Sony
Xperia E5 Dual
smartphone
was launched in May 2016.
The
phone
comes with a
5.00-inch touchscreen display
with a resolution of 720 pixels by 1280 pixels
The
Sony Xperia E5 Dual
is powered by
quad-core MediaTek MT6735 processor
and it
comes with 1.5GB of RAM.
The
phone
packs
16GB of internal storage that
can be expanded up to 200GB via a
microSD card.
As far as the cameras are concerned,
the Sony Xperia E5 Dual packs a 13-megapixel primary camera on the rear
and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The
Sony Xperia E5 Dual runs Android 6 and
is powered by a 2700mAh non removable battery. It measures 144.00 x
69.00 x 8.20 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 147.00 grams.
The
Sony Xperia E5 Dual is a
dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that
accepts two Nano-SIM.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi,
GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, FM, 3G, 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some
LTE networks in India).
Sensors on the phone include Proximity
sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer.
About Sony
Sony
Mobile (previously known as Sony Ericsson Mobile) is a subsidiary of the
electronics giant Sony Corporation. The company's Xperia range that
started off with Windows Mobile OS has moved to Android and is a
significant part of the smartphone market today. The company markets
some of its phones as waterproof and dustproof.
Update: Our LG G5 review now includes additional
speed, battery life and camera tests in three separate comparison videos
you'll want to watch below.
The LG G5 is a massive change of pace
for the South Korean firm. It's done away with the cheap plastic and
confusing leather finishes of the LG G4 in favor of a full metal body, while keeping fan-favorite features like a removable battery and microSD card.
That's
a big deal, because Samsung disappointed a vocal minority when it
ditched its swappable battery and expandable storage hallmarks for the Galaxy S6, although it realized the errors of its way as it reinstated microSD support in the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge a year later.
The LG G5 may not be as ornate as Samsung's glass-and-metal-fused phone, or Apple's aluminum iPhone 6S, but it's a step in the right direction after the questionably styled G4.
LG G5 tips and tricks
Not
only does it include perks for power users, LG's changed the way we
access the battery with a cartridge-like input so you don't have to
remove the back cover.
This 'magic slot' is located in the bottom
frame of the phone and doubles as an accessory port. Add-ons so far
include a battery grip with physical camera controls and a Hi-Fi audio
module.
You
don't really need either of these accessories to enjoy the camera or
audio, though. LG G5 has a dual-camera setup on the back, with one lens
that provides extra-wide photos.
The front is highlighted by an
always-on, 5.3-inch display. It never goes to sleep, with the time, date
and notification icons visible when the phone is off.
When it
comes to price, you're looking at around US$650 (£500, AU$890) SIM-free
for the LG G5, which puts it slightly below the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S -
although they're all pretty much in the same ball park.
There are lots of parts to the LG G5 - but do they all add up to make a best phones contender? Let's explore, as I put it through the in-depth review process.
Design
The
LG G5 looks and feels completely different to the G4, and that's thanks
to the all-metal body that rightfully kicks the plastic to the curb.
It
feels suitably smooth, although the G5 struggles to feel as premium the
likes of the iPhone 6S or Samsung Galaxy S7. That's thanks to a
relatively thick layer of primer-paint mix which LG has used to the
color the G5.
Initially I thought the G5 felt more like plastic,
and it can be deceiving, but the sturdy aluminum frame becomes more
apparent the more you use it. This doesn't mean the G5 feels cheap, far
from it in fact, but the finish doesn't sing in your hand.
The
slender metallic rim which rounds round the edges of the handset on the
rear adds an extra layer of class, but it also feels a little sharp.
It's not as cutting on my final unit compared to the pre-production
model I had, but it's not exactly smooth.
Unlike
Apple's handset the LG G5 won't be notorious for antenna lines. It
doesn't have any of those unsightly bands, instead relying on
Micro-Dizing to cover up antenna slits.
This allows you to enjoy
color of the device, and in the G5's case you get a choice of four:
silver, titan (grey), pink and gold. The pre-production handset I used
was pink, and the color is rather muted. It's not as dazzling as Apple's
rose gold, but at the same time it seems a little apologetic.
The
hue will likely appeal to some, but for me it doesn't really work. The
final review unit I received came sported the silver paint, and it's
more agreeable to the eye.
Another big difference between the design of the LG G5 and its predecessor is the fact that the curved design has been ditched.
Gone is the bananaphone style of the LG G4 and its even curvier cousin, the LG G Flex 2, and in returns the flat frontage which is the norm in the mobile market.
I
say flat - it's almost there, but LG couldn't help itself, with the
G5's front sloping away from you at the top and bottom. It's a slightly
odd finish which offers little in the way of aesthetic grace or
practical use.
LG's reason for the switch is simple - consumers preferred the flat designs of rival handsets over its own curved offerings.
And I'd agree. The LG G5 feels more balanced in the hand and it's easier to slip into a pocket.
Downsized
from a 5.5-inch screen on the G4 to 5.3 inches and roughly the same
amount of bezel, the LG G5 feels light at 159g and easy to hold in one
hand measuring 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7mm.
I can reach apps across the
entire display without resorting to using two hands, which ties into
LG's goal of making the phone all about ease of use and something to
recommend to mom and dad. This does, of course, depend on your palm size
as those with smaller hands will still find the G5 a bit of a beast.
In
fact the G5 is almost identical in size to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge,
which despite having a larger 5.5-inch display has managed to keep
excess to a minimum.
LG G5's volume rocker has shifted to the left
side of the frame, ending the company's opinion-dividing practice of
having the buttons flank the power button on back.
While I got
used to that quirky rear-facing volume keys and clean edges on the G2,
G3 and G4, LG's signature feature was a flaw for many.
I'm
relatively indifferent about the new side volume rocker, however it
does make changing volume much easier when it's lying on a desk. Sadly,
that same ease of use can't be said for the fingerprint scanner.
The
still-back-facing power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor on the
G5, and while it's better than the questionable experimentation on the LG V10, it's still too small.
Like the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P,
it can light up the phone and unlock the screen quickly without you
having to press the button. There's no two-step process, as it was on
the press-in-and-hold-hold-hold LG V10.
The gentle volcanic
protrusion it rests on also makes it relatively easy to find, but a
slightly larger landing pad would have been nice. The real Achilles heal
is realized when you place the G5 on a surface.
I tend to have
my phone sitting on my desk at work, and if I want to unlock the phone
to read a message I'm forced to either tap in my code - ugh, slow - or
pick it up and place my finger on the reader.
With the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S, their front mounted finger scanners allow me to unlock far more easily. Even the Sony Xperia Z5's side mounted effort is better in this respect.
Sticking
with the rear of the G5 and it's the area where most are likely to
decide whether they love or hate the look of the phone. The protruding
power key sits below a far larger raised area which house the G5's dual
camera lenses as well as the LED flash and laser auto focus.
It's a
sizable presence, and to some it may look like the phone has sprung a
couple of nasty growths. On the other hand the protrusions are minimal
and if you opt for the darker titan (grey) model they seem less obvious.
Something
I'm not really a fan of is the headphone jack and speaker placement.
Headphones plug into the top, unless you have the 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC
module that is, as that adds a second headphone jack to the bottom. Odd.
Worse,
the speaker is on the bottom. I was really hoping that the LG G5 would
upgrade to a pair of front-facing speakers for stereo sound without
resorting to headphones. Not this time around.
