Thursday 26 September 2024

TCL 50 Pro NxtPaper

TCL are doing some amazing stuff lately with their NxtPaper technology and this phone presents more of that to join previous years' phones and past/present tablets. At a staggeringly low price, for what you get, the question is whether or not the really interesting screen tech is enough to offset the low/mid-tier other specs and missing functions you'd expect by paying a bit more for a more 'traditional' Android phone.

It really is all about the screen. And it's an absolute delight to use. It does, as the blurb claims, feel very much like paper - even more so than any (relatively) shiny Kindle screen. Reflectiveness is hugely reduced and dispersed, muted. The payoff being that so are the colours and tones. But cor blimey, outside in even the brightest sunshine, it's just like a Kindle - in that the brighter it is, the better it is, regardless of which 'screen mode' the user selects (I'll come to that). Simply brilliant. A decidedly unique selling point, as they say.

Taps on the screen need to be slightly firmer
than an 'ordinary' phone with glass, but I found that I was getting used to this quickly and it's no worse than some phones with a screen protector on top. Same for swipes, but Mr Tiny Brain gets used to it! So yes, there are four NXTPAPER screen modes which can either be switched using the physical slider/toggle on the right side of the phone or in software.

1. The normal mode is very much like you'd expect on any LCD Android phone with access to all apps.
2. The Ink Paper Mode is much like looking at a paper-white Kindle with again, all apps working fine, wallpaper stripped out, so a very much black/white experience with some of the icons becoming somewhat like 'line drawings' but others not - rather retaining the developer's artwork, but switched to mono. Widgets still work but again, made mono.
3. Colour Paper Mode is much like Ink Paper Mode except, you guessed it, it's mostly colour! Still no wallpaper but everything else seems to work fine, all on a paper-white background again. Designed for comics and graphic content.
4. Max Ink Mode gets the longest-lasting battery performance (they claim "7 days of immersive reading" or almost a month on standby), but all-but key apps/services are closed down. So you get phone calls, Google Messages, clock and calendar notifications (all other app notifications don't get through), Google Play Books (not even the Kindle app shows up), Jnotes (which I'll come to), a calculator, contacts and access to Settings related to connectivity only. That's it.

Jumping between the modes
on-the-fly works too - so if you're watching a YouTube video in Colour Paper Mode, with a flick of the switch it will transpose into Ink Paper Mode or the normal mode. There's a stylish hazy transition effect that grows across the screen, but not a hitch in terms of the video playing and continuity. Watching video and looking at photos or websites on the mono modes? You'd think it would be rubbish, but it really isn't. It's refreshing and sometimes, preferable, believe it or not! I was looking at TikTok last night in Ink Paper Mode and the definition of the videos is really impressive - the screen tech makes it look much better than any rubbish Kindle screen (on which one might head off to their forever-experimental web browser function). It looks just as good as it would in colour, but in loads of shades of mono. I'll try to replicate the difference here. Update no I can't as it won't let me take a screenshot in Ink Paper Mode! I'll post an actual photo of it in mono, see Laufey in action, below - it video really is sharper by far than the photo depicts...

Laying aside the screen tech for a minute, let's leap back and see what's in the box and what the handset is like, physically. The box is unnecessarily big for what's in it - a SIM Tray pokey-key, USB-C to C cable and a 3-pin 33W charger/plug here in the UK - the latter feeling like it's just been chucked in as a UK market-related afterthought in a very generic box, rolling around inside! (Well, at least they're selling it here!) Other than that, it's a black box which they claim is 'plastic free'.

The phone is big
! It's tall and wide (
167.6 x 75.5mm) but actually pretty thin (8mm) and (relatively) heavy (196g). Because of this, it kinda balances in the hand disproportionately well. The sides of the phone are plastic and flat, as seems to be the Apple-copied way these days (sigh) and in my case is a classy Moon Grey colour. Moon Grey and Alps White are apparently the only two colours available outside of Asia, where they also get Pale Gold, Rosy Purple and Midnight Blue. The back of the phone has a kinda 'marble' pattern on it which actually looks very nice. There's zero grip, though! As shiny as a new penny. TPU case time. Which is a problem actually in the UK as they're rarer than hen's teeth. I ordered one from AmazonUK but it's not for the Pro model - only the non-Pro (so doesn't have the cutout for the screen mode slider). The non-Pro model, by the way, apart from that, is physically identical on the outside. In the end I've had to order one from the far-east on the slow-boat, so will have to twiddle my thumbs and hope I don't drop it!

