Google’s new apps will make life easier for the hearing-impaired

“466,00,000 people are deaf or hard of hearing” explained Eve Anderson, Google’s Central Accessibility Team lead at an Android accessibility briefing in San Francisco last week. That number is expected to grow to 900,000,000 by 2055. Eve and a number of other Googlers have taken it upon themselves to alleviate this problem.

Obviously, Android won’t fix people’s hearing, but surely the super computers in our pockets can find ways to make the problem less severe. Android already had accessibility options like text to speech, magnification, and high contrast text to help people with visibility problems. Now it’s looking to help the hard of hearing with two new apps.

Live Transcribe

The first of these apps is Live Transcribe. This app was demoed by Dimitri Kanevsky, a Google employee and leading sound understanding scientist, who has been legally deaf since he was one year old. The app can transcribe speech in real time, and works in effectively any language available through Google’s speech recognition service.

People who grow up deaf tend to slur their words quite a bit, because they learn to talk through the low frequency vibrations in their throat. Dimitri was a bit hard to understand at the briefing, but the Live Transcribe app did a fantastic job transcribing what he said extremely quickly and accurately. Dimitri says he uses the app every day to read what others are saying to him, which allows him to respond just as quickly.

I asked if Google is planning to add features like saving copies of transcriptions or searching within them, but the company said it had no current plans. However, it’s considering adding Google Assistant support, so users can pull up the Live Transcribe app with their voice.

This app is now available on the Google Play Store for a limited number of users, and will become more widely available in the near future.

Sound Amplifier

Google’s second new app is Sound Amplifier. This is actually a plugin for Android’s accessibility menu. It effectively reduces background noise, raising low frequencies and dampening high ones. This produces a more even tone for those with trouble hearing low or high frequencies, especially during conversation.

At the event, the app was demoed on a recording of some Google employees in a cafe, where the presenter tuned the audio with sliders controlling boost, fine tuning, mic volume, and sound reduction intensity. In the demo, the app made it much easier to hear individual people, and it reduced the cafe’s background noise.

Google gave us access to try out the app ourselves, and I can see why it might help people with hearing imparities. I didn’t feel like it helped me hear better during my testing, but I am not hard of hearing. This would likely be quite useful for those who have trouble listening to subjects in noisy environments. Google says many people will notice no difference whatsoever, but the feature will be invaluable to some.

The Sound Amplifier accessibility plugin needs wired headphones to work. Google said this is to reduce latency as much as possible in real-life scenarios, which makes sense, but the Pixel 3 and many other Android smartphones have dropped the headphone jack to steer users towards Bluetooth. This means users will either have to use a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone adapter or USB-C headphones to use this feature, unless you’re using one of the few remaining devices with a built-in headphone jack.

The plugin is only available to those running Android Pie or above, since it uses some new features present in the OS. It should be available to users soon.

Live Transcribe and Sound Amplifier show Google is getting serious about finding more uses for our smartphones, including for people who live with various disabilities. The more our devices can help us navigate the world the better, and it’s good to see Google take advantage of the power we have in our devices. Read more about the new apps in this Google blog post.

Source: Android Zone

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Offcloud lets you download and store any video, web page, or song

Offcloud Download Manager is the tool we wished we’d had pretty much since the beginning of the internet. It allows you to unlock, download, and backup virtually any piece of content on the web, so you can access it whenever and wherever you like.

Working through any device with a web browser, Offcloud allows to you quickly download and store content from pretty much anywhere, including BitTorrent or even streaming sites like YouTube, Soundcloud, and Vimeo. The data is kept securely in a private space, and can even be set to automatically transfer to your preferred FTP or cloud storage site.

Offcloud can also convert any webpage into a PDF document, so you can index interesting articles or sites and read them anytime you want without having to manage an endless list of bookmarks. Plus, a single subscription can be used on up to 10 devices, so you’ll be able to access your stored favorites from any device you own.

A lifetime subscription to Offcloud Download Manager normally costs $699.99, but today you can get one at 92 percent off for only $49.99. Just click the button below to get started.

Check out Offcloud

The AAPicks team writes about things we think you’ll like, and we may see a share of revenue from any purchases made through affiliate links. To see all our hottest deals, head over to the AAPICKS HUB.

Source: Android Zone

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The best mid-range smartphone processors of 2019

Every year there’s a heated battle for the title of the best flagship smartphone processor, but few pay much attention to the equally important cost-effective smartphone market. Let’s put that right by breaking down what’s available from chip manufacturers in the sub $500 and sub $250 price brackets.

The introduction of cost-effective phones packing flagship-grade SoCs, like Xiaomi’s Pocophone F1, have upset how we traditionally look at the performance potential of inexpensive smartphones. I’m not going to talk about the Snapdragon 845. We’ve covered it elsewhere and it certainly doesn’t appear in many mid-range smartphones. Instead, we’re looking at chips that already pop up more commonly in these price segments.

Best chips in sub $500 phones

Most upper mid-range smartphones on the market feature 2017’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 660. Handsets like the Nokia 7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy A9, Oppo R11 all use it, as do cheaper phones like the Xiaomi Mi A2. The newer Snapdragon 675 will likely end up replacing the 660 in mid-tier products throughout 2019 like the HiSense U30.

The closest competitor in this space is Huawei’s Kirin 970. The chip launched in as a flagship in 2017 but quickly trickled down into more cost-effective Honor handsets like the Honor 10 and the Honor View 10. However, these models don’t usually compete quite as well as Huawei’s flagship phones in benchmark tests, but still offer decent performance for cheaper handsets. Samsung also makes processors that fit neatly into this category. The Exynos 7885 powers its Galaxy A8 series of phones and the Exynos 9610 will replace it soon.

	Snapdragon 660	Kirin 970	Exynos 7885
CPU	4x Kryo 260 @ 2.2GHz (Cortex-A73) 4x Kryo 260 @ 1.8GHz (Cortex-A53)	4x Cortex-A73 @ 2.4GHz 4x Cortex A53 @ 1.8GHz	4x Cortex-A73 @ 2.2GHz 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.6GHz
GPU	Adreno 512	Mali-G72 MP12	Mali-G71 MP2
RAM	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X
AI	Hexagon 680 with HVX	NPU	No
Modem	600Mbps download 150 Mbps upload	1200Mbps download 150Mbps upload	600Mbps download 150Mbps upload
Cameras	24MP single, 16+16MP dual	40MP single	21.7MP single, 16+16MP dual
Process	14nm FinFET	10nm FinFET	14nm FinFET

All of these current generation processors feature a combination of powerful Cortex-A73 or similar high-performance processors, paired with four lower power Cortex-A53 cores. The only letdown is in the graphics department, especially with Samsung’s Exynos chip. The two core Mali-G71 design is not going to cut it for 3D games.

Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Huawei chips in this category already pack in AI processing capabilities, something absent from Samsung’s mid-tier Exynos products. Huawei’s flagship chip leads the field with a better modem, but the others are essentially comparable in this regard. Most likely, you’re probably looking at a Qualcomm or Huawei chip in this segment for the best all-rounders.

Upcoming chips

Next generation products, with the exception of Samsung’s mid-range Exynos 9610, switch over to Arm core designs compatible with DynamIQ cluster configurations. This technology has previously been reserved for high-end SoCs and will make them more efficient multi-taskers.

Editor’s Pick

Everything you need to know about ARM’s DynamIQ

ARM unveiled the nature of its new DynamIQ technology back in March, but with the announcement of the company’s new Cortex-A75 and A55 CPU cores, we now have a much clearer picture about the capabilities …

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 and MediaTek Helio P90 move to 2+6 core configurations, but we shouldn’t expect any major performance drops. Two Cortex-A75 or A76 cores is plenty of power for most heavy lifting tasks a smartphone can expect. Their enhanced cache and close cluster design means the chips can handle the burst nature of these task types more efficiently than before.

Another notable improvement to some of these chips is in the AI/machine learning hardware. Qualcomm continues to beef up its DSP capabilities slightly over the previous generation. However, the MediaTek Helio P90 introduces a dedicated Inference Engine developed in house, in conjunction with its existing DSP from Tensilica. On paper, this looks to make the P90 a real powerhouse in the machine learning department.

	Snapdragon 675	Helio P90	Exynos 9610
CPU	2x 2.0GHz Kryo 460 (Cortex-A76) 6x 1.7GHz Kryo 460 (Cortex-A55)	2x Cortex-A75 @ 2.2 Ghz 6x Cortex-A55 @ 2.0 Ghz	4x Cortex-A73 @ 2.3GHz 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.6GHz
GPU	Adreno 612	IMG 9XM-HP8	Mali-G72 MP3
RAM	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X
AI	Hexagon 685 with HVX	Tensilica DSP and in-house Inference Engine	No
Modem	600Mbps download 150Mbps upload	600Mbps download 150Mbps upload	600Mbps download 150Mbps upload
Cameras	25MP single, 16+16MP dual	48MP single, 25MP + 16MP dual	24MP single, 16+16MP dual
Process	11nm LPP FinFET	12nm FinFET	10nm FinFET

Again, Samsung’s Exynos chip lacks the GPU horsepower of its competition. There’s a small performance improvement with the move to a Mali-G72 MP3 in the Exynos 9610, but that’s won’t make up the gap. Overall, it won’t have much more to offer than a mild GPU advantage over the budget-oriented Exynos 7904 (more of that chip later).

While a smaller 10nm FinFET process is a small win, Samsung’s mid-tier chips fall behind in the key metrics. The Exynos 9610 uses older CPU cores, a much weaker GPU configuration, and misses out on the AI technologies becoming increasingly common in other platforms.

Overall, Qualcomm is continuing to provide very well rounded packages for the mid-tier smartphone market. MediaTek’s latest Helio P products continue to be interesting and powerful alternatives, but devices with them are often a little harder to come by. As for Samsung’s Exynos, I’d look for alternative chips in my next ~$400 smartphone.

Best SoCs in sub $250 handsets

Questionable, low-performance SoCs have plagued the sub-$250 segment for awhile. Many used eight low power Cortex-A53 CPU cores, which don’t possess quite enough grunt for heavier tasks like gaming. Popular chipsets in this category include Huawei’s Kirin 650, Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, Exynos 7870, and a huge range of MediaTek octa-core chips.

Phones sporting these chipsets are still on the market, but we suggest you avoid them these days where possible. The most recent low-cost processor announcements promise notable boosts to performance, owing to the adoption of bigger powerful Cortex-A73 cores into the latest SoCs.

Features are still cut down in this price segment, but the recent Exynos 7904 and Snapdragon 636 offer most of what you’ll need — though don’t expect any nifty AI features. Modem specifications can also be on the slow side and LPDDR3 RAM is still sticking around in some products, so keep an eye on those spec sheets.

	Exynos 7904	Snapdragon 636	Kirin 710
CPU	2x Cortex-A73 @ 1.8GHz 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.6GHz	4x Kryo 260 (Cortex-A73) @ 1.8GHz 4x Kryo 260 (Cortex-A53) @ 1.8GHz	4x Cortex-A73 @ 2.2GHz 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.7GHz
GPU	Mali-G71 MP2	Adreno 509	Mali-G51 MP4
RAM	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4	LPDDR4X
Ai	No	Hexagon 680 DSP	No
Modem	600Mbps download, 150Mbps upload	600Mbps download, 150Mbps upload	600Mbps download, 150Mbps upload
Cameras	32MP single or 16+16MP dual	24MP single / 16+16MP dual
Process	14nm FinFet	14nm FinFet	12nm FinFET

The Exynos 7904 upgrade to its RAM, GPU, and LTE modem over the last-gen 7872, doubling the Mali-G72 core count to two. This should make it much more competitive, capable of handling some games reasonably smoothly. As you can see from the first table, the 7904 shares a lot of similarities to the old Exynos 7885, which has been found above the $250 price bracket. The Exynos 7904 made its debut inside the sub-$200 Samsung Galaxy M20, but we’ll have to see if the chip makes an appearance outside of India.

Editor’s Pick

Best budget phones you can buy (December 2018)

n a world where high-end Android smartphones can cost $1,000 or more, lots of people out there want something that won’t break their wallet. Luckily, there are lots of cheap phones out there that cost …

The Kirin 710 powers a number of budget-friendly Honor handsets, and bridges the gap with mid-range SoCs like the Snapdragon 636, much like the Exynos 7904. The chip’s LPDD4X memory options gives its weak appearing Mali-G52 MP4 GPU component a boost to bandwidth, which helps it punch slightly above its weight with gaming, but it’s hardly a high-end performer. The superior 4G LTE modem also bests a lot of other products in this range. There’s a reason Honor handsets are pretty compelling at low price points.

