NextCleaners is an eco-friendly laundry solution for your New York City life

Why it matters to you

If you’re worried about how your laundry habits are affecting the planet, you may want to check out NextCleaners, the eco-friendly on-demand laundry service.

You may not play basketball like a Brooklyn Nets player, but you can get your dry cleaning done like one. That is, if you’re a customer of New York-based on-demand laundry service NextCleaners. Since launching in 2010, the environmentally-friendly launderer has become the Official Dry Cleaner of the Barclays Center and the NBA team, and now, it wants to be your official dry cleaner as well. The mainly digital service not only wants to bring laundry into the 21st century, but also seeks to establish more green techniques of cleaning clothes.

While there are plenty of laundry services vying for your attention, NextCleaners differentiates itself by way of a few key partnerships. Not only does the New York-based laundry service dry clean for the Brooklyn Nets, but it also maintains partnerships with a few major fashion houses, including Versace, Sandro, Theory, Oscar De La Renta, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, DKNY, Tory Burch, Rag & Bone, Alice & Olivia, and Zegna. With its eco-friendly dry cleaning, preservation techniques, and leather, suede, and fur care services, there’s not a lot that NextCleaners can’t do. And of course, the best part is that you can get it done all online.

More: On-demand laundry services are on the rise, and one is expanding to 15 countries

Boasting a proprietary e-Commerce technology platform, placing an order with NextCleaners is about as straightforward as can be. In our experience, the service has been supremely timely (you set a time window for pickup) and efficient, with one-day service offered on weekdays. Their NextSpeedy app allows for pick-up and drop-off requests at the touch of a button.

“Dry cleaning and laundry are one of the essential services that can be provided on-demand. With the launch of NextSpeedy, NextCleaners is positioned to become a leading provider of on-demand services in our marketplace,” said Kam Saifi, NextCleaners Founder and CEO. “The advent of mobile app technologies has enabled the creation of many on-demand services that allow people to handle their day-to-day but essential tasks. Next Cleaners’ goal is to provide high quality and eco-friendly dry cleaning as well as complimentary services in order to deliver a great customer experience.”

And thanks to NextCleaner’s acquisition of Boomerang, another New York City service last year, the company has an even greater capacity to get your laundry done in a timely manner.

So if you’re living a busy city lifestyle that doesn’t exactly include time for cleaning your clothes, let NextCleaners take care of that for you.

Samsung Galaxy Book: Our First Take

Rumors have swirled that Samsung may reveal a “Galaxy Book” that competes with laptops like the MacBook and Microsoft Surface Book. We can now verify that these rumors were somewhat true. On Sunday, Samsung took the lid off the Galaxy Book, but it’s no laptop killer. Instead, it’s a Windows 10 tablet with an iPad Pro-style attachable keyboard. Available in 10.6-inch and 12-inch screens sizes, the Galaxy Book is a sort of sequel to Samsung’s 2016 Galaxy TabPro S Windows tablet.

Below are our abridged first impressions of the new Windows tablets, which have no release date or price as of yet.

The keyboard doesn’t cut it

Both Galaxy Books have optional keyboards, which are more comfortable to type on than last year’s TabPro S thanks to added depth on each key, and have better island-style key design. Unfortunately, they’re a hassle to connect and disconnect. We fumbled around for a few minutes trying to get the keyboard to magnetically latch onto the bottom of the Galaxy Book tablet, but it’s not an ideal design.

More: Samsung Galaxy Tab S3: Our first take

Samsung has not fixed these keyboard issues, and the problems with them feel all the more pronounced this year.

Like we said, verbatim, in our TabPro S review, “a very weak magnet around the tablet’s rear-facing camera secures the top half of the keyboard cover. That magnet is not reliable, and jostling the tablet can cause it to pop out of position or, in the worst scenario, fall forward. The cover also allows just two screen positions when the keyboard is in use — nearly straight up, and reclined way back like a beach recliner. Neither position is awful, but neither feels entirely natural. And, as we’ll discuss shortly, the screen’s flaws demand that it be viewed from an ideal angle.”

