How often do you charge your Galaxy S9/S9+?

Be prepared for frequent top-ups.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are solid upgrades over the S8 series in just about every way, but one area that didn’t see any sort of improvement is battery capacity. Just like the Galaxy S8 and S8+ before them, the S9 and S9+ have 3,000 mAh and 3,500 mAh batteries, respectively.

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 845 processor is more power efficient than the 835 from last year, but even so, the Galaxy S9 series isn’t something you should buy into if you’re looking for the best battery life possible.

Some of our forum users recently got to talking about how often they’re charging their Galaxy S9s, and this is what they had to say.

MooMooPrincess
03-19-2018 09:24 PM

“

I charge 2x a day on my s9+, it just doesn’t last long.

Reply

vwite
03-20-2018 09:56 AM

“

I charge overnight and once a day, I use around 125% a day.

With the note 8 it was around 160% so I can charge a little less with the s9+ but still won’t last a day

Reply

Abbers727
03-20-2018 11:46 PM

“

I’ve been charging mine about once a day. But I’ve only charged it to 100% once since I got it on Friday evening.

Reply

RockyMin
03-20-2018 06:27 AM

“

I just put mine in the wireless charger when I get home from work. And it usually stays there until the next morning when I leave again. It’s usually at about 80-85% when I get home from work and put it on the charger.

Reply

With that said, we’d now like for you to chime in – If you’ve got a Galaxy S9/S9+, how often do you find yourself charging the phone?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Google Pixel 2: Which should you buy?
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

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Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs. Galaxy S7 edge: Should you upgrade?

It’s a tougher question than it seems.

The Galaxy S8 changed a lot about Samsung’s design language, but looking back on it, it wasn’t as fundamental a change over the Galaxy S7 as it initially appeared to be. The Galaxy S7 series — and especially its curved edge variant — was the culmination of many years of maturation on Samsung’s design, engineering, and software teams, and proved to be among the best smartphones released in 2016.

Now that the GS9 is out, it’s worth deciding whether the Galaxy S7 — specifically, the Galaxy S7 edge — is worth swapping out for this year’s model. We’re going to be comparing apples to apples as much as possible in this piece, so we’re going to focus on the larger GS9+, but many of the arguments apply to both the smaller and larger variants.

What a difference two years makes

The Galaxy S7 edge, while certainly not Samsung’s first foray into curved glass displays, showed Samsung settling into a nice groove of differentiation. By then, after the tech demo that was the Galaxy Note Edge and the quiet success of the Galaxy S6 edge (and later that year, the strange and superfluous Galaxy S6 edge+), Samsung seemed to understand its audience, and applied its focus to blending aesthetics with functionality.

The Galaxy S7 series re-introduced many fan-favorite features that the S6 lost, like waterproofing, expandable storage, and a sufficiently sized battery, while further refining the software experience that alienated far fewer people than in years past.

Specifications

But when you look at the Galaxy S7 edge today it shows its age, largely thanks to the bezels atop and bottom the 16:9 Super AMOLED display and the physical home button that was such a mainstay of Samsung phones until 2017. I still have a fondness for Samsung’s mechanical mastery, especially since it didn’t preclude unlocking the phone as it lay on a table, but it’s difficult to argue that the company made the wrong decision moving the fingerprint sensor to the back in exchange for additional screen real estate. The Galaxy S7 edge also forced users to accept Samsung’s traditional navigation button scheme, which placed the back button to the right of the home, and given their permanent status, could sometimes pose a problem when accidentally tapped in landscape mode.

The Galaxy S7 edge was also the final year of the Micro-USB port. Even though USB-C was around in 2016 when the GS7 series was launched, in retrospect, given the unreliability of the standard at the time, Samsung made the right decision holding onto the reliable-but-ungainly legacy port another year.

The 2016 flagship is also significantly smaller than this year’s equivalent: at 5.5 inches, the usable real estate pales next to the S9+’s 6.2-inch surface, though the difference is entirely vertical; the two phones are practically the same width. Still, the S9+ is a much taller phone, which makes it more difficult to use in one hand, something that I’ve partially solved by using a case (which, unfortunately, increases the phone’s overall volume and weight even further).

