Best leather cases for the Google Pixel 3

Google Pixel 3 is a gorgeous device, and it would only be fitting to add a gorgeous case to protect it. Silicone and hard plastic cases are great for protection, but a leather case just adds the right touch of elegance. These are the best leather cases for your new Pixel 3 that we’ve found so far.

Slim wallet

Bellroy leather phone wallet

Bellroy, the maker of fine leather goods, has a slim wallet option for your Pixel 3. It has a slot that’s big enough to fit two cards comfortably, and the magnetic closure makes sure your cards are tightly secured.

$89 at Google

Extra cool

Bettop faux-leather case

Bettop’s one-piece case has an inner layer of TPU rubber to cushion your Pixel 3 in case you drop it, and the outside is covered in PU leather, which has a great texture and looks just like the real thing. Comes in black or gray.

$8 at Amazon

Sleek and refined

Bellroy leather case”

If you don’t need a wallet slot but still want a slim leather case, then Bellroy’s regular leather case should do the trick. It offers a slim profile, minimalist design, and comes in either black, navy, or “caramel” brown.

$45 at Google

Folio-style wallet

Arae leather wallet case

If you like more of a classic wallet case, then Arae’s case is perfect for cutting down on your pocket carry. It has slots for four cards and a larger cash pocket, and your Pixel 3 is secured in an inner bumper case. Comes in black or rose gold.

$13 at Amazon

There will certainly be more cases to come in the next few months, but for now, these are your best options. It may be expensive, but the Bellroy leather case is the best option right now, with its sleek design and great color.

Canada Daily Deals: Oculus Go, Philips Hue, toys for the Holidays, and more

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 Oculus Go, Amazon’s must-have Holiday Toy List, Choetech Micro-USB/USB-C 2-in-1 cables, Philips Hue + Amazon Echo bundles, Nintendo Switch, and much more!

View the rest of the deals

Each day, the Thrifter Canada team scouts out and shares amazing deals on products you know and love, helping you find the best prices on the ‘net.

For more Canadian deals coverage, be sure to keep an eye on Thrifter CA, sign up for the Canadian newsletter and follow the team on Twitter.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 review: A three-pronged attack

Call of Duty is back.

We weren’t sure what to think when Activision and Treyarch announced there would be no single player campaign in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. For the first time, the game would have to thrive entirely on its multiplayer components.

There are three such components on tap in Black Ops 4, and they all cater to different types of gamers. Is the total package worth its cost?

Classic Shooter

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Call of Duty has never been this good.

Bottom line: Black Ops 4 is the best Call of Duty game in years and deserves to be on your radar.

$60 at Amazon

The Good

• Three meaty online game modes
• A superior Battle Royale experience
• Extremely focused gameplay mechanics

The Bad

• No single-player campaign
• Could be more casual-friendly

Boots on the ground

Seeing as head-to-head multiplayer is Call of Duty’s bread and butter, it was especially crucial for Treyarch to get it right. Black Ops 4’s theme this year is “Boots on the Ground,” an emphatic declaration that the fans’ disdain for jetpacks and wall-running and all that crazy stuff has been addressed.

Indeed, you’ll spend a vast majority of your time on the ground throughout your firefights. The game ditches the jetpacks and instead offers more exciting classes, tighter gunplay, and more balanced gameplay overall.

This change impacts the various specialist classes the most, as it adds a lot more strategy to the game. Space-controlling specialists like Torque get better since enemies can’t leap over his barbed wire and barricades. Recon gets better because you can use the vision to help you monitor key choke points without enemies being able to clear it. And if you are missing aerial action, Ruin offers a bit of the high-flying ability you’ve given up, thanks to his grappling hook.

Black Ops 4 made other gameplay changes that make the game feel, well, we’ll just say different. One of those changes gives up regenerative health for a user-initiated healing mechanic. Yes, that means you can heal anytime you want instead of waiting to be out of combat for a few seconds.

