Let's Talk Tech
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite review!
I’m getting up to speed on Xiaomi! It’s been YEARS since I last got to play with one. Happily, looking at proper mid-ranger phone, this is a REALLY nice smartphone to start with! Continue reading “Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G: I finally get to play with a Xiaomi!”
Sometimes it’s ok to NOT be first.
OnePlus is following the CRAZY early launches from Xiaomi and Samsung. This generation, we’ve seen some concerning tests using Qualcomm’s newest SOC, the Snapdragon 888.
After testing the Galaxy S21, we definitely needed to compare against other phones using this SOC. Were the performance issues the fault of Qualcomm? Samsung? App developers? There are a LOT of moving parts here to consider.
The OnePlus 9 Pro gives us another data point to compare, and OnePlus is making some important claims about their phone. Not only are they using the top of the line SOC, they’re also claiming to do a better job cooling that SOC.
A premium tier phone is an incredibly powerful mobile computer. Someone buying at this price tier might want to know they really can replace some of their laptop or desktop use with their phone.
Performance testing is more involved than running a synthetic bench and comparing who’s number is bigger. Let’s dig a little deeper than that. Here’s the OnePlus 9 Pro: By The Benchmarks! Continue reading “OnePlus 9 Pro By the Benchmarks: Better Performance for the Price!”
OnePlus 9 Pro 8K video samples!
Why show a couple little clips when we can try to shoot a whole video ALL from the phone! This is the best quality footage the phone can produce, so let’s do a little walk and talk vlog.
Sharing my first day impressions, show some samples, and we can take a listen to the mics on the OnePlus 9 Pro! Continue reading “OnePlus 9 Pro 8K Vlog! Let’s Really USE This Camera!”
5G is real when ALL knew phones support it! Republic Wireless sent over this Moto Ace for me to test drive.
You can get a LOT of phone for NOT a lot of cash… Continue reading “Moto One 5G Ace on Republic Wireless: Cheap 5G!”
The Galaxy S21 is a “very good” shooter in most situations, but does it win any significant battles in this premium smartphone market? Does it improve on the photography experience over last year’s Galaxy S20? Who is the right fit for this phone?
Here are my final thoughts on the S21 cameras! Continue reading “Galaxy S21 Camera Conclusion: Where does it win?”
Samsung was early to market with the S21 this year.
In a move to reduce prices over last year’s S20, the new S line from Samsung is a less feature rich offering than its predecessor. While those compromises are debatable, and are certainly more a conversation about personal preferences than objective improvements, the main touted improvement for the phone has been the top of the line Snapdragon 888.
This chip marks a change in SOC from Qualcomm, including one larger CPU performance core along side three more powerful CPU cores, in addition to a quartet of lower power CPU cores. The SD888 is also packing the latest and greatest GPU from Qualcomm, and as expected, our synthetic benchmarks show generational improvements.
That’s only the beginning of a conversation about performance though. How does the S21 stack up against last year’s handsets? How should we feel about a Galaxy S which is pre-throttled out of the box?
Performance testing is more involved than running a synthetic bench and comparing who’s number is bigger. Let’s dig a little deeper than that. Here’s the Galaxy S21: By The Benchmarks! Continue reading “Galaxy S21 By the Benchmarks: The performance plateau…”
Sony XPERIA 1ii Android 11 First Look!
It’s FINALLY here! Sony’s smartphones were strong performers in 2020, but the USA was one of the last regions to land the Android 11 update. What’s changed? What’s improved?
And how harsh should we judge those early benchmarks? Continue reading “Sony XPERIA 1ii on Android 11: 4K Slow-Mo, Monitor Mode, FASTER Performance! The Check Up!”
The LG V60 has Android 11!
Totally fair to be concerned about the recent software support on the V60. Hardware this good, but the phone still needed some polish. Bringing some of the features we liked on the Wing and Velvet, the V60 got a NICE shot in the arm!
Here are the major updates I could find in under 48 hours! Continue reading “Android 11 on LG V60: Better Late Than Never! (Desktop Mode, Camera, Dual Display updates!)”