Google Pixel Buds shipping now to early buyers

Estimated delivery is set for sometime next week.

Although the Pixel 2 was the star of Google’s October 4 hardware event, there were plenty of other gadgets and gizmos that the company had to show off – one of which was the Pixel Buds. The Pixel Buds are Google’s first shot at wireless headphones, and they’re finally shipping out to those with early preorders.

Android Police first caught wind of this, and it looks like orders that were made on October 4 should arrive between November 16 and 17 (if not sooner depending on your location and the type of shipping that you chose).

The Just Black and Clearly White Pixel Buds are currently back in stock on the Google Store as well, each with a price of $159 and estimated to ship out in five or six weeks. As for the great-looking Kinda Blue option, this is unfortunately still sold out.

Between the unique design and real-time translation through Google Translate, the Pixel Buds are shaping up to be one of the more interesting wireless headphone options of the year. It remains to be seen if the Buds will truly be worth their high price, but with orders finally shipping out, that question will be answered soon.

See at Google Store

Nova Launcher: Everything you need to know!

Once you go looking for Android launchers, it’s hard to miss the legacy of Nova Launcher.

Nova Launcher has been around for over half a decade, and while scores of launchers have risen and fallen in that time, Nova Launcher is still at the front of the pack and getting more awesome every month. Nova Launcher is one of the best launchers on the market, it is the best launcher for theming.

There are a lot of reasons to love it, but here are some of our favorites.

It’s the best launcher out there, free or paid

Nova Launcher inhabits a place that still hasn’t quite been copied, mimicked, or overtaken by any other product, and it does this with three tentpoles that keep Nova Launcher’s circus dazzling users. It’s free to use but spending money for the premium version is worth every penny. Let us explain.

Nova Launcher review: Still king of the mountain

There’s just so much to do in Nova Launcher

Opening up Nova Launcher is like opening up a giant tool chest. There are so many things to play with that it can be hard to know where to start. Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with what you need to do first.

First 5 things to do after switching to Nova Launcher

Gestures make the launcher

Gestures are the hidden gem of the Android home screen experience, and whether you want to swipe to open your app drawer, double-tap to turn off your screen, or hide extra app shortcuts inside swipe actions, Nova Launcher does gesture shortcuts better than anyone.

Make the most of Nova Launcher’s gestures

Something something subgrid positioning — just trust us

Nova Launcher has a laundry list of features, but there is one that sets them apart from everyone else. Subgrid positioning is a diamond hidden in plain sight, and it opens Nova’s users up to whole new worlds of home screen arrangement and widget sizing.

Subgrid positioning, Nova’s ace in the hole

Notification badges are reason enough to use Nova

Android Oreo tried to replace buggy and inaccurate unread counts with notification badges, but before Oreo came along Nova Launcher had a brighter, bolder, and more functional system it debuted: Dynamic Badges.

Dynamic Badges beat notification dots

The Devil’s in the Nova details

Nova Settings is its own little Cave of Wonders, with treasures beyond belief and a lot of settings you’ll probably never touch and likely don’t need to. These are the Nova Settings features you should absolutely know about.

Devil in the details: Nova Settings you need to know

What’s in a folder? A lot, actually

Nova Launcher does folders better than anyone on Android, and that includes Action Launcher’s Covers, which Nova can not only do better but with more flexibility. Here’s how to get the most out of home screen folders on Android.

Nova’s got the best damn folders in Android, here’s how to use them

Don’t lose your Nova settings!

Like many launchers, Nova Launcher allows you to backup your layout and settings, including directly backing it up to the cloud. With these backups, you can easily set up Nova Launcher on a new phone, factory-reset phone, or switch between your favorite themes!

How to back up Nova Launcher and restore it on a new phone

You may leave, but you’ll be back

There’s a lot of launchers out there, and while I find myself drawn to other launchers every now and again, Nova Launcher’s siren song will find me and draw me back to its unique embrace. Here’s how Nova Launcher keeps reeling me back in, time and time again.

