Technology Android

[dilla]

Crazy we'er already due for a Note 8 release/announcement this month.

https://venturebeat.com/2017/08/02/samsung-galaxy-note8-final-specs/

Felt like only yesterday when we saw the no fly list for Note 7 owners and predictions of Samsung's demise.

 

[dilla]

Another rumor on the Pixel 2's no-headphone jack

https://twitter.com/hallstephenj/status/893093302635036673

 

[masta247]

Felt like only yesterday when we saw the no fly list for Note 7 owners and predictions of Samsung's demise.

I haven't heard those in my areas of the internet, but they would be funny. The Note 7 did cost them what most people would call a lot of money but it's a rounding error in their cash flow. I don't think people fully realize how huge Samsung is. Before the Note 7 was reused and parts recycled, the losses were calculated at $5.3 billion for the whole project. That's pretty much about what they make in pure profit in two months in their chip business alone:

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_is_the_biggest_chip_maker_in_q2_of_2017-news-26453.php

They overtook Intel by netting a small country's GDP in PROFIT just from their chips alone, which nobody really gives them much credit for compared to their "bigger" divisions.
And did you know they make nuclear submarines for the Korean military as a hobby?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Heavy_Industries

Plus, if it mattered much, despite the Note 7, they just posted their highest ever profits in their smartphone division, earning exactly twice as much as Apple did on iPhones in Q2:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_q2_financial_guidance_points_to_highest_ever_profits-news-26061.php

Even if it wasn't the case and the Notes and Galaxies never existed, there is nothing in the smartphone area that could hurt Samsung much, they are too spread out and wildly financially successful in too many fields. The Note 6 didn't even come out in freaking Europe, as Samsung decided it's not worth it to them. The third most popular smartphone brand around, lol! They pulled out of the laptop market in Europe too, deeming it not profitable enough to carry operations for computers in that region. They ditched cameras, despite being the third biggest company making them, globally, and being profitable, just not profitable enough in their books, deciding it's better to just make sensors and sell them to other companies for more money instead.
You can see they are very trigger happy with pulling out of retail markets as they see them as less profitable, and they don't hurt them a bit.
And that part just describes Samsung Electronics, a single branch of a gigantic conglomerate.

I think people are not giving Samsung enough credit for still sticking to "we're making stuff for the people" thing, selling coolest tech at low profit margins compared to literally any huge company, making the bulk of their money out of other businesses instead. I understand that people like to hate on the giants, but wishing them bad is really shooting oneself in the foot, as throughout the years they were a very fair company, keeping more tech markets in check than literally anyone else, and providing healthier competition than anyone else, and by far. I could not count the amount of times they shook markets with "more advanced products and for less" in the tech space alone, and not only for popular products. People like to go for the underdog, but there is no underdog around that would be a better company for a regular consumer than Samsung. Even OnePlus was loved with their "phones for the people", but showed they're a yet another shitty company playing dirty as soon as they made some money.


And about the Note 8, it seems to be a S8+ with a stylus and dual cam - while I don't approve of it, their implementation seems to be by far the best, with two mid-sized sensors, both optically stabilized and with the secondary cam having a reasonable optical zoom lens. Also, I prefer its less rounded design.
That said, historically the S series were getting Note cameras more often than not, so I suspect the S9 will have a very similar dual cam setup, instead of a larger sensor. While it's a good setup for a dual cam, I would have much preferred if it had a single better camera instead and Samsung didn't follow the trend started by a "different" company that just failed to deliver a better sensor.

 

[dilla]

Mobile industry flip flopping so much. I thought custom UIs were all the rage for OEMs?

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/lenovo-k8-note-vibe-pure-ui-stock-android-1733110

I wonder if we see the return of removable batteries again. Or physical home buttons. microSD slots.

