Technology Android

[Preach]

Galaxy S8 on it's Xth year has been fast charged for its entire life and remains usable for a day at a time with moderate use.

Fast charging has seemed worth it to me.

 

[masta247]

lol wow, so much praise for Apple's way of implementing things.

As for Fast Charge, I thought you enabled it on both your Galaxies because you didn't care about the deterioration, or thought it would be minimal over time?

I get the confusion around USB-C since it was supposed to be the standard but turns out it has no standard.

But is that really an issue if you buy first party cables from OEMs? Like a Samsung or Apple USB-C cable? Or even a reputable third party, like Anker or Monoprice?

There were faulty Apple, Anker and Monoprice cables (who thinks Monoprice is reputable?).
Most were recalled, but you're not guaranteed to get a good cable because you bought it from Anker.
Samsung's USB-C cables are completely not up to spec and are build to support Fast Charge (which is against USB 3 spec and violates USB-C spec), but they are safe for power delivery as well and are safe to use.
Also, each of the "good" cables that won't burn your house down has its own specs and protocols that it supports. You can buy a $50 cable from Apple, but it won't support Thunderbolt or Quick charge. Some that they sell are still USB 2.0 entirely, and only a Thunderbolt Type-C cable actually supports Thunderbolt, but it's not up to USB 3.1 spec.
Buy one from Sony and it will do Quick Charge but won't support anything other than 3.0 data transfer and Quick Charge. Then Quick Charge in the first place is in violation of USB 3 and Type-C spec as well by the way, as USB-C spec calls for Power Delivery being the only allowed fast charging method on USB-C. Thunderbolt 3 is in spec, but almost no cables support it etc.

I use exclusively Wireless charging on my phones, or whatever I can.
The Fast Charge deterioration is not exactly minimal, and it's more pronounced the faster the fast charging is. For instance, Samsung is very conservative with the amount of power they allow their phones to push - Since the Note 7 drama, the S8, S9 and S10 also ensure that the battery remains fairly cool during charging even at the expense of not delivering full 10W to their phones to mitigate damage to the battery from fast charging. Other OEMs these days go balls to the wall with pumping juice into their batteries, which is horrible really, but people seem to make "whoever charges faster" a competition now, not caring that their phones have trash battery life after a year.

The general rule is that after a certain "sweet-spot" level, the faster your battery charges, the more it degrades.
If you go with something like Samsung's current Fast Charge, that's fairly safe and degradation should be minimal due to it being overengineered for safety and also not being THAT fast.

 

[dilla]

I was under the impression the newer iPhones used USB C. But they’re still on Lightning.

Then why the bump to USB C on the iPad Pros? And it has been almost three years now since they shifted their Mac inputs to TB3/USB C but they have kept every other product at Lightning.

 

[dilla]

Any one adopt a mesh router network thing in their home?

As our home becomes more and more connected with smart devices, the range of some smart lights and sensors is getting to be an issue.

Also at the office, which is 5000 sq ft and two floors, some computers struggle to get WiFi downstairs. It’s important since patient charts are accessible from there and we need that.

I’ve heard good stuff about Ubiquiti and Orbi devices. I’ll have to look in to that soon for both the home and office.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Who funds the devices at your Dad's surgery?

 

[dilla]

Who funds the devices at your Dad's surgery?

Are you asking if we buy our own tech at the clinic? We do. The modem is provided by ATT because it’s DSL, so it’s a router-modem combo. But we disabled the router and use one we bought since it gave better range. The modem is in the basement so no way was it reaching the rooms upstairs.

I guess we lease the router-modem from ATT? Everything else we buy. Computers, additional router, and other medical equipment.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I know it's really expensive. Over here, the NHS covers surgeries for the cost of their technology though we tend to select their devices for them, sometimes they are new and other times they are reimaged and reallocated.

 

[dilla]

I know it's really expensive. Over here, the NHS covers surgeries for the cost of their technology though we tend to select their devices for them, sometimes they are new and other times they are reimaged and reallocated.