I thought this might be a little too potent when I first heard about it, but after playing the game, I can’t say it has the potential to hurt the formula. In fact, it helps add to the intensity that comes with surviving until your next score streak. And because it’s on cooldown, there are plenty of moments where you can’t get a heal right when you need one, making those situations where you’re reaching for a score streak even more unhinging.

Despite all its changes, at the end of the day, it’s still Call of Duty.

Other than that, it’s still Call of Duty. It’s fast-paced engagements in tightly designed maps from the past and present. It’s buttery smooth performance with a nearly 60FPS framerate upscaled at resolutions up to 4K. It’s a vastly flexible loadout system that lets you create the perfect build for your play style. It’s ridiculous kill/death ratios thanks to slightly overpowered score streaks. (Seriously, those dogs and juggernauts are unkillable!)

That also means some of the series’ pain points are still in play, the biggest of which being a frustrating random respawn system that’ll be responsible for more instant deaths than you can stomach. The system is in place to prevent the spawn camping that many-a lovely soul tend to do, but it feels like it does more to punish you than it does to help.

I would have also preferred more choices in weaponry and accessories. That’s not to say there’s no variety in that regard — there’s something for every soldier here. But you can count the number of weapons in any given category on the one hand, and that might be a bit of a deterrent for some. And, well, at least the progression track needed to get those weapons and accessories doesn’t feel overly grindy.

Fortnite’s worst nightmare

Blackout is the mode that unceremoniously replaces campaign, and has hopes of supplanting others in the genre it challenges. Blackout is Battle Royale Call of Duty style, and is probably the biggest thing that contributed to the hype train leading up to Black Ops 4’s launch.

For the uninitiated, Blackout follows the hunger games formula almost to a T. As many as 100 players drop into a map empty-handed. Your goal is to find a gun and be the last one standing. Along the way, you’ll search and loot houses, find weapons, attachments, and gear, run from a harmful zone that doesn’t stop closing in around you, engage enemies in sudden death battles, and even fight a zombie horde or two.

Up against the poorly-optimized mess known as PUBG and the ever-changing Fortnite that has become as polarizing as it is addictive, Blackout had real opportunity to tap into this growing genre, and I must say that Treyarch delivered emphatically. This is one of the smoothest, most polished Battle Royale games out. Only Fortnite can contend from a performance standpoint, with other games of the realistic nature Blackout prefers not even coming close. While Call of Duty isn’t always running at a locked 60 frames per second, it runs damn close nearly all the time, and that’s a far sight better than games like PUBG on Xbox One are capable of.

While Blackout doesn’t do anything to jump off the rails completely, it does have enough of its own flavor to avoid the “shameless clone” badge. The game employs the usage of unique gadgets that can help in a variety of situations. There are your typical throwables like grenades, Molotovs, and flashbangs, but you also get grappling hooks, RC cars, proximity mines, tripwire, and barricades.

Beyond that, consumable perks give you a temporary edge. While there was potential for power creep with this idea, the perks have proven highly situational, and the fact that they take up valuable inventory space while in use helps maintain a healthy balance. I was also worried about vehicles, but they haven’t been problematic in Blackout. There’s so much risk involved with using them that I only opt to take one if I feel I can’t make it to the next safe zone on foot.

Sacrifices had to be made, but Treyarch’s gamble on multiplayer paid off.

Blackout is a rather enjoyable experience from beginning to end. Jumping out of the plane and wingsuit gliding down to your target is exhilarating, and once you’re on the ground, the match pacing is just about right. The map — which is littered with open-ended locations based on fan-favorite maps from previous Black Ops games — seems to be sized perfectly, and the safe zone timings ensure you can’t get too cozy in one place for too long. The result? More movement and more engagements, fewer lull periods, and faster matches overall. Hell, you could even decide to go shoot some zombies if you’re hungry for action and happen to avoid the rest of the lobby.

We’d appreciate better inventory management and looting, and armor can be a bit too effective at blocking damage, but all in all, Blackout deserves all the hype. It takes all the best parts of the battle royale genre and builds on it in a way that no other developer has been able to, all the while avoiding some of the mistakes that eventually caused incumbent players like Fortnite and PUBG to lose good chunks of their player bases.