Samsung has not fixed these keyboard issues, and the problems with them feel all the more pronounced this year. Without a keyboard, this is a decent Windows tablet, but Windows 10 isn’t really the kind of operating system you want if you aren’t typing on a keyboard. It has plenty of touch features, but like MacOS, it’s built for machines where you get work done. Android and iPad are fine if you just want a tablet.

The 12-inch model has AMOLED, and a much better processor

Pricing will make a huge difference, but the 12-inch model of the Galaxy Book holds a lot more promise. The 12-inch model has a beautiful AMOLED screen with a 2,160 x 1440 pixel resolution, as well as a 7th-generation Indel Core i5 processor and 128GB of SSD storage. It’s also quite petite at only 7.4mm thick, and has a 13-megapixel rear camera. By comparison, the Galaxy Book 10.6 has none of these things. It has a Full HD LCD screen, runs on a dual-core Intel Core m3 processor, has no rear camera, and comes with 64GB of storage out of the box. Both have 4GB of RAM.

Your eyes will thank you for choosing an AMOLED screen. They are rare on laptops, but absolutely gorgeous. Windows 10 has a lot of bright colors and blacks in its menus, and AMOLED produces far deeper blacks and more vivid colors than other screen types. This is because each pixel lights itself up instead of needing a big backlight behind it, allowing pixels to shut themselves off completely when you have black portions of the screen. The 12-inch Book is also capable of HDR (10bit colored), though we don’t have the precise specs on that yet. HDR, or high-dynamic range, is another screen technology that ups contrast, vividness, and brightness when watching films and looking at photos.

The 12-inch model will also get better battery life by at least a half hour, and both models have fast charging. Our test of the original Samsung TabPro S showed solid battery life six hours, 31 minutes in our web browsing loop. An extra half-hour will put the TabPro S well above average.

S-Pen support

Samsung is including an S-Pen with each tablet, and it’s very nice. It has an unlimited battery inside it, so you’ll never have to charge it, and is thicker and more comfortable to hold than previous S-Pen styles Samsung has produced. This time around, it is sensitive enough to detect 4,096 levels of pressure. Samsung reps showed us how you can now angle your brush in Photoshop, and it certainly looks like a fun new feature for digital artists.

Keeping track of that S-Pen will be difficult. There is no holster for the stylus, nor any magnetic spot where it can be attached. We misplaced one in the few minutes we were testing it. Hopefully, Samsung won’t charge much for replacements.

This is a Windows, not a Galaxy

Samsung is calling this a Galaxy Book, but it is not a traditional Galaxy device. That word has traditionally meant a Samsung Android device, and there is no Android support here. This runs on Windows 10, which is a fine operating system, but a very different one that’s still better suited to sitting down and getting work done. Windows has its roots in laptops and desktop PCs. Android has its roots in smartphones, and the difference is still stark. If you’re looking for a high-end tablet for watching movies and installing apps, we really like the iPad Pro, and Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S3 is looking nice.

To be fair, Samsung has installed some features that it calls Samsung Flow, which let you do things like answer texts and more easily use your Galaxy phone (if you own one) as a hot spot, but as nice as the features are, they don’t make it a Galaxy (Android) device.

Is there a market for this?

Microsoft has managed to sell many Surface Pro tablets thanks to how well it can mimic a laptop while also adding portability. And we like the Surface Book because it’s even more laptop-like. Sadly, from our first impressions, Samsung just isn’t there yet. If you really want Windows 10 on a tablet, the Galaxy Book 12 is likely our pick, because of its more extensive feature set and battery life, though pricing and availability will make all the difference.

We have only spent a few moments with the Galaxy Books so far, but we currently have the same basic impression that we had of the TabPro S last year. This is a great Windows tablet, but likely a poor substitute for a laptop.

