OnePlus 6 India review: Notching up another win

The OnePlus 6 is a fabulous phone once you look past the notch.

The OnePlus 6 is the most anticipated phone of 2018 in India, and for good reason. OnePlus’ aggressive strategy paid dividends for the brand in recent quarters, and the company has a firm foothold in the mid-range segment.

One reason for OnePlus’ popularity in India is because of the fact that the brand maintains price parity with its U.S. counterpart. The 64GB version of the OnePlus 6 retails for ₹34,999, which comes out to $515, or $15 less than what the phone is available for in the U.S. That was the case last year as well, wherein OnePlus launched the 5T at the same ₹32,999 ($485) price point as the OnePlus 5.

To put things into context, the Galaxy S9+ launched in India for ₹64,900 ($1,015), or $175 more than what it costs in the U.S. Similarly, the Pixel 2 XL made its debut in the country at ₹73,900 ($1,120), a full $270 more than what it retails for in the U.S.

Compare that to what the OnePlus 6 costs and you begin to understand why the brand has such a fervent following in India. The country is now the largest global market for OnePlus, and accounts for over a third of all sales.

For the OnePlus 6, the company is introducing a couple of improvements that distinguish it from last year’s models. Key among them is a glass design at the back, a retooled camera setup with a brand-new imaging sensor, upgraded internals, and water resistance. There’s also an unwelcome addition in the form of a notch, but overall the OnePlus 6 is once again the phone to beat in this category.

About this review

I (Harish Jonnalagadda) am writing this review after using the OnePlus 6 for ten days in Hyderabad and Delhi. I used the phone on Airtel and Jio’s 4G networks, and hooked it up to a variety of Bluetooth accessories. The phone came with OxygenOS 5.1.2, and I picked up the 5.1.3 update a few days into the testing period. OnePlus India provided the device for review.

OnePlus 6: Design

If there’s one word to describe the design of the OnePlus 6, it would be refinement. The switch to a glass back gives the phone a more upmarket look, and the fit and finish are in line with what you’d expect from the best that Samsung has to offer.

The one downside of the new design is that it makes the OnePlus 6 look similar to the endless wave of glass-backed Android phones. However, OnePlus is differentiating its phone by offering variants that have unique patterns underneath the glass back.

The camera sensor is now arrayed vertically, and has a more central position at the back. The new location for the imaging module means the fingerprint sensor is slightly lower than where it was on the 5T, and the sensor itself is now rectangular.

The positioning means the sensor isn’t as easy to locate anymore, but it’s just as accurate as before. The back also features the OnePlus logo, and it looks like the company is proud of its new design language, as it furnished the bottom of the device with a “Designed by OnePlus” moniker.

The front is dominated by a 6.28-inch display, which is notable for the cutout at the top. The other significant design alteration at the front is the Alert Slider, which is now located on the right side of the phone. The slider now sits above the power button, and its functionality has also been altered — you’ll easily be able to put the phone in ring, vibrate, or silent mode by toggling between the three options.

The OnePlus 6 has a sleek new design and color options with unique patterns.

Down below is where you’ll find the solitary speaker, which sits next to the USB-C (2.0) connector and the increasingly rare 3.5mm jack. To its credit, OnePlus says the jack will be a mainstay on its devices for the foreseeable future. You also get aptX HD for high-fidelity streaming over Bluetooth.

The OnePlus 6 is also water resistant for “everyday occasions,” but the phone doesn’t have an IP rating. OnePlus didn’t clarify what those everyday occasions were, but the lack of certification means that while the OnePlus 6 will withstand the splash of water, you’re better off not taking it to the pool.

The OnePlus 6 is available in three variants — Mirror Black, Midnight Black, and Silk White — and all three models have something unique to offer. The Mirror Black version has a glossy back with a piano black finish, and the Midnight Black model has a textured film underneath the glass that shows off an “S” under certain lighting conditions.

The Silk White edition, meanwhile, has pearl powder that creates a shimmering effect. Both the Midnight Black and Silk White variants have a matte finish. The Silk White is the most exciting option of the three, but it is also the model that’s hardest to get a hold of. OnePlus mentions that the variant will be sold in limited quantities, and it’s likely it will sell out altogether in a matter of days following its availability on June 5.

I’m reviewing the glossy-backed variant of the OnePlus 6, which is quick to pick up smudges. The variants with the matte finish fare slightly better in this regard, but you’ll want to use this phone with a case. Thankfully, OnePlus makes a range of excellent first-party cases.

That’s not all for the Indian market, however, as OnePlus is launching the OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Edition later this month in the country. The Avengers edition features a kevlar pattern underneath the glass back that’s reminiscent of OnePlus’ Karbon Black cases, and there’s also the Avengers logo at the back.

For all intents, the OnePlus 6 Avengers edition is a custom variant of the Mirror Black model with a kevlar textured film underneath the glass. Other design flourishes include a gold-accented Alert Slider, and exclusive Avengers backgrounds. The Avengers edition is the only model in the country that offers 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, and you’ll be able to pick it up starting May 29 for ₹44,999.

This is the OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Edition

OnePlus 6: Display

The OnePlus 6 now has a 6.28-inch display — thanks to the notch — but the overall height at 155.7mm is slightly less than the 5T’s 156.1mm.

Like last year, you’ll be able to adjust the screen calibration to either sRGB, DCI-P3, or a custom color profile. The panel is still FHD+, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as you’re not going to notice a whole lot of difference between QHD and FHD+ on a 6.28-inch screen anyway. And by continuing to offer a Full HD screen, OnePlus is able to deliver better battery life.

