mobile division, selling only previous gen to others as a rule.
http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_to_pu...oled_panels_for_future_iphones-news-26462.php
It makes sense what you said about Android choices for consumers in relation to removal of features like the headphone jack. In the US, I feel, people are still tied to the brand, being Apple and the iPhone or Android and its many OEMs. It's still perceived that Samsung is Android's answer to Apple's iPhone, in that both are flagship devices and the rest are inferior. I think the numbers show that and the marketing campaign between the two probably dwarves everyone else combined. And those ads are largely the reason why each took off as well as they did.
So I get the impression from listening to people talk about their phones that as long as they don't have a bad experience with their phones, they will stick to that brand again. If someone's S3 or S4 lasted them 4 years with minimal problems, they'll be in line to get the S7 or S8 the next time around. Most people. Of course we read people online actively comparing phones within and beyond their OSs, but that's still a minority. The iPhone still sold very well despite the removal of the headphone jack and I'm sure tech-savvy and casual users alike made the switch.
Apple kind of double dipped or even triple dipped with their back to school promotion of getting wireless Beats for free with the purchase of a Mac. I bet plenty of people with iPhone 7s also bought a Mac or plan to do so and it finally gives them a decent pair of bluetooth headphones. Apple used their own company Beats to sell Macs and close the gap, even slightly, between bluetooth headphone adoption. It should make a lot of people with 7s embrace or forget the removal of the jack and for people planning on the 7s or 8 not worry too much about what headphones they'll need to get to listen to music.
Of course Apple provides a Lightning adapter to plug in regular headphones in but they're making it a bit easier to move away from that.
I read about Apple's shift from Samsung as a screen supplier due to shortages/reservations. Is Apple making their own or are they sourcing from LG? And between OLED and AMOLED, they're both current tech but still nothing "new" and revolutionary at this point. Are we going to see stark differences between the two types of tech and the OEMs they're put in?
The 5K display from LG is really ridiculous to me. Looks nice but it would be such overkill for my uses that I might as well literally burn $1K. I don't think there are many 2K displays either; a lot of the sales I see for monitors are 4K and the 1080p models. If I needed one, I'd probably look below the $200 mark which will net me a very average one, possibly an above average one if it' on sale. Most seem to climb north of $349 USD and it would only be a want and not a need for me. I'm still cherishing the Retina display on my 15" over the 13" I had before. Not many content providers seem to even be streaming at 1080p; the only ones I have seen are Netflix and maybe Hulu. HBO Now and other network sites like AMC and FX seem to be doing 720p. It could be bandwidth issue on our home network as we have 25 Mbps downstream but it's plenty fast as it is and if it's good enough to seemingly get Netflix at 1080p, possibly higher (I don't know how to measure and Netflix only says 'HD' or not) then I don't see why HBO wouldn't push it at 1080p if it was offering it.
As silly as the USB-C hub/dongle need is, I found two nice ones that I'm trying out to see which one I like better. The HooToo dongle and the Satechi one. The former simply lacking a microSD slot over the latter, yet being $60 vs $100. The Satechi does look much better, though. But this decision should be last growing pain of switching to a new machine for now. Next thing will be an external SSD and I think Samsung's 256GB for $100 is fine but I'll wait another year and see if it goes down a bit more and what $100 buys me then.
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