Powermat admits defeat as Qi wins wireless charging

For the last few years there has been a war raging for dominance in the wireless charging space, with two competing standards emerging as the front runners: Qi and Powermat. With the news that Powermat has now joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), throwing its weight behind rival Qi, it looks as though the war is finally over.

Qi has been dominating for the last few years, with all the best wireless chargers in the consumer space, while Powermat pursued partnerships with chains like Starbucks. Samsung hedged its bets, supporting both standards in flagships like the Galaxy S8, but when Apple went all-in with Qi on the iPhone X, Powermat finally threw in the towel.

Powermat is now set to contribute to the WPC, which will “leverage Powermat’s expertise in technology innovation to support more use cases including higher power and expanded special freedom,” according to WPC’s chairman, Menno Treffers.

Existing Powermat hardware can support the Qi standard, though it requires a software update. That has already happened at Starbucks and we imagine other Powermat partners will get similar updates. Powermat will now help to develop new wireless charging technology, while remaining backwards compatible with Qi.

“Qi has become the dominant wireless charging standard on the market and the recently launched Apple iPhone lineup is evidence of this success,” explained Elad Dubzinski, Powermat CEO in a press statement. “Powermat will share technology innovation to further unlock wireless charging potential, and will expedite the growth of the wireless charging infrastructure, bringing wireless charging to wherever users need it.”

Powermat merged with A4WP, with its Rezence technology, back in 2015 to form the AirFuel Alliance, but it failed to keep pace with the WPC’s Qi which has seen steady growth. Apple’s adoption of Qi forced Powermat partners like Starbucks to update their wireless charging pads and spelled the end for Powermat. This is great news for regular folks as it makes wireless charging simpler. With Apple, Samsung, LG, and a host of other companies (more than 360 in total) pushing the Qi standard, it looks as though wireless charging is finally going mainstream.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Powermat’s Charging Spot 4.0 is compatible with more devices, easier to install
• Mophie vs. Belkin vs. RavPower: Who has the best wireless charging pad?
• Charge up your iPhone or Android with the best wireless phone chargers
• How does wireless charging work? Here’s what to know before you cut the cable
• Grovemade unveils a beautiful new Wireless Charging Pad

Battle of the high-end laptops: HP Spectre x360 vs. Microsoft Surface Book 2

One of the hottest high-end laptop comparisons we made in 2017 was when pitting the HP Spectre x360 against the Microsoft Surface Book 2. Both are seriously top-tier notebooks with a tonne of fantastic features and enough performance to rival even decently powerful desktops in a variety of applications. While the Surface Book 2 may have won the day, that may not be the case forever. In 2018, HP is back with a vengeance with a second generation of its Spectre x360 15.

Can the new Spectre with uprated processor and graphics help it come out on top in a brand new head to head? Are the Surface Book 2’s days numbered before it’s even had the chance to gloat? Let’s find out.

Specifications

HP Spectre x360 15 (2018)

 Microsoft Surface Book 2 15-inch

Dimensions
14.1 x 9.8 x 0.76 (in)
13.5 x 9.87 x 0.56-0.90 (in)
Weight
4.62/4.72 pounds
4.2 pounds
Keyboard
Full-size, island-style backlit keyboard
Full-size backlit keyboard
Processor
Eighth-generation Intel Core i7-8550U / eighth-generation Intel Kaby Lake-G
Up to eighth-generation Intel Core i7-8650U
RAM
Up to 16GB
16GB
Graphics
Nvidia GeForce MX150 w/2GB of VRAM / AMD RX Vega M GL
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 w/ 6GB of RAM
Display
15.6-inch WLED-backlit touchscreen
15-inch LED-backlit display with IPS technology
Resolution
3840 x 2160
3240 x 2160
Storage
Up to 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD
Up to 1TB PCIe SSD
Networking
802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2
802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2
Ports
1 USB 3.1 Type-C, 1/2 Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C, 1 USB 3.1 Type-A, 1 HDMI, 3.5mm headphone/mic jack, SD card reader
2x USB Type-A ports, 1 Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, 2x Surface Connect ports, SD Card reader
Webcam
HP Wide Vision full HD infrared Camera
5.0MP 1080p front-facing camera, 8.0MP 1080p rear-facing autofocus camera
Operating System
Windows 10
Windows 10
Battery
84 watt-hour
90 watt-hour
Price
Starts at $1,370
Starts at $2,500
Availability
March (HP Store)
Now (Microsoft Store)
Review
Coming soon
Full review: 8/10

Design

When you’re spending as much as a few thousand dollars on a laptop, you would expect it to look the part. Although these two notebooks have quite different aesthetic designs, they both have a premium look to them. The Surface Book 2 is a little more generic, with a design that will be familiar to Apple fans, while HP has enhanced its new Spectre x360’s originally understated design with a more angular casing and slimmer monitor bezel — similar to the new Spectre x360 13. That gives it an arguably more modern feel, though those who prefer the original Dark Ash Silver and Copper Luxe color schemes will still be able to pick them if preferred.

