Let's Talk Tech
Consumers are being pushed to Bluetooth audio, as phones ditch the headphone jack. The popular trend is true wireless. It’s kind of futuristic to cut the cord, but is it really better?
It is not.
There’s not a single comparison point where true wireless earbuds are better than a neckband solution, other than “they look nifty”.
Allow me to rant into your ear holes for a minute… Continue reading “Neckbands are BETTER than True Wireless Earbuds: It’s not even close…”
I love GaryExplains. Easily one of my favorite tech channels on YouTube. He’s one of the only TechTubers I feel actually explains things worth explaining.
Gary recently put out a video (embedded at the top of this article) where he explains why he doesn’t test network performance in his smartphone commentary. His reasoning is absolutely sound.
But, just because network speedtest apps can’t be counted on for consistency, doesn’t mean we can’t control for SOME variables on our own. Continue reading “We CAN test SOME Network Performance: Where I respectfully disagree with GaryExplains!”
Motion control showdown! We’ve been dancing around Jedi controls for years. Alternative actions are NOT easier. Google is taking a simpler approach to air gestures. Here’s how it stacks up against the other methods used by LG and Samsung!
I think simpler is better… Continue reading “Pixel 4XL vs LG G8 vs Galaxy S5: Air Gestures Are HARD”
I feel we all get swept up in popularity trends. It can be difficult to swim against that stream once a general consensus has been agreed upon. I have to be honest here, as an editorialist, I happen to enjoy those situations where I can shine a light on a topic, and maybe poke at that popular trend.
Whether I’m responding to a mega-youtuber about a jack-of-all-trades phone, correcting a popular Android blog about audio, or explaining how camera crop factor works when people flip out about a 3X zoom, I enjoy ruffling a few feathers to spread better data on complicated subjects.
The Pixel 4 was one of the worst kept secrets of 2019. It may be one of the worst kept secrets of all time. Now that it’s finally arrived, the tech community is in first stage of impressions and reviews. What makes the Pixel 4 different, we knew pretty much everything about the phone a month before it launched. Google isn’t facing a community just beginning to form opinions on the new Pixel, they’re facing a community that has already made up its collective mind on the Pixel.
It’s pretty clear that Google is setting their sights on Apple as the primary competition. For better, and for worse. When Apple does something, it seems to motivate a LOT of the decisions made by Google’s hardware team.
When the original Pixel launched, we all lovingly joked about it being “Google’s iPhone”. For a hot minute, I really tried to get the nickname “gPhone” to stick.
With the Pixel 4, it would seem Google took those early sentiments to heart. The Pixel 4 seems a purpose-built iPhone competitor, the closest way to recreate an iPhone-style experience, but in the Android ecosystem.
It’s entirely fair to compare Pixels against the phones Apple released this year. What’s frustrating though, is seeing folks cherry-pick one or two features to declare a winner, and to highlight “worth”.
Phones should be judged holistically, and any phone can win or lose a showdown if we move the goalposts to align with a user’s pre-determined bias. The common criticism I see now, is declaring the Pixel 4 unworthy to compete even against the cheaper non-pro iPhone 11. It’s a causally delivered verdict, folks kind of nod along. It’s a surface statement that sounds good, and throws a thumb in the eye of Google.
“The Pixel 4 can’t possibly be worth $100 more than an iPhone!”
The issue is, that statement doesn’t really hold water… Continue reading “Silly Tech Geeks! Of course the Pixel 4 is worth $100 more than an iPhone 11!”
Pixel 4XL performance!
Benchmarking a phone is tricky. Synthetic scores only tell PART of the story. If you’re shopping a premium phone, we should be looking at MUCH more aggressive use than just “covering the basics”. Let’s run the Pixel 4 through some tests that can make decent laptops struggle!
Also, the Pixel 4XL totally destroys the competition in these tests. It’s not even close… Continue reading “Google Pixel 4XL Benchmarked! The FASTEST phone of 2019!”
And the immediate reaction by consumers will likely be a shrug.
“What can you do?”
The problem is, that apathy shouldn’t be a surprise. We don’t have much room to “vote with our wallets” these days. The reality of the tech market, these supposed “upgrades” happen way too quickly for consumers to react. Gadgets sales paced out over years from individual consumers don’t guide manufacturing decisions.
The in-display fingerprint sensor can apparently be unlocked by ANY finger. I discussed this on the #SGGQA podcast while the story was fresh, and the general sentiment from Samsung fans was that this had to be a case of user error. We’re getting confirmation now that this is a flaw in the current software from Samsung. Users are starting to test this flaw, and it has nothing to do with improper setup or using Non-Samsung approved accessories. BBC confirms Samsung will release a software patch for the problem.
Here’s a video of a Galaxy S10 owner on Twitter demonstrating the problem, freshly training a thumbprint, and then bypassing the fingerprint lock with a different finger. Continue reading “Smartphone design “improvements” are not progress: Prettier is less practical”
The main takeaway, which became resoundingly clear over the last 48 hours?
Marketing works.
Tuesday we all sat through a round up of new product announcements from Apple, with the stock boiler plates of innovation and improvement. The most amazing products yet created. The most powerful products on the market. We were shown this year’s collection of bar graphs touting the huge lead Apple hardware enjoys over the competition.
Revealing “pro” versions of the iPhone, Apple leaned heavily into video creation to showcase the new cameras and the new A13 chipset.
The iPhone 11 Pro is so powerful you can make movies on it! Just don’t pay attention to the multi-million-dollar sound-stage, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on equipment, lighting, and the talented team of filmmakers behind the phone, but I digress…
It’s those bar graphs though. Since the PowerMac days, Apple has had a love affair with simplistic, unlabeled bar graphs. We’ve seen them through so many keynotes over the last decade, that we just take them for granted. It’s just common knowledge that iPhones are more powerful than Androids.
But what happens when we test Apple’s performance claims against their video production claims?
iOS fans on Twitter get REAL flustered… Continue reading “Sorry Apple, iPhones aren’t for pro video! -OR- What I learned arguing with people on Twitter!”
Yesterday was Android 10 day! A flurry of podcasts, articles, and videos hit the web showing off the official release of Google’s newest phone operating system. I joined the fun talking about Android’s native Desktop Mode on a OnePlus 7 Pro Open Beta, but yesterday was all about Google’s Pixel. Very few other manufacturers can match the update speed of a first party Hardware + Software solution.
Lot’s of manufacturers make promises about support, and few live up to those promises. Google has had a solid track record with support so far, we all remember the Nexus too, but this year represented two important milestones for the brand.
Judging a manufacturer by its claims, it’s refreshing when those claims are realized. Continue reading “Android 10 on the Google Pixel 3a – Living up to Promises and Expectations”