Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $70 on ELAC B6 bookshelf speakers

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

BenQ PD3200U 32″ 4K designer monitor – (refurbished)

Street price: $800; Deal price: $607

Usually $800 new, this is a great price at $607 on a refurbished model of our upgrade 4K monitor pick sold via BenQ direct. Big enough to display many apps in 4K without significant scaling at 32 inches, this model comes with a 1 year warranty. We’ve seen it drop to $720 once new, but even when compared to that sale price this is a substantial savings.

The BenQ PD3200U 4K Designer Monitor is our upgrade pick in our guide to the best 4K monitor. John Higgins and David Murphy wrote, “If a 27-inch monitor isn’t big enough for you, consider the 32-inch BenQ PD3200U. It combines solid color and grayscale measurements, four display inputs, a USB hub that can be used by more than one computer, and a puck-style controller that lets you easily switch between picture modes or computers on the fly. It’s also big enough that you may be able to use it without scaling text up to a readable size.”

Zvox SB500 soundbar with AccuVoice

Street price: $400; Deal price: $330

At $330, this is one of the better prices we’ve seen on the ZVOX SB500. It’s great for those seeking clear dialogue. It’s listed at $360 plus this added markdown at the time of publishing, while it’s still selling for $400 – $430 at most major retailers, so this is an even better savings than initial impressions would indicate.

The Zvox SB500 is our simpler set up/hard of hearing pick in our guide to the best budget soundbar. Dennis Burger wrote, “The Zvox SB500 is certainly the priciest of our picks, but if you’re hard of hearing or are shopping for someone who is, its effective dialogue enhancement is well worth the extra expense. Most modern soundbars offer some form of built-in dialogue enhancement feature, but Zvox AccuVoice uses algorithms borrowed from hearing aids to make a more noticeable impact than anything else we’ve tested—according to my 75-year-old, hearing-aid-using dad. Other built-in technologies like Output Leveling (which reduces overly loud sounds and boosts soft sounds) also enhance the effect and make dialogue even easier to understand.”

Magellan MiVue 420 DashCam

Street price: $100; Deal price: $85

The Magellan MiVue 420 DashCam features a larger screen than our top dash cam pick and an integrated GPS for tracking speed and location. Usually $100-$110, this drop to $85 makes it a comparable or even superior value depending on which features you’re looking for in a dash cam. While we’ve seen the MiVue 420 cheaper on one occasion, this is still a very good price for it.

The Magellan MiVue 420 DashCam is our runner-up pick in our guide to the best dash cam. Molly K. McLaughlin and Eric Adams wrote, “The Magellan MiVue 420 DashCam is a solid alternative to the Papago GoSafe 535. It offers the same super-sharp 1296p resolution and detailed footage in all sorts of lighting, but with a larger display (2.7 versus 2 inches). The MiVue 420 also includes an integrated GPS receiver, which records your car’s location and speed along with the video. Like the GoSafe 535, the MiVue 420 provides a number of safety alerts that can be useful, although we found some to be overly active and annoying. (Fortunately, you can turn them off easily.) However, the MiVue 420 has a narrower, 140-degree field of view and isn’t quite as easy to use as the GoSafe 535. It’s also more expensive than our top pick typically, though we’ve seen this Magellan model’s price drop to as low as about $70—you should get the MiVue 420 if it’s less expensive than our top pick, as long as you don’t mind its narrower field of view.”

ELAC Debut B6 bookshelf speakers

Street price: $250; Deal price: $200

The ELAC Debut B6, our former top bookshelf speaker pick, actually features slightly better bass performance than our current top pick. The drop to $200 from a street price of $250 is a recurring deal for these speakers, but it’s still the lowest price we’ve seen and a worthy bargain to consider.

The ELAC Debut B6 Bookshelf Speakers are the runner-up pick in our guide to the best bookshelf speakers. If the Q Acoustics set is unavailable, the ELAC Debut B6 pair is a close runner-up (and our previous pick). In our tests the sound quality was virtually the same as that of the Q Acoustics set, but the ELAC pair had slightly better bass response. The B6 speakers are also physically larger, their veneer finish is not as polished, and they are less efficient (so a receiver or amplifier will need around 30 percent more power to drive them as loudly).

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go here.

Hold your Instagrams in your hand with Canon’s new tiny pocket printer

Canon just launched its smallest photo printer yet — a little device called Ivy that spits out 2 x 3 Zink photos. On Thursday, April 19, Canon USA announced the Ivy Mini Photo Printer, a portable cartridge-free photo printer.

The printer uses Zink, or paper with embedded ink crystals, in order to create a small, portable design that doesn’t require ink cartridges. While mini Zink printers have been around for years, Ivy is Canon’s first foray into 2 x 3 photo printers, making it the company’s smallest and lightest printer yet.

Available in mint green, gray, and rose gold, the little printer is connected, with the Canon Mini Printer App that allows users to both control the print settings and edit photos. The app includes augmented reality “face distortion” filters, alongside other tools popularized by social media cameras, including stickers, frames, text, and a drawing tool. The app can print full-sized 2 x 3 inch images, create a gallery of four or nine prints on the sheet, or choose from a handful of collage templates.

Compatible Zink paper is available in regular photo sheets or sticky back stickers. The Zink prints are also smudge-free and can resist water spills, Canon says. The company says a Smart Sheet paper to calibrate the printer allows the little printer to stand up to Canon standards.

“The proverb ‘good things come in small packages’ couldn’t be more true for the first 2 x 3 photo printer from Canon U.S.A.” Kazuto Ogawa, president and chief operating officer of Canon U.S.A., Inc., said in a statement. “It’s our smallest and lightest printer yet, and the company is excited about giving customers more access to creatively connect and instantly share memories than ever before from the palm of their hand.”

Canon Ivy Mini Printer sales launched today, retailing for about $130, including a ten pack of paper. Additional paper packs are available for about $10 for a 20 pack and $25 for a fifty sheet pack.

