ANDROID ADVISOR ISSUE 70
XIAOMI
MI NOTE 10
REVIEW WORLD’S FIRST
5-LENS CAMERA PHONE PLUS
CES 2020
ALL THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONTENTS
Credit: Getty Images/Sushiman
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NEWS
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CES 2020: 8 exciting Android announcements you might have missed Samsung unveils Galaxy S10 and Note10 Lite Cloud Print users given a year to find alternative Google makes it safer to text on Android
REVIEWS
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Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Huawei Nova 5T Red Magic 3S Google Stadia
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FEATURES
Inside Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 Building the perfect Android Frankenphone
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OPINION
5 major Google products that might not live to see 2030
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Credit: Getty Images/Sushiman
NEWS
CES 2020: 8 exciting Android announcements you might have missed All the fast, folding, and futuristic things
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nother year, another CES in the books. Once again, the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center were filled with folding PCs, helpful smart home gadgets, and futuristic AI dreams. But among all the hype that may or may not ship, we
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The Wacom One pen tablet connects to your Android phone
found some truly useful and exciting Android-related things at CES this year:
1. Wacom One In the age of tablets, styli, and Bluetooth pencils, a dedicated drawing tablet might seem unnecessary, but Wacom has other ideas. The newest member of its family of computers, displays, and tablets is the Wacom One (£359), which brings the usual Wacom accoutrements: a 13in display, pressure-sensitive stylus, an integrated stand, handwriting recognition. There’s one thing this tablet has that the others don’t, though: Android support. It’s somewhat limited (supported handsets include a handful of Huawei models and the Samsung Note 9 and Galaxy S8 and ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 5
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later), and you’ll need to hook up a labyrinthine set of cables and dongles for it to work. But once it’s ready to go, your Android phone will get the full Apple Pencil treatment. And when you’re not using the Wacom One, you’ll even be able to use the Wacom One pen on your phone. Try doing that with an iPhone.
2. TCL phones Android fans should be familiar with TCL through its BlackBerry and Palm phones as well as Roku-powered smart TVs, but for the first time, the China-based company is going to be making its own smartphones. At CES, the company showed off three models: the 10 Pro, 10L, and 10 5G. The high-end 10 Pro model, which TCL says will sell for less than $500 (around TCL will be launching its own phones this year, including an affordable 5G model
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£375), has an infinity display like the Galaxy S10, four rear cameras, and an in-display fingerprint sensor. The 10L has a rear fingerprint sensor, and the 5G model is powered by a Snapdragon 7 Series processor, likely the upcoming 5G-integrated 765 chip. TCL even demoed a folding phone prototype, one of several the company says it is experimenting with. We don’t know much in way of availability (frankly we’d be surprised if TCL launched in the UK), but consider our interest piqued.
3. Razer Kishi Razer made a push into Android gaming last year with the Nintendo Switch-inspired Junglecat controller, but there was just one problem: it worked only with The Razer Kishi controller uses USB-C and promises to be compatible with way more phones than the Junglecat
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a handful of high-end phones. The upcoming Kishi controller fixes that. Similar in theory and design to the Junglecat, the Kishi controllers “provide clickable analogue controls and thumbsticks on both sides of the phone with a universal fit created in partnership with Gamevice for compatibility with most smartphones”. Rather than Bluetooth like the Junglecat, the Kishi uses your Android phone’s USB-C port, and even includes pass-through ports on the controller for charging. We’re not sure why anyone would buy the Junglecat now, and we can’t wait to check out the Kishi when it arrives in a couple of months.
4. Google Assistant Google likes to save its biggest announcements for its own stage, of course, but it always brings something new to CES. This year, it was all about Google Assistant. The biggest news is the obverse addition scheduled actions, which lets you ask Google to turn on the coffee pot on at 6am the following morning, but there are numerous others, including: Digital sticky notes for Smart Displays: If you want to remind yourself or someone in your home to do something, you can add a sticky note to your Google Nest Hub display just by asking Google to leave a note. Read aloud: If you’ve ever wanted Google Assistant to read a news article on your phone, you’ll soon be able to ask it to do so. What’s more, it can translate the content it reads into 42 languages. 8 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Google brought some new Assistant features to CES this year
Interpreter mode: Speaking of languages, businesses will now be able to use Google Assistant as a live translator in hotels, airports, sports stadia, and other places to help bridge language barriers. Privacy: In addition to new commands that let you clear your activity, you’ll be able to say, “Hey Google, that wasn’t for you,” if your phone or speaker accidentally triggers to forget what it heard. More devices: Google Assistant is set to blow up in 2020, with support for smart displays, speakers, headphones, and soundbars from Acer, Anker, Belkin, JBL, Lenovo, Philips, and LG, among others, all on the way. ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 9
NEWS
The TiVo Stream 4K runs Android TV and stole out hearts
5. TiVo Stream 4K Every time we think Android TV is ready for the Google Graveyard, something comes along and gives it new life. At CES that was the TiVo Stream 4K. A massive departure for the DVR pioneer and a bid to reclaim its position as an industry leader, the TiVo Stream 4K is exactly what its name suggests: a media streamer. But while it won’t record your favourite programmes or let you skip commercials (at least not yet), it will collect all of your subscribed services into a cohesive menu so you can discover new shows and continue watching the ones you love. It comes with an actual remote with actual buttons, too. The proof of the pudding will be in how many services TiVo can get on board before it ships in April. Even if it’s half as good as we hope, it’ll be the answer to our streaming prayers. 10 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Samsung’s Selfie Type prototype lets you use your selfie cam to type on an invisible keyboard
6. Samsung Selfie Type Samsung spent CES dreaming big, but one of the more practical moon shots is something called Selfie Type. As its name suggests, it uses your Galaxy phone’s front camera to ‘project’ a keyboard onto any flat surface and use AI to figure out what you’re trying to type. We’re sceptical, especially because Samsung wouldn’t let anyone actually try it out for themselves, but it’s definitely an intriguing idea. We’re not expecting it to ship on the next Galaxy phone, but if it does, we’ll be stoked.
7. Aukey Omnia Chargers We can never have enough chargers in our gear bags, especially when they can stake the claim of ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 11
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The Aukey Omnia chargers come in 61-, 65-, and 100-watt varieties
bringing incredibly fast charging speeds in a tiny package. Aukey’s Omnia chargers check off every box. The gallium nitride, power-delivery mini bricks are ‘up to 66 percent smaller when compared with stock MacBook 13in chargers’ and should be able to power basically anything that uses USB-C for charging (though the top speeds will be reserved for USB-C Power Delivery-capable phones, specifically the Google Pixel). Available in 61-, 65-, and 100-watt varieties with either one or two USB-C ports, the plugs promise to be safe, speedy, and smaller than most of the ones we have now. Pricing hasn’t been announced, though Aukey’s chargers are usually very affordable. Look for the Omnias in the second quarter of 2020. 12 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
The Belkin Soundform Elite is a hi-fi smart speaker with a neat trick: wireless charging
8. Belkin Soundform Elite Smart speakers powered by Google Assistant are a dime a dozen, but the Belkin Soundform Elite (£279) is something different. For one, the audio comes from Devialet, so you’re getting the company’s patented Speaker Active Matching technology that “ensures radically high fidelity so you can experience music as the artist intended”. (That means it sounds good.) For another, you can pair it with any Google Assistant speaker to play multi-room audio. But the best part? It’s also a wireless charger and a fast one (9 watts for Galaxy phone, 10 watts for Pixels). Let’s see Apple’s HomePod do that.
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NEWS
Samsung unveils Galaxy S10 and Note10 Lite Add two more Galaxy phones to the list. MICHAEL SIMON reports
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ith just weeks to go until we get a look at the first premium Galaxy handsets of 2020, Samsung has one more variation of its 2019 phones to show us. It has unveiled the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note10 Lite that bring ‘key premium
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features’, (unannounced) lower price tags, and a healthy dose of confusion. The two phones have a similar look, with a 6.7in Full HD OLED screen, skinny but visible bezels all around, and a centred hole-punch display. Both phones also have a Pixel 4-esque bump in the top left corner that house triple-camera arrays, though the phones are actually quite different:
Galaxy S10 Lite Display: 6.7in Full HD+ OLED, 2,400×1,080 (394ppi) Processor: Snapdragon 855 RAM: 6GB/8GB Storage: 128GB Front camera: 32Mp, f/2.2 Rear camera: 5Mp, f/2.4 Macro + 48Mp, f/2.0, OIS, Wide + 12Mp, f/2.2 Ultra Wide Battery: 4,500mAh
Galaxy Note10 Lite Display: 6.7in Full HD+ OLED, 2,400×1,080 (394ppi) Processor: Exynos 8895 RAM: 6GB/8GB Storage: 128GB Front camera:32Mp, f/2.2 Rear camera: 12Mp, F/2.2 Ultra Wide (123-degree FOV) + 12Mp, f/1.7, OIS Wide + 12Mp, F/2.4, OIS Telephoto Battery: 4,500mAh Further separating the devices is the S Pen, which is available on the Galaxy Note10 Lite but not the Galaxy S10 Lite. The S Pen appears to be the same as ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 15
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the one on the premium Note, with Bluetooth support for longish-range commands. Additionally, the Galaxy S10 Lite features Samsung’s new Super Steady OIS, which ‘provides higher stability for action-focused photos and videos’, while the Note10 Lite’s main camera has regular OIS. However, both phones run Android 10 out of the box, which is the earliest I can remember a Samsung phone shipping with the newest version of Android.
A Galaxy of choice While Samsung hasn’t announced pricing or availability for these new phones, it’s clear from their names that they will cost less than their premium counterparts. Whether they will be replacing the current entry-level models (the S10e and Note10) is unclear, but Samsung obviously wants to expand its base for its most wellknown smartphone lines. However, based on the spec sheet, it’s hard to tell where these phones will land in the product tree. With a bigger screen and a better camera than the S10e, along with the same processor, RAM, and storage, it stands to reason that the Galaxy S10 Lite will replace the S10e, but the new phone also has a bigger screen and battery than the Galaxy S10 and S10+. And the camera specs are superior as well. Even if the S10+ takes better pictures than the S10 Lite in practice, it’s going to be very difficult for buyers to see the benefit of buying the higher-priced Galaxy S. The same is true for the Galaxy Note10 Lite. While it’s powered by a lesser processor in the Exynos 8895 (versus the Snapdragon 855 in the Note10), the Note10 16 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
The Galaxy line is growing even more
Lite has a bigger display and battery, as well as better camera specs as compared to the £869 Note10. And like the S10 Lite, even if Samsung replaces the entry Note10 with the Note10 Lite, the benefits of upgrading to the Note10+ are less than clear, especially if hundreds of pounds separate the two phones. But regardless of cannibalization and confusion, it’s great to see Samsung bringing premium features to lower-priced phones. With the launch of the Galaxy S11 (or S20) just a couple of months away, it’ll be interesting to see how the line-up shakes out, especially in light of the £399 Pixel 3a and £729 iPhone 11. The proof will be in the price, of course, but these new models could signal a breaking point in the premium smartphone pricing trends.