The future of this mode will depend on how much attention Treyarch will give it and whether it listens to user feedback to inform future decisions. With a promise that it’s doing just that, we could have a winner.

These zombies are scary

I’ve never been a huge Zombies guy myself, so when I ventured into the mode with a few friends, I was a bit skeptical on its ability to hook me. Throw a line into the water and call me a dumb fish, because I have never had so much fun in this mode than while playing Black Ops 4’s version of it.

In Zombies, you start with a weak-ish starting weapon as you fight a horde of undead. They’ll start out weak and thin in numbers at first, but as you fight more waves, you’ll notice their ranks start to grow and their power start to inch from laughable to terrifying. You’ll earn points for the kills and objectives you complete and you can use those points to open gates and unlock new areas, buy new guns, and to buy perks and power-ups.

Zombies provided the kind of fun and laughter that feels like it’s healing you.

Black Ops 4 takes the zombie experience to a new level with the addition of elixirs and talismans. The former can be seen as consumable perks, offering some benefit to you for a short time, while the latter is a passive ability that’ll be active as long as you play. The cool thing with either mechanic is that you can customize your loadout before each match to get the exact abilities and perks you want. The game has a range of unlimited use “classic” elixirs and talismans to take into matches, but there are stronger limited use options that can be earned by spending points at the laboratory.

All of this is saved within customizable classes, though there are a range of default ones to start you off with. I initially chose the warlock preset build which hooked me up with an ability that paired a sawed-off shotgun with a machete and dishes out massive melee damage. It’s the most empowered you’ll feel in this game, and it adds a whole new feeling that I have yet to experience in any other Call of Duty game.

I won’t lie and say I wasn’t overwhelmed by it all at first, though. The game foregoes delicate onboarding to give you more upfront choice. This is cool for those who want everything all at once, but it doesn’t do well to lessen the burden of knowledge for the more casual fanbase it’s targeting. Unfortunately, that lack of hand-holding extends well into the game mode itself, with the game being a bit unclear on how to tackle its various objectives in order to earn more powerful guns and perks. I’m not sure I’d have gotten as far as I did had it not been for a group leader who knew what he was doing. There’s a tutorial, but it merely scratches the surface of the mode’s basics.

But therein also lies the fun in zombies. Overcoming the uncertainty and figuring things out as you go is a lost art in gaming, and it can be the catalyst for the sort of cooperative play that’s often missing in today’s games. For the first time in a match of zombies, communication and teamwork were more important. There was no room for the times where my squad likes to run around and do their own thing because being trapped in a corner during the later rounds can doom even the sharpest of shooters.

Rounds are often capped off chaotically, with your team eventually succumbing to the never-ending sea of undead who seemingly rush in through all crevices. There was nothing more hilarious than seeing my comrades fall one by one until eventually, we all perished. And nothing was singularly funnier than when a lone surviving friend of mine narrowly escaped the clutches of three mini bosses only to be yanked right back into the mauling. It provided the kind of laugh that feels healing, and those are the moments you look for in game modes like this.

Verdict on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

I’d be doing a disservice by failing to mention that Activision had completely lost me at one point. I felt betrayed by the Call of Duty series after the abominations that were Ghost and Advanced Warfare, so much so that I never even gave Black Ops 3 a chance, nor did I spend much time on WW2.

I say all of that to say this: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is the ticket. It’s the winner. It’s the home run. It’s everything it needed to be for Activision to win back some of the souls like me who had all but written the series off as staleness or wackiness took hold.

4.5
out of 5

Sacrifices had to be made, but the gamble of chopping off a short single player campaign to focus on multiplayer modes that will offer many more hours of fun has paid off. Multiplayer and Zombies are much better off because of it, and newcomer Blackout sets Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 up as the most well-rounded multiplayer shooter of the year.

PlayStation 4

• PS4 vs. PS4 Slim vs. PS4 Pro: Which should you buy?
• PlayStation VR Review
• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

Amazon

Honor 8X preview: Big, bold, and beautiful

The Honor 8X combines exquisite design with a large display and a capable chipset.

