LineageOS 23.2: The Pure Android 16 Experience

Handheld by Gemini, I unlocked the bootloader on the Fairphone 5 and flashed LineageOS 23.2—based on Android 16—onto it, and I'm really glad I did. It is remarkably similar to a Pixel experience, without much AI guff. As an added bonus, I was also able to get an Always-on Display working, which Fairphone had previously stripped out in an update due to battery drain. I was hooked—for now!

The instructions are all on the LineageOS website, but I find it so much easier simply to be led by the hand by an AI assistant. Yeah, I know, data centres and AI and electricity are being sucked up—but in this case, it really didn't take long. It didn't go 100% smoothly, mind you. I had an issue with location services not playing ball with various apps, and Gmail refused to go into Dark Mode even though everything else was.

What I have discovered throughout all of this is that it is totally procedural; this is not rocket science. Someone (or something) clearly telling you step-by-step what to do—and even when it goes wrong, being resourceful enough to scour the web for solutions and, the important bit, turn it into layman's English rather than techy, nerdy, geeky gobbledygook—is, for me, the key to success.

So, I headed off to the LineageOS website, downloaded, saved, unzipped, unpacked, enabled, unlocked, debugged, navigated, commanded and ADB'd! Before long, I was up and running with a fresh installation of LineageOS 23.2, the latest version, complete with weekly updates for the foreseeable future. It had the May Google Security Patches installed, Android 16, and even May's Google Play System update. Peachy!

So that was all well and good until I decided that I'd finished with the experience and wanted back on 'stock' to, apart from anything else, get my financial apps and services back (which don't work under LineageOS). This is where it went pear-shaped. It was all well and good—reversed the process, no problem, Fairphone's software was onboard and booted up—until it came to the very last step of locking the bootloader again so that I could get back to those financials. But the AI couldn't do it. We fought and fought, and flashed and flashed, but it fell over in the end, leaving the only option being to send it back to Fairphone (in France, as it turns out).

The issue is a known architectural bug within the Fairphone 5’s Qualcomm security management layer. When you originally unlock the bootloader, you use fastboot flashing unlock, but the secondary command fastboot flashing unlock_critical was either not run or was overridden by a security patch. Once the phone boots into Android with an asymmetrical partition map, the low-level hardware security chip permanently caches the get_unlock_ability: 0 flag to protect the device from a theoretical "evil maid" attack. Because it is a hardware-level lockdown, no amount of standard fastboot commands or user-space factory resets can force that specific chip to clear its internal memory from the outside. To get the phone back to a 100% factory-sealed state where banking apps work without any rooting or workarounds, the security chip's cache must be cleared.

Because this specific bootloader deadlock is a recognised software state issue on the FP5, Fairphone's service centres deal with it regularly. They plug the phone into a specialised engineering box that triggers EDL (Emergency Download Mode) using a proprietary, digitally signed Qualcomm "Firehose" programmer. This completely bypasses the bootloader, wipes the security chip's NVRAM cache, forces get_unlock_ability back to 1, and reflashes the entire device to a factory-locked state. Hope you're keeping up! I wasn't! I put a ticket in and they told me it would cost about £30 plus P&P to France both ways.

So the choice was to do that or use the Community EDL Method. Apparently, there is a technical way to mimic what the service centre does at home, but it is complex. It involves downloading a leaked Qualcomm tool (QPST/QFIL) and a specific Fairphone 5 "Firehose programmer" file, forcing the phone into EDL mode (often by holding a specific button combination while plugging it in or using an EDL deep-flash cable), and rewriting the raw storage blocks. These tools are tricky and prone to Windows driver conflicts, and that is where you actually risk causing true hardware damage. So, I'm not sure what to do really. At the moment I'm sitting on it, able to use it for all but those financials. Other than that, it works perfectly well—and I didn't have financials on LineageOS anyway! So, I might just put LineageOS back on it!

In the meantime, I'm turning my attention to the Sony Xperia 10 Mk VII. That was another tale of woe, as I tried and tried and tried with the AI to get LineageOS on it, but it failed with some sort of technical hitch and I couldn't get it on. I thought I was doing pretty well with all this hackery, but it turns out I really wasn't! So, I sent it to our Phones Show Chat ROM'ing expert, Mike Warner, after all. I guess I could have tried with the online community or other digital assistants, but I was getting a bit weary of it now, particularly the prospect of starting all over again. Yet again! So, Mike took it in and fixed it. Of course he did!

He tells me that Sony seems to be a little odd in terms of not allowing unlocking by the normal Fastboot (Power + Volume Down) mechanism, instead having a separate "Blue *" boot type which went to a version of Fastboot that could unlock the bootloader, but which required a reinstall of the Windows driver. It's also a bit weird that it requires a Sony Unlock Code to unlock the bootloader. However, once you get your head together, it's fairly straightforward, he says. It took Mike a while to figure it out, as it was not really documented very well. It was only after failing to unlock the bootloader using the 'standard' way that he thought he'd best follow Sony's instructions to the letter and check the driver state. The blue star at the top left of the screen, rather than a proper Fastboot screen, threw him the first time so he tried the standard way, which was his undoing.

So anyway, my thanks to Mike, and I now have the little Sony with a freshly installed LineageOS 23.2 on it, which I'm hoping will give me a bit more (though yes, taking away those financials still) than the Xperia's out-of-the-box options. For one thing, an Always-on Display which, I'm hoping, will play with the battery better than the Fairphone 5 did, which drained it fairly rapidly. I guess Fairphone were probably right to have taken that away with a system update on the Fairphone 5 after all! The bigger 5,000mAh battery should do a better job with that, I'm figuring—but we'll see!

For anyone who wants a deeper dive into what the 'financials' blockage is, here is the breakdown. When you unlock your bootloader, you are essentially telling the hardware to stop verifying that the operating system is the factory-sealed version from the manufacturer. To detect this, apps use a Google security service called the Play Integrity API (which replaced the old SafetyNet). It tests the phone's security posture and returns three main tiers of verdicts to apps: MEETS_STRONG_INTEGRITY means the device uses hardware-backed checks (like the phone's secure enclave/TPM) to prove the bootloader is locked and running original factory software. An unlocked bootloader fails this instantly.

Google has a zero-tolerance policy for custom ROMs when it comes to contactless payments. Because Google owns both the Play Integrity API and Google Wallet, Google Wallet strictly enforces the highest security tiers. The moment Google Wallet checks the API and sees that your hardware attestation shows an unlocked bootloader, it shuts down card provisioning and NFC tapping. It does this because an unlocked bootloader theoretically allows a malicious actor with physical access to dump system memory or intercept cryptographic keys—even if you are just using it to escape Google's ecosystem.