And while the S9+ is a bit more monolithic in design, featuring a sparser front and symmetrical body due to its also-curved back, in picking up the 2016 flagship it’s clear the two phones are of the same engineering lineage. In other words, the S7 edge is still a beautiful, functional piece of hardware, even by today’s standards.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Given the two years between them, you’d expect the Galaxy S9+ to trounce the S7 edge in terms of specs, and you’d be right. There are two generations of improvements to system-on-a-chip speed and efficiency, and the Snapdragon 845 handily beats the S7’s Snapdragon 820 in both aspects. The S7 edge features 4GB of RAM to the S9+’s 6GB, and the latter also comes with 64GB of storage standard compared to 32GB, a nice bump in out-of-box usability. Both devices sport fast wireless charging, IP68 water and dust resistance, headphone jacks, and expandable storage, but the S7 edge lacks the facial biometrics (that are of questionable utility) of its younger sibling.

There’s also a decided lack of Bixby anywhere to be seen on the Galaxy S7 edge, which is more of a feature than a bug, in my opinion.

Lest we forget, the S7 edge’s 3600mAh battery is actually larger than the S9+’s 3500mAh cell, though the additional efficiency of the Snapdragon 845/Exynos 9810 means battery life should be better on the newer model. And then there are the stereo speakers on the Galaxy S9+, which are nice-to-haves but certainly not essential.

Galaxy S9+ (left) | Galaxy S7 edge (right)

The main difference between the two phones, however, is in the rear cameras. While the S7 edge introduced Samsung’s 12MP sensor and f/1.7 lens combo that it maintained in the Galaxy S8, the S9+ takes things to another level by introducing a second sensor with a telephoto lens and a brighter f/1.5 lens on the main 12MP sensor. While the brighter lens mainly helps in low light situations, Samsung has learned a thing or two over the years, and I find the S9+ to take better photos in almost every situation, regardless of condition. If you’re serious about mobile photography, the camera improvements alone are worth the upgrade to the Galaxy S9+.

At the same time, you can tell by the shots above that in ideal conditions, both indoors and out, the two phones are largely a wash, with white balance and HDR the only differentiating factors. Not bad for a two-year-old phone.

On the software side, the Galaxy S7 edge is still running Samsung version of Android 7.0 Nougat, which we just left behind on the GS8 and GS9. The differences between the two are minor, but if you want the latest and greatest Android version (for now) you’re going to want a newer device. Samsung has said that it will bring Oreo to the Galaxy S7 series, but we’ll likely be waiting until the summer for it.

Should you upgrade? Probably

The obvious answer is yes, of course you should upgrade to the Galaxy S9+ if you’re still using a Galaxy S7 edge. That is, if you’re looking to upgrade at all.

See, the Galaxy S7 edge is still a heck of a phone. Despite its aging design, there are still reasons to love its front-facing home button and fingerprint combo, and the software and camera experience is nothing to sneeze at. It may lack Bixby (hah!) and a few niceties like face scanning and stereo speakers, but unless you absolutely need to upgrade your phone right now, I’d be tempted to wait until we see what Samsung unveils later this year with the Note 9, or even until 2019 with the next-gen Galaxy S (if it’s called that at all).

The Galaxy S7 edge has a bit of life left in it, and that speaks to Samsung’s achievements in design, manufacturing, software and, of course, camera. If you can’t wait, and don’t want to spend so much on a new phone, the Galaxy S8 gives you most of the newest generation at just over half the cost.

See at Samsung

What do you think? If you’re using a Galaxy S7 edge, are you planning to upgrade to the Galaxy S9+? Let us know in the comments!

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Google Pixel 2: Which should you buy?
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

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Should you install an SSD in your PlayStation 4?

Before you buy an SSD for your PlayStation here are some things to consider.

Many of us have been there before. You are getting tired of trying to decide which games to delete from your hard drive in order to make room for something new. You have come to the conclusion that you need to install a new hard drive in your PlayStation 4. However, you aren’t entirely sure whether you should get a solid state drive or a mechanical drive. Have no fear! We are here to give you some insight in order to make an informed decision.