The OLED panel offers vibrant colors with excellent contrast levels, and while the overall brightness isn’t quite as high as what you’ll find on Samsung’s latest flagship, it is perfectly serviceable. Like the 5T, the OnePlus 6 offers one of the best panels in this category.

There’s an ambient lift up display mode that wakes the screen when you lift it up off a surface, and you also have the option to wake the screen for incoming notifications. The phone also has a night mode that you can automatically schedule to kick in from sunset to sunrise or at a predetermined time.

The OnePlus 6 has one of the best displays in this category.

If you’re looking to read longform content on the phone at night, the reading mode is a better alternative. The mode turns the display monochrome, making it much more conducive to read text at night. It’s a feature I particularly like on OnePlus phones, and one that other manufacturers should copy.

The phone works with “Okay Google” hotword detection, so you’ll be able to launch the Google Assistant — even when the display is off — by invoking either the”Okay Google” or “Hey Google” hotwords.

OnePlus mainstays are present on its latest flagship: there’s an LED notification light, and you can customize the colors for various actions, like battery low or set a different color for an individual app. You can also choose from a light or dark theme, adjust the display scaling and font size options, and mirror your phone’s screen to a Cast-enabled device.

Unlike last year’s kerfuffle with the 5T, Netflix HD streaming is enabled out of the box on the OnePlus 6, but it is limited to 720p. YouTube streaming at 1080p works just fine, but I wasn’t able to get Netflix to stream in Full HD.

Last year’s face unlock feature is intact on the OnePlus 6, and continues to be one of the fastest implementations on a phone today. OnePlus is upfront about the fact that Face Unlock isn’t as secure as the fingerprint sensor, but it works incredibly well both in daylight as well as low-light scenarios.

The notch

The addition of the notch will be a polarizing feature, but thankfully you can at least hide it from the settings. Doing so will result in black bars on either side of the notch, effectively hiding it in daily usage scenarios.

In my usage, I found that the notch doesn’t really add much in terms of value. Yes, I was able to see more text on-screen, but the added two lines don’t make up for the fact that there’s an unseemly cutout at the top of the display.

The notch is OnePlus 6’s main annoyance, but you can hide it.

I wouldn’t mind the notch had OnePlus eliminated the bottom bar on the OnePlus 6, but that isn’t the case. The bottom bar isn’t as substantial as the one on the 5T, but it’s still present, calling into question the reasoning for the notch in the first place. More than anything else on the device, the notch feels like a feature that serves no useful purpose.

Sure, OnePlus did a better job minimizing the bottom bar when seen against the likes of ASUS and Huawei, but to call its notch implementation the best on Android would be like saying that a car with three wheels is better than one with two.

How to disable the notch on the OnePlus 6

OnePlus 6: Performance

Screen	6.28-inch OLED
SoC	Snapdragon 845
RAM	6/8GB
Storage	64/128/256GB
Camera 1	16MP rear, ƒ/1.7, OIS
Camera 2	20MP rear, ƒ/1.7
Battery	3300mAh
Connectivity	Gigabit LTE, 27 LTE bands
Security	Fingerprint, face unlock
Dimensions	155.7 x 75.4 x 7.75mm
Weight	177grams
Colors	Mirror Black, Midnight Black, Silk White
Price	₹34,999, ₹39,999, ₹44,999

OnePlus differentiated itself from the onset by offering phones with class-leading performance, and the OnePlus 6 is no different. The phone is the first in the country to feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845 chipset, and you also get 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage.

The raw numbers combined with the optimized OxygenOS make the OnePlus 6 one of the fastest — if not the fastest — Android phones in the market today. The device is just as fluid as the Pixel 2 when it comes to handling everyday tasks, and I never noticed a slowdown or lag in the ten days I’ve used the device.

Like previous devices, OnePlus lets you customize the vibration pattern for incoming calls, and the haptics in general are satisfactory. The Wi-Fi performance was also stellar thanks to 2×2 MIMO, and I routinely saw speeds in the vicinity of 470Mbps.

Cellular data was flaky, but that’s more to do with the state of Airtel and Jio’s 4G networks than a reflection on the device. For its part, OnePlus has mentioned that it has tuned the device specifically for Indian carriers.

The mono speaker at the bottom gets sufficiently loud, but it is nowhere near as detailed as stereo speakers. Call quality was similarly adequate, and I had no issues with hearing the recipient or connectivity issues when making calls.

For all of its advances, the OnePlus 6 is missing a few features, notably wireless charging. Given the manufacturer’s six-month release cycle, it’s likely we’ll see the feature make its way into the OnePlus 6T later this year.

Battery life

The OnePlus 6 has the same 3300mAh battery as the 5T, and the battery life is near-identical as well. You won’t have any issues getting a day’s worth of usage for the most part, but there are scenarios where you’ll need to top up before bedtime — mainly if you’re using cellular data throughout the day.

Dash Charge is thankfully unchanged, and you get the same lightning-quick charging speeds as years past. The downside is that you’ll have to pick up OnePlus’ proprietary charging tech to make full use of Dash Charge, and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. Still, the ability to get p to five hours’ worth of usage from a 15-minute charge is a definite bonus.

OnePlus 6: Software

I can’t find many faults with OxygenOS, and that should speak volumes to the improvements OnePlus has undertaken in this area over the last two years.

OxygenOS 5.1.3 has the same vanilla user interface that we’ve come to like, and you get subtle tweaks that make the overall experience that much better. The latest addition to the user interface is a gesture-driven navigation system, which made its debut at the start of the year on the OnePlus 5T.

