Best To-Do App

Todoist: To-Do List is the best to-do app that you can get right now. It offers tons of features, as well as access across PC and mobile devices.

Best overall

Todoist: To-Do List

See at Google Play

Of the many to-do apps that are available, Todoist easily rises to the top. It uses Material Design to deliver an intuitive and easy to navigate UI that offers plenty of options for your tasks. You can separate your lists out by project and use filters to only see the lists that you need access to in a pinch.

It also delivers a calendar that lets you see your tasks for the upcoming week, as well as a daily tab. It even delivers a profile that allows you to take a look at the tasks you have completed recently, which can help to keep you on task and track your progress towards goals. If you choose to upgrade to a premium membership, which will run you $28.99 a year, it gives you expanded access to your history, and delivers new features like the ability to tag your lists. With premium you can also access your lists across your phone, Android Wear smartwatch, and PC so that you always have access to your to-do list.

Bottom line: Between the features they deliver, and the ease of use, Todoist is easily the best app for for keeping track of everything you need to do. It’s easy to use, and gives you options that let you take charge of your lists.

One more thing: Todoist Premium even gives you the ability to look back and see everything that you’ve gotten done, and which tasks you missed.

Why Todoist is the best

Todoist delivers a great experience that allows you to access your lists almost anywhere, and tag and filter them so that everything you need is right at your fingertips.

Being able to easily check your phone to see what you have left to do makes staying on top of everything in your busy life so much easier. Todoist will send you notifications both when a task you have listed is due, and with your task list for the day. It’s a small thing, but it just makes things so much easier to deal with. Instead of having to remember to go through the app, it’s right there waiting for you when you slide down your notification tray.

Part of Todoist’s charm comes from how easy it is to add things to lists. Thanks to Material Design, the add button is right at the bottom of your screen. From right there you can date, tag, and filter your new list item all at once. Premium members get the option to tag people and further customize their list items as well.

Best for less

Google Keep

See at Google Play

Google Keep is primarily a note keeping app, but it does have pretty awesome to-do features baked right into it. It should be no surprise that it’s well designed, and easy to use, since it is Google’s own product. This also means that you may have it installed on your phone already and not even realize it.

You can easily create new lists from the add menu at the bottom of your screen, but to edit existing lists you’ll need to find them within the app. Once you’ve completed a task on your list you can cross it off by editing the list, and tapping that item. It will then appear with a slash through it. This makes it easy to keep an eye both on what needs to be done, and what you have already completed.

If there is a list that has priority tasks on it, you can pin it. This will ensure that you can easily find and edit the list while you are out and about. In addition to typing in items for your list you can also add media. If you have a photo for a project, you can add it to your list to make it easier to find when you need it.

Bottom line: Google Keep offers great accessibility and ease of use. While it doesn’t have tons of options for your to-do lists it can get the job done, and might even be installed on your phone already.

One more thing: To set a date for lists in Google Keep, you’ll need to set a reminder with a time from within the list itself.

Best for Windows users

Wunderlist: To-Do list and Tasks

See at Google Play

Wunderlist is a great app that is built specifically for to-do lists. It allows you to easily make customized lists which can be edited with just a few taps. In addition when you create new lists, you can also add other people to the list which lets you easily collaborate on projects with colleagues.

From within each list you can set dates and reminders, add subtasks for each item in a list, and add notes or files. This allows you to really customize your to-do lists and make sure that every step is listed out for you to check at a glance. If you add any of these to an item in a list, small icons will pop up next to it from the list view. This means you can tell when there are extra items involved in a task, before you just tap it to mark it as completed.

Wunderlist also offers a premium version of the app. The premium version allows you to upload larger files to your to-do lists, assign tasks in a to-do list to a specific person, and includes unlimited subtasks on list items for $4.99 a month. Because Microsoft owns Wunderlist, it is well integrated into the company’s services, including Outlook.

Bottom line: Wunderlist lets you easily build and customize to-do lists with plenty of features to make getting everything done easy. It gives you the ability to easily collaborate, break big tasks into manageable chunks, and even upload files pertinent to specific tasks.

One more thing: You can talk to your collaborators from within the app by commenting in a shared list. This makes communicating with colleagues on a project simple and self contained.