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NEWS
Cloud Print users given a year to find alternative Another one bites the dust. MICHAEL SIMON reports
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n a year that saw the death of Inbox, Google+, and the goo.gl URL shortener, not to mention the loss of free original quality photo storage with every Pixel phone purchase, Google wasn’t finished. Next to go is Google Cloud Print. Cloud Print has been around since 2010, but despite a fancy website and deep Android and Chrome OS integration, it never actually made it out of beta. And now it never will. Google has quietly announced
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that users have until 31 December 2020, to enjoy Cloud Print. When the calendar changes to 2021, “devices across all operating systems will no longer be able to print using Google Cloud Print.” That’s 12 months away, so it’s giving users lots of time to find something new, but it’s unlikely that they’ll find anything as easy and effortless as Cloud Print. When you connect a printer to your Google Account via Chrome, you’re basically able to print from anywhere regardless of your location. It was especially useful in the early days of Chrome OS, when it was nearly impossible to connect a printer any other way. However, with native print management on Chromebooks, Google feels it’s time to put Cloud Print out to pasture. In a support document, it outlines several features that are (or will be) available in Chrome OS, including a few that are still in development:
• Support for external CUPS print servers, including authentication • Policy to configure connections to external CUPS print servers • APIs for third-parties to access print job metadata, submit print jobs and printer management capabilities It’s unclear if Google plans on building any of these features into Android 11. So take this as your warning to find a different workflow for your Wi-Fi printing needs as well as another reasons to not depend on Google services.
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NEWS
Google makes it safer to text on Android Verified SMS and spam protection rolling out now. MICHAEL SIMON reports
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s part of its push to bring Android Messages up to speed, Google has rolled out two new features: Verified SMS and spam protection. Together, they will help make sure your conversations aren’t taken over by people you don’t want to talk to. Like the phone app, Google won’t automatically filter
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out suspected spam messages, but it will warn you when it suspects one has arrived. You’ll be able to let Google know whether it got it right and also report spam texts, all of which will be used to improve the detection engine. In addition to flagging spam, Google will also verify whether you’re indeed chatting with the brand you think you’re chatting with. If so, Google will add a verification badge alongside the business name and logo in the conversation. Google says 1-800-Flowers, Banco Bradesco, Kayak, Payback, and SoFi are among the first brands to send messages with Verified SMS, with more being added daily. While both of these features are certainly excellent additions to Android Messages – especially on the heels of the recent launch of RCS – it also underscores the biggest security safeguard that’s still MIA: end-to-end encryption. While messages are indeed encrypted while being sent, there’s no guarantee that they’re encrypted by the carrier, which means someone could be reading or intercepting messages along the way. Google promises that it doesn’t save messages, but most providers make no such claims, making it difficult to fully trust that your messages are for-your-eyes-only. But at least you’ll know that they’re coming from verified sources, which is a step in the right direction. Verified SMS is rolling out in nine countries, starting in the UK, US, India, Mexico, Brazil, France, Philippines, Spain and Canada, while spam protection is rolling out in the US following a broader launch in 2019.
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REVIEWS
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Price: £351 (inc VAT) from fave.co/2t4l1Cq
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t’s been a while since we’ve seen Xiaomi announce a new model in the Mi Note line, but it’s been worth the wait, with the Mi Note 10 garnering column inches as the world’s first penta-lens 108Mp camera phone, rocking Samsung’s ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor. This is a big-screen, big-battery smartphone, the global version of the Mi CC9 Pro. Unveiled in Spain in November 2019 at an attractive price of €549, Xiaomi’s Mi Note 10 has not yet been officially made available in the UK. That doesn’t mean you can’t buy one, however: GearBest has been offering an excellent deal on Mi Note 10 since launch,
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available in Aurora Green, Glacier White and Midnight Black at the incredible price of £462, and down to just £351.42 (at the time of writing) when you apply coupon code GBXMNTFR02. That’s shipping within Europe, so delivery is fast and you won’t incur customs charges. (To ship from China at the slightly lower price of £346.50 use coupon code GBXMNT10BF.) We do not know how long we will be kept waiting for the Mi Note 10 to officially go on sale at the UK Mi Store, but when it does you can expect it to cost significantly more – at €549 in Europe it costs €100 more than Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 9, and €50 more than the non-5G Mi Mix 3. With both these phones retailing at £499 in the UK, expect a retail price of around £549 for the UK Mi Note 10. Aside from the aforementioned 108Mp sensor, which is capable of billboard-size photos at 4.24m high, what else do you get for your money? Highlights include a massive 5,260mAh battery paired with super-fast 30-watt wired charging, as well as a 6.47in full-HD+ AMOLED screen with an enhanced optical fingerprint sensor built right into the display, and a Dot Drop notch that houses a 32Mp selfie camera. MIUI 11, the latest instalment to Xiaomi’s own take on the Android mobile operating system, is also installed out of the box. There’s 6GB of RAM and 128GB of non-expandable storage in this standard edition of Mi Note 10, here paired with a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G octa-core processor and the Adreno 618 GPU. Core performance is therefore not class-leading, but more than sufficient for all but the fussiest users – and ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 23
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where it really counts these days, in the battery, Mi Note 10 can last a full two days.
Design Xiaomi has paid huge attention to detail in the design of Mi Note 10, protecting both front and rear with Gorilla Glass 5 and in doing so snubbing the plastic designs of competing models such as the Samsung Galaxy A50. It’s not waterproof, but it’s otherwise as tough as any other glass-bodied smartphone. Instantly recognizable as a Mi phone, the Note 10 will look familiar to Xiaomi enthusiasts – and why not? If something works, don’t change it. Curved 3D glass and a thin aluminium frame seem very much to be the order of the day among premium-looking smartphones such as this. It reminds us very much of the Huawei P30 Pro, with the same screen notch and selfie camera layout – except that here you’ll find five cameras at the rear. Curved 3D glass are the order of the day here
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We tested the Midnight Black model, and found fingerprints are a problem more with this model than with the Glacier White option. Xiaomi has placed the SIM tray and volume and power buttons all on one side, with a USB-C and 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom. There’s an IR blaster too, which are becoming increasingly rare outside Xiaomi’s line-up. This isn’t the first Xiaomi phone to utilize an in-display fingerprint sensor, but for Mi Note 10 it has been upgraded, now covering a wider area and offering a more immediate response. There’s face unlock, too, should you prefer it. With a huge battery and a large screen it’s no surprise that Mi Note 10 is not as dainty as some of Xiaomi’s flagship and midrange phones before it, significantly chunkier than, for example, Mi 9 Pro at 9.7mm and 208g against its 7mm, 196g. Xiaomi has taken steps to reduce the overall size, however, and with a notably slim chin the overall screen-to-body ratio is 87.6 percent. You can use facial recognition to access the Xiaomi
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A 19.5:9 aspect ratio ensures that Mi Note 10 remains comfortable in the hand. Its 6.47in screen is a sharp and vibrant AMOLED panel with 2,340x1,080 pixels (full-HD+), offering a maximum brightness of 430 nits. We found excellent usability in even bright daylight, though some whites can be a little blueish at certain angles.
Cameras Not only is Mi Note 10 the first commercially available 108Mp smartphone, it’s also one of the first to feature a penta-lens setup at the rear. The assembly sits vertically to the left side of the rear, with two of the five lenses sitting outside the main group but without protruding from the phone’s body. The primary sensor is, of course, the Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX, rated at 108Mp. It has an f/1.7 This is the first phone to offer five lenses
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aperture and 4-axis image stabilization. It is possible to shoot enormous billboard-size photos with this lens, but more likely you will take advantage of the pixel binning whereby four pixels are combined into one for a much higher-quality and more detailed 27Mp shot. The sheer size of these photos means it is easy to zoom in on a particular area without losing detail, but in other respects the camera itself is no better than that offered by the competition. This lens is accompanied by a 20Mp wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture and a 117-degree field of view, as well as a 12Mp lens with 2x telephoto. The two other lenses in the ensemble comprise a 5Mp f/2.0 telephoto lens with 5x optical, 50x digital and 10x hybrid zoom, and a 2Mp Macro lens that can shoot from 1.5cm distance. When shooting video we enjoyed experimenting with different zoom levels, though noted that these
It’s easy to zoom in on a particular area without losing detail
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The 2Mp Macro lens that can shoot from 1.5cm distance
Our least favourite of the five lenses was the 32Mp, f/2.0 selfie camera
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must be selected before recording begins. Object tracking and image stabilization both work well here, though we found that when recording 5x 4K video Mi Note 10 would digitally enhance the feed from the 2Mp lens, resulting in lower quality. At 1080p, 60fps we found better results. You can also
record in slow motion with the primary lens, or in Macro mode using the wide-angle camera. Our least favourite of the five was the 32Mp, f/2.0 selfie camera, though we expect performance will be able to be improved via a software update.
Performance This isn’t the first time we’ve tested a Snapdragon 730G smartphone, with the processor also used in Realme handsets, and we continue to be pleased with the results. We found no lag in the mobile interface, with the processor ably supported with 6GB of RAM. This is as much memory as you see in some flagships, but without such an intensive processor. Despite having the same processor as the Oppo Reno 2, a €50 cheaper smartphone that uses the
Geekbench 4 (multi-core)
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GFXBench Manhattan
GFXBench T-Rex
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same processor, the Mi Note 10 was not able to compete with its 7,000-point Geekbench 4 score. If performance is your main priority, however, look to the cheaper flagship Mi 9 (or Mi 9 Pro, though it’s not officially available in the UK yet either). An upside of the lower-power processor is that when combined with a high-capacity battery the results are spectacular: we recorded 13 hours and 13 minutes of battery life in our synthetic benchmarks, making this one of the best battery life phones we’ve ever tested. It outpaced even the 4,200mAh Huawei P30 Pro, which recorded 11 hours 50 minutes. It’s impossible to fairly test real-world battery life, but you should easily expect a full two days. Moreover, given the large screen and impressive camera, you can happily go about playing games, watching video and capturing photos without worrying about Mi Note 10 not getting through the day. And when the battery does run low, fast 30-watt wired charging lets you reach 80 percent in 40 minutes, and 100 percent in 65. In common with so many other models in Xiaomi’s line-up, wireless charging is not supported.
