Fujifilm’s GFX 50S pairs a huge sensor with a DSLR-like body

Fujifilm is kicking off 2017 with the launch of its first medium-format mirrorless camera, the GFX 50S. As we reported yesterday, the new shooter comes with a giant 51.4-megapixel CMOS sensor (43.8 x 32.9mm), the same image processor as the X-Pro2 and X-T2, as well as a 117-point autofocus system. You won’t find any 4K video features here, however; the device is limited to 1080p recording at up to 30fps. Still, people are probably more interested in the GFX 50S’ still photography capabilities anyway.

At $6,500 (body-only), this medium-format mirrorless is much cheaper than similar cameras such as Hasselblad’s X1D, which costs about $9,000 without a lens. That’s a notable price difference, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against each other. Since the GF system is completely new, Fujifilm designed three lenses for it to start, including the GF63mm f/2.8, GF32-54mm f/4 and GF120mm f/4. Like the camera itself, these will also be available in February for $1,500, $2,300 and $2,700, respectively.

And if you have any CM-W and Super EBC HC Fujinon lenses, there will be adapters sold separately, according to Fujifilm.

Compared to when we first saw it last year, we now know a lot more about the GFX 50S, including the resolution of its medium-format sensor — which looks insane when you put it next to a Micro Four Thirds. Fujifilm says the camera I checked out at its event in NYC is the final production model, but the software is still being worked on. Having said that, I didn’t notice any issues as I was taking shots or browsing the menus.

I was surprised by how light the GFX 50S felt the first time I picked it up, especially since it has the shape of a DSLR. Of course that changes as soon as you use it with the hefty 120mm lens, but overall I was expecting to be much heavier than it actually is (800 grams). If you’ve ever used a Fujifilm camera before, you won’t be surprised to find the company’s classic manual dials, which let you adjust settings like exposure compensation and select different shooting modes with ease.

Fujifilm says the GFX 50S can take 400 shots with a full battery, or 800 if you buy the vertical battery grip, though no word on how much that’s going to cost yet. While the GFX 50S is likely going to be at the top of many medium-format camera buyers’ lists, we’ll have to wait to put it through its paces before slapping any conclusive labels on it. The camera arrives in February, so you have time to start saving up for it if you like what you see.

A closer look at Fujifilm’s X-T20 and X100F compact cameras

Fujifilm’s first medium-format mirrorless, the GFX 50S, isn’t the only camera the company is getting ready to launch. Yesterday, it also revealed the X-T20 and X100F, the latest additions to its X-series line of compact shooters. Even though the X-T20 is ostensibly a successor to the X-T10, it’s actually more like an affordable version of the X-T2. Meanwhile, the X100F is geared toward fans of fixed-lens systems. Both feature new X-Trans sensors, classic retro designs and Fujifilm’s trademark physical dials, which lets you easily adjust settings like exposure compensation and shutter speeds.

In the case of the X-T20, it comes with the same 24.3-megapixel APS-C sensor as the X-T2 (with faster autofocus), 4K video at up to 30fps and a 2.3-million-dot electronic viewfinder. Unlike its higher-end sibling, the X-T20 features a 3-inch touchscreen, allowing you to do things such as tap-to-focus and zoom in on your shots. The best part is that it costs way less than than the X-T2: $900 without a lens.

The X100F sports the aforementioned sensor as well, along with an improved 91-point autofocus system and a fixed 23mm f/2.0 lens. Fujifilm also upgraded the camera’s hybrid viewfinder, offering up to 6x magnification and 60fps support. On paper, it seems to be the perfect camera for people who love Fujifilm’s X100 series, including the X100S and X100T.

I had the chance to check them out at an event in New York City, albeit only for a few minutes. The X-T20 feels very similar to the X-T2 and X-T10 when you’re shooting with it, and you can definitely tell the autofocus is as speedy as Fujifilm promises. Meanwhile, the X100F is much lighter than the X-T20, thanks in large part to that 23mm pancake glass. For context, the X-T20 demo unit was paired with a 50mm Fujinon lens.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to take my own sample images, but we’ll have more on the X-T20 and X100F before they hit stores next month.