5 reasons I keep coming back to Nova Launcher

What do you love about Nova Launcher?

Let us know in the comments!

Google Assistant not working when prompted through Bluetooth headphones on Pixel 2

The hits keep on coming.

Poor Pixel 2. Whether it be display controversy with the XL model, clicking/hissing noises with its smaller brother, or defective microphones across both handsets, to say that Google’s latest and greatest has been faced with a bit of trouble would be an understatement.

In addition to everything else that’s already going on with the phone, it’s now being reported that both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are having trouble getting the Google Assistant to work when its prompted through a pair of Bluetooth headphones that can summon it.

On affected devices, connecting Bluetooth headphones to a Pixel 2/2 XL and then pressing the button on your headphones to bring up the Assistant plays the regular tone or sound to let you know that it’s listening, but for some unknown reason, voice detection straight up doesn’t work.

Even worse, the issue appears to be all across the board – affecting headphones from Beats, LG, Anker, and more. A community manager for the Pixel User Community forum has responded to the many complaints regarding this, but we’re still waiting on an official statement from Google.

I personally don’t have any problems with the Bose QC 35 II on my Pixel 2, but be sure to let us know in the comments below if your device is affected.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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Amazon is opening pop-up stores in Whole Foods for the holidays

This holiday season, you could step into a Whole Foods for some organic bananas and step out with a couple of Echo speakers instead. Amazon is already selling “farm fresh” Kindles, Echos, Fire TVs and tablets in 100 Whole Foods locations, but it’s taking things a step further for holidays this year. It’s opening pop-up shops in five Whole Foods stores across the US, which will do more than just peddle the e-retail giant’s devices.

The pop-up shops will be manned by Amazon employees, who can tell you more about Prime and Prime video exclusives. You’ll also be able to test Amazon’s devices before shelling out money for any of them. These pop-ups will be available in a limited number of locations, though, and while that might have been Amazon’s plan, the company might not be able to open them in all Whole Foods locations anyway.

The supermarket chain has been facing pushback from fellow mall tenants ever since Amazon acquired it. Amazon’s rival retailers apparently blocked the placement of Lockers inside the supermarkets and, in at least one case, forced Whole Foods to limit its Echo display to 250 square feet of space.

If you want to visit an Amazon pop-up, check out the Whole Foods in Chicago, Illinois or Rochester Hills, Michigan by November 13th. The ones in Davie, Florida and Pasadena, California will go up on November 14th, while the one in Denver, Colorado’s new Union Station store will open on November 15th. In case you do end up buying an Amazon device, make sure to try Alexa’s new commands for the holidays. You can ask the assistant for Thanksgiving recipes, to add new entries to your gift list or even to tell a holiday joke in case you run out of them in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner.

Source: Amazon

AI’s latest application: wasting email scammers’ time

Schadenfreude is one of life’s simplest pleasures — especially when the victim in question is an email scammer. That’s the service Netsafe’s Re:scam provides. Simply forward your Nigerian prince emails to the service and it’ll use machine learning to generate conversations to waste the nefarious Nancy’s time. The idea is that any time jerks spend engaging with the bots is time that can’t be used to target hapless victims. People have passed some 6,000 emails Re:scam’s way this week alone, and apparently there were 1,000 concurrent conversations at one point. So far the longest email chain has involved 20 exchanges, according to The Guardian.

To keep things believable, each bot has a persona of sorts, ranging from an old man asking “The Illuminati” if they have a bingo night, to someone who replies in ALL CAPS and countless variations in between. For now, the benevolent bots speak with New Zealand colloquialisms, but with each successive use they’ll adapt to different lexicons.

Fighting scammers using tech isn’t anything new, but using machine learning to do it is pretty unique. For example, over the summer on YouTube user crafted a bit of code to flood the phone lines of ne’er-do-wells 28 times per-second with a pre-recorded message detailing exactly what was happening. That’s a bit of table-turning we can all probably get behind.

