So the Nvidia acquisition of ARM just went through earlier today. Lots of hot takes on if it's a good or bad thing for Android and Apple. I've seen people throw out the idea of much more powerful mobile GPUs in our phones, which would be...interesting. Normally, that sounds like a bad idea for power consumption but with people streaming their games on their mobile devices now, like with XCloud, it might change some things drastically.
Technology Android
- Thread starter THEV1LL4N
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@masta247 You were a fan of the Xperia lineup, right?
https://www.anandtech.com/show/16089/sony-announces-xperia-5-ii-120hz-fullfledged-small-phone
Sounds like a big deal on the Android forums.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/16089/sony-announces-xperia-5-ii-120hz-fullfledged-small-phone
Sounds like a big deal on the Android forums.
I never thought we needed indoor cameras but Ring just announced a Always Home camera which is basically a drone: https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/24/...e-security-camera-price-specs-features-amazon
Not a need, but definitely a want. Might be useful for the afterhours at the clinic if the workers stay behind.
Not a need, but definitely a want. Might be useful for the afterhours at the clinic if the workers stay behind.
New Chromecast was released officially, I think. Someone has posted a video of sideloading the Game Pass apk on their Chromecast and playing it on their TV. The Chromecast has bluetooth so the Xbox controller connects to that. I guess he was streaming his Xbox at home to his chromecast, so maybe it's not the xCloud feature that was recently made public.
Still pretty cool.
Still pretty cool.
Some of the tech people I follow on YT said the that Google's Pixel 5 is its entrance in to the "upper-mid-range" phone market as it no longer holds its own against the flagships of other brands. That might be a good thing. I don't know if they meant just the Pixel 5 and that the XL was still engineered to be a flagship the competed with the S20 or Note 20. But more and more people seem to be praising the mid-range phone market even though a few people have been saying it for the past few years. It doesn't help that the flagships from nearly every OEM come under intense scrutiny for the features that they have and don't have. I think OEMs priced them so high so that fewer people would get them and complain less and a lot of the goodies and everyday usability was relegated to the mid range phones. Better battery life, similar every day performance, no matter what benchmark tests would tell you. There's still just a stigma around the name "mid-range" that causes many people to tune it out and focus on the specs and performance of the flagship models. Maybe it's a stigma from some of the shitty phones that were considered "mid-range" years back and people haven't gotten over it and given them another chance. Or people just look at the label "mid range" and just don't want to get something with that label. I know, for me, it's a mix of both. I don't know which Samsung model slots below the Galaxy S line but the A and J Samsung models are typically found at discount carriers and not the big 3 here in the US. They're usually given away for free with a new line and that can't be good for perception. But they would likely perform the same for most people's everyday usage.
I know Apple's iPhone event is next week and there's talks about an iPhone Mini that supposed to slot above the iPhone SE. I'm not sure which one is the "midrange" phone between the two but I imagine the iPhone Mini gets a $700-800 price tag and only gets gimped with the camera and refresh rate. But that's still a bit close to what the SE compromised as well.
Whatever it is, it'll be interesting to see what mid range models bring in the next year.
I know Apple's iPhone event is next week and there's talks about an iPhone Mini that supposed to slot above the iPhone SE. I'm not sure which one is the "midrange" phone between the two but I imagine the iPhone Mini gets a $700-800 price tag and only gets gimped with the camera and refresh rate. But that's still a bit close to what the SE compromised as well.
Whatever it is, it'll be interesting to see what mid range models bring in the next year.
Sony used to make great Android phones. These days they are still very underrated, in particular they have always excelled at compact phones like this.
I ordered the 3080 from three different stores on (or even before due to a glitch) the launch date. The soonest one is Amazon that had a glitch with an estimated delivery.. in December, lol. Nvidia are bullshitting that there's soo much demand, while really they sent a few cards per store so far, and they launched almost a month ago. The demand is just a bit bigger than usual, but supply is extremely limited.
I ordered the 3080 from three different stores on (or even before due to a glitch) the launch date. The soonest one is Amazon that had a glitch with an estimated delivery.. in December, lol. Nvidia are bullshitting that there's soo much demand, while really they sent a few cards per store so far, and they launched almost a month ago. The demand is just a bit bigger than usual, but supply is extremely limited.
