Google teams up with Zac Posen to inspire young girls to code
Please excuse my ignorance when it comes to high fashion, but I do have friends who are into that kind of stuff and when I asked them about Zac Posen, they knew exactly who I was asking about. As a wild guess, most of us tech guys don’t pay attention to fashion, but Google’s Made with Code and Zac Posen know that young girls do love to design, and teamed up to inspire young girls to code through a dress designed using Computer Science.
New York’s Fashion Week started off yesterday, where the world’s elite designers come together to show off their latest work. Zac Posen, who sells a wide range of dresses through Neiman Marcus(and other stores) in prices ranging from $950 up to $9990, used coded designs from teen girls to design a dress to debut as his grand finale of his show. He did this in hopes of inspiring young girls who have an interest in fashion to see what code can help them create.
Made with Code started with the mission of inspiring girls to try coding and to see it as a means to pursue their dream careers—regardless of what field those careers are in. For this project, girls from organizations like Black Girls Code, the Flatiron School, Girls Who Code and Lower East Side Girls Club, coded designs for an LED dress using an introductory coding project online.
When the dress went down the runway, it displayed the girls’ patterns in 500 LED lights, using a micro controller specially tuned to match Zac’s Spring Summer 2016 runway collection. 50 girls got seats at the show to see their creations go down the runway.
In an industry where diversity is severely lacking, we have to be proactive if we want to see changes. Less than 1% of girls study Computer Science. Made with Code hopes to change that statistic and we should all help make that change too so these young girls can contribute their voices to the field of technology. Check out Made with Code and educate yourself on the facts so you can help do your part.
Source – Google
Link to designing your own LED dress.
Learn to code through code.org.
In the United States, 74% of girls express interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) in middle school.
By high school, only .3% girls plan to major in Computer Science
Computer Science jobs will be the highest-paying sectors over the next decade, paying almost 15k more than average
Encouragement from adults and peers is the #1 contributor to a girl’s decision to pursue Computer Science
The post Google teams up with Zac Posen to inspire young girls to code appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Hangouts updated to get ready for Android Marshmallow release
In the last few weeks we have seen more and more evidence of Google laying the ground-work for the upcoming release of Android Marshmallow. In the lead up to their sweetest release ever, Hangouts has been updated from v4.0 to v4.2 – though there is no real evidence for anything new except for some stuff found in the code by Android Police.
They seem to indicate that the new version is laying groundwork for the new control on permissions that will come with Android 6.0. Here is the code they isolate –
Otherwise, there is nothing else indicative of an update. Guess it just means we’re one step closer to Android Marshmallow!
However, if you are absolutely dying for anything new – you can grab the apk from APKMirror here.
Let us know if you do find something in this update that’s new!
The post Hangouts updated to get ready for Android Marshmallow release appeared first on AndroidGuys.
CHOETECH Circle Qi wireless charger (review)
CHOETECH seriously makes quality accessories for your mobile devices. They recently sent me the Circle Qi wireless charger to review, in addition to the quick charger for my car, and due to my experiences with their products. I even spent my own money buying more of their products for my personal use like their home quick charger. This happened to work out perfectly for me, as I have an AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note5 to review which has wireless charging built into the device.
Let’s get into the review.
Design and Usage
Out of the box, the CHOETECH Circle Qi wireless charger feels like every other product they make – premium. The disk is compact but not so compact that it is a pain to find the right spot to charge your device. It is about as wide as the Note5 which makes for easy placement, and it’s not so big that it takes up an unnecessary amount of space on my desk.
The other nice touches CHOETECH put into this charger are silicon rings around the bottom and top of the charger. The rubber provides grip for the phone and the desk, keeping this unit in one place, and prevents your phone from sliding off the top. It’s a simple feature that pays huge dividends when it comes to ease of placement.The rubber grips onto the phone making it super easy to put the phone down in the right spot.
The other nice touch that they built into this charger was a blue light that lights up to show your device is charging.
I’ve owned several other wireless chargers and ended up putting them in a closet and disconnecting them, because their indicators lights were so bright that they kept me awake at night. CHOETECH knew this was a concern and built in an ambient light sensor, so when I turned off my lights so did the charger’s light. It’s a nifty feature that was well thought out and prevents me from putting electrical tape over the light.
