Sony Xperia Z5 Compact review: The flagship for small phone lovers

I’m not a small phone lover but I have always loved Sony’s Compact smartphone line. It’s just because of the point of it. Sony is the only manufacturer who offers a “mini” variant with uncompromised specs (for the most part).

The Xperia Z line is fading to make way for Sony’s new Xperia X initiative, but it still is that the Xperia Z5 Compact is your top choice if you want an Android phone under 5 inches.

And Sony actually brought it to the U.S., where you can grab it from online retailers like B&H Photo. Let’s check out what Z5 Compact is all about.

Design

I would say that Sony is the phone manufacturer that does the least between smartphone releases. I mean, if we compare the Z5 to even the original Xperia Z, there’s really not that much different in terms of design. The Z5 Compact reflects its older brother’s design language, albeit, smaller and a little thicker.

That’s not all that’s different, though. For better or worse, the Compact series loses the premium metal frame for a plastic one. But I honestly don’t find it a bother. Sony doesn’t do plastic like budget phone manufacturers. It feels expensive – robust but smooth to the touch.

The sentiment extends to the back panel, but the finish has an even softer finish, almost velvety. In usual Sony fashion, you’ll see subtle labeling for the G lens camera, NFC location, Sony branding at the center, and an Xperia logo on the bottom.

One thing is that the back and front panels aren’t flush with the frame, they’re slightly recessed. This means that the frame makes a sharp lip on the edges. I know some folks don’t like that kind of thing, but to me, it’s really subtle and didn’t bother my usage.

The buttons and I/O blend in nicely with the frame, with the exception of the power button, which Sony maintains the metal-looking aesthetic.

It’s flush with the frame and shows off a shiny chamfer all around. One note is that this would normally be where Sony places the fingerprint scanner, but our unit is the official U.S. variant, of which, for some reason, Sony excluded the feature.

The volume rocker is interestingly placed under the power button (where it’s typically above it or on the other side), followed by a camera shortcut/shutter button. I applaud that Sony never forgets to include a camera button. It’s two-stage (for focusing and shooting) and works fantastically.

There’s a big flap on the other side, which protects the SIM and microSD card slots. You’ll need to make sure that this is firmly closed because the Z5 Compact is supposed to be water/dust-proof (IP65 and IP68 ratings). Fortunately, Sony was able to make the bottom microUSB port flap-less.

I was super glad to see Sony maintain the dual front-facing speakers on the Z5 Compact. The top and bottom speaker grills are covert slits between the glass and frame. For headphone audio, the 3.5mm jack on the top of the phone.

Performance

Let’s take a look at the Z5 Compact’s specs:

• Display: 4.6″ 720p IPS (Triluminos) LCD
• Chipset: Snapdragon 810 (octa-core)
• Memory: 2GB of RAM
• Storage: 32GB, with microSD card support up to 200GB
• Cameras: 23MP f/2.0 Exmor RS rear and 5MP f/2.4 Exmor R front
• Battery: 2,700mAh (non-removable)
• Software: Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) with Sony UI

While Sony packs the same high-end processor across the entire Z5 lineup, the Compact is slightly skimped with 2GB of RAM. But in our experience, this fact didn’t noticeably impact performance.

The best word to describe Sony’s phone performance is: smooth. It’s probably the most fluid experience you’ll find outside of a Nexus. Despite a heavy UI, Sony does a great job with software optimization (I wish Samsung would follow suit). I had an Xperia Z3 before and I remember feeling the same way. But that said, the Nexus 6P does have a slight edge in terms of frame rate.

Audio-wise, while the quality of the front speakers are nothing to write home about, they are oriented in the right direction and give off a stereo experience. Mono speakers pale in comparison. I also found audio out of the headphone jack to sound great (full and engaging).

Display

You may have noticed in the specs breakdown that the Z5 Compact’s display has a mediocre 720p resolution. It’s true, but if you think about it, we’re dealing with a 4.6″ panel. This means that we still have an acceptable 323 ppi. In my experience, I don’t find myself dying for more pixels.

Regarding picture quality, the Compact’s panel is just okay. It’s not very bright and I find myself often using the max brightness. Straight-on, the display is just fine (albeit, the colors a little dull to my eyes, but that’s me being picky). I was not impressed with the viewing angles. You can still see what’s on the screen clearly, but a slight pink-ish tint appears. And it doesn’t take a large angle to get there. These are nitpicks, though, and I think most consumers will be fine with the screen.