The camera island on the back is a ludicrously huge circle (much like the OnePlus phones) and not even central. I'm not sure who, out in China, thinks that this design is in any way attractive! The TCL logo is set sideways, so I guess they think that people should use it like a 'camera' in orientation. Not much chance of that in the age of TikTok! On the right, we have the screen mode slider which sits below the power button/fingerprint scanner - which in turn, sits below the volume rocker. I think the keys are all plastic but they seem sturdy enough and there's not really any wobble.

Up top
there's nothing apart from a microphone but on the bottom, we have the central USB-C (2.0) port flanked by one of the stereo speakers and 3.5mm audio-out socket. Yay! At the top of the front of the phone there's a centralised, large selfie camera cutout below the second of the stereo speakers, doubling up as the earpiece for the phone in the usual way.

The front panel is the large 1080p, 6.8" NXTPAPER flat LCD which returns a ppi of 395. It's a huge panel, even bigger than a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, overall, as unlike the Samsung it does have slightly larger bezels. Think Nokia XR20. They are not huge, by any stretch of the imagination, but Samsung seems to have got this one nailed! The 'chin' is slightly bigger than the other three sides, but that's fine and one could argue, good for gesture control. The screen refresh rate can be set to 120Hz, 60Hz or 'smart' where it works it out for itself depending on what you're doing, balancing performance with battery. This appears to still be the case in Ink Paper Mode and Colour Paper Mode but in Max Ink Mode you can't get to those settings, so who knows what it is. Probably none of those and irrelevant!

The screen is nicely bright
and there's something refreshing about the muted tones, pastally colours and papery/Kindle look and feel. It somehow doesn't feel like a cheat compared to a glorious Moto pOLED panel, but rather a nice change and something different. And good grief, the mobile phone world certainly needs that! Obviously, as previously noted, in any of the other screen modes, the 'brightness' is even more so - just in a different way. You really have to see/feel this screen to appreciate the benefits - as it's, well, indescribable! Closest I can get is the most recent, modern Kindle - but colour too when needed - and much nicer! I've not seen a Boox Palma, but I'm guessing that it's similar in the alternative screen modes. I can't stress enough how lovely it is to touch.

So, I'm sold on the screen tech and the whole NXTPAPER thing - no further convincing needed - but what about the rest of it as an Android smartphone. Where does it fall short of, let's say other mid-tier devices, and reflect the price-point where TCL have pitched this? Well, I guess the first stop is the chipset, being a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 (6nm). Those who know about such matters compare it with a SnapDragon 778G (best known here on the Moto Edge 20 and 30) and maybe the 695 (which seemed to do fine here on the Moto Edge 30 Neo and Sony Xperia 10 Mk.V) but real-world use is what matters and I'm finding that in general use, as I often say, for 98% of people likely to use a phone in this bracket, without nerdy/geeky expectations and probably focusing on the reading experience, it really isn't an issue. Over time, reviewing phones, one just gets a 'feel' for how they perform in daily use without the need for benchmarks and getting all technical, but as I plough further through I shall certainly highlight any points at which I notice any slowdown or sluggishness.

There's 8GB RAM on the model I have here which seems to dance to the merry tune of task switching/keeping open more than well-enough, but more interestingly a base storage of 512GB which is exactly what Motorola are beginning to do. Forget about 256GB - that was yesterday's base-standard - and tomorrow it'll 1TB no doubt! This is great and coupled with the microSD Card slot, in which I have my 1TB version (with support up to 2TB), I'm flying here, data-hoarding with 1.5TB! Amazing, Again, at this price-point. With this hardware I have moved lots of data across from my PC engaging the usual method with Android and, yes, it's not as fast as it is with more capable hardware, but these kinds of actions are usually one-offs, as are setting up/installing 130 apps (in my case) where, again, you'd get a faster execution elsewhere. But once it's done, it's done. And most people will be using the onboard storage to record loads of video, as shot, not purposely data-hoarding like me!

Android 14 is on board out of the box with a promise of Android 15 and 16 in due course. How quickly TCL will attend to that, I don't know. The more impressive feat is that they promise to provide Google Security patches to 2029! That's up there with the leaders now and even though the OS version will slip behind, the security will be intact, along with Play System updates for the next 5 years (as this was released in September 2024, last month as I write). Currently the phone updates to June 2024 Security and August 2024 Play System.

Setting up the phone exposed me to a bunch of bloat. Still, at this price I guess it's inevitable that they will recoup some cash from cracked deals. The good news is that all the following are uninstallable via settings: Booking, Bubble, Block Puzzle Guardian, Facebook, LinkedIn, Office Suite, Snake Lite, Stickman Hero Fight Clash and Microsoft Start (the last of which was surprising). There was one app which could be said 'no' to during the setup - WeAre8: The People's Platform (whatever that is) and then there's TCL apps installed into ROM: Camera (obviously), Jnotes, Game Zone (fair enough), Pedometer, TCL Home, TCL Link, Switch Phone, Optimise, Smart Manager - with Auto Launch, Battery, Memory (RAM extension 8+8 - turn off), Notifications and Clean up settings. They haven't doubled-up on any of the Google core apps, leaving them as the Big G's defaults.

