The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge offers a unique new form factor, so it goes without saying we will see some interesting cases for the new flagship. Samsung will offer a few options out of the gate, including a new take on their S-View flip cover case as well as a lightweight plastic shell case.
The updated flip case features a translucent front providing a full-frontal view of the S6 display. Just as with previous Samsung flip covers, the phone can detect when the case is shut and displays a power-friendly clock and notification widget for at-a-glance updates. Lifting the cover will launch directly into your Galaxy S6 homescreen (provided you don’t have a screen lock enabled).
The case is curved to match the phone’s display and snaps snugly to the rear to offer 360 degrees of protection. We missed the presence of a magnetic clasp or other secure closure mechanism. The flip cover has a tendency to flap around freely otherwise.
Samsung’s other case option for the S6 Edge is more or less the rear of the folio case without its flipping front — that is, a standard plastic shell case that snaps on over the rear of the device. The minimalist cases offer basic protection while showcasing the design of the device.
Samsung’s snap-on rear cases are transparent while the S6 Edge folio case is available in a selection of colors to match those of the Galaxy S6. All should be available at launch.
Sony took their time bringing us an updated 10-inch slate, but the wait seems well worth it based on our initial impressions of the Xperia Z4 Tablet. The slate continues to showcase Sony’s dedication to design, and the first thing immediately noticeable is how light it is. Add to this the fact that the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet measures in at an amazing 6.1mm thin and we have the beginnings of another gorgeous Android device from the Japanese manufacturer.
The Xperia Z4 Tablet runs Android Lollipop on top of an impressive hardware package that includes an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset at its core. A 2K (2560 x 1600) display is a marked improvement over its 10-inch predecessor, the Z2 Tablet. A holdover from the earlier slate is a 6000mAh battery, but Sony promises improved battery life nonetheless.
A nifty addition to the Z4 Tablet is the inclusion of a Bluetooth keyboard, a response to the growing popularity of the Microsoft Surface and tablets that serve as full notebook replacements. The Z4 Tablet docks firmly in place and connects via Bluetooth, supporting mouse input with multi-finger gestures for scrolling and more. Sony does modify the slate’s Lollipop OS to provide an environment more friendly to productivity, including the ability to add an abundance of items to the shortcut bar.
Other goodies include waterproof construction for added durability and options for LTE connectivity. The Xperia Z4 Tablet will launch in Europe this June at a price of 550 euro.
Yesterday we were able to get a close look at the Huawei Watch, but we weren’t actually able to get our hands on it. Today we finally fixed that. Mobile World Congress has produced some awesome Android devices this year, but the Huawei Watch might our favorite. It came out of nowhere and really surprised us. After holding it in our hands we’re still very impressed.
What sets the Huawei Watch apart is the “no compromise” round display. Current round devices all make some sort of sacrifice. The Moto 360 has small bezels, but the infamous “flat tire” keeps the display from being perfectly round. LG’s watches manage to have perfectly round displays, but the bezels are very large. Huawei somehow made a smartwatch with minimal bezel and a perfectly round display.
The display is 1.4-inch AMOLED with 286ppi, and looks really great. It’s powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor, and has 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM, 300mAh battery, and a 6-axis sensor for fitness tracking. The Huawei Watch will be sold in 20 countries (including North America), but we don’t know when it will go on sale or how much it will cost. When it does go on sale it will be available in black, silver, and gold.
At what price would you buy the Huawei Watch? Do you think it looks better than the Moto 360 or LG Watch Urbane?
It’s happening. As we near the release of the still unannounced HTC One M9+ (Hima Ultra), more and more leaks of the device are creeping out from the woodwork. There’s been such a continual stream that the device has now been upgraded from rumored device, to a bonafide leak.
Take French outlet NowhereElse who — after allegedly seeing a prototype version of the M9+ on Skype — has successfully managed to get their hands on a One M9+ dummy unit used by manufacturers to create cases for the device. After taking a few of @OnLeaks’ leaked press renders and printing them out, he was able to give us a clearer picture of what the device will look in the real world. Well, minus all that gorgeous aluminum of course.
The dummy shell confirms a 5.2-inch display, and that strange Samsung-like home button that will allegedly act as a fingerprint scanner. The back of the case also shows off that familiar Duo Camera from the One M8. We imagine it wont be too much longer before we get a real hands-on, that or HTC officially announced the phone already.