As for the phone news, a lot has happened since I last checked in here, lol.
In particular I dropped my S8 twice to the point the front AND back are now cracked. It's still working perfectly well, and in hindsight it was the most reliable phone I have ever had, and the best Android experience I was the happiest with next to my S4 back in the day. But, the cracked glass is way too expensive to repair and the damage is a bit too much for me to bear, so it's relegated to being a backup phone now. I liked it too much to sell it, and I wouldn't make much for it considering the damage anyway.
So guess what I got? I found a brand new Galaxy S10 (technically open box, but it was new and still had all the stickers on, including sealed SIM tray, so it has never been used) for ~$370 ($499 Canadian). The value has been just surreal and made me instantly ignore anything else I used to consider costing ~$1000.
I was considering an iPhone, but I couldn't wait for the 12 and 11 would mean paying twice as much for an old phone about to be replaced. I am also invested in the Samsung ecosystem, which I'm not ready to give up on. I almost pulled the trigger on the S20, very reluctantly, and was really relieved to find the deal on the S10, considering it's 99% as good. The S20 would have been essentially and S10 with very minor improvements at over twice the price. I couldn't care less about 5G, and I really don't like S20's cheap-looking design with unfortunate color options.
So, yeah, not switching to an iPhone yet, and stayed with Samsung for a bit longer. Not much to say, it feels just as my S8 did, with smaller bezels and a camera cutout. Didn't even realize it has Android 10, as it does exactly what Android 9 did. I'd be perfectly happy with my S8 still if it wasn't for the damage, but really can't complain for the price, and the S10 certainly looks great.
In particular I dropped my S8 twice to the point the front AND back are now cracked. It's still working perfectly well, and in hindsight it was the most reliable phone I have ever had, and the best Android experience I was the happiest with next to my S4 back in the day. But, the cracked glass is way too expensive to repair and the damage is a bit too much for me to bear, so it's relegated to being a backup phone now. I liked it too much to sell it, and I wouldn't make much for it considering the damage anyway.
So guess what I got? I found a brand new Galaxy S10 (technically open box, but it was new and still had all the stickers on, including sealed SIM tray, so it has never been used) for ~$370 ($499 Canadian). The value has been just surreal and made me instantly ignore anything else I used to consider costing ~$1000.
I was considering an iPhone, but I couldn't wait for the 12 and 11 would mean paying twice as much for an old phone about to be replaced. I am also invested in the Samsung ecosystem, which I'm not ready to give up on. I almost pulled the trigger on the S20, very reluctantly, and was really relieved to find the deal on the S10, considering it's 99% as good. The S20 would have been essentially and S10 with very minor improvements at over twice the price. I couldn't care less about 5G, and I really don't like S20's cheap-looking design with unfortunate color options.
So, yeah, not switching to an iPhone yet, and stayed with Samsung for a bit longer. Not much to say, it feels just as my S8 did, with smaller bezels and a camera cutout. Didn't even realize it has Android 10, as it does exactly what Android 9 did. I'd be perfectly happy with my S8 still if it wasn't for the damage, but really can't complain for the price, and the S10 certainly looks great.
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Yeah, MKBHD did a video with a title along the lines of why aren't Sony phones popular? Didn't get a chance to watch it yet but I don't think it was a criticism of sony phones but more about many consumers' perceptions of Sony phones. Also Sony phones have mostly been GSM phones and only in the past 5 years or so has CDMA begun to phased out. Or whatever it is Verizon and Sprint did that now allows for unlocked phones to be used on their networks because the radios in most phones support the major carrier bands. VoLTE, too.
If I'm not mistaken, they still have the best cameras. I'm not sure if it's the hardware only, or if it's the software too, but I think they supply cameras to many OEMs, including Samsung.
Sucks about the S8 but the S10 has been good for me. $370 is a pretty sweet deal, too. I plan to keep my S10+ at least until I'm done making payments on it next May. I doubt I will be able sell it now to cover the cost of buying it out from Sprint, and I'm in no rush to upgrade just yet. As nice as the iPhone 12 looks, this looks to be a more evolutionary upgrade over the 11 instead of...revolutionary? Minimal upgrade, to say the least. The 11 would be a better buy assuming the prices drop enough once the 12 releases.