Overall, I couldn’t have been happier with this wireless charger.
Specs
- Input – 5V/2A
- Output – 5V/1A
- Charging distance – 0-5mm
- Dimensions – 3.3×3.3x.7in
- Weight – 64g
- Conversion – >70%
- Qi compliant
- Lighting sensor
- 18 month warranty
Summary
Not all products are built equally. I’ve owned many wireless chargers before but never found one that I loved. I actually really enjoyed testing this review unit and purchased another for my office(lab). As much as I love having the ability to swap batteries on my phones, I enjoy not having to plug my phone in to charge it almost as much. CHOETECH converted me into a wireless charger type of user. The CHOETECH Circle Qi wireless charger is only $19.99 on Amazon.com and comes with a micro USB cable. It’s a much cheaper alternative to Samsung’s official wireless charger which retails for $49.99.
CHOETECH builds some of the most high quality accessories you can get your hands on and I trust all of my devices with their products.
This device is compatible with the Galaxy S6/S6 edge/S6 edge+/Note5/Nexus 4,5,6 and all other Qi enabled devices.
If you want to pick on up, do so here at Amazon.com.
The post CHOETECH Circle Qi wireless charger (review) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Amazon stops selling the Fire Phone
After roughly a year of dismal sales (and the resulting steep discounts), Amazon’s Fire Phone is no more. The internet retailer has confirmed to GeekWire that it sold its remaining stock of the Fire OS-powered smartphone at the end of August. There’s no mention of whether or not this is a sign of a sequel — the more successful Fire TV is also sold out, we’d note — but you shouldn’t count on it. Reports claim that Amazon is chopping both future phones and other hardware projects as a result of the Fire Phone’s failure, so this will likely join the annals of one-and-done flops like the HTC First and Microsoft’s Kin series.
This is an ignominious end to what was supposed to be Amazon’s triumphant moment, but it wasn’t hard to predict even when the Fire Phone was fresh. The centerpiece Dynamic Perspective feature (which altered the on-screen content depending on your gaze) was widely considered a novelty. Moreover, the heavily customized Android interface that did reasonably well on Fire tablets was unintuitive and limiting here. It was designed to boost Amazon’s sales (Firefly object scanning, anyone?), not to help you use your phone. Combine these with slightly behind-the-times specs, poor battery life, a limited app ecosystem and an AT&T exclusive, and it was hard to justify a Fire Phone in favor of the many more practical alternatives.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Amazon
Source:
GeekWire
Tags: amazon, android, fire, fireos, firephone, mobilepostcross, smartphone
Apple TV supports ‘Guitar Hero Live,’ ‘Disney Infinity’ via Bluetooth
Guitar Hero Live, Skylanders SuperChargers and Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions are on their way to Apple TV, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch in the fall. Additionally, Disney Infinity 3.0 is heading to Apple TV by then end of the year. But that’s the old news.
Here’s the new, technical bit: Apple TV supports MFi-based gamepads, rather than non-certified Bluetooth options, as outlined in its description. MFi is a licensing program for devices that connect to Apple products and you can read more about it right here. Basically though, Star Wars fans and wannabe rockstars can rest easy. The newly designed, Bluetooth Guitar Hero Live instruments will work across all Apple devices, including Apple TV. Disney Infinity 3.0 will get a wireless Bluetooth base just for Apple TV (note that the console version of that base is wired, sometimes leading to terrible accidents). Skylanders SuperChargers uses Bluetooth devices and these will work with Apple TV as well, according to Activision.
“If you already own a Bluetooth portal and controller from the iPad version of Skylanders Trap Team, you can use the same devices for Skylanders SuperChargers,” Activision says. “All you need to do is download the game and you are good to go.” Additionally, the SuperChargers Starter Pack for Apple devices includes a Bluetooth-enabled portal and an embedded Bluetooth controller.
Apple TV supports the new Siri Remote — which includes a touchpad, gyroscope and accelerometer — plus the iPod Touch or iPhone as controllers, in addition to third-party MFi-based gamepads.