Last month LG officially announced their newest Android Wear device, the LG Watch Urbane. It’s a more elegant version of the previous LG G Watch R. They replaced the plastic with a much more premium looking metal. In case you were wondering, “urbane” actually means “suave” and “refined,” which accurately describes this watch.
LG is showing off the Urbane at Mobile World Congress right now, and we were lucky enough to get out grubby paws on it. Aesthetically it’s one of the nicest Android Wear devices that has been announced. It’s bulkier than the Huawei Watch, but doesn’t have the Moto 360 “flat tire.” We also really like the removal of the fake dial. The G Watch R was more sporty, whereas the Urbane could be worn at a formal event.
In terms of specs the Urbane is no slouch. The display is 1.3-inches with 245ppi. Powering it is a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of storage. It has a 410mAh battery, IP67 rating, and 9-axis sensor for fitness tracking. The Urbane will be available in gold or silver. Pricing and availability have not been revealed yet. Until then, feast your eyes on the glorious photos below.
Projectors are not just for PowerPoint presentations anymore. We’ve seen some cool new projectors at the last few trade shows, and Mobile World Congress is no different. Lenovo is showing off a compact pocket-sized projector. This device can connect to a number of devices, and easily be thrown in a bag or carried in a pocket. It’s pretty nifty.
The whole thing is only about 4-inches square and 1-inch thick. Speakers are built right into the projector, which means this little gadget is all you need to project movies. To play a video on the projector you’ll need a device that supports DLNA and Miracast. Unfortunately videos only play in 480p, but with a device of this size and price (only 0) that’s what you get. The Lenovo Pocket Projector will go on sale later this month.
Earlier today the LG G4 was officially announced. We were in attendance at the event in New York, and now we’ve had a chance to get out hands on the device. LG made a big deal about how comfortable this device is to hold, which makes the hands-on that much more important.
LG is definitely right when they say the G4 is comfortable. The premium leather, rounded back, and ever so slight curved display make it very easy to hold. We especially like the leather, which feels really nice and definitely worth the 12 weeks it takes to make.
The display looks great. It’s brighter and the colors are as close to real life as we’ve seen. It’s the best display for viewing the photos taken with the new camera. LG talked a lot about the camera, but in the closed environment of a press event we didn’t get a chance to do much testing. We’ll talk more about that in our full review.
LG says the performance of the G4 is just as good as the Samsung Galaxy S6. In our short hands-on time that statement appears to be true, but once again we’ll have to further test the device. The software is basically what we saw on the LG G Flex 2, which is a good thing. It’s slim and only lightly skinned, but mostly keeps the Material Design aesthetic.
So far we’re really liking the G4. They took everything good from the LG G3 and improved it. The only question is did enough people hold off on the Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 to buy the G4? LG didn’t do themselves any favors by waiting this long to announce the G4. The G4 will be available on AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon sometime soon. Will you be getting one?
Yesterday the HTC One M9 was officially announced at Mobile World Congress. We were in attendance at the event, and we had a chance to check out the device in person. The One M9 looks a lot like the One M8. In fact, it’s pretty much identical. From the front they look the same, but the back and insides are what set the M9 apart.
Specs are a very important part of any phone, but even more so for the One M9. Since HTC didn’t change the outer design they have put all the focus on the specs and software. The M9 has a 5-inch 1080p display, 20.7MP camera (2 “UltraPixel” front), Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, and 2840mAh battery. Check out the full HTC One M9 specs here.
On the software side you’re getting Android 5.0.2 and Sense 7. Like the design of the M9, there aren’t many visual changes in Sense 7, but the functionality has big changes. The biggest change is a new “Sense Home” widget that you’ll find on the home screen by default. HTC tries to predict what apps you’ll need for certain situations and put them in this widget.
If your phone detects that you’re at work it can fill up the widget with productivity apps, and when you’re home it will display entertainment apps. At least that’s the general idea. If you don’t want HTC to try to figure all of this out for you it can be set up manually. There are also “Smart Folders” that automatically organize things for you.
Another cool new software feature is custom navigation buttons. By default you have back, home, and recent, but you can add a virtual power button, notification shade shortcut, fullscreen button, and quick settings, and more. It’s a really cool idea that we’d love to see more manufacturers embrace.