Camera

Like the chipset, the camera is another area where Sony maintained high-end components on the Z5 Compact. It rocks the same beastly 23MP Exmor RS sensor found in the rest of the Z5 lineup.

Specifically, it’s a home-brewed lens (G lens) with a 24mm wide-angle and f/2.0 aperature. Something new that Sony introduced with this the sensor is a 0.03 sec hybrid auto-focus (AF). It doesn’t use laser AF like you’d think, but rather, Sony says it’s a combination of contrast-detection and phase-detection.

But is it really as fast as it sounds? Yes! I really enjoyed the quickness of the AF. Although, I have nitpicks. The default focus is on the center. You can manually change the focal point by tapping on the screen, but I’d like for the camera to automatically focus on nearer subjects regardless of their positioning. Additionally, while the focus is fast, the capture speed doesn’t keep up. This camera has the potential to be lightning quick, but isn’t yet.

Z5 Compact Camera Samples:

Regarding image quality, I wasn’t overly impressed. Sony’s sensor can crank out some great images, but it was hit or miss in my experience. Too often, blurred areas would creep up. Sunlight could throw the camera off pretty easily (resulting in blown out lighting or blurry-ness). Grainy-ness would show show up in darker shots. I mean, no smartphone camera is immune to these issues, but many today deal with them much better.

Battery

Sony’s software optimization reaches to the battery performance. If you used an Xperia phone before, you’ll know that isn’t an understatement. Sony does a fantastic job in minimizing battery drainage.

On the Z5 Compact, we have a modest 2,700mAh capacity. Sony touts that its Xperia phones will get you 2 days of battery life. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it should get most users through the day and then some.

I’m a moderate-to-heavy user, and my usage above consisted of common apps like Google Maps, Chrome, YouTube, Play Music, Camera, Google+, Twitter, Slack, and Feedly. My brightness hovered around 75% and max, and my day was split between T-Mobile’s network and WiFi.

I really appreciated Sony’s minimal idle drain. It’s very clear in the graph above when the phone was not in use. I updated my unit to Android Marshmallow, not sure if Sony is using Doze or not. It sure seems like it.

Software

The Z5 Compact launched with Android Lollipop, but it has since been updated to 6.0.1 (Marshmallow). Something else to know is that Sony has been moving closer and closer to Android’s stock UI (thank goodness). It hadn’t sounded like most people took well to it’s custom UI.

You’ll still find Sony’s touches around, such as in the app drawer overlay. But they’re much less invasive, and Material Design elements can now be seen (i.e. the notification shade). For better or worse, Sony continues to include its own media apps.

The Recent Apps function follows Google’s carousel layout, but you’ll see a custom tool along the bottom for “Small apps”. This makes select apps launch as small windows on the Home screen. Samsung and LG’s UI have similar functions.

Also like the other manufacturers, Sony’s UI includes a theming engine. Within the Settings, clicking on “Get More Themes” takes you a vast library of pre-made styles (free and paid).

There are a couple of other nice additions. Within the Display settings, you can enable Tap to Wake (always a welcomed feature) and disable selection notification icons from showing. Sony is big on audio, so within the sound settings there’s a compressed audio upscaler and Sony’s ClearAudio+ software, that does some voodoo sound optimization.

Final Thoughts

The Z5 Compact isn’t a perfect phone, but it’s definitely a good one. And the space that it fills certainly gives it more weight. All the top-end flagships have moved on from this screen size bracket, so even the fact that the Z5 Compact can be in the same arena as them makes it compelling. This just is the best all-around smartphone that you can get with a screen less than 5 inches.

We don’t know where Sony is going to go from here. The company debuted several new smartphones earlier this year (with the new “Xperia X” branding), but they all had 5″ displays. Who knows if we’ll see another sub-5″ phone with top-end specs.

We’d like to give a shout-out to B&H Photo for supplying our Z5 Compact review unit. You can currently pick it up over there for $445.

Dyson Supersonic: The £300 hairdryer, because you’re worth it

Dyson is officially entering the beauty market. Yes really. Those people that made the first vacuum cleaner that allowed you to see how much dirt was in your home have gone about reinventing the hairdryer.

The Dyson Supersonic looks a little like those metal detectors the security people use at the airport, but alas, it is in fact a £300 device that will dry your luscious locks without damaging them too much in the process. 

Four years in the making, £50 million in investment and 600 prototypes later and Dyson brings you the Supersonic with its four heat settings, three airflow settings, a cold shot function and three magnetic attachments including a smoothing nozzle and diffuser.