The TCL UI v7 is pretty 'stock'
as we used to say (think AndroidOne) with some of that useful stuff over the top (think Moto) and those supporting the screen mode differences. The home screens work pretty much as simply as one would expect in AndroidOne, even allowing the removal of the Google Search Bar, by default at the foot of the page. Other than that, it's arrange-as-you please with various adjustments/layouts, sizes, Wallpaper/Style, Google Feed to the left (or not) and as many home screen as you place icons/widgets onto. All very Vanilla and welcome.

The speakers are a bit feeble really. They're quite loud but not very good quality. There's a switch to throw in Sound settings called 'DTS-certified 3D Boom Sound'. Sadly, when the switch is thrown it certainly makes the speakers even louder - and the soundstage for stereo a little wider via software - but louder and more shrill doesn't make a more pleasant listening experience. In fact, it sounds better with it off. Engaged, then volume set to 70% makes it listenable to, but it's really not very good. I've been playing around with the Wavelet app and have been able to make it somewhat better but yes, beware - this is not an audiophile's phone!

Better performance can be had from the 3.5mm audio-out socket, but as always, this depends completely on what ear/headphones one is using and the quality/characteristics thereof. I have tested it with a range of units here from the reference AKG K701s, studio Sony MDR-7506s and beefed-up Sony 1000-XM4s amd Marshall Monitors. Volume from the port is certainly loud and much better an experience than the speakers. Same is true of the Bluetooth (v5.3) output, of course, again, depending on gear's being hooked up. But all-in-all, no complaints when using cans!

Connectivity
is good, I'd say. I've tried out a couple of phone calls from a couple of locations without hitches, both parties hearing each other well enough. 5G seems to work fine in my strong local EE network for data too. There's a nanoSIM slot in the tray and a second one if you don't want to use a microSD Card - and let's face it, most won't with 512GB storage built in! The handset is also eSIM capable, so all boxes ticked here. WiFi 5 I guess is now a bit behind the times, but it locks on here just fine on two different networks I've tried and maintains good connection. Bluetooth seems solid too with a decent range before dropping out, GPS proved reliable for Google Maps and other applications making use of that and NFC, though not tested for paying with Google Pay, seems to work fine with other equipment for pairing, so I have no doubt it would.

What a shame there's no Qi Wireless Charging. That would the cherry on top of a very tasty cake. There is 33W 'fast' (well, faster than some) wired charging to power up the generous battery which is just over 5000mAh. This gives a 50% charge in about half an hour and up to full in another hour, so 90 minutes. As described above, how long it lasts depends very much on which screen mode you're using! From nearly a month down to (a very respectable) good two days in the most power-hungry mode in my tests here. It's a battery champ, really - and standby battery (no SIM Card - or even turned off) reminds me very much of a 2008 Nokia BP-4L as it sips, not gulps!

The security, to get into the phone, is headed up by the side-mounted, capacitive fingerprint scanner in the power button (which can be touch or press) which, as you'd expect, works flawlessly - first time, every time. It's supported by Face Unlock which, again, works really well - both of these items easy to register. However, there's a fly in the ointment here as I see it - in that as there is no Lift to Wake, Nudge to wake, Double-tap to wake, (particularly Lift to Wake). So in order to get the face unlock to work, the user has to first touch/press the power button/fingerprint scanner. And if one is doing that, the face unlock is not needed! Well, unless you don't set up fingerprints I guess! The face unlock, good as it is, is rendered pointless - unless I'm missing something here?! Good old Android though and a third party app to the rescue - in this case, newGen Mobile's AOA: Always on Display. I'm sure there are others, but this is the one I've generated towards over the years. It fixes this problem and others too - like no Always on Display with a handy bunch of options - yes, even on an LCD panel - and doesn't seem to hit battery too badly in the process. It's feature-rich and well-maintained. So yes, double tap on the AoD, lift it to see your face, and we're in. It would be even better if the double-tap was not needed, but it's a decent-enough workaround and maybe TCL will fix this in an update.