Honor’s budget phones are always well-regarded for the hardware on offer, but if there’s one thing that Honor improved considerably over the last two years, it’s the design. The Honor 9N is one of the best-looking budget phones in the market today, and the Honor 9 Lite is no different.

The Honor 8X is the company’s best-looking device yet in this segment. The phone features a Kirin 710 chipset and a large 6.5-inch Full HD+ display, dual cameras at the back, 6GB of RAM paired with 128GB of storage, and a 3750mAh battery.

Like all Honor phones in 2018, it’s the design that sets the Honor 8X apart — the phone has a distinctive “double texture aurora glass” finish that Honor says is an evolution of the Honor 10’s gradient back. The end result is that the Honor 8X looks like a phone that costs well over its $300 asking price.

There’s the same aurora glass finish as before, but the Honor 8X also has a vertical band running down the left that creates a two-tone finish. The effect is quite evocative, and gives the Honor 8X an edge in this segment. The phone is available in blue, red, and black color options, and while the black variant is muted, the blue and red options are striking.

The Honor 8X has one of the largest displays we’ve seen so far on a Honor device, sporting a 6.5-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD (2340 x 1080) panel. There is a notch at the top of the display — as is becoming the norm — but it is narrow enough that it isn’t annoying. Like the Honor 10, you get the option to hide the notch in the display settings.

The panel itself is quite decent, offering vibrant colors and great contrast levels. You get the usual features that are standard across all Honor devices — a blue light filter and ability to adjust the color temperature — and there’s also the option to reduce the resolution to 720p to conserve battery life.

The two-tone rear finish makes the Honor 8X one of the most evocative devices in this category.

There’s a considerably thinner bezel at the bottom this time around, and that’s mainly due to the fact that the fingerprint sensor has been moved to the back of the device. The sensor is ideally located at the natural resting position of your index finger, and I had no issues with authentication.

Honor also offers a face unlock feature that works reliably in both well-lit and dark environments, and it’s just as fast as using the fingerprint sensor.

Elsewhere, you get a dual SIM card tray along with a dedicated MicroSD card slot, and Honor has retained the 3.5mm jack. What isn’t so great is the MicroUSB charging port, which just doesn’t mesh with the rest of the hardware. For a device in this category to feature a MicroUSB in late 2018 is inexcusable.

Screen	6.5-inch Full HD+ (2340×1080) IPS LCD
Chipset	HiSilicon Kirin 710
RAM	4GB/6GB
Storage	64GB/128GB
Software	Android 8.1 Oreo, EMUI 8.2
Rear Camera 1	20MP, ƒ/1.8
Rear Camera 2	2MP
Front Camera	16MP, ƒ/2.0
Security	Rear fingerprint, face unlock
Battery	3750mAh
Connectivity	Wi-Fi ac, BT4.2
Colors	Black, Red, Blue
Dimensions	160.4 x 76.6 x 7.8mm
Weight	175g
Price	£229

Coming to the hardware side of things, the Honor 8X is only the second device to feature HiSilicon’s Kirin 710 chipset. Huawei debuted the platform on the Nova 3i earlier this year, and I came away impressed after using that particular device back in August.

The Kirin 710 is manufactured on a 12nm node and has four Cortex A73 cores that go up to 2.2GHz along with four Cortex A53 cores at 1.7GHz. There’s a Mali-G51 MP4 GPU as well, and Honor is bringing its GPU Turbo feature to the 8X. As a refresher, the feature lets you sustain peak performance in visually-intensive titles like PUBG without the CPU being throttled.

The Kirin 710 is more than adequate to handle everyday tasks with ease, and as you’d imagine, EMUI is perfectly optimized for the chipset. There’s no lag anywhere, and while the GPU doesn’t deliver the best visuals in demanding titles, games run smooth in medium settings.

Honor is increasingly turning to the camera to differentiate its phones, and the Honor 8X has a dual 20MP + 2MP cameras at the back, with the secondary sensor adding depth information. I haven’t used the camera enough to share my thoughts on it yet, but at a first glance it seems to hold its own in this category.