As you might expect, the Dyson Supersonic won’t just be blending into the hairdryer crowd. In fact, it hasn’t got a hope in hell of blending in. Put aside its price point and design and it will still stand out like a sore thumb. Unlike other hairdryers, the weight is in the handle of the Supersonic rather than the head thanks to the motor positioning. This means Dyson’s hairdryer should be a lot easier to manoeuvre and with a bit of luck, not force you into a bicep workout before the day has even started.

Dyson

The Supersonic is powered by the Dyson digital motor V9, which is said to be up to eight times faster than other hairdryer motors, as well as half the weight. It is the smallest and lightest motor Dyson currently offers and it is this compactness that has allowed it to be placed in the handle.

There is also intelligent heat control on board to make sure your hair isn’t exposed to excessive temperatures, while Dyson’s Air Multiplier technology amplifies the volume of air drawn into the motor to deliver a high velocity, focused jet of air, angled at 20-degrees. This is apparently the perfect angle for drying and styling. Who knew?

There’s more though, just incase you were still attempting to justify the price tag, which you probably are. The Dyson Supersonic is also said to be quieter than most other hairdryers. If you care why, Dyson says it has used an axial flow impeller with fewer blades inside the motor to simplify the pathway of air and reduce the turbulence. The motor being in the handle has also helped reduce noise. 

The Dyson Supersonic will be available from June for £299 because your hair is totally worth it. Right?

Feds tipped Apple to a security flaw it already fixed

The FBI can’t tell Apple about the security vulnerability it exploited to get into the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. But it did tell the company a different flaw in its iPhone and Mac software, according to Reuters. There’s just one little thing that makes the information useless: it’s an old vulnerability, and the tech giant already fixed it.

The agency gave Cupertino the info a day after reports came out that since it doesn’t own the technique used to unlock the iPhone 5c in the San Bernardino case — it paid a group of hackers for it, if you’ll recall — it can’t disclose the flaw to the company. As Reuters noted, it may have been a move to demonstrate that the White House’s Vulnerability Equities Process does work if and when the agency can use it. The government subjects software flaws it unearths to the Vulnerability Process, giving various agencies the chance to discuss whether they should be disclosed to their respective companies.

An unnamed Apple exec, however, told Reuters that the move “did nothing to change the company’s perception that the White House process is less effective than has been claimed.” He said Cupertino already patched the vulnerability with the release of iOS 9 and Mac OS X El Capitan, making it a case of too little, too late.

Source: Reuters

Leaked image purportedly shows hand-off feature in Windows 10

Even before Windows 10 was released we heard about its first major update, codenamed “Redstone.”‘ Today, a purported screenshot from a recent Redstone build suggests that Windows users will finally get a feature that OS X has enjoyed for two years now: the ability to transfer work progress from a mobile device to a computer or vice versa.

According to a believable-looking screenshot posted on Reddit, nestled in the build’s settings is a specific toggle for users to “Let apps on your other devices launch apps and continue experiences” on your PC via Bluetooth. With this, you could finish emails or tasks on your PC that you started on your phone or device.

This possible hand-off feature isn’t a total surprise: Microsoft introduced Project Rome back at its Build developer conference earlier this month, with early demos hinting that the tech will work much the same way as Apple Handoff. But Rome is expected to differ in several ways, like transferring data between a device and computer via WiFi in addition to Bluetooth. Like the Redstone screenshot above, Rome aims to “connect experiences,” running apps on both devices that trigger certain activities: for example, posting a trivia question on your device after a certain point watching a film on your PC.

Source: MS Power User

Dyson’s first beauty product is a hair dryer

Dyson teased the event by sending out tiny, sharp motor parts to journalists (including this one), but now we get to see the rest of the thing. Unsurprisingly, the company’s first foray into beauty is, perhaps predictably, it’s a hairdryer. The Supersonic has all the design hallmarks of a Dyson: it’s all circular and smooth, metallic with a splash of loud color. Compared to everything that’s come before it, however, it’s so… small.

Four years in development, the company spent $71 million (and took four years) to make its hair dryer, with the sort of specifications and research backstory of a car. The press release explains the 600 prototypes , over 100 patents pending, and a cast of 103 engineers that worked on it. It helps to explain the price ($400), but even salon-level hair dryers hover around the $300 mark. Founder James Dyson reckons existing dryers can be “heavy, inefficient, and make a racket.”