If I end up using xCloud, being on iOS would be a big bummer because of Apple's stance on gaming services on their store. I read that MS is planning to make a browser-based service so that iOS users could still access xCloud/Gamepass and they'd be able to circumvent Apple's restrictions. That'd be pretty funny if it worked and Apple couldn't do anything about it.
Microsoft has really been doing work to make it a "service provider" after some of its screw ups with Vista and Windows 8. Yeah, they make some OK hardware but their work in gaming, like the success and hype of Gamepass for Xbox and still keeping their subscription services for Windows like Office relevant despite moving to subscription based services is pretty good. The Surface Duo got a lukewarm response, but that's OK. I think the Surface lineup is pretty good and their headphones, oddly enough, are a favorite of a lot of reviewers.
Maybe they'll put some more time and work in to their phone hardware and release a phone that feels nice like a Surface product but isn't as compromised on features like the Duo and release it as a mid range phone. The fact they weren't stubborn with Windows Mobile went to crap and embraced Android as the OS and decided they'd still at least make the hardware with the Surface moniker is a great thing.
If I'm not mistaken, they still have the best cameras. I'm not sure if it's the hardware only, or if it's the software too, but I think they supply cameras to many OEMs, including Samsung.
Sucks about the S8 but the S10 has been good for me. $370 is a pretty sweet deal, too. I plan to keep my S10+ at least until I'm done making payments on it next May. I doubt I will be able sell it now to cover the cost of buying it out from Sprint, and I'm in no rush to upgrade just yet. As nice as the iPhone 12 looks, this looks to be a more evolutionary upgrade over the 11 instead of...revolutionary? Minimal upgrade, to say the least. The 11 would be a better buy assuming the prices drop enough once the 12 releases.
If I end up using xCloud, being on iOS would be a big bummer because of Apple's stance on gaming services on their store. I read that MS is planning to make a browser-based service so that iOS users could still access xCloud/Gamepass and they'd be able to circumvent Apple's restrictions. That'd be pretty funny if it worked and Apple couldn't do anything about it.
Microsoft has really been doing work to make it a "service provider" after some of its screw ups with Vista and Windows 8. Yeah, they make some OK hardware but their work in gaming, like the success and hype of Gamepass for Xbox and still keeping their subscription services for Windows like Office relevant despite moving to subscription based services is pretty good. The Surface Duo got a lukewarm response, but that's OK. I think the Surface lineup is pretty good and their headphones, oddly enough, are a favorite of a lot of reviewers.
Maybe they'll put some more time and work in to their phone hardware and release a phone that feels nice like a Surface product but isn't as compromised on features like the Duo and release it as a mid range phone. The fact they weren't stubborn with Windows Mobile went to crap and embraced Android as the OS and decided they'd still at least make the hardware with the Surface moniker is a great thing.
I think this this is the one you were referring to:
Yeah, Sony Android phones are imho second best to Samsung's and are amongst the most unique in terms of what they offer on top of everyone else.
As for the cameras, everyone uses their camera sensors because they are the best. The problem with Sony is exactly conveyed in that video - they are too enthusiast, and poorly marketed. Their cameras are great, but they've stuck to natural looking photos in their phones believing that it's the perfect base for users to manually correct if they want to pump up saturation, contrast, or just play around with them after they are taken without losing or obscuring any original information. Sort of like in their digital cameras. Commendable, but not what mainstream users want. Most people would take Samsungs using the same sensor but with software applying all the bells and whistles so pics are Instagram-ready the second they are taken.
As for marketing, they ignored North America almost entirely until they realized that this is where hype gets generated because most of the most influential reviewers live there. Now it's hard to get back there.
This doesn't change the fact that Sony phones are great. I'd definitely get the 5ii over the Pixels, LG or even OnePlus phones. The fact that Sony's sales numbers are so low is sad, because their phones are great.
