Best for LTE – Xperia Z5, X Style, Note 5, iPhone 6S, LG G4
A question that I’m asked quite often is, which handset is best for network, especially for people who live in areas with spotty coverage (at best). For several years, this has been relatively easy to answer as Samsung’s flagships usually had better coverage and signal strength than its rivals but as we covered earlier this year, the change in build on the Galaxy S6 resulted in Samsung slipping down the list.
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With handsets reaching a plateau where specs are mostly similar across devices, a purchase decision can often be dependent on things like the network performance, so which of these four flagships has the most reliable network connection?
With six months between the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy Note 5, has Samsung improved the antennae? Is the LG G4 top of the pile or does Motorola’s Moto X Style (Pure Edition) or Sony’s new Xperia Z5 take the crown? What about the iPhone 6S, can Apple’s latest smartphone profess to be the better than the rest? Let’s find out.
N.B. All handsets were tested using the same network – EE, which supports speeds of up to 300Mbps in the London area – and at the exact same time. The results below are based on a sample of 52 tests in 11 different areas spanning a distance of 170 miles.
Network Switch Rate
One problem with most current LTE networks is that VoLTE (Voice Over LTE) isn’t supported in large parts of the network, meaning handsets need to switch down to a 3G connection when attempting to make a call while connected to an LTE connection. Often, the time taken to locate and switch to a 3G network can result in a dropped call; both, when making or receiving it.
The purpose of this section was to test the handset’s ability to switch from LTE to 2G/3G and vice versa, while also determining which handset remained connected to the fastest network for longest. During our testing, we found the following:
| Xperia Z5 | LG G4 | Galaxy Note 5 | iPhone 6S | Moto X Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Time taken to switch to fastest network (lower is better) |
69 seconds | 56 seconds | 59 seconds | 70 seconds | 61 seconds |
| Time connected to fastest network (higher is better) |
66 seconds | 68 seconds | 74 seconds | 108 seconds | 76 seconds |
The network switch rate on the Galaxy Note 5 has certainly improved since the Galaxy S6 Edge in our last test, but the LG G4 still shines through. It’s quite interesting that the iPhone – which has been pretty bad in past tests I’ve conducted – has improved a large amount in the largest generation, while the Moto X Style proves to be much better than Sony and Apple’s finest.
Antenna Strength
This section tests how strong the antennae performance on each smartphone actually is. To test the antenna strength, we used the figures reported in the Settings > About Phone > Status screen. A signal rating of -60 dBm is recognised as near perfect while anything above -110 dBm is considered call-dropping quality.
Our testing shows that:
| Xperia Z5 | LG G4 | Galaxy Note 5 | iPhone 6S | Moto X Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average antenna strength | -96.50 dBm | -76.83 dBm | -83.17 dBm | -98.33 dBm | -87.00 dBm |
| Ratio of average connection (LTE:3G – rounded off) |
7:1 | 6:1 | 8:1 | 12:1 | 9:1 |
| Occurrences of zero signal (out of 52 tests) | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
This test produced very interesting results but for different reasons: the LG G4 tops the antenna strength test but tends to switch to the lower 3G speed more frequently, while the iPhone 6S has a weak antennae, but is capable of holding the faster LTE connection for longer and accesses the LTE coverage more frequently than the others in the test. A very interesting set of results, which show that a stronger antenna isn’t a precursor to better coverage and stability.
LTE Speed Tests
Now to [what is probably] the most important aspect to smartphone users; LTE data speeds. This was a simple test to conduct; each handset was using the latest version of Ookla’s SpeedTest application and was connected to 4G.
Our testing found:
| Xperia Z5 | LG G4 | Galaxy Note 5 | iPhone 6S | Moto X Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average speed test: download | 56.31 Mbps | 56.52 Mbps | 53.14 Mbps | 52.18 Mbps | 55.04 Mbps |
| Average speed test: upload | 25.82 Mbps | 25.15 Mbps | 26.88 Mbps | 25.87 Mbps | 33.66 Mbps |
| Fastest LTE speed recorded: | 83.94 Mbps | 83.31 Mbps | 79.58 Mbps | 77.23 Mbps | 71.49 Mbps |
The results are certainly interesting and again, it seems that Samsung has slightly improved the LTE throughput in the Galaxy Note 5 (compared with the S6 Edge in our previous test). Past Sony handsets haven’t traditionally been the fastest on data throughput but quite surprisingly, the Xperia Z5 ranks highest for its overall data speeds (based on an average of the ranking of the three data speed tests).