“By looking at them further, we realized that they can also cause extreme heat damage to hair.” He believes the Supersonic solves those issues. Three magnetically-connecting attachments can adjust the output for different hair styles, and include a diffuser and… can you tell I’m out of my depth? Those accessories have a “double skin”, so that while the inner part gets hot, the outer stays cool.

However, the engineering jewel inside is a new V9 digital motor, which is Dyson’s smallest, lightest motor yet. The company even drafted in a team of aero-acoustic engineers (new career goal) to tinker with the noise the Supersonic makes. The team increased the motors’ blades from 11 to 13, which meant that one of the tones made by the motor was shifted beyond audible for humans. Sir James Dyson also noted at the press launch in Tokyo that it rotates fast enough (110,000 rotations per minute) to classify itself as ultrasonic — if not quite super.

The entire dryer has also been weight balanced for easier handling — something that isn’t usually the case for hair dryers. You’ll get to handle one for yourself later this year: the Supersonic will launch in the US exclusively at Sephora this September.

Hubble discovers that dwarf planet Makemake has a moon

The Hubble telescope has spotted a shadowy moon with a charcoal black surface orbiting the dwarf planet Makemake. Astronomers first observed Makemake in 2005, but since it’s the second brightest icy dwarf planet after Pluto, it took some time to see a satellite that’s 1,300 times fainter than the celestial body it’s orbiting. Also, it’s positively tiny with a diameter measuring 100 miles across, making it but a fraction of our own moon that has a diameter measuring 2,159.2 miles. The Hubble team used the telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and the same technique that found Pluto’s satellite’s in 2005, 2011 and 2012 to discover Makemake’s companion that has been christened “MK 2.” NASA says its presence can tell us more about the dwarf planet, including its density.

“Makemake is in the class of rare Pluto-like objects, so finding a companion is important,” Southwest Research Institute’s Alex Parker said. “The discovery of this moon has given us an opportunity to study Makemake in far greater detail than we ever would have been able to without the companion.”

Astronomers plan to look more closely into the satellite to find out if it’s the “warm region” they’ve been seeing on Makemake’s surface, which is inconsistent with its icy shell. They also intend to observe its movements: a tight orbit means it’s the product of a collision, while a wide one means it was captured from the Kuiper belt. Either way, MK 2 — just like our Earth’s own satellite — has been orbiting Makemake for billions of years.

Via: Space

Source: Space Telescope Science Institute, NASA

How to use WhatsApp from your computer – CNET

Typing long messages or holding multiple WhatsApp conversations on your smartphone is possible, but there are times when typing away on a full keyboard and viewing messages on a full-size computer screen would be better.

For those times, you can use WhatsApp’s Web platform to send and receive messages with your WhatsApp contacts.

Requirements

According to WhatsApp’s support page, you can use WhatsApp on the Web if your phone is one of the following:

• Android
• iPhone 8.1+
• Windows Phone 8.0 and 8.1
• Nokia S60, Nokia S40 EVO
• BlackBerry and BlackBerry 10

When you’re using WhatsApp Web, your phone will still need to have a data or Wi-Fi connection. That’s because the platform essentially mirrors the app on your smartphone. So if, for example, you’re traveling in another country and your phone doesn’t have a connection, you won’t be able to use WhatsApp Web.

Enlarge Image

WhatsApp Web landing page.

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

How to set up WhatsApp Web

The bulk of the setup is pairing your phone with WhatsApp Web.

Using Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari or Edge, head to https://web.whatsapp.com/.
You’ll see a QR code for you to scan with the WhatsApp phone app. Just below the code, you’ll see instructions for where that scanning option lies within the app. For example, in the iOS app, tap on settings, then WhatsApp Web.
After scanning the code, your WhatsApp messages will display on your phone and in the browser. A Wi-Fi connection isn’t required for your phone, but WhatsApp recommends one to cut back on the amount of cellular data used by your phone.

The layout of WhatsApp Web mirrors the mobile experience, just on a larger scale. You can still send emoji, photos and voice notes, view your contact list, and receive notifications on the computer.

A note on security

Going forward, anyone who has access to your computer will be able to pull up your WhatsApp conversations as long as you remain logged in. If your computer is password-protected, that’s probably not a big deal. But when using WhatsApp Web from a public computer, sign out when you’re finished. You can do that by clicking on the three-dot menu icon and selecting Log out.

If you forget to log out of WhatsApp Web on a computer that’s not yours, or you suspect someone has gained access to your account, you can log out of all active sessions by visiting the same settings page you used to scan the QR Code. (For iOS, again, that would be Settings > WhatsApp Web.)