The Snapdragon 632 is Qualcomm’s latest product aimed at the budget market, replacing the Snapdragon 450. However, the older Snapdragon 636 actually has better LPDDR4 RAM, a more powerful Adreno 509 GPU, and a 600Mbps compliant LTE modem. It looks like a better rival to new products from Samsung and Huawei, and already common in low-cost phones. I’d recommend the 636 over the 632.

A lot of competing chipsets fall into this price range, some newer and some older. On the whole, aiming for a Snapdragon 600 series, Kirin 710, Exynos 7904, or even stretching to a MediaTek Helio P60 should ensure decent performance on a budget.

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Overall, there are some good SoC choices if you’re on a budget, even in phones under $250. However, you have to be increasingly careful which chip you pick as the price gets lower.

It’s essential to take the entire package into account, not just looking at big CPU cores and high clock speeds. Samsung’s budget Exynos chips are prime examples of this. They offer decent CPU specs, but not much else. Gaming, AI, and camera demands have become more prominent lately, and they’re things to keep in mind, especially at these price points.

Source: Android Zone

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Gary Explains: How much RAM does your phone REALLY need in 2019?

Across all consumer electronic markets, spec battles are inevitable. Company A releases product X with 24 thing-a-ma-jigs, so in response Company B releases product Y with 32 thing-a-ma-jigs. Company A responds to Company’s B bump in the specs and a spec war starts.

The problem is when spec wars get out of hand. Company A started by using 24 thing-a-ma-jigs, but three years later it’s shipping with 48 thing-a-ma-jigs, a massive and likely unnecessary increase. Android smartphone makers aren’t immune to this. We have seen bumps in processor performance, camera capabilities, internal storage, and much more. Most of these spec bumps are needed and well received by consumers. However, I think in one area the spec war has become ridiculous: RAM.

Back in the early days of Android smartphones, devices had 512MB of memory or maybe even 1GB. These were the humble beginnings of the smartphone revolution. Over time more memory was added. By 2014, most high-end devices had 3GB of RAM and during 2016 and 2017 4GB became the de facto standard. Then the spec wars started. First came devices with 6GB, then 8GB, then 10GB, then 12GB — where will it end?

With RAM seemingly increasing every quarter, we must stop and pause and ask ourselves how much RAM we actually need. I have laptops here in my house that are running Windows 10 quite happily with 4GB of RAM. My MacBook has 8GB of RAM and can run demanding applications like Premiere Pro or Photoshop. Are we seriously suggesting my phone needs more RAM than my laptop?

Read: Lenovo Z5 Pro GT has outrageous 12GB of RAM, Snapdragon 855, sliding back

At this point, you might be already saying to yourself, “I know how much RAM a smartphone needs, it is X Gigabytes.” You might be right, but you probably aren’t. Putting subjectivity and opinion to one side, what we need is an objective look at how much RAM is needed.

First, a look at how Android manages RAM.

RAM management

When you launch a new app on Android the Linux kernel creates a new process. A process is a unit of execution with its own virtual address space (which is mapped to physical memory). The Linux kernel manages the resources needed by the process including time running on the CPU, input and output of data (over the network or via the filesystem), and physical memory (RAM).

When there is an abundance of resources the kernel’s job is easy. If the process needs more CPU time and the CPU is idle, the kernel can easily grant the process more execution time. If there is little I/O, giving the process more I/O isn’t a problem. If the process needs more RAM and RAM is available, the kernel just needs to track what process is using which bits of memory.

However, when resources are scarce things become complicated. With CPU time and I/O, the biggest casualty of overloading is performance. If the CPU is busy, the work at hand will still get done, but it won’t be as quick. RAM is different. When you have no more, waiting longer probably won’t result in any more RAM being freed. This is where the kernel needs to be proactive to get back some RAM.

Linux and Android handle this in two ways. First, there is the idea of swapping using zRAM. Android can allocate a chunk of physical memory for swapping. Swapping is an idea Linux uses on PCs and servers. When there isn’t enough memory, the oldest and least used pages of memory are written out to the disk and the memory they occupied becomes available for other processes. If that swapped-out memory is needed later, the saved data is read back from the disk and put back into memory (swapped-in), where it can be used.

Android compresses the memory and writes it back into memory, but into the section reserved for zRAM. If we assume a 50 percent compression ratio, 128KB of RAM can reduce to 64KB, freeing up 64KB. This is the equivalent to swapping-out pages to disk. The compressed memory isn’t directly readable, so if it is needed it must be uncompressed and written back. This is the same as swapping-in.

When a process requests more RAM and RAM is unavailable, the kernel will try to free up some RAM using swapping. If sufficient RAM can’t be found, the kernel needs to get more aggressive and start culling processes. This is a strange situation for the kernel. It must kill an existing process, to make room for another process. The key here is the current memory request is likely coming from the foreground app, which is currently in use. The kernel applies various tests and checks and determines which processes can be killed off to free memory. If you started Candy Crush three days ago and switched away, but never returned, then the kernel can assume you aren’t going to switch back to it now and so kills it off. This frees memory and allows the currently running app to continue.

Gary Explains

Does Android use more memory than iOS? – Gary explains

If you look at the specs of any given generation of iPhone and compare it to the specs of a flagship Android phone from the same year, then you will notice that the iPhone tends …

This is all handled by the kernel’s Low Memory Killer driver. Interestingly, future versions of Android will handle this slightly differently. While the result will be the same, it won’t be the kernel’s assassin that does the dirty deed. Starting with Linux Kernel 4.12, the Low Memory Killer driver has been removed and instead, the userspace Android Low Memory Killer Daemon (lmkd) performs the cullings.

This means when you start a new app, older memory resident apps, are removed to make way. If you switch back to these apps, using the recent apps screen, then the apps will be reloaded, similar to an initial launch.

Although this system may sound brutal, it is the way Android was designed. All apps are given ample warning that they will be killed off and move through different states allowing them to save their current status information. When they are reloaded, the apps just read the last status information and carry on from where they left off.

How much memory do apps use?

Starting with Linux Kernel 4.12, the Low Memory Killer driver has been removed and instead, the userspace Android Low Memory Killer Daemon (lmkd) performs the cullings.

If the low memory killer activates too frequently, the overall user experience can be affected. In a worst-case scenario every time you switch away from an app to start another one, the previous app will get killed to make way for the new app. This is a severe low memory condition. However, there is an acceptable sweet spot where the occasional resident app is removed to make way for new apps. As long as the removed app is “old,” the user probably won’t even notice it was removed from memory. After that sweet spot the frequency of app removals becomes academic, since there won’t be much perceptible change in the overall user experience.

