MWC 2017: Huawei and LG Unveil New Phones and Smartwatches

[ValO]

Maybe so but a 5.8 inch iPhone 8 with just 5.1 usable screen would be a turn off to me. Will see

Yes, we' ll always have to see.
But what i have seen sofar of the s8 is nice, but nothing i would leave ios for. It is bit that much of a revolution. Apple really has heads up conparrd to samsung because of virtual yet " pressable" on screen buttons and tactile feedback by the taptic engine/forcetouch. It feels like a button, but there is no button.

 

[symphara]

Not completely the same, especially if the G6 is priced the same as the S8.

I think most people don't care and don't even know about the specific Qualcomm CPU version. We do, since we're passionate about tech, but most people aren't techies. If the G6 will be a good performer - and the 821 is plenty fast - then it won't matter.

Once you're settled into the Android camp, and want a flagship, all of them offer excellent performance. Today even mid-rangers do, I've seen the latest G4, the P9 Light, the Honor 8, they're not really lacking in speed but in esoteric features that flagships have, like super fancy cameras etc. And the Honor 6X has even a dual camera system that does a better bokeh than the iPhone 7 Plus, so go figure.

The design and features will carry the purchase, not internals like precisely the CPU type or amount of memory.

It remains to be seen if LG did enough with the G6. I'd find it tempting if the European version would come with the Quad DAC, and if its dual camera system simulated the wide aperture mode (I don't believe it does).

Otherwise, if the ceramic white or green P10+ comes to our part of the world for reasonable money (~CHF650, similar to the Mate 9), I'll very likely get one. I actually think MIUI since 5.0 is better than stock Android - looks almost the same, a bit nicer - and with some extra useful features.

 

[vladi]

Nice phone. But it still runs Android... [Dont get me wrong, Android itself is ok, but getting stuck on old versions is really annoying and a security risk that I'm not prepared to take - for my daily driver.]

You said nothing wrong. Android is a disaster of the product in terms of everything but app selection. I don't how we got to get mobile version of Windows XP, I thought we have learned that lesson long time ago but guess not. I blame Microsoft and Palm for being late to the mobile game and I blame Nokia and Blackberry for not licensing their OS and that's how we got Android.

I could write all day about Android but here are the highlights of how much of a disaster it is:

Android is actually run as a virtual machine so it could be compatible with many hardware combos, one of the reasons it needs more RAM and CPU than any other current or defunct major mobile OS.

Android doesn't cache future screens and interactions once it lands a new screens hence why scrolling feels flimsy and choppy. It does all that in real time. No current or defunct major mobile or desktop OS does that, they all cache every possible path user could take on their current screen.

The only way to do proper security on Android is to actually make a safe partition or bubble and isolate it from Android. That's what Samsung Knox does. So instead of integrating any kind of security within Android like BlackBerry 10 can integrate microSD hardware cryptoprocessors and encryption software with it's own OS functionality, third party software security solutions for Android have to isolate themselves from their own OS. Basically OS within OS with switching between the two or virtual machine inside virtual machine. How fun does that sound?

With Android you are risking privacy breach every time you use Android with Google Mobile Services. Your battery life as well as limited data plan suffers due to constant data sharing between your phone and Google servers. Your behavior and content inside your phone that is tied to Google services is constantly being analyzed, tagged and sorted.

Google got a stronghold on "open source" Android by forcing hardware partners to sign a licensing deal if they want to access app catalogue. On the other side of the spectrum Google, on purpose, is not pushing certain APIs in vanilla Android development so it could make itself the only sensible option for hardware manufacturers as well as software developers. That's why we have Google Play Services which is nothing but a collection of APIs for apps "that guarantee you compatibility between Android versions". In other words most of the Android apps are written with GPS API so they could not work properly on non-Google Android.

Now that Google is in the hardware game they will leave the best pieces of software for themselves and finally push out all of the manufacturers who helped them gain the monopoly on the mobile OS market. Hardware manufacturers like Sony, HTC, Motorola, LG and many other premium manufacturers took the shortcut for not investing into their own software. Now its going to bite em in the ass. Within few years premium Android market will be populated only by Google and Samsung. That's what Google wants anyway.