Best for speed

Any.do

See at Google Play

Any.do is an app that aims to keep you organized through to-do lists, and delivers a beautiful experience while doing just that. You can build multiple lists, and customize each one with the tasks you need to complete. Any.do will also link up with your Google Calendar if you sign up using your Google Account, which means everything is in one place.

When you add items to a list within Any.do, you get access to a range of features that are handy no matter what you’re doing. You can add subtasks to list items, move task items between lists, add reminders, add notes with media attachments, and share list items with colleagues and collaborators. All of this together lets you have real power over everything in your to-do list. Clearing items when you finish a task is easy as well. All you have to do is swipe right across your screen to strike through completed items.

There is also the option to upgrade to a premium membership. You get perks like location based notifications, allowing more attachments to your lists, customizable colors, and access to a daily planner called Any.do moments.

Bottom line: Any.do gives you access to a well designed app with plenty of lists to help keep track of every item on your to-do list. With free features like collaboration, and Google account integration it can become an organizational hub for your schedule.

One more thing: Any.do moment will give you a breakdown of your tasks for the day, and it’s just one of the perks of going all in with a premium membership.

Conclusion

There are plenty of apps out there that can help keep you on track with your to-do list. Not all of them are created equal though, and this was a collection of the best to-do apps available on Android. Each one has its own pros and cons, but there is one app that rises to the top as the star. Todoist is easily the best app for getting everything on your to-do list completed.

Best overall

Todoist: To-Do List

See at Google Play

Of the many to-do apps that are available, Todoist easily rises to the top. It uses Material Design to deliver an intuitive and easy to navigate UI that offers plenty of options for your tasks. You can separate your lists out by project and use filters to only see the lists that you need access to in a pinch.

It also delivers a calendar that lets you see your tasks for the upcoming week, as well as a daily tab. It even delivers a profile that allows you to take a look at the tasks you have completed recently, which can help to keep you on task and track your progress towards goals. If you choose to upgrade to a premium membership, which will run you $28.99 a year, it gives you expanded access to your history, and delivers new features like the ability to tag your lists. With premium you can also access your lists across your phone, Android Wear smartwatch, and PC so that you always have access to your to-do list.

Bottom line: Between the features they deliver, and the ease of use, Todoist is easily the best app for for keeping track of everything you need to do. It’s easy to use, and gives you options that let you take charge of your lists.

One more thing: Todoist Premium even gives you the ability to look back and see everything that you’ve gotten done, and which tasks you missed.

Google Pixel XL vs. LG V20: Opposite approaches to greatness

You have choices when you go to spend big money on a phone today, with Google and LG being near the top.

When LG introduced the V series of phones in 2015 with the V10, it was aimed at a certain small group of people that wanted every possible spec and feature without much of a consideration of size, usability or style. Now the V20 is here, and it has much broader appeal with a sleeker body — but it hasn’t given up the pile of features that made the V10 so appealing to power users. On the other end of the spectrum is Google’s first phone, the Pixel XL, that’s all about simplicity, not specs — though it has plenty going under the hood, it misses out on a few features in exchange for a more cohesive experience.

It’s two ways to attack the high-end smartphone market, arguably with different potential markets for each. But when you put them head-to-head, which one comes out on top? We’re here to answer that question.

Hardware, specs and features

The Pixel XL and LG V20 are both made out of metal and glass, and both include some high-end specs inside — but when you see them on a table together or you wrap your hands around each one you can immediately note that they are very different phones.

The Pixel XL is slightly more compact, and more importantly feels better.

Google’s Pixel XL feels a bit smaller than its dimensions, with a nicely-sculpted body that has a subtle yet noticeable “wedge” shape that’s thinner at the bottom where you hold it most often. It’s solid and sleek, though a bit boring to some people’s eyes. The V20 takes a less-inspired design approach: it’s huge, and feels huge. The slab has no interesting design aspects or features that help you grip it, and while LG deserves praise for making a phone with a removable battery door feel solid, the plastic top and bottom of the phone are depressingly cheap-feeling plastic.

