OnePlus 7T Review: Fast, Premium And A Fantastic Android Value

Over that last few years, OnePlus has earned a reputation for offering well-appointed, high-performance mobile devices that compete with other contemporary flagships, but with highly aggressive pricing. When we looked at the OnePlus 7 Pro back in June, or the OnePlus 6T before that, we declared both handsets leaders, in terms of value and performance. With the upcoming OnePlus 7T, which is due to start shipping in just a few days, OnePlus is trying to capture that status again. Looking at the OnePlus 7T’s list of features and hardware specifications, it appears to be a premium Android phone...

ASUS ROG Phone II Benchmark Preview: The Fastest Android Phone Ever

by Paul Lilly - Wed, Sep 11, 2019

ASUS recently sent us its brand-spanking-new ROG Phone II and we are in the process of evaluating the handset for a full review. We hope to have that posted within the next few weeks. In the meantime, we have some preliminary benchmarks and initial analysis to share, starting with the observation that this is the fastest Android phone we have ever tested. More on that in a moment. Before we get into the initial performance data, let's take a moment to talk about the gaming phone category, the ROG Phone II Ultimate Edition, and the specs. Gaming phones are still a somewhat new and niche category,...

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Review: Power Of The Pen And Much More

by Dave Altavilla - Fri, Aug 30, 2019

Samsung's Galaxy Note series of large format Android smartphones has never been about compromise. The pen-wielding, hybrid devices have always been bigger, more powerful and more capable, with larger batteries and as many bells, whistles and features as Samsung could cram in. As such, Galaxy Note users generally hail from a power user demographic, oftentimes with enterprise and business use cases that require an expanded tool set. And so for this passionate following, it probably comes as no surprise that Samsung has once again upped the Note's game with the latest iteration, the Galaxy Note 10...

Samsung Unpacks Three New Galaxy Note 10 Flagships And We Go Hands-On

by Brittany Goetting - Wed, Aug 07, 2019

Samsung Unpacked 2019 is here and the company has just unveiled the Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy Note 10+ and Galaxy Note 10+ 5G. The devices are intended to aid productivity, inspire creativity, and deliver on performance. All three devices were created in conjunction with both everyday consumers and those who use their devices on the job. All three devices will incorporate the popular Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor in the United States, shooting down rumors that we had heard to the contrary. Devices available for sale outside of the United States will feature Samsung's new 7nm Exynos 9825 SoC. The...

Samsung Galaxy S10e Review: Every Bit A Flagship For Less

by Paul Lilly - Thu, Jun 20, 2019

Generally speaking, pricing on flagship smartphones has continued to climb, because all of those fancy bells and whistles found on the top-end models do not come cheap. Not everyone has or is willing to spend a grand or more on a top-shelf handset, though, and some of the cheaper alternatives make too many sacrifices to hit a lower price point. That is not the case with Samsung's Galaxy S10e. The Samsung Galaxy S10e is the least expensive model in the Galaxy S10 family, the others consisting of the regular Galaxy S10, the larger Galaxy S10+, and the decked out Galaxy S10 5G. Make no mistake, however,...

OnePlus 7 Pro Review: Killer Display, Great Performance And Value

by Dave Altavilla - Wed, Jun 12, 2019

The OnePlus 7 Pro is one of the most highly anticipated Android phones to hit the market this year for a number of reasons. At first blush, it was about a few stand-out specs. The phone's 6.7-inch display supports a speedy 90Hz refresh rate and a super-tight 3120x1440 QHD+ resolution in punchy, HDR10+ certified OLED technology. The new OnePlus phone is also powered by the fastest Qualcomm chip on the market currently, the Snapdragon 855, but it's also backed up but up to 12GB of RAM as well as up to 256GB of snappy new UFS 3.0 based Flash storage. Oh, and the aforementioned display is not marred...

Google Pixel 3a XL Review: Full-Featured, Affordable Pure Android

by Dave Altavilla - Fri, May 24, 2019

When's the last time you saw a full-featured smartphone launch for well under $500? There have been a few to hit the market in this price range recently, usually with significant caveats, but in general the trend is towards more expensive flagship devices that are commanding upwards of $1000 quite often. Google's new Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, however, buck this trend with HD OLED displays, big batteries, and the same great camera configuration that made Google's higher-end Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL the Android phones to beat, when it comes to smartphone photography. The new Pixel 3a is a 5.6-inch...