Both devices are classed as 2-in-1s, so can operate in both laptop and tablet-mode. The way they each achieve this effect, however, is slightly different because of the difference in hinge design. The Spectre x360 leverages the more typical 360-degree hinge found on many convertible laptops, which lets it fold completely flat to the back of the screen for tablet operation.

The Surface Book 2 has a “dynamic fulcrum hinge,” in the same fashion as the original Surface Book. That means you can completely detach the screen from the base, making for a much more lighter tablet solution — 1.6 pounds versus 4.6 pounds for the new Spectre x360.

Although your opinions of the aesthetics of these laptops will be very much up to personal opinion, in terms of functionality, the Surface Book 2’s more capable hinge design offers more for those looking for a versatile convertible laptop.

Winner: Surface Book 2

Performance

Performance comparisons between these two notebooks are a little difficult to make right now, as the new HP Spectre x360 isn’t available yet and we’ve not had the opportunity to get our hands on it. That said, while specifications would suggest that the Surface Book 2 will be the more powerful, there are certainly some interesting options in the Spectre’s lineup that could make it intriguingly competitive.

The Surface Book 2 is an established and understood piece of hardware, with an eighth-generation Intel Core i7-8650U CPU, a flat 16GB of memory and a GTX 1060 graphics chip with 6GB of VRAM. In our own testing, we’ve seen the Surface Book 2 handle 1080P gaming in a manner that’s comparable to midtier gaming laptops and business applications like that of a decently powerful workstation.

The new Spectre x360 is a little harder to pin down, because as well as not being available just yet, it has two specific hardware lineups. The first has an eighth-generation Core i7-8550 CPU with a choice of 8GB, 12GB or 16GB of memory, and a GeForce MX150 with 2GB of VRAM (effectively a mobile version of the desktop GT 1030). In that setup, as with our comparison of the previous version, the Surface Book 2 should be noticeably more powerful, especially in the graphics department.

Things could be much more competitive with the second iteration. It comes with the new Intel eighth-generation Kaby Lake G processor, which combines one of the latest Intel CPUs with an on-die AMD graphics chip from its Vega lineup, known as the Vega M GL. Although we will need to get some hands-on experience with the chip and the laptop itself to have a concrete idea of its performance, we would expect such a hardware design to have comparable performance to a seventh-generation Intel Quad Core HQ chip and a GTX 1050.

HP claims that this hardware configuration is about 40 percent quicker at editing and transcoding 4K video to 1080P than the i7-8550u/MX150 design. In terms of raw power, though, it still seems unlikely to eclipse the Surface Book 2.

Although the Microsoft 2-in-1 is likely to exhibit greater performance than the Spectre x360, the new additions to the HP offering certainly give potential buyers more choice and it may well be that the Intel/AMD combi-design delivers performance that’s not much weaker than what the Surface Book 2 is capable of.

Until we know more, the Surface Book 2 has the competitive edge.

Winner: Surface Book 2

Display

The displays that Microsoft and HP have integrated with these premium laptops are both well beyond the 1080P standard of recent years, but their visuals and resolution offerings are quite different. The Surface Book 2 comes equipped with a 15-inch PixelSense display running at a resolution of 3240 x 2160. That’s a step back from full 4K resolution, but the dense pixel-per-inch count of 260 means it still has lots of high-definition clarity.

The panel is very bright too, with powerful colors. In our testing we did find them a bit oversaturated and arguably too vibrant, with a slightly disappointing color accuracy rating. That’s not to say it looks bad — it really doesn’t — but personal preference is an important point to consider. If you are buying a laptop to edit photos on and accuracy is at the top of your wishlist, the Surface Book 2 does lack a little in that respect.

In comparison, the HP Spectre x360 features a true-4K display (3840 x 2160) with much more typical color accuracy for a laptop at its price point. It isn’t as bright as the Surface Book’s, and the contrast falls behind by a noticeable margin (720:1 versus 1,410:1).

Displays are as much about personal preference as the are about raw specifications, but to our eye, the Surface Book 2 offers the better option for the broadest segment of potential buyers.

Winner: Surface Book 2

Portability

Alongside the new internal hardware options for the 2018 version of the 15-inch HP Spectre x360, the other big changes come in the form of its physical design and battery life, both of which impact portability. The new version is ever so slightly thicker — by around 1.5mm — in order to handle the new graphics configuration, and that in turn has meant a slight increase in weight. The new version is 4.62 pounds for the Nvidia version and 4.72 pounds for the AMD version — an increase of around five percent.

That’s not likely to be noticeable at this weight range, though it does mean there is a slightly greater disparity between the HP laptop and the Surface Book 2, which has a static weight of 4.2 pounds. Neither feels heavy, but due to the Microsoft 2-in-1’s ability to detach entirely from its keyboard, the weight difference when in tablet mode is far more stark. While the Spectre x360 will remain its full weight whatever configuration it’s in, the Surface Book 2 can become as light as 1.7 pounds when in tablet mode.

