Month: October 2019

Adobe Premiere Rush is the dangling carrot that has been just out of reach for Chromebook users everywhere for well over a year at this point. To be fair, Adobe only previewed the cross-platform application when it debuted in June of 2018, but the path from that debut took nearly a year for Premeire Rush to actually land on devices. When it did arrive in May of 2019, again Chromebook users were told it was “coming soon” only to sit around and wait for months on end for Adobe to actually deliver on its promises.

Nearly six months since that actual product debut, we’ve heard next to nothing from Adobe on the Chromebook front, but if a thumbnail image in the Google Store is any indicator, we could be seeing Premiere Rush on Chromebooks in the very near future. Take a look at the listing for the Core i7 variant of the new Pixelbook Go below:

There is no doubt that the app being displayed on the Pixelbook Go on the right is Adobe Premiere Rush. Clearly, Google decided what image they wanted to accompany each different model in the Pixelbook Go lineup. All the other versions have screens displaying apps that already exist on Chromebooks and each one increases in complexity as the models go up in price. The entry level Core m3 model displays a generic website, the upgraded Core i5 model has YouTube TV, the Core i5 with 16GB of RAM displays G Suite apps, and the final i7 model is shown with Adobe Premiere Rush.

This choice in screens would make sense as Google is likely trying to convey the higher end models having more processing power for more intense tasks. The question is, why would they use Premiere Rush if they didn’t think this app was going to be a part of the Chromebook experience very soon?

In short, I don’t think they would. There are literally millions of apps and billions of websites they could have chosen for this photo, yet they chose to go with Adobe Premiere Rush. If I were betting on it, I’d say we’ll hear something about Rush landing on Chrome OS around October 28th when the Pixelbook Go is expected to start shipping out. I could see this being a Pixelbook Go exclusive for a month or so, but I hope that isn’t the case. There are countless Chromebooks up to the task of running this app, and I really think it has the ability to fundamentally change the audience Chromebooks can be geared towards.

Will Premiere Rush make Chromebooks the ultimate video editing machines? No way. But the addition of this capability on the type of scale promised by Adobe Premiere Rush is basically unheard of right now on Chromebooks. With a video editor that already has a massive user base and desktop versions in play, legit video editing on a Chromebook never looked so close.

AMD has three new Threadripper processors lined up for a November launch, according to information obtained by Videocardz. These include the Threadripper 3960X, 3970X, and the 3990X. The Threadripper 3960X and 3970X will be unveiled on November 5 with review embargo lifting on November 19. The Threadripper 3990X will be officially launched during CES 2020 although, it will still be teased alongside the other two Threadrippers. The Threadripper 3980X can also be expected to be unveiled during CES 2020.

The specifications of the 3rd generation Threadrippers are all speculation as of now, but there is some credible information doing the rounds online. This generation will also see the introduction of 280W TDP SKUs, up from the 250W ones seen in Threadripper 2. The base SKU will be the Threadripper 3960X with 24 cores and 48 threads with a 250W TDP. Next comes the Threadripper 3970X with 32 cores and 64 threads (250W) followed by the Threadripper 3980X with 48 cores and 96 threads (280W). Finally, the flagship SKU will be the Threadripper 3990X with 64 cores and 128 threads and a 280W TDP. Base and boost clocks are still not known at this point.

The Threadripper 3rd generation will also see a new socket and possibly, separate platforms for ‘Enthusiast’ and ‘Workstation’ use cases. Reports seem to indicate that Threadripper 3000 will not be backward compatible with the current X399 chipset and instead, will require a new TRX40, TRX80, or WRX80 chipset. The new chipsets will also be featuring a new socket with additional power pins required for PCIe Gen4. Check out the images below for specifications and thermal requirements of the chipsets as was revealed by GamersNexus last month.