Move your PS4 to a solid state?

In general, an SSD (or solid state drive) is a faster animal. Mechanical drives have moving parts whereas an SSD does not. The easiest way to think of it is that an SSD is like a larger memory stick. In recent years SSD’s have become far more affordable than they have been in the past. That being said, they are still pricier than their mechanical counterparts.

But is an SSD worth buying and installing in your PS4? In general terms, no. Unfortunately, the hardware of the PS4 is not capable of taking advantage of the superior speeds of an SSD. Even on the PlayStation Pro, the SATA interface just does not provide the speed which would make the purchase of an SSD worthwhile. You may see some slightly faster load times on some games, but you are only going to be looking at an improvement measured in one or two seconds. In my opinion, it’s just not worth the premium you would pay for an SSD.

Maybe a hard drive that’s mechanically inclined.

As it stands right now, the best bang for your buck when it comes to expanding the storage space on your PS4, still lies with a mechanical drive. While they still aren’t quite as fast as an SSD on paper, the difference you will see on your PS4 is negligible. The difference you will see is in your pocketbook. Mechanical drives still offer marked savings as compared to solid state. In addition, now that the PS4 offers support of external drives you don’t have to crack your case open in order to expand your storage.

When it comes right down to it the benefits of an SSD on your PS4 just aren’t worth the money. My best suggestion would be to pick up the fastest and most reasonably priced mechanical external drive you can find. You will get all the extra space you desire and you will see a bump in load times as compared to the stock PS4 drive.

Check out our favorite external hard drives for more storage in your console!

Have you expanded the storage on your PS4?

Have you slapped a new drive in your PlayStation 4? I would love to hear about your experiences, both good and bad.

Why are we talking PlayStation 4 on Android Central? Let us explain.

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Google is reportedly buying Lytro for no more than $40 million

Lytro was valued at $360 million in 2017.

According to a new report from TechCrunch, Lytro is the latest company that Google will acquire. Lytro was initially founded in 2006, and its first product – the Lytro Light Field Camera – received a lot of attention in 2012 thanks to its unique design and ability to change the focus of images after they were captured.

Google’s apparently seeking an “asset sale” with this deal, meaning that Google would obtain Lytro’s 59 different patents that all relate to digital and Light Field photography (the tech that made products like the Light Field Camera and Illum from 2014 so noteworthy).

While one source says that Google will purchase Lytro for $40 million, another claims that the sale could be as low as $25 million. For a company that raised more than $200 million in funding and had a reported value of $360 million once its last round of funding was completed in 2017, that’s incredibly low.

Along with this, TechCrunch also notes –

A third source tells us that not all employees are coming over with the company’s technology: some have already received severance and parted ways with the company, and others have simply left.

Following the release of its Illum camera, Lytro shifted its focus to virtual reality in 2015 with the launch of Lytro Immerge – something the company describes as “the world’s first professional Light Field solution for cinematic VR, providing true presence for live action VR through six degrees of freedom.”

That Light Field technology is the same system found in Lytro’s previous two cameras, and in addition to letting users change the focus on images, it captures light in a way that allows you basically create a 3D scene with data on the distance between objects in the frame. This has the potential for all sorts of tricks, and it allows for much more control over photos compared to more traditional cameras.

Assuming this deal goes through, it’ll be interesting to see how Google integrates Lytro’s tech into its products. Will we see Light Field tech make its way into Daydream VR? What about future Pixel phones? A lot of this is still unknown, but the potential of what could come out of this is exciting nonetheless.

HTC’s Vive Focus VR headset is super cool, but you can’t have one

These U.S. carriers have updated the LG V30 to Android Oreo

While we wait around for LG’s big flagship for 2018, the V30 remains the company’s best and most powerful phone currently on the market. The LG V30 shipped with Android 7.1.2 Nougat, but now it’s being updated to 8.0 Oreo.

Verizon

Multiple LG V30 owners who purchased the phone through Verizon Wireless are getting software updates that upgrade the phone to Oreo. The update weighs in at 1702.3 MB, and it brings all of the Oreo goodies you’ve come to expect.

