Samsung Galaxy S8 vs LG G6: preliminary specs comparison

The launch of the most important Android phones for 2017 is right around the corner: the Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6 have leaked out in images along with specs and all the details. And they are a big shift for smartphones: after years of similar smartphone design, the pair marks a new era.

All eyes are on the Samsung Galaxy S8. After Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 exploding battery fiasco, the company has pledged to improve its quality assurance process and has delayed the launch of its most important device of the year by one month.

The wait will be worth it: Samsung has not only managed to secure the newest and most powerful chip on the market, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, before everyone else, it is also introducing a new all-screen body for the S8. With an almost bezel-less design, Samsung is maximizing the screen space and rumors say the Galaxy S8 will launch with two much bigger displays, a 5.8-inch version and a 6.2-inch model are in the works. At the same time, the aspect ratio of the display has changed, so that it is narrower and taller, so that overall the phone size does not grow out of hand. In fact, the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 is said to have the same width as last year's 5.1-inch Galaxy S7. Remarkable!

The other important improvement in Samsung's next big thing is the new 'Bixby' personal assistant. A smart assistant built by Viv, the company that was responsible for developing Siri back in the day, Bixby is also said to get a dedicated physical key, so that you can easily call it and ask it questions from any place, anywhere. Unlike the not-very-useful S-Voice assistant, Bixby is said to be a big step forward in terms of accuracy and speed.

Interestingly, rumors also say that the Galaxy S8 will feature a pressure-sensitive display, something similar to Force Touch on the iPhone. It's not clear whether it would be the whole screen or just the bottom part as some claim, but the feature is rumored to make it to the S8. The fingerprint scanner, though, might not be under the display glass, but instead could be positioned right along the camera on the back of the phone.

Last, but not least, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is said to support a new DeX docking mode that will allow you to connect it to an external monitor and have it work as a desktop. The concept is similar to Microsoft's Continuum. Sounds useful, but many companies have attempted doing this and failed, so we approach this topic with caution.

• 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch versions 
• 80%+ screen-to-body ratio
• Samsung Bixby assistant
• Pressure sensitivity built in the screen (or the lower part of the screen only)
• Samsung DeX to allow docking your PHONE to a monitor for a desktop-like experience
• Snapdragon 835
• Rear fingerprint scanner
• 64GB of storage and microSD card slot
• Similar GLASS and metal design as in Galaxy S7 / Note 7
• Water protection
• 12MP f/1.7 rear camera with Dual Pixel auto-focus

LG G6

Announcement date: February 26th

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs LG G6: preliminary specs comparison

LG might not have suffered a fiasco as grand as Samsung with its exploding Galaxy Note 7, but its LG G5 was a flop and the company losing money on its smartphone division. A turn-around device is a must.

And turn around LG did with the G6: the company has changed its mind on the 'modular phone' concept, ditching the idea in favor of a more accepted premium GLASS and metal design. The LG G6 is also expected to turn its back on some of LG's core ideas (it won't have a removable battery, for instance), but will compensate with a mind-boggling, 90%+ screen-to-body ratio. This is even better than on the Galaxy S8 and means that we'll practically have an all-screen phone with the G6. The 5.7-inch display on the G6 will also have a new 18:9 aspect ratio, making for one taller, yet still narrower phone that one can comfortably hold in the hand.

The other big new feature in the LG G6 will be the Google Assistant. The G6 is the first non-Pixel phone to get the powerful and zippy new Assistant. We've tested it on the Pixel PHONES and loved what the Assistant can do: not only is it capable of recognizing various accents easily, it also recognizes context so that you can ask it more questions and get more answers.

LG is also adding the trendy water sealing to ensure its PHONE is more durable and keeps the dual rear CAMERA setup with a secondary, super-wide angle lens in tow. Quite handily, the 3.5mm jack is still here.

For the first time in a while, LG also has a golden opportunity: Samsung is delaying its Galaxy S8, so the earlier launch of the G6 gives it a competitive edge. Unfortunately, an earlier launch and Samsung's choke-hold on suppliers has restricted LG to using last year's Snapdragon 821 rather than the new and more powerful Snapdragon 835. At the right price, though, we are willing to live with this.