LG has redesigned
its bottom port, however. It uses a USB-C connection, which means all of
your micro USB cables are useless. The advantage? It's reversible,
unlike all other USB forms.
That's a huge win for anyone taking
advantage of that always-on display and plugging in their phone in the
dark. Just be prepared to carry around both cables, as micro USB is
probably going to be used by every other gadget and accessory you own
for the next few years.
We have revisited the iPhone 6 Plus, which is now packed with iOS
9.3, and fully updated our review to reflect the new features and lower
price.
A 5.5-inch iPhone. That might not seem so unusual now, but
when it first appeared it was something which would have sent a shudder
down the spines of a collective of die-hard Apple fans, as it was a
handset some thought we'd never see from the Cupertino-based outfit.
Yet here I am, staring down the barrel of what was the biggest iPhone in history – the iPhone 6 Plus.
It arrived alongside the iPhone 6
– Apple's 2014 flagship smartphone – which measures 4.7 inches, making
it more welcoming to a wider array of palms than the supersized iPhone 6
Plus.
Many of you, especially those of an Android persuasion, may be wondering what all the fuss is about – after all, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 turned up with a 5.5-inch display years ago.
Take a moment to glance at the history of the iPhone though, and you'll see why the iPhone 6 Plus is such a big deal.
Previously
Apple has only dealt in two screen sizes: a 3.5-inch display graced the
first five generations of iPhone, and just three have had the pleasure
of a larger 4-inch display.
5.5
inches then is a huge leap forward for Apple, moving its iPhone range
into the uncharted waters of the phablet market currently dominated by
Samsung and other Android devices.
It's less impressive now, with the launch of the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus reinforcing Apple's commitment to the larger screen sizes, and current rumors point towards more of the same with the iPhone 7.
Apple
is looking to reach a previously untapped audience of smartphone users –
those who demand a large screen – with 'productivity' the main buzzword
being thrown around. A key market for the iPhone 6 Plus is Asia, where
the general consensus seems to be bigger is better when it comes to
smartphone screens.
In terms of specs and design there isn't a
huge amount of difference between the iPhone 6 Plus and the iPhone 6,
apart from the obvious size.
The
iPhone 6 Plus does boast a couple of unique features however. It was
the first iPhone to pack a full HD display, plus its bigger body means
it houses a larger battery than its 4.7-inch brother.
Both sport
A8 64-bit processors, 1GB of RAM, M8 motion coprocessors and 8MP
rear-facing cameras – although the snapper on the iPhone 6 Plus benefits
from OIS (optical image stabilisation), while the iPhone 6 makes do
with EIS (electronic image stabilisation).
As with all Apple
products the iPhone 6 Plus doesn't come cheap, and you may want to brace
yourself because it's still one of the most expensive handsets around.
The iPhone 6 Plus has seen a price cut since the launch of the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, but SIM-free the 16GB version still carries a lofty price tag of US$649 (£539, AU$1,079) – and that's just the start.
Apple
has ditched the 32GB variant for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus,
with the next storage level coming in at 64GB, and for the 5.5-inch
iPhone that equals $749 (£619, AU$1229).
There was also a 128GB
model, but that's been discontinued, so if you need a boatload of
storage you'll have to opt for the newer iPhone 6S Plus.
Even with price drops that makes the iPhone 6 Plus comfortably more expensive than rival phablets including the LG G4, OnePlus 2, Nexus 6P and Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It even rivals the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5 for price.
It's
big, it's expensive and it's inevitably played second fiddle to the
iPhone 6 – so is the iPhone 6 Plus worth considering? Read on to find
out.
Apple's tagline for the iPhone 6S is 'the only thing that's changed
is everything', highlighting that the brand knows this is a phone that
looks an awful lot like 2014's model.
It makes sense that Apple would try its hardest to show that, despite the handset looking identical to the iPhone 6, there have been loads of changes under the hood that make this an attractive phone in its own right.
The
chassis is stronger, the camera sharper – with a new Harry Potter-esque
way of capturing your snaps – and there's even a completely new way of
interacting with the screen. On paper, it's an impressive upgrade. See the iPhone 6S in action in our video review:
But when it looks identical to the iPhone
6, people will be desperate to know if the iPhone 6S is enough of an
upgrade to justify the price. While the upgrades seem great, is it worth
going all the way up to the iPhone 6S, or would the 6 do?
In
terms of raw price, we're in a weird situation now. Samsung and the rest
of the Android crew have been slowly ratcheting up the price of their
high-end phones to the point where they're actually eclipsing the iPhone
6S at launch.
While Apple put its phone into a market where the Galaxy S6 was significantly cheaper there are new boys on the block in the for of the Galaxy S7, LG G5 and HTC 10. Either way, the iPhone 6S has a lot to live up to.
In
the UK you'll likely have to part with between £50 and £100 upfront to
get the phone for £36-£38 per month (if you want a decent slug of data
and minutes) with the 6S starting at £539 (US$649, AU$1,079) for the
16GB model, £619 (US$749, AU$1,229) for the 64GB model and £699 (US$849,
AU$1,379) for 128GB.
It starts at $649 if you're looking to pick
it up off contract in the US, with the new $32.45 monthly cost if you're
thinking of getting locked into Apple's yearly upgrade plan.
In
reality though, the question of who this phone is aimed at isn't that
hard to answer: for most people stuck on the iPhone 5S it's clearly the
upgrade they're considering, although the recent arrival of the iPhone SE will surely tempt some of those users who want to stick with the smaller form factor.
Beyond
that there's the disgruntled Android owner who's tired of looking at
the slicker app experience Apple offers and seeing their own handset
looking sketchy in comparison.
(Of course, there are a few people
that tried Windows Phones as experiments, but they'd probably be happy
with just about any other phone if they're still using a Nokia Lumia 930).The difference between the iPhone 6 (left) and iPhone 6S (right) is nearly impossible to see
The issue Apple is trying to solve with the iPhone 6S (and the 6S Plus)
is how it can convince users, especially in a market saturated with
really rather brilliant smartphones, that the 'S' variant of the
impressive iPhone 6 is a worthy phone to upgrade to in its own right.
When something is so visually similar, the onus is on the brand to show that the upgrades are really worth the extra cash.
Even
if Apple keeps users within its own ecosystem there's every chance
they'll look at the iPhone 6, which is now much cheaper – so it needs to
make sure things like a stronger chassis, animated photos and a new
pressable screen are worth the extra outlay when both phones will still
work perfectly well in a couple of years' time.
Design
You've
probably already heard, but the iPhone 6S is almost identical to the 6
in every way when it comes to the chassis. There are some very subtle
differences, such as a slightly thicker frame and a little more heft,
but it's so slight that I kept getting the two mixed up when doing side
by side comparisons.
All cases fit both phones just fine too so,
apart from a small S logo on the back of the phone, nobody is going to
notice you've got the latest iPhone.
But there will be lots of you
upgrading from the iPhone 5S, and in that case you'll need to be ready
for a really big design change. The metallic chassis feels really nice
in the hand, with a ceramic-like feeling on the outside (although if
it's anything like the 6 then this can scuff over time if you keep it in
a pocket with keys, so you'll need to think about the kind of case
you'll want to keep it safe).