Along with improved performance, Oreo also adds picture-in-picture, Google’s Autofill feature that makes it easier to enter usernames/passwords, notification dots, and much more.

Sprint

A couple weeks after Verizon started rolling out its Oreo update, Sprint is the next carrier to follow suit. The update is the same size at around 1.7GB, and it has all of the Oreo features you’d expect.

The build number is updated to OPR1.170623.026, and the latest March 2018 security patch is here, too.

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Updated 3/21/18 – Added Sprint to the list!

Chromecast is still the best hardware product Google has ever made

Google’s best selling product also happens to be a best-in-class product. Costing only $35 means we all can use it, too.

Google has had its hands in a lot of different products over the years. Most of Google’s endeavors have been software-based and some have become wildly popular, like Gmail or Android. Others were a bit more low key — does anyone remember Google Lively? It’s a story shared by many Silicon Valley businesses both large and small.

But Google has also been behind quite a few hardware projects since the company was founded in the late 1990s. We’ve seen corporate search appliances, ARM single-board supercomputers, and driverless cars as well as mobile and wearable products we’re more familiar with come from the minds in Mountain View, but none has been as successful as the lowly Chromecast.

See at Best Buy

We saw our first official look at the Chromecast in 2013. Its roots go back to the ill-fated but beautifully imaginative Nexus Q, which was one of the first ever products to bring the idea of “headless streaming” to the masses. Except it never really went on sale so it didn’t actually bring anything to anyone outside of the abstract idea that your phone can not only act as a remote but be the only interface with a streaming appliance.

Since the Chromecast was released commercially, it’s evolved quite a bit, with the second-generation model bringing a 4K Chromecast Ultra and an audio-only version dubbed Chromecast Audio.

The Chromecast delivers where it matters most to Google with millions of homes using them.

On the business side of things, which happens to be the side which determines whether a product lives or dies, the Chromecast has been a consistent winner. In the four years since its launch, it’s become the best-selling Google product ever, the best selling media streamer ever, and one of those products that almost everyone reading this will have in their homes. No matter how you define a successful product, the Chromecast fits your definition.

I think the Chromecast is the best thing Google has ever produced for the same reasons it’s the most popular product the company has ever sold. That’s because it meets the simple criteria to be the best: cheap and easy.

It’s easy to overdesign and overbuild any gadget. Some products are made better when they’ve been made to be over the top — the iPod Classic comes to mind here — but most of the time adding too much engineering time and too many features to a simple thing will make it too expensive or too complicated. Or both, à la Nexus Q. Google has resisted any temptation to turn the Chromecast into something with buttons and lights and dials which requires a 40-page user manual. That’s important for a device that is only supposed to do one thing and keep it easy to do, and a Chromecast is both easy to setup and use.

Developers take the time to include a Chromecast button because it’s lucrative; we tap that button and stream things to one because it’s easy. This is the tech “circle of life” in a nutshell.

Part of that is because Chromecast is a platform where developers are expected to do all the work. A user should only have to worry about choosing which Chromecast to send a movie or song to and it’s up to the developers and publishers and everyone else behind the scenes to keep the process simple and consistent. And when a product is in millions and millions of homes, it’s worth spending the time to be a part of it. Having Chromecast built into your app means more eyes are on bigger screens to watch it. It’s worth adding Google Cast to any app that entertains us because we’ll use it.

Another reason why we’re using Chromecast is a bit more simple: it’s inexpensive, especially for a tech gadget. At $35, it’s so cheap that it can even become an impulse buy. If you’ve ever noticed Chromecasts neatly boxed in the checkout lanes of big-box stores like Target or Best Buy during holiday shopping, this is why. Buying a Chromecast because you need a simple streaming solution makes sense and putting it in front of a captive audience to remind them all that they can have a simple solution is a great way to sell a product. I know I can’t help but think of where I could use another Chromecast when I see them on display with a few dollars knocked off the price, and I already have a house filled with them.