Well, my dad's not a surgeon so there's no surgeries in his clinic. The majority of the equipment is handheld tests for lung function or nerve conduction or body mass calculators (that's a proper, large machine).

 

[THEV1LL4N]

As in GP surgeries.

 

[dilla]

Wow, what a deal: https://www.pcworld.com/article/339...-gaming-pc-for-just-675-today.html#tk.rss_all

If we were looking for a desktop at home or in the office, this would be a sick deal despite being overkill with the GPU lol

I do love the 580 I have as an eGPU. If I get time to pick up DMC5 again and a controller for it, it’s gonna be great on it even in Boot Camp. It looked great when I played the first chapter for a bit when it was released.

Also, Samsung Fold. Flop? Might have its pre orders cancelled if it doesn’t ship by the end of May. And while it may have seemed like a gimmick before, I think Moto is releasing the RAZR in a foldable form. So some companies see the benefit and potential for it. It just needs to not have blatant QC issues due to a complex design.

Thoughts on the new OnePlus? The 7, I think?

Also, I have about $50 in Play credit, solely from surveys from Rewards. Any apps worth getting? Not looking for games or anything but I've spent a good bit on Mario Run last year and then premium versions of apps I use a lot, like Tweetings and Amplify, and a Package Disabler. Can't get rid of this money fast enough lol

 

[Jokerman]

Google Pixel 3a/3a XL. For that price, great phone.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Also, I have about $50 in Play credit, solely from surveys from Rewards. Any apps worth getting? Not looking for games or anything but I've spent a good bit on Mario Run last year and then premium versions of apps I use a lot, like Tweetings and Amplify, and a Package Disabler. Can't get rid of this money fast enough lol

Get one of those apps that limits your screen time and helps you put down your phone.

 

[dilla]

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/14/...ile-announcement-release-price-specs-features
Ill wait for the reviews before getting hyped but the price seems astoundingly low for what it offers. I guess in typical OnePlus fashion when it was the anti-flagship OEM? Hasn't been that way in a few years but this is just the Pro version. The non-Pro should be another $100+ cheaper?

OnePlus doesn't have negative press around its practices, does it? It's not sending info to China or stopping updates and support after 2 years or something?

 

[masta247]

Wow, what a deal: https://www.pcworld.com/article/339...-gaming-pc-for-just-675-today.html#tk.rss_all

If we were looking for a desktop at home or in the office, this would be a sick deal despite being overkill with the GPU lol

I do love the 580 I have as an eGPU. If I get time to pick up DMC5 again and a controller for it, it’s gonna be great on it even in Boot Camp. It looked great when I played the first chapter for a bit when it was released.

Also, Samsung Fold. Flop? Might have its pre orders cancelled if it doesn’t ship by the end of May. And while it may have seemed like a gimmick before, I think Moto is releasing the RAZR in a foldable form. So some companies see the benefit and potential for it. It just needs to not have blatant QC issues due to a complex design.

Thoughts on the new OnePlus? The 7, I think?

Also, I have about $50 in Play credit, solely from surveys from Rewards. Any apps worth getting? Not looking for games or anything but I've spent a good bit on Mario Run last year and then premium versions of apps I use a lot, like Tweetings and Amplify, and a Package Disabler. Can't get rid of this money fast enough lol

I pay for Google Music with the Reward credits. The app, its UI and generally service is frankly quite horrible coming from Spotify, but I can't complain considering I can use it for free and it serves the exact same purpose with the same music library size (it's funny how two apps performing exactly the same function, with the same sized music base can deliver such dramatically different experience though).

OnePlus in my book is focusing on very weird priorities that just don't resonate with me. 3 cameras, all of them mediocre. 90hz screen means faster battery drain on phones, plus it has a notch. At the same time the phone is heavy, there's no wireless charging or headphone jack (or even adapter in the box). There's a decent Samsung OLED screen, but it's old tech and with no "always on" capability. I bet the software isn't quite as polished as that of the big brands, just as was the case with all their prior phones, and for the price, you can get a proper flagship that ticks all the boxes properly. I just can't relate with OnePlus.