The OnePlus 6 uses the same system, and the gestures let you maximize the real estate on the screen while offering a more intuitive way of navigating the interface. You swipe up from the bottom center of the screen to go home, and swiping up from either edge will take you back inside an app. A swipe up and pause gesture reveals the multitasking pane.

OxygenOS is one of the best manufacturer skins available today.

Oddly enough, the ability to swipe down on the fingerprint sensor to pull down the notification shade is missing on the OnePlus 6, and although you can search for the feature in the settings, there’s no way to enable it. It’s likely the feature will go live in a forthcoming update.

You can still toggle real-time network speed, but the truncated nature of the status bar means you’ll have to pull down to view the icon. That’s true for battery percentage as well — there’s no way to see it directly in the status bar, and you can’t enable System UI Tuner to manually tweak that particular option.

And while you can manage preferences for Do Not Disturb, there’s no way to automatically schedule the feature like most other phones. OnePlus alluded to the feature at its launch event, so there’s a possibility we’ll see it added at a later date.

The OnePlus 6 also supports Treble, and is in fact included in the first wave of devices eligible for the Android P beta program. The beta build is now available for the device, and while it doesn’t have any OxygenOS customizations, OnePlus says those will be added in forthcoming builds. OnePlus devices are also mod-friendly, so it’s a straightforward affair to unlock the bootloader and install a custom ROM.

The only question around OxygenOS revolves around updates, but OnePlus has been making positive strides in this area and we should see faster updates going forward.

OnePlus 6: Camera

The camera is another area that has been overhauled in the OnePlus 6. The dual 16MP + 20MP setup is the same as last year’s 5T, but the primary camera gets a brand-new imaging sensor (Sony IMX 519), the secondary camera is now used solely for adding bokeh to portrait mode shots, and optical image stabilization is back.

The interface itself is largely unchanged from last year, and is just as easy to use. You’ll be able to easily toggle between video, photo, and portrait modes, and enable HDR, set timers, toggle flash, and set the intensity of the beautify mode from the interface. 2x zoom is still intact, but it no longer offers optical zoom as the secondary sensor is limited to adding depth of field effect to images.

The OnePlus 6 camera takes stunning photos in daylight conditions, but the bulk of the improvements are centered around low-light photography. Simply put, this is the first OnePlus device that doesn’t suck at taking photos in less-than-stellar lighting.

While the OnePlus 6 is much better at low-light photos, it still isn’t anywhere as good as the Pixel 2 or the Huawei P20 Pro in this area. That said, it does lead the field in its price category, and that could turn out to be the differentiator this year.

The OnePlus 6 also offers slow-motion videos: 720p at 480fps and 1080p at 240fps. In addition, you get the ability to shoot 4K videos at 60fps, and the inclusion of OIS makes a huge difference when shooting videos handheld. The front 16MP camera is unchanged from last year, and takes passable selfies — they’re decent enough for sharing on social media platforms.

Should you buy it? Absolutely!

With the OnePlus 6, you’re getting the same hardware as phones that cost twice as much, along with a software experience that’s one of the best available on Android today. Aside from the notch, there isn’t an area where the OnePlus 6 doesn’t excel.

The display is one of the best you’ll find in this category, and it’s safe to say that the OnePlus 6 is the fastest phone available in the market today. The camera has picked up much-needed improvements and is now usable in low-light conditions, and all-day battery life combined with the efficacy of Dash Charge make the OnePlus 6 one of the best devices of the year.

OnePlus leads the market when it comes to value, and that’s unlikely to change for the rest of 2018.

There are plenty of options if you’re looking to buy the OnePlus 6 in India. The phone is available in three color variants — Mirror Black, Midnight Black, and Silk White — and customers in India will also be able to pick up the limited edition Marvel Avengers model.

The Mirror Black edition is available in both 6GB/64GB (₹34,999) and 8GB/128GB variants (₹39,999), but the Midnight Black and Silk White are only limited to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The Midnight Black edition is now up for sale, but the Silk White model will be available from the first week of June.

If you’re interested in the model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, you’ll have to go with the Avengers edition as that’s the only variant offering the increasing storage option in India. The Avengers variant will go up for sale on May 29 for ₹44,999.

If last year’s 5T Star Wars edition was any indication, the Avengers edition will sell out in a matter of days, so be sure to get your order in as soon as the phone is up for sale. The same goes for the Silk White variant as well — OnePlus says that the model will be available in limited quantities, so you’ll need to act fast to get your hands on the device.

The Good

• Great new design
• Class-leading internals
• Much-improved camera
• Uncluttered UI
• Unmatched value

The Bad

• Notch
• No wireless charging

4.5
out of 5

Regardless of whatever variant of the OnePlus 6 you end up with, you’re getting a phone that offers plenty of value for its asking price. There are few phones that offer quite as much in this category, and the fact that it costs just over half the price of the Galaxy S9+ makes it the bargain of the year.

See at Amazon India

OnePlus 6

• OnePlus 6 review
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5T: How much changes in six months?
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5: Should you upgrade?
• These are the official OnePlus 6 cases
• The OnePlus 6 doesn’t work on Verizon or Sprint
• Join the discussion in the forums

1Password 7 for Mac Launches Today With Redesigned Sidebar, Easier Access to Vaults, and Much More

Following two months of beta testing, AgileBits has announced that 1Password 7 for Mac is being released for all users today.

The latest version of the popular password manager is a major update with dozens of new features and improvements, including a new dark-themed, collapsible sidebar that makes it easier to use and manage password vaults.

Users can now access their vaults by clicking on “All Vaults” in the sidebar, with full drag-and-drop support to conveniently move or copy items from one vault to another, including between different accounts. Users can also drag items onto the “New Vault” menu item and one will be created automatically.