Editor’s note:This post was originally published in January of 2015 and has since been updated with new information.

1More Triple Driver In-Ear Headphones review – CNET

The Good The terrific-sounding 1More Triple Driver is attractively designed, with nicely finished aluminum ear pieces and a Kevlar-reinforced cable. It has a three-button inline remote and microphone that’s compatible with both Android and iOS devices, comes with a variety of eartips, and includes a nice carrying case.

The Bad You can lose the tight seal if you’re walking around (not the best headphone for more active users).

The Bottom Line The 1More Triple Driver is a great-sounding in-ear headphone for its relatively modest price point.

You probably haven’t heard of 1More, a Chinese company based in Shenzhen, but its Triple-Driver is one of the best sounding in-ear headphones we’ve heard for $100.

It seems well built, with nicely finished aluminum earpieces and a Kevlar-reinforced cable that’s designed to limit cord noise when it rubs against your clothing. The headphone comes with a variety of silicon and foam eartips to ensure that you get a tight seal and the inline three-button remote and microphone are compatible with both Android and Apple devices (the volume controls work with both). A hard carrying case is also included.

Each earpiece hosts a single dynamic driver, plus two balanced armature drivers — thus the name Triple Driver. The impedance is listed at 32 ohms. Typically, a 32-ohm headphone would be harder to drive than a more typical 16-ohm headphone, but we didn’t have a problem getting ample volume from a smartphone.

The cord has an inline remote and microphone.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Clean, rich sound

The Triple-Driver’s sound is not only full and warm but nicely detailed. There’s plenty of bass oomph and definition is decent enough. The midrange sounds clear and natural; this is a headphone that will appeal to audiophiles.

Steve compared the Triple Driver with his favorite under $100 in-ear headphone, the FiiO EX1, and found the sound very different. While the earpieces of the two designs have a similar shape, the Triple Driver is finished to a higher standard and did a better job blocking external noise than the EX1.

The EX1 is clearer and more transparent while but the Triple Driver’s sound is richer and more textured. It was akin to listening to headphones plugged into a tube amplifier — everything was just a little prettier and nicer sounding with the Triple Driver. The EX1’s treble is more exciting, and more accurate, but the Triple Driver’s sound is more of a guilty pleasure.

Google updates Hangouts on iOS to ease file sharing

Google has released Hangouts version 9 for iPhone and iPad, introducing several new useful features that users have been clamoring for. If it’s been a hassle every single time you’ve needed to share a file or photo, you should be pleased with the changes.
We’re talking a native iOS share extension, which finally eliminates the frustration of being unable to share content via Hangouts on iOS without using the actual Hangouts app. Instead, you’re now able to now activate a special Hangouts extension within Photos or Safari that allows you to share images, videos, URLs and more as long as you’re logged in. There’s a new menu available where you can select which account you want to use as well as the contact you want to send to.

Beyond making it easier to share files between Hangouts users, the update adds a new Low Power Mode behavior. If your iPhone enters this state, Hangouts will automatically suspend video sharing during calls. While certain multitasking features like Slide Over and Split View still aren’t available, there’s still a lot for the avid Hangouts user to love.

Source: 9to5Mac

Instagram is Testing a Flatter, Simpler Design for iPhone App

Instagram has selected a group of users to test a version of its app with an overhauled design, which can be seen in a series of screenshots sent to MacRumors by reader Sebastien. Unlike the previous Instagram design, which utilizes a white feed bookended by blue and black borders and blue accents, the new design features a more monochromatic look.

The new color scheme appears to be part of an effort to help photos, specifically color photos, pop more in a user’s feed. The icons have also undergone design changes. The camera button on the bottom bar is no longer singled out with a blue box around it, and the camera button in camera mode is now a grey ring rather than a blue circle. The activity button on the bottom bar is a simple heart rather than a heart in a speech bubble and the profile button on the bottom is the outline of a person rather than a user’s photo.

Instagram tells Mashable that the company often tests “new experiences with a small percentage of the global community” and that this test was “a design test only.” It’s unclear whether this design will become official in a future update or whether the company decides to not move forward with it.

More recently, Instagram has been making tweaks and changes to how its app works. Two weeks ago, the company added video channels to its “Explore” feature. Before that, it expanded video clips from 15 seconds to 60 seconds and announced that it would introduce an algorithm-based feed.

Instagram is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Instagram
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