THERE
are plenty of reasons to put our cellphones down now and then, not
least the fact that incessantly checking them takes us out of the
present moment and disrupts family dinners around the globe. But here’s
one you might not have considered: Smartphones are ruining our posture.
And bad posture doesn’t just mean a stiff neck. It can hurt us in
insidious psychological ways.
If
you’re in a public place, look around: How many people are hunching
over a phone? Technology is transforming how we hold ourselves,
contorting our bodies into what the New Zealand physiotherapist Steve
August calls the iHunch. I’ve also heard people call it text neck, and in my work I sometimes refer to it as iPosture.
The
average head weighs about 10 to 12 pounds. When we bend our necks
forward 60 degrees, as we do to use our phones, the effective stress on
our neck increases to 60 pounds — the weight of about five gallons of
paint. When Mr. August started treating patients more than 30 years ago,
he says he saw plenty of “dowagers’ humps, where the upper back had
frozen into a forward curve, in grandmothers and great-grandmothers.”
Now he says he’s seeing the same stoop in teenagers.
When
we’re sad, we slouch. We also slouch when we feel scared or powerless.
Studies have shown that people with clinical depression adopt a posture
that eerily resembles the iHunch. One, published in 2010
in the official journal of the Brazilian Psychiatric Association, found
that depressed patients were more likely to stand with their necks bent
forward, shoulders collapsed and arms drawn in toward the body.
Posture doesn’t just reflect our emotional states; it can also cause them. In a study
published in Health Psychology earlier this year, Shwetha Nair and her
colleagues assigned non-depressed participants to sit in an upright or
slouched posture and then had them answer a mock job-interview question,
a well-established experimental stress inducer, followed by a series of
questionnaires. Compared with upright sitters, the slouchers reported
significantly lower self-esteem and mood, and much greater fear. Posture
affected even the contents of their interview answers: Linguistic
analyses revealed that slouchers were much more negative in what they
had to say. The researchers concluded, “Sitting upright may be a simple
behavioral strategy to help build resilience to stress.”
Slouching can also affect our memory: In a study
published last year in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy of people
with clinical depression, participants were randomly assigned to sit in
either a slouched or an upright position and then presented with a list
of positive and negative words. When they were later asked to recall
those words, the slouchers showed a negative recall bias (remembering
the bad stuff more than the good stuff), while those who sat upright
showed no such bias. And in a 2009 study
of Japanese schoolchildren, those who were trained to sit with upright
posture were more productive than their classmates in writing
assignments.
How else might iHunching influence our feelings and behaviors? My colleague Maarten W. Bos and I have done preliminary research
on this. We randomly assigned participants to interact for five minutes
with one of four electronic devices that varied in size: a smartphone, a
tablet, a laptop and a desktop computer. We then looked at how long
subjects would wait to ask the experimenter whether they could leave,
after the study had clearly concluded. We found that the size of the
device significantly affected whether subjects felt comfortable seeking
out the experimenter, suggesting that the slouchy, collapsed position we
take when using our phones actually makes us less assertive — less
likely to stand up for ourselves when the situation calls for it.
In
fact, there appears to be a linear relationship between the size of
your device and the extent to which it affects you: the smaller the
device, the more you must contract your body to use it, and the more
shrunken and inward your posture, the more submissive you are likely to
become.
Ironically,
while many of us spend hours every day using small mobile devices to
increase our productivity and efficiency, interacting with these
objects, even for short periods of time, might do just the opposite,
reducing our assertiveness and undermining our productivity.
Despite
all this, we rely on our mobile devices far too much to give them up,
and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Fortunately, there are ways
to fight the iHunch.
Keep
your head up and shoulders back when looking at your phone, even if
that means holding it at eye level. You can also try stretching and
massaging the two muscle groups that are involved in the iHunch
— those between the shoulder blades and the ones along the sides of the
neck. This helps reduce scarring and restores elasticity.
Finally,
the next time you reach for your phone, remember that it induces
slouching, and slouching changes your mood, your memory and even your
behavior. Your physical posture sculpts your psychological posture, and
could be the key to a happier mood and greater self-confidence.
CONSUMERS
who agree to automatic withdrawals from their bank accounts to pay for
subscriptions, health club memberships, loans and the like may sometimes
hit roadblocks when they try to stop the charges.
“It’s
a big problem,” said Lauren Saunders, associate director with the
National Consumer Law Center. Banks are obligated to help customers stop
unwanted debits, she says, but they are sometimes slow to do so.
Many companies — including mortgage and student loan
servicers, debt collectors and payday lenders — actively solicit
approval from consumers for such preauthorized debits, according to the
federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The agency recently reminded companies
that they must obtain a consumer’s permission before automatically
debiting an account and that they are legally required to give customers
a copy of the terms of any preauthorized debits, including the amount
and timing of the payments.
Often,
consumers agree to such payments for convenience or to obtain a lower
interest rate on a loan, because some lenders offer slightly better
terms if borrowers agree to recurring monthly debits. (Loan payments by
automatic debits generally cannot be required, but lenders can offer
incentives for borrowers to sign up for them.)
In
other cases, as with online payday lenders, borrowers may not realize
that they have authorized an automatic renewal of a loan and so are
surprised when a payment is deducted, Ms. Saunders said. Consumers may
then end up paying overdraft fees to their bank if the automatic debits
result in overspending their account.
Along
with its recent bulletin, the bureau offered suggestions to consumers
for stopping unwanted debits. Consumers, the bureau’s director, Richard
Cordray, said in a prepared statement, should know that they “have the
right to stop these charges at any time.”
First,
call and write to the company making the withdrawals to revoke your
permission. Next, call and write to your bank, telling it that you have
revoked authorization. The bureau has posted on its website new sample letters that you can use to write to the company and to your bank.
To
stop a scheduled payment, you usually must give the bank a “stop
payment” order three business days before the debit is scheduled. If the
bank asks you for a written confirmation for an order given over the
phone, make sure to send it within 14 days, and include a copy of the
letter you sent to the company, revoking your permission.
Here are some questions and answers about automatic debits:
■ Are preauthorized debits the same thing as online bill payments?
Both
methods let you pay a financial obligation electronically, but they
operate differently. When you schedule recurring payments through your
bank’s online bill pay service, you tell your bank to send the payments
for you. With automatic debits, you give a company or merchant your bank
account number and your permission to withdraw payment from your
account on a recurring schedule.
■ Will I be charged a fee for canceling an automatic debit?
If
you formally instruct your bank to cancel an automatic charge, the bank
may impose a “stop payment” fee — typically around $30 or $35 — as it
would if you canceled a paper check.
■ Does stopping the automatic debit cancel my contract with the merchant?
No.
Stopping the payment simply means that it will not come out of your
account. It does not necessarily mean you do not owe the money. If you
have a contract — say, for a gym membership or for cable television
service — that you no longer want, be sure to cancel the agreement with
the company. If you cancel an automatic payment on a loan, but still owe
a balance, you must make payments on the loan some other way, the
consumer bureau noted.
Hello, and welcome to a
fresh-out-the-oven edition of Gadget Dreams and Nightmares. the column
that determines whether the latest gadget announcements are ready to
serve or have to bake a little longer.
Cooling on the window this week are an official Apple Watch dock, a
mesh router system, a virtual reality smartphone case, and a wristband
that can shoot fireballs.
As ever, note well that these are not reviews, merely glib
observations drawn from reading and watching videos about each item. The
numeric ratings exist only to represent my interest in trying out each
product, as well as provide me with an opportunity for another gag.
Sitting on the Dock
No longer leaving it up to third-party companies to create charging docks for its Apple Watch, Apple has released
its own official dock (pictured above).
It allows Watch owners to rest the smartwatch in nightstand mode -- a
feature introduced in the latest version of the operating system that
essentially turns the Watch into a bedside clock -- without tangling it
up with the standard magnetic charger.
The dock is a flat puck, almost like a circle bed on which to rest
your precious Watch as you sleep. Owners may find it especially useful
if they have a few spare Lightning cables, as it uses that format
instead of the Apple Watch cable.
