Crown is a new dating app that looks a lot like your March Madness bracket

These days, if you’re hating the player but loving the game, there’s a new dating app that may just be your dream come true — or come to think of it, your worst nightmare. That’s because this app gamifies the entire process of online dating (though some might just say that it’s calling a spade a spade). Meet Crown, the latest dating app from Match Group, otherwise known as the parent company of Match, Tinder, and OkCupid. Rather than giving you a never ending roster of potential mates to pick from, Crown gives you a curated list that you then eliminate, tournament-style on a daily basis. Think of it as an even faster version of The Bachelor(ette) meets your March Madness bracket.

At noon each day, users will see 16 matches that have been selected for you by some proprietary algorithm. You’ll make your way through these matches by seeing two folks at a time, and “crowning” a winner. You’ll keep going through this process until you’re down to just four potential matches — aka the “Final Four.”

Those individuals will then be notified of your interest, and can elect to send you a message, or to pass. Of course, you’ll also likely be one of the Final Four for other users, which gives you more opportunity to interact with other potential matches.

As Andy Chen, Vice President of Match Group explains, Crown’s process of elimination “helps users choose between quality over quantity.” Indeed, if you’re a “match” on Crown, it probably indicates a higher level of at least physical attraction (to a photo) than a match on Tinder — after all, on Tinder, you’re not being directly compared to another person. Still, you’re still being judged exclusively on the photos that you choose to share, so it’s not as though Crown is making more meaningful matches than any of the other dating apps on the market.

While Crown has been in a limited beta for the last few months, it has recently made its official debut in Los Angeles, and more cities are said to be coming soon. As it stands, the app is free but only available on iOS. Android users, however, should soon be getting their own version, too.

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Amazon, Microsoft, Uber donate to oppose the California Consumer Privacy Act

Amazon, Microsoft, and Uber have made large contributions to a group attempting to prevent a privacy act from becoming law in California. As per state disclosure records, the three tech giants join a number of other well-known companies, including Facebook, Google, AT&T, and Verizon, which are all working against the proposed California Consumer Privacy Act by donating to the Committee to Protect California Jobs.

The proposed legislation would require companies to share the sorts of data they collect on their users, including how they target ads, and would force these firms to give users the option of opting out of having their information sold to the highest bidder. Obviously, this wouldn’t bode well for many tech companies’ revenue streams, and as a result, they’re spending a lot to ensure that it doesn’t come to pass.

Amazon and Microsoft recently donated $195,000 each to the Committee, while Uber has offered up $50,000. Facebook, Google, AT&T, and Verizon, on the other hand, have all contributed $200,000,  though after  Mark Zuckerberg faced tough questions from Congress about Facebook’s privacy practices, Facebook has pledged to withdraw support from the group.

A spokesperson for the tech-friendly group called the privacy act “flawed,” and pointed out that while tech giants are opposed to the legislation, they’re not the only ones. “Credit unions, grocers, and car manufacturers are among the many recent additions to the coalition and are the top of the iceberg,” spokesperson Steven Maviglio noted. He added that the “workability” of the proposal is also problematic, saying, “Anyone who orders anything from Amazon can request where their information went, and that can not only overwhelm a large company like Amazon but also smaller ones too.”

So what exactly are the big tech companies’ reservations about the act? An Amazon representative told The Verge, “While we share the initiative’s overarching goal of protecting consumer privacy, we are concerned by unworkable requirements that would hinder our ability to innovate on behalf of our customers.”

Microsoft echoed these sentiments in a statement of its own, writing, “We believe the California measure could have unintended consequences for both businesses and consumers and that there is a better way to give consumers the privacy rights they deserve.”

But regardless of efforts against the legislation, the Californians for Consumer Privacy Act has already collected the requisite number of signatures needed to appear on the November ballot. That doesn’t mean that it’ll be signed into law, but that it’ll at least be up for greater debate. And given the money already pouring into at least one side of the fight, we’re sure that there’s plenty of drama yet to come in the privacy fight.

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Want a VPN for life? Get Ivacy for only $40!

We all value our privacy, and when have so much of our lives online, that privacy and security is paramount. It’s far too often that people are the victims of identity theft, doxing, and worse, so having a quality VPN to protect the anonymity of your online browsing habits is a great idea.

Ivacy VPN is a highly reviewed service that offers person-to-person file sharing at blazing fast speeds, while completely protecting your identity, and right now you can get a lifetime subscription for only $39.99. With a regular retail price of $1,194, you save 96% through Android Central Digital Offers. The other wonderful benefit of a VPN is the ability to stream tens of thousands of movies, TV shows, sports events, and more from around the world. Having a quality VPN can help you completely bypass geo-restrictions, so you can get to the content you want now. You’ll even get a dedicated VPN add-on for Kodi.

Ivacy VPN lets you connect to more than 450 servers in over 100 locations around the world, and its an official partner of the National Cyber Security Alliance, helping to promote privacy education and awareness. If you’re worried about the state of net neutrality and your internet speeds going forward, Ivacy VPN can help you overcome throttling and port blocking.

No more region-blocking the content you want to see; no more hacking, spyware, or government surveillance; no more worry that your privacy is at stake. Check out Ivacy VPN at Android Central Digital Offers and get a lifetime subscription for only $39.99.

See at Android Central Digital Offers

Grab a Black & Decker string trimmer and sweeper together for $61

Better together.