 

[dilla]

I haven't heard those in my areas of the internet, but they would be funny. The Note 7 did cost them what most people would call a lot of money but it's a rounding error in their cash flow. I don't think people fully realize how huge Samsung is. Before the Note 7 was reused and parts recycled, the losses were calculated at $5.3 billion for the whole project. That's pretty much about what they make in pure profit in two months in their chip business alone:

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_is_the_biggest_chip_maker_in_q2_of_2017-news-26453.php

They overtook Intel by netting a small country's GDP in PROFIT just from their chips alone, which nobody really gives them much credit for compared to their "bigger" divisions.
And did you know they make nuclear submarines for the Korean military as a hobby?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Heavy_Industries

Plus, if it mattered much, despite the Note 7, they just posted their highest ever profits in their smartphone division, earning exactly twice as much as Apple did on iPhones in Q2:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_q2_financial_guidance_points_to_highest_ever_profits-news-26061.php

Even if it wasn't the case and the Notes and Galaxies never existed, there is nothing in the smartphone area that could hurt Samsung much, they are too spread out and wildly financially successful in too many fields. The Note 6 didn't even come out in freaking Europe, as Samsung decided it's not worth it to them. The third most popular smartphone brand around, lol! They pulled out of the laptop market in Europe too, deeming it not profitable enough to carry operations for computers in that region. They ditched cameras, despite being the third biggest company making them, globally, and being profitable, just not profitable enough in their books, deciding it's better to just make sensors and sell them to other companies for more money instead.
You can see they are very trigger happy with pulling out of retail markets as they see them as less profitable, and they don't hurt them a bit.
And that part just describes Samsung Electronics, a single branch of a gigantic conglomerate.

I think people are not giving Samsung enough credit for still sticking to "we're making stuff for the people" thing, selling coolest tech at low profit margins compared to literally any huge company, making the bulk of their money out of other businesses instead. I understand that people like to hate on the giants, but wishing them bad is really shooting oneself in the foot, as throughout the years they were a very fair company, keeping more tech markets in check than literally anyone else, and providing healthier competition than anyone else, and by far. I could not count the amount of times they shook markets with "more advanced products and for less" in the tech space alone, and not only for popular products. People like to go for the underdog, but there is no underdog around that would be a better company for a regular consumer than Samsung. Even OnePlus was loved with their "phones for the people", but showed they're a yet another shitty company playing dirty as soon as they made some money.


And about the Note 8, it seems to be a S8+ with a stylus and dual cam - while I don't approve of it, their implementation seems to be by far the best, with two mid-sized sensors, both optically stabilized and with the secondary cam having a reasonable optical zoom lens. Also, I prefer its less rounded design.
That said, historically the S series were getting Note cameras more often than not, so I suspect the S9 will have a very similar dual cam setup, instead of a larger sensor. While it's a good setup for a dual cam, I would have much preferred if it had a single better camera instead and Samsung didn't follow the trend started by a "different" company that just failed to deliver a better sensor.

I think those predictions of Samsung's losses were a bit exaggerated but the Note 7 fiasco came around the time their washing machines were exploding, or something, and their TVs were found to be recording audio or something. It was three scandals at once, one more damning than the next one. I guess they got through it, though. Samsung certainly is huge and most of us don't even know most of the products they make either.

About the Note 8, isn't that what the Note 7 was? Stretched screen and a stylus?

I'm keeping close tabs on when the S9 news starts to roll out. I imagine we see leaks around the time the next iPhone comes out, which should be by Q4. I'm debating what my next upgrade would be when February rolls around and I'm not really sure what I want when it comes to Android OEMs. Which is also why I'm considering the iPhone as well. It's now less about the hardware and more about the experience for me. iOS still needs some work but I'm no longer stressed about phone benchmarks and performance. Getting a flagship device is still enough to get me to kind of care about it, but after that it's about that battery life. Forget the camera and screen since so many phones now offer a near similar experience in that regard.

 

[masta247]

I think those predictions of Samsung's losses were a bit exaggerated but the Note 7 fiasco came around the time their washing machines were exploding, or something, and their TVs were found to be recording audio or something. It was three scandals at once, one more damning than the next one. I guess they got through it, though. Samsung certainly is huge and most of us don't even know most of the products they make either.



About the Note 8, isn't that what the Note 7 was? Stretched screen and a stylus?



I'm keeping close tabs on when the S9 news starts to roll out. I imagine we see leaks around the time the next iPhone comes out, which should be by Q4. I'm debating what my next upgrade would be when February rolls around and I'm not really sure what I want when it comes to Android OEMs. Which is also why I'm considering the iPhone as well. It's now less about the hardware and more about the experience for me. iOS still needs some work but I'm no longer stressed about phone benchmarks and performance. Getting a flagship device is still enough to get me to kind of care about it, but after that it's about that battery life. Forget the camera and screen since so many phones now offer a near similar experience in that regard.

Yeah the Note is always that, this time apparently with dual cam though.