Unlike Google, independent bank developers have to choose how strictly they want to enforce these rules. They typically fall into three camps:

The Strict Banks: (Who act like Google Wallet). Many major, high-security banks or fintech apps (like Revolut, Starling, or strict national banks) require that the phone meets device integrity. If you are running vanilla LineageOS with an unlocked bootloader, these apps will refuse to open, crash or display a "Device Uncertified" warning.

The Lenient/Good Enough Banks: Some banks only check that the phone meets basic integrity or simply run a crude on-device check to see if root access is present. Because LineageOS does not come rooted out of the box, these apps see a clean system and think "OK, no root detected, we'll allow it", ignoring the fact that the bootloader itself is wide open.

The Server-Side Believers: A handful of financial institutions design their security around the philosophy that the mobile client is always untrusted. They rely entirely on robust server-side cryptography, multi-factor authentication and SMS/push tokens to secure transactions. To them, a custom ROM is a minor variable, so their apps rarely check Play Integrity at all.

If you are currently running LineageOS and need these apps to work, the community bypasses these restrictions using root frameworks (like Magisk or KernelSU) paired with modules like Play Integrity Fix or Tricky Store. These tools trick Google's API by spoofing the identity of older phones that didn't support hardware-backed security checks, forcing Google to fall back on basic software checks that can be faked. However, because Google frequently patches these loopholes, a bypass that works today might break tomorrow.

So after all that, I get to the LineageOS experience under Android 16 and it really is a nice one. Firstly, it feels really odd after all these years living with Google to have to install even the most basic and 'stock' Google Apps. Yeah, I know—that's the point! But I'm not in this for 'stepping away from Google'; rather, I liked the look of the 'clean' LineageOS on top of Android. No bloat, no crap (for those of us who don't count the Google apps that I'm purposely adding) and an AOSP-like, Pixel-like experience in many ways.

There is a bunch of apps included for those who do want to stay away from Google's: AudioFX, Browser, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Files, Gallery, Messaging, Twelve Music Player, Phone and Recorder. There is no doubt at all that for a person wanting to stay away from mainstream apps and services, the phone has enough onboard out of the box to get on and use it like a very basic phone. But most people, in reality, are going to need some apps on top. Once that decision has been made (and all the following is based on using the Play Store and not other apps/stores workarounds to keep away from Google), for my money, I might as well use the familiar ones and sideline the above, which end up doubling up the options. If you're going to install the Play Store and trust Google, you might as well make it comfortable.

That's not to say that the included apps are not capable. They certainly are, and mostly do the job. One could choose to favour them over Google's offerings. AudioFX works nicely with any audio, but excels with the built-in Twelve Music Player. There are lots of presets and customisation options to make the sound as you like it, whether it be with the built-in speakers or headphones (3.5mm here, and/or USB-C). All this responds well. The Music app searches quickly (especially given that I have all my data on a microSD card) and plays nicely—with lots of options, playlists, filtering, searching and even album art. It's a nice, clean player which sounds great, but it is totally unconnected, so say goodbye to streaming!

The Browser app is apparently Jelly—a lightweight, open-source browser developed by the team. Out of the box, it is set to start up into Google's search engine, and you can sign into your Google account if you like, but you can switch to any one of 11 others (or just install your own browser app and make it the system default). There are plenty of privacy settings in there if you want to use them, though there is not much point if one is signing into Google, I guess! One could argue that approaching it as I do, I might as well just install Chrome and use that! But yes, there are options for de-Googlers and the more privacy-minded.

The Calculator actually looks very much like Google's own, though it is standalone and doesn't share one's data with The Big G, of course. It is 100% local and asks for no permissions. There are scientific functions, though no currency or unit conversions—and frankly, who needs a 'connected' calculator?! You can always ask an AI for that on-the-fly, unless you're staying away from that too. I chose to uninstall Google's Calculator (which I had put on).

Calendar looks neat and simple with Day, Week, Month, and Agenda views. Settings allow for notifications, sync (in my case with Google), theming, search, go-to and plenty more. It seems to work well, talking nicely with whatever service it's hooked up to (or working standalone on-device). It has a nice kind of old-fashioned look about it—feeling like it's an app from 15 years back, which is nice, refreshing and functional.

The supplied Camera app, Aperture, can be opened by assigning a long-press to the shutter button on this particular device, and the shutter button can be used to fire the shutter—so the developer has mapped that nicely. In fact, the only thing missing from that button is the very handy short-press for screenshots, which is a shame. The workaround is to make sure it's selected in Button Settings so it appears in the Power Menu. Long-press the Power button, tap Screenshot, and it gets the power menu out of the way then takes the shot. Not quite as neat, but apparently Sony has that short-press on the shutter button locked down.

Aperture handles multiple lenses well, includes manual controls, features a built-in leveller, and even has a QR code scanner that doesn't ping a remote server to decode links. Of course, you don't get Google’s proprietary computational photography algorithms (like Night Sight or advanced HDR+ processing), so photos look more natural and less artificially boosted, which some will prefer—but it won't magically brighten up a pitch-black room the way a Pixel or standard Xperia stock firmware does!

The UI is simple and neat enough, with the usual side-scrolling buttons and labels across the bottom of the screen with various buttons, a deeper dive into Settings, gridlines, location, sounds, RAW - and an even deeper set of options relating to sharpening, de-noising, colour correction, distortion correction and more. So, there are some 'smart' tools available after all! I tried downloading the Pixel Camera app from the Play Store, but it crashes whenever I tap on Settings. Otherwise, it seems to work OK. But yes, for those not wanting to use Aperture, or wanting more, it's likely a visit to Celso Azevedo's GCam Repository!

Clock is next, and while the layout is incredibly minimal, it doesn't feel much different from Google's Clock app. The built-in one requires no permissions, so it's pretty much standalone. Google's app, of course, talks to the servers to track sleep stuff and integrates with Google Assistant and account data, triggers smart lights when the alarm goes off, handles Bedtime tracking, cough/snore detection (requiring microphone access), offers audio options integrating directly with YouTube Music to stream playlist alarms and oodles more! On the other hand, staying away from all that gives you the basic tools—local alarms, snooze, fade-in volume, custom ringtones and more. For those de-Googling, the app does just what a clock should do without requiring access to your microphone, your streaming accounts or the internet. On the other hand, if you're not de-Googling, I guess you might as well use Google's app!

