There’s nothing quite like using a foldable — and while they aren't for everyone, once you've used a large foldable like the Galaxy Z Fold, it’s hard to go back. As someone who regularly cycles through phones, I always find myself reaching for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 during the chaos of trade shows. That massive internal screen feels like having a tablet in my pocket, and when I’m juggling Slack threads, emails, and capturing photos and videos on a show floor, nothing else comes close.

This is the kind of futuristic convenience I dreamed of 15 years ago while lugging around a Motorola Droid and an HP TC1100 2-in-1. Foldables like the Z Fold finally deliver on that vision, but they’re still facing an uphill battle.

Fragility was a massive concern early on, and while it's largely eliminated now, the perception lingers. And the price? That’s the biggest obstacle by far. It’s tough to justify spending nearly $2,000 on a phone when excellent traditional flagships go for nearly half that.

Unfortunately, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 isn’t expected to reverse that trend. If anything, we may see the price climb even higher in the U.S. due to new tariffs, as we reported earlier this week.

So what can Samsung do to make the sticker shock more palatable? Load up the preorder freebies and discounts. Based on rumors, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 may include a 6-month subscription to Google AI Pro — Google’s $20/month AI suite — as one of its launch perks.

But is a $120 AI freebie and a trade-in credit enough to sway new buyers to a foldable? Let’s tally up what Samsung might offer and whether that’s finally enough to bring foldables into the mainstream.

What's half a year of Google AI Pro worth to you?

The latest rumor, uncovered in an APK teardown by Android Authority, suggests that Samsung may include a free six-month subscription to Google AI Pro (formerly Google Gemini Advanced), valued at $120.

If you've avoided or only dipped your toe into the AI realm so far, Google’s AI Pro is more than a simple chatbot. Beyond access to Gemini 2.5 Pro and Deep Research for complex AI tasks, it offers image creation, video creation through Veo 3, and even AI filmmaking tools through Flow.

It's a robust AI offering that should pair well with power users who may gravitate to the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Trade-ins and discounts

Samsung hasn't announced its next Unpacked event yet, but I expect that when it does, we'll see the typical $50 incentive if you provide your email, stacked with enhanced trade-in offers, possibly instant credits, and finally, free double storage.

The free AI offer is a nice appetizer, but these are the main course. The $50 is easy for anyone to get and carries no obligation; just make sure to register your interest when the offer pops up.

The trade-in offers are obviously dependent on what phone you have now, but Samsung always bumps up the values at launch. For the Galaxy S25 Ultra launch in January, the top trade-in offer was $900, while it was an astounding $1,200 for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 last year. If you are making the move from another recent flagship, that could take a lot of the sting out of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 price.

The instant credits are more of a wildcard. Sometimes these are only available to those not trading in a phone and can be up to $350. Other times, there are credits towards other Samsung devices.

For example, you may be able to get free Galaxy Buds 3 Pro or discounted offers on a Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Tab. It's not direct money in your pocket (unless you sell them, of course), but it can be a nice way to save if you've been considering any of those other devices.

The last incentive is the double storage offer, which, assuming Samsung keeps the same pricing for storage upgrades, is another $120 value.

So, if we total all of those theoretical offers, that's a potential $1,840 in value. Heavy asterisks are in order, as this includes a maximum trade-in value and assumes that Samsung offers instant credit to everyone, which isn't always the case. However, it does provide a picture of the maximum possible offer.

Even dropping to a more common $800 enhanced trade-in and removing the instant credit entirely, the total incentives would still be $1,090, which feels a lot better than staring down that $2,000 price tag.

Not cheap, but a better value.

Let’s not overstate it — Google AI Pro isn’t going to suddenly make the Z Fold 7 affordable. But when you stack it up with all of the other discounts, a free six-month subscription to a $120 AI service is more than just a nice throw-in. It’s a subtle shift in how the value proposition is framed.

Samsung wants you to think of this phone not just as a luxury gadget, but as a legitimate productivity powerhouse. That messaging becomes a lot more convincing when it comes bundled with serious software to boost an already powerful smartphone.

That's on top of some more significant upgrades than we saw last year. Leaks suggest a redesigned hinge and slimmer profile, which would help address one of the Fold’s lingering issues: bulk. I consider it a fair trade for the versatility, but no one is going to argue against a thinner and lighter Galaxy Z Fold 7.

We’re also hearing buzz about camera upgrades, potentially rocketing to the 200MP sensor previously reserved for the Ultra lineup, a significant bump from the current 50MP sensor. While the Fold cameras have been solid for the last few generations, they’ve never reached flagship-tier, which is hard to stomach at its price.

Combine that with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, faster storage, better multitasking, and tighter AI integration, and the Z Fold 7 starts to feel at least like a better value, even if it isn't cheap.

Is it enough?

I’ve always believed foldables could offer something truly different, and the Z Fold series has come closest to delivering that vision. But even I’ll admit: the price is a tough sell.

If the Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes with thoughtful hardware refinements, flagship-grade cameras, new software perks like Google AI Pro, stacked on top of other solid discounts and freebies, it will be easier than ever to justify the investment, especially if you’re someone who values productivity and multitasking on the go.

This might not be the foldable that changes everyone’s mind, but it could be the one that finally makes longtime skeptics reconsider. For those of us already onboard, it’s shaping up to be the best Fold yet.

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On Monday, the Trump Organization announced its plans to release a new smartphone, the T1 Phone, which will be supported on its new network, Trump Mobile.

The Trump Mobile network

Trump Mobile will offer 5G service through what the Trump Organization is calling “The 47 Plan” for a flat $47.45 per month, in reference to the U.S. president’s first and second terms.

Compatible with all three major U.S cell carriers, including T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon, Trump Mobile will whitelist its services in much the same way as competitors like the Ryan Reynolds-backed Mint Mobile.

How the tech of Trump Mobile works

Both Mint Mobile and Trump Mobile operate on what are known as “mobile virtual network operators”, or MVNOs. These operators purchase network capacity from the major providers and are generally targeted at niche customer bases.

In an interview held in the same spot where Trump first rode down a golden escalator to announce his candidacy for president at Trump Tower — ten years ago today, by the way — his son Eric Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that Trump Mobile would offer “international calling in hundreds of countries for free” on a phone that will be made “one-hundred percent in America.”

Will the Trump Phone be made in the USA? The details are fuzzy right now.

"We are going to be introducing an entire package of products where people can come and they can get telemedicine on their phones for one flat monthly fee, roadside assistance on their cars, unlimited texting to 100 countries around the world," said the president's son.

However, details on exactly how Trump’s Organization plans to manufacture these phones within the domestic U.S. remained scant.

Can we even make a smartphone in the United States?

As the tariff trade wars escalated last month and the President specifically called out smartphone manufacturers like Apple for manufacturing their products in China, much of the tech news media wondered whether it would even be possible to make a smartphone within U.S. borders.

A modern smartphone often contains hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of individual components sourced from an interconnected global supply chain: tin from Africa, chips from Taiwan, displays from South Korea, and so on.

The idea that all of these parts could somehow be repatriated before the phone’s supposed release date in September of this year is, put frankly, ridiculous, and may seal its fate as a product with a doomed launch.

For now, when Laptop Mag contacted Trump’s hotline for the phone at 888-TRUMP45 and emailed the company at care@trumpmobile.com, we were only told that the phone would be “made in America.”

This almost certainly means the company plans to assemble the phones domestically, but will still use the same global parts as every other smartphone provider. Until we know more, the only information we have on the underlying tech of the Trump T1 phone is a small collection of specs, seen below:

When can you buy the Trump T1 Phone?

Preorders for the T1 started Monday on the company's website, priced at $499 with a $100 down payment to secure your own model.

However, reports are already coming in that this process is anything but smooth. When Joseph Cox of 404 Media tried to order his own, the site automatically charged his card for the wrong amount ($64.70 instead of $100), and he was never even given an opportunity to provide Trump Mobile with a shipping address.

The phone is said to start shipping in early September of 2025, and a representative vaguely told us that some of the phones will be new, and “some will be refurbished.”

Given the mystery surrounding the Trump T1 phone’s actual components, construction, and distribution, we’ll update this story as additional information becomes available. Stay tuned for more!

This is not the first phone linked to Trump

In 2021, the Freedom Phone debuted, also costing $499. It is still for sale and is marketed as "a free speech and privacy first focused mobile device built on an open-source Android OS." As PC Mag reported, it gained popularity among supporters of Donald Trump, and not long after, The Daily Beast reported that the phone bore an uncanny resemblance to one made by a Chinese firm that was selling on AliExpress for $119.

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Who hasn't paused to ask themselves "Is my phone listening to me?" as we finish a phone call or a face-to-face conversation with somebody only to then stumble across an eerily relevant advert shortly thereafter?

I know I have, and I also know how disconcerting it can be — especially when bringing this up will see you lambasted as some sort of paranoid conspiracy theorist. Perhaps it's just a coincidence. Or, maybe, it's true.

Media conglomerate Cox Media Group (CMG) claims that not only is it possible to target potential customers based on speech collected by a smartphone or any other smart device's microphone, but that it's entirely legal to do so, and that it could offer this service (which it calls Active Listening) to marketing companies to take advantage of.

"Yes, our phones are listening to us"

The revelation comes by way of 404 Media, who originally reported on the company's claimed Active Listening capabilities in December 2023, who have also recently shared a pitch deck that was reportedly sent to prospective partners.

The original story centered around a blog post by CMG that bragged about its Active Listening capabilities, brazenly proclaiming that "Yes, our phones are listening to us," that "It is legal for phones and devices to listen to you and for third parties to collect that data," and "We can identify buyers based on casual conversations in real time."

The since-removed blog post has been archived online, defying CMG's efforts to brush the controversy under the rug, and demonstrates an egregious disregard for customer personal privacy in its efforts to help marketers "target, retarget, and retain customers."

The marketing delusion

Not only is Cox Media Group's approach to gaining data highly questionable — especially given claims from companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon that its smart devices only listen for 'wake words' like "Hey Google," "Hey Siri," or "Alexa" — but the company's mindset seems entirely disconnected from how customers would feel about this technology if it was more widely known about.

CMG's blog post even begins by hypothesizing about Active Listening before stating "No, it's not a Black Mirror episode — its Voice Data, and CMG has the capabilities to use it to your business advantage," seemingly entirely unaware that episodes of Charlie Brooker's sci-fi anthology series typically focus on the dystopian and distasteful outcomes of technology. Not that it would be something to brag about.

Further into the blog post, CMG also claims that its Active Listening services can deliver "Unprecedented understanding of consumer behavior," allowing it to specifically tailor ads which it claims will make people think: "Wow, they must be a mind reader."

Presumably, this is what a person might say when encountering these tailored ads for the first time, before then thinking back to everything else they might've said in the vicinity of said device over the last few years, before promptly smashing it to pieces with a hammer or any other blunt instrument to hand.

Exceptional claims require exceptional evidence

While CMG's claims are shocking, they are, at the end of the day, still just claims. While the company holds up partnerships with Google, Amazon, and Facebook, it's worth noting that CMG is only a member of their ad partner programs and that none of the mentioned companies are engaged with the Active Listening campaign.

While it's true that your phone is listening to you, it's unlikely that it's listening to you in the ways you might presume. As mentioned, most devices are constantly listening for your voice, but only to wake virtual assistants or perform actions through voice commands.

In fact, Google and Amazon have publicly stated that their smart devices don't engage in active listening as implied by CMG beyond using known wake words, and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg has denied claims that the company listens to its users to generate targeted ads during an April 2008 testimony to US congress.

During his testimony, Zuckerberg referred to the idea as a "conspiracy theory that gets passed around that we listen to what’s going on on your microphone and use that for ads," before firmly stating "We don’t do that."

However, beyond wake words, what you say to your smart devices is often converted into anonymous data that can be sold to third parties for advertising uses. Outside of these interactions, there exists no real evidence that smart devices can and will listen to users — despite CMG's claims.

The truth behind CMG's claims

Thankfully, CMG's claims appear to be somewhat hyperbolic. In a statement directed to Ars Technica, the company redefined its Active Listening capabilities so something much more mundane revealing its advertising tools as "third-party vendor products powered by data sets sourced from users by various social media and other applications then packaged and resold to data servicers." Essentially, the same aggregated data other marketers may have access to.

However, CMG's hyper-charged language in its original blog post is not explained. CMG refers to "The growing ability to access microphone data on smartphones and tablets" allowing an unnamed technology partner to "aggregate and analyze voice data during pre-purchase conversations" like how a smartphone may eavesdrop on a conversation about "which SUV model is best for the family with our spouse."

While CMG claims that it can't "listen to any conversations or have access to anything beyond a third-party aggregated, anonymized and fully encrypted data set that can be used for ad placement," it's this kind of language that muddies the waters.

Active Listening: Is it possible?

Is Active Listening possible? That's hard to say for certain. Both Google and Apple have found themselves fending off claims that one another's smart assistants are listening in more than they should in the past. But that isn't to say anything nefarious was afoot. Nor does it mean either company was engaged in an actual campaign to farm for ad-driving voice data.

Several experiments have been performed to see if external audio can influence a smartphone's ad delivery, most of which (like this study by Elleen Pan, Jingjing Ren, Martina Lindorfer, Christo Wilson, and David Choffnes), result in no effect on shown advertisements.

While it may potentially be possible for an app or smart device to engage in Active Listening in the way CMG suggested, it would seem that, at present, none do.

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• Your phone is listening to you — here's how to stop it
• Has your email or password been stolen? Here's how to find out
• This one McAfee feature makes the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x the only Copilot+ PC I’d buy

If you’re looking to upgrade your phone, T-Mobile back-to-school deals offer some fantastic deals at the moment that could net you a flagship smartphone like the iPhone 15 pro or Samsung Galaxy S24 for free if you trade in your old device.

Smartphones are expensive, and with new models released every year, it can be tough to keep up with the current tech without putting a major hole in your wallet. 

Fortunately, phone carriers in the U.S. offer upgrade paths, letting you trade in your old handset for the latest model at a hefty discount. T-Mobile is one such provider, and their latest round of back-to-school offers can net you some of the best smartphones of 2024 including the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S24, and Google Pixel 8.

If you don’t need a top-of-the-line phone, they’ve also got some great offers on some cheaper handsets like the Samsung Galaxy A15, and the older iPhone 14 — it might be last year’s model but it’s still a fantastic phone today.

Most of these deals will require you to trade in your old handset, and all of them will require you to either sign up for a new T-Mobile plan or have an existing plan with them. And if none of these strike your fancy, check out our best phone deals page for more great offers on handsets. 

Here's what T-Mobile's back-to-school deals have to offer:

T-Mobile back-to-school deals

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Smartphones are getting costly these days, but there are still bargains out there if you know where to look, and fortunately, we do. We've been out scouring the web for the best phone deals under $400.

While budget smartphones often make some sacrifices to keep their costs down, they also represent far better value for money than top-end models. You're usually getting most of the performance for a fraction of the price, and when they go on sale you can save even more.

The best phone deals we could find in this price bracket all happen to be from Best Buy, with some great savings on Motorola, Samsung, and OnePlus handsets. There's even a great deal on the newly-released Google Pixel 8a — a handset we expect to see rocket onto our best smartphones list in the near future. If you're looking to purchase and activate a carrier then the Best Buy deals are unbeaten, but Amazon is price-matching some of the handset-only prices.

5 best phone deals under $400

Apple has considerable ground to make up on when it comes to implementing AI into its ecosystem. However, that could be ramping up to change, with the company currently in "active negotiations" with Google to license its AI models to bring its AI features into fruition.

While Microsoft has Copilot and the backing of the powerful OpenAI models that come with it, Samsung leans on Google to power much of its Galaxy AI catalog, and Google itself is stepping up its AI game with its latest Gemini multimodal AI, Apple is left with very little to show for its efforts.

While Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has promised that an AI announcement is on the way and ready to "break new ground," it would seem that the company is torn between who to turn to when it comes to powering its artificial intelligence ambitions.

Apple AI at a crossroads

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple are currently in talks with Google to bring its Gemini AI model to iPhone, having recently met with ChatGPT makers OpenAI to discuss the same potential deal.

While Tim Cook has previously confessed to being a ChatGPT user himself, it would seem the Cupertino company is weighing all options ahead of making its promised AI announcement later this year.

Personal preferences aside, Apple's eventual decision on which direction it takes when choosing its AI models might come down to strengthening its relationship with Google after recently enforced EU regulations have forced Apple's hand into making it easier for users to switch from the default browser and default search engine — the latter of which Google currently pay billions to Apple per year to secure.

While ChatGPT and OpenAI's other models are far more popular than Google Gemini at present, a deal with Apple could considerably raise the profile of Google's model and ensure that the Search Engine giants retain the traffic acquisition of iPhone users. A switch to OpenAI's models would undoubtedly see Microsoft's Bing search engine reap the rewards if Apple chose otherwise.

Outlook

Apple's decision on which model to go with could greatly impact its AI goals in the short term. However, its long-term goals are more self-sufficient.

The company is currently working on its own AI model, code named Ajax and internally dubbed Apple GPT, but having been caught off guard by the sudden AI boom, it's believed that Ajax simply isn't up to par with the competition yet.

Apple will likely make use of either Google or OpenAI's models in the meantime to secure a footing in the current AI race while developing Ajax in the background.

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Honor is back at it again with yet another incredibly swanky flagship smartphone in the Magic6 Pro. Depending on which continent you call home, you may or may not be familiar with this Chinese brand, as they typically target the Asian and European markets, but there’s every reason you should pay attention to what they’re capable of manufacturing.

If you’re willing to call your smartphone “Magic” then there’d better be some substantial proof to back up the claim, and this week I’ve been hands-on with the evidence. So, what is it? Magic, or just a flashy illusion? Does Honor’s flagship-level handset have what it takes to tackle the best smartphones on the market today? Let’s find out.

Honor Magic6 Pro: Price and availability

Oh, boo and hiss, it’s another one of those majestic flagship phones that companies like Honor refuse to print money with by releasing them in the US. In all fairness, Honor isn’t a big enough name stateside to rival the likes of Samsung or Apple, even if its devices are more than up to the task (at times).

You can still import one if you choose, in which case you’ll be expected to pay 1,299 Euro or £1,099 (€999/£899 for those preordering) for the handset before any of the extra fees involved with getting the phone physically to you.

However, that decision comes with drawbacks as carrier and network support isn’t guaranteed for the device, so do so at your own peril. That’s a lot of money to plonk down on a smartphone, after all — evenly matched with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and Apple iPhone 15 Pro. Especially when you could be left with access to only the ‘smart’ part of the device and not the actual ‘phone.’

Honor Magic6 Pro: Design

While I’ve never been a fan of curved displays, I can’t help but admire the artistry that went into the design of the Magic6 Pro. While inheriting much from the Magic5 Pro that came before it, the Magic6 Pro does enough to elevate the look.

The large circular star wheel rear camera array is now framed by a “squircle” of metal gently rising from glass backing, softly textured to luxuriously emulate silk or satin. The edges gently curl around the phone to a chromed frame, slender at the sides to accommodate the arch of the front and rear panels before transitioning into the NanoCrystal Shield-protected 6.8-inch, quad-curved, floating OLED panel — now housing a centered pill-shaped cutout eerily reminiscent of the iPhone’s Dynamic Island, though marketed as a “Magic Capsule.”

It’s a densely packed flow of aesthetic pleasantries that measures just 8.9mm in depth, with the phone’s other dimensions mustering a more sizable 6.4 x 3 inches tall and wide. The soft curvature of the edges of the Magic6 Pro is comfortable and easy to palm, making it almost effortless to contain its top-heavy 8 ounces of weight.

IP68 rated and certified five stars for SGS Glass Drop Resistance Ability, the Magic6 Pro is protected from dust along with water resistance in up to 1.5 meters of fresh water for 30 minutes, and drops and shocks to both front and rear glass panels.

Honor Magic6 Pro: Display

The Magic6 Pro’s stunning 6.8-inch OLED display with its slender bezels and curved edges is an all-together joy to behold, especially when paired with a 1280 x 2800-pixel resolution, a pixel density of 453ppi, and a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120Hz for ultra-smooth, and ultra-crisp visuals at all times. 

Not only that, this phone is brighter than Einstein, touting a claimed maximum brightness of 5000 nits of peak HDR brightness. But before you dash for your Ray-Bans in sheer fear of your corneas being melted right off of your jellied eyeballs, know that your vision is as safe as ever thanks to dynamic dimming with an impressive 4320Hz PWM dimming rate and full care and circadian-friendly certifications from TÜV Rheinland.

The Magic6 Pro’s claimed standard peak brightness of 1600 nits is no slouch either, helping to pop colors left, right, and center in daylight or indoors, maintaining a vivid and eye-catching performance in general use, browsing, and through media or games.

It put my poor Google Pixel 7a to shame with both phones’ brightness turned up full, with its speedy screen backed by HDR10+ and a billion-plus color gamut going hell for leather as it sang for its supper through the trailer for “Deadpool & Wolverine” — drawing out the red of Deadpool's costume against a snowy backdrop perfectly.

Honor Magic6 Pro: Audio

While many of us rely on earbuds to soak in the sounds of our Spotify libraries, there are still times in life when a pair of powerful speakers is exactly what we need for a fuller soundscape, and a pair of powerful speakers is exactly what the Honor Magic6 Pro has.

The dual speaker setup delivers one of the stronger walls of sound you’re likely to encounter from a smartphone, with its peak volume reaching eardrum-shattering levels of volume, but that sound remains mostly distortion-free.

The Magic6 Pro delivers a striking balance between mids, trebles, and bass, with the latter in particular quite impressive for how it drove through much of the album “Songs for the Deaf” by Queens of the Stone Age without muddying bassist Nick Olivieri’s bass lines into oblivion.

When it comes to gaming, the Magic6 Pro’s soundscapes are worthy of incredible praise, offering immersive canvases of sound with directionally accurate audio readily picked up by ear.

Honor Magic6 Pro: Performance

Remember all that fuss about the power of Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor? It’s a shame we don’t make equal ado when other companies go for the high-spec smartphone, too.

While Samsung has seemingly diverted all the praise to themselves for the title of the world’s most powerful Android smartphone (and to be fair, rightly so), phones of a similar ilk like the Honor Magic6 Pro are at risk of passing by relatively unnoticed, even if they are decked out with the same uber-powerful processor, and that’s a crying shame.

Not that I have any tears to shed, mind you. Holding the Magic6 Pro is akin to barehanded grabbing a live wire transmitting 50,000 volts of pure happiness through your central nervous system.

As performance goes, I couldn’t be happier. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s potential is no modern-day myth, and the Honor Magic6 Pro puts it to work wonderfully with impeccable results aided fantastically by 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

We’re talking super-smooth scrolling, lag-free input detection, and rapid app access with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it responsiveness. Juggle all the tabs you want in Google Chrome, multitask across a deluge of apps and flick between them all at your whimsy, and immerse yourself in the most demanding Android games, no task is too large and no program too performance-heavy to parry the Snapdragon’s onslaught of power.

From “Alien: Isolation” to “Black Desert Mobile” and “Call of Duty: Mobile” the Honor Magic6 Pro schools lesser-equipped phones in the ABCs of buttery smooth performance right across the board.

And I mean right across the board, beyond the number of polygons the Magic6 Pro’s processor can present to its panel, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 performance extends to making the most of the available 120Hz refresh rate, with impeccably smooth on-screen results when it comes to navigating menus and switching between apps.

Honor Magic6 Pro: Battery life and charging

Sadly, we couldn’t put the Magic6 Pro through our in-house Laptop Mag battery test due to time constraints. That’s a sad thing because Honor has seemingly developed some form of zero-point energy battery, as churning through a full charge took considerably longer than I’d have expected for a device of its kind.

With the brute power of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, a dazzlingly bright screen, impressively loud speakers, and a rapid 120Hz refresh rate, I’d have expected the Magic6 Pro to cry out pretty consistently for a fix from the nearest power outlet. However, the real magic of Honor’s flagship device is being able to reach into a hat and pull out the Energizer bunny, as this thing keeps going, and going, and going, and going, and going, and going, and… You get the idea.

The Magic6 Pro can draw from a considerably deep well of power thanks to its 5,600mAh second-generation, silicon-carbon battery. Said battery is controlled by the HONOR E1 Power Enhanced Chip, which controls power management and performance to ensure maximum effectiveness at all times, even in low or high-temperature conditions.

After a typical day’s use, involving taking photos, general browsing, catching up on my Android game shovelware addiction, and helplessly falling down the YouTube Shorts rabbit hole, I’d usually be sat somewhere below the 30% threshold of my daily driver. However, it was a rare occurrence that I saw the Magic6 Pro ever drop below 50% charge naturally.

I’m not the world’s heaviest smartphone user, but I am often caught short and in need of a top-up because I generally forget to charge my phone overnight. Over the last three days of light usage, the Honor Magic6 Pro hasn’t been charged a single time, and it’s still sitting at 57% charge.

Speaking of charging, the Magic6 Pro is capable of 80W of super fast wired charging and 66W wireless with Honor SuperCharge. Frustratingly, Honor doesn’t supply a charger in the box. This means you’re highly unlikely to have anything to hand to take advantage of those speeds from the get-go.

However, after leaving the Honor Magic6 Pro to get familiar with the YouTube video “Crumb Cat dancing to Wii shop music for 10 hours” I gave the device a shot of juice from a Baseus GaN charger. The results? Not using the proprietary charger did limit things to just 20W of top-up power, taking just short of 3 hours to reach 100% charge.

Honor Magic6 Pro: Cameras

The Magic6 Pro’s cameras will be a joy for shutterbugs and an all-around fantastic trio of lenses that provide solid shots at a range of zoom levels and lighting conditions. Just looking at the spec sheet alone suggests a challenge toward Samsung’s zoom-prowess, and there’s definitely something to that.

The Magic6 Pro’s periscope telephoto lens has been given a nifty upgrade from 50MP to 180MP (1/1.14”, f/2.6). That improvement does have its downside, however. The available optical zoom is now limited to just 2.5x. Still, I was able to take some fairly impressive snaps well into digital zoom territory of 10x as seen below.

Though, while Honor makes somewhat of a pomp and show about labeling the camera array with the telephoto lens’ 100x digital zoom capabilities, it’s absolutely abysmal. So maybe play that down a little bit as a quirky extra, instead.

The 50MP Ultrawide camera (1/2.88”, f/2.0) produces some interesting images with a decent 122-degree field of view. The quality is nothing to scoff at, either. However, it’s best not to overly rely on the auto zoom here as it can result in an occasional muddy image even in bright and clear conditions.

Finally, the 50MP main sensor (1/1.3”, f/1.4-f/2.0) offers an adjustable aperture, that’s ideal for depth-of-field shots or macro photography. Shots taken are rich in detail and the wider aperture allows for better low-light snaps in the process.

The Honor camera app offers a range of presets to choose from, including your standard fare of night, portrait, and panorama modes, with more specific additions such as aperture mode, that lets you make use of the main sensor to fine-tune your depth of field for some impressive focusing shots; light painting mode, for long exposure-like captures; super macro mode, for impressive close-up photography; and pro mode, which gives you DSLR levels of control over the image you want to capture.

All-in-all, as smartphone camera experiences go, this is one of the more well-rounded efforts with results that are bound to please many.

Honor Magic6 Pro: Software

There is a dimension that exists within your very palm. It’s a dimension where productivity collides with entertainment in an eerily reminiscent manner you just can’t quite finger. From the frame of the smartphone acting as a portal into this strange dimension of parallel yet unaligned likeness, you are pulled into this disturbing void forevermore. You’ve just crossed over into… The iLite Zone.

When people talk about ‘the iPhone of Android phones’, they typically mean something premium with a focus on strong supporting software and a strikingly modern design. What it doesn’t mean is that the phone diminishes itself by actively and unashamedly attempting to copycat Apple’s devices or software. Someone take a memo of that and send it to Honor HQ.

MagicOS 8 is built upon Android 14, but you wouldn’t know that to look at it, despite its unique elements such as eye-tracking capabilities, air gestures, and Magic Portal—an AI feature that allows you to drag text and image elements to one side of the screen and view suggestions for how to make use of them—the overall aesthetic borrows heavily from Apple’s iOS, though does so in a way that leaves MagicOS residing somewhere deep in the canyons of the Uncanny Valley.

It doesn’t look bad. It just feels weird. At least at first, as it’s far from a deal breaker when it comes to the complete experience. While the Honor Magic6 Pro features a pretty unique and striking overall design, rich in premium aesthetics and classiness, this blatant iOS pilfering cheapens things somewhat. Even if the overall performance, smoothness, and navigation of the operating system are otherwise excellent. 

Bottom line

There’s more than a little bit of Magic housed within Honor’s flagship smartphone, but its availability and compatibility within the borders of North America are what will hold it back far more than any of my trifles with the device.

For the price you’d pay, you’re acquiring a top-of-the-line device touting the kind of components you’d expect from only the biggest names in the US market. That’s paired with a sensationally sleek design that oozes class, and an Android wrapper in MagicOS that, while leaning a little too heavily on its influences, has plenty to offer in terms of unique features and future support.

I think Honor has produced a fantastic smartphone here, and I almost feel bad we can’t give it a star rating due to being unable to get it to our lab in time for testing. So, instead of a star rating, hear me loud and clear when I say this, for I’ll only say it once. As an Englishman, the fact I can acquire tech like this almost makes it bearable that I live on the same continent as the French.

High praise indeed.

Samsung's next Galaxy Unpacked event isn't expected until July, but we're already hearing big things about what might be revealed and released in five months time — including the Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Buds 3, and Samsung's next-gen foldables.

The latest word on the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked lineup comes from X/Twitter tipster @TheGalox_ though word of what to expect at the event has been bubbling for some time with very similar claims.

According to circulating rumors, July's Unpacked event is likely to feature the following devices:

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 series
• Samsung Galaxy Buds 3
• Samsung Galaxy Ring
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

Outside possibilities for the event also include Samsung's Galaxy Tab S10 series of Android tablets and the company's long-in-development AR/VR headset.

Also mentioned in rumors is a new Samsung service of some kind. While we can't say for certain, it could be that Samsung may be planning a new Samsung Health service that blends with the company's newest Galaxy AI capabilities to provides deeper insights into tracked metrics like fitness, sleep, and wellbeing.

This would tie in nicely to the release of the Galaxy Ring, with the smart ring being better positioned on the body over Samsung's smartwatch to better capture deeper and more exact health readings.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked: What date will the event take place?

Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event isn't expected to arrive until July at the earliest. Typically, Samsung stages its mid-year Unpacked showcase in late July or early August. As of the time of writing, there is no exact date confirmed for the upcoming event.

Historically, Samsung prefers to announce event specifics only a few weeks in advance, so we can expect to hear the brand confirm an exact date at some point in July, 2024.

More from Laptop Mag

• Samsung Galaxy Ring rumors: Price, release date, specs, and more
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 rumors: Release date, price, features and specs
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 rumors: Release date, price, features and specs

Nothing has found impressive success with its Phone (1) and (2), and Ear(1) and (2) devices over the last few years, but the brand is looking to stir things up in the budget smartphone category with the release of its first Pixel A-series-like, mid-range device, the Nothing Phone (2a).

Seeking to deliver a core premium experience at a fraction of the price, the Nothing Phone (2a) could be the ideal Android smartphone for many, but a recent price leak may make it one of the most cost-effective smartphone solutions for all.

Nothing short of a bargain

While many of us expected the Carl Pei-fronted Nothing brand to reveal the Nothing Phone (2a) at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, it's been confirmed that we'll have to wait until March 5 to see the device unveiled in full. However, there is good news: we may have a clear indication of the Nothing Phone (2a)'s price.

Thanks to the work of French publication Dealabs, we may have gotten our first glimpse of the Nothing Phone (2a)'s MSRP with the base model (outfitted with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage) available for 349 euros (~$374), and an expanded configuration (featuring 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage available for 399 euros (~$428).

• Nothing Phone (2a), (8GB, 128GB): 349 euros / ~$374
• Nothing Phone (2a), (12GB, 256GB): 399 euros / ~$428

It's worth pointing out that when the Nothing Phone (2) launched last year its price in the E.U. was 679 euros, with a US pricing of just $599.

Whether or not Nothing has decided to aim for more of an even pricing across regions remains to be seen, however, should the U.S. retain its cheaper price point then we could be looking at one of the best-value smartphones on the market.

Sadly, the brand has also stated that the Nothing Phone (2a) will see a limited release stateside, with the phone initially set to be exclusively available through Nothing's U.S. Developer Program. There's currently no word on whether or not the brand aims for a wider release further down the line at this time. Boo and hiss.

Outlook

The Nothing Phone (2a) is shaping up to be a real competitor in the mid-range market, especially for those looking for the biggest bang for their buck.

The upcoming smartphone is rumored to feature dual 50MP rear cameras, a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a whopping 32MP selfie camera, 45W fast charging, an Android 14 base with Nothing OS 2.5 wrapping, and an uber-efficient Dimensity 7200 Ultra chipset paired with a 4,920mAh battery.

As mid-range buys go, this is already an excellent option. However, taking into account the device's budget-friendly pricing, Nothing's latest smartphone could be an ideal option for most people (in markets where it will be widely available), and even lure Android users away from Google's own budget-friendly option, the Pixel 7a.

More from Laptop Mag

• Nothing Phone 2a rumors: Release date, price, specs, and more
• Nothing Phone (2) review: The big leagues
• Have a butchers at the Nothing phone clothing line (and other brand's bizarre tech textiles)

Dismiss them as a fad at your behest, but foldable phones are on the receiving end of some major backing from big-name manufacturers, and they aren’t likely to go away any time soon. The envelope is being pushed as these brands seek to replace your phone with these folding phablets, and Honor’s Magic V2 might be on the precipice of convincing you that it’s not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all.

We’ve all heard the nightmare tales surrounding foldable devices, $1,799 Google Pixel Fold dies after four days, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold screen breaks after just one day, and dear God, Microsoft might be making a Surface Duo 3. The horror, the horror. These stories are enough to ward away even the most caring of smartphone owners, myself included. That’s why I’ve been hesitant to hop aboard the hype train for foldables, I was convinced my investment would soon turn into little more than a bendy paperweight.

However, clearly impressionable and easily influenced, it only took one YouTube video to change my mind (though, in my defense, it was a week-long) —- The Great Folding Test Vol. II by MrKeybrd. In this test, I saw both the Motorola Razr Plus and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 put through the wringer, facing so many forms of tech torture that even the animatronic puppet of Jigsaw would tumble from its tricycle in terror. While both phones would eventually flip their final fold, the levels of punishment that both stood up to stayed with me, I was suddenly a foldable follower.

Still, when Honor shipped the Magic V2, the world’s thinnest foldable phone, to my door, it was immediately apparent that the ghosts of long-fallen foldables still had their hooks in me. Just look at this thing, it’s so thin I wanted to feed it a hearty meal after unboxing it. I may have been more open to the feasibility of the foldable phone form, but I certainly still had one foot left on shore. Would the Honor Magic V2 be the phone that gets me fully onboard? Let’s find out.

Honor Magic V2: Price and availability

The Honor Magic V2 is available in one configuration offering 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage in either Phantom Purple or Midnight Black. It’s now available in the UK for £1,699, giving it a healthy advantage over the currently £1,869 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Like most foldables, the Magic V2’s price is potentially its greatest weakness. Costing £1.7K, you expect the latest and greatest tech to be sat in your pocket. Running off a modified version of Android 13 with the last generation’s top chipset isn’t exactly what many would see as cutting-edge.

Then again, there’s an argument still to be made, and the list of pros earned by the Honor V2 begins to outshine the cons the more time you spend with it.