Another reason that the 2018 Spectre x360 is a little heavier is due to a slightly larger battery. It now comes with an 84 watt-hour battery, versus a 79.2 watt-hour version with its previous edition. Estimations peg it as lasting 13.5 hours with the Nvidia version and 12 hours with the AMD version, depending on usage.

While more juice is always good for those using their system on the move, it’s going to be hard to beat the Surface Book 2’s battery life, which was its most standout feature in our testing. We found that in some cases it was able to last as long as 20 hours when watching videos, a staggering amount of time for such a high-powered laptop.

With that kind of battery life and the sheer weight difference in tablet-mode, we need to give the nod to the Surface Book 2 for portability once again.

Winner: Surface Book 2

Pricing and availability

None of the above categories truly matter if the hardware is priced out of reach, and there is certainly an argument to be made for that here. While the Surface Book 2’s 13-inch version can be had for the much more reasonable price of $1,500, the 15-inch version in this comparison starts at $2,500. If you want more storage, you can spend up to $3,300 which is far from cheap, even if you do get a lot for your money.

The HP Spectre x360, on the other hand, benefits from its wider range of hardware options to come in at a much more reasonable price point. When it goes on sale, the 15-inch version will start at $1,370, a far cry from Microsoft’s pricing. That would be the weakest of the configurations, though, so if we look at the new version with the Intel Kaby Lake G chip with AMD graphics, the 16GB version with 512GB  solid-state storage is $1,700.

In pricing, therefore, the HP 2-in-1 has a clear advantage, especially considering how competitive it is with the Surface Book 2, despite falling behind throughout most of this comparison piece. But since it won’t become available until March, for now, the Surface Book 2 is your best (and only) option unless you opt for the previous edition of the Spectre x360.

Winner: Surface Book 2

Bottom line

Both the 2018 version of the HP Spectre x360 and Surface Book 2 are fantastic 2-in-1 laptops. We should all be so lucky to work and play with them. When it comes to which is the best option, however, the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is the winner, though not by any huge margin.

There’s certainly an argument to be made that the price of the Surface Book 2 ($2,500-$3,300) doesn’t justify its minor improvements in performance over the Spectre x360 ($1,370-$1,700), but its hinge system and greater battery life are an important part of that discussion. The fact that the HP notebook has yet to go on sale is also a sticking point.

If you want one of the best laptops we have ever tested right now, the Surface Book 2 is the way to go. If you are happy to wait a few months and find that your budget lines up more with the Spectre x360, you will still be a very happy new owner.

Overall winner: Surface Book 2

Editors’ Recommendations

• Battle of the 15-inch 2-in-1s: HP Spectre x360 vs. Microsoft Surface Book 2
• HP Spectre x360 13 (Late 2017) Review
• HP Spectre x360 13 vs. Lenovo Yoga 920: Fighting for convertible 2-in-1 primacy
• HP supercharges Spectre x360 15-inch with Intel 8th-Gen Core and AMD Vega graphics
• Samsung Notebook 9 Pen hands-on review

Yuneec unveils three new drones, including updated Typhoon H Plus

Yuneec International has unveiled three new drones at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — including a new and improved version of its Typhoon H drone, arguably one of the best drones available on the market, despite debuting all the way back in 2015.

The new Typhoon H Plus packs a larger, highly stable six-rotor hex airframe, promising a 40-percent reduction in noise from previous hex models. It also comes equipped with a high aperture one-inch sensor camera for capturing 20-megapixel stills and 4K resolution video at 60 frames per second. Compared to previous models, the Typhoon H Plus boasts improved low-light camera performance, while a continuous rotation gimbal and retractable landing gear offers seamless 360-degree unobstructed views.

Making things even better is the Typhoon H Plus’s smart collision avoidance technology, which will detect obstacles and then intelligently navigate around them, leaving photographers to concentrate on their camera work and flight path instead of having to keep an eye out for objects that are in their way. Finally, the Typhoon H Plus ships with a redesigned controller, including a sizable seven-inch integrated display and HD 720p video downlink for stunning real-time video reception.

Yuneec is also using CES to unveil two completely new drones in the fixed wing and racing categories. The lightweight Firebird FPV offers a flight time of up to 30 minutes, and promises a flying experience similar to a real full-sized aircraft. Using the Firebird FPV, you’ll be able to pull off acrobatic maneuvers such as inverted flight, rolls, and loops, safe in the knowledge that beginners can opt for an in-built Safety Mode that makes it impossible to descend below a certain altitude, while Return Home, Geo Fence and Auto Landing capabilities further reduce your fears about ruining your brand-new drone.

Finally, Yuneec’s HD Racer is a palm-sized racing drone, promising nimble flight with smart stabilization. The HD racer is designed to be safely flown indoors, due to its compact size, protected blades, and durable construction. It is piloted via an optimized, all-digital, low -latency HD video downlink, and there’s even the option to record and share your best racing moments in high resolution 1080p.