I am very curious about the rumored iPhone 8, if it indeed offers an OLED display with tiny bezels, wireless and quick charging and VR, it will solve the main antiquities of the current iPhones. If they manage to also include the fingerprint scanner in the screen they might even trade blows with the Galaxy S series, that doesn't have it but still has the headphone jack, usb-c and the sd card storage expansion. If priced around the same though, it could be interesting as that would be the first iPhone that caught up to Android's best and could actually be an interesting consideration, if rumors turn out to be true. iOS is not far off after the latest updates and Android's slowdown too. They're even moving in the direction of being able to actually work on files on the phone, so there's hope for it. Regardless, iOS and Android have never been as alike as they're now, and consistently getting even more similar.

As far as I'm concerned, the S9 hopefully integrates the fingerprint scanner in the screen too and comes with the headphone jack, SD and usb-c, and considering it would come just a few months later and with a more mature ecosystem (like Gear VR with both Oculus and Daydream support) it'd be worth the wait for me. Personally I have both QI and PMA wireless chargers around the house (and most public places are also divided between those techs) so the fact Samsung supports both is also a big factor for me.
I just really hope Samsung releases a model with a flat screen too, as I prefer those over curved ones. Still, if iPhone 8 is what rumors make it out to be, it could be the first competitive iPhone since the 6.

 

[dilla]

Google: lol Apple. Our phones have headphone jacks

Also Google: Mind if we copy the idea too?

https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/893502380783923203

Isn't the fingerprint scanner in the screen some ways away? It was supposed to be in the next iPhone but I heard they hadn't gotten the tech to work properly and it had to be pushed back. At least I read that about a month ago and it may have just been a rumor. But it's so complicated, I wouldn't expect it.

I remember when people ragged on Apple introducing TouchID on the 5? 5S? I can't remember. Now it's such a big part of mobile devices and we're at a point where the button for it is now incorporated into the screen. Did an OEM turn the camera on the back in to a reader, too? LG maybe? Or was it just the placement of the sensor on the back of the phone? I know that exists for sure. S8 has it I think.

I wonder what the next new, big hardware breakthrough will be. I still feel we'll come back full circle to removable batteries since the focus will be on battery life and not so much on screens and camera and chipsets. I guess they'll try and optimize those too along the way, but someone needs to figure out a way to change the layout of batteries like Apple did with the MacBooks and Pros where there are several batteries placed around and in layers that maximize space. Only the most stingiest of users consistently gets over a a day or two of battery life from their phones. It'd be nice to get to the level of the flip phones of 2007 where they could go several days or even a week.

 

[masta247]

Google: lol Apple. Our phones have headphone jacks



Also Google: Mind if we copy the idea too?



https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/893502380783923203



Isn't the fingerprint scanner in the screen some ways away? It was supposed to be in the next iPhone but I heard they hadn't gotten the tech to work properly and it had to be pushed back. At least I read that about a month ago and it may have just been a rumor. But it's so complicated, I wouldn't expect it.



I remember when people ragged on Apple introducing TouchID on the 5? 5S? I can't remember. Now it's such a big part of mobile devices and we're at a point where the button for it is now incorporated into the screen. Did an OEM turn the camera on the back in to a reader, too? LG maybe? Or was it just the placement of the sensor on the back of the phone? I know that exists for sure. S8 has it I think.



I wonder what the next new, big hardware breakthrough will be. I still feel we'll come back full circle to removable batteries since the focus will be on battery life and not so much on screens and camera and chipsets. I guess they'll try and optimize those too along the way, but someone needs to figure out a way to change the layout of batteries like Apple did with the MacBooks and Pros where there are several batteries placed around and in layers that maximize space. Only the most stingiest of users consistently gets over a a day or two of battery life from their phones. It'd be nice to get to the level of the flip phones of 2007 where they could go several days or even a week.

"Touch ID" was nothing new. The fingerprint scanner was years before on some Android devices, yet I think Apple contributed to its popularity in flagship models.

Microsoft popularized the face detection and Samsung did the Iris recognition. Samsung, traditionally, features all, lol, so you have like 6 ways of unlocking your phone on the S8.

Fingerprint scanners are on the back in most phones these days that have fairly small bezels (although the Pixel has the hugest ones imaginable and still a fingerprint scanner on the back).

