How to Use Quick Look in macOS Mojave

In previous versions of macOS, the Quick Look feature lets you view photos and files without having to open them in an app. In macOS Mojave, Apple has also introduced some convenient new editing tools to Quick Look, allowing you to perform actions specific to the kind of file you’re viewing. Let’s take a look at how it all fits together.

How Quick Look Works

For those unfamiliar with Quick Look, the feature can be used for items on the Desktop, in Finder windows, in emails, in messages, and other places. It supports numerous file types, including HTML, PDF, Plain text, RTF, iWork, MS Office, RAW, JPEGs, and QuickTime formats. To activate it, simply select one or more items, then press the Spacebar or force-click using your Mac’s trackpad.

In the top left of the Quick Look window you’ll find the Maximize button next to the Close button. (You can also manually enlarge the window by dragging the corners.) Open with [App] and Share buttons are located in the top-right corner of the Quick Look window, along with a Rotate Left button if you’re working with images or video.

As before, if you select multiple items, you’ll see arrow buttons to navigate through them, as well as a Sheet View button to see the items in an index sheet view. If you opened a document such as a PDF, you’ll see a column of thumbnails along the side of the window for quickly navigating through the pages.

What’s New in Quick Look

New to Quick Look in Mojave is the ability to access Markup tools. Simply click the Markup button to reveal the toolset.

Quick Look lets you draw on and annotate images or PDF documents using arrows, shapes, and text. You can also use Markup to quickly sign a document with your digital signature. Click Done, and your changes are automatically saved.

If you’re viewing a video file, Quick Look you’ll see a new Trim button that allows you to trim the clip without having to open QuickTime.

Clicking the Trim button reveals the scrubbing and edit ribbon along the bottom of the clip. You can click anywhere in the ribbon to jump to another point in the video, and drag the edges of the yellow frame to trim the clip to the desired length.

Again, simply click Done when you’re finished and your changes are automatically saved.

Related Roundup: macOS Mojave
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Timehop Service Suffers Data Breach Affecting 21 Million Users

The company behind social media app Timehop has revealed its servers suffered a data breach in which the personal details of around 21 million users was stolen.

The company, whose service integrates with users’ social media accounts to display photos and memories they may have forgotten about, said it became aware of the attack as it was happening in the early hours of July 4.

In a statement published on Saturday, the company said it was able to shut down its cloud servers two hours and twenty minutes into the attack, but not before a significant number of users’ data was stolen.

Hackers made off with the names and emails of 21 million users and the phone numbers of 4.7 million users, but no private/direct messages, financial data, social media, photo content, or Timehop data including streaks were affected, according to the company.

However, the keys that enable the service to read and send social media content to users were compromised in the breach. Timehop has deactivated the keys as a security measure, but that means users will need to re-enable the app’s permission to access their accounts if they want to continue using the service.

While we investigate, we want to stress two things: First: to date, there has been no evidence of, and no confirmed reports of, any unauthorized access of user data through the use of these access tokens.

Second, we want to be clear that these tokens do not give anyone (including Timehop) access to Facebook Messenger, or Direct Messages on Twitter or Instagram, or things that your friends post to your Facebook wall. In general, Timehop only has access to social media posts you post yourself to your profile. However, it is important that we tell you that there was a short time window during which it was theoretically possible for unauthorized users to access those posts – again, we have no evidence that this actually happened.

Notably, Timehop admitted that prior to the breach, the account login process on the compromised cloud server was not protected by multi-factor authentication.

Multi-factor authentication protocols are often used by companies handling large customer databases because they provide hardened security during login attempts by requesting that the user provides extra information only they would know.

The company said it had now reset all its passwords and added multi-factor authentication to all its cloud server accounts, and would continue to work with local and federal law enforcement officials to investigate the incident further.

Tag: security
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FormLabs Form 2 review

In 2013, a little-known startup by the name of Formlabs made a huge splash on Kickstarter with the release of a groundbreaking new 3D printer. At the time, this printer (called The Form 1) was one of the first consumer-oriented stereolithography (SLA) printers the world had ever seen – instead of creating objects by squirting molten plastic through a nozzle, it used a laser to ‘grow’ objects out of a pool of photo-reactive resin.

The Form 1 ended up being a massive success on Kickstarter, gathering up nearly $3 million before the campaign concluded. Since then, the company has grown to over 100 employees and raised nearly $20 million in venture capital — and now it’s back with a new and improved SLA printer that’s poised to take the 3D printing scene by storm yet again.

Features and specs

The Form 2 is a beast. It’s not just a small upgrade like the Form 1+ was — it’s a complete and total overhaul. Formlabs has basically taken all the flaws and shortcomings of the first-gen printer and systematically addressed them through a series of major design changes.

With a build envelope that’s 5.7 × 5.7 × 6.9 inches, the Form 2 can print objects roughly 40 percent bigger than its predecessor, the Form 1+. It’s not huge by any means, and you’ll still get more build area for your buck with a conventional fused deposition modelling (FDM) printer, but it’s definitely an improvement, and currently one of the largest build areas you can get in a consumer-level SLA printer.

It’s also quite a bit faster than the first generation — somewhere around 30 to 40 percent. This speed boost comes from the machine’s more powerful laser, which solidifies the photopolymer resin about 50 percent faster, and with more precision.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Why does a 50 percent more powerful laser only translate to 30 to 40 percent faster printing? Formlabs also changed the printing process. After each new layer is created, the Form 2 performs a “slide peel” to detach the newly-formed layer from the print bed, and then runs a wiper blade through the resin tray to remove any hardened particulate that may have been left behind. While this makes the printer a bit slower than it would be otherwise, it also makes it dramatically more reliable and far less prone to printing errors.