Yeah after a couple of days with the S10 I've been happy with it, but that's mainly because I was very happy with my S8, and this feels like a small evolutionary upgrade. The biggest issue as always recently is how little perceivable difference there is between generations - the S10 does exactly what the S8 did, pretty much just as the S8 did it for me. The added value is that it looks better with smaller bezels (compensated by how annoying the camera cutout is) and has a wide angle camera. As much as I wanted a zoom camera, the ones on most Samsung phones are so low quality that they are just not useful to me. The one on the S10 is a x2 potato with a tiny sensor that achieves results that probably aren't even better than the main camera using digital zoom.
Microsoft's current leadership definitely turned things around for the better, yeah. They are indeed more serious about becoming a hardware company. It's almost annoying because they still have all the Nokia tech, but it's outdated at this point, and most of the people got laid off after Windows Phone failed. So with Android, they are almost starting from scratch, with efforts led by their Surface teams. I think they have a really long way to go there if they are serious about making a comeback. I don't think they will be able to catch up to Samsung or Huawei anytime soon, but I wish them luck. Anyone trying to bring competition and excitement back to the smartphone space is welcome.
Yeah, Sony Android phones are imho second best to Samsung's and are amongst the most unique in terms of what they offer on top of everyone else.
As for the cameras, everyone uses their camera sensors because they are the best. The problem with Sony is exactly conveyed in that video - they are too enthusiast, and poorly marketed. Their cameras are great, but they've stuck to natural looking photos in their phones believing that it's the perfect base for users to manually correct if they want to pump up saturation, contrast, or just play around with them after they are taken without losing or obscuring any original information. Sort of like in their digital cameras. Commendable, but not what mainstream users want. Most people would take Samsungs using the same sensor but with software applying all the bells and whistles so pics are Instagram-ready the second they are taken.
As for marketing, they ignored North America almost entirely until they realized that this is where hype gets generated because most of the most influential reviewers live there. Now it's hard to get back there.
This doesn't change the fact that Sony phones are great. I'd definitely get the 5ii over the Pixels, LG or even OnePlus phones. The fact that Sony's sales numbers are so low is sad, because their phones are great.
Yeah after a couple of days with the S10 I've been happy with it, but that's mainly because I was very happy with my S8, and this feels like a small evolutionary upgrade. The biggest issue as always recently is how little perceivable difference there is between generations - the S10 does exactly what the S8 did, pretty much just as the S8 did it for me. The added value is that it looks better with smaller bezels (compensated by how annoying the camera cutout is) and has a wide angle camera. As much as I wanted a zoom camera, the ones on most Samsung phones are so low quality that they are just not useful to me. The one on the S10 is a x2 potato with a tiny sensor that achieves results that probably aren't even better than the main camera using digital zoom.
Microsoft's current leadership definitely turned things around for the better, yeah. They are indeed more serious about becoming a hardware company. It's almost annoying because they still have all the Nokia tech, but it's outdated at this point, and most of the people got laid off after Windows Phone failed. So with Android, they are almost starting from scratch, with efforts led by their Surface teams. I think they have a really long way to go there if they are serious about making a comeback. I don't think they will be able to catch up to Samsung or Huawei anytime soon, but I wish them luck. Anyone trying to bring competition and excitement back to the smartphone space is welcome.
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i know people used to shit on Samsung's over-saturated photos since the S3 days, at least. I don't care if it looks "fake" or exaggerated, not doing so makes pictures look like shit. I imagine it's the same for most people since most people don't know how to properly edit photos, myself included. And if it's just meant to be sent to someone via chat or text or posted on social media, time is usually important so it's best to let the software handle it and make it look pretty enough to be viewed on, likely, another mobile device. It's kind of like with the OLED TVs: there is a "vivid" picture setting and I just love the way it looks. Everything looks crisp and smooth compared to all the other settings, including Cinema and the technicolor setting. But users on the OLED forums shit on people for using vivid mode and say that it's only meant for display use in stores to make the colors pop but that it's not the setting to use when watching a movie because "it's not how the director intended it to look." So I don't use it when watching movies or TV shows on it, but I will switch to it from time to time because it looks so much better. After that, I just put it back on a custom preset which I calibrated using RTing's settings. Media looks fine on that setting but not like Vivid. Also, Vivid settings has the backlight set to 100% so that's another reason why I don't use it.