The One M9 lacks the excitement of previous HTC phones, but this is still an excellent device. The M9 will be one of the top devices of 2015. Do you think HTC did enough to improve from the M8? Will you be buying the HTC One M9? Let us know what you think about this device!
Huawei may not yet carry the household name of Samsung or HTC, but in the past couple years the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has made quite the impression. They’ve launched stellar flagship phones that go toe-to-toe with the industry’s elite alongside affordable alternatives that compete with the best of them in value. Continuing their quest to delight consumers on a global scale the company has just announced the immediate US availability of the Huawei P8 Lite for the unbelievably low price of 9- but is it worth it?
We’ve had the device roughly 24 hours- long enough to formulate some key opinions but not with the confidence you’d expect in a full review. In anticipation of our full Huawei P8 Lite Review to be published next week, here are the important takeaways before making a purchase decision.
Geeks need not apply
This is not a phone that the early adopting tech elite should consider and one glaring fact will float that realization to the surface: the P8 Lite launches with Android 4.4 KitKat. The value-seeking consumer may care less about wielding the latest and greatest version of Android, but with Android 5.0 Lollipop comfortably in the wild and Android M officially announced, launching with KitKat is a serious shot in the foot.
That’s not to say KitKat ruins the user experience- it most certainly does not. However, consumers will be much more likely to hear recommendations for the Motorola Moto G and Motorola Moto E – two budget Android phones running stock Lollipop – simply because (you guessed it): the P8 Lite runs on an older version of Android and rocks a custom skin. That’s not to say an OTA couldn’t immediately put this unfortunate circumstance to rest.
If you’re able to overlook this detail, what you’ll find inside the device is rather appealing at the 0 price point.
Dual-Sim Slots: ditch the “Work Phone”
Although popular in foreign countries, American carriers never jumped on the dual-SIM bandwagon. That means some portion of US workers continue carrying two smartphones everywhere they go: one for personal use and one for work. The Huawei P8 Lite lets you merge those redundancies into one phone thanks to its dual-SIM slots.
Not only can you easily toggle between the two SIM cards in the phone’s settings, allowing you to manage your outgoing calls and corresponding data plans, but you can also configure different ringtones and options on a per SIM basis.
The two SIM strategy makes the P8 Lite an incredibly compelling solution for business folks even despite the thin layer of dust on the OS. The feature is original enough that we thought perhaps it could be blamed on the lack of an Android Lollipop upgrade, but we learned this is not the case: the international version of this device is currently shipping with Lollipop. Makes you wonder what went wrong here, doesn’t it?
Pro-tip: if you’re not using both SIM slots, one of them can double as a MicroSD card slot.
Surprisingly Solid Specs
It’s amazing how far 0 can get you these days. The Huawei P8 Lite is undeniably a budget Android device, but it’s packing specs that are worthy of attention:
5-inch screen
Gorilla Glass 3
1.5 GHz octa-core processor (MSM8939)
7.6mm thin
131 grams light
13MP camera with LED Flash
5MP front-facing camera
2GB RAM
2200 mAh battery
The P8 accomplishes this by skimping on specs in places the value user will notice little difference. The display, for example, performs perfectly well but boasts only 1280×720 resolution. There is only 16GB of onboard memory, 6GB of which is taken up by the operating system, leaving you with 10GB to work with (but a MicroSD slot to compensate). The Snapdragon 615 chip is a work horse but not of the highest pedigree. The front facing camera is fixed focus. And the list goes on…
The result is a careful balance between modestly powerful specs where they’re deemed most important and run-of-the-mill solutions where they often go underappreciated. When paired with the P8’s elegant design, it’s hard to tell you’re not looking at a premium device.
Design: the stylish chameleon
The P8 Lite won’t wow you with ground-breaking hardware engineering like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. It doesn’t grab your eye by accentuating a key feature like the HTC One M9. And rightfully so: Huawei aimed for sophisticated and elegant and they humbly hit the nail on the head.
The P8 Lite design is minimalist with a slim profile, small bezels, and tasteful branding. A closer look at the chrome ring around the device’s frame reveals it is obviously plastic, but it adds a much needed layer of personality. The most striking design element is the phone’s rear which achieves an attractive metallic look by way of a hand-crafted satin coating. This is true save for the top half-inch of the rear which opts for a plastic panel to overlay the camera components.