A myriad of little interface and usability upgrades also make the Form 2 easier to use. To change settings on the Form 1, you had to connect a laptop running Formlabs’ PreForm software. With the Form 2, everything can be controlled right from the printer’s big, beautiful touchscreen, right on the machine.

You can connect it via Wi-Fi now, too, rather than USB. Along with Formlabs’ accompanying mobile app, this connectivity makes it possible for the printer to send alerts when your print starts, finishes, or requires attention.

Setup and configuration

Despite the fact that the Form 2 creates objects in a fundamentally different way than a filament-based 3D printer, its setup process more or less follows the same set of steps.

Step one is loading the printing material. It used to be that you poured sticky resin into the tray, but with the Form 2, you simply grab a resin cartridge, slide it into the slot located at the aft of the printer, and then pop open the top to allow airflow. That’s it. The Form 2 takes over from there.

Step two is leveling the machine. A special disc-shaped tool allows you to adjust the individual height of each of the printer’s four feet. While you do this, the printer’s touchscreen displays the digital equivalent of a circular bubble level using internal sensors to guide you through the process. When you hit the sweet spot, the Form 2 will know — so if you set it on a perfectly level to begin with, you might not even need to complete this step.

All in all, this is one of the simplest setup processes we’ve ever experienced with a 3D printer. If you know how to use a touchscreen and follow basic directions, you’ll have no trouble whatsoever.

Build quality and design

In terms of design, the Form 2 is arguably the most thoughtful, user-friendly SLA printer on the planet. It’s not just a minor, evolutionary upgrade from the first generation — it’s a complete overhaul that’s intentionally designed to address all of the major pain points associated with SLA printing.

In Formlabs’ first-generation printer, creating large objects was a bit of an issue, since the printer had to be stopped periodically and have its resin tank replenished. The new cartridge-based system allows the printer to refill itself automatically as needed.

Another issue that plagued the first generation was dealing with leftover resin chunks that might be floating around in the tray. Before you started each new print, you had to be diligent and make sure that there were no particles left over that might screw everything up. In the Form 1+, this meant opening up the printer and running a putty knife through the tray — but the Form 2 actually comes with an automated tray wiper that automatically clears the tray after each layer is completed. This greatly reduces the chances of getting a misprint, which ultimately makes the printer more reliable and easy to use.

In generation one, you had to be extremely careful about spills. One stray gob of resin could fall into the printer’s innards and ruin the optics — but in the Form 2, the printer’s guts are completely sealed off.

Formlabs is way ahead of the game here.

The list goes on. Formlabs thought of everything in the Form 2 — even things that happen after your print is complete. It used to be that finished prints were difficult to remove from the build plate because they fused to the metal so strongly, but in the Form 2, Formlabs added an ingenious solution. Now, the printer’s auto-generated support structures are built with a small lip along their base, which allows you to easily pry them off with a special tool that comes with the finishing kit.

Simply put, Formlabs is way ahead of the game here. It’s addressing problems that other SLA printer companies have barely even encountered yet, let alone begun to fix. The design of the Form 2 isn’t just good — it’s progressive. It raises the bar for any newcomers hoping to compete in the SLA 3D printer space. This is how it should be done.

FormLabs Form 2 Compared To

Ultimaker 3

Monoprice Mini Delta

Monoprice Maker Select Plus

SparkMaker

Zortrax M300

Robo C2

NewMatter MOD-t

M3D Micro

MakerBot Replicator (5th Gen)

Pirate3D Buccaneer

3Doodler 2.0

3D Systems Cube

Ultimaker 2

Formlabs Form 1+

User interface and software

The Form 2’s onboard software and touchscreen interface are remarkably simple, but the UI you’ll interact with most is PreForm — Formlabs’ proprietary slicer/editor program. Aesthetically, it looks about the same as it always has, but a few new features tucked away inside the program make it more powerful than ever before.

For instance, PreForm’s improved print optimization software helps you orient your object so that it prints smoothly: Just click one button and the program will analyze the object and choose the best position and orientation for you.

Support structures work the same way: One click will auto-generate support scaffolding to ensure that your print doesn’t fail. This feature was available in earlier versions of the software, but in the new-and-improved program, users can now add or remove support structures from any given area. This is especially handy since the auto-generated supports aren’t always located in the most convenient spots.

The best part is that FormLabs has implemented these new features and improvements without adding any extra clutter or complexity to the program’s user interface. The latest version of PreForm is just as simple and approachable as it was in earlier iterations, which we appreciate.

Print performance

The Form 2 is, hands down, one of the most detailed and dimensionally accurate printers we’ve ever used. The resolution is so good, you can barely see layers. Fine details come through in ways that FDM printers can only dream of. Bridges and unsupported spans? No problem. Tiny objects with extremely precise dimensions? Bring it on.

It’s one of the most detailed and dimensionally accurate printers we’ve ever used.

As usual, we ran it through a series of torture tests to determine the printer’s limits. The first one we did — the 3D Benchy test, came out nearly flawless. The dimensions were perfect on practically every surface, and the only imperfections were the nubs left over from the support material, which were minimal compared to what’s left behind on most FDM printers.

Basically every object we threw at it was reproduced with near perfection. We experienced a few misprints at one point, but that was only because we attempted to print without adequate support structures. As we mentioned earlier, Formlabs’s new-and-improved slicer software allows you to adjust the size, shape, position, and location of the auto-generated support structures; as we found out, if you stray too far from the recommended settings, problems can sometimes occur. Making them too small or sparse often leads to misprints, but we never ran into any problems when we stuck to the machine’s recommended parameters.