Highs

• Excellent display
• Battery life should be strong

Lows

• Smaller model has modest hardware
• Keyboard is still a problem
• Windows 10 remains an awkward fit for the device

Samsung Galaxy Book: Our First Take

Rumors have swirled that Samsung may reveal a “Galaxy Book” that competes with laptops like the MacBook and Microsoft Surface Book. We can now verify that these rumors were somewhat true. On Sunday, Samsung took the lid off the Galaxy Book, but it’s no laptop killer. Instead, it’s a Windows 10 tablet with an iPad Pro-style attachable keyboard. Available in 10.6-inch and 12-inch screens sizes, the Galaxy Book is a sort of sequel to Samsung’s 2016 Galaxy TabPro S Windows tablet.

Below are our abridged first impressions of the new Windows tablets, which have no release date or price as of yet.

The keyboard doesn’t cut it

Both Galaxy Books have optional keyboards, which are more comfortable to type on than last year’s TabPro S thanks to added depth on each key, and have better island-style key design. Unfortunately, they’re a hassle to connect and disconnect. We fumbled around for a few minutes trying to get the keyboard to magnetically latch onto the bottom of the Galaxy Book tablet, but it’s not an ideal design.

More: Samsung Galaxy Tab S3: Our first take

Samsung has not fixed these keyboard issues, and the problems with them feel all the more pronounced this year.

Like we said, verbatim, in our TabPro S review, “a very weak magnet around the tablet’s rear-facing camera secures the top half of the keyboard cover. That magnet is not reliable, and jostling the tablet can cause it to pop out of position or, in the worst scenario, fall forward. The cover also allows just two screen positions when the keyboard is in use — nearly straight up, and reclined way back like a beach recliner. Neither position is awful, but neither feels entirely natural. And, as we’ll discuss shortly, the screen’s flaws demand that it be viewed from an ideal angle.”

Samsung has not fixed these keyboard issues, and the problems with them feel all the more pronounced this year. Without a keyboard, this is a decent Windows tablet, but Windows 10 isn’t really the kind of operating system you want if you aren’t typing on a keyboard. It has plenty of touch features, but like MacOS, it’s built for machines where you get work done. Android and iPad are fine if you just want a tablet.

The 12-inch model has AMOLED, and a much better processor

Pricing will make a huge difference, but the 12-inch model of the Galaxy Book holds a lot more promise. The 12-inch model has a beautiful AMOLED screen with a 2,160 x 1440 pixel resolution, as well as a 7th-generation Indel Core i5 processor and 128GB of SSD storage. It’s also quite petite at only 7.4mm thick, and has a 13-megapixel rear camera. By comparison, the Galaxy Book 10.6 has none of these things. It has a Full HD LCD screen, runs on a dual-core Intel Core m3 processor, has no rear camera, and comes with 64GB of storage out of the box. Both have 4GB of RAM.

Your eyes will thank you for choosing an AMOLED screen. They are rare on laptops, but absolutely gorgeous. Windows 10 has a lot of bright colors and blacks in its menus, and AMOLED produces far deeper blacks and more vivid colors than other screen types. This is because each pixel lights itself up instead of needing a big backlight behind it, allowing pixels to shut themselves off completely when you have black portions of the screen. The 12-inch Book is also capable of HDR (10bit colored), though we don’t have the precise specs on that yet. HDR, or high-dynamic range, is another screen technology that ups contrast, vividness, and brightness when watching films and looking at photos.

The 12-inch model will also get better battery life by at least a half hour, and both models have fast charging. Our test of the original Samsung TabPro S showed solid battery life six hours, 31 minutes in our web browsing loop. An extra half-hour will put the TabPro S well above average.

S-Pen support

Samsung is including an S-Pen with each tablet, and it’s very nice. It has an unlimited battery inside it, so you’ll never have to charge it, and is thicker and more comfortable to hold than previous S-Pen styles Samsung has produced. This time around, it is sensitive enough to detect 4,096 levels of pressure. Samsung reps showed us how you can now angle your brush in Photoshop, and it certainly looks like a fun new feature for digital artists.

