Here it is. This is the best Android powered smartwatch currently available. OnePlus continues a “hybrid” OS strategy that delivers the best battery life on a full fledged smartwatch. The best battery by A LOT.
Still it wouldn’t be a OnePlus launch without a LITTLE stickiness, and there’s a bit of an issue with this heart tracking hardware…
Google’s earbud evolution is nearly complete. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a highly refined product, with excellent tech features, and charming design. This will be a crowd pleasing product, and an excellent sidekick for many Pixel phone owners. These buds get a very positive recommendation, and what follows in this article is why I personally am not using them.
OnePlus 13 review! It’s here! This might be the BEST bang for buck premium phone in North America. It’s a powerhouse device, and it’s putting Google and Samsung on notice.
When I talk about camera sensor improvements, I’m mostly impressed by sensor sizes getting larger. When we increase sensor surface area, we see more dramatic improvements to photo quality. The aesthetics of a photo change with a larger sensor, and we can demonstrate things like depth of field and bokeh more easily.
That’s not to say that staying at the same sensor size, and adopting new tech at that size, can’t ALSO bring benefits. It’s just, in my time reviewing phones, I haven’t seen where the “tech” upgrade has ever been as noticeable as the “size” upgrade.
Recently, one of the few times that pattern has been challenged was while reviewing the Xiaomi 14. My expectations were REALLY low as it was another phone with a 1/1.3″ type sensor, but this time the sensor was from Omnivision.
In my experience, Omnivision made the “cheap” sensors for companies that wanted to save money on manufacturing.
With my expectations that low, it was shocking to see the Xiaomi 14 outperform the Galaxy Note 24. Had sensor tech (at comparable sizes) finally made a noticeable impact on low light performance? Did this change the whole game? Continue reading “Is the Pixel 9 Pro “Cheating” its RAW Files?”
It’s a convenience, but one that needs safeguarding.
Californians can now keep a digital copy of their driver’s license in Google Wallet. I believe this is an important step in making identity easier to verify, and these tools might eventually be more accessible than the way we require carrying physical cards.
It is a technology I think will be useful, and I’m happy to see some babysteps towards improving the experience. It’s an important improvement over carrying grocery store membership cards. Continue reading “We’re not ready for ID’s on our phones…”
Asking a legit question, and curious what folks thoughts are. Phones with a hinge that bend and fold, we’ve had them for several years now. However, they haven’t reached much market share, and aren’t expected to be that popular over the next five years.
If you’re shopping a full featured smartwatch (especially in North America) chances are pretty good the bulk of sales are going to Apple and Samsung. However, if you want more features than on a fitness tracking watch, there are a handful of other players to consider.
The Other Brands
We’re going to take a look at three players for this comparison:
These are premium options, that each run a full build of Wear OS (built on Android), and are capable of installing a wide variety of apps. They differ from fitness tracking watches in having more robust software and better support for rich notifications and replies. They are more powerful “wrist computers”, but that often means they will get poorer battery life than fitness trackers. Continue reading “Pixel Watch 2 vs OnePlus Watch 2 vs TicWatch Enduro Long Term Comparison: The “OTHER” Wear OS Smartwatches!”