Maintenance, repairability, and upgradability

The only downside of this printer is the same downside that you get with other SLA printers: dealing with photopolymer resin is a pain. It’s sticky, it’s messy, and it stinks — but Formlabs has made dealing with it about as painless as possible in the Form 2.

Thanks to the aforementioned design changes, you no longer have to pause prints to refill the resin tank; struggle to remove resin-covered prints from the build plate; or worry about dripping resin into the printer’s optics. It’s far less of a hassle to use and maintain.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

That said, you’ll still have to clean up the occasional drip or spill, and finish all your parts with a 20-minute soak in isopropyl alcohol. Using an SLA printer isn’t nearly as easy as the “grab and go” experience offered by filament based printers — but the Form 2 is about as low-maintenance as an SLA printer can conceivably be.

You can’t easily repair or upgrade the Form 2 yourself, but in all fairness, that can be said of practically any SLA printer. Due to the nature of their construction and operation, they’re not quite as simple to repair as your average FDM printer. If something goes wrong, you’ll need to ship it back to Formlabs and wait for a technician to diagnose the problem — but the good news is that Formlabs has an entire team dedicated to just that, so you’ll always have support in that regard.

Our Take

The Form 1 made the case for at-home SLA 3D printing, and the better-in-every-way Form 2 is driving it home.

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99% Isopropyl Alcohol Antispetic Solution

$11.44

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Disposable Gloves

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Is there a better alternative?

The short answer is “No.” The Form 2 is, without a doubt, one of the best 3D printers we’ve ever had the pleasure of using. It excels in nearly every category, and features a litany of user-friendly features that you simply can’t get with other SLA printers. Formlabs has raised the bar with this machine, and competitors should take note. This is how SLA printing should be done.

The longer answer is “Maybe.” Whether or not there’s a better alternative to the Form 2 largely depends on what you’re looking for. SLA printing isn’t necessarily the best option for all prototyping and printing needs, and if you don’t actually need solid, perfect parts, then perhaps an FDM printer would be more effective. If that’s the case, you should check out the Ultimaker 3. It’s in the same price range, boasts an admirable maximum resolution, and comes with a build envelope that dwarfs that of the Form 2.

How long will it last?

A few years, probably. The hardware and capabilities of this machine will inevitably be surpassed as newer, faster, and better printing technologies trickle down and find their way into consumer-level printers, but even when this thing gets overshadowed, it’ll likely keep printing like a champ. Formlabs regularly pushes firmware updates and software upgrades, and has a dedicated support team ready to help out if any hardware issues should ever arise, so you should expect a fairly long usable lifespan.

Should you buy it?

Yes. it’s certainly a bit on the expensive side, but if you have the budget for it and want high quality printed parts, this is most definitely the printer you should buy.

How to get the best Android P features on any Android phone

Google’s upcoming Android release, Android P, brings a new look to the popular operating system — we particularly liked the colorful, rounded interface — as well as a cavalcade of new features. Although the latest developer preview for Android P is only available for select devices, some clever developers have made apps to replicate some of P’s most notable new features, ones that will work on phones that don’t have access to Android P as of yet.

These apps aren’t available through the Google Play store, however, so if you want to install these new features on your Android device, you’ll need to adjust your settings so that your phone supports apps from unknown sources. To do this, go to Settings, select Lock screen and security, and toggle the slider beside Unknown sources. Keep in mind that, if you’re using Android Oreo, you’ll need to enable specific apps to install APK (Android PacKage) files.

With that out of the way, let’s run through the various Android P features you can add to your older Android system.

Android P launcher

One of the biggest changes you can make to your Android system is to change the launcher. Download the Android P launcher APK, tap it within the notification shade, and install it. If using Oreo, tap to allow it to install from an unknown source.

Smart replies

One of P’s most nifty features is the ability to use “smart suggested replies.” When you get a text message, you can view it within the notification shade, and Android will automatically generate some appropriate responses that you can select with a simple tap, if you wish. Simply download the Smart Replay APK, and install it like before.

Note: Smart Reply also works with a host of popular messaging apps, such as Facebook Messenger and Hangouts.

Screenshot markup

A more substantial update found in Android P has to do with how screenshots function. In the latest iteration of Android, users can start marking up screenshots directly after taking them. The Markup app that enables this on older Android devices works a little differently, however. Once installed, you’ll need to share your screenshot with the Markup app, which will then allow you to make alterations.

Android P volume slider

Another popular change in Android P is the placement of the volume slider, which has moved from the top of the screen to the side. As before, download the APK from the appropriate source, and install it to enable the switch.

Lockdown mode

The final feature worth mentioning is Lockdown mode. Android P users can tap the power button, followed by Lockdown to disable the fingerprint sensor, which will prevent users from unlocking the phone via biometrics. As with the other features, download the Lockdown APK and install it to enable the feature.

David Cogen — a regular contributor here at Digital Trends — runs TheUnlockr, a popular tech blog that focuses on tech news, tips and tricks, and the latest tech. You can also find him on Twitter discussing the latest tech trends.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Android P hands-on review
• Android P beta 3: Everything you need to know
• Switching from an iPhone to an Android device
• How to get iMessages in Android
• The best camera apps for Android

How to use BlackBerry Locker

Andy Boxall/DigitalTrends.com

The BlackBerry Key2 features tweaks to the Android operating system that put an emphasis on security and privacy, and one of the most unusual features is called Locker. It’s designed to keep certain photos and files completely private, and hidden away from anyone who may also use your phone, like your kids. It’s also useful for keeping sensitive materials safe should you lose your phone.