Keeping track of that S-Pen will be difficult. There is no holster for the stylus, nor any magnetic spot where it can be attached. We misplaced one in the few minutes we were testing it. Hopefully, Samsung won’t charge much for replacements.

This is a Windows, not a Galaxy

Samsung is calling this a Galaxy Book, but it is not a traditional Galaxy device. That word has traditionally meant a Samsung Android device, and there is no Android support here. This runs on Windows 10, which is a fine operating system, but a very different one that’s still better suited to sitting down and getting work done. Windows has its roots in laptops and desktop PCs. Android has its roots in smartphones, and the difference is still stark. If you’re looking for a high-end tablet for watching movies and installing apps, we really like the iPad Pro, and Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S3 is looking nice.

To be fair, Samsung has installed some features that it calls Samsung Flow, which let you do things like answer texts and more easily use your Galaxy phone (if you own one) as a hot spot, but as nice as the features are, they don’t make it a Galaxy (Android) device.

Is there a market for this?

Microsoft has managed to sell many Surface Pro tablets thanks to how well it can mimic a laptop while also adding portability. And we like the Surface Book because it’s even more laptop-like. Sadly, from our first impressions, Samsung just isn’t there yet. If you really want Windows 10 on a tablet, the Galaxy Book 12 is likely our pick, because of its more extensive feature set and battery life, though pricing and availability will make all the difference.

We have only spent a few moments with the Galaxy Books so far, but we currently have the same basic impression that we had of the TabPro S last year. This is a great Windows tablet, but likely a poor substitute for a laptop.

Highs

• Excellent display
• Battery life should be strong

Lows

• Smaller model has modest hardware
• Keyboard is still a problem
• Windows 10 remains an awkward fit for the device

Motorola’s new Moto Mods include Alexa-equipped assistant, gamepad

Why it matters to you

Motorola’s Moto Mods are one of the Moto Z’s best attributes. And Motorola committed to them in a major way at Mobile World Congress.

One of the most unique — and arguably best — features of Lenovo’s Moto Z series is Moto Mods. The growing portfolio of modular add-ons includes cameras, speakers, batteries, and more, and on Sunday at Mobile World Congress, Motorola announced several additions to the lineup.

New Mods

Motorola debuted a new Power Pack that snaps onto the Moto Z like an external battery. It gives any Moto Z up to 50 percent more power, the company said, and automatically detects the phone’s level of charge, replenishing the battery only when it’s “most efficient.”

More: The Timewave is a Moto Mod that will give your phone Moto Z Touch superpowers

It’ll be available starting in March for $50.

Another charging accessory, the Charging Adapter, is designed to recharge any new and existing Moto Mod. It’s a tiny box that fits over the metal connector on the Mod to be charged and plugs into an outlet, or other external charging device.

Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends

One of the most impressive of Motorola’s new Mods adds wireless charging capabilities to any Moto Z on the market. It features a glass design.

Finally, Motorola’s new Gamepad Moto Mod adds console controls to Moto Z devices. It snaps on the back and adds two joysticks, a directional pad, trigger buttons, and a lanyard loop. It comes preloaded with games, but Motorola didn’t elaborate.

Amazon Alexa

That’s not all Motorola announced.

Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service, a set of APIs that allow hardware makers to integrate the Alexa voice assistant into their products, will hit Moto Z devices later this year in the form of a specially designed mod. It features a glowing blue light that illuminates when Alexa is activated, and a pyramidal base that doubles as a desk stand.

More: Is a Hasselblad camera module coming to the Moto Z? Leak says it’s possible

Interestingly, the Alexa-equipped Moto Mod can do more than Amazon’s own Alexa-equipped Echo speakers in some ways. It pairs with a companion app that shows search results based on voice queries — if you ask about the weather in Barcelona, for example, it’ll show a three-day weather forecast.

Motorola said that later in the year, Moto Z would gain “deeper integration” with Alexa. It will respond to Alexa’s wake word from the lock screen, and show results in a companion app.

Concept Mods

Motorola took the time to show concept Mods, or ideas for Moto Mods that might (or might not) make it to market.