This Black & Decker LCC221 String Trimmer and Edger Plus Sweeper combo is down to $60.99 on Amazon. It normally sells for around $75. While we’ve seen this bundle go as low as $70 in the past, it has never gone as low as today’s sale. The string trimmer by itself is usually $59.

The bundle includes a string trimmer, which has an automatic feed spool, and a sweeper that’s perfect for clearing decks, driveways, and sidewalks. They are both lightweight and battery powered, and the combo comes with one 20V Max battery. Users give it 3.9 stars based on 271 reviews.

If you’re buying this trimmer brand new, you probably won’t need a replacement spool right away, but it never hurts to have some just in case. You can get a 3-pack on Amazon for just $19.80.

See on Amazon

Best Chromebook for Students in 2018

• Best overall
• Best for younger students
• Best on a budget

Best overall

Lenovo Chromebook 500e

See at Lenovo

A student needs a laptop that is reliable, affordable and robust. The Lenovo Chromebook 500e is all that and more. The Chromebook 500e was designed for students to carry back and forth to class without worry because of its rugged build. Features like a 360-degree hinge and excellent pen support make it the best Chromebook for any student. This is a deal at around $300.

The bottom line: The Chromebook 500e is great for any student. Chrome and Android app support, an excellent keyboard and screen optimized for pen input make it our best pick overall for students.

One more thing: Lenovo makes a 100e and 300e, both of which offer nearly as much for a little bit less money.

Why the Lenovo Chromebook 500e is the best

The Chromebook 500e was designed to go through life with you and survive it all. It’s built like a tank with a reinforced shell and rubber bumpers that make it MIL-STD 810G compliant so it’s going to survive banging around in a backpack or messenger bag and be ready to get to work when it needs to be. Lenovo’s long history of making excellent laptops shines through with the keyboard and trackpad and the display is specially bonded to work excellent with the built-in Wacom EMR pen.

Inside, you have plenty of power to get things done with an Intel processor and ample 64GB or storage. And Android app support is an added bonus that means a student will be able to find the app they need to be productive in class.

The Chromebook 500e is designed for educational use but still has the options we want to see in our best pick. It’s exactly what a busy student needs.

Best for younger students

Acer Chromebook Tab

See at CDW

Younger students can benefit from using a tablet. It’s light and easy to hold, is great for more interaction with learning materials, and helps young students learn spelling and grammar by being more hands-on. While many Chromebooks can fold into a tablet, the Chromebook Tab 10 is a tablet.

It has the same features you would find in any suitable Chromebook: Android app support, Wacom pen support, a quad-core CPU and 32 GB of storage and an excellent 2048×1536 display. Grab it for just under $340.

Bottom line: If you are shopping for a younger student or anyone who might prefer a tablet experience, the Chromebook Tab 10 is the right way to go.

One more thing: Because this is a tablet, you’re going to want a great Bluetooth keyboard, and the Logitech K480 is our recommendation.

Best on a budget

2018 Acer Chromebook 11

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Acer’s new Chromebook 11 is an affordable and dependable Chromebook that has no aspirations to be anything else. The beautiful blue body doesn’t flip over into a tablet, there is no touch display or pen input — it’s a Chromebook. A darn good one, especially when you consider that it retails for $269 and has the same Intel CPU and 32 GB of storage you’ll see in more expensive models.

The bottom line: If you want a Chromebook for a student and have placed yourself on a budget, you’re in luck. Acer’s Chromebook 11 has you covered.

One more thing: There are so many Android apps that make your Chromebook experience even better.

Conclusion

There are plenty of great Chromebooks for students right now, but the Lenovo Chromebook 500e finds the right balance between productivity and style. If you want something a bit more budget-minded, the Acer Chromebook 11 is a great Chromebook that retails well under $300. And for the youngster who is just starting out, the Acer Chromebook Tab 10 is a perfect way to start learning how to learn as only a tablet can.

Best overall

Lenovo Chromebook 500e

See at Lenovo

A student needs a laptop that is reliable, affordable and robust. The Lenovo Chromebook 500e is all that and more. The Chromebook 500e was designed for students to carry back and forth to class without worry because of its rugged build. Features like a 360-degree hinge and excellent pen support make it the best Chromebook for any student. This is a deal at around $300.

The bottom line: The Chromebook 500e is great for any student. Chrome and Android app support, an excellent keyboard and screen optimized for pen input make it our best pick overall for students.

One more thing: Lenovo makes a 100e and 300e, both of which offer nearly as much for a little bit less money.

Update, June 2018: The Lenovo Chromebook 500e is the best choice for a student because it’s tough and offers excellent performance

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Moto Z3 Play vs. Honor View 10: Which midrange phone should be in your pocket?

If you’re looking to find a powerful phone that doesn’t hit your wallet too hard, then it’s a safe bet you’re looking to get yourself a midrange phone. The Moto Z3 Play is Motorola‘s latest entrant into that market, and the industry veteran has revealed a phone that’s razor-thin, powerful, and has access to Motorola’s full complement of Moto Mods.

But it’s not the only phone in the market vying for your attention. Honor has a solid record with midrange phones, and the Honor View 10 is another great example of a phone that balances power, looks, and costs. But which is better for you? We took a look to find out.