It’s a standard feature on the BlackBerry Key2 and the BlackBerry KeyOne. Using it is simple, and here’s how to get it up and running.

Set up Locker

Andy Boxall/DigitalTrends.com

• First, find the Locker app on your phone and open it. Grant the permissions as needed, and then enter a password when prompted. While Locker works with your fingerprint, it still needs a password to be set up.
• There are two folders already inside Locker — Private Gallery and Private Files. Tap the Plus icon to add existing files or photos to these folders, or to add apps. The hidden apps still appear in your app list, but require fingerprint authorization to open. This also applies to the Locker app once it’s all set up.

Andy Boxall/DigitalTrends.com

• If you’d rather the app didn’t show up in the app list, open Locker and tap the Gear icon at the top right of the screen, then tick the box marked Hide Private Apps. The apps will disappear from the list, and are either opened in Locker or by using a previously assigned keyboard shortcut.
• You can also hide Locker itself. To do this, tap the Gear icon in Locker and then Advanced Settings, and tick the box on Hide Locker in Launcher.

Secure your photos with Locker

Andy Boxall/DigitalTrends.com

• The final option under the Plus icon menu is Private Capture. Tap this and the camera app will open and each photo that’s taken is automatically placed into the Private Gallery. Photos do not appear in the primary Google Photos album at all and aren’t uploaded to its cloud storage either.
• There is another way to take private photos without opening Locker first. Open the camera app and instead of using the shutter button, use the space bar to capture your photo. However, it’s really important not to actually press the space bar, just touch the fingerprint sensor. It takes a second to register, so have patience.
• The photo taken will be placed into the Locker. If you accidentally press down the space bar, the camera will take a photo and it will be viewable in the regular Google Photos album. You may want to check after taking the photo, just in case.
• To view your photos, go back to the Locker app and open it. All those taken using Private Capture, or the fingerprint sensor in the camera app, are in the Private Gallery.

Secure your files with Locker

Andy Boxall/DigitalTrends.com

• Documents downloaded onto your phone can also be stored in Locker. Open the Locker app, then open Private Files, and tap the Plus icon. The top icon lets you navigate through different apps to find files to secure, ranging from Downloads, Bluetooth, Documents, and Audio. When you’ve found the right file, tap it and then tap the tick at the top right of the screen to add it to Locker. The file will be removed from its original location.
• To view the file, open Locker with your fingerprint, then open Private Files.
• If you want to remove a file from Locker and return it to its original location, navigate to the file in Locker, then tap the square icon with an arrow in it, located at the top right of the screen. Select the file or files you want to move, then look for another square-and-arrow icon at the top right of the screen.
• Tap it, and the file is removed and placed in the Public folder. It’s now visible to everyone who uses your phone.

That’s all there is to using Locker on your Android BlackBerry phone, whether it’s the KeyOne, the Key2, or the BlackBerry Motion.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Blackberry Key2 tips and tricks
• BlackBerry Key2 review
• BlackBerry Key2: Everything you need to know
• How to use BlackBerry’s Privacy Shade
• BlackBerry Key2 vs. BlackBerry KeyOne: A stunning successor

Smart bathroom scales, mechanical keyboards, smart plugs, and more are all discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on the Fitbit Aria 2 smart scale, a Cherry MX Brown mechanical keyboard, the Harman Kardon Allure, and more! Time’s running out to take advantage of these prices, so hurry!

View the rest of the deals

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

The Fitbit Aria 2 smart scale is down to just under $100 right now

Works with your smartphone so you can track your data.

The Fitbit Aria 2 Wi-Fi smart scale is down to $99.95 on Amazon in both Black and White. We haven’t seen a real deal on this smart scale since January and even then it didn’t drop this low. It regularly sells for $130 and does not drop from that price.

It can help you track your weight, lean mass, body fat percentage and more. Each scale can be set up for use with up to eight different users, and each person’s stats can remain private to just them. You can pair it with your phone in just a few minutes via Bluetooth, and it automatically syncs with your Fitbit dashboard.

See on Amazon

Pample Moose [#acpodcast]

The prog rockers of Android expertise: Daniel Bader, Andrew Martonik, and Jerry Hildenbrand, discuss app permissions that allow developers to read your emails. More importantly, they provide information on how to prevent it from happening.

LG G7 ThinQ is a good phone that will appeal to relatively few people — and a big reason for that is lack of availability and carrier support. The crew also talk about Android P Beta 3. New features have been added as the OS marches closer to release.

In other news, ZTE is being temporarily operate in the U.S. until August 1st, although it’s likely they’ll reach a longer term agreement with the government before then. Plus, OxygenOS Open Beta brings Project Treble and an all-new UI to the OnePlus 5/5T. Additionally, the gang go hands-on with Moto Z3 Play, an affordable mid-range flagship most people will unfortunately ignore.

In the final act of this episode, Galaxy Note 9 is being teased for an August unveiling, while Galaxy 10 and Galaxy X rumored for 2019. So crack open an ice cold LaCriox and settle in for another packed show!

Listen now

• Subscribe in iTunes: Audio
• Subscribe in RSS: Audio
• Download directly: Audio

Show Notes and Links:

• App developers are going through your email
• LG G7 ThinQ review: Wide angle, narrow appeal
• Android P Beta 3 released
• How to install Android P on your Pixel right now (or roll back to Oreo)
• ZTE is being allowed to temporarily operate in the U.S. until August 1
• OxygenOS Open Beta brings Project Treble and all-new UI to OnePlus 5/5T
• Moto Z3 Play hands-on
• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 rumors: Release date, specs, price, and features!
• Should you buy a Galaxy S9+ or wait for the Galaxy Note 9?
• Samsung will reportedly announce the Galaxy S10 at MWC 2019; Galaxy X at CES

Sponsors:

• Thrifter.com: All the best deals from Amazon, Best Buy, and more, fussily curated and constantly updated.