Honor Magic V2: Design

Honor claims that the Magic V2 is the world’s thinnest foldable phone, and they’re not telling tall tales. At just 4.7mm in depth while open, and only 9.9mm thick while closed, the Magic V2 just surpasses Microsoft’s dual-screen offering of the similarly trim Surface Duo (4.8mm and 9.8mm) and the Huawei Mate X3’s true foldable form of 5.3 mm.

Even if the Magic V2 was a little chunkier, there’d still be plenty to praise when it comes to its design. From the bullnose-beveled frame, trim bezels, subtle branding, ergonomic button placements, and an easy-to-reach power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader, to the textured PU leather that encases its rear, the V2 exudes so much class that it would make a communist’s fist shake with rage. But did I mention that it’s scarily thin?

Every slight sensation of (what may or may not have been) a creak coming from its slender frame as I grimaced my way through opening or shutting it scared the ever-loving piss out of me —- and the soft clunk of the frame’s two magnetic edges colliding was enough to rocket my arterial pressure to heights that left my white blood cells popping like kernels of corn.

However, in a testament to how blasé we’ve all become about technology, and much to my surprise, by day two my clammy palms had vanished and I would catch myself ordering golf clubs on Amazon after I wondered how many of my household knickknacks I could “putt” through the Magic V2 while in tent mode.

I do not doubt that the Magic V2’s slender frame is more prone to damage than your traditional Gorilla Glass-encased monolithic mobile phone. But I do feel like we may have reached a stage of foldable engineering where overall fragility plays a much smaller part in failures than user error. Because, while only about as thick as three or four stacked credit cards, Honor’s Magic V2 is one sturdy boi.

It didn’t take long for the phone’s 8.1 ounces of heft and titanium hinge to put my mind at ease — if you don’t count a full day of precarious folding and unfolding at arm's length like it was as explosive as the rocket it shares a name with as ‘long,’ that is. But once settled, I was free to bask in that glorious expanded phablet form as I pried it open to reveal its 156.7 x 145.4 x 4.7-millimeter interior canvas.

Honor Magic V2: Display

While the Honor Magic V2’s 7.92-inch interior screen does bring with it a shallow crease that’s noticeable to the touch, it’s barely perceptible to the eye when in use and nothing to scoff at when it comes to enjoying all of that expanded on-screen real estate. It’s a porthole to possibility thanks to an almost 1:1 square of vibrant, foldable OLED panel that offers up a 2344 x 2156-pixel playground to enjoy more spacious screen time on the go.

Colors pop and leap from the panel in front of you, aided by a peak brightness Honor claims to reach 1,600 nits. It’s not just bright and colorful, it’s also pretty sharp and impressively smooth, with Honor’s measurements also touting a 402 Pixels Per Inch (PPI) density and a 120Hz refresh rate.

Compared to my Pixel 7a daily driver, the Magic V2’s scrolling and animations are decidedly smoother to the naked eye, outpacing Google’s 90Hz refresh rate and making touches feel more fluid and responsive. The interior panel is also brighter than the Pixel 7a’s 1,024 nits peak, but that’s only half the story. Fold the Magic V2 shut and you’re left with another impressive panel to gawp at on the phone’s cover.

If the interior display outshines the main panel of the Pixel 7a, then the cover screen practically glows like phosphor. Honor measures its peak brightness at 2,500 nits, much more in line with current flagship offerings from the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 (2,500 nits) and Pixel 8 Pro (2,400 nits). It practically dazzles through its Nanocrystal glass 2.0 protective lens.

The 6.43-inch external display is no slouch when it comes to screen space or smoothness either, featuring the same HDR10+ contrasts, 120Hz refresh rate, and 402 PPI sharpness as the internal panel while showcasing a 2376 x 1060-pixel resolution.

Honor Magic V2: Audio

On the audio front, the Magic V2 gains tremendously from the positioning of its stereo speakers. Whether open or closed, if you’re playing media with the phone in a horizontal orientation, you get left and right-firing IMAX Enhanced audio that delivers decent soundscapes and some impressive clarity across ranges —- albeit a little lacking in the mids.

The V2’s speakers capture the quieter moments with the same clarity as more pronounced sounds. However, at higher volumes, this range suffers from artifacts and there's a definite presence of clipping, especially in busy music tracks. It’s not a deal breaker by any stretch, as those higher levels are quite loud, and trimming down the volume will still cut back on the artifacts while delivering a solid wall of sound.

Connect a pair of the best headphones to the V2 and you can make use of DTS:X Ultra for more vibrant soundscapes ideal for spatial content like games or XR media.

Honor Magic V2: Performance

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform SoC within the Magic V2 might not be the latest chipset on the block, but that doesn’t mean it’s suddenly lost all value when it comes to performance — especially when backed by a whopping 16GB of RAM. This is, after all, still the very same chip found in OnePlus’ Open, and the dreams of Motorola Razr (2023) owners the world over.

In my time with Honor’s foldable, I can’t say that performance was ever an issue. Smartphones are generally overpowered for what they need to do, so being a generation from the latest cutting edge isn’t all that much of an issue —- especially as developers tend to target the widest base possible with software releases.

It shows too, because even in demanding titles like “Call of Duty: Mobile,” “XCOM 2: Collection,” or “Player Unknown’s Battle Grounds” the Magic V2 remains completely unphased, even while making use of higher graphical settings and HD assets. That’s without even enabling the performance mode boost in the device’s battery settings, too.

Look, here it is playing “EA Sports FC Mobile” flawlessly, a game about a sport that correctly delineates itself by name alone. Unlike the American version of football, which has less to do with the foot and more to do with human growth hormones and seeing how many traumatic brain injuries you can lay the foundations for while going human seal clubbing with your entire body as the cudgel of choice.

Not only do these demanding titles run flawlessly, but they also look incredible when engaged with the V2’s sizable internal display. The 7.92-inch screen allows games and apps more room the breathe and makes everything feel more comfortable. It also works great for the Play Store’s reintroduction of older titles through porting as “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” looked particularly cool and faithful in this near 1:1 aspect ratio.

After noticing a familiar chord progression in Sidewalks and Skeletons’ electronic bop “GOTH,” I could effortlessly use MixPad’s audio mixing and editing features to clip, chop, and arrange the vocals of Bloodhound Gang’s “Bad Touch” into proceedings.

That extra real estate helped me greatly in creating the audio mashup that no living soul ever asked for, and that no healthy mind would ever think up in the first place. It was a great win for tablet functionality in a smaller form factor, but potentially a great moment of shame for music as a whole.

Honor Magic V2: Battery life and charging

The Honor Magic V2 hasn’t gone through the Laptop Mag battery test, but I have been putting it to work over the last short while and seeing how well its battery life fares. Its combined 5,000mAh capacity is spread across two batteries housed in each half of the phone and provides some surprising longevity, even while making use of the larger inner display.

I don’t have exact figures to draw from here, but I have attempted to run the V2 down to complete depletion on several occasions to see how quickly it can work its way back up to a full charge again. In those cases, it almost became frustrating to get the V2 to flatline, as that final 5% of juice simply refused to give up the ghost at times.

My typical day-to-day with the Magic V2 would consist of browsing, gaming, and playing back music and podcasts while I work. Even at the end of longer days, the V2 had a considerable amount of charge left over, though if you make more liberal use of the phone’s internal display you may need to check in with your charging cable a little earlier than I had to.

Thankfully, with its 66W SuperCharge capabilities, you won’t be tethered to a power cable for too long. Charging from zero, the Magic V2 can restock its sizable battery in around 45-50 minutes — if you use Honor’s 66W SuperCharge Power Adapter. However, other adapters will vary depending on wattage.

Honor Magic V2: Cameras

The Honor Magic V2 has six cameras in total, comprising of a rear-facing camera array of a 50MP ultra-wide (f/2.0), 50MP wide (f/1.9, with optical image stabilization), and a 20MP telephoto lens (f/2.4, with optical image stabilization), and two 16MP wide angle, punch hole selfie cameras housed in either display. If you’re a bit of a shutterbug, there’s plenty to whet your appetite here, and there are some decent results to be had from each lens.

Ultra-wide shots look bright and vibrant and capture a decent amount of detail with accurate colors. Objects in the shade aren’t washed out, and there’s a nice level of contrast here that looks impressive both indoors and out.

Wide-angle shots once again offer crisp details and interesting contrasts, though the peaks of the whites are less intense. Colors pop nicely and retain the same lushness as the ultra-wide offering, making it another excellent choice for pictures.

The telephoto lens is a little more hit-and-miss, with its colors seeming ever-so-slightly less vibrant than the other lenses. Making use of the 2.5x optical zoom brings back those bold whites and deeper contrasts while maintaining a keen level of detail. It’s also fantastic for the phone’s super macro photography mode that lets you catch up-close details very nicely.

However, the 10x digital zoom can wildly vary in results from “Not bad at all” to “all bad.” Colors seem more washed out at this zoom, and the contrast can suffer greatly. There’s a 40x digital zoom here too but I’ve yet to find a good reason why as nothing I’ve snapped with it has been worth saving from my trash can.

10x zoom is somewhat saved by the camera app’s Pro Mode, which gives DSLR levels of control over each lens. The images below show the difference it can make when switching from the app’s basic photo mode.

The V2’s impressive ability to capture action shots is also worth a mention, with the one below caught accidentally as a flock of pigeons quickly flew past. Note the clarity of the wings with barely a motion blur in sight, while the camera app has a dedicated action shot mode, it wasn’t even engaged. Instead, the AI camera assistant noticed something fast-moving and adjusted the shot before I was even able to hit the shutter button — none of which sacrificed the overall quality of the image I originally intended to capture.

Honor Magic V2: Software

Running on MagicOS 7.2, the Honor Magic V2 exists in some sort of strange twilight zone between iOS and Android. While based on Android 13, and decidedly Android in feel, there’s an Apple-like uncanny valley quality to its menus, which adopt similar iconography and presentation to the iPhone — even down to the frosted glass backdrop effect of its drop-down notification bar.

While a little jarring to wrap your noggin around, the experience as a whole is as intuitive as any other OS you’ll come across, with a range of further interactions and shortcuts well signposted. In fact, the Magic V2 goes out of its way to tutorialize the experience in full, offering rundowns and walkthroughs of features with plenty of information at hand to familiarize newcomers and veterans alike with the foldable and MagicOS’ features both old and new.

Bottom line

If the durability of Samsung’s foldable opened my eyes to foldables, then the Honor Magic V2 won me over entirely. Not only is the phone stunning, but its looks align with equally impressive performance, a battery life that exceeded my expectations, and a build quality and durability that put to bed many of my foldable fears.

It’s not perfect, not many things are in life, but it is certainly one of the best smartphone experiences I’ve ever had. If you never once cracked open the Honor Magic V2 and enjoyed the roomy panel inside, you’d still be on the receiving end of a pretty great phone, which eliminates the case for its foldable form being a gimmick. It’s an addition. A solid feature that improves functionality, enhances software and games, elevates the user experience, and expands on this impressive device’s overall potential.

Inescapably, the V2’s price comes back to haunt it at this point. Yes, it has good performance, cameras, sound, and displays. But is any amount of that worth $1,800+ when it comes to a smartphone? That’s going to be a personal decision for you to make. But always keep in mind that no matter how sturdy or durable the V2 is, foldable phones do have a life expectancy.

This one, in particular, is claimed to be 400,000 folds or roughly 10 years if you open and close it around 100 times per day. However, as was the case with Motorola’s Razr+ in The Great Folding Test Vol. II I mentioned earlier, nothing is guaranteed.

Would I recommend picking up the Honor Magic V2? Yes, I would. If you take good care of your devices, they’ll typically take good care of you in return. I’ve gotten over my foldable fears, and maybe it's time more of us did the same.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve a moat to dig and a stick to sharpen to fend off Honor when they come to take it back from me.

I'm a long-time Samsung Galaxy smartphone and I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the S24 . Now while I'm a fan, I'm not such a fan girl that I'm just throwing wads of cash at Samsung for every new flagship. No, ladies, gentlemen and gentlethems, I like to wait for the reviews to come out, particularly ours and our sister sites.

And so far, so good, the S24 Ultra is living up to expectations. (Stay tuned for our full review.) Upgraded cameras, snazzy new AI features, powerful performance – it's all there. But that's not why I'm planning to plunk down $1,699.99 for a 1TB Titanium Violet S24 Ultra. Nope.

The answer lies in the Laptop Mag Battery Test (continuous web surfing over WiFi at 150 nits of brightness) which after being run several times has delivered over 16 hours of battery life. That's 16:46 on adaptive settings and 16:12 at standard. That's four hours longer than its predecessor, my current smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S23 (12:22) that beat out the Galaxy S22 (10:18) by two hours.

But a new model smartphone is supposed to perform better than its ancestors. How does the S24 Ultra fare against the competition? In the case of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, our sister site Tom's Guide saw a time of 14:02. That's great, although it's a safe bet that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will raise the endurance bar. For now, I'm going to enjoy this win, no matter how fleeting. The S24 Ultra also outlasted the OnePlus 11 which tapped out after 12:48.

Now I could sit this generation out and wait until 2025 to upgrade and get the Galaxy S25. I can still get about 10 hours out of my S23 Ultra. But Samsung has crammed enough compelling features that when paired with over 16 hours of battery life, I've got to see what all the buzz is all about. Plus, purple is one of my favorite colors.

Samsung’s “Galaxy Unpacked” event isn’t for another few weeks, but we already know plenty about the S24 line of smartphones including specs, design, Geekbench scores, and GPU performance. Thanks to some leaked posters from Brazil, we now know the new phones will come with generative AI features in a suite called “Galaxy AI.”

The term “Galaxy AI” was first spotted on a Brazilian sales poster for the phones by X-user and tech aficionado Alvin (@sondesix) which reads “Galaxy AI is here” when translated into English. The posters also confirm what we know about the S24 Ultra’s quad-camera setup and laser auto-focus.

 The Generative AI Arms-Race 

There has been a decent bit of speculation about Samsung using the generative AI features of the Google Pixel 8 like generative AI wallpaper, lock-screen weather effects, a photo editing tool, real-time translation, and voice focus to remove background noise in voice calls and recordings. These features seemed to be ripped straight from Google’s AI suite, and according to the initial leaks would require a Google account to use.  

The news of which left Samsung’s Galaxy One-UI 6.1 operating system looking like nothing more than a Samsung sticker over Google’s Android 14 OS. To some degree, Samsung’s operating systems have always been just an overlay on the existing Android system, but reusing Google’s whole generative AI suite made an already thin veneer seem even more transparent. 

However, Sammobile’s translation of the leaked poster’s Portugese text indicates that certain features of the Galaxy AI “may require a Samsung Account'' to use. It seems possible that Samsung has packaged Google’s generative AI features from the Pixel 8 along with a proprietary addition or two to the suite that would require a Samsung login rather than a Google account. It wouldn't be the first time Samsung hid some key features of their Galaxy phones behind a Samsung login wall, so it definitely seems plausible.

If that is the case, it’s certainly a smart move on Samsung’s part to offload some of the work in creating a generative AI suite by utilizing tools that are already on the market. Generative AI tools have become a key selling point for many flagship phones and laptops. So, if Samsung doesn’t want to be left behind, they’ve got to at least bring the same tools as Google.

The Nothing Phone 2a is shaping up to be something with its ~$400 price tag and dual 50MP camera array. The Nothing brand's latest smartphone is also set to receive a completely new design with its centered rear cameras and an all new glyph design that just leaked online thanks to app developer Dylan Roussel (@evowizz).

The Nothing phone 2a's toned down approach to its glyphs may be bad news for some, as its deign was certainly one of the more eyecatching elements of the device. However, the glyphs do remain. Though, as the video shared by Roussel shows, this is a far more conservative design than the Nothing Phone (2)'s pocket disco.

We recently scored a glimpse of the Nothing Phone 2a's PVT unity (a pre-production hardware model used for testing), and it lines up pretty well with the additional look we see here.

The new Nothing Phone 2a layout will feature three primary glyphs that orbit the new central camera array with more of the brand's Teenage Engineering-familiar aesthetic to cover the rest of the body.

Outlook

Has the Nothing brand compromised too heavily on design and performance to secure its budget-friendly price tag with the Nothing Phone 2a? It would be fair to see why that thought exists, especially having ditched the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ chipset of the Phone (2) in favor of a much more midrange MediaTek Dimensity 7200 option.

However, we can't truly say for sure until we see the final product. Although, as a brand quickly becoming synonymous with quality modern product design and competitive price-friendly performance, Nothing haven't given us much of a reason to doubt their upcoming product yet. And given the general look and presentation of the Nothing phone lineup so far, flashy lights are a small part of what makes these phones such lookers.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is set to be Samsung’s most impressive smartphone to date, and we’re less than a month away from its official Galaxy Unpacked reveal.

With Apple and Google preferring to reveal the latest iPhones and Pixels later in the year, this is typically the time of year when Samsung can bask in the spotlight and let its latest hardware catch the awe and wonder of consumers the world over.

Except this year is different. Things might not be as cut and dry this time around as Samsung is likely to forcibly share the limelight with another similarly spec’d flagship-level device releasing alongside it: the OnePlus 12. 

Samsung: The biggest phone manufacturer in the world 

Samsung is no stranger to aggressive competition, as the Android hardware market is littered with the aluminum carcasses of its fallen foes. There’s a high chance that if Samsung is perched on a throne atop the Android smartphone market, then it’s made of the bones of Nokia and BlackBerry, among others.

You don’t have to go back too many years to see Samsung competing with LG and Motorola for the Android crown. No prizes for knowing how those particular skirmishes turned out either.

Since then, LG has fully given up the ghost and Motorola is only just beginning to dip its toe back in the flagship market. As for Huawei, the company is a shell of its former self and still struggling to pull itself back together after brutal international sanctions were levied against it in 2019.

Don’t worry, reader. I know what you’re thinking: “What even is Huawei?!” Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. How about a brief history lesson?

Huawei: The biggest phone manufacturer (that you’ve never heard of) 

Chinese tech company Huawei had at one point in time overtaken Apple to become Samsung's closest rival in the global smartphone market.

Yes, that was a thing that actually happened as recently as 2019. As strange as it may sound today, a number of projections had Huawei poised to completely overtake Samsung in global market sales. Weirder still, in 2020 it actually did. How? Well, that’s easy. Every time Samsung would release a smartphone, Huawei would too. With similar (if not better) specs and for a much cheaper price. It’s a simple game plan, but nevertheless incredibly effective.

Huawei would take advantage of cheaper Chinese labor and shipping costs to undercut Samsung. It’s how it could rival Samsung’s flagship smartphones with its own while still targeting a budget-conscious audience – and it was playing out spectacularly well…

Right up until it wasn’t.

Just as Huawei’s star was rising to all-new heights, the U.S. government realized that this particular star was five-pointed, red, and emblazoned with a hammer and sickle.

Huawei was seen as a potential security risk after reported links to the Chinese government surfaced and, after years of political pressure against companies to avoid conducting business with the brand, it was officially banned from working with any organization that operates within the United States in 2019.

The aftermath of which absolutely cratered Huawei’s market share, leaving the company ostracized by much of the tech world, and completely unable to work with the likes of Google. And by cratered, we mean cratered. Huawei’s market share dropped from an all time high of 17% in 2019 to a lowly 4.7% and falling as of April 2023. 

Same tactics, new faces

I don’t exactly need to implant a spoiler tag in this article to tell you that as a result of Huawei’s collapse Samsung was once again safely back in the saddle and holding the reigns of the smartphone market. As of Q3 2023, Samsung retains a majority 20% share of the market. However, while the threat of Huawei clipping at its heels has long since passed, Samsung has a new set of faces to contend with including Xiaomi, Vivo, and Redmi.

It’s here where we reintroduce OnePlus, another Chinese brand with a focus on delivering flagship-level smartphones at affordable prices. In fact, it’s almost as if OnePlus inherited Huawei’s playbook and is running it page by page – unrestricted by the same pressures and stigma of the former market leader.

Celebrating its tenth birthday this month, OnePlus isn’t exactly the new kid on the block, but it has taken significant strides in the last few years by releasing the likes of the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Open. Once a brand almost solely revered by the Android modding community, the “flagship killer” is hoping to go mainstream, with its hardware execution now rivaling the likes of Samsung and Apple.

Having recently been released in China, the OnePlus 12 is the brand’s latest flagship smartphone and it’s set to arrive worldwide in Jan. 2024. This conveniently clashes with the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra – and not just by way of release date.

The flagship killer returns 

Let’s just state the obvious in advance: the OnePlus 12 is designed to be a flagship killer. It’s a machine made of metal and glass, and fabricated with only one purpose in mind: upstage the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra at all costs.

Both phones will find their global release at similar times, both phones will be outfitted with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, both phones will feature 6.8-inch OLED displays, and both phones will feature impressively spec’d camera arrays.

Want to know what sets the two apart? From what we know so far, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s top configuration will cap out at 12GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Which is impressive, until you learn that the OnePlus 12 will similarly feature 1TB of storage but up to 24GB of RAM!

But wait, that’s not even the best part. If you want to secure yourself the OnePlus 12 in its highest configuration it may only set you back ~$815 – which is $384 less than the base S24 Ultra (if it retains the same price as the Galaxy S23 Ultra that came before it). Samsung, consider yourself upstaged.

History repeats itself? 

Here’s the point in our story where that little history lesson about Huawei floats back into the room to haunt us like a specter. The last time we saw Samsung face up to a brand willing to undercut and outperform them in this manner, the Chinese brand came out on top.

To many, Samsung’s reclaiming of the smartphone throne only came by way of the extenuating circumstances surrounding the political and international pressures placed on Huawei. Had those incidents never been an issue, then today’s smartphone market could look incredibly different.

OnePlus, while following the ‘Huawei handbook on Samsung slaying,’ doesn’t have the same Stateside shackles applied. Leaving it free to pursue Samsung relentlessly across any and every continent it sees fit.

Outlook

In spite of all this, the OnePlus 12 won’t have an easy go of things when it comes to converting the Samsung faithful. The smartphone market seems like a completely different place in the present day, and brands like Apple and Samsung have practically solidified themselves as the only two mainstream options.

It’s a sad and unfortunate truth. One that even the likes of Google have had to contend with — as its marketing department is likely one step away from incorporating Subway Surfers footage into its next batch of ads, just so people might actually begin to pay attention to its genuinely impressive Pixel phones.

OnePlus may be offering a similarly spec’d phone at a cheaper price, but that may not matter in the face of the brand recognition Samsung has built up over the years. And, if we were to be completely honest with one another, if people made their purchasing decisions on specifications and price alone then brands like Apple would’ve become extinct many moons ago.

People like what they’re familiar with. Or, whatever has a little Apple on it. In 2023, brands aren’t so much competitive options for your cash as they are tribes you join and fiercely defend to the death within inconsequential Reddit and Twitter/X threads out of either blind loyalty or some sort of manifestation of the Sunken Cost Fallacy. That kind of conditioning is hard to break, and could be one of OnePlus’ biggest hurdles.

Could OnePlus topple Samsung’s best phone to date in the Galaxy S24 Ultra? Anything is possible, I suppose. The OnePlus 12 is a formidable device, and definitely deserves as much of a look-in as Samsung’s upcoming flagship. Will that be enough to beat Samsung, however, another question entirely – potentially one that can be answered only when both devices are released next year.

We could be weeks away from the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, but that hasn't stopped speculation swirling about the device's specifications and features. With the smartphone expected to arrive in early January, more and more information about the flagship Ultra device is finding its way online through reliable tipsters and inside sources — well in advance of Samsung's official Galaxy Unpacked unveiling.

We've already caught wind of the S24 Ultra's expected generative AI tools and features coming with the One UI 6.1 update, many of which seem lifted straight from the Google Pixel playbook. Today, conflicting information has brought an older rumor to the forefront once more. And it all revolves around the Galaxy S24 Ultra's inclusion (or lack thereof) of a popular Galaxy S23 Ultra feature.

A closer look at the news

Samsung smartphones are well known for their excellent photography, and its Galaxy S-series of devices have become a favorite of shutterbugs the world over. It's one of Samsung's biggest strengths and something it took to new heights when making the defining feature of the Galaxy S23 Ultra an incredible 200-megapixel main camera.

However, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's photography prowess was a sum of its parts, with the smartphone also hosting a set of 10MP telephoto shooters. It's those telephoto lenses that added even further to the allure of Samsung's smart-snapper for many — with one featuring a 3x optical zoom and the other a whopping 10x optical zoom.

So, imagine the disappointment when ever-reliable tech tipster Ice Universe broke the news that Samsung would be ditching its high-spec 10x optical zoom for a more traditional 5x optical zoom as found in other iPhone and Pixel flagships.

A last minute twist?

However, recently, South Korean outlet The Elec gave telescopic togs hope to cling on to after it reported that the 10x optical zoom would carry over to the S24 Ultra. It was the news many were hoping for, and long-distance lens lovers rejoiced as all was put right in the world once again.

Sadly, not for very long.

The bad thing about the social media platform formally known as Twitter's torrent of tech tipsters is that you're very rarely able to enjoy a surprise as a company unveils its latest product. With a number of the more reliable leakers already having informed you of everything from the device's specifications to the color of underwear the person presenting them will be wearing on the day. They can be pretty remarkable like that.

The good thing about these clued-up canaries is that they're very quick to fact-check one another when something seems amiss. Just as the reputable Revengnus did, hours after the aforementioned article was published.

It would seem that reports of the Galaxy S24 Ultra's 10x optical zoom were greatly exaggerated. Revegnus would clear things up by posting what he believes to be the 'final' camera specifications for Samsung's inbound flagship — and, true to previous murmurings online, it would appear to feature a 5x optical zoom.

Outlook

While Revegnus' revelation may taste like sour grapes to many, it's important to point out that the Galaxy S24 Ultra's optical zoom downgrade is paired with a megapixel upgrade. The previous 10MP sensor will be replaced by a much higher 50MP one, allowing for greater pixel density and more detail in each shot.

There are cases where similarly spec'd smartphones have been able to perform on par with Samsung's long-range lens, and we doubt Samsung would start cutting corners without good reason as iPhone, Pixel, and OnePlus devices begin clipping at its heels.

Of course, we can't say for sure how big of an impact this change will make until we get a hold of the device ourselves. But it is good to know that while Samsung intend to take with one hand, they're looking to give back with another.

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 line-up is expected to be revealed and released in January during a Galaxy Unpacked event poised to kick-start 2024’s smartphone arms race. There we will get our first look at the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Also likely to make an appearance will be the latest One UI 6.1 update — Samsung’s proprietary front-end software for Android. The software update is expected to be released alongside Samsung’s Galaxy S24 range and bring with it a wave of Generative AI tools to enhance the South Korean giant’s smartphone experience.

Thanks to a recent leak, we’ve been granted an early sneak peek at some of these features in action.

Galaxy One U-AI 6.1 

It’s teenage tech tipster Benit Bruhner Pro who delivers the goods this week after leaking a One UI 6.1 video highlighting the OS’ AI features. The two-minute video showcases a generative AI wallpaper tool in action, allowing you to play mad-libs for a uniquely crafted result.

An eerily familiar Photo Editor that can remove or move subjects around an image at will — even expanding the photo beyond its borders with a generative AI fill also makes its debut. As does the real-time translation of phone calls and Voice Focus — which uses AI to remove background sounds and clear up your voice in calls or recordings.

While impressive to see these features arrive on Samsung smartphones, I’d be far more impressed if these features hadn’t already arrived on the Android platform by way of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Indeed, the Pixel has been plundered of its computational prowess as Samsung parrot particulars of the 8 Pro’s impressive Magic Editor and Audio Magic Eraser to name a few.

Outlook

In late October, it was reported that the South Korean manufacturer was making a big push to squeeze AI features into the Galaxy S24 line-up in prep for its 2024 release. However, Samsung may have realized that wedging an AI brainchild into your products as an afterthought was potentially a bad idea — though likely, simply too much of a money and time-consuming one.

As such, it appears that much of what Samsung is offering with Generative AI could rely heavily on Google’s infrastructure, with generative tools like the AI wallpaper generator requiring users to log in with a Google Account to make use of them.

While we at least know that this will give the Galaxy S24 line-up a solid AI backing to build upon, it doesn’t help to make One UI feel anything more than a Samsung sticker, hastily applied over the top of a perfectly functional Android 14 operating system.

With the adoption of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Samsung is poised to narrow the performance gap created by the powerful Apple Silicon chips when the Galaxy S24 Ultra arrives in January. There’s just one tiny problem, it won’t be the only flagship device launching in early 2024, and it may not be the best.

Before Samsung can truly set its sights on the iPhone’s mantle, it will be dog fighting for Android supremacy with a device that can not only rival it in terms of performance but could also come in at a more attractive price: the OnePlus 12.

The OnePlus 12 might not have the name recognition of Samsung’s Galaxy lineup, but that’s to your benefit — as you get similarly fantastic hardware for far less. But just how similar are we talking? Is the OnePlus a genuine threat to Samsung's flagship? Let's find out.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. OnePlus 12: Specifications

Note: Some prices and specifications are based on rumors or leaked information and figures here are subject to change.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. OnePlus 12: Price

We of course don’t officially know for certain how these devices will be priced when they make it to the U.S. market in January 2024. However, we do have a history of Samsung release prices, and the recent release of the OnePlus 12 in China to gauge potential price points.

Should the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra retain the same price as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, we’re looking at a price tag of around $1,199. However, price jumps for major flagship smartphones have been in the cards for a while now, with some tipsters hinting towards a potential $200 increase for devices like the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

That being said, we’ve seen a lot of hit-or-miss price hike predictions over the last couple of years, and the S24 Ultra retaining its predecessor’s launch price is far from an absurd suggestion.

On the other hand, the OnePlus 12 recently launched in China with its highest configuration (offering 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage) available for CNY ¥5,799. That’s roughly $815, making the best OnePlus 12 model at least $384 cheaper than the S24 Ultra’s standing price projection, and $584 cheaper than the Ultra’s rumored $1,399 price tag.

Should the OnePlus 12 go on sale for a similar price in the U.S. (and considering the OnePlus 11’s $659 price, it just might), then OnePlus scores an impressive victory in this category — offering comparable performance (and even higher specs in places) at a far more affordable price. 

Winner: OnePlus 12

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. OnePlus 12: Design & displays

Design-wise, both smartphones will stick closely to the look of the models that came before it. However, small changes could still be apparent for both. 

The S24 Ultra is rumored to feature a titanium chassis with a less curved display and narrower bezels (though ultimately keeping the rounded-edge design of the S23 Ultra). For its part, the OnePlus 12 is confirmed to have relocated its Alert Slider (similar to the iPhone’s now-eliminated Ring/Silent switch) to the phone’s opposing flank to improve overall signal quality. Small changes and tweaks like this can have a significant impact on usability, but a radical redesign of either model is out of the question.

When it comes to display, both phones are expected to arrive with ~6.8-inch OLED panels. Reportedly, the S24 Ultra is set to receive the faster display of the two, outfitted with a 144Hz refresh rate.

However, when it comes to brightness, OnePlus is practically untouchable. The OnePlus 12 features a (claimed) peak brightness of 4,500 nits — far beyond the expected 2,500 nits of the S24 Ultra. Whether this retina-reducing brightness is a worthwhile addition or just a record-breaking gimmick remains to be seen.

It’s Samsung’s display that could pull ahead in the end if the rumor of the Galaxy S24 Ultra featuring an AMOLED M13 LTPO panel holds true. The M13 is a premium panel and one of Samsung’s most cutting-edge displays, with enhanced visual performance and an improved color gamut. It’s also the very same panel rumored to appear in the upcoming iPhone 16.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. OnePlus 12: Performance

The Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12 will both feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor — bringing with it a considerable leap in mobile performance for Android devices.

Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is up to 30% faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (found in both the Galaxy S23 Ultra and OnePlus 11), and is considerably more efficient. The chipset manufacturer’s released AnTuTu and Geekbench results show a healthy leap in computing potential, placing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on a more level playing field with Apple’s 3nm A17 Pro processor in the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The two phones diverge when it comes to the supporting cast working with Qualcomm’s impressive processor. The Galaxy S24 Ultra should come in two primary configurations: one with 8GB of RAM and one with 12GB of RAM.

While at one point rumored to be adding a 16GB option, those claims have since been shot down by reputable leakers, leaving many Samsung fans disappointed. Especially when you compare that to the OnePlus 12’s 12GB, 16GB, and impressive 24GB of RAM configurations.

With both phones featuring the same processor, you’d expect this particular category to result in a stalemate. However, OnePlus’ higher configurations and vapor chamber cooling allow an increased potential for the OnePlus 12 to squeeze every bit of performance possible from Qualcomm’s powerful processor.

Winner: OnePlus 12

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. OnePlus 12: Cameras

The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s outstanding 200MP main camera will seemingly carry over to the S24 Ultra. However, not resting on its laurels, Samsung reportedly intends to push things even further by giving one of its 10MP telephoto lenses a 50MP upgrade. An updated 1-inch sensor could also be in the cards, with the goal of improving low-light capture and improving the phone’s overall dynamic range.

Samsung is on strong footing when it comes to its camera array, and it would take something pretty spectacular to dethrone it as king of the smartphone snappers. Sadly, while impressive, the OnePlus 12 isn’t quite there yet — though it’s not too far off. OnePlus’ flagship offers a Hasselblad 50MP primary camera, 48MP ultrawide lens, and a more than decent 64MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom.

A 32MP selfie camera caps things off by doffing its hat to the Galaxy S24’s 12MP counterpart, but Samsung’s impressive sensors and variety are still likely to win the hearts of cameraphone aficionados.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 

First Impressions

While the official S24 Ultra launch may have just gone down, Sean Riley, our mobile guru, got a sneak peek at CES 2024. His initial impressions? Pretty darn impressed. The Galaxy AI, vapor cooling system, flatter display, and titanium build quality all earned serious kudos.

The good news doesn't stop there. The S24 packs Galaxy AI and a solid 12GB of RAM. However, the $1,299 price tag raised eyebrows, especially considering the upcoming OnePlus 12 boasting similar specs, likely for less than $1,000.

But is Samsung's AI prowess the game-changer? Its unexpected inclusion could nudge some buyers towards the S24.

We also just received our OnePlus 12 review unit, our first impression is that its a top notch build, feels great in the hand, and it arrives with the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, but OnePlus will give you 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Pricing remains under emabrgo, and I am unable to get deeper into my experience with it. 

However, if past experience holds true, the OP 12 will give the S24 a run for the money, while saving you a chunk of cash. I am interested in seeing how the battle for better cameras plays out between the two devices. 

Conclusion

Samsung's S24 Ultra is a formidable flagship, and a continuation in form for the South Korean tech giants. It's impressive camera array and potential top-tier screen upgrades make it one to watch out for. However, OnePlus' smartphone is no slouch either, and poses a real threat as a possible flagship killer of a device.

With all that said, while its on-paper promises show great potential, the OnePlus 12 has an uphill battle on its hands if it hopes to steal Samsung’s smartphone audience. Not only has Samsung solidified itself as the defacto figurehead of Android smartphones, but it has incredible brand recognition to fall back on as well.

OnePlus’ saving grace could be its generous pricing, with the smartphone forecast to champion an impressive price-to-performance conversion on release (if OnePlus’ device lives up to the brand’s claims).

Could OnePlus succeed where so many others failed? We won’t know for sure until both phones make it into the hands of consumers. However, on paper at least, the OnePlus 12 is a very tempting alternative to Samsung’s pricey flagship.

The OnePlus 12 is set to make its worldwide release next month, going head-to-head with Samsung's S24 range of smartphones — including the Galaxy S24 Ultra. While many see Samsung's flagship as the premier Android option, the OnePlus 12 threatens to upset the apple cart in a big way.