Specs

Moto Z3 Play
Honor View 10

Size
156.5 x 76.5 x 6.8 mm (6.16 x 3.01 x 0.27 inches)
157 x 75 x 6.97 mm (6.18 x 2.95 x 0.28 inches)

Weight
156 grams (5.50 ounces)
172 grams (6.07 ounces)

Screen size
6.01-inch Super AMOLED display
5.99-inch IPS LCD display

Screen resolution
2,160 x 1,080 pixels (402 pixels per inch)
2,160 x 1,080 pixels (403 pixels per inch)

Operating system
Android 8.1 Oreo
EMUI 8.0 (over Android 8.0 Oreo)

Storage space
32GB, 64GB
128GB

MicroSD card slot
Yes, up to 2TB
Yes, up to 256GB

Tap-to-pay services
Google Pay
Google Pay

Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 636
HiSilicon Kirin 970

RAM
4GB
6GB

Camera
Dual 12MP and 5MP rear, 8MP front
Dual sensor 16MP & 20MP rear, 13MP front

Video
Up to 4K @ 30 frames per second, 720p @ 120 fps
Up to 4K @ 30 frames per second

Bluetooth version
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 4.2

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

Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes

Water resistance
Splash-resistant coating
No

Battery
3,000mAh

TurboPower charging

3,750mAh

App marketplace
Google Play Store
Google Play Store

Network support
Sprint, U.S. Cellular
T-Mobile, AT&T

Colors
Deep Indigo
Navy Blue, Midnight Black

Price
$500 (with battery mod)
$500

Buy from
Motorola
HiHonor

Review score
Hands-on review
4 out of 5 stars

Performance, battery life, and charging

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The Moto Z3 Play’s Snapdragon 636 is a good midrange processor, and we didn’t have any issues with performance during our initial tests on the device. It should hold up well for most people, with the exception of power users. However, it’s not going to be the equal of the View 10’s flagship-level Kirin 970, which will deliver tons more power and similarly fantastic performance. While both phones are fast and smooth, the Honor View 10 is simply more powerful.

It’s a tougher call to make in terms of battery. The Z3 Play comes with a 3,000mAh battery, but the battery mod adds another 2,200mAh, so it’s capable of two days’ worth of battery life, much like the Z2 Play. The View 10 is equipped with a 3,750mAh monster, and it’s possible to get it to last for two days — though the Z3 Play will have an easier time reaching that goal. There’s similarly fast charging on both devices, with Motorola promising a day’s worth of power in half an hour, and Honor promising a 50 percent charge in 30 minutes — roughly the same.

It’s a tough call to make here, and though the Z3 Play edges out the Honor View 10 in terms of battery life, the View 10’s powerful processor takes the day.

Winner: Honor View 10

Design and durability

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Despite all its power, the Honor View 10 is something of a “plain Jane”. The metal body has a matte finish, and something of a minimalist design, but it’s lacking in any real character, especially when compared to other Honor phones. On the other hand, the Moto Z3 Play has a real Motorola-style design, and between the two, we think most people will find the Z3 Play to be more attractive.

There are significant camera bumps on both of these phones, and the Z3 Play’s is positioned so that the phone rocks when laid on its back. Not great. The View 10 is the only of these two phones to come with a headphone jack, and though the Z3 Play comes with an adapter, the lack of the port may be worth keeping in mind if you like your wired headphones.

You’ll want a case for both these phones, due to the slippery nature of the View 10 and the fragile glass on the Z3 Play. There’s no real water-resistance on these phones either, though the Z3 Play does boast a “water-resistant coating”.

For two phones with highly differing designs, these two have a lot in common — and though the Z3 Play is the better-looking of the two, we’re partial to the View 10’s minimalist design and headphone jack. This is a tie.

Winner: Tie

Display

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Both phones are running 2,160 x 1,080-pixel resolutions on 6-inch displays with 18:9 aspect ratios, and it’s just the actual screen tech that differentiates the two. The View 10’s display is an IPS LCD, and it’s bright and colorful enough — but it’s just not capable of beating the Super AMOLED display on the Z3 Play. While the View 10 has a good-looking screen, it just can’t match the deep blacks and rich colors that the Z3 Play’s AMOLED screen is capable of. This one’s clear.

Winner: Moto Z3 Play

Camera

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Moto Z3 Play is packing a 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel lens around the back, and an 8-megapixel selfie lens on the front. The camera has always been something of a weak point in Motorola’s past midtier offerings, but the addition of an extra lens means that the Z3 Play is offering a pretty capable main camera. We haven’t had a chance to test it fully, but it has performed well in our initial tests, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it holds up in other circumstances.

We’re not sure it’ll be able to beat the Honor View 1,0 though. You’ll find 16-megapixel and 20-megapixel lenses on the back of the View 10, accompanied by a 13-megapixel selfie shooter around the front. Simply put, the View 10 takes great photos. The Kirin 970 helps out here too, and there’s a specific part of the processor dedicated to A.I. assistance that selects options based on your subject. We’re still not sure how big of an impact it has, but it doesn’t change the fact the View 10 is an excellent all-around performer.

The video capabilities of each phone are similar, and you’ll be able to capture footage in 4K regardless of the phone you pick. The Moto Z3 Play has slow-motion capabilities too, but we’re not letting that weigh too heavily on the outcome. The Honor View 10’s camera is likely to be the stronger performer.

Winner: Honor View 10

Software and updates

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

You’ll find Android Oreo on both of these devices, but you might not realize it. The Z3 Play runs Android 8.1 Oreo, and it’s mostly stock Android, with a few Motorola additions. In terms of updates, Motorola has promised that the Z3 Play will receive at least two major Android updates — so that’s Android P and Android Q. You may have to wait for it, though — the Moto G5S Plus is still waiting for its upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo.

