At its September event today, Apple has launched the new Apple Watch Series 5. The Series 5 brings a bunch of improvements over the Apple Watch Series 4 from last year.
One of the biggest changes in the Series 5 is the addition of a new Always on Display which is finally now available on the Apple Watch. For this, the company is using a new low power display driver, a new ambient light sensor, and what the company claims is the only LTPO display out there in a watch which can set dynamic refresh rates for the display from up to 60Hz all the way down to 1Hz, for extra battery saving.
The Apple Watch Series 5 will also come with compass, which users can add to their home screen as well. The company has also improved emergency calling in its LTE models, which will now allow users to call emergency services in over 100 countries even without an iPhone.
The Apple Watch Series 5 is available in multiple cases, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Titanium, and Ceramic. The aluminum Series 5 Apple Watch will be available in silver, space gray, and gold. The stainless steel watch will be available in gold, space black, and polish colours.
The Apple Watch Series 5 starts at $399 for the GPS model, and $499 for the LTE model. The watch can be pre-ordered starting today itself, and will go on sale starting September 20.
Samsung unveils its much-hyped Galaxy Note 10 yesterday. The company also updated a number of gadgets this week which included a laptop, smartphone, and a sports watch. But the key announcement is off course, is the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+. For the first time ever, Samsung took time to release the two variants of Note. Both employ the same processor and operating system versions, but the $949 Note 10 has a 6.3-inch display, while the $1,099 Note 10+ features a bigger 6.8-inch display, which makes it even bigger than the largest iPhone, the XS Max with its 6.5-inch display screen.
The Note 10+ also has support for 5G connectivity, which will start from $1,299 and will work on Verizon’s 5G network if you happen to live in a place where 5G is being supported. There is no current iPhone that supports 5G and Sprint recently announced that it is getting a 5G phone from OnePlus. Samsung also talked about its new affiliation with Microsoft as an announcement. For instance, you can now use the Dex tech to connect their phone to a computer to get a more desktop-like experience. Windows users can now connect the Note 10 to a Windows 10 PC to make interacted tasks like making voice calls, sending text messages, or browsing media.
Both smartphones have a hole-punch selfie camera and an upgraded S-pen that is much lighter and more rounded than its predecessors. The device has an integrated vapor chamber cooling system that Samsung says is the slimmest in the world and helps the Galaxy Note 10 to stay cool when going under heavy usage. It also supports Air gesture controls that allow users to swipe screens from far away. Samsung got rid of the headphone jack in both devices and added four cameras on the rear side of the Note 10. The phone is available in Aura glow, Aura white, and Aura black.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus is one of the top camera phones in 2019. It instantly stands with the best camera phones. It comes with four camera lenses and the Plus-exclusive depth sensor. The Samsung Note 10 is outfitted with a 12MP regular lens with a variable f/1.5 and f/2.4 aperture. To explain that very briefly: the amount of light it absorbs changes depending on a room’s lighting condition. It’s fairly sophisticated for a smartphone. What stands out more are its 12MP f/2.1 telephoto and 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lenses.
They offer photos with different variations. You can capture scenes in new ways up close without distortion via the 2x zoom telephoto lens, and cramming more in frame with the wide-angle lens. With the ultra-wide lens, you can see an obvious fisheye effect going on, and that means the tall buildings do exhibit a bend, but that’s a part of specific Note 10 camera’s charm and makes the cityscape seem intimidating.
With a quick switch to the ultra-wide camera, you can snap an inclusive photo and crop it later. The camera comes with a color point live focus mode. This renders the background and portions of foreground in black and white but keeps the main subject in color to make the person or object really pop up from the scene. It is not always perfect but a couple of adjustment can make it look amazing. It is a really fun way to capture such a picture and Samsung does it better than anyone else. What’s interesting is that Color Point mode (and all Live Focus modes) allow you to switch between the regular lens and the telephoto lens (the latter is always the default).
In its latest smartphone brand loyalty study, electronics buy-back site, BankMyCell, has claimed that Apple and Samsung stand out as the two manufacturers with the highest brand retention among US residents. According to the report, Apple had 74.6 percent iPhone trade-in brand loyalty, while Samsung’s trade-in loyalty was only a tad lower, at 63.9 percent. While 12.8 percent of iPhone users switched over to Samsung, as much as 17 percent of Samsung users picked up an iPhone, the report said.