The move from the S7 to S10 wasn't as big for me, either. The S7 was just getting long in the tooth and I didn't want to pay for a new battery only to upgrade a few months after that after experiencing FOMO. The bigger screen is definitely a nice welcome as is the much better battery life, even when the S7 battery was new. But yeah, the UI still feels and looks the same for the most part and I think that's the case for most other phones. Not to ride Apple's dick any more than I have already but between the new Apple Watch and the features of iOS 14, the new features that came with those feel just as revolutionary as Android's big features many years ago. Now iOS feels like each update is bringing a few heavy hitter features or changes that make you excited for updates. The iPhone 7 and the iPhone 11 have some major changes between them whereas I don't know if the S7 and S10 was that big of a change, despite them being released about the same amount of time apart.
As for MS, I'd be OK if they didn't aim for the big players in the phone market. If they can refine their offerings to be among the best mid range phones, I think a lot of older folks will trust the MS brand based on their impression of MS from the 90s and 2000s. MS just has to make sure their offerings at least look like they can compete with the rest of the offerings from OEMS in the midrange market. Samsung has done a good job there and maybe LG too, since their "flagships" have been more crash and burn the past few years.
iPhone 12: $699 lmaoooo
EDIT: They really made a case for people to not go for the Pro or Pro Max by making all the hardware the same, except for the camera. It sounds like a lot of iPhone fans are still upset at not including a charger but now switching to including a USB-C to Lightning cable at the same time. I can see that being a problem, but Apple users have to be used to sudden shifts like that, like when it went from Apple's last proprietary cable to Lightning, the sudden switch to USB-C in the Macs, the removal of the headphone jack, etc. Plus, casual users that don't follow tech will see it as an inconvenience but will just buy the Apple charger separately anyway. The ones making the big fuss are those that keep up with tech all the time and they're upset with having to buy a new charger now. But haven't third party chargers from brands like Anker and RAVPower been a thing for a long time now? Only people that follow tech would likely have heard of those companies and would know about their offerings and probably bought them over the past few years when those brands really got popular.
So yeah it's BS that Apple claims they're trying to lower their carbon footprint while at the same time knowingly making people go out and buy a charger but shouldn't people who follow tech news have known about alternative chargers for a few years now? While it doesn't negate the problem of Apple switching so suddenly, the ones that are angriest about this are people that have had the means the longest to buy alternative chargers. And it's not like Apple hasn't been selling USB C to Lightning cables for a few years now or the more powerful charger (I forget the wattage, 25W maybe?) for a few years, too.
Brands like Anker have chargers with multiple ports on them in the 20, 40, and even 60W range for a few years now, so you could take one charger and charge your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad with the same charger and three separate cables. So why not get those now?
Also the return of MagSafe is kind of hilarious. Apple admitting removing MagSafe on the Mac was a poor choice and bringing it back but only to the iPhone. I'm not sure if MagSafe is/was possible on a USB-C cable and that's why they couldn't do it on the Mac? But now it's back in the form of a wireless charger. It's $40 so not too expensive by Apple's standards but still $40....Wireless chargers can be had for $20 or less now.
The 12 won't be my next phone but I think the 13 will be next year, when I've paid this S10+ off. The 12 was supposed to be a minor update compared to the 11 and I don't think many people with 11s will be running to upgrade to a 12 because the change is that dramatic. I'm hoping the 13 does introduce something big and new so that the jump to the iPhone will be much more exciting. This even was all about 5G but I'm not big on it yet. Of course it's been deployed in Chicago but I still get LTE speeds on the lower end because of my location. Be it at home or at the clinic, it's always dismal and under 10 Mbps. It doesn't interfere with my usage and I'm able to stream in HD and browse the web with out too many hiccups but I see speedtest results from other users on my carrier but in different locations and they're getting ridiculous LTE speeds, 100-200 Mbps or more. I'm not sure what I'd do with that speed but it just dampens my excitement and expectations for speeds in the areas that I frequent most. And since 5G is all about speed, I'm not sure it would translate as such for me in those same locations where LTE wasn't shit but also wasn't even close to what it could be in other locations.