With such massive core counts, it will be interesting to see the kind of multi-core benchmark records the Threadripper 3000 series will be setting in the coming weeks. Although we’ve seen the 18-core Intel Cascade Lake-X Core i9-10980XE surpassing the Threadripper 2950X in Geekbench, we have also seen it fall significantly behind an alleged 32-core Threadripper 3000 processor in the same benchmark. Intel currently has no HEDT offerings to counter the extreme core counts expected in upcoming Theadripper processors and if priced right, AMD could have a winner once again. 

AMD’s Radeon Image Sharpening feature is designed to improve image quality with minimal performance costs. However, it is only supported by Radeon Polaris / Vega / Navi graphics cards and only under Microsoft Windows 10. An independent open-source project has implemented contrast adaptive sharpening support for Vulkan that is similar to Radeon Image Sharpening but will work for any Vulkan-enabled GPU — including NVIDIA GPUs.

vkBasalt is this new open-source project that provides contrast adaptive sharpening for any Vulkan game with its implementation being a Vulkan post-processing layer. With being implemented as a Vulkan layer, it’s effectively GPU/driver-independent and in this case once installed can be loaded with the ENABLE_VKBASALT / ENABLE_VKBASALT32 environment variables.

While the OnePlus 7T has a flashy new design with a circular camera housing, its key feature is what we previously only saw in the OnePlus 7 Pro: the 90Hz OLED display. With its fast chipset and UFS 3.0 storage, the faster refresh rate just makes things feel that much smoother. And what’s cool is that it only costs $599, much less than pretty much any other flagship smartphone.

After I’m done with this review, I’m still going to say that the OnePlus 7 Pro is the best Android smartphone you can buy in the U.S., despite the slightly faster chipset in the 7T. Unfortunately, the 7T Pro isn’t available here; otherwise, that would undoubtedly take the crown from the 7 Pro.

Unless you’re completely unfamiliar with the smartphone market, $599 is an incredible price for this device. It’s worth noting that there’s only one storage tier, unlike the OnePlus 7 Pro which is offered with 256GB.

Day one

One thing you’ll notice is that OnePlus sent me a lot of stuff. There are three cases in there, Bullets Wireless 2 earbuds, and more.

Design

As I mentioned, the design is all-new with the OnePlus 7T. Interestingly, the Shenzhen-based company didn’t bring the new design to the 7T Pro, so it’s exclusive to this device. I’m talking, of course, about the circular camera housing, which sits right in the middle of the top of the device. The three lenses are placed horizontally, with the dual-LED flash right underneath them.

It also comes in all-new colors: Glacier Blue and Frosted Silver. Glacier Blue, or Glacier Frost for those that are drawing the obvious parallel to Gatorade, is a lighter shade of blue than the Nebula Blue (Cool Blue for our Gatorade lovers) on the OnePlus 7 Pro. It’s also a solid color, rather than the gradient that we saw on the previous generation earlier this year.

The back of the device is curved on the sides, something that I’ve come to appreciate after reviewing the flat iPhone 11 Pro. Those curved edges just make it easier to hold, something that’s important on an otherwise slippery handset.

You won’t find a 3.5mm headphone jack on this device, and that’s no surprise. On the bottom, there’s a USB Type-C port for charging, along with a speaker and a nano-SIM slot. Note that it does support two SIM cards, which can be nice for using one for talk and text and the other for data.

On the right side, you’ll find the power button and a switch to mute your device. It has three settings: sound on, vibrate, and mute. It’s one of my favorite features of OnePlus devices, as I’ve only seen it otherwise on an iPhone.

On the left side, there’s a volume rocker, and that’s about it. As you can see, there are antenna lines at various points in the stainless steel frame. The rest of the device is, of course, a glass sandwich.

The bad news is that despite the glass back, there’s still no wireless charging. For some reason, wireless charging is something that OnePlus still refuses to commit to, possibly to keep the cost down, although with all of the other flagship parts the company is packing into the device, I’m not sure how much more wireless charging would even cost.