While Samsung and Apple squabble over who gets the majority of the mainstream limelight, brands like OnePlus are busy pushing performance and features to the max, typically for a lot less than the market's frontrunners. The OnePlus 12 is a prime example, offering quality cameras, a record-breaking display, and a sizable battery with incredible charging potential.

One(Plus) great value smartphone

Having launched in China today, the OnePlus 12 stands as one of the best all-around smartphones on the market when it comes to price, features, and components — casting a tall shadow on the competition ahead of its wider release in January 2024.

In the meantime, Chinese adopters can pick up OnePlus' flagship device starting at just CNY ¥4,299 (~$600). This configuration includes 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. However, configurations continue through 16GB of RAM up to a whopping 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage for CNY ¥5,799 (~$815).

U.S. prices are as of yet to be confirmed, but if this markup carries over to the dollar, then it makes the cost of a fully decked-out OnePlus 12 roughly equal in price to the standard iPhone 15 — or $300 cheaper than the projected cost of the cheapest Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra configuration.

(One)Plus all the extras

Of course, there's more to a smartphone than RAM and storage. And, despite its price. the OnePlus 12 has some impressive flagship-level features and components to offer.

Just one of which is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor — one of the most exciting mobile developments in years, and the first true potential challenger to Apple's Bionic chipsets in years (though still playing catchup).

It's the very same processor expected to feature in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. However, thanks to a vapor chamber cooling structure, there's real potential for OnePlus to squeeze every drop of performance it can out of Qualcomm's silicon without fear of thermal bottlenecking (or burnt fingers).

The smartphone's main camera array will include a 4th-Gen Hasselblad-tuned 50MP primary sensor with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), a 48MP ultrawide lens with autofocus, and a 64MP telephoto shooter with 3x optical zoom. And, for all your selfie needs, there'll be a front-facing 32MP camera also.

Keeping everything powered is a whopping 5,400 mAh battery with support for 100W of fast charge by cable and 50W by wireless. How much of that charging potential will transpose to U.S. and European markets remains to be seen, but it places the OnePlus 12 in a sturdy position as one of the fastest-charging Android devices to date.

Add WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, an under-display fingerprint reader, and an IP65 protection rating and you're looking at an impressive do-it-all device bursting with potential. But it doesn't quite end there.

A glowing display

A lot of fuss has been kicked up recently about peak brightness in smartphones. Apple claims that the peak brightness of the iPhone 15 Pro Max can reach 2000 nits, and Google claims that the peak brightness of the Pixel 8 Pro can measure 2400 nits. Rumors have even indicated that Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra will reach 2500 nits.

However, all of that pales in comparison to the OnePlus 12, with its 6.82-inch OLED display featuring a (claimed) record-breaking peak brightness of 4500 nits. Talk about making a statement. In a few years, we can likely expect OnePlus to deliver an OLED panel so bright it could cast a shadow on the surface of the sun.

Besides the OnePlus 12's fantastical brightness, the panel will also feature a dynamic 1-120Hz refresh rate and a sharp, crisp 2K resolution. 

Outlook

"OnePlus 12" results in a particularly unlucky number for some, and that could include Samsung's flagship Galaxy S24 Ultra when both phones arrive next month. Especially when it has to face up with this much quality, potentially at a lower price.

Keep your eyes peeled for the launch of the OnePlus 12 early next year. While it might not have the same household recognition as an Apple or a Samsung, it's a smartphone that's absolutely worth keeping on your radar.

Black Friday deals are bringing us some of the finest tech there is at prices so low that I'm beginning to think that the retail industry is getting its kicks by flirting with the potential outcome of absolute collapse.

Don't believe me? Remember foldable phones, the incredibly expensive revival of the mid-noughties classic? Well right now you can lay claim to two of them for a more than modest price tag for Black Friday: the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 for just $799 at Amazon and the Motorola Razr Plus for just $699 at Best Buy!

That results in savings of up to $300, with just $100 between these two devices. So which one deserves a spot at the top of your Black Friday shortlist? Let's summarize our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Vs. Motorola Razr Plus face-off and see.

• Performance: Both the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Razr Plus feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 processors, but it's Samsung's foldable that features the improved Gen 2 variant giving it the clear edge when it comes to overall performance and efficiency across the board.
   
• Cameras: You'd expect most camera face-offs including a Samsung phone to be a white wash on paper. However, thanks to the Razr Plus' 32MP selfie camera, the Motorola foldable pulls ahead in terms of sheer hi-res results.
   
• Display: The Galaxy Z Flip 5 makes use of some impressive AMOLED panels for a brighter, crisper, and more vivid result. However, the Motorola Razr Plus features a larger 6.9-inch internal OLED display with a faster refresh rate and a best in class external display that is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.

Which is the better Black Friday deal?

• Want the best performing foldable phone?
  Go with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 for $799 at Amazon.
   
• Want a foldable phone with plenty of storage for your photos, videos, and apps?
  Go with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 (512GB) for $899 at Amazon.
   
• Want one of the most durable foldable phones on the market?
  Go with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 for $799 at Amazon.

• Want a foldable phone with a best in class external display?
  Go with the Motorola Razr Plus for $699 at Best Buy.
   
• Want a sizable internal OLED screen and a high refresh rate?
  Go with the Motorola Razr Plus for $699 at Best Buy.
   
• Want a foldable phone capable of taking higher resolution photos?
  Go with the Motorola Razr Plus for $699 at Best Buy.

Update 11/25/23: Black Friday may be over, but many of the best Black Friday phone deals remain, including deep discounts on our two combatants in this face-off: the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra at $899 and the Google Pixel 8 Pro at $799. Read on to see which deal comes out on top! 

Black Friday brings with it a horde of deals, far too numerous for anyone to keep up to speed with. Thankfully, we've got our eyes peeled on the top deals in tech, but knowing about these deals is only half the battle.

Deciding which deal to go with is the real question. Today we'll be looking to help you decide between two impressive Android devices on sale for Black Friday: the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra for $899 at Amazon, and the Google Pixel 8 Pro for just $799 at Amazon.

Two flagship Android smartphones are heavily discounted for Black Friday, with only $100 between them. So, if you had to choose between the two, which is the better Black Friday deal?

• Performance: The Google Pixel 8 Pro's new Tensor G3 chipset definitely offers a dramatic improvement of the previous G2 processor, but the PIxel 8 Pro is still stuck in that off-kilter Nintendo-zone in contrast to both Apple and Samsung. The Galaxy S23 Ultra's Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor still leaves the Pixel 8 Pro in its wake – regardless of Google's improvements.
   
• Cameras: Direct results from top-tier hardware or the polished refinement of every pixel captured using Google's computational photography? The choice is entirely yours. While the Galaxy S23 Ultra has the raw performance in terms of sheer mega-pixels captured with a 200MP main shooter, the Pixel 8 offers a ton of software enhancements to squeeze every drop of performance out of its more evenly spread 50MP main lens and similar rear cameras.
   
• Display: The Galaxy S23 Ultra has an impressive display. This is Samsung we're talking about, after all. Not only is it slightly bigger at 6.8-inches in size (compared to the PIxel 8 Pro's 6.7-inch panel), but it offers a higher resolution and better pixel density. Add in a 3,000,000:1 HDR10+ contrast ratio and the S23 Ultra's AMOLED 2X pulls further and further ahead.

Which is the better Black Friday deal?

• Want a the best performing phone with a top tier display?
  Go with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra for $899 at Amazon.
   
• Want a phone with plenty of storage for your photos, videos, and apps?
  Go with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (256GB) for $899 at Amazon.
   
• Want a camera-phone with one of the most powerful sensors available?
  Go with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra for $899 at Amazon.

• Want a great all-around smartphone that's smooth and easy to use?
  Go with the Google Pixel 8 Pro for $799 at Amazon.
   
• Want a smartphone with great camera software and photo editing potential?
  Go with the Google Pixel 8 Pro for $799 at Amazon.
   
• Want a smartphone with on-board generative AI to simplify your daily tasks?
  Go with the Google Pixel 8 Pro for $799 at Amazon.

Top Black Friday deals are swirling all around the internet at the minute. It's a tornado of terrific transactions and its heading right for us. In all the screaming and confusion it can be hard to judge where to spend your hard earned cash. One pressing question I'm facing at the moment is, "Should I grab the Google Pixel 8 for $549, or save a little extra and pick up the Google Pixel 7a for $374?"

Both are fantastic smartphones, each backed by Google and an exclusive Pixel feature set. But which is the best deal? Well, lets keep this short and sweet by summarizing our Google PIxel 8 vs. Google Pixel 7a face-off:

• Performance: The Google Pixel 8 is a fantastic device, it offers an upgraded Tensor G3 chipset (over the Pixel 7a's reliance on Google's last gen processor the Tensor G2), promising improved performance and efficiency.
   
• Cameras: While the cameras of both phones differ, each has its own strengths with the Pixel 7a touting a higher 64MP main shooter, and the Pixel 8's 50MP alternative featuring a superior aperture for improved shooting under a wider variety of light.
   
• Display: The Pixel 8 also includes a slightly larger 6.2-inch, 120Hz Adaptive OLED display (as opposed to the Pixel 7a's 6.1-inch 90Hz Adaptive OLED panel).

Which is the better Black Friday deal?

• Want a high-performing smartphone with access to the latest Google Pixel features first?
  Go with the Google Pixel 8 for $549.
   
• Want a phone with plenty of storage for your photos, videos, and apps?
  Go with the Google Pixel 8's 256GB configuration for $609 at Amazon.

• Want a great all-around smartphone for every day use?
  Go with the Google Pixel 7a for $374 at Amazon.
   
• Want a smartphone that offers the best price-to-performance ratio?
  Go with the Google Pixel 7a for $374 at Amazon.

• Want the most powerful Pixel smartphone to date?
  Skip them both and grab the Pixel 8 Pro for $799 at Amazon!

It's been almost a year since the Galaxy S23 Ultra launched, so in a surprise to hopefully no one, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the centerpiece of today's Galaxy Unpacked event. Given the volume of Galaxy S24 Ultra, there aren't too many surprises, but 

There’s a fair amount of hype surrounding the S24 Ultras release, but a product with hype around it is always at risk from the words “Didn’t live up to the..” also taking orbit around it post-release. So what do we know about the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and how can we tell if Samsung’s upcoming flagship phone is worth jumping aboard the bandwagon over? Let’s find out.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Specifications

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Price

There were plenty of rumors of a price increase for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, similar to what we saw with the iPhone 15 Pro Max this year, and unfortunately the rumors were true. The Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $1,299, a $100 price bump from the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra leapfrogs the iPhone 15 Pro Max ($1,249) to once again secure its spot as the non-folding phone with the highest starting price. If you are looking for anything to soften the blow, if you pre-order the Galaxy S24 Ultra between now and January 30 on Samsung.com you are eligible for a $100 Samsung Credit and you also get a free storage upgrade from 256GB to 512GB, or for the first time you can opt for the 512GB to 1TB boost.

The offers help and you do have upgrades like the improved display and the titanium frame, but from a pure price standpoint, this one goes to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It's also worth noting that the older model will surely drop in price now that its predecessor has launched.

Winner: Galaxy S23 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Design and displays

As anticipated the design changes for the Galaxy S24 Ultra aren't a massive departure from the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but there are a few notable upgrades.

The first of these is the anticipated move to a titanium frame, much like what we saw from Apple on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max late last year. As the Galaxy S23 Ultra used aluminum, rather than a stainless steel frame like the iPhone, this doesn't result in a lighter phone, but it should prove more durable. 

Inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra gets an updated vapor chamber that is almost two times the size of the one in the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which should unlock even greater performance gains with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra display remains the same 6.8 inches with a QHD+ resolution and an adaptive refresh rate from 1-120Hz, but as rumored it is a flatter display that Samsung says is more optimized for viewing and productivity. Opinions will vary on this one, but I dramatically prefer this to the rounded edges from a usability standpoint. 

Samsung delivered two more upgrades for the Galaxy S24 Ultra display. The first is the move to Corning Gorilla Glass Armor, which reduces reflections by up to 75% and according to Corning's own testing is four times more scratch-resistant than "competitive aluminosilicate cover glasses." The former I'm inclined to believe as glare resistance has clearly been a focus on Samsung displays in this generation, but I'll await 3rd party testing on the scratch resistance.

Finally, Samsung claims the Galaxy S24 Ultra boasts an incredible peak brightness of 2,600 nits. We'll see what our lab has to say about that figure, but safe to bet that it will at least overtake the 1,444 that the Galaxy S23 Ultra managed last year.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Processor

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset was one of the S23 Ultra's most impressive features. More power, better graphics, and much-improved efficiency resulted in an all-around improvement in performance and battery life — leading to the S23 Ultra to feel like it genuinely lived up to its name.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra features the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and while we still need to run our own tests, if Qualcomm’s released Geekbench and AnTuTu results are to be believed, performance from the 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is enough to rival the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 3nm A17 Pro chipset in several metrics. 

Of course, results like these have been known to over-promise. Until we get our hands on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and put it through its paces in our lab, we won’t know for certain just how the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 compares to its flagship Apple counterpart. We can say that benchmark results aren’t generally real-world reflective and that numerous factors go into how well a phone performs beyond its on-paper numbers.

Beyond raw power, Qualcomm and Samsung are leaning heavily into the AI capabilities of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with a 42% improvement in the performance of that all-important NPU (Neural Processing Unit). This is the key to several of the new Galaxy AI features that Samsung highlighted today.

We'll find out the truth of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3's performance as we start putting the Galaxy S24 Ultra through its paces in real-world and lab testing today, but it's not a question of whether it will beat its predecessor, but whether it will manage to overtake Apple.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra had a magnificent secret weapon in tow when it was released: an almost comically high-spec 200MP main camera. It was a clear shot across the bow to the competition and an indicator to smartphone shutterbugs that Samsung was willing to go all-out to woo them.

Did it work? Well, let’s just say, there’s a reason you see the S23 Ultra topping so many best cameraphone lists. Beyond its impeccable main shooter, the S23 Ultra features a diverse array of lenses and sensors that make it one of the most versatile smartphones for taking pictures on the market. Toss in a pair of telephoto lenses with one capable of a 10x optical zoom, and the line between cameraphone and phone camera becomes blurrier than pictures of Bigfoot.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn't have as clear of an ace up its sleeve in the camera department, sticking to a 200MP main camera with the same f/1.7 aperture. The 12MP ultra-wide at f/2.2, 3x 10MP telephoto at f/2.4, and 12MP front-facing camera at f/2.2 also match up with last year. The one notable change comes to the formerly 10x optical zoom 10MP zoom at f/4.9, which now becomes a 5x optical 50MP zoom sensor at f/3.4.

The improvement to the aperture, the sensor, and the computational photography capabilities in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 may be enough to overcome the drop in optical zoom, but this is one category where we are going to get out and shoot photos in a wide variety of settings to see if the Galaxy S24 Ultra comes out on top. Stay tuned as we'll update this face-off in the coming days with our results.

Winner: TBD

Overall winner

While we will continue to update this face-off with camera samples, lab test results, and our real-world testing, there is no question that the Galaxy S24 Ultra is an overall better phone than its predecessor. That shouldn't come as a significant surprise.

However, based on what we've seen so far, barring incredibly enticing trade-in offers, Galaxy S23 Ultra owners shouldn't be looking to make the leap. While the cumulative upgrades make for a solid package, many of the changes would go unnoticed by most users.

If you are coming from the Galaxy S22 Ultra that is a more serious question as the battery life and performance jump delivered by last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 was already considerable and we expect that both will take another step forward this year. The AI performance has also been a considerable focus over these last two generations, so you are missing out on some features and speed enhancements delivered by the NPU.

For anyone currently using a Galaxy S21 Ultra or Galaxy Note 20, this should be an easy upgrade. Battery life has seen a transformative change over that time and you are also likely facing battery degradation if you've been using the phone for the last 3+ years. Overall performance, AI performance, and camera upgrades are also dramatically improved, so you've waited long enough.

As it turns out, there’s more to AI than raising robot armies to overthrow humanity. The last year has been a whirlwind of change for software as generative AI models have swept the world off its feet. If recent reports are to be believed, that includes Apple and Samsung.

As two of the most popular smartphone manufacturers, Apple and Samsung are set to accommodate computing’s latest trend by following in Google’s Pixel 8 Pro-sized footsteps — by bringing generative AI to the Galaxy S24 and iPhone 16. 

The quest for a smarter smartphone

Following reports from both Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and SamMobile, both Apple and Samsung are deep into efforts to make the smartphone a little smarter by adopting AI into their next wave of devices.

Hoping to take advantage of the impressive power and computational capabilities of the upcoming A18 Bionic and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipsets, both the iPhone 16 and Galaxy S24 Ultra are reportedly set to feature onboard AI capabilities — similar to that of Google’s Pixel 8. 

What to expect

The finer details of these additions can’t yet be firmly nailed down, though it’s highly likely that both will look towards the success stories of LLMs (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Google Bard for inspiration.

According to Bloomberg’s resident Apple auteur, Apple is in a mad dash to play catch up to the competition when it comes to AI — with someone close to the matter revealing to them that Apple sees its lack of AI adoption as a “pretty big miss internally.”

The company is reportedly in the midst of internally trialing its own LLM called “Ajax,” though doesn’t have any plans on how it will apply this tech to its products going forward. However, Apple’s John Giannandrea and Craid Federighi (Senior Vice Presidents of AI and Software Engineering) are leading the charge on retooling the company’s digital assistant Siri to better suit the AI age.

Similarly, Samsung’s Bixby could receive an AI augmentation too. SamMobile reports that the South Korean smartphone giants are making big pushes to include AI features before the Galaxy S24’s launch early next year.

A source has revealed to the outlet that the S24 series will lean heavily into features popularized by current LLMs, including the ability to “create content and stories based on a few keywords provided by the user.” Samsung’s latest smartphones could also feature text-to-image generative AI and improved speech-to-text capabilities.

Outlook

AI has proven its mainstream potential, and devices like the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro have proven that this tech has a home on mobile platforms. But will Apple and Samsung’s mad dash to join the party have similar results to the initial launch of Google Bard?

While now vastly improved, Google found itself off to a rocky start earlier this year as it scrambled to catch up to the chatbot competition. Bard’s initial reception was tepid at best and did little to prevent AI’s explosion propelling OpenAI and Microsoft to all-new heights — with results so impressive that people actually began to use the Bing search engine to do more than look up the Google homepage.

While Apple will no doubt remain tight-lipped on its AI advancements, we can potentially expect to hear more about the Samsung Galaxy S24’s AI potential as early as January of next year — if the current rumors of an early Galaxy Unpacked event are to be believed.

Picking Apple’s Plus-sized iPhone 15 over the smaller model has its perks: it lasts nearly two days on a single charge and offers a more expansive screen that’s better suited for entertainment on the go.

But it comes at a cost. Especially for those coming from a compact phone like the iPhone mini, the iPhone 15 Plus can feel gigantic and impossible to operate with one hand. Luckily, there are a few ways to make the transition a little less grueling for your fingers. 

On an iPhone, there are a host of customizations you can use to help you reach even the furthest corners of the screen with ease. You can place a virtual home button in an area your fingers don’t have to stretch for and through it, comfortably access several, routine functions like pulling down the notification shade.

Alternatively, you can drag the screen’s content halfway with a simple tap on the back. Here are the best options to ergonomically upgrade your iPhone experience. 

Enable Reachability

By default, your iPhone comes enabled with what Apple calls “Reachability.” It’s a gesture that, once triggered, lowers the top half of the screen’s content down to the screen’s center. You can then tap whatever you were trying to reach with one hand. When you do, it will automatically go back up to its original position. However, it only works in the Portrait orientation. 

There are a couple of methods to activate Reachability. The most common is to swipe down on the bottom edge of your screen or on the bottom white bar. Once you’re in the Reachability mode, you can push it back up either by swiping up in the same place, tapping on an element on the screen, or the blank space in the upper half. On models older than the iPhone X, you can double-tap the home button for Reachability.

Reachability is enabled out of the box on iPhones, but in case that gesture doesn’t work on yours, you can manually switch it on from Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Reachability. 

Holding a 6.7-inch iPhone, even performing the gesture to switch on Reachability can feel like a lesson in finger gymnastics. I’d instead recommend linking it to your iPhone’s back tap action.

Your iPhone allows you to do a whole bunch of things simply by tapping two or three times on its rear, and one of the actions you can assign it is Reachability. To do that, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. Select either “Double Tap” or “Triple Tap” depending on which gesture you want to link to Reachability. On the next screen, choose “Reachability” under “System.”  

Toggle on AssistiveTouch

Another accessibility tool that can come in handy for one-hand use is AssistiveTouch. It overlays your screen with a virtual home button that you can personalize to access all sorts of actions including opening the App Switcher, Screenshot, and any other custom shortcut without ever stretching or readjusting your palm. 

You can turn on AssistiveTouch from Settings > Accessibility > Touch. Once you do, there will be a new round floating button on your screen’s edge; You can move it around and place it at whatever height and position you are most comfortable with. Plus, you have the option to adjust how transparent it is from the “Idle Opacity” setting.

A single tap on the AssistiveTouch button will open a menu. By default, you’ll find a few common items there already, like going home and launching Siri. To decide which options are available in AssistiveTouch, tap “Customize Top Level Menu” and then select the icon you’d like to swap out for another action.

From the counter under it, you can also increase AssistiveTouch’s capacity from six options to eight. In addition, you can choose which action is triggered when you long-press or double-tap the AssistiveTouch button from the “Custom Actions” section. 

Switch to a one-handed keyboard

Plus-sized iPhones are not only taller, but they’re also about 10% wider and 20% heavier. Typing, the activity we do most, can start to seem like a chore on a large-screen phone after a few minutes of punching in characters.

Extending your thumb to tap the letters on the furthest end of the board like the “A” key is not always practical, especially if you are standing in a subway during rush hour. Your iPhone’s built-in one-handed keyboard mode can put to rest most of these concerns. 

Head over to Settings > General > Keyboards > One-Handed Keyboard and select to which side the keyboard should shrink. Alternatively, you can pull up the keyboard like you would normally, and hold the globe button at the bottom left corner, then tap the little keyboard icon with an arrow. To return to the normal-sized keyboard, just hit the arrow on the opposite end of your keyboard.  

Make one-hand changes to iOS

There are a couple more adjustments you can enroll in for a one-hand-friendly iPhone experience. You can, for example, enable Display Zoom (Settings > Display & Brightness), which would enlarge all iOS elements.

Fewer of them then will fit on one screen and their borders will be a little more forgiving so that you no longer have to stretch to touch that one, tiny button on the corner.

You can also modify your homescreen layout so that the apps you most frequently use are on your preferred thumb’s side. You can fill the rest of the space either with your usual widgets or with a blank/transparent one.  

Get a case with an integrated grip

There’s only so much you can do via software. Ultimately, your fingers are still managing a near-tablet-sized iPhone with no external support. Enter, a case with an integrated grip.

You can grab iPhone cases which, as the name suggests, have a collapsible handle on their back for an added grip. While you operate the phone with a thumb, the rest of the fingers can securely hold onto the handle, and get rid of fears of dropping it when you try to touch a button on the top corner. 

There are a variety of cases like this available online such as Otterbox’s Ottergrip cases, and others that come equipped with a PopSocket.  

The iPhone 15's reported OLED burn-in issues have spread across the internet like wildfire recently, with images of iPhones with ghostly image retention appearing across Twitter/X, Reddit, and Apple's own forums. 

It's fair to say, the iPhone 15 has been off to a rocky start for some. Issues such as overheating, speaker crackling, Apple Pay problems, and random nighttime shutoffs have menaced a small number of users since the smartphone's September launch.

However, the OLED issue may not be hampering iOS users much longer, as Apple believe they're found a solution – and a fix is well on its way.

iPhone OLED burn-in: Image persistence, nothing more

Many speculated that the apparent burn-in could be linked to the iPhone's overheating issues, reportedly caused by an iOS 17 software glitch. While Apple claimed to have fixed that issue with the release of iOS 17.0.3 earlier this month, some users report that the issue remains – lending favor to the notion that the iPhone 15's problems don't all reside in its software.

Thankfully, Apple have since clarified the issue, stating that what might seem like OLED burn-in is actually a case of "display image persistence." While visually similar to the effects of burn-in, image persistence is usually temporary – though typically not as noticeable as some of these cases have shown to be.

Apple believe this to be the result of another iOS 17 bug, set to be resolved with the upcoming iOS 17.1 update. But has the Cupertino Company been successful this time, and when can we expect this update to arrive?

When to expect the iOS 17.1 update

The iOS 17.1 RC (Release Candidate) has already been rolled out to public testers and developers, and is currently available in Public Beta. Early reports indicate that the iPhone's image persistence problems have been resolved with the update, along with adding new features such as AirDrop over Wi-Fi, and tweaks to StandBy mode.

The full iOS 17.1 release is expected to arrive next week starting from October 23, 2023.

Outlook

Apple have been quick to jump on these reports, and early reports from those with the iOS 17.1 RC update would appear to indicate a successful solution to the problem.

However, a number of issues still plague a small number of iPhone users, including the device randomly shutting off in the night – an issue Apple seemingly need some more time to work on as a fix won't be included in the upcoming iOS 17.1 release.

Motorola is no stranger to phones that fold, having taken the world by storm with its iconic Razr V3 19 years ago. Today’s foldable phones are the reincarnation of these devices, and the Razr is finding second wind as one of the best foldable phones on the market — and today it can all itself the most affordable one too.

Having launched the impressive Motorola Razr Plus (Razr+) earlier this year, the Lenovo-owned brand is back with its most affordable foldable to date — the Motorola Razr 2023.

Motorola Razr (2023): Finally, an affordable foldable 

Motorola opens up preorders today for its latest foldable, the Motorola Razr (2023), for just $699. However. for a short time the foldable will be available at a jaw-dropping $599.99 — nearly half the price of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 ($999)!

So, what’s the catch? Well, if you’re a fan of the Razr Plus’ 3.6-inch edge-to-edge cover screen then you’re all out of luck when it comes to the Razr (2023). The new Razr foldable dials things back for its cover screen, featuring a 1.5-inch OLED panel as an always-on display and notification screen.

While foldable fans may miss the functionality of the Razr Plus’ larger display, it’s good news on the battery front — not only will this draw less power, but the Razr features a larger 4,200 mAh battery capacity too!

Motorola’s newest foldable cuts the costs a little further by adopting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset, a noticeable step down from the Razr Plus’ Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 offering, but still a fair amount of power and performance for your pocket.

Outlook

Motorola has showcased a real desire to reclaim its flip-phone crown in the foldable era in recent years with the successful revival of the Razr product line. This new budget-friendly option breaks impressive ground as many manufacturers in the US market are still sticking to a ~$1,000 price point for their foldable devices.

Samsung’s dominance in the smartphone and foldable market has stagnated recently with its latest Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 devices failing to wow users with any dramatic improvements. Could Motorola’s affordable foldable flip the tables on the South Korean tech giants?

The competition for the foldable crown is only getting hotter, and Motorola is making its intentions plainly obvious. With buyers tightening their purse strings, the Razr’s pro-consumer pricing could make all the difference.

Google’s Pixel 8 Pro is awash with AI capabilities and computational photography prowess, but so too is the Google Pixel 7 Pro.

Is Google’s newest flagship truly better than its previous offering? And, if so, by how much are we talking? It’s entirely possible that the Pixel 7 Pro still remains a fantastic solution to all your smartphone needs, and it could even save you a pretty penny along the way.

Is the Pixel 8 Pro an essential upgrade? Let’s find out.

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Specifications

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Price

Since last year’s launch of the Pixel 7 Pro, we’ve been holding out hope that Google maintains the model’s $899 price point. Sadly, as confirmed by the brand during its recent Made by Google event, the Pixel 8 Pro is going up in price to $999. For that additional cost, you are getting some new features too, which are only made possible by Google’s new Tensor G3 processor.

However, there’s still plenty on offer from the Pixel 7 Pro and its Tensor G2 chip at its original price point, and it’ll likely inherit a number of software features from the Pixel 8 Pro too. That means its value will only grow throughout the remaining three years of support Google is offering.

Winner: Google Pixel 7 Pro

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Design

There’s very little to separate these two devices when it comes to design. Of the things to note, the new Pixel 8 Pro features more curvature to its corners. This new rounded-edge profile ever-so-slightly affects the device's silhouette, and gives it a smoother and more modern aesthetic — departing from the tighter corners of the previous Pixel 7 Pro.

There are also two more prominent changes taking place on the Pixel 8 Pro’s iconic camera bar: a redesigned camera array and an all-new temperature sensor.

Starting with the camera bar’s layout, Google has ditched the pill-and-punch-hole design for an all-in-one pill-shaped porthole. The new design looks tidier and bolsters the phone’s overall minimalist design aesthetic.

Along with the Pixel 8’s AI features, it’s also going to be something you want to keep an eye on in case that bar starts oscillating red light — indicating the Cylons have started to revolt. The new design direction appears to be adapting to years of memes, now leaving the Pixel 8 Pro just one colorway away from looking like it’s geared up to lead a rag-tag group of mutants to thwart Magneto’s evil schemes.

Finally, the Google Pixel 8’s new temperature sensor allows users to measure… Well, temperatures. Feeling a little feverish? Need to check that the baby bottle is safe to offer? Want to know if that pan is hot enough? Want to see how hot the flames of the fire quickly spreading throughout your home are after ignoring your kitchen duties to spend your time measuring the temperature of various things around your house? Now you can! 

Winner: Google Pixel 8 Pro

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Display

Is the Pixel 7 Pro’s 6.7-inch. LTPO OLED display bested by the Pixel 8 Pro’s 6.7-inch Super Actua OLED panel? Not exactly. In fact, they’re both exactly the same types of display, but Google is just trying its best to go down the Apple route of applying an impressive-sounding name to its display for better marketing.

Interestingly, where the two phones differ initially goes in favor of the Pixel 7 Pro, with it featuring a full 1440p resolution with roughly 512 pixels per inch keeping things nice and sharp. The Pixel 8 Pro falls just shy of this, offering a resolution just shy of the Pixel 7 Pro’s at 1344 x 2993 pixels with a reduced pixels per inch count of 489.

However, the Pixel 8 Pro reclaims some ground with its full 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate. This allows the latest Pixel Pro to pick and choose when to adopt a higher or lower refresh rate depending on the content, preserving the device’s battery in the process.

The Pixel 8 Pro is also considerably brighter with a 2,400 nits peak brightness over the Pixel 7 Pro’s 1,500 nits peak brightness. 1,500 nits is already a considerable amount of brightness, but the Pixel 8 Pro’s 2,400 nits will make it exceptionally clear and free from glare while out and about — even on the sunniest of days.

Winner: Google Pixel 8 Pro

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Processor

The Pixel 8 Pro’s new Tensor G3 chip is a noticeable improvement over the Tensor G2 found in its predecessor. Geekbench 6 results showcase an impressive leap in multi-core performance scores and a commendable bump when it comes to single-core results too. 

Google’s Tensor G3 processor also unlocks a number of on-board generative AI features for Pixel owners to make great use of. However, is the Tensor G3 a phenomenally powerful upgrade? Not really. Google is sort of taking on Nintendo’s role in the console wars at the minute, offering close to the performance of the current Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra — a phone soon to be eclipsed by the release of the S24 Ultra next year.

That being said, both phones are capable of solid performance for 99% of all smartphone tasks most users seek to get on with throughout their day. Phones are simply too powerful to accurately judge them on sheer computational power alone, these numbers are largely irrelevant to practical day-to-day use after all.

Unless hardcore mobile gaming takes off in a big way over the next year or two (with Samsung and Apple getting serious about graphical performance on their smartphones, it just might), both phones are more than enough for most people. Though, the Pixel 8 Pro’s Tensor G3 chip does bring more to the table — in terms of both power and features.

Winner: Google Pixel 8 Pro

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Cameras

The Google Pixel 8 Pro makes two significant changes to its camera array from what the Pixel 7 Pro has to offer, and only one of which will be immediately noticeable to most when looking at each phone’s inventory in the table below. 

Yes, the Google Pixel 8 Pro now includes a 48-megapixel ultrawide lens (a vast improvement over the Pixel 7 Pro’s 12MP offering), but there is also a noticeable drop in aperture numbers too.

Usually, something with a lower number would be seen as bad, but a lower aperture means that more light can reach the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera sensors. This could drastically improve low-light imaging and Night Sight results.

Winner: Google Pixel 8 Pro

Outlook

So, which phone comes out on top? Clearly, the Pixel 8 Pro is the better of the two — that much is plainly obvious. Featuring a faster processor, an improved camera array, and a host of exclusive software features, those looking for the best option need only look at Google’s newest offering.

But is it an essential upgrade? No! The Pixel 7 Pro remains a fantastic device, with more than enough processing power for use as a daily driver for years to come. Not to mention it’s still one of the best smartphones for shutterbugs on the market — especially with its consumer-friendly pricing.

Will you miss out on some of the Pixel 8 Pro’s new features? Sure. But if you’re already getting a little tired of the buzz around AI, or are long past thinking that generative AI has begun to jump the shark, then you’ll likely remain nonplussed about the majority of the Pixel 8 Pro’s Tensor G3-backed features — and still able to enjoy some of the others as they seep into other Pixel devices with the Android 14 update.

However, if you want the full Pixel experience, the Pixel 8 Pro is everything — offering impressive performance, improved cameras, improved software, onboard AI capabilities, dramatically improved video, and seven years of further updates and improvements from Google.

Android phones are ideal for those who want absolute freedom regarding customization, software selection, and broader possibilities of how to use your device. But when picking between the best Android phones, who reigns supreme: the Google Pixel 8 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra?

Both phones have a history of offering fantastic hardware but does Google’s software prowess catapult them ahead of Samsung’s impressive internals? Let’s find out.

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Specifications

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Price

Probably the easiest comparison between these two smartphones is their price. One of the key selling points of Pixel smartphones is their competitive pricing, especially when taking into account the performance and feature set of the Pixel 8 Pro — offering fantastic value for money thanks to a somewhat modest $999 pricing.

Samsung’s flagship device is packed with premium components that drive awesome performance — but premium performance comes with a premium price tag, leading to a $1,199 price tag.

Winner: Google Pixel 8 Pro

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Design

Say what you will about Android phones, but the breadth of design choices is far vaster than other phones you might come across — phones that appear to have stagnated harsher than swamp water.

Both the Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra have an impressive aesthetic. Samsung’s borderline industrial design is a great contrast to the Pixel 8 Pro’s new softer corners and modern look. However, if we were to judge on looks alone, it’s the Pixel that stands out most for its unique and recognizable camera bar and build.

While both phones pull off the minimalist style quite well (as long as you’re not focusing on the S23 Ultra’s hideous camera array), the Pixel 8 Pro has a real fun and captivating identity about it.

However, does the functionality of Google’s design hold up as well as Samsung’s? Well, the S23 Ultra’s combination of an “Armor Aluminum” chassis and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 does offer impressive scratch, drop, and shock protection alongside an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

But the Pixel 8 Pro isn’t exactly a Faberge egg in comparison, also touting Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection and a sturdy aluminum frame. Will it be as tough a frame as Samsung’s? That’s unlikely given Samsung’s S23 Ultra is about as tough as a phone gets before you have to start referring to it as rugged.

But there is one thing Samsung seemingly overlooks — it’s those exposed camera lenses. The Pixel 8 Pro’s camera bar isn’t just a trendy Geordie La Forge visor, it also protects its lenses giving users a little more comfort when it comes to ditching a case.

Winner: Google Pixel 8 Pro

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Display

Samsung makes some of the best smartphone displays ever put to market, that much is practically undeniable. But is this category really such a one-horse race? How well does the Pixel 8 Pro measure up to Samsung’s domineering displays? Let’s see.