Up on the business end of the phones you’re greeted by two great displays, though they get it done in different ways. The Pixel XL’s AMOLED panel is a bit warmer and more saturated (as is often the case for AMOLEDs), while the “Quantum Display” LCD on the V20 is cooler and more natural. Both are really fantastic in terms of brightness, clarity and viewing angles — unless I set them side-by-side I wouldn’t be able to pick out any issues with either one. The V20’s larger 5.7-inch display also incorporates the extra bit of real estate for the Second Screen — it can perform a few functions, but chances are you’ll fall back to just using the main display to get things done.

Both phones round out in terms of hardware features just fine as far as having a USB-C port, headphone jack and better-than-average down firing speaker — but the LG V20 has the distinct advantage of a much nicer DAC for headphone listening and better mics for recording loud environments. The two big hardware features many will focus on are the removable battery and microSD card slot of the V20, to which I’ll say that if you know you need them, you can get the V20 — most people, however, will be served just fine by the 3450 mAh sealed battery and 32 or 128GB storage of the Pixel XL.

Now, how about the full spec breakdown? Things are pretty much a dead heat, aside from the few feature-focused specs noted above.

Software, performance and battery life

These phones are both running Android Nougat, meaning you’re getting the benefits of the latest base platform no matter which you choose. We’ve all seen what Google’s done a little differently in Android 7.1 on the Pixels, and its coat of paint adds real cohesion and simplicity to the experience. The Pixel XL’s software is simple, slick and super fast, though more advanced users will probably prefer to swap out its launcher and install a handful of apps to add extra features. LG’s coat of paint (to stick with that metaphor) is a bit thicker and more wide-reaching on the V20 — things have changed stylistically all around, but the biggest differences are within LG’s redesigned system apps and group of minor changes throughout the interface. It’s easily LG’s best take on Android yet, but it’s still unfortunately not as good as Google’s.

This is LG’s best software yet, but that just isn’t good enough to top Google at its own game.

Something else to keep in mind here is how the V20’s software experience can also differ depending on where you buy it. Buying the V20 unlocked you’ll get the software experience LG intended, but buying from one of the U.S. carriers (as most people do) will change things considerably. Because LG still hasn’t figured out how to put its foot down and stop the pile of carrier changes from infesting its phones, each carrier version of the V20 offers a different experience — from dozens of uninstallable bloat apps to changes in LG’s own system apps and even removal of core features in some cases. It’s annoying, tiring and borders on unacceptable at this point that we should have to deal with these software issues when buying a top-of-the-line phone.

As I mentioned above, the speed at which the Pixel XL does everything really is something to behold. Every app and experience is lightning quick but also smooth, without dropping a frame in animation or skipping a beat in opening windows. LG’s software and hardware on the V20 just don’t seem to fly at the same pace, though once again LG deserves praise for shipping its best software implementation to date here. It just isn’t quite as slick as the Pixel XL, and it’s not something you really notice until you’ve spent time with a Pixel yourself and then moved to another phone.

So many additional words could be spent here talking about the differences in the cameras as well, but in order to do that comparison justice I have a separate camera-specific head-to-head battle between the Pixel XL and LG V20 here. In short, both phones take awesome photos, and the V20 has a few extra photography tricks up its sleeves.

More: Camera comparison: Pixel XL vs. LG V20

In terms of battery life, the numbers add up in the Pixel XL’s favor, if only slightly. The 3450 mAh battery in the Pixel XL gets you through an average day with plenty to spare, though it isn’t such a battery champion that you could push it two days. The V20’s slightly smaller 3200 mAh battery is powering a bigger display and understandably lasts a bit shorter — you can still go a full day without issue, but you’ll head to bed with far less in the tank, probably around the 10% mark. Both use USB-C to charge up, but I have to give the V20 a slight nod for having a more widely used fast charging standard in Quick Charge 3.0 — plus, for those who want it, you have a removable battery.

Bottom line

As individual products, the Pixel XL and LG V20 each get the job done. Google’s vision for a slick, complete phone that makes calculated compromises in order to enhance the overall daily experience of using it really worked out in ways it never did with Nexuses. LG’s V20 took many ideas from both the V10 and G5 to make a combined device that does more than other phones — and does it well — with some added polish not seen in its predecessor.