When it comes to Contacts and Phone apps, my guess is that they're best used in tandem, whichever way one is jumping. Go with Google, use Google Phone and Google Contacts. Stick with LineageOS and use their two apps. I don't think mixing and matching them will work well. The two apps tend to be very tightly integrated at the system level, certainly in Google's case. You can, if you want to, swap them about, but I think I'd rather not, being a pessimist! Obviously, the standalone apps have no cloud integration again, only working with data on the device (unless you hook them up with another service) and also working closely with their Messaging app. Naturally, with Google (or any other cloud-based sync), you get much more cross-sync action and backups off-device. For me, it'll just feel disjointed after living with Google for so long now. But yes, for those de-Googling, the apps look and work fine.

Messaging is in on the sync act as well, even if locally. There's no RCS support in their Messaging app, so forget that one! It is strictly an SMS/MMS tool. If one wants typing indicators, high-res photos, read receipts and chatting over Wi-Fi, they are pretty much forced onto Google’s playground—but even then it won't work! If one decides to download the official Google Messages app to get RCS, Google will actively block it because it utilises a security framework called the Play Integrity API. This framework checks the phone's system to ensure the operating system hasn't been modified, like the financials trap above. The moment the Google Messages app detects an unlocked bootloader, it silently disables RCS functionality and the app reverts to SMS/MMS. Even though Google Messages > Settings > RCS Chats reports it as connected, it's not true! But at least it gets through! This could be a bit of a stumbling block, much like Google Wallet, for those who want the latest and greatest convenience tools.

Files is the default file manager and it's pretty bare-bones. That means that for the de-Googler there's total 'sandboxed' privacy, as it treats local storage traditionally. There are no smart categorisations trying to guess what you want, no cloud tie-ins, just local directories. So, it feels pretty rigid and old-fashioned without stuff like a network share shortcut to pull files from a PC, or native archive extraction tools. It's fine for casual users of course (who probably never use a files app anyway), but others will probably want to add a meatier app. Again, you can use Google Files if you're going the open way, so you have all the benefits that brings. Google Files crawls every item on the storage to categorise them into Memories, Clean Up Suggestions or Large Files. The LineageOS app does none of this background data-crunching. What one sees is strictly what is on the device. It treats the internal storage or microSD card like an old-school, offline flash drive. But, there is no sharing—if you want to transfer a music track or a document from your PC over Wi-Fi, the stock app cannot see your local network. You are forced to physically plug the phone into a computer via a USB-C cable. It can't zip or unzip compressed archives without jumping through hoops, meaning handling email attachments or local backups requires an external tool. But there is middle ground in the shape of unconnected but more capable third-party apps. Plenty of them. I favour X-plore when I need stuff like that.

We're up to G, and so Gallery is next—Glimpse! On the face of it, the app looks clean, tabbed, and pretty similar to Google Photos. But under the bonnet, Glimpse is essentially a file browser that favours media. Google Photos is basically a 'cloud viewer' that happens to show local files too. Glimpse is a 100% local storage viewer. When you open Google Photos, the home tab isn't showing your phone’s folders—it is showing a cloud-synced timeline of all your images and videos. So again, it depends on what you want—the convenience of an always-connected, backed-up experience or a severed, local, old-fashioned, private and controlled one. Which is what a lot of this comes back to as we plough through. Do you need to have the convenience of searching a potentially huge archive for the "day I took the dog to the beach", or the locked-down 'know your filenames' offline and local experience (which, incidentally, to search for, you have to use the Files app—there is no search engine with file-indexing inside Gallery)! But Gallery works fine, and has Albums and Library filters. And what's yours stays yours, rather than being given away for data-harvesting!

The built-in, very bare-bones voice Recorder app can record in high-quality formats, allows you to track visually with a live 'waveform', and runs entirely in the background. But, again, it completely lacks any real-time clever AI transcription features that others provide via cloud-first apps and services. Once recorded, there are no tools to do anything with it other than play it back (in the app of your choosing). Any further and smarter use of the audio would need to be sent to another app or service, likely cloud-based, to get, for example, summaries or notes from a lecture or talk. It's quite restrictive when one has got used to the other tools out there which do so much more. But yes, as we are discovering, it is private and secure.

In digging down into Settings to see what's different and interesting, don't forget that I'm using a Sony Xperia 10 Mk VII here—so I'm not guaranteeing all of what I find will work on other hardware. I'll try to highlight what I find that is noteworthy or different from the usual stuff. All the Network and Internet options seem present and correct, including Hotspot, eSIM, and VoIP, if your operator supports it. Bluetooth seems to work as expected with the usual options, having paired up various devices without a hitch. There's a nice, simple Screen Time implementation under Apps and various Android 16 standards like Notification History, Summaries, Cooldown, Organiser and Bubbles under Notifications. Nothing of note or unusual in Sound & Vibrations or Modes, but there is that Always on Display option in Display. The Sony Xperia 10 Mk VII didn't have this, so I was most excited to see it here. There are zero options for the clock or layout—you get just the one which brings time, day, date, notification icons, and battery percentage at the foot. I'm really happy that this has been added but hugely disappointed that it's barely legible in anything but the near pitch dark. So, as a night clock it's fine, but in almost all other situations it can't be seen. Well, just about. I have dug around in settings, played with Adaptive Brightness on/off, lighting levels, LiveDisplay—but nothing changes it. What a shame. Still, better to have something over nothing I guess—it just could have been much better.

The Wallpaper & Style is basic Android 16 with Home Screen and Lock Screen options, Clock (though with only that one available, as above), Widgets on Lock Screen, a more basic Wallpapers picker, very AOSP, but theming colours, contrast, and icon shapes are present—and a better bunch of 'layout' options than Pixel, from 6x6 through to a bonkers 2x2! All the battery-saving options are available: Saver, Manager, and so on to protect its life. The System menu throws up a few notables, like Buttons, including an assignable Edge Long Swipe Action—I set it to be Gemini and with 20 attempts swiping up the side of the screen I got it to work twice! It's obviously an art that needs practice (or a phone with bigger bezels)! All sorts of options on the Power Menu, more so than most; keyboard cursor control (for the standard AOSP keyboard if not using Gboard by this stage). You can use the volume up/down buttons to move the cursor, like long-pressing the spacebar on Gboard. You can move the volume panel left or right on the screen, which is a nice touch for 'lefties', and make loads of adjustments to the Status bar—assigning which icons are shown and which are not, including even the clock (with seconds showing or not) and battery percentage or icon. So, plenty of thoughtful and some unique features—it all feels very CyanogenMod. Which is great! Good work, developers.