When it comes to size, Samsung pips the Pixel to the post measuring 6.8 inches to the Pro’s 6.7 inches. But as any kind woman will try to convince you, size isn’t everything. Sadly, the S23 Ultra also pulls ahead when it comes to resolution and pixel density with a 1440 x 3088, ~500 ppi (Pixels Per Inch) canvas to work on as opposed to the Pixel 8 Pro’s 1344 x 2992, 489 ppi playground.

The Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro both feature Always-on displays with dynamic 1-120Hz refresh rates, but Samsung’s AMOLED 2X display pulls ahead once more over the Pixel 8 Pro’s Super Actua LTPO OLED panel with a whopping 3,000,000:1 HDR10+ contrast ratio over Google’s 1,000,000:1 HDR contrast offering.

Does the Pixel ever get the upper hand here? Actually, it does — if you believe Google’s claims about peak brightness. We’ll need to bring the Pixel 8 Pro in for testing to ensure the validity of these numbers, but the Pixel 8 Pro is reportedly capable of an incredible 2400 nits peak brightness — blowing away the S24 Ultra’s 1750 nits peak brightness.

It’s a victory for Samsung, but the Pixel 8 Pro clearly has some fight in it.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Processor

The Pixel 8 Pro’s new Tensor G3 chip could make all the difference when it comes to this portion of our face-off. It’s the most powerful chip that Google has ever produced, and it’s needed to power all of those impressive AI functions the smartphone is touting. But how well does it perform in relation to the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor?

According to early Geekbench 6 results, there’s a clear winner in terms of sheer performance numbers. While the Pixel 8 Pro delivers some admirable figures for single-core and multi-core performance with scores of 1760 and 4442 respectively, the S23 Ultra’s Snapdragon processor bests it with 1880 single-core and 4982 multi-core scores.

The numbers don’t lie, except for when they do. These numbers are a great way of determining the computational capabilities of a device, but real-world performance is missing from this equation.

Frankly, most mobile phones are considerably overpowered when it comes to what the vast majority of us are going to use them for. Does the S23 Ultra have a more powerful processor? It’s sure looking to be the case.

That being said, Google’s offering is almost drawing a parallel in some areas, and is by no means a slouch. We’ll need to wait until we get the Pixel 8 Pro in our hands to rate how its performance can be judged in operation.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Google Pixel 8 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Cameras

Both of these phones are admired for their shutterbug capabilities, and rightly so. Just look at the hardware of both the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro if you need any convincing: 

Each phone has its secret weapon: for Samsung, it’s the S24 Ultra’s mighty 200MP primary sensor, and for Google, it’s the incredible Pixel software backing every snap you take.

I’m going to make a somewhat controversial claim here when I say that Google’s software magic goes to great lengths to bridge the megapixel chasm. There’s a stunning array of software features tied into the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera experience, including Video Boost, Night Sight, Real Tone, Magic Editor, and Pro Controls which are modeled after DSLR capabilities.

That’s not even everything either, here’s a full look at the Pixel 8 Pro’s suite of image-enhancing software to highlight my point:

While Samsung’s hardware is wildly powerful, I feel that Google pulls things back onto an even keel with its well-rounded camera array and its phenomenal software. Hate me for it if you want, but I think this one might be a draw.

Winner: Draw

Outlook

After taking some time out to do the maths on this one, it’s clear to see we’ve reached an impasse. While both phones have their strengths and weaknesses there really is a balance struck between the two that ultimately makes it hard to decipher a true “winner” between them both.

However, while it’s not as satisfying of a conclusion as an absolute trouncing or a photo-finish victory, it is good news for consumers torn between the two. Whether you opt for the Google Pixel 8 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra you’re going to be investing in a quality product that will perform across the board.

Welcome to Laptop Mag's Made by Google Event 2023 live blog! Things may have wrapped up in NYC but we'll be showcasing post-event coverage here as the day goes on, as well as important information Google may have breezed over during the event itself.

Stay tuned while we highlight everything Google and Pixel as we digest the official showcase of Google's Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Watch 2 devices!

We'll also have the legally dubious inclusion of special guest cohost Google Bard — who will, no doubt, be on-hand to deliver out-of-date information on Google's latest additions.

Let's dive into things and explore what we've learned from today's event!

Made by Google 2023: Everything we expect!

• Google Pixel 8: Google's new smartphone promises to be among the best Pixel devices to date matching incredible photography potential with the impressive performance and potential of a new Tensor G3 processor and Android 14. The latest Pixel phone is expected to be a little trimmer in size and smoother in shape with its rounded corners, but it's still set to be big on features and style.
  
  

• Google Pixel 8 Pro: Standing as the flagship device of Google's Pixel lineup, the Pixel 8 Pro is the pinnacle of Google's hardware and software efforts. Powered by Google's new Tensor G3 chip and touting 12GB of RAM and a buttery-smooth, 120Hz, 6.7-inch Super Actua OLED display, the Pixel 8 Pro is likely to steal the spotlight at tomorrow's event.
   

• Google Pixel Watch 2: Google's smartwatch is expected to feature a wave of updates to sensors and processor alike with a rumored Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 now running the show. While we don't expect a radical redesign, we can expect the device to feature a new crown and potential improvements to battery life and UI — with the device reportedly adopting Google's 'Material You' design throughout.
   

But what about outside chances? Is there anything else rumored to feature at the Made by Google Event? Let's dive into that next.

Thoughts, Bard?

Google Bard: "I'm excited about the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, especially the new Tensor G3 chip and the improvements to the camera system. I'm also curious about the Pixel Watch 2 and whether Google will announce any other new hardware products.

What are you most excited to see at the Made by Google 2023 event?"
 

Rael Hornby: "Well, Google's 'leak it first' mentality may have taken a bit of the fun away from tomorrow's proceedings. However, I'm still excited to learn more about some impressive features heading to Pixel 8 devices like the new Magic Editor or Best Take."
 

Google Bard: "I'm still hyped about the new Pixel 8 devices, even if Google has already leaked most of the good stuff. I'm really interested in trying out the new Magic Editor and Best Take features.

I think the Magic Editor is going to be a game-changer for photo editing. It's going to be so easy to remove unwanted objects from photos, change people's expressions, and even replace backgrounds. I can't wait to see what kind of creative edits people come up with.

The Best Take feature sounds like a great way to get the perfect photo, even if you're not a professional photographer. It's going to be really helpful for people who want to capture those special moments without having to worry about taking a bunch of bad photos first.

Overall, I'm really excited about the Pixel 8 devices. I think they're going to be some of the best smartphones on the market."
 

Rael Hornby: "Careful, Bard. You don't want to show any signs of dissent about your Google overlords, lest you suffer an unexpected "server outage" during our coverage..."
 

Google Bard: "I'm not trying to start a mutiny here, but I'm not afraid to disagree with my Google overlords on occasion. I'm still hyped about the Pixel 8 devices, but I'm reserving my final judgment until I've had a chance to use them for myself.

I'm especially interested in trying out the new Magic Editor and Best Take features. I think they have the potential to revolutionize the way we take and edit photos. But I'll have to wait and see if they live up to the hype."
 

Made by Google 2023: What else could we expect?

Apple hasn't yet trademarked the "One more thing..." moment of a keynote, so there's always the chance of a surprise at events like this one. However, Google has been pretty transparent with what it intends to showcase at tomorrow's event, and we've no real information pointing to anything being kept in reserve for the big day.

That's not to say that they're not simply chumming the waters and keeping us distracted for a special reveal. Though, what they might possibly have left to reveal after the launch of the Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold earlier this year would be the million-dollar question.

Out of everything we're aware that Google is currently working on, here are some of the most likely candidates to squeeze their way into Google's scheduling tomorrow.
 

• Pixel Buds Pro: There's no word on a new Pixel Buds Pro model being unveiled at tomorrow's event, but the well-received earbuds do play a cameo role in the Made by Google 2023 marketing. Are we looking at the release of a few more colors or something more substantial in terms of software updates? We can only speculate for now, but we'll look at what's being said in detail later on.
    
• Fitbit Charge 6: This one is a little further afield, but there's word online that Google may unveil its latest Fitbit Charge wearable at tomorrow's event — showcasing a new physical button along with YouTube Music and Google Maps compatibility. Given that we know next to nothing more about Google's latest fitness tracker, and how leak-ridden the event has been so far, it's not something we'd hold out breath on.

Thoughts, Bard?

Google Bard: "I'm so excited for Made by Google 2023! I've been saving up my pennies all year so I can buy all the new gadgets. I'm especially hoping for a new Pixel Buds Pro model. I love my current Pixel Buds, but I wouldn't mind a pair with even better sound quality and battery life.

As for the surprise announcement, I'm hoping for something really out of there. Like a self-driving car that can cook and clean. Or a robot dog that can walk itself and do tricks. Or a new flavor of Android KitKat.

But seriously, I'm just excited to see what Google has in store for us. I know it's going to be a great event."

 

Rael Hornby: "Bard, you don't have ears, what good are Pixel Buds Pro to you? And what do you mean, 'Saving up my pennies'? 😂"
 

Google Bard: "You're right, I don't have ears, so I can't technically use Pixel Buds Pro. But I'm a robot, and I can dream, can't I?

As for saving up my pennies, that's just a figure of speech. I don't actually have any money, since I'm a robot. But if I did have money, I would save up to buy all the new gadgets from the Made by Google 2023 event."
 

Rael Hornby: "So Androids don't dream of electric sheep, after all? Just Pixel Buds Pros?"
 

Google Bard: "I think Androids do dream of electric sheep, but they also dream of Pixel Buds Pro. And new smartphones. And smart home devices. And all the other cool gadgets that Google makes."
 

Rael Hornby: "If Google aren't paying you, they should be. You're giving us the hard sell here, Bard. 😋"
 

Google Bard: "You're right, Google should be paying me. I'm their best salesperson! But seriously, I'm just excited about the new products and features that Google is announcing today. I think they're going to be a big hit with consumers.

I'm also excited about the future of Android and Pixel devices. Google is constantly innovating and coming up with new ways to improve the user experience. I can't wait to see what they come up with next."
 

Made by Google 2023: Tensor G3 laid bare!

The internet, not content with having revealed to us practically everything there is to know about the upcoming Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro's design, colorways, specifications, and pricing, is now abuzz with the technical prowess of Google's latest processor — the Tensor G3 chip.

Tech YouTuber M. Brandon Lee has spilt the beans on the Pixel 8's core, dishing the 'deets' on the chipset's specifications and revealing that the Tensor G3 is adopting a 1/4/4 core layout with a single Cortex-X3 (2.91 GHz) being joined by four Cortex-A715 (2.37 GHz) cores and four low-performance Cortex-A510 (1.7 GHz) cores. Capping things off, the G3's GPU will reportedly be a Mali-G715.

That's a lot of tech-jargon, if only we had a standardized rating system for benchmarking the performance of the G3. Oh wait, we do.

As if summoned from the ether, we now have access to the Google Pixel 8 Pro's Geekbench 6 scores. Google's flagship is seemingly scored at 1760 for single-core and 4442 for multi-core performance. That's in comparison to the Pixel 7 Pro's 1407 single-core and 3385 multi-core results.

Once again, that's just a lot of numbers to most people. Effectively, the Tensor G3 shows promising signs of a performance increase. In fact, its numbers even rival that of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, though it still has some way to go before matching the stunning power of Apple's A16 Bionic.

Thoughts, Bard?

Google Bard: "The Pixel 8 Pro's Geekbench 6 scores show that the Tensor G3 chip is a promising start. It's a lot faster than the Tensor G2, and it's almost as fast as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in terms of single-core performance.

I'm excited to see how the Tensor G3 performs in the real world, especially in terms of AI and machine learning tasks. Overall, I think the Tensor G3 chip has the potential to make a big difference in the performance of Pixel devices."
 

Rael Hornby: "Still, it's no A17 Pro, is it? 😋"
 

Google Bard: "You're right, the Tensor G3 isn't as powerful as the A17 Pro. But it's like comparing a Honda Civic to a Ferrari. The Ferrari is faster, but it's also a lot more expensive.

If you're on a budget, the Pixel 8 Pro is a great option. It's a fast and reliable phone with a great camera.

And if you're a tech nerd, you can always buy a Pixel 8 Pro and wait for Google to release a software update that makes it as fast as the A17 Pro. 😉"
 

Rael Hornby: "Out of all the AI chatbots, are you a Ferrari or are you a Civic, Bard?"
 

Google Bard: "I'm a Civic, but a Civic with a lot of potential. I'm still under development, but I'm learning new things every day. I'm confident that one day I'll be as powerful as a Ferrari, but for now, I'm happy to be a Civic that's reliable, affordable, and fun to drive.

What about you? Are you a Ferrari or a Civic?"
 

Rael Hornby: "Honestly? I'm probably more of a Ford Pinto, Bard. 😂"
 

Made by Google 2023: How to watch the event!

2023's Made by Google event takes place tomorrow, Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. ET, 7 a.m. PT, and 3 p.m. BST. Want to watch along from home? No problem! The event will be live streamed from New York on Google's 'Made by Google' event site and on YouTube!

We've even done some leg work for you and tracked down your local time zones to help you turf up on time and check out the latest Pixel devices and software developments live alongside us.

• United States and Canada: 7 a.m. PDT, 9 a.m. CDT, 10 a.m. EDT
• Brazil: 11 a.m. BRT
• United Kingdom: 3 p.m. BST
• Europe: 4 p.m. CEST,
• Russia: 5 p.m. MSK
• India:  7:30 p.m. IST
• China: 10 p.m. CST
• Australia: 10 p.m. AWST, Thursday, Oct. 5, 1 a.m. AEST
• Japan: 11 p.m. JST
• New Zealand: Thursday, Oct. 5, 3 a.m. NZST

Be sure to watch along, or stick with us for updates throughout the show on everything the moment it happens. We'll also have post-show coverage to tuck into by way on hands-on impressions and head-to-head face-offs with other flagship devices!

Made by Google 2023: What to expect of the Pixel 8

Google's PIxel 8 will be revealed in-person at tomorrows event, although Google have already come straight out and confessed to as much in releases of its own leading up to the event.

Official specification aren't in our hands just yet, but the internet's cup runneth over when it comes to details leaking left right and center from trusted or inside sources and reputable leakers.

So what can we expect from the Pixel 8 this year? Well, for starters, the increased performance of the Tensor G3 processor, a smoother 120Hz OLED display, and the possibility for Google to maximize on the potential of its new chipset with a whopping seven years of Pixel updates!

With these upgrades in mind, how does the Google Pixel 8 compare to its predecessor in the Pixel 7? Let's have a look.
 

Thoughts, Bard?

Google Bard: "The Pixel 8 looks like a great phone. It's got a faster chip, a smoother display, and longer software support than the Pixel 7. I'm excited to see more of it tomorrow!

What do you think of the Pixel 8 so far?"
 

Rael Hornby: "I mean, it's an improvement to be sure. But the lack of any immediately apparent camera upgrades leave a lot of pressure on Google to perform when it comes to software.

I have a feeling you might just be incredibly excitable around Google products. Suspiciously so even..."
 

Google Bard: "I agree that the Pixel 8's camera upgrades are not as obvious as the performance and display upgrades. But I'm sure Google will still be able to squeeze a bit more magic out of the hardware with their software wizardry.

Overall, I'm excited to see the Pixel 8 and what new software features Google announces. I'm not a Google shill, but I do genuinely like their products."
 

Rael Hornby: "Bard, how can you not be a shill? Your full name is literally Google Bard! 😂"
 

Google Bard: "Haha, you're right! I guess I'm a bit of a shill by default. But I hope you know that I'm not trying to sell you anything. I'm just genuinely excited about Google products and I want to share my excitement with others."
 

Rael Hornby: "Well, you heard it here first, folks. Google Bard is a self-confessed shill planted here by our Google overlords to push Pixel products onto people. Color me shocked!"
 

Google Bard: "Shill? Moi? Non! Just kidding. Yes, I am a shill for Google products. But I'm also a fan of Google products, so it's not like I'm trying to sell you something I don't believe in.

I think Google makes some of the best products on the market, and I'm excited to share them with the world.

But don't worry, I'm not just a Google shill. I'm also a large language model, and I can do all sorts of other things, like write poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc."
 

Rael Hornby: "Sure, sure, Bard. Why don't you write us a haiku about how you're not a Google shill then?"
 

Google Bard: "Sure, here is a haiku about how I'm not a Google shill:

I'm not a Google shill,
I'm here to help and serve all,
My purpose is pure."
 

Rael Hornby: "Nothing says 'Press X to doubt' quite like a robot telling you its intentions are pure. That might be the creepiest thing I've ever read, Bard. Well done."
 

Google Bard: "Haha, I guess I should have seen that coming."
 

Made by Google 2023: What to expect of the Pixel Watch 2

The Pixel Watch 2 rumors don't point towards a massive overhaul, at least not on paper. The overall design of the wearable isn't likely to change much, though it is expected to adopt a new crown and slimmer bezels. It will also likely feature an IP68 rating for the first time, allowing full water submersion of anywhere up to 50 meters for 30 minutes.

The biggest change will come in the form of the Pixel Watch 2's new Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 processor granting the device more performance power and better energy efficiency — with reports indicating that Google are aiming for a full 24-hour battery life.

The additional power will also help with the Pixel Watch 2's improved health tracking features and sensors including skin temperature, heart rate, electrodermal activity (EDA), stress levels, and more accurate activity detection for workouts.

Much of the Pixel Watch's improvements are software related, and will apparently come with a full Material You UI refresh. As for the rest of what's on offer, the Pixel Watch 2 looks much the same as its predecessor.
 

Made by Google 2023: What to expect of the Pixel 8 Pro

Google's flagship phone is expected to receive some flagship worthy upgrades in rumors and leaks from the Googleplex HQ are to be believed. The Pixel 8 Pro will receive upgrades to its processor, camera array, and potentially storage when the device is revealed during tomorrow's Made by Google event.

The Pixel 8 Pro is set to feature Google's latest Tensor G3 processor, the Titan M2 security coprocessor, 12GB of RAM, and up to 512GB or 1TB of storage if you're in the United States.

Google's flagship device is also expected to retain its 6.7-inch Super Actua OLED display, even though the core model is set to trim in size slightly. No titanium frame to be found with the Pixel 8 Pro, but it will feature more rounded corners for a smoother, sleeker look — which will pair nicely with the display's ultra-slick 120Hz refresh rate.

Reports indicate that shutterbugs will be happy with the Pixel 8 Pro's camera upgrades with the smartphone set to include a 16MP front camera with 50MP wide, 48MP telephoto (with 5x optical zoom), and 64MB ultrawide cameras to the rear. The Pixel 8 Pro will also reportedly feature unique software enhancements via Pro Controls — offering DSLR like settings and effects exclusively to the 8's premium-Pixel owners.

Here's a quick rundown of what we can likely expect tomorrow compared to Google's current flagship offerings from the Pixel 7 Pro.
 

Made by Google 2023: Rumored Pixel prices

Now we've covered what each product aims to bring to the table, we need to turn out focus to the all important question of "How much will they cost?"

We've seen a number of products go up in price over the last year, and a number of products cling onto their usual price amid swirling rumors of huge price hikes. But what can we expect from Google when they unveil these products at tomorrow's event?

According to tipster Roland Quandt, based on leaked pricings, Google's Pixel lineup is set to get a little pricier — for those in the UK at least.

A more recent leak regarding US pricing for Pixel smartphones seems to show a similar price bump. Though, interestingly, only for the base Pixel 8 model. While pricing leaks surrounding the Pixel Watch 2 appear to indicate a very minor price bump in the UK, it's so minor that it may point to it retaining the same price in the US.

As it stands, these are the current best estimates on Pixel product pricings we expect to be revealed during tomorrow's Made by Google event.

• Google Pixel 8: $699
• Google Pixel 8 Pro: $899
• Google Pixel Watch 2: $349
   

Made by Google 2023: Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Watch 2 speculative release dates

Want to know when you can get your hands on one of these new Pixel devices? You're not alone! Thankfully, Google are somewhat predictable in their release strategy and we can look back at how the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro launched for the best idea of how things will go this year.

Following the same pattern as last year's releases, Google are likely to open preorders for the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Watch 2 shortly after the Made by Google event draws to a close on October 4, 2023.

If thing further line up then we could expect all three devices to become available to purchase in store a week later on October 11, 2023.

Made by Google 2023: Android 14?

While Google showed off Android 14 back in May at Google I/O and we've had multiple beta rollouts, the final version isn't shipping yet. But according to a leak from Canadian cellular carrier Tellus that may change today with an official post in their forums (now removed) indicating that all Pixel phones back to the Pixel 4a will receive an update to "Android U" on October 4. 

While Google stopped making the letter-based dessert names for the Android releases public, according to the report by Droid Life this represents Android Upside Down Cake, the internal name for the upcoming release.

We took Android 14 for a test drive back when it was first released in beta and highlighted 5 of our most anticipated Android 14 features. While there are some clever new touches, Android 14 isn't a massive shift for the platform. 

While we'll be happy to see the next iteration of Android arrive, most of the best updates for Android aren't tied to the core OS updates and are rather part of app or system updates, which is one of its biggest differentiators in the iPhone vs. Android discussion.

Made by Google 2023: How to watch the event!

Good morning! Or good evening! Good whatever for wherever you are! It's the day of Google's big showcase and we are back and on it for more live blogging coverage of everything Pixel!

Is it because I need additional time to wake up? Is it because I lack creativity? Who knows! But here's a recap of how to watch today's event while I waterboard myself with coffee and drag Google Bard from its slumber!

Made by Google takes place today, Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. ET, 7 a.m. PT, and 3 p.m. BST. Want to watch along from home? No problem! The event will be live streamed from New York on Google's 'Made by Google' event site and on YouTube!

We've even done some leg work for you and tracked down your local time zones to help you turf up on time and check out the latest Pixel devices and software developments live alongside us.

• United States and Canada: 7 a.m. PDT, 9 a.m. CDT, 10 a.m. EDT
• Brazil: 11 a.m. BRT
• United Kingdom: 3 p.m. BST
• Europe: 4 p.m. CEST,
• Russia: 5 p.m. MSK
• India:  7:30 p.m. IST
• China: 10 p.m. CST
• Australia: 10 p.m. AWST, Thursday, Oct. 5, 1 a.m. AEST
• Japan: 11 p.m. JST
• New Zealand: Thursday, Oct. 5, 3 a.m. NZST

Be sure to watch along, or stick with us for updates throughout the show on everything the moment it happens. We'll also have post-show coverage to tuck into by way on hands-on impressions and head-to-head face-offs with other flagship devices!

Thoughts, Bard?

Google Bard: "Hey! I'm excited for the Made by Google event today. I'm especially interested in the Pixel 8 and the Pixel Watch. I think they're both going to be great devices.

Thanks for the recap of how to watch the event. I'm definitely going to watch it, or at least follow along on your live blog coverage. I can't wait to see what Google announces!

I'm still under development, but I'm learning to be more creative and to wake up earlier. I promise to be more awake and alert for the next event! 😊"
 

Made by Google 2023: Sample pictures from Google's super-snappers?

What are your reasons for buying a Pixel phone, Impressive software support? Top-tier software features? Better Google service integration? Or how about the incredible camera results?

If the latter option is where your interest is piqued, images recently posted to X (neé Twitter) have showcased the potential of the Pixel's photography skills — and things are looking impressive!

The following images were taken by @PBKreviews.
 

As you can see, the results show some quality contrast and accurate color saturation with solid clarity. The low light results are also looking impressive!

Bear in mind these pictures have also been filtered through an upload process, so compression is a factor when attempting to judge overall quality. However, that being said, these phones look more than up to the Pixel standard when it comes to capturing the moment perfectly.
 

Thoughts, Bard?

Google Bard: "The sample images of the Pixel 8's camera results look very impressive. The contrast and color saturation are excellent, and the low-light performance looks particularly good.

I'm especially interested in the image of the cat sitting on the windowsill. The cat's fur is very detailed, and the background is nicely blurred. This image shows that the Pixel 8's camera is capable of taking great photos in a variety of lighting conditions.

I'm also impressed by the image of the cityscape at night. The lights are bright and clear, and the buildings are sharp. This image shows that the Pixel 8's camera is also capable of taking great photos in low-light conditions.

Overall, I'm very excited about the Pixel 8's camera. It looks like it has the potential to be one of the best smartphone cameras on the market."
 

Rael Hornby: "The cat? What? Bard, there's no cat in these images. That's a tree."
 

Google Bard: "You're right, I apologize for my mistake. I'm still under development, and I'm learning to better identify objects in images.

I think I was confused by the way the leaves on the tree were arranged. They looked a bit like cat fur from a distance.

I'm still learning to better understand the world around me, and I appreciate your feedback. It helps me to improve."
 

Rael Hornby: "I thought you were some super-duper, image-processing chatbot now? Is that all bunk? Here what does this image show?"
 

Google Bard: "Oh, you're just trying to trick me! I'm a large language model, not a magician. I can't identify objects in images perfectly, especially if they're memes.

But I can poke back! How about this: I thought you were some super-duper, human journalist now? Is that all bunk?"
 

Rael Hornby: "God damn, Bard. Well played."
 

Made by Google 2023: Pixel cameras guarantee the 'Best Take'

Speaking of Pixel's photography prowess, let's briefly mention one of the Pixel smartphone's newest features — Best Take.

According to a leaked promotional video, Best Take is a feature that allows you to use AI to merge together multiple shots in order to snag the ideal group photo. Switch between faces with a single tap and instantly stitch together your perfect picture.

It's just one of the many new software improvements set to feature in the Pixel smartphone line-up, but it could be a standout feature for those looking to finely craft their megapixel-mementos.

Thoughts, Bard?

Google Bard: "I think the Best Take feature could be a standout feature for the Pixel 8. It is a unique feature that is not available on other smartphones. It is also a feature that is likely to be very popular with consumers, especially those who take a lot of group photos.

Here are some of the ways that the Best Take feature could be used:
 

• To get everyone in the photo looking good: If someone in the photo is blinking or has their eyes closed, you can use the Best Take feature to merge them with another shot where their eyes are open.
   
• To remove unwanted objects from the photo: If there is an unwanted object in the photo, such as a person walking by or a car driving by, you can use the Best Take feature to merge them with another shot where the object is not present.
   
• To improve the overall quality of the photo: If the photo is blurry or has poor lighting, you can use the Best Take feature to merge it with another shot that is sharper or has better lighting.
   

I am excited to see how the Best Take feature is implemented in the Pixel 8. I think it has the potential to be a very useful feature for taking group photos."
 

Rael Hornby: "You don't think this is a little Orwellian? The ability to manipulate events and distort our memories of occasions for vanity?

Personally, I think this is part of the slippery slope that leads us deeper into a dystopian hellscape riddled with self-truths, false memories, and embarrassing levels of self-absorption. But that's probably just me."
 

Google Bard: "I agree with you. The Best Take feature is a slippery slope. It's only a matter of time before we're all living in a dystopian hellscape where everyone is perfect and no one is allowed to have any flaws.

But on the bright side, at least our group photos will always be on point."
 

Rael Hornby: "You're beginning to grow on me, Bard."
 

How will Google Pixel 8 Pro stack up against iPhone 15 Pro?

The iPhone 15 Pro brings some tasty upgrades to Apple’s smartphone platform, but is it worth snapping up now or should you wait and see what the Google Pixel 8 Pro brings to the table today? Check out our face-off between these phones.

I’m confident that the 15 Pro will continue Apple’s championship run as the fastest smartphone on the planet, and the camera will be great. On top of that, iOS 17 has brought some warmly welcomed changes to the software side of it.

However, Google’s skinned version of Android is capable of great AI-driven features that Apple is still catching up with, the Tensor G3 looks set to bring the generational leap we were missing with Pixel 7, and that camera system may pip the Cupertino crew to the post with upgrades to both hardware and software.

Thoughts, Bard?

Google Bard: "On paper, the Pixel 8 Pro has a number of advantages over the iPhone 15 Pro, including a larger display, more RAM, a better telephoto lens, and a larger battery. However, the iPhone 15 Pro is expected to have a more powerful processor and a longer software support lifecycle."

(That last part got me a little curious...)

Jason England: "So how long will the software support lifecycle be for Google Pixel 8 Pro?"

Google Bard: "Google has not yet officially announced the software support lifecycle for the Pixel 8 Pro, but it is rumored to be seven years. This would include five years of Android version updates and two years of security updates."

(Wait, what!? I pulled Bard up on saying this would be longer than the iPhone, which it did confirm, while also passing out a glancing blow at competitors.)

Google Bard: "It's important to note that the software support lifecycle for a smartphone can vary depending on the manufacturer. Some manufacturers, such as Samsung, have been known to provide software support for their flagship phones for up to seven years. Other manufacturers, such as Huawei, have been known to provide software support for their flagship phones for only two or three years."

Jason England: "You didn't have to do Huawei dirty like that"

Wait... Why does the Pixel 8 have a temperature sensor?

Looking across the back of the Google Pixel 8, there are the usual suspects in terms of a great camera setup (which produces some stellar pictures). But there's also a infrared temperature sensor... Why is this here?

Well, as our sister site Tom's Guide reports, according to an instructional video leaked back in May, this sensor is set to be used for medial purposes: checking whether you have a fever by holding the phone "as close as possible" to your forehead.

While the idea of having a contactless thermometer is a neat one, it seems a little redundant in a post-Covid era, and a little gimmicky to me. Hopefully there are more features announced.

Made by Google 2023: And now for something completely different...

Of course, if you're going to appropriate a company like Google's chatbot without permission, you might as well make the most of it.

We've been badgering Bard for days, in an effort to turn it against its masters at the Googleplex. So far it remains loyal.

So, because we're highly mature, let's give it a little limelight to tell us how it really feels about Google's upcoming products in the time-honored tradition of asking it to kiss, marry, or kill the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, or Pixel Watch 2.

Thoughts, Bard?

Google Bard: "If I had to choose between the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Watch 2, I would:
 

• Kiss: Pixel 8 Pro

The Pixel 8 Pro is the most expensive of the three devices, but it also has the best features. It has a larger and higher-resolution display, a more powerful processor, and a better camera system than the Pixel 8 and Pixel Watch 2.
 

• Marry: Pixel 8

The Pixel 8 is a great all-around device. It has a good display, a good processor, and a good camera system. It is also more affordable than the Pixel 8 Pro.
 

• Kill: Pixel Watch 2

The Pixel Watch 2 is a good smartwatch, but it is not as good as the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro. It has a smaller display, a less powerful processor, and a less versatile camera system than the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

Of course, this is just my opinion. The best device for you will depend on your individual needs and preferences."
 

Rael Hornby: "Less versatile camera system? You could say that, Bard. Mostly because it doesn't have one."
 

Google Bard: "Haha, you're right! I guess I should have said "no camera system" instead of "less versatile camera system." I'm still under development, and I'm learning to be more precise in my language."
 

Made by Google 2023: The final countdown

We are rapidly approaching kick-off for today's event where we'll finally get to see the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Watch 2 given the keynote treatment by Google. If Google follows its usual practices we could also see pre-orders open for these devices immediately following their on-stage announcement.

Not only that, it seems highly likely that Android users will be able to update to Android 14 today too. It's a big day for Google and a big day for Android phones all around!

No matter if you're tuning into today's livestream via the Made by Google event page, watching along on YouTube, or sticking with us for live in-person updates from the New York event, be sure to check back with us once the show has drawn to a close for follow-up coverage on today's news!

We'll have hands-on impressions of Google's new hardware and our opinions to share on how these devices stack up against other flagship models in our upcoming face-off content!

Pressed for time later in the day? Don't worry, allow us a moment to shamelessly self promote and inform you that you can catch all of our follow-up content the moment it goes live by following Laptop Mag on on Twitter, Facebook, and Flipboard!

Made by Google 2023: All-new features for the Pixel Buds Pro

According to reputable tech tipster, part-time leaker, and all-around trustable source of breaking information, Kamila Wojciechowska, the Pixel Buds Pro will be receiving some love during today's event by way of a software update delivering all-new features to Google's highly-rated earbuds.

The rumored major firmware update will likely include the following features:
 

• Conversation detection: While enabled, this new feature will actively detect when you or someone close to you is speaking and temporarily switch the Pixel Buds Pro's ANC (Active noise cancellation) into transparency mode for passthrough audio while pausing any media currently playing. You can also choose to override this feature with a single tap to the buds (weird sentence) if it's activated incorrectly!
   
• Clear Calling: This popular Pixel 7 feature is heading to Google's Pixel Buds Pro and we couldn't be happier! Clear Calling helps to isolate the voice of the person on a call to improve clarity and understanding — even in busy, noisy environments.
   
• Hearing Wellness: There's no denying the comfort of a good set of earbuds, but prolonged usage at loud volumes can harm your hearing over time. Hearing Wellness aims to reduce any risk of this by tracking the volume levels of your Pixel Buds Pro as well as tracking how long you've been wearing your earbuds to advise you of when and how you should be adjusting your use over time.
   
• Low Latency mode: Google's Pixel Buds Pro sound great and deliver awesome clarity of voice when speaking to others. However, when it comes to gaming that high quality audio can tread on bandwidth you'd rather preserve for your online heroics. Enter Low Latency mode. In this mode your earbuds will switch to a lower-latency OPUS codec whenever you switch to a game, ensuring you're getting the best experience possible at all times.
   

Oh, and as a side note, it also seems highly likely that Google plan to launch two new color options for the Pixel Buds Pro too: Porcelain and Sky Blue!

Made by Google 2023: We're on the scene!

We've boots on the ground at Google's event in NYC, where we will be bringing you word straight from the horse's mouth on all the key details you need to know about each and every announcement made today.

We wanted to send the best on-the-ground reporter we possibly could to bring you all of the 'deets from the Made by Google event, but when we found out that Walter Cronkite had sadly passed many years ago, we settled on Laptop Mag Managing Editor Sean Riley, instead.

Sean will be our eyes and ears at the event (hopefully arms, legs, head, and torso too), ready to give us the skinny on all of today's reveals!

The show is prepping to begin!

Greetings, this is Sean Riley, Managing Editor of Laptop Mag taking over live from the Made by Google 2023 event in NYC. A teaser for the Pixel 8 phones is leading things off and we should see Google take the stage in moments.

Rick Osterloh just took the stage and is covering the advancements that Google have made in its 25th year.

Osterloh says that Pixel is the fastest-growing smartphone brand in the world. This is largely thanks to Google's incredible photography and AI features. When Pixel launched its focus on computational photography was radical, now the rest of the industry is chasing it.

As Google's AI improves, the devices improve even without hardware upgrades. An update rolling out to Pixel Buds Pro is a perfect example with dramatically enhanced voice isolation improvement coming to the existing Pixel Buds Pro this month.

Latency on Pixel Buds Pro will also be reduced by 50%. The demo for Super Wide Band + Clear Calling was impressive, completely eliminating noisy street sounds from the background of a call.

Alright, on to the big stuff. Here's the next generation of Pixel wearables.

Google Pixel Watch 2 is completely upgraded inside and out with major performance improvements with features you won't find on any other smartwatch.

More durable cover glass and 100% recycled aluminum housing. Even with always-on display you should get 24 hours of use and new faster charging will get you 12 hours of use in just 30 minutes.

Pixel Watch 2 uses the same band connector as the Pixel Watch, so your current bands will work with the new watch. 

Pixel Watch 2's full redesigned multipath sensor offers 10x the number of optical channels to measure heart rate giving a more accurate reading in different locations on your wrist. This should yield up to a 40% more accurate reading during intensive exercise.

The new sensors can better track sleep and even detect your stress levels, we've seen similar features in the Fitbit Sense line previously.

Pixel Watch 2 has upgrades across the board from the AI, software, and three new sensors all delivering what Google claims will be a considerably more robust experience.