Both phones execute their vision properly — but that doesn’t mean they appeal to the same people.

But just because both phones are good at what they set out to be doesn’t mean they’re direct competitors or have much overlap in their target markets. On one hand the Pixel XL is simpler and more of a “mainstream” device that focuses on its great cohesive experience, rather than mounds of features in specs — it doesn’t have a removable battery, SD card slot or tons of camera features, but it’s built better, is faster and has smoother software. On the other, the LG V20 appeals to more of a power user mentality of wanting all of the raw components and features to manage and tweak as they see fit — but that comes at the expense of not having such a sleek overall product or a phone you can easily use in one hand.

If you see the appeal of the V20’s specs, brawn and unabashedly large size, chances are you’re someone who knows what they want and won’t be convinced by the slick Pixel XL. Someone who doesn’t want to focus on the specifics and prefers a phone that just works and delights them every day will lean toward Google’s latest.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
• Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
• Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Join the discussion in the forums!

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LG V20

• LG V20 review: Built for power users
• LG V20 specs
• All LG V20 news
• LG V20 vs. Galaxy Note 7
• Discuss the V20 in the forums!

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T-Mobile
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B&H

Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 edge: What’s the difference?

Huawei has announced two new Mate smartphones: the Mate 9 and the Porsche Design Mate 9. The latter is a smaller, more premium model of the Mate 9, offering a curved display and a lovely premium build.

First glance at the Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 and you’d think you were looking at a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. They are pretty damn similar, more so from the front than the rear. How else do they compare though? Read on to find out.

Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 edge: Design

• S7 edge is smaller, slimmer, lighter and waterproof
• Both premium designs
• Both front-mounted fingerprint sensors

The Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 measures 152 x 75 x 7.5mm and weighs 169g. It offers an entirely metal build with the Porsche Design logo at the top of the screen on the front, along with the PD logo on the rear.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge is slightly smaller, slimmer and lighter, measuring 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7mm and hitting the scales at 157g. It is made from a combination of metal and glass, with a tempered glass rear sporting the Samsung logo in the middle. It is also IP68 water and dust resistant.

Both offer fingerprint sensors, and both sit within the physical button on the front of the device. This is typical of Samsung devices, while Huawei’s tend to be rear-mounted traditionally.

• Huawei Porsche Design preview

Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 edge: Display

• Both curved AMOLED displays
• Both 5.5-inch, Quad HD resolutions

It is the display on both these two devices that put them on the same team. Both the Galaxy S7 edge and the Porsche Design Mate 9 have a 5.5-inch curved AMOLED display, making their designs more appealing and exciting than some other flagships around.

Both also have 2560 x 1440 resolutions, delivering pixel densities of 534ppi so they should both deliver sharp, crisp images with good colour vibrancy. Samsung offers some extra software functionality that makes use of the curved display, while Huawei doesn’t.

• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review

Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 edge: Cameras

• PD Mate 9 has a dual rear camera setup, 20MP and 12MP
• S7 edge has wider aperture but single setup
• Both have OIS

The Porsche Design Mate 9 features a dual camera arrangement like the P9 and it continues the partnership with Leica. The camera setup on the rear is arranged vertically, with one sensor on top of the other, rather than them sitting side-by-side as they do in the Apple iPhone 7 Plus and LG G5.

The Porsche Design Mate 9 has a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor coupled with a 12-megapixel RGB sensor, both of which sport a f/2.2 aperture and optical image stabilisation. The front camera is an 8-megapixel sensor with autofocus.

The Galaxy S7 edge has one 12-megapixel sensor on the rear, featuring an aperture of f/1.7, phase detection autofocus and optical image stabilisation. The front camera is 5-megapixels with an aperture of f/1.7 and Auto HDR capability. It’s worth remembering that megapixels aren’t everything however and Samsung’s S7 edge is a fantastic camera performer.

• Best smartphone camera: iPhone 6S Plus vs SGS7 edge vs LG G5

Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 edge: Hardware

• PD Mate 9 has more RAM and internal storage
• S7 edge has microSD support
• PD Mate 9 has larger battery capacity

The Porsche Design Mate 9 features Huawei’s Kirin 960 octa-core processor, coupled with Mali-G71 MP8 graphics and 6GB of RAM. There is 256GB of internal storage available but unlike the standard Mate 9 model, there is no microSD support despite the Dual-SIM functionality.