I've been testing the battery now for a couple of days with, specifically, attention to the Always on Display (for 'tis why I'm here)! The bad news is that even though it's barely legible in all but darkness (as above), using it kills the battery. It drains at about 5-10% per hour—making it unusable to get through a day (and pretty pointless anyway if it can't be seen)! A drain of 5-10% per hour means that I'd certainly be charging it in the middle of the day again—and these tests were conducted whilst not doing anything else with the phone, so it would make it even worse! With an OLED panel, the AoD is supposed to only light up the pixels it's using, so I don't get it. Particularly if it barely lights them up anyway. And especially when, if the AoD is turned off, the phone under LineageOS 23.2 sips the battery, making it at least an all-day phone, even with heavy use—and even two days at a push. Nope—the AoD is caning the battery. No idea if that's something the developers can do anything about, but I shall feed back, of course.

LineageOS 23.2 under Android 16 delivers a really interesting and different experience in software minimalism, reviving the enthusiast-driven spirit of CyanogenMod. Free from mainstream bloatware and aggressive Big Brother AI tracking, the ROM converts your device into a beautifully clean, deterministic tool. Its suite of lightweight, open-source AOSP utilities operates with speed and total, offline data security (if you want it). Furthermore, for those who crave granular control, the settings menu remains a playground—allowing you to customise status bar metrics, relocate volume interfaces for left-handed use and micro-manage display parameters to a degree completely forbidden by mainstream operating systems.

However, this living on an island approach demands a lifestyle compromise. Stripping away big tech means forfeiting the seamless automation of the modern cloud ecosystem. The moment you cross over into custom ROMs, Google's hidden power strikes back. Through strict Play Integrity API attestation, critical everyday tools like Google Wallet and mainstream banking apps are instantly locked down. Communication pipelines suffer too; without a proprietary Google backend, you lose rich RCS messaging and computational camera wizardry vanishes in favour of natural, unassisted processing. Even unlocked hardware enhancements, like the resurrected Always-on Display, frequently suffer from a lack of low-level factory optimisation, resulting in catastrophic standby battery drain.

Ultimately, LineageOS 23.2 is a super operating system, but it is not a casual sanctuary! If your intention is simply to install the Play Store and force Google's heavy cloud stack back onto the device, the resulting hybrid experience will feel clunky and double-optioned. LineageOS shines brightest when fully embraced as an independent, file-first operating system. It remains a great, secure achievement for tech-savvy purists willing to trade effortless convenience for genuine ownership of their digital canvas. But it's been a very useful and interesting experience to have ploughed through it and hopefully my notes here might be of use to some folk reading by blog.

PodHubUK Podcasts for the Month of May 2026

      

...a roundup of our month of podcasting. Links to the team, communities and podcast homes on the net at the foot, so scroll down!

The Phones Show Chat Podcast

Episode 893 - Juicy Sausages!

Monday 4th May

Joe and I back again with an inbetweeny show to catch up on all the stuff that we haven't had time for in recent shows because our guests are so much more interesting than boring us! As you might imagine, it's pretty Moto and Honor heavy. Sorry! But lots more as well with POTW and News etc. So perhaps it might be worth listening to after all!

PSC Photography

Episode 20 - My Top Phone Shot!

Thursday 7th May

Chris, Ian, Joe, Ed and Charlie join me for the first of the new-look Camera Creations podcasts, re-branded and under the watchful eye of PSC! This time we chat about the inclusion of photos from phones (and any other imaging device) to broaden the scope of the pod. We kick off with everyone sharing their best shots taken on a phone, chat about how photography is moving towards niche cameras and we have some hot news and rumours from Sony and Nikon. Do tune in and join us, let us know what you think - now available (fingers crossed) from your various podder outlets! Follow along by heading for the PSC Photography Google Photos Shared Album - link is on the main PSC website, as above.

The Phones Show Chat Podcast

Episode 894 - Elite Sidephone Clicks!

Monday 11th May

Joe and I are joined by Jim Fowl this week who, as we know, loves nothing more than to track down interesting devices on the periphery of all things mainstream! This time we natter about Minimal, Titan, Welder, Sidephone, Boox, BigMe, TCL, CMF and loads more! We also briefly have a look at some phone news from the week, Joe's new folding Razr, my Xperia and as always, time for Classifieds picks and POTW so do join us!

The Phones Show Chat Podcast

Episode 895 - Eyeopening Eyeo!

Wednesday 13th May

No - you've not gone into a timewarp, it's Steve back with the previously-trailed interview with Juha Alakarhu and Jeroen Hoet from Eyeo. So do tune in for 40 minutes with a cuppa - and see if you can keep up with the trio's tech!

Projector Room

Episode 210 - The Dry War Machine
Wednesday 13th May

Gareth and I are here again to share our thoughts on what we've been watching again in the last fortnight. We Capture a Car Chase or two, go on a Mission to Mars and get Stranded, Grease up for White Lightning, take a Bullet in a Duel - and end up Here Alone. Coming Soon and Final Curtain of course plus loads of other stuff, available from the usual places.

The Phones Show Chat Podcast

Episode 896 - The Duo Resurfaces!

Monday 18th May

Joe and I do another catchup show where we, well, catch up on stuff left behind from previous shows. Lineage is on my agenda, playing with Sony and Fairphone ROMS, Joe's feeling his way with his Moto Razr Fold, Surface Duo 2 gets some rare attention and loops and buds and watches are in the mix too. So do join us!

Whatever Works

Episode 241 - Inflatable Boot Trees!
Tuesday 19th May

Aidan and I are back once more with an hour of nonsense. This time we have a man who likes to shake hands with his mouse and bash his keyboard to bits, a piss-head or two who can't leave the rum alone, another who fears burning his fingers on chicken and another with a sister who has a wooden gooseneck. Painful! This and more twaddle now available from the usual places, if you dare!

PSC Photography

Episode 21 - Friction, Constraints and Obstacles!

Thursday 21st May

Chris, Ian, Joe and Charlie join me for another fortnightly roundup of all things photography - whatever gear was used! This time we talk about what gets in the way of the ideal photography experience and Charlie even comes up with a very impressive analytical flowchart! News from Sony and Panasonic about new gear, we chat about submitted photos and videos and highlight PSC Photo of the Month Winners for March and April 2026. Loads going on, so do join us - available now via the usual channels. And don't forget that all the hooks are now at phonesshowchat.uk

The Phones Show Chat Podcast

Episode 897 - Huawei's Honor Harmony!