The Honor View 10 is different. It’s still running Android 8.0 Oreo, but with Huawei’s Emotion UI (EMUI) laid over the top. EMUI has improved a lot, and the look isn’t as divisive as it once was — but it still divides opinion. If you’re a fan of stock Android, EMUI might come as something of a shock. In terms of updates, Honor hasn’t dedicated itself to any number of Android updates, and it’s not much faster than Motorola when it comes to update schedules — but it has succeeded in updating the last generation of phones.

There’s a lot to differentiate the two phones here, but it’s tough to pick a winner. While the Z3 Play wins points for stock Android, Motorola’s update speed is too slow compared to Honor. This is another tie.

Winner: Tie

Special features

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Despite running stock Android, Motorola has crammed some great special features into the Moto Z3 Play. First is the new navigation bar, which uses directional swipes to perform actions, similar to the planned navigation method in Android P. There’s also the usual suite of Motorola apps, including Moto Actions to access certain apps and Moto Voice to trigger device-specific actions, and the integration of Google Assistant and Google Lens into the camera app. Lest we forget — the Z3 Play also has support for the entire range of Moto Mods, which can boost the speaker, revamp the camera, or just boost battery life.

The View 10 has similar Google Assistant functionality built in, but the star for Honor’s phone is the Kirin 970’s NPU processing unit, which handles on-device A.I. it’s not something you’ll be able to point to much though, as it generally speeds up tasks in the background, processing images faster, running Microsoft’s Translator app, and handling the A.I. functions in the camera app.

The Moto Z3 Play runs away with this, thanks to the strength of its Moto Mod offerings.

Winner: Moto Z3 Play

Price

The Moto Z3 Play is making its way to U.S. Cellular and Sprint in the summer, and it’ll cost $500 — though that price also includes a battery mod. The Honor View 10 is currently available for $500 too, and it will only work with T-Mobile and AT&T, thanks to a lack of CDMA network support.

Overall winner: Honor View 10

It’s a tough battle, and both phones have a lot going for them. If you’re really into the idea of the Moto Mods, then the Moto Z3 Play is a great choice for you. However, if you value a solid camera and high performance, then the Honor View 10 wins every time. It’s not perfect — the display isn’t as nice as the Z3 Play’s and the design is lacking — but it’s a fantastic phone that will serve you well.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Moto Z3 Play: Everything you need to know about Motorola’s modular phone
• Moto Z3 Play vs. Moto Z2 Play vs. Moto Z Play: Should you upgrade?
• Moto Z3 Play vs. OnePlus 6: Can Motorola’s latest beat our midrange pick?
• Play nice and play safe with the best Moto Z3 Play cases
• Moto Z3 Play hands-on review

Visiting China is a great way to realize just how much you rely on Google

The moment your plane lands, your phone just became a whole lot less useful.

It took me a few moments to realize what was happening. Landing in Shanghai after a 12-hour Air Canada flight, you could forgive me for being a little groggy when I walked into the terminal, hopped on the free Wi-Fi and said “hmm, my connection isn’t working.” Even though I could load androidcentral.com, nothing else on my phone worked. Gmail wouldn’t sync. Hangouts messages to family members saying I had landed were stuck sending. Google Now wouldn’t refresh to show my current location and weather. The Play Store wouldn’t let me update apps.

It’s telling that the first half-dozen apps I tried to use after landing were all from Google.

The connection speed was fine — it just so happened that the first half-dozen apps I wanted to check immediately upon entering the terminal were Google apps, and they don’t work at all in China. After pulling my brain back together from the long flight, I was obviously aware of the situation. Google services, of course, aren’t available in China — alongside countless other popular services including Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox and WhatsApp.

There are plenty of ways to get around the so-called “Great Firewall” and start using the Google services, but that isn’t what this was about. It was more the immediate surprise of realizing just how reliant I am on Google services — and it took mere minutes of being on a Chinese internet connection to realize it.

The issue is particularly pronounced when you visit the country using a Google Pixel phone. My only browser is Google Chrome, only mail app is Gmail, only photo app is Photos … Google Now is built into the home screen, and Google Assistant is waiting behind the home button. Except, none of it works. Even using voice dictation in Gboard, as I so casually do for dictating several sentences at a time into messaging apps, simply times out and fails because it relies on Google’s cloud.

When you use a Google-branded phone, it’s easy to forget how reliant you are on its services.

When you have a Google-branded phone and make ample use of a dozen different Google apps and services every single day, you sort of forget just how simple and seamless it all is — that is until none of it works, and you’re left scrambling to figure out what alternatives you’d have to use. And because I’ve lived in the Google ecosystem for so long, now embedded so deeply, I don’t actually have an idea of what the best alternatives are. If you look at it a level deeper, installing a new app doesn’t even fix this problem of an over-reliance on Google — installing another email app still won’t give me access to my Gmail account; another calendar app won’t sync my Google Calendar; there’s no third-party app to handle my Google Docs files.

Ironically it’s Google’s own mobile carrier, Project Fi, that provided me with the only way to reliably access all of my Google apps and services with its roaming LTE data (a common strategy for travelers).

This isn’t going to make you switch from Google — but you should keep your eyes open to alternatives.