The Jnotes app seems to be a third party one, which it looks like TCL have done a deal with, as it's baked into ROM and can't be readily uninstalled. Sadly though, it seems flakey and each time I try to use it, it complains about not being able to get online - or "the system is busy" - though I did manage to get an account setup via desktop Chrome and then the app acknowledged that. When you do get in, it's a nice-enough note-taking environment which will share PDFs or their own Jnotes file format files to where you like. Share as a 'flat' PDF works fine to view elsewhere, but in order to share as an editable PDF you need to 'activate' the app - at which point we're back to the 'server being busy' and a splash-page saying there's 50% off! So I have no idea how much it is - but according to Gemini, 'activating' it starts a '30 day free trial'. Confusingly, there also seems to be two tiers of 'membership'(?) one being 'Registered' and the other 'VIP'. Their website is not very helpful and the FAQ takes you out to Google Doc! You can download the app as an APK if you fancy the risk - and their website claims all sorts of fancy functionality. If only I could get to do any of it!

Anyway, enough time spent on this app, the point is that it's only looking like being useful in any way if you have a stylus. And TCL sell one. At least, they are supposed to do so! It's called a T-Pen, but the only place I seem to actually get one is on eBay. They cost about $40. From the TCL website, it looks like if you live in America you can order one, but nowhere else.  There's also (allegedly) a 'flip case' available for the phone - but same again - for love nor money can I seem to get one outside of eBay or some far-east outlet. I'm not sure that I'd personally want a 'flip case' (sounds dreadful) but a T-Pen would be cool. Oh well. Perhaps it's just early days for us non-American, non-Chinese people on the planet!

The main
camera is surprisingly a 108MP f1.8 unit which, when selected instead of the usual pixel-binning to 12MP shots, can make use of them all and produce decent-enough shots in decent-enough light. There's an 8MP f2.2 wide-angle shooter which is utilised, by the looks of it, by the Portrait Mode and provides a range of 'software emulated' aperture settings to impact depth of field. You can see that on-the-fly. There's Night mode which does a functional and decent-enough job in all but pitch blackness. There's a 'super macro' mode which, using the 2MP f2.4 camera, again, does a functional-enough job. You can shoot 1080p video at 30fps and lastly, selfies with the 32MP f2 front-facing unit, which seem nice-enough. It all seems pretty 'ok' for photos in good light for those pixel-peeping and not just using(!), decent enough digital zooming to about 3x but very basic so-called macro and anything else, really. Photographers, move along! But the UI is good enough with some nice touches here and there like watermarks, AI Scene detection and I love the NXTPAPER filters - worth using the camera just for those (see right - that's my keyboard/desk)!

The camera software, however, is very buggy and slow, post-shot. Taking a photo in any resolution takes forever to process - you can watch it trying - but eventually it gets there. Also the auto-upload of photos/video to Google Photos is clunky, taking often 2 or three tries, closing Google Photos in between each attempt. No idea if this is Google's fault or TCL's chipset, camera/photo software, but I suspect the latter as it doesn't happen with any other of my phones. So something else for them to fix in updates, for sure.

I've probably spent long enough on this review as I guess not that many people with be seriously interested in anything here but the screen tech. And the screen tech, the NXTPAPER, is the total USP. And it's great fun to play with and super for those who read a lot, turning a fairly ordinary phone into an e-reader. Switch it all off (except that) if on holiday, turn it back on if you want a more app-driven ordinary Android experience - or partly back on for somewhere in between! The choice is yours! But more than that, personally, I love the screen. Not what it does, but how it feels, how it looks, how the finger interacts with it and slides across it. It's spookily like paper, as they say - and going outside in bright sunlight makes the non-reflective, light-grabbing screen just grab even more. It's an absolute delight to use and I can't praise the concept highly enough. Love it. 
By the way, I bought this phone with my own money, so this is not me speaking via some TCL PR supplied hardware - I genuinely like it a lot.

The second best thing about the phone is that it's amazingly-priced at time of writing in the UK at £279.99. And if you're quick, that includes a claim for a TCL NXTPAPER Tab 11, which are currently selling for £169. So for those of us who fancy a similar experience with (and can make use of or sell) an 11" tablet with similar screen tech, the phone suddenly becomes just over £100! Which is then the absolute bargain of the century! Very highly recommended, very nice phone and hopefully some bugs will be sorted. It's a big phone, but for those intending to use this as a 'reader' that's good. I have to be honest and say I had intended to return this for a refund as I didn't think I'd use it much, but frankly, even if I don't, it's worth it's weight as a Kindle replacement. It punches above it's weight in terms of specs, in some respects, like the 512GB storage, microSD, 3.5mm audio - and did I mention how amazingly captivating and engaging the NxtPaper tech is?!