With Apple TV, players will be able to begin playing games in the living room and then continue playing on iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch (if someone tries to take over the TV or something). Crossy Road, Transistor, Rayman Adventures, Disney Infinity 3.0, Shadowmatic, Beat Sports, Manticore Rising and Guitar Hero Live are confirmed for Apple TV so far. Crossy Road took center stage during Apple’s event for a while and showed off its new multiplayer mode, which will launch alongside Apple TV in October.
Filed under:
Gaming, HD, Apple
Source:
Activision, Disney Interactive
Tags: Activision, apple, bluetooth, guitarherolive, hdpostcross, SkylandersSuperChargers
The iPhone 6s Plus vs. the competition: Big is beautiful
Apple may have finally embraced larger phones last year, but this year’s announcement of the 6s Plus doesn’t mean we’re going to see a 6-inch iPhone any time soon. We’re still looking at the same 5.5-inch screen size, though with faster internals and some snazzy new features like 3D Touch. But, with larger displays becoming the norm, users now have to think about more than just the screen size. We’ve matched up the iPhone 6s Plus against some leading handsets to make it easier to decide which big-screen phone has what it takes to be your next device.
| iPhone 6s Plus | Samsung Galaxy Note 5 | Moto X Pure Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $299, $399, $499 | varies by carrier, starts at $249 on AT&T | $399, $449, $499 |
| Known Dimensions | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches) | 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6mm (6.03 x 3 x 0.01 inches) | 153.9 x 76.2 x 6.1 mm (6.06 x 3 x 0.24 inches) |
| Weight | 192g (6.77 ounces) | 171g (6.03 ounces) | 179g (6.31 ounces) |
| Screen size | 5.5 inches (139.7mm) | 5.7 inches (144.78mm) | 5.7 inches (144.78mm) |
| Screen resolution | 1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,440 (518 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,440 (520 ppi) |
| Screen type | IPS LCD, Retina HD | Super AMOLED Quad HD | IPS TFT LCD |
| Battery | NA | 3,000mAh | 3,000mAh |
| Internal storage | 16 / 64 / 128GB | 32 / 64GB | 16 / 32/ 64 GB |
| External storage | None | None | microSD (up to 128GB) |
| Rear camera | 12MP iSight, f/2.2, 1.22µm pixel size | 16MP, f/1.9, LED flash | 21MP, f/2.0, phase-detect auto-focus, HDR |
| Front-facing cam | 5MP FaceTime HD, f/2.2 | 5.0MP, f/1.9 | 5MP, f/2.0, 1.4µm pixel size |
| Video capture | 4K at 30fps | 4K at 30fps | 4K at 30fps |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | v4.2 | v4.2 LE | v4.1 LE |
| SoC | Apple A9 | Samsung Exynos 7420 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 |
| CPU | NA | 2.1GHz, 1.5GHz octa-core | 1.8GHz hexa-core |
| GPU | NA | ARM Mali-T760 MP8 | Qualcomm Adreno 418 |
| RAM | NA | 4GB | 3GB |
| WiFi | Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual-band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual-band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| Operating system | iOS 9 | Android 5.1 | Android 5.1 |
| Standout features | 3D Touch, 2nd-gen Touch ID, Retina flash | S-Pen, fast wireless charging, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, fingerprint sensor | Water-repellent nano-coating, TurboPower charging |
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung
Tags: apple, GalaxyNote5, iphone2015, iPhone6sPlus, mobilepostcross, Motorola, MotoXPureEdition, samsung
Pre-event Apple rumors nailed almost all of the surprises
If today’s big Apple event taught us one thing (beyond the fact that Tim Cook’s music taste remains questionable at best), it’s that the rumor mill has fully figured out Apple’s game plan. If you’ve been paying attention to the news over the last few months (particularly if you’ve been reading 9to5Mac), there was almost nothing to be surprised by. The iPad Pro and iPad mini 4 were unveiled, a new app-friendly Apple TV will be coming soon, and Apple’s new iPhones are largely what we expected. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a ton of news jammed into today’s two-hour event — it’s just that just about every bit of it was predicted ahead of time. Let’s go through the announcements in detail and see exactly how the rumor-mongers stacked up.