Canon’s first mini photo printer joins a list of growing tools made possible — or at least made portable — by Zink paper’s ink-free design. Along with small printers like the Ivy and Polaroid’s Zip, ZINK is also used in digital cameras with built-in printers and even a Moto Mod.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best inkjet printers you can buy
• The best photo printer you can buy
• Photo FOMO: Nikon’s 3D printer, Canon’s mirrorless push, Pixel 2’s secrets
• Get your Sagan on with 60 awe-inspiring photos of the final frontier
• Epson shrinks its cartridge-free ink, but it’ll still last you two years

The best drone apps

One of the most important things you can do after purchasing your drone is download the right apps to use with it. Drone apps don’t just help you fly the drone (although flight control apps are obviously important), they also help you track weather conditions, gather data, record your flight, communicate with other drone pilots, and much more.

We aren’t saying that you have to download all of these when setting off on your drone exploits, but having a few handy is very useful. Take a look at the top apps and why they are important.

B4UFLY (Free)

When the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) comes out with an app they advise drone pilots to use, it’s probably a good idea to take their advice. This app offers a status indicator for fly/no-fly conditions, a planning mode for creating flights in the right areas (avoiding air traffic and illegal zones), and plenty of other resources. When first scouting an area, particularly a more urban or populated area, this app is an invaluable resource.

Download it now for:

iOS Android

DJI GO (Free)

DJI Go is one of the most popular drone apps around—you’d be hard pressed to find an experienced DJI drone pilot who doesn’t have it downloaded on at least one device. It provides a live HD view from your drone, constantly tracks flight data, and offers a number of intelligent automated flight modes, including a “follow me” mode and a “home lock” mode. The app allows you to record and share video immediately, too. If you have a DJI drone, download this app: We’ll talk about a couple other flight planning and video apps below, but start with DJI Go and see if you need anything else.

Download it now for:

iOS Android

UAV Forecast (Free)

UAV Forecast is an incredibly simple app that’s also particularly handy: It gives you detailed information for weather conditions in your area, from a UAV perspective. That includes detailed information about wind, precipitation, visibility, cloud cover, and how this data changes from hour to hour. Pop it open to see what conditions are like today, how they are trending, and where is a good place to fly. It’s a nice alternative if you don’t really like B4UFLY.

Download it now for:

iOS  Android

Litchi ($23)

Litchi is a cutting-edge videography app that’s designed to get excellent drone recordings even when tackling difficult subjects like fast-moving animals or high-action sports. In addition to tracking fast-moving things, Litchi also offers a focus mode for detailed, high-res shots, plus modes to record VR footage and ways to plot your waypoints. Basically, whatever type of video or photo work you want to do with your drone, Litchi offers one of the best ways to do it. The biggest downside is that, while most drone apps are free or low cost, Litchi is $23 to download.

Download it now for:

iOS  Android

Airnest (Free)

Airnest is excellent flight planning and logging app that you can use to draw flight paths in an organic way, log unlimited flights when you’re done, and play back your flight at leisure. It also helps provide valuable analytics for batteries, GPS performance, orientation, altitude, speed, and more, so you can see just how your drone is performing. It’s an excellent app for both beginners and long-time professionals: The only current downside is that it’s limited to a certain number of drone models, primarily a number of DJI drones, so you have to make sure your model is compatible.

Download it now for:

iOS

DroneDeploy (Free)

DroneDeploy is easily one of the best automated drone mapping apps around—that is, an app that you can use to program an automated flight path for your drone, ideal when scanning or photographing a particular area thoroughly. The app allows you to manage takeoff, flight patterns, automated image capture, video streaming, and landing processes (you can also instantly switch over to manual control whenever you want). The interface and tools are all top-notch, but you may find it easier to use some of the more complex tools on a larger device. This app is specifically designed for DJI drones.

Download it now for:

iOS  Android

Hover (Free)

Hover is an excellent beginner-friendly app that new drone pilots should download as they make their first flights. It combines a number of useful information vectors to provide a hub of valuable data that includes real-time weather reports, fly zones (and a fly/no-fly indicator), and a flight log for you to record your data. It’s a fairly simple app and you may want to upgrade as you become more experienced, but in the beginning it offers great at-a-glance information.

Download it now for:

iOS  Android

Precision Mapper (Free)

PrecisionMapper (and its sister software, PrecisionViewer) are designed to work with any drone, allowing you to create and share GIS (geographic information system) data. Sign up and you get access to a ton of analytical tools you can use for serious GIS projects, as well as the ability to upload any GIS information from your drone records. It’s an incredible app system for scientific surveys of all kinds, or just sharing the information your sensors picked up with those who can use it best. Don’t let your valuable data go to waste.

Download it now for:

iOS Android

Tesla Field Recorder (Free)

The Tesla Field Recorder is a fun — and potentially very important app — that you can use to detect magnetic fields and record them. If you do a lot of exploring with your drone, there’s a chance you might run into a nasty magnetic disturbance that threatens drone operation, or at least makes operation seriously weird. When you come across something like that, you can pop this app open to measure and record the disturbance. Then share it with your drone buddies or geocaching friends so they know about it too. Everyone wins.

Download it now for:

iOS Android

Editors’ Recommendations

• The 20 best travel apps for vacations and trips
• These 8 Valentine’s Day apps help you plan a very special day with your sweetie
• The best iPhone apps available right now (April 2018)
• The best apps to sell clothes will turn your unused wardrobe into cash
• The best running apps for iOS and Android

You AR what you eat — augmented reality menus are coming to Snapchat

The smells wafting from the kitchen, a crinkled and torn paper menu, and the fleeting glimpses of orders the waiter is deftly balancing on his way to another table may no longer be the only ways to preview what you eat at a restaurant. Start-up Kabaq is aiming to bring the next big technology-influenced change for restaurants and foodies since Instagram sparked a surge in food photography: an augmented reality menu.