All three new drones will be available this year, with the $1,800 Typhoon H Plus and $700 Firebird FPV slated for the first half of 2018, and the $180 HD Racer coming in for a landing sometime during the second half of the year. We couldn’t be more excited!

Editors’ Recommendations

• CNN can now fly its news drone over crowds in an industry first
• NASA: Cigar-shaped ET asteroid buzzed by at over 85,000mph
• Using simple code, kids can teach the $99 Tello drone their own tricks
• Drone-owning Brits face clampdown as government moves to make skies safer
• A drone you can’t crash? It’s finally here, thanks to AR and smart glasses

France is investigating Apple over planned obsolescence of iPhones

Planned obsolescence is a touchy subject for any tech lover. No one likes the idea that their time with their new tech toy is somehow limited — and the concern that a corporation may be pulling strings to make your tech slower and force you to upgrade sooner is one that appeals to conspiracy nuts and normal folks alike. And when it comes to this issue, Apple has usually gotten the worst of it over the years. The Cupertino, California giant was recently forced to admit that yes, tech does exist that slows down older iPhones, but Apple claims it’s for the overall good of the consumer.

It appears that Apple’s explanation isn’t good enough to fly in France, which has begun an investigation of Apple. France has some tough laws against planned obsolescence, with a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment and up to 5 percent of a company’s annual turnover. With a company the size of Apple, that’s likely to be in the billions.

The news comes from French news agency AFP, while the actual investigation stems from a complaint made by the consumer rights group HOP (Halte à l’Obsolescence Programmée). The complaint (the essence of which can be read on HOP’s site, via Google Translate) is clearly not convinced by Apple’s report on the matter, claiming that the timing of the slowdown is too close to the release of the latest iPhone range, and suggesting that there is another issue at play here.

This isn’t the first time that HOP has moved against a company. It previously filed a complaint against the printer manufacturers Epson, HP, Brother, and Canon, accusing them of underhanded tactics that forced consumers to buy more ink. An investigation has since opened on that matter, as well.

Following the results of the original Geekbench tests that proved that iPhones were being slowed down over time, Apple has extended an olive branch to consumers to attempt to make the situation right. Since the culprit of the slowdown is often reduced battery effectiveness, Apple is offering cut-price battery replacements for older iPhone models, while iPhone 6s owners could receive a replacement battery for free.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Yes, Apple is slowing down your old iPhone. But if you’re angry, you’re crazy
• If Apple Is Slowing Down Your iPhone, Here’s How To Fix It
• Apple vs. Qualcomm: Everything you need to know
• Apple’s not very happy holiday party: Lawsuits filed over iPhone slowdowns
• Not us! Android makers say they never slow phones over battery problems

Skagen Falster hands-on review

Research Center:
Skagen Falster

Under the Fossil Group, Skagen has produced a number of gorgeous hybrid smartwatches such as the Signatur T-bar and the Signatur Hybrid. The Danish brand has struck gold again with its first touchscreen smartwatch: The sleek Skagen Falster. In the brief time we’ve spent with the watch, we’re happy to say it’s one of the best designed Android Wear smartwatches to date. In our Skagen Falster hands-on review, we take a look at what makes the unisex watch so appealing.

Elegant and minimal

The Falster doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles. The design feels utilitarian, and it looks quite simple. It’s in that simplicity where the Falster shines, and the lugs are a big part of what make this watch look and feel great on the wrist.

The lugs look like bars sticking out of the circular case, and it’s a style we haven’t really seen before with a smartwatch. Attached to these lugs are either a rose gold or silver mesh strap, or a black or brown leather band. We opted for leather, but the mesh straps look stylish and elegant. The leather is easy to strap on, and it feels lightweight. The mesh strap requires a little more effort, and it did painfully clip our wrist hair. It may just take some time getting used to it.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Whichever strap you choose, this is a watch that works well at a party, a night out, or simply as an everyday watch. It sits well on the wrist, with no awkward gaps. There’s a fast-release mechanism below the metal lugs, so you can swap bands for different styles at a moment’s notice.

There’s only one button on the 42mm circular metal case, and pushing it to open Google Assistant or your app drawer is quite nice — it’s a very springy button. The case has a sizable bezel surrounding the display; it doesn’t stick out as the pictures may suggest, and the bezel often blends in with the rich, inky black OLED screen.

A focus on OLED

The OLED screen turns off individual pixels to show off the color black. That allows for rich blacks that look great, but it also is energy-efficient. It’s why the Falster’s lineup of watch faces all make use of an OLED black background, with a minimal amount of information on the screen. It’s hard to tell where the screen ends, and where the bezel starts.

Skagen’s Falster packs a brilliantly minimal design that has us yearning to put it on our wrist.

The watch faces are attractive and easily capture a classic Skagen style. You can customize the information the “dials” show, such as a battery indicator, or quickly see how many steps you’ve taken so far.

