Month: April 2020

Since its first iteration, the Apple Watch has been hailed as a best-in-class device. So much so, in fact, that many people cite the timepiece as reason enough to make the switch from Android to iPhone. That includes yours truly. Several factors recently convinced me to make a temporary switch to iOS, and the Apple Watch Series 5 was the clincher.

Coming from the Android ecosystem as an avid fitness tracker/smartwatch user, just how much better is the Apple Watch? Was it worth making the change?

Apple Watch Series 5 design and hardware

The smartwatch is an example of a device category where design really does matter. It’s something you’ll be displaying on your wrist for all to see: a fashion accessory and a statement about who you are. This is something Apple clearly understands and has put a lot of thought into. Apple’s watch has a minimal and classy design.

Everyone knows what an Apple Watch looks like by now, and it has changed very little over the years. It’s a small, rounded square that sits on your wrist — and that’s really all there is to say about it. The only notable features are the digital crown (dial) on one side and a button sitting flush just below it. Together with the highly responsive touchscreen, these controls allow you to navigate through the UI. The digital crown is a particularly fine piece of engineering that has a surprisingly varied number of uses. It offers haptic feedback to mimic an analog control. Haptics, in general, are beyond excellent on the Apple Watch Series 5.

To go with the sleek body, the watch has a vibrant screen that brims with color and wraps neatly around the edges thanks to the curved glass. It comes in two screen sizes: 40mm and 44mm. These offer 394 by 324 and 448 by 368 pixels, respectively. I actually went for the smaller model, as I wanted something that would feel light on my wrist. I often found that other smartwatches would dig into my hand during push-ups, or feel uncomfortable on a desk while typing. Fortunately, the 40mm Apple Watch is something I can easily wear all day. Moreover, the screen real estate is still more than ample for interacting with the watch.

There’s also a built-in speaker that allows you to hear notifications and feedback from Siri, listen to music, and take voice calls.

The Apple Watch has a sharp, vibrant screen that brims with color.

You can get the watch in aluminum, steel, or titanium, though most will likely choose the more affordable aluminum. Both options are plenty resilient, and you get water resistance up to 50 meters.

The Apple Watch Series 5 finally gets an always-on display, meaning you can show off your favorite watch face (and check it) without the awkward, exaggerated wrist gesture to wake the screen. The always-on display is a little dimmer when not active, but it still looks great. It uses some pretty clever technology to achieve the effect without draining the battery, too. This works by combining Low Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide (LTPO) with Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) technology, which allows Apple to control the precise voltage supplied to each pixel. The combo enables a variable refresh rate that can go as low as 1Hz, drastically reducing the power consumed when the watch isn’t in use. Lift it up, and the regular AMOLED screen will kick in, slightly increasing the brightness.

The only downside of the design is that it has become ubiquitous. The Apple Watch is no longer unique or special, though that doesn’t detract from its quality.

In terms of sheer design, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is arguably the closest competition. It has the same minimal aesthetic, but in a round form factor. The size options are identical (40mm or 44mm), and Samsung offers similar material choices, too.

The screen is likewise just as bright, and just as high-resolution. The big difference is that Samsung provides far more robust customization options.

This is one area where I really miss Android. While the watch faces on the Apple Watch are varied and attractive, you still can’t create or download custom ones. This limits the amount of self-expression possible.

Of course, if your main concern is fashion and style, there are plenty of beautiful smartwatches available from actual watch companies. These trounce the Apple Watch in terms of design, no problem, but they don’t tend to offer the same level of functionality. And no watch has quite gained the instant recognizability as the Apple Watch, for better or for worse. The Apple Watch is iconic.

Powering the Apple Watch Series 5 is the Apple S5 chip, which is extremely snappy and surprisingly capable. Devs have gotten 3D games running on this thing and they don’t look awful. The Watch has an impressive 32GB of on-board storage, all the usual sensors, built-in GPS (no phone necessary), and optional cellular data.

In terms of hardware, the Apple Watch’s biggest limitation continues to be the infamous battery life. The Watch is supposed to last around 18 hours, though it will generally go a day and a half with normal use. You’re going to need to charge it every night, which means it can’t come with you on long hiking trips (you’ll only get 4 hours of GPS tracking) and it isn’t ideal for sleep tracking, either. This isn’t a huge problem for me, as I simply charge the device each morning while I make breakfast for my daughter. That said, it does take a while to charge at 1.5 hours and this means it often misses out on some activity tracking when I’m chasing my daughter around the house.