The best smart smoke alarm

By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here.

We can’t overstate the importance of having functioning, reliable smoke detectors in your home. From 2007 through 2011, almost a quarter of all home fire-related deaths in the US occurred in homes with nonworking smoke alarms. Though any functioning smoke alarm will alert you to problems if you’re at home, a smart alarm can alert you anywhere your smartphone has an Internet connection. After extensive testing by a former firefighter, we found that the second-generation Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is the best smart smoke alarm.

Who this is for

Among all the smart-home devices available today, a smart smoke alarm is probably the most important and the one that even smart-home skeptics should consider. The primary task of any smoke alarm, smart or not, is alerting you to potential danger. A smart alarm will do so even when you’re not home, and for most people, that should make such an alarm worth its price. Whether you’re across the street or across the country, a smart alarm will let you know (via your smartphone) when it detects smoke in your home.

How we picked and tested

We looked at both battery-powered and hardwired alarms, and we evaluated their wireless interconnectivity features. Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

A smart smoke alarm should alert you on your smartphone when it senses smoke, as well as tell you which room is in danger; it should also include intelligent low-battery alerts and remain easy to silence safely from the app. Some other features worth having include voice alerts, self-testing and reporting, and the ability to reach an emergency-contact person automatically if you don’t respond. Most important, an alarm should connect wirelessly with other alarms in the home, or come in a hardwired version that you can wire to other alarms, so that when one alarm senses danger all alarms in the house will sound.

Because your safety is at stake, for us to even consider a smoke alarm for testing, it had to meet UL standards for smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detection. UL (formerly Underwriters Laboratories) is a safety consulting and certification company that has been keeping Americans safe for more than 100 years by drafting standards for the electrical devices and components people use every day.

We wound up testing seven smart fire alarms and similar devices that included options that met our requirements.To test these devices, we put them in a two-story, detached home. We installed both battery-operated and hardwired versions (where available) and used their self-testing features to evaluate the effectiveness of their smart alerts and wireless interconnectivity capabilities. Additionally, we simulated smoke with each device to determine how well the alert features worked in a “real-life” scenario.

We evaluated each device’s companion app, and connected the devices to any smart-home systems they were compatible with and evaluated the effectiveness and usefulness of any added features.

Our pick

Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

The second-generation Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is the best smart smoke alarm for everyone because it reliably and calmly alerts you to potential danger whether you’re home or away, before the actually loud and grating alarm kicks in. It also informs you of problems such as a device malfunction or low batteries without waking you up at 2 a.m. It lets you silence nuisance alarms through its app—so you’re less likely to disable it in a fit of annoyance. On top of that, it interconnects with other Protects to sound the alarm throughout your home, and it integrates with your smart-home system to further mitigate the dangers of a fire or carbon monoxide event.

The Protect’s sensors can detect carbon monoxide, heat, humidity, room occupancy, and ambient light. It also has the Split-Spectrum Sensor, a sensor unique to Nest that, though photoelectric, promises to detect fast-burning fires more quickly than traditional photoelectric sensors do. To learn more about ionization and photoelectric sensors, see our full guide.

Perhaps most important, the Protect self-tests its functions every 200 seconds, in addition to performing a sound check once a month to test its speaker and horn. Colored status lights (green for good, yellow for problems) let you know the Protect is working properly. Although a couple of the other smart alarms we tested conduct self-checks, none of them do so in a way that’s so visible to the user. For example, the First Alert Onelink battery-powered alarm is completely dark at all times unless there’s an emergency, a design that often led us to wonder whether it was working at all. In contrast, if your Nest Protect is glowing yellow, it will announce what’s wrong, or you can look at the app to see what the issue is. That type of peace of mind is worth a lot in our opinion.

When the Protect is triggered, the alert takes you to the app, where you can silence the alarm. If smoke or CO levels are too high, it will tell you that it can’t silence the alarm and will give you guidance on what to do next.