The first, a Polaroid-like printer for Moto Z devices, spits out photos on compact sheets of paper. A robotics module adds motors and connectors that transform any Moto Z into the brains of a Lego remote-controlled car or automaton. And a mutlilevel docking station serves as a charger for multiple Mods.

Two other concept Mods skewed a bit more practical. One, a giant, tablet-like stand with a docking station that fits a Moto Z Force, is more than a little reminiscent of Motorola’s Atrix laptop dock and Lenovo’s PadFone. The other, a virtual reality headset, uses a Moto Z handset’s screen as a VR display, much like Samsung’s Galaxy Gear.

More Mods on the horizon

Mods are the number one reason people are buying Moto Zs, Motorola said. They’re putting them to use: The average Moto Z user swaps Mods an average of 14 hours a week, Motorola said.

To help spur the development of Mods further forward, Motorola has teamed up with manufacturers to formulate a development platform. It will continue to design Mods itself, but it’ll also co-design Mods with partners, and let approved third-parties make, sell, and market Mods entirely by themselves.

Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends

In many cases, it’s jump-starting the development efforts itself. In India, Motorola recently hosted more than 100 developers, engineers, students, and partners to discuss new Moto Mod concepts. And it held hackathons in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and San Francisco last year.

More: Motorola’s modular Moto Z series is getting a few new Moto Mods

The pop-up events dovetail with Motorola’s Transform the Smartphone Challenge, a competition that saw enterprising young hardware developers pitch ideas for Moto Mods at events in New York and San Francisco. They subsequently launched crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo, and have a shot at meeting with Verizon and Motorola representatives to get their Moto Mods featured in Motorola’s online store.

Motorola said the fruit of those efforts will emerge as soon as March.

Samsung and Oculus announce the wand-like Gear VR Controller

Why it matters to you

Samsung and Oculus’s new Gear VR Controller makes navigating menus and controlling games much easier.

Generally speaking, Samsung’s Gear VR is great in a pinch. It doesn’t deliver the visual fidelity of, say, Facebook’s Oculus or HTC’s Vive, but it’s significantly more portable. And it boasts a growing library of hundreds of games, apps, movies, and videos. The only problem? It doesn’t have a controller.

Navigating around menus and games required finagling with a directional touchpad on the Gear VR’s side, which wasn’t exactly intuitive. But at Mobile World Congress on February 26, Samsung unveiled a solution: The Gear VR Controller.

The Gear VR controller, which was developed by Facebook’s Oculus division, looks a little like a shrunken Nintendo Wii controller. It sports a prominent touch-sensitive trackpad that doubles as a clickable selection button. Below it are home, select, volume, and back buttons; on the underside is a trigger; and near the bottom is a wrist strap to prevent users from loosing their grip during “vigorous play.”

More: The best VR headset you can buy

On the Gear VR’s inside are sensors that track motion, allowing users to point, drag, drop, tilt, shoot, and more.

The Gear VR controller will have broad support at launch. Oculus said that more than 70 new controller titles are already in development, and the firm will make the Gear VR Controller’s software development kit available to all developers in the coming weeks. (Developers can submit their applications for the SDK — and Gear VR hardware — via the Oculus website.)

Furthermore, Oculus said that all existing touchpad apps will be compatible — including the more than 550 existing Gear VR apps.

More: Samsung Gear VR review

If the Gear VR Controller looks familiar, that’s probably because the idea is not exactly a first. Google’s Daydream virtual reality platform launched with a controller, and both the HTC Vive and Oculus leverage motion controllers. But with Samsung’s backing, VR motion controls will be placed in the hands of more developers than ever before.

“We’re thrilled to welcome this addition to the Gear VR and all the potential it holds for mobile VR,” an Oculus spokesperson said. “[Some] of the best experiences […] benefit from a controller to tap their full functionality. We can’t wait to offer the freedom of improved, streamlined controls to the entire Gear VR community soon!”