If you're not ready to take the leap
to the new, bigger form factor, Apple has the new iPhone SE to satisfy
your 4-inch cravings.
One
of the things that Apple is touting is the fact the iPhone 6S is made
of 7000 series aluminum, which is the strongest thing it's ever used in
iPhone construction. The obvious connection people will make is with
'Bendgate', when some users claimed their new phone had developed a
slight curve in their pocket without much pressure.
The common
belief was that these phones began to twist when placed in a rear pocket
and sat upon. While it was proven that other metal phones actually were
worse when it came to bending Apple didn't come out of the controversy
well.
So it's no surprise that, while the company won't admit the
real reason, the new iPhone is strong and never going to bend with such
pressure. However, I feel like that we shouldn't feel happy our phones
no longer bend – this seems like one of the minimum expectations I'd
have of a smartphone, not a compelling reason to buy it.
The front
of the phone is now covered in a new level of strength, with a glass
that's far less prone to shattering when dropped on the floor – now
that's something I can get behind. We've not drop tested it - we'll
leave that to some other, braver reviewer - if the screen is stronger
the responsiveness hasn't dropped.
In
the hand, the iPhone 6S still feels like a dream. Even with the extra
14g over the iPhone it feels lightweight, easy to manipulate and really
warrants the price. Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge invokes the same kind of feeling, and with it you don't mind spending the extra money over a more budget phone.
In
terms of design, if you've seen the iPhone 6 then you've seen the 6S.
The volume buttons, the power key, the silencer switch and the speaker
are all in the same place as its predecessor, with the grille at the
bottom very easy to cover when you're watching videos or playing games
in landscape.
If you're using the 5S, this is leagues ahead. The
construction is good, the materials solid and there's no wiggle in the
buttons at all. While you probably never bent your 5S, the idea that the
iPhone 6S is stronger will probably please you, however unnecessary the
claim is.
Apple's not done anything great with the design of the
iPhone 6S, but the iPhone 6 was such a well-created phone that using the
same chassis isn't going to harm its chances of success.
However,
combined with the higher price and the continued presence of the iPhone
6, I wish we were at least seeing some retooling of the phone to make
it seem more attractive.
Screen
The screen on the iPhone
6S seems to be identical to the iPhone 6's: we're talking a 4.7-inch
affair with 750p resolution, which keeps it firmly in the 'Retina' range
that the firm debuted all the way back with the iPhone 4.
It's
hard to rate the display, as while it fails on resolution (quite
spectacularly actually - phones a seventh the cost of the iPhone 6S
offer 1080p screens, Samsung's cheaper phone has four times the
resolution of the 6S and Sony has, inexplicably, launched a 4K phone) it
doesn't drop too badly on performance.
The
iPhone 6S display is clear, bright, laminated to the glass and insanely
colorful. The first time I saw it on the iPhone 6 I thought it was a
fake picture stuck on top of a dummy unit, such was the clarity on
offer.
So to use the same thing on the iPhone 6S makes sense -
after all, the lower pixel count means it can be thinner and the battery
can last longer, thanks to having fewer pixels to drive.
But
there are some things missing: for instance, the contrast ratio (the
difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the screen) is
still poor, with the black areas looking a little grey. Samsung's Galaxy
range predominantly uses OLED technology, which offers 'true' blacks
and high brightness and packs a much better visual punch, and would have
suited the iPhone down to the ground.
The sharpness in side by
side tests is clearly lower too - the 326 pixels per inch is very low
even compared the 401ppi of the iPhone 6S Plus - and most other models
are over 500ppi to bring really, really clear displays.
Given OLED
technology is used in the Apple Watch - and admittedly it looks
brilliant - it's a shame the same thing couldn't have been done with the
iPhone 6S.
It's important not to get too hung up on screen
resolution in a phone - after all, if it's not serving a purpose (hey,
Sony?) then it's just wasting battery. But the industry has moved on,
and the higher pixel densities on offer are starting to really bring
something to the table, with apps and general use looking pin sharp.
Here's hoping the iPhone 7 makes a massive jump forward to join the rest of the pack.
Design is the raison d'etre of the Lumia 650.
Microsoft claims the device is its slimmest Lumia ever, and with a
soft-touch matte plastic rear, 5-inch Gorilla Glass-strengthened screen
and aluminium frame, it certainly feels lovely in the hand – to the
extent that you can feel it at all.
It weighs a mere 122g, and after months using the brick-like Lumia 930,
when I first handled the review unit I was given it felt as though my
hand was empty; that sensation soon passed, but the abiding feel in the
hand is quite pleasant.
While
not quite up to the standards set by higher-end phones with
near-perfect fits and finishes (there are a few sharp edges here and
there), the Lumia 650 is certainly the nicest Windows Phone I've ever
held.
On
the top of the device is the 3.5mm headphone jack and a microphone,
while the right side of the device is home to the volume rocker and
power key. On the bottom of the device is the micro USB port, for
charging and connecting the device to a PC.
The back of the device houses the rear-facing 8MP camera, flanked by a single LED flash and a subtle Windows logo.
On
the front of the device the 5MP wide-angle front-facing camera is
positioned above the 5-inch, 720p screen, with the front-firing speaker
(which is really rather decent) at the bottom edge.
Display
The
screen really is a looker. In day to day use – reading emails, browsing
the web, watching a few YouTube videos – it certainly hits the mark
resolution-wise. Although it has a PPI count of 'only' 297, it packs
enough pixels to please all but the most ardent of peepers.
More
important than the resolution, however, is the rest of the tech powering
the screen – for a display is about more than just sharpness,
regardless of how beautiful the panels on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge may look.
The
Lumia 650 has an OLED screen, which differentiates it from competing
phones that still largely employ LCD technology – and the difference is
something that can be appreciated even by those without a trained eye.
OLED
panels deliver much better contrast and infinite blacks, and have a
great deal more 'punch' than all but the best LCD efforts. Moreover, the
Lumia 650 also supports the 'Glance' always-on display feature. Lumias
have been offering this for years, and the result is as pleasant and
useful as ever.
The panel on the 650 also has excellent colour
accuracy and nice viewing angles, really helping to bring the live tiles
of Windows 10 Mobile to life. This is one area in which Microsoft has
clearly taken some care and time to get things right, and it shows.
Looking to squeeze even more out of your iPad Mini 4? iOS 9.3 has released as a free update, bringing along with it a slew of new features that will help you do just that.
Most
notable of its new functionality is Night Shift. For those of you who
enjoy tinkering on a tablet late into the night or early in the morning,
Night Shift aims to help. By way of shifting the screen's color
temperature to a yellow-ish tint, the iPad Mini 4's vibrant screen is easier on the eyes.
The
effect that Night Shift has on you will, of course, vary. But at best,
the new feature changes color in tandem with the time of day, which
could help better balance your circadian rhythm. Because sleep is good.
Your
personal Notes can also (finally) be blocked behind a Touch ID gate.
Before, once unlocked, anyone could snoop through your musings, or
passwords–whatever it is you jot down in Notes. But now, your finger can
unlock access to those extra-private bits of documentation.
For
all of the goodies that have come out of Apple since the launch of iOS
9, check out our in-depth guide to the latest operating system here. And if your heart is set to the future, here's everything we know about iOS 10. Original review follows below...