Burger chain Bareburger will be among the first restaurants to allow customers to see their meal right in front of them — before ever placing an order.

Using custom Snapchat World Lenses, customers can scan a Snapcode to place a virtual dish on the table, resizing and mixing it with other filters and, of course, snapping a photo to send to a friend.

Created from images of a real burger, the augmented reality lenses allow diners to preview their dish from any angle. As Bareburger prepares to introduce an AR menu, the burger chain is giving out 5,000 Snapcodes that offer a sneak of the progress on that menu.

Anyone can scan the Snapcode to play with the Lens, but the foodie with the physical ticket can turn it in for the real version of that filter, for free. 

The restaurant chain is randomly giving out those codes with takeout orders through April 22 at locations in the U.S. and Dubai.

Kabaq is a food-focused AR company that launched in 2016. Co-Founders Alper Guler and Caner Soyer previously worked in the augmented reality space creating tools for interior design and furniture. The idea for Kabaq came after trying to explain the dishes at a Turkish restaurant to a friend, a difficult task without the help of visuals.

Created from images
of a real burger, the augmented reality lenses allow diners to preview their dish from any angle.

“We believe Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram are changing the food we are eating at the restaurant,” Guler said. “Food is more visual than ever because most people, before they start eating, shoot a photo for their Instagram account. This started creating more traffic to restaurants. With AR, restaurants can create even more visuals to drive more traffic to the restaurant itself.”

While Bareburger is bringing its lenses to Snapchat, Kabaq builds AR lenses that can be used in a number of different ways. Along with Snapchat, the food models can be integrated into other social apps, like the Facebook Camera, or used inside the Kabaq app, itself. Restaurants could also build the AR food items into their own apps, putting the AR menu alongside other app functions like placing an order and finding locations. 

Restaurant chains have the option of integrating the AR menu into an app designed for the chain, but Guler says the integration with existing platforms like Snapchat and Facebook Camera speeds up the process. Instead of having to download an app to view the menu, diners can scan a Snapcode using an app that many already have.

The menu is created from real dishes from the restaurant using photogrammetry — a process of taking several pictures of something from different angles in order to create a 3D model. Kabaq then converts the images into a model and optimizes the food item for the AR program.

When it comes to food, Guler explained, the slightest color differences between the AR version of a dish and the real thing will make it feel very off. The company spends a lot of time making the models are accurate, while also ensuring the AR filters run smoothly on a phone.

Restaurants can also integrate prices and nutrition information into the menu items using info boxes that are paired with the 3D model

Restaurants can also integrate prices and nutrition information into the menu items using info boxes that are paired with the 3D model. Like other Snapchat lenses, the menu lenses can be resized, so while they’ll give diners an idea of what to order, the filters won’t offer an idea on portion sizes without additional information, like accompanying info boxes.

Besides seeing the dish before ordering (and that “cool” factor), the technology could also create menus that are more eco-friendly than paper. Bareburger is focused on ethically sourced ingredients, and hope the AR menu can eventually replace paper as part of the company’s eco-friendly initiative.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best food-delivery apps that bring deliciousness to you
• ‘In the Kitchen’ helps you cook using voice commands
• Graphene on toast? Edible electronics could help shield you from food poisoning
• 7 weird high-tech foods you might chow down on in the not-so-distant future
• Smooth operator: What can you do with a blender versus a food processor?

Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play hands-on review

Research Center:

Moto E5 Plus

Last year’s Moto E4 Plus stunned us with its fantastic battery life, and the new Moto E5 Plus is on track to do the same. It retains the 5,000mAh battery to keep you chugging along for more than two days, and while the new phone is largely a specification bump, Motorola has fixed one of our biggest qualms — the Moto E5 Plus doesn’t look like a cheap phone anymore.

There’s also the Moto E5 Play, which is even more affordable. We’ll take a quick look at what they have to offer, and you can also read our Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play hands-on review to learn more about the rest of Motorola’s budget 2018 lineup.

Design and display

Like the new Moto G6 and G6 Play, the Moto E5 Plus borrows heavily from the Moto X4, which debuted in late 2017. The edges on the back curve inwards, allowing for a comfortable grasp around the phone, and a circular camera fixture sits at top-center. Below it is the iconic Motorola dimple, which doubles as a fingerprint sensor.

The Moto E5 Plus is the heaviest of Motorola’s budget lineup, at approximately 7 ounces (200 grams). While Motorola made it look more high-end, it still feels cheap due to the use of polymer glass on the back (it’s not as durable or scratch-resistant as the Gorilla Glass 3 on the Moto G6). The Moto E5 Play, on the other hand, is the lightest. It has a plastic (Motorola calls it micro texture resin) removable back, which means there’s a removable battery as well.

• 1.
  Moto E5 Play
• 2.
  Moto E5 Play
• 3.
  Moto E5 Plus
• 4.
  Moto E5 Plus

The E5 Play, like the E5 Plus, has a camera fixture in the top-center, with an indented fingerprint sensor below. It curves at the edges of the back, and that makes it comfortable to hold. The fact that it has a smaller 5.2-inch screen helps as well; the E5 Plus has a 6-inch screen, but we didn’t think it felt unwieldy. The E5 Play’s plastic back will attract scratches easily, as we already noticed a few scuff marks.

On the front, Motorola made some effort to shave down the bezels surrounding the screen — jumping on the “bezel-less” trend in smartphones. There are still some sizable bezels, but we’re happy it’s a little slimmed down. Only the Moto G5 Plus utilizes an 18:9 aspect ratio, which means you’ll be able to see a little more content in vertical-scrolling apps than with previous Moto E devices.

There’s a Motorola icon on the back of the phone, but the company’s name is also printed on the front of both Moto E phones. We wish Motorola could be a little more subtle, as it just makes the front look busy. A volume rocker sits on the right edge, with a power button below it; at the top is the headphone jack, and there’s a MicroUSB charging port on the bottom.