The Gear VR controller is compatible with the Galaxy S7, S7 edge, Note 5, S6 edge+, S6, and S6 edge. The Gear VR with Controller, a slightly revised version the Gear VR headset, has 42mm lenses with 101-degree FOV (field of view) as well as distortion correction technology that minimizes motion sickness. It supports both MicroUSB and USB Type-C ports with an included converter.

What will the Surface Pro 5 look like? Here are the rumors

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 was introduced in 2015 as the company’s newest “tablet that can replace your notebook” style of 2-in-1. The Windows 10 machine offered a larger and higher-resolution display, as well as sixth-generation Intel Core processors, which likely why it sold far better than Microsoft expected it to.

More: Surface Pro 5 could launch alongside the Windows 10 Creators Update in early ’17

Given the machine’s resounding success, it only makes sense that Microsoft will produce a Surface Pro 5 at some point, a fact that seems to have been confirmed by a recent job posting listed on LinkedIn. The company has otherwise been surprisingly good at keeping new Surface machines a secret, however, and so almost all we currently have to go on is speculation. Here’s everything we know so far.

October came and went — now what?

Many people expected Microsoft to introduce the Surface Pro 5 successor in October. That would have followed Microsoft’s recent pattern of introducing new and enhanced Surface products at its annual hardware event. However, that didn’t happen. Instead, the company introduced the futuristic Surface Studio, along with a minor but welcome update to its notebook-centric 2-in-1, the Surface Book with Performance Base.

More: 2-in-1 PC aren’t dead, and Microsoft’s class-redefining Surface Pro 4 is proof

Now, speculation has shifted to an early-2017 launch of the Surface Pro 5 to coincide with the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update. A recent report allegedly identified Taiwanese company Pegatron Technology as one of the manufacturers of the Surface Pro 5, with a first quarter release estimate. The idea that Pegatron might produce the next Surface Pro isn’t that far-fetched, especially because the company currently produces the Surface Studio for Microsoft.

Surface Studio

Microsoft

Given that the Creators Update is expected to land in April, some sources are further speculating that Microsoft could announce the Surface Pro 5 at Mobile World Conference (MWC), which runs from February 27 through March 2. As of February 22, however, Microsoft had not yet announced any relevant events of its own, and so an announcement at MWC makes as much sense as anything.

4K display, Kaby Lake, and more

The Surface Pro 4 uses sixth-generation Intel Core processors and offers an excellent 12.3-inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, 2,736 x 1,824-pixel resolution, and 267 PPI. Anticipated — and logical — Surface Pro 5 updates, therefore, include a move to seventh-generation Intel Kaby Lake processors and a 4K display option. Also expected, and equally logical, is the inclusion of more expansion ports and a move to USB Type-C, which would also allow the new machine to be even thinner than the Surface Pro 4. The Surface Pro 4 has a single USB 3.0 port, a DisplayPort, and an SD card reader.

Other rumored possibilities:

• The Surface Pro 5 could offer an option with an ARM processor, given Microsoft recently announced that Windows 10 will support ARM at some point. That would make an LTE variant an obvious update as well. However, because ARM support isn’t likely to arrive in the Creators Update and perhaps not even with the Redstone 3 update that’s expected toward the end of 2017, it seems unlikely that Microsoft would announce an ARM variant so soon.
• Microsoft has patented an active pen with wireless charging, which would make some sense for the Surface Pro 5 given that the Surface Pen already magnetically attaches to the side of the Surface Pro 4.
• A larger capacity battery is also possible, which would please anyone who’s suffered through the relatively poor battery life afforded by the Surface Pro 4. Moving to seventh-generation Intel processors would help, given they’re more efficient.

HMD’s Nokia 6, 5, and 3 are budget phones with great build quality: Our first take

Why it matters to you

Nokia’s back … sort of. HMD is taking the reins, and the company is highlighting durability and battery life as highlights of its new phones.

HMD Global, the company licensing Nokia’s name, unveiled two new smartphones Sunday, as well as a feature phone to drum up the nostalgia factor for the iconic brand.