There’s the obvious AI-assisted feature that’s now standard across all Honor phones, and you also get a Night Shot feature that lets you take better photos in low-light scenarios. Up front, there’s a 16MP shooter with the usual slate of beauty effects and filters.

On the software side of things, the Honor 8X comes with Android 8.1 Oreo based on EMUI 8.2. It’s a shame the device isn’t launching with the Pie-based EMUI 9.0, but like Samsung, Huawei likes to roll out the latest version of its custom skin on its flagship.

There’s no shortage of phones in this segment, from the mighty POCO F1 to the Vivo V11 Pro, Xiaomi Mi A2, Honor Play, and many more. The design of the Honor 8X certainly allows it to stand out in this category, and the all-day battery life coupled with the capable Kirin 710 make it one of the best sub-$300 phones in 2018.

The Honor 8X is now up for sale in the UK for £229 ($300) for the variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and the phone is also available in India from Amazon for just ₹14,999 ($200). Right now, there’s no word on whether the phone will be available in the U.S., but we’ll let you know should that change in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on the Honor 8X?

See at Honor

UK Deal: Take advantage of all-time low pricing on Philips Hue Starter Kits

Take your lights into the future!

If for some reason you haven’t already invested in some Philips Hue lighting for your house, this may be the deal that changes that. Right now you can pick up this Philips Hue White and Colour Ambience Starter Kit for just £120 at Amazon. This is a new all-time low price and a saving of £20 off the average price for this kit with three white and colour bulbs, the hub required for them to work, and a dimmer switch that you can use to control them in your home.

If you don’t need the colour-changing option, you can get the White Ambience Starter Kit — with three dimmable white bulbs, hub and dimmer — for a record low price of £82.59. You can also opt for the regular two colour bulb Starter Kit for £92.96, which is a discount of a few quid, or the two white bulb Starter Kit with £9 off right now.

If you want to get the most out of these lights, be sure to add an Echo Dot as well so you can then control them with your voice. You’ll also want to consider checking out the rest of the Hue range and picking up some extra bulbs because — trust me — you’ll want all of your lights to be smart after using these!

For more UK deals coverage, be sure to keep an eye on Thrifter UK, sign up for the UK newsletter and follow the team on Twitter.

See at Amazon UK

Sony WH1000XM3 vs. Bose QC35 II: Which should you buy?

We’re a virtual company made up of tech experts from across the globe. While Android is our passion, we also know that a great pair of headphones is the perfect companion to any phone.

Sony WH1000XM3

Our pick

$348 at Amazon

Pros

• Excellent sound quality
• “Only Music, Nothing Else” noise canceling
• Up to 30 hours of battery
• Fast charging via USB Type-C

Cons

• Heavier and larger than the QC35 II

The WH1000XM3 are Sony’s latest and greatest headphones ever. Along with excellent sound, noise-cancelation, and the same design of the WH1000X2, you’ve also got 30 hours of battery life and a newer USB-C port for charging.

Bose QC35 II

Smart headphones

$349 at Amazon

Pros

• Bose’s top-notch sound
• Customizable noise canceling
• Up to 20 hours of playback
• Google Assistant + Alexa built-in

Cons

• Charges with older microUSB port

Bose’s QC35s sound great and have one of the best designs in the business. You’ll find around 20 hours of playback per charge and have access to the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa built right into the headphones.

If you don’t care about having the Google Assistant or Alexa built into your headphones, the Sony WH1000XM3 take the cake with better sound, noise-canceling, and battery life. Also, finally having a USB-C port for charging is a godsend.

Why the Sony headphones win this fight

When it comes to noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones, the Bose QC35 II have long been considered as the unstoppable king. The QC35 IIs offer a winning formula of fantastic design, great, balanced sound, jaw-dropping active noise canceling, and stupendous battery life.

The QC35 IIs are still phenomenal headphones and are absolutely worthy of your attention, but Sony’s recently released WH1000XM3 offer a few serious upgrades that make them the overall better purchase.