For super-affordable phones, the Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play look great.

The 6-inch IPS LCD screen on the Moto E5 Plus has a 1,440 x 720 pixel resolution. The screen may not be as sharp as higher-end phones, but it manages to look good. It doesn’t get bright enough to see outside in daylight, but we’ll have to do more testing to confirm. The 5.2-inch E5 Play has a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, and the screen doesn’t look fuzzy at all thanks to its smaller screen size.

Moto E5 Plus Compared To

Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra

Nokia 7 Plus

LG V30S ThinQ

LG V30

HTC U11

Moto Z2 Play

Meizu M3 Max

Huawei Mate 8

ZTE Grand X Max+

HTC One Remix

Huawei Ascend Mate 2

LG G Flex

LG Lucid 2

Motorola Droid Razr HD

Motorola Droid Bionic

For super affordable phones, the Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play look great. Again, they still feel cheap, but they’re ergonomic. The polymer glass on the E5 Plus does seem like a recipe for a shattered front and back, so make sure you grab a case. There’s also no IP-rated water-resistance, but both phones are splash-resistant.

Performance and software

The Moto E5 Plus is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 435 processor, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The Moto E5 Play uses either the Snapdragon 425 or the Snapdragon 427 — it’s dependent on the carrier you’re buying it from — as well as 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Both have MicroSD card slots for more space.

We didn’t run into any problems moving throughout the phone’s Android 8.0 Oreo operating system, but we only used it very briefly during the phones’ launch event. Opening apps is a little slower than flagships, and we’ll have to do more testing to see how this phone performs with more intensive tasks. This is not a phone for power users, as it won’t be able to satisfy all your needs.

Moto E5 Plus Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

We’re happy to see near stock Android again on these phones; Motorola phones don’t have a lot of pre-installed apps or services. But there is reason for disappointment. A Motorola spokesperson told Digital Trends both these phones will not receive any Android version upgrades. That means when the new version of Android comes out around August, the Moto E5 Plus and Play will not receive it. The reason? Motorola said its customers sometimes aren’t fans of software upgrades, but it’s largely because both these devices are carrier phones, and Motorola doesn’t expect the carrier to issue an update. It’s appalling that a phone manufacturer can release a phone and say it won’t upgrade the software for it at all.

When the new version of Android comes out around August, the Moto E5 Plus and Play will not receive it.

On the bright side, Motorola said it will issue security updates every 30 to 60 days, for two years.

Both these phones should last you a good deal of time, especially the Moto E5 Plus. It has a 5,000mAh battery, which means the Plus will likely last more than two days. It supports Motorola’s TurboPower fast-charging technology as well. The E5 Plus only has a 2,800mAh battery, but considering the low-power specs on the phone, that capacity should definitely make the phone last quite some time as well.

There’s no NFC here, so you won’t be able to use Google Pay to make contactless payments.

Camera

In our brief tests, the camera on both these phones are certainly capable, particularly in good lighting. The E5 Plus has a 12-megapixel rear camera with a f/2.0 aperture, along with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera with a f/2.2 aperture. The E5 Play has an 8-megapixel rear camera with a f/2.0 aperture, and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Both phones have flashes on the front for selfies.

Moto E5 Plus Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

We noticed a little shutter lag when tapping on the shutter icon, which produced some blur in photos. If you hold still, you can take some solid photos with good color and detail. But don’t expect much in poorer lighting conditions.

Price and availability

We’re not sure how much both phones will cost, but last year’s Moto E4 Plus and Moto E4 were priced at $180 and $130, respectively. It’s likely the new versions will stay around this price range, but it’s entirely dependent on the carrier. These are carrier-only phones, so you won’t be able to buy them unlocked. Motorola said we can expect to see them launch in the U.S. this spring.

For those estimated low prices, the Moto E5 Play and Moto E5 Plus are excellent value. We hope Motorola strongly rethinks its software upgrade plan to give these two devices Android P when it rolls out.

Motorola’s Moto E5 Plus, E5 Play are solid budget phones that won’t get Android P

The Moto G series may steal all the credit when it comes to Motorola’s budget lineup, but there’s a handset that arguably offers even better value for the money than the new Moto G6 — the also-new Moto E5. Motorola has finally take the wraps off of the new E-series, including both the Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play.

The new phones should offer decent specs and performance at an exceptionally low price. Here’s everything you need to know about the new Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play.

Design

The Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play feature slightly different designs. While the E5 Plus looks similar to the new Moto G6, with its 18:9 aspect ratio, the E5 Play features a slightly older-looking design — which one might expect from such an inexpensive phone.

• 1.
  Moto E5 Play
• 2.
  Moto E5 Plus

Both phones feature the recently adopted and now standard Motorola camera bump on the back, and they both also offer a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor embedded in the Motorola logo. The display on the Moto E5 Plus comes in at 6 inches with a resolution of 1,440 x 720, while the E5 Play’s display comes in at 5.2 inches with a 720p resolution.

Another thing that users of the Moto E5 Play might like is the fact that it has a removable back and battery. It’s the only new Moto phone that can do that, which means you can carry extra batteries to use if you need them.

While different, they’re definitely not bad-looking phones. They both come in a range of different colors, too, which is a nice touch.

Specs

Under the hood, the phones are decidedly budget-focused — but that doesn’t mean that they’re no good. The Moto E5 Plus features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor, coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage — though if you want to expand upon that storage, you can do so via the MicroSD card slot. It also has an absolutely massive 5,000mAh battery, which is pretty huge. The device also offers a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with an aperture of f/2.0, along with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Moto E5 Play features either a Snapdragon 425 or 427 processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Like the E5 Plus, the E5 Play features a MicroSD card slot, so you can expand on that storage by up to 128GB if you choose. Unlike the E5 Plus, the E5 Play’s battery isn’t huge — but it’s not tiny either. The 2,800mAh battery should get you through a day of use pretty easily. The E5 Play also offers a slightly lower-resolution camera. The rear-facing camera comes in at 8 megapixels, while the front-facing camera is 5 megapixels.