Budget pick

Roost’s smart functions come as a battery that you install in any smoke alarm, or as a complete alarm with the battery already installed. Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

If notifications when you are away from home are your main priority, a Roost Smart Battery is an excellent, inexpensive choice. This 9-volt smart battery is not a smoke alarm itself, but thanks to its built-in microphone and Wi-Fi chip, it can turn any smoke alarm powered by a 9-volt battery or hardwired with a 9-volt backup into a smart one. Roost’s smart functions are also available in two hardwired alarm models, one for smoke only and another for smoke and CO, both with the Roost battery included. The biggest flaw in the system is its lack of wireless interconnectivity between battery-powered alarms, but the Roost makes it easy and cheap to add whole-house interconnectivity to a wired system with a single battery or device.

Once connected with the Roost app, the battery will send you alerts when the alarm goes off. Because you tell the battery upon installation where it’s located, it can tell you where the danger is, and it will send you an alert when the alarm stops, so you know whether the danger has passed. You can silence any battery-only alarm from your phone (though you can’t do the same with hardwired alarms), and you have no need to worry about 2 a.m. battery chirps—you’ll get a notification long before the battery runs out.

This guide may have been updated by The Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

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Kristen Stewart co-wrote a paper on machine learning

Kristen Stewart, best known for her role as Bella in the Twilight saga, has co-authored a paper on machine learning. It details her use of a technique known as ‘style transfers’ for select scenes in Come Swim, a short film that will be shown at Sundance and marks her directorial debut. The process has become popular with apps such as Prisma, which allow the user to apply filters in the style of famous paintings. At its core, the system relies on deep neural networks to identify the “content” of your photo and the “style” of another, blending them together into a completely new image.

Stewart and her team used style transfers to create some unusual, dream-like sequences in the film. Come Swim is a “poetic, impressionistic portrait of a heartbroken man underwater,” so it made sense to pepper some scenes with these surreal, mind-bending shots. Rather than imitate Picasso or Dali, Stewart used one of her own paintings as inspiration. It was difficult, however, to achieve the exact look she wanted, especially over multiple frames. The paper outlines some of the tricks she picked up to better control the effect — cropping the painting in different ways, for instance, forced the algorithm to focus on particular colors or brush strokes.

She also found that the quality of the style image had drastic effects on the final result. Initially, the team worked with a photo captured on a smartphone, but later swapped it for a better lit, higher resolution image. The change allowed for a “more faithful transfer of the subtleties in the contrast, color and texture.” They then experimented “style transfer ratio,” or the number of times the technique should be applied. Increasing the iterations would improve the image’s texture, but at a certain point — roughly 256 — the improvements were perceived to be negligible.

For the final cut, the team used a cross-dissolve effect to subtly transition between the original footage and the style-transferred version.

Stewart’s paper, co-authored with special effects engineer Bhautik J Joshi and producer David Shapiro, was released through the online repository arXiv. That means it hasn’t been peer-reviewed — a footnote that’s bound to make some researchers scoff. Whether it gets the all-important rubber stamp of approval doesn’t really matter, however. What’s interesting is that more people, including directors and actresses, are starting to look at the technology as a way to execute their most daring and imaginative ideas.

Via: Quartz

Source: arxiv.org

Korean Go body to ban smartphones thanks to Google’s AI

South Korean Go players will be banned from using smartphones during official tournaments in the future, and it’s all thanks to Google’s AlphaGo AI. The Korea Times reports that the Korea Baduk Association — baduk being the local name for Go — is currently drafting new rules that will outlaw smartphone use in matches. While the organization is fully aware you can’t carry AlphaGo around in your pocket at the moment, it’s preempting a time when certain AI tools that can give players a competitive edge do become available on smartphones.

It may seem strange that smartphone use is permitted in official Go competitions as it stands, but then there’s basically no precedent for digital tools being of any help to experienced players. Though IBM’s Deep Blue chess computer beat world champ Garry Kasparov in 1997, the number of variables and strategic complexity of Go have kept programmers from creating bots that exhibit anything more than an amateur skill level.