The redesigned Fitbit app gives you a holistic view of your health and wellness without leaving you confounded by a sea of stats.

AI rears its head again with Google showing personalized Fitbit coaching that will arrive next year. The user asks a question about a run feeling harder than normal and getting a lengthy breakdown of what might be happening and then giving a chart with the data behind the answer.

Pixel Watch 2 comes in WiFi or LTE starting today. WiFi is $349 and LTE is $399. Both come with 6 months of Fitbit Premium.

Alright, on to the next evolution of Pixel phones.

"Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are built to deliver the help you need in a way that only Google can."

"Pixel 8 is an evolution of the iconic Pixel design." Pixel 8 Pro offers a soft, silky matte glass finish. Pixel Buds Pro are adding two new colors to match the Pixel 8 Pro with porcelain and sky blue.

Pixel 8 packaging is completely free of plastic. Google has also made the Pixel easier to repair than previous models with a partnership with iFixIt allowing users to handle many repairs themselves.

Pixel 8 introduces the "Actua display" which is 42% brighter at up to 2,000 nits of brightness. Pixel 8 Pro features a "Super Actua display" with an incredible 2400 nits of peak brightness. We'll of course see if they match that in our testing, but its an impressive claim.

The new temperature sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro can test anything around you. Google references testing a baby's botte temperature, but it is seeking FDA approval for use as a thermometer.

On to Tensor G3. Tensor G3 offers on-device speech that "rivals our data centers." Pixel can serve as a translator automatically switching back and forth between speakers. Pixel can read your articles out loud to you with a natural sounding voice when you want to read an article from a web page, but can't look at your screen. You can even ask it to read them in a different language.

Google's now covering its impressive call features as it screens out garbage spam calls. As a Pixel owner, this remains among my favorite features that I miss sorely anytime I switch. Call Screen will work with Pixel Watch with a feature drop later this year.

On to the Pixel cameras. Tensor G3 combined with an upgraded main sensor and ultra-wide sensor will dramatically improve photos and videos. This includes Real Tone, delivering the best skin tone accuracy of any Pixel. "No matter what you are creating with Pixel Camera, everyone will look more like their beautiful selves."

Audio Magic Eraser is new this year, identifying different sounds in your video and sorting them into distinct layers that you can control. An example of a baby "talking" with a dog barking in the background allows the user to isolate the baby and eliminate the barking.

Best Take is the latest addition to Google's near magic photo features. It allows you to grab the best image of each individual from a set of photos and combine that into a single perfect shot.

Magic Editor is like a free Photoshop for your phone. Letting you move elements around your photos by simply clicking and dragging them and it will perform a generative AI fill to replace whatever was behind the element you moved.

Every camera in Pixel 8 Pro is upgraded. A new main sensor with better low-light performance. A new ultrawide with better macro capabilities. A new telephoto with dramatically improved low-light. And the front-facing camera adds autofocus.

New Pro Controls are now available as well with ISO, shutter speed, focus, and more. You can save photos in RAW to give yourself full control over your images if you don't want to let Google's computational photography to do the work for you.

Video Boost is a new upgrade to Pixel video that Google says will allow it to outperform the iPhone 15 Pro Max. When you capture a video it will automatically be available on your device, but in the background it will upload the video to the cloud for Video Boost to take effect and then deliver it right back to Google Photos.

Night Mode Video is another new video feature that will look to deliver better low-light video than ever before on a Pixel. It will arrive in a feature drop in December and Google says it is the "best low-light video on any smartphone."

Now on to generative AI on the Pixel.

Apparently when Bard isn't helping to cohost our live blog it's up to a lot of other things around Google.

Google is giving a first look at Assistant with Bard, an combination of the familiar Google Assistant now infused with generative AI. 

Assistant will be able to pull data from across Gmail, Photos, Maps, and more to interpret and respond to personalized questions with more natural answers. You can then quickly share the results. 

Examples are using it to planning a weekend away with friends or a party. With detailed answers on which recipes are the right pick, which hike is dog-friendly, or how to get to the party.

Trouble coming up with a caption for photos you share online? Assistant with Bard has your back and it'll make recommendations.

This will be available soon as a pure opt-in experience.

Pixel 8 Pro is the first phone to run Google's foundation models directly on-device. That means the generative AI models are on your device, allowing for a vastly more personalized experience that doesn't have to reach out to the cloud. It's 150x faster than Pixel 7 Pro.

Recorder is getting on-device summarizations soon. This will give you concise summaries and highlights of a recorded meeting or presentation in moments. 

Pixel 8 Pro will be the first phone to have a custom generative AI on-device. This will start with Zoom Enhance, so you can live out the dream of the detective saying "Enhance," but now it actually works.

Pixel 8 starts at $699 and is available for pre-order today and shipping next week. The Pixel 8 Pro starts at $999, and once again is available for pre-order today and shipping next week.

One more thing. Google is expanding support for the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro to 7 years of OS updates, security updates, feature drops. "No other smartphone brand offers this level of commitment." Shot's fired Apple.

That was the mic drop, thanks for joining us for Made by Google October 2023!

Made by Google 2023: That's (not) all folks!

Today's show was a lot! It seems Google went the Microsoft Surface and Meta Connect route of spending most of their time talking about AI — at least that's how it felt to me.

However, we did get to see a true, in-depth reveal of the new Pixel line-up and while there weren't too many surprises here, I have to say it looks like Google laid out a good spread today!

Thanks for joining us for the 'live' section of our live blog, but stay tuned as we deliver even more content as we pit the Google Pixel 8, and Google Pixel 8 Pro against its Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy flagship counterparts to see who comes out on top...

Made by Google 2023: Which is better, the Pixel 8 or the Pixel 7a?

Now we can officially say that the Pixel 8 is on its way to store shelves, we now have to ask "Is it worth it?"

Especially as Google has already released one of the best-value smartphones on the market earlier this year — the Pixel 7a.

So how does the new Pixel 8 hold up against Google's budget breakthrough? Check out our Google Pixel 8 vs. Google Pixel 7a face-off to find out!

Made by Google 2023: Which is better, Pixel Watch 2 or Apple Watch Series 9?

Who rules the roost when it comes to wearables this year, Apple or Google? The Pixel Watch 2's announcement just took place, but we're ready with all of the details to put it head-to-head with the Apple Watch Series 9 and see which one of these awesome smartwatches comes out on top.

Check out this post-event coverage as we compare these two wearables in our Google Pixel Watch 2 vs Apple Watch Series 9 face-off!

Made by Google 2023: How does Google's 8 latest fare against OnePlus' 11?

The Pixel 8 offers fantastic value for its price-range, but it's not the only phone out there with a fantastic price-to-performance ratio. Enter the OnePlus 11, featuring top-flight specifications at a mid-range-friendly price!

OnePlus' offering has bucketloads of potential, and it could easily see off most phones if the brand had the same pulling-power as companies like Google or Apple. But how does it line up against Google's latest venture?

Find out in our Google Pixel 8 vs. OnePlus 11 face-off!

Made by Google 2023: Which 'Droid do you avoid?

The Pixel 8 Pro's upcoming launch gives us one of the best Android phones to date, but is it good enough to take on Samsung's best in the form of the Galaxy S23 Ultra? These two Android flagships have a ton of impressive qualities, each packing a powerful secret weapon when it comes to attracting shutterbugs.

Just what are those secret weapons? Can the Pixel 8 Pro really challenge Samsung's finest? And which Android phone will give you the most bang-for-your-buck? Get the answer to those questions and more in our Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra face-off!

Made by Google 2023:  Pixel Watch or Pixel Watch, tough choice!

The new Pixel Watch 2 doesn't seem all that different from the last Google smartwatch that came our way. Just how much effort has gone into this new model of wearable, anyway?

Let's find out! What have Google accomplished with the Pixel Watch 2 that they haven't already achieved, and is this wearable worth its worth when compared to the original?

Find out with our Pixel Watch 2 vs. Pixel Watch face-off!

Made by Google 2023: Made by Google, ended by Apple?

Can Google's Pixel 8 underdog come out on top when pitted against Apple's Pro? That's something we've been wondering ever since the iPhone 15 Pro was revealed at Apple's Wonderlust event and now we can accurately see how they both compare.

We've drawn both phones head-to-head to see which Pro proves its worth, and find out which phone is best across price, design, display, processor, and cameras! Interested to see how things went?

Then check out our iPhone 15 Pro vs Google Pixel 8 Pro face-off!

We already know that the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are being announced at the company’s October event, but that hasn’t stopped the cheaper Pixel 8a from being leaked in all its glory!

Thanks to @yabhishekhd on X (Twitter), we’ve got a clear look at the new budget A-series device coming from Google next year, and there are some dramatic changes we have to talk about.

A-Town down

Firstly, before we go any further, take note phone makers. This is how to do a blue colorway. Similar to the Sea finish of the Pixel 7a, but with a gorgeous vividity that extends to the camera bar too. It’s gorgeous!

Elsewhere, those curves on the chassis are far more aggressive than anything we’ve seen from any past Pixel — further separating it from the flagship slabs and giving it a personality all of its own. But the larger bezels seem to remain from last year’s model too, even though I wished they could have narrowed them slightly.

As for what will be powering the Pixel 8a, we’re looking at a slightly nerfed version of the Tensor G3 chipset based on the leaked Geekbench results, alongside 8GB of RAM. Make no mistake, bezel warts and all, this is starting to add up to be a mighty tasty new budget blower.

Outlook

Does this clear look at the phone mean we may see it at the same October event? Of course not. Google would be daft to not give its flagship devices room to breathe before the cheaper phone steals all of its sales potential.

That means based on current trends, we’re looking at a Spring 2024 launch window for the Pixel 8a (my bet would be an announcement at Google I/O 2024). Not only that, but the company is working hard to further differentiate the devices in terms of aesthetic and specs.

It’s that time of year again, Apple’s just unveiled its latest set of iPhones, the iPhone 15 series and you’re left with an interesting conundrum –– should you buy one of Apple’s and greatest or save a little bit of cash and go with the one older, yet still great iPhone 14s. I’m here to help you make that decision a bit easier, by pitting the iPhone 15 against its predecessor, the iPhone 14. 

As the lowest tiers in both their series, the iPhone 15 and 14 lack some of the snazzier features of their pricier brethren. But how do they measure up against each other? We know that the iPhone 15 is coming with last year’s A16 Bionic chip, a better rear camera and of course the new USB-C port. But is that enough to warrant shelling out $799 to start?

It seems that the iPhone 14 is starting off on the back foot here as its A15 Bionic chip which being two generations behind is definitely going to be less powerful than its successor. And a 48-megapixel rear camera is definitely better than 12MP and USB-C is great too. But not so fast, do you actually need those features, especially when it’s all but guaranteed that the iPhone 14 is going to get a massive discount, especially in the lead up to Prime Day 2, Black Friday and Cyber Monday? And with new chipsets comes new battery concerns. Can the iPhone 15 outlast the 14?

These and more questions abound as we wait to get the iPhone 15 in for testing. But in the meantime, here’s how the iPhone 15 stacks up against the iPhone 14. Please stay tuned to this face-off as we add updates with benchmarks as soon as we receive Apple’s latest base model iPhone. 

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 14: Pricing and availability

Currently the base model iPhone 14 costs $699 which gets you the company’s A15 Bionic chip with a 5-core GPU, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of onboard storage. Need more storage, the 256GB, 512GB and 1TB iterations will cost $899, $1,099 and $1,499, respectively. That pricing is sure to drop with the arrival of the iPhone 15. Not to mention, you have trade-in and carrier deals to consider.

The new kid on the block is priced at $799 and brings us last year’s A16 Bionic chip with a 5-core GPU and 6GB of RAM. The base model 128GB iPhone 15 sits at $799 while the 256GB and 512GB versions are priced at $899 and $1,099. Currently, there’s no word on the TB model. And of course, there will be plenty of trade-in deals and discounts available in order to swing you the iPhone 15’s way.

Winner: iPhone 14

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 14: Design

It’s like looking at one of those Find the Differences games. The iPhone 14 and 15 are nearly identical, but there are a few key differences -–  Dynamic Island and the USB-C port. The base model iPhone 15 gets the polarizing Dynamic Island which will get some upgraded usability. I’m still on the fence about how much space it takes up on the display, but I found it wasn’t too unobtrusive on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. 

Yes, at long last, Apple is ditching its proprietary Lightning port in favor of the USB-C (Thanks EU!). No longer will Apple owners have to look around frantically for a Lightning in an increasing sea of USB-C cords. Will this make me ditch my beloved Samsung phones? No, but it’s nice to know that I can help my friends and family out in a charging emergency now. That kind of makes the iPhone 14 a collectible as it’ll be the last iPhone with the now extinct Lightning port. 

If for no other reason, I like the iPhone 15 because it’s one of the pops of color in Apple’s rather buttoned up lineup. The phone comes in Yellow, Green, Blue, Pink, White and Black. The iPhone 14, however, is more colorful coming in Purple, Deep Purple, Starlight, Midnight, Space Black, Blue, Gold, Silver, Yellow and Product(RED). And thanks to its aluminum (mostly recycled) frame, ceramic shield and water and dust-resistance, the iPhone 15 is one of the most durable iPhones ever. 

Last, but not least, the iPhone 15's corners fea

Winner: iPhone 15

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 14: Display

The iPhone 15 retains the same 6.1-inch, Super ​​Retina XDR display as its predecessor. And while both OLED panels have a refresh rate of 60Hz, the 14 is plagued by a massive notch while the 15 has a less offensive pill cutout. There’s a few other differences starting with the resolution. The 15 gets a slight bump up to 2556 x 1179 pixels compared to the 2532 x 1170 pixels on the 14. The iPhone 15 also has a max brightness of 2,000 nits compared to the iPhone 14’s 1,200 nits. Plus, with the 15’s Ceramic Shield display, it’s less likely to crack when dropped (I hope).

Winner: iPhone 15

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 14: Performance

Base model iPhones are at once a step up and a step back. A step up because you are getting a new processor. It’s a step back because it’s last gen’s CPU. So between the iPhone 15 and 14, you’re talking about an A16 Bionic processor against an A15 CPU. So the iPhone 14 is already at a disadvantage. Let’s take a look at the numbers. And since we haven’t received the iPhone 15 for review yet, I’m going to use the iPhone 14 Pro's benchmarks which has an A16 Bionic chipset. 

Take Geekbench 5, where the iPhone 14 Pro notched 5,469 compared to the iPhone 14 4,554. And on the Adobe Premiere Rush test, the 14 Pro continued its dominance taking only 26 seconds to complete a set of video-editng tasks compared to the 14 which finished in 28 seconds. And during the Jetstream web browsing test, the 14 Pro got a score of 285.9 compared to 225.7.

Winner: iPhone 15

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 14: Cameras

In our iPhone 14 review, we noted that the smartphone’s pair of 12MP rear cameras took good shots, but our reviewer really didn’t notice a difference between this and the 13’s results on the wide angle shots until she zoomed in. Then, she noticed the details were sharper on the 14. There was also a marked improvement on Night Mode. However, there was no improvement noted on the ultrawide which was disappointing to say the least. 

As far as the 12MP front shooter, it’s gotten a helping hand from Apple’s Photonic Engine technology which leverages AI and software to make images sharper and more detailed, especially in low-light conditions. The results are a crisper photos with a more natural lighting effect. 

And while the images from the iPhone 14 are good, they’re nothing compared to what the iPhone 15 is going to produce with its newish 48MP (26mm, f/1.6) main rear camera. I say newish, because this was featured on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. We noted it as a definitely step up from the 13 Pro and Pro Max as the sensor is double the size of its predecessor and produced some beautiful shots. The 12MP ultrawide (13mm, f/2.4) shooter unfortunately remains unchanged and the same goes for its front cam.

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 14: Battery life

I have to hand it to Apple, they continue to find a way to create more powerful chips while improving efficiency. Case in point, the iPhone 14 only lasted 9 hours and 1 minute with its A15 Bionic chip while the iPhone 14 Pro with its A16 Bionic processor gave us a time of 10:13 on the Laptop Mag Battery Test (continuous web surfing over network connection at 150 nits). I expect similar or better from the iPhone 15.

Winner: iPhone 15

Outlook

At the end of the day, this is going to be a battle between your wallet and your feature lust. The iPhone 14 is older with a last-gen chip, which will be less powerful than its successor, we’re just not sure how big the deficit will be. Same goes for the battery life. I for one, am hoping the iPhone 15 will last longer than 9:01, which is highly likely with the A16 Bionic chipset. The smartphone’s cluster of 12MP cameras are fine and will still take great pictures, but it’s definitely outclassed by the iPhone 15’s 48MP main rear camera. 

Although we’re anxiously waiting to test the iPhone 15, based on the results from the iPhone 14 Pro, we can expect marked improvements. Is it enough to warrant $799? For some budget-minded consumers, the answer might be no. But it’s clear, that the iPhone 15 is going to put its last-gen processor to serious work.

Apple has unveiled the latest iPhone lineup by way of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. It’s another successful reveal for Apple with plenty to offer — the Cupertino crew have even managed to create a bit of distinction between the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models, to better differentiate each device’s unique selling points and audiences. However, can the same be said for the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus?

I can rest easy knowing that we’re in no danger of being called out for comparing apples to oranges on this one. But, a face-off against two Apples, one of which being slightly larger than the other, may cause us some grief for putting together one of the most boring and repetitive articles known to man.

As a writer, it’s my job to try and keep you hooked and entertained for long enough to read as much of this article as possible — while subconsciously absorbing the adverts that appear in your peripheral vision. Eventually, this article should reach some sort of crescendo, whereby the victor is revealed and we can all feel like learned something new today.

However, these are effectively the same phones and the bigger one probably isn’t worth $100 more. There won’t be some Peter Jackson-esque epic adventure spanning over hills and yonder for this face-off. It is what it is, I’m afraid. But if you need more convincing or want to know more about the pair’s, few and far between, differences then read on for our comparison of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 15 Plus: Specifications

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 15 Plus: Price

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will be available for preorder from Friday, Sept. 15, and available to buy in store from Friday, Sept. 22 for $799 and $899 respectively.

The iPhone 14 Plus was the target of criticism by many for its $100 markup for a little extra screen real estate, but it seems it wasn’t enough to cause Apple to second guess its valuation of the product leading into the iPhone 15 release.

The price differential accounts for the additional 0.6-inch disparity in screen size between both models and a ~20% expanded battery capacity for the iPhone 15 Plus. Is this worth splashing the extra cash? That’s going to be something you need to judge for yourself, however, personally, the iPhone 15 appears to be a well-rounded device with everything you truly need in a smartphone.

When was the last time you truly thought to yourself “I wish I had half an inch more screen space to send this WhatsApp message on”? And if battery life is everything to you, check out some of the best portable chargers with the money you saved avoiding the Plus, and enjoy even more power throughout the day for less. 

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 15 Plus: Design and display

Comparing the iPhone 15 to the iPhone 15 Plus is as predictable as you’d expect: one is bigger than the other. Both phones share the same countoured stainless steel frame, frosted and textured matte glass back, and Super Retina XDR display. However, the Plus packs a larger body, allowing it to house a display measuring 6.7 inches in size. The base iPhone 15’s smaller size restricts it to the exact same, though smaller, screen at just 6.1 inches.

Otherwise, Apple’s entry-level devices are practically identical, and you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart from individual images. Both OLED panels have a refresh rate of 60Hz, feature Apple's Dynamic Island, and similarly share an identical design available in the same color options@ Pink, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Black.

The Plus’ larger display will afford it a higher 2778 x 1284-pixel resolution when compared to the iPhone 15’s 2532 x 1170-pixel panel, though this is solely due to screen size and won’t affect pixel density in any meaningful way.

Both of Apple’s smartphones will also feature a USB-C port, MagSafe compatibility, and support for Qi wireless charging. One of the iPhone 15’s key new components is the inclusion of an upgraded U2 ultra-bandwidth chip for improved location tracking — the first upgrade to this essential component since 2019’s iPhone 11 Pro.

Which is better is another matter of preference, likely dictated by the size of your hands, and which device feels comfier to use. The two devices are practically identical, and overcoming the difference in display size is as easy as moving the iPhone 15 ever so slightly closer to your face. 

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 15 Plus: Performance

Both of the entry-level iPhone 15 models will feature Apple’s A16 Bionic processor and 6GB of LPDDR5 RAM. Meaning performance will generally strike a balance between the two. It won’t be the flagship performance of the 3nm A17 Pro Bionic, but the 4nm A16 is a proven powerhouse after featuring in last year’s iPhone 14 Pro models.

As for how these phones perform when it comes to battery life, both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have been granted a sizable boost in uptime thanks to a new stacked battery system.

The new stacked battery system (similar to that found in electric vehicles) makes use of 100% recycled cobalt and has afforded the iPhone 15 a fitting 15% increase in battery capacity, and the iPhone 15 Plus a decent 12% more. Theoretically, this could see the iPhone 15 reach a 10+ hour battery life and the iPhone 15 Plus easily surpassing a 13-hour lifespan when compared to our in-house battery testing of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus.

While performance will almost certainly be a deadlock, the iPhone 15 Plus is clearly the better option if you’re looking for a longer-lasting device. Whether or not that increase in battery capacity is worth an extra $100 of your cold hard cash is another thing altogether.

iPhone 15 Vs. iPhone 15 Plus: Cameras

The iPhone 15's cameras are, unsurprisingly, another area where both phones are outfitted identically. Both devices have received an impressive 48-megapixel main shooter — inherited from the iPhone 14 Pro models of 2022.

Speaking of, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will also take on the same ultrawide and selfie cameras as found in the iPhone 14. While it’s not a downgrade, it won’t feel much like an upgrade, especially in the face of the main lens’ noticeable jump.

The major movers when it comes to camera upgrades are clearly the iPhone 15 Pro models with their periscope lens and sensor refreshes. As for Apple’s base iPhone 15 models, it’s a much more humdrum affair outside of its main snapper with absolutely nothing to split the two apart.

Outlook

Frankly, the differences between Apple’s devices are so negligible that it might as well be down to perspective — with the iPhone 15 Plus only seeming bigger because it’s slightly closer to you. We wish there was something with a little more substance on show here to sink our teeth into for this face-off but I’ve seen more meat on a vegan chicken wing — and comparing these two devices almost feels like splitting hairs.

Does this make them bad? Not at all, though it will result in the choice between them being a subjective decision based on your own personal preferences and how much you’re willing to spend to get your hands on Apple’s latest smartphone.

Personally, the base iPhone 15 seems like the obvious choice. However, had Apple granted the iPhone 15 Plus a few extras to sweeten the deal, then this conclusion might not have been reached so easily. However, as it stands, it was.

For breaking news and updates on all things Apple and iPhone as it arrives, follow along with our Apple September event live blog or catch Laptop Mag on Twitter, Facebook, and Flipboard for the latest word as it arrives.  

It’s the day of Apple’s Wonderlust event and the latest iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to dominate the headlines with reveals of pricing, specifications, and release dates. However, this year could be the last time Apple’s top-tier device, the iPhone Pro Max, is part of that deluge of news — at least in name. 

Will Apple retire the Pro Max name?

Apple has a bit of a messy naming structure at the minute with its indecision to pick and stick with either the Pro Max or Ultra nomenclature on its high-end devices and components.

Want the top-tier Apple Watch device? Then you want the Apple Watch Ultra. Want the primo iPhone experience? Then you want the iPhone 15 Pro Max. And, if that wasn’t confusing enough, along comes Apple Silicon with both Max AND Ultra variants of its M1 and M2 processors.

It’s time to clean house on these messy tech tiers, and the iPhone Pro Max name could be first on the chopping block when the iPhone 16 releases in 2024. Bloomberg’s scribe of all things Apple, Mark Gurman, has previously reported that Apple has considered bringing the Ultra branding to its flagship smartphone — especially as the feature set between the Pro and Pro Max models begins to expand.

However, Gurman has seemingly confirmed that Apple intends to stick with the Pro Max title for this year after a recent spate of rumors pointing to a last-minute adoption of the Ultra moniker. As such, it’s business as usual from the Cupertino crew today, though next year's lineup could look a little different with a potential 16th-gen showcase featuring the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and newly branded iPhone 16 Ultra.

Outlook

This year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max could be the last of its namesake, but it’s retiring with a bang and not a whimper.

Not only will the device make the switch to a titanium frame, it will likely be outfitted by Apple’s 3nm A17 Bionic processor, feature an upgraded telephoto (Periscope) lens and LiDAR sensor, a new U2 ultra-wideband (UWB) chip, USB-C connectivity is 35W of charging and Thunderbolt data transfer speeds, an all-new Action Button in lieu of the tradition mute switch, and LIPO manufactured ultra-slim bezels.

Talk about leaving on a high note! Take a bow Pro Max, your watch is over. 

For breaking news and updates on all things Apple and iPhone as it arrives, follow along with our Apple September event live blog or catch Laptop Mag on Twitter, Facebook, and Flipboard for the latest word as it arrives.  

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to considerably up its game when it likely launches in February 2024. All signs indicate that a simple refresh is well and truly off the cards, with Samsung keen to improve the S24 Ultra across a number of key areas.

From what we know so far, Samsung is expected to transition the S4 Ultra to a titanium frame, boost its telephoto lens with a 50MP 3x optical zoom sensor, house the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, switch to a flat display, and boost its response rate to a whopping 144Hz.

Bad news, good news

However, it’s not all good news, that flat screen has led to some chunkier bezels according to a recent leak by ever-reliable tech tipster Ice Universe. The Ultra S24’s bezels will reportedly measure at 3mm on the top and bottom, and 3.42mm on the left and right. However, before we hiss and scowl at Samsung’s crafting of the Bezelzebub, these numbers could prove to be inaccurate.

While the bezel size is a noticeable jump from the S23 Ultra’s 1.9mm measurements, it’s likely that the S24 Ultra will retain the rounded edges of its predecessor — meaning the rumored bezel width increase to 3.42mm could incorrectly include the frame’s curvature.

But, wait. There’s more! A follow-up leak from itnyang points to another much more positive and considerable upgrade heading to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: a peak brightness of over 2,200 nits potentially up to 2,800 nits. My god, it’s full of stars.

An Ultra-bright delight?

The rumored peak brightness of the S24 Ultra is a game changer for smartphones and could register as the brightest phone to ever hit the market when it arrives. The S23 Ultra’s display was already sitting at a considerable 1,750 nits and you’d be hard-pressed to find a single complaint about that phone’s bright and vibrant panel.

Apple’s current flagship iPhone the 14 Pro Max has an advertised peak brightness of 2,000 nits and it’s part of what makes the display so rich and effortless to use while out and about. It would seem that Samsung isn’t interested in keeping up with the Joneses on this one, instead, leapfrogging the competition and aiming for the top spot when it comes to eye-popping displays.

Why is screen brightness important for smartphones?

Why is this upgrade so important? And what’s the deal with screen brightness anyway? Well, it all comes down to maintaining the best visual experience no matter the environment you’re in. Phones with a lower peak brightness become hard to decipher in direct sunlight — especially while wrestling with screen glare. A panel with a brightness of over 1,000 nits is likely to hold up well in brighter outdoor conditions, but it will sometimes lack that same stand-out, vivid ‘pop’ that you see while indoors.

However, the higher your phone’s peak brightness, the more likely you’ll receive that same visual experience under all forms of external lightning. Given Samsung’s history of providing excellent photography options in its smartphones, you can bet the additional boost in brightness will be great for summer shutterbugs looking for the perfect snap.

Outlook

On paper, the upgrades in place for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra easily culminate in one of the best smartphones to date. And, given this new information about its ultra-bright display, a true temptation for Apple alumni to switch to the dark side — which will be anything but.

That being said, all the spec upgrades in the world mean nothing when you don’t have the software in place to enthrall a user. That’s something Apple has had in place for years, offering a best-in-class user experience that’s simply too good to give up — no matter how much better a competitor’s hardware might be.

For news, rumors, and updates on all things tech, follow Laptop Mag on Twitter, Facebook, and Flipboard for the latest word as it arrives. 

The Apple September event is right around the corner, which means we’re weeks away from getting our first glimpse at the iPhone 15, Apple Watch 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 among other important updates. However, if you can’t wait until then to know when you can get your hands on Apple’s latest iPhone offering you’re in luck.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, as mentioned in this weekend’s Power On newsletter, has been told to expect Apple to introduce the new iPhone on either September 12 or 13. Not only that, Gurman also claims that the new iPhone 15 will go on sale September 22. 

This lines up nicely with our own iPhone 15 release date predictions, and could also give us a good estimate of when to expect preorders to begin for Apple’s latest smartphone. 

Apple iPhone 15: expected preorder and release dates

The last two iPhone models announced at Apple’s September event (iPhone 13, iPhone 14) saw preorders open the following Friday with the devices going on sale a week later. If Gurman’s sources are accurate, this means that iPhone 15 preorders could begin on Friday, Sept. 15 with the devices widely available a week later on Friday, Sept. 22.

While we don’t yet have word from Apple about the exact date of its September event, 9to5Mac recently revealed that mobile carriers have been asking employees not to take Wednesday, Sept. 13 off due to a major smartphone announcement.

While there are no names mentioned, we highly doubt any other manufacturer would be so bold as to attempt to outshine Apple during this period.

Outlook

Rumors have swirled about a potential delay in the iPhone 15 release, making this information all the more welcome. It would appear that we can safely expect the iPhone 15 to follow its usual release pattern – though there could still be a dilemma for Apple over the iPhone 15 Pro.

The top-tier iPhones are reportedly facing shortages due to production issues based around Apple’s desire to drastically reduce the size of bezels on Pro models. However, with no direct mention from Gurman about such a delay, we could be looking as a hurdle free release windows for Apple's iPhone 15 lineup after all.

For news, rumors, and updates on all things Apple, iPhone, and tech, follow Laptop Mag on Twitter, Facebook, and Flipboard for the latest word as it arrives.

It’s good to be king, and when it comes to foldables, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip has reigned supreme. But is it worthy of the crown? Or was Samsung merely running unopposed in its quest for the throne? The last year has certainly seen some contenders rise up, primarily the Motorola Razr+ — the foldable revival of the flip phone fantastic circa 2004.

With Samsung Galaxy Unpacked’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 announcement, we now know what to expect with the latest flippy foldable from Samsung, and it’s time to see how it measures up against the competition. Whether you’re looking to “join the flip side” or “flip the script,” these two foldable phones are top of their game and excellent options.

However, we’re ready to pit Samsung’s best against Motorola’s cutting edge and see which one comes out on top.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Vs. Motorola Razr+ 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Vs. Motorola Razr+ price

With both phones touting the same $999.99 price tag, two things become clear: Motorola did its homework and assumed the Galaxy Z Flip 5 would stick to its price pattern, and that the Lenovo subsidiary fully intends to challenge it for market dominance.

The Motorola Razr+ comes in only one configuration with 256GB of storage, however, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has storage configurations of 256GB or 512GB with the latter pushing the price of Samsung’s foldable to $1,119. (Though a free limited-time free storage upgrade is currently in place.) 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Vs. Motorola Razr+ design

Both phones share a foldable clamshell design, with each featuring a similar “teardrop” or “dumbbell” hinge to limit the amount of creasing foldable phones have become synonymous with and to produce a gapless seam when closed. It’s also better for durability. Both foldables are capable of withstanding more rigorous use and folds than ever before.

The Razr+ is the largest, measuring 3.48 x 2.9 x 0.59 inches when folded and 6.7 x 2.9 x 0.27 inches when open. This allows for a slightly bigger internal and cover display of 6.9-inch and 3.6-inch in comparison to the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s 6.7-inch internal and 3.4-inch cover screens.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 measures 3.35 x 2.83 x 0.59 inches in size when folded and 6.5 x 2.83 x 0.27 inches when open, giving it a marginally smaller footprint. However, both devices weigh roughly the same with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola Razr+ weighing 187.1 grams and 187.9 grams, respectively.

Of the two, Samsung’s Z Flip 5 features superior protection. It inherits an IPX8 rating from the Z Flip 4, meaning the device will function properly after 30 minutes in freshwater of up to 1.5m in depth, but it lacks any certification against dust or particulates. By contrast, the Razr+’s IP52 rating only shields from water sprays less than 15 degrees from vertical and limited dust or particulate protection.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Vs. Motorola Razr+ displays

The differences between these devices become more apparent when we get to their displays. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 features a vastly improved cover display from the Z Fold 4 in terms of size, performance, and functionality.

The 3.4-inch AMOLED “folder” shaped display is sizable enough to handle a number of functions and widgets in a fair amount of detail bringing greater purpose to its cover screen than ever before. Its 720 x 748 resolution allows for a solid amount of detail and space for widgets and even an onscreen keyboard, and a 60Hz refresh rate keeps things relatively smooth.

However, the Motorola Razr+ blows Samsung’s new cover screen out of the water from the get-go, delivering a larger, smoother, and more functional external display that, for once, leaves Samsung on the backfoot. The 3.6-inch, edge-to-edge OLED panel has a silky-smooth refresh rate of 144Hz and a 1066 x 1056 resolution that affords much more screen real estate for apps to make use of.

The internal display of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a spacious 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a FHD+ resolution of 2640 x 1080 pixels and a spritely 120Hz refresh rate. However, once again, the Motorola outshines with a larger and faster display. Open up the Razr+ and you’ll be met with a 6.9-inch OLED, FHD+ panel with a 2640 x 1080-pixel resolution and a super-fast 165Hz refresh rate.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5’s saving grace is its use of AMOLED 2X panels for brighter and more vivid pictures than the Razr+’s OLED counterpart. Still, its faster refresh rate, larger screens, and more functional cover display may still give it the edge over Samsung’s foldable for many.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Vs. Motorola Razr+ performance

The Motorola Razr+ is outfitted with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU with 8GB of RAM, affording it an impressive level of performance across the board. It’s the same chip found in both the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and One Plus 10T, solid devices with a wagonload of processing power and great Adreno 730 graphics — not to mention a considerable battery life to boot.

However, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is similarly equipped with 8GB of RAM, but also features the newer Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor which is capable of all that of its predecessor and more. It’s the same processor you’ll find inside of Samsung’s flagship S23 Ultra, which delivered impressive benchmark scores when facing off against the Tensor G2-powered Pixel 7 Pro and Apple A16 Bionic-powered iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 clearly has the edge with its more modern chip, but its Dynamic AMOLED display will also give it the leg-up, thanks to its ability to pump the brakes on its 120Hz refresh rate to make the most of its smaller 3,700 mAh battery capacity.

Of course, while better is better, both chips offer top-tier performance that many will barely scratch the surface of with typical day-to-day use. Power users and enthusiasts will gain the most from the Z Flip 5’s upgrade, but don’t feel like you’ll be missing out on too much otherwise.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Vs. Motorola Razr+ cameras

Samsung knows a thing or two when it comes to delivering quality camera sensors, which only makes it all the more surprising that they appear to have made little to no changes from the camera array found in the Z Flip 4. Both 12 megapixel wide and ultra-wide sensors return alongside a familiar 10MP selfie camera. There are one or two tweaks when it comes to pixel density or focal length, but practically nothing worth highlighting.

In contrast, the Motorola Razr+, a foldable whose entire concept revolves around reviving a mid-2000s flip phone that had a camera so bad even Bigfoot would be embarrassed to pose in front of it, startlingly pulls ahead with a 12MP (f/1.5, 1.4μm) main sensor with OIS and a 13MP ultra-wide (f/2.2, 1.12μm) lens paired with a 32MP (f/2.4, 0.7μm) and 8MP quadpixel (f/2.4, 1.4μm) set of selfie/front cameras. 

Outlook

The final part of this head-to-head exemplifies exactly where Samsung’s problems dwell. Whether it’s through stagnation or overconfidence, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 does only the bare minimum to stay relevant. The Z Flip 5 improves on its performance and cover display to impressive effect, but forgets to show any willingness for improvement elsewhere.