It's
hard to work out what Apple's up to with its iPad range. You'd have
said the mini selection of tablets was being retired after the mini 3 got the minimum upgrade possible… but then the iPad mini 4 was quietly rolled out.
And it's actually rather good.
Okay,
you can easily argue that it's the tablet the mini 3 should have been,
and there's an infuriating drop in spec compared to the iPad Air 2 (the mini 2 and the iPad Air were almost identical except in size, and it was awesome). But it's still one of the better tablets around.
This
is the iPad Air 2 in a smaller frame, which is a great base to begin
with – even now the Air 2 is the best tablet on the market without
doubt. It's a shame we didn't get the iPad Air 3 in 2015, but the whole slate market is in flux right now, so perhaps you can forgive a degree of caution on Apple's part. In
fact, you could argue that Apple has too many products out there now –
after all, this is a brand that only does one (ish) phone a year. With
the addition of the iPad Pro, there are now three tablets in the line-up, with the bigger models taking the attention at the launch.
Despite
that the iPad mini 4 is obviously the best smaller tablet Apple has
ever created; well, I say obviously, but the mini 3 was actually
something of a backwards step. That device was just the mini 2 with a
new colour and Touch ID, but the mini 4 is a much better device. If
you're torn between the large and smaller models, the key thing to know
about the mini range is that it's a tablet that can actually go in your
pocket. Not easily, admittedly, but it'll slip easily into a jacket for
on-the-go slate action.
Coming in at £319 / $399 / AU$569 for the
base 16GB Wi-Fi-only model, this still isn't the budget option we've
been after from Apple (and will probably never get, given the brand's
lust for premium, high-cost devices), but it's much closer than the
larger variants, and the mini 2 exists for those looking for a
lower-price iPad.
So what's Apple up to? Is the mini tablet market
being eaten by phablets – in fact, is the iPhone 6S Plus cannibalising
the mini 4? Or is it that we're not replacing tablets at the same rate,
thus making it harder for Apple to justify constantly creating a premium
model each year?
It's a shame – the lower price of the iPad mini 2
makes it a real consideration, so this review is essentially going to
look at whether, despite the older components, the iPad mini 4 can be
considered a decent 'new' tablet.
Design
The design of the
iPad mini 4 is going to come as no surprise to most, as it's still
borrowing the same design language from the original iPad mini. The same
swooping curved edges are used once more, and the ceramic-like back of
the tablet feels brilliant in the hand.
The mini 4, like the iPad
Air 2, has had a little bit of thickness shaved off compared to its
predecessor to make it even more portable, and the weight is reduced
accordingly. The iPad mini 4 is down to 299g, from 331g, which makes it
even easier to slip into the inside pocket of a jacket or hide in a bag. The
screen is still encased with the same large bezels from all other
iPads, but with less down the horizontal sides (when you're holding the
mini 4 in portrait orientation) to make things look a little sleeker.
Is
that a good thing? Will you not rub your palms all over it and interact
with the screen unwillingly when you're trying to browse the web or
read a book on the go? Thankfully, the screen is more intelligent, and
can work out when you're going to want to do this and when you're not,
so you won't have to worry too much about accidental taps.
The
rest of the tablet is pretty much as expected, with only the silencer
switch missing. This has been gradually eradicated from most of Apple's
devices of late, with the silencer finding a home in the Control Center
section (found by dragging up from the bottom of the screen) and working
just as well when you need to shut the iPad up. Some
people think Apple gets kudos for its design language simply because of
the brand, but there's still the same hallmark craftsmanship present
throughout this tablet, with ergonomics carefully thought out. The
volume and power buttons are just prominent enough to be found without
looking, yet still don't catch on pockets or bags when the device is
being flung about.
The iPad mini 4 is one of the most robust and
premium-feeling tablets on the market; it's probably not going to
survive a fight with barbed wire, but the casing can handle some rough
treatment in a bag, that's for sure. It
always makes sense to pick up a case or cover to protect the screen,
but that display too has got some strength to it. I'm not suggesting you
throw it out of windows regularly (not just for damage purposes –
that's just a dumb thing to do. Why are you even considering it?) but
it's going to handle the odd drop from the bed.
In 2014 Apple finally gave us an iPhone which offered a display to
rival its Android flagship counterparts, while enabling you to really
take advantage of the apps, games, movies and TV shows in its expansive
libraries.
The iPhone 6 Plus
was expensive, but there's no denying it was well received. Android
fans will continue to berate Apple for its seemingly copy-cat
'innovation', but the plain fact is that the 6 Plus was a great handset,
with all the power of the iPhone and a much longer battery life.
It's no surprise then, that Apple has returned in 2015 with the refreshed iPhone 6S Plus.
The
iPhone 6S Plus inherits the price tag of its predecessor, which means
you're looking at some lofty SIM-free figures. The 16GB model comes in
at $749, £619, AU$1,129, but you'll probably want a bit more storage
than that.
In which case the 64GB iPhone 6S Plus will set you back
$849, £699, AU$1,379, while the 128GB model – which we tried out for
this review – is $949, £789, AU$1,529.
Unsurprisingly that puts the 6S Plus up against the top phones on the market, rubbing shoulders with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 5 and Sony Xperia Z5 Premium in terms of price.
It's also gunning for the LG G4, Moto X Style, OnePlus 2 and Huawei Mate S with its 5.5-inch full HD display.
As
you've probably guessed from the 'S' handle in its name, the 6S Plus is
more of an incremental upgrade over the 6 Plus rather than a
reimagining of Apple's smartphone range.
It might be a stretch
for current 6 Plus incumbents to justify upgrading to the new iPhone 6S
Plus, but it's got a few fancy features you won't find on older iPhones.
Design
There's
no mistaking the incremental credentials of the iPhone 6S Plus when it
comes to design. It looks identical to the iPhone 6 Plus, and I mean
identical. Remember the iPhone 4 and 4S? It's like that.
In
fact, the only obvious marking that differentiates the 6S Plus is the
small 'S' logo on the rear below the word 'iPhone' – although it will be
covered by your hand 90% of the time (or 100% of the time by a case).
The
sleek, rounded metal body continues to look and feel premium, with the
build quality you'd expect from Apple. After last year's unfortunate 'bendgate'
fiasco, Apple has looked to reassure people that its latest smartphone
duo are tough. This isn't strictly necessary, given that we'd have
expected last year's models to be strong enough to get through a couple
of years of use, but some clarification was needed.
Both the
iPhone 6S and 6S Plus sport what Apple is calling '7000 series
aluminum', which it claims is a lot stronger. Who wants to volunteer up
their new iPhone 6S Plus for a bend test?
The 6S Plus is still a
beast in the hand, with Apple's insistence on the sizeable bezels above
and below the display ensuring its supersized dimensions.
The
6S Plus is ever so slightly thicker than its predecessor, gaining an
additional 0.2mm in girth. You won't notice the addition, and I suspect
Apple needed a little extra space to squeeze in its 3D Touch technology.
It's also piled on the pounds, gaining 20g on the 6 Plus, which sees the iPhone 6S Plus tip the scales at a hefty 192g.
It's
fair to say, then, that you'll notice the 6S Plus in your hand and
pocket, and it can get a little tiring on the wrist to hold it for
extended periods one-handed. Most of the time I found I had to employ
both mitts to keep it steady and reach all areas of the screen.