Apple Watch
There wasn’t much Apple Watch news expected at this event, and that mostly held true. The biggest news is that WatchOS 2 will be released to consumers on September 16th. That update will bring new watch faces, a “time travel” feature that uses the digital crown to scroll the data on your watch face forward, and — most importantly — the ability to run third-party apps natively. Third-party apps will also have the option to display little bites of info on your watch face, something Apple’s built-in apps can do already. None of the features (aside from native applications) are going to fundamentally change the Watch experience, but it’s good to see Apple tightening and improving its newest platform so quickly.
Apple also unveiled a host of new Watch bands, some of which we saw coming. There have been rumors about new Sport Bands coming for months now, and indeed there are now 16 different options to purchase (I’m pretty excited about the orange one, personally). There are also some slight changes to the traditional leather bands, though only eagle-eyed fans will probably notice the difference. Apple is also selling the super-slick Space Black stainless steel watch with a black sport band. Previously, you could only get that watch if you bought it with the expensive link bracelet, a combo that cost more than $1,000. Now, you can get the murdered-out look at a still-expensive but more reasonable $550 price point.
There were also some new fashion options that no one saw coming: the Apple Watch Sport is now available in gold and rose gold anodized aluminum, and Apple partnered with high-end fashion designer Hermès to produce three new leather bands for the Apple Watch. Given their pedigree, they’re not cheap, ranging in price from $1,100 to $1,500 — but they’re also some of the nicest bands Apple has offered thus far.
iPad
The rumor mill nailed this one. As expected, the iPad Pro was finally unveiled, and basically everything we expected was here. It’s a 12.9-inch touchscreen device with an eye-popping screen resolution and some seriously powerful hardware on board (Apple says its A9X chip is faster than 80 percent of “portable computers” released in the last year). Apple also is making a keyboard cover and stylus called the Apple Pencil to go along with the device. Unfortunately, the guesses about the iPad Pro not quite being ready to ship were also on point: the biggest iPad yet will be available in stores this November.
Given the focus on the iPad Pro, the iPad Air 2 got no updates or price drops — if you were holding out for a new version of the “traditional” iPad, you’ll either need to deal with the Air 2 or keep waiting. The iPad mini did get a long overdue update. Rumors pegged the iPad mini 4 to basically feature the iPad Air 2’s hardware inside a smaller body, and that was almost correct. Rather than including the A8X chip, Apple went with the A8. Otherwise, everything else (with the obvious exception of screen size) is identical to the Air 2. Last year’s iPad mini 3 was a seriously lame update, but this new model is the biggest update to the iPad mini in nearly two years.
Apple TV
Along with the iPad Pro, the new Apple TV was probably the biggest announcement that Apple made today — but again, hardly anything was a surprise. From a hardware perspective, the new Apple TV looks nearly identical to its predecessor; it’s a bit thicker, probably because of the significantly updated guts. Rather than the now-ancient A5 processor, the Apple TV features the A8 and either 32GB or 64GB of storage. That’s quite a bit more storage than the rumor mills were expecting, and that’s probably because the Apple TV is now a full-fledged citizen in the app marketplace.
Yes, the new tvOS software will feature a full App Store and iOS-style apps and games. That’s a big change from the old Apple TV, which had a set of apps that mainly focused on video playback that was curated and pushed out by Apple. Now, you’ll be able to download a variety of applications and games, some of which will be exclusive to the Apple TV, and use them with the new “Siri remote.” That remote is a huge step forward from what came before — it features a touchpad that will let you swipe and tap your way through the Apple TV interface. It also has a built-in gyroscope and accelerometer for game controls; Apple will also support third-party controllers for the first time for deeper game experiences.
The other major change for Apple TV’s software is its major reliance on Siri for searching. Rumors certainly alluded to this, but seeing it in action makes it clear how Apple’s thinking about finding things to watch. Much like Siri in iOS, Siri for Apple TV is smart enough to parse commands like “show me new action movies” or “give me some suggestions for kid’s shows.” And now when you search for a particular show or movie, Apple TV will let you know what different services it’s available on — that way you won’t accidentally rent something if you can just stream it on Netflix instead.
iPhone
Once again, the rumors mills got the iPhone 6 and 6s exactly right, at least from a hardware perspective. The A9 processor, rose gold color, 3D touch feature, 12-megapixel camera capable of shooting 4K video, 5-megapixel front-facing camera (with screen flash), paltry 16GB of storage at the low end and strengthened aluminum bodies were all called ahead of time. The replacement of the 5C with the 5S at the low end of Apple’s lineup was also correctly predicted — while rumors have swirled about an improved 4-inch iPhone, we’ll have to wait another year for that.