Software

The software is set to be one of the major frustration points for this phone. Why? It won’t be updated. While the device does ship with Android 8.0 Oreo, Motorola says that it will not be updating the E5 Plus or Play with any new versions of Android, so if you’re looking forward to Android P, then this may not be the phone for you.

Price and availability

Unfortunately, we don’t yet know exactly how much the Moto E5 will cost in the U.S. — Motorola says that it will “vary depending on carrier.” We also don’t know exactly when they’ll be available, though Motorola says they’ll be available in sometime before spring ends. We’ll update this article when we hear more.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Here’s everything you need to know about the Moto G6 and G6 Plus
• Nokia 6 (2018) vs. Lenovo Moto G5S Plus: Can Nokia take out the budget champion?
• Sharp’s new iPhone 5c copy is called the Android One S3, runs stock Android
• Sony’s Xperia XZ2 Premium has a crazy-high ISO for photos and video
• Honor’s new budget 7C and 7A phones love your face, and unlock at a glance

Moto G6 and G6 Play hands-on review

Research Center:

Motorola Moto G6

If you want a good budget phone, you buy Motorola. Although there has been some heavy competition recently in the budget space, there’s a reason why the Lenovo-owned company has consistently held a prime spot in our best cheap phones guide over the past few years. And the new Moto G6, Motorola’s flagship smartphone in its 2018 budget range, may be the phone to buy if your budget is under $300. Other than a specification bump and a new design, there aren’t a lot of new eye-widening features, but the G6 is a phone that handily does the job.

Motorola also unveiled the cheaper Moto G6 Play, which has different specifications and a slightly different design from the G6. If you want to go even more affordable, there’s also the new Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play, which will only be available from select carriers. Read our Moto E5 Plus and E5 Play hands-on review for more.

Good display, sleek design

The Moto G6 and G6 Play heavily borrow their design from last year’s Moto X4. The back of both phones curve in toward the screen, so they feel more ergonomic, and they’re covered in glass. The Moto G6 specifically uses Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 (Gorilla Glass 5 is currently used in more expensive flagships) on the rear, so it will be able to resist scratches more than the polymer glass on the G6 Play. The rear of both phones are sleek and minimal, with a nice wave pattern when the light shines on them.

A big circular camera juts out in the top middle section of the Moto G6, and below it is a flush Motorola logo. This is the easiest way to tell the two phones apart, because the camera is flush on the Moto G6 Play, and the Motorola logo sits inside the indented fingerprint sensor. There are also two cameras in the fixture on the G6, but you’ll only find one on the Play.

So, where’s the Moto G6’s fingerprint sensor? Flip the phone over, and it sits at the very bottom bezel under the screen. Speaking of bezels, Motorola is jumping on the “bezel-less” bandwagon, shrinking the edges around the 5.7-inch screen on both phones. There are still sizable chunks of bezel surrounding the display, and both phones still manage to look quite busy on the front.

The ergonomic design of the G6 and G6 Play reminds us of one of our favorite phones from Motorola — the original Moto  X from 2013. They look and feel like they should cost way more than $250.

The front-facing flash and selfie camera stick out on the top of both phones, and we’re not fans of how Motorola plasters its name on the bottom of the device — it looks worse on the Moto G6, where the logo is sandwiched between the screen and the oval fingerprint sensor. If we had to choose, we’d pick the Moto G6 Play’s design, because the front doesn’t look as busy, and we’re partial to rear fingerprint sensors.

The volume rocker sits above the power button on the right edge of both phones, and for the first time on a budget Motorola phone, you’ll find a USB-C charger on the bottom of the G6. Motorola said people still have various Micro USB accessories, which is why it’s hesitant to change its entire lineup to the USB-C standard.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Moto G6 is the only phone in its 2018 budget range to feature the USB-C charging port, and it’s a welcome addition. It allows for faster charging, the cable is reversible, and you can transfer data with it as well. Expect the company’s 2019 products to exclusively use USB-C.

In our brief time with the phones, the 5.7-inch IPS LCD screens were colorful and relatively sharp. The Moto G6 has a Full HD resolution (1080p), while the Play just has an HD resolution (720p). We did notice the screens don’t get as bright as we’d like, making them a little tough to see in broad daylight. We’ll have to do a little more testing to see how they fare in day-to-day use. Both devices do have an 18:9 aspect ratio, which means you might have a better movie-watching experience, as a lot of films are shot in that standard.

Our biggest concern is the use of glass on the back. Dropping it could leave you with a repair bill that’s the same cost of the phone.

The Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play are comfortable in the hand, and the ergonomic design really does hark back to one of our favorite phones from Motorola — the original Moto  X from 2013. These phones do not look like they cost under $250, and the Moto G6 especially doesn’t feel like its price. Still, the front design could be a little cleaner, and we wish there was no camera sticking out on the G6. We would have also liked to see some type of IP-rated water resistance, as both devices use P2i’s technology, making them only splash-proof.

Our biggest concern is the use of glass on the back – and not because it’s a fingerprint magnet. Motorola said it’s because glass is trendy, and it also helps keep the phone’s manufacturing cost down. At the same time, it means there’s more glass to shatter, which means you’ll end up with a repair bill that’s the same cost of the phone. If Motorola is adding glass to its phones, we’d at least have liked to see wireless charging – or some other kind of added functionality.

Solid performance, clean software

The Moto G6 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor, with options for 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, or 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. There’s a MicroSD card slot if you want to add up to 128GB of more space. The Moto G6 Play, on the other hand, uses the Snapdragon 427 processor and comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage, or 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It also has a MicroSD card slot.