Software The Mi Note 10 is running the latest version of Xiaomi’s custom Android OS, MIUI 11. It has an updated design and new features that help to improve day-to-day operation. Two of our favourite new features are a system-wide Dark mode and an Always-on display. MIUI 11 also introduces new dynamic sound effects that switch to suit day or night. ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 31
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Verdict Priced higher than Xiaomi’s flagships, this is in fact a mid-ranger – but one with a balanced specification in terms of performance, photography and design, and incredible battery life. Though they fared reasonably well in our tests, the unique selling point – the 108Mp penta-lens camera – simply proves the point that there’s more to making a decent smartphone camera than piling on the megapixels and lenses. More exciting, though, is that this technology is for the first time available in a phone – and a €549 phone at that. We recommend Mi Note 10 for its large screen and very good battery life, as well as its gorgeous design. The only real catch for some will be the mid-range processor. Marie Black
Specifications • 6.47in (2,340x1,080; 398ppi) AMOLED capacitive touchscreen • Android 10.0; MIUI 11 • Qualcomm SDM730 Snapdragon 730G processor • Octa-core (2x 2.2GHz Kryo 470 Gold, 6x 1.8GHz Kryo 470 Silver) CPU • Adreno 618 GPU • 6GB RAM • 128GB storage • Five rear-facing cameras: 108Mp (7P lens), f/1.7, 25mm (wide), 1/1.33in, 0.8µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; 12Mp, f/2.0, 50mm (telephoto), 1/2.55in, 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, 2x optical zoom; 5Mp (upscaled to 8Mp), f/2.0, (telephoto), 1.0µm, PDAF, Laser AF, 32 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
OIS, 5x optical zoom; 20Mp, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.8in, 1.0µm, Laser AF; 2Mp, f/2.4, 1/5in, 1.75µm (dedicated macro camera) • Front-facing camera: 32Mp, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8in, 0.8µm • Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi • Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD • A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS • NFC • Fingerprint scanner (under display) • USB 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector • Non-removable 5,260mAh lithium-polymer battery • 157.8x74.2x9.7mm • 208g
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Huawei Nova 5T Price: £399 (inc VAT) from fave.co/2tQ73E5
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uawei’s flagship Mate 30 series was the company’s first major release without Google Play services. Ongoing tensions with the US government meant none of the Google apps that have become synonymous with Android handsets were available, and this hit the phone’s prospects of global success hard. However, despite having been announced just a couple of weeks earlier, the Nova 5T retains all of Google’s goodness. This mid-range handset is therefore able to deliver a reassuringly familiar experience, complete with a few notable upgrades over June’s Nova 5.
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But can the first Nova phone to be released in Europe truly compete in the ever-expanding midrange market? Read on to find out.
Design The Nova 5T has a gorgeous 6.26in, 2,340x1,080 display, which strikes a good balance between quality and affordability. Despite being an LCD panel, it is rich and vibrant, while outdoor visibility is great, with a maximum brightness of 390 nits in our tests. The 84 percent screen-to-body ratio makes the tiny bezel fade into the background, but the display notably doesn’t blend over the edges of the phone. In that sense, the front of the device looks incredibly similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S10e, albeit with a 32Mp punch-hole camera in the other corner. There’s just enough room on the front of the device for an earpiece, which works in tandem with the grille on the bottom of the device for dual speakers. This isn’t quite stereo speakers, but does ensure the premium experience doesn’t end with the aesthetics. While using the phone one-handed may be a struggle, it’s much more comfortable than the most expensive flagships, which are pushing towards 7in. It’s not as tall as these phones, but does retain the 19.5:9 aspect ratio that you see on the iPhone 11 Pro and OnePlus 7T Pro. A quadruple rear camera setup includes all of Huawei’s AI technology, and offers plenty of flexibility. Wide and ultra-wide sensors are here, as well as an LED flash and additional depth sensor. Interestingly, ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 35
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Huawei has gone with a macro lens instead of the increasingly common telephoto. All these sensors do mean that there’s a slight camera bump, but that shouldn’t affect your experience too much, even when typing while the phone is lying on a table. We’ll dive into the camera performance in detail later. Besides that, the glossy glass back of the phone is predictably a fingerprint magnet, although this isn’t as bad as some other handsets we’ve tested. It’s unbelievably reflective though, and depending on the angle, light can be refracted to create a pretty pattern. This stunning design does make us reluctant to use a case, so it’s great that it feels more grippy than other all-glass phones. The Gorilla Glass also means
The Nova 5T has a gorgeous 6.26in, 2,340x1,080 display
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it’s particularly resistant to scratches, but we would recommend getting some form of protection in the long term. The side-mounted fingerprint scanner doubles as a power button. This is very naturally placed about halfway down the right side of the device, and something that really counted against the Sony Xperia 5. Huawei claims it takes just 0.3 seconds to unlock the phone, and from testing we have no reason to disagree with them. Enrolling your print is as simple as scrolling your thumb down the power button, and it’s unbelievably fast and responsive. In fact, If you’d prefer a face unlock, that’s here too – and works well despite not being secure enough to use as login method or payment authentication. There’s just one storage option in the European market – 128GB – and unfortunately you can’t expand this via a microSD card. This omission becomes more disappointing when the option to add two SIM cards remains. Taking the system files into mind, that leaves you with about 105GB to play with. Whether that will be enough will vary hugely depending on how you want to use the phoner. The black version we tested is decidedly less eye-catching than the other colour choices – Midsummer Purple and Crush Blue – but we were fans of the more stealthy look. Oh, and there’s no headphone jack. That’s by no means a surprise, but considering the standard P30 and Mate 30 included the port it would have been nice to see here. ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 37
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Performance The Nova 5T’s performance is hugely impressive for a £400 handset. It barely breaks a sweat, even when multitasking or playing high-intensity mobile games. A flagship Kirin 980 processor is combined with the Mali-G76 MP10 GPU, both worthy competitors to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon and Adreno lines. The 6GB of RAM on board is more than enough to handle even complex processes on such a powerful device. However, this performance would not be apparent if you judged it purely on Geekbench 4 and GFXBench’s tests: We tried in vain to get the Nova 5T to slow down, but it coped admirably with almost everything we could throw at it. Quickly switching between multiple apps, using the built-in split screen and loading
Geekbench 4 (multi-core)
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GFXBench Manhattan
GFXBench T-Rex
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dynamic content on social media is all achieved without a hitch. Sure, it got a little warm while running highintensity apps such as Call of Duty: Mobile, but it can still be a highly effective mobile gaming machine.
Software The Nova 5T runs Android 9 Pie out of the box, with version 9.1 of Huawei’s EMUI skin on top. The EMUI 10 beta programme is available in Asia at the time of writing, so it shouldn’t be long before the phone gets a major software update. The main issue with Huawei’s skin is the huge amount of bloatware. In all, we found that there were 15 Huawei versions of Google apps on the Nova 5T: app store, gallery, video player, music player, files, web browser, clock, calendar, email, notes, contacts, weather, calculator, voice recorder and download manager. Huawei developing its own version of these apps is probably a good idea, particularly considering the continued uncertainty over future trade agreements in the US. They might even function better than the Google equivalents, but consumers in Western markets are likely to just go with what they’re used to. This makes it more difficult to convince people who haven’t used Huawei phones in the past to make the switch, particularly as many of them cannot be uninstalled. That’s the general message regarding software: if you didn’t like EMUI in the past, nothing will have changed here. Our personal preference is for a more ‘stock’ version of Google’s OS, but there are 40 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
undoubtedly times where it’s nice to have the two integrated. The stunning cycle of wallpapers on the lock screen, no-nonsense settings app and dedicated silent mode (as opposed to Do Not Disturb) are all things we’d miss upon return to a Pixel device. Retaining Google Now cards and a form of Digital Wellbeing (known as Digital balance) also means you get the best of both worlds. Of course, if you really hate the visuals of EMUI, the beauty of Android means you can always swap it out for a different launcher. Speaker performance is definitely above average. Although not officially classed as a stereo setup, the downward-firing speaker combines with the earpiece to produce rich, full-bodied sound with a good deal of bass. It also avoids the common problem of unintentionally blocking the audio output when holding the phone in landscape.
The Nova 5T runs Android 9 Pie out of the box, with version 9.1 of Huawei’s EMUI skin on top
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A small portion of the earpiece also doubles as an LED notification light. This is a feature that is often sacrificed in the quest for bezeless devices, so it’s great to know you won’t be missing out here. We even have Bluetooth 5.0, with its bevy of features including the ability to play audio to two devices simultaneously.
Cameras The Nova 5T’s camera array is hugely impressive on paper, with a total of five lenses. Like many manufacturers, the hardware comes courtesy of Sony. The main, 48Mp sensor is supported by a 16Mp ultrawide lens and 2Mp dedicated macro lens . Separate from the main module, a depth sensor helps detect how far objects are away from the shutter. The Nova 5T’s camera array
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Beware of the megapixel count though, because like many modern smartphones it uses a process called pixel binning, which combines four nearby pixels into one to improve clarity in scenes where there is less light. The resultant shots are actually 12Mp in resolution. You can manually set it to capture in the full 48Mp, but in anything less than optimal conditions you’ll see little benefit. Also, don’t be fooled by the quick toggles between 1x and 2x in the camera app; there is no telephoto lens so this is a digital zoom, with a noticeable decline in quality. Like many smartphone cameras, you can zoom up to 10x, but the images produced here are unlikely to be usable beyond reference. The built-in artificial intelligence (AI) is able to detect a huge variety of different scenes, including even pandas, waterfalls and ancient buildings. The camera is the main area of the phone where you’ll have to stay patient. While it’s common for low-light shooting modes to take a while to process, the 5T will actively encourage you to keep your device steady after hitting the shutter if it detects a more complex image. It’s usually worth the wait though, as images generally have a good level of detail and high dynamic range. This processing consistently produces better shots than many camera phones with results available immediately. The Nova 5T’s photos tend to be in line with Huawei’s flagships; vibrant, saturated shots rich in detail but perhaps a little less true to life than some ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 43
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Standard shot
2x zoom
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of its competitors. The dedicated AI mode is turned off by default, but rest assured the 5T is already using plenty of artificial intelligence to determine the end result. The super-macro mode is a particular highlight, allowing you to take incredibly detailed shots as close as 4cm from the subject. The 5T’s tendencies when taking stills are by no means exclusive to this phone, or even Huawei handsets in general. On the front, a 16Mp sensor produces clear shots with plenty of detail, although like many phones it has a tendency to blow out the background. The AI can be pretty aggressive here, although at least the beauty mode is turned off by default. On the video side, the phone can record up to 4k at 30fps, but by default it’s set to 1080p. This is likely with the limited storage in mind, as this high resolution video can consume in excess of 300MB per minute. Video looks smooth and crisp, albeit with less punchy colours than in stills. However, the lack of optical image stabilization means footage can judder significantly, so you’ll want to prioritize video with minimal movements. This shouldn’t be an issue for the occasional home video, but if you’re big on mobile cinematography consider stepping up to something like the iPhone 11. The super slow motion at 960fps is fun to show off once in a while, but at 720p you should probably prioritize other video modes. However, it is slightly lacking in the microphone department. Recorded audio can easily be drowned out by background noise, ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 45
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Ultra-wide shot
Night Mode Off
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Night Mode On
and the Google Assistant regularly misheard or failed to pick up what we were saying.