This is really all about the aesthetic, a way to ensure your Watch
looks as pristine as possible when you reach out to shut off its alarm
first thing in the morning while hoping you don't accidentally smash it.
This doesn't seem like something that would justify shelling out US$79,
even if I had a Watch. I'd be quite fine with just hooking up a regular
charger cable. Rating: 2 out of 5 All About the Looks
Such a Mesh
AVG, a company perhaps best known for its antivirus software, is delving into the hardware market with a router.
You can daisy chain multiple
Chime
mesh routers throughout your home (or office or wherever else) to send a
strong WiFi signal throughout the space. It's not the first router
setup to try this trick, but it may be the first to provide a security
setup built into the home network rather than individual devices.
The built-in privacy options include Tor -- software used to
establish an anonymous connection to the Internet -- and virtual private
networks, which you can use to hide your IP address and mask your
browsing activity from your Internet service provider. AVG also includes
the free version of its antivirus software.
There are some privacy concerns on that front, however, as AVG
recently updated its privacy policy to state it can collect browsing,
search and metadata history from users of the free version of the
antivirus software -- so it may not prove such a secure network after
all.
I'm tired of having a weak WiFi signal in some areas of my apartment.
I can't watch a show from Netflix while at the cooker, nor can I stream
music in the bathroom. So, yes, I'm interested in Chime. I'm just not
so sure I want AVG selling third parties information about my
predilection for bubblegum pop. Rating: 3 out of 5 Safety Nets
Burning Up
There's a line in the promotional video for Ellusionist's
Pyro Mini
that reads, "Shoot fire from anywhere." It's funny how quickly four
words can sell me on such an absurdly dangerous device: a fireball
launcher strapped to one's wrist.
I included the
original Pyro
in this column around a year ago, and now we have its successor, the
Pyro Mini. This version is half the size, so it's more inconspicuous,
and relies on a built-in battery pack instead of disposable batteries.
More excitingly for pyromaniacs, the Pyro Mini can shoot the
flash-paper fireballs up to 30 feet away using a remote -- and thanks to
the dual barrels, it can fire two fireballs at once.
Pyro Mini is designed for illusionists' use, but I can think of a
great many circumstances in which I'd find this useful. Mostly they're
situations in which I imagine myself as one of my favorite X-Men. Rating: 4 out of 5 Great Balls of Fire
Alternate Reality
Of all the add-ons that promise to turn smartphones into virtual-reality devices, none seems as convenient as
Figment.
With a flick of the wrist (and the opening of an app), this iPhone
case converts the smartphone into a virtual reality viewer. There's also
the option to use the case and phone to explore augmented reality,
which opens up some intriguing possibilities for how we experience the
world around us.
It's smart for a smartphone case maker to delve into the virtual
reality movement. Figment is an extremely smart design, which is even
more evident when you see that the part of the case that extends for
virtual reality viewing also can prop up the phone as a stand. At the
very least, it's a touch more portable than Google's Cardboard VR
viewer.
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Microsoft HoloLens on
Thursday announced a partnership with Volvo Cars to develop a new
holographic technology that could change the way consumers experience
auto showrooms.
The tech would let potential buyers stay put in the physical world
while experiencing an automobile in an entirely new way, suggested Scott
Erickson, senior director of Microsoft HoloLens. Through augmented
reality -- utilizing Microsoft's HoloLens goggles -- consumers could
view safety feature demonstrations, see car customization options, and
even take part in virtual test drives without leaving the showroom.
Volvo is the first automaker to express interest in Microsoft's
HoloLens technology as a way to provide such details to consumers.
"We are currently exploring the potential of HoloLens to change the
way consumers may discover, experience and even buy cars in the future,"
said Sascha Heiniger, spokesperson for Volvo Car Group.
"We are very eager to now bring this experience to customers and get their feedback," he told TechNewsWorld.
Extending the Showroom Experience
The use of HoloLens technology won't substitute for visiting a showroom.
"This is technology that is meant to enhance the act of looking at a
car, and HoloLens would just be an extension of the showroom
experience," said Jeremy Carlson, senior analyst for autonomous driving
at IHS Automotive.
"It is there to describe systems that consumers don't regularly see," he told TechNewsWorld.
One such example would be the active safety systems. It's not
practical to demonstrate them during a test drive, because it would be
difficult to do so without putting the driver and passengers at some
risk, noted Carlson.
High-End High Tech
There may be a special place for augmented reality in upper-end auto sales.
"The advent of digital into the car retailing process started a few
years back, and it's a place where BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz have
already captured customers' attention by having lifestyle showrooms in
cities -- for example the Audi City in London," said Praveen
Chandrasekar, automotive and transportation research manager at Frost & Sullivan.
"The concept, in essence, is like a Tesla mall showroom where the
idea is to indulge the customer in a digital format to check car
features, and not push them in the traditional brick dealer retail
format on purely selling the vehicle," he told TechNewsWorld.
Digital showrooms have utilized the concept of augmented or virtual
reality to allow customers to configure vehicles in many different ways,
and to explore their features and their look and feel, Chandrasekar
added.
"In some cases, OEMs like Cadillac and Audi have also introduced AR
apps that allow customers to point their phone app to the vehicle and
check out the features, but this is a limited experience," he noted.
What You Can't See
Holographic images could provide details that otherwise couldn't be seen
-- from drive traffic to engine components. The tech likely would be
aimed at early technology adopters and consumers who do more than walk
around a car and kick the tires.
"This technology could describe how the systems work, but also show
off the new technology of the car to the buyer," said IHS' Carlson.
Volvo's partnership with Microsoft also could enhance its image in the luxury market.
"The overarching concept here is to immerse the digital age customer
in a digital experience without pushing them to actually buy a vehicle,"
said Frost's Chandrasekar.
Further, dealers could use the technology to educate their staffs, and to alert car owners to potential problems.
"OEMs could craft a virtual reality environment to show some features
of the car, and this allows the dealer to focus on the sales process,"
noted Carlson. "On the other end of the spectrum, this technology could
allow the dealers to explain repair issues that can't be easily seen.
Some people will like that extra bit of knowledge of what part needs to
be fixed and why."
The Virtual Showroom
Microsoft's HoloLens technology could be a good way to draw technophiles
into Volvo showrooms. It also might be instrumental in the development
of a virtual reality showroom experience.
"Doing showroom visualizations will have some utility, but the
product enables people at home who would otherwise explore options
online to sit in the car, drive the car, and perhaps explore inner
workings of engine systems," said Glen Hiemstra, founder of
Futurist.com.
However, neither scenario is likely to be a game changer for the
automotive market or the holographic technology market, he told
TechNewsWorld.
"The use will be limited to those that a) have a Hololens, and b) want to buy a car," he pointed out.
"The former numbers will be modest, and the latter numbers will
shrink over time as car ownership becomes a thing of the past," Hiemstra
added.
"If the idea is to enable people, while in the showroom, to also put
on a HoloLens and try some visual things, then for a few months or a
year or two that may have some novelty appeal vs. a dealership who does
not have the tech," he acknowledged, "but the novelty will fade.
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Fitbit
on Monday announced the addition of PurePulse heart rate tracking and
SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition to its Charge HR and Surge
devices.
The PurePulse monitoring will be activated whenever the devices are
used in Exercise Mode, providing users with continuous, automatic
tracking of heart rate trends over time without the need for a chest
strap.
SmartTrack will recognize select exercises automatically and record
results to the Fitbit app to inform users about their overall activity.
SmartTrack is capable of identifying a range of both indoor and
outdoor fitness activities -- from running, walking and biking to team
sports such as basketball, soccer and tennis, according to Fitbit. It
also can recognize aerobic workouts such as cardio-kickboxing, Zumba and
other dance classes.
"By automatically capturing people's most active moments with
SmartTrack, they are getting more visibility into the amount of exercise
they're doing throughout each day and over time, while also giving them
the motivation and tools they need to reach their health and fitness
goals," said Michael Polin, senior product marketing manager at Fitbit.
"With this update, we're letting users know that Fitbit has their
back. SmartTrack remembers to track exercises even when users forget to
put their device into exercise mode," he told TechNewsWorld.