Over the years Google has had its share of hits and misses and whether you love ’em or hate ’em you probably use one or more of the company’s products daily. If it’s a piece of hardware, it’s probably a Chromecast because it’s still the best hardware product Google has ever made.

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• Chromecast vs. Chromecast Ultra: Which should you buy?
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Deal: Get $50 off the Essential Phone and a $25 gift card at Best Buy

Good price for a good phone.

The Essential Phone was difficult to recommend with its initial price of $799, but since the permanent price drop to $499 last year, it’s become a much easier sell. $499 is already a solid deal considering everything the Essential Phone has to offer, but Best Buy’s got a new promotion that makes it even sweeter.

Right now, you can purchase a brand-new Essential Phone at Best Buy for just $449. That’s $50 off, and you can get those savings no matter if you choose the Black Moon or Pure White Color.

However, the fun doesn’t stop there. Should you choose to purchase the phone, you’ll also get a free $25 Best Buy gift card that you can use for future in-store or online purchases.

There’s no word as to how long this deal will be available, so I’d recommend acting sooner rather than later to make sure you don’t miss out.

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The Morning After: Two days with the always on, always online laptop

Welcome to the hump! The problems for Cambridge Analytica and Facebook won’t stop, we have some intriguing indie games across several consoles as well as more reportage from GDC. We also strapped an updated, incredibly well-stabilized 360-degree camera to a dog. What a day!

And then it got even worse, again.
Cambridge Analytica suspends CEO Alexander Nix during investigation

The scandal over what Cambridge Analytica did with data obtained from 50 million or so Facebook users continues to grow. A second video by UK’s Channel 4 News showed its CEO Alexander Nix claiming that for the Trump campaign, “We did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting, we ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign, and our data informed all the strategy.” He’s been suspended by the board. UK and US government officials want answers, while WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton (who sold his company to Facebook for billions of dollars) tweeted #DeleteFacebook.

It’s all about boost and takedowns.
‘Onrush’ is a racing game with no finish lines

In a game like Forza Motorsport or Need for Speed, you’re tasked with hurtling between two points or completing a certain number of laps before your opponents. Not so with Onrush, the next title by racing specialist Codemasters. Instead, you’re fighting for points in a range of bombastic modes centered around a chaotic swarm of drivers. Outrageous crashes occur every second alongside ridiculous speed boosts and a death-defying medley of jumps, flips and barrel rolls. The developers behind it is trying to bring the team dynamics of Overwatch to an arcade racer.

A PC powered by a Qualcomm mobile chip, and it’s perfect for working from the back of a cab.
48 hours with an always on, always online laptop

Reviews editor Cherlynn Low has the constitution to hammer away at her laptop in the back of the car. In the past few weeks, she’s had to work nonstop, and the only hope she’s apparently had at securing a good night’s rest is chipping away at stuff while out and about. (At least, that’s what she claims… )

That’s been possible with the ASUS NovaGo: a portable, constantly connected and long-lasting laptop. Microsoft delivers on its promise of ‘always-connected PCs’ — notebooks that are constantly connected to the internet and wake up as quickly as a smartphone.

‘Banner Saga 3,’ ‘Lumines Remastered’ and ‘Reigns’ are all coming to the console.
Nintendo Switch’s 2018 indie roster is looking strong

A year ago, Nintendo followed the launch of the Switch with a bold proclamation: The console would get a new indie game every week. This signaled a new era and approach to welcome third-party games, which previous Nintendo systems had failed to court well. Today, it seems indie titles are lining up to jump on the Switch — and the company announced over a dozen new and remastered games will be headed to the console this year. That includes Banner Saga 3, and several GameMaker Studio games like Hyper Light Drifter.

Publications from around the world are ready to take your money.
Google just made paying for the news dead simple

Good journalism is worth paying for, period. As part of a larger plan to help valuable reporting thrive in an age where content is a commodity, Google unveiled a new tool for publishers called Subscribe, which makes it trivial to — what else? — subscribe to premium news services.

