Let's Talk Tech
When a new phone is announced, manufacturers often point to improvements like new processors and GPUs as things consumers desire. We want more powerful gadgets, but what does that really mean? What do we actually get with these generational improvements?
More gratifying benchmark scores don’t correlate with performance improvements for your favorite services.
Continue reading “What do we really get from “more powerful” smartphone processors?”
Should Apple be sued over false advertising for trying to hide the notch? The FCC is on track to end a ban on major media companies merging to form even BIGGER media companies. Is anyone sad that Google is killing ALLO? And, who should we be rooting for between Apple and Qualcomm?
Get your tech week started off right!
Continue reading “#SGGQA 074: iPhone Notch Lawsuit, FCC to end Media Merger Ban, Gooodbye ALLO”
Well, if OnePlus is gonna dump the headphone jack, a decent pair of low cost USB-C headphones helps take some of the sting off, but it’s not ALL roses. Let’s take a listen!
Continue reading “OnePlus Type-C Bullets Review: All that and a DAC!”
What were you doing last Friday night? I was hiking around Ventura Blvd collecting night shots for smartphone reviews, so it’s time for a showdown! I posted three sets of photos from three different phones, and requested YOUR comments on Instagram. Which phone would YOU take with you for a night out on the town?
I was going to post the results on IG , but I felt this round required a touch more explanation than I could easily deliver in an IG post. To start, here are the full res images, uncompressed. The only edits were cropping them all into squares.
I got a TON of great comments on that post. Lot’s of people sharing their thoughts on their favorite processing styles. More than a few people guessed the phones correctly, which makes me really happy. Even with TERRIBLE Instagram compression, I’m interacting with people who understand and appreciate the nuance of what different cameras bring to the table. I’ll always point to those conversations as data points. Maybe we shouldn’t ONLY consider the lowest common denominator “average user” while we review these pocket supercomputers. But I digress… Continue reading “Night Shots! 3-Way Smartphone Camera Comparison Results!”
LG Tone Platinum SE Review! LG is refreshing their Platinum line, adding some cool tech tricks like Google Assistant and Google Translate support. When compared against Pixel Buds and AirPods, we’ve got a solid daily driver audio competitor.
However, things get a bit sticky when we examine the relationship between hardware and software. When balanced against a premium price tag, do the Tone Platinum SE have the goods to part you from your cash? Let’s take a listen! Continue reading “LG Tone Platinum SE Review: Wrecking Pixel Buds and AirPods (HBS-1120)”
It’s really incredible how much gadget you get for half the price of an iPhone X. Smack dab in the middle of the smartphone market, OnePlus has carved out a tremendous niche. A fan favorite for screamer performance, but can a stripped hotrod still appeal opposite the current trends, fads, and feature creep?
OP6 Audio Review
OP6 Camera Review
Continue reading “OnePlus 6 Review: A punch above the price tag!”
One of the biggest issues when looking at smartphone camera performance is consistency. If you can’t compare similar samples from different devices, taken under similar conditions, then it’s difficult for consumers to gauge performance outside of a “take my word for it” attitude from the reviewer.
Real world conditions, consistent locations and subjects, mostly handheld, here’s the master list of camera reviews I’ve produced. If you want to see how a Note 8 stacks up against a Note 4, here’s where you can find those reviews for staging your own comparisons. Enjoy!
All too often, reviewers gloss over audio. It’s easy to take for granted. Does a phone have a headphone jack? What kind of speakers does it have? Play 10 seconds of a sample. That’s all you need to know, right?
But if you like your ears, you know audio is more nuanced than that. Comparing speakers in a controlled and consistent fashion requires patience. Listening to headphone output, sharing a subjective opinion is valuable, but that should also be backed up by measurements.
It’s OK to share some opinions, but you should be able to also back those opinions up with some facts. That’s an area where many tech reviewers get audio wrong.
Years of reviews, testing under consistent conditions. Let’s take a listen and see what phones really deliver the ear candy! Listen healthier! Listen happier!