This all changed with AlphaGo, an AI developed by Google’s DeepMind team that uses a neural network for a more human-like approach to problem solving. Last year, AlphaGo claimed a historic 4-1 victory over grandmaster Lee Sedol; and, more recently, a newer prototype version of the AI has been wiping the floor with other top players online.

The Korea Baduk Association isn’t in any great rush to implement new rules, since AI Go coaches aren’t an immediate threat. “But when it becomes more popular and widespread, we will push ahead with more concrete regulations about the use of smartphones during matches,” an association official told The Korea Times. It makes sense that the organization would start thinking about how to keep competition pure now, though, instead of having to react to future tools that can give players a leg up.

Source: The Korea Times

Trump’s plan for energy independence sacrifices the environment

Shortly after Donald Trump was sworn into office, the White House’s website changed. Beyond the splash image of him and Vice President Mike Pence, under the “issues” tab is an outline for what Trump plans to do next: eliminate the Climate Action Plan and Waters of the U.S. rule. These “burdensome regulations on our energy industry” have been keeping American workers down for too long, and by nixing them wages will increase by $30 billion over the next seven years. Somehow. And almost assuredly at the expense of the environment.

“Sound energy policy begins with the recognition that we have vast untapped domestic energy reserves right here in America. The Trump Administration will embrace the shale oil and gas revolution to bring jobs and prosperity to millions of Americans. We must take advantage of the estimated $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, especially those on federal lands that the American people own. We will use the revenues from energy production to rebuild our roads, schools, bridges and public infrastructure. Less expensive energy will be a big boost to American agriculture, as well.”

Meaning, the country may begin mining federal lands for fossil fuels and energy independence. But the plan so far is vague enough that, as presented to the public, just about anything can be done under it. What’s more, the closing sections are at odds with what came before it. The post goes on to say that “protecting clean air, clean water, conserving our natural habitats and preserving our natural reserves and resources will remain a high priority.” The types of extraction typically used in mining and oil drilling aren’t exactly environmentally (or worker) friendly, hence Obama’s $28 million investment in training former coal workers for high-tech jobs last October.

Rather than having the Environmental Protection Agency focus on pesky things like climate change, Trump’s version of the administration, led by climate change skeptic Scott Pruitt, will “refocus” on protecting our air and water. Protecting them from what, exactly?

In May 2016 Trump said he’d rescind the Climate Action Plan as part of his first 100 days in office, so he’s working to keep one of his campaign promises. Already, the White House’s website has been scrubbed of any reference to the Climate Action plan. Same goes for anything regarding climate change, or the climate itself. Versions from the Obama administration live on in archived form.

Source: White House

President Obama’s final bill is aimed at bringing tech to DC

The last bill President Barack Obama signed before leaving the Oval Office for good establishes a permanent pathway for technology innovators and entrepreneurs to work with the federal government across a variety of industries. The Presidential Innovation Fellows program was introduced as part of a bipartisan effort in 2012, and Obama’s final signature makes it permanent.

PIF pairs top technologists with government employees and programs to address issues like transparency, public access to digital health records, technology education in K-12 schools and employing veterans. Fellows, as the tech savvy folks are called, serve for between 6 and 24 months.

Notable past PIF fellows include GarageBand CEO Patrick Koppula, Weather Underground founder Alan Steremberg, Shutterstock president and CFO Adam Riggs and Boston Children’s Hospital director of digital innovation Alexandra Pelletier.

“By signing this bipartisan bill into law, President Obama took an important step toward ensuring that the federal government continues to strengthen its collaborative efforts with innovators and entrepreneurs while improving efficiency and accountability,” Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) says in a press release. “The Presidential Innovation Fellows Program is a unique and effective way to engage civil servants and technologists to work together in public service for the good of the American people.”

This morning, Donald Trump was sworn into the presidency, and he has promised to undo a handful of regulations implemented and overseen by Obama in the past eight years. Trump has historically denied the existence of climate change, and minutes after his inauguration, the Trump administration committed to eliminating the Climate Action Plan and Waters of the US rule. Trump had previously vowed to rescind these programs within his first 100 days in office.