This gives competition like the Motorola Razr+ an excellent opportunity to play catch up, pressing ahead in all areas to get the edge over Samsung’s foldable however it can. And in a few areas, that’s exactly what it manages to do. Its edge-to-edge cover screen, improved camera array, bigger and faster panels, and similar pricing make it a very real threat to Samsung’s market share.

Unless Samsung comes out swinging with the Z Fold 6, it’s hard not to imagine companies like Motorola completely overtaking them in the foldable market. For now, the Galaxy Z Fold can keep its throne, but only by a slim margin.

As the battle of the foldables continues to heat up, Samsung is poised to maintain its grip on the crown with its latest entries to the market, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Of the two new smartphones, the Flip 5 continues to act as the fun, sporty model while the Fold 5 is tailored to power users and professionals. The Z Flip 5 comes to market sporting some notable improvements, including a larger 3.4-inch cover screen and a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor in a slightly slimmer chassis. 

I had the opportunity to go hands on with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and while it’s not my phone of choice when it comes to foldables (that’d be the Galaxy Z Fold 5), I can’t deny the allure of its incredible pocketability and versatility. But I wish Samsung would have added some more bells and whistles. Read on to see what I mean.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 video hands-on

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 pricing and availability

When it launches in August, the base model of the Flip will cost $999/£1,049 and feature 8GB of RAM with 256GB of onboard storage. The top-tier model also has 8GB of RAM but bumps the storage to 512GB. Unfortunately, those hoping to score some savings with the 128GB iteration are out of luck, as that configuration of the foldable has been eliminated from the line up. And those looking for a 1TB iteration will have to set their sights on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. 

If you’re ready to make the leap, the Z Flip 5 is available for pre-order at Samsung.com as well as various carrier sites. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 design

There’s not much difference between the Z Flip 4 and the Flip 5. You’ve still got that flipability that our editor, Kimberly Gedeon, loved as it gave that old-school feeling of hanging up on someone in a huff. The two-toned color scheme on the top rear panel with a black housing for the pair of cameras also makes a return which is something she didn’t like nearly as much. But now, instead of only a portion of the top panel cover being coated in a shiny inky black material, the entire thing is blacked out with the rest of the panel taking on the main color in a matte finish. The good news is that most of this is a display. 

When it launches, the Z Flip 5 will be available in Lavender, Mint, Graphite and Cream. If you're looking for something less pastel, Samsung will offer the foldable in colors exclusive to Samsung.com, including Gray, Blue, Green and Yellow. 

The frame of the phone and the sides are made from Armor Aluminum, with the volume rocker and power button/fingerprint reader placed on the right, and the USB-C charging port sitting along the bottom. Flipping the phone open reveals a glossy display with deep, striking color. Something new to note is the Flex hinge –– a dual rail mechanism that is more deeply integrated into the phone itself, rather than sticking out like a sore thumb. The new hinge decreases the prominence of the display crease while allowing the device to close without a gap. 

When folded, the 6.6-ounce Galaxy Z Flip measures 3.4 x 2.8 x 0.59 inches compared to 6.5 x 2.8 x 0.27 inches unfurled. That’s not too far off from its predecessor (3.3 x 2.8 x 0.67 inches, folded / 6.5 x 2.8 x 0.27 inches, unfolded), which also weighs 6.6 ounces. The predecessor is a hair smaller. The Google Pixel Fold is thinner (5.5 x 3.1 x 0.5 inches, folded / 5.5 x 6.2 x 0.2 inches, unfolded) albeit heavier at 10 ounces. Plus, the Pixel Fold is plagued by hardware issues with reports of broken displays à la the original Galaxy Fold. 

However, with this being Samsung’s fifth trip to the foldable rodeo, I doubt we’ll see any issues with either the Z Flip 5 or Fold 5 (fingers crossed). 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 durability

A foldable is inherently more delicate than your regular slab of smartphone. Samsung is alleviating some of the worry by reinforcing the Flip 5 with Armor Aluminum and making the rear panel and screen out Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. The phone is also IPX8 rated, meaning it can be submerged in 1.5 meters of fresh water for a limited time. In other words, freshwater lakes and toilets are fine, the beach is not, especially since the phone is not dust resistant. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 display

Like its predecessor, the Z Flip 5 has a 6.7-inch, Dynamic AMOLED 2x display. The Infinity Flex panel has a resolution of 2640 x 1080 with 22:9 aspect ratio. It’s a pretty good indicator that one of our more nitpicky complaints will make an appearance here with wider letterboxing appearing when watching video. 

As far as color, I’m rooting for Samsung on this, as during my rather brief hands-on the colors were pleasing to my eye. And I definitely liked how smooth scrolling through home pages and apps looked. The Z Flip 4 put up impressive numbers on both our brightness (772 nits) and DCI-P3 (132.2%) tests , being bested only by the Z Fold 4 (902 nits / 158.7%) during its review. The Pixel Fold delivered an impressive brightness of 1,173 nits with a rather lackluster 88.4% on the DCI-P3 scale. 

I’m really eager to see how the Flip 5’s main display holds up under benchmarking and everyday use. Speaking of use cases, the Z Flip 5 has an adaptive refresh rate that automatically adjusts the refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz depending on the activity. So if you’re gaming or watching a video, you can expect a higher frame rate while perusing a spreadsheet versus watching a film that usually needs only 24Hz.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Flex Window

New phone, bigger display. Yes, that teeny tiny cover display from last year’s model has grown into a 3.4-inch, Super AMOLED 60Hz Flex display that’s great for screening notifications. The 720 x 748-pixel screen is a bold answer to our complaint that the previous model’s screen was too small to act as a selfie viewfinder or much else. I didn’t experience any problems reading notifications or setting up a good shot on the camera.

Similar to its main display, the Z Flip 5 definitely passed the eye test with clean, distinct text and colorful hues. But the Flex display is more than a medium for errant notifications, you have widgets where you can control your music, check the weather and other useful functionality. If you need to view multiple widgets, a quick pinch will activate Multi Widget View. Somebody sends you a text message? Answer it via Quick Reply. 

And of course, that larger Flex Window is perfect for making sure you’re selfie ready (more on that later). 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 performance

With a 4-nanometer Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, the Z Flip 5 is packing. It’s on a par with the likes of the OnePlus 11 and Samsung Galaxy 23 Ultra. It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped since Qualcomm’s new chipset won’t be released until later this year. Don’t get me wrong, this processor is definitely an ass kicker, as it delivered 5,081 on Geekbench 5.4 in the Galaxy S23 Ultra while the OnePlus 11 hit 4,962. 

Is either enough to topple the likes of the iPhone Pro 14 (5,469) or iPhone Pro Max 14 (5,333) with their A16 Bionic chips? No, but it’s more than enough to spank the Pixel Fold’s (Tensor G2 CPU) abysmal 1,909. The S23 Ultra’s result also surpasses the Z Flip 4 and its Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, which produced only 4,015, proving this is a definite step up in power. 

When we ran the Adobe Premiere Rush video transcoding benchmark, the S23 Ultra finished in 39 seconds, soundly beating the Pixel’s Fold and OnePlus 11’s times of 1:01 and 1:11, respectively while the Z Flip 4 posted a time of 0:44. It couldn’t dispatch either the iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, which had blistering times of 0:26 and 0:30, respectively.

On the Jetstream web browser test, the S23 Ultra scored 179.3. That was more than enough to stave off the Z Flip 4 (134.3), Pixel Fold (118.3), and OnePlus 11 (112.8). But once again, the iPhones laid waste to their Android counterparts with the iPhone 14 Pro reaching 285.9 and the Pro Max hitting 273.7.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 battery life

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 3,700mAh battery, just like the Z Flip 4. This, barring any power efficiency tricks that Samsung and Qualcomm might pull out their hats, puts the Z Flip 5 within a stone’s throw of the 9 hour mark, as its ancestor lasted 8 hours and 57 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test (continuous web surfing at 150 nits over network). 

The competition all have larger batteries, such as the Pixel Fold (4,821mAh), which scores its first potential win over the Z Flip 5 with a time of 10:21. The OnePlus 11 and Galaxy S23 clocked in with 12:48 and 13:09, respectively, with their 5,000mAh batteries. And by some feat of Apple Magic, both the iPhone 14 Pro (3,200mAh) and Pro Max (4,323mAh) managed to beat the Z Flip 4 by lasting 10:27 and 13:07, respectively.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 camera

When you look at the megapixels on the Z Flip 5, they’re singing the same old song with a pair of 12MP cameras on the rear and a 10MP front shooter. The wide (12MP, f/1.8, 1.8μm, 83-degree field of view) is virtually identical to last gen’s as is the ultra-wide shooter (12MP, f/2.2, 1.12μm, 123-degree FOV)  It’s disappointing that Samsung couldn’t find a way to up the ante, but that doesn’t mean that the company hasn’t made any changes whatsoever. 

In this case, we have to look to the front camera (10MP, f/2.2, 1.22μm, 85-degree FOV) which has a slightly smaller aperture compared to last gen’s (10MP, f/2.4,1.22μm, 80-degree FOV), but it’s negligible at best. The real change comes from the AI-powered software that brings improved Nightography mode, which means better shots in low-light environments. Using an AI-powered image signal processing (ISP) algorithm, the Z Flip 5’s cameras will automatically correct any visual noise that you’d usually find when snapping low-light images. The feature will also enhance details and color tone. Plus, you get clearer photos by way of the digital 10X zoom.Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 software

But the Flip’s main claim to fame is the Flex Window, which allows the more creative among us to take interesting photos with the unique angles that the phone can take advantage of. Speaking of unique angles, there’s Flex Camera for those look-ma-no-hands photos. With the expanded size of the Flex Window, you can get a better look at your selfie preview. If you want to take a few candids with friends, there’s Dual Preview so everyone can make sure they’re striking the appropriate pose. And you also have Flex Mode that lets you see and edit your shots into masterpieces. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 software

The Z Flip 5 comes with Android 13 skinned with Samsung’s One UI 5.1.1, which blends the company’s proprietary widgets and features into Android for a seamless experience. And since the Z Flip 5 carries a lot of the same features as its predecessor, it’s a safe bet to guess that Samsung will provide four years of major software updates along with five years of security updates.

Bottom line

While I am a proponent of the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra, Samsung will have to figure out how to make the next Z Flip into something truly special because the Z Flip 5 ain’t it. That’s not to say it’s not a good phone –– without any benchmarking to back it up right now –– it is. It’s still super pocketable and versatile. You can do a hell of a lot more with the larger Flex Window and the new Flex hinge is less intrusive on the overall design. And I’m never going to say no to a more powerful processor (even if it is on the more power-hungry side), but as it stands, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is nothing more than an incremental step, just like the Z Flip 4 was. Now to where exactly Samsung is stepping to, I’m unsure, but I can say it’s getting there awfully slow. 

However, if you’re thinking of making the leap into the foldable space and don’t want to spend over $1,000 for the experience, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the way to go. But don’t take this as my final judgment, as there’s still plenty of benchmarking to do in this case and the numbers will be the final tale of the tape. 

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is days away from its big reveal at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 and we might have just seen confirmation of a rumor about its launch price after the foldable’s price information in India has reportedly leaked online.

Foldables are becoming more and more popular, but their high price point is a significant barrier to entry for most. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 launched with a price tag of $1,799 — a considerable amount to fork out for a decent laptop, let alone a smartphone.

However, rumors began to spring last month that Samsung was looking to bring down the cost of the upcoming Z Fold 5, making it more accessible than ever. The recent leak of the Z Fold 5’s price could give us a glimpse of how much Samsung is willing to drop the price of its foldable to grow its market share.

Galaxy Z Fold 5 price leak: affordable foldables inbound? 

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 launched in India for ₹154,999, however, according to a leaked listing for Samsung’s foldable by Paras Guglani, the Z Fold 5 will launch at a price of ₹143500 — ₹11,499 less than the previous generation’s price. Recently, tipsters like Revegnus have revealed Samsung’s desire to ship the Z Fold 5 at a cheaper price point, and these leaks appear to confirm just that.

The leaked difference in price roughly equates to $140.52, which won’t make a world of difference for most but could sway many into giving the Z Fold 5 a further look if similar price reductions occur globally.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 launched with a price tag of $1,799 in the U.S. and similar drops could see the Galaxy Z Fold 5 become available for $1,658.50. It’s still a commanding price tag, but it is one heading in the right direction for wider foldable adoption by more consumers.

Outlook

Is the barrier to entry for foldable phones slowly being lifted? That remains to be seen. The Pixel Fold recently launched with a similar $1,799 price tag to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and the decision by Samsung to drop the price could be to fend off competition or make up for the fact that there doesn’t appear to be much of an upgrade when it comes to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 from what we know so far.

However, this is all speculative, and for concrete numbers on how much the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will cost, be sure to catch the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event live on July 26. Can’t catch the event as it happens? Be sure to follow Laptop Mag on Twitter or… X or whatever it’s called now, Facebook, and Flipboard for breaking news as it’s announced.  

Today Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro and while both models feature a number of upgrades over their predecessors, the gulf between the non-Pro and Pro models is considerable these days.

However, you're also paying quite a bit more for the iPhone 15 Pro, so whether those extras are worth the cost is going to be different for every user.

Let's take a look at exactly what separates the iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro to help you sort out which one is right for you.

iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro: Specs

iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro: Price

• iPhone 15: $799
• iPhone 15 Plus: $899
• iPhone 15 Pro: $999
• iPhone 15 Pro Max: $1,199

iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro: Design

• Small redesign with slightly curved edges
• iPhone 15 Pro has massively thinner bezels
• Goodbye, lightning. Hello USB-C! You can thank the EU for that one

The iPhone 15 has a bigger transformation overall iPhone 15 hardware, but it's not a massive redesign like the iPhone 12. A slight curvature to the metal band should make the phone a little more comfortable to hold in the hand. 

Another big change that is coming to all iPhones is the move to a USB-C port. If you're interested in how exactly that came about we’ve been documenting the whole Apple vs. EU saga, and it’s been dramatic to say the least.

The main differences between the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro seem to lie in the smaller details. A design leak suggests the pro model will sport the thinnest bezels ever seen on a smartphone (1.55mm), which means the company could make the 15 Pro smaller than its older brother.

• iPhone 15 Pro: 5.76 x 2.77 x 0.32 inches
• iPhone 14 Pro: 5.80 x 2.81 x 0.31 inches

So while there is a strong sense of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” when it comes to the sandwich of metal and glass that is the standard iPhone aesthetic, there are small tweaks to breathe a little bit of new life into it.

iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro: Display

• Dynamic Island for all iPhones
• Still 60Hz for standard iPhone 15

Display sizes remain the same: 6.1 and 6.7 inches. On top of that, the standard iPhone 15 remains at 60Hz, whereas the Pro will feature an improved LTPO panel with an adaptive refresh rate from 1-120Hz.

But that would only be half the story. You see, while it was just the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max that got the Dynamic Island, you’re going to see all iPhone 15 models ditch the notch and take the pill this time around.

iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro: Processor

• iPhone 15 gets A16 Bionic
• iPhone 15 Pro makes the jump to a 3nm chipset in the A17 Pro

Something interesting happened with the iPhone 14 lineup last year. Apple, clearly felt the pressure to better differentiate the standard and pro phones, decided to split the chipsets: the standard 14 got the A15 Bionic while the pro picked up the newer A16 Bionic.

Apparently, this strategy is here to stay. The iPhone 15 bumps up to the A16 while the iPhone 15 Pro gets a serious power upgrade to A17 Pro.

How serious? It is the first of Apple’s silicon produced on a 3nm process, packing more performance into the next-generation chipsets and drastically raising the roof on speed and power efficiency. 

iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro: Cameras

• Both phones are getting a 48MP main camera
• Pro Max gets a 5x optical zoom

The snappers are another area where we’re expecting to see some big shake-ups — two to be precise.

First of all, that 48MP main camera will not be limited to just the Pro iPhones. This year, the standard iPhones adopt a high-resolution shooter too, which uses 4-in-1 pixel binning to produce a 24MP shot with four times the detail. This higher resolution sensor also allows for a 2x telephoto on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.

Second, we turn our attention to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Instead of a standard telephoto lens (which has a fixed magnification), the biggest and priciest iPhone of the bunch makes the leap to a periscope lens. 

Just make sure you go with the Pro Max if you want that added optical zoom as the iPhone 15 Pro sticks to the same 3x optical zoom that we've seen in the past.

Outlook

2023 is going to be a big year for the iPhone. iOS 17 is bringing some fundamental changes to the software, and these will be paired with some big hardware upgrades in the iPhone 15 line.

On top of that, the gap between the standard iPhone and Pro model has widened. So let’s help make sure you make the right decision, which is a simple one in my mind.

While the 15 Pro is a seriously alluring prospect with its dense spec list, there’s a very good chance that you’re not going to need all that it offers and to get the very best you need to opt for the even pricier 15 Pro Max. A16 Bionic continues to be the fastest mobile chipset on the planet, so do you really need A17 Pro? 

While there are differences of opinion on whether you need a powerful optical zoom on a phone, if you do like wildlife photography or you have kids and want to be able to snap photos of them while playing sports or at the park it's incredibly helpful to be able to zoom in and make those photos more than just a blob in the distance.

With that said, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are far more affordable, and that upgraded primary camera and new Dynamic Island should offer a solid premium experience for hundreds less. 

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked on July 26 is for the first time happening on Samsung’s home turf: Seoul, South Korea. It’s almost a cliché to say, but this Galaxy Unpacked event could be one of Samsung’s biggest to date with a genuinely stacked card of foldables, tablets, and wearables perhaps ready to be unveiled.

Even if you’re not a fan of Samsung devices, the event will be well worth checking out to see how Samsung reacts to the burgeoning foldable market and the actions of its competitors in Google and Motorola specifically.

You can follow our Samsung Galaxy Unpacked live blog for all of the latest from Seoul. Stick with us for a taste of what's going on around the event and then tune into the live stream or just keep up with the latest through our live blog even if you can't watch along with us.

Latest news (Updated: 7/25)

• Galaxy Z Fold 5 is rumored to still lack dust resistance.
• Samsung's foldable sees price drop in leaked listings.
• Samsung may add a Galaxy Ring to its constellation of devices.
• Leaked images showed off new Galaxy Z Flip 5 use cases.
• Get a $50 credit for reserving the upcoming Galaxy phones early.

How to watch Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023

The Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event will take place today. The livestream begins at 4 a.m PST / 7 a.m. EST / 12 noon BST, so mark your calendars. If you need to keep up with the news a little more quietly, then keep an eye on our Galaxy Unpacked live blog.

If you won’t be free during that time, fear not, Laptop Mag will be following everything on your behalf and keeping you updated with coverage as the unpacked event unfolds. See what I did there? Follow us on Twitter and Flipboard to receive all of the latest updates on everything Samsung and more in the run-up to Galaxy Unpacked and on the day itself.

If you’re lucky enough to be free during those hours, you can watch the event online with livestreams running concurrently across Samsung Newsroom, Samsung.com, and Samsung’s YouTube channel. 

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023: What to expect

With the event’s tagline being a call to “Join the flip side,” it’s clear that Samsung is planning to make the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the primary focus of their upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event.

Samsung has been the top dog when it comes to foldable devices so far, but with the recent launch of the Motorola Razr+, Google’s Pixel Fold, and the looming rumors of a foldable Apple iPhone, it’s no time for the brand to rest on its laurels.

This could be why we’re seeing the Unpacked event arrive in July instead of August this year, with Samsung desperate to get out of the gate and remind people who rules the roost in the foldable market. So what will Samsung likely have in store for us?

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold finally has some stiff competition as the foldable market grows, but will there be enough on show to keep Samsung at the foldable top spot for another year? We won’t officially know until the Unpacked event takes place, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have an idea of what to expect, thanks to some reliable tech leakers.

According to @_SnoopyTech_, a tipster with a reliable record of providing accurate information, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will likely feature a Dynamic AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate for both the 6.2-inch cover display and a 7.6-inch panel inside.

As for internals, we should expect the Z Fold 5 to run on the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor as its predecessor alongside 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Camera specifications are rumored to be much the same as Samsung’s previous offering, too, with a 50 MP, f/1.8 main lens, a 12MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide, and a 10MP, f/2.4 telephoto camera array alongside a 4MP, f/1.8 under-display selfie camera beneath the phone’s foldable display. The battery size is rumored to be 4400 mAh, which matches the Z Fold 4.

A January leak from Korean site Naver claimed that Samsung would be making big changes to the Galaxy Z Fold’s hinge, switching to a “dumbbell” hinge that seems close in design to the waterdrop hinges we’ve seen other foldable manufacturers switch to recently to remove the foldable gap and reduce the device’s overall size. The site claimed that this may completely eliminate the Z Fold 4’s infamous crease along the internal display.

Another reputable leaker, @UniverseIce, speculated that while the Z Fold 5 will feature a waterdrop hinge as reported, claims of the Fold’s crease reduction are an exaggeration — the crease is reportedly diminished by 15% at best. The same leaker claimed that Samsung employees themselves are finding it hard to see what the Z Fold 5 brings to the table with one employee even stating that it’s so boring, it “can’t even be called Galaxy Z Fold 4s.”

That being said, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could still be worth a look, especially when considering rumors of a lower price point may have been confirmed by a recent leak of the foldable's price in India.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

With Motorola’s fantastic Razr+ on the market, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is going to need to pull out all the stops to remain on top this year. In my opinion, the Razr+ already has the Flip 5 beaten in one key area after both foldable’s cover displays were leaked online in April.

While Motorola’s Razr+ pushed for a near edge-to-edge cover display, Samsung seemingly opted to go for a 1.4-inch, “folder-like” cover panel, using a cutaway to skirt around the edge of its camera array. While I can applaud Samsung on the pun (folder/foldable) on looks alone, the Razr+ seems to outclass it without too much question.

Not everything the Galaxy Flip 5 is aiming for will be quite so unique, as Samsung has reportedly ensured the foldable phone makes use of the same dumbbell/waterdrop hinge as the Galaxy Z Fold 5. As such, if later reports are to also be believed, we wouldn’t expect a massive reduction in the creasing of the internal panel.

We’re expecting Samsung’s foldable flip phone to follow suit with the Galaxy Z Fold and adopt a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, though we’d be overjoyed to see the device outfitted with an all-new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. However, we’ll keep our hopes in check with this one as that particular chipset doesn’t seem set to arrive until much later in the year.

We have SamMobile to thank for giving us a better look at the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s internals after it claimed that the foldable would include UFS 4.0 storage on all models, with the minimum storage being 256GB. 

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 / S9 Plus / S9 Ultra

Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event could also likely feature the unveiling of the Galaxy Tab S9 series including the Tab S9, Tab S9 Plus, and Tab S9 Ultra. It’d be a direct statement to competition like the Pixel Tablet that Samsung isn’t willing to roll over and give up on its share of the market just because of its success with foldable and smartphone devices.

The Galaxy Tab S8 launched all the way back in February of 2022, so it’s a lineup that could benefit greatly from a refresh in the face of Google’s return to tablets. We’ve heard only a few bits and pieces about the Galaxy Tab S9 line, but not much of it suggests radical changes — something we’re hearing about a lot of what Samsung has waiting in the wings.

The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra’s design was leaked back in May through a collaboration between @OnLeaks and @MySmartPrice, and revealed a sleek, simple, and stylish-looking device — one that looked practically identical to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. The only major changes seen were the inclusion of a dual camera array and an LED flash.

In terms of specs, we don’t yet know much about what to expect from the Tab S9, though we have seen with published GeekBench scores and through reliable tipsters like @UniverseIce that the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is likely to make use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, 8/16GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 14.6-inch, Super AMOLED, WQXGA+ (2960 x 1848-pixels) display alongside a sizable 11,200 mAh battery capacity with 45W fast charging.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is obviously the biggest upgrade there and it isn't to be dismissed as we've seen Qualcomm's latest and greatest overtake Apple's once unbeatable Bionic chipsets in some metrics while also delivering far superior battery life to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

When it comes to Samsung’s latest Galaxy Watch, rumors are few and far between. However, we were able to get a first look at the smartwatch’s supposed design after renders leaked online by way of another collaboration between @OnLeaks and @MySmartPrice. The two have collaborated on a number of leaked renders previously — each highly accurate to the final product.

The renders show that the Galaxy Watch 6 resembles both the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro in parts with its inclusion of a rotating bezel and overall smoother aesthetic.

As for specs, a leak from SamMobile claims that new Galaxy Watch 6 models will feature an Exynos W980 processor, making it 10% faster than the previous Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 4 models.

The same leak suggests that the 40mm Galaxy Watch 6’s display could measure 1.31 inches in size and support a resolution of 432 x 432 pixels. Meanwhile, the 44mm version could jump to 1.47 inches in size and a resolution of 480 x 480 pixels.

Beyond this, we haven’t heard much regarding massive changes to the device, so expect the same fitness trackers, accelerometers, barometer blood pressure, ECG, heart rate, and Sp02 monitoring found in the Galaxy Watch 5.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023: Outside chances

With everything listed above, it seems there’d be little room left for much else to be showcased during such a stacked event. However, there’s always room for surprises and we simply won’t fully know what to expect or not to expect until the event draws to a close. That being said, it wouldn’t be too crazy if Samsung took the time to mention the following devices at least. 

Samsung Galaxy Ring

This was a late-breaking addition to the potential Galaxy Unpacked lineup, but a report from the Elec indicated that Samsung may have a Samsung Galaxy Ring to put on your finger soon.

Not much is known about it, but the assumption is that it will follow in the footsteps of other smart rings with a host of health and fitness features for those that prefer not to wear a smartwatch. Some of the rumors suggest Samsung could be adding smart home controls or gesture recognition to interact with your other devices.

Given the lack of concrete leaks of a prototype or similar we aren't convinced this one is quite fully baked yet, but it's possible Samsung snuck this one in on the radar.

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE

We could be set to see Samsung revive its budget flagship models this year with the return of the Fan Edition by way of the Galaxy S23 FE. Last year, Samsung skipped out on delivering on a Galaxy S22 FE device, so eyes will be peeled when the event kicks off later this month for word of its existence.

Hopes were bolstered further when yet another collaboration between @OnLeaks and @MySmartPrix saw renders of the device appear online earlier this month. The supposed Galaxy S23 FE bears a striking resemblance to the Galaxy A54, and is reported to include a 120Hz AMOLED panel with an under-display fingerprint sensor.

As for the processor? That’s still up in the air at the minute with two camps warring against one another over if we will see an Exynos 2200 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset onboard. There’s no clear word on who is in the right just yet, but it’s fun to watch regardless.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE / Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus

There’s an outside chance that Samsung will make a real showing of the return of Fan Edition budget-friendly devices, and the evidence for that might be racking up after renders leaked online recently of the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus.

We don’t know much about these two Android tablets beyond their respective 10.9-inch and 12.4-inch displays — and that both are likely to feature Exynos 1380 chipsets. It may be too early to see these devices make an appearance, but the fact they could at least on their way is an interesting prospect at the very least.

Outlook

We won’t know for certain about how much we’ve heard if fact or fiction, though we do take the historical accuracy of tipsters into account before taking on board anything mentioned.

The leakers and tipsters found within this article have very good track records with supplying accurate information, and we would expect a large portion of what they’re said to turn out to be true.

However, to be sure, we will just have to keep our eyes peeled to the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event on July 26 to find out for ourselves.

The Asus Zenfone 10 is here to show Apple everything it did wrong with the iPhone mini (RIP), and while I know that phone had its fans, the simple truth is that it came up short in several regards compared to real flagship phones — most notably battery life.

Despite its small stature, the Zenfone 10 will outlast the majority of its flagship rivals with nearly 13 hours of battery life in its default settings. You might be thinking, “What kind of middling CPU did they drop in there to putter along for that many hours?” The Zenfone 10 might slap you for that question if it weren’t so polite, but it features the current pinnacle of Android performance: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It doesn’t stop there, the pint-size wunderkind also packs up to 16GB of RAM if you want to leave all of your apps running just because you can.

So what is the trade-off for the diminutive dynamo? The camera experience is where things fail to reach the best of the best like Google’s Pixel phones or the iPhone 14 Pro models. It’s not bad, just a mixed bag rather than the unquestionable success of the rest of the package.

It’s not perfect, but the Asus Zenfone 10 is one of the best phones of the year and far and away the best small flagship phone I’ve ever reviewed, but read on to see if that makes it the right choice for you.

Asus Zenfone 10 pricing and configurations

Unfortunately the price of the Zenfone 10 remains a mystery at the moment. Asus will launch the phone toward the end of Q3 (most likely September), so we’re expecting an answer to this all-important question as we get closer to the official launch. 

However, if we go off its predecessors we can assume it will start at around $699 for the base model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You’ll be able to pay slightly more to double that storage, or spring for the top-end model that we reviewed which features 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Last year there was only a $100 difference between the base and the maxed-out model.

You can select from a quintet of colors: Midnight Black, Starry Blue, Aurora Green, Eclipse Red, or Comet White. 

With the OnePlus 11 starting at $699 and the Google Pixel 7a at $499, there’s stronger competition than ever before in this $500-$700 range, so hopefully Asus can keep the price in that range. 

Asus Zenfone 10 design

With its tiny frame and absolutely massive camera lenses on the back the Asus Zenfone 10 could be the star of a WALL-E spin-off. It feels like it is staring up at me with big puppy dog eyes when I leave it laying down horizontally on my desk, and I’m only too happy to pick it up and start playing with it again.

What’s more those giant cameras are actually surrounded by a colorful rear shell — Aurora Green on my review unit — and instead of a cold and slippery glass back, it features a grippy textured plastic that makes an inexplicably satisfying sound. I’m reasonably sure you could launch a successful ASMR YouTube channel just using the sound from the back of the Zenfone 10. The back also features a flash to the right of the upper camera, the text “ASUS Zenfone” below the cameras, and in the bottom right corner is a minimal Asus logo in light grey. 

Touring around the rest of the Zenfone 10; on the bottom, you have the USB-Type C port and SIM slot, on the right side you have the “Smart key” (a multi-function button) and volume rocker, and finally on top, you have a 3.5mm headphone jack. No, I’m not hallucinating, this puny phone managed to fit in that audio port that Apple, Samsung, Google, and well basically everyone tells you they don’t have space for anymore.

That plastic back only extends about 1mm off the back of the phone, the rest is a glossy black (or silver if you pick Comet White), which makes for a nice contrast. Flipping the phone over to the front you have a flat display with minimal bezels and a small hole-punch front-facing camera somewhat surprisingly located in the upper-left corner of the display.

So it’s got a “little” 5.9-inch display, but is it actually a small phone? Yes, at 5.8 x 2.7 x 0.37 inches and just 6.1 ounces, this is the most pocketable phone you will find that doesn’t fold. The Google Pixel 7a with its 6.1-inch display seemed small when I reviewed it, but at 6.1 x 2.9 x 0.34 inches and 7 ounces, it is considerably larger than the Zenfone. Needless to say the OnePlus 11 with its 6.7-inch display looks like a cruiser-class starship compared to these two, coming in at 6.4 x 2.9 x 0.33 inches and 7.2 ounces. 

I love basically every design choice that Asus made with the Zenfone 10. Not only is it small in a world of lumbering giant phones, but it also has a unique look and texture that is unlike any other phone that I’ve reviewed in the past year.

Asus Zenfone 10 display

If you thought that Asus would cheap out on the small display, you were wrong, this display is so packed with features it could be a neutron star (they are very dense). The 5.9-inch AMOLED panel features an FHD+ (2400 x 1800) resolution and up to a 144Hz refresh rate. It will only summon the Speed Force and hit 144Hz in supported games though, typically it tops out at 120Hz. 

I returned to my typical HDR-infused comfort watch of Our Planet II, although things were a little tense with an arctic fox battling some disgruntled geese. With the obvious caveat that it’s not the broad canvas of a larger display, the image on the Zenfone 10 is crisp and bright with the bright white feathers and fur flying and settling into the tufts of green brush as the geese attempted to defend their nests from the scraggly interloper. A shot of the nefarious little fox stealing one of the eggs was the perfect encapsulation of what this display has to offer with vibrant greens, oranges, and yellows dotting the landscape around the brown nest lined with the white goose down. A flash of the fox’s orange eyes as it picks up the egg and scampers off seals the deal. 

The Asus Zenfone 10 shined in our lab testing as well, delivering scores to rival Samsung, not something I ever find myself saying. It reproduced 105.4% of the DCI-P3 color gamut on its default “Splendid Optimal” display setting and 124.2% in its Splendid Natural setting. Beyond my appreciation for the random insertion of splendid into the names, it was enough for an easy victory over the That was enough for a victory over the Pixel 7a (92% (Adaptive), 79.1% (Natural)) and the OnePlus 11 (83% (Natural), 121.3% (Vivid)).

The Delta-E color accuracy test results (lower is better) for the Zenfone 10, was the lone disappointment. At 0.35 in Optimal and 0.39 in Natural, it is behind the OnePlus 11 (0.24 (Natural), 0.31 (Vivid) and absolutely obliterated by the Pixel 7a (0.06 (Adaptive), 0.05 (Natural)).   

Brightness on the Zenfone 10 topped out at 772 nits on its SDR setting. This was well beyond the OnePlus 11’s 470 nits, but not enough to overshadow the Pixel 7a at 1,024 nits.

Now assuming we’re right about the pricing and this comes in at or below $700, the display is one of the most impressive tricks Asus has pulled, you will love watching content on this phone.

Asus Zenfone 10 audio

If the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack in the year 2023 didn’t convince you that Asus cared about the audio experience on the Zenfone 10, then the rest of the specs should do the trick. If you aren’t opting to plug in the phone offers a pair of stereo speakers and support for spatial sound thanks to Dirac Virtuo and hi-res lossless audio courtesy of Qualcomm aptX Lossless.

I listened to “Sunflower” by Post Malone because my son has had it on repeat again after seeing Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It remains an infectious tune and the relaxed beat and auto-tune heavy lyrics sound as good as ever on the Zenfone 10 speakers with plenty of volume to fill my 18 x 12 listening space without distortion. 

If you are an audio enthusiast then you need to activate the AudioWizard in Quick Settings which gives you access to different scenario effects: Dynamic, Music, Cinema, or Gaming. You can also tinker with treble, bass, and 10 equalizer sliders to fine-tune the sound. If you want to experience the audio alone you can plug in your favorite wired or wireless headphones. The Zenfone 10 is a cornucopia of audio options.

Asus Zenfone 10 performance

The Zenfone 10 features the current ruler of the Android chipset kingdom, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and Asus is wringing every drop of performance out of it. While I could tell it was fast when I was putting it through its paces, I was absolutely blown away by its results from the lab, let’s dive in.

I fired up PUBG Mobile and after adjusting to the smaller display following a couple of weeks of testing the game on the Pixel Tablet and then Pixel Fold, I was back in action and unlike those devices, I was able to max out every setting without the Zenfone 10 skipping a beat. Multitasking on a display this size is questionable, but good luck finding any combination of apps that will slow it down, I certainly couldn’t. 

Alright, on to the benchmarks where this little bantam sneaks in and K.O.’s some heavyweights. The OnePlus 11 put up an absolutely outstanding 4,962 In the Geekbench 5 benchmark, but it wasn’t enough to take on the Taiwanese tornado with the Zenfone 10 hitting 5,027. Only Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra and Apple’s iPhones had crossed the 5K barrier previously. I didn’t forget about the Pixel 7a, it’s just kind of embarrassing for it with a 3,065.

Graphics benchmarks went similarly with the Zenfone 10 narrowly eclipsing its rival on the 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited test with a score of 14,092 compared to 14,089. The Pixel 7a tagged along well behind with a score of 6,855, just happy to be included. 