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Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS review: Is it worth that premium?

Huawei is one of the few brands keeping the luxury phone trend alive. It doesn’t have diamond-encrusted notches or Vertu-level pricing, but the Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS reaches well beyond its Huawei P20 stablemates with a 1,695 euro (~$1980) price. 

Unlike Vertu’s simple “glue precious stones onto this two-year-old phone” philosophy, Huawei and Porsche Design opted to actually bring tangible improvements to this phone. Is the Mate RS actually worth the price though? That’s what our Huawei Mate RS review will tell you.

Huawei Mate RS review notes: I used the 256GB Mate RS for just over two weeks as my primary smartphone. I stuck to home Wi-Fi for the most part but used the Cell C network otherwise. The phone runs EMUI 8.1, based on Android 8.1, and has the May 2018 security patch. Show More

Design

“This looks just like a Galaxy S9 Plus,” was my first thought upon peeking at the front of the phone. Just like the S9, the Huawei Mate RS has a dual curved display, with curved corners and tapered left and right edges — which make the phone feel thinner than it is — and a notch-less top bezel. 

With its dual curved display and reflective glass back, the Mate RS certainly feels like a Huawei flagship.

The phone’s reflective glass back certainly feels like a Huawei flagship, even down to the separate Huawei and Porsche Design logos. I usually moan about glass backs due to their fingerprint magnetism, but the Huawei Mate RS didn’t gather nearly as many prints as I thought it would. I’m not sure if this is due to an oleophobic coating or a tweaked finish, but it certainly made for a pleasant surprise.

The company also changed a few things compared to the Huawei Mate RS’ P20 stablemates, delivering a vertically stacked triple-camera setup in the middle rather than off to the side. The other big design change is that Huawei and Porsche Design shifted the fingerprint scanner to the rear. There’s also an in-display fingerprint scanner, so if you’re going to have two, it makes sense to slap the second one on the back.

All in all, there’s some Huawei DNA in here, but the Huawei Mate RS feels very different to the P20 series. Which is a good thing, given our impressions of last year’s Porsche Design Mate 10.

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40 megapixel shootout: Huawei P20 Pro vs Lumia 1020

Consensus has long held that, when it comes to photography, more megapixels is not always better. Quality over quantity, as they say. Yet in 2018, an industry-leading smartphone shooter boasts a 40 megapixel camera — the …

Huawei P20 Pro review: The Galaxy S9 killer

40MP, the world’s first triple camera, 5X Hybrid Zoom, artificial intelligence in all the ways, and the most unique color on any smartphone ever. These are just some of the features Huawei is hoping will …

The phone’s power and volume keys are on the right, its IR blaster is on top, and there’s a dual-SIM tray on the left (no storage expansion here). Its speaker and USB Type-C port are at the bottom. There’s no 3.5mm jack here, unfortunately, so you’ll need to use the included dongle for your legacy headphones.

The phone has IP67 water and dust resistance, so it can survive a pool dunking or rainy weather, but its glass design makes it less durable, as glass doesn’t usually hold up too well after a tumble. You should probably use the included case or buy one for maximum protection. While it’d be a shame to cover up the Mate RS’ beautiful frame, dropping a phone this expensive would be even worse.

Display

The Mate RS features an AMOLED screen, much like the Huawei P20 Pro — but this time without a notch. I still don’t understand why more brands don’t retain a minimal top bezel instead of forcing a notch, but c’est la vie.

The Mate RS also delivers a resolution boost over the P20 Pro’s Full HD+ display. Its 2,880 x 1,440 screen soundly trumps the P20 Pro, landing between the standard S9 and S9 Plus. You can’t watch 4K videos natively, but text is sharp and viewing photos is a pleasure. We noticed some color shift on the edges of the display, but that’s unfortunately normal for phones with curved displays.

Read: The Mate RS doesn’t have a notch because Porsche Design hated the idea

The phone’s 6-inch 18:9 AMOLED screen melts into the borders when turned off while delivering those trademark deep blacks when on. Huawei even lets you turn UI elements like the navigation key dock and first-party apps black (these don’t work in third-party apps).

In any case, it’s clear the Mate RS screen is a technical improvement over the P20 series. If things still aren’t quite to your liking, you’ve got a few adjustable settings. There’s manual and automatic color temperature adjustment, a blue light filter, and size tweaks for text and other UI elements.

Performance

Under the hood, the Huawei Mate RS sports the flagship Kirin 970 chipset, 6GB of RAM, and 256GB or 512GB of storage. The internal storage unfortunately isn’t expandable, but it’ll more than enough for most people.

The Kirin 970 doesn’t have the latest Arm cores like Qualcomm, nor does it have as many cores as Samsung’s GPU, but the phone is still one of the fastest I’ve used in a while. Apps launch quickly, scrolling through the Twitter feed is usually effortless, and web browsing doesn’t feel slow at all.

The Kirin 970 is older than its rivals’ flagship silicon, but it still delivers the goods

The phone also handles multitasking without breaking a sweat. I tried jumping from the YouTube app to the preinstalled music player to several games and beyond, and came back to find my YouTube video still paused on the same spot. Not bad.

In the gaming department, I usually use NASCAR Heat Mobile as my pixel-pushing title of choice, owing to its field of more than 40 cars. The Mate RS offered a very smooth experience, with little perceptible slowdown. We also tried a few more graphically intense games, like FZ9, PUBG Mobile and World of Warships, and all of them ran smoothly (or as smooth as can be for PUBG). So if you want to play visually demanding games on the go, the Mate RS will definitely let you crank things up.