1Password 7 for Mac integrates with Have I Been Pwned? to securely check a user’s passwords against a database of passwords that have been compromised in known data breaches, such as when a popular service or website is hacked.

The app’s security-focused Watchtower feature can also identify any login items that support two-factor authentication and help users enable it on those websites. Watchtower can now also keep track of expiring items so users know in advance if they need to renew their credit cards, passports, licenses, and more.

1Password now helps users sign in to their favorite apps by showing them suggested logins for the app they are currently using. If a user is signing into the App Store, for example, they can click the 1Password icon in the menu bar to see their Apple ID and simply drag and drop their username and password to log in.

The app’s redesign extends to the lock screen, login icons, tags, pop-out windows for items, and more, while there is a new custom font Courier Prime Bits, by Alan Dague-Greene, that makes it easier to view passwords.

A quick list of other changes from AgileBits:

• Every pixel has been put under the microscope and polished for maximum upgradedness.
• The new “pop-out” feature allows you to view an item in a window of its own and keep it handy.
• Secure notes are now rendered using Markdown.
• Quick Open allows you to quickly jump to your items or vaults (find it under the File menu).
• A custom password font, all our own, courtesy of Alan Dague-Greene.
• A new password strength meter.
• Touch ID now leverages your computer’s Secure Enclave, making it more secure than ever before.
• Login items now have a gorgeous, custom rendered icon by default.
• Remove duplicate items on a per-vault basis by clicking Help > Tools > Clean Up Duplicate Items.
• Integration with Spotlight allows you to find your items using Apple’s built-in search engine.
• Nested tags allow you to up your organization: add tags with / in them and 1Password will break
  them down into groups.
• Opt in to automatic updates and never be left behind again.

1Password is a popular tool for storing usernames, passwords, credit cards, addresses, notes, bank accounts, driver’s licenses, passports, and more behind one master password, with end-to-end encryption. A built-in password generator lets users create strong, unique passwords and memorizable pass-phrases.

1Password 7 for Mac is the first paid upgrade to the desktop version of the app in five years, meaning that users of previous versions will need to purchase a new license or subscription to use the new version.

Users with an active 1Password subscription, which start at $2.99 per month for individuals, can simply install 1Password 7 from the Mac App Store or AgileBits website and be ready to go. Otherwise, after installing the latest version, there is a prompt to sign up for a 1Password membership.

For those who wish to purchase a standalone license for 1Password 7 for Mac, licenses are available when 1Password is downloaded from the AgileBits website. Licenses are $49.99 for a limited time, and $64.99 after that. Licenses are per-person, per-platform, with macOS Sierra or later required.

The Mac App Store version of 1Password 7, rolling out today, is a new, separate app from the existing 1Password 6 listing, which has been removed, and is only available for users with 1Password subscriptions.

Tags: 1Password, AgileBits
Discuss this article in our forums

Instagram Working on ‘You’re All Caught Up’ Feature to Let You Know When All New Posts Have Been Viewed

Instagram has not used a chronological feed for years now, making it difficult to determine when you’ve seen all of the new content on the social network.

Instagram may be planning to fix this issue with a new “You’re All Caught Up” feature that’s designed to notify users when all unseen posts from the last 48 hours have been viewed.

The feature was first noticed by TechCrunch, and an Instagram spokesperson confirmed that it is being tested and will show up for a limited number of users.

Instagram did not, however, share details on how it works and whether it includes every single post from the people you follow or just the best ones that its algorithm has decided to display.

The new “You’re All Caught Up” text is part of Instagram’s pledge to offer a Usage Insights feature that will let users know just how much time they’re spending in the Instagram app.

“We’re building tools that will help the IG community know more about the time they spend on Instagram – any time should be positive and intentional. Understanding how time online impacts people is important, and it’s the responsibility of all companies to be honest about this. We want to be part of the solution. I take that responsibility seriously,” Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom wrote on Twitter last week.

Tag: Instagram
Discuss this article in our forums

When is your phone getting Android P? We asked every major manufacturer

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

The next version of Android — Android P — is finally on its way. At Google I/O 2018, the company launched the Android P open beta, which has a number of new features you can check out in our handy guide.

There are more phones than ever that can access the Android P beta, which leads us to believe that there will be a significant number of phones with the final version later this year — at least, more than usual. But when is your phone getting the new version of the mobile operating system? It’s still early days, but manufacturers are likely evaluating which phones should get the update. We reached out to almost all of them, and here’s what they had to say.

Alcatel

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Alcatel told Digital Trends it had nothing to share regarding Android P at the moment. We don’t expect all of its phones to get Android P — after all, some of them still ship with Android Nougat. Not only that, but Alcatel’s track record with Android updates is pretty bad, so it’s hard to say whether or not any of its phones would get Android P.

Asus

Simon Hill/Digital Trends

Asus told Digital Trends it does not yet have a release schedule for Android P, but it should have one ready within a few months. Android P is slated to launch around the end of August.

Asus phones we expect to get Android P

• Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1
• Asus Zenfone 4
• Asus Zenfone 5

BlackBerry

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

BlackBerry told Digital Trends it could not share any information about an upgrade to Android P for BlackBerry phones.

BlackBerry phones we expect to get Android P

• BlackBerry Motion
• BlackBerry KeyOne
• BlackBerry KeyTwo

Essential

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Essential Phone is one of the phones that can access the current Android P open beta, meaning that it should also be one of the first to get the consumer version of Android P once it’s released to the public.

Essential phones confirmed to get Android P

• Essential Phone (PH-1)

Google

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Google’s Pixel phones, of course, will get Android P as soon as it’s available.

