This year is the first in smartphone hardware in a long time in which I felt like no game-changing changes came from any company. The smartphones revealed by HTC, Samsung, Apple, and the rest - they were all solid. But we've reached a point in the history of the smartphone where only the very rich should consider buying a new device every single year. Let me tell you why.
If you're in the market for an Android smartphone the new Google Pixel 2 should be on your shortlist, but there's something you should know first. Google has two versions of the Pixel 2, the regular 5-inch model and a Pixel 2 XL with a 6-inch display. While they share the same name, and the same design language, in some key ways they're very different phones.
Just as the Samsung Galaxy S8 was roasted for its Bixby button, so too must we address the squeeze feature on Google's Pixel 2. The hardware comes from the HTC U11, the first place where HTC implemented "Edge Sense" with open-ended functionality. While the edge squeeze feature on the Pixel 2 remains a shortcut, it's currently restricted to Google Assistant - and no other connections are enabled.
Back in July of 2017 we declared Windows Phone dead - but it seemed like we might have been just a hair too early. In reality, there was a bit more software that needed dragging out. Now, here in October of 2017, Microsoft VP for Windows Joe Belfiore just confirmed it. Not the death of the platform, but the death of the future of the platform - which, it turns out, is a bit more important than just your regular, everyday ol' death.
Today we found out that the Pixel 2 does not have the exact same "Unlimited Google Photos Uploads at Original Quality" deal that came with the first-generation Pixel. One year after launch, I remain positively shocked that Google's continued their Unlimited Google Photos Uploads at Original Quality deal with the original Google Pixel, to be entirely honest. I thought there's be some sort of catch - sort of like the catch that's included with the Pixel 2.
When the Pixel 2 was announced, I did not expect that Google would bring back wireless charging - and they didn't. Much to the surprise of the industry at large, Apple added wireless charging with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X this year. But Google didn't come back with wireless charging - not now, and not since the Nexus 4. Though their reasoning holds some water, it most certainly does not hold nearly enough.
In the future, cords will only be used to run power across long distances and to facilitate the transfer of data only when the fastest transfer will do. Aside from those two items, everything else will be done without the ubiquitous USB, or Lightning plug, or headphone jack. No company can stop this from happening, and only the most extremely rare company will stick around to create retro hardware.
Home security is one of the first places many smart home upgraders begin, and the past few weeks have had some high-profile entrants to the arena. First came Nest, with its long-anticipated Nest Secure. Today, Ring Protect arrived to offer a competitively priced alternative. So, how do Ring and Nest compare?
Yesterday, Amazon announced plans to add Alexa to the Amazon Music app on iOS and Android. This removes the barrier of entry that is the Echo line and gives Amazon Music subscribers app-access to Alexa and the handy things she can do. By serving up Alexa to Amazon Music subscribers, Amazon may have just made its own streaming service a significantly better than the reigning king: Spotify.
Sony's Xperia smartphone series will get a new design language in 2018 after nearly a half-decade with the same rectangle. The design language they use currently began roughly around the time the first Sony Xperia Z device was released - see our original Sony Xperia X Review from back in 2014 to see what I mean. Now, here in 2017, Sony's India-based managing director Kenichiro Hibi confirms that their industrial design will change come 2018.
Any other year, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus would feel, well, magical. Apple's two new smartphones address some long-standing complaints from iPhone owners, like including wireless charging support; they look sleek, have improved cameras, and borrow clever screen technology from the iPad Pro. Of course, this year there's a shadow looming over both new handsets.
Like many, I was unsurprised and generally unmoved by the iPhone X. We can blame leaks for that. The event wasn’t exciting, and judging by the opening which brought us words from Steve Jobs’ that had never been made public, it’s clear Apple wanted it to be. Instead, we got exactly what we expected, save for one small detail. Apple is framing the iPhone X as the blueprint for mobile tech moving forward. On a hardware level, that’s great. Elsewhere, that’s a problem.