Obama has taken a number of steps to ensure his legacy is preserved, including dismantling a registry used to track Muslims in the US and blocking attempts to drill for oil off of the US Continental Shelf.

Best Buy Sale Includes Up to $300 Off Select MacBook and MacBook Pro Models

Best Buy today has begun a two-day sale that includes discounts on a collection of Apple products, including the 2016 Touch Bar MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro Without Touch Bar, 12-inch MacBook, MacBook Air, iPhone 7, and iPad mini 2.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy and may earn commissions on purchases made through these links.

Touch Bar MacBook Pro

The retailer is offering the Touch Bar MacBook Pro at a discount of $100 on four models, but the 15-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro is not listed in Best Buy’s sale.

• 13-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro Intel Core i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD in Silver – $1,699.99, $100 off
• 13-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro Intel Core i5/8GB Ram/256GB SSD in Space Gray – $1,699.99, $100 off
• 13-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro Intel Core i5/8GB Ram/512GB SSD in Silver – $1,899.99, $100 off
• 13-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro Intel Core i5/8GB Ram/512GB SSD in Space Gray – $1,899.99, $100 off

MacBook Pro

A collection of non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro models are also on sale this weekend at Best Buy, including $225 off the latest update to the laptop that launched alongside the Touch Bar models in October.

• 13-inch MacBook Pro Intel Core i5/8GB RAM/128GB SSD in Silver (2015) – $1,099.99, $200 off
• 13-inch MacBook Pro Intel Core i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD in Silver (2016) – $1,274.99, $225 off
• 13-inch MacBook Pro Intel Core i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD in Space Gray (2016) – $1,274.99, $225 off
• 15-inch MacBook Pro Intel Core i7/16GB RAM/256GB SSD in Silver (2015) – $1,799.99, $200 off

12-Inch MacBook

The biggest collection on sale for a single MacBook line this weekend is the 12-inch MacBook, which Best Buy is discounting by $300 on two separate builds in all colorways.

• 12-inch MacBook Intel Core M3/8GB RAM/256GB SSD in Rose Gold – $999.99, $300 off
• 12-inch MacBook Intel Core M3/8GB RAM/256GB SSD in Silver – $999.99, $300 off
• 12-inch MacBook Intel Core M3/8GB RAM/256GB SSD in Space Gray – $999.99, $300 off
• 12-inch MacBook Intel Core M3/8GB RAM/256GB SSD in Gold – $999.99, $300 off
• 12-inch MacBook Intel Core M5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD in Rose Gold – $1,299.99, $300 off
• 12-inch MacBook Intel Core M5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD in Silver – $1,299.99, $300 off
• 12-inch MacBook Intel Core M5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD in Space Gray – $1,299.99, $300 off
• 12-inch MacBook Intel Core M5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD in Gold – $1,299.99, $300 off

MacBook Air

At the cheapest level of Best Buy’s sale this weekend is the MacBook Air, which the retailer has reduced in price by $200 on two models.

• 13-inch MacBook Air Intel Core i5/8GB RAM/128GB SSD in Silver – $799.99, $200 off
• 13-inch MacBook Air Intel Core i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD in Silver – $999.99, $200 off

iPhone 7 and iPad mini 2

Rounding out all of the MacBook sales are discounts on the iPad mini 2 and iPhone 7. For the Wi-Fi only 32GB model of the iPad mini 2, users can pick up the tablet for $239.99, a $30 discount (Silver/White or Space Gray/Black).

When purchasing select iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models at Best Buy during the sale, as well as signing up for a monthly installment plan, users can also receive up to a $200 Best Buy gift card.

The amount for each specific iPhone 7 model is listed below:

• iPhone 7 32GB: $50 gift card
• iPhone 7 128GB: $100 gift card
• iPhone 7 256GB: $200 gift card
• iPhone 7 Plus 256GB: $100 gift card

Check Best Buy’s sale page for details on eligible carriers and colors.