The Galaxy S7 edge has either Samsung’s Exynos 8990 octa-core processor, or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 quad-core chip, depending on the region. The former has Mali-T880 MP12 graphics, while the latter offers Adreno 530, and both have 4GB of RAM. Storage options are 32GB or 64GB, both of which have microSD expansion.

The Porsche Design Mate 9 offers a 4000mAh battery, while the Galaxy S7 edge has a 3600mAh battery, and both support quick charging. The Porsche Design Mate 9 has USB Type-C on board, while the Galaxy S7 edge opts for Micro-USB.

• Huawei Mate 9 preview

Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 edge: Software

• PD Mate 9 runs on Android Nougat with EMUI 5.0
• S7 edge runs on Android Marshmallow with TouchWiz

The Porsche Design Mate 9 runs on Android Nougat with Huawei’s Emotion skin over the top. It has a simpler interface and a cleaner design than previous EMUI builds, along with some interesting options like dual Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp use via the Dual SIM. 

The Galaxy S7 edge runs on Android Marshmallow with Samsung’s TouchWiz skin over the top. It will eventually see an update to Android Nougat and as we mentioned, it features some extra software functionality that takes advantage of the curved display.

Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 edge: Conclusion

The Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 has a similarly exciting design to the S7 edge with a curved display that is the same resolution and size as the Samsung alternative. It also offers more RAM, a dual camera setup, a larger battery capacity and more internal storage.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge has a slightly smaller and lighter build however, it’s also waterproof and its camera capabilities have proven to be excellent. It also offers microSD support and it is significantly cheaper.

The Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 costs €1395 and will be available in limited quantities from December, while the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge starts at £639 and is widely available.

• Huawei Porsche Design Mate 9 preview
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review

LG is bundling Sky Q with select 4K OLED and Super UHD TVs

It seems LG is all too aware that when you buy a shiny new 4K TV, you’re going to want to have some content to watch on it. Besides using the likes of Netflix and Amazon for streaming, or Ultra HD Blu-ray, there’s only one decent way to watch live 4K broadcasts and that’s with Sky Q, at least, if you love sports.

• What is Sky Q, how much does it cost and how can I get it?
• Sky Q review: The future of multi-room television?

LG has now announced a partnership with Sky that will let you receive 6-12 months of complimentary to Sky Q with the Original bundle when you buy select 4K LG TVs. 

All of LG’s 2016 OLED models: Signature OLED G6, E6, C6 and B6 will come with 12 months Sky Q access and a Sky Q multiscreen subscription. If you’re already a Sky customer then you’ll just receive a 12 month Sky multiscreen subscription.

Alternatively, you can buy one of LG’s Super UHD TVs from the UH950V, UH850V or UH770 series and receive a 6 month Sky Q Original bundle and 6 month multiscreen subscription. Like with the OLED TVs, if you already have Sky, then you’ll just receive a 6 month multiscreen subscription. 

You’ll receive the Sky Q Silver 2TB box, which supports Ultra HD when you redeem the offer, and it’s valid on all TVs until 31 March 2017 except for the UH770 series, which only runs until 28 December 2016. Once your 6 or 12 month subscription has expired, you’ll need to continue paying Sky for the services, but note that you need the £12/month multiscreen subscription to be able to watch Ultra HD programmes.

• What is 4K UHD? Ultra-High Definition explained, and why it matters for your next TV
• What can I watch in 4K Ultra HD on Sky Q?

Only sports content is available to broadcast live in Ultra HD, and you’ll need to pay extra for the Sky Sports package. Likewise with movies, which are available on demand in UHD, you’ll need to pay for the Sky Cinema subscription.

PS4 Pro vs PS4 Slim vs PS4: What’s the difference?

Sony is undoubtedly king of this generation of consoles, with sales of the PlayStation 4 reaching unprecedented heights. But rather than rest on its laurels it has rejigged and improved its original offering, first with a slimmer model and a new DualShock 4 controller and now with a more meaty mid-generation upgrade in the form of the PS4 Pro.