Google phones confirmed to get Android P

• Google Pixel
• Google Pixel XL
• Google Pixel 2
• Google Pixel 2 XL

Unfortunately, no Nexus phones will get the update to Android P.

HMD Global (Nokia)

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

HMD is also on the list of beta partners for Android P, and it’s available specifically for the Nokia 7 Plus. Since all HMD phones run Android One, which is a stock version of Android, we expect most if not all of the company’s 2018 and 2017 lineup to receive the Android P update.

HMD Global phones confirmed to get Android P

• Nokia 7 Plus

HMD Global phones we expect to get Android P

• Nokia 8 Sirocco
• Nokia 8
• Nokia 7
• Nokia 6.1
• Nokia 6 (2018)
• Nokia 5
• Nokia 3

Honor

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Honor has yet to respond to our email. Still, we expect Honor flagships like the new Honor 10 to get the update.

Honor phones we expect to get Android P

• Honor 10
• Honor View 10
• Honor 9 Lite
• Honor 7X
• Honor 7A
• Honor 7C

HTC

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

HTC told Digital Trends it had nothing to share regarding Android P on HTC phones.

HTC phones we expect to get Android P

• HTC U11
• HTC U11 Life
• HTC U11 Plus
• HTC U Ultra

Huawei

Huawei has yet to respond to our email, but we expect at least a few of its major releases to get the update.

Huawei phones we expect to get Android P

• Huawei Mate 10
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
• Huawei P20
• Huawei P20 Pro

LG

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

LG has yet to respond to our email. We expect LG’s flagships from the past few years to get the update, including the LG G7 ThinQ, LG G6, and LG V30.

LG phones we expect to get Android P

• LG G7 ThinQ
• LG G6
• LG V30

Motorola/Lenovo

Motorola told Digital Trends it had nothing to share regarding Android P on Motorola phones. Still, we expect the likes of the Moto Z2 and Moto X4 to get the update eventually.

Motorola phones we expect to get Android P

• Moto X4
• Moto Z2 Play
• Moto Z2 Force
• Moto G5
• Moto G6

OnePlus

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The Android P beta is available for the newly announced OnePlus 6. We expect the OnePlus 6 to be among the first phones to get the consumer release of Android P once it’s launched. We expect other OnePlus phones, including the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T, to get the update eventually, too.

OnePlus phones confirmed to get Android P

• OnePlus 6

OnePlus phones we expect to get Android P

• OnePlus 5
• OnePlus 5T

Oppo

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The Android P beta is available to the Oppo R15, which means that it should be among the first phones to get the consumer release of Android P once it’s available.

Oppo phones confirmed to get Android P

• Oppo R15

Oppo phones we expect to get Android P

• Oppo R15 Pro
• Oppo A83
• Oppo F7
• Oppo R11s
• Oppo F5 Youth
• Oppo F5

Razer

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Razer has yet to respond to our email.  Still, we expect the Razer phone to get the update once it’s available to consumers.

Razer phones we expect to get Android P

• Razer Phone

Samsung

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Samsung told Digital Trends it had nothing to share at this time. Of course, we expect most Samsung flagships from the past few years to get the update — including the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9. The problem with Samsung is that its user interface is heavily customized and the company often takes its time with updates.

Samsung phones we expect to get Android P

• Samsung Galaxy S8
• Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus
• Samsung Galaxy S8 Active
• Samsung Galaxy S9
• Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Sony

The Android P beta is available to the Sony Xperia XZ2, and as such we expect the phone to be one of the first to get the consumer version of Android P once it’s released.

Sony phones confirmed to get Android P

• Sony Xperia XZ2

Sony phones we expect to get Android P

• Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
• Sony Xperia XA2
• Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
• Sony Xperia XZ
• Sony Xperia XZ Compact

Vivo

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The Android P beta is available to two Vivo phones — the Vivo X21UD, and the Vivo X21. As such, we expect the consumer version of Android P to come to those phones soon after it’s released.

Vivo phones confirmed to get Android P

• Vivo X21
• Vivo X21UD

Vivo phones we expect to get Android P

• Vivo V9

Xiaomi

Simon Hill/Digital Trends

The Android P beta is available to the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, and as such we expect it to be one of the first phones to get the consumer version of the software once it’s released.

Xiaomi phones confirmed to get Android P

• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S

Xiaomi phones we expect to get Android P

• Xiaomi Mi A1
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
• Xiaomi Mi 6

ZTE

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

ZTE has yet to respond to our email. It’s unclear what the future of the company will be considering how ZTE can’t use Android anymore, so we doubt you’ll see Android P on recently launched ZTE phones anytime soon.

Editors’ Recommendations

• When is your phone getting Android 8.0 Oreo? We asked every major manufacturer
• The Android P open beta has arrived — here are 11 phones that can use it
• Android P: Our complete guide
• Comparing smartphones to find the most bezel-less design
• Moto E5 Plus and Play are solid budget phones that won’t get Android P

Drones are no longer crash-test dummies thanks to MIT’s new VR training platform

To better train drones and reduce the risk of damage to itself and its surroundings, MIT engineers developed a training platform called “Flight Goggles” based on virtual reality. This enables a fast-flying drone to train within a virtual environment while speeding through empty physical space. Given the nature of VR, these drones can now safely train for any environment and condition. 

Without Flight Goggles, drone training typically includes a large enclosed area with nets to catch “careening” vehicles and physical props including doors and windows. If they crash, that’s an added expense to the project due lost time, repairs, or a complete drone replacement. This type of training is ideal for slow-moving drones designed to scan an environment, not fast-moving models. 