 

[MH01]

Except Apple has been doing hardware for more than a decade while google is still a novice in this area. We don't even know how much input they had on the Pixel phone.

I would sooner get a Samsung phone than a google phone, just saying.

You realise these are not being made in google factories? Hint Research HTC involvement . I'd trust HTC when compared to Samsung

 

[Rogifan]

Maybe tech sites have higher innovation expectations on Apple ?

Nice spin there. Every chance they get sites like the Verge are telling us how others are out-innovating Apple. Just this morning they ran a click bait story about how Samsung's new stylus is 5,000 times better than Apple Pencil because it looks just like a real pencil. And these companies themselves never miss an opportunity to take shots at Apple when the think they've one upped them on something. Sorry that spin doesn't fly with me.

 

[MH01]

Nice spin there. Every chance they get sites like the Verge are telling us how others are out-innovating Apple. Just this morning they ran a click bait story about how Samsung's new stylus is 5,000 times better than Apple Pencil because it looks just like a real pencil. And these companies themselves never miss an opportunity to take shots at Apple when the think they've one upped them on something. Sorry that spin doesn't fly with me.

When you can spin and others cannot , it's called hypocrisy , and given you are one of the most one eyed apple fans on here, how about laying off the acquisitions?

And welcome to reality, when you are at the top, be business or sports , the expectation on number one is the highest. If you cannot understand that , not my problem, does not mean you are right. Nice spin yourself to be honest.

Owww the irony ehh...kettle ....pot

 

[manu chao]

18:9 aspect ratio

Also known as 2:1

What might be less well known is that 16:9 is also known as 1.78:1.

 

[AndyDiamond]

yikes - that music they use in the ad is freakin' relentless this early in the day...

 

[symphara]

You said nothing wrong. Android is a disaster of the product in terms of everything but app selection. I don't how we got to get mobile version of Windows XP, I thought we have learned that lesson long time ago but guess not. I blame Microsoft and Palm for being late to the mobile game and I blame Nokia and Blackberry for not licensing their OS and that's how we got Android.

I could write all day about Android but here are the highlights of how much of a disaster it is:

Android is actually run as a virtual machine so it could be compatible with many hardware combos, one of the reasons it needs more RAM and CPU than any other current or defunct major mobile OS.

Android doesn't cache future screens and interactions once it lands a new screens hence why scrolling feels flimsy and choppy. It does all that in real time. No current or defunct major mobile or desktop OS does that, they all cache every possible path user could take on their current screen.

The only way to do proper security on Android is to actually make a safe partition or bubble and isolate it from Android. That's what Samsung Knox does. So instead of integrating any kind of security within Android like BlackBerry 10 can integrate microSD hardware cryptoprocessors and encryption software with it's own OS functionality, third party software security solutions for Android have to isolate themselves from their own OS. Basically OS within OS with switching between the two or virtual machine inside virtual machine. How fun does that sound?

With Android you are risking privacy breach every time you use Android with Google Mobile Services. Your battery life as well as limited data plan suffers due to constant data sharing between your phone and Google servers. Your behavior and content inside your phone that is tied to Google services is constantly being analyzed, tagged and sorted.

Google got a stronghold on "open source" Android by forcing hardware partners to sign a licensing deal if they want to access app catalogue. On the other side of the spectrum Google, on purpose, is not pushing certain APIs in vanilla Android development so it could make itself the only sensible option for hardware manufacturers as well as software developers. That's why we have Google Play Services which is nothing but a collection of APIs for apps "that guarantee you compatibility between Android versions". In other words most of the Android apps are written with GPS API so they could not work properly on non-Google Android.

Now that Google is in the hardware game they will leave the best pieces of software for themselves and finally push out all of the manufacturers who helped them gain the monopoly on the mobile OS market. Hardware manufacturers like Sony, HTC, Motorola, LG and many other premium manufacturers took the shortcut for not investing into their own software. Now its going to bite em in the ass. Within few years premium Android market will be populated only by Google and Samsung. That's what Google wants anyway.