The
flat rear and rounded metal edges offer little in the way of grip,
which makes the iPhone 6S Plus a bit of a slippery eel. A tight grasp is
required to ensure it doesn't make a dash for the floor, although
Apple's silicon case provides both protection and in-hand security for
$39 / £29 / AU$59.
Apple's
stuck with the same button placements too, with power/lock on the right
and the volume keys on the left, just below the mute switch. During
one-handed use I found I needed to stretch a little to reach them, and
those with smaller palms will struggle more.
There is a silver
(actually, pink) lining though: the iPhone 6S Plus has a new color! In
addition to gold, silver and space grey you can now pick up Apple's
latest supersized smartphone in a fetching shade of 'Rose Gold'... also
known as pink.
The familiar design of the iPhone 6S Plus will be
comforting to the Apple faithful, while outsiders may look on with
raised eyebrows, mumbling something about a lack of progression from the
Cupertino firm. And they may have a point.
Display
On
first viewing the screen on the iPhone 6S Plus is the same as its
predecessor, with the 5.5-inch panel sporting a full HD resolution and
401ppi pixel density.
That makes it sharper than the smaller iPhone 6S, which only musters a 1334 x 750 resolution, resulting in 326ppi.
Text
and images are crisp and clear, colors are vibrant and images pop,
especially if you whack the screen brightness up (just keep an eye on
the battery life if you do).
The
IPS screen is covered in toughened glass with fingerprint-resistant
oleophobic coating, and it does a better job than most at keeping the
display relatively print-free.
It's not perfect, and there were
still times I had to give it a quick wipe, but compared to many of its
Android rivals the iPhone 6S Plus is less of a smudge magnet.
As I've mentioned, hold the iPhone 6S Plus side by side to the iPhone 6 Plus and there are no visible differences between the two, but the 6S Plus has a hidden bonus feature: 3D Touch.
There's a part of me that doesn't understand why Apple gets the
amount of interest it does with something like the iPhone SE. It's a
phone that's in an identical chassis to the one released three years
ago, and beyond a new color it's impossible to know which model is
which. It's the iPhone 'Special Edition'.Then I look around the train carriage on the way to work and count the amount of iPhone 5S and 5 devices that are being prodded quietly all around. The number is staggering, and it easily dwarfs the amount of iPhone 6 or iPhone 6S handsets on show.
Has
Apple been smart here? Looked at the way people are using phones and
realised there's a massive market for a certain form factor - one that's
not only not being serviced in the iWorld, but in the smartphone arena
in general?
The iPhone SE is a phone that many might not have expected - in truth, we thought the iPhone 5C
would get a reboot, with the plastic chassis coming in a more rounded,
6S-a-like shape and allowing Apple to offer a lower-cost phone that
could be pushed to other territories where flagship phones don't sell as
well.
But instead we got a hark back to a long-forgotten era in
smartphones, like Apple slit time in two and pulled a phone back
through, and charged US$399 (£359, AU$679) for the 16GB model, and
US$499 (£439, $AU829) for the 64GB option for the privilege.
The
question of price is more important here than ever before. By launching a
4-inch phone, no matter how fancy the internals are, consumers will
expect it to be a little cheaper - and thankfully that's what Apple has
done.
It's
actually rather impressive - in the UK at least, the price of the
contract for this phone is cheaper than many flagships from 2015, and
considering the high-end internals used here, it's pretty good. The
SIM-free price isn't cheap, but it's more affordable than a 'new' iPhone
has ever been.
But enough about the price - usually, people that
are embedded into the iOS ecosystem struggle to leave it, and are
willing to pay whatever's necessary to get a decent new phone.
So
what about this decision to re-re-release the iPhone 5? Has Apple
zigged when the rest of the world has zagged, and come up with the
direction everyone has been clamoring for, making a
powerful-yet-palmable phone?
Or is this a company arrogantly
believing it can churn out the same phone design for the third time and
hope the world will consider it different enough to be worth the
upgrade?
Key new features
Besides price (the iPhone SE is
the cheapest Apple handset on the market, after all) the key selling
point with this new phone is the design. The chassis, as I've mentioned
above, is precisely the same as on the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, and beyond coming in rose gold, doesn't offer anything new at all.
That
said, so many people are looking at the iPhone's evolution to the
4.7-inch display of the 6 and 6S and scrunched their noses up a bit, not
wanting to make the leap to the larger size of screen (and that's
before we even get into the iPhone 6S Plus' mega size).
The
new phone is designed to be easily operated with one hand, the 4-inch
screen sitting just at the edge of a thumb stretch, and Apple is banking
on this fact keeping the handset current.
However, internally
things are genuinely supercharged, a world away from the innards stuffed
into the handset from a few years back. The camera has had one of the
biggest overhauls, now coming with the 12MP iSight sensor found in the
current flagship phones, and offering the same array of tricks. That
means Focus Pixels to offer clearer and faster autofocus, the improved
two-tone flash and Live Photos, where a small amount of video is
captured with every photo taken. 4K video recording and ultra-slo-mo
movie modes really help sweeten the deal too.
The power of the
iPhone SE is something to behold as well - it's as powerful as the
iPhone 6S and 6S Plus thanks to having the new A9 chip, the M9
co-processor and 2GB of RAM.
Compare that to the A7 chip with a
measly 1GB of RAM from the iPhone 5S and side by side they're absolutely
night and day in terms of speed and battery life management.
The
M9 co-processor is an important element too, telling the phone when it
should be heading into a dormant mode thanks to being sat quietly on a
desk or in a pocket, which prevents the battery-hungry pings that lead
to the red line of doom and you needing to reach for the charger at 6PM.
Battery
life is impressive on the phone, especially when you consider there are
only a few mAh added in here, from 1560mAh to 1624mAh, and with no
increase to the size of the chassis at all, this is a really impressive
feat and addresses one of the key concerns I had with the iPhone 5S.
The iPad Pro is ambitiously touted as Apple's new tablet that has the
guts to replace your laptop, and it now comes in an ideal size that
perfectly demonstrates bigger isn't always better for everyone.
Even though I was thoroughly impressed with the grunt behind the powerful iPad Pro 12.9, I longed for that standard 9.7-inch display and form factor with the same pro-level features.
It's taken Apple a year and a half to launch a proper iPad Air 2 successor and, in that time, it fit almost everything from the giant iPad into a smaller frame. It's way more than an iPad Air 3 upgrade.
It's way more than an iPad Air 3 upgrade.
I
can now listen to amped up music through its four loud stereo speakers,
doodle away with the Apple Pencil and seamlessly attach a keyboard
without fumbling with Bluetooth. Its Smart Connector port may be my
favorite new feature inherited from the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
It's
not all hand-me-downs. The iPad Pro 9.7 actually strikes out on its own
with a few advancements. Its True Tone display technology adapts to my
environment by subtly adjusting the white balance, and there's a much
wider color gamut behind its anti-reflective coated glass.
Its camera is 12MP and shoots 4K video, taking cues from the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus
camera specs. That's incredibly rare for a tablet of any size. So is
the rose gold color option and debut of a 256GB configuration.
It's a tablet juggernaut - not in size, but the asking price.
What
we have ended up with is a tablet juggernaut - but without looking like
a juggernaut. On the other hand it also has a serious asking price to
match its power, and several easy-to-spot software limitations.