The video below strikes familiar if you’ve ever seen A Scanner Darkly; the morphing faces are basically a slow-moving version of the film’s scrambler suits. If you’re curious what the bots are capable of before you start forwarding your emails, hit the source link below for a quick demo conversation.

Via: The Guardian

Source: The Guardian, Netsafe, Re:scam

The best smartphones you can buy right now

Smartphones get better every year, but 2017 has seen a string of particularly impressive devices. The benefits are obvious — there’s never been a better year to be in the market for a new phone — but that also means that making a decision is harder than ever. Since we’ve tested all of 2017’s major releases to date, we’ve put together a list to help you figure out which phone is the best choice for you, broken down into sections that’ll give you a better idea of where these devices excel.

Bear in mind, having the best comes at a cost, and all of the options below cost at least $600. We have a separate guide for smartphone shoppers on a budget, and we’re also working on one for the best mid-range phones, for folks not looking to spend a small fortune. If you simply have to have the best, though, have a look at our short list.

Chris Velazco/Engadget

The best smartphones for most people: iPhone 8 or Galaxy S8

This may seem like a cop-out, but we’re legitimately torn: Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and Apple’s iPhone 8 are the best smartphones out there for most people. It really just boils down to where your platform loyalties lie.

Of the two, the Galaxy S8 ($725) is the more physically attractive device, with its 5.8-inch Infinity Display and its meticulously crafted, water-resistant body. It’s plenty powerful, thanks to its Snapdragon 835 chipset, and Samsung managed to squeeze in a few features, like a headphone jack and expandable memory, that some of its rivals have given up on. While we’ve seen devices like the Pixel pull off amazing camera feats, the S8’s 12-megapixel sensor is nearly as good.

When it comes to design, performance and features, you’d be hard-pressed to beat the Galaxy S8. The S8 also enjoys wide carrier support, and since it’s been such a popular device this year, you can often find it for less than the usual asking price through sales and carrier promotions. Oh, and if you’d rather have some extra screen space, there’s always the larger Galaxy S8 Plus. It’s mostly identical to its little brother, so all the same praise applies, but its 6-inch screen is a pleasure to take in, and it has slightly longer battery life, to boot.

But some of you are already heavily invested in Apple’s services, and that’s fine too. If that’s the case, your best bet is to check out the iPhone 8 series. These devices are both incredibly powerful, owing to their shared A11 Bionic chipset, and they offer access to Apple’s huge catalog of polished apps. The iPhone 8 ($699) is a great machine on its own, and is well suited to people who don’t like the idea of carrying around a bigger phone. It also just might be the last, best iPhone of its kind, so you’ll benefit from years of refinement that the iPhone X simply doesn’t have yet.

That said, the 8 Plus has some distinct advantages that make it the more powerful choice between the two. Its bigger battery means fewer trips to the power outlet (or the wireless charging puck, if you prefer). More important, the iPhone 8 Plus uses a 12-megapixel dual-camera setup that is simply superior to the iPhone 8’s single sensor. We still prefer the Pixel 2 as an all-around shooter, but the 8 Plus’s camera is nearly as good and benefits from true optical zoom.

Samsung and Apple have both done some impressive work this year, and we think you’ll be satisfied with any of the devices we just mentioned. These phones are also great entry points if you’ve spent more time using one platform over another: We’ve seen plenty of people switch from iPhones to Galaxy S8s and enjoy the transition, and vice versa.

Chris Velazco/Engadget

The best big-screen smartphone: Samsung Galaxy Note 8

There’s no questioning Samsung’s mastery of smartphone screens, and if you’re looking for something exceptionally big and bright, your search should start with the Galaxy Note 8 ($929). At 6.3 inches, this is the biggest display that Samsung has squeezed into a phone since the Galaxy Mega, back in 2013. Size isn’t everything, though: The panel’s 18.5:9 aspect ratio means it’s much longer than it is wide, making it surprisingly easy to hold with one hand. (It also helps that there’s hardly any bezel surrounding the screen.) And, of course, it’s simply stunning to look at. AMOLED screens are known for their bright colors and deep blacks, but the Note 8’s display was tuned to give colors a little extra oomph without sacrificing overall accuracy. Such vivid hues might not suit everyone, but the Note 8 is nothing if not thrilling to look at.