LG’s G4 is narrowly pushed into second with the Galaxy Note 5 and Moto X Style coming joint in third and the iPhone 6S rounding off the data section in fifth place.
Conclusion
Deciding which smartphone is the best is certainly difficult as each excels in different areas but to make this as fair as possible, for each of the 8 individual tests, we’ve ranked each smartphone in order so first place gets 5 points, second gets 4 and so on. Totaling all the scores gives us this result:
| Device | Total Points | Ranking | Average Points per test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sony Xperia Z5 | 22 | 5th | 2.75 |
| LG G4 | 25 | 2nd | 3.13 |
| Galaxy Note 5 | 26 | 1st | 3.25 |
| iPhone 6S | 23 | 4th | 2.88 |
| Moto X Style | 24 | 3rd | 3.00 |
The rankings are actually quite interesting as, although it doesn’t come first or fifth in any of the tests conducted, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5 wins for overall consistency, yet the Galaxy S6 Edge came last in our previous comparison. Next up, is the LG G4 which tops a few tests but is relatively inconsistent (and also came second in the last test), while in third is the Moto X Style, which is a consistent performer but doesn’t top a single test.
Fourth brings us to the iPhone, which does well to hold a connection but doesn’t have the strongest antennae while rounding off the test in fifth is the Sony Xperia Z5, which is either in the top two or the bottom two in each of the tests. The biggest thing to take away from this test is clearly that high data speeds is not directly linked to antennae strength but rather, a combination of all-round network performance.
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What do you think? How important is LTE performance and network resilience to you? Let us know your views in the comments guys!
Podcast 035: Marshmallow and Windows
The full panel gets together this week to mull over what was a pretty slow week in Android news – Joe had just put out a great review of Android Marshmallow, so that serves as our platform for the majority of the episode. Jonathan Feist, Andrew Grush, Nirave Gondhia, Joe Hindy, and host Joshua Vergara talk video games, homescreen setups, and even cars for a minute because the Marshmallow conversation just naturally veers in that direction. We know that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but you guys should know by now that the digressions come hard and fast for the AA Podcast crew!
But in light of a slow Android news week, we had to talk about the week’s biggest news – the return of Windows Mobile. Though Nokia as a company is, for the most part, fully absorbed into Microsoft and virtually unrecognizable, the new Lumia devices did actually get us a little excited for a platform that simply doesn’t get a lot of play compared to Android and iOS. Will we dive into the Lumias and do a few off-platform reviews? Only time will tell, but until then we have this conversation about the new announcements.
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Recorded on October 9, 2015 – Hosted and Produced by Joshua Vergara
Need for Speed: No Limits review – a great game for a very limited time
EA just recently brought its new racing game to the Google Play Store. It’s called Need for Speed: No Limits, and just like other recent NFS games, it features great graphics, a somewhat lacking storyline and tons of underground races. So does this title bring anything new to the table? I’ve spent a good amount of time with this game, and there are definitely some things you should know about it. Here is everything you need to know about Need for Speed: No Limits.
Gameplay and story
In Need for Speed: No Limits, you’ll be competing in countless underground street races on your journey to be the best street racer there ever was. At least, I think so. Just like with most other NFS games, the storyline doesn’t really matter all that much. You’re quickly introduced to a slew of generic characters that for the most part stay out of your way throughout the entirety of the game. To be honest, though, I’m perfectly content with a lacking storyline. No story is better than a bad one, at least in this case. Just let me race.
Even though the story is pretty lacking, there is a lot here in terms of overall content. There are a total of 30 cars in the game, each with their own set of upgradeable parts and customizations. The more races you complete, the more parts you’ll win.