Monday 25th May

Mark Mochan joins Joe and I again this time as we glimpse into the world of far-east takes on Android and how The Big H bakes that into available hardware in the west. We chat about Discord backups, the IMDb app, Clicks Communicator, LineageOS, pens, Fairphone, Moto Goodies, Sony and oodles more! So do be sure to join us, now available from the usual places.

Projector Room

Episode 211 - Fackham Mummy
Wednesday 27th May

Grab your tickets, because this time Gareth and I are boarding a Runaway Train of epic proportions. We’re steaming through Breakheart Pass, tackling The Italian Job over at Fackham Hall and somehow surviving Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. Along the way, we pick up the Pieces of Terminator 3, salute The Legend of Benny Hill and see if Hijack is still on track For All Mankind. It’s a packed show - mind the gap!

For all the rest, check out PodHubUK

Phones Show Chat (PSC) - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - Tech Addicts - PSC Photography - Nomad Tech Project - TechTalkUK

The MeWe Community Groups (follow the links to join up)
Phones Show Chat (PSC) - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - PSC Photos - PSC Videos - PSC Classifieds - PSC Health - Coffee Time - PSC Camera Creations - Tech Addicts - PSC Wallpaper - PSC AI - PSC News and Sport

The Team
Ted Salmon - Steve Litchfield - Aidan Bell - Gareth Myles - Joe Hickey - Chris Clayton - Ian Bundey - Charlie Winston - Kev Wright - Richard Yates - Sam Ventimiglia - Ed Hause

They Will Kill You (2026)

The film opens by introducing us to Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz) and her sister Maria during a late-night incident with their abusive father. The incident ends with Asia going on the run, believing she has shot their dad dead. She leaves little Maria behind - temporarily, she thinks - to the authorities, intending to return and rescue her. However, their dad survived and continued to abuse Maria, while Asia was captured and sent to prison.

We jump ten years ahead. Having served her sentence, Asia is determined to find Maria. With the help of a P.I. (last seen by me playing the miserable Bear Gerhardt in Fargo), she tracks her down to The Virgil, a historic Manhattan high-rise building occupied by New York’s ultra-wealthy elite. Asia sneaks her way in undercover as a new servant to locate Maria (now played by Myha'la).

On her very first day, Asia is introduced to a bunch of wealthy, robe-wearing, pig-masked residents led by the eccentric building superintendent, Lilith Woodhouse (Patricia Arquette). This is where it starts to get bonkers - the building locks down tight upon her arrival and it becomes clear that these fruit-loops intend to use her as a ritualistic human sacrifice to the devil in exchange for their ongoing immortality!

However, the cultists vastly underestimate Asia, who learned how to fight like a warrior in prison. Armed with swords and shotguns, she fights to survive and completely massacres her initial attackers! But there is more to it than that. Lilith’s husband, Ray (Paterson Joseph), rebels against the cult and saves Asia, explaining the building's horrific layout and supernatural rules to her. These residents have their names written in a demonic ledger, and whilst their name remains on it, they cannot die - they are immortal! Whenever they are injured or mangled, their bodies just heal and fix themselves up for the next round.

Asia is forced to fight her way up through the high-rise’s themed levels (from a chaotic dining room to the structural innards of the building), searching for Maria as she goes. All the while, she navigates a relentless onslaught of attacks from immortal socialites like Kevin (Tom Felton) and Sharon (Heather Graham). And so it goes on until the bloody finale, in which an animated, severed pig's head becomes the fun-filled star of the show! I won't spoil the ending for you, but I am sure you will work out who survives and who doesn't.

It is a wildly original, chaotic survival thriller built entirely on a mad idea, mixing the outrageously gory with the genuinely hilarious in near-equal measure. It pushes body horror to its absolute comic extreme rather than relying on genuine dread and a stomach-churning tone. The whole thing feels comic and funny most of the time to be honest, with the cast playing it with tongues firmly in cheeks throughout.

There are nods all over the place to other films and styles. One of the most obvious is Tarantino's 'chapter' approach, which gives the relentless survival plot a distinct Kill Bill feel as a seemingly invincible Asia goes completely nuts with a samurai sword, unleashing oodles of blood much like Uma Thurman's character, The Bride. Then there is the clear nod 9well, for me anyway) to Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson’s Guest House Paradiso, utilising a building packed with hidden passageways and corridors tucked within the walls and floors! Kirill Sokolov’s direction adds a vivid and striking look to the film. The bright, highly colourful sets are reminiscent of Wes Anderson, infused with wide corridors, distinct geometric carpets and lingering tracking shots that directly channel the haunting elegance of The Overlook Hotel from The Shining - and even the stylised architecture of The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The cinematography is super too, with great camera angles and close-ups of gore'n'more making the constant action just sparkle. You can also look out for the inclusion of some dark, witty details - like the 666 passcode required to unlock the door (blink and you’d miss it). The high-quality CGI work helps the overall effect as well, adding to that relentless, action-heavy theme by making the oodles of blood look just the ticket!

Zazie Beetz in the lead role is infectious. She keeps the pace and madness flowing with a chaotic energy and she is clearly having the time of her life playing this all-action heroine. Patricia Arquette is excellent as the antagonist, breezing through her villainous duties with an unhinged, naturally terrifying and delightfully mad charisma! Heather Graham and Tom Felton perfectly match the grindhouse-meets-slapstick tone as the smug, self-regenerating rich elite. And yes, there is Angus Sampson, whom I mentioned earlier, putting in a scene-stealing cameo with his mischief-infused character.

The finale is rip-roaring fun with that pig's head and well worth the wait. The animation is done really well and makes for excellent comic relief. It is a great, fun film - breathless, visually stunning and a bloody good time to be had by all! Highly recommended, especially as it is now arriving on various streaming services in the UK.

The Extraordinary Range of Julianne Nicholson: From Ally McBeal to Paradise

There is a specific kind of triumph in an actor performing a role so fundamentally unpleasant that you find yourself actively detesting them on screen! It is the ultimate testament to their craft. I’ve been catching up on Season 2 of Paradise, and it hit me just how incredibly good Julianne Nicholson is at her job - precisely because her character, a nasty, deeply unattractive, wealthy woman, is so utterly intolerable.

It got me thinking about her career, because the woman anchoring the high-stakes tension of Paradise couldn’t be further removed from the character that first made me fall in love with her work: the chirpy, spunky, cheerful, naive and fiercely emotional Jenny Shaw in Ally McBeal! Back in the early 2000s, Jenny Shaw was the kind of character everyone rooted for. She wore her heart on her sleeve, radiating an infectious, youthful optimism that balanced out the show's trademark eccentricities. If you had told me then that the same actress would one day masterfully portray characters defined by cold cynicism or deep, tragic weariness, I might have been skeptical.