90Hz display

There are two things that make this screen one of the prettiest around: it has a 90Hz refresh rate, and it’s AMOLED. Most smartphones use a 60Hz display, and the higher refresh rate makes it feel so smooth. Honestly, it’s something that you should see in person. I recommend going to a T-Mobile store to check it out, and you’ll absolutely feel the difference. It’s buttery smooth.

AMOLED stands for active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes, but you probably don’t care about that. What you need to know is that AMOLED screens have more vibrant colors and true blacks. It’s not backlit like an LCD is, which is why the blacks are so true that you can barely see where the screen ends and the bezels begin. Colors rendered on top of that instead of on top of a backlight are more vibrant, so the screen just looks better, and the colors pop more.

But my favorite thing about it, at least compared to the OnePlus 7 Pro, is that it’s flat. The 7 Pro follows the trend that so many other smartphones are doing, which is curved edges, and I feel like that presents usability issues. Call me old-fashioned, but I like the screen to be flat. It’s just easier to use.

The 6.55-inch screen does have a lower resolution than the 1440p OnePlus 7 Pro, at 1080p. It does have very narrow bezels all-around, although the chin is ever-so-slightly larger than the rest of it.

Unlike the OnePlus 7 Pro, there’s a small teardrop notch. While the 90Hz refresh rate made its way down from the Pro lineup, the pop-up camera that eliminated the notch did not. I don’t find this notch intrusive though; it’s really small.

Camera

The OnePlus 7T does have three camera lenses, but they’re not the same as the ones on the OnePlus 7 Pro. The main sensor is the same, with the 48MP Sony IMX586 that has an f/1.6 aperture and uses Quad Bayer technology for better low light performance. The ultra-wide sensor is the same as well, as a 16MP with an f/2.2 aperture.

It’s the telephoto lens that’s different. The OnePlus 7T has a 12MP 2x zoom lens, while the 7 Pro has an 8MP 3x zoom lens. It’s worth noting since the lossless zoom won’t be quite as good on the 7T.

Lossless zoom is something that I care about, and you should too. A smartphone camera sensor can only see so much, and that field of view has a certain amount of pixels. Digital zoom just cuts out pixels and loses quality. That’s why a telephoto lens is a good idea, since it packs more pixels into a smaller field of view.

The front camera is the same 16MP Sony IMX471 as on the Pro, although it’s implemented differently without the motorized pop-up. The front camera is fine, supporting portrait mode and all of that good stuff.

Your options for shooting portrait mode are using the main or the telephoto lens, which is fine. I don’t think I know of any devices that shoot portrait mode with an ultra-wide lens, not that you should ever really have to. For nightscape mode, your options are using the ultra-wide lens or the main lens. It’s good to see nightscape working on the ultra-wide lens, since low-light performance on that sensor isn’t very good.

Gallery: OnePlus 7T samples

First, take a look at those last five images in the gallery. The first three are shot at 1x, 2x, and 0.6x, in that order. Notice how much darker than ultra-wide sensor is, despite the fact that there’s a light on the side of the building. Those last two images use nightscape mode, so you can see how much of a difference it makes with the ultra-wide lens.

It’s a bit disappointing that OnePlus didn’t work harder to present the same lighting between the three lenses. For example, Google’s new Pixel 4 doesn’t even tell you which lens you’re using, because that shouldn’t be a concern of the user. In the case of the OnePlus 7T, it’s certainly a concern.

Portrait mode works pretty well, in most cases at least. It even works well with the front camera, and with objects that aren’t faces. I appreciate it when portrait mode doesn’t require an actual face, because taking a picture of a person isn’t the only time that I want a bokeh effect.

All-in-all, the camera is really good, with solid low-light performance especially when nightscape is on, and you do have to manually turn it on. For a $599 phone, it’s probably the best you can get. But that’s the thing. This is the Flagship Killer, so there shouldn’t be a condition on it being good. It shouldn’t be good “for a $599 phone”.