We ran the phone through Antutu and GeekBench 4 to get a feel for where it stands compared to the competition. The Kirin 970 shows its age here, lagging behind Qualcomm and Samsung’s latest silicon. The Mate RS’s scores are closer to last year’s devices, like the OnePlus 5T and Google Pixel 2 XL. The Antutu score of 210,117 lags behind the OnePlus 6‘s more than 260,000, and the Mate RS’s GeekBench 4 numbers aren’t as impressive as the OnePlus 6’s 2,454 single-core/8,967 multi-core figures.

So the Mate RS delivers smooth performance in practice, despite benchmarks that lag behind other 2018 flagships.

Battery

Endurance is another story — this phone chugs on and on. The Mate RS’ 4,000 mAh battery easily handled a day of music videos on YouTube, sprinkled with WhatsApp messaging. Heck, I got between seven and eight hours of screen-on time out of the phone most days, all while listening to YouTube for most of the workday too (Wi-Fi and mobile data enabled, auto-screen brightness and smart resolution enabled).

If you need a phone that can deliver two days of usage, the Mate RS won’t need to stretch as much as rival devices.

Unlike the P20 series, the Porsche Design phone also supports wireless charging, which worked fine with my Samsung convertible charging pad. However, the phone often vibrated, indicating it wasn’t charging properly. Moving the pad to a flat position fixed the issue. Charging time wasn’t as brisk as a fast charger, but it certainly beat charging through a computer.

There are two fast chargers in the box (with American and European plugs), presumably for the benefit of the high flyers this phone is marketed towards. Cabled charging will get you to 50 percent capacity in around 30 minutes compared to 45 minutes or so with wireless charging.

Fingerprint scanners

Huawei might not be the first company to include an in-display fingerprint scanner, but the Chinese brand might be the first to include two scanners. After using the Huawei Mate RS for a while, I can see why.

Editor’s Pick

Vivo Nex review: Frustratingly imperfect, undeniably desirable (Update: Video added)

The best part of the move to truly bezel-less phones is the weird and wacky solutions to the question of where to put everything that used to live above and below the display. Front-facing cameras, …

The under-glass fingerprint scanner takes about a second or two to unlock. It’s “fast” enough to not be a major issue, but long enough that you can’t just quickly tap and go as with the rear scanner. I don’t really mind the unlock time, but the accuracy can be irksome. It felt like maybe one out of every four or five attempts were unsuccessful. Sometimes three attempts in a row didn’t do the trick either. This is sadly par for the course at this stage of the under-glass scanner game.

Blindly trying to unlock your phone via this scanner (made by Goodix) is an issue too, as you have to hold on a very specific part of the display. Even subtle haptic feedback would’ve improved the experience. A Vivo Apex-style approach (made by Synaptics), which turns the entire lower half of the display into a scanner, would’ve been cool, but the tech probably isn’t ready yet (Vivo even switched from Synaptics to Goodix with the Nex, the commercially available version of the Apex concept phone). 

If the under-display scanner was the only option, I’d probably get used to it. Fortunately, the rear scanner is present, more accurate, and as fast as they come, so I never had to. The rear scanner supports the usual Huawei tricks like swiping down for the notification shade, lateral swipes for browsing photos, and acting as an extra shutter key.

If unlock speed and accuracy are important to you, use the rear-mounted scanner; the in-display scanner is just too slow and unreliable.

My only real complaint here is I’m not always sure when I’m touching the scanner. I would’ve liked the ridge around the fingerprint scanner to be more prominent or the scanner to have a different feel from the rest of the back.

Speaking of biometrics, the Huawei Mate RS doesn’t use any fancy 3D facial recognition, but face unlock is super fast anyway. I’d say it probably takes one or two seconds at most for the phone to recognize my mug. Unlock times and accuracy are generally fine in low-light, but pitch black darkness is a no go.

Camera

The Huawei Mate RS has a virtually identical camera setup to the P20 Pro. It’s got a triple camera setup on the back (40MP f/1.8, 20MP monochrome f/1.6, 8MP telephoto with OIS), and a 24MP front-facing shooter.

Daytime shots are vibrant and sharp — though not always perfect. I noticed some color bleeding on occasion (mainly when using the wide aperture mode) and Android Authority’s own Rob Triggs previously explored the P20 Pro’s tendency to over-sharpen images. Focusing isn’t always reliable either, (especially when using the aperture mode) though overall the phone is a photography powerhouse.

The Master AI mode also automatically tweaks settings when it recognizes a scene. It works well for flora, food and landscapes, but I found it occasionally annoying. When I wanted to take a photo of a page from a book, the phone insisted on switching to the document scanning mode. This could be useful, but a “do you want to scan a document” prompt would’ve been preferable when all I wanted was to share a page on Twitter.

The company’s camera app could also do with a few UI tweaks. Why is there a quick toggle for Moving Images but nothing for HDR? As it is, you have to dive into the settings menu to enable HDR.

The phone generally delivers great dynamic range, although HDR does a good job of taming elements like clouds and the sky. It’s not quite as dramatic as the difference between SDR and HDR on the Pixel 2, but it has its uses. It still tends to occasionally saturate everything and give a cartoony look to scenes, but Huawei is way past the ghosted HDR snaps of the Ascend P8.

Overall the Mate RS is a photography powerhouse, but it has its quirks.