The case comes in three different styles, depending on the type of strap you choose. It’s completely black for the leather variants, but it’s a mix of rose gold and black when you opt for the rose gold mesh strap. It’s silver and black when paired with the silver mesh strap.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Like most Android Wear smartwatches, the Falster is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor. The watch zipped through menus and apps with ease, and we didn’t see any issues with performance. The Falster connects to your Android or iPhone via Bluetooth, and you can see and respond to notifications, access the Google Assistant to ask about the weather or add a calendar event, download music to the watch and stream it to Bluetooth earbuds, and install apps directly to the watch via the Wear Play Store. The watch’s capabilities are limited on iOS.

Skagen doesn’t have a micro-app like many fashion brands do to further distinguish the watch, but it may add one in a future update.

We opted for leather, but the mesh straps look stylish and elegant.

The watch charges via a magnetic puck that attaches to the back, and the company estimated a full day of battery life. We think it will last a little less considering the screen is set to “always-on” mode by default, but turning it off and swapping to an ambient mode — where the screen dims into a monochrome mode when it’s not used — could stretch battery life.

Skagen’s watch may not have its own micro-app, but the Falster does have a quirky animated man called “Dan,” who shows up in the user interface when you do certain things like put the watch on the charger: Dan pulls a cable and plugs it into the watch. It’s a fun way to add a little more personality.

Price and availability

The Skagen Falster will be available on January 25 on Skagen’s website as well as its retail stores. The black and brown leather versions are priced at $275, and the mesh leather strap models will set you back $295.

Skagen Falster Compared To

Apple Watch Series 3

Michael Kors Access Grayson

Motorola Moto 360 (2015)

LG Watch Sport

Martian Alpha T10

Huawei Fit

Nixon Mission

Apple Watch Series 2

Asus ZenWatch 2

Martian Passport MP100WSB

Garmin fenix 2

LG G Watch R

Martian Notifier Watch

Phosphor Touch Time

Magellan Echo

The Falster reminds us of the Movado Connect, which to us felt like a watch more than a smartwatch. There’s no denying the Falster looks like a smartwatch — it’s still a little thick, and no matter how black the screen can get, it still is a digital screen. Regardless, it’s a brilliantly minimal design that has us yearning to wear it again.

Samsung wants to transform your white board experience with the Samsung Flip

White boards may be a mainstay at startups and tech companies across the country, but just as we tired of dusty chalkboards, we are likely to soon tire of pen-stained white boards, too. Fret not, though — this doesn’t mean that the entrepreneurs of the world won’t be able to continue throwing their ideas in indecipherable penmanship on walls around the office, but rather that they’ll have a more tech-forward way of doing so.

At CES 2018, Samsung Electronics offered up a vision for the “Workplace of the Future,” beginning with the new Samsung Flip digital flip-chart display. The new Samsung Flip WM55H promises more collaborative digital learning to help teams organize, facilitate, and recap meetings.

Improving upon both standard flip charts made of paper and analog white boards, the WM55H feels like a familiar board, but is far more advanced. Up to four participants can add content or annotate the screen at the same time, either using their fingers or a special dual-sided pen. All users can customize their writing style, size, and color, and all marks are made more legible with viewer-friendly UHD resolution.

To ensure as much interactivity as possible, Samsung Flip offers device compatibility via wireless connectivity as well as USB, PC, and mobile ports. With screen-sharing features, Flip content is available on connected computers, smartphones, and tablets, all without interruptions or reduced visual quality. Similarly, you can broadcast your own content from an external device onto the Flip display for easy idea sharing.

The Samsung Flip seeks to be as user friendly as possible, which is why erasing is as easy as swiping with your palm, and searching for content is as easy as scrolling back through the rolling stream (which contains up to 20 pages of writing space). All displays can be configured to either portrait or landscape modes depending on your needs, and can either be mounted on a wall or placed on a height-adjustable stand.

Once you’re finished using the WM55H for the day, all content is stored within a central database, so you don’t have to take a photo to make it last longer. And a password-based protection system will guarantee that only authorized individuals can access information.

“The often-flawed logistics of the modern meeting make it easy for participants to feel disengaged and for vital ideas and discoveries to become lost,” said Seog-gi Kim, executive vice president of visual display business at Samsung Electronics. “Today’s workers require more powerful and flexible technologies, and we truly believe that our new Samsung Flip display offers endless possibilities for driving impactful collaboration.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• Samsung Gear IconX 2018 review
• Samsung Gear Sport review
• Samsung DV60M9900 FlexDry review
• Samsung Bixby speaker: Rumors and news
• Samsung Notebook 9 Pen hands-on review

Swappable modules make the Blocks smartwatch a puzzle you’ll want to work out

It has been two years since we last took a good look at a very early version of the Blocks modular smartwatch — with the watch itself being talked about for even longer than that — and now it’s finally being properly announced. Blocks is very different from any other smartwatch out there, not just because of the switchable modules that enhance its functionality, but also because it uses full Android 8.0 Oreo rather than Android Wear 2.0. The Blocks Core watch still does everything you’d expect from a smartwatch, plus a whole lot more.