Friday 20 September 2024

Motorola G Stylus (2024)

Motorola have consistently kept the Moto G Stylus devices away from the world outside of America and Canada. Which is a shame, because I think others would enjoy it. The last chance I had to use a stylus-driven Moto device here in the UK was with the Moto G Pro (Moto G Stylus in America) in 2020. So much to like and I reviewed it here in my Blog. So perhaps I was the only enthused non-American/Canadian!

It's pretty-much the only (mainstream) phone with a stylus outside of Samsung now, as far as I know. But it's no S-Pen, so let's get that straight from the start. This stylus is effectively a 'dumb' one which is little more than a screen-pointer and apart from the thinness of the end of it, it won't do anything (in terms of making marks on the screen or navigation) than you can do with a finger. No Samsung-level smarts, Bluetooth support and air-gestures etc. So put that from your mind! But for many, there's still enough here to be enthused about.

The stylus sits in a silo
on the bottom of the phone and to the right (so for right-handed people, that's one over on Samsung who seems to now put them on the left). It clicks in/out with a push/push and the phone is, at least, able to communicate the whereabouts of the stylus - whether it's in or out and when it was last removed. The stylus has an accent of the colour of the phone on it's clicky-tip and goes in and out nice and easily using the end of a finger or nail. 
You can, like Samsung's, get a warning if you leave it behind somewhere (but it’s a simple timer, not like Sammy’s location stuff/Bluetooth) though it does give GPS-driven co-ordinates for the last known location, which is neat.

It also makes a sound like pen on paper if you want it. Like Sammy you can also have it set to give a screen-off notepad (Moto Note) or Google Keep if it's removed. Take it out when the screen is on and you get the Shortcuts Menu. There's a bunch of Moto-created software for it and, like Samsung, a near-identical icon pops up on the right of the screen (though it can be moved) to open up this set of six shortcuts which you can assign to what you like. Not just the Moto apps, but anything. If you like using a pen in Google Keep, for example, you can place that one amongst the six.

The Moto-created supporting software then gives us Moto Note, and you can save the Notes you make to pretty much where you like via the Android Share menu, but if you try to save the file to, say Google Drive, it’s in an unrecognisable format. Sharing a picture is possible and there’s actually an auto-sync function as an option with Google Drive - so Moto have worked that one out with Google. Free Form Crop - is pretty much the same as most screenshot savers with pen options to write over the top and save. GIF Maker - like Samsung’s, for tech support or muckin’ about! You can make a GIF, for example, from a YouTube video then save it to place where you like or share with friends. Handwriting Calculator is probably the coolest feature and very clever. You can write all sorts of mathematical equations, sums, in (really bad) writing and it seems to know exactly what you are after and serves up the results, tidied up and into formatted text. Live Message is like that Samsung thing where it essentially saves a GIF of a written picture/message to send to someone and can add sparkly effects - a toy for fun sharing.

You can use it to write in text boxes pretty much anywhere on the phone which presents you with one. Taking the stylus out kills the on-screen keyboard and lets you write in the input field, Moto figuring out by OCR what you're writing - and it ain't half bad! Again, much like Samsung's feature. You also get up a floating menu button which you can tap to get the keyboard back if needed (or fed up with writing)! You can tell the phone to warn you if the stylus has been missing "for a long period of time without use". It will also, as I say, use GPS to tell you when it last knew it was inside the phone and last setting lets you get a short vibration when the stylus is put into the silo. 
Other than that, you can use it to navigate the screen, swipes, touches - just like you would a finger. And that's about it, really.

The question for users is clearly going to be about whether or not they are likely to use it enough for those functions, or their apps, to justify its existence. I guess you could argue 'well why not?' as it's tucked away and can be ignored when not in use, is always with you (unlike the Samsung Galaxy Fold series) and can be whipped out for quick use and put away. My guess is that most people will forget it's there and only get it out when they fancy the novelty of having a bit of fun - with one exception maybe - that screen-off notepad function.

It's a nice little stylus, made of some kind of metal, I think, with a kind of 'mesh' tip which compared to Samsung's S-Pens firstly looks not fine enough, but actually, in use, it's just perfect. There also seems to be some pressure sensitivity, so press harder for thicker lines, that kind of thing.

So that's the USP (well, apart from Samsung) out of the way and we can take a closer look at the phone, laying that aside, to see if, apart from that, it's worthy of note against any other Android/Moto phone out there in this mid-tier range. It's $399 in America/Canada to buy (though I gather that since release in May 2024 it's now down to $349) and I guess many would get it on contract. As we shall see, has a good feature-set that goes some way to making it a compelling argument for purchase - if you can get one!