The latter is clearly the best console in the line-up – possibly even the best console available full stop – but why? And will that actually matter to you?

That’s why we’ve looked at the specifications and features of all three versions of the PS4 in order to help you make that decision.

• Sony PS4 Pro preview: Stunning 4K HDR gaming monster you can own very soon
• Sony PS4 Slim review: The slim-fit ‘Station
• PlayStation 4 review: The go-to for gamers

PS4 Pro vs PS4 Slim vs PS4: 4K HDR gaming

It’s easy to cite the differences between all of the consoles when it comes to 4K gaming as it’s one of the PS4 Pro’s raison d’être. It can run games at up to 4K (3840 x 2160) resolutions while the other two cannot. In reality, the resolutions will differ. It is not as capable, say, as the latest Nvidia or AMD PC graphics cards, so it’s likely you will be offered different graphical options in games when running on the Pro.

For example, forthcoming game Nioh will run well at 4K (2160p) in 30 frames per second. It will also offer a 60fps mode, but that loses the extra definition, dropping to Full HD 1080p.

We suspect this will be the scenario more often than not – at least until developers learn to wring all of the processing power from the 4.20 teraflops offered by the new AMD Radeon GPU.

That’s considerably more powerful though than the graphics chipset in the PS4 and PS4 Slim. That is similarly made by AMD but only offers 1.84 teraflops of processing power.

When it comes to HDR it’s a different story. All PlayStation 4 consoles now have the ability of HDR presentation – adding a wider colour gamut, brighter images and better contrast to supported games when connected to a compatible TV.

• What is HDR, what TVs support HDR, and what HDR content can I watch?

PS4 Pro vs PS4 Slim vs PS4: 4K HDR video

A similar story plays out when it comes to 4K video output through the PS4 Pro – it is capable of Ultra HD video while the original PlayStation 4 and PS4 Slim are locked to a maximum of 1080p. This time though, the PS4 Pro is currently the only one capable of HDR video or, at least, is the only format that has HDR content to play at this time.

Both YouTube and Netflix are working on apps for all PlayStation models that will offer HDR videos that will work at lower than 4K resolutions but they are yet to hit. In terms of the latter streaming service, it presently doesn’t have many videos with HDR anyway – just homegrown series Marco Polo and a couple of others.

Strangely, although it is technically possible for the PS4 Pro’s HDMI output to work with 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Sony has not put a compatible drive in the machine so it is not a UHD player in that respect. The Xbox One S is currently the only console available with that capability.

• PS4 Pro ditches 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player for cost and one other reason…

PS4 Pro vs PS4 Slim vs PS4: Performance in games

While it is clear that the PS4 Pro is better than the other two models when it comes to graphical power, it is also enhanced in terms of overall oomph.

The PS4 and PS4 Slim have identical tech specs, equating to an AMD processor with eight Jaguar cores that are clocked at 1.6GHz. They also have 8GB of GDDR5 RAM running at 176GB/s.

The PS4 Pro on the other has a similar processor but it runs faster, at 2.1GHz. It also has faster RAM – still 8GB of GDDR5, but capable of up to 218GB/s.

This all means that its processing abilities run 1.3 times faster, while the RAM has 24 per cent more bandwidth. When combined with the 4.20 teraflops of graphical power, developers have much more to play with.

In terms of standard games, it will all be used to improve graphical performance and effects, possibly even frame rates. PSVR developers can also use the enhancements to add further draw distances or more detail to their virtual reality titles.

All games will run on all three consoles, but they will be better looking and/or smoother on PS4 Pro.

• What PS4 Pro games are 4K HDR ready? The complete list of optimised games

PS4 Pro vs PS4 Slim vs PS4: Storage

Even though PS4 Pro games are expected to require more space on your hard drive, Sony decided on a standard 1TB HDD for the latest model. We would have liked there to be 2TB considering. However, like all PlayStation 4 consoles, you can increase it yourself for around £90 and all three are easy to upgrade. The PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro even make the swapping out of hard drives easier than before, with a flap at the side and easy to remove caddy.

• How to upgrade your PS4 hard drive

The original PS4 came with a 500GB HDD, as does the standard PS4 Slim. Both have 1TB models also available.