It’s worth noting that the Galaxy S8 Plus has a screen that’s nearly as big as the Note 8’s, and that it’s less expensive too. While the S8 Plus represents the better value for most people, the Note 8 makes better use of that space. That’s mostly thanks to the included S Pen. Taking notes and doodling on the Note 8 works exceptionally well, and having all that screen real estate means you can keep jotting for longer before having to start a new page. Other features, like onscreen translation, make the S Pen even more capable, and the combination of these features, plus an excellent display, make the Note 8 the big-screen smartphone to beat.

Chris Velazco/Engadget

The best phone for music buffs: LG V30

Just about everyone uses their smartphone to listen to music, so why do so few companies seem to take smartphone audio seriously? Thankfully, LG has made high-quality audio a priority, and its new V30 ($840) stands apart from the pack as the best-sounding smartphone we’ve tested all year. Music piped through its single speaker is mostly just passable, but everything changes when you plug in a pair of headphones. Once the phone’s Quad DAC (digital-to-analog converter) kicks in, music sounds noticeably louder and gains a much-needed clarity boost.

If you’re the kind of audio nut who enjoys fiddling with sound settings, the V30 offers a handful of presets that cater to different tastes — the “detailed” mode emphasizes vocals and draws out nuances that may otherwise get lost in the mix, while “live” adds enough reverb to make music sound like it’s being played in front of you. Audiophiles will also appreciate a few additional filters that tune audio performance even further, but this is the sort of thing you’ll need to listen to really, really carefully to detect the difference.
To be clear, there are more reasons to like the V30 besides its audio chops. Based on our testing, it’s the most versatile smartphone out there when it comes to shooting video. Amateur cinematographers will enjoy the depth and control the V30 offers, but that proficiency at video is blunted somewhat by the dual camera’s mediocre still image quality.

Chris Velazco/Engadget

The best camera phone: Google Pixel 2

While we generally prefer the Pixel 2 XL for its sleeker design and larger battery, lingering questions about the quality of its screen, combined with startling reports of QA mishaps, make the smaller Pixel 2 ($649) the safer bet. Thankfully, both phones share the same 12.2-megapixel main camera, and it’s arguably the best smartphone shooter we’ve used all year. The sensor is only part of the equation, though: Google has lent its considerable computational power to the Pixels in the form of an HDR+ mode that we’d recommend you keep on all the time. Long story short: It makes for excellent colors, lots of detail and wide dynamic range, even in situations where light is scarce.

Frankly, we thought the Pixel 2’s camera was great by itself, but Google had a surprise up its sleeve. Inside every Pixel 2 is a dedicated co-processor called the Pixel Visual Core, meant to make on-device image processing even faster. Designing a smartphone chip like this is uncharted territory for Google, but we’re pleased that the company’s first foray is all about making the Pixel 2’s camera even more capable. More important, the Visual Core is also meant to bring the power of the HDR+ mode into third-party apps, so pretty soon you’ll be able to shoot photos inside, say, Instagram that look just as good as the ones sitting in your camera roll.

Honorable mentions

Since 2017 has been such a banner year for smartphones, we felt it appropriate to shine some light on phones that, for one reason or another, didn’t quite make the cut.

Apple’s iPhone X ($999) represents the most radical change to the iPhone formula ever, and it’s a very, very good phone. Its screen is excellent, as are its performance and camera. You probably don’t need me to tell you it’s perhaps the prettiest slab of hardware Apple has ever built either. Looks aside, its steep price and middle-of-the-road battery life mean there are better choices out there for most people.