Smartwatch features

Neither the specs nor the design are what set the Apple Watch Series 5 apart. Like all of Apple’s best products, the magic of the Apple Watch lies in the perfect marriage of hardware and software.

Of course, the Apple Watch Series 5 handles all your smartwatch basics. It shows notifications, it sends messages, and it lets you pay for stuff with Apple Pay. It even shows the time!

But it’s the thoughtful software features, intuitive-yet-powerful user interface, and snappy responsiveness that make this such a fantastic product.

WatchOS 6.1 really feels like a shrunken-down version of iOS. For example, you swipe down to see your notifications, and you can double-press the digital crown to call up Apple Pay. A swipe up from the bottom opens the settings menu, which includes some neat features such as the torch, and a “find my phone” function. Swipe left or right along the bottom to switch between watch faces, and raise the watch at any time to begin talking to Siri. A click of the digital crown will bring up the cluster of apps, while the button will show either a list of your currently open apps, or your favorites for easy access. Switching between open apps is almost as fast as it is on a full-sized mobile device.

The Apple Watch comes with a lot of built-in apps and services. You can control media playback, communicate with other Watch owners with a walkie-talkie (great/terrible for couples), make calls, or get directions with haptic cues straight to your wrist. Talking from your wrist is not an exclusive Apple feature, but it’s only found in a handful of smartwatches, and it’s surprisingly useful. I used it a number of times in situations where my phone was inaccessible, or my hands were full. It’s perfect for making quick plans, or telling someone you’ll call them back.

To me though, the real stand-out feature is the ability to control my iPhone’s camera. (The other big reason I switched to iOS was for the iPhone 11 Pro Max‘s camera.) For my fitness YouTube channel and Instagram account, I need to regularly record myself training and working out. In the past, this has been cumbersome and I can’t count how many times I achieved a personal best on one exercise or another only to find I was out of focus. The Apple Watch Series 5 sends a live feed from the camera right to my wrist, and I can even swap between lenses, or shift the focal point. It’s game-changing for me, and it never ceases to impress friends when we’re lining up for group photos (note that Wear OS devices can do this too).

Setting reminders is one of my favorite uses for the Apple Watch. Being able to speak to Siri as easily as raising my wrist is game-changing, and it’s much harder to miss notifications on iOS than it is on Android (this was something else that drove me away from Samsung in particular). In short, this takes a load off my mind and helps me be just a little less scatterbrained. It’s this kind of additional productivity that I was really hoping I’d be able to get from the Apple Watch.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that Google Assistant on Wear OS is a better assistant. But Siri is more than capable of most tasks you might conceivably want from a watch (and it’s miles better than Bixby).

Setting reminders is one of my favorite uses for the Apple Watch.

App support

Just like the iPhone itself, the Apple Watch really comes alive when you start installing third-party apps (which can now be done directly from your wrist). Finding these apps can be hard work, seeing as there’s no dedicated Apple Watch store on iOS (something Google does better), and the one on the watch itself is fiddly to use with few features for easy discovery.

Once you do find them, though, the selection of Apple Watch apps is pretty amazing. A lot of the big brand apps have watchOS counterparts, which includes the likes of Headspace, Todoist, Spotify, MyFitnessPal, Audible, and more. The Todoist app lets me not only tick off my to-do items, but even add new ones by voice.

Complications, or watch-face widgets add greatly to this functionality. You can pick several widgets for each watch face, providing a quick shortcut to the apps of your choice. This lets you see useful information at all times, such as upcoming todos. Again, this really helped me stay on task throughout the day, as I was constantly reminded of what I needed to do next. Complications can be customized to a small degree, though it’s crazy to me that WatchOS has better widgets than iOS itself.

Smaller developers are knocking it out of the park here and have found plenty of ways to be useful on the Apple Watch. Nano, for example, is a surprisingly feature-rich Reddit app; a great distraction in a pinch. I also enjoy Peak for its brain-training games. To me, brain training and smartwatches are a natural pairing.

The last smartwatch I wore frequently was the Garmin Vivoactive 3. That device had a lot of apps too, available through the Connect IQ store, but the selection paled in comparison to what Apple offers. Further, a lot of the Garmin apps either didn’t work or only supported newer Garmin models. You’ll get more apps with the Garmin Vivoactive 4 or Venu, but it still falls short compared to the Apple Watch.