No Limits is brought to us by the folks who made Real Racing 3, which is one of the most realistic looking racing games (surprise, surprise) available in the Play Store. And judging by No Limits’ graphics, it’s very apparent that they put a lot of effort into making this game as beautiful as possible. Like other Need for Speed titles, this game is riddled with reflections, smoke and other not-so-realistic aspects of car racing that make the game look really pretty. I could hardly find a dropped frame playing this on my 2013 Nexus 7, which really helps with the overall experience.
The game’s controls are probably the most simplistic I’ve ever experienced with a racing game. There are no accelerator or brake pedals to tap, and no steering wheel to move around on the side of the screen. Instead, you tap the right or left sides of the display to turn, swipe up on the screen to boost, and swipe down to drift around corners. Your car is always in full acceleration mode, which makes it much easier to navigate through winding roads.
These simplistic controls mean that you’ll never have to actually put on the breaks, only drift around corners. That’s fine, but it can make each track feel a tad monotonous and each car behave just about the same way in the handling department.
There are a few different types of races in the game, including timed races, standard start-to-finish races and more. Each race is extremely short, some being only 30 seconds long. This is great news for folks who don’t have a ton of time to play the game, but this can get pretty old if you just want to race. After each race is finished, you’ll need to click through a multitude of reward screens and wait for the game to load, which really isn’t ideal when you’re finished with each race in under one minute’s time.
In all, though, racing is pretty fun. It’s much easier than most other racing games, and it’s especially easier than other Need for Speed titles. This makes it easy to get hooked on upgrading your cars, parts and customizations, since the game allows you to do so frequently.
Need for Speed: Limitations
Okay, I’m going to be completely honest here. This game surprised me. I thought, “Just how did EA, king of the free-to-play games, manage to get me hooked on a free-to-play racing game?” It’s entirely possible, and it might happen to you. That is, until you hit… the wall.
The folks at Electronic Arts are very smart and know how the free-to-play thing works. They get you completely hooked, almost to an addicted level, and then bam – you magically can’t play anymore. I played for about 3 hours straight without ever running into an issue. You have a limited amount of gas, and each time you race your gas level goes down. At the start of the game, you level up really quickly, and each time you level up, your gas gauge gets refilled. No problem, right? Wrong. There’s a wall, and you’ll hit it eventually. It will stop being so easy to level up, and that means you’ll have to wait a certain period of time before you get to race again. Of course, you can refill your gas tank for 30 gold, and you can purchase more gold with real money. See how this works?
For a game riddled with in-app purchases and limitations, it’s surprisingly not so in-your-face about making you spend money. Only a few times have I run into a pop up telling me to purchase a Monthly Gold Card. And aside from those few instances, No Limits is quite tame when it comes to this method of getting you to spend money.
Wrapping up
At its core, Need for Speed: No Limits is a solid racing game that features simple, intuitive controls, addictive gameplay and tons of options to keep car buffs happy. Look at any other aspect of the game, though, and you’ll quickly realize that fun 30 second-long races can only go so far. If you’re trying to stay away from over aggressive free-to-play titles, you’ll probably want to take a pass on this one. But if you can get past that fact, it’s actually pretty fun.
Need for Speed: No Limits is available for free from the Google Play Store.
Download Need for Speed: No Limits from Google Play
Have you played No Limits? If so, what are your thoughts? We’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
Apple Loses A7/A8 Patent Lawsuit, Could Owe University of Wisconsin Up to $862 Million
Last year, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), which protects the University of Wisconsin’s intellectual rights and patents, sued Apple for infringing on one of its processor patents. According to the lawsuit, Apple used the University’s technology in its A7, A8, and A8X processors included in the 2013 and 2014 iPhone and iPad lineup.
A Wisconsin jury today found Apple guilty of infringing on the patent owned by WARF, reports Reuters, and as a result, the Cupertino-based company could be forced to pay up to $862 million in damages. The jury also ruled that the patent was valid, negating Apple’s argument that it was invalid and no infringement had taken place.
Cupertino, California-based Apple denied any infringement and argued the patent is invalid, according to court papers. Apple previously tried to convince the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review the patent’s validity, but in April the agency rejected the bid.
According to a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge William Conley, who is presiding over the case, Apple could be liable for up to $862.4 million in damages.