Let’s be honest: the Huawei P8 Lite isn’t going to win any design awards for innovation, but that was never the point. What it will win is a glance at the bar from an unknowing onlooker wondering what flagship phone you’re using. Little do they know it’s not a flagship phone at all… it’s the Huawei P8 Lite in a flagship phone costume.
Emotion UI makes me sad
The first thing I would do if I bought the Huawei P8 Lite? Install Nova Launcher.
Plenty of Android OEMs attempt to differentiate their product by offering devices with their own custom software skin that rests atop Google’s stock Android experience. In some cases the results are bareable, but in the case of Huawei’s Emotion UI (EMUI 3.0), I just can’t even. If it wasn’t enough that custom UI’s are often to blame for delayed Android software updates, Huawei goes the extra mile to irritate you by feeding you a user experience that borrows an awful lot from Apple.
Android’s app drawer is gone. System fonts and layouts closely resemble the iPhone. App icons are reshaped on curved squares to best resemble you-know-what. If you swipe down on any home screen you even get Huawei’s version of the iOS Spotlight search.
This might be okay for the iPhone enthusiast who can’t afford Apple’s steep price so they settle for second or third fiddle with the P8 Lite, but unfortunately for Huawei, this type of consumer would be better off buying a refurbished iPhone of yesteryear. In today’s market, an Android phone imitating the iPhone is not how you win new customers, and that’s exactly what Huawei’s EMUI intends to accomplish.
I’m not suggesting Huawei should ditch Emotion UI completely. I’d personally prefer stock Android and imagine there would be some huge advantages to eliminating EMUI on budget devices, but if Huawei insists on differentiating their software stack- so be it. I just hope they move towards more subtle improvements that enhance the Android experience rather than imitating that of Apple.
This is a harsh but necessary criticism of Emotion UI, but it should be reiterated that installing a homescreen replacement such as Nova Launcher may instantly remove the need for further complaining.
Camera: the jury is out
The weather has been rainy and cloudy since I’ve had the device so I’m going to withhold an opinion on the camera until I’m able to take more samples in different conditions and look more closely at the results. However, feel free to make judgements of your own based on the select few camera samples posted below.
Unlock 2.0
Huawei executives have indicated the P8 Lite launch is the start of a new strategy that is rooted in E-Commerce. Offering unlocked devices online allows the company to provide more aggressive pricing, but until now, many customers have been wary of buying unlocked. According to Huawei research, customers don’t buy unlocked phones for the following reasons:
36% poor phone quality
28% no after sales service
24% price of unlocking
23% contract
16% phone selection
10% ease of and trust in sales channels
Many of these are worthy critiques of the industry as a whole. T-Mobile has recently done an excellent job breaking down the confusing barriers of devices and contracts with their Uncarrier campaign, and now Huawei is offering some assistance of their own. To help support their new E-Commerce strategy, Huawei is extending the following offers and services directly to its customers:
2-year warranty
Localized repair with free shipping
US based call center support
Additional support options including live online chat
Friendly reminder: we think the best place for Android support is our very own community at AndroidForums.com.
An interesting note about Android smartphone shoppers seeking a bargain is that on Day 1 it may not feel like a bargain at all. If a customer bought an 0 Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge they could spread it over the course of their contract, meaning that the first day they just pay the first installment of that 0. Meanwhile, when you buy an unlocked device, you’ve usually got to part with the full bill, in this case 0.
Huawei is trying to lighten the load by partnering with financial accompany Affirm, giving qualified customers the option of 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month payment plans. Definitely a nice touch considering the target market they’ll reach with the P8 Lite.
I hope Huawei’s E-Commerce strategy is successful and if executed well, I know their customers will appreciate the added support. It’s likely easier said than done as Google found out with their first E-Commerce smartphone endeavors. It should also be noted that this doesn’t mean Huawei is abandoning their retail foothold. The company will continue working closely with carriers and retailers to serve those existing channels.
Is the Huawei P8 Lite worth buying?
It’s difficult to argue with a 0 Android smartphone with these specs- the P8 Lite is a pretty darn good deal. You’ll find worthy alternatives from Motorola that are cheaper and run stock Android 5.X Lollipop (vs Android 4.4 KitKat on the P8 Lite) but Huawei’s offering is tops in almost every other statistical category.
It comes down to this: would you rather have an affordable Android phone with a more recent version of Android or better specs? If you can’t decide, stay tuned for our full review early next week.