The data further indicated that while Google only had a 51 percent trade-in loyalty, just 10.1 percent of Pixel users were trading in their devices for iPhones, meaning most of them stayed on with Android, as expected. The study, based on 64,273 unique users between Jan 15 and July 15 this year, also looked at LG, Motorola and HTC, all of whose brand loyalty fell below 41 percent at trade-in. “Only 10.8 percent of HTC respondents stayed loyal, with 32.1 percent heading to Samsung, 17.1 percent to Apple”, said the report.
Chart Courtesy: BankMyCell
Another interesting thing to have come out of the study is that Android users seem to be more loyal to their platform than iOS users. While 25.6 percent iPhone owners moved to Android devices, an overwhelming majority of Android users chose to remain with the platform. According to the report, between 82-90 percent of all Android users surveyed upgraded to another Android device, whether from the same brand or otherwise.
US is the only major market where iPhones outsell Android devices, which is why it is interesting to see so many more Android users seemingly sticking with the platform instead of jumping ship to what is arguably the more popular platform in the country.
iPhone vs. Android. It’s been an ongoing debate since the HTC Dream became the first commercially-available Android device in September 2008.
These days, I’m firmly on the Android side of the fence. I’ve owned iPhones, my wife is still an iPhone user, and I’m more than capable of appreciating just how revolutionary the iPhone was when it first released. Android is just better.
But beware! If you’re a fellow member of the Android master race, you’ve got an important responsibility not to upset our iOS-using brethren. With that in mind, here’s a handy guide of phrases you should never say to an iPhone user.
1. “What Do You Use Your Old Headphones For?”
iPhone’s lack of headphone jack inconveniences me on like a daily basis
In 2016, Apple famously ditched the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. Three years later, it’s still absent and showing no signs of a return.
Android users, of course, have felt the ripple effects. Many Android devices also now ship without the 3.5mm jack. But crucially, we have a choice. Notably, the latest flagship Samsung Galaxy S10 still a has a headphone jack.
So what did your friend do with her super-expensive wired headphones? It’s best not to ask. They might not have seen the Android light, but you still want to be friends with them (right?!).
To be extra safe, don’t mention anything about audio quality or lost earbuds either!
2. “Why Did You Buy a Case?”
Look, we get it, iPhones are seriously expensive. People want to protect their investment.
But there’s a juxtaposition at play. One of the biggest selling points of the iPhone—and one of the arguments that iOS advocates cite most frequently—is the design.
iPhones are gorgeous, not to mention that Apple has been on a never-ending quest to make its devices thinner, shaving off fractions of millimeters with each new release.
So why, therefore, do people insist on sticking their phone in a bulky case? Is that not undoing Apple’s hard work?
Ah right, it’s to stop the bending…
3. “Why Are You Late? I Sent You Directions!”
The party is in full swing. The introductory pleasantries are over, and the drink is flowing. But wait; where’s your friend? She was supposed to be here two hours ago.
Finally, she arrives. She’s wearing a furious expression. And the reason for her annoyance? Apple Maps. It’s the default map app on iOS, and you cannot change it.
And that’s bad news. As recently as November 2018, Apple Maps had more detail than Google Maps in just 3.1 percent of the US. Justin O’Beirne explained all this in infinitely more detail than we ever could in a blog post.
Instead of castigating your friend for relying on such a poor app, perhaps you should gently remind them that a traditional paper map is more reliable and just a fraction of the cost of a $1,000+ Apple phone.
4. “You Should Have Bought the 512GB Model”
The entry-level iPhone XS sells for $999, but it only has 64GB of storage. That’s a con—it’s nowhere near enough space for all your apps and media in 2019.
Consequently, most people opt for the 256GB model. It will set you back $1,149. If you want the maximum capacity 512GB version, you will need to shell out an eye-watering $1,349, and that’s before any other extras.
The price of the extra storage means iPhone users can be a bit touchy when they run out of space. They either need to wipe some of their data, or subscribe to an expensive iCloud plan.
To prevent them from getting even angrier, we don’t think it’s wise to mention that several Android phones have expandable memory thanks to an SD card slot. Definitely don’t mention that you can pick up a 200GB card on Amazon for $20-$30, depending on the brand.
5. “Can I Borrow Your Charger?”
I have one charger. It powers my phone, my Bluetooth speaker, my headphones, my MP3 player, my tablet, and my GoPro. And as the world transitions to USB-C, I’ll even be able to charge my laptop.
iPhone owners aren’t so lucky.