However, what is the sweet spot? To find that out I wrote a utility which uses the Android Debug Bridge (adb) to monitor which processes are being killed, along with the amount of available memory. It also looks at how much RAM the running apps use.

After lots of experimentation, I have come up with a list of three different categories of apps. “Standard” apps use between 130MB and 400MB of RAM. There are apps like YouTube and WhatsApp, as well as games like Crossy Road and Candy Crush. Then there are the “media-intensive” apps, which load lots of images and therefore use more memory to show them. Here you will find titles like Google Photos and Instagram. These apps use between 400MB and 700MB of RAM.

Finally, there are the “huge” apps, predominantly high-end games which can eat through RAM like a hungry Pac-Man. Games like Need for Speed: No Limits or PUBG Mobile can use between 800MB and 1152MB. Chrome is also in this category (with 3 tabs open).

The amount of RAM being used on your device depends entirely on which apps you have running. If you like Instagram and Candy Crush, but not much else, then you will be using just over 1GB of RAM. If you switch between PUBG and Asphalt 9 all day long, you’ll need 2GB, and so on.

How much RAM do I have?

Each Android smartphone comes with a fixed amount of RAM. It is part of the phone’s motherboard and it isn’t upgradable. The Pixel 3 has 4GB, the Note 9 (128GB) has 6GB and the OnePlus 6T has 8GB. The OnePlus 6T McLaren edition has 10GB and the Lenovo Z5 Pro GT has 12GB. While it’s important to know how much RAM your phone has, it is also important to know how available it is for running apps. Android and Linux will both use some RAM, and as do some pre-installed user level services. Here is a table of some devices I had at hand, showing the installed RAM and the available memory. Available memory is how much memory is available for starting new apps, without swapping.

Device	Total RAM	Available Mem	Total SWAP	Swap Used (after reboot)
Huawei Mate 8	2881	1392	511	0
Pixel 3 XL	3548	1740	1023	8
Samsung Galaxy Note 8	5339	2799	2559	34
Samsung Galaxy Note 9	5580	3597	2048	266
OnePlus 6T	7640	5065	0	0

The Mate 8, Pixel 3 XL, and Note 8 make about 50 percent of the installed RAM available for user apps. That number starts to climb slightly with the Note 9 and the OP6T, with the latter offering 66 percent of the installed RAM to the user.

It is also interesting to note the wide range of zRAM levels OEMs choose. The Mate 8 uses 0.5GB of swap, while the Note 8 is configured to use 2.5GB! Interestingly, OnePlus is so confident in the 8GB found in the OP6T that it doesn’t use any swap space.

A device like the Pixel 3 XL can hold at least five “standard” apps in memory without swapping. This means you can switch between YouTube, WhatsApp, Spotify, Candy Crush, and Google Play without concern. If you start more apps then the Pixel 3 XL will start to use the compressed swap space more aggressively in an attempt to free up memory. This means in reality, you can run around eight “standard” apps and keep them all in memory and the swap space. Switching to an app that’s swapped out will swap it in. Swapping isn’t really noticeable. Often background process get put into the swap space first. If you start more than about eight “standard” apps, one of the previous apps will be removed from memory.

If an app is pushed from memory, that isn’t necessarily bad — the app will reload on switch. However, there is an argument to be made that devices as expensive as the Pixel 3 should include more memory.

The Note 8 and Note 9 have 6GB of RAM, with about 2.5GB available to the user on the Note 8 and 3.5GB on the Note 9. Both devices have at least 2GB of swap space, too. This means you can switch between a heavy game (or Chrome), a media-intensive app (like Instagram) and 5 or more standard apps and everything will remain in memory. If you start more apps, the phone will start using the swap space. This boosts the number of memory resident apps even higher.

6GB is the beginning of the sweet spot. Common apps remain in memory for long periods of time and the multi-tasking experience is seamless, most of the time.

These 6GB phones can switch between a dozen or more apps, including some heavy duty ones, without seeing a single reload. This is the beginning of the sweet spot. Common apps remain in memory for long periods of time and the multi-tasking experience is seamless, most of the time.

The sweet spot continues into the 8GB realm. Here you can keep at least a dozen apps in memory without reloading, including bigger apps like PUBG and Google Photo. Switching between apps is seamless. Over time, older apps will be removed from memory to make way for new apps. You probably won’t have touched the apps that get removed for days when that happens. Having said that, this is the top end of the sweet spot. The OnePlus 6T doesn’t include a swap space, so it will probably be hard for the average user to discern the difference between a 6GB device with swapping and an 8GB device without.

Note: I have simplified the discussion about when the swap space is used. While it is convenient to think about the swap space being used only when the available memory has been exhausted, the reality is that the use of the swap space is much more dynamic and complex.

More than 8GB?

Once you go over 8GB, you enter “Nonsense” land, where Mr. Silly lives. Even with 3GB of memory, like in my trusty Mate 8, we aren’t talking about what apps the device can run, we are looking at how many apps it can simultaneously keep in memory! 4GB is workable, 6GB is sweet, 8GB is edging close to Nonsense land, but still falls within the sweet spot. 10GB, 12GB, 16GB are just plain stupid. These are examples of nothing more than specification overload, which increases the price and brings little or no benefit to the user.

Once you go over 8GB, you enter ‘Nonsense’ land, where Mr. Silly lives.

Wrap-up

Will we see devices with more than 8GB in 2019? Sure, in fact, we already have. That doesn’t mean they’re necessary. Personally, I would like to see consumers boycott any mobile device with more than 8GB. I know that might be wishful thinking. Sometimes the best phone, for other reasons like performance or camera, also comes with a stupid amount of RAM. However, the only influence consumers have over smartphone makers is in our decisions about which phones to buy.

I wish OEMs would act rationally, leave the RAM alone, and concentrate on more meaningful aspects of smartphone design.

Source: Android Zone

The post Gary Explains: How much RAM does your phone REALLY need in 2019? appeared first on TuneMaster.ml.

Get 46 hours of web development & design training for $39

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The Complete UI & UX Design Master Class Bundle – $39

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The AAPicks team writes about things we think you’ll like, and we may see a share of revenue from any purchases made through affiliate links. To see all our hottest deals, head over to the AAPICKS HUB.