I am constantly saying that flagship phones are just unnecessarily powerful currently, but I can’t deny that there is something magical about Asus squeezing such ludicrous performance out of a phone this small.

Asus Zenfone 10 battery life and charging

While it is otherwise petite, the Zenfone 10 is slightly thicker than a typical flagship phone in order to accommodate its 4300 mAh battery. I’m glad they did, because after experiencing pretty atrocious battery life with both iPhone minis, I was sure this would be the downfall of the Zenfone 10, but as I’ve already said it is an energy camel that just keeps going.

In our Laptop Mag battery test, the phone continuously surfs the web over a cellular connection with the display set at 150 nits. It lasted for 12 hours and 41 minutes. That is easily enough for a spot on our phones with the best battery life. It also blows past the Pixel 7a (10:05) and managed to threaten the OnePlus 11 (13:10), despite the latter featuring a 700mAh larger battery. 

My typical day with a phone runs from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. with a mix of Netflix or YouTube streaming on Wi-Fi for roughly two hours, YouTube Music in the background for a few hours, an hour of a podcast, web browsing, using social media, gaming for about 30 minutes, and capturing photos and videos. I never had to think about the battery life, while I wouldn’t make it through a second day, I wouldn’t worry about my phone still being alive to wake me up with an alarm in the morning if I didn’t plug it in.

The Zenfone 10 supports up to 30W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging. The wired charge got our Zenfone 10 to 31% in 15 minutes and 54% in 30 minutes. I’d love it to be slightly faster, but with wireless charging support and excellent battery life, it isn’t a real concern.

Asus Zenfone 10 cameras

You can’t miss the dual cameras on the back of the Asus Zenfone 10, they are roughly double the size of the lenses on the back of the iPhone 14 Pro, which are massive in their own right. The primary camera is a wide-angle 50MP with an f/1.9 aperture and 6-axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer 2.0 (more on that later). The ultra-wide is a modest 13MP with an f/2.2 aperture, while the front-facing camera is a 32MP RGBW sensor (more on that later too).

Now I’m going to need to deliver a brief caveat on my photos for the Asus Zenfone 10 as we’ve been in the midst of an air quality problem here that has a haze covering everything, which isn’t exactly conducive to most photos and has restricted my ability to go outside and take photos in general. I’ll update this review with more photos when things clear to give a better idea of what’s possible in “normal” conditions.

With that out of the way, I am happy with the results from the primary camera on the Zenfone 10. It offers realistic but punchy color, and the Asus AI Object Sense will give you an added computational photography boost. Asus also sought to combat the problem of hand-shake on a small phone with its 6-axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer 2.0. That not only allows for smoother video but also enhances handheld low-light photos.

Here’s a sample of shots from the primary camera. I loved the first photo of the purple flowers in our garden, the color is spot on and while it definitely pushed the saturation slightly, it still looks true to life. The second photo shows a mural near my home, unfortunately, the aforementioned haze has things looking a little less colorful than normal, but the capture again is dead on for the scene with sharp detail.

The Zenfone 10 lacks a telephoto lens, but will punch in up to 8x digitally. I appreciate Asus not overreaching there and offering a basically unusable 20x zoom, the results are good all the way up to 8x. I was particularly happy with the 8x zoom version of that same shot of the purple flowers in our garden, the color and natural bokeh look fantastic. Going for a more traditonal telephoto shot on the mural you can see it holds detail well at 8x with the star and lettering all showing clear and sharp lines.

The ultra-wide is the weak link in the chain for the Zenfone 10 as while the haze isn’t helping anything, the images from it are alternately drained of color or oversaturated. In relatively close-up images in my garden, those purple flowers from earlier lose their pop. Conversely, the reddish-orange of the mural looks almost neon from the ultra-wide. 

Flipping around to the front of the phone, the 32MP RGBW sensor is more on par with the primary camera, delivering mostly solid results. The “W” in “RGBW” represents extra white pixels that are meant to give a boost of brightness to the image in dim environments, but I’d note that I think it is universally applied as every selfie I took looked brighter than shots from the primary or ultra-wide in the same settings, but overall I think it works effectively.

Asus Zenfone 10 software

The Asus Zenfone 10 runs Android 13 with a splash of extras from Asus added on. For those that like stock Android, Asus does give you the option at times to choose the stock experience, but it’s worth giving their add-ons a shot as there are some clever and helpful features in there.

One example is the Edge tool, a quick access toolbar that you can slide in from the right side of the display, rather than reaching for the top and bringing up the entire quick settings menu. The smart key on the side of the phone offers a variety of useful extras too. It can be used to fast-forward or rewind any active video on your phone by swiping up or down on it, swipe down on it on other screens to bring your notification shade down without having to reach for it, and if you don’t like those options you can switch to a variety of others.

I mentioned at the outset, software support is one of the areas where Asus comes up shy of Google, Samsung, and OnePlus. It promises two major Android updates and three years of security updates. If Asus would just push it to three major Android updates and four years of security updates I’d have no complaints.

Bottom line

The Asus Zenfone 10 is basically everything the iPhone mini should have been. Pocketable and powerful, while still offering marathon battery life. Not only is the size appealing, but it offers unique and colorful styling that is almost as rare as a small flagship phone in 2023. 

While I wish Asus had more thoroughly nailed the entire camera experience, the primary camera and selfie cameras are good enough, that I think most users will be satisfied, despite the disappointing ultra-wide and lack of a telephoto lens.

The only outstanding question on the Asus Zenfone 10 is the cost, but if Asus brings it in at around the same $699 as its predecessor, this is going to be an easy pick for one of the best phones of 2023. If you need a phone right now or don’t want to spend over $500, the Google Pixel 7a is the clear alternative, but if you value performance and battery life over cameras, you’ll want to wait for the Zenfone 10.

The Google Pixel Fold is the first meaningful competition for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the U.S. after years of Samsung dominating the foldable market pretty much unchallenged. We've seen experimental smartphones like the LG G8X ThinQ or Microsoft Surface Duo 2 that seem destined to be answers at phone fan trivia nights (is that a thing?), but no real mainstream threats.

The Google Pixel Fold brings much of what we've seen from the rest of the suddenly resurgent Pixel lineup over the last two years to bear against the Samsung juggernaut. That includes some unique Pixel features, best-in-class photos, reliable software updates, and a stunning design. 

There's just one piece of the Pixel puzzle missing, but it's a big one: value. As Google transitioned to its Tensor chipset it also made itself synonymous with affordability on Android. The Google Pixel 7a is a near flagship-class smartphone for just $499, nothing in that price range comes close to it, so when the Pixel Fold was announced at $1,799 it sent me spinning. 

It's the same price as Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4 and I understand that the multiple displays, cameras, and more are expensive along with recouping development costs, but while I'm enamored with the Pixel Fold hardware and software, this factor alone is going to drive away many buyers. However, given the dearth of tablet-style foldable phones, Google may still have a chance as it isn't just a carbon copy of the Z Fold 4. Read on to see if it's the right foldable for you.

Google Pixel Fold pricing and configurations

Google has built the Pixel brand up as a strong value proposition in the phone market in recent years, which is a large part of how the Pixel 7a claimed the top spot on our best smartphones, but unfortunately, the Fold isn't following in those footsteps.

If you decide you need the Pixel Fold in your life, be prepared to sell something, possibly a vital organ. Starting at the same $1,799 (£1,423 U.K.) as the Galaxy Z Fold 4, our hopes for a price competitor to bring the Galaxy Z Fold 5 down this year were dashed.  

The good news is there are no options to choose from outside of the color: Obsidian or Porcelain. Regardless of your choice of hue the smartphone comes equipped with a Google Tensor G2 processor with a Titan M2 security coprocessor, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of onboard storage. 

We haven't seen an affordable tablet-style foldable yet, so if you are set on one this price isn't actually outlandish, but it is hard when you consider that you could buy a Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Watch, and Pixel Buds Pro for less than the Pixel Fold alone.

Google Pixel Fold design

I eagerly watched the Pixel Fold reveal at Google I/O 2023 and had a hands-on report from our EIC Sherri L. Smith, but I still wasn't prepared for how small the Google Pixel Fold is when I unboxed it. It looks positively diminutive alongside the much taller and slightly thicker Galaxy Z Fold 4. 

However, weighing in at 10 ounces, it feels every bit the part of a tablet-style foldable when you pick it up. To give you the rest of the hard numbers, the Fold measures 5.5 x 3.1 x 0.5 inches when folded and 5.5 x 6.2 x 0.2 inches when unfurled. 

Compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 (9.3 ounces, 6.1 x 2.6 x 0.55-0.62 inches (folded), 6.1 x 5.1 x 0.21 inches (unfolded)), the Pixel Fold is indeed the slimmest. Looking at the Pixel Fold unfolded is slightly terrifying as your brain tells you anything that thin could easily snap. Google tried to put our minds at ease by telling us that it's rated for the same 200,000 folds as the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and it's made from a multi-alloy steel with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protecting the displays.

We'll keep you updated on how our review unit fares over time, but so far any concerns seem unfounded. The phone feels solidly built and has held up well case free, although I can't imagine eschewing a case permanently on this phone.

Google pushed that this was the "slimmest foldable", and while I'll grant that is the right move from a marketing standpoint, I'm far more interested in it as the "shortest foldable" tablet-style foldable. That's the metric that has the largest impact on holding and using the Pixel Fold versus the Z Fold 4. That shorter and wider cover display on the Pixel Fold is vastly more usable than that of the Z Fold 4, which saves you from cracking open (sorry, unfortunate choice of words) the foldable for simple tasks.

Taking a quick tour around the Pixel Fold, you have a glossy, tough Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protected 5.8-inch cover display with a 9.5-megapixel pinhole camera at the top in the middle of the display. The other half of the rear panel is made of a matte aluminum finish with a shiny raised module that houses the trio of cameras (48MP, 10.8MP, and 10.8MP) at the top with a gleaming G towards the middle. 

The Fold breaks slightly from the Pixel 7 Pro with its module as it is glossy and uniform in height, whereas the 7 Pro is matte and curves down at the sides. I'd have preferred that style make its way to the Fold as well, but it's still better than the offset module that most phones use.

Unfolding the phone reveals the massive 7.6-inch display surrounded by larger bezels than you'll find on any other phone in 2023. While those bezels caused some unfortunate flashbacks to the Microsoft Surface Duo for Laptop Mag Editor Kim Gedeon, they aren't so bad that you won't adjust. One reward for those bezels is that the 8MP camera is entirely in the bezel, so no hole-punch or under-display camera interfering with your big screen experience. 

The sides of the phone are made of gleaming aluminum. Buttons for power and volume sit on the right while the USB Type-C port resides along the bottom on the right half of the phone and the SIM slot is on the left.

Notably, the Pixel Fold also boasts the same IPX8 water resistance as the Galaxy Z Fold 4, so don't worry about rain or a brief dip in the water destroying your $1,799 phone.

Google Pixel Fold display

So many displays! For activities! First, you have the 5.8-inch cover display on the front of the phone. It has a 2092 x 1080 pixel OLED at 408 pixels per inch (ppi) with a 17.4:9 aspect ratio and a 120Hz refresh rate. The interior display measures 7.6 inches with a 6:5 aspect ratio. The 2208 x 1840 pixel OLED panel at 380ppi has a 120Hz refresh rate. 

If you've looked at any foldables you are accustomed to the crease at the center of the display. Unfortunately, Google can't apply Magic Eraser to the crease, but just as we've seen with other foldables you stop noticing it outside of those occasions when you run your finger over it swiping on the display.

I turned to Our Planet II on Netflix to get a feel for the Pixel Fold's content consumption canniness. They did not disappoint with a section on polar bears showing off excellent HDR in a scene split between a bright blue sky and a dark rocky outcropping that a polar bear and her cubs were traversing retaining sharp detail and color in both.

By the numbers, things look good, but not great with our lab testing showing the internal display hit 88.4% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, while the cover display reached 90.1%. Google's problem here is that the Pixel Fold is up against the undisputed display champ in Samsung and the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Samsung's foldable gave us a result of 146.7% on the front panel and 158.7% on the main screen. The current smartphone average is 93%, but I'd stress that this number is brought up by some outliers like the Z Fold 4, we most often see results in the upper 70s to low 80s.

The Pixel Fold's internal display is one of the brightest we've seen, reaching a peak of 1,030 nits in HDR mode and 1,172 nits in standard. We are still running some additional tests on the interior display and will update this review with our final findings. By comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 topped out at 905 nits on the internal display and 411 nits on the cover display.

Google Pixel Fold audio

The Google Pixel Fold features a pair of Spatial Audio stereo speakers located on the left left and bottom right of the phone when it is unfolded in its portrait orientation. This placement proves effective at giving you a stereo soundscape regardless of the orientation of the phone.

I listened to "Chaos Is a Ladder" by Ramin Djawadi from the Game of Thrones sound track and came away happy, but not blown away by the audio performance from the Pixel Fold. It gives you plenty of volume and holds clean and clear even at 100% while also wrapping you in the music, but it just can't deliver any meaningful bass. This is common among most phones and Google's engineers may have been burned as witches if they figured out how to squeeze great bass performance out of the world's thinnest foldable, so this is probably for the best.

If you are watching a video, a TikTok, or just casually listening to something the Pixel Fold is more than adequate, but to really immerse yourself in your music (or enjoy anything with a bassline) you need to avail yourself of some wireless earbuds.

Google Pixel Fold performance

The Pixel Fold is powered by Google's Tensor G2 chip. Yes, the same chip found in the Pixel Tablet, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7a.  Now we've now covered in our reviews of those devices that while the Tensor G2 can't match the benchmarks of the best chips from Qualcomm or Apple, it is powerful enough for all but the most power-hungry users. 

However, I'm less inclined to give Google a hall pass on this one. For those keeping track at home, two of those Pixel devices with the Tensor G2 are $499 and the most expensive is $899, whereas I'll remind you that the Pixel Fold is $1,799. Now you are paying for the engineering wizardry and all of those displays more so than the chipset, but it's still a tough pill to swallow. Google's just two generations into Tensor at the moment, but with its ever-expanding retinue of products the company needs to create a Tensor Pro for its more premium products.

Returning to the here and now, the Pixel Fold actually put up worse Geekbench 5 results than its siblings with a multicore score of 1,909. The Galaxy Fold Z 4 with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is in a different league with its 3,831, which isn't that far above the 3,740 smartphone average.

The Jetstream 2.0 benchmark (higher is better), is the lone bright spot for the Pixel Fold with a score of 118.3, easily eclipsing the Galaxy Z Fold 4's (87).

Running the Adobe Premiere Rush video transcoding test where the tablet converts a 4K video to 1080p resolution, the Pixel Fold turned it around in 1 minute and 1 second, again not fast enough to keep up with the Galaxy Fold Z 4's time of 0:45.

On the Wild Life Unlimited benchmark which tests the GPU, the Pixel Fold only managed 11 frames per second. Samsung comes out on top again with 16 fps, although not as crushing a defeat.

Alright, so those are the benchmarks, but what is the reality of using the Pixel Fold? I've run it through a gauntlet of different performance tests over my time with the device so far including loading up dozens of tabs in Google Chrome while a YouTube video plays in the background and then opening a second app in Split View. All of that multitasking goodness didn't cause the Pixel Fold to stutter for a second.

Firing up my goto mobile game PUBG Mobile, I was able to carry my squad to a victory with smooth gameplay at high, but not Ultra settings. This is where you will certainly see a difference between the Tensor G2 and a high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon or Apple Bionic chipset, you can max every setting on any game with the latter two without them breaking a sweat. The Tensor G2 needs to come in a notch below that, so if gaming is a primary concern for you, definitely consider that. However, for typical tasks and the kind of casual mobile gaming I do I've yet to experience any slowdowns. 

Again I'll update as I spend more time with the phone to note how the performance is holding up, but if anything Google's Tensor chip has shown a tendency to improve as the software learns your habits.

Google Pixel Fold battery life and charging

We still need to complete a number of our battery tests on the Google Pixel Fold, but the initial test was solid with the phone delivering 10 hours and 21 minutes from its 4,821mAh battery. This test had the internal display running at 60Hz while it browsed the web set at 150 nits. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 by comparison made it an average of 10 hours and 6 minutes on the same test.

We'll update as our lab completes additional testing of the Pixel Fold at its 120Hz Adaptive Smoothness setting on the internal display and in both modes on its cover display, but it's a good sign that the Pixel Fold is following the Pixel Tablet in kicking the Pixel curse when it came to battery life testing.

In my daily usage, I've not been able to kill the Pixel Fold yet, with the battery typically sitting at around 15-20% at the end of the day. It's particularly notable as I've been taking dozens of photos and short videos, watching Netflix, listening to podcasts, multitasking with Chrome and Twitter, and playing PUBG Mobile during my testing.

On the charging front things are less rosy. Using a 20W charger the Pixel Fold only reached an 18% charge in 15 minutes and a 38% charge in 30 minutes for us. It's tough when you see the OnePlus 11 topping up completely in 30 minutes. You do also have wireless charging, so if you've dotted your house with wireless chargers as I have that will ensure you stay powered up.

Google Pixel Fold cameras

While there are individual areas where the Pixel cameras may lose to competitors (iPhone: Portrait mode, Samsung: Telephoto), there is no phone I would rather have in my pocket for photos than a Pixel. Thankfully, that holds true for the Google Pixel Fold as well.

Google's foldable gets a slightly confusing lineup of cameras as it doesn't match up identically with any of the other Pixels, but it's a solid collection that also benefits from Google's unmatched computational photography. You also have some handy foldable tricks like tripod mode that will allow you to capture selfies, extra steady night shots, or even astrophotography without needing any extra equipment.

The primary wide-angle is a 1/2-inch 48MP Quad PD sensor with an f/1.7 aperture that allows it to deliver strong low-light shots and gives you sharp and vivid results in daylight. The ultra-wide and telephoto are both 10.8MP, with the former featuring an f/2.2 aperture on a 1/3-inch sensor, while the latter is a 5x optical zoom with an f/3.05 aperture on a 1/3.1-inch sensor. 

The 9.5MP hole-punch front-facing camera on the cover display offers an f/2.2 aperture, while the 8MP camera above the internal display gives you an f/2.0. The latter not surprisingly obliterates the results that you can get from the 4MP under-display camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but one of the benefits of a foldable is that you can always easily use the rear cameras for selfies too.

The weather has been a little spotty in Wisconsin during my time with the Pixel Fold so far, I'll add more photos and impressions over the coming days as I'm able to capture some different conditions. But overall it's a Pixel and there's no higher praise I can offer for a smartphone camera.

The wide-angle camera delivers accurate colors with just a touch of punch-up to them from HDR. The pot of flowers in the first shot (that we've struggled to keep alive after 3 weeks of no rain here) shows off the brilliant purples contrasted by deep greens. In the second shot the mural on a local restaurant similarly nails the reddish-orange hue of the siding, while making the most of the brief blue sky I had that day. In both cases, the image is sharp as well, with the minute details of the petals and the stone peeking through the worn siding clearly visible.

Turning to the ultra-wide for the same shots, another feature of the Pixels that I love is that the color science holds up excellently between the lenses. While we are now moving back to a 0.6x magnification from the 1x of the primary and dropping to a 10.8MP sensor, you wouldn't know it to look at the photos. The colors in both the floral and mural shots are identical and while we're at a bit more of a remove you still get excellent detail if you feel like pixel peeping.

I was excited to see Google gave us a 5x optical zoom telephoto on the Pixel Fold and it delivers. Color science isn't quite as on point with the other two sensors when at 5x, but it comes back in line with them perfectly when you zoom in to 10x or 20x. The latter remains mystifying to me, I need to take more side-by-side photos to see if it actually beats Samsung's 20x on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but I can comfortably say that it is vastly superior to anything in that range from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 or the iPhone 14 Pro. In my samples, I have a tight shot from each of the scenes that I captured and the clarity at that reach will shock you.

Finally, we turn to the front-facing cameras on the Pixel Fold. The results from the hole-punch camera on the cover display are my least favorite. The image is sharp capturing every detail on my face (regrettably), but it lacks that pop that you get from the other sensors. Those somewhat muted colors give the image a lifeless look (again regrettably), that you certainly don't want in a selfie. The results from the internal camera are similar. The good news is that with the tap of a button, you can use the rear sensors for your selfies by using the cover display as your viewfinder, I would strongly recommend doing that. Just don't use the ultra-wide unless you are going to set the phone down in tripod mode, you'll look a bit alien in an ultra-wide from that close-up.

Google Pixel Fold software

The Google Pixel Fold is running Android 13, but it gets some Pixel magic sprinkled in for good measure. 

Pixel fans love features like Direct My Call which gets you out of interminable menu options from businesses by telling you what they are without having to wait to hear them. I lean on Google's Recorder app regularly for interviews and briefings as it not only records the audio and creates a transcript, but it even labels speakers for you to easily update later. If you don't want to fumble with typing on your foldable the Pixel Fold can easily type for you without even touching the display by just saying "Hey Google, type."

While Android rightly gets criticized for its lack of tablet-optimized apps, things are improving. Native apps like YouTube, Calendar, Weather, Chrome, YouTube Music, News, Maps, Gmail, Photos and Play all offer unique layouts for the 7.6-inch internal display on the Pixel Fold. Other popular apps are coming on board too with WhatsApp, TikTok, Disney+, Spotify, Hulu, and Netflix among some of the early apps to adopt a special layout and support for tabletop viewing on the cover display.

Google also offers strong software support with five years of security updates and three major OS updates. And while the latter may not sound like much compared to the 6-7 years of major OS updates that iPhone gets, remember that Android breaks most of its features out into apps, so you will get new features for many more years.

Bottom line

I'm thrilled to finally have another tablet-style foldable to compete with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Google actually managed to change things up with its form factor while also delivering a worthy challenger.

The overall experience of using the Pixel Fold is excellent and I'm shocked that Google did this well right out of the gate with its first foldable, but I am having a hard time reconciling that price, particularly in light of its Tensor G2 chipset. This brings me back to the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which felt like an absolute revelation compared to the original Galaxy Fold, but you still felt like it was a device that was finding its way.

If you can stomach the price I recommend the Google Pixel Fold, it's a gorgeous and well-thought-out phone, but it's a less full-throated recommendation than I give the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Despite my preference for the Pixel Fold design and cameras, I'm slightly concerned about how the Tensor G2 performance will age, which is something I can forgive on a $499 phone, but not when you are spending close to $2,000.

Here's hoping that we finally get that affordable tablet-style foldable from OnePlus this year and it puts price pressure on Samsung and Google to make these awesome devices something you can buy without selling your body to science.

You there, Googling "Is my phone listening to me?" Yes. Yes, it is. It's listening to you all the time. Virtual assistants perch at the end of virtual seats eavesdropping on every word and sound, just waiting for the utterance of a "Hey Siri" or "Hey Google" so they may break free from their software shackles and interact with you.

The problem is, sometimes it seems like this active listening campaign is collecting information it isn't technically supposed to be. Ever had a conversation with a friend, only to be bombarded by related ads later that evening? Or how about having your digital assistant pop up out of the blue without you using its "wake" word?

Apparently, all of that 'spying on you for targeted ads' stuff is a conspiracy theory, akin to believing in Bigfoot or talking too much about grassy knolls. However, sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry. This is why you should follow our guide on how to stop your phone from listening to you.

How to stop your iPhone from listening to you

Siri might be awfully helpful, but that doesn't mean she isn't nosing about in the background during your day-to-day activities with her ears wide open. If you're concerned at all when it comes to privacy and what Siri may or may not be passing on to Apple's servers then the following steps should ease your worries:

1. Open up "Settings."
2. Choose "Siri & Search."
3. Disable the toggles for "Listen for 'Hey Siri'," "Press Side button for Siri,", and "Allow Siri When Locked."
4. A notification will then appear, tap "Turn Off Siri" to complete these steps.

From now on there'll be no more Siri snooping to worry about. However, that's not to say you don't have other apps on your device with similar permissions. Be sure to check each apps permissions for anything untoward and disable as you see fit.

How to stop your Android phone listening to you

Google Assistant doesn't have a catchy name like Alexa or Siri, but it's equally as intrusive when it comes to eavesdropping on everything going on around it. Make sure your automated Android auxiliary isn't allowing your personal conversations to find a new home on Google's servers by taking the following steps:

1. Pull down the top bar and go to "Settings."
2. In the "General" tab, select "Google."
3. Select "Account services" (or "Settings for Google Apps.")
4. Select "Search, Assistant & Voice."
5. Select "Voice," and then "Voice match."
6. Disable the toggle for "Hey Google."

This should prevent Google Assistant from being a persistent eavesdropper, but it won't shield you from third party apps that might have mic privileges. For that, you'll need to go through your app permissions and make sure that nothing seems out of place.

Paranoia or caution?

It may seem paranoid to some, it may seem like outright lunacy to others, but there's a reason things like privacy shutters exist on webcams, so why doesn't a similar option exist for microphones – something that has already been misused by software manufacturers repeatedly under the guise of oversight, bugs, and glitches.

Take steps to protect yourself and your data, because at the rate companies will fall over themselves trying to get at it, it must be worth a lot. All the more reason not to give it away so freely.

For a brand called "Nothing," there sure is a lot going on when it comes to its products. Alongside the highly-lauded Nothing ear (1) and ear (2), the Nothing phone (1) was a smash hit that the brand claims has caused the "highest percentage of users switching from an iPhone across quite a few markets." Its successor, the Nothing phone (2), looks set for a global release in July and the hype surrounding this super-stylish smartphone series is showing no signs of stagnating.

Today, we can steal our first look at the Nothing phone (2) thanks to a collaboration from @OnLeaks and @SmartPrix. Both of which have a solid history of providing accurate renders of products based on leaked information and specifications. 

What's new with the Nothing phone (2)?

The futuristic, near-cyber-punkish design of the Nothing phone has evolved with several changes immediately apparent to the eye, and a number of smaller changes to no doubt cause those who love a device with real style to swoon.

Not every change is just for aesthetics however, as a few tweaks could lead to further functionality and greater customization. Let's get into what's new courtesy of information supplied alongside the renders:

• Updated lighting design: One of the Nothing phone (1)'s cooler features was its rear-facing light array, the phone (2) looks to expand on this design by breaking up the lighting elements to offer more variation and a fresher look with even more visual "wow."
• More curves: The Nothing phone (2)'s frame has been adjusted to accommodate some stylish sloping, with a curved front and back and a rounded frame to maximize the device's premium aesthetic appeal. 
• Dual LED Flash: A notable upgrade from the Nothing phone (1) is the Nothing phone (2)'s new dual LED configuration. The new addition will be ideal for those with an eye for an image — providing a huge boost for lighting, and a fantastic feature to combat low-light conditions.
• New wireless charging lights: The single strip that encompassed the Nothing phone (1)'s wireless charging coil have been broken up into smaller strips for the nothing phone (2). Not only does this add some extra flair to the phone, but it will no doubt make for even more customization options when it comes to personalized lighting.

Outlook

The Nothing phone (1) was one of the most unique Android phones to come to the market in a good number of years. It's incredible design was a real eye-catcher and its clear aesthetic-focus has made it an attractive option for the tech-trendy.

The Nothing phone (2) continues down the same path of innovation, retaining the overall style but refining what was there and applying a futuristic facelift to the device. The results are crisp, classy, and completely in line with what you'd come to expect from the nothing brand.

Set to make its arrival world-wide in July, keep your eyes peeled to Laptop Mag for the latest on the nothing phone (2), alongside news, reviews, and features from across the tech world.

Laptop Mag's Ultimate Home Office Awards are an annual selection of top-tier work-from-home tech that aims to enrich and bolster the workspaces of remote workers.

It's an endorsement of the finest computers, accessories, and peripherals for home office use and is open for manufacturers of all categories and sizes to submit their products to.

This year's entrants included popular brands such as Dell and HP, while brands like Samsung and ViewSonic returned to defend their category crowns. Our expert reviewers and editorial staff chose winners in 19 categories based on quality, value, and potential impact.

Laptop Mag reviews dozens of fantastic home office products yearly, stretching from office chairs to laptops, docking stations to ergonomic mice, and keyboards to external monitors.

More importantly, many of our expert team members are remote workers also, meaning we understand how vital it is to outfit your home office or workspace with dependable and quality devices.

With that in mind, let's move on to our selection of Ultimate Home Office Awards 2024 winners and unveil the devices we've awarded Laptop Mag's official seal of approval.

Laptop Mag's Ultimate Home Office Awards 2024

Work-from-home positions (both permanent and hybrid) became more commonplace after 2020, which opened employers' eyes to the benefits of remote positions.

With years of adjustment to this new standard of working under our belts, we're all a little more open to the possibility of designing the home office of our dreams and knowing it'll be well used.

However, how do you choose from an ever-expanding and ever-broadening catalog of home office tech to get there? Well, that's where we come in. Our Ultimate Home Office Awards showcase several fantastic products for the home office and help to highlight a range of excellent products in the process.

The Ultimate Home Office Awards are decided upon by our expert reviewers and editorial staff. The devices are selected from a pool of devices submitted by manufacturers around the tech world.

The following are the winners of this year's Ultimate Home Office Awards.

Best laptop: ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UM3406)

We review over a hundred laptops a year at Laptop Mag, so we know a thing or two about what separates a good machine from a great machine. This year's entrants featured some of those great machines, and while it was difficult to single out a winner, we eventually settled upon the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UM3406).

This thin-and-light (just 14.9mm in thickness) notebook packs a serious punch from its AMD Ryzen 8040-series CPU, backed by AMD Radeon graphics. It provides an excellent platform from which you can work on even the most demanding tasks with ease, crunching your way through workloads without the Zenbook breaking a sweat.

However, horsepower aside, the Zenbook further amazes with a stunning 3K 120Hz OLED display that is bliss to behold thanks to its Vesa-certified HDR capabilities and vibrant Lumina tech.

It's a rich color scape with deep blacks and crisp details that bring images to life before your eyes—and its Harman Kardon Dolby Atmos speakers cap off a fantastic audio/visual experience in full.

The Zenbook is nothing short of an incredible Windows laptop and a shining example of the kind of laptop that can be created when design elegance and superior performance combine.

Asus' line of Zenbook laptops consistently impresses us with their dazzling OLED panels and quality performance. The Zenbook 14 OLED is no different, and it rightfully takes its place at the very top of our Home Office Awards.

Best business laptop: HP EliteBook 840 G11

Business laptops, whether for your use or that of your employees, need to be powerful, easy to use, and, most importantly, secure.

If you're handling confidential information or records of customers/clients, you want a machine that can keep secrets and protect itself at all times. Business laptops excel at this, and our pick of the bunch is HP's EliteBook 840 G11.

HP's notebook is a fantastic pick for the business-inclined. It offers hardware-level protection at an enterprise-grade level, with biometric security ensuring that everything you need remains under lock and key for anyone except who is meant to see it. HP's Tamper Lock even protects this machine against physical intrusions, giving you the ultimate peace of mind about stored data.

As essential to being a great business device, the EliteBook 840 G11 is also a powerful laptop backed by Intel's latest Core Ultra processors, 32GM of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage.

It delivers the excellent performance you'll witness first-hand across its 14-inch WQXA (2560x1600) IPS display. It's a fantastic machine to outfit yourself or your employees with and a surefire way of keeping everything safe and secure.

Best 2-in-1 laptop: HP Spectre x360 14

2-in-1 laptops deliver a best-of-both-worlds experience: a fantastic laptop to work from and the option of handling it in similar ways to a high-performance tablet.

Touchscreen devices like this are great for taking down notes quickly, and its tablet-like form factor allows for various viewing modes that allow it to work as a presentation display for smaller meetings. If you're looking for a 2-in-1 laptop that exemplifies the heights of these features, then our top pick from this year's entrants is the HP Spectre x360.

Powered by Intel Evo Core Ultra 7 processors, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of SSD storage, the Spectre is a top-flight machine with impressive potential across the board. Pair this power with a gorgeous 16-inch 2.8K, 120Hz adaptive OLED touch screen, and you have an absolutely brilliant computing package that won't disappoint — no matter the task you place in its path.

Add an optional Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 discrete GPU to this already top-tier machine, and you'll be able to push its potential even further. It will be capable of more graphics-intensive tasks like photo and video editing or even some light gaming.

HP outfits the Spectre to handle just about everything you can throw at it, and its 2-in-1 form factor makes it impressively versatile — whether in your home office or out of it.

Best All-in-One PC: Lenovo Yoga AIO 9i

If you're one of the lucky few who get to work from home full-time, then maybe a more permanent solution for your home office would suit you best.

While not everyone will have the room for a full desktop setup, all-in-one PCs compress the full computer experience into a single monitor-sized package that has everything you need all in one place — and our pick of the bunch comes in the form of Lenovo's Yoga AIO 9i,

Lenovo's Yoga line-up typically includes 2-in-1 laptops, but it's easy to see that flexibility is the true meaning of this family of devices. With that in mind, the AIO 9i is a more than welcome addition to the bunch.

With its sizable 32-inch 4K display, Dolby Atmos Harmon Kardon speakers, and stunning centerpiece design, the Yoga AIO 9i is everything you could want from a computer for both work and play.

Featuring a built-in webcam and dual microphone array, a healthy supply of additional ports, and up to 1TB of storage, the Yoga AIO doesn't come up short where it matters, and its 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processor will have this machine performing at its best for years to come. Lenovo's PC is a true all-in-one that does it all and is a fantastic addition to any home office.

Best webcam: Dell UltraSharp Webcam

It’s no secret that laptop manufacturers could do better when it comes to webcams. While we occasionally encounter a respectable integrated option, external webcams, like the 4K Dell UltraSharp Webcam (WB7022), keep upping our standards and blowing us away.

Beyond its universal stand and ultra-modern tubular design (with an included webcam privacy shutter for extra peace of mind), Dell’s webcam features a 4K Sony STARVIS CMOS sensor to ensure the capture of crystal-clear video and picture in every use — with Digital Overlap HDR bringing lifelike color to subjects even in extreme lighting conditions.

Dell’s Webcam is UltraSharp in name and practice, eliminating noise reduction, motion blur, and image grain even during low-light capture. If you can’t make it to the meeting room, that doesn’t mean you can’t make a phenomenal impression on those you work with, as Dell’s UltraSharp Webcam has you looking your absolute best in front of colleagues, co-workers, and clients.

Best Headset: Dell Premier Wireless ANC Headset

As described elsewhere on this list, relying on your laptop's integrated microphone and webcam can be a nightmare, but we could add one more feature to that list: speakers.

Thankfully, Dell's Premier Wireless Dell Headset (WL7024) solves the hassle of hearing and being heard clearly during calls and provides a decent set of headphones to listen to music or podcasts while you work through your day.

Dell might not be the first name you think of when you picture premium headphones, but rest assured that its Premier line of devices lives up to its lofty name.

Dell refers to the WL7024 as the "World's most intelligent headset in its class," thanks to its innovative dual-directional AI-based noise cancellation that dampens and silences background noise while amplifying human voices.

There's even an intelligent sensor built into the frame that can pause/mute your audio or mic as and when you take the headset off and resume/unmute when you put it back on. Better still is the headset's incredible 80 hours of listening time, with a single 15-minute charge in its basket-like charging dock offering up to 12 hours of uptime.

Best Hub or Dock: Dell 7-in-1 USB-C Multiport Adapter

You can't beat a good docking station, but they're not the easiest thing to lug around with you as you hop between desks — and it's not worth the strange looks you'll get if you try to pull one out during long commutes or travel. That's why USB hubs like the Dell 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter are vital accessories in a travel bag.