But looking back at her filmography over the last couple of decades, the signs of a chameleon were always there. I’ve watched her pop up in an incredibly diverse array of projects and she never fails to leave a mark. In Kinsey (2004) she navigated complex mid-century dynamics; in Staten Island (2009) she anchored a gritty indie crime-drama and by the time she appeared in major features like I, Tonya (2017) and the Marilyn Monroe reimagining Blonde (2022), it became clear that Hollywood knew exactly who to call when a script demanded authentic, unfiltered human emotion.

Two of her roles, in particular, stood out enough for me to write about them extensively here on the blog. In my review of Novitiate (2017), she was superb as Nora Harris, a non-religious mother fighting to understand her daughter's sudden, intense devotion to the church. Then there was her quiet, magnetic performance in Janet Planet (2023), where she played a bohemian mother viewed through the hyper-observant eyes of her eleven-year-old daughter. In both instances, Nicholson avoided flashy, Oscar-bait histrionics, choosing instead to let the character’s internal conflict simmer just below the surface.

Of course, you can't talk about her dramatic weight without mentioning her Emmy-winning turn as Lori Ross in Mare of Easttown (2021). As the fiercely loyal, quietly suffering best friend to Kate Winslet's Mare, Nicholson delivered a performance that was absolutely heartbreaking. The sheer exhaustion and tragic resilience she brought to that role showed an actress operating at the absolute peak of her powers.

Which brings us right back to Paradise. Truth be told, if I’m picking favourites, I much prefer her when she’s playing characters with the warmth and spark of Jenny Shaw. There's a natural, grounded light to Nicholson that is incredibly comforting to watch. But watching her inhabit this latest role - shedding every ounce of that natural warmth to play someone so thoroughly unlikable - is a stark reminder of what true acting range looks like. She doesn't rely on prosthetics or vocal gimmicks to transform; she alters her internal temperature. When an actor can move seamlessly from the bright-eyed optimism of 90s television to the heavy, complicated textures of modern peak TV, you aren't just watching a reliable character actress. You’re watching one of the best in the business.

Julianne Nicholson's official promotional portrait for Ally McBeal (Season 5).. Source: Ally McBeal Wiki - Fandom

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

Because I don't have a Disney plus subscription, I've never seen any TV episodes of The Mandalorian. So although I've seen every Star Wars feature film released in the cinema so far, this was my first outing for these group of characters. Honestly, I don't think it mattered as I felt right at home from minute-one.

Pedro Pascal reprises his lead role as Mando, the cool headed, gunslinging lead with his Force-wielding, bottomless-stomached side kick, Grogu - a constant and reliable pint sized ally. I wasn't that familiar with most of the actors in some of the major parts here but there were a couple of interesting cameos.

Sigourney Weaver shows up as the straightforward Rebel Base Leader and handler of Mando's missions and Martin Scorsese voiced a very talkative four-armed, primate-like street food vendor that reluctantly helps our main protagonists track down one of the ex-Empire war criminals. My favourite character though, was ultra reliable Rebel Pilot, Garazeb 'Zeb' Orrelios, voiced by Steve Blum. Obviously, I'd never seen him before but he reminded me of one of the early Ralph McQuarrie concepts for Chewbacca.

I was entertained throughout as the 2 hour 12 minute, easy-to-follow story moved along nicely. The action sequences are well choreographed with all the different exotic multi-planetary locations, various alien species (whether they be intelligent societies or the scariest monsters you could imagine) looking authentic for the Lucas-created universe. My favourite bits were the battle-scarred hardware and spacecraft. All created by top quality CGI, but looking as real and convincing on-screen as any Earthbound transport. It may all be seen as just an extended episode of the TV series but I would recommend it for fans of the franchise who miss seeing this fantastic fantasy world on the big screen.

Mobius (2025) - A Guest Review by Kah Leong Ow

This is the 16-episode drama from China. The title referenced the Mobius strip, which is a continuous loop that returns to the starting point.

Criminal investigator Ding Qi possessed the ability to time travel and returned to the beginning midnight of the present day. No one remembers what happened and he used it to gather evidence and prevent a crime from happening.

During an investigation of a series of murders, he realised that there are others who had the same ability and all seemed to be connected to a genetic biotech company. As he raced against time to get to the bottom of things and within the 5-cycle limit, he unraveled the web of mystery behind his ability.

I am not familiar with the cast, which is made up of Chinese and Hong Kong actors, but they are competent and the two male leads play off each other well. The drama is well-shot and well-written, all based on a Chinese novel. Having said that, the script could have been tighter to up the intensity of the pace. While there are twists after turns, the uneven pace seemed to dampen the intensity at times. And as with time-travel themes, there are some parts that will leave you scratching your heads a bit as you struggle for an explanation.

If you are new to Chinese drama, this will be a good introduction. Chinese drama tends to over-dramatise and also stretches to more episodes. Twenty to forty is not unusual! So 16 episodes is probably considered short. Nonetheless, Mobius is a good and exciting watch and recommended, with a caveat that you may want to fast-forward some parts!

The Boroughs (2026) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

The Boroughs is a supernatural TV series on Netflix about a seemingly secluded utopian retirement community in the middle of the New Mexico desert that's been set up by the grandfather of charismatic CEO Blaine (Seth Numrich), and his charming stepford-style wife, Anneliese (Alice Kremelberg). Alfred Molina plays Sam Cooper, a recently widowed, retired engineer who, partially against his will, is moved into a cul-de-sac house in this community by his daughter and her husband as they say that his continuing depressive grief has now detrimentally affected their family unit.

However, soon after Sam moves into his new house, he starts having weird dreams that feature his deceased wife that he can't explain. Then one night, he hears strange noises and a flashing red light coming from the friendly next door neighbour's (Bill Pullman) house and after he repeatedly calls out and gets no response, he breaks in - only to discover a grey skeletal, multi-legged creature, crouched over and seemingly probing Jack's inert body. Sam lashes out at it but it escapes. When the paramedics arrive and are taking Jack's body away, nobody believes Sam's account of what he's seen and insists that Jack has simply suffered a heart attack. Later, Sam's other new neighbours are also skeptical of his claims but after other strange things seem to happen to them, they then decide to collaborate and start to question the motives of Blaine and why he has really set up this isolated retirement community.

From the same stable as 'Stranger Things', which I've never seen, this story is of the same ilk but with geriatric protagonists instead of kids. Like Stranger Things, I think the vibe is very much inspired by the Stephen King storytelling universe. Introducing a supernatural element without really explaining why it is there or where it came from, seems to be the what's expected in this horror sub-genre.