But even on roaming data, where the Google services are ostensibly not blocked, they’re more of a hassle to use. Services that are designed to lean heavily on Wi-Fi, like Google Photos, YouTube, Google Play Music and Google Drive, become far more burdensome to manage when you’re using them purely over mobile data. What typically feels like a smooth and consistent experience, having data backed up or cached in the background when you’re on Wi-Fi, all becomes far less magical when it’s purely done over LTE. Things don’t just “happen” without your input anymore — sync intervals increase, data isn’t backed up or synced automatically, and apps that require live data streams slow down.

Is being this reliant on Google in itself a bad thing? Unless you plan on visiting China on a regular basis, probably not. Google makes fantastic apps that work extremely well and, for the most part, are completely free. And I’ll keep using them because of that. Returning from my trip today I’m not particularly likely to kick Google Photos, YouTube or Gmail to the curb just because I had a hassle using them in China for the better part of a week.

But what this experience does make me consider is checking out the alternative apps and services the next time one comes around, or Google makes a shift of strategy on one of its core apps. Using a bunch of Google apps on a daily basis is fine, but keeping your eyes closed to the alternatives other parts of the world have to offer isn’t a good idea — it just took a few days in China to remind me of that fact.

Samsung’s T5 500GB portable SSD is down to an all new low price of $130

Great price.

The Samsung T5 500GB portable solid state drive is down to $129.99 on Amazon for the first time. This price is an all new low for the T5 and beats the previous low by $20. This deal is even better than last year’s holiday shopping season.

The 250GB version of this SSD also dropped in price recently. It’s down to $99.99 from $120.

The Samsung T5 has gotten quite a few great critical reviews in a short amount of time, including an Editor’s Choice and 4 stars from PC Mag, 4.5 stars from Tech Radar, and a review from Forbes that said it “offers a great sweet spot in terms of size, performance and price.” Amazon users give it 4.7 stars based on 539 reviews. Samsung backs it up with a three-year warranty, as well.

See on Amazon

Dell XPS 15 9560 review

Research Center:

Dell XPS 15 9560

The Dell XPS 15 is the larger version of the Dell XPS 13, one of our favorite laptops of the last few years. Set them side-by-side, and you can see that Dell didn’t want to mess with a good thing. With the XPS 15 2-in-1 now in the lineup, is the more traditional XPS 15 still worth the purchase? We think so — especially with the update to 8th-gen processors currently available.

Premium is an understatement

Shrouded in a thin plastic sleeve, the XPS 15 rests inside its soft black box, waiting. From the moment you lift the lid off of that box, it’s clear that this laptop is different. The chassis is clad in matte burnished aluminum, inset with a glossy black Dell logo. The seams are soft-touch plastic, and the interior is lined with carbon fiber.

To be clear, that’s real, actual carbon fiber, not just a textured sticker underneath some transparent plastic. You’ll find none of that nonsense here, as the Dell XPS 15 doesn’t compromise on build quality. Every corner, every facet of this laptop feels high quality and robust. From the materials to the layout, there’s not much to complain about. The XPS 15 isn’t just well-designed. It’s well-engineered.

Just enough connectivity

The XPS 15 features an adequate, if not overwhelming, number of ports with an appreciable amount of variety. There are two USB ports, one on either side, a USB-C port, an SD card slot, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and an HDMI port. It provides just enough connectivity, even when you’re using a lot of accessories — like an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

There is, however, a notable absence, because the XPS 15’s svelte chassis — the venerable Ethernet port is nowhere to be found. So instead, you’ll have to do with investing in an Ethernet to USB or USB-C adapter, if you need faster-than-Wi-Fi internet speeds.

Compared to the XPS 13, which features the same number of ports, but minus the HDMI port, it’s an appreciated step up. You get everything the 13 offers, plus a little extra, which is a good thing if you happen to use external monitors on a regular basis.

Alternatively, you could use the included Thunderbolt 3.1/USB-C port to handle video connections if you have a compatible monitor, or an adapter handy.

Room to stretch out

Laptop keyboards are seldom as comfortable as a full-sized desktop keyboard. Even if you’re not a fan of clickety-clackety mechanical keyboards, the extra space feels luxuriant after using a laptop keyboard for a while. The XPS 15 tries to mitigate that cramped feeling by offering a bit more lateral space than its 13-inch sibling, and its appreciated.

Typing on the XPS 15, even for long periods of time, never feels tiresome. The keys have decent travel for a laptop, offering just enough depth without feeling mushy.

The XPS 15 isn’t just well-designed, it’s well-engineered.

The keyboard features a white LED backlight as standard equipment. The light leaks substantially from under the keys, and it’s not very attractive. It provides utility in the dark — when you need to search for your Function keys — but that’s about it. The light leakage tends to spoil the otherwise high-quality vibe the XPS 15 conveys.

The trackpad is nice and matte, with just enough texture to differentiate it from the soft-touch material along the interior of the laptop. It clicks nicely, and responds well to basic taps and multi-touch gestures.

Compared to the trackpads on similar laptops up and down the Dell lineup, the XPS 15 delivers an unparalleled level of accuracy and control. The Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming, for instance, opts for a cheaper trackpad and the quality gap is stark. On the business-class Dell Latitude, the trackpad feels nice, but it’s not as pleasant to use as the XPS 15 — multi-touch gestures just aren’t as quick and responsive.

The closest comparison is the MacBook Pro 13. Apple has long been the king of trackpad quality, but the Dell XPS 15 comes very close. Its trackpad is smooth, accurate, and it detects multi-touch gestures instantly. Plus, the XPS 15 still has a mechanical click, which might be a bonus for users put off by the MacBook’s simulated click using Apple’s “taptic engine.”