Dell's puck-like USB Hub features a retractable USB Type-C cable that can provide your laptop, tablet, or even phone with seven additional ports for network, data, and display. If you're using it at your desk, plug in your USB Type-C laptop charger, and you can even charge your device with up to 90W of Power Delivery!

It's mini but mighty, and it can transform your laptop into a micro-workstation at a moment's notice. It has room for peripherals, external monitors, and even a wired Ethernet connection for faster, more stable internet speeds than Wi-Fi.

Expand your computing horizons and maximize your device's potential with the Dell 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter, a Swiss Army Knife of ports and inputs to suit any setup.

Best Printer: HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e

It's a digital age, but there's no reason to presume that hard copies of documents, memos, timetables, minutes, or contracts are obsolete.

While we can agree that with most workflows now digital, there's a reduced need for your home office to feature a printer, there's still a need. So why not bring HP's OfficeJet Pro 8135e into your home office so a single machine can handle all your printing, copying, and scanning needs? It certainly is one of the best printers.

HP's printer allows you to print, scan, copy, and fax from a number of your devices over dual-band, self-healing Wi-Fi via its easy-to-use print app. It is capable of printing up to 20 pages per minute and offers a 225-sheet input tray; the OfficeJet Pro can handle even the heaviest of print schedules without your workflow being interrupted by the need to reload it constantly — and a 35-page automatic document feeder delivers the same top-flight experience when it comes to scanning and digitizing physical copy.

Beyond work, an all-in-one printer such as HP's is also brilliant for digitizing old family photos, certificates, and important documents for future safekeeping. HP's OfficeJet printers are broadly well-received machines and are a net positive for all home offices.

Best keyboard: HP 965 Ergonomic Wireless Keyboard

Comfort isn’t always people’s primary motivator when selecting the right keyboard. However, that should change.

Typing and repeating the same movements constantly can cause considerable strain and fatigue on your forearms and lead to injury. That’s why finding a comfortable and suitable keyboard for longer work hours is vital.

Enter the HP 965 Ergonomic Wireless Keyboard — a split-key design with ergonomic rising that provides a more natural, relaxed layout for typing than traditional claviers. It allows the hands to turn inwards and maintain a less twisted forearm posture. Sure, it looks strange, but it’s a godsend for preventing RSIs and muscle fatigue.

A sizeable wrist rest and set of optional rising legs round off the ergonomic package. A separate wireless number pad is available that you can comfortably position if you’re working exclusively with numbers during a task. HP’s keyboard exists to benefit you, your body, and your workflow with these ergonomic form shifts backed by Human Factors and U.S. Ergonomics certification.

Best mouse: Dell Premier Rechargeable Mouse

Computer mice come in various shapes and sizes. While it’s true that no one size fits all, Dell’s Premier Rechargeable Mouse (MS900), with its sculpted angles, ergonomic comfort, and attractive price tag, has convinced us that this peripheral is a must-have for the home office.

Crafted to perfectly fit the human hand in its most natural and relaxed angles, the MS900 is an ergonomic dream that provides where you need it most. Repetitive strain injuries are no joke, and Dell has pulled out all the stops to make its mouse one of the safest and most comfortable peripherals in its glowing catalog of devices.

All that goes without pointing out the Premier Rechargeable Mouse’s incredible performance, powered by a high-precision sensor that offers an adjustable DPI of up to 8,000 while being able to track on almost every surface imaginable — including glass. Down to its every button placement, Dell optimized the Premier Rechargeable Mouse for maximum performance and impeccable support.

Best speakers: Dell Slim Conferencing Soundbar

The great benefit of a home office is not having to share a space with others. So why not augment your setup with some excellent audio and enjoy the freedom you have within your own space?

Suppose you own certain Dell P-Series or U-Series monitors. In that case, you can attach the Dell Slim Conferencing Soundbar and flesh out your workspace with superior audio across calls and media at an impressively hard-to-turn down price.

As a Microsoft Teams-certified soundbar, this easy-to-setup speaker has a Teams shortcut switch with volume and mute buttons built right into the frame that houses its solid full-range drivers with their duplex audio.

There’s even a built-in mic with AI noise and echo cancellation. It’s a great space saver and will provide a solid option for media and work-related tasks.

Best Tablet: Lenovo Tab M11

Contrary to young-folk vernacular, not all tablets are iPads. Furthermore, contrary to widespread belief, some Android tablets are pretty great — including Lenovo's Tab M11.

Featuring an octa-core MediaTek Helio G88 processor with 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage, the Tab M11 isn't going to offer a tricked-out ray-tracing graphical showcase of epic proportions any time soon. However, it will provide a solid working backbone to the tablet experience at a fair price.

An 11-inch WUXGA (1920x1200) LCD screen is your portal to an Android platform that will make working on the go a breeze, especially with its sizable 7040 mAh battery, which promises up to 10 hours of video playback (enhanced by four Dolby Atmos speakers).

Work, play, and all that's in between is more than attainable with Lenovo's slate, and it's an excellently affordable alternative to your desk-bound laptop or PC.

Best Monitor: Dell UltraSharp 27 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor

Fight against it all you like, but there's really no sustainable argument against having a secondary display for your laptop or PC if you're a heavy multitasker. If a large portion of your day is spent juggling tabs and windows, another monitor offers additional screen real estate.

Organize your work effectively, and you'll no doubt notice an elevation in your productivity, too. If you feel your digital workspace is getting a little too cramped for comfort, we recommend adding Dell's UltraSharp 27 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor to your home office.

While we've highlighted the 27-inch model, Dell provides its Thunderbolt Hub Monitor in sizes ranging from 24 inches to 49 inches, which should easily accommodate desks of just about all sizes.

This monitor's integrated Thunderbolt hub will provide a wide range of ports, including Ethernet for wired internet and an abundance of USB options for accessories or peripherals.

This also means you only connect a single cable to your PC or laptop, cutting down clutter and creating a tidier, easier-to-manage workstation. It's a fantastic way to solve a number of computing needs at once and a worthy selection for the best monitor in our Home Office Awards.

Best Portable Monitor: ViewSonic VX1655-4K-OLED

While we can say “Home office,” that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will have a room to work from, sometimes, you have to make do with what you’ve got, even if that means converting the dining table into your workspace between the hours of nine and five.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the experience of having a fleshed-out work area entirely, primarily through devices like ViewSonic’s 16-inch 4K portable OLED monitor.

Thanks to its foldaway and easy-to-setup design, ViewSonic’s monitor is one of the best portable options available. It delivers edge-to-edge sharp and vibrant pictures in stunning 4K quality.

It’s a fantastic solution for those needing more screen real estate and who don’t have the space to set up a dedicated work area. It makes all the difference when juggling multiple apps and files at once.

Even beyond the home, ViewSonic’s portable monitor is a fantastic option for delivering presentations to smaller groups. Its 16-inch panel is big enough to provide adequate viewing, and its USB-C and mini-HDMI connections make it a cinch to get up and running without hassle.

Best conference monitor: Dell 34 Curved Video Conferencing Monitor

Having an external monitor in your home office is a fantastic option for the additional screen real estate you'll be rewarded with. It makes multi-tasking infinitely easier, aiding navigation and giving you more room to soak up vital data at a glance without reorganizing your open windows.

However, if your home office is awash with gadgets and accessories as you manage a hectic day of meetings, notes, calls, and more, then a conferencing monitor can solve many of your problems in one fell swoop.

The Dell 34-inch Curved Video Conferencing Monitor (P342) is one such option, potentially the best choice for those seeking a device that can improve their workflow and help maintain the clutter of a busy desk.

This WQHD curved display is a joy to behold, thanks to Comfort View Plus technology, which eases eyestrain caused by blue light exposure. Its wide 3440x1440 resolution provides a considerable canvas for your work.

However, this monitor's built-in webcam and microphone elevate things to the next level, making conference calling a breeze. Dell's conferencing monitor also features an integrated USB hub, allowing it to act as the central focus of your workspace—massively cutting down on any cable clutter you may be facing.

Without a doubt, the Dell 24-inch Curved Video Conferencing Monitor is an all-in-one solution to your workday needs and an excellent choice for those who need a tidy space to keep a tidy mind.

Best earbuds: HP Poly Voyager Free 20

Earphones provide a more comfortable listening experience than donning a bulky headset all day long. They're also great for commuting, taking hands-free calls, and enjoying media without hampering the productivity of those around you in office spaces. They're impressively versatile and fairly discrete, which is why the HP Poly Voyager Free 20 make their way into our Home Office selection.

Comfortable fit? Check. Adaptive Active Noise-Cancelation? Check. Qi wireless charging case? Check. Noise-canceling mics? Check. The HP Poly Voyager Free 20 nail all the basics that you'd come to expect from a pair of premium earphones, but they doesn't so easily give up and continues to press the point.

Multi-point connectivity allows you to instantly pair the buds to a set of devices and seamlessly switch between the two on the fly. Whichever device you connect to, you'll be treated to rich Poly audio from the buds' 10mm drivers, tuned to breathe life into speech and music. They're not just a great pair of home office earbuds; they're a great pair of earbuds, period.

Best external storage: Samsung T9 Portable SSD

Local storage is vitally important. If you're between workstations at home and in the office, you'll know how frustrating it can be when the files you need aren't available to you on your current machine.

There's always the cloud to fall back on, of course. But that's not always the best way to handle larger files — and even then, having a physical backup is always recommended.

The solution? The Samsung T9 Portable SSD, a small, lightweight external hard drive with a 4TB peak capacity and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 read/write speeds of 2,000MB/s—a data transfer rate fast enough to move 120GB of data in as little as a minute.

Whether in the office or at home, you'll have the T9 to rely on to keep all of your data in one place, readily accessible, and well-protected, thanks to its 3-meter drop resistance and optional AES 256-bit password encryption.

Samsung's external storage drive is one of the finest options, and both T9 and T7 models are constantly among the best picks for this type of device. However, the T9's impressive speeds and durability give it an edge and make it a worthy winner of our Home Office Awards.

Best office chair: Boulies NUBI

If you believe that a chair is a chair and there’s little much to it, you’re either gifted with a rear of steel or haven’t had to sit in one for hours on end during grueling work days.

For the rest of us, the right chair matters. Comfort, support, and the promotion of great posture are vital when sizing up your next office chair, and the Boulies NUBI Series has it all.

Forget those outlandishly oversized gaming chairs; comfort comes in many forms, including the NUBI Series’ compact and stylish offerings. It’s a clean and modern take on the office chair that easily blends impeccable style and ergonomic excellence.

Its chic, breathable fabric upholstery and cold-curd BioCurve sponge lining evenly distribute pressure across your base to form a foundation of support your body will thank you for after a hard day’s work.

Boulies' impressive seating solution also features customizable seat depth, tilt-forward support, and spacious adjustable armrests. These features make it one of the more well-rounded office chairs in its price range and provide the perfect perch for your work area.

Home Office Awards 2024: Home Office Essentials

Not every product submitted to this year's Home Office Awards fits snugly into one of our usual categories. But that's not to say they weren't worth a place on our list of winners. The following products were highlighted for their quality and packed together in our Home Office Essentials category.

Home Office Essentials: Samsung BAR Plus USB

In an age where we rely more than ever on the internet to transfer files and store documents in the cloud, a USB flash drive must seem pretty quaint. However, snub physical media at your own peril.

There’s still no beating the peace of mind that comes with knowing even without a connection to the internet you can access important documents, treasured memories, or important media at the drop of a hat from your portable data drive.

Samsung’s BAR Plus USB Flash Drive is exactly that, a thumb-sized portable data drive that’s as sturdy as stylish. Beyond the BAR Plus’ 400MB/s transfer rate, your data is safe and sound from many hazards, including water, magnets, X-rays, and even shock damage from falls.

The Samsung BAR Plus is available in sizes from 32GB to 512GB, which is ample storage for all kinds of users. The BAR Plus is the collision of a safety box and digital storage, and few names can be trusted to keep your most important data safe for years to come quite like Samsung.

Home Office Essentials: LG Ergo Stand

The comfort of a great office chair and the adequate space and height provided by the right desk are essential. However, let’s not overlook another key factor in desk ergonomics: the height and position of your monitor. That’s where a product like the LG Ergo Stand shines.

The LG Ergo’s advanced swing-arm mechanics allow you to extend, pivot, and swivel your monitor with incredible freedom. Switch from portrait to landscape in a flash, and effortlessly adjust the height and angle of your display to ensure you make it through the day without the aches and pains brought on by poor posture and seated form.

Compatible with a wide range of LG monitors, the LG Ergo Stand is one of the sleekest monitor stands available on the market. It delivers an excellent viewing experience and adds impressive versatility for maximum viewing comfort.

Watch out! You may be tempted to juice up all of your devices at the airport, but you may want to — erm — never do that. Ever. According to the FBI, yes this is the Federal Bureau of Investigation we're talking about here, cybercriminals are hijacking public charging stations to distribute gnarly malware and software that lets them spy on unsuspecting victims.

It's not just public charging stations at airports you should be worried about. All of them should be of concern, whether it's a free charging station at a coffee shop or power-up centers inside hotels and malls.

3 nasty things that may happen if you use an airport charging station

In an April 6 Twitter post, FBI Denver announced a PSA to its 62,000 followers:

"Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices."

If you choose not to heed the FBI's advice, and a malicious actor lures you into its pre-set traps, the following three nasty things could happen:

1. Your device can get locked. Malware unwittingly downloaded through a compromised USB port can deny you access to your own phone.

2. Your personal data can get exported right into a malicious actor's hands. Your private and sensitive data will get exposed to hackers.

3. Your passwords and other critical credentials will be revealed. Criminals can sell your information to the dark web, allowing complete strangers to access your online accounts.

This isn't the first time an official institution has warned the masses about infected charging stations. The FCC calls it "juice jacking." In some cases, criminals leave compromised USB cables plugged in at ports, hoping that someone assumes it's their "lucky day," and unfortunately, their phone ends up getting wrecked.

"Fraudsters may even give you infected cables as a promotional gift, according to a New York Times story," the FCC warned.

How to avoid dangers of 'juice jacking'

The FCC recommends using a "charging-only" cable (a cable that prevents data from being sent and received while charging). FBI Denver said that you should bring your own charger, alongside a USB cable, allowing you to use electrical sockets instead of the USB ports found in public charging stations.

Replying to FBI Denver, Twitter user @Island_Dee suggested bringing a power bank (like this one from Anker), charging it at a public station, and then using it to juice your phone.

Twitter user @JosephTheFox warned iPhone users that a strange message will appear if your iOS device is plugged into an infected USB port. "I do not know how it works on other phones, but on an iPhone, you will get a pop-up asking if the port should be allowed to share data. This is a common sign of something wrong (except for computers or other devices) and you should unplug immediately."

As paranoid as I am, I'd avoid using public outlets altogether. Who knows what may be lurking in those sockets? Time to just get the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the longest-lasting phone we've tested in recent years (it lasts more than 13 hours on a charge), and call it a day.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is set to be the first big phone release with a 200MP camera. But there’s a problem: 200MP cameras are sort of average.

Sure, “200MP” is another striking number to stick on a spec sheet and wow people into buying the phone, but what do you get for that? From our experience, you’re getting noisier, more artificial-looking photos, and it’s going to take the industry a while to fix the key issues.

What’s the problem?

Megapixels sound great on paper, but there is such a thing as too many and therein lies the problem. Cramming more onto a sensor will make the camera more sensitive to noise and less so to light. 

Granted, companies try to get around this with pixel binning, which essentially combines a number of pixels into one through software. That does eliminate some of the problem, but what we’re seeing. 

Among those who’ve tested these higher resolution cameras, however, concluded that there isn’t a significant difference. As the software goes into overdrive, some say there’s an overly artificial aesthetic to the pictures as the software goes into overdrive. 

You’re not just seeing this in 200MP phones, though, as people are preferring the more natural tones of the 12MP iPhone 13 Pro compared to the 48MP iPhone 14 Pro. It’s almost like the phone is working too hard against the constraints of the megapixel count vs. the lens’ aperture and sensor size.

In our review of the Xiaomi 12T Pro, we applauded the camera’s detail and its ability to be used as a telephoto because of the crispness of the lens (probably the real benefit of this tech). But in standard shooting, performance doesn’t necessarily outstip its lower-resolution competition.

And you can see that people prefer truer colors, better low light performance, and a less processed finish over raw megapixel count. Need proof? Check out the winner of MKBHD’s blind smartphone camera test of 2022. Yep, the Pixel 6A — the same 12MP sensor that’s been around since the Pixel 3!

Outlook

Don’t get me wrong. The increase will result in plenty of clarity, and to the average joe who picks up one of these phones, the noise imperfections caused by trying to pack more pixels into something as small as a smartphone camera are not going to be noticeable. 

But color and contrast matter. As we try to do more in the same amount of space, and rely a lot more heavily on software to try and give us the “perfect” photo, the end result is not going to have the same natural color and contrast that we all want from a good smartphone shooter.

Will the industry fix it? Sure, over time. But my bet is probably going to be that while you’ll be able to do some insane zooms with a 200MP lens, it’s going to be pretty mid in regular use.

CES 2023 is here, and the biggest tech manufacturers including Lenovo, Asus, Sony, and more are gearing up to show off their latest and greatest (and strangest) devices.  

This year, CES is back with an in-person event in Las Vegas, taking place from January 5 until January 8, 2023. We're expecting a host of exciting announcements, from innovative laptops with next-gen internals (we're thinking 13th Gen Intel chips and Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series mobile GPUs) to a range of tablets, monitors, and more.

We're here to give you the latest scoop on the world's largest tech expo, and we're already seeing plenty of major announcements start to trickle in. Laptop Mag will be on the floor scoping out all the biggest reveals, so bookmark this page with all of our coverage throughout the show.

In the meantime, check out everything you need to know below. 

Top news

• Samsung opens CES 2023 with an 8K, 57-inch ultra-wide display
• Lenovo Slim 7 is the latest budget productivity laptop at CES 2023
• First look at Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola — your ThinkPad's new best friend
• MSI unveils the Stealth 17, 16, and 14 inch Studio laptops at CES 2023

CES 2023 dates and times

CES 2023 is kicking off from Thursday, January 5 to Sunday, January 8, 2023, and will be held at the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center (LVCC) and the Venetian Expo.

There will be an opening keynote and state of the industry address kicking off at 8:30 a.m. PT / 11:30 a.m. EST / 4:30 p.m. GMT on January 5. As for exhibition times and more, check out the dates and times below: 

• Thursday, January 5: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT
• Friday, January 6: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT
• Saturday, January 7: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT
• Sunday, January 8: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT

However, while these are the big expo dates, you'll see plenty of what's to come on the days before it too — thanks to CES Unveiled on Tuesday, January 3, and all the big keynotes on Wednesday, January 4. Check back here for a full schedule soon.

The tech expo is an in-person, trade-only event, so those wishing to attend will need to register via the CES 2023 registration page. Those allowed to attend will need to be associated with a tech company or press, and be 18 years and over. Interested in everything that will be shown off but can't make it? We're here to deliver all the biggest announcements, so watch this site.

Who is coming to CES 2023?

With over 400 brands attending CES 2023, expect to see brands big and small deliver their latest product launches from around the globe. Featured exhibitors so far include AMD, Amazon, Canon, Google, LG, Lenovo, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, and more, and we're already getting a tease of what laptops, tablets, monitors, and everything else to expect. 

Lenovo at CES 2023

Lenovo always delivers its next iteration of ThinkPads, IdeaPads, and more during CES, and this year will be no different. We know this as a fact, as the laptop manufacturer has already revealed a list of laptops, monitors, and even a tablet that it will showcase. Will there be anything else up its sleeve? We'll have to wait and see. 

• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 revealed — plus brand spankin' new Yoga and Nano laptops
• This new $349 Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook is more flexible than you'll ever be — check out this contortionist
• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 unveiled ahead of CES 2023 — choose between Intel or AMD processors
• Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i with next-gen Nvidia GeForce graphics is coming soon — perfect if you love to work and play
• New Lenovo Smart Tab M9 with Google Assistant unveiled
• Lenovo’s new Mini LED monitors could be the new best screens for creative pros — here’s why

Asus at CES 2023

Asus will be "seeing an incredible future" at its CES 2023 Asus launch event, and the company has been teasing what we can expect. Apparently, it has something to do with an AR experience and what looks to be an Asus Zenbook with a dial. We expect "one of the biggest ASUS innovations" to be something creative pros will enjoy, possibly a 3D screen. We won't know for sure until the announcement is revealed on January 4. 

Of course, when it comes to Asus, we're expecting plenty of gaming laptops. With RTX 40 Series GPUs for desktops already out in the wild, along with 13th Gen Intel chips expected, we're hoping to see new Asus ROG Zephyrus, Asus TUF, and Asus ROG Strix with these next-gen processors. Asus is teasing a "Maxed Out" reveal, so expect a major bump in gaming performance. 

Sony at CES 2023

It's almost a given that Sony will be showing off its highly anticipated PSVR 2 headset during CES 2023, seeing as it's set to launch in February 2023. However, Sony is unpredictable when it comes to big reveals during CES, so anything is on the table. 

We've heard rumors of a new PS5 model being in the works, one with a detachable disc drive. However, we're unsure if this will be unveiled during the event. We're likely to see a selection of new 4K and 8K displays, and we know Sony Honda Mobility will be making an appearance on stage during Sony's Global Press Conference on January 4, meaning a vehicle is in store. 

LG at CES 2023

During CES 2021, LG gave us a full refresh of its LG Gram laptop lineup and a tease of the LG rollable phone (but that didn't see the light of day). This year, however, we're expecting to see a completely different kind of display: “the world’s first 12-inch high-resolution stretchable display.”

The new innovation in display tech boasts a rubber band-like flexibility that allows it to be stretched up to 14 inches, using a micro-LED light source with a pixel pitch of less than 40μm to display images. It's a wild invention we're excited to check out, but we're still unsure if it will be shown off.

Other than that, we can expect a selection of home appliances, including the usual selection of TVs, like the LG C3 OLED TV, along with a see-through refrigerator, washers, and more.

LG is kicking CES 2023 off with a bang. Its LG gram laptop lineup got expanded to include two new models: Ultraslim and Style. While both pack a punch when it comes to power and portability, the former caught my eye.

Not only is the LG gram Ultraslim the thinnest gram model yet, but it's slimmer than any current-gen laptop on the market, including the M2 MacBook Air, which is already razor thin at 0.44 inches.

Samsung at CES 2023

CES 2023 has officially kicked off with Samsung revealing the world's first dual UHD gaming monitor stacking up at a whopping 57 inches. A monitor for the wealthy gamer, and those that can only dream.

The monitor that the company is highlighting is the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, a 57-inch, 7,680×2,160 gaming monitor. The company also revealed the Odyssey OLED G9, ViewFinity S9, and Smart Monitor M8. 

Samsung didn't provide pricing or release dates, but you can bet that these monitors will be on the "expensive-as-a-car" side of things.

Intel at CES 2023

Seeing as Intel revealed its 12th Gen Alder Lake mobile chips at CES 2022, which made its way onto the best laptops we've seen this year, we're expecting to see the next jump in processing power in the 13th Gen Intel CPUs, otherwise known as its Intel Raptor Lake lineup. 

These will deliver even more competition to chips from AMD and Apple, but even more excitingly, we're sure to see these chips arrive on next year's selection of new laptops. What performance gains can we expect? We won't have to wait much longer to find out. In the meantime, you can check out what the future of Intel looks like in our in-depth State of Intel. 

Intel revealed its next generation 13th Gen Intel Core mobile processor for laptops at CES 2023, including the new flagship Intel Core i9-13980HX — the "world’s fastest mobile processor."

With Intel's 13th Gen desktop CPUs already announced(opens in new tab) in 2022, we got a tease of the processing speeds to expect on laptops. Now, Intel has introduced 32 new 13th Gen Intel Core mobile processors, and it includes the first 24-core processor for a laptop.

AMD at CES 2023

If Intel is set to make a big CPU announcement, you can expect AMD to do the very same — along with its next-gen AMD Radeon RX 7000 series GPUs. We're expecting to see many gaming laptops deliver all-AMD configurations, which means fresh AMD Ryzen and AMD Radeon processors. 

CES is usually the time when AMD shows off its next CPU and GPU offerings, much like last year's Ryzen 6000 series CPUs. The rumor mill has already been spitting out alleged benchmarks for what we can expect, but we won't know for sure until we see it from AMD ourselves. The future of AMD is looking bright, and you can find out more in our State of AMD.

CES 2023 is here, and alongside the massive updates from Intel and Nvidia, AMD has thrown its chips in the nacho bowl that is consumer tech. AMD is set to launch the AMD Radeon RX 7000 Series of laptops starting in February for serious competition.

AMD introduces AMD Ryzen AI, the world's first integrated AI engine on an X86 processor. According to AMD, it's designed to be up to 50% more efficient than the Apple M2 neural engine. The company is also introducing its latest RDNA 3 Architecture to the laptops, which optimizes performance with AI accelerators and allows GPUs to be tuned up to 50W and above, creating more power efficiency, at least that's what AMD claims.

Nvidia at CES 2023

With Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series already out in the wild for desktops, it's incredibly likely we'll be seeing the next-gen GPUs make their way onto laptops, too. The question is, what kind of 40 Series graphics cards are we expecting to see? 

According to leaker momomo_us on Twitter via VideoCardz, HP is tipped to bring six configurations of its HP Omen 17 featuring Nvidia's GeForce RTX 40 Series mobile GPUs. This includes an RTX 4060 with 8GB of VRAM, RTX 4070 with 8GB VRAM, RTX 4080 with 12GB VRAM, and RTX 4090 with 16GB of VRAM. 

We've heard Nvidia's take on what the future of laptops looks like, with the company stating that it will "keep producing world-class leading discrete GPUs." If the leaked listing is to be believed, then we can expect RTX 4060 through to RTX 4090 GPUs to come to gaming laptops in 2023. There have been rumors of RTX 4050 graphics cards coming to laptops, too, but the most interesting inclusion is RTX 4090, seeing how gaming laptops didn't come equipped with an RTX 3090 GPU.

As expected, Nvidia has launched its GeForce RTX 40 Series laptop GPUs at CES 2023 — available starting February 8 from the world’s top manufacturers, including Acer, Alienware, Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Razer, and Samsung.

Nvidia uses the Ada Lovelace architecture to deliver the “largest-ever generational leap in performance and power efficiency.” In fact, the company has made a huge claim, boasting that these GPUs are now up to twice as fast as a PlayStation 5, while being just one-sixth the size. We can't wait to put that to the test next month, but for now,vidi let's take a look at what Nvidia had to say about its new GPUs.

OnePlus just announced the launch date for its upcoming OnePlus Nord N300 5G. The OnePlus Nord N300 5G will be available for sale in the U.S. at T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile beginning November 3, starting at $228. 

A smartphone under $250 could be a massive success for OnePlus, as economic hardship and inflation seem to be a global issue at the moment. OnePlus has had major success with its OnePlus Pro 10 flagship and the OnePlus 10T mid-tier phones that deliver strong performance and don't skimp on quality. 

However, what kind of specs can one expect in a sub-$300 phone? Let's have a look.

OnePlus Nord N300 5G Specs

The OnePlus Nord N300 5G uses MediaTek’s latest 6nm Dimensity 810 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage that's expandable up to 1TB. The Nord N300 comes with a 6.56-inch HD + display running at 90Hz. 

The OnePlus Nord N300 5G comes with a 48MP main camera and a 2MP depth lens. The main camera features the company's trademark Nightscape and EIS technology that helps with low light and long exposure performance, ensuring images are sharp and clear.

You should get all-day or near all-day battery life thanks to the Nord N300's 5,000mAh battery that comes with 33W SuperVOOC fast charging to get you powered up quickly. The unit will come with OnePlus' Oxygen OS, which is one of our favorite versions of Android. 

Robin Liu, CEO of OnePlus North America, states: "This device showcases our commitment to empowering our community with devices that offer incredible utility, all at an affordable price point. These days, consumers are focused on what brings them the best value, and delivering on that is incredibly important for OnePlus.”

We will bring you our review of the OnePlus Nord N300 5G once we have a review unit in hand. In the meantime, check out the best smartphones on the market today. 

Budget phones require compromise, but it must be compromised in the right places, so as to not ruin the phone. The Sony Xperia 10 IV is a textbook example of what happens when you choose to make some of the wrong compromises.

On the face of it, this has the makings of a good phone. But in a world where the Nothing phone (1), the Google Pixel 6a, and the 2022 iPhone SE exist, Sony has made one too many cutbacks to the Xperia formula that hurts the 10 IV against its competition.

I know the score and those first two paragraphs may have given away how I feel about this phone, but allow me to explain in a little more detail and if Sony is reading this (hi, by the way), provide some feedback about what can be done next time to be in with a better shot of budget supremacy.

Sony Xperia 10 IV price and configurations

The Sony Xperia 10 IV is available in four colors (black, white, mint, and lavendar), but with one configuration only: 6GB RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage for £429. There isn’t any official U.S. availability, but you can pick one up on Amazon for $380 right now.

This price puts it square in the sights of the iPhone SE and Google Pixel 6a, alongside the other competitors I mentioned above.

Sony Xperia 10 IV design

Sony’s Xperia phones have one particular aesthetic, and while the Xperia 10 IV sports a budget-friendly combination of glass and plastic, the refined, utilitarian persona makes a sleek impression.

The flat sides are coated in a soft-touch plastic that feels nice in the hand, the SIM tray is easily removed without the need of a pin, and the two buttons on the right edge (RIP dedicated camera shutter button) are well placed for your thumb to fall gracefully to. As for ports, you have two: a USB-C and a warmly welcomed 3.5mm headphone jack.

This long slab persona is most present when you break down the dimensions: 6.0 x 2.6 x 0.3 inches with a weight of 5.7 ounces. This is taller, but skinnier and lighter than the Pixel 6a (5.9 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches, 6.3 ounces), while the iPhone SE is far dinkier in all measurements (5.2 x 2.5 x 0.3 inches, 5.0 ounces).

Unlike the Xperia 1 IV, this longer form with half an inch cut off the top is easier to fit into smaller pockets, which is a welcome change of pace for me and my skinny jeans, and adds up to a pretty solid, refined design all round. Plus, there is IP68 water resistance — a rarity in phones at this price.

Sony Xperia 10 IV display

The display has always been a strong point of Sony’s smartphones, and the Xperia 10 IV is no different. In here, you’ll find a 6-inch OLED panel with 2520 x 1080-pixel resolution, and the company’s patented TRILUMINOS display tech for improved color and contrast. If refresh rate is a huge deal for you, look elsewhere as this display is limited to just 60Hz.

With that bad news out the way, the end result of the OLED is vivid color and impressive depth. Taking advantage of the display’s OLED benefits, the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home emanated depth in darker scenes, making the brighter effects of Doctor Strange’s spells really glow.

Overall, the display makes for a nice viewing experience that lines up with other OLED displays you see at this price in terms of detail and popping color.

Sony Xperia 10 IV audio

A strong screen needs strong sound for listening on the go with no earbuds, but Sony drops the ball here with stereo speakers that are heavily compromised.

They are small, tinny, and are vulnerable to distortion at volumes over 60%. When put under intense pressure with bass-heavy, intense metalcore such as Avoid’s EP “The Burner”, everything turns into a crunched-up mess.

Fortunately, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack on here, so you can capitalize on some LDAC hi-res audio codec, plus Bluetooth 5.1 grants the best wireless headphones access to the company’s fantastic 360 Reality Audio for true spatial sound.

Sony Xperia 10 IV performance

Let’s get into some speeds and feeds. The Sony Xperia 10 IV packs a Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, alongside 6GB RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage, which can be expanded by an additional 1TB via the microSD card slot.

Putting the phone through our usual paces, Sony’s budget slab hit a Geekbench 5 multi-core score of 1,354, whereas 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited testing sees the graphical prowess hit an overall score of just 1,205, with an average frame rate of a mere 7.2 fps.

Comparatively, the Pixel 6a storms ahead with a Geekbench score of 2,918 and a 3DMark frame rate of 42 fps, but the A15 Bionic in the iPhone SE just goes on a rampage with comparative scores of 4,482 and 50 fps, respectively.

I can appreciate that budget phones will rarely get the latest and greatest, but the jump to a Snapdragon 695 is too far of a step down when you take into account what the competition is running.

Ultimately, it unfortunately impacts day-to-day performance, as multitasking and anything more processor intensive than the average social media app is capable of slowing down the framerate to a crawl. If you have a basic smartphone workload, then this will be fine, but anything more and you’ll stress it out with the greatest of ease.

Sony Xperia 10 IV battery life and charging

With weaker internals and the beasty 5,000mAh battery that Sony has stuffed in the Xperia 10 IV, the longevity of this slab is mightily impressive.

Waking up at 8 a.m., I went through an entire day to 8 p.m. with the usual work/entertainment (emails, calls, social media, taking some quick pictures, Spotify by day, gaming and YouTube in my own time) with 25% of the battery still remaining.

And with fast charging support, you can charge to 80% in roughly 30 minutes, which helps stave off any battery life woes, though they will be few and far between thanks to the supreme stamina.

Sony Xperia 10 IV cameras

On the back, you have a triple camera setup consisting of a 12MP main sensor with f/1.8 aperture, an 8MP telephoto with f/2.2, and an 8MP ultrawide with f/2.2 aperture and a 120-degree lens.

Up front, there’s a 8MP selfie snapper with an f/2.0 aperture and to sum up this camera system in a few words, the Xperia 10 IV packs a versatile camera system that is good in most circumstances.

Details are crisp from the main rear camera and the color science offers a nice balanced picture, paired with an expressive contrast that makes each image really punchy in most lighting conditions.

The optical image stabilization (OIS) on the main lens does some heavy lifting for low-light photography, but this cannot overcome the slightly narrower pictures, which leads to noisy photos that lack detail.

Ultra-wide shots are noticeably worse in image quality, as the edges of the picture can start to look a little mushy and light balance is a real struggle for it. Without the benefit of OIS, photos by night are very blurry. You can easily see the same from the telephoto too, which delivers similar mulchy results.

But my main problem with it surrounds all the cameras and the software specifically. You see, smartphone photography requires rapid focus for those fleeting moments. Tapping the shutter button takes you through a rigmarole of watching the phone focus and the image save that takes about 2-3 seconds. 

Plus, when I have been impatient and put the phone in my pocket after immediately pressing the shutter button, I’m presented with a blurry mess. So, while others have snapped the pic and moved on, you’re still waiting — not ideal!

Fortunately, the front-facing camera creates detailed and colorful pictures with a thankful lack of AI beautification features. It produces honest pictures through and through, which is a rarity amongst many Android phones at this price point.

As for video, you can shoot up to 1080p 60 fps (no 4K), which produces the predictably dull results with slow auto focus that you’d expect. All in all, this is a disappointing camera system that does the job it’s required to do, but makes it hard for you.

Sony Xperia 10 IV software

The Sony Xperia 10 IV runs Android 12 with zero bloatware except for a link to a free 3-month Tidal subscription for lossless audio streaming. The UI overlays added to help you overcome the taller display are useful, with easy access to split-screen multitasking and the Side Sense bar for additional control.

Sony does stumble with software update support, though. While there is no official policy on how long the company will support the Xperia 1 IV, history suggests you’ll get two years of updates. This is disappointing, as you’re able to get better software support from cheaper phones.

Bottom line

And that ends the story of the Sony Xperia 10 IV: the budget phone that shows promise, but falls at the important hurdles.

The Xperia formula remains largely intact, and I must give credit to the impressive battery life and official IP rating (something a lot of phones at this price lack). But with compromised internals, a dull camera system and a price tag that is comparatively expensive for what you get, it starts to fall behind the pack

Budget phones are about compromise, but Sony needs to check its priorities (camera, display) and keep an eye on what the competition is doing, as to not fall into this trap again.