People who have had the benefit of this line of devices are reporting that there are significant improvements over their 2023 model including an pOLED screen over LCD, bigger screen (for those who value that), more RAM, better camera setup, under-display fingerprint scanner (for those who value that over side-mounted, capacitive), faster wired and Qi (wireless) charging. We'll see how that all measures up as we head on through.

The phone that I have here is in a retina-piercing Scarlet Wave colour! It's as bright a red as you can get without it being pink, I reckon! There's also the delightfully named Caramel Latte colour available, which you can imaging is a kind of, well, caramel/latte kind of colour! Think cream. The Scarlet Wave is great though. Really lovely, bright and fun colour. If I'd been choosing, this would have been the one! This is a loan unit and thanks go to Gaz Morris from our Phones Show Chat MeWe Group for sending it over.

The box that the phone comes in is eco-friendly in terms of material and there's pretty much, Sony style, nothing in it! Well, better than Sony these days, there is at least a USB-C to USB-C cable. A few papers and SIM-Eject pokey. That's it. No case either. I wonder if this is something to do with American legislation as Moto are, in the rest of the world, still really good at supplying a case and power brick - and it's usually a Turbo one. There's also no evidence of the deal with Pantone which with most global phones there is, giving a range of colours and even a perfumed box/phone back. This is clearly different in many ways from a normal global Moto release.

Off to Amazon then and a simple TPU case for the price of a coffee to protect this large phone which reminds me very much of the 2018 Nokia 7 Plus (my review). It's boxy, large, thin, well-balanced in the hand and has almost flat edges. Not horribly flat like an iPhone or Nothing phone (all becoming very popular now as they copy Apple) but more stylish, with chamfered edges - again, much like the Nokia 7 Plus. The eco-leather (silicone polymer, actually!) back is lovely to the touch and affords certainly more grip than glass or plastic. The camera island, top-let in portrait, slopes subtly up from the flat of the back and yes, it's a very nice looking finish. There's a Moto 'M' logo in the middle of the back.

Around the plastic edges, colour-matched to the device colour here, we have on the left a SIM/microSD Card tray. They tray has spaces for a single physical nanoSIM and microSD Card card, though the phone will also support an eSIM. The tray is one-sided, so fairly long. Up on the top face there's nothing apart from a microphone hole, on the right is a volume rocker and power button below, all quite high-up, and on the bottom, a 3.5mm audio-out socket, USB-C charging port and one of the pair of stereo speakers before we get to the silo where the stylus lives.

The front panel has slight, balanced bezels and is flat. And big! It has a selfie-cam cutout up top, central, which is not too big, underneath the second of the stereo speakers doubling up in the usual way as the phone's earpiece speaker. Although the phone is big, it is well-balanced, as I say, and the handling seems to defy the size. Again, much like the Nokia 7 Plus. It's nice in the hand, slim and light enough. It's actually 162.6 x 74.8 x 8.3mm and 190g. Moto claim that it's been tested to IP5/2 which means that with their usual nano-coating of internals it'll be good enough for splashes of clean water/rain/sweat.

The 6.7" front, flat panel is, as I say, a typical Moto pOLED one. Amazingly bright, colourful and vibrant as I always seem to say! The brightness peaks out at 1200nits according to Moto, in auto mode, but even in manual, cranked up, it's very bright indeed. I can see why this year's users have been pleased about the switch from LCD. The 1080p, 20:9 ratio screen refreshes at 120Hz (or 60/Auto when set) and returns a ppi of 395. Zero complaints about the screen - it's lovely.

The SnapDragon 6 Gen 1 is the same as the previous year's model and some have raised an eyebrow in this respect. I guess it was an attempt to keep the price down to within scope of last years, but to make the improvements elsewhere. As usual these days, I personally think that for 98% of users, most chipsets are perfectly good enough for what people are going to throw at them - and this is no exception. My car-racing game runs without a hitch and the only slow-down that I detected was during initial setup and being bombarded installing 130 apps from my Restore (from another Moto phone using Google's Backup/Restore function). Beyond that, I've seen nothing to suggest that it's not perfectly fine. I even copied over a ton of media files onto my 1TB microSD card (with the card in-phone) and, yes, if you're going to be picky, it was not as fast as some hyped-up flagships, but it gets there.

The read/write times generally between card/phone are really quite impressive - no sooner had they loaded up, I was playing music videos with no juddering or latency. It is great to have microSD as an option, even if Google doesn't much like the idea! This model also has 256GB storage onboard, so I'm on 1.25TB here! There's 8GB RAM which seems perfectly adequate to me, dancing around between open apps. There's also a 128GB version out there (according to GSMArena) for those who want to save a few quid. Er, dollars! I just had a look to see how much that 128GB version is/was but I can't seem to find one for sale - so maybe it was only available initially as they all look like 256GB now.