Tracking Exercise
Many fitness trackers can already detect activity, but the PurePulse
heart rate technology has been updated to track high-intensity workouts
without the need of a chest monitor, which typically is required with
other heart rate monitors. The Fitbit system is aided by the ability to
determine when someone actually is working out instead of just moving
around the house or office.
"It's important for a device to be able to differentiate between working
out and arm gestures," said Julie Sylvester, coproducer of the Sports
Fitness and Outdoors Summit for
Living in Digital Times.
That capability also allows the device to analyze the intensity of a
workout to determine whether someone actually is working to capacity or
"phoning it in," she told TechNewsWorld.
Preaching to the Choir
The additions to the devices could entice the Fitbit faithful, but they might not be enough to bring new users to the platform.
"The Fitbit and all of these trackers are really just preaching to the choir," said Roger Entner, principal analyst at Recon Analytics. "The market for these devices are those who are really into fitness and want to quantify their workouts."
As with many similar devices, there is the worry of backlash as the
main activity becomes monitoring the device rather than engaging in the
activity, he told TechNewsWorld.
"There has to be middle ground, and perhaps these devices are too much about the monitoring," Entner suggested.
However, these devices may be catching on with people who aren't
necessarily spending hours in the gym, based on anecdotal accounts.
"It's hard to go to a meeting without seeing a Fitbit or a similar
bracelet on most of the wrists in the room," observed Steve Blum,
principal analyst at Tellus Venture Associates.
"Most people seem to use it for step counting, to reassure themselves
that their normal daily activity is an adequate workout," he told
TechNewsWorld. "It's useful feedback for them, and a lot of people seem
to be altering their routine to maximize steps."
Holidays Looking Fit
The holiday outlook for Fitbit and other health trackers appears rosy.
Global revenues of sports, fitness and activity monitors are expected
nearly to double, from US$1.9 billion in 2013 to $2.8 billion in 2019,
according to a recent Consumer Technology Association survey.
"The mainstream public are just now finding themselves interested," suggested Living in Digital Times' Sylvester.
However, interest in these types of trackers could be generational, noted Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates.
"Kids who grew up sharing all their information find them second nature," he told TechNewsWorld.
"Exercise paraphernalia is a growing industry, and Fitbit is right in
the curl of the wave," Kay added. "Nudging is annoying to some people
and helpful to others, so it's just another feature."
Limited Wrist Space
The Fitbit offers an advantage over traditional heart rate monitors that
require the chest strap, but it faces competition from smartwatches,
which are still in their infancy but could grow considerably.
"Fitness trackers and even step counters are the first step -- no pun
intended -- to make people more aware of their activity level and their
need to move more throughout the day," said Sylvester. By contrast,
"most smartwatches are still on the early adopter holiday list and can
be in the category of too much information."
The Samsung Galaxy S5 can be defined by one word: evolution.
The camera has evolved to give clearer, faster snaps. The fitness-tracking abilities of the S5 are enhanced over the Galaxy S4 by packing in a more powerful S Health app and a dedicated heart rate monitor on the rear. A fingerprint scanner adds to the most secure Galaxy phone ever made.
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The battery is larger, the screen bigger and brighter, the processor quicker and the design altered.
The spec sheet certainly doesn't let it down: a 2.5GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 2800mAh (removable) battery, 16 / 32GB of memory (with up to 128GB extra through microSD), one of the world's most vibrant screens that's been extended to 5.1-inches and added biometrics.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review Mud still penetrated the casing
However, it's hard to point to one stand out feature that will grab the prospective user when they handle the Galaxy S5 for the first time.
To many, that won't matter, as Samsung's built a fan-base that only Apple can rival, and a number will be picking up the new Galaxy without a second thought over whether it competes adequately with its rivals.
But now - you can scrap all that. The Galaxy S6 is here, and it's a phone with a lot, lot more going for it.
Hands on: Samsung Galaxy S6 review
For one, the design is awe-inspiring in comparison: the metal and glass edges might be a lot more iPhone-esque than Samsung's lawyers might like, but it's certainly a much nicer design.
Galaxy S5 review
Galaxy S6
The power is much higher in the new phone, but it's shed the microSD slot and removable battery - plus the new S6 isn't waterproof. If those things are important to you, the S5 has dropped in price now and is a much better buy as a result.
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Price-wise, if you're shocked by the cost of the Samsung Galaxy S5 then you've not really been paying attention to the previous flagship models. It's actually a little cheaper than previous years in some territories, and has been dropped around more recently, coming in at around £370 these days SIM free in the UK.
As you can imagine contract offers are flying all over the place at the moment, but the Galaxy S5 is being offered for a near identical price to the HTC One M8, and cheaper than the iPhone 6, give or take a few dollarpounds.
The messaging around the launch of the Galaxy S5 was that Samsung had listened to the consumers and dialled down the gimmicks, focusing instead on what makes a phone special to the consumer.
It promised a 'fashionable' and 'glam' design, a camera that works in the way you'd want it to and strength through being water resistant.
There's also the small notion of an improved version - I was told that it was very likely the Galaxy S5 was going to launch with a Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime version in February, with oodles more RAM, a faster processor and QHD screen on board.
However, that was pushed back (likely to do with issues in creating the screen in high enough volumes) and has since appeared in the South Korea-only Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A version. This one has a Snapdragon 805 CPU, a WQHD screen and all the high end features you can wish for. In short, it's the amazing phone I wish Samsung had announced originally and sold all over the world.
You can always look at the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, a smaller phone with equal power to the main Galaxy S5, but with a lower-res 720p screen. That's offset by a metal design, although only around the edge of the phone - and Samsung has gone once again for a light weight, rather than making it feel weighty and ergonomic in the hand.
That phone has a premium design fused with power under the hood - but with a sky high price and the lower-res screen it's clearly designed to compete with the all new iPhone 6.
Is the Alpha better than the S5? Check out our Samsung Galaxy Alpha review to find out. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha The new Galaxy Alpha, with a metal frame
And if you want something a little smaller, then the Galaxy S5 Mini is here now as well. It's a lot like the bigger brother, and the specs have only been dialled down slightly. It's not quite got the raw power but the design aesthetic is there and the heartbeat monitor as well - well worth checking out if you don't want to spend as much.
But enough of the competition: let's look at one of the key questions that Samsung needed to answer with the Galaxy S5: is it good enough in market that's becoming saturated with decent high-end handsets?
Samsung Galaxy S5 review The water resistance will make a splash with a few buyers
The simple answer, from the second you hold it in the hand, is no – because the design simply isn't up to the same level as the likes of Apple and HTC.
That's only a small part of the story though, and underneath the hood Samsung has continued its play of stuffing all the latest specs in and optimising them in a way that doesn't suck down oodles of battery. Is this phone good enough to keep Samsung fighting with Apple at the top of the sales charts? Yes, but that's mostly through the impressive marketing machine that rolls out in every territory - and even that hasn't led to the greatest sales for the new phone. Samsung needs this to be the last phone that rolls with such design language (the Alpha and Note 4 show that this is the case and should continue) - the Galaxy S6 needs to be the dawn of a new age for the South Korean company, something to give consumers real lust for the way it looks.
And with the new iPhone 6 being a real winner in the design stakes, if customers aren't wedded to the larger S5 screen then the lure of Apple has just grown stronger (although you should be looking at the myriad excellent Android phones first).
This seems to have been picked up by the market at large given that Samsung recently reported that it has sold around 40 per cent less S5 handsets than it did with the Galaxy S4 at the same point in its lifecycle.
The South Korean giant has responded to the news by stating that it plans to take a closer look at its smartphone strategy and concentrate on price tiers rather than high end handsets.
What does that mean? Well, potentially we could see a further price drop in the near future that will make the Samsung Galaxy S5 an even more appealing prospect.
Critically, and for the purposes of this review, it feels like there's very little to shout about with the Galaxy S5 – but perhaps that's no bad thing for a brand that was accused of bringing pointless innovation with last year's model.
I've always played it safe when talking about the design of a Samsung phone. The Galaxy S2, the brand's first big hitter, was made mostly of plastic and still was one of our very few five star phones, after all.
That said, year after year, Samsung has failed to bring out something that wows where the rest of the competition has seen this as a key battleground.