As far as battery life goes, sadly, the customers are shooting themselves in the foot, by seemingly wanting longer battery life, but making choices based on specs and benchmarks that counter the battery life. For instance, due to this most smartphone chipsets are tuned waaaay out of their performance per watt curve. What it means is, you could have a chip clocked lower (and running at lower volltage) by 20%, that would run for twice as long (at higher sustained performance too, thanks to proportionally less heat!). Yet, can you imagine how crazy people would go if the S9 was slower than the S8 and every other flagship phone in popular, short benchmarks? Same goes for screen brightness and device thickness (that could accommodate a bigger battery AND a larger camera sensor).
Samsung clocked the Snapdragon 835 in the S8 at just a tad below its max potential to reap benefits of the 10nm process and prolong battery life just a little bit (thinking it's still a crazy fast setting as it was above Qualcomm's recommendations) and people are losing their minds on the tech forums when another, higher clocked 835-rocking phone scores a 1% higher, often automatically saying the phone is better/faster, completely ignoring the important bits. People read smartphone component benchmarks the way they were taught to read desktop CPU benchmarks, apparently, and everyone is losing. It all started when Samsung overclocked the Snapdragon 600 in the Galaxy S4 and won the speed game over the stock clocked HTC One, with all tech news sites claiming the S4 to be a performance champion. The S4 had a more efficient display and software so they could compensate, but it would have been a MUCH more efficient phone had they clocked the chip 200mhz lower, but they wouldn't be crowned victorious then.

 

[dilla]

"Touch ID" was nothing new. The fingerprint scanner was years before on some Android devices, yet I think Apple contributed to its popularity in flagship models.

Microsoft popularized the face detection and Samsung did the Iris recognition. Samsung, traditionally, features all, lol, so you have like 6 ways of unlocking your phone on the S8.

Fingerprint scanners are on the back in most phones these days that have fairly small bezels (although the Pixel has the hugest ones imaginable and still a fingerprint scanner on the back).

As far as battery life goes, sadly, the customers are shooting themselves in the foot, by seemingly wanting longer battery life, but making choices based on specs and benchmarks that counter the battery life. For instance, due to this most smartphone chipsets are tuned waaaay out of their performance per watt curve. What it means is, you could have a chip clocked lower (and running at lower volltage) by 20%, that would run for twice as long (at higher sustained performance too, thanks to proportionally less heat!). Yet, can you imagine how crazy people would go if the S9 was slower than the S8 and every other flagship phone in popular, short benchmarks? Same goes for screen brightness and device thickness (that could accommodate a bigger battery AND a larger camera sensor).
Samsung clocked the Snapdragon 835 in the S8 at just a tad below its max potential to reap benefits of the 10nm process and prolong battery life just a little bit (thinking it's still a crazy fast setting as it was above Qualcomm's recommendations) and people are losing their minds on the tech forums when another, higher clocked 835-rocking phone scores a 1% higher, often automatically saying the phone is better/faster, completely ignoring the important bits. People read smartphone component benchmarks the way they were taught to read desktop CPU benchmarks, apparently, and everyone is losing. It all started when Samsung overclocked the Snapdragon 600 in the Galaxy S4 and won the speed game over the stock clocked HTC One, with all tech news sites claiming the S4 to be a performance champion. The S4 had a more efficient display and software so they could compensate, but it would have been a MUCH more efficient phone had they clocked the chip 200mhz lower, but they wouldn't be crowned victorious then.

True on the fingerprint scanner thing. There seems to have been only one, a Toshiba phone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_ID

Apple did popularize it and implemented it in such a way that it was worth buying in to the tech. So hats of to Toshiba for doing it first, but it's hard to not credit Apple for making it as big as it is today.

As for face and iris detection, did those ever take off? Sure phones include it as a feature now but I feel like there's still a ways to go to make it as fast and smooth of a process as fingerprints. It may be more secure but I've heard of those systems being fooled by pictures of a person, at least for the face recognition tech.

I definitely fall for the spec sheets and the wars that come with them. But I think OEMs need to grow a pair and force their industry to change. Like the auto industry that shat themselves when engines became smaller and turbocharged and the worries about the death of high performance cars and engines. OEMs should be ballsy enough to not play the numbers game and opt for lowering the power of their phones and offering the best battery life possible. We have gaming laptops and we have bargain bin laptops. And plenty of other types of laptops in between. Business, education, media laptops. What's wrong with getting phones to fit in those boxes as well? I don't game so why do I need an octa core chipset with some obnoxiously fast GPU? Why can't someone make a phone that's more oriented for social media, but also doesn't look like shit (remember Moto or HTC's "Facebook Phone?").