If there was an Oscar for nonsense, your post would be a strong contender. Most of it defies both reason and immediate, verifiable reality. Sometimes I think that the KoolAid some Apple fans drink literally melts their brains.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Cmon that's simply not true.

Samsung flagship will always be a huge comp.

yeah, its exploding in popularity.

 

[rebel22lax]

as an iPhone user I gotta say those camera modes are tight.....maybe we can have an app that rips all that off cough cough

 

[The Game 161]

yeah, its exploding in popularity.

The battery in the note 7 was a massive issue but hopefully thats a one off. As the note 7 was reguarded as the best phone on the market by many. It was a damn shame.

luckily the S7 had no such issues. Hopefully Samsung has fixed the issue as all the rumours point to a fantastic device for the S8

 

[coolfactor]

Android as a mobile OS is far more than 'ok.' At this point, it is superior to iOS. The iOS benefit relies heavily on Apple's cross platform connections between tvOS, watchOS, iOS and macOS.

"Superior" is purely subjective.

iOS is superior to me, and has been for 8 years. No competition.
[doublepost=1488210670][/doublepost]

Huawei seems like they make decent stuff but I wish they'd try something original and not be such blatant iPhone ripoffs.

Easy to say, but honestly... how does it get better than iPhone and iOS in terms of simplicity? In order for them to be "original", they'd likely have to make things harder to use, and that's no good.

 

[5105973]

You said nothing wrong. Android is a disaster of the product in terms of everything but app selection. I don't how we got to get mobile version of Windows XP, I thought we have learned that lesson long time ago but guess not. I blame Microsoft and Palm for being late to the mobile game and I blame Nokia and Blackberry for not licensing their OS and that's how we got Android .

I know this wasn't the main thrust of your post and the main point you were trying to make. But I was wondering if you could elaborate on what you meant about Microsoft and Palm being late to the mobile game. Well before the iPhone was invented, I owned a Hitachi G1000 running Microsoft Pocket PC phone edition for a year.



It was an amazing capable beast with the most innovative cell phone camera I have ever used. It could rotate to face the front for selfies and rotate toward the back as a regular camera. It was great to type on and I surfed the web with ease (by the standards of the time) and chatted with friends via emails and a web community. The only drawback was its size and weight.

So when the more compact Palm Treo 600 and 650 came out, I got the 650. I can't remember if I had the 600 or not.

I went from the Treo 650 to the T-Mobile Dash which I loved, but had only briefly when my husband went bonkers over the "revolutionary IPhone". At that point my husband had an HP Windows phone of some sort and a T mobile Dash and goodness knows what else he was experimenting with.

But the iPhone came out and once it was possible to load the apps he needed to use, that was that...he got us both iPhones and I never used anything else until last year when I decided to experiment with my options outside of iOS. I had wanted to try a Windows phone but my husband talked me out of it. He had tried Android phones over the years but hated them until last year and now we both use both, with iPhones as our main phones.

So anyway, from my perspective it wasn't that Microsoft and Palm were late to the mobile game. In fact they were early. They just failed to evolve the user experience into the optimal one. Apple seemingly came out of nowhere with this revolutionary new way to interact with a mobile device.

That's a massive simplification and of course overlooks numerous patents and developments by others in the field, but in the end it was Steve Jobs who saw the bits and pieces of concepts being developed and became the overlord of getting it all into a cohesive whole that could be marketed as the above.

 

[melendezest]

Apple has very little to worry about 2017 competition.

Agreed, if you are an Apple fan. There are plenty out there.

For the more open-minded, or for those who need a different set of features Apple doesn't offer (I fall in this camp), the competition is more than stiff.

Apple's integration is second-to-none. Their processors are outstanding. iOS is the smoothest OS out there.

But Apple's proclivity to put in the minimum amount of RAM in their hardware (critical for long-term ownership), their predilection for proprietary connectivity, the lack of filesystem access in iOS, the lack of mouse support, the lack of customization, the inability to revert to the OS version that came with your device, and the lack of a headphone jack, make the iPhone a no-go for me.