Granted in 1998, the patent in question covers a method for improving processor efficiency and is titled “Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer.” It lists several current and former University of Wisconsin researchers as inventors.
Now that the jury has decided Apple used the university’s technology in its processors, the trial will move on to decide the damages owed. Following that, there will be a third trial phase to determine whether Apple willfully infringed on the patent, which could significantly increase the damages owed.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has also filed a second lawsuit against Apple for the same patent, accusing the company of using the technology in the A9 and A9X found in the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and iPad Pro.
Apple Sponsoring 2016 ‘Fashion in an Age of Technology’ Met Gala
The Metropolitan Museum of Art today shared details on its annual 2016 Gala and Costume Institute exhibition, which will be sponsored by Apple with Jony Ive serving as a co-chair. The theme for the 2016 event, which will take place on May 2, is “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.”
The Met Gala, held each year, is a fund raising event that benefits the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute. The theme chosen for the gala each year reflects the theme of the Costume Institute exhibition and dictates what Met Gala attendees should wear. Last year’s theme was “China: Through the Looking Glass.”
According to Vogue, this year’s event will focus on the dichotomy between handmade haute couture and machine-made fashion, featuring more than 100 pieces of fashion. Techniques like embroidery, pleating, and lacework will be juxtaposed with technologies like laser cutting and thermo shaping.
The intersection of technology and fashion is a fitting choice for the year Apple is sponsoring the event, as the company came out with its first fashion item, the Apple Watch, in 2015.
“Traditionally, the distinction between the haute couture and prêt-à-porter was based on the handmade and the machine-made,” explains Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute. “But recently this distinction has become increasingly blurred as both disciplines have embraced the practices and techniques of the other.”
The 2016 Met Gala, in addition to being sponsored by Apple, will be hosted by co-chairs Jony Ive, Taylor Swift, and Idris Elba. Anna Wintour, Nicolas Ghesquiére, Karl Lagerfeld, and Miuccia Prada will serve as honorary chairs.
Image via Vogue
Japanese researchers invent a throwable ‘Droideka’ drone
A team of researchers from Japan’s Chiba Institute of Technology recently presented a novel robot design at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. It can be thrown like the Explorer camera sphere, but after it stops rolling, this nimble quadruped unfurls mechanical legs to skitter the rest of the way to its destination — basically the same idea as Star Wars’ Droideka, just without the laser cannons (yet).
The robot is called the QRoSS. The second iteration, shown above, employs a 30 cm protective shell. It uses this shell mostly as a passive shock absorber, akin to a robotic roll cage. And since the legs operate independently from the outer structure, the robot can easily navigate rough and uneven terrain at speeds reaching 0.1 meter per second without fear of falling over. Even if it does, the cage will take the brunt of the damage, not the delicate machinery inside. This setup therefore could be employed in emergencies by first responders to scout ahead of rescue teams operating in damaged or structurally unsound buildings.
The current prototype version weighs about 2.5 Kg but the team is confident that they’ll be able to scale the design into a far lighter and more huckable production package. There is no word yet as to when that may actually happen.
[Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]
Source: Spectrum IEEE
The adorable dog in this PlayStation 4 game better not die
Sure, we already have Tokyo Jungle, Nintendogs, Valiant Hearts, Fallout and plenty of other franchises starring adorable pups, but there’s always room for more. Home Free is about a dog living on the streets of various cities, searching for food, friends and shelter while trying to stay out of trouble. It features more than 12 dog breeds with customizable colors and markings, and the environments are all randomly generated, so they’re unique to each player. As creator Kevin Cancienne puts it, “Shape the story of one dog’s survival through your choices and actions. Experience the the world from the perspective a creature who will never quite understand why that world acts the way it does.” (Seriously, Cancienne, if the dogs die in this game we’re going to be heartbroken.) Home Free just got picked up for PlayStation 4 alongside a planned launch on PC and Mac in fall 2016. Cancienne launched a $50,000 Kickstarter for Home Free on September 30th and it was funded within five days; the campaign is still live now.
Source: PlayStation (YouTube)
Watch our Xperia Z5 Compact unboxing from Periscope
Just last week we brought you a live unboxing of the Sony Xperia Z5 on Periscope, and we’re back again with yet another live video, this time from our own Gary Sims.