Suitable for Android and iOS smartphones, the Blocks Core will track your fitness, deliver notifications, show call information, run stand-alone apps, and supports If This Then That (IFTTT) custom alerts. Rather than Google Assistant, the Blocks smartwatch has Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant on board. The circular screen measures 1.4-inches and has a 400 x 400 pixel resolution, while the chip inside the watch is a MediaTek MTK6580M with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of memory. The battery has a 350mAh capacity.

Functionality is extended by adding modules to the watch’s stainless steel body, each of which features a different sensor. It’s a sensible approach to wearables. Not everyone will want GPS,for example, as it’s an expensive and battery intensive component. Those that do want it can still buy the watch, then buy the module, and even then remove it to conserve battery life on the days it’s not needed.

The GPS module is joined by an environment module that contains sensors for temperature, air pressure, humidity, and altitude. Another module adds a torch with strobe and notification features, and another adds a heart rate sensor. Finally, a versatile smart button module can be customised to support various functions. This is just the start, and others modules are planned including an air quality monitor, NFC, a UV sensor, and a stress and sweat sensor. These are being created using a hardware development kit, which allows other companies to create their own Blocks modules.

Blocks started off as a crowdfunded project, and the first versions of the watch are being delivered to backers now. For anyone that didn’t back the crowdfunding campaign, the Blocks Core can be pre-ordered for $260, but this doesn’t include any of the modules. A pack containing the first four modules can be pre-ordered for an additional $140, bringing the complete Blocks package to $400. The good thing is, if you don’t want to buy the modules now, you don’t have to get them.

The fashion industry has recently taken ownership of the smartwatch space, bringing us more stylish and better-looking wearables for our wrists. The Blocks Core takes the smartwatch in a more technical and feature-rich direction, but judging by the images, not at the expense of style. The Blocks Core has the potential to be the Android-based smartwatch that finally bridges the gap between attractiveness and geek appeal.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The ultimate guide to 2017’s Android Wear smartwatches
• Make some time for the best smartwatch deals available right now
• Apple Watch 3: News, new features, and release
• The FitOn is an affordable smartwatch that promises full functionality
• DKNY Minute hybrid smartwatch merges tech and fashion for a neglected audience

Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra, XA2, and L2 hands-on review

Sony hasn’t made any dramatic changes to its Xperia smartphone lineup over the past few years — it has maintained a design ethos of chunky bezels around the screen, and no fingerprint sensor in the United States due to “business decisions.” Toward the end of 2017, Sony teased it may be cooking up a design refresh in 2018, and at CES we’re already seeing hints at what kind of design changes we can expect. It’s all starting with the midrange and budget Xperia XA2 Ultra, Xperia XA2, and Xperia L2 smartphones.

While the L2 and the XA2 are average Android budget smartphones, the XA2 Ultra has some interesting additions that may indeed make it a smartphone worth considering when it launches towards the end of January or early February. We dive into all three smartphones in our Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra, XA2, and L2 hands-on review.

Xperia XA2 Ultra

The Xperia XA2 Ultra is a midrange phone, so don’t mistake it for the flagship Xperia XZ1 or XZ1 Compact series that launched late last year. It feels large in the hand because of its 6-inch size, but unlike other 6-inch phones we’ve seen in 2017 — such as the Galaxy S8 Plus or the LG V30 — it doesn’t quite follow the “bezel-less” trend, with minimized edges around the screen.

To be fair, the bezels have shrunk if you compare the XA2 Ultra to the XZ1 Compact. There are almost no bezels on the sides of the screen, and Sony has shrunken the top and bottom edges. They’re still a tad chunky that what we’re now used to, but it doesn’t look as dated as Sony’s previous devices. The rest of the phone is quite familiar. The circular power button sits on the right edge, below the volume rocker. On the same edge, you’ll also find a dedicated camera button, which sits in a natural position when holding the phone in landscape mode for photos.

The biggest redesign is apparent on the phone’s rear. Below the circular single-lens camera sits a fingerprint sensor. That may not sound like a big deal, but Sony has traditionally placed its fingerprint sensors on the edge of the phone, below the power button. What’s more is this fingerprint sensor will finally be activated and ready to use on devices sold in the U.S. In the past, Sony hasn’t activated the fingerprint sensor on its U.S. phones due to “business decisions,” but it seems as though the company has finally changed its mind. It’s a good step in the right direction, but we’re sad it took Sony so long to make this a feature standard.

The second-most-visible change is on the front top bezel — you’ll find two selfie cameras. One is a 16-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization, and this is the main lens you’ll use to capture most selfies. The additional 8-megapixel camera is a 120-degree wide-angle lens that’s helpful for group photos, and when you want more of the background in the shot. Switching between both lenses is fast, and the phone seemed to capture images quickly without visible shutter lag. We haven’t played around with the cameras enough to make a verdict on the quality of these photos, but we were satisfied with what we saw.