Otherwise, we're looking at shoe-horning people into buying a budget or a flagship phone but having their needs met by neither of them. Give gamers the higher speces. Give social media fans a better camera and maybe some extra editing features and filters. Give people using their phones strictly for work or for phone calls a "toned down" CPU and give them 3 days of battery life. Then make a flagship that has all of those features, like a gaming laptop (maybe not the battery life) and charge more for it. Let some schmuck overpay for a max spec phone with a 4K display, VR capabilities, nitrogen cooled GPU, and a 9" display only to watch cat videos and jack off on (me).


Why can't the mobile market be like the computer market? We're slowly moving away from carriers having more influence on phone options so it should only be easier to for OEMs to do as they please. Except for Qualcomm sticking its dick in every thing and ruining things for CDMA users.

 

[masta247]

^ I agree with so much about making the phone market more like PC market, with more customized phones. I have no idea why all phones are so alike and there are no devices that are more "customized", aimed at certain needs. Heck, I'd love a camera phone, like the Nokia 808/1020. That thing had a sensor that was THREE TIMES larger than the Pixel has (which has the biggest sensor on Android). There's nothing like it coming these days. I always thought that manufacturers wanted to stand out, so I have no clue why all of them are aiming for the very same phones as everyone else is.

The chipset makers have a whole range of processors - from lowest to highest end, all of them are tuned for performance, not battery life. There's not a single 10nm chip that took advantage of the power savings of the 10nm tech. All of them thought "fuck yes, now we can squeeze out more performance at the same power drain", even though they could save a lot of battery by keeping it at similar performance as the previous chips - yet the understanding is that nobody would buy them then, after looking at benchmarks. Lower end chips are using older processes and worse quality silicon at less efficient and slower architectures.
Same with displays. 1080p displays are as efficient as 2k ones, because nobody makes 1080p displays anymore so if you want to use one on your phone, you have to use an old model that doesn't take advantage of all the recent developments and optimizations. Now if they made a 1080p display with modern optimizations, that could save people a lot of battery. Beats me why nobody does that. It feels like everyone is working on the very same things, making products that everyone else does.

As far as fingerprint sensor goes, there were more of them before the iPhone. Motorola used them too. The difference is Apple mounted it on the front, and surely they popularized it. I think the Android crowd was working on it though, as the Galaxy S5 had the very same one as Apple just months later.
Here's a complete list of Pre-iPhone fingerprint scanner phones:
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMax=2012&chkFingerprint=selected

As far as the Iris scanner, it works quite well and is fast. I think it's about as convenient as the fingerprint scanner (it's better on the S8 which has the fingerprint scanner on the back.. ehm), and is as safe too - can't fool it.

 

[masta247]

So, the leaks of the Pixel that Casey posted looked like it's going to have a sweet front. However, most of the newer leaks make it seem like the real deal will actually look hideous instead, with gigantic bezels, and no headphone jack, lol. What are the guys at Google thinking?! Almost like they aren't actually trying to sell any of those. I mean, the bezels look even more ginormous than on the original Pixel, and that's after every other manufacturer outdid themselves on the "infinity displays".

I don't think that the rumor that this is made by LG are true. They wouldn't allow this. I don't even think they have a design process for cases THAT old school. Unless they'll divide them and there will be one decent, and one shit Pixel (divided between manufacturers like with the Nexus 5X and 6P).
Because this looks more like HTC handiwork:

(although the back is unmistakably Sony, I assume that they made the whole camera module and their design style seems like they want to brand it heavier this time around)

 

[dilla]

I usually get upset and think I won't get a product when it removes something. Apple with the optic drive and the headphone jack. Then the shift to USB-C only in the Macs. Now the Pixel is following suit with the headphone jack removal.

But after owning two bluetooth headphones, the Beats Solos 3 and the Samsung Level U Pro, I'm ready to embrace wireless headphones. I'm equipped to handle a phone without a headphone jack. Although, I would be stuck when listening to music in my car because I use an AUX cord still as I can't play audio via bluetooth in my car, save for phone calls.

 

[masta247]

^ Apple is hit or miss with removing things. The biggest problem is that even things that are likely to be phased out in the future are removed prematurely, like the regular USB that is still used by >90% of devices, or Flash back in the days when 90% of websites still relied on it for presenting content.