While the Bose QC35 II offer great sound quality and noise canceling, the WH1000X3 are even better. The sound is more powerful and customizable and Sony’s active noise canceling is simply magical. Also, while battery life on the QC35 II is already great at 20 hours of use, the WH1000X3 go a step further with a 30-hour rating.

When it eventually comes time to charge up, the QC35 II do so with the older microUSB standard. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, microUSB is becoming a bit long in the tooth in 2018. With the Sony WH1000X3, charging is handled with the newer USB Type-C port and provides five hours of playback after just 10 minutes of charging.

Active noise cancelation	✔️	✔️
Customizable EQ settings	✔️	❌
Battery life	Up to 30 hours	Up to 20 hours
Charging	USB Type-C	microUSB
Voice assistants	Via connected phone (Google Assistant and Siri)	Built-in (Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa)

That’s not to say the Bose QC35 II should be completely forgotten, however. Sony’s headphones do offer some serious improvements, but only Bose’s offering comes with the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa built right in. Furthermore, the design of the QC35 II is still more comfy and lightweight than the WH1000X3 — a big win for people that frequently have their headphones on for long stretches of time at once.If you want that smart capability, this is a pair for you.

Sony WH1000XM3

Our pick

$348 at Amazon

Best all-around package.

Sony’s WH1000XM3 are among the very best headphones you can buy right now. The sound is amazing, noise canceling is fantastic, and you get outstanding battery life with charging taking place over USB-C.

Bose QC35 II

Smart headphones

Built-in assistants are a nice touch.

$349 at Amazon

The WH1000X3 are newer and better than the QC35 II, but thanks to the lightweight + ultra-comfy design and your choice of two built-in voice assistants, Bose’s headphones are still worth a look.

LG Stylo 4 review: Beauty on a budget

No matter your budget, the LG Stylo 4 is worth considering.

While most people focus on the flagship G and V series, LG has been a big player in the low and midrange for as long as they’ve been making phones. These may not have some of the whizbang features that their more expensive cousins do, but these are still great phones that don’t cost an arm and a leg.

Among these is the Stylo line, which is also famous for including an integrated stylus similar to the much more expensive Galaxy Note. In the United States, the Stylo 4 is available on T-Mobile and Metro, or the one I’ve been using: the Amazon Prime Exclusive version.

Stylish stylus

LG Stylo 4: Prime Exclusive

• $250 from Amazon
• $250 at T-Mobile

Almost everything you want on a great price

If you want a great, carrier-unlocked phone with a decent stylus, the LG Stylo 4 is for you.

The Good

• Carrier unlocked
• USB-C for charging
• Works with all four U.S. carriers
• Good performance
• The stylus has a few great features

The Bad

• No NFC on the Amazon version
• Lots and lots of Amazon apps

I — Tom Westrick — have been using the Amazon Prime Exclusive LG Stylo 4 as my main phone for the past three weeks. I used Mint Mobile for my cellular service in and around Indianapolis, Indiana. Amazon provided the phone for review.

LG Stylo 4 Different models

As mentioned, the Stylo 4 is also available from T-Mobile and Metro, and if you use either of those carriers, it’s worth considering that model. You get 2GB of RAM instead of 3GB, but that model has NFC for mobile payments and better radio support for the magenta network.

LG Stylo 4 What I Like

The best thing the Stylo 4 has going for it is the performance at the price. Mid range phones have been getting better and better as hardware improvements trickle down to the lower prices, and the Stylo 4 continues that trend. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 and 3GB of RAM power the phone well, and I had no issues with most apps slowing down. The Facebook app — which is installed out of the box — was slow as molasses, but I’m willing to blame that on Facebook instead of LG.

I’m used to the vanilla software that Google ships on the Pixel line, but I do appreciate some of the additions LG has made. I’m one of those monsters that likes having the back button on the right side, so I’m glad I can rearrange the navigation buttons. Better yet, I’m glad that I can hide the buttons when I’m in an app, so I get more usable screen real estate. The software itself is Android 8.1 Oreo with the June 2018 security patch. You get 32GB of internal storage, which can be expanded with a micro-SD card.