Source: Android Zone

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Is it dumb that everything is “smart?”

Among the trends we see year in and year out at CES, is the tendency for companies to make “smart” products that don’t really need to be smart. “Better living through data”, we’re told, as the smart toothbrushes, smart locks, and smart sex toys are shoved at us. But is that really the case? We don’t think so. It seems a little cliche to dunk on weird smart gadgets, but the annual electronics show in Las Vegas has become synonymous with ill-conceived smart tech in recent years.

Also read: Weird CES: The bizarre things we didn’t expect to see

While it’s true that the best way to learn about how people use a product is to collect data about it, sometimes you really don’t need to overthink how you use certain tools. Sometimes, making a perfectly-functioning tool “smart” is pretty stupid.

The quest for funding

With tech booming, countless companies are popping up, hoping to snatch the attention of consumers and investors alike. To fund a business that relies on development and manufacturing, it’s hard to contextualize just how much money is typically involved. Small businesses burn through truckloads of cash to make a viable product, especially if it’s to compete with larger tech giants. There are countless stories of companies receiving funding through investors and crowdfunding alike, only to burn through it with a bad product, poor business strategy, or even just bad luck.

The pressure to succeed early is enormous for startups, so it’s no surprise that many of them wind up at the orgy of tech exhibitors looking to sell some product. It’s generally here that the reporters find the more entertaining products to cover, and over the years it’s become a sort of sport among journalists to find the craziest gadget for people to gawp at.

Trade shows provide an opportunity for even the craziest ideas to get eyes, funding.

Which brings us to smart tech. The allure of smart devices as a small business is quite hard to ignore, as they open all sorts of avenues for monetization. Even if you fail, sometimes you can sell enough user data, ads, or even intellectual property to cover the bills, so smart tech is seen as a decent investment to some people. However, that cuts both ways: the willingness of investors to back unproven tech means this is often a category with more chaff than wheat.

Tools exist to make our lives easier

Easily one of my favorite Twitter follows is @internetofshit. If you’re okay with unsavory language, you can scroll through the countless examples of monumentally moronic implementations of “smart” products that actively defeat the original purposes they served. You can read about WiFi-connected deadbolts locking their owners out of their houses while firmware updates, lights unable to turn off at night for no reason, and refrigerators that can’t be repaired because plumbers generally don’t know how to code. It seems that by requiring a connection to the internet, manufacturers have created limitless new possibilities for failure.

This may seem a little silly to you, and that’s because it is. But all of these events really happen, and they’re more common than you might think. So why on earth do people keep buying these things? There must be a major upside to it, right? Well, probably not.

Hope the firmware isn’t updating!

I’ve long been an outspoken critic of dumb smart devices, but what finally broke me this year was Kohler’s second smart toilet. It’s not that I take issue with soft lighting, intelligent use of water, or even a seat warmer — it’s that I really can’t believe we’re at the point where we’re covering an internet-connected commode for a second time. While a lot of its coverage centered around “haha there’s an Alexa in the crapper,” the truth of the matter is the product probably would be an excellent luxury item if only you didn’t need to control it with Google Assistant or Alexa.

Prolonging everyday tasks isn’t wise

Consider the tale of one Mark Rittman. This gentleman bought a “smart kettle” to upgrade his tea-drinking. Unfortunately, his smart kettle didn’t work so well out of the box, and refused to heat water. Though eventually he got it working after about 11 hours of fighting, he could have been enjoying tea within a minute or two if he had just stuck with the model that has a single switch. His story is one shared by anyone who’s tried to set up a smart home, and a warning to the rest of us.

“Do I need this?” is a pretty high bar to clear, but it’s a good metric to consider the utility of new products. Does the product offer something that makes your life easier, or performs a task better than its predecessor? Does it change the way you interact with your tools, or replace them more effectively? Sometimes smart home devices do this, despite my grumblings and reluctance to acknowledge it. Other times, the devices just make things a little more complex or slower to use via app, voice command, or platform integration.

Updating the firmware on my toothbrush. AMA pic.twitter.com/IuMCX3s7bK

— Andrew Crow (@AndrewCrow) December 17, 2018

As you might expect, a lot of the products that are being shown off at trade shows like CES are very basic items with some sensors and antennas shoved into them. Most even work just as well without the “smart” stuff inside. For example: a deadbolt only needs to be operated when you’re physically at the door, so why bother making it susceptible to failures of remote control? Sure, there are probably a couple situations where it’d be nice to be able to lock it from afar, but is that absolutely necessary?

If your tool doesn’t work, it’s junk. I don’t think that’s a very controversial stance to take, given that when you buy something you expect it to do what it’s supposed to, right? So if you’re not willing to give your toothbrush persistent location access or if your toilet won’t flush unless you accept its EULA, it stands to reason that these are crappy products in more ways than one. Some things just don’t need to be smart, and the pursuit of chasing more efficiency in daily life seems to be complicating it in a few ways.

Maybe there will be a point one day where all the normal tasks we have are automated, but until a regular ol’ hammer isn’t as effective as something with WiFi jammed in it, consider that you may just be better off with the money you save not getting the expensive one.

Unintended consequences

While it’s a bit less of a problem now, the mad dash to flood the market with internet-connected things has lead to some avoidable disasters. For example, so many new manufacturers to the space has led to lapses of ethics, and security. It’s not fair to bash any one company more than others over it, but the fact remains that smart devices can put your personal information in danger by a company just getting its legs under itself in smart tech. Connected devices are a new frontier, and there are so many complicated issues surrounding their implementation that oversights are depressingly far more common than you may realize.

Like every other product category embracing smart tech, headphones have had their fair share of security issues.

Like I said, nobody wants you to become a victim of identity theft or snooping — but a surprisingly high amount of smart devices will make it a lot easier for that to happen. Headphone manufacturers have had a particularly tough time with security, and many smart products straight-up collect user data, like Bose was accused of in 2017.

Other issues that have plagued smart devices is their unintended use as parts of botnets to attack others, inability to ignore recorded voices, and leaking audio that should never have left the house. Depending on the product, you can leak just about any information it might have, including some incredibly sensitive insight into your bedroom. Have a fever? Get ready for some targeted ads while you’re under the weather! Complain in a review? Now your garage won’t open!

Though I’m not going to tell you that you shouldn’t enjoy a smart device, they do tend to create some problems where none existed before — all completely avoidable by just using the tools we have that already work. The best way to avoid issues with smart tech is to take a deep breath, relax, and ask yourself: “Am I an idiot for buying this?”