Remember my wife that I mentioned earlier? She has three different chargers for her 2015 MacBook Air, 2012 MacBook Pro, and iPhone 7. Her old iPod—which admittedly she rarely uses anymore—also has a different connection. It’s almost at the point where she needs to book an extra luggage allowance whenever we fly anywhere.
Again, any discussion of the cost of official/certified Apple chargers is also out of bounds. And don’t even think about raising the issue of dongles.
6. “Just Sideload It…”
There are lots of reasons why an app you want might not be available in the Google Play Store. It could be geo-blocked, perhaps it deals with adult content, or maybe it’s only available through one of the many third-party Android app stores.
When it happens, it’s frustrating. You have to use a reliable APK site to download the installation file, then sideload it onto your device.
But it’s a whole lot more frustrating for iOS users. It is technically possible to sideload apps, but it either requires some trickery with Apple developer certificates or, more commonly, jailbreaking the OS. Neither process is recommended.
7. “Siri, Why Is Google Assistant Better Than You?!”
Our final piece of advice isn’t so much something you shouldn’t say to an iPhone user; rather, it’s something you shouldn’t say in front of them.
To be fair, Siri has closed the gap on Google Assistant in the last couple of years, but the general consensus is that Google’s tool is still the better product.
Honestly, the question of which assistant is the best is somewhat moot. The differences are close enough that iOS users can make a genuine case for Siri.
So if you want to avoid a raging argument over the dinner table, quietly ask Siri to play some music and keep your opinions to yourself.
What Else Do You Keep Quiet About?
If you’re an Android user who has been nodding along to this article, we want to hear from you.
What else would you add to this list? Which sensitive topics do you avoid when you’re with your iOS-using buddies? Let us know in the comments.
Samsung finally breaks silence on the Galaxy Fold to confirm that the insistent reportswe’ve been gorging on over the past week are indeed true. The Korean giant’s foldable phone launch may have hit a snag earlier this year due to durability issues, but they’ve now been fixed. And the Galaxy Fold is gearing up for a relaunch in September later this year.
The image you see attached above is of the new Galaxy Fold, which sees a number of significant improvements being made to further the durability and protect the foldable screen. In its official blog post, Samsung has listed the three key changes which it has introduced for the Galaxy Fold and they are as under:
Firstly, Samsung has taken steps to prevent people from thinking that the display’s protective film on top is not a screen protector that you can simply peel off. The top protective layer has, thus, been extended beyond the bezel to make it seem like its certainly a part of the design.
We saw the screen on one of the Galaxy Fold review units to have stopped working because a tiny particle got under the screen’s protective layer. Hence, Galaxy Fold features “additional reinforcements to better protect the device from any external particles.”
Samsung has also added protection caps to strengthen your top and bottom hinge area, with additional metal layers under the display and reduced space between the hinge and body to reinforce the protection of the display.
Apart from hardware changes, Samsung in its official blog post states that it has also further improved the overall software experience. This includes the optimization of its services and apps for the newer foldable category.
If you’re wondering why Samsung needs another couple months to make Galaxy Fold available to users, well, it’s conducting some final tests to validate the design changes they’ve introduced this time around.
The Galaxy Fold could have become the crown jewel of Samsung’s smartphone portfolio, however, the device was found to be marred with durability issues. This has delayed the scheduled debut of this foldable smartphone, but fresh reports now suggest that Galaxy Fold has passed all durability tests.
As per industry sources, the durability tests for the upgraded Galaxy Fold (which is now said to have a somewhat revamped hinge design) were administered by a group of tech experts formed of industry professionals and professors at Seoul National University and KAIST. They have given the Galaxy Fold a green light and said that it’s ready for launch.
A source aware of the developments said, “A couple of weeks ago, Samsung Electronics sent out the Galaxy Fold to this group and word is that the phone aced the tests and is ready for launch.” Well, if you’ve been keeping an ear out for Galaxy Fold-related news, you would know that Samsung has been feeding us similar updates for some time now.
Galaxy Fold’s launch was initially scheduled for April but the screens breaking while the reviewers were testing this foldable came as a massive blow. The device has since been delayed and Samsung CEO Koh has admitted that the Galaxy Fold was shipped before it was ready. The company has since been testing over 2,000 units of the folding phone to identify and fix any niggling issues.
Well, if this report is indeed true, then we can expect the Galaxy Fold to launch globally within the next few weeks. There is currently no ETA for this foldable phone, but we will surely keep you posted.