Now, Google isn’t exactly new to news subscriptions; the ability to buy monthly access to top-tier newspapers and magazines has been a part of the Google Play experience for years. Subscribe is special because it works directly in-browser. If you’ve hit your final free New York Times article for the month, you’ll be able to quickly set up a subscription with your Google account and pay with any card you’ve used with that account in the past. At its most effective, Google’s Subscribe takes a process that lasts a few minutes and involves scrounging around for your credit card and strips it down to a couple of taps.

But wait, there’s more…

• Samsung’s first 3D Cinema LED screen launches in Switzerland
• First look at SyFy’s ‘Nightflyers’ is equal parts ‘Aliens’ and ‘Psycho’
• Insta360 One camera update adds ‘pro-level’ video stabilization
• TCL’s wallet-friendly 6-Series Roku TVs will be available by May 1st
• GDC 2018: Skywalker Sound and the challenges of making audio for VR films
• Police chief says Uber ‘likely not’ at fault in pedestrian accident

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AMD vows to fix newly-disclosed processor vulnerabilities

Semiconductor company AMD has finally acknowledged there’s a problem with its Platform Security Processor. Earlier this month Israel-based CTS labs found 13 critical vulnerabilities (including RyzenFall, MasterKey, Fallout and Chimera) with AMD’s product, which could allow attackers to access sensitive data, install malware and gain complete access to compromised machines (although doing so would require admin access). Today, AMD has published a statement that largely underplays the threat, but claims that patches will be coming soon.

The announcement comes against a wider backdrop of controversy involving responsible disclosure. When researchers find vulnerabilities in products they typically give companies 90 days to respond — sometimes even longer, depending on the seriousness of the flaw in question. Google gave Intel around 200 days to fix Meltdown and Spectre before revealing them to the public, for example. The idea, of course, is to give companies an opportunity to get a fix out there before nefarious individuals find a way to capitalize on the vulnerability themselves.

But CTS Labs told AMD about the problem just 24 hours before disclosing it to the public — certainly not long enough for the company do to anything about it. Although CTS Labs didn’t disclose any technical information about the issue that could have harmed AMD users in any way, its premature revelation has caused ripples in the industry. Linux creator Linus Torvalds, for example, told ZDNet “It looks more like stock manipulation that a security advisory to me.”

However, CTS Labs maintains it did the right thing, claiming that they didn’t think AMD would be able to fix the problem for “many, many months, or even a year” anyway. CTS Labs’ CTO Ilia Luk-Zilberman has also posted a letter on the AMDflaws site in which he explains his gripe with the 90-day response window and why he believes revealing vulnerabilities to everyone at once (consumers and media, as well as the companies in question), puts pressure on the relevant parties to get things fixed.

That certainly appears to be the case with AMD, which says that patch updates can be expected through BIOS updates (without affecting performance) in the coming weeks — a fair response having been caught so off guard. The issue now, however, would be other security research companies similarly doing away with the 90-day ‘rule’. If vulnerabilities were made public the moment they were discovered, they’d never be out of the news, and it would be a real challenge for everyone concerned to know where the risks really were.

Via: The Hacker News

Source: AMD

Facebook makes it easier to control large Messenger groups

Facebook’s Messenger app is on its way to becoming a social network in its own right, thanks to new group chat features rolled out today. Like regular groups (the app for which Facebook killed last year), group chats now come with admin privileges. Anyone with admin status can add someone else to the chat, and also has the power to remove members, or promote or demote them as an admin.

This should be useful in discussions with friends of friends, or if you’re trying to get large groups of people you’re not connected with together (to plan a party, or talk about community issues, for example). Groups can support up to 250 people at one time, though, so you might want to turn your notifications off.

It’ll also be easier to add people to group chats as the update also features joinable links. Anyone in the chat can create a custom link and share it with whoever they want to join the conversation. Tapping the link puts them directly into the group, or gives them pending status until an admin approves the request, depending on your control preferences.

Facebook has been adding to its arsenal of Messenger features for some time. Over the last year it’s introduced @mentions, reactions, group payments, customized chats, and real time voice and video conversations for up to 50 people. More recently it made these features more accessible to those with low-budget phones by integrating video chat into its Messenger Lite app. Now it’s only got to shoehorn some news and adverts in there and it’ll be a network all of its own.