Battery life Battery life on the 5T is solid, with the 3,750mAh cell able to comfortable a day and a half of moderate usage on a full charge. This includes constantly switching between Wi-Fi, due in part to the lower resolution screen. The 22.5-watt adaptor in the box is capable of Huawei’s Supercharge, which the company claims will get you a day’s usage in just 30 minutes. While that assertion varies depending on your usage, we managed to get 54 percent of battery in a half-hour period from off. However, ‘off’ doesn’t mean 0 percent in this case, as modern Huawei phones have a built-in safety feature which means they turn off at 2 percent, following a 30-second warning. This is designed to protect the battery, and also means they are instantly ready to use once a power source is reconnected. Huawei has assured us that exposing the phone to such a high level of power will not adversely affect battery life in the long term, thanks to some rigorous in-house testing. There’s no wireless charging here, but that is a worthy trade-off in our view.
Verdict While some manufacturers are looking for a headline feature to stand out from the crowd, the 5T quietly prioritizes everyday usage by mastering the fundamentals of a solid phone. The design is superb, cameras great and battery life better than expected. ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 47
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We are missing some premium features here – wireless charging, expandable storage, OLED display – but it’s remarkable how quickly you can look beyond these when you use the phone regularly. As a complete package, it has to be considered among the best mid-range phones you can buy. Anyron Copeman
Specifications • 6.26in (2,340x1,080; 412ppi) IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen • Android 9.0 (Pie), upgradable to Android 10; EMUI 10 • HiSilicon Kirin 980 processor • Octa-core (2x 2.6GHz Cortex-A76, 2x 1.92GHz Cortex-A76, 4x 1.8GHz Cortex-A55) CPU • Mali-G76 MP10 GPU • 6GB/8GB RAM • 128GB storage • Four rear-facing cameras: 48Mp, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), 1/2.0in, 0.8µm, PDAF; 16Mp, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.1in; 2Mp, f/2.4, 27mm (wide), dedicated macro camera; 2Mp, f/2.4, depth sensor • Front-facing camera: 32Mp, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8in, 0.8µm • Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi • Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD • A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSSS • NFC • Fingerprint scanner (side mounted) • USB 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector • Non-removable 3,750mAh lithium-polymer battery • 154.3x74x7.8mm • 174g 48 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Red Magic 3S Price: £419 (inc VAT) from fave.co/380juvH
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he Red Magic 3 is the third gaming phone to be released by parent company Nubia in less than 12 months, as it continues its expansion into the European markets. Hot on the heels of May’s Red Magic 3, the 3S offers the minor improvements typical of an ‘S’ update, while maintaining everything that made its predecessor such a success.
Design The 3S is instantly recognizable if you’ve seen the Red Magic 3, with the same 6.65in, 2,340x1,080 ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 49
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AMOLED display as its predecessor. Make no mistake, this is a big device, but if you’ve tried some of the latest phones from Apple or Samsung it shouldn’t be a problem. The screen itself, although not the highest resolution, is more than adequate for a mid-range handset and provides plenty of detail while gaming. However, we only recorded a maximum brightness of 294 nits, and had a difficult time using it in direct sunlight. What’s more disappointing, however, is that the slightly dated front of the phone is unchanged. The sizeable forehead and chin on the device do accommodate a fantastic set of front-facing stereo speakers, but there are still large black bars housing nothing more than a 16Mp selfie camera and LED notification light. The 3S also comes pre-installed with a screen protector, and there seems to be no safe way to remove it. The rear of the device retains the futuristic design of the 3, which is only amplified by the Cyber Shade option we tested. This is the only option if you’re looking for a 12GB/256GB version, so if you’d prefer the Eclipse Black or Mecha Silver variants you’ll have to be content with 8GB/128GB. This is further enhanced by the RGB light strip, which Nubia say can be customized with multiple lighting effects and 16.8 million colour options. Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for additional functionality with music, notifications or incoming phone calls, so currently it’s a nice feature to have without being something that should influence your buying decision. 50 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
The fingerprint scanner and camera module are in keeping with the rest of the phone, but the positioning of the latter means there is a significant wobble when on a table. The other design choices of note are on the sides of the device. As so many manufacturers are moving away from the 3.5mm headphone jack, Red Magic’s decision to retain it will likely prove very popular. The contact points on the left side are designed for use with the Magic Adaptor, which adds an Ethernet port alongside additional USB-C and 3.5mm jack sockets. This is primarily to ensure that your hands are not obstructed during long gaming sessions. Above this, there is the dedicated Game Space switch, while on the other side are the now-familiar shoulder triggers and a fan grille, part of what Nubia claims is its ‘redesigned cooling system’. The rear of the device retains the futuristic design of the 3
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Despite weighing 215g, it fits comfortably in the hand, meaning long gaming sessions on-the-go shouldn’t be a problem.
Gamers rejoice It is a golden era for fans of mobile gaming, with a number of dedicated handsets aiming to take advantage of the huge range of games available on the Google Play store. Nubia has added a number of features to the 3S with the gamer in mind, the most notable of which being a 90Hz refresh rate. Combined with the latest Snapdragon 855+ processor, it is a joy to use, with buttery smooth graphics and superb responsiveness throughout the UI. You can see the benefits of the increased refresh rate throughout the phone, particularly in apps with a lot of dynamic multimedia content, but you also get a significant boost when playing graphic-intensive games. Combined with an Adreno 640 GPU and 8- or 12GB of RAM, this phone should be able to handle anything you throw at it. However, with the exception of the Snapdragon 855+, all these internals were present in the 3, making you question the validity of a new release. There is a clear performance boost, as can be seen from the benchmarks below, but you’re unlikely to notice any real-world enhancements. For reference, we tested the more expensive 12GB/256GB model. The internals work in tandem with version 2.1 of Red Magic’s Game Space, a dedicated mode aimed at enhancing your gaming experience and 52 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Geekbench 4 (multi-core)
GFXBench Manhattan
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GFXBench T-Rex
minimising distractions. Activated via a physical switch reminiscent of an alert slider, here you can dial up the CPU and activate a 4D shock mode, as well as capture your gameplay to share with others. If the device does get hot, you can manually enable the fan, but even at its maximum it should not interfere too much with your gaming experience. Nubia claims the Red Magic 3S is capable of up to 18°C of cooling, and with this new system we can see how. We tested a selection of what we believe to be the best Android games of all time, and the Red Magic 3S blazed through them all without a hitch. PUBG Mobile was a joy to play, with a high frame rate and smooth transitions maintained throughout. 54 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
This was particularly enjoyable when using the shoulder triggers, which give you satisfying haptic feedback when navigating the open world. As most of your rivals will be playing on a regular smartphone, this could give you a crucial advantage, particularly in Battle Royale games where every move counts. Asphalt 9 is known to be one of the most graphicintensive titles, yet it was just about as smooth and slick as possible. Progression-based arcade games, such as Jetpack Joyride and Crossy Road, felt just a little more special on the 90Hz display. In addition to the aforementioned Magic Adaptor, Red Magic offers a number of other accessories for the 3S. While earphones and a protective case seem pretty standard, the Pro Handle helps make it feel like a genuine handheld console. However, as each handle is sold separately, the full, dual-controller experience will set you back an additional £71.80. A superb set of front-facing stereo speakers, complete with DTS:X support, guarantee an immersive media experience regardless of whether or not you choose to use headphones. The audio from the 3S is rich and full-bodied, with gaming sound effects unsurprisingly being its forte.
Software General performance with the 3S is predictably excellent, blazing through anything and everything we could throw at it. It can easily function as both a gaming device and a productivity powerhouse. The 3S runs Nubia’s custom OS over Android 9 Pie out of the box. The company confirmed to us that a ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 55
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future update to Android 10 will be coming, but an availability date is yet to be revealed. The company’s skin is relatively light, with squared icons and its own SMS and gallery apps among the most noticeable changes. We’re disappointed that it lacks the Digital Wellbeing functionality that you can find on ‘stock’ versions Android, particularly with the chance of becoming immersed in long gaming sessions. You also lose the gesture-based navigation option, so you’ll have to stick with software buttons for now. The face unlock is remarkably fast, rivalling OnePlus phones for pure speed. It does lack the security of something like Apple’s Face ID, but is a convenient alternative use of biometrics that works well. It was our go-to method of unlocking the phone during testing, as the fingerprint scanner was a bit hit-and-miss. Despite being in a natural position on the rear of the device, its angular shape meant it often didn’t recognize our print at the first time of asking.
Cameras The Red Magic 3S makes sacrifices in an area so many mid-range phones do – the cameras. It features a single 48Mp, f/1.7 Sony rear sensor, complete with HDR, while on the front there’s a 16Mp selfie camera. On paper these specs sound impressive, but as we know from the likes of Google’s Pixel devices, so much of the end result is determined by software. In good lighting the Red Magic performs adequately, producing vibrant, punchy shots which are slightly lacking in dynamic range. It handles 56 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Standard shot
Macro shot
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Night mode
subjects particularly well, but tends to blow out the background. The camera’s performance in low light is enhanced greatly by a built-in night mode. This takes a few seconds to process, and shots are significantly brighter but with little improvement in detail. The front-facing Portrait mode camera includes a beauty mode, but rather disappointingly this is set to 2/10 by default. One of the first things we did was turn this off, and in our samples the subject is in good detail yet the background is incredibly overexposed. The rear camera also supports video recording up to 8k. This does drop the frame rate down to 15fps, and remains in beta at the time of writing. 58 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
However, in regular use the lack of any image stabilization means handheld videos from the 3S are disappointingly shaky. Battery life is an area where the phone excels, with the 5,000mAh cell recording an impressive 10 hours and 7 minutes In Geekbench 4’s battery test. The battery regularly lasted us at least a day and a half, and this often included some pretty intense games testing. The phone is also capable of fast charging, thanks to the included 18-watt adaptor. While this is unable to rival the likes of OnePlus’s warp charge, we were able to get a 35 percent charge in just 30 minutes.