• 5.7-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio
• 90% screen-to-body ratio
• GLASSand metal design
• Water protection
• First non-Pixel phone with Google Assistant
• Dual rear camera
• Rear fingerprint scanner
• Snapdragon 821 system chip
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Non-removable battery

Source: phonearena.com

Samsung Galaxy S8 3D Renders Show No Dual Camera Setup and Home Button, But 3.5mm Audio Jack Intact

Barely a few hours ago we reported that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to come in two size variants, the larger one being called the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, with both variants also ditching the home button. Now, alleged Samsung Galaxy S8 3D renders have surfaced, giving us a sneak peek at what the upcoming smartphone could look like.

Courtesy of a case maker, GSMArena has shared Samsung Galaxy S8 3D renders. The renders speak the same story as past leaks, and show the absence of the iconic Samsung home button up front. There are no capacitive buttons on the Samsung Galaxy S8 in the render either, and the front is occupied mostly by the display. Interestingly, the fingerprint sensor is not seen on the back either, adding fuel to the rumour that the Samsung Galaxy S8 could sport an optical fingerprint sensor - which means that the display could read fingerprints as well.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 renders claim that there are two speaker grilles at the top and bottom for superior audio quality and the 3.5mm audio jack is seen at the bottom - refuting previous claims. Samsung Galaxy S8's volume and power buttons are both situated on the left edge, while the camera sensor and the flash are positioned towards the centre at the back.

There is no dual camera setup seen at the back and, in any case, this feature is rumoured to be exclusive to the large model.

According to earlier leaks, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is tipped to come with a virtual assistant called Bixby that will work with all native apps on the phone. The Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone was first expected to be launched at MWC, but recent reports have indicated it be unveiled sometime in mid-April.

Source: gadgets.ndtv.com

Google launches a Tips and Tricks website to help you find your way around Android better.

These days, the argument of “which is better” between Android and iOS is a pretty superfluous. Both systems can be fast, snappy, stable, and an absolute delight to use – it's all about what one prefers, and, in many cases – what one is familiar with. Smartphone operating systems may look similar, and even bear some resemblances to their PC counterparts, but they do have their own intricacies, which may seem a bit overwhelming for newcomers.

Apple battles this “information fatigue” by greeting the user with a tips and tricks app when they launch their brand new iPhone. It quickly orients the person around iOS and sends them on their merry way, occasionally popping up again to notify us of new features. Google now has an answer of its own, but it's not in the form of an app, or at least – not yet.

Android.com now has a Tips and Tricks section, which will walk the user through all of Android's core features. The mini-tutorials are divided in categories – Security, Voice, Photo, Battery, Customization, Apps, and Settings, holding a grand total of 53 tips among them. These will teach you how to toggle your location settings, back up your photos, protect your phone's data in the case of loss or theft, what types of voice commands you can issue, and what customization options vanilla Android saves.

So, if a buddy of yours recently made the jump from iPhone to Android – you can send them to this website for a quick knowledge boost.

Source: phonearena.com

Samsung may have solved the next big problem facing foldable phones

Samsung has been making a big push into curved screens and it looks like it's paying off, as the company is thought to be ditching flat screens altogether for the Galaxy Note 7.

But curves are just the start - the next step is flexible, foldable screens, and a new pair of patents could bring the company one step closer to making them a reality.

One of the big challenges of a foldable phone is not making the display itself fold – prototypes with foldable screens have existed for years – but making it fold without damaging any components. These patents address exactly that.

Dug up by ETnews, the first patent describes an "artificial muscle", taking the form of a set of connected plates, which would move in time with the screen bending and gently moving to protect any components which could otherwise be damaged.

Source: techradar.com

Xiaomi 5v 2a 16000mah Power Bank External Battery Charger

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• The Power Bank is built with safety, protection and efficiency in mind. Designed by Texas Instruments, the USB smart-control and power source chipsets are strengthened by nine layers of circuit chipset protection.
• Mi Power Bank automatically adjusts its output level based on the connected device. Easily charge smartphones and tablets from Mi, Apple, Samsung, HTC, Google and BlackBerry, as well as a variety of digital cameras and handheld gaming devices.
• The one-piece carved aluminum casing ensures structural rigidity. Tested to withstand 5,000 micro USB insertion/removal cycles and 1,500 USB insertion/removal cycles.
• Simple design, compact and easy to take along for trip, ideal gift for family and friend, or yourself.