To Apple’s credit, seeing the phone in use was a lot more interesting than expected after all we heard about ahead of time. There weren’t a lot of details about how exactly 3D touch would be used ahead of time, but it seems immediately useful and perhaps the biggest change to how we use our iPhones that’s come along in years. A light press will give you a preview of your content, while a stronger press will take you directly into whatever that content is. There’s also some great little “peeking” features that let you pull up interactions and info in your apps without having to dive right in. Seeing what third-party developers can do with this technology should be really exciting.
The camera software was another point where Apple surprised us — specifically Apple’s new Live Photos feature. The iPhone has shot exmplery photos for years now, so it’s no surprise that this year’s model promises to be another step forward, but Live Photos were a surprising new addition. The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will capture a few seconds of video and audio with every photo you shoot, and when you press down on the photo it’ll show you what was captured. Those details will be viewable on other Apple products, as well. We haven’t seen them in action yet, but it seems like a pretty fun new feature that doesn’t require any effort.
Wrap up
This was one of the most stuffed events Apple has done in a long time — and that’s saying a lot, considering how packed last year’s iPhone / Watch event and this year’s WWDC keynote were. And yet, we knew nearly everything that was coming ahead of time. It’s getting easier all the time to get a sense of what Apple’s yearly updates will look like, particularly the leaks that come in the weeks immediately preceding a big event. That’s good news for those who don’t want to wait for Apple’s details to start planning their upgrade strategy — but it’s worth remembering that just because the rumors all came true this year, that doesn’t mean the same thing will happen next time.
And there’s always something to be said for having some surprises come Apple event day.
Tags: apple, appletv, applewatch, ipadpro, iphone6s, iphone6splus, mobilepostcross, rumorroundup
Apple Discontinues Gold Color Options for Older iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and 5s
Customers who want to purchase an iPhone with a gold finish will need to purchase either the new iPhone 6s or the iPhone 6s Plus as Apple has discontinued gold finishes for all other iPhone models, including the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and 5s.
Going forward, the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and 5s will only be available for purchase in Space Gray or Silver, reserving the Gold and Rose Gold colors for the company’s new flagship iPhones. Apple has confirmed to The Verge that the gold color options are no longer available for older iPhones.
With the launch of the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus, Apple has dropped the prices on the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6s by $100. The iPhone 6 now starts at $549 for the 16GB model, while the iPhone 6s starts at $649. The two iPhones are also no longer sold in 128GB capacities.
The iPhone 5s is also still available for sale as Apple’s low-priced iPhone option, purchasable in a 16GB configuration for $0 with a two-year contract or $49 for 32GB. With the iPhone 5s representing the lower-end of the iPhone lineup, the colorful iPhone 5c has been discontinued.
By the numbers: iPhone 6S vs the Android competition
Android has already seen its share of excellent flagship smartphones this year, offering up some cutting edge pieces of technology and plenty of general improvements over last year. Apple has now joined the fray with its new iPhone 6S and S6 Plus, so let’s see how they stack up against the very best that Android has to offer.
Despite the growth in lower cost competitors and the mid-range Android phones this year, we still turn to the renowned major brands for the very top of the line hardware. For this comparison, we’re bringing out the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium, the LG G4 and the HTC One M9.