There is a strong cast of players that all live in the same cul-de-sac, who gel well together as the true nature of the community reveals itself. Besides Sam and Jack, it includes Geena Davis as spunky arts-and-crafts teacher, Renee, Clarke Peters and Alfre Woodard as an 'eternal hippy' couple Art and Judy Daniels, Denis O'Hare as retired doctor Wally and a short cameo by Dee Wallace as Grace, the former occupier of Sam's house - and is the very first victim of the skeletal creatures we see in the first few minutes of episode one.

I have to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of this supernatural/horror genre as creating a scary thing which can't be explained by earthbound science doesn't float-my-boat. Ironically, I don't mind monsters that could be explained as extraterrestrial like in 'The Quiet Place' for instance. However, the 'straight out of the 80s' storyline here is easy to follow and the occasional body horror scenes are pretty mild. Everyone's performances are solid and I really warmed to Molina as the prime protagonist.

With just eight, 45 minute episodes, this could easily be binged in a couple of evenings or an intense ice-cream and popcorn filled all-dayer. Suitable for teens, too, as I think it may lead them to see the 70s in a whole different light.

Motorola Pen Ultra

Unveiled at CES 2026, Motorola has added the 'moto pen ultra' to its accessories list for owners of the Signature and Razr Fold. In the UK, the pen is bundled with the Razr Fold, but your region may vary on that. As a Signature owner, I had to buy one separately and it cost £49. It is pretty hard to get hold of one at the moment, but I was lucky and landed on Moto's UK online shop on just the right day!

My review of the Motorola Signature is linked here and, since it first arrived, I have gazed longingly at the greyed-out "Smart pen, Manage pen features" item in the phone's main Settings! Well, it is here now - and as I say, good luck getting one at the moment anyway - with Moto pitching it as a high-performance smart stylus. Unlike the basic capacitive styluses found in the Moto G Stylus series, the Pen Ultra is a "professional-grade tool featuring pressure sensitivity, tilt detection and palm rejection". Apparently!

So, the Pen Ultra adds functions not dissimilar to Samsung's S-Pen - well, the older one that had Bluetooth, Air Actions, and remote shutter capabilities. It is noteworthy to mention that Samsung's more recent S-Pens are missing these features and more. As Samsung decides to pull away from the notion based on user feedback and usage, Lenovorola moves in and is all over it. Late to the party, but filling a current void. The same thing happened with Samsung and its Windows-based DeX functionality; Motorola moved in with Smart Connect and did it well - even better, arguably, than Samsung ever did.

One thing that the S-series Samsung Ultra models do have, which Moto lacks on these two models, is a silo to put the pen into. Moto has a silo on its G Stylus series, so maybe they will think about that for the next generation of devices. Samsung, being so globally popular, also has the benefit of third-party case-makers (as well as their own) designing covers with some sort of pen-holding function. These are often unwieldy, however, and feel 'bolted on' rather than looking like they are a part of the device, unless one goes for a thick, ruggedised case. Either way, there is scope for improvement and plenty of food for thought.

What the Pen Ultra does come with, however, is a holder/charger with a silo of its own! You slide the pen into the case's silo and it charges the pen up. The pen lasts about 3 hours out of the case, and with a fully charged case, there is potentially 27 hours of use. So, if it is all topped up, the user should in theory be able to charge the pen a further 8 times before the case needs plugging in again. Sounds like a pretty good compromise to me. If the pen is not being used but is out of the case, it does go to sleep in a standby mode, sipping the battery. And let's face it, who is going to use it constantly for 3 hours at a time anyway, I muse!

So, I am OK with that. It is just that, yes, you have to take it with you - the pen and/or the case - and if you do want to charge it away from base, you will need some means of plugging a charger into the case's USB-C port to do so. There is no charger in the box (at least in this UK release). The case is made of hard plastic, but the outside material is much like Moto has been using on some of its phones lately, including the Signature: a soft-touch, cloth-like fabric finish. Nice. Room for improvement might be the use of a material that Velcro will stick to. That would open up some great portability possibilities.

The 'moto pen ultra' (note the lowercase styling) is a bit small for my liking. If it is not going to fit inside a silo in the phone, then there is no real reason that it couldn't be the size of, say, the S-Pen Pro rather than a toothpick! Those with small hands will be OK, but I have big ones, and it feels a lot like the hunt-and-peck experiences of 2004 with PDA/phone units such as the i-mate JAM! So, if you are going to have a silo, fine - make it fit. But if not, make it a 'proper' pen/pencil size, Moto.

As an aside, it doesn't seem to work beyond invoking the on-screen circular carousel menu when the Signature is Qi wireless charging. It works fine if it is cable-charging, so I wasn't sure what that was about! Gemini reckons it is down to the fact that the pen is an active stylus, and both systems rely on magnetic induction. When the phone is on a wireless pad, the pad's internal coil generates a continuous, alternating magnetic field. This field pumps energy directly through the back of the phone into its receiving coil to juice up the battery. The phone's screen contains a digitised grid that emits its own tiny, precise magnetic field to track the pen’s nib location, pressure sensitivity, and hover distance. When you place the phone on a Qi pad, that massive, high-frequency charging field completely drowns out the delicate signals from the display's digitiser. The circular on-screen carousel menu still works, basically, because it is fired up and connects via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The button click that summons the quick-access carousel menu is a standard Bluetooth command, and Bluetooth operates on a completely different high-frequency radio spectrum which easily cuts right through the low-frequency magnetic noise of the Qi pad. How did we live life without Gemini, eh!

One thing that is immediately missing from the pen experience here, that Samsung had, is firing up a Quick Note from the off-screen or Always on Display. I am sure Moto could add this in a software fix, as it works fine with the G Stylus. When you fire up the S-Pen or G Stylus, you can set the phone to jump straight into note-taking mode over the top of the AoD. It works independently of the phone being 'on' and in normal use. Then you can save the note you've made, put the pen away, and the phone goes back to the AoD (or turns off). Here, it doesn't. And it might be another restriction of not having a silo, I guess. It will fire up a note-taking front-end, but if you have a PIN/Pattern/Password in use, you have to get past that first. This means that the phone is then 'open' as normal rather than sitting 'in front of' the normal lock screen interface. You press the pen's button, then tap the screen twice to invoke it. Now, in reality, the face unlock is so good (in decent enough light) that it swiftly lets you past the security anyway, but when you have finished, it doesn't go back to the AoD or turn off like the G Stylus or S-Pen. It is apparently because of a dedicated 'secure sandbox mode' built directly into the lock screen OS layers that isn't present in the Signature. It could easily be added - silo or not.