This week Gary unboxed the little brother of the Xperia Z5, the Z5 Compact. With its 4.6-inch display, Snapdragon 810 processor, 32GB of on-board storage, and 23MP rear-facing camera, the Xperia Z5 Compact is certainly a powerhouse of a device in a small package. Although the overall design of the Compact may not stray away from Sony’s all-too-familiar design language, we’re sure many folks looking for a smaller handset will be perfectly happy with this new device.
Related: Sony Xperia Z5 Compact hands-on and first look
We’ll of course bring you a full review of the Z5 Compact in the near future. For now, though, you don’t want to miss Gary’s unboxing and first impressions video. Are you on Periscope? Follow Android Authority for more off the cuff videos of your favorite devices. We’ll make sure to let you know in advance about upcoming live streams, so you don’t miss out on the fun!
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What do you think of the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact? How do you feel about the idea of Periscope-based unboxings, and do you have any suggestions to further improve them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Review: The Gamevice Turns Your iPad Mini Into a Portable Gaming Console
There are a wide range of Made for iPhone Apple-certified controllers on the market these days, but the Gamevice is unique because it turns the iPad mini into a portable gaming console. The controller fits on either side of the iPad mini, plugging directly into the Lightning port for a lag-free, reliable gaming experience.
There are several similar controllers for the iPhone, but the Gamevice is the only option that lets you hold the iPad mini while playing, so there’s no need for a stand or a flat surface to rest the tablet on. I went hands-on with the Gamevice to see how it compares to more standard controllers on the market, and while I wasn’t impressed with the size, I did enjoy the gameplay experience.
Design
The Gamevice consists of two halves of a controller that are held together with a soft, flexible piece of rubber. The left side of the controller has an analog stick, a d-pad, and a power button, while the right side of the controller has a second analog stick, a pause button, and four action buttons in a familiar ABXY Xbox-style layout. There are also two sets of trigger buttons on each side of the controller. Design wise, the Gamevice looks like the product of a mating between the Xbox One controller and the Wii U GamePad.
Made of a lightweight matte black plastic, the controller exterior feels a bit cheap, but if it were made of a heavier material, it would be too heavy to hold for long periods of time. Materials wise, I’d say it’s on par with many of the other Made for iPhone game controllers on the market, but the buttons/analog sticks are superior quality and feel much better underhand. In fact, I’d suggest this is the MFi controller with a feel closest to the Xbox One controller because of how much it borrows from Microsoft.
The analog sticks are smooth and easy to use, reminiscent of the analog sticks on an Xbox One controller, and they have rubber around the top for a solid grip. The action buttons also reminded me of an Xbox controller, and while they sound very clicky when pressed (as do the triggers), they’re smooth and easy to press with no sticking. TheThe major addition to the 21.5-inch iMac line is the new high-end model that now includes a 4K Retina display to complement the 5K Retina iMac that’s been around since last year.d-pad is a standard four-direction pad and not one of the circular directional pads that are on many other similar controllers.
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Tesla claims trespassing journalists attacked Gigafactory workers
As a news editor, I can understand the desire to get a scoop about Tesla’s mysterious Gigafactory by pushing boundaries… but this is very much beyond the pale. Two Reno Gazette Journal staffers are facing charges after they not only trespassed at the battery plant, but attacked the staff that caught them. Reportedly, they ignored requests to stay put and used their Jeep to ram two Tesla employees that responded to the incident. While only the driver has been charged with assault, it’s safe to say that both of the journos knew what they were doing.
The kicker? Trespassing at the Gigafactory is far from new. Tesla notes that there have been “repeated” intrusions, and that the violence is simply taking that to a newer, darker level. There are some questions still unanswered about what happened (why was one of the Jeep’s seat belts cut in half, for instance?). However, it’s already clear that the curiosity surrounding the Gigafactory is getting out of control — Tesla may have to beef up its security if it’s going to produce energy packs in peace.
[Image credit: David Calvert/For The Washington Post via Getty Images]
Source: Tesla, Reno Gazette Journal
AIVAnet 