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HTC is the frontrunner here with the metal unibody design of the One M8, and Apple has maintained its position at the sharp end of design ever since the launch of the iPhone 4 - and has jumped forward again with the iPhone 6.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review Happy as a phone in mud
Sony's efforts with its Z range have culminated in the industrially-designed Xperia Z3 and even Nokia has been toying with aluminium to make things feel a little more premium.
All of this makes me curious: why is Samsung refusing to give the consumers what they want… namely, a metal chassis?
Samsung Galaxy S5 review It's plastic, not metal
There are a few possible reasons: cost of manufacture could be too high, especially at the volume Samsung spits them out at, Samsung likes to keep things lighter, waterproofing with a metal shell could have been trickier.
However, none of these arguments really holds water, given Apple does the same with a metallic phone, balanced handsets are better than lighter ones and Sony's Xperia Z range has combined metal and water without a problem.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review A bright and clear screen
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a more solid phone than the Galaxy S4, that's for sure, and looks more well-packaged thanks to the wider back and the grippier, pock-marked battery cover.
However, it doesn't look like a cutting edge smartphone. It seems more akin to the product of a Galaxy Note 3 and the S4, with the metal-effect band around the outside subconsciously making me search for an S Pen.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is an interesting proposition, following Nokia's lead of encasing a polycarbonate body in a metallic rim, a la the Nokia Lumia 930. It seems odd Samsung didn't think to do the same with the S5 - it's hardly a new concept - and would have given the phone a much bigger selling point.
The rear of the phone isn't something that wows either. While I think the comparisons to a sticking plaster are a little cruel, it does share a more 'medical' feel, especially in the white colour.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review Gold, white, black and blue
The blue and copper options are more attractive, but still don't have anywhere near the appeal of the likes of the HTC One M8.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review White is particularly uninspiring, looking quite medical
With the larger screen on board, Samsung's still managed to keep things well in proportion. Although the chassis is larger, it's not unmanageably so, although if you're coming from an older iPhone, you might find it a little tricky to move up.
Those that have previously been fans of the Samsung Galaxy range before will find a lot to like here though. The home button – which now houses the fingerprint scanner, remember – is solid and easy to press, and the power key remains on the right-hand side of the phone, raised slightly and very easy to hit.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review The screen is clear even in daylight
The same can be said of the volume key on the right, although as the handset has increased in height I found it a little harder to get to this area when I wanted to change the level on music when walking along.
One of the key changes to the Galaxy S5 is the fact that it's now water-resistant, with IP67 rating meaning you can dunk it water for a short while, although going swimming with it isn't advised.
It's also dust resistant too, which makes the uncovered headphone port all the more impressive as it makes the S5 much easier to use without having to pull open a flap to listen to some tunes.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review The water and dust cover is tricky to open
The USB 3.0 connection – which will look odd to some, but is the same used in the Galaxy Note 3 to give more power quickly while still allowing standard microUSB cables to be used – is covered to facilitate this IP rating, and it's a little stiff to get off.
The groove to get your nail in to open it is quite small, and might be the only thing that irks those looking to get their hands on the best Galaxy phone and don't care much about it being waterproof.
The capacitive buttons still flank the home key as before, but are slightly different now. Gone is the menu key, replaced by the multi-tasking button that seems to be Google's new favourite in Android 4.4.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review The capacitive buttons have been tweaked You can still use this as the menu key with a long press, but it doesn't work intuitively and the distance from the right-hand side, where the right-handed will predominantly have their digits, is a little too far.
It's not a bad system though, and the presence of a physical home button, while less necessary than before, still provides welcome tactility.
The other big design win Samsung still maintains with the Galaxy S5 is a removable battery. This is mostly for peace of mind nowadays, given that the battery life is so good on the S5, but if you're worried about failure then this is a good option.
It also means the ugly FCC regulation stamp can be hidden from view, and you won't need a SIM tool to get your card out – plus it's easier to pop in a microSD card too.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review Muddy water still got in under the cover, but not into the port
The cover does give me slight cause for concern when you consider it from a water-resistant point of view, as it can be hard to make sure all the clips are securely fastened when snapping it back on.
A warning message does come up on the screen to remind you of this, but it can take a couple of passes to make sure it's completely fixed on.
If you look under the battery cover, you'll see that the battery is protected by a tight ring of rubber - if you've just dunked it in water, it's a little disconcerting to see how much fluid is in the phone already... but this seems to be fine. I did worryingly notice some grit got into the home key, but after an hour or two it seemed to dislodge itself, although it doesn't make me think this phone is really that dustproof.
Samsung Galaxy S5 review Put it on stones, drizzle it in water. It'll be fine.
Overall, the design of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is likely to be the area that receives the most criticism, and for good reason.
It doesn't command a premium feel in the hand like so many other high-end phones on the market, and while some will point to how strong and high-quality the polycarbonate used is, it still pales in comparison to the competition.
Yes, it's lighter and probably more hard-wearing (you're much less likely to need a case with the Galaxy S5, for instance) but this is the biggest pain point for Samsung and it's one that it needs to improve with the Galaxy S6.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 was
a great phone in terms of technology, but there's no denying it felt
like just another iterative change of what had gone before rather than
something a bit more revolutionary. This year, we have no such qualms
with the Galaxy S6, as Samsung has gone back to the drawing board and
completely redesigned its flagship handset. Building it from
high-quality glass and metal, the S6 feels like the premium handset that
we've always wanted.
In fact, Samsung has brought us two new handsets this year, with the Galaxy S6 Edge and
its curved display sitting above the regular S6. While the Edge may the
phone that most people would love to have in their pockets, the
standard S6 is £160 cheaper and has almost all the same features (save
for the special Edge screen tabs). For many, then, the S6 is the phone
you're more likely buy, as it's the best value.
In brief
Samsung has completely revamped its phone line-up for 2015, with the
incredible build quality and premium materials of the S6 proving to be a
real winner. Samsung's own mobile processor is also incredibly fast and
powerful, beating almost every other flagship smartphone when it comes
to raw application speed, outstripping the LG G4 and HTC One M9 by
miles. While the S6 Edge is the phone we'd want, this standard S6 is
just as quick and has just as good a screen and camera, making it our
joint-top flagship Android handset of the year; it even gives iPhone 6 readers something to think about. If this isn't the phone for you, then our best smartphone guide will have something suitable.
Smartphones Don't Get More Utilitarian Than Samsung's Galaxy S6 .
Excellent build quality
High-quality screen
Very fast
Battery is not replaceable
No memory card slot
In detail
With the Galaxy S6 Edge launching at the same time, the S6 isn't just
competing against other flagship Android phones; it's competing against
its curved-screen brother. It's not an easy decision to make between
the two, either. While the Edge, in our opinion, looks a lot cooler, you
do have to take into account its much higher cost and work out if it's
worth paying more for. With the standard S6, you're getting a flat
screen, but it's fair to say that build quality and attention to detail
is just as good as with the Edge.
Design and build quality
The Galaxy S6 is a big improvement on the S5, with the glass and
metal design bringing the phone up to the quality we think its price
demands. That's not to say that everything is perfect: as much as we
love the phone's metal design, its smooth, rounded corners make it feel
extremely slippery to hold, and it constantly felt like it was about to
fall out of
It doesn't help that the S6 has a glass back either, as this provides
very little purchase when you're using the phone single-handed. The S6
Edge, on the other hand, skirts around this issue by having a thinner,
more angular frame to accommodate its curved screen, making it much
easier and more comfortable to grip. We never thought we'd miss
Samsung's faux-leather back panels, but we did like the amount grip they
provided.
The phone's rounded edges also have the strange effect of making the
S6 appear considerably fatter in your hand compared to the S6 Edge,
despite the fact the S6 is actually 0.2mm slimmer, measuring 6.8mm
compared to the 7mm on the Edge. It's a minor quibble, but it
nevertheless serves as a reminder that the S6 Edge feels like the more
premium product.