“The moment you want to do high-throughput computing and go fast, even the slightest changes you make to its environment will cause the drone to crash,” says Sertac Karaman, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. “You can’t learn in that environment. If you want to push boundaries on how fast you can go and compute, you need some sort of virtual-reality environment.” 

To develop Flight Goggles, the team began with a “hangar-like gymnasium” lined with motion-capture cameras mounted on the walls to track the drone’s movement through physical space. This data is inserted into an image rendering program that generates a photorealistic virtual environment based on the drone’s position and perspective. The program then sends that combined data back to the drone.  

According to Karaman, the drone’s camera isn’t on, and instead “hallucinates” as it “sees” one environment while speeding through another, processing that visual feed at 90 frames per second. The drone used to test Flight Goggles was based on a 3D-printed nylon and carbon fiber frame, a custom-built circuit board, an embedded “supercomputer,” an inertial measurement unit, and a camera. 

For the initial test, the team created a virtual living room with a window twice the size of the drone. Flying at five miles per hour, the vehicle darted through the virtual window 361 times and “crashed” only three times. All throughout this test, the team tweaked its navigation algorithm so the drone could “learn on the fly” and avoid virtual walls. 

Of course, had the team used props instead of VR in this experiment, three repairs or complete drone replacements would be in order. But with Flight Goggles, the drone could “crash” thousands of times and the training would continue without costly repairs and downtime. 

But you can’t have a VR training session without testing the drone in a real-world scenario. The team built the same window within the facility, and then turned on the drone’s on-board camera. The result: It zipped through the physical window 119 times and crashed/required human intervention six times. 

While that doesn’t sound entirely successful, remember that the fast-flying drone learned to fly in virtual space not to mention zooming through the opening at 5 miles per hour. Karaman believes Flight Goggles could even safely train drones to fly around humans. 

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Micron’s four-level memory tech stacks the storage in its new SSD

Micron is setting an industry first with the release of its 5210 Ion solid-state disk. The drive relies on the company’s QLC NAND technology, packing 33 percent more storage capacity than a similar SSD with TLC NAND. The drive targets markets where clunky hard drives still remain the dominant storage device due to their large capacities and lower prices. 

QLC is short for quad-level cell, meaning each memory cell can hold four bits of data. It’s a means of providing a high storage capacity at a lower cost versus using a single-level design to achieve the same storage amount. In other words, you could more than double the capacity of a 500GB single-level cell SSD by using multi-level cell NAND without increasing the price. 

Typically, the most recent SSDs rely on triple-level cell NAND flash memory. Depending on the manufacturer, the memory is either spread out horizontally like a city block or vertically like a skyscraper. Micron’s “3D” QLC NAND is the latter, enabling more storage without the constraints of the drive’s horizontal physical space by vertically stacking 64 layers comprised of four-level cells. 

The company’s new SSD targets datacenters that are in dire need of retiring their hard drive farms. Although SSDs are not fail-proof, they have no moving parts, thus they’re not only power efficient and quiet, but more dependable than hard drives. The only real hook keeping hard drives in the datacenter is their dollar-per-gigabyte ratio, as they’re cheaper than SSDs with the same capacity. Micron’s QLC 3D NAND aims to change that. 

The Micron 5210 ION SSD connects via a standard SATA port just like a hard drive. At the time of this writing, we didn’t have the drive’s read and write speeds, but SATA-based SSDs are always faster than hard drives, but slower than SSDs connected via a PCIe-based M.2 slot. Again, Micron’s SSD aims to replace current hard drives in systems that likely don’t have an M.2 slot. They’re only 0.275 inches thick too (7mm) so you can cram more drives into the same space occupied by traditional 3.5-inch hard drives. 

Micron first introduced its 5200 family of enterprise-focused SSDs in January. They’re split into four categories: Eco, Max, Pro, and the new Ion drives. The Eco models are capable of around one drive write per day, which means you can rewrite the drive’s full capacity once per day without failure during the warranty period. The Pro models have an endurance of around two drive writes per day while the Max models have an endurance of five writes per day. 

That said, the Eco, Max, and Pro models are based in Micron’s three-level cell NAND memory while the 5210 Ion is the company’s first to use its foul-level cell memory. The SSD is shipping to “strategic enablement partners and customers” for now followed by a broad availability this fall. Capacities will range between 1.92TB and 7.68TB at prices to be announced closer to launch.

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Handlebar-mounted Knister Grill transforms your bike into a rolling barbecue

The good weather’s here — and with it, barbecue season. But too often barbecuing is limited to our backyards or nearby parks. The reason? Because barbecues aren’t exactly the easiest of thing to transport. That’s especially true if you’re also someone who enjoys spending a sunny day on their bike, since transporting a grill on a bike is downright impossible. Or, at least it was, prior to a cool new Kickstarter campaign.

Created by German entrepreneur Carolin Kunert, the Knister Grill is a handlebar-mounted barbecue which lets you easily transport grill, charcoal, food and utensils by pedal power. Simply hook it to the handlebars of your bike (a process which requires no screws and works with all common handlebars), then just remove it when you arrive, and extend it to twice its traveling size for grilling. Simple!

“I first developed a transportable barbecue in the third semester of my industrial design studies in Munich,” Kunert told Digital Trends. “Back then, it was super-heavy and mounted on the bike rack — I wasn’t able to use it because I had a basket on my bike. In November 2017, during my Erasmus semester, I continued the project intensively, won the competition ‘Startup Weekend,’ and created the first prototypes. I created a team behind Knister Grill and developed the product to get it into serial production.”