The Galaxy Fold is more of an experimental tech than anything else. It feels like they had this tech first, prepped for years and missed their chance to release it early - now that they saw everyone else announcing their own foldable designs, they rushed to release that prototype to the public. It might or might not be a thing in the future, who knows. If it is, it's not going to look much like the current Fold.

The Ryzen PC deal was really neat, but these Ryzen chips are incredible in general, and they sell for half the price of the nearest Intel competitor. They're aggressively retaking the market.

 

[dilla]

I pay for Google Music with the Reward credits. The app, its UI and generally service is frankly quite horrible coming from Spotify, but I can't complain considering I can use it for free and it serves the exact same purpose with the same music library size (it's funny how two apps performing exactly the same function, with the same sized music base can deliver such dramatically different experience though).

OnePlus in my book is focusing on very weird priorities that just don't resonate with me. 3 cameras, all of them mediocre. 90hz screen means faster battery drain on phones, plus it has a notch. At the same time the phone is heavy, there's no wireless charging or headphone jack (or even adapter in the box). There's a decent Samsung OLED screen, but it's old tech and with no "always on" capability. I bet the software isn't quite as polished as that of the big brands, just as was the case with all their prior phones, and for the price, you can get a proper flagship that ticks all the boxes properly. I just can't relate with OnePlus.

The Galaxy Fold is more of an experimental tech than anything else. It feels like they had this tech first, prepped for years and missed their chance to release it early - now that they saw everyone else announcing their own foldable designs, they rushed to release that prototype to the public. It might or might not be a thing in the future, who knows. If it is, it's not going to look much like the current Fold.

The Ryzen PC deal was really neat, but these Ryzen chips are incredible in general, and they sell for half the price of the nearest Intel competitor. They're aggressively retaking the market.

Yeah, OnePlus really botched the wireless charging part. That seems almost standard now. Even the iPhones include the feature despite Apple not having a wireless pad of their own now. The S10 took thing further and made the device capable of wirelessly charging other devices lol

I called a local Samsung authorized repair center to get the battery on my S7 replaced. They've had a dispute with their local parts vendor for a month or two now and they don't know when it'll be over. Until then, they don't have the part available. I'm sure there are other places that could fix it, but they're not Samsung authorized like UBIF is.

I can see my battery starting to push the back glass up a bit when under heavy load when something inside is expanding slowly. So I need to get this shit fixed ASAP.

Or upgrade

 

[masta247]

I can see my battery starting to push the back glass up a bit when under heavy load when something inside is expanding slowly. So I need to get this shit fixed ASAP.

Lol, that's borderline security hazard then, get it replaced asap. Maybe there's a trusted third party service center around?

 

[dilla]

Lol, that's borderline security hazard then, get it replaced asap. Maybe there's a trusted third party service center around?

Yeah I know it's dangerous to be running around with this thing lol. UBIF is Samsung approved, so it'll be OEM battery and I believe they claim they can maintain water resistance after the replacement, but I've read mixed things about that.

I should have done this months ago, when it wasn't a hazard but I knew I'd need a new battery soon. This thing is over 3 years old on the original battery with 1300 cycles and 62% of its original battery lol.

 

[dilla]

So Huawei is banned from selling stuff in the US. Looks like existing devices are fine but no new license. Has the 6P been abandoned for Goolge updates? It's kinda old now, but it might still have Pie or something. Not sure. But that sucks.

Masta, the S9 has USB C right? Did you buy additional cables and if you did, did you get Samsung branded ones or did you find reputable third party ones from Anker, or something?

 

[masta247]

So Huawei is banned from selling stuff in the US. Looks like existing devices are fine but no new license. Has the 6P been abandoned for Goolge updates? It's kinda old now, but it might still have Pie or something. Not sure. But that sucks.