Source: Android Zone

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Open Beta update for OnePlus 6T, OnePlus 6 brings first security patch of 2019, more tweaks

OnePlus has delivered several updates for its 2018 flagships, but the company isn’t slowing down in 2019. The Chinese brand has just announced the availability of new Open Beta updates for the two devices.

The Open Beta 3 for the OnePlus 6T and the Open Beta 11 for the OnePlus 6 share several additions. The most noteworthy shared feature is arguably the January 2019 security patch but the Messages app has also received landscape support and we get deeper integration with Google Duo.

Check out the full changelog below:

• System
  • Updated Android security patch to 2019.1
• Phone
  • Messages now support landscape mode
  • Deep integration with Google Duo
• Weather
  • Added more search options to improve the accuracy of search results
  • Weather descriptions more accurate
  • Added more unit options for precipitation, visibility, pressure and other data
  • Added more detailed descriptions to weather icons
• File Manager
  • Optimized UI for unlocking lockbox (OnePlus 6T only)

In other words, these aren’t the most feature-packed system updates we’ve ever seen from OnePlus. Nevertheless, the company has demonstrated a good commitment to updates, so we’re keen to see what comes next.

Do be warned that these are beta firmware releases though, so expect a few bugs and general instability if you plan to download them. And if you’re unsure how to actually install Open Beta software on your device, you can check out our guide over here.

NEXT: India’s new e-commerce rules spell trouble for discounted phones

Source: Android Zone

The post Open Beta update for OnePlus 6T, OnePlus 6 brings first security patch of 2019, more tweaks appeared first on TuneMaster.ml.

The best smartphones at CES 2019

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has never traditionally been a place where major phone makers introduce new handsets. CES 2019 has been no exception to this rule. There were rumors Samsung might show off the Galaxy S10 at CES this year and reports we might see an LG foldable phone demoed as well. None of that happened.

So what new, or new-ish, smartphones showed up at CES 2019? Here’s a quick rundown of the few phones present.

Alcatel 1C and 1X

TCL showed off two budget smartphones under its Alcatel brand. The Alcatel 1C is the more affordable of the two, and reportedly will sell for under 70 euros (~$80) in emerging markets. It has some very low hardware specs, with a 4.95-inch display, just 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a 2,000mAh battery. It also only works on 3G networks.

The other new phone is the Alcatel 1X, which has a larger 5.5-inch display and doubles the RAM and storage to 2GB and 16GB, respectively. It has dual rear cameras, with a 12MP primary sensor and a 2MP secondary camera. It also has a 3,000mAh battery, 4G wireless support, and will sell for under 120 euros (~$137). Both phones are due out later this year.

Rokit phones

Rokit is a new smartphone startup making a big debut at CES, funded in part by billionaire John Paul DeJoria. How big? It showed off five upcoming Android phones, all in the budget to mid-range in terms of prices.

Two of the devices are feature phones running a version of Android, but without the Google Play Store. The Rokit One will only cost $35, and comes with apps like WhatsApp and Facebook pre-installed. It’s got a small 2.45-inch screen and can only connect to 3G networks.

The other feature phone is the Rokit F-One, a flip phone that will sell for $40. It actually runs the Android Go version of Android 8.1 Oreo, again with no Play Store. It also only supports 3G.

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The other three Rokit phones are pure Android devices with access to the Google Play Store. The Rokit IO Light will cost $90 and has a 5-inch display, but again it’s made just for 3G networks. The Rokit IO 3D is a much bigger step up, with a 5.45-inch 3D screen, and 4G support for $170. Finally, there’s the Rokit IO 3D Pro, with a 6-inch 3D display and 4G support, for $275.

Yes, the two highest priced Rokit phones both have 3D displays, allowing owners to view photos and videos with a 3D effect without need special glasses. Both phones also can take 3D pictures. At the moment, Rokit is keeping much of the hardware specs for these phones secret. It says the three pure Android phones will all have dual-rear cameras, and bundled services like free international and domestic Wi-Fi calling and telemedicine consultations for a year, along with pharmacy savings, legal services, insurance and more.

PCMag reports the Rokit phones will be sold in the U.S. via Walmart.com, but no launch date was announced.

Hisense U30

Hisense, a China-based company that’s known in the U.S. more for its big-screen TVs than its phones, quietly showed off a new phone, the Hisense U30, at their CES booth with a couple of interesting features. The phone has a large 6.3-inch display with a punch-hole 20MP front-facing camera, placed on the top left of the screen. It also has two rear cameras: a massive 48MP main sensor, and a secondary 5MP camera.

Inside, the phone is supposed to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor, either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a big 4,500mAh battery. The Hisense U30 will reportedly launch in March 2019 in China, Russia and parts of Europe, but don’t expect it to be sold in the U.S.

Nubia Red Magic Mars

Nubia

ZTE’s Nubia brand already announced the Nubia Red Magic Mars in late 2018, but at CES 2019, the company confirmed the gaming phone will go on sale in the U.S. on Jan. 31 starting at $399. It will sell on its official website, and also go on sale in Europe as well. The phone will have a 6-inch, Full HD+ display, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, a 3,800mAh battery, and special shoulder triggers for that extra gaming edge. It will come in three models; one with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, one with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and one with a massive 10GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Royole FlexPai

The Royole FlexPai was first introduced in late 2018, but the company came to CES 2019 to show off a market-ready version. This is the world’s first commercially sold smartphone with a folding flexible display — we’ve covered it quite a bit in the past few months. Royole beat out huge companies like Samsung and LG to bring us what may be the future of smartphone design. It will be interesting to see how this trend continues for the rest of 2019.

Samsung 5G phone prototype

We got to see the Samsung 5G prototype phone again at CES 2019, something we first saw in December at the Qualcomm tech summit. However, it was even less visible this time — displayed in a box on a wall — and its 5G module wasn’t even working. All in all, it was a disappointment.

And… that’s about it. CES 2019 was definitely light on phone launches this year, but there were plenty of other things you should check out. Be sure to stay tuned later this week for our CES 2019 awards!

Source: Android Zone

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Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Dual displays done right

Earlier this year, Oppo and Vivo surprised us all when they unveiled some of the most unique smartphone designs to date. While Oppo’s Find X hid the front and back cameras in a full cutout slider mechanism in the top of the device, Vivo managed to slot the selfie cam into a much smaller mechanism at the top of the phone, keeping the main cameras mounted to the back of the device.