We now arrive at the biggest concern about this whole deal for me, though apparently not for Moto's customers who they claim to have researched on the matter - and that's one, single OS update. That's it. Not even the two of many of their lower-priced models. It arrives on Android 14. It will (eventually) get Android 15 (knowing Moto, probably not before summer 2025) and that's it. Three years of security updates are promised, taking it to May 2027, but come on Moto. Whatever your research says about your customers not caring about updates. One measly, single OS update?! In a climate that now seems to have twisted their arm as they released the new Edge 50 Neo with 5 OS Updates and Security to 2029. Motorola have a track record of not back-porting this kind of change though, like HelloUI, for example - only new phones, going forward. The phone has August 2024 Google Security Patches onboard at time of writing, September 2024, so not bad at all.

The stereo speakers are really quite loud. Not the best quality, lacking any real bass and favouring the top-end frequencies, making the built-in Dolby Atmos something of an essential in order to strip out the treble/tinny. I eventually played with the settings and got a decent-enough output using the custom sliders in Dolby Atmos and restricting the volume to about 80% (which is still decently loud). Most of Moto's users will have little to complain about, I'm just being fussy and as, if you're reading, might know, sound from speakers is of particular importance to me. Less and less phones are being made these days with a 3.5mm audio-out socket, so I was delighted to see this in attendance for use with legacy head/earphones and (depending on quality of attached gear of course) the output via this route sounds amazing. Ludicrously loud and great quality. Sounds as good as it does using Bluetooth to me. I wonder if that's possible - or that my hearing is just wonky!

In terms of security and connectivity, the face unlock works very well, registering and in use, the optical under-glass fingerprint scanner similarly does the job well, the NFC, GPS, WiFi, 5G/4G Cellular (for data and calls) all seem to work perfectly well in my tests here.

HelloUI
is present in terms of supporting software over Android 14 and works pretty much as it does on my Edge 50 Pro - so here's a link to my review of that where I highlight the features and benefits of Moto's newest layer, following MyUI, including all the fabulous Smart Connect stuff (which, like the 50 Pro has wired functionality via USB-C to PC, but unlike the Edge 50 Pro, not to TV or other monitors) including Phone on PC. It needs Moto's PC software to run with the USB2 protocol, not 3.x. There's no AoD in the same way and now that Peek Display has gone, we're back to the more basic lock-screen/nudge/lift/wake stuff with shortcuts when 'livened up' but it works OK and no doubt helps with the battery performance - not that it needed much help...

Qi Wireless charging is present and overnight at 15W it works perfectly well charging up the 5000mAh battery. There's also 30W wired charging which, although not anything like the 125W of the Edge 50 Pro (and others) is pretty snappy and will charge the phone from 0-50% in about half an hour and continue to full in another hour, so about 90 minutes. Battery performance is stunning in my tests, as we've come to expect from the relatively clean version of Android and efficient chipsets, like this SnapDragon 6 Gen 1. My 10% Reading Tests returns somewhere between 2 and a half/3 hours and it's easily (for my average use) a two-day phone.

The cameras are pretty basic, headed up by the 50MP f/1.8, OIS capable main shooter, supported by a 13MP, f/2.2, wide-angle with AF. The very same one that enables really good close-up photography (and not with the resulting 2MP output of so many other so-called 'macro' phones' cameras). These are very good and usable short - for even more than sharing with mates on social media. There's no 4K video shooting bu there is a 32MP f2.4 Selfie, which looks good to me. Otherwise, there's the usual array of Motorola's Camera App's modes and features, again, which I've covered in the Edge 50 Pro review and I shall now do my usual trick for those who want a deep-dive with samples of the camera capabilities by hooking you up with GSMArena. Their coverage of the G Stylus 2024's photography/camera stuff starts here, so do click through and lend them your support for all their hard work and insights. The short version is that they think the main shooter creates very good photos, day and night, especially liking the Selfie's performance but that the video capture is mediocre.

I know I'm a self-confessed Moto fan, but even laying that aside, this is a great phone! There are not many options for those who want to use a pen, especially one in a silo inside the phone, and even though this is no smart pen, it's really useful for casual scribbles and note taking on-the-fly. For more, yes, of course, the Samsung S-Pen can't be beaten - but there's also the cost equation and difference between this and the cheapest Samsung phone which supports (and has) an S-Pen. The pOLED panel is gorgeous, as usual with Moto phones these days - we still think made by LG - and for those who are OK with such a big phone (though nicely slim), middling but very capable chipset, great battery life, lovely software implementation over Android, decent enough loud speakers this could be a contender. The fly in the ointment (and for some at least dealbreaker) which can't be ignored, is the ludicrous one single OS update on offer from Moto. Absurd Motorola. Spoiling the party for such a great idea and lovely phone.