The Nokia 6, which first launched in China last year, will be available globally. It will be followed by two lower-performing and smaller devices — the Nokia 5 and the Nokia 3. HMD said it’s committed to keeping up with the monthly security updates from Google for the operating system, as well as being timely with new Android version updates.

More: Nokia to rebrand Withings portfolio, redesign HealthMate app

All in all, the entire lineup seemed to be the best-built budget phones we’ve seen. Let’s take a closer look.

Nokia 5

The sequence of names really don’t make much sense, but it’s not hard to figure out that the Nokia 5 is the middle child of the group. The 2.5d glass on the 5.2-inch display offers a 720-pixel resolution, and it feels durable thanks to its aluminum unibody. The screen offers extra visibility in direct sunlight thanks to a polarizer.

The power button and volume rocker sits on the top right, and the bottom-front features capacitive navigation buttons. The middle button, however, doubles as a fingerprint sensor. The aluminum unibody really helps make this phone feel like a premium device — and you’ll certainly be surprised that it costs 189 euros (or about $200 U.S.).

Powering the smartphone is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 with 2GB RAM, which seemed to keep the phone running smoothly in our brief time with it. What likely helps is how the Nokia 5 runs stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat, but don’t expect to do any intensive multitasking or play graphics-heavy games.

More: Nokia has confidence its VR cameras, smartphones, 5G tech will drive growth

It sadly only comes with 16GB of internal storage, which is much lower than the standard offerings from phones in this price range. Thankfully, there’s a MicroSD card slot that supports up to 128GB of extra storage. It surprisingly has a massive 3,000mAH battery, which should keep this low-resolution device chugging along for quite a while.

There’s only a single speaker (but thankfully a headphone jack), and at the bottom sits a MicroUSB charging port. It’s unclear why Nokia went with MicroUSB over USB Type-C, which a lot of other budget phones have adopted. At least there’s an NFC sensor, meaning you can use Android Pay.

The rear camera packs 13 megapixels, and the front has 8 megapixels and a wide-angle lens. There didn’t seem to be much shutter lag, but we’ll have to explore the camera more when we get a review unit.

You can choose from blue, copper, black, and silver for the Nokia 5.

Nokia 3

The Nokia 3 is the most affordable of the lineup and also the smallest. An aluminum frame protects the 5-inch screen from accidental drops, but the back is made of polycarbonate. What’s remarkable is how Nokia makes this phone feel like it’s made of metal, as there’s a nice weight to it.

Like the others in the series, the Nokia 3 follows a minimalist design. The back is plain, save the camera; the buttons are on the right, and you’ll find capacitive navigation buttons on the front.

More: BlackBerry sues Nokia, alleging networking patent infringement

Like the Nokia 5, the device only has a 720-pixel resolution. It has a MediaTek 6737 processor with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage that again can be expanded up to 128GB by using the MicroSD card slot. It has a slightly smaller 2,650mAh battery, which charges via the MicroUSB port on the bottom. It also comes with an NFC sensor.

The front and rear cameras both pack 8 megapixels, though the primary one has an LED flash.

This Nokia 3 runs Android 7.0 Nougat, and it’s likely to get upgraded to 7.1.1, as the company said it would be committed to timely version updates from Google. There are white, black, blue, and silver color options, and the phone will only cost 139 euros, or about $147.

Nokia 6

The Nokia 6 debuted last year in China, but it will finally be available globally. If you need a refresher on the specs, the 5.5-inch device is the only one of the trio to feature a Full HD display. The phone’s immersive sound comes via dual speakers and a dedicated amplifier with Dolby Atmos certification.

The extra metal protection along the sides of the phone make it feel very durable, and the Nokia 6 truly does feel like a high-end phone, both hardware- and software-wise.

Running Android 7.1.1 Nougat, the Nokia 6 is powered by the same processor in the Nokia 5 — the Snapdragon 430 — but it has an extra gigabyte of RAM. It also has more storage — 32GB to be exact, and MicroSD card support. It also carries the same 3,000mAh battery. You get a primary 16 megapixel camera with dual-tone flash, along with an 8 megapixel front-facing camera.