The
iPad Air 9.7 costs $599 (£499, AU$899), higher than the iPad Air 2
launch price of $499, (£399, $699) and even higher than the current iPad
Air 2 price of $399 (£349, AU$599).
Is there enough here for
Apple to retain its best tablet status? Let's explore the current iPad
that wants to be your laptop-replacement of the future. Be sure to watch our video review of the iPad Pro 9.7
Design
From
across the room, I couldn't tell the difference between this iPad Pro
9.7 and my iPad Air 2 when I was charging both during my battery life
tests. They're nearly identical on the outside, and that's a good thing.
The new "Pro" label doesn't mean bigger, it just means bolder.
The
new iPad Pro has the same sub-pencil-thin dimensions of 240 x 168 x
6.1mm, making it a natural fit for two hands and easy to stow in a
backpack. Surprisingly, its weight matches, too, despite the specs
upgrade: 437g for Wi-Fi and 444g for Wi-Fi + Cellular again. The new
"Pro" label doesn't mean bigger, it just means bolder.
You get the
same polished aluminum frame, fast Touch ID fingerprint scanning home
button and a 9.7-inch Retina display. The lightning port hasn't moved
from the bottom, the headphone jack and sleep/wake button are still on
the top, and the volume rocker remains on the right side.
In fact,
the only surefire way to tell the difference from afar is to opt for
the new finish. There are now four colors instead of three: Silver,
Gold, Space Gray and the iPad 9.7-exclusive Rose Gold. This isn't the
only way the tablet matches the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, though.
There's
a slight camera bump on the back that no one likes, but it's a fair
trade off. It makes way for a 12MP rear-facing iSight camera, just like
its smartphone counterpart, and now there's a True Tone LED flash. Yes,
that's right, your tablet camera is as every bit as good as your phone
camera. Still, please don't awkwardly take photos with it in public.
Yes,
that's right. Your tablet camera is now every bit as good as your phone
camera. But please don't take photos with it in public.
Of
course, upon even closer inspection, you'll see two more changes from
the iPad Air 2 by way of new speakers at the top and bottom and a Smart
Connector port on the left side. They're flush with the aluminum frame
and almost hidden, but make no mistake, they've have acted as game
changers for the iPad Pro series design.
Four speakers, two at the
top and two at the bottom, give the new iPad Pro 9.7 a proper stereo
setup, and they're loud enough to drown out the bottom-firing,
twin-speakers of the iPad Air 2 at full volume. Best of all, they're not
blasting music and Netflix movie dialogue out just one side.
I no
longer felt the need to cup my hand around the speaker to get a decent
volume for myself without bothering other people around me by cranking
it up all of the way. Turning the tablet in landscape mode to watch a
movie, I found everything sounded natural. Part of that balance is due
to the fact that the upper top speakers always handle mid and high
frequencies and they'll change depending on how you hold the iPad Pro,
rotating the sound as the screen orientation does.
Apple smartly
refined the iPad Pro 9.7 design, and that's not the only clever way it
changed up its traditional tablet look and feel in its push to the
professional leagues.
At over £600, $800 (around AU$960) SIM free the Galaxy Note 4 was
heart stoppingly expensive at launch. Several months have now passed
since then and with the arrival of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 5 the price of the Note 4 has dropped.
You
can now pick it up for under £420, $540 (around AU$750) if you don't
want to be tied down to a contract. That makes it decidedly cheaper than
the Note 5, S6 and S6 Edge - while offering a similar level of power
and performance
On
contract in the UK a free handset will now see you pay £31 per month
for two years, which isn't too bad all things considered.
It's no longer the newest flagship in Samsung's fleet either, with the introduction of the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge providing the most cutting edge tech and an improved design.
Unlike
the previous three iterations Samsung hasn't deemed it necessary to
increase the screen size of the Note 4, so it sticks with the same
5.7-inch dimensions of the Galaxy Note 3.
It's not the same screen though, as Samsung has given the Galaxy Note 4
a hefty resolution boost - but more on that on the next page.
When
it comes to design Samsung has definitely listened about its latest
line-up feeling plasticky in the hand and has decided to give the Note 4
more of a premium finish.
The metal frame runs round the outsideThere's
a metal rim surrounding the handset, shielding the rest of the chassis
like a velvet rope protecting celebs from real people in a club.
It
sports exactly the same shape, style and rounded corners as the Galaxy
Alpha, only on a bigger scale and thanks to the increased size the
plastic rear is more noticeable here than it is on the Alpha.
Samsung
has tried to make the removable plastic cover feel more premium by
giving it a leather effect finish, but there's still no fooling your
hand with that unmistakable texture.
It's not on the same level of
design as the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge which ditch plastic altogether, so
if you really don't like this cheaper material then consider these two
instead. The new Note 5 has taken the design a step further by mirroring
the all metal and glass stylings of the Galaxy S6. If you're looking
for the most premium phablet then head over to the newer Note in the
series.
Still all plastic on the back.A
plus side to this though is the plastic rear does provide good grip -
vital when you've got such a large handset in your hand and even though
the Galaxy Note 4 is a touch wider than the all metal iPhone 6 Plus, I
found the Samsung is easier to hold.
Even though the 6 Plus has a
smaller, 5.5-inch display, it's actually taller than the Note 4 -
something else the Samsung has over its Apple rival as it makes the
phone more balanced in the hand.
Add to that the placement of the
power/lock key on the right of the Galaxy Note 4 and you find that even
for a big phone the key buttons are still easy enough to reach (if your
palms are on the larger side).
It does have a lovely screen.The
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 measures 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm, almost the same as
its predecessor and smaller in width and depth than the Galaxy Note 2 which is impressive considering this is the first of the Note series to sport a metal frame.
I've also been using the 5.5-inch OnePlus One recently and there's really not a lot to choose between the two in terms of size.
It's
safe to say then, if you're already accustomed to the larger league of
smartphones then the Galaxy Note 4 will feel right at home in your palm.
There's a fingerprint scanner hidden hereI
really like the way the Galaxy Note 4 feels in the hand and having used
the Note 3 on a number of occasions, it definitely feels different and
refined enough - plus it's light too, just a touch over the weight of
the Note 3 at 176g.
Samsung's tried and tested physical home key
still resides at the bottom of the screen, providing a location for the
Korean firm to stuff in its fingerprint scanner, and that's flanked by
two touch keys.
To the left of the home button is the
Multi-tasking key, while on the right you get Back. Both Back and
Multi-tasking are completely hidden when not illuminated by the
backlights, providing a clean finish to the front of the Galaxy Note 4.
The Note 4 can be tricky to use one-handedSome
shuffling of the Note 4 in the hand is required to get your fingers in
the right position to reach these during one handed use, and you'll need
to be careful not to drop it.
Round the back you'll find a 16MP camera, LED flash and the heart rate monitor which also features on the Galaxy S5, S5 Mini and Galaxy Alpha.
In
the bottom corner you'll also notice the end of the S Pen stylus hiding
inside the body of the Galaxy Note 4, while behind the removable rear
cover there's a microSIM port, microSD slot and a sizable 3220mAh
battery.
You'll find a 16MP camera on the backThis,
then, was the Note handset with the most premium and accomplished look
and feel to date. Samsung is finally providing the build quality its
top-end devices have been yearning for and it's since gone even further
towards premium perfection with the Galaxy Note 5.