I genuinely like most of LG’s software additions.

That screen is a 6.2-inch (15.75 cm) 18:9, 2180×1080 panel. The display gets bright enough for comfortable daytime viewing, and dim enough that I’m not straining my eyes late at night. I’ve always typed on phones with both of my thumbs, and I had no problems adjusting to typing on this screen.

The phone is well built, though the glossy plastic back picks up smudges easier than I’d like. The buttons are all nice and clicky, though the volume buttons are a bit higher than I’d prefer.

This price point is about what components manufacturers can do away with without harming the experience too much, and the Stylo 4 has most of what you get on a flagship phone. There’s a USB-C port for charging, so you may be able to use the same charger that you would with your Chromebook. You also get a fingerprint sensor for secure unlocks, and it’s nice and fast. You also get something most flagships lack: a 3.5mm headphone jack. I transitioned to Bluetooth headphones a few years ago, but it’s still nice to be able to plug in my gaming headset when I have an important phone call to make and want to make sure the other party can hear me clearly.

The Stylo 4 has almost everything you’d expect in a modern phone.

Speaking of phone calls, I had no problems making and receiving calls when I was in good coverage areas. The cameras also worked well in daytime conditions, and did okay at night. The camera launches quickly, so you shouldn’t miss that precious shot. You can double press the volume down button to launch the camera if the screen is off or if you’re on the lockscreen, but there isn’t any shortcut if you already have the phone unlocked.

On the topic of unlocking things, the Stylo 4 comes carrier unlocked, and works with Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint in the United States. The stylus is easy to get out of its silo on the bottom edge, and when you pop it out, you get quick shortcuts to the stylus tools. You can jot down a quick memo, annotate a screenshot, or just use the stylus for swipe typing. The pen isn’t nearly as advanced as the Galaxy Note’s, but the basics are all covered well.

LG Stylo 4 What I don’t like

While the phone works with T-Mobile, it’s missing some of the antenna bands that the version sold by T-Mobile has. In reality, this translates to much lower data speeds than the phone should have. This is the only real bottleneck that comes when I use this phone, so it’s a shame that Amazon and LG couldn’t have supported more radios.

While this is standard for Prime Exclusive phones, it’s worth noting just how many Amazon apps come on the phone. You get:

• Amazon Alexa
• Amazon Assistant
• Amazon Drive
• Amazon Kindle
• Amazon Music
• Amazon Photos
• Amazon Shopping
• Amazon Widget
• Audible
• Goodreads
• IMDb
• Prime Video
• Prime Now

How many of those are useful will come down to the individual, and I admit I use a few of those on my other phones anyway. But it’s a lot to stick a user with when getting the phone set up for the first time. Fortunately, all those apps can be disabled so you never have to be bothered by them again.

While running Oreo isn’t terrible, if we look at the history of the Stylo line, there’s not much hope for this phone ever getting updated to Pie. Being four months behind on security patches is also bad, no matter what price point the phone is selling at.

The single speaker is just okay, with a good bit of distortion at higher volumes. It’s also really easy to muffle the speaker with your finger or palm, especially if you watch a YouTube video in landscape. Finally, the Prime Exclusive version of the Stylo 4 doesn’t include an NFC for Google Pay.

LG Stylo 4 Should you buy it?

Maybe. Despite my minor complaints, this is a fantastic phone at $250, and a good phone overall regardless of price. Choose which exact version you get wisely if you’re on T-Mobile, but even with some of the tradeoffs — no NFC, extra applications — the Amazon Prime version is a great phone in its own right.

4
out of 5

The only hangup I have is the slow security updates and the lack of OS updates for previous Stylo phones. If those aren’t deal breakers, buy away.

$250 at Amazon
$250 at T-Mobile

What do you consider to be the phone of the year for 2018?

This has been a great year for smartphones.

Even though 2018 isn’t over quite yet, we’ve already seen a plethora of excellent handsets released throughout the year. Samsung came in swinging early with the Galaxy S9 series, LG’s had a couple surprise hits with the G7 and V40, and Google’s all-new Pixel 3 + Pixel 3 XL are easily two of the best Android phones you can buy right now.