Performance and battery life

Performance on the OnePlus 7T is top notch. No seriously, you won’t find anything better in an Android phone. It’s got a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset, which is actually made for gaming phones. It’s pretty much an 855 with a higher clock speed and a faster Adreno 640 GPU.

On top of that, the 7T comes with 8GB of RAM and it uses UFS 3.0 storage. So that’s what you get, the best chipset, lots of RAM, and the fastest storage available. I’m not sure what else you could ask for.

Since it’s a gaming chipset, I played lots of games on the phone. I’ve even been testing out Microsoft’s Project xCloud game streaming service on it. The performance is phenomenal. But as I always point out, with top end specs, developers can’t target anything higher.

Battery life with the 3,800mAh battery is fantastic. If you charge your phone overnight, you have nothing to worry about. At the end of the day every day, I had plenty of juice to spare. The battery is slightly smaller than the one on the OnePlus 7 Pro, but it’s also powering a lower-resolution screen.

Like I said earlier, there’s no wireless charging, which is a real shame if you’re like me and you keep your phone on a wireless charging pad on your desk during the day. Luckily, it comes with Warp Charge 30T charging, which is like the 30W Warp Charge 30 but 23% faster. It’s still 30W, but there are some device optimizations in there. If you’re running low on power, 15 minutes on the charger can get you hours of battery life.

For benchmarks, I used Geekbench 4, Geekbench 5, AnTuTu, and GFXBench. Geekbench 5 is a newer version of Geekbench 4, but it scores the CPU differently, so I’m including both in my reviews for now.

The score is only slightly higher than on the OnePlus 7 Pro, which got 3,500 on single-core and 11,203 on multi-core. It makes sense though, since the Snapdragon 855+ is only a slightly better chipset; otherwise, Qualcomm would have given it a different number. Geekbench also doesn’t test the GPU, where there should be other improvements.

Here’s the Geekbench 5 score, so you can see why I need to use both for comparison. Geekbench 5 wasn’t available when I reviewed the OnePlus 7 Pro. Note that the score still comes in well below the new iPhone 11 Pro, which got 1,338 on single-core and 3,567 on multi-core, but that’s to be expected. Apple refreshes its products in the fall, and devices with new Qualcomm chipsets start shipping in the spring. It goes back and forth. Next up is AnTuTu, which has more of an all-in-one test.

For comparison, the OnePlus 7 Pro got 375,113 on this test, so there’s more of a difference. And as expected, the bigger difference comes from the GPU score. Finally, GFXBench tests the GPU.

I’m not going to go deep into the various frame rate scores and how they compare to the OnePlus 7 Pro. You can check out those results here, but I’ll just say that the OnePlus 7T beats the 7 Pro.

Conclusion

When I reviewed the OnePlus 7 Pro, I said it’s the best Android device that you can buy, whereas previously I’d have said that OnePlus devices were the best you could buy for the price. The OnePlus 7T is a phenomenal device in terms of display, speed, and more. But I feel like it falls more along those lines of “best for the price”.

The camera is great, but the fact that it has a 2x zoom lens instead of a 3x zoom lens is a bummer. Add that to the lack of wireless charging, and I’m not sure that I’d recommend it over some other devices.

That’s not to say that you’d ever regret this purchase. It’s a great phone with a great camera. It has the best chipset that you can buy, UFS 3.0 storage, 8GB RAM, a 90Hz AMOLED display, great battery life and more. You will absolutely love this phone. I just think that you’re still better off with the OnePlus 7 Pro, even though it also doesn’t have wireless charging. With 8GB RAM and twice the storage, it’s $100 more, or for $150 more, you can get 12GB RAM.

Standing on its own though, the OnePlus 7T is a great device. It’s something that I can easily recommend to anyone, no matter which feature you care about most, unless that feature is wireless charging.