Verdict As so many flagship smartphones pursue a bezelless design, the Red Magic 3S unapologetically compromises on screen-to-body ratio to provide an immersive gaming experience. While it should be judged on this first and foremost, the fact is that smartphones in 2019 are expected to be adept at pretty much everything. The cameras, software and design of the 3S have all seen very few design changes from the previous model, so it’s a tough sell unless you’re looking for a capable gaming phone on a budget. Anyron Copeman
Specifications • 6.65in (2,340x1,080; 388ppi) AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
• Android 9.0 (Pie); Redmagic 2.0 • Qualcomm SM8150 Snapdragon 855+ processor • Octa-core (1x 2.96GHz Kryo 485, 3x 2.42GHz Kryo ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 59
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485, 4x 1.8GHz Kryo 485) CPU • Adreno 640 GPU • 8GB/12GB RAM • 128GB/256GB storage • Rear-facing camera: 48Mp, f/1.7, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0in, 0.8µm, PDAF • Front-facing camera: 16Mp, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/3.1in, 1.0µm • Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi • Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, aptX, LE • A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO • NFC • Fingerprint scanner (rear mounted) • USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector • Non-removable 5,000mAh lithium-polymer battery • 171.7x78.5x9.7mm • 215g
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Google Stadia Price: £119 (inc VAT) from fave.co/2uFG6Dn
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ith Stadia, there are no easy answers. Every compliment I want to pay Google’s game streaming service – and there are quite a few actually – is shackled to a caveat, a complication, or a complaint. Sometimes all three. That’s a problem. The biggest problem, really. Google intended Stadia to simplify the way people consume games. No hardware! Play your games anywhere, at any time! And yet the reality, at least for ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 61
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now, is a labyrinth of potential pitfalls. Does Google Stadia work? Sure, under the right circumstances and with the right game. Will it work for you, though? That’s a harder question, or rather a hundred questions, any one of which could prove fatal to Stadia’s chances. Let’s dig in.
The best case scenario Those who purchase the Google Stadia Founder’s Edition, or functionally identical Premiere Edition, will receive a Stadia controller, a 4K-ready Chromecast Ultra, and three months of the £8.99 per month Stadia Pro subscription. This is the only way to get access to Stadia right now and for the foreseeable future. And there’s a reason for that: it’s the only use case that feels finished. Google Stadia arrives with a litany of missing features, especially on PC and phones. As such, the Chromecast is the only device that supports 4K streaming at release, as well as 5.1 surround sound and the wireless Stadia controller. Those features won’t hit other platforms until 2020. Consider the Chromecast Ultra the ‘Best Case Scenario’ for testing, then. Specifically, a Chromecast Ultra wired directly into your router, with solid download speeds (500Mb/s in my case) in a home near one of Google’s Edge Nodes. I’ve conducted most of my Google Stadia review in this manner, and you know what? That’s a loose term, of course – and therein lies the problem. Google Stadia is bound to be divisive because the definition of what’s ‘Good Enough’ 62 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Mmmm, glorious Edge Nodes
varies person to person. Are we comparing Stadia to the streaming services that came before, to OnLive and to PlayStation Now? Or are we comparing it to consoles and PCs? Hell, I find myself torn between these different lines of thought. If we’re comparing against the standards of other for-pay game streaming services, Stadia is a rousing success. I’m particularly shocked how responsive it feels. Even the games I was most sceptical of at first proved surprisingly playable in an ideal network environment. Google provided access to Destiny 2 and Mortal Kombat 11 during our review period, and I found I could consistently (with a slight muscle memory adjustment) line up headshots and tap in combos, respectively. It looks good, too. Not great. Not on par with a high-end PC. But only the occasional compression artifact gives away the ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 63
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gambit, provided your connection’s good enough to stream at 4K. So much of Google’s messaging is aimed at holding Stadia to an impossible standard, though. The way Google’s pitched it, Stadia is The Future, and The Future can’t just be ‘pretty good for a streaming service’. The Future can’t be ‘playable’. It has to be indistinguishable from running a game locally. Better, even. It’s not, and might never be. But if that’s Google’s end-goal, then every stutter is a letdown. Every blurry background or compression artifact becomes an indictment of the entire platform. The thrill of ‘Wow, I’m running Destiny 2 off a server 40 miles away and it works surprisingly well’ is no longer enough. And I’d be perplexed how to handle this duality in a review, except it’s the least of Stadia’s issues.
Scaffolding A baffling amount of the Stadia experience is still a work in progress. So much, in fact, I’m hard-pressed to explain why Google didn’t simply lock off the rest until a later date. A PC is probably the best setup after the Chromecast, and if you participated in Google’s tests last year then it will feel familiar. Games are accessed through Chrome, popping a full-screen window over your browser. It’s slick, basically indistinguishable from running a game natively in borderless windowed mode. Trouble is, 4K streaming is locked to the Chromecast at launch, as I said. The PC is limited 64 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Or while waiting to queue into the Haunted Forest
to 1080p, and it’s an ugly 1080p. The compression artifacts, already noticeable on a Chromecast at the maximum streaming quality, are omnipresent on PC. It’s a definite issue in dark environments, and can even be spotted on Destiny 2’s ‘Destination’ menu. Still, there’s a novelty to running these games on devices that shouldn’t be able to run them. Got a cheap laptop at home? Hook it up to an ethernet cable, pop open Chrome, plug in a mouse or the Stadia controller (or an Xbox controller for that matter) and you could be running a pretty good facsimile of Destiny 2 or Red Dead Redemption II or Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. That’s the real promise of Stadia, and when 4K support is added to the Chrome version in 2020 it could prove pretty interesting. Phones are a disaster, though. Even if you’ve purchased the Founder’s Edition, at launch Stadia ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 65
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only supports Pixel 2, 3/3a, and 4 devices. That’s it, so... I hope you own one. Given how many phones run Android, I cannot believe Google didn’t even prep the 2019 flagships for release day. The phone is also the weakest Stadia environment, which is a shame because it has the most promise. Who doesn’t want to play Red Dead Redemption II on a phone, right? Or take Destiny 2 with them on vacation by packing just a controller in their bag? Performance is inconsistent though, even on Wi-Fi. Half a second latency was the norm, and while I didn’t have any serious connection issues with a laptop, the phone dropped frames, stuttered, even displayed a ‘Lost Connection’ symbol at times. To make matters worse, many games are unplayable at phone size. People complain about Nintendo Switch games and unreadable text, but just try and play Red Dead Redemption II on a five-inch screen. I dare you. It’s not just text either. Interactive items, button displays, it’s all microscopic. And the controller barely works as advertised. That’s probably the weirdest part of this whole mess. When Google announced Stadia, a highlight was that you could switch between devices on-the-fly. Say you’re playing on your Chromecast, you could seamlessly transition to your phone at the push of a button. In theory, this can still occur. The Stadia app lets you change which screen the game is displayed on, and I’ve pushed Mortal Kombat 11 from my TV to my phone mid-fight before. Neat. The controller doesn’t go with it though. It’s supposed to connect not to any single device but 66 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Grab your reading glasses, and good luck
to your Wi-Fi, then relay commands directly to Google’s servers to cut latency. That happens when you’re connected to the Chromecast, but phones and PCs need to be connected to the controller directly with a USB-C cable. The PC, whatever. I’m just sitting at my desk anyway. The phone situation is absurd though, requiring you first attach a mount to the Stadia controller, then put your phone in the mount, then wire the two together. It’s an unwieldy hydra, and made more confusing because – again – Google intentionally limited the hardware pool to its own line of phones. It’s a shame because the controller itself is great. The design is a hybrid of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One controllers, marrying horizontal sticks to sculpted grips and the A/B/X/Y buttons. Battery life is better than a DualShock 4, the battery charges fast over ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 67
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USB-C, and I’ve generally enjoyed using it. For a first attempt? Great. But why is it only half functional?
Game selection Google initially announced that Stadia would launch alongside a dozen games. A week later, the number was upped to 22. Neither list is all that impressive, with only a single exclusive: Gylt, developed by Tequila Works. Given we’re at the end of the release season, that means most of Stadia’s line-up is old – either a few months, or in some cases a few years. I don’t have much to say about that situation, but it’s not making me want to rush out and buy anything for Stadia. And you have to. I think that’s worth reiterating, because there is a Stadia Pro subscription and I get the feeling most people still expect some sort of Netflixfor-Games. That’s not Stadia. Stadia Pro does get you copies of Destiny 2 and Samurai Shodown at launch, with more free games teased for the future. It also gets you the occasional discount. It does not get you an Xbox Game Pass-style line-up though. Many games, like Red Dead Redemption II, are the same price (or more) on Stadia as they are elsewhere. You are buying a version that is locked to Google’s servers, and could conceivably disappear entirely if Stadia shuts down. I remain incredulous that Google took this approach. Microsoft’s already said its competing streaming service, Project xCloud, is coming to Xbox Game Pass (which includes PCs) next year. That’s 100plus games available for £10.99 per month. Stadia’s 68 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
The Google Stadia controller (right) next to the PlayStation DualShock 4 (top) and Xbox One (left) controllers
subscription is paltry by comparison – required at launch, but only because there is no free version yet, and then at some point it’ll be the only way to get 4K streaming and 5.1 surround sound. Those are worthwhile, but £11 a month worthwhile? Meh. Anyway, we had access to about a half-dozen games during our test period and I have a few thoughts that haven’t already been covered elsewhere. Destiny 2: As I mentioned, Destiny 2 is surprisingly playable – at least in theory. What I haven’t gotten around to discussing yet is that it’s cross-save compatible, but not cross-play. In other words, you can bring your existing Destiny 2 characters over to ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 69
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Google Stadia but it’s a sandboxed version of the game that only exists for Stadia players. It’s no wonder Google’s gave away free copies of Destiny 2 to everyone who pre-ordered the Founder’s and Premiere Editions, because if they didn’t there would be nobody playing. And indeed, that’s how our review period has gone. I’ve spent the past week running around empty planets and visiting an empty Tower and trying to complete the Haunted Forest on my own and it has been very weird. I’ll be curious whether the population picks up after Stadia’s released, but it’s hard to imagine it ever being as vibrant as the existing console or PC versions. Red Dead Redemption II: I was particularly curious to try out Red Dead Redemption II given that we struggled to run it at 1080p on an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. Unshackled by local hardware constraints, could Google Stadia run Red Dead better than a high-end PC? And the answer is, not really. It’s hard to do an A/B comparison given the variables at play, but the Stadia version’s lighting seemed flatter, and the otherworldly fog effects that left me slack-jawed on PC were undercut by omnipresent compression artifacts. Load times were faster, though. And besides, it was Red Dead Redemption II streamed to a £69 Chromecast Ultra. That’s impressive in its own right. I also think games like Red Dead are a better proofof-concept for Stadia because they’re not as reliant on tight timing windows as shooters, fighting games, and the other genres Google seems hell-bent on proving 70 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
it can conquer. Red Dead’s shooting suffers still, but its movement is so heavy and momentum-based that a delay of a few milliseconds barely registers. It’s the same reason Assassin’s Creed Odyssey worked so well for those early Stadia tests. Kine: Another genre that fares great in streaming: puzzles games. Kine isn’t a great puzzle game, but I spent a lot of time playing it this week because it didn’t matter how well Stadia performed. It’s basically a block-moving puzzler, locked to a grid, with a catchy soundtrack. Playing it local on my PC or on my phone via Stadia provided precisely the same experience. More of this, please. Gylt: Lastly, the lone Stadia exclusive. I like Tequila Works. I like Gylt. From what I played, it seemed like
Gylt
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a brave attempt to tackle bullying and other weighty themes within the confines of a stealth game. But I cannot imagine who decided to make the lone Google Stadia exclusive a game that takes place almost exclusively in the dark. Blotchy shadows almost completely ruin the experience, even on the Chromecast where I had the most luck avoiding compression artifacts. I want to play it, but not like this.