| iPhone 6S | Xperia Z5 Premium | Galaxy Note 5 | Galaxy S6 Edge | LG G4 | HTC One M9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 4.7-inch LCD (720p) iPhone 6S Plus: 5.5-inch LCD (1080) |
5.5-inch LCD 4K (3840 X 2160) |
5.7-inch AMOLED QHD (2560×1440) |
5.1-inch AMOLED QHD (2560×1440) |
5.5-inch LCD QHD (2560×1440) |
5.0-inch LCD 1080p |
| SoC | Apple A9 | Snapdragon 810 | Exynos 7420 | Exynos 7420 | Snapdragon 808 | Snapdragon 810 |
| CPU | 2x 1.4GHz | 4x 1.9GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
4x 2.1GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
4x 2.1GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
2x 1.8GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 |
4x 2.0GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | PowerVR | Adreno 430 | Mali-T760 MP8 | Mali-T760 MP8 | Adreno 418 | Adreno 430 |
| RAM | 2GB (TBC) | 3GB | 4GB | 3GB | 3GB | 3GB |
| Storage | 16/64/128 GB | 32GB | 32/64/128GB | 32/64/128GB | 32GB | 32GB |
| MicroSD | No | yes, up to 200GB | No | No | Yes, up to 128GB | Yes, up to 128GB |
| Camera | 12MP rear 5MP front |
23MP rear 5MP front |
16MP rear 5MP front |
16MP rear 5MP front |
16MP rear 8MP front |
20MP rear 4MP front |
Display technology has seen some major advances this year. Samsung has brought its curved QHD AMOLED to the mainstream with its Edge range, Sony has pushed out the first 4K smartphone with the Xperia Z5 Premium and Huawei announced its Force Touch display with its Mate S.
Apple remains behind the leading Android smartphones when it comes to display resolution (750 x 1334/326ppi on the iPhone 6S and 1080p on the 6S Plus), as more manufacturers push to QHD and beyond for their major flagships. Instead, Apple’s big display feature is 3D Touch, which appears to be a rebranded form of the Force Touch from the Apple Watch.
This new feature allows users to interact with the screen through deeper presses as well as just regular touches. The deep touches allow for features that are baked throughout iOS, like the ability to launch the camera into selfie mode by deep pressing its shortcut, or the ability to preview images and other elements without opening them. If it sounds familiar, it’s because many of these UI features have been used on Android in various forms, with long presses as a trigger.
There’s a similarly divisive split between the two groups’ approaches to processing technology. While all of this year’s Android flagships have bumped the core count up to at least six, Apple is sticking with just two higher performing CPU cores in its A9 SoC. The new A9 processor is touted to be 70 percent faster at CPU tasks and 90 faster at GPU tasks compared to the A8 from last year. There’s no confirmation yet, but it’s believed that Apple has decided to bump up the amount of RAM to 2GB in its latest iPhone, which would bring it closer to the 3GB standard found in these Android flagships.
None of these flagship handsets should struggle in demanding scenarios or when it comes to multi-tasking and will handle all of the latest games. Only small benchmark differences will be able to tell us the differences between these handsets.
The iPhone 6S also features bigger numbers when we look at the phone’s camera sensors. The 8-megapixel rear camera has been bumped up to 12 megapixels, although that still falls short of the resolution of the excellent sensors found in handsets from LG, Samsung and Sony. That said, more pixels don’t always result in better pictures, and it’s likely that the iPhone 6S’ camera remains one of the best around. The iPhone 6S also vastly improves its front facing camera, offering a more competitive 5 megapixels with of resolution that catches up to most Android flagships. The LG G4 is slightly ahead with an impressive 8MP sensor on the front.
| iPhone 6S | Xperia Z5 Premium | Galaxy Note 5 | Galaxy S6 Edge | LG G4 | HTC One M9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery | 1810 mAh (TBC) | 3,430mAh | 3,000mAh | 2,600mAh | 3,000mAh | 2,840mAh |
| Fast Charging? | No | Quick Charge 2.0 | Yes | Yes | Quick Charge 2.0 | Quick Charge 2.0 |
| Wireless Charging? | No | No | Qi and PMA | Qi and PMA | Qi (optional cases) | No |
| Fingerprint Scan? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| IP rating | No | IP68 | No | No | No | No |
| Dimensions | 154.4 x 75.8 x 7.8mm | 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6mm | 142.1 x 70.1 x 7mm | 148.9 x 76.1 x 9.8 mm | 144.6 x 69.7 x 9.6 mm | |
| Weight | 180g | 171g | 132g | 155g | 157g |
When it comes to additional features, there quite a bit of diversity between the big Android brands, let alone Apple’s iPhone 6S. Sony remains firmly committed to water and dust resistance, which you won’t find with any of the other major flagships. Samsung still has the only dual-mode wireless charging phone in our flagship selection. With battery life still questionable, Apple’s choice for a small 1810 mAh battery might not suit power users who are used to 3,000mAh cells found in some Android phones. Extras like Quick Charging are useful here to make up the gap, but Apple doesn’t appear to be adopted a similar technology of its own yet.