The triple camera combination delivers two more major perks: better digital zoom (up to 5x) and better low light shots. You don’t quite get DSLR-quality zoom, but I was very happy with results most of the time. Either way, it’s preferable to the bog-standard zoom of most other phones out there.

The Huawei Mate RS delivers great night shots on its own, but its night mode takes things up a notch. When set to auto, the phone basically acts like it’s doing a long exposure, but it’s actually stacking a series of shorter exposures to reduce blur and improve brightness. The results can be fantastic, although some elements can look weird (cars won’t leave light trails but will still look blurry).

DOWNLOAD THE FULL-RES PHOTOS

The night mode also lets you adjust shutter speed and exposure. When you adjust the shutter speed, it actually behaves more like a manual mode, delivering proper long exposures. Nevertheless, if you want to do light painting and other low-light tricks, Huawei’s dedicated mode is still available here, offering presets for the usual stars, traffic lights, water, and so on.

Huawei’s aperture mode is back too, along with the ever-popular portrait mode feature. Blurry edges still creep in when you look closely, and portrait lighting effects are unpolished and feel like a lame copy of the iPhone’s effect. Still, I like the added flexibility of the aperture mode, especially when combined with the preinstalled filter that delivers color pop effects.

Hopefully, the company will add more editing options, because I’d like the ability to highlight exactly what should appear in color or monochrome. As it is now, you can adjust the aperture to tweak the effect, but that’s all.

Everything in focus tends to get the color treatment. Fortunately, these leaves were grey already.

The Huawei Mate RS supports 4K, 1080p at 60fps, 1080p at 240fps, and 720p at 960fps recording, to name the main video shooting modes. The super slow-mo isn’t quite as nifty as Sony’s solution, which allows you to record a standard clip and tap a “slow-mo” button when you want to record a 960fps snippet. The 720p resolution makes for some jagged edges, and focusing can occasionally be an issue, but it’s a neat tool to have nonetheless.

It’s disappointing the extra cash doesn’t get you photos any better than the P20 Pro, but the results are still great.

The 24MP selfie camera does the job just fine as well, although it can blow out backgrounds like the sky during the day. Unfortunately, HDR isn’t available via this camera, which is a shame. Portrait mode shots are also a treat here, though my habit of throwing in a thumbs up throws off the dodgy edge detection. Low-light shots predictably see a drop in detail and jump in noise, but there’s always a screen flash to help.

On one hand, it’s disappointing to see your extra cash isn’t buying anything more in the camera department compared to the P20 Pro. On the other, the P20 Pro’s photography experience is so great that I’m happy with the results anyway.

Software

EMUI 8.1 shows how far the Android skin has come, with its mix of skeuomorphic design and Samsung’s TouchWiz. It’s still not everyone’s cup of tea, but it delivers some useful features and carves out its own identity.

As with many Chinese skins, Huawei ditches the app drawer out of the box. I’ve grown used to this change after using the Xiaomi Mi 4 and Huawei P9 as daily drivers in recent years, but you can always turn the feature on in the display menu.

EMUI has plenty of useful features, but there’s still room for improvement

The company also opted to include a gesture-driven UI, like last year’s P10 series. Fortunately, this isn’t enabled by default so you can easily avoid it. I would’ve liked to see a Samsung-style faux home button, as the ability to press hard to go home, no matter the app, has become mighty convenient after using the Galaxy S8.

Speaking of older additions, Huawei retained the double knuckle tap gesture for screenshots, which, in theory, I find more intuitive than Samsung’s wax-on-wax-off palm gesture. It’s not the best gesture in practice, as the phone occasionally misses my double tap. You can always just hit power and volume down instead.

There’s a theme store for changing up the look of EMUI, a phone manager hub (for tweaking mobile data settings, cleaning up storage and more), the preinstalled music, video, and gallery apps, and Huawei’s Health app.

Other solid software features include a biometric safe for media and apps, an eye comfort mode for filtering blue light, a mobile data blacklist for apps, Dolby Atmos support, flip to mute, drawing a letter to open apps, and a simple, easy UI for anyone that finds EMUI a bit too complicated to navigate.

There’s also bloatware like Booking.com and Quik, though it feels like Huawei is long past the Galaxy S4 stage of tossing in everything and the kitchen sink.

Specifications

Display	6-inch curved OLED display 18:9 aspect ratio 2,880 x 1,440 resolution
Processor	Huawei Kirin 970
RAM	6GB
Storage	256GB or 512GB
Cameras	Rear: 40MP main camera 20MP monochrome lens 8MP telephoto lens Front: 24MP camera
Battery	4,000mAh Non-removable Wireless charging
Software	Android 8.1 Oreo Porsche Design skin
Colors	Red, Black
Price	256GB version: €1,695 (~$2,103) 512GB version: €2,095 (~$2,599)
Availability	April 12 – China, Hong Kong, and Macau Sometime later – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K., and Switzerland

Gallery

Pricing and final thoughts

The 256GB Huawei Mate RS has a European price of 1,695 euros, compared to the P20 Pro’s 899 euro (~$1,050) price tag. Meanwhile, readers in the U.K. can expect to pay 1,500 pounds (~$1,980). Up the ante to 512GB and you’ll be paying 2,095 euros (~$2,450). It’s unclear if the U.K. will receive the 512GB model.

For what it’s worth, the device retails for 26,000 rand (~$1,920) here in South Africa, which is more or less in line with European pricing. The Huawei Mate RS is available in black or red. So fans of the twilight P20 Pro are out of luck.

The phone may be eye-wateringly expensive, but it’s more than just a rebranded Huawei flagship — unlike previous Porsche Design phones.