Data caps Before we end, a word on data caps. That’s the other part that gives me pause about Stadia. Many people, myself included, have a 1TB cap on our monthly Internet. Go over that twice in a year, you get a warning. Go over it again, and you’ll need to pay an extra on top of your standard Internet bill. It’s a problem even for standard game downloads nowadays. Red Dead Redemption II came in around 150GB, I think. That’s huge, and publishers should absolutely be lobbying against these punitive measures by Internet providers.
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But Google should be even more worried. By Google’s own calculations, 4K streaming requires up to 20GB of data per hour. If we take the average Red Dead Redemption II playthrough of 75 hours, Stadia would burn through up to 1.5TB of data before the end. Stadia simply isn’t a good choice for most people with metered Internet, especially those with multiple players under one roof. 10 hours here, 10 hours there, it adds up incredibly fast – and that’s before you factor in Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Spotify, or any other streaming services you might use.
Verdict Is Google Stadia the future? That’s really two questions, I guess. First, ‘Is streaming the future of gaming?’ Possibly. It’s convenient, and even exciting at times. But if you’re asking whether Stadia is the platform to get us there? I have my doubts. Whether or not Google turns Stadia into a longterm success, it’s hard not to feel they botched the launch. The underlying tech is great, but everything else half-works, or works only in specific situations, or it’s ‘coming soon’. I can’t imagine this is what Google had in mind when it put on that splashy unveiling event at GDC. If it is, then that raises even more questions. Mark Hachman
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• Bluetooth 4.2 • 3.5mm headset jack • USB-C port • Internal rechargeable Li-Ion battery • 65x105x163mm (2.56 in) • 268g Google Chromecast Ultra • Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi • HDMI plugs directly into the TV • Micro-USB for power and data • Ethernet port on the power adaptor for hard-toreach Wi-Fi spots in your home • Supported operating systems: Android 4.2 and higher; iOS 9.1 and higher; macOS X 10.9 and higher; Windows 7 and higher • 58.2x58.2x13.7mm • Device 47g; adaptor 101g
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Inside Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 We dive deep inside the capabilities of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765 processors. MARK HACHMAN reports
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ualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon 865 smartphone chip will support 5G, certainly. But more practical features will probably affect phone users in more immediate ways, such as 200Mp still photos, 4K HDR/8K video capture with optional portrait mode and Dolby Vision support, ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 75
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dynamic lighting options for mobile gaming, and real-time audio translation. Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 855 a year ago, and unveiled its successors – the Snapdragon 865, the Snapdragon 765, and the Snapdragon 765G – in December at the company’s Snapdragon Technology Summit in Maui, Hawaii. Qualcomm dove deep into what phone makers and end users can expect from its new processors. Improvements to each of its cores – the new Kryo 585 CPU, the Adreno 650 GPU, the Spectra 480 image signal processor, the Sensing Hub, and the X55 5G modem – will all add new capabilities to phones. Many of the most popular premium smartphones are built upon Snapdragon, including flagships from Google, Samsung and OnePlus.
What’s inside the Snapdragon 865 Below is a high-level overview of the Snapdragon 865, which will be manufactured on a 7nm process like its predecessor. (The 865 uses TSMC’s 7nm process, while the 765 is manufactured on Samsung’s 7nm process.) Some of the basics, such as the GPU speed, are still not being disclosed. We’ll go into more of what features these will enable afterward. Keep in mind, however, that some of these capabilities are theoretical. In the case of 5G, for example, certainly don’t expect the 7.5Gb/s download speeds Qualcomm is promising. Kryo 585 CPU: Octa-core architecture; 1 ARM Cortex-A77 (2.84GHz, prime) + 3 ARM Cortex 76 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
A-77 (2.4GHz, performance) + 4 ARM Cortex-A55 (1.8GHz efficiency) Memory support: Embedded LP-DDR5 (2,750MHz), LPDDR4x (2133MHz); up to 16GB Adreno 650 GPU: Displays up to 4K/60Hz, or 3,200x1,800/144Hz; HDR10+ support Spectra 480 ISP: 200Mp still photos; 4K video (with 64Mp stills) or 4K HDR or 4K/120; 8K capture; 720p at 960fps; Rec 2020, 10-bit colour Hexagon 698: Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N) Playback: -108dB Connectivity (5G): X55 5G modem (7.5Gb/s down, 3Gb/s up, via 5G); mmWave (800MHz bandwidth, 2x2 MIMO), Sub-6GHz (200MHz bandwidth, 4x4 MIMO); LTE support (CBRS, WCDMA, HSPA, TD-SCDMA, CDMA 1x, EV-DO, GSM/EDGE)
An overview of the Snapdragon 865’s Kryo core
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Connectivity (Wi-Fi): FastConnect 6800 (802.11ax, 802.11ac Wave 2), 1.774Gb/s peak speeds,1024 QAM, OFDMA; 60GHz Wi-Fi, 10Gb/s peak speeds; always-on ambient Wi-Fi sensing Connectivity (Bluetooth): Bluetooth 5.1, with support for Qualcomm aptX specifications Qualcomm Sensing Hub: Always-on far-field detection and echo cancellation; support for multiple voice assistants Power: Quick Charge 4+ plus Quick Charge AI Qualcomm is promising the Kryo 585 CPU will deliver more than 25 percent more performance than the processor inside the older Snapdragon 855, as well as 25 percent more power efficiency. The Kryo core uses what you might call a BIG-big-little architecture, with a upclocked ‘prime’ core, three ‘performance’ cores, and four ‘efficiency’ cores to handle low-power tasks. Qualcomm says the Adreno 650 GPU will deliver 25 percent faster graphics rendering, with a 35 percent power savings over the Adreno 640. The latter figure is optimized for 90 frames per second, not 60. The Hexagon 698, the dedicated AI processor, will deliver 4 times the performance of the Hexagon 690, the first ‘retooling’ of the digital signal processor for AI.
5G While next-gen 5G technology was a controversial subject in 2019, it looks far more viable for 2020, as both carriers and chipmakers move toward the finish line. My colleague Mike Simon does a great job 78 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
breaking down what Qualcomm’s X55 modem means in the real world: in a nutshell, integrated LTE and 5G capabilities means that it will save power and switch faster between the two, both benefiting you. The X55 is a standalone chip, however, meaning that there’s still more room to save even more power in the future by combining it with some successor to the Snapdragon 865. For now, however, the fact that it’s a discrete chip means that it can be combined with multiple platforms. It also allows a company like Apple the freedom to buy (or make) its own 5G modem. Qualcomm decided to make a strategic bet three years ago to keep the 5G modem separate, explained Cisco Cheng, a managing director at Qualcomm. “To pack the amount of gaming, camera, and AI features into the SOC while maintaining all of the awesome features, we have to keep the two separate,” he said. Keith Kressin, senior vice president of product management for Qualcomm, said both mmWave and sub-6GHz frequencies need to be supported. Qualcomm also expects the X55 platform to be faster than its predecessor, with up to 7.5Gb/s downloads. Again, you’ll never see those speeds in the real world, but in general more theoretical overhead ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 79
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means more capability. Finally, there’s support for global multi-SIM, so if you have a 5G phone you’ll be able to roam worldwide with a second SIM, possibly to areas that might have pervasive 5G connectivity before the UK does.
AI Artificial intelligence (AI) is the other key linchpin of the Snapdragon 865, and like Intel’s own AI capabilities, it can be a little hard to define. Qualcomm’s touting its 5th-generation AI Engine as the, well, engine of all of this. It mainly consists of the company’s new Hexagon Tensor Accelerator and Sensing Hub. The latter’s relatively simple to understand. One of the 855’s new features was dedicated lowpower logic to understand ‘wake words’ like “Hey, Google”. Inside the Snapdragon 865, the low-power
Qualcomm’s Sensing Hub, a new addition to the Snapdragon 865 architecture
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dedicated Sensing Hub does the same, as well as for other assistants. Real-time music identification is also supported, Ziad Asghar, Qualcomm’s vice president of AI strategy, said. There’s also some logic to support contextual AI, so a phone will ‘know’ what you’re talking about. “We look at AI powering everything we do, and all of the products that we make,” Asghar said. The Sensing Hub also adds to the traditional sensors (a gyrometer, accelerometer, even a barometer) with voice, data streams, and more, applying things like noise cancellation in real time to improve how it understands your voice. In the 855, Qualcomm retooled the Hexagon DSP to be optimized for AI. The new Hexagon 698 within the Snapdragon 865 delivers 15 trillion operations per second, more than twice its predecessor, and with 35 percent less power. It’s the engine that SDKs like Qualcomm’s Neural Processing SDK will run on top of, to give app developers access to the AI smarts at the heart of the chip. Snap’s senior director of engineering, Yurii Monastyrshyn, appeared on stage to show that processing Snapchat via the Hexagon is 4 times faster than on the Kryo CPU. This are two ‘one more thing’ features here: Google and Qualcomm are moving the Google Assistant automated speech recognition from the cloud to the Snapdragon 865 chip, with 30 percent less latency between your speech and a response. There’s a 3X power savings, too. Qualcomm’s also claiming – and it showed off – the ability to make a phone call, and have your ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 81
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Real-time translation on a phone call is a heck of a trick to pull off. The Snapdragon 865 can apparently do it, however
voice translated into another language, on the fly. Qualcomm’s even claiming that it can maintain the style of your voice, too.