EDIT: They really made a case for people to not go for the Pro or Pro Max by making all the hardware the same, except for the camera. It sounds like a lot of iPhone fans are still upset at not including a charger but now switching to including a USB-C to Lightning cable at the same time. I can see that being a problem, but Apple users have to be used to sudden shifts like that, like when it went from Apple's last proprietary cable to Lightning, the sudden switch to USB-C in the Macs, the removal of the headphone jack, etc. Plus, casual users that don't follow tech will see it as an inconvenience but will just buy the Apple charger separately anyway. The ones making the big fuss are those that keep up with tech all the time and they're upset with having to buy a new charger now. But haven't third party chargers from brands like Anker and RAVPower been a thing for a long time now? Only people that follow tech would likely have heard of those companies and would know about their offerings and probably bought them over the past few years when those brands really got popular.
So yeah it's BS that Apple claims they're trying to lower their carbon footprint while at the same time knowingly making people go out and buy a charger but shouldn't people who follow tech news have known about alternative chargers for a few years now? While it doesn't negate the problem of Apple switching so suddenly, the ones that are angriest about this are people that have had the means the longest to buy alternative chargers. And it's not like Apple hasn't been selling USB C to Lightning cables for a few years now or the more powerful charger (I forget the wattage, 25W maybe?) for a few years, too.
Brands like Anker have chargers with multiple ports on them in the 20, 40, and even 60W range for a few years now, so you could take one charger and charge your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad with the same charger and three separate cables. So why not get those now?
Also the return of MagSafe is kind of hilarious. Apple admitting removing MagSafe on the Mac was a poor choice and bringing it back but only to the iPhone. I'm not sure if MagSafe is/was possible on a USB-C cable and that's why they couldn't do it on the Mac? But now it's back in the form of a wireless charger. It's $40 so not too expensive by Apple's standards but still $40....Wireless chargers can be had for $20 or less now.
The 12 won't be my next phone but I think the 13 will be next year, when I've paid this S10+ off. The 12 was supposed to be a minor update compared to the 11 and I don't think many people with 11s will be running to upgrade to a 12 because the change is that dramatic. I'm hoping the 13 does introduce something big and new so that the jump to the iPhone will be much more exciting. This even was all about 5G but I'm not big on it yet. Of course it's been deployed in Chicago but I still get LTE speeds on the lower end because of my location. Be it at home or at the clinic, it's always dismal and under 10 Mbps. It doesn't interfere with my usage and I'm able to stream in HD and browse the web with out too many hiccups but I see speedtest results from other users on my carrier but in different locations and they're getting ridiculous LTE speeds, 100-200 Mbps or more. I'm not sure what I'd do with that speed but it just dampens my excitement and expectations for speeds in the areas that I frequent most. And since 5G is all about speed, I'm not sure it would translate as such for me in those same locations where LTE wasn't shit but also wasn't even close to what it could be in other locations.
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Another Google service bites the dust. So glad we didn't go the Nest Secure route and went Ring instead.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/19/21523967/google-discontinues-nest-secure-alarm-system
Whatever they plan to do with ADT, it's probably not what many of its subscribers opted for later on down the line. I know we left ADT's monthly plan to self-monitor with Ring, but had we gone Google's route we would be going right back to ADT, in some sense.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/19/21523967/google-discontinues-nest-secure-alarm-system
Whatever they plan to do with ADT, it's probably not what many of its subscribers opted for later on down the line. I know we left ADT's monthly plan to self-monitor with Ring, but had we gone Google's route we would be going right back to ADT, in some sense.
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/10/21/iphone-12-5g-battery-drain/
I don't know bloggers are acting surprised by this. This is common sense, even though I only learned of it when Masta mentioned it last year with the S10 5G lol
What were they expecting to happen? I had some hope when the iPhone 12 was announced and Apple said it would turn off 5G when it's not needed but the radio always stays on doesn't it? Even if it's not pulling data and in LTE instead.
I don't know bloggers are acting surprised by this. This is common sense, even though I only learned of it when Masta mentioned it last year with the S10 5G lol
What were they expecting to happen? I had some hope when the iPhone 12 was announced and Apple said it would turn off 5G when it's not needed but the radio always stays on doesn't it? Even if it's not pulling data and in LTE instead.
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