However, the closer Apple gets to implementing features already present in Android-world, the closer they are to having me back as a customer. I certainly have to deal with tradeoffs, regardless of platform. Personally I choose freedom over "security" but no choice is a bad one. There is no "best device" out there. There's only what's best for you.

 

[5105973]

Agreed, if you are an Apple fan. There are plenty out there.

For the more open-minded, or for those who need a different set of features Apple doesn't offer (I fall in this camp), the competition is more than stiff.

Apple's integration is second-to-none. Their processors are outstanding. iOS is the smoothest OS out there.

But Apple's proclivity to put in the minimum amount of RAM in their hardware (critical for long-term ownership), their predilection for proprietary connectivity, the lack of filesystem access in iOS, the lack of mouse support, the lack of customization, the inability to revert to the OS version that came with your device, and the lack of a headphone jack, make the iPhone a no-go for me.

However, the closer Apple gets to implementing features already present in Android-world, the closer they are to having me back as a customer. I certainly have to deal with tradeoffs, regardless of platform. Personally I choose freedom over "security" but no choice is a bad one. There is no "best device" out there. There's only what's best for you.

Mouse? What's this about a mouse? You can use a mouse with an Android phone or am I misunderstanding you?

Edit, never mind, search engine is my friend. Well goodness, learn something new every day!

 

[v0lume4]

No Snapdragon 835 = dead before arrival.

At this point, competing SoCs can't even catch up with the A9 in terms of single-core performance nor does the competition approach the storage speeds of the 6s and 7.

While you're correct about the A9's performance as well as iPhone's storage speeds, you'll never notice those things in day-to-day use. Nearly every smartphone these days are "fast enough." You're only going to notice these gains in processor and storage speeds if you're doing heavy gaming (and many popular mobile games aren't even 3D-graphic intensive) and/or editing and exporting video.

I barely even know what is in my current smartphone (Snapdragon 810, I think?) and all I know is that this phone is as smooth as butter. The average consumer only cares about real-world phone speeds and not the on-paper benchmarks.

 

[otternonsense]

The biggest competition for the iPhone is customer expectations/hype about the iPhone. And that's further exacerbated by Accountant in Chief Tim Cook playing it safer than a Teletubby in a ball pit.

 

[v0lume4]

You traded a smoother experience for "a new experience"? I don't want my phone (or any computer) to be an experience that I notice, I want it to get out of the way and give me the content.

Life's too short not to try new things. Really. You know what sounds incredibly NOT-fun? Using an iPhone exclusively for the next 60 years of my life.

On the topic of a "smoother experience" -- I can tell you one thing, my Nexus 6P is far and away smoother than my iPhone (granted, I came from an iPhone 5).

 

[melendezest]

Mouse? What's this about a mouse? You can use a mouse with an Android phone or am I misunderstanding you?

Edit, never mind, search engine is my friend. Well goodness, learn something new every day!

Hahaha, yes.

I love the fact that Android really is like a pocket PC.

I'm patiently waiting for Apple to gain Android-like features, but that happens only once a year, so maybe 2018-2019 will be the year they finally have me back.

My biggest wish list:

1. Headphone jack (I know, NOT happening, but I guess I can live with an adapter)
2. Mouse support
3. Filesystem access
4. Splitscreen multitasking (on iPhone)
5. Better implementation of "back" (a button would be nice)
6. USB-C connectivity
7. UI customization (arrange pages/widgets like Android does)
8. MicroSD card expansion (also NOT happening)

Things they finally brought out (or rumored on the way):
1. Bigger screens
2. Split screen multitasking (iPad only )
3. Waterproofing
4. Qi charging
5. Smaller bezels

 

[44267547]

The biggest competition for the iPhone is customer expectations/hype about the iPhone. And that's further exacerbated by Accountant in Chief Tim Cook playing it safer than a Teletubby in a ball pit.

Rumors Also have a major impact on others expectations. And you have these customers who buy into these rumors and tend to believe all the hype. When the iPhone is actually released and all these rumors end up being untrue/half true, you have those who will be naysayers or complainers. Its interesting to read these rumors, but I don't but into them and stay open minded.