Samsung has
managed to keep the dimensions manageable - it's certainly a lot easier
to hold than the 6-inch Lumia 1520 and Ascend Mate 7 - and while the
iPhone 6 Plus may look sleeker, the Galaxy Note 4 boasts a bigger,
better screen and very similar dimensions.
The Galaxy S6 was Samsung's plunge into premium materials for its
flagship line, which had long since suffered ridicule for its extensive
use of plastic. The Galaxy S7 is the evolutionary upgrade that follows,
building upon the S6's foundations.
Key specifications
5.1"1440x2560 pixels
12MP
2160p
2.3GHz
Exynos 8890 Octa
4GB RAM
32/64GB memory
3000mAhLi-Po
Design has been refined, with clues taken from the Note5 which split
in half the year between the two S-models' releases. Under the hood, the
latest silicon churns higher numbers, but the headlines are in other
areas - a brand new dual-pixel 12MP camera, the return of environmental
sealing and microSD expansion, plus an extra-large battery. In other
words - the Galaxy S6, only better.
Design and build quality
Galaxies were all made of plastic, Samsung S-series flagships, that
is. Then came the Galaxy S6, Samsung's response to plastic-hating users
and reviewers, and it brought materials, look and feel up to the
standard required in the segment. Samsung committed to the dual-glass
design and on the S7 we see it taken a step up.
Weight: 152g
Thickness 7.9mm
The Galaxy Note5 has generously loaned its curved back to the S7,
alongside with its outer aluminum frame. This has made the S7 feel quite
a lot slimmer than it actually is - measuring 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm, the
new model is 1.1mm thicker than the outgoing S6.
The "huge" difference, however, brings more good than it does harm.
An extra millimeter means extra juice (3,000mAh battery vs. the S6's
2,550mAh), and it also helps make the camera hump less of an eye-sore -
it only sticks out by 0.46mm now. There's no hiding the added heft - at
152g the S7 is precisely 10% heaver than the S6, and it shows in
side-by-side comparisons. Not really an issue in daily use, though.
There's also no escaping the fact that glass collects fingerprints,
and the S7 is a pain to keep clean. That's less of an issue with white
paint jobs, but in all other cases, it's likely to be covered in smudges
most of the time.
Samsung Galaxy S7
While the rear comes from the Note5, the front is entirely S7's. The
side edges of the glass fade out nicely towards the frame at a more
gradual angle than the top and bottom - a different take on the 2.5D
glass concept, and one that detail freaks will rave about. It's not the
S7 edge's curves, no, but the S7's face does indeed have a character of
its own.
Those minute differences aside, the Galaxy S7 shares a lot of the
hallmark properties of the range. Controls are where they're supposed to
be, there's a fingerprint sensor inside the Home button, which requires
a press to wake up, ports are where they were last time.
Well, the IR blaster is nowhere to be found, but then the card tray
will now accept a microSD card beside the nanoSIM - yes, Samsung
reintroduces expandable storage, which it mercilessly took away last
generation.
Oh, and in case the rain drops on the photos weren't enough of a hint
- the Galaxy S7 is IP68 certified for water resistance up to 1.5m deep
for up to half an hour, and it's also dust tight.
The
phone
comes with a
5.20-inch touchscreen display
with a resolution of 720 pixels by 1280 pixels
The
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
is powered by
1.2GHz quad-core
and it
comes with 2GB of RAM.
The
phone
packs
16GB of internal storage that
can be expanded up to 128GB via a
microSD card.
As far as the cameras are concerned,
the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) packs a 13-megapixel primary camera on the
rear and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) runs Android
6.0.1 and is powered by a 3100mAh removable battery. It measures
145.80 x 72.30 x 8.10 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 159.00
grams.
The
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) is a
dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that
accepts Regular and
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi,
GPS, Bluetooth, 3G, 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE
networks in India).
Sensors on the phone include Proximity
sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer.
About Samsung
Founded
back in 1969 as Samsung Electric Industries, Suwon, South
Korea-headquartered Samsung Electronics today makes everything from
televisions to semiconductors. It released its first Android smartphone
in 2009, and can be credited with the launch of the first Android tablet
back in 2010. The company is among the biggest players in the
smartphone market in the world. It has recently developed smartphones
running Tizen OS, as an alternative to its Android-based smartphones.
The
phone
comes with a
6.00-inch touchscreen display
with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels
The
Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro
is powered by
1.8GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snpadragon 652
processor
and it
comes with 4GB of RAM.
The
phone
packs
32GB of internal storage that
can be expanded up to 128GB via a
microSD card.
As far as the cameras are concerned,
the Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro packs a 16-megapixel primary camera on the
rear and a 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The
Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro runs Android 5.1.1 and is powered by a 5000mAh non removable battery.
The
Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro is a
dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that
accepts two Regular SIMs.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi,
GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, FM, 3G, 4G.
Sensors on the phone include Proximity
sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, and Gyroscope.
About Samsung
Founded
back in 1969 as Samsung Electric Industries, Suwon, South
Korea-headquartered Samsung Electronics today makes everything from
televisions to semiconductors. It released its first Android smartphone
in 2009, and can be credited with the launch of the first Android tablet
back in 2010. The company is among the biggest players in the
smartphone market in the world. It has recently developed smartphones
running Tizen OS, as an alternative to its Android-based smartphones.
The
phone
comes with a
5.20-inch touchscreen display
with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels
The
Samsung Galaxy C5
is powered by
1.2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617
processor
and it
comes with 4GB of RAM.
The
phone
packs
32GB of internal storage that
can be expanded up to 128GB via a
microSD card.
As far as the cameras are concerned,
the Samsung Galaxy C5 packs a 16-megapixel primary camera on the rear
and a 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The
Samsung Galaxy C5 runs Android 6.0.1 and
is powered by a 2600mAh non removable battery. It measures 145.90 x
72.00 x 6.70 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 143.00 grams.
The
Samsung Galaxy C5 is a
dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi,
GPS, Bluetooth, 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks
in India).
Sensors on the phone include Proximity
sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, and Gyroscope.
About Samsung
Founded
back in 1969 as Samsung Electric Industries, Suwon, South
Korea-headquartered Samsung Electronics today makes everything from
televisions to semiconductors. It released its first Android smartphone
in 2009, and can be credited with the launch of the first Android tablet
back in 2010. The company is among the biggest players in the
smartphone market in the world. It has recently developed smartphones
running Tizen OS, as an alternative to its Android-based smartphones.
Just hours after receiving its TENAA certification in China, Samsung officially introduced the Samsung Galaxy C7 in the country. Earlier today, the manufacturer took the wraps off of the Samsung Galaxy C5.
The Galaxy C7 features a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display, with a 1080 x
1920 FHD resolution. The Snapdragon 625 SoC that drives the unit comes
with an octa-core 2GHz CPU, and the Adreno 506 GPU. 4GB of RAM is inside
along with 32GB or 64GB of expandable storage. Those seeking additional
memory can turn to the 128GB capacity microSD slot. A fingerprint
scanner is embedded in the home button.
A 16MP camera with an
f/1.9 aperture is found on the back of the phone, with an 8MP selfie
snapper in front. The latter also sports an f/1.9 aperture which should
allow users to take quality selfies under low-light conditions. Keeping
the lights on is the job of the 3300mAh battery, which charges up
quickly thanks to QuickCharge 3.0. Android 6.0.1 is pre-installed.