According to the Kickstarter campaign, the Knister only takes a few minutes to cool down after use, before you can reattach it to your bike and begin the cycle home. The clever design even stops dust or coal remnants from flying in your face as you cycle, due to the way that the barbecue closes with the two grills sliding over one another.

“There are [already] small, high-end camping products and transportable barbecues on the market,” Kunert continued. “We don’t exactly compete with them. We offer a lifestyle product, where the spontaneous ‘barbecue-with-friends’ is the most important thing.”

With all crowdfunding campaigns, we advise that you’re aware of the risks involved with pledging your hard-earned cash. If you do want to get involved, however, head over to the Knister Grill project page on Kickstarter. A small Knister Grill will set you back 69 euros ($81), while a regular size one starts at 115 euros ($135). Shipping is set to take place in July, which still gives you a few months of summer to take advantage of it.

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Addicted to your smartphone? Ironically, there is an app for that

For good reason, there is plenty of concern right now about the possible dangers of smartphone addiction, particularly among kids and teenagers. While we’re still pretty far away from conclusive findings or solutions, a new Android app called Siempo wants to help you kick the smartphone habit — or, at least, stop you wasting quite so much time staring at it.

To help with this mission, Siempo gives you a calmer home page to look at it, minus the flashy badged icons and attention-grabbing logos which are A/B tested to heck to get you tapping on them. Think of it as the equivalent of walking down a street in which none of the stores have fancy window displays to lure you in.

Siempo also gives you a bit more control over your notifications by allowing you to receive alerts every half an hour, hour, or even every day. That means you’re no longer constantly distracted from what you’re doing because someone happens to like your picture on Facebook or mention you in a tweet.

Speaking with Digital Trends, Siempo CEO Andrew Dunn described the app as, “more than just a self-control app — it’s a whole new smartphone interface designed to prevent unconscious usage and promote intentionality. Siempo [is] the first step towards creating a single wellness filter across all devices that is on the user’s side, protecting their attention and promoting well-being.”

If the Siempo name sounds faintly familiar, it’s because we actually covered it last year when it was a Kickstarter campaign with the goal of launching an actual physical distraction-free smartphone. Unfortunately, it failed to raise enough funds to move forward, but the creators were convinced they were nonetheless onto something.

“The Kickstarter campaign generated a lot of buzz but ultimately not enough sales to give us the confidence we needed to move forward with manufacturers,” Dunn said. “We were very early to the game and underestimated both the switching costs and variance in personal preference for ‘must have’ apps. A couple weeks into the campaign, it was hard to ignore the drumbeat of potential backers asking for a launcher version which would allow them to simulate 95 percent of the Siempo experience on their existing devices.”

That, in the end, is what they have done. Right now, the app is available in beta in the Google Play Store. It’s free during the beta, although it may well move to a subscription model in the near future. An iOS version is also possibly in the works.

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Intel Discloses New ‘Variant 4’ Spectre-Like Vulnerability

Intel, Google, and Microsoft today disclosed a new variant of the Spectre design flaw and security vulnerability that impacts millions of computers and mobile devices from a range of manufacturers.

Called Variant 4, or the Speculative Store Bypass, the vulnerability is similar to Spectre, taking advantage of the speculative execution mechanism of a CPU to allow hackers to gain access to sensitive information. Variant 4 was demonstrated by researchers in a language-based runtime environment.

CVE-2018-3639 – Speculative Store Bypass (SSB) – also known as Variant 4

Systems with microprocessors utilizing speculative execution and speculative execution of memory reads before the addresses of all prior memory writes are known may allow unauthorized disclosure of information to an attacker with local user access via a side-channel analysis.

According to Intel, the new vulnerability has a “moderate” severity rating because many of the exploits that it uses have already been addressed through mitigations that were first introduced by software makers and OEMs in January for Meltdown and Spectre. Intel is, however, releasing a full mitigation option that will “prevent this method from being used in other ways.”

This additional mitigation for Variant 4 has been delivered in beta form to OEM system manufacturers and system software vendors, and Intel is leaving it up to its partners to decide whether or not to implement the extra measures. Intel plans to leave the mitigation set to off by default because of the potential for performance issues.

This mitigation will be set to off-by-default, providing customers the choice of whether to enable it. We expect most industry software partners will likewise use the default-off option. In this configuration, we have observed no performance impact. If enabled, we’ve observed a performance impact of approximately 2 to 8 percent based on overall scores for benchmarks like SYSmark(R) 2014 SE and SPEC integer rate on client1 and server2 test systems.

The Spectre and Meltdown family of vulnerabilities affect all modern processors from Intel, ARM, and AMD, but Intel has faced more scrutiny over the design flaw due to its high-profile position in the processor market. Apple’s iOS and Mac devices are affected by these vulnerabilities, but Apple has historically been quick to patch them.

Prior to when Spectre and Meltdown were initially discovered, for example, Apple had already implemented some patches and has since addressed known Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities with little impact to performance on Macs or iOS devices. As mentioned above, many of the exploits in Variant 4 have been previously addressed by Apple and other manufacturers in already-existing software patches.

Spectre and Meltdown-related vulnerabilities are hardware-based and therefore must be mitigated rather than outright fixed, but future Intel chips will not be as vulnerable. Intel has said that its next-generation Xeon Scalable processors (Cascade Lake) and its 8th-generation Intel Core processors will feature redesigned components to protect against some Spectre and Meltdown flaws.

Tags: Intel, Meltdown-Spectre
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Udoq Charging Dock System Review – The best engineered base for mobile devices

Tech crazed individuals, such as ourselves, greatly benefit from charging stations. They’re a nifty solution to clean up our potential of a rats-nest clutter of charging wires. But as we gander through our options, we notice a common trend: a lack of finesse. No one has really developed a dock that is more than just a box with slots and power ports. That is, until Udoq came by.