We didn’t see any glaring performance issues in the brief time we had to test the phones. Moving throughout the Android 8.0 Oreo operating system wasn’t the fastest experience we’ve had on a phone, but it was quick. Apps take a few extra milliseconds or seconds to open and load up, and there was a little shutter lag in the camera app.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

If you’re a power user, these phones won’t be able to keep up with you. For general tasks like web browsing, social media, and a few not-so-intensive games, the Moto G6 and G6 Play should be able to deliver.

There’s not a lot of Motorola software installed, and the user interface is very similar to stock Android. Motorola does offer up the same Moto Actions as before, with features that include the ability to wave your hand over the screen to see notifications; one-button navigation using the front fingerprint sensor on the G6; a chop gesture to turn on the flashlight; a double twist gesture to open the camera; and more.

The Moto G6 Play does have one big advantage over the flagship G6 –a 4,000mAh battery, versus the G6’s 3,000mAh.

The Moto G6 Play does have one big advantage over the flagship G6 — it has a 4,000mAh battery capacity, as opposed to the G6’s 3,000mAh. It does mean the G6 Play is a little heftier and thicker, but you will undoubtedly get two days of battery life, maybe even more. The G6’s capacity should also be large enough to power the phone for more than a day. And you’ll only be able to use Motorola’s TurboPower fast-charging technology on the G6.

The software is clean and easy to use, and we have confirmed the G6 and G6 Play will receive Android P after it launches later this year. We’re sad to see there’s no NFC yet again in the Moto G series, which means you won’t be able to use Google Pay for contactless payments.

Camera

The Moto G6 is the only phone in Motorola’s 2018 budget lineup with a dual-camera system, so let’s get the G6 Play out of the way. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with a f/2.0 aperture, as well as an 8-megapixel front-facing camera with a flash for selfies. We noticed a little shutter lag when tapping the shutter button, which ended up producing a bit of blur if we weren’t completely still. The camera results looked solid, with good detail and color.

The flagship Moto G6’s dual-camera system includes a 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel camera, with an f/1.8 aperture. The second camera is used for Portrait Mode, which blurs out the background of a subject to create a cool bokeh effect. It did a decent job in testing, but it’s easy to spot the blur errors in the photo. What’s neat is you can change the point of focus in the photo after it’s captured, and decrease or increase the level of blur.

There are also a few “smart camera” features on the G6, such as text selection, a handful of face filters that accurately clung to our face, landmark and object recognition, and a manual mode for further control. Motorola also added a time lapse feature for the first time, though we haven’t had a chance to try this out.

In the past few years of reviewing Motorola’s smartphones, we’ve consistently noticed issues with shutter lag — not just in its budget series, but in its flagship Z series as well. We have seen a little bit of this again on the G6 and G6 Plus, and we’re going to go out on a limb and say we’ll likely see it in additional testing. As nice as the photos may come out — and the photo results did look pretty good on the Moto G6 — the experience is ruined if you have to take the same photo a few times to avoid blur.

Price and availability

The Moto G6 will set you back $250, while the G6 Play only costs $200. Both devices will be available in late spring (likely at the end of May), unlocked and at major carriers.

Overall, both the G6 and the G6 Play are solid improvements over last year’s Moto G5 series. They look much better, and feel a little more capable, but they’re not exciting. We’d like to see Motorola push the budget phone boundary even further — like when it brought IP68 water-resistance, a flagship feature, to the $450 Moto X4.

Motorola Moto G6 Compared To

Cat S61

Alcatel Idol 5

Essential Phone (PH-1)

Asus Zenfone AR

LG G6

Huawei Honor 8 Pro

HTC U Ultra

Meizu Pro 6 Plus

ASUS Zenfone 3 Deluxe Special…

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

Huawei Nexus 6P

LG V10

ZTE Blade S6

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Moto G6 vs. Moto G6 Play: Is the G6 worth the extra cash?

The Moto G series has long been hailed as one of the best ways to get an excellent phone at a decent price, and the all-new Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play seem to be no exception to that rule. The new phones boast a modern design, improved specs, and more — all at a pretty good price.

But which one is better for your situation? Is the slightly more expensive Moto G6 the one to go for, or should you stick with the slightly cheaper Moto G6 Play? We put the two phones head to head to find out.

Specs

Lenovo Moto G6
Lenovo Moto G6 Play

Size
6.06 x 2.85 x 0.33 inches (153.8 x 72.3 x 8.3 mm)
6.09 x 2.84 x 0.35 inches (154.4 x 72.2 x 9 mm)

Weight
5.9oz (167g)
6.2oz (175g)

Screen size
5.7 inches
5.7 inches

Screen resolution
2160 x 1080 pixels
1440 x 720 pixels

Operating system
Android 8.0 Oreo
Android 8.0 Oreo

Storage space
32/64GB
16/32GB

MicroSD Card Slot
Yes
Yes

Tap-to-pay services
No
No

Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 450
Qualcomm Snapdragon 427

RAM
3/4GB
2/3GB

Camera
Dual rear 12MP and 5MP, front 8MP
Rear 13MP, front 8MP

Video
1080p at 60 fps
1080p at 30 fps

Bluetooth version
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth 4.2

Ports
USB-C, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Micro USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack

Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes

Water resistance
No
No

Battery
3,000mAh
4,000mAh

App marketplace
Google Play
Google Play

Network support
All major carriers
All major carriers

Colors
Black, Deep Indigo
Black, Deep Indigo

Price
$249
$199

Buy from
Motorola
Motorola

Review score
Hands-on
Hands-on

Performance, battery life, and charging

Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends

Both the Moto G6 and the Moto G6 Play feature decent specs for the price, but one of them is clearly more powerful than the other. While the Moto G6 Play features a Snapdragon 427 processor coupled with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM, depending on the region, the standard Moto G6 steps things up a little to a Snapdragon 450 processor coupled with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM. Safe to say, if you’re looking for performance then the standard Moto G6 is the device to go for here.