A crisp and nearly perfect display

Our review model of the XPS 15 features a 4K touch screen display, and at first it seemed like overkill for a laptop — particularly a laptop that isn’t primarily for gaming. But once you feast your eyes on its inky blacks and vivid, lively colors, it’s very hard to go back to a run-of-the-mill 1080p display. It certainly helps that the XPS 15 features not only tack-sharp picture quality, but outstanding color accuracy and fidelity.

The XPS 15’s display is an embarrassment of riches, so let’s start with the basics: Resolution. The 4K display panel Dell chose for this model is nothing short of superb. That lavish screen real estate lends itself well to a 15-inch display, as you have enough room for two full-sized windows side-by-side, and the immense resolution ensures that text is silky-smooth and inky.

Moving on to the numbers, the XPS 15 doesn’t just look great, it’s objectively superior to most laptop displays.

Starting with the sRGB spectrum, you can see that a good display will usually land in the 90-99 percent range. With the AdobeRGB spectrum, good displays can land anywhere from 76-80 percent, meaning they’re still incapable of rendering about 20 percent of the colors in that spectrum. The XPS 15 though, hits 99 percent, meaning it’s capable of reproducing nearly every color in the AdobeRGB spectrum without fail.

Not only that, it’s capable of reproducing those colors very accurately. The Dell XPS 13 and Apple MacBook Pro 15, both of which have fantastic displays, land on either side of the XPS 15 when it comes to color accuracy. The XPS 13 has an average color error of 2.65, which is a little too high, meaning colors will look a bit off — they’ll be noticeably different on the XPS 13’s display than they would be in real life.

On the other hand, the MacBook Pro 15 manages an average color error of 0.61, meaning its colors are nearly perfect — good enough for professional-grade color-sensitive work like photo and video editing. The XPS 15 comes in right between them with an average color error of 1.23, meaning its colors are very close to perfect.

But the sound? Flat and lifeless

Fire up Spotify or your favorite streaming app on a laptop, and you should expect your music to sound good. The same goes for games, movies, YouTube videos, and anything else you might watch on your laptop. Laptop speakers have a bad reputation for producing flat, lifeless audio, and the XPS 15 does nothing to buck that trend

The speakers on the XPS 15 aren’t the worst you’re ever likely to use on a laptop, but they crush otherwise dynamic sound by a significant degree. Everything sounds hollow, though the speakers do at least steer away from a muddy, unclear quality.

The XPS 15’s built-in speakers are fine for system alerts and the occasional YouTube video, but for anything else you’ll probably want to invest in a pair of decent headphones.

Quick and capable

Another distinct advantage the XPS 15 has over competitors is its 7th-generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor, clocked at 2.8GHz. It’s an upgrade over last year’s 6th-generation model, and it performs a bit better in everyday use but it’s not a massive leap forward. Dell also has an upcoming 8th-gen update on the way, which should bring even more processing power when it arrives.

You can see those performance gains in the comparison to the Asus ROG Strix, which features the 6th-generation version of the XPS 15’s processor, the Intel Core i7-7600HQ. The Strix scores 4,137 on single core performance, and 12,314 on multi-core performance, while the XPS 15 scores 4,594, and 13,814 respectively.

These scores are instructive for a couple reasons. First, you can see that the 7th-generation Intel processors are relatively quick on their feet. Secondly, the performance you gain moving from 6th-generation chips to 7th-generation chips isn’t a large as it has been in the past, so investing in a 7th-generation chip might not be necessary depending on your current needs.

Overall, the XPS 15’s quad-core processor is fast and capable, edging out 6th-generation i7 chips, and blowing past 6th-generation i5 chips with ease.

A sprightly hard drive

Our review unit arrived with a 512GB solid state drive connected over PCI Express. That is what we’d expect to see in a high-end laptop, and it performed admirably.

In our testing the drive beat out competitors in both read and write speeds. Among roughly similar laptops, only two we’ve tested beat the XPS 15. One is the Apple MacBook Pro, which is quite a bit more expensive, and can’t run the same benchmark (as it uses MacOS). The other is Dell’s Precision 5520, which is essentially a workstation version of the XPS 15 – and also a lot more expensive.

Even gaming is pretty alright

Just looking at the XPS 15, you’d never guess that it was a capable laptop for gaming. Black plastic, carbon fiber, aluminum, and a single-colored keyboard backlight? Without any red accents or fierce brand-names like Strix, Predator, or Razer, the humble XPS flies under the radar — and that’s a good thing. By including a solid mid-range GPU in the otherwise business-class XPS 15, Dell has created something of a hybrid, an accidental gaming laptop that eschews every “gamer laptop” design trend.

The GeForce GTX 1050 purring away under the XPS 15’s hood provides enough headroom to comfortably accommodate recent games at medium-high settings if you scale your resolution down to 1080p. Games still look great on this display, but the XPS 15 just can’t reliably handle 4K gaming.

In 3DMark, the XPS 15 outperforms its nearest competitors and performs nearly as well as entry-level gaming laptops like the Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming and Asus ROG Strix GL553VD.

In individual games, the XPS 15 fared well, but you should expect to tweak your settings to get the most out of the GTX 1050. It’s not the fastest graphics card on the market and it shows.