Meanwhile, the Essential PH-1 ($499) deserves a nod because it’s a well-made device crafted by a relative newcomer. Essential might be new to building smartphones, but it brings Android co-creator Andy Rubin’s know-how and some undeniable industrial design chops to the table. Ultimately, the PH-1 is held back by its lackluster camera, but the startup deserves credit for proving that giants like Apple and Samsung haven’t completely cornered the market on truly elegant hardware.

And let’s not forget that 2017 isn’t over yet, and we’re looking forward to testing a few other devices that might have nabbed a spot on this list. The Razer Phone ($699) borrowed a design from another handset we enjoyed and modified it to cater to the company’s core audience: gamers. We weren’t thrilled with its camera in our recent hands-on demo, but the Razer Phone is one of the few smartphones in the world with a 120Hz refresh rate, making motion on screen appear impressively smooth. Throw in a Snapdragon 835 chipset, 6GB of RAM and a whopping 4,000mAh battery and we’re left with a device that, while customized for mobile gamers, has plenty to offer mainstream users too.

There’s also the OnePlus 5T, which is set to be officially unveiled at a press conference in mid-November. Based on a glut of leaks, the 5T will ditch its capacitive navigation keys to accommodate a screen that takes up more of the phone’s face, a move that forced OnePlus to stick its fingerprint sensor on the back, beneath an upgraded dual camera. We’re expecting it to be a solid update to an already powerful device, and it should stand as proof that you don’t need to pay sometimes outrageous flagship prices for an extremely capable phone.

Instagram experiments with letting you follow hashtags

Sometimes, you don’t want to keep up with individual people on Instagram as you do a trending topic — say, the latest in tech (we’re slightly biased here) or a big protest. That currently involves laborious searches for hashtags, but it might become relatively trivial soon. Users have discovered that Instagram is testing an option to follow hashtags, not just people. While this only includes popular and recent posts (it could easily become overwhelming if you got all of them), it could easily give you a sense of what’s hot and suggest new people to follow.

Instagram declined to say more when asked about the test by The Next Web, so it’s unclear just how many people have access to the test or how likely it is that you’ll see the feature become a mainstay. The social network frequently tests features that aren’t guaranteed to hit the mainstream.

However, this is one addition we could see taking off. Instagram has been growing rapidly, but keeping that user base may be difficult when newcomers are likely to see a quiet photo feed or just won’t know who to follow. The option to follow hashtags could help them get the ball rolling. And of course, it could help just about anyone who’s looking for a reason to keep coming back regardless of how active their friends may be.

Ok this is new. What does this do @SimonSocialMM @BizPaul @NatalieTFG any ideas? I’ve followed 2 but can’t find what that means!! pic.twitter.com/LlCBk4Wmfv

— Pippa Akram (@Social_Pip) November 9, 2017

Via: Mashable

Source: Pippa Akram (Twitter), The Next Web

Deutsche Bank is using climate change data to predict investment risk

The Trump administration might still be arguing that climate change isn’t real (and if it is, it certainly isn’t caused by humans), but Deutsche Bank wants to be prepared for the financial hit that might result. The bank’s asset management group is incorporating climate change data to determine the biggest risks to investment portfolios.

Deutsche Asset Management and the climate advisory organization Four Twenty Seven released a white paper at COP23, an international climate change conference, called Measuring Physical Climate Risk in Equity Portfolios. The summary says, “Our methodology tackles physical risk head on by identifying the locations of corporate production and retail sites around the world and their vulnerability to climate change hazards, such as sea level rise, droughts, floods and tropical storms, which pose an immediate threat to investment portfolios.”

The asset management group is using this data to make their investors’ portfolios more resilient against the treats of climate change. One of the main challenges here is figuring out exactly where the companies are that people are investing in and determining how vulnerable these institutions are to natural disasters that are occurring due to climate change. What’s more, investors need to be aware of exactly how a specific business would be vulnerable to a specific type of climate change — for example, a water intensive industry would be heavily affected by drought or high heat. It’s certainly not an easy or simple endeavor.