Camera improvements A lot of people buy a phone specifically to take better pictures. For the past few years, Android phones have dominated our camera comparisons, but Apple’s latest iPhones have stolen some of that magic back in our latest smartphone camera shootout. Qualcomm’s new Spectra ISP has been rearchitected to run much more efficiently. While the previous camera sensor was able to process one pixel per clock cycle, the current Spectra ISP processes four in the same time. Qualcomm didn’t actually announce the clock speed, but the sensor can process 2 gigapixels per second, according 82 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Here’s all the camera improvements being added to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
to senior marketing manager PJ Jacobowitz. That simple efficiency helped spur several improvements, including the ability to simply slow down the core’s clock speed, saving power. But there’s a number of tricks that Snapdragon 865-powered smartphone cameras will be able to do that current phones can’t. First, the camera will be able to capture a whopping 200Mp still images, which apparently is not a hypothetical number – and it’s not two sensors working together in concert, either, Jacobowitz said. “We’ve been working with a major sensor provider to bring 200 megapixel images, image sensors, to smartphones,” he said. Even better, it should be in place by the end of spring, in 2020, he added. Judd Heape, who runs the camera business at Qualcomm, said that Qualcomm can now use the ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 83
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Post-shot bokeh additions sound super cool
entire image sensor to generate autofocus points, more than 9X what they had before. The HEIF file format that Qualcomm stores it photos in (introduced first within the 855) now saves the depth map, as well. What this means for you is that you’ll be able to add bokeh, also known as ‘portrait mode’, after you’ve taken the photo. Morpho also appeared on stage to show of how semantic interpolation could use AI to add back detail that an image either lost or couldn’t capture. ArcSoft also used AI to smooth optical zoom, instead of jerky transitions from one level to another. Next, the 865’s Spectra core will also be able to capture still photos more effectively while recording 84 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
video. Currently, Jacobowitz said, “snapping” a still image while recording video essentially just captures a frame: at 1080p, that’s about a 2Mp image. With the 865, the smartphone camera will be able to capture 64Mp still images while it’s recording 4K HDR video. Snapdragon 865-powered phones will also have the option of capturing 8K/30 video (without HDR), which requires the ability to capture 33Mp per second. “That’s significant, because there are a lot of phones on the market, even in the premium section, that their photos... aren’t even 33Mp,” Jacobowitz said. Then there’s a phone’s slo-mo capabilities, which will also be beefed up. Snapdragon 865-powered cameras will capture 4K video at 120 frames per second, for a ‘4X’ slow-motion option. At a more standard 720p resolution, the Spectra will go much, much further, capturing an amazing 960 frames per second, at what Jacobowitz called “indefinitely”, up to the limits of the available storage. (It does it natively, without frame interpolation, Heape said,) Conversely, if a camera has an advanced 120Hz display, the Spectra inside the Snapdragon 865 will be able to play that 4K video back at 120Hz, too. Finally, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 plans to increase its HDR capabilities one more time. After the 845 introduced HDR10 video capture and the 855 launched HDR10+, the Snapdragon 865 plans to be the first on the market to capture in Dolby Vision. Normally, this usually requires capturing raw video, which is then taken to Dolby’s labs and then processed, Jacobowitz said. The Snapdragon 865 will be able to do it natively. ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 85
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Qualcomm introduced a ton of gaming features within the Snapdragon 865
Gaming Mobile gaming has eclipsed movies in terms of revenue, according to Leilani DeLeon, director of product gaming and AR at Qualcomm. Viewership of eSports has exceeded most professional sports leagues, she said. The bulk of the Snapdragon 865’s gaming improvements will arrive through the 20 percent speed boost in the Adreno 650 GPU. But there’s also several areas that are a bit PC-like, including downloadable GPU driver updates. Simply put, Qualcomm plans to decouple the Adreno drivers from the overall Android updates, and it will be up to the phone maker itself to validate the update and ship it to users. Qualcomm will write the drivers, Jacobowitz said, but each individual OEM 86 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Game Smoother sounds very much like the desktop PC’s adaptive sync technology for GPUs
will qualify and distribute them. Put another way, you’ll receive an Asus-specific gaming update straight from Asus itself. Qualcomm also launched Game Smoother and the Adaptive Performance Engine, both to enable mobile gaming as smooth as possible, which sounds a lot like Nvidia’s own adaptive sync technology, G-Sync. The company’s also working with developers to enable high frame rate gaming: 90 frames per second (and even 10-bit HDR) for PUBG mobile, and even with support for 144Hz screens, the same refresh rate as desktop displays. Qualcomm is also adding support for Game Colour Plus version 2.0, which essentially brings HDR lighting effects into platforms that don’t natively support HDR displays – “not just jacking up saturation across the ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 87
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‘Desktop-quality’ lighting on display using the Snapdragon 865
board, and contrast... but taking select parts of the game and making them look better,” Jacobowitz said. Adreno HDR Fast Blend will also accelerate HDR processing. Even better, Qualcomm worked closely with Unreal and its Unreal 4 engine to bring what’s called the “desktop forward rendering” to the Snapdragon 865 platform. According to Jacobowitz, “many” of the lighting effects used in the Unreal 4 engine will be supported by the Snapdragon 865, allowing them to be used in games. Examples include desktop motion blur, planar reflections, multiple shadows, and more.
Security Jesse Seed, Qualcomm’s senior director of product, security, also explained that Qualcomm has added 88 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Are digital driver’s licenses going to be a thing?
a protected data path for biometric authentication, protecting it from malware elsewhere in the system. It moves from the Spectra, to the Adreno, to the platform security module, and there to the Kryo CPU. The Secure Processing Unit introduced in the 855 is also in the 865, but with one additional feature: it can replace not only one but two SIM cards, or eSIMs. Qualcomm also announced support for Identity Credential APIs, supported in Android R: that will allow electronic identification – even your driver’s license – supported in your phone.
Meet the Snapdragon 765G and 765, too There’s another gaming angle that Qualcomm is bringing to the Snapdragon platform, and that’s the Snapdragon 765G. It’s specifically designed for the ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 89
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emerging market of gaming smartphones such as the Razer Phone 2, which is much more PUBG than Candy Crush. Qualcomm built the 765G with a pumped-up Adreno GPU that increases performance by 20 percent over the base Snapdragon 765. It also adds 5.5 TOPS of AI performance, Qualcomm said. Both the Snapdragon 765 and 765G were designed as cheaper alternatives to the top-tier 865 chip, keeping the most important attributes – 5G and AI – while cutting a bit from some of the other elements. The Snapdragon 765 and 765G share the same basic characteristics. Both are paired with the X52 modem, a 5G-capable discrete modem that’s ‘only’ capable of 3.6Gb/s download speeds and 1.6Gb/s up, with support for both mmWave and sub-6GHz
A shot of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 5G
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frequencies. Inside them, too, is Qualcomm’s 5th-gen AI engine. In comparing the specifications of the 765 and 765G, we could only find only one significant difference: The 7nm octa-core Kryo 475 CPU at the heart of the 765 is clocked at 2.3GHz, while the 765G’s Kryo is clocked at 2.4GHz. (Remember, Qualcomm’s not disclosing the GPU clock speed.) Kryo 475 CPU: Octa-core architecture, otherwise unknown Memory support: Up to 2,133MHz, 12GB total Adreno 620 GPU: Displays up to 3,200x1,800 (QHD+) at 60Hz; FHD+ (at least 1080p) at 120Hz; HDR10+ support Spectra 355 ISP: 192Mp still photos, 36Mp singlecamera with zero shutter lag; 4K HDR video capture; Rec 2020, 10-bit colour depth Hexagon Voice Assistant accelerator: Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N) Playback: -108dB Connectivity (5G): X52 5G modem (3.7Gb/s down, 1.6Gb/s up, via 5G); mmWave (400MHz bandwidth, 2x2 MIMO), Sub-6GHz (100MHz bandwidth, 4x4 MIMO); LTE support (CBRS, WCDMA, HSPA, TD-SCDMA, CDMA 1x, EV-DO, GSM/EDGE) Connectivity (Wi-Fi): FastConnect 6200 (802.11ax-ready, 802.11ac Wave 2) Connectivity (Bluetooth): Bluetooth 5.0, with support for Qualcomm aptX specifications Qualcomm Sensing Hub: Always-on far-field detection and echo cancellation; support for multiple voice assistants ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 91
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Power: Quick Charge 4+ plus Quick Charge AI Qualcomm hasn’t disclosed its 6-series Snapdragon chips, which are designed for even more inexpensive devices. It’s the Snapdragon 865, 765, and 765G that you should care about, however, as they’ll be powering premium smartphones throughout 2020.
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Building the perfect Android Frankenphone A cup of Galaxy, a dash of OnePlus, a pinch of Pixel. MICHAEL SIMON reports
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ndroid phones didn’t just break the bank in 2019, they also broke speed, photography and display records. Samsung and OnePlus delivered handsets that were as groundbreaking as they were gorgeous; Google pushed the limits of smartphone photography; and LG continued to march to its own ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 93
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You can build a killer Android phone with a piece of every great handset released in 2019
drum, crafting some truly unique beats along the way. But for all their strengths, there’s no perfect Android phone. So this year, I decided to build one. Well, on paper. Without further ado, here’s the 2019 Android Frankenphone, built using the best parts of the best phones of the past year.
Display: OnePlus 7 Pro You can’t have a great phone without a great display, and the OnePlus 7 Pro had it this year – even better than the Galaxy S10+ and Note10+. Samsung might supply the display OnePlus uses, but the 7 Pro does it better. Why? Because of its 90Hz refresh rate, which 94 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
The Galaxy S10+ (centre) hits the sweet spot when it comes to screen size
makes scrolling super speedy. It’s not just that the 7 Pro is one of only a handful of phones that offer a refresh rate higher that 60Hz, it’s that OnePlus has delivered it in a display that’s so perfect, it’s like a cherry on top. And now it’s Samsung that needs to do the catching up.
Display size: Galaxy S10+ While the OnePlus 7 Pro has the best display, it’s a little too big for my tastes. At 6.7 inches, it’s one of the biggest phones ever made and pretty much impossible to use with one hand. But at 6.4 inches, the Galaxy S10+, is basically the Baby Bear of phones: ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 95
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just right. It’s smaller than the Note10+ and the iPhone 11 Pro Max, and easily fits in my pocket, yet it’s still big enough to get serious work done.
Front design: Note10+ The biggest story of 2019 was the ever-shrinking bezel, and the race to the first full-screen phone is truly underway. But until we get there, the Note10+ is the phone that does itty-bitty bezels best. Its camera cutout is centred (unlike in the Galaxy S10+) and its receiver is the tiniest of holes along the top edge. The rounded corners of the display match the rounded corners of the phone, the chin is nearly as thin as the forehead, and the side bezels are non-existent thanks to the infinity display. Lots of phones claim to have all-screen designs, but the Note10+ is the only one that’s actually almost there.