OnePlus 7 Pro: A Beastly SD855 Flagship With Triple Cams, 90Hz Display, Huge Battery And A Great Price Tag

by Brandon Hill - Tue, May 14, 2019

OnePlus today officially revealed its latest flagship smartphone, which is powered by the hottest mobile SoC on the planet right now: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855. The OnePlus 7 Pro is a powerhouse flagship that has enough muscle and features to take on the best that its Android competitors have to offer, while offering a price that is hard to beat. This beast of a smartphone pairs the Snapdragon 855 with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of ultra-fast UFS 3.0 internal storage. Up front, you have a nearly bezel-free display design thanks to the fact that the OnePlus 7 Pro uses a motorized pop-up 16MP...

LG G8 ThinQ Review: An Affordable, Capable Flagship Smartphone

by Chris Goetting - Thu, Apr 25, 2019

If you are looking for a bit more intelligence in your "smart" phone, the LG G8 ThinQ may have a few additional tricks up its sleeve. LG is aiming to create a more intuitive and automated experience by embracing artificial intelligence processing care of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 SoC and their own in-house algorithms. The LG G8 ThinQ is more than just clever silicon and software, of course, and it boasts a premium build quality and expanded camera features to match. Beyond its Snapdragon 855 mobile platform, the G8 ThinQ runs with 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 flash storage. If you...

Samsung Galaxy S10+ Review: 10th Generation Android Greatness

by Dave Altavilla - Fri, Mar 08, 2019

Samsung leads the pack in global smartphone market share, with over 21 percent command, versus second place Apple that sits at a little over 15 percent, and Huawei at about 14.8. Samsung and Apple both lost ground to Huawei last year, but if early indications for the first quarter of 2019 are on point, Samsung could come roaring back, due in part to the positive reception of the company's 10th generation Galaxy S series device, the Galaxy S10. Samsung's Galaxy S10 family is currently a trio of Android handsets, soon to expand to a quartet, with the introduction of a 5G-targeted variant sometime...

Huawei Mate 20 Review: Camera Chops And Great Battery Life

by Chris Ledenican - Tue, Feb 12, 2019

Huawei released its Mate 20 series of smartphones late last year, consisting of the Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20, and Mate 20 Lite. The Lite and Pro versions are the base and flagship models, respectively, while the Mate 20 we're looking at here today is the middle child. When comparing the Mate 20 to the Mate 20 Pro you can see Huawei has omitted some of the high-end features, such as an in-screen finger print reader and OLED display. However, you still get a large 6.53" IPS display with a 88% screen to bezel ratio (thanks to its small teardrop top notch) a large 4000mAH battery, and a camera...

ASUS ROG Phone Review: Blistering Performance, Intelligent Design

by Paul Lilly - Tue, Dec 11, 2018

Do you even game on your phone, bro? Sorry, we'll slap ourselves silly for the obnoxious comment, but it's actually a valid question. Some people primarily use their phone to snap pictures for posting on Facebook and Instagram, while others go old school and -- gasp -- make actual phone calls with their handset. The ASUS ROG Phone does both of those things with aplomb, but it was really built for playing games first and foremost. Purpose-built gaming phones are a relatively new thing, at least to the extent that they are starting to become popular. There have been attempts to capitalize on this...

Checking Out Qualcomm 5G Snapdragon 855 Smartphone Prototypes

by Marco Chiappetta - Wed, Dec 05, 2018

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit is currently underway in Maui, Hawaii, and we are lucky enough to be in attendance. During this yesterday’s opening keynote address, Qualcomm officially announced its upcoming Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform and today the company provided much more technical detail on the platform. In addition to showcasing its own technologies, however, Qualcomm also brought out an array of partners to talk about the impending 5G wireless roll-out. Over the last couple of days, representatives from AT&T, Verizon, BT Group, One Plus, and Samsung all took to the stage...

OnePlus 6T Review: Performance, Quality And Price Leadership Again

by Dave Altavilla - Mon, Dec 03, 2018

Earlier this year we took a detailed look at the OnePlus 6 and determined it was one of the best values in Android flagship smartphones on the market. The OP6 has a beautiful, large display, a clean near-stock Android setup and great performance with 6GB or 8GB RAM standard at price points of $529 and $579 respectively. When rumors of the OnePlus 6T hit, we wondered if OnePlus could really improve on an already great design and offer even more of a good thing. As is the case with virtually any high tech device, trade-offs are a constant in the overall design equation. Then again, with...