Anyone who wants to take advantage of the sales happening at Best Buy has through Saturday, January 21 before the deals expire.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
Tag: Best Buy
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LifeProof Debuts Slimmer NUUD Case for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus

Well-known case maker LifeProof today unveiled a new version of its waterproof NUUD iPhone case for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The company put an emphasis on making a slimmer case while ensuring that it remained waterproof and drop proof (up to 6.6 feet), as well as dirt and snow proof.

Like previous NUUD cases, the iPhone 7’s screen is uncovered, providing direct display access “while adding minimal size and weight to the phone.” The company also noted that all features of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus remain accessible with the NUUD case on, “making LifeProof iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus cases a by-your-side necessity for any adventure.”

“Our engineers consider a lot of consumer feedback in the design process, and they set out to create the best NÜÜD ever,” said LifeProof CEO Jim Parke. “They’ve done just that. The new NÜÜD design for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus features a fully transparent back so you can show off your iPhone and enhanced audio to keep calls and music crystal clear. NÜÜD delivers an experience that’s in a league of its own.”

Other additions to the new case include a transparent back “so you can show off your iPhone,” as well as enhanced audio so phone calls and music remain crystal clear while the NUUD case is on the iPhone. The camera cover has also been redesigned to collect less dust so users won’t have to worry about debris getting caught and disrupting the lens field.

NUUD for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is available to purchase for $99.99 on LifeProof’s website. Colors for both versions of the case include: Black, Mermaid Teal, Midnight Indigo Blue, and Plum Reef Purple.

Tag: LifeProof
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Google Pixel, three months later: Still going strong, still the best

Oh my, how time flies.

Somehow it has already been three months since we published our Google Pixel and Pixel XL review. Not only has time simply passed since we wrote that review, but I’ve also been actively using the Pixel as a primary phone since the review period. That gives a ton of extra perspective on a phone that’s at the top of people’s minds nowadays, regardless of whether they’re enthusiasts or just casual buyers.

Even three months after it became commercially available the Pixel (and XL in particular) is often still out of stock or not available in all configurations, showing that demand is at least strong enough to force supply constraints through some combination of factors. Google’s first in-house designed and sold phones are popular, it seems.

And as we know, companies don’t just sell phones in the first quarter after introduction — they count on sales throughout a full year after release. So now with the Pixel hitting its stride for the period that should bring the most rapid sales over its life, does it still stand up in the same way it did when it we first reviewed it? Here are some of my thoughts after three months using the Google Pixel.

Holds up … except for the glass

Pixel hardware with some age

The Pixel’s hardware didn’t exactly get unanimous approval at launch, with many reviews panning it as boring or uninspired. I was squarely in the opposite camp that found the Pixel’s simple and smooth metal body refreshing. It wasn’t trying to do too much, and appreciated how it was easy to hold and use. Three months later, I haven’t changed my views much.

Some say its hardware is boring, but I still enjoy it.

Speaking specifically about the smaller Pixel, it’s still a wonderful compact phone. Yes its bezels are a bit on the big side as a percentage of the overall size of the phone, but with the small screen it’s extremely comfortable. The top-to-bottom tapered “wedge” shape is subtle on the smaller Pixel, but has a positive influence on how easy it is to grip. No superfluous edges or “features” to get in the way here — very much in line with the rest of Google’s hardware design of 2016.

The only part of the Pixel’s hardware that hasn’t aged well for me is the glass back. I definitely wasn’t in the crowd that was initially worried about the longterm strength of the glass — and am still no more worried about it than my Galaxy S7 — but my glass has not aged well. The perfectly flat glass with curved edges and absolutely no protection is coated in fine swirly scratches, thankfully none of which have yet to extend over the camera sensor. I absolutely love the look of the glass and how it blends in perfectly to the metal around it, and understand its importance to the function of the phone, but it hasn’t held up in the three months I’ve been using it.

The back glass is the one weak point of this design.