There's not much in it in terms of weight, as the S6 weighs 138g
while the S6 Edge weighs 132g. Either way, both trump the HTC One M9 and
LG G4, as the One M9 measures 9.6mm thick and weighs a heftier 157g
while the G4 measures 8.9mm and weighs 155g. Some will no doubt prefer
the added bulk of the One M9 and G4, particularly if you're a little
nervous about dropping it, but the S6 definitely feels more comfortable
in your pocket.
Display
Fortunately, the S6 makes up for its small design issues with its
stunning 5.1in Super AMOLED display. With a resolution of 2,560x1,440,
the phone has the highest pixel density (577ppi) of any handset, beating
the LG G3,
which has the same resolution and a larger 5.5in screen. As we've come
to expect from Samsung's AMOLED displays, colour accuracy and contrast
were through the roof, as our colour calibrator returned an sRGB colour
gamut score of 100% and a contrast ratio of Infinity:1. Likewise, blacks
were a perfect 0.00cd/m2, so text and black backgrounds are as deep and
inky as they come.
Screen brightness was a rather more contentious issue, as Samsung
claims the screen can reach as high as 600cd/m2, which is higher than
even most LCD screens are capable of producing. The HTC One M9, for
instance, managed just 478.50cd/m2 on its highest brightness setting.
AMOLED screens, on the other hand, are usually much dimmer, and our
usual maximum brightness tests were very much in line with what we'd
normally expect to see from this type of screen technology.
Image 1 of 9
Here, we measured a peak brightness of 346.49cd/m2, which is nigh on
identical to our readings from the S6 Edge. This is fine for using the
phone outside, but it still pales in comparison to what an LCD can
achieve. However, it seems Samsung has finally addressed this issue of
outdoor usability, as our live brightness readings shot up to a massive
577cd/m2 when we took the phone outside and switched back to automatic
brightness.
This is the first time we've seen this kind of brightness level on an
AMOLED phone, and it really helps boost the clarity of the screen and
keeps colours looking punchy when you're out and about. This will be
good news for anyone who travels a lot or primarily uses their phone
outside, as it effectively combines the best features of both AMOLED and
LCD screen technology. We like that it's only available on Auto mode as
well, as this should help keep the screen's power drain in check so you
don't end up running out of battery so often.
Battery life
We only run our battery tests at 170cd/m2, which is just over half
brightness when auto's turned off, but you should still get a full
working day's use out of the S6 regardless of how much you use it. The
S6's 2,550mAh battery isn't quite as large as the Galaxy S5's 2,800mAh
battery, or indeed the one in the S6 Edge, which is 50mAh bigger, but we still managed a respectable 13h 37m in our continuous video playback test.
Admittedly, we were a little disappointed it couldn't match the S5's
17-and-a-half-hour battery life, or even the S6 Edge, which managed
another two hours under the same conditions. However, this is still
pretty good compared to the rest of the competition, as the HTC One M9 only lasted just over 9 hours, the LG G4 just two minutes shy of 12 hours and the iPhone 6 last just under 13 hours.
Of course, some will be upset that the battery is no longer
removable, but thankfully Samsung's added in wireless charging for extra
convenience. It supports both the WPC1.1 and PMA 1.0 standards, so it
should work on practically any charging mat. There's also a fast
charging mode, with 10 minutes on the mains providing four hours of use.
IR remote
It's worth noting that the S6 has a discrete IR emitter on its top
edge. This works with Peel's Smart Remote app for controlling all the
kit in your living room. The app is easy to setup and we quickly got it
working with all the key devices in our lounge. Our Panasonic TV, Virgin Media Tivo box and Onkyo amp were all set up quickly, with the appropriate controls assigned to each device.
The app lets you use your phone as a traditional remote, navigating
the menus, adjusting the volume and turning stuff on-and-off. It also
has a thumbnail view for all the programmes that are currently airing on
the channels you have access to (there’s an editable list to remove
content you don’t have, such as Sky Movies). You just tap a thumbnail
and the remote brings up that channel. It’s a much easier way to browse
the guide, essentially more Netflix and less Sky+.
It’s not a must-have feature admittedly, but it’s very handy when
you’ve misplaced the remote, don’t want to have to juggle three remotes
to get the TV on, or even save you fighting for the remote control with
your family. If you watch TV then it’s a definite plus point over the
competition.
Key Features: 5.2-inch, 1080p Full HD display;
13-megapixel OIS-enhanced camera;
Android 5.0 Lollipop;
2600mAh battery
Manufacturer: Huawei
First reviewed: April 2015
What is the Huawei P8?
Released
in April 2015, the Huawei P8 is the Chinese firm’s first real shot at
making a mark in the flagship market, having dipped its toes with the
Ascend range. Although Huawei lacks the big-hitting brand name that
comes with a Samsung or an Apple handset, it hopes to tempt users away
with the P8’s sleek design, iPhone-like aluminium body, along with some
solid specs. For the most part it succeeds, too.
The
Huawei P8’s octa-core processor, 3GB RAM and high-quality camera proves
it’s serious about going toe-to-toe with the big boys. The fact that
it’s considerably cheaper than the likes of the iPhone 6, Samsung Galaxy S6, or even the HTC One M9, makes it an even better alternative to one of the big-brand rivals, if you’re looking for something a little different.
Huawei P8 – Design
Metal body; 144.9 x 72.1 x 6.4mm; 144g
The
Huawei P8 looks and feels a lot more expensive than its price tag would
suggest. It’s beautifully crafted, taking obvious inspiration from the
iPhone 6 and Sony Xperia Z3, but with a more angular look and feel.
The
Huawei P8 adds some refined touches that distinguish it from the
competition, including a smooth glass rectangular section on the back of
the phone where the camera sits. The front face of the phone is clean,
with no branding, no home button and no unsightly plastic-looking
speaker grilles. Take note, Samsung.
The chiselled curved edges of the P8 are similar to the Samsung Galaxy S6,
while the softly textured metal back of the phone echoes that of the
iPhone 5. Huawei hasn’t just taken design cues from its rivals though,
it’s also followed the trend different colours with ridiculous names. As
a result, the 16GB version P8 is available in Mystic Champagne/Titanium
Grey, and a 64GB P8 is available in Prestige Gold and the less
ludicrous Carbon Black. Colours may vary by territory, though.
The
power button and volume keys on the right hand side of the P8 are the
only physical keys on the P8, and they’re our only real gripe with this
phone’s design. The power button is miniscule and is so close to the
volume keys that it’s easy to to hit the wrong button.
A
double tap of the bottom volume key opens the camera and takes a
picture when the phone screen is off. It’s a good feature, but it would
be easier if the power button was larger, further away or on the
opposite side of the phone.
Yet this small weakness doesn’t
detract from what’s otherwise a solid and well-built phone. It’s heavier
than the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6, but it’s lighter than the HTC One M9 and looks as good as any of them despite costing nearly half as much.
Huawei P8 – Screen
5.2-inch; 1080 x 1920 pixels (Full HD); 424ppi; IPS LCD; Gorilla Glass 3
The
5.2-inch screen on the Huawei P8 is a touch larger than the one on the
Galaxy S6, but the thin bezel means it doesn’t take up too much more
space. And, while it isn’t Quad HD like the S6, it’s one of the finest
Full HD screens we’ve seen in a phone. It’s big, it’s bright and it’s
useable in all lighting conditions.
Huawei’s Emotion UI includes
some options for adjusting the P8 screen’s colour temperature and we
used it to counter the phone’s apparent natural bias towards warmer
tones. The display options in settings offer a sliding scale between
warm and cold, and we found that nudging the slider one position to the
right gave us a more natural colour balance.
That
isn’t to say that this phone is particularly bad when it comes to
colour reproduction, though. Overall, it does a good job of rendering
colours vibrantly, but if you pay attention to Red and Magenta tones,
it’s clear there is some oversaturation taking place.
Side-by-side
with some of the other flagship phones, the P8 manages to hold its own.
Next to the Galaxy S6, the P8 appears to deliver slightly punchier
colours, but it can’t match it for detail, deep blacks or clean white
tones. Held up next to the HTC One M9, the P8 edges its more expensive
rival.
The
P8’s screen looks good at acute viewing angles and adapts to changing
light conditions well, too. This is one particular area where the P8
really impresses, though it’s by no means the only area – it’s a great
screen all round.