Rear design: LG G8X As the fronts of our phones have become overtaken by screens, it’s become easier to distinguish them from the backs of phones, from the Pixel 4’s square camera to the OnePlus 7T’s circular bump. But LG made the prettiest one of all, with a camera that’s entirely encased under glass. It’s the only phone with a rear case that’s completely smooth and flat, and if feels downright luxurious to hold. And it’s not too shabby to look at either. I’ve become so accustomed to bulbous bumps, and I can appreciate how the Pixel 4 and OnePlus 7T fully embrace them as part of their designs. But when I run my finger along the surface of the LG G8X and feel 96 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
Why have one colour when you can have all the colours
nothing but smooth glass, it makes all those camera bumps feel ancient.
Colour: Galaxy S10+ A whole bunch of cool colours debuted this year including Flamingo Pink (S10), Oh So Orange (Pixel 4), Cosmic Purple (Mate 30), and Martian Green (Galaxy Fold), but my favourite is the one the captured them all: Aura Glow on the Galaxy Note10+. A virtual chameleon that’s constantly shifting its hue as you use it, Aura Glow might be the first phone colour that truly needs a clear case – or none at all.
Processor: Snapdragon 855+ With all due respect to the Snapdragon 855 that powers the Galaxy S10 and note 10, Google Pixel 4, ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 97
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LG G8, and a slew of other high-performing premium handsets, the Snapdragon 855+ in the OnePlus 7T is a little faster and a little better at rendering graphics. The extra speed is particularly noticeably with 90Hz displays, which is probably why OnePlus is one of the only phones to use it.
RAM: Note10+ There was a time when I questioned whether phones needed more RAM than most Chromebooks, but the Note10+ convinced me. With 12GB of RAM, apps launch incredibly quickly, Recents is loaded with screens, and hooking it up to a monitor via DeX doesn’t slow it down at all. I hear your groans – no phone needs that much RAM – and that may be true
Performance on the Note10+ is stellar thanks to its 12GB of RAM
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today. But I expect most people will keep their £1,150 phones for at least three years, and in 2022, a little extra RAM will go a long way.
Base storage: S10+ The past few years have seen rapidly declining storage costs, so much so that now even Apple is offering a minimum of 64GB of space in all iPhones. But while you can get up to a terabyte of internal storage inside some phones, I’m still a bit more practical. The sweet spot is the base Galaxy S10+, with 128GB of storage and an expandable memory card slot. Its one of the few remaining phones to still feature a storage slot (even the smaller Note 10 ditched it), and like the headphone jack, I’m going to miss it when it’s gone for good.
Front camera specs: Pixel 4 Front cameras don’t usually get a lot of attention, but with so many selfies floating around Instagram, it’s just as important as the rear camera. They’re all very similar, but the Pixel 4 ekes out a win here. Even without the dual-cam setup of the Pixel 3, the Pixel 4’s front camera excels, with a wide 90-degree field of view, f/2.0 aperture and 8Mp sensor. That’s slightly narrower than the Pixel 3’s 97-degree FOV, but wider than most other phones out there, including the dualselfie-cam S10+, which maxes out at 80 degrees.
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OnePlus went all out with its camera sensors this year
are officially a thing after 2019, and no other phone embraced it quite like the OnePlus 7T Pro. There’s a Leica-branded lens, as always, but I’m much more interested in the specs: Camera 1: 48Mp, f/1.6, OIS Camera 2: 8Mp 3X telephoto, f/2.4, OIS Camera 3: 16Mp ultra-wide, f/2.2 That’s about as good as it gets in a smartphone, with a better optical zoom than the Pixel 4 or the Galaxy S10, and an impressive 117-degree ultra-wide FOV. You’re also getting 4K video at 30- or 60fps and Super Slow Motion (720p video at 960fps, and 1080p video at 240 fps). 100 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
You won’t find an Android phone that takes better pictures than the Pixel 4 (right)
Camera app: Galaxy S10 How you shoot is as important as what you’re shooting with, and stock camera apps run the gamut from minimal to overloaded with options. Samsung nails the sweet spot, with an excellent interface, super-fast switching between the lenses and modes, and fantastic manual controls.
Camera processing: Pixel 4 Smartphone camera hardware doesn’t really matter if the processing engine behind it isn’t up to snuff. That’s been the Pixel’s mantra since day one and even with just two cameras, the Pixel 4 continues to dominate thanks to its stellar AI and processing engine. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe how incredible ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 101
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Google’s behind-the-scenes mojo is. From Night Sight to portraits and every possible tricky lighting in between, the Pixel 4 is a veritable masterclass in photo processing, and basically every other phone is playing catchup.
Biometric unlocking: Pixel 4 In a vacuum, the Pixel 4 has the best biometric on any Android phone. It’s one of the few to offer secure 3D face unlock and it’s extremely fast and accurate, even working upside down if you happen to pick your phone up the wrong way (which happens more than you’d think). It might not be all that useful beyond unlocking, but I’ll still take it over an in-display fingerprint sensor any day.
Audio: LG G8 As the assault against the headphone jack continues – Samsung removed it from the Galaxy Fold and the Note 10 this year – audio continues to be a bright spot on LG phones. And the G8 has it in spades: Crystal Sound OLED, which uses vibrations and the display to create an all-over sound without a visible speaker, Boombox audio, and a 32-bit Quad DAC headphone jack, not to mention top-notch equalizer presets and noise filters.
OS: One UI I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the best implementation of Android in 2019 didn’t come from Google, it came from Samsung. With its One UI overhaul update, Samsung radically changed the way 102 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
One UI on the S10+ is one of the best Android skins I’ve ever used
it approached its interface, bringing bold changes that departed from stock Android while still respecting Google’s vision. In it, we got a stellar dark mode, excellent gesture navigation, an emphasis on onehanded operation, and an overall beautification of the interface, with bold fonts, clean menus, and smart controls. Android 10 on the Pixel 4 is great, but One UI is smarter, bolder, and more modern.
Case: LG G8X This is more of an honourable mention pick, but after a year of folding phone hype that’s only going to grow, I felt it needed some attention. You won’t find any folding displays on this list because I’m not yet sold on ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 103
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their value proposition, but the LG G8X convinced me that a dual-screen smartphone could work. The Dual Screen case made exclusively for the G8X is literally that: a second display for your phone. So you can write an email on one side and watch a video on the other. It’s the kind of thing that feels like a gimmick but actually works, and I’d love to be able to pop any phone I wanted into one.
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5 major Google products that might not live to see 2030 Google was just sharpening its knives in the 2020s. MICHAEL SIMON reports
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f you follow Killed by Google (fave.co/2tSUaJr), it’s been a busy decade. No fewer than 150 apps and services have met their demise over the past 10 years, with some popular ones still extremely fresh in our memories. In 2019 we waved goodbye to Inbox, Google+, and Allo. While technically still open, Hangouts will officially close its digital doors in June. ISSUE 70 • ANDROID ADVISOR 105
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The 2020s might bring even greater carnage. With many of Google’s ancillary apps and services already in the graveyard, it stands to reason that some big-name products will get the axe over the next 10 years, as the landscape shifts away from traditional devices and new trends begin to emerge. Here are five major Google products that might not be around this time next decade.
1. Android TV We nearly waved goodbye to Android TV this decade. After years of stagnation and the death of the Nexus Player, Android TV finished the decade on a high note, with an Android 10 update and a new developerfocused streaming media device. However, that
Android TV could undergo a rebranding at some point this year
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might not be enough to save it. Android TV already lags behind Apple, Amazon, and Roku in the living room. There’s no reason to believe that gap is going to close by the end of 2029. Mind you, I don’t think Google is going to be giving up on its TV ambitions – I just don’t think the future is under the Android umbrella. Rather, I think Android TV will undergo a rebranding at some point this year as either a Chromecast or YouTube device, with a smarter interface and deeper Assistant integration. Chromecast already does most of what Android TV does, so it wouldn’t take much to merge the two platforms into a single, low-cost device that firmly positions Google as an entertainment leader.
Google may combine the best parts of Wear OS and Fitbit OS
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2. Wear OS Google might have technically got to the wrist before Apple, but Wear OS is still trying to figure out what Wear OS wants to be. In just five years, Google’s wrist-sized platform has undergone a name change, a major redesign, and an injection of Google Assistant, all to very little avail. But Google is hardly giving up on building a wearable OS. I just don’t think Wear OS is going to carry the mantle. Now that Google is buying Fitbit, it’s extremely likely that a Made by Google wearable device will be making an entry within the next year or so. I’d be very surprised if it didn’t run a new OS that combines the best parts of Wear OS and Fitbit OS and finally delivers what Google promised with Android Wear all those years ago.
3. Google Voice It’ll be a sad day when Google decides to pull the plug on Voice, but it’s basically inevitable at this point. With a web interface and RCS, Android Messages has gained many of the communication features that were once exclusive to Google Voice, making Google Voice mostly redundant except for, you know, the voice part. Google has another calling app that fits the bill. Since its introduction in 2015, Project Fi has evolved into a full-blown MVNO service. With 5G ready to blow up, Google Fi is poised to become a serious player in the wireless world – especially once it gains a free tier. At some point this decade, it seems likely that Google Voice will merge with Google Fi to create the best of both worlds: a great mobile network if you want to pay, and a carrier-free number if you don’t. 108 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 70
4. Chrome OS I know, it’s crazy to think that Google would ever consider dumping its desktop operating system, but Chrome OS might be reaching the limits of what it can do. Android apps via the Play Store haven’t really panned out, and high-end devices like the Pixelbook don’t get to show off their full power with such a lightweight operating system. However, the 2020s could bring major changes to Chrome OS. Google has made no secret of its ambitions for its Zircon-based next-gen OS, codenamed Fuchsia. We don’t know too much about the open-source project, but it has the potential to be a game-changer, so much so that a simple Chrome update wouldn’t do. Rather, I think Fuchsia will replace
The 2020s could bring major changes to Chrome OS
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Chrome OS with Google OS, a platform that’s modern, powerful and adaptable, and able to grow and evolve with the Chromebook.
5. Pixel phones When Google launched the original Pixel phone in 2016, it was a high-priced utilitarian vessel that got the latest Android updates and features before any other phone. Four versions later, Google is still delivering on that promise – including the launch of a stellar lowcost model – but the Pixel hasn’t been the breakout hit it was supposed to be. I don’t think the Pixel is in any immediate danger, but I’d be very surprised if Google were still making them when 2029 comes to a close. I don’t necessarily think it’ll be a result of apathy or poor sales, either. Rather I think the 2020s will bring a new direction, as Google transforms the Pixel from just another hunk of pocketable glass into a true hub for everything Google does, breaking free from its handset confines.
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