While the standard Moto G6 will likely be the better performer, the G6 Play may be the better option for battery life. The Moto G6 comes with a very respectable 3,000mAh battery, but the G6 Play steps things up to a 4,000mAh battery. With a lower-resolution display, that should translate into a much longer battery life.

The standard Moto G6 may feature a smaller battery, but it will charge faster. The device features 15W TurboPower Charging, which should charge quicker than the Moto G6 Play’s 10W Fast Charging.

Winner: Moto G6

Design and durability

Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends

The Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play feature similar designs, but they’re not totally the same. On the front, both offer a 5.7-inch display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. While the standard Moto G6 offers a fingerprint sensor and home button under that display, the Moto G6 Play instead moves its fingerprint sensor to the back of the phone. Both phones come in Black or Deep Indigo colors.

Unfortunately, neither of these phones are water resistant, though they do offer a so-called “water repellent coating.” That should help for things like a bit of rain, but don’t drop the phones in the pool or bath — they may not make it out alive. They should fare similarly in drops — both phones feature glass backs, which Lenovo says helps make the phones cheaper.

These phones are extremely similar when it comes to design and durability.

Winner: Tie

Display

Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends

Both of the phones feature a 5.7-inch display with an aspect ratio of 18:9, and they’re both LCD displays. The display on the standard Moto G6, however, offers a much higher resolution. The phone’s resolution comes in at 2160 x 1080 pixels, with a pixel density of around 424. The Moto G6 Play, on the other hand, features a display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels, which equates to a pixel density of 282.

The resolution is the only way in which these displays differ, so it’s clear that the display on the Moto G6 is quite a bit better.

Winner: Moto G6

Camera

Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends

One of the biggest points of difference between these two phones is the camera. While the Moto G6 Play features a single-lens camera, the Moto G6 steps things up to a dual-sensor camera.

Let’s start with the Moto G6. As mentioned, it offers a dual-sensor camera, with the primary sensor sitting in at 12 megapixels, and the secondary sensor coming in at 5 megapixels. The camera features an aperture of f/1.8, which should help make for slightly better low-light shots than the the Moto G6 Play. The front-facing camera comes in at 8 megapixels.

The camera on the Moto G6 also offers some cool extra features, like a portrait mode, object recognition, face filters, and more.

Speaking of the Moto G6 Play, it offers a single-lens main camera that comes in at 13 megapixels with an aperture of f/2.0, while the front-facing camera comes in at 5 megapixels. The Moto G6 Play doesn’t match all the same features as the standard Moto G6, but it still boasts things like face filters, and it has phase detection autofocus.

We’ll have to wait and see just how those stats translate into photos and video in the real world, but the Moto G6 looks a lot better on paper.

Winner: Moto G6

Software and updates

Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends

While there was once a time when Motorola could be considered among the best companies in terms of software updates, that seems to be changing. Thankfully, the Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play will get updated — unlike the new Moto E — but Motorola says they’ll only get one or two updates. In other words, the phones ship with Android 8.0 Oreo, and they should eventually make it to Android P, but there isn’t much of a guarantee that you’ll get any updates beyond that.

Generally speaking, Motorola sticks with a relatively stock version of Android, though it adds a few features that some might find useful. For example, the standard Moto G6 features one-button navigation, which means you can use gestures on the home button to control the phone. There’s no real difference between these phones in the software department.

Winner: Tie

Special features

In terms of special features, the two phones are pretty similar. They do offer some nice features, though — such as Moto Actions, which allow you to access different apps through gestures. For example, you can access the camera by double twisting your wrist. They also offer Moto Voice, which uses “Show Me” as the trigger word. For example, you can say “show me Chrome” to open Google Chrome, or “show me the weather” to see the weather.

Still, features like this aren’t specific to one of the phones — so this one’s another tie.

Winner: Tie

Price

The Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play are both inexpensive phones, but they come at a slightly different cost. The standard Moto G6 comes in at $250, while the Moto G6 Play costs a slightly cheaper $200.

Both of the phones will be available for purchase starting in Spring.

Winner: Moto G6 Play

Overall winner: Moto G6

No surprise here — the Moto G6 is simply a better device. But, it’s also a little more expensive. If you don’t care about the extras, then it may be worth simply sticking with the Moto G6 Play and saving $50. But if you have the extra money to spare, we recommend going for the more powerful Moto G6 — it’s faster, has a much sharper display, and boasts a more versatile camera.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Moto G6 and G6 Play hands-on review
• Here’s everything you need to know about the Moto G6 and G6 Plus
• Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play hands-on review
• Motorola’s Moto E5 Plus, E5 Play are solid budget phones that won’t get Android P
• Nokia 6 (2018) vs. Lenovo Moto G5S Plus: Can Nokia take out the budget champion?

Take Netflix’s video previews on the go in a mobile-friendly format

In late 2016, Netflix rolled out video previews to its app for TVs and streaming boxes, after testing them for a large part of the year with a smaller group of users. Some users weren’t happy about it at first, but Netflix’s own research showed that it meant viewers spent less time browsing and more time watching. Today the company announced in a blog post that video previews are finally rolling out to its mobile apps.

Initially, the previews are only available on the Netflix iOS app, though the company says previews will be coming to its Android app soon. The bite-sized previews are usually trailers, and are always about 30 seconds in length, so you don’t need to worry about committing for too long. The videos even display vertically, so you don’t need to rotate your phone every time you want to take a quick look at a preview.

The previews are shown one at a time in a slideshow-style format. If the preview happens to be for something you like, you can tap to easily add it to your list, while if it turns out that the show or movie isn’t for you, a quick swipe will have you on your way to the next preview. These previews are optimized for mobile devices, so they should play quickly, even if you aren’t on Wi-Fi.

Like other forms of Netflix recommendations, previews are personalized based on what you watch and what you’ve rated. This means that you shouldn’t end up wasting a lot of time watching previews that probably never would have interested you in the first place. Overall, this seems like something Netflix should have done a long time ago, since it lets you choose something to watch before you even make it to your TV.