Camera
13-megapixel main
camera; f/2 lens; Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS); 8-Megapixel
front-facing camera; dual LED flash; Director mode; Full HD video
Huawei made a big deal about the P8’s camera during its announcement and, looking at its specs, you can understand why.
The
P8 has a Sony-developed 13-megapixel RGBW sensor with a dedicated image
processor and f/2 lens, which is designed to deliver better low light
performance and noise reduction. The company also claims that the P8’s
optical image stabilisation (OIS) is significantly better than the
iPhone 6 Plus’.
This is because the OIS unit on the P8 can handle up to 1.2 degrees of motion shift, compared to only 0.6 degrees on the iPhone 6 Plus.
The OIS does decently in low light, helping to reduce camera shake in
still images, but it also works very well during Full HD video recording
at 30fps, keeping handheld shots relatively stable.
Here, the P6 has done a great job of enhancing the blue skies, but the S6 captures a wider range of tones.
The
S6 has a larger 16-megapixel sensor so it can capture larger images,
it's also sharper than the P8, but the P8 has produced some punchy
colours
In use the P8’s camera is great, especially in good
light. We found it easy to use and responsive, but the autofocus could
be better. The P8 recognises faces quickly and tracks them well. It
takes about a second to focus, which isn’t too bad, but if we weren’t
focusing on faces it needed help to pick the right subject to focus on.
The
P8 has some fancy camera modes that help people to capture creative and
enhanced images without needing any technical know-how. Light painting
is probably the most complex of the Huawei’s photo modes and helps
people to capture photos with a range of different effects, such as Car
light trails, star tracks and smooth flowing water.
We
experimented with some of the light painting modes, a tripod or stable
surface is definitely required to produce anything half decent
The
mode works by using slow shutter speeds to allow the camera to capture
light for longer periods of time, but saves people from having to learn
about shutter speeds. If you can hold the phone steadily enough – Huawei
recommends using a tripod – the results are decent and it can be fun
experimenting with light. It’s an accessible way to introduce people to
some advanced photographic technique.
The camera’s 8-megapixel
front-facing camera is ideal for selfies and comes complete with some
built-in ‘beauty’ tools, to help scrub up our otherwise ugly mugs. The
list of beauty enhancements (which some may find offensive) include
teeth and skin whitening, face slimming and eye bag removal. If used
sparingly, the results are half decent, but we prefer the natural look
produced by the camera without the beauty mode. It’s a gimmick, really,
albeit one you can ignore.
Huawei has done some great work on its
camera processing to produce images that enhance colours and convey
sharpness. The result is that the P8’s images look great on the phone’s
screen and social media.
Both cameras produce images with good contrast, but the S6 has better dynamic range performance
Comparison
shots from the P8 and the Galaxy S6 show just how well Huawei has done.
In a number of different lighting conditions, the P8’s images are
immediately more attractive. Of course, on closer inspection the S6 is
in a different league for colour accuracy and detail, but for the
majority of smartphone users, the P8’s camera is more than capable
enough.
Software and Performance
HiSilicon Kirin 930 octa-core chipset; Mali T628 GPU; 3GB RAM
The
P8 may look a little iPhone inspired on the outside, but inside it will
be freakishly familiar if you’ve used an iOS device in recent years.
Even
though the P8 runs Android Lollipop 5.0, it has the company’s own
Emotion UI over the top of it and there’s no attempt to hide its
Apple-likeness. Everything from the shape and styling of the phone’s
icons to the home screen pull down gesture that activates the Spotlight
Search function have been replicated.
What makes the Apple-aping
so obvious is the fact that the Huawei phone has the Android system
search feature included in it anyway, so the copied spotlight function
is redundant and included probably just because Apple phones do it.
iOS users will find the Huawei Emotion UI very familiar
But
don’t let these observations put you off as Huawei has used its
admiration for one of the best operating systems around and created an
Android user experience that is mostly responsive, clean and clutter
free. For example, swiping down give you access to notifications on one
tab and the quick settings menu on another. It’s a good solution for
separating the two areas and makes them easy to navigate.
That
said, Huawei ought to have left in some Lollipop features, such as the
Rolodex style active app shortcut. Instead, pressing the option button
brings up a stagnant tile based active app browser, which allows you to
select or close open apps by pressing them or swiping up. It works, but
it isn’t as attractive as the stock Android 5.0 method of dealing with
open apps.
In an attempt to create some points of difference,
Huawei has given the P8 some unique features. We mentioned some of them
in the camera section, but another add-on is ‘Voice Wake’ that allows
you set a voice trigger to wake and to find your phone. By default our
phone’s trigger phrase was “Ok Emy”, but you can type a custom phrase
that’s a little more personal.
We had mixed results with the
feature and didn’t find it much easier than just picking up the phone
and pressing the power button. It ignored us most of the time and
occasionally interrupted conversations to ask us to repeat what it
overheard as if we’d commanded it do something.
The other
“feature” lets you use your knuckles to carry out additional gesture
commands, such as screen capturing. The phone knows the difference
between fingertips and knuckles and will screen grab instantly if you
knock on the phone twice for example. It’s good for screen grabs as it’s
easier than the traditional volume key + power key combination.
The
system is powered by a Huawei developed 64-bit HiSilicon Kirin 930
chipset, made up of two ARM Cortex-A53 quad-cores in a big.LITTLE
configuration. One set is clocked to 2.0GHz to handle intense tasks,
while the other 1.5GHz quad-core takes care of standard phone
functionality and operations, such as calls, email, web browsing and
listening to music.
This setup is very power efficient, proven by
our experience with the P8. For the most part we found the phone to be
responsive and capable when it comes to tackling intense tasks. We did
experience some minor application freezing and lag on occasion, but
managing open applications sensibly should negate this issue.
Benchmark
tests put the P8’s processing performance not far off the HTC One M9,
which uses the top spec Snapdragon 810 chipset. That would be impressive
in and of itself, but considering the Huawei flagship is around £220
cheaper, it’s a very big deal.
Huawei P8 – Speaker and Call Quality
The
speaker and microphone of the P8 are at the base of the phone, either
side of the the micro USB port. The speaker’s position means it can be
covered by a hand when viewing videos in landscape orientation, but the
speaker is big enough to avoid being totally obscured.
The mono
speaker is loud, but it doesn’t sound great. You’ll quickly become a
figure of hate if you dare to play audio at even 50% volume in a public
space – crank it up to 100% and you’ll have projectiles and abusive
words raining down on you within seconds. The quality of the audio is
noticeably top heavy and can distort quite easily, but there’s still
respectable level of bass to be heard.
The
provided headphones are tough plastic and they don’t fit well unless
you have large lug holes. The earphones are loud though, and give a good
frequency response across the board, but they leak sound badly so will
annoy people around you. Head to our best headphone round-up for better alternatives.
Overall,
we’d say the audio from the P8 sits somewhere between the HTC One M9’s
class-leading BoomSound stereo speakers and the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 –
another decent result considering the price.
During our time with
the P8 we didn’t have any issues with mobile signal or call quality. We
received good signal strength anywhere we could reasonably expect to
receive service. The phone is 4G compatible, and uses a special antenna
design with what it calls ‘seamless switching technology’ to keep call
signal strength consistently good. In our experience, it works.
Apple's tagline for the iPhone 6S is 'the only thing that's changed
is everything', highlighting that the brand knows this is a phone that
looks an awful lot like last year's model.
It makes sense that
Apple would try its hardest to show that, despite the handset looking
identical to last year's model, there have been loads of changes under
the hood that make this an attractive phone in its own right.
Buy Apple iPhone 6S Factory Sealed Unlocked Phone, 64GB (Gold) at Amazon for $367.00
The chassis is stronger, the camera sharper – with a new
Harry Potter-esque way of capturing your snaps – and there's even a
completely new way of interacting with the screen. On paper, it's an
impressive upgrade. See the iPhone 6S in action in our video review:
But when it looks identical to the iPhone
6, people will be desperate to know if the iPhone 6S is enough of an
upgrade to justify the price. While the upgrades seem great, is it worth
going all the way up to the iPhone 6S, or would the 6 do?