Accompanying these two front cameras is a slow-sync flash, and it’s the other cool trick the XA2 Ultra offers over the competition. Traditionally if you’re in a dark environment like a nightclub, and you try to take a selfie with the flash of the screen or a front-facing flash, only you would be illuminated and the background would be completely dark — not ideal if you want to show where you are. The XA2 Ultra’s slow-sync flash solves the problem by lighting up the selfie-taker and the background, so everything is relatively visible. We tried this out in an incredibly dark room, and the results were surprisingly good.

These front-facing cameras are really the highlight of the XA2 Ultra. Other than that, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor with 4GB of RAM, runs Android 8.0 Oreo, and has a Full HD display. We didn’t notice any issues with performance as we swiped through the home screens and opened multiple apps, but we’ll have to do more testing. The software experience was relatively close to stock Android, but we did notice there were a lot of preinstalled apps from Sony. How’s the display? It didn’t stand out. At 6 inches, the screen didn’t feel particularly sharp with a 1080-pixel resolution, but most people will be satisfied.

You get the option of 32 or 64GB of storage as well as a MicroSD card slot if you need more space; and there’s a large 3,580mAh battery that’s charged via the USB Type-C port. The XA2 Ultra has Bluetooth 5 on board, and it supports AptX HD, a high-quality audio protocol.

The rear camera is worth noting as well. It’s a large, 23-megapixel camera that has an impressive 12,800 ISO, meaning the phone may be able to capture good low-light photographs — though with quite a bit of noise. We’ll have to test this to see how the XA2 Ultra performs, but we didn’t notice much shutter lag, and the quality of the photos were solid.

We’re not sure yet how much the Xperia XA2 Ultra will cost, but it will be available in silver, black, blue, and gold toward the end of January. Price will really influence our opinion on this phone, and we’re hoping it will be $400 or under.

Xperia XA2

Take mostly everything we talked about the XA2 Ultra, shrink it down a few inches, and you have the Xperia XA2. It’s significantly smaller at 5.2-inches, and is comfortable in the hand. The fingerprint sensor on the rear is well-placed, and its design is the same angular look we’re familiar with the Xperia line. Both the XA2 and XA2 Ultra feature metal builds that feel quite high-end, and the left and right bezels are again incredibly slim.

It also runs Android 8.0 Oreo with the Snapdragon 630, but the XA2 only has 3GB of RAM instead of 4GB. The screen is the same 1080-pixel resolution, but it’s sharper than the XA2 Ultra because of the smaller screen size. The rear 23-megapixel camera is the same, but on the front you’ll only find one 120-degree, wide-angle, 8-megapixel camera. There’s only 32GB of storage available, but there is a MicroSD card slot, and the battery capacity is 3,300mAh.

We like the form factor of the XA2 over the Ultra, but we’d have loved to see the same slow-sync technology to help improve low-light selfies. This phone will be even more affordable than the Ultra, and it will be available around the same time toward the end of January. It’s coming in silver, black, blue, and pink.

Xperia L2

The Xperia L2 is the runt of the litter, and that’s easily identifiable in the phone’s design and build quality. The body is made of a plastic-type material, and it felt quite cheap in the hand. The bezels around the 5.5-inch screen were fairly chunky, and the it easily looks dated. This is not an attractive phone.

It’s incredibly thick, and the back is slightly curved. It’s lacking the dedicated camera button, but everything else design-wise is fairly similar to the XA2 and XA2 Ultra.

The L2’s processor is likely from MediaTek, as Sony only said it’s a quad-core 1.5GHz chip, with 3GB of RAM, and it oddly runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat. It’s unclear when Sony will upgrade it to the 2017 Android 8.0 Oreo.

The rear camera is rated at a 13-megapixels, but you’ll find the same 120-degree, wide-angle, 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The 5.2-inch screen only has a 720-pixel resolution, and it was just average. The phone supports Bluetooth 4.2, has 32GB of storage with a MicroSD card slot, and there’s a 3,300mAh battery that should provide great battery life. No price has been announced yet, but it’s also expected to launch at the end of the month.

The L2 is the least impressive phone of the lot, but if the price is right, it could be an excellent budget phone that could give phones like the Moto E4 Plus a run for its money.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact review
• Sony’s latest Xperia smartphones boast changes, but not a major redesign
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium, XZs, XA1 Ultra, XA1: Our first take
• The best Xperia XZ1 cases to keep your Sony phone shiny and intact
• Razer Phone vs. LG V30: Can Razer topple a smartphone giant?

Might Google Assistant and the Lenovo Smart Display be the whole-home hub the Echo Show isn’t?

The Amazon Echo Show has left plenty of room for Google and Lenovo to make a better product. The question is will they. …

The just-announced Lenovo Smart Display is better than the Amazon Echo Show, says our own Andrew Martonik. He’s seen it. I haven’t. But I’m inclined to believe him.

For as excited as I might have once been about the Echo Show, any luster wore off pretty quick. More than six months in, it’s still pretty worthless as a way to glance and gather important information. It no longer can play videos from YouTube — pretty much the only video source that matters. And one of the other tentpole features — the ability to watch a security camera in real time — really is more of “Alexa, please show me my camera in hopes that something’s actually going on in front of it, and take a few seconds to do so.”