Sunday 1 September 2024

PodHubUK Podcasts for the Month of August 2024

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

Phones Show Chat
Episode 813 - The Healthy Tracker
Sunday 4th August
Steve and I 
welcome Malcolm Bryant back again this week as we take a deep-dive into all things Tags, Tracking, Fitness and Heath. Loads more too, including a Military Moto, Toyota Tinkering and Surfing the Skyline!

Whatever Works
Episode 210 - Tossme Bush Trim!
Monday 5th August
Aidan and I are back with a rip-roaring, humdinger of an episode to tickle your fancy! Aidan takes Pole Position in his new car, we drip with Ninja, rock some garlic, go ScopeAround and even find time to ultrasonic our smalls! Chaos and mayhem at every turn - you owe it to yourselves to join us for an hour!

Tech Addicts Podcast
Ted on the Edge
Tuesday 6th August
Gareth and I throw together a quickie (unprepared as we were when our much-promoted special mystery guest failed to show!) with Starlink Mini, Linux Mint 22, Lenovo Tab Plus, Google TV Streamer, Geekom Mega Mini G1, the OnePlus 12R, Moto Edge 50 Pro and loads more! Special, Mystery Guest promises to join us on the next one!

Project
or Room
Episode 167 - Guilty Innocents
Wednesday 7th August
Gareth, Allan and I are back with another dip into all things film, cinema and TV. This time we take the Sting out of Scavengers, Bond with Pierce Brosnan, consider The Arrival of The Foreigner, have a Stroke of Luck with a Woody and look forward to The Red Kangaroos!

Phones Sho
w Chat
Episode 814 - Post-Crash Tech
Sunday 11th August
Steve and I welcome Gavin Fabiani-Laymond this week as he tells us how the various tech items he had/s access to helped recovery from his accident. We also chat briefly about the HMD Skyline, the power of the mobile ecosystems and even some Surface Duo love! Where else, eh?!

Tech Addicts Podcast
The Gadget Show does Tech Addicts
Friday 16th August
Gareth and I are joined by The Gadget Show's Jason Bradbury for a chat about The Gadget Show Podcast which has launched with Jason and Suzi Perry. On this show Jason explores AI, alongside its implementation, future possibilities and how they might be embraced. Jason gives us the low-down on his recent adventures, his DeLorean and his exciting new AI influenced independent movie Ctrl A.I. Delete.

Phones Sho
w Chat
Episode 815 - Passionate Pixels
Saturday 17th August
Steve and I welcome Sam Ventimiglia back onto the pod this week as Steve and I engage him on a range of phone-related topics. As you'd expect! We natter about this week's Google Pixel 9-series launch, Flipping Motos, file sharing, QWERTY and even the Lumia 1020/W10M via Bygone Beauties. Bumper-length, too!

Project
or Room
Episode 168 - The Shining Instigators
Wednesday 21st August
Gareth, Allan and I are back again with another fortnightly roundup of all things film, cinema and TV. This time we Speak No Evil on The Bench, negotiate Murder By Death with The Cheap Detective, reveal the Secrets of The Shining and we certainly Don't Look Now at Citizen X. All available in the usual places, so get stuck in...

Phones Sho
w Chat
Episode 816 - Hanging Back from the Bleeding Edge
Sunday 25th August
Steve and I welcome back James Reed to chat about all things mobile (and AI) at home and work in a medical setting. We also have a new ThinkPhone to chat about, a Flip6 for review, consider Samsung Doorstep Repairs and even have time for a couple of Marshall and HTC Bygone Beauties!

Whatever Works
Episode 211 - Ultrasonic Orgasmatron!
Wednesday 28th August
Aidan and I are here again with another roundup of Whatever Works for us and with you! This time we talk Gob Gloop, Pickleball, some Pink'n'White stuff, squeeze some juice, whine and wow about trains, play with dubious laundry gadgets from China and loads more as always.

Phones Sho
w Chat
Episode 817 - Sony and Skyline, Fusion and Flip
Saturday 31st August
Steve and I are hanging out earlier this weekend, just the two of us, as we catch up with some stuff - it's mostly in the title - but we also look at the BlackBerry Passport in Bygone Beauties and take a step back to look at the new Pixel models with the dust settled.


The Podcasts

PodHubUK - Phones Show Chat - The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - Tech Addicts

Sony WH-CH720N: First Impressions

These arrived today and it's first impressions time. They're currently £78 at AmazonUK but I got them used at a very generous price ...