Now, Vivo is trying something new.

With displays on both the front and back, the Vivo NEX Dual Display avoids using moving parts altogether. Is another screen a good method of ditching the front-facing camera? Let’s find out.

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review notes:

I’ve been using the Vivo NEX Dual Display edition on a roaming e-SIM network in the U.S. for 7 days.  Our Vivo NEX Dual Display edition is running Android 9.0 Pie and Funtouch OS 4.5 version PD1821F_EX_A_1.5.9 on the December 2018 security patch. We’ll refrain from adding review scores until we can put the device through our full suite of tests.

The international version does not seem to support the bands required for T-Mobile. I usually run my devices on Google Fi, which runs off T-Mobile’s network, but I couldn’t get more than 2G EDGE data. I’ve reached out to Vivo about this and will update this post when I have a response.

The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review unit was provided to Android Authority by Vivo.

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Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Design

The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition feels quite unique. We’ve gotten used to most phones sporting glass backs for things like wireless charging in 2018, but Vivo installed a fully usable touchscreen to circumvent the need for a selfie camera. When you turn your phone to selfie mode the device will ask you to flip it over and use the 5.49-inch display with the rear cameras seated above it. This is quite a unique method of removing the need for a front-facing camera, but if anyone was going to try it, it makes sense that it would be Vivo.

Vivo embedded part of the camera module in the rear display to make room for a ring light. This is useful for selfies, as it lights up faces much more evenly, but it can also be useful for things like notifications. The ring light’s bright LEDs shine white when taking a selfie, but will glow various colors when it’s charging or when new notifications come in.

While many phones this year have adopted a curved approach, Vivo’s device is definitively flat. This is obviously due to the screen on the rear of the device. Surprisingly, I don’t hate it. Curved devices are made to fit more snugly in your hand, and while the NEX doesn’t do this, I quite like the candybar-style feel the Vivo NEX Dual Display edition has going on.

The right side of the device houses the volume rockers and a power button for the main display, and on the left you’ll find yet another power button. This power button actuates the secondary display on the rear of the device. Launching the camera from this side of the device automatically puts the phone into selfie mode, which can be useful if that’s exactly what you want to do.

On the bottom of the device you’ll find a USB Type-C port, speaker grill and dual SIM tray. On the top Vivo has included a 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s quite nice to see Chinese manufacturers like Honor and Vivo maintaining the port for at least a little longer, while most other A-class companies shift completely over to USB Type-C. We’ve even seen BBK’s third company OnePlus dump the headphone jack in its most recent flagship, the OnePlus 6T, so it’s only a matter of time before every new device sheds the port for good.

Overall I quite like the design, Obviously case options are going to be quite limited due to the nature of this device, but Vivo has made a special bumper case in the colors of the device to protect it from accidental falls. The phone itself is made from Gorilla Glass so it should be relatively resistant to cracking, but if you’re exceptionally anxious about breaks this is a good option.

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Display(s)

The primary display of the Vivo NEX Dual Display edition is a 6.39-inch Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1,080 x 2,340. It is big, bright, and vivid, and doesn’t feel overly saturated like some of the displays I’ve used this year. If I had one complaint it would be that the pixel density feels just a little low, especially for how big this display is. While it’s fine for most things, icons and white pages have almost a matte look to them, which makes me think the pixel density or resolution could be just a bit higher.

The rear display is also 1080p, but has a resolution of 1,080 x 1,920. It looks fairly similar to the front display, but squishes apps to maintain the 19.5 x 9 aspect ratio. There is an option to force apps to use the full rear display, but this is only for supported apps. Currently, none of the apps I use support this, which is a bit of a bummer. You’ll likely want to use the main display for most things.

The color on both screens is nice, and not too punchy or washed out like some panels we’ve used this year. The screens can get very dim and very bright, and I didn’t have issues using this device outside.

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Hardware

While Vivo’s last NEX device has some pretty impressive hardware, the new Dual Display edition pushes its specs even further. This device is one of a handful of recent phones with 10GB of RAM, a healthy amount of memory for even the most intensive user. I didn’t have any memory trouble like I’ve had on the Pixel 3 XL in recent weeks, and while 10GB is overkill for pretty much everyone, it gives a sense of longevity to any potential buyers.

Other specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, 128GB of storage, and a 3,500mAh battery. I initially though battery life would suffer on a phone using two screens, but both displays are on at the same time so infrequently it wasn’t an issue. Unfortunately Vivo’s UI doesn’t report screen-on time, but we’ll be sure to run the device through our full battery suite during our full testing process. I usually ended my days with about 25 percent battery life. That isn’t the best battery life we’ve seen so far, it should be enough for most users.

Vivo included two additional methods of device authentication past a simple unlock code — an in-screen fingerprint reader and a 3D time of flight (TOF) IR camera sensor. The in-screen fingerprint reader is on the main display and works fairly well, though it isn’t quite as fast as the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. The 3D TOF sensor is located on the back of the device, so you would probably only use this when getting ready to take a selfie. This sensor can also be used to scan real world objects into 3D space, giving you modeling capabilities for apps like Facebook.

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As mentioned before, Vivo has included a 3.5mm headphone jack. This almost entirely invalidates the argument that there isn’t enough space with a larger screen. The NEX Dual Display edition has one of the highest screen-to-body ratios we’ve seen in a device so far. While there isn’t a dedicated headphone amp past the one included in the SOC, it’s extremely nice to see the port on a flagship device.

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Performance

As expected, the NEX Dual Display edition performed admirably in everyday use. I never once had to worry about apps closing due to memory constraints, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 was every bit as fast as it has previously.

In benchmarks, the Vivo NEX Dual Display edition performed very well, beating out the OnePlus 6T and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 in multiple tests. We ran the device through  3DMark and AnTuTu benchmark tests. You can see the results below.

The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition scored 4,720 in 3DMark, while the OnePlus 6T and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 scored 4,697 and 4,294, respectively.

The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition scored 296,854 in AnTuTu, compared to the OnePlus 6T’s 262,266 and the Galaxy Note 9’s 272,168.

We tried to run Geekbench 4 as we usually do with our devices, but for some reason the test wouldn’t complete, citing an internet connection error. We’ve reported this bug to Geekbench.