I just consciously built a PC with a brand new, modern and high-end motherboard that has 12 USB ports and not a single USB-C plug. I wouldn't mind one, but you can get a dongle if needed, but as of now none of the devices I use has a single USB-C port. Phones do, but only on the other end.

I can't imagine having ONLY usb-c ports. I can understand putting one on a new laptop or computer, alongside an array of regular USB ports that pretty much all devices use. Having USB-C only sounds beyond stupid, as in best case if type C becomes standard for most peripherals, it will take years until the market is split evenly between those plugs, and then years for most people's peripherals using old ports to actually die out so they actually buy the new ones. By that time they will be on like a fourth generation of Macs from now, in the earliest case.

But the biggest thing is that at that time those ports will be properly standardized USB-C, surely newer than 3.1 which makes the functionality of type-C ports confusing. For instance, some USB-C tablets get charged by phones connected to them, some ports are charge only, different outputs, some are only inputs, some have thunderbolt in them, some don't etc. And don't even get me started on faulty or unstandardized usb-C cables that damage devices connected to them. It will all surely be standardized in the upcoming gens, but isn't yet.
I find it ironic, as Apple are also the last ones to implement new technologies that are there and actually useful right now, like wireless charging, fast charging or VR.

As far as wireless headphones, you are a happy camper because your best headphones are actually wireless. Mine and most people's aren't, and my headphones are not only better than any wireless ones, I'm not willing to part ways with them and I also dread the thought of having yet another device to charge. I don't see any benefit in wireless headphones too, and in terms of earbuds it would just be easier to lose them.

 

[dilla]

^ Apple is hit or miss with removing things. The biggest problem is that even things that are likely to be phased out in the future are removed prematurely, like the regular USB that is still used by >90% of devices, or Flash back in the days when 90% of websites still relied on it for presenting content.

I just consciously built a PC with a brand new, modern and high-end motherboard that has 12 USB ports and not a single USB-C plug. I wouldn't mind one, but you can get a dongle if needed, but as of now none of the devices I use has a single USB-C port. Phones do, but only on the other end.

I can't imagine having ONLY usb-c ports. I can understand putting one on a new laptop or computer, alongside an array of regular USB ports that pretty much all devices use. Having USB-C only sounds beyond stupid, as in best case if type C becomes standard for most peripherals, it will take years until the market is split evenly between those plugs, and then years for most people's peripherals using old ports to actually die out so they actually buy the new ones. By that time they will be on like a fourth generation of Macs from now, in the earliest case.

But the biggest thing is that at that time those ports will be properly standardized USB-C, surely newer than 3.1 which makes the functionality of type-C ports confusing. For instance, some USB-C tablets get charged by phones connected to them, some ports are charge only, different outputs, some are only inputs, some have thunderbolt in them, some don't etc. And don't even get me started on faulty or unstandardized usb-C cables that damage devices connected to them. It will all surely be standardized in the upcoming gens, but isn't yet.
I find it ironic, as Apple are also the last ones to implement new technologies that are there and actually useful right now, like wireless charging, fast charging or VR.

As far as wireless headphones, you are a happy camper because your best headphones are actually wireless. Mine and most people's aren't, and my headphones are not only better than any wireless ones, I'm not willing to part ways with them and I also dread the thought of having yet another device to charge. I don't see any benefit in wireless headphones too, and in terms of earbuds it would just be easier to lose them.

Well, for wired vs wireless I have a few in each camp.

I have the UE 6000 from Logitech vs the Beats Solos 3. And for in-ears I have the 1More Triple driver, which is definitely superior to the Samsung Level U Pros.

So I guess I have the best of both worlds. The wireless is a convenience factor. I can move around while a video or song is playing. The Beats have a ridiculous battery life. I watched six seasons of Game of Thrones on one charge over 2-3 weeks. The Samsung ones really are about 9 hours or so, as advertised.

As far as the USB ports are concerned, I don't know 3.0 from 3.1 from ThunderBolt and what USB-C is all about, but I do know I came from a device with USB 2.0 so getting that up to speed was important too.