Deutsche Bank aims to use this information as a tool for both analysts and portfolio managers, as well as use the data to create climate change risk scores for different investments. “It is the starting point to investing in resilience, supporting companies with stronger climate risk management approaches, and ensuring our broader economic system is protected from the worst impacts of climate change,” the report says.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: Four Twenty Seven / Deutsche Bank (1), Four Twenty Seven / Deutsche Bank (2)

Netflix cancels Louis C.K.’s second stand up special

Yesterday, the New York Times published a report on Louis C.K. that detailed numerous allegations of sexual misconduct being brought against the comic. And as Variety reports, Netflix is now joining HBO and film distributor Orchard in cutting ties with C.K.

C.K. was set to release a second stand up special with Netflix, following one that was released in April, but that special will no longer happen. A spokesperson for the company said, “The allegations made by several women in the New York Times about Louis C.K.’s behavior are disturbing. Louis’s unprofessional and inappropriate behavior with female colleagues has led us to decide not to produce a second stand up special, as had been planned.” Orchard has also scrapped C.K.’s upcoming film I Love You, Daddy and HBO has cut the comic from its lineup of its “Night of Too Many Stars” charity event. Older works of C.K.’s that have previously been available through HBO On Demand will also be taken down.

Netflix also announced earlier this month that it would not air the final season of House of Cards if Kevin Spacey was involved, following reports of sexual assault committed by the actor.

While it’s definitely the right move to cut ties with these men who are now getting lots of attention for their despicable actions, it should be noted that at least in the cases of Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K., these allegations have been swirling for years. The New York Times and Buzzfeed may have brought them to light in recent weeks, but outlets like Gawker reported on both Louis C.K. and Kevin Spacey years ago and as many have pointed out following the NYT’s in-depth report on him, Weinstein’s abusive behaviors have been not so subtly worked into a number of shows’ dialogue.

While these conversations we’re having now are incredibly important and the consequences being brought forth against these men are warranted, these companies that likely knew of at least some of these allegations when they went into business with these men shouldn’t get all of our praise just because they’ve decided to dump them when that’s now the only choice they really have.

Source: Variety

A dedicated AI chip is squandered on Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro

Let’s face it: The AI hype train isn’t going away and soon all our devices will be run by artificial intelligence. While Apple’s answer to the AI takeover is to just call its new A11 processor “Bionic”, Huawei has taken a more concrete approach. The company embedded a neural processing unit (NPU) on its Kirin 970 chip, which it claims can run AI tasks faster and with less power than others. The newly launched Mate 10 Pro is the first phone to use the Kirin 970, and it’s meant to demonstrate the wonders of deeply embedded AI. So far though, it’s a capable, well-designed phone that has yet to fully explore what a dedicated NPU can do.

When Huawei asked a group of reviewers what we wanted from AI, I didn’t have a real answer, though my peers pointed out things like natural linguistics and battery management. But after a few days with the Mate 10 Pro, I’ve realized what I want.

My ideal AI would basically be able to predict what I wanted based on how and when I’m using my phone. For example, if I’m holding my phone up at eye level in my apartment at about the same time every day, I’m most likely starting one of my daily selfie sprees. It should know then to automatically activate (or at least suggest) the Portrait mode on my front camera and even take a series of photos when I push one button. It gets tiring having to keep pressing the volume down button to take dozens of pictures.

The Mate 10 Pro doesn’t live up to my unrealistic expectations, but it marks a step in the right direction. The phone can recognize things you’re pointing the camera at, like food, pets, flowers or buildings, and adjusts settings like ISO, shutter speed and saturation to make your photos look good. For now, the Mate 10 Pro only identifies 13 scenes, but Huawei says it will continue adding situations that the phone will recognize.