Pressure sensitivity seems to work well in the drawing mode, as do tilt detection (for shading and line-weight) and palm rejection. With Sketch-to-Image, you can draw a rough sketch and use integrated AI to transform it into an image. You don't need the pen to do this, of course - any MotoAI-equipped phone will do it - but there are obvious benefits to using a pen. You only get 6 of these generations per day, and the clock seems to reset at 1am. Quick Note lets you highlight (clip) screen content, then long-press for the option to 'add to a Note' (though to be fair, you can also do this with a finger, but I guess the accuracy is better with the pen). Circle to Search works fine, but again, a finger will do. Speed Share suggests contacts you are most likely to share your notes or annotations with - again, not pen-dependent. There is lots of stuff to play with then, some clever and pen-only, some smart without - but plenty is integrated into MotoAI. Just a quick note to say that for owners of the Razr Fold, the pen does - much like some of the far-east OEMs' implementations for pens now - work on both the outside and inside screens.

The pen utilises USI 2.0 and LPP 4.0 protocols. So what does that mean, USI and EMI, I hear you ask! They cross paths directly in how a phone's screen listens to a pen. EMI is the "noise" or static created when one electrical component generates an electromagnetic field that disrupts another nearby component. USI is a protocol (the technology) - Universal Stylus Initiative - which is an open industry hardware standard designed so that one active stylus can work across completely different brands of devices, like using the same pen seamlessly on a Google Pixel Tablet, a Lenovo Chromebook and a Motorola phone.

So why not rely purely on a standalone standard? How would that be better? It would mean users could use any one of oodles of USI 2.0 standard pens out there. As it is, Motorola has tailored this hardware specifically, meaning this is the only pen that will work correctly with these digitisers. Accuracy is great, and frankly, it seems pretty robust to me as it is! And then there is that Bluetooth in the mix. The Bluetooth 5.3 provides for remote shutter functions because it has ultra-low latency, which handles the remote commands effortlessly. If you have the camera app open, you can press the button on the pen to take a photo or video - just like the old S-Pen. But there it ends: there are no 'air actions' like Sammy had for zooming or switching things around.

The software support is found in the phone's settings. As soon as you take the pen out of its case, the phone detects it and fires up an on-screen 'button' which, when tapped, produces the carousel I mentioned earlier, on which you can assign the tools you want to have within easy reach. You also get an icon in the Status Bar indicating that the pen is 'live'. You can have 4 tools on the carousel or add apps if you like - I added Noteshelf, as I have used it cross-platform and have data in it. The moto pen ultra works perfectly well inside that too.

Pen Controls brings us to a great feature known as Knock-Knock! Turn the pen upside down, double-tap it on a surface, and it takes a screenshot! I have used this extensively while penning this review! You can then assign one action to a single-press of the pen's button - like opening the toolbar on-screen. A double-press is a bit more flexible, allowing for Annotate, New Note, Hover to Magnify (which works well, just like Sammy's - except it's a circle instead of a square) or Circle to Search (instead of having to long-press the navigation gesture bar at the foot of the screen).

Settings also allow you to see the pointer when hovering, open the toolbar when the pen is taken out, or give you a reminder if the pen is left out of the case. This can be set to various numbers of minutes, from 5 minutes up to 1 day (but actually, I can't get this out-of-case reminder to work at all - I've tested and tested it in all sorts of ways, and got nothing). There is also Last Known Location, which can be set to open in whatever mapping app you fancy to show you where you last used it, complete with coordinates. There is also an option to allow other Lenovo pens to work with the system; depending on their capabilities, that will dictate what they can do. I have a couple here and they both seem to work for basic functions, though not the higher-end ones.

As you will know if you are reading this, I'm a huge Motorola fan, but this experience does feel like it falls short of what the Samsung S-Pen can (or at least, could) do (before they stripped back some of the functionality). The relatively 'dumb' stylus of the Moto G Stylus (2024) that I have here doesn't try to have all those high-end bells and whistles, but what it does, it does in some ways more robustly. And I think that's because it has got a silo. Samsung proved that all this stuff can work well without a silo, however - look at the tablets they have produced. I have a Galaxy Tab S8 here and it works brilliantly with the magnetic connection on the back. So, it can be done. We're relying on Moto to get on and sort this out with software updates, so I won't hold my breath!

Talking of magnets, the pen attaches to the back of the Signature in one position, albeit fairly weakly, but it doesn't do anything. Now there's a thought! A future Moto device, like a Samsung tablet, that lets you at least put the pen on the back to attach magnetically and charge as an alternative to the case - or in addition to it, if they really can't work a silo into the chassis.

I do wish the pen was bigger. That is probably the main reason why I am less likely to use it, to be honest. And, as I said, if it's not tucked away in a silo, there is no structural reason why it can't be a proper size. It's a nice plaything, but I wonder how much anyone will use it for productivity in the real world. Maybe on the Razr Fold opened up, but even then, I wonder how that plastic internal screen will hold up over time.

The moto pen ultra is a fascinating release that signals Motorola's serious intent to capture the premium productivity space left behind by a complacent Samsung. At £49 in the UK - if you can track one down - the hardware itself feels like a solid compromise. The external charging case is excellently finished in Moto’s signature soft-touch fabric, providing 27 hours of total battery backup that neatly solves any low-power anxiety.

When you get the pen on the glass, the core fundamentals - pressure sensitivity, tilt detection, palm rejection and the brilliant "Knock-Knock" screenshot shortcut - work beautifully. However, the overall user experience is heavily hindered by the lack of an integrated hardware silo and a few half-baked software implementations.

The inability to use the pen accurately while the Signature is on a Qi wireless charger due to electromagnetic interference is a frustrating physical quirk. Worse still is the lack of a secure lock screen sandbox; forcing a full biometric unlock just to take a quick off-screen memo completely robs the stylus of its spontaneous, scratchpad utility. Add in a completely broken out-of-case reminder system and a toothpick-thin physical profile that will cramp larger hands, and the pen ultra starts to feel more like a luxury plaything than an essential daily workhorse.

If you own the big canvas of the Razr Fold, it is a no-brainer bundle. But for Signature owners, unless Moto commits to anchoring this premium hardware with robust, polished software updates, it remains a nice-to-have novelty rather than a productivity revolution. I've taken a load of screenshots for those who'd like to dig deeper and see them and they're now inside a Google Photos Shared Album, so feel free to click through.