 

[5105973]

Hahaha, yes.

I love the fact that Android really is like a pocket PC.

I'm patiently waiting for Apple to gain Android-like features, but that happens only once a year, so maybe 2018-2019 will be the year they finally have me back.

My biggest wish list:

1. Headphone jack (I know, NOT happening, but I guess I can live with an adapter)
2. Mouse support
3. Filesystem access
4. Splitscreen multitasking (on iPhone)
5. Better implementation of "back" (a button would be nice)
6. USB-C connectivity
7. UI customization (arrange pages/widgets like Android does)
8. MicroSD card expansion (also NOT happening)

Things they finally brought out (or rumored on the way):
1. Bigger screens
2. Split screen multitasking (iPad only )
3. Waterproofing
4. Qi charging
5. Smaller bezels

I have the iPhone 7 Plus as well as the Android phones in my signature. Regarding the loss of the headphone jack, in a bubble of using just my iPhone, it turned out to be okay. Not ideal, just okay. I use the adapter if my Bluetooth headphones aren't charged. I try to keep them charged now.

What does eat at me a little is when I listen to even the less than stellar quality streaming music from Apple Music on my HTC 10 with its excellent DAC and use even my cheap wired headset. There IS a difference. Music is more "alive" on my HTC with better definition between instrument sounds and more nuances in the vocals. With my HTC hi res earbuds it's a knockout.

If people have never tried a comparison, they likely won't know or care what they are missing. Many people with damaged hearing might not care, either. Even with my tinnitus I can appreciate the difference and I value my HTC 10. And desire a good DAC when possible, which is why I'm pretty cheesed off at these arbitrary regional differences that have LG dictating that certain markets, like the US, won't get the high end DAC. Wth.

Lol, didn't know about mouse support until your post so obviously that's never impacted my choice before and likely won't. I would appreciate it on a tablet, however.

I'm not a "power user" but even I can appreciate and have availed myself of file system access.

Split screen multitasking is convenient but not a must have for me at the moment.

I HATE HATE HATE how "back" is implemented on iOS. It's more of a problem on iPad when sometimes I'm trying to actually slide an onscreen control sideways like on You Tube. Or scroll sideways on an onscreen interface. I so often end up going back, instead and losing my place. I'd rather have a dedicated button, virtual or capacitive, OFF of the touch screen to avoid the accidental sliding back to a previous screen.

I love widgets but I found myself paring back on them. I am okay with how iOS implements a limited version of widgets all on one page.

As someone who has nearly filled my 256 GB IPhone up already, lol, I sure would appreciate SD card expansion. It IS nice to be able to move my card between my Android phones and have easy access to my stuff that way. I would like a mix of both generous onboard storage and an SD card option.

Google oddly enough, is very un-Android with its 32 GB start point and NO expandable storage.

I can see Apple going in a good direction, slowly but surely. I'd like them to keep increasing audio quality (and call quality--seems better on my Androids) and studying the Androids and matching or besting them feature for feature. Especially if they keep charging premium prices.

With Android, I'd like to see them pursue some sort of strategy to keep people up to date for security patches and continue to implement strategies to improve the quality of apps and weed out malware and invasive adware.

Where both iOS and Android seem to be converging is in the number of times their apps crash. I have had an annoying number of crashes to home screen on my iOS 10 devices. I've got my iPhone and my iPad mini 2 up to date on 10.2.1 and still have more crashes than I'm used to having on an iOS device.

 

[Andres Cantu]

While you're correct about the A9's performance as well as iPhone's storage speeds, you'll never notice those things in day-to-day use. Nearly every smartphone these days are "fast enough." You're only going to notice these gains in processor and storage speeds if you're doing heavy gaming (and many popular mobile games aren't even 3D-graphic intensive) and/or editing and exporting video.

I barely even know what is in my current smartphone (SnapDragon 810, I think?) and all I know is that this phone is as smooth as butter. The average consumer only cares about real-world phone speeds and not the on-paper benchmarks.