Between the notch-less OLED screen, generous storage space, wireless charging, and dual fingerprint scanners, the phone certainly has several notable perks. So if you like the idea of a P20 “Premium” and don’t mind spending the cash, it’s definitely worth a look, even if you don’t end up walking out with one. Everyone else should wait for Huawei’s next flagships which may well include some of the same additional features. 

That’s it for our Huawei Mate RS review. What do you think of this premium phone? Let us know in the comments.

Mapping the most important phone announcements remaining in 2018

The second half of the year is setting up to be busy.

We’re in a little bit of a lull in terms of smartphone releases now, as all of the big names got out the door for the first half of the year and we’re now waiting about a month for Samsung’s other shoe to drop. But the Note 9 isn’t the only phone being released in the coming months — here’s a breakdown of what I’m looking forward to for the next few months of Android.

Motorola Z3 and/or Z3 Force – August 2

Motorola is doing something on August 2 in its hometown of Chicago. The venue indicates that it’s going to be a U.S.-focused announcement rather than a global one, and since Motorola already pulled the trigger on the Moto G and E series, plus a quick reveal of the Z3 Play, earlier in the year.

This is likely to be the Moto Z3 and/or a tougher version called the Z3 Force. Considering how poorly received the Z2 Force was last year I’d like to see Motorola just stick to a standard Z3 that does it all and skips the shatterproof screen, but we’ll see. We know it’ll have Moto Mods compatibility, though. The Moto G and Moto E lines are bankrolling Motorola’s smartphone business, so the Moto Z3 and/or Z3 Force aren’t really of much consequence anyway, but I still really enjoy what Motorola is doing overall and want to see how it can make any attempt at all to stand out in a world of truly great smartphones from so many companies.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – August 9

Samsung will be the first of the big launches for the second half of the year, and honestly it’s lining up to be a bit of a snoozer. The Note line has lost a lot of its uniqueness as the Galaxy S line has basically taken every feature but the S Pen at this point, and nothing about the latest rumors shows anything different in 2018. If the Note 9 comes out as a slightly larger Galaxy S9+ with a bigger battery (rumored 4000mAh) and some new S Pen features, it isn’t going to move the needle for me. But it’ll sell damn well regardless because of that stylus-toting fanbase that won’t settle for anything else.

The event in set for August 9, which is right around the corner. Samsung typically nails retail availability as well, so I would expect pre-orders to kick off early the next week at the latest — probably August 13 — with full sales and in-store availability a week later. That gets Samsung out well ahead of anyone else launching a big phone in September or October.

Sony Xperia XZ3 – Late August

We don’t have many details on what Sony could be doing, but it typically uses the IFA trade show in Berlin to launch at least one phone. And given its rapid release cycle, we could be in for an Xperia XZ3 — or, at a minimum, some mid-cycle refresh of the XZ2 and XZ2 Compact. Sony already announced that the XZ2 Premium is coming, so IFA will have to be something else.

It’s hard to get too excited about yet another rapidly refreshed Sony phone, but the XZ2 and XZ2 Compact were solid phones — albeit expensive ones with very few standout features. Maybe Sony has something interesting lined up for the XZ3.

LG V40 – September

The LG V40 looks like it will once again be a one-up of LG’s flagship from earlier in the year, with a rumored multi-camera setup with 3 cameras on the back and 2 on the front. Yes it’ll have a display notch, like the LG G7, but I’d also guess it’s going to have a larger display and battery as well. I sure hope LG does something more than that, but given how last year worked out I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t.

LG launched the V30 at the very end of August officially, but it didn’t make it out to retail until mid-September. Given how much later the LG G7 launched this year compared to the G6, the V40 may be pushed back just a little. Still, I’d expect to at least see an announcement in September even if retailers don’t offer it up until October.

Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL – Early October

I’m hyped for the Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL. I don’t care that the 3 XL has a notch — I want to see the Pixel 2 and 2 XL taken to the next level with new specs, an even better camera, and hopefully much better displays. Happy to see the rumor that the smaller Pixel will have a tall 18:9 display, and dual front-facing cameras could be interesting considering how great Google does with one now. But really it’s all about the software and performance, which should be fantastic.

Google announced last year’s Pixel 2 and 2 XL at a multi-pronged hardware event on October 4, so that’s the timeline we’re currently working with for 2018’s release. That puts us inside of three months away from proper launch territory, which may seem like a long time now but will fly by as we see the rest of these launches before then.

OnePlus 6T – Mid-November

OnePlus will probably have the year-end capper for big-time smartphone launches if it decides to stick to the twice-yearly cadence of releasing a “T” model — the OnePlus 5T launched in mid-November 2017, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same again this year. Like previous years, I’d expect the OnePlus 6T to be a mere spec bump, perhaps with a change to the cameras and a larger battery or some other small internal refresh. Nothing to get super excited over, but a good opportunity for people who watched several months of OnePlus 6 news trickle out to finally pull the trigger on getting a new phone.

Hardly a boring end to the year, right? With that calendar expanded, I have a few other random thoughts on the week:

• I’ll have my full thoughts on the BlackBerry KEY2 down into a sort-of-review this week. In the meantime, read Daniel’s and Jerry’s.
  • Super-short version: I actually like the keyboard, but the rest of the smartphone experience doesn’t match what a OnePlus 6 can offer for $100 less, and that makes it a non-starter for me.
• The latest Android P Beta on the Pixel 2 XL is extremely fast and smooth. The gestures still aren’t perfect, but goodness this is some great software.
• I went through the dreaded MacBook Pro keyboard replacement process last week, as my keyboard failed for the second time in two years. Good on Apple for replacing it for free this time, but this design is garbage for reliability and I have a feeling it won’t be my last repair.

-Andrew