With so many quality phones out in the market, is it possible to name one as phone of the year?

Some of our AC forum members appear to think so. Here’s what they have to say.

DMP89145
10-15-2018 07:03 PM

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I say yes OR close 2nd. I think the regular Pixel 3 for sure, but closer for the 3XL. Camera and software dig out the win for the top spot, I say.

Outside of the Note, which to me is in a category by itself, what else comes close? XS..? maybe.. 9/9+ nah …

Reply

rahool360
10-15-2018 09:32 PM

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My vote is for Note 9 though !!!

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swarlos
10-15-2018 09:58 PM

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Since I’m an iPhone user, X🅂 max but I’d say the Note 9 would be a heavy contender then possibly the One Plus 6 or 6T heck even the Razer Phone 2 offers more than the Pixel.

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chezm
10-15-2018 10:03 PM

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Im buying a Pixel 3, its my phone of the year (if it wasn’t I wouldn’t buy it) but I wouldn’t expect it to be on many others. I can see why iPhone XS Max or Note 9 would win it, even though I wouldn’t prefer either theyre geared to mass market appeal.

Reply

What about you? What do you think is 2018’s smartphone of the year?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Infographic showcases RED Hydrogen One specs, design, and features

Here’s everything that’s packed inside RED’s first smartphone.

It’s been well over a year since the RED Hydrogen One was first announced, and since then, details on the phone have been few and far between. We’re still not entirely sure when the handset will actually launch, but thanks to the eagle eyes of one AC reader, we’ve now got a fancy infographic that highlights all of the Hydrogen One’s key details.

The camera package is easily one of the biggest selling points for the phone, and around back, we’re looking at a dual rear camera setup that consists of two 12.3MP sensors with an LED flash to accompany them. Up front is dual 8.3MP cameras.

Also confirmed here are the 4,500 mAh battery, 6GB RAM, and 128GB of internal storage that can be expanded via a microSD card slot.

The infographic goes on to highlight three of the Hydrogen One’s key technologies, including its H4V holographic video and still image capturing, Leia holographic 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 H4V display, and A3D spatial surround sound.

In late September, RED announced that it was delaying the titanium version of the Hydrogen One due to a disastrous first production run. The company’s making it up to its customers by offering them a free aluminum version of the phone while they wait, but it’s anyone’s guess as to when that version will ship.

Are you still interested in the RED Hydrogen One?

Three reasons the RED Hydrogen One could be the most interesting phone of 2018

How to set up Gameshare on your PlayStation 4

Games are expensive, and not everyone can afford to purchase multiple titles a year at $60 a pop. Since digital media is taking over it’s becoming rarer that we simply lend friends or family physical copies of our games. If you’re looking to share your digital library of games, there is a way to do so on PlayStation 4.

Products used in this guide

• Best Buy: PlayStation 4 Pro ($400)

How to set up gameshare on your PlayStation 4

Log in to your account on the PlayStation 4 console that your friend or family member uses.
Go to Settings.
Select Account Management.
Select Activate as Your Primary PS4.

Select Activate.

Once this is done, your friend or family member can download any games from your library to their console. They can then access these on their own accounts, even if you are not logged in on their console at the time.

Though you can do this process with an unlimited amount of people, only two people can be playing the same game simultaneously, meaning you can’t share your library with several other friends and all hop into the same online game with each other.

Why bother gamesharing?

Gamesharing is the easiest, most pain-free way to save money on new games. Not everyone can go out and spend hundreds of dollars on multiple games each fall. When you don’t have a physical disc to loan out, this is the next best thing. Think of it like sharing your Netflix account.

Our pick

PlayStation 4 Pro

$400 at Best Buy

The best Sony offers

If you want the best performance possible when gamesharing, the PlayStation 4 Pro is the way to go. It offers 4K resolution support, 60FPS on select games, and generally makes for an overall better experience when playing the most graphically demanding games.