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Camera

The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition has three cameras, but unlike most devices, they are all on the rear of the phone. Because the device has two screens, Vivo has re-purposed the main 12MP f/1.8 shooter alongside the secondary 2MP f/1.8 sensor for both general shots as well as selfies. Rear cameras have traditionally been superior to front-facing options on smartphones anyway, so it only makes sense to take advantage of the extra quality.

Vivo included a set of two LED’s in the camera module, which emulates a ring light. This gives the subject very even exposure during selfies, and drastically improves the quality of the image.

Generally, images are a little soft, but I quite like the color. It has a much more muted profile than many other flagship devices, and it reminded me of the camera on the OnePlus 6T. If the clarity was a bit better images would look quite similar to the Xiaomi Mi 8 camera, which was my favorite smartphone camera from 2018.

Dynamic range on the Vivo NEX Dual Display edition is decent, but I found it over-processed images to raise the shadows. This created a lot of noise in those areas. Computational techniques like Lucky Imaging, which is employed by the Google Pixel to clean shadows, would help with this. The phone has an HDR mode, but it was quite inconsistent.

The phone uses the 2MP depth sensor to enable some different portrait lighting modes which look ok, but the quality of the bokeh, or out of focus areas wasn’t very convincing. The NEX struggles with a problem many smartphone cameras have, in which they only create two distinct focus planes in an image. Google’s new Pixel 3 can create a variety of focal planes using its dual-pixel technique combined with an enormous database of trained data to measure depth. This is much more accurate to how an analog camera lens operates, so we’d like to see manufacturers like Vivo adopt similar techniques.

One little thing that isn’t technically important but just plain cool is the LED light strip around the camera module. This lights up the color of the device when you get notifications or charge the phone, but it can light up a variety of colors when you use the different portrait lighting modes. One of my favorites was the rainbow lighting mode, which adds a rainbow lens flare to the image and illuminates the ring in a variety of different colors. Even though this isn’t technically important to the performance of the camera, it’s a nice little addition.

Take a look at the gallery above to get a sense of what this camera will look like. These are compressed images to make the website load faster for you. If you want to see the photos in their full resolution, head to this shared Google Drive folder.

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Software

The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition runs on Funtouch OS 4.5 based on Android 9.0 Pie, and I think it’s just plain bad. I recognize Vivo devices are primarily tailored for the Chinese market, where emulating iOS is normal, but I personally hate it.

There is no app drawer, and no way to add it in settings. Because of this, you’re forced to use multiple folders and pages to store your apps. I’m a minimalist at heart, and usually use the app drawer and dedicated gestures to access my apps. Folders and pages just aren’t my thing, and I wish Vivo would give users both options on this device.

Navigation gestures aren’t enabled by default, but you can turn them on in the settings. The phone has some of the better navigation gestures I’ve seen on Android, blending the newer iOS gestures with traditional Android navigation quite nicely. You can swipe up from the bottom center to go home or hold to multitask, swipe up from the right to go back, and swipe up from the left to access a quick settings panel with various toggles and switches. While this panel looks extremely similar to the iOS version, it’s a smart implementation I enjoyed throughout my time with the phone.

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: The second screen

While I initially expected the second screen on the Vivo NEX Dual Display edition to be little more than a gimmick, it adds enough features and functionality to the device I thought it deserved its own section in the review.

While the main intent of the second screen was obviously to take selfies, Vivo has made the imaging experience better by adding something called “mirror mode.” This mode displays the camera output on both the front and rear displays, allowing the subject as well as the photographer to see the scene. This is incredibly useful when taking photos of other people, because it lets them pose in a way they like before the image is actually taken. I don’t see a lot of portrait photographers switching to this phone just for the functionality, but people were always quite impressed with the feature when I took photos of them.

The other main feature Vivo is touting is the ability to use the rear display as triggers for games like PUBG. Vivo worked with Tencent to get this functionality working in the NEX, and I think it’s quite intuitive. It always felt strange to run, aim, and shoot with buttons on the front screen, so it’s nice to be able to keep your thumbs on the front of the phone while shooting with your middle fingers on the rear. While Vivo hasn’t announced any other partnerships to bring functionality to other games, I could see it being quite useful for racing titles as well.

The other benefit of a second screen being able to continue using the phone if you break one of your displays. Taking selfies would be tough if you break the back display, but for someone that cares about general functionality above all, it’s convenient to have a second screen on reserve.

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Specs

	Vivo NEX Dual Display edition
Display(s)	Primary: 6.39-inch Super AMOLED, Full HD+ (2340 x 1080), 19.5:9 aspect ratio Secondary: 5.49-inch Super AMOLED, Full HD (1920 x 1080p resolution), 16:9 aspect ratio
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 with AI Engine, 64-bit, octa-core, 10nm
GPU	Adreno 630
RAM	10GB
Storage	128GB
Cameras	Rear: Dual pixel 12 MP f/1.8 (Sony IMX363) with 1.4µm pixel size, OIS and EIS, 2MP f/1.8 for depth sensing, f/1.3 TOF sensor
Audio	32-bit/192kHz audio, 3.5mm audio jack
Battery	3,500mAh, fast charging
IP rating	No
Sensors	Fingerprint (3rd generation in-display), accelerometer, proximity, compass, gyroscope, infrared, ambient light
Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 CDMA 800 & TD-SCDMA HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2 CDMA 800 3G bands HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 4G bands LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 19(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4G/5.1G/5.8G, hotspot Bluetooth 5.0 A-GPS 3.5mm headphone port USB Type-C
SIM	Dual SIM/hybrid slot
Software	Android 9.0 Pie Funtouch OS 4.5
Dimensions and weight	157.2 x 75.3 x 8.1mm 199g

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Price and availability

The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition is available now in Chinese markets for 4,998 yuan (~$727).

There will only be one SKU available at launch, with 10GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The device will come in red or blue.

Vivo NEX Dual Display edition review: Final thoughts

The Vivo NEX Dual Display edition isn’t the Vivo NEX 2 we were expecting, but it is a thoughtful and creative way to avoid the notch on a smartphone. With smart implementations like mirror mode and dual screen gaming, the second display is more than just a gimmick for me. While I don’t necessarily see this becoming a trend in 2019 devices, I’m glad to see companies like Vivo continuing to innovate and keeping smartphones fun.

At the equivalent of $730, this rather unique device is relatively affordable. While I would like to see a better camera, and a dedicated UI more tailored for a western audience on the international version, the Vivo NEX Dual Display edition surprised me in a very good way.

Source: Android Zone

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