In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the XPS 15 managed an average of 25 frames per second at high detail settings and 1080p resolution, while the Inspiron managed 24, and the Strix managed 28. They’re all within the same margin, but for comparison, the Acer Predator 15, a laptop featuring the GTX 1060 graphics card, hit 58 FPS on high detail settings in 1080p.

The GTX 1050 is a capable graphics card, but it’s not quite up to the task when it comes to high-detail settings on very demanding games. You can increase your performance to tolerable levels by turning down shadows, or anti-aliasing though.

Despite its slim profile, the internal fans do a very good job of keeping the XPS 15 cool even while running demanding games for long periods of time. It’s surprising that the XPS 15 is a decent gaming laptop, since it’s not actually designed to be one. To take it one step further, in the recent 2018 update, Dell is offering a high-end configuration with a GTX 1050 Ti, which should gaming that much smoother.

Light, and long-lived

By filing the bezels to the bare minimums, the XPS 15 manages to maintain a very small profile despite its large overall screen size. In fact it’s smaller, though not thinner, than a MacBook Pro 15. Weighing in at just four pounds, you’ll barely even notice carrying this thing around.

Putting it in a small bag designed for 13-inch laptops, the XPS 15 still leaves you with enough room to throw in a water bottle, charger, and even another — small — laptop. It’s a refreshing change.

Battery life is good, but it might not get you through a full workday, and that’s due to the 4K display. Powering all those pixels takes a toll, and we were hard pressed to get more than five hours out of the XPS 15 in everyday mixed use. That said, most of that daily use was performed in a bright office, with the brightness turned way, way up.

On a more sensible power plan, with brightness calibrated to around 100 lux — which is a little under 50 percent brightness — battery life improved significantly. Using browser macro loop, which essentially loads up the same webpage over and over, the XPS 15 managed up to six hours of life.

Dell XPS 15 9560 Compared To

Acer Aspire E 15 (E5-576G-5762)

Asus Zenbook Pro UX550VE

HP ZBook Studio G4

Acer Aspire VX 5-591G 5652

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (2017)

Dell Precision 15 3510

LG Gram 15 Z960

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro…

Asus Zenbook UX501VW-DS71T

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (Late 2015)

Samsung ATIV Book 9 (2014)

Dell XPS 15 (2012)

Toshiba Satellite P855

HP Pavilion g6

Lenovo IdeaPad U550

Looking at its nearest competitors, you can see that the XPS 15 provides solid, if not stellar, battery life in most use cases. The video loop provided the best results, with the XPS 15 looping the same video for seven and a half hours before running out of juice. Still, it’s a bit short of what we managed to get out of the Lenovo Yoga 910, and the HP Spectre x360 15-inch, both of which managed upwards of 10 hours before falling flat.

Uninvited guests

Dell is usually good about keeping bloatware to a minimum, at least on its premium laptops. You’ll likely find a few Dell-branded utilities and registration tools on brand-new laptops, but not much else.

The XPS 15’s only uninvited guest is a trial version of McAfee Antivirus, which nags incessantly, but it’s easily removed with a simple uninstall.

Warranty information

The Dell XPS 15 is protected by a one-year limited hardware warranty, covering manufacturer defects and shipping costs — but the warranty specifies that you’ll need to provide your own box if anything goes wrong.

Our Take

The XPS 15 is a phenomenal laptop. It does have a few flaws, as the speakers aren’t great, and the battery life could be better, but overall the XPS 15 stands head-and-shoulders above the competition in nearly every way. It’s easily one of the best 15-inch Windows laptops you can buy.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes and no. There are better alternatives if you don’t really need a discrete graphics card and 4K display, two factors which contribute substantially to the XPS 15’s price tag. In which case you might be better off saving yourself some cash and investing in one of the lower-end 1080p models — or even the XPS 13.

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AmazonBasics Wireless Mouse

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Logitech M510 Wireless Mouse

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Sugru Moldable Glue

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AmazonBasics 7-inch~17.3-inch Laptop Sleeve

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There are other laptops which outperform the XPS 15 in more specialized use-cases. For instance, the Dell Precision 5520 is a much better choice for AutoCAD or other high-intensity software suites on account of its Intel Xeon processor and Nvidia Quadro GPU. But it will run you about $3,700. Dell also introduced the XPS 15 2-in-1 to the lineup in early 2018, though we prefer the XPS 15’s traditional keyboard and more accessible configuration options.

Alternatively, the Acer Predator 15 G9-593 would be a better choice for gaming, since it comes standard with an Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU, which runs circles around the XPS 15’s GTX 1050. It costs about the same as the XPS 15.

Unfortunately, though, specialized gaming or business notebooks have their own unique drawbacks. Gaming performance can kill portability in more ways than one, and the high-end components in professional laptops drive up the price considerably. With the XPS 15 you don’t have to worry about that, as it’s well-balanced without much compromise.

How long will it last?

Longer than it needs to. Seriously, this chassis is rock-solid, and it will very likely outlast its internal components. In three or four years when your CPU is showing its age, a well-tended XPS 15 will likely be just as good-looking as it was the day you bought it. This is the closest any PC manufacturer has come to Apple’s lofty build standards.

Should you buy it?

Yes. This is a solid, reliable, and attractive laptop with a reasonable price, and few drawbacks. It can handle pretty much anything you throw at it, and it looks good doing it.