This startup imagined more for a charging station, one that will not only look good on a tabletop, but that provides unheard-of flexibility. But naturally, this kind of premium solution comes at a…premium. Let’s investigate if the Udoq is worth the investment.

The size of the Udoq 400 should comfortably fit four devices.

Design

The Udoq options and sample configurations.

The Udoq is unlike any other dock you’ve seen. In profile, it looks like a standard stand, but in practice, it goes beyond that. The first thing we need to relay is that the device is highly customizable. You buy it the way that will specifically work for your mobile device inventory. Udoq’s solution for this is by offering the dock in four different widths: Udoq 250, 400, 550, or 700. The model numbering represents the length in millimeters.

Recognizing that you may be unsure of which size to opt for, the company has this nifty “configurator” on its website. They’ve logged dimensions for most mobile devices out there, and you can virtually add the ones you have and see how much space they’ll take up (therein, which is the dock size you need).

Udoq’s configurator helps you figure out which model you need.

That takes us to the price. For just the stand themselves, the starting Udoq 250 model goes for $89, all the way to the $159 Udoq 700. This is pretty steep for a dock (bear in mind these prices don’t include the charging equipment you’ll need to add on next). But Udoq sees this device as a life-lasting investment, rather than those much cheaper, plastic charging stations that may fall apart or cease to work. An advantage of the independent charging accessories is that if they fail, you don’t have to replace the entire dock, just the failed bits.

How the Udoq charging works is that the ports come up from the cylindrical base where the mobile devices sit, and the wires expel the rear.

Our review unit comes with a rear compartment and charging block that consolidates the charging wires. But note that these are extras.

Everything very snugly fits into the compartment. Close the lid and enjoy a single wire setup.

This makes for a very clean look from the front, and the devices are in an organized, lined-up arrangement when placed. Note that the dock takes up a narrow area on a tabletop, but its length can get overbearing with the longer models. This can be seen as a downside of this side-by-side design, as opposed to the stacked design of some other charging stations. In turn, a benefit is that you can still interact with any of the devices without picking them up. It’s also important to know that you cannot adjust the angle of the back plate; the dock is rigidly constructed. Udoq believes that its 77-degree tilt is the perfect and only angle you’ll need. It’s fine for us, but we’d still like the choice.

Udoq offers an option to adhere a box compartment on the back to further clean things up. With our model, it has included a 4-USB RAVPower charging brick, which all fits in the compartment (cables and all), and the result is simply a single wire that you plug into the wall. Very nice.

Function

A pair of rubber linings on the back plate keeps the metal from scratching your devices.

The function of a normal charging dock is simply assessed – just place the mobile devices and see if it works. Things aren’t that simple with the Udoq. The company sought to make the charging dock more efficient and comprehensively flexible for different situations.

There are solutions out there that get around the different charging standards (i.e. if it’s Apple or Android, or micro-USB or USB-C) by just simply lining their dock with USB-A ports. You use whatever charging cable standard you want, and voila.

This method wasn’t good enough for Udoq, because you’ll still see a series of wires. The company’s solution was to design the dock with complete connector flexibility. At the foot of the dock is a barrel section that houses the connectors. Each connector can slide to any position, allowing the system to accommodate different mobile device sizes (from smartphones to tablets).

A cool thing is that you can pop off either of the ends and completely remove the connectors and their cables. This exemplifies Udoq’s goal of flexibility. The feature lets you choose the specific set of connectors that works for your setup. Additionally, you can tack on more connectors if you add another device in the future (assuming the dock isn’t already filled up), or replace a connector standard if you upgrade to a new mobile device with a different one.

The USB-C connector module removed.

It also allows you to control how your device(s) faces when plugged in. This doesn’t matter for the newer reversible standards like USB-C, but if you’re still on micro-USB, simply pull the connector out and reverse it if needed.

A drawback to achieving this design is that the connectors have to be proprietary. They must be housed in a cylindrical module in order to work. So you must buy the cables from Udoq, which aren’t the most cost-effective. Granted, they’re quality cables, but you’re going to be paying a pretty penny when things are all said and done.

That’s not all. Udoq thought of a couple more considerate features. The connector housing lets the user change the seating height of the jack. So you can correct the mobile device’s seating on the dock if it’s too high. Udoq also addressed the fact that not all devices have a centered charging port. The device could still be placed in the dock, but it would flop on one side. Hence, pre-installed is a little resting plate that is adjustable by height and can slide to any position, just like the connectors.

The Xperia Z3 is one such device that has a unique charging port placement. This is how the Udoq handles such a case.

Final Thoughts

We appreciate how Udoq went all out with their vision of the best dock possible. It’s the most premium, cleanest, and flexible dock out there. The company has also thoughtfully addressed things that could’ve been a flaw in the design.

The elephant in the room is the price, though, which we imagine will be too much to ask for by many people. For instance, if you opt for the dock and connectors we have – Udoq 400 with each of the four connectors available: micro-USB, USB-C, Apple 30-pin, and Lightning – you’ll be at a total of $176. And this isn’t counting the cable/charger box on the rear or 4-USB charger that we have shown, which aren’t standard. Our review unit is probably $200 or more; this is a lot for a charging dock. Sure, it’s a very nice dock, but it’s ultimately still a dock.

It’ll be up to you if that’s worth it. Fortunately, the stand should last forever, that is, assuming that your future collect of devices doesn’t overlap the size you’ve chosen.