In
terms of raw price, we're in a weird situation now. Samsung and the rest
of the Android crew have been slowly ratcheting up the price of their
high-end phones to the point where they're actually eclipsing the iPhone
6S at launch.
However, Apple's once again been the victim of its
off-kilter launch cycle, meaning it's putting its phone into a market
where the Galaxy S6
is now significantly cheaper – and so the iPhone 6S has a higher price
to live up to. That said, this new phone is just that: a new phone. That
means some potential buyers will be enamoured with the notion of
getting the latest tech on the market rather than a six-month-old
handset.
In the UK, that means between £50 and £100 upfront to get
the phone for £36-£38 per month (if you want a decent slug of data and
minutes) with the phone starting at £539 for the 16GB model, £619 for
the 64GB model and £699 for 128GB.
It's starting at $649 if you're
looking to pick it up off contract in the US, with the new $32.45
monthly cost if you're thinking of getting locked into Apple's yearly
upgrade plan. In
reality though, the question of who this phone is aimed at isn't that
hard to answer: for most people stuck on the iPhone 5S it's clearly the
upgrade they're considering, and beyond that there's the disgruntled
Android owner who's tired of looking at the slicker app experience Apple
offers and seeing their own handset looking sketchy in comparison.
(Of
course, there are a few people that tried Windows Phones as
experiments, but they'd probably be happy with just about any other
phone if they're still using a Nokia Lumia 930). The difference between the iPhone 6 (left) and iPhone 6S (right) is nearly impossible to seeThe issue Apple is trying to solve with the iPhone 6S (and the 6S Plus)
is how it can convince users, especially in a market saturated with
really rather brilliant smartphones, that the 'S' variant of the
impressive iPhone 6 is a worthy phone to upgrade to in its own right.
When something is so visually similar, the onus is on the brand to show that the upgrades are really worth the extra cash.
Even
if Apple keeps users within its own ecosystem there's every chance
they'll look at the iPhone 6, which is now much cheaper – so it needs to
make sure things like a stronger chassis, animated photos and a new
pressable screen are worth the extra outlay when both phones will still
work perfectly well in a couple of years' time.
Design
You've
probably already heard, but the iPhone 6S is almost identical to last
year's 6 in every way when it comes to the chassis. There are some very
subtle differences, such as a slightly thicker frame and a little more
heft, but it's so slight that I kept getting the two mixed up when doing
side by side comparisons.
All cases fit both phones just fine
too so, apart from a small S logo on the back of the phone, nobody is
going to notice you've got the latest iPhone.
But there will be
lots of you upgrading from the iPhone 5S, and in that case you'll need
to be ready for a really big design change. The metallic chassis feels
really nice in the hand, with a ceramic-like feeling on the outside
(although if it's anything like the 6 then this can scuff over time if
you keep it in a pocket with keys, so you'll need to think about the
kind of case you'll want to keep it safe). One
of the things that Apple is touting is the fact the iPhone 6S is made
of 7000 series aluminum, which is the strongest thing it's ever used in
iPhone construction. The obvious connection people will make is with
'Bendgate' last year, when some users claimed their new phone had
developed a slight curve in their pocket without much pressure.
The
common belief was that these phones began to twist when placed in a
rear pocket and sat upon. While it was proven that other metal phones
actually were worse when it came to bending Apple didn't come out of the
controversy well.
So it's no surprise that, while the company
won't admit the real reason, the new iPhone is strong and never going to
bend with such pressure. However, I feel like that we shouldn't feel
happy our phones no longer bend – this seems like one of the minimum
expectations I'd have of a smartphone, not a compelling reason to buy
it.
The front of the phone is now covered in a new level of
strength, with a glass that's far less prone to shattering when dropped
on the floor – now that's something I can get behind. We've not drop
tested it - we'll leave that to some other, braver reviewer - if the
screen is stronger the responsiveness hasn't dropped. In
the hand, the iPhone 6S still feels like a dream. Even with the extra
14g over the iPhone it feels lightweight, easy to manipulate and really
warrants the price. Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge invokes the same kind of feeling, and with it you don't mind spending the extra money over a more budget phone.
In
terms of design, if you've seen the iPhone 6 then you've seen the 6S.
The volume buttons, the power key, the silencer switch and the speaker
are all in the same place as last year, with the grille at the bottom
very easy to cover when you're watching videos or playing games in
landscape.
If you're using the 5S, this is leagues ahead. The
construction is good, the materials solid and there's no wiggle in the
buttons at all. While you probably never bent your 5S, the idea that the
iPhone 6S is stronger will probably please you, however unnecessary the
claim is.
Apple's not done anything great with the design of the
iPhone 6S, but the iPhone 6 was such a well-created phone that using the
same chassis isn't going to harm its chances of success.
However,
combined with the higher price and the continued presence of last
year's model, I wish we were at least seeing some retooling of the phone
to make it seem more attractive.
Screen
The screen on the
iPhone 6S seems to be identical to last year's: we're talking a
4.7-inch affair with 750p resolution, which keeps it firmly in the
'Retina' range that the firm debuted all the way back with the iPhone 4.
It's
hard to rate the display, as while it fails on resolution (quite
spectacularly actually - phones a seventh the cost of the iPhone 6S
offer 1080p screens, Samsung's cheaper phone has four times the
resolution of the 6S and Sony has, inexplicably, just launched a 4K
phone) it doesn't drop too badly on performance. The
iPhone 6S display is clear, bright, laminated to the glass and insanely
colorful. The first time I saw it on the iPhone 6 I thought it was a
fake picture stuck on top of a dummy unit, such was the clarity on
offer.
So to use the same thing on the iPhone 6S makes sense -
after all, the lower pixel count means it can be thinner and the battery
can last longer, thanks to having fewer pixels to drive.
But
there are some things missing: for instance, the contrast ratio (the
difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the screen) is
still poor, with the black areas looking a little grey. Samsung's Galaxy
range predominantly uses OLED technology, which offers 'true' blacks
and high brightness and packs a much better visual punch, and would have
suited the iPhone down to the ground.
The sharpness in side by
side tests is clearly lower too - the 326 pixels per inch is very low
even compared the 401ppi of the iPhone 6S Plus - and most other models
are over 500ppi to bring really, really clear displays.
Given OLED
technology is used in the Apple Watch - and admittedly it looks
brilliant - it's a shame the same thing couldn't have been done with the
iPhone 6S.
It's important not to get too hung up on screen
resolution in a phone - after all, if it's not serving a purpose (hey,
Sony?) then it's just wasting battery. But the industry has moved on,
and the higher pixel densities on offer are starting to really bring
something to the table, with apps and general use looking pin sharp.
Here's hoping the iPhone 7 makes a massive jump forward to join the rest of the pack.
3D Touch
Apple's been hard at work integrating the Force Touch technology from its Watch and new MacBook Pro into the iPhone 6S, but has decided that it needed to give it a new name: 3D Touch.
In terms of all the changes offered by the new iPhone, this is definitely the one you should pay most attention to. Not just because it's the most multi-faceted, but also because it's the only change that I feel confident in stating will alter the way we use our iPhones forever.
The premise sounds simple: the screen now has a third dimension, allowing you to poke 'into' the display rather than just swiping all over it. Apple's likened it to the integration of multi-touch, which ushered in pinch to zoom for navigating through the web and photos... and that definitely changed the way we use smartphones.
Buy Apple iPhone 6S Factory Sealed Unlocked Phone, 64GB (Gold) at Amazon for $367.00
While the amount of things you can do with it now is slightly limited, there's no doubt that the ability to poke the screen is going to become a natural gesture over the next few years, especially as app developers get hold of the option.
It's only native Apple apps that have made use of the option for now, and while most of them have some form of 3D Touch-ability, I found myself using it most in messages and Safari.
Let's say you get a message with a link in - asking you to check out a website or asking if you want tickets to 'this' gig. You can just push the link and a little window pops up, previewing the web page and giving you the info you want.
If that satisfies you, then you can just let go of the screen and return to the message. If you need to know a little more then pushing the screen harder will open up the page in Safari so you can explore further.
These actions are nauseatingly called 'Peek' and 'Pop' - but just think of them as a preview and then a harder press actually opens the app and you'll get what I mean.