Like the Galaxy C5, the Galaxy C7 is metal-clad and thin (6.7mm);
the device tips the scales at 165 grams. It will be available in gold,
pink gold, silver and grey. While availability remains unknown, the 32GB
model is expected to be priced at the equivalent of $396 USD, while the
64GB version should cost the equivalent of $427 USD.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a phone I'd hate to have had to make.
Its predecessor was a multi-award-winning phone, simply because it
packed all the power of the 'normal' Galaxy S6 and yet... that curved edge. I wasn't alone in loving it, whipping it out proudly whenever possible.
But
that was last year, and the world is bored of the curved design. We've
seen it. It's been done. So what can Samsung do to make the new phone a
real step forward?
Well, unlike what it's done on the Galaxy S7,
which looks (initially) like last year's model, the changes on the S7
Edge are brilliant, adding a zest to a design that could have quickly
become tired.
The screen is larger, yet somehow the phone doesn't
feel too much bigger in the hand. The rear of the phone is now curved
too, making it sit nicely in the hand. It's waterproof. There's a
microSD card slot. There's so much power in there I'm pretty sure I
could strap it on the back of a speedboat and make my way across the
Atlantic.
And
that's even more possible because the battery – such a disappointment
on last year's S6 phones – is boosted massively too, giving us a handset
that's able to last over 24 hours between charges.
All this comes
at a cost obviously, and a pretty hefty one. In the UK that cost is
£640, while in the US you're looking at a huge $299 on contract. In
Australia, the Galaxy S7 Edge attracts the highest price for a Galaxy
yet: AU$1,249 for the 32GB version.
That's quite a jump from last year's AU$1,149 starting price, showing this is one of the most expensive phones around.
But, in my view, it's worth every penny.
Design
The
Galaxy S7 Edge is a phone that lives and dies by its looks. If you're
only interested in the power then just go for the standard Galaxy S7.
The smaller, 'normal', model has got all the same smarts, but a slightly
sharper screen thanks to packing the same amount of pixels into a
smaller area.
What
it misses is the clever elements that Samsung's used on the Edge. The
display curves further away into the sides of the phone than ever
before, which means that even though you've got a phablet-sized display,
the phone is as compact as possible.
Place it side by side with the iPhone 6s Plus
and you'll see what I mean. The amount of bezel used above and below
the display on Apple's phone is almost laughable, especially when you
compare it to how tightly packed everything is on the S7 Edge – and the
Samsung has a much, much larger battery.
The S7 Edge is shorter
and narrower (150.9 x 72.6mm) than the 6S Plus (158.2 x 77.9mm), even
though both devices have the same 5.5-inch screen size. The iPhone is
however, a hair thinner at 7.3mm versus the Samsung's 7.7mm girth.
It's also very similar in size to the LG G5 (149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm), which again sports a 5.5-inch display - with the Android manufacturers really sticking it to Apple.
One
of my favorite parts of the design upgrade on the S7 Edge comes on the
rear. A process called 3D Thermo Forming – which sounds like it's been
named by a sentient marketing machine – enables the brand to curve the
rear of the phone into a single metal rim that runs all around the edge.
It's a feature that was used last year on the Note 5 (and is also used by brands like Xiaomi) to really help the phone slip into your palm and remove any sharp metallic edges.
Combine
that with the same curve on the front of the device and you can see why
it feels so smooth in the hand, almost pebble-esque in the way you can
roll it around in your palm.
Intriguingly, this has left some
people with the impression that it's not quite got the same premium feel
as previous Samsung phones. By having less metal to grasp on to you're
touching the Gorilla Glass 4 covering, which can feel a little like
plastic due to its lightweight (but still very strong) construction
Tap
the back of the phone and it lacks the sheen of metal, but in fairness
that lack of metal allows for the wireless charging that's a key feature
of the S7 Edge.
That back does have one issue though: it's a
fingerprint fairground, a veritable carnival for any crime scene
investigators looking to nab you for some dirty villainy.
So many
phones have that criticism thrown at them, but it's particularly true
for Samsung's new curved phone. It's easy enough to wipe the sticky
offenders off, but it's annoying to have to do it time and again.
The
camera protrusion on the rear has been reduced to just 0.42mm, which
means it's barely noticeable when you're placing the phone down, while
still being strong enough to help protect the lens.
And then you
remember something else: this phone, with its elegant rim and clean
lines, and complete with exposed ports, is waterproof.
No,
sorry, water-RESISTANT, as it's IP68 rated. That means it's still able
to work after being dunked in fresh water for 30 minutes up to a depth
of 1.5 metres, so you'll be able to use it happily in the bath, or
beside the shallow end of the swimming pool, and not worry about
dropping it.
It's less of a 'let's take our phone scuba diving to
get some amazing pictures' feature, and more of a safety feature – and
the phone will even refuse to charge if the port is too wet, such is its
ability to manage moisture.
Sadly, you're still left with a
single speaker firing out the bottom of the Galaxy S7 Edge, which
doesn't really have the most premium of sound; however, it's
serviceable, and noticeably louder than other mono speakers I've used.
Overall,
I can't speak highly enough of the S7 Edge's design. It feels amazing
in the hand, and Samsung has managed to bring enough upgrades to make
this look and feel like a completely different phone; and most people
trying it for the first time will – even if they're not a fan – be able
to appreciate something different in a world filled with black,
rectangular slabs.
Screen
The display, while technically
part of the Galaxy S7 Edge's design, is worthy of chatting about in its
own right – simply because it looks so great.
It's the defining
feature when you pull this phone out among friends, and while it doesn't
elicit the same response that the S6 Edge's display did last year (like
I said, curved displays are nothing new these days), it still gets a
lot of approving looks, especially as it's combined with the rounded
back.
The QHD resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 still looks as good as
anything I've seen on a smartphone. Despite being stretched a little
from last year, the 5.5-inch size still looks absolutely pin-sharp, and
it's very hard to see any artefacts lying around on the screen.
It's
amazing to think that, two years after LG brought out the first
mainstream QHD phone, we still don't have any dedicated content that can
be viewed at this resolution. Despite that, however, I don't feel like
the Galaxy S7 Edge really suffers, as that display makes viewing web
pages and photos a really great experience.
The S7 Edge uses Super
AMOLED technology, which Samsung's been chucking out for close to a
decade now, and it really works well to make the phone look premium and
the colors really pop.
The contrast ratio – the difference
between the whitest whites and the blackest blacks – is still pretty
sensational, which is because when they're not in use, the pixels are
turned off; with something like the iPhone 6s or the LG G5
you've got a display that just blocks out the backlight when the pixel
is showing a black image, so there can be a small amount of light
bleed-through.
The Galaxy S7 Edge screen also has the added
benefit of the side display, which is accessed by swiping your thumb
along from the right- or left-hand side of the phone's screen (you can
specify which in the settings).
Where
this was a nonsense, useless feature in years gone by, the side display
has a much more defined role on the Galaxy S7 Edge. You can easily get
access to news, regular contacts, tools (the ruler, for digi-measuring
is back – GET IN) and other elements that are currently in development.
Check
out the Specs and Performance section of this review to hear a little
bit more about this feature – or skip it entirely if you're bored of
hearing me witter on about a piece of the display you can swipe.