Why BlackBerry dusted off a 7-year-old phone to inspire the new Key2

Blackberry Bold Jack Lenox/Flickr

When Gareth Hurn, Global Device Portfolio head at the BlackBerry Mobile division of TCL Communications, walked into a design meeting a few years ago, he took a stack of phones with him. He had one particular phone in mind to be a benchmark device for the team: The Blackberry Bold 9900.

Hurn wanted to emulate the typing experience from that device — his favorite BlackBerry phone — for the latest project being discussed. This phone would eventually become the BlackBerry Key2, showing that even from day one, it has been a true BlackBerry at heart. After all, TCL Communications licenses the BlackBerry brand name and manufactures the hardware, while the software and security is handled by BlackBerry Limited in Canada.

“We obsessively went into detail on how to make this the perfect keyboard experience.”

“We obsessively went into detail on how to make this the perfect keyboard experience,” Hurn told Digital Trends at the Key2’s launch. ”When people pick up the Key2 and start typing, the larger keys and less slippery matte finish really help introduce people to typing on a physical keyboard.”

All the while, a Key2 was in his hand, and his fingers often grazed the keys as he spoke. It’s no easy task replicating the 9900’s feel. Getting the tactility just right takes time, effort and thousands of humans and artificial key presses throughout the test period.

“There’s something about the physicality,” continued Hurn on how pleased he was with the Key2’s feel. “It’s like holding a magazine, a book, or putting on a vinyl record. It’s something physical, with a different feeling over a something digital.”

Referring back to the Bold 9900 inspiration, he said, “I love that we were able to reinvent that keyboard.”

Reinvent? Is that the right word? Definitely. It’s easy to forget that in 2011 when the Bold 9900 was in the hands of eager mobile typists, the keyboard was just a keyboard. The team couldn’t lift a Bold 9900 keyboard out of the phone and put it in the Key2. Times have changed, and there is a whole lot more tech under the keyboard than ever before. The Key2 has a complex software layer, a capacitive surface, and gesture controls.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Integrating this, and retaining the desired feel and “springiness” that Hurn so loved from the 9900, meant everything from the size and shape had to be subtly altered. Aside from the 20 percent increase in key size and redesigned frets, great attention was paid to the bevelling on the keys. One Key2 gesture lets you “flick” words from the predictive list onto the screen, and doing so requires the keys to have the right indentation and balance, making that flick fast and natural.

Get it wrong, with a bevel that’s too pronounced, and it’s not fluid enough. Hurn’s pleased with the Key2, saying it strikes the right balance between paying homage to the Bold 9900’s keyboard, and the technical necessities of the cutting-edge keyboard on the Key2.

Homage

It’s fascinating to hear how TCL Communications’ BlackBerry division continues to pay attention to BlackBerry’s past mobile endeavours, something it did with the KeyOne too, but in a different way.

“The KeyOne was more of an emphasis on something traditional,” Hurn said, noting the modernity of the Key2’s design. “On the KeyOne, we concentrated on doing something that resonated with our core audience, and the design intent was safer.”

BlackBerry didn’t disappear because people fell out of love with physical keyboards.

But the KeyOne found a larger-than-expected degree of success and attracted many other people. Hurn said 50 percent of KeyOne buyers came from other Android or iOS devices. Will the Key2, which draws perhaps even more deeply from BlackBerry’s roots, continue to appeal to more people? The keyboard is the phone’s major differentiator, outside of the desirable security and privacy features. Hurn is confident about the Key2’s wide appeal.

“With the Key2 the goal was to listen to customer feedback,” noting the reduced weight and increased performance over the KeyOne, and drawing attention to the new design which he said was influenced by the silver BlackBerry Passport, providing, “an elegance and simplicity, instead of the gloss of the KeyOne.”

More importantly, although BlackBerry’s heritage is deep inside the Key2 and directly influenced the keyboard feel, in our early use of the phone, we found it considerably more accessible to physical keyboard newcomers than the KeyOne. This is crucial, and we asked Hurn what makes the Key2 so tempting for those used to touchscreen keyboards.

Blackberry Passport Andri Koolme/Flickr

“We use a laptop to type anything of substance, not a tablet,” he said, explaining that on a laptop, “I know what keys I’ve pressed, it’s accurate, and the display is entirely focused on the content and not overtaken by a virtual keyboard.”

Hurn believes, “it’s not such a leap,” to go from the no compromise approach of a laptop to the Key2, thus avoiding the pitfalls of typing on glass. But surely, phones with physical keyboards are dead, right? BlackBerry didn’t disappear because people fell out of love with physical keyboards. Instead, Hurn said the maker wound up in trouble because the operating system didn’t have apps that people wanted to use.

The Key2 may pay homage to its forebears, but it’s definitely a thoroughly modern smartphone everywhere else.

That’s all changed with the Key2. It runs Android 8.0 Oreo, and therefore has all the apps you could want. It also has a keyboard that pulls in the feel from an incredibly successful BlackBerry device from the firm’s past peak, and then adds a innovative software and gesture layer over the top. The Key2 may pay homage to its forebears, but it’s definitely a thoroughly modern smartphone everywhere else.

The Key2 goes on sale at the end of June, and while we’ve already spent some time with the device, our full review will come soon.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Swapping an iPhone for a BlackBerry made me appreciate the physical keyboard
• BlackBerry Key2 vs. BlackBerry KeyOne: A stunning successor
• BlackBerry wants you to do its advertising by joining its fan league
• BlackBerry Key2 hands-on review
• Blackberry Key2 vs. Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus: Is it a contender?