The same thing for nearly every link in the phone, and the action became second nature within a few days. In fact, it became embedded to such an extent that I nearly broke the screen on a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge trying to open a link, and got annoyed when I had to actually click a hyperlink in Gmail's web client.
3D Touch is probably the most functional in Mail, where you can preview messages then swipe up, down, left and right to do things like call up menus, archive the message or mark it as unread.
In Apple's presentation this was the headline action of the service, but I didn't find it that useful... like many things I didn't feel like the previous method (opening the email, seeing if I cared, deciding I didn't and then possibly marking it as unread) was a problem.
If anything 3D Touch made me more lazy with my mails... and if you've seen my inbox that's not a good thing.
The big issue I had with 3D Touch was that the previews were static - I couldn't scroll up to see a little more when often I wanted to just get a little more info before deciding if I wanted to open the app. This sounds like a really picky way of describing the action, but given it's meant to be all about convenience I really missed it.
iPhone 6S review Swiping upwards on the preview will unveil a new menu
I also found, especially when previewing things like photos, that my finger was right in the middle of the screen and covered a lot of the display - thus making the preview irrelevant.
iPhone 6s Review
But that takes away from the excellent idea that Apple's come up with here. Sure, it's nothing more than a super-charged long press, and if anything it's highlighted that Apple should have added in such an action ages ago, given it's been in Android for aeons.
This is definitely the next level though. I've already played a racing game where acceleration and braking were now able to be subtle thanks to the pressure applied, and while it was rudimentary there was definitely a feeling of a more premium 'controller'.
But I've not used the technology much in the last month, if I'm honest. The only thing I've regularly used it for is previewing web links and viewing Live Photos - and the latter because that's the only way to see them, where a long press on non-iPhone 6S models works the same way.
I still think it will be revolutionary, but only when apps start using it. Instagram lets me preview pics this way, but who cares? Just tap and open them. I rarely use the shortcuts on the homescreen, but then again I keep forgetting I can, which is an issue of training users Apple has to overcome.
Check out how 3D Touch works in our video introduction:
Mighty pad
There's greater control over your cursor when typing too, with the inclusion of iOS 9 on the iPhone 6S Plus allowing you to use 3D Touch for precision placement. Hold down on the keyboard and the characters will fade away, leaving you with a track pad to expertly line up the blinking vertical line.
It brings a new level precision to editing text, something which has been a little hit and miss on previous iPhone and iOS incarnations.
iPhone 6S review Pressure on the keyboard opens up an easy way to move the cursor
Live Photos
While I'll cover this in greater depth in the camera section, it's worth talking about the new function in the new iPhone 6S. While the camera has been upgraded to 12MP, it will now grab a chunk of video before and after the snap (1.5 seconds to be exact) and turn that into a little video.
With audio captured the idea is that the moment is added into the photo, and with a prod from 3D Touch you'll be able to see the story behind the photo. This isn't a new idea, as HTC, Nokia and Samsung have all tried to do it in the past (with limited success).
iPhone 6S review
Pressing the screen activates Live Photos
Nokia and HTC were probably the biggest proponents of the platform, the former using it to do great things like remove people from the photo or providing more editing effects - and HTC even spliced the video into a photos highlights reel to make memories of events like a night out.
Both of these ideas worked well, were genuinely useful and had a strong result - and yet couldn't entice users in (although HTC's now-standalone Zoe app is still being used by many). Apple's method is much simpler, almost hidden behind the photo, where the only proof that there's a dynamic picture in your snap is a little flick of movement as you swipe through the gallery.
However, it doesn't seem like something that will be a big draw - simply because the only thing people want to do is take a photo with a camera and have it come out looking crisp, in focus and full of color. They don't want gimmicks around it, they just want the phone to help them be brilliant photographers.
In fairness to Apple, the Live Photo happens quietly in the background (with only a little 'Live' box at the top of the camera viewfinder telling you what's happening) and doesn't compromise shooting speed or photo quality, and in terms of space it's less than two photographs.
If Apple had changed the 16GB model to 32GB, then perhaps this wouldn't even be questioned, but many people run out of space on their smaller iPhone capacity and doubling the amount of photos taken is going to make things even worse. A9 chipset
As usual, Apple has upgraded the engine in the middle of the iPhone, bringing the 6S into 2015 with it fastest chipset yet. The A9 has myriad upgrades, with things like the M9 coprocessor enabling the phone to record even more motion without impacting on the battery life.
As usual it's been hard to test this out before the official launch of the iPhone 6S, simply because there aren't apps unveiled that can make use of it. The games shown off at the official iPhone debut, like the Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade game, showed that the new iPhone is capable of some truly breathtaking apps and is able to combine them with 3D Touch to enable new methods of gameplay.
iPhone 6S review
But in general day to day use, there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference. Browsing through apps is a snappy as ever (albeit with a very slight delay if you've got animations enabled) and I can't fault the speeds over Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
That's just in day to day use - if you stress test this a little more, you'll see that the iPhone 6S will shave off a few seconds each day through constantly opening and closing apps (see the video in the iOS 9 section to get what I mean).
What was notably absent from the unveiling event was the claims of longer battery life, which you'd have assumed the improved CPU would have offered. However, it seems Apple has decided to use that improved power to deliver 3D Touch and more powerful graphics, rather than extending the battery life of the iPhone 6S.
Give iOS 9 was also supposed to be a bit better on the battery, this is surprising, but I couldn't see any evidence of improved battery management.
A man uses a smartphone in New York City, in this picture taken November 6, 2013.
Reuters/Mike Segar
The
number of deaths from traffic accidents in the United States jumped 8.1
percent in the first half of 2015, suggesting smartphones and other
driving distractions could be making America's roadways more dangerous,
officials said on Tuesday.Preliminary
government statistics, released during a Thanksgiving holiday week
known for heavy traffic congestion, showed deaths rising to 16,225 in
the January-June period at a rate more than double an increase in
overall driving spawned by falling gasoline prices and a growing
economy.
"The increase in
smartphones in our hands is so significant, there's no question that has
to play some role. But we don't have enough information yet to
determine how big a role," said Mark Rosekind, who heads the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal government's auto
safety watchdog.
The jump in 2015
fatalities follows a decline in annual traffic deaths to 32,675 last
year, for a record low of 1.07 deaths per million vehicle miles
traveled, according to NHTSA statistics. The 2014 data included 21,022
passenger vehicle deaths, the lowest since record-keeping began in 1975.
The
increase in the first half of 2015 was the biggest six-month jump in
traffic deaths reported since 1977, according to statistics. But
officials cautioned that semi-annual results can be subject to major
revisions and noted that a comparable 7.9 percent increase in early 2012
led to a 4 percent rise for that year as a whole.
Officials said it
was too early to identify contributing factors. But Rosekind told
reporters that officials are looking at likely causes including
distracted driving and the possibility lower gas prices have encouraged
more driving among "risky drivers" such as teen-agers.
Rosekind
also criticized an absence of effective state laws that prohibit
hand-held smartphones by drivers or require the use of seatbelts and
motorcycle helmets.
The auto safety
agency expects to unveil a program next year to target $500 million in
federal safety grants at human factors that are responsible for 94
percent of motor vehicle crashes.
That
isn’t to say that this phone is particularly bad when it comes to
colour reproduction, though. Overall, it does a good job of rendering
colours vibrantly, but if you pay attention to Red and Magenta tones,
it’s clear there is some oversaturation taking place.
Here, the P6 has done a great job of enhancing the blue skies, but the S6 captures a wider range of tones.
The
S6 has a larger 16-megapixel sensor so it can capture larger images,
it's also sharper than the P8, but the P8 has produced some punchy
colours
We
experimented with some of the light painting modes, a tripod or stable
surface is definitely required to produce anything half decent
Both cameras produce images with good contrast, but the S6 has better dynamic range performance
iOS users will find the Huawei Emotion UI very familiar
Benchmark
tests put the P8’s processing performance not far off the HTC One M9,
which uses the top spec Snapdragon 810 chipset. That would be impressive
in and of itself, but considering the Huawei flagship is around £220
cheaper, it’s a very big deal.