I don't see the hype behind VR. When I think of it, I think of gaming and that's just a lot of extra shit to worry about for a mobile device and a headset. Luckily, I got the Gear VR for free but I haven't used it since the first month of owning the phone. Nor have I heard anyone talk about a must-have game for VR. I bet VR would be useful for professions related to design and getting a customer a view of what a home design would look like with different colors and arrangement. I'm sure someone in healthcare is trying to VR to be a thing too, either for training or education. But even though Apple seems to be dragging its feet in implementing it, I'm not sure there's something Android users are enjoying right now that iPhone users aren't. Or Windows users vs Mac users. As far as VR goes.

 

[masta247]

I currently use the Sennheiser Momentum in-ears for my phone. They are really sweet, great value headphones. Battery life - unlimited

I think a very important factor is that everyone likes slightly different sound, and there is a broad range of quality headphones for people to choose from, so they can choose the one that suits them the most. One thing I don't like about the wireless headphones, is that the market for them seems to be more generic. Sennheiser alone has about a hundred different wired headphones, and it's a company that has like 3 different sound vibes only, with Momentums being their most "punchy" series. With wireless headphones, the brands have one or two generic sounding models, and they're not made with audiophiles in mind. Not saying they sound crap, they're just tuned to sound appealing, if less realistic. Like Beats. As if the companies knew in advance that audiophiles would not listen to the wireless headphones, they're tuned with more casual crowd in mind.

As far as quality is concerned, a major problem with wireless headphones is that the DAC and all audio chips are in the headphones themselves. You can imagine what that means for in-ear headphones - tiny, low power, lower quality components. The concept kills the development progress of great audio components that we saw in smartphones over the years. Wireless headphones by-pass any sound processing that a phone does, and relies on much weaker audio chips that can fit in a tiny space and be powered by tiny batteries. Lack of headphone jacks means no Wolfson DACs no mo in phones, and headphones can't house one.

 

[dilla]

My headsets, for the time being, are just fine for me. I know the audiophile community can get pretty nuts with their mods and amps and all the other accessories. The most expensive and overpriced set of cans I own I got for free but I'd never spend over $150-175 of headphones, and I haven't spent more than $95, which is what the UE 6000s were on Amazon before being discontinued.

Some rumors have it that the iPhone 8 will have its TouchID on the power button on the side of the phone. Interesting. I heard the concept of the sensor being on the screen wasn't perfected as yet so it could be the next iteration's feature.

The 8 looks like a rip off of a Samsung device, though. The speaker being surrounded by that weird plastic-looking design. Sort of highlighting it.

About the wireless charging feature Apple has yet to adopt, it requires a glass-back, right? Apple had those glass backs at one point but went metal with the 6, I think. So they'd have to change the design again to accommodate that?

 

[masta247]

Qualcomm and a few others have a tech that allows wireless charging through metal backs. It's technically feasible, just less straightforward to implement. Besides, the leaks claim the 8 will have a glass back.

As far as the fingerprint sensor on the power button, Sony has it on the side power button, and it's a better location than the back, but not as good as the front.

For headphone's quality, it isn't that much about the price, really, as you can find really great ones for around 100$. The wireless headphones are much, much more expensive for the same audio quality as they have to include the whole DAC and audio processing electronics, as well as battery and whole electric setup, which is more expensive to make than the rest of the headphone itself, while the cost of high-end headphones is usually high due to R&D costs more than the components used, so using expensive components to go wireless would just hike the price even further on actual high end headphones.

 

[dilla]

The Essential Phone released today in the US. I wonder how that's going to do. People were upset with missing features, like the headphone jack, when it was first revealed. But after a minor pushback in the release date, it looks like it's finally good to go.

We'll have to wait on the reviews though.

 

[dilla]

Here's one Essential Phone review

https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/18/16165040/essential-phone-review-android-andy-rubin

I'll wait for someone more reputable than The Verge but it got an 8/10. So it wasn't a complete flop like many thought it would be. But that's just a rating for the hardware and features. I think future support is going to be a bigger deal and is really going to show us the trend in how long a phone can be supported.

Also, it looks like Oreo is the name of the next Android version.

 

[dilla]

So Android O on Monday. Google has a site with a countdown coinciding with the eclipse. That'll be interesting. I'm not sure if it's a release date or unveiling date. Doubt my S7 gets it before I upgrade next Spring.

Xiaomi might be making the next Google Phone. I'm assuming that's after the Pixel 2. Huawei was one Chinese manufacturer that broke in to the US market and benefited from Google's backing. Hopefully the same happens with Xiaomi.