True, but you will start noticing as OS updates come along. Same for the average user.

 

[v0lume4]

True, but you will start noticing as OS updates come along. Same for the average user.

Tell me about it. My iPhone 5 running iOS 10 was on its last legs.

Hoping Android is a little better. I read somewhere that Android 7.0 is actually lighter and runs better than Android 6.0, as a great focus was put on lower-end hardware. I can't validate that claim myself as I jumped into Android on 7.0.

 

[melendezest]

I have the iPhone 7 Plus as well as the Android phones in my signature. Regarding the loss of the headphone jack, in a bubble of using just my iPhone, it turned out to be okay. Not ideal, just okay. I use the adapter if my Bluetooth headphones aren't charged. I try to keep them charged now.

What does eat at me a little is when I listen to even the less than stellar quality streaming music from Apple Music on my HTC 10 with its excellent DAC and use even my cheap wired headset. There IS a difference. Music is more "alive" on my HTC with better definition between instrument sounds and more nuances in the vocals. With my HTC hi res earbuds it's a knockout.

If people have never tried a comparison, they likely won't know or care what they are missing. Many people with damaged hearing might not care, either. Even with my tinnitus I can appreciate the difference and I value my HTC 10. And desire a good DAC when possible, which is why I'm pretty cheesed off at these arbitrary regional differences that have LG dictating that certain markets, like the US, won't get the high end DAC. Wth.

Lol, didn't know about mouse support until your post so obviously that's never impacted my choice before and likely won't. I would appreciate it on a tablet, however.

I'm not a "power user" but even I can appreciate and have availed myself of file system access.

Split screen multitasking is convenient but not a must have for me at the moment.

I HATE HATE HATE how "back" is implemented on iOS. It's more of a problem on iPad when sometimes I'm trying to actually slide an onscreen control sideways like on You Tube. Or scroll sideways on an onscreen interface. I so often end up going back, instead and losing my place. I'd rather have a dedicated button, virtual or capacitive, OFF of the touch screen to avoid the accidental sliding back to a previous screen.

I love widgets but I found myself paring back on them. I am okay with how iOS implements a limited version of widgets all on one page.

As someone who has nearly filled my 256 GB IPhone up already, lol, I sure would appreciate SD card expansion. It IS nice to be able to move my card between my Android phones and have easy access to my stuff that way. I would like a mix of both generous onboard storage and an SD card option.

Google oddly enough, is very un-Android with its 32 GB start point and NO expandable storage.

I can see Apple going in a good direction, slowly but surely. I'd like them to keep increasing audio quality (and call quality--seems better on my Androids) and studying the Androids and matching or besting them feature for feature. Especially if they keep charging premium prices.

With Android, I'd like to see them pursue some sort of strategy to keep people up to date for security patches and continue to implement strategies to improve the quality of apps and weed out malware and invasive adware.

Where both iOS and Android seem to be converging is in the number of times their apps crash. I have had an annoying number of crashes to home screen on my iOS 10 devices. I've got my iPhone and my iPad mini 2 up to date on 10.2.1 and still have more crashes than I'm used to having on an iOS device.

My Galaxy Note5 is my daily driver and it was issued to me from work.

The split-screen functionality is indispensable for me, as I can monitor email (or any other app) and Cisco Jabber chats simultaneously.

The way that widgets and the home screens are handled in Android are also indispensable. I have several alarms, the weather, and all my most used apps right there, on one screen. I absolutely LOVE the idea of an app tray, and am baffled iOS doesn't have this.

This is probably due to the whole single-button GARBAGE. That would be the biggest thing keeping me away from iOS: the lack of both the back button and the app tray. Love the fact that hitting back takes you to the previous app, and eventually home. Huge usability feature in my book.

And yes, the headphone jack is too convenient. I-broke-or-forgot-my-headphones-so-I-run-to-Best Buy-and-grab-a-$10-set-that-sound-awesome-with-zero-dropouts-and-no-pairing-bullcrap-plug-in-and-go convenient.

I just don't see a reason why I should go back to iOS. At least not yet.