In other words, the Echo Show is still a pretty passive device. You have to tell it what you want and what to do, rather than it actually showing useful newsworthy headlines. Or popping open my Ring camera when it detects motion. (The latter is something that happens on all my phones, and all my computers, and all my tablets.)

The Echo Show is not the whole-home hub we’ve always wanted. … So will the Lenovo Smart Display fill that gap? It could.

Take my biggest gripe — the lack of proactively displaying useful information. OK, the Echo Show gives the time and weather quite nicely. That’s not even table stakes, though. That should be the equivalent of an LED showing that the device has power.

For a number of years now, the driving force behind what Google does has been to give you the information you want not just as quickly as possible, but to predict what it is you’re going to need to know and show it to you that much sooner.

Or, as one reasonably smart person asked way back in 2012: “How long before Google Now becomes your home screen?”

Google has a pretty big trump card with YouTube and services built into millions of phones.

Then there are the hooks. The things that let the device talk to the services.

Sure, the Echo Show can display calendar information, but that requires the extra step of connecting Alexa to whatever calendar service you use. If you’re getting a Google-powered thing like the Smart Display, chances are you’re already using Google services like Calendar and Contacts. That takes care of calendar info, as well as finding folks to call through the included Duo service. (Of course, you’ll have to have folks actually using Duo, but I have a feeling that’ll be easier to do than getting them to use Alexa calling, as it’s way more likely to be built into a phone.)

So that’s another hurdle leaped.

Then there are the basic services. Don’t discount Amazon’s on principle — Prime Music is good. So is Prime Photos, and the Echo Show is a great digital picture frame. Alexa calling works very well. And Amazon’s got a ton of video to watch. But it doesn’t have YouTube, and Google’s not letting it have YouTube. And they all require separate downloads — Google has the bonus of being preloaded on its Android phones.

So the Lenovo Smart Display will have services that are easier to get to, services that may be missing (OK, banned) from the Echo Show, and fewer steps to integrate everything in the first place.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Way ahead of myself.

We need to know about third-party services. We see Nest cameras working, which is great. But companies not own by Google need to have their services working with this sort of product. And they need to work better than they do with the Echo Show.

And, frankly, we just need to see what else happens here. Presumably, this new implementation of Android Things will be a big topic of conversation at this year’s Google I/O developer conference. The two models of Smart Display — the $199 8-inch version, and the $249 10-incher — won’t see the light of day until sometime toward the end of next summer. That gives Google tons of time (says the person not actually doing any of the work) to work on things on the software side. And will Google be doing its own hardware, as rumored, and end up competing with its partner Lenovo on this front? And what else might Amazon do in the meantime?

And then Google and Lenovo have to actually sell the thing.

So, yeah. There’s a lot to get excited about here. Maybe Google will be the one to give us the whole-home hub we’ve been wanting. (I want it, so I presume the rest of y’all do, too.)

But we’ve got a while to wait. And Google’s got work to do.

Google Hardware

• Google Wifi review
• Google Home review
• Everything you need to know about the Chromecast Ultra
• Chromecast vs Chromecast Ultra: Which should you buy?

Google Wifi:

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Google Home:

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Chromecast Ultra:

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New BlackBerry KEYone Bronze Edition goes really well with whiskey

It’s a BlackBerry KEYone, but it goes well with sipping the good stuff.

Every once in a while, after a long day on the job, I sit down on my leather chair with a thumb of good whiskey and just spend a few minutes looking really good while drinking whiskey.

But every time I do that I keep my phone in my pocket because none of them are appropriate to put on the table next to my delicious glass of whiskey. Until now.

Today, BlackBerry Mobile unveiled a Bronze Edition of its KEYone smartphone, and while it shares all of the specs of its Black Edition counterpart, it has one very important advantage: it goes well with whiskey. Preferably good whiskey, because that’s what a phone like this deserves, but any whiskey — even Canadian whiskey — will do.

If you don’t believe me, look at these photos. Picture this phone on a table next to a glass of whiskey. It just works.

Unfortunately for you (and me), my brief time with the BlackBerry KEYone Bronze Edition took place at 9am, which was too early to ask the lovely people at BlackBerry Mobile for a demo whiskey. But rest assured when I procure my own BlackBerry KEYone Bronze Edition, I will take photos of it on a nice table next to a glass of good whiskey and you’ll understand.

Until then, know this: the phone is coming to select countries in the EMEA region, but pricing and specific availability isn’t yet clear. It will be the first KEYone with dual-SIM capabilities, because whiskey drinkers need two phone numbers. It will also have 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

Are you as excited about the BlackBerry KEYone Bronze Edition as I am? Do you drink good whiskey? We should talk, preferably in the comments down below.

🥃

BlackBerry KEYone

• BlackBerry KEYone review
• KEYone vs. Priv: Battle of the BlackBerry keyboards
• BlackBerry KEYone specs
• The latest KEYone news
• Join the discussion in the forums

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