I’m not particularly worried about a complete cracking of the glass, but it just doesn’t look great like it did the day I took it out of the box. I expected some scratches, but perhaps thought it’d be more of a graceful trasition. It only took about a week to get my first noticeable scratch on that back glass, and now there are too many to count. I actually have a case on my Pixel now out of necessity most times I leave the house, even though I prefer the feel of the cold metal in my hand.

No matter which size Pixel you prefer, I can say the display is right there with the best in the business. It isn’t quite Galaxy S7 good … but then again, nothing is. But whether I’m looking at the 5-inch 1080p or 5.5-inch QHD panel, I don’t have any complaints. Pixel density, colors and viewing angles all still meet my expectations for an industry-leading phone. Well-calibrated auto-brightness and Night Light color shifting are nice little touches as well.

So smooth

Pixel Software and performance

A common refrain when evaluating a phone a couple months after you first reviewed it is finding that the software has slowed down or crufted up. My Pixel thankfully hasn’t experienced this all-too-common deterioration. I absolutely gushed over the performance of the Pixel and Pixel XL for the first couple of weeks using the phones, and thankfully it has been retained even after being loaded up with apps, media and my own data.

Still just as fast as the day I took it out of its box.

The Pixel isn’t entirely perfect, though — I have managed to crash a couple of apps, and twice over the past three months trying to process several HDR+ photos at once has even forced a soft reboot of the phone. Those were two reminders that indeed no software is infallable (on an Android or otherwise), but reflecting on it this has to be the most stable Android phone I’ve ever used. General day-to-day performance is rock solid and more importantly extremely consistent. There’s no occasional lag, random slowdowns or times when the Pixel doesn’t respond the way I expect it to. The top-notch touch screen responsiveness also continues to impress.

The single flaw is the Pixel’s battery life — it’s just adequate.

Much like the hardware having a notable flaw in the glass back, the one ding on performance with the Pixel is its battery life. The 2770 mAh battery is acceptable; that’s about all I can say there. For a typical day I get through all of my necessary tasks and end the day with battery left to spare … but not every day is typical. Any extra work I need my Pixel to do — whether that’s running a hotspot, pulling navigation duty running Android Auto for a 30 minute drive, or doing some extra streaming — puts me on pace to have to charge during the day. It’s a common feeling among the AC editors, and it’s what has pushed many (who have access to both phones) to choose the Pixel XL instead.

This is one section where I can really call out the Pixel XL as offering a different experience entirely from the smaller Pixel. With the larger version, battery life is in no way an issue. Sure it isn’t an absolute marathon machine like the OnePlus 3T or HuaweI Mate 9, but the Pixel XL has enough in the tank to make it through even my toughest days — including traveling — without giving up. For a more typical day, my Pixel XL has 40% or more battery left over when I go to plug in at night.

Can’t put it down

Three months of photos

I’m still completely enamored with the Pixel’s camera, both in the quality of the photos but also the consistency from shot to shot. The time to launch and capture photos is still super quick, and though the HDR+ processing in the background could stand to get a touch faster it isn’t in any way an issue. Especially when the photos look this good in the end.

Do I wish it had a more complete software interface with manual controls like the Galaxy S7 or LG V20? Absolutely. Do I think it needs those controls to be considered the best smartphone camera available today? Not at all. I’m still consistently impressed by the photos I take with the Pixel, even after taking several hundred over the past few months.

Best available

Google Pixel, three months on

Whenever I can look back on a review three months later and come to the same conclusions, it’s a fantastic feeling. Google’s first Pixel phones are absolutely just as impressive after three months of use as they were in the first couple weeks, which isn’t a given even for high-end phones today. There is absolutely a reason why the Pixel is still our pick for the best overall Android phone.

That’s not to say that the Pixel and Pixel XL are perfect, of course. There’s always room to improve in a Pixel 2 (or whatever Google may call it), but you can know that the current models have staying power. They’re still just as worth the purchase today as they were when they first launched.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
• Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
• Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Join the discussion in the forums!

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