See also: Best Android phones (September 2015)
LG retains its unique camera laser autofocus features and also supports Qi wireless charging, providing that you buy an extra case. HTC seems to be the most barebones handset when it comes to extras, but its front facing BoomSound speakers are still some of the best in the business.
Fingerprint scanners seem almost like a must have feature these days, but you won’t find one on every Android flagship. Sony has joined the party with its Xperia Z5 range, but LG and HTC didn’t include them on their flagships this year. Extra services that use the fingerprint scanner, such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, are certainly worth considering when you’re spending big cash on a flagship smartphone.
I would say it’s the little extras that mark the major differential factors between today’s flagship smartphones, and there is still a lot of diversity in both the iOS and Android spaces. Those who love Apple’s extra services will certainly get the most of the iPhone 6S, while those looking for more interesting hardware options will probably be able to find something right for them in the broad Android ecosystem.
Where does the iPhone 6S sit with you?
Would you like to see an Android OEM directly offer its own upgrade program?
Today Apple announced a bunch of stuff, and while many of the announcements probably had Apple fans screaming from the rooftops in joy, as someone who has never owned an iPhone and hasn’t owned an iPad in many years, there was really only one announcement during the whole event that piqued my interest a little. What was that? The iPhone Upgrade Program.
This program is basically a 24-month lease arrangement, where after 12 months of installment payments you can turn in your old phone, get the latest iPhone, and restart your iPhone Upgrade term. Don’t want the new phone? You can make the last 12 payments and keep the phone as your own to do with what you wish. The cheapest plan begins at just $32 a month for the 16GB iPhone 6S, but can range much higher depending on what model you choose. Obviously the idea here is to lock people into a never-ending leasing cycle, but the terms really aren’t that bad.
For one thing, the phone you get is unlocked and you can use whatever carrier you wish. Second, Apple Care+ is included, so stuff like broken screens and other drama won’t get in your way. On the other hand, you are turning in a phone that you’ve paid hundreds of dollars for in order to start up paying again. A lot of people don’t like that idea, and I don’t blame them.
The reality is that these payment plans are meant to make Apple’s wallets fat, not to provide you some great deal. But is the deal here really that bad? It depends on how you look at it, and who you ask. Let’s say you bought a brand new iPhone 6 when it arrived last year and paid $768 outright for it. You then turned around and sold it for $500 today (Swappa values for the phone are around $450 to $550, depending on good or mint condition), with the goal of using that money to get a new iPhone 6S. You would need to provide $268 of your own money, in addition to the $500 you earned from selling your old device (not factoring taxes, of course).
For just a total cost of around $17 more, you would have the freedom and flexibility of payments and didn’t have to deal with going to Swappa or Ebay to sell your phone.
But what about if you had been on the iPhone Upgrade Program? You would have paid in $384 so far (12 payments of $32 a month), and so you would have been out $116 more than you would have if you had just bought the phone on your own dime and sold it to buy a new one. But then remember that Apple Care+ is included with the Upgrade Program, a value of $99, and so the real difference is around $17.
For just a total cost of around $17 more, you would have the freedom and flexibility of payments and didn’t have to deal with going to Swappa or Ebay to sell your phone. Obviously there might be some other elements to the payment plan that I’m not accounting for, such as the taxes in your area, but at least in theory, Apple’s payment plans make a lot of sense for the type of folks with a good credit score and who don’t mind tying themselves into a payment plan.
Both Sony and Samsung tend to price higher.. could their fans benefit from an upgrade program?
That’s why Apple’s new program intrigues me. Not because I’d ever consider such a plan (I buy all my phones outright and prefer it that way), but because I could see how this could appeal to consumers who live in an “instant gratification world” and why this is probably a smart move on Apple’s part.
So that leads me to the crux of the matter, would you enter into a similar payment arrangement for a high-end flagship? Say from Samsung, Sony, or HTC? How do you feel about Apple’s Upgrade Program, for those that like Apple devices is this a good deal or just another payment plan that really isn’t worth it in the long run?
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