All three can make use of Sony’s cloud storage too, with save games and other files able to be stored when you have a PlayStation Plus subscription.

Pocket-lint

PS4 Pro vs PS4 Slim vs PS4: Design

The biggest difference between the original PS4 and PS4 Slim is aesthetic (hence the “Slim” nickname of the latter). As well as being angular, the original was considerably larger. Heavier too.

It was 275 x 53 x 305mm and weighed 2.8kg while the PS4 Slim measures 265 x 39 x 288mm and weighs 2.1kg. That effectively means the newer machine is neater when tucked away in an AV cabinet. It also looks better when stood on one end, using an optional vertical stand.

The PS4 Pro is a beast in comparison, thanks to an extra wedge in the sandwich design style. It measures 295 x 55 x 327mm, which is even bigger than the original model, and weighs a whopping 3.3kg.

The Pro and Slim also share a newer, rounder design theme and the gloss black section of the first PS4 has disappeared in favour of an all-over matt finish. We lament the removal of the top light strip too.

PS4 Pro vs PS4 Slim vs PS4: Price

When choosing between the three consoles price could well be your most important driving factor. And considering the well-established original console is readily available second-hand, you might want to opt for that.

A pre-owned original PS4 can be bought for as little as £180 these days, from retailers such as Game. The 1TB version for £210.

Alternatively, the newer PS4 Slim retails for £259 for the 500GB model, although some retailers have it for less than £230. The 1TB edition will set you back around £280.

The PS4 Pro is more expensive, naturally, with a retail price of £350.

PS4 Pro vs PS4 Slim vs PS4: Conclusion

Price will definitely determine which PlayStation 4 you opt for, but there are other factors that could sway your decision.

One of the most important will be the TV you own or plan to purchase. If it’s not 4K and/or HDR you will get few benefits from owning a PS4 Pro. There are some, including better PSVR performance, but the main selling point will be moot to you.

That leaves you with the option of the Slim or original models and, to be honest, apart from aesthetics there is very little difference. We found the newer version to run a tad quieter but that is unlikely to be enough. You might find it simply boils down to availability and whatever game bundle deals you can find.

BlackBerry DTEK60 preview: More than just an Alcatel clone?

BlackBerry has officially stopped building and designing its own phones. When that news broke, it was almost as dramatic as when it announced its first Android phone, the QWERTY-equipped PRIV.

For a company known for building its own phones, its own operating system and hardware keyboards, going all-out on a standard all-touch Android phone would have been a bit too much all at once. But now, the company’s latest flagship is exactly that.

BlackBerry DTEK60 preview: You’ve seen it before

If there’s something familiar to you about the way the DTEK60 looks, there’s good reason for that. BlackBerry has outsourced its product design and manufacturing to third parties. In this case, TCL Communication, the same company that builds phones bearing Alcatel’s brand name – more locally – Vodafone’s.

• Vodafone Smart Platinum 7 Review: Power and elegance without the price tag
• BlackBerry DTEK60 vs BlackBerry DTEK50: What’s the difference?
• BlackBerry DTEK60: Release date, price and everything you need to know

For all intents and purposes, this is an Alcatel Idol 4S or Vodafone Smart Platinum 7, at least from a design perspective. It has different, better internals though.

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It’s an all glass and metal affair, with the soft-finish metal frame sandwiched between two layers of glass. Unlike the DTEK50, BlackBerry opted not to replace the glass with a grippy plastic, and we think that was a good choice, mostly.

Glass does have its downsides, so while it may be very pretty, it’s also very slippery and attracts fingerprints without any effort.

The dark grey finish under the glass on the back is subtle and attractive, it’s just a shame the round camera protrudes so far. It’s not only an eye sore, it stops the phone from lying flat on its back.

Another curious design choice – which is something we expect from this device – is the power/sleep button positioning. It’s on the left edge, right near the top corner of the device. It’s only easy to reach if the phone is in your left hand. Thankfully, you can just double-tap the screen to wake the phone up.

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The front of the phone is mostly just a big, black slab of glass. Like its doppelgängers, it has a two front-firing speakers build in to the frame which extends slightly beyond the top and bottom edges of the glass panel.