More: BlackBerry KeyOne Our first take

There are five colors to choose from, but the the glossy Arte Black was specially made for the phone’s global release. It’s quite the fingerprint magnet, though. Other available colors are black, blue, silver, and copper.

The Nokia 6 will cost 229 euros ($242), but if you want the fancy Arte Black special edition, you’ll have to shell out 299 euros, or $316.

All three devices seemed to perform well, but what’s unique is their build quality. HMD seems to have gone extra lengths to make sure Nokia devices are still known for their durability. The devices also seem to have big batteries — when paired with low-end specs, that usually means you’ll see great battery life. We’ll have to dig deep when we get our review units.

All three phones are expected to launch or have expanded availability in the second quarter of 2017, or sometime from April through June.

Samsung Galaxy S8 expected to come with AKG headphones, audio tuning

You just can’t stop the rumors.

We were on hand to watch Samsung unveil its new Galaxy Tab S3 tablet here in Barcelona, which includes audio tuned by AKG. And while we were taking in all of the latest news, an interesting side comment really caught our attention: when talking about the audio tuning and headphones included with the Tab S3, it was mentioned that “our next flagship smartphone” will also have AKG headphones and audio tuning.

Well, that would be the Galaxy S8, wouldn’t it? It sure is.

AKG is an extremely well-known name in audio, and Samsung is clearly going deep in a partnership with the company. The new Galaxy Tab S3 has AKG audio tuning for its quad speaker setup that tweaks based on the orientation of the tablet, and even has prominent AKG branding on the back.

Partnering with a top-end recognizable audio brand isn’t new, but it would be something a bit different from Samsung’s traditional partnerships that usually cross outside of the technology world. Samsung of course a massive manufacturer of headphones and other audio accessories itself, so branching out to bring in AKG for headphones and audio tuning signals a fresh take on these partnerships.

We’ll know this, and so much more when the Galaxy S8 is unveiled March 29 in New York.

Official: Samsung Galaxy S8 lands March 29!

New flagship breaks cover in just over a month.

Samsung’s 2017 flagship phones are about to move beyond mere rumor and speculation — Samsung is teasing the arrival of the Galaxy S8 on March 29 through invites sent out to press, in addiiton to a teaser at the end of its Mobile World Congress 2017 press conference. In it, the company invites customers to “unbox their phones,” an apparent reference to the GS8’s super-slim bezels.

The launch event will take place in New York City, with satellite events likely to take place around the globe.

In any case, the Galaxy S8 just became a whole lot more real.

The teaser leaves a lot to the imagination, besides corners matching up with leaked images of the GS8 which have emerged in recent weeks. That’s the point, of course — however this single image represents Samsung kicking off hype season for the GS8, its first major phone release since the ill-fated Note 7.

We all know what a phone looks like… or do we?On 03.29.2017 #UnboxYourPhone pic.twitter.com/Qm82kmB0Mx

— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) February 26, 2017

We’ll be live from NYC on March 29 to bring you full coverage of Samsung’s next big thing, which is expected to take the form of a 5.7-inch Galaxy S7 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus, in an extra-tall 18.5:9 aspect ratio.

More: What to expect from the Samsung Galaxy S8

Excited for the Galaxy S8? Share your wish list for Samsung’s next big thing down in the comments!

Everything you need to know about the Gear VR Controller

The Samsung Gear VR finally has an official contrtoller.

Through Samsung’s partnership with Oculus, the Gear VR was the first smartphone-based VR headset with controls built right into the side of the body. This design enables a lot of unique control mechanisms, which has turned into hundreds of fun games and apps every user can enjoy.

In much the same way the headset itself has changed and grown from generation to generation, this control mechanism has been improved to keep things interesting. But it still had its limits, most of which have been addressed by buying a separate gamepad to bring with you when you wanted to play. Now Samsung has a more portable alternative called the Gear VR Controller, allowing for even more flexibility in games and apps.

Read more at VR Heads!