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How to Hard Reset iPhone with or without Passcode

Factory reset iPhone should be a hard decision, because all of things on iPhone will be lost. But when we have to do it without any hesitation?

iPhone freezes.
iPhone couldn’t work right.
iPhone has been attacked by virus.
You want to sell iPhone to another person.
You want to erase iPhone personal data.

Before preparing to hard reset iPhone, what should we do first?

1. Backup iPhone
We had better back up iPhone. You will know this backup is so important if you want to restore iPhone after hard reset.

2. Take out iPhone SIM or SD card
This action can protect iPhone data stored on SD card from damage.

When you are ready to go on, now please see following three ways to hard reset iPhone.

Way 1: Hard Reset iPhone with Home and Power Button
Way 2: Hard Reset iPhone with Menu
Way 3: Hard Reset iPhone from Recovery Mode with Tool
Even though all of things have been prepared, we should think sincerely whether iPhone hard reset is worth to do.

Way 1: Hard Reset iPhone with Home and Power Button

hard reset iPhone with Home and Power button
When iPhone buttons are available, this way is one of the easiest methods to restore iPhone to factory settings without passcode.

Step 1: Press and hold the Home button (at the bottom of iPhone) and the Sleep/Wake button (on top of the iPhone) simultaneously.

Step 2: Hold both buttons until the iPhone shuts off and begins to restart.

Let it go when you see the Apple logo appear on screen. You’ve just performed a hard reset.

Way 2: Hard Reset iPhone with Menu

When passcode is still remembered, and you can successfully access iPhone, iPhone can be hard reset via menu.

Step 1: Go to Settings > General > Reset and select "Erase All Content and Settings".

hard reset iPhone with menu

Step 2: When a message prompts you whether you want to restore iPhone to factory settings, just click OK to confirm. Follow tips to go on, and iPhone will be reset.

Way 3: Hard Reset iPhone from Recovery Mode with Tool

When there is no passcode and iPhone buttons not working, just take USB cable, Windows computer, iOSBoot Genius and iTunes to help you. You can enter iPhone recovery mode with only one click and restore iPhone to factory default easily with one button.

Step 1: Make sure iTunes and iOSBoot Genius installed in Windows computer.

Step 2: Connect iPhone to computer with USB cable.

Step 3: Run iOSBoot Genius and check connected iPhone.

factory reset iPhone by entering recovery mode

Step 4: Enter iPhone recovery mode with one click on "Enter Recovery Mode" of iOSBoot Genius.

Step 5: When iTunes prompts you that iPhone is in recovery mode and you must restore it before it can be used with iTunes. Click OK.

Step 6: Restore iPhone by clicking iTunes "Restore iPhone" button.

This way works when you couldn’t use iTunes to enter iPhone recovery mode successfully and then restore it to factory default. If iTunes can do that, you can directly use iTunes to restore iPhone. After iPhone hard reset, restore iPhone from iTunes backup or iCloud backup is the best way to recover data ever on iPhone memory card.

Source: isunshare.com

Samsung Galaxy S6 review.

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Specifications

Processor: Quad-core 2.1GHz & quad-core 1.5GHz Samsung Exynos 7420, Screen Size: 5.1in, Screen resolution: 2,560x1,440, Rear camera: 16-megapixel, Storage: 32GB / 64GB / 128GB, Wireless data: 3G, 4G, Size: 143x70x6.8mm, Weight: 132g, Operating system: Android 5.0

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.

Pros

Cons

Excellent build quality

High-quality screen

Very fast

Battery is not replaceable

No memory card slot

Samsung Galaxy S6 battery life

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 our hand.

Image 6 of 9Samsung Galaxy S6 screen

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.

Image 5 of 9Samsung Galaxy S6 USB port

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 9Samsung Galaxy S6 OLED display

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.

Samsung Galaxy S6 vs HTC One M9 battery life graph

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.

Source: www.expertreviews.co.uk

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