This should make finding some time to watch on Netflix easier than ever, unless someone has inadvertently messed with your recommendations, but fortunately there’s an easy fix for that. If you’d still rather have a more personal touch when it comes to finding what to watch, be sure to check our list of the best movies and best TV shows you can watch on Netflix.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Google’s Play Movies and TV app tells you where to stream your shows
• Sling TV’s Roku app gets a major upgrade, with other platforms to follow soon
• These apps will help you make the most out of your Apple TV
• Looking to cut cable? Here’s everything you need to know about Pluto TV
• ‘Atlanta’ season 2 preview

Gaming-focused Red Magic Phone offers monstrous specs for just $400

The Razer Phone needs to watch its back, because it’s no longer the only gaming-focused smartphone on the market. Red Magic — the gaming arm of ZTE-owned Nubia — has taken the wraps off its first phone: the Red Magic Phone. If you’re an avid mobile gamer and your current phone just isn’t cutting the mustard, then you’ve suddenly got more than choice for your next upgrade. Here’s everything we know about the Red Magic Phone.

Design

The Red Magic Phone is the smartphone equivalent of the mullet — business in front, party in the back.

The front of the phone is dominated by the 5.99-inch IPS LCD display running a 2160 x 1080, 18:9 resolution. You’ll find slim bezels around the edges and a minimal forehead and chin at the top and bottom of the black anodized aluminum frame. The front-facing selfie camera is situated at the top of the phone, right where you’d expect it to be. So far, so good.

Then you flip the phone over and everything goes completely crazy. The back of the phone steadily rises toward the center, sloping upwards from the edges into a prism shape. According to Red Magic, the Red Magic Phone went through hundreds of design iterations, with special attention going towards making the phone ergonomically comfortable during long-play sessions. It’s certainly a unique shape and look, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it to tell you how it feels.

The weird back panel isn’t even the best part — instead, one of the phone’s wow factors waits at the top of the raised ridge. Gamer culture is apparently obsessed with RGB lighting, and that’s why you’ll find an RGB strip extending along the phone’s back, running below the fingerprint sensor and camera lens. This strip can output 16 million different colors, and comes with four different lighting modes so users can customize their phone’s look.

You’ll also find four speakers on the back, highlighted in red. These speakers use smart amplification technology and an inbuilt DAC to provide an extensive soundstage. The Dolby-enhanced speakers on the Razer Phone were one of that phone’s highlights, and we’ll have to see how this phone compares.

There’s a USB-C port at the bottom of the phone, and a headphone jack at the top. You’ll find the power button below the volume rocker, and above both is the Red Magic Phone’s dedicated GameBoost button — which, when flipped, will divert more of the phone’s resources to whichever game is active, reducing loading times and enhancing visual fidelity and frame rate.

Specifications

Red Magic Phone Specs

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

Memory: 8GB

Storage: 128GB

MicroSD storage: No

Display size: 5.99-inch IPS LCD

Resolution: 2160 x 1080

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0

Battery: 3,800mAh

Size: 158.1 x 74.9 x 9.5 mm

Weight: 185 grams

Operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo

You’d be right to expect a gaming-focused smartphone to have strong specifications, and that’s what the Red Magic Phone delivers. The phone is packed with 8GB of RAM to make sure it’s able to handle a bunch of demanding tasks, as well as 128GB of onboard storage for loads of games. Unfortunately there’s no MicroSD storage, so that’s your lot — but 128GB is still a lot of memory. The phone has dual-SIM support too, for the jet-hopping mobile gamers out there.

The CPU is perhaps the one area that the Red Magic Phone could let us down — it’s packing last generation’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. While the Snapdragon 835 is still a powerful chip, we’re living in a post-Snapdragon 845 world, and it’s weird to see a phone that sells itself on high gaming capabilities not show up with the latest hardware. Red Magic claims to have tailored its hardware’s output to reduce power consumption by 40-percent. There’s no need to worry about overheating either, as Red Magic has equipped its phone with an air convection cooling system that takes heat away from the phone using a series of heat-conductive materials and multiple layers of graphite.

Finally, the phone is also rocking a huge 3,800mAh battery that Red Magic claims can last for up seven hours of Arena of Valor gameplay.

Camera

The Red Magic Phone sports a single 24-megapixel lens on the back of the phone, with an aperture of f/1.7 and EIS. The camera also comes equipped with Nubia’s NeoVision 7.0 Imaging Engine, a software package that adds a bunch of extra features. This seems like a decent little snapper, but with the focus of the phone on gaming performance, don’t be surprised if the camera turns out to be one of the weaker parts of the phone. Still, we look forward to testing it out.

You’ll find an 8MP selfie-shooter around the front of the phone, and the phone is also able to record at 4K at 30 frames per second, as well as 120 fps slow motion video at 720p.

Software

The Red Magic Phone will ship with Android 8.1 Oreo, without a manufacturer skin. We like stock Android, and a bare-bones version of the operating system makes sense on a phone so enamored with performance.

However, Red Magic is a part of Nubia, which is a part of ZTE — which was recently banned from buying U.S. technology for seven years. Those legal issues could make using Android a bit trickier, and could spell trouble for the phone down the line. We’ll keep you updated here if anything changes.

Release date and pricing

The Red Magic Phone will be available worldwide as part of an IndieGoGo campaign launching April 26. Early adopters will be able to snag the phone for a reduced price of $399, and while we don’t know what the price will be after the deal expires, $400 is a steal for these specs. It’s currently unknown what the release date of the Red Magic Phone will be, but we expect to find out more on April 26. As always, be aware of the pitfalls of crowdfunding.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The Razer Phone, with its Snapdragon 835 and 8GB of RAM, is finally here
• Razer’s Project Linda could arrive alongside the Razer Phone 2 this September
• Razer Phone review
• The best cheap phones you can buy
• Xiaomi unveils the near bezel-free Mi Mix 2S with dual camera