Masta, the S9 has USB C right? Did you buy additional cables and if you did, did you get Samsung branded ones or did you find reputable third party ones from Anker, or something?

Huawei are banned from making any Android phones anywhere. Google withdrew their license to use Play services and other Google services like Gmail, Maps etc. No updates other than security updates, and no new official Android phones from Huawei. They can technically use the Android open source code, but they won't be able to use Google services (including the Play Store), Android branding and they won't get any support from Google, including early updates.
In the US it might not be as obvious, but Huawei is the second largest smartphone maker in the world - they already dominated Europe like Samsung dominated North America. They were nipping at Samsung's market share and were on their way to become the world's largest.

To make matters worse, ARM (despite being British) were forced to stop working with them effective immediately (which kills their chip efforts) and American component makers can't sell them parts as well. That's huge. I feel like it was the very last moment for the US to act in a way that could actually cripple a flagship Chinese company so hard, as they were mere years from complete technological independence, or superiority in some cases. They are still at a point where they use critical American components and cutting that supply essentially kills most of their products.
That's also a tremendous hit to America's reputation and the perceived reliability of their companies, and Google was caught in a crossfire. Surely other OEMs are watching, some of which might be looking for a plan B. Between Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, Lenovo/Motorola, OnePlus, Vivo and Nokia, Chinese makers combined have the majority of the global smartphone market to themselves so they have a lot of power at this point. If they made their own mobile OS, it's not impossible that it'd actually be successful. Outside of the US, Huawei generally became a very respected and well-received company.

As for cables, I don't use them for my phone anymore - I keep the cable that came with my phone at the office (it's the only Type-C cable I have). I only use wireless charging at this point. I probably have more than 20 Micro USB cables around my apartment for all other devices though. They are cables that came with devices I bought over the years.

 

[dilla]

Huawei are banned from making any Android phones anywhere. Google withdrew their license to use Play services and other Google services like Gmail, Maps etc. No updates other than security updates, and no new official Android phones from Huawei. They can technically use the Android open source code, but they won't be able to use Google services (including the Play Store), Android branding and they won't get any support from Google, including early updates.
In the US it might not be as obvious, but Huawei is the second largest smartphone maker in the world - they already dominated Europe like Samsung dominated North America. They were nipping at Samsung's market share and were on their way to become the world's largest.

To make matters worse, ARM (despite being British) were forced to stop working with them effective immediately (which kills their chip efforts) and American component makers can't sell them parts as well. That's huge. I feel like it was the very last moment for the US to act in a way that could actually cripple a flagship Chinese company so hard, as they were mere years from complete technological independence, or superiority in some cases. They are still at a point where they use critical American components and cutting that supply essentially kills most of their products.
That's also a tremendous hit to America's reputation and the perceived reliability of their companies, and Google was caught in a crossfire. Surely other OEMs are watching, some of which might be looking for a plan B. Between Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, Lenovo/Motorola, OnePlus, Vivo and Nokia, Chinese makers combined have the majority of the global smartphone market to themselves so they have a lot of power at this point. If they made their own mobile OS, it's not impossible that it'd actually be successful. Outside of the US, Huawei generally became a very respected and well-received company.

As for cables, I don't use them for my phone anymore - I keep the cable that came with my phone at the office (it's the only Type-C cable I have). I only use wireless charging at this point. I probably have more than 20 Micro USB cables around my apartment for all other devices though. They are cables that came with devices I bought over the years.

I didn't read too much into it but wasn't this big push to ban Huawei because of security issues? Or is it the result of Trump's pissing contest with China over tariffs? Is it affecting the world because Google is an American company? China has already gone for so long without giving citizens access to Google search and, I think, Facebook? Among many other things.

What wireless charging pad do you use? The official Samsung one or are there reputable third party ones these days? I still have the one I got with my S7 three-plus years ago. I think it was around from the S6 era. Non-Fast Charging. I think a FCing one came out a few months after the S7 release.

I was just looking for reputable cable-makers to replace the OEM cables that came with our cars to connect to them or charge them.