In other words, the Mate 10 Pro is smart enough to be both camera and photographer. That is, in theory anyway. While the Mate 10 Pro does take lovely pictures that are bright, sharp and accurately colored, I suspect that has more to do with its camera hardware than clever AI. The two cameras on its rear both feature an aperture of f/1.6 — the widest yet on a smartphone (tied with the LG V30). That hardware not only allows for clearer pictures in low light, but also creates a pleasantly shallow depth of field.

When I compared pictures I took in manual mode to those where the AI decided what settings to use, I had a hard time seeing a difference. My photos of flowers appeared as saturated whether the AI was at work or not, and the depth of field looked the same either way. The main difference I saw was a stronger bokeh effect applied by the AI. I guess this is kind of the point — the AI was as good as me, a human, at determining the best settings.

Although the Mate 10 Pro’s tweaks aren’t very noticeable, its scene-recognition is mostly quick and accurate. However, some situations stumped the Mate 10 Pro, like my messy dinner of chicken covered with onions and peppers in a chili paste. Then there are the many objects that the phone can’t identify yet — like a group of players on a basketball court or a pair of pretty shoes. Huawei also needs more data before the phone can learn the best settings for those situations — whether it be bumping up the shutter speed to capture fast moving soccer balls or producing shallower depth of field around shoes. The company said it will keep analyzing pictures (not user-generated) in the cloud and push out software updates to continually improve its camera software. No, Huawei isn’t spying on your photos — these are pictures it got elsewhere (the company hasn’t told us the source yet).

The AI is absent on the front camera, but I still loved the selfies I took with the Mate 10 Pro. Huawei’s Portrait Mode uses face detection instead of depth-sensing like the iPhone X, which creates a softer depth of field that’s sometimes less defined than Apple’s. But the pictures from Huawei’s phone are more flattering. The iPhone X’s Portrait Mode selfies are so sharp that every imperfection and stray hair is obvious.

The primary benefit of having a dedicated neural processing unit on the phone’s CPU is that machine learning tasks can be executed more quickly. Things like image recognition or language translation can be carried out in tandem with other general functions so your phone shouldn’t slow down just to find the 3,500th picture of your cat’s face. With Huawei’s Kirin 970 chip, app developers can tap into the NPU by using either the Kirin API or popular machine learning frameworks like Google’s Tensorflow or Facebook’s Caffe 2.

The problem is, not many apps have done this yet. So far, only Huawei’s own camera software and Microsoft Translator tap the NPU for improved performance. The latter comes preinstalled in the Mate 10 Pro, by the way, and only its image-based translating tool is optimized right now. I took a picture of the phrase “You’re so pretty” in Mandarin and barely a second later Translator told me it meant “You’re beautiful.” Close enough. Subsequent attempts with the same printout yielded dubious results, though, with the app often translating the words to “Hello, Drift.” This is more likely an issue with Microsoft’s engine than the Mate 10 Pro.

I tried the same thing out on a Galaxy Note 8 and an iPhone 8 Plus. All three phones performed within half a second of each other — with the Huawei frequently finishing the fastest. Sometimes the iPhone took the lead, but for the most part none of them lagged far behind the rest.

Aside from its camera and the Translator app, the Mate 10 Pro also uses AI to learn your habits over time so it can pre-allocate resources to the apps it thinks you’ll launch next. From my few days using the phone, it’s hard to judge how effective this has been, but the Mate 10 Pro certainly keeps up with my incessant selfie taking, Instagram binging and light emailing.

So far, the Mate 10 Pro has too few AI integrations for me to really notice the benefits of a dedicated NPU. It’s a sleekly designed handset, though, and I love showing off the attractive “Signature” stripe on its elegant, shiny rear. The epic battery life is also a bonus. It easily gets through two days on a charge, and I can go four days without plugging it in under extremely light usage. I wish its display were sharper than 1080p, but that’s a minor complaint. Since Huawei hasn’t shared the US price and availability yet, I can’t definitively say if the Mate 10 Pro is a better deal than its competitors. But it’s an intriguing preview of the good that can come from a phone powered by AI.