All in all, it’s attractive, but it’s definitely not a one-handed device. As 5.5-inch phones go, this feels like one of the biggest around.

BlackBerry DTEK60 preview: Power on display

Like the best phones out there, the DTEK60’s 5.5-inch screen boasts a resolution of 1440 x 2560, commonly referred to as Quad HD. What’s more, it’s an AMOLED panel, so blacks are really black and colours are very vibrant on first impressions. It looks particularly striking when the monochromatic notifications show up on the ambient display with the phone on standby.

One of our complaints with the similar-looking Platinum 7 was its performance. In that phone, a Snapdragon 6-series chip runs the show, but does so with some noticeably stuttering and lag here and there. Similarly, the DTEK50 was a bit laggy and slow.

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On first impressions, the DTEK60 is much faster and smoother than both. And you’d expect as much when you read the spec sheet. Matching the most powerful phones out there, BlackBerry opted for a Snapdragon 820 processor and paired it with a generous 4GB of RAM and 32GB storage. That should ensure stable, fast performance. You can expand the storage up to 256GB using a microSD card.

The 3,000mAh battery inside should be more than enough to get through a day’s use, and with Quick Charge 3.0 support, it can be topped up quickly again if depleted. A Type-C port ensures the phone is at least keeping up with market trends.

BlackBerry DTEK60 preview: Android’s missing piece?

You could easily criticise BlackBerry for releasing a phone which looks so similar to other devices available, and not add anything to the mix except more powerful components. But for some, BlackBerry’s software is what makes the company’s offering so worthwhile.

The DTEK60 app which comes pre-installed not only gives you an easy to understand snapshot at the state of the phone’s security, it also helps you dig deep in to which apps have accessed which features, and how many times. You can also manually switch off permissions like access to camera, mics, contact details etc. for every app installed on the phone.

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Then there’s the BlackBerry Hub which conveniently pulls in notifications from most popular apps in to one big inbox. From here you can keep an eye on messages, updates and replies from the likes of Instagram, WhatsApp, Gmail, Facebook Messenger, Skype and Slack.

The productivity tab lives on from the previous Android phones and gives quick access to recently called contacts, upcoming calendar events, tasks and unread messages in the Hub. Similar to the Edge Panel on Samsung phones, it slides in from the edge of the screen as a dark, almost completely opaque layer.

As well as all that, you can quickly access pop-up widgets for any app with widget support by swiping up on their icon from the home screen. That means you can get a quick glance at your email inbox, or calendar events, without having to have widgets permanently stamped on the screen.

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All this runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow which, although not the most recent software, is left in a stock-like form on the BlackBerry. That means no custom themes, or heavy skinning to slow down the performance. With BlackBerry’s focus on security, the monthly security patches delivered by Google arrive on DTEK60 virtually as soon as they’re pushed to Nexus and Pixel users too.

It all ties in together to create a version of Android which, for some, will be so much more convenient than normal Android. 

BlackBerry DTEK60 preview: Mega-pixels

While the camera in our unit hasn’t been thoroughly tested yet, we’re curious to see the results from the 21-megapixel sensor on the back. It has phase detection autofocus, a dual tone flash and f/2.0 aperture. As you’d expect, it also records video in resolutions up to 4K.

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Early signs suggest it’s a fairly decent camera, although it hasn’t blown us away like the Pixel and Galaxy S7 did. For selfie-lovers, there’s an 8-megapixel camera on the front equipped with 1080p video recording an an f/2.2 aperture. 

First Impressions

With the OnePlus 3 on the market disrupting everything, it’s easy to look at a device like the BlackBerry DTEK60 and think it’s far too expensive. But, at the same time, similarly specced products from the likes of Samsung, Google, Apple and LG all cost more than the BlackBerry.

The spec list reads as well as pretty much any flagship smartphone out there. It has the Quad HD screen, Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB RAM. But it’s still hard to escape the fact that this is a more powerful version of the Vodafone Smart Platinum 7 we reviewed a few months back, and that only costs £300.

The question – which remains unanswered for now – is whether the extra performance and higher-end components, plus BlackBerry’s software and services, make the phone worth £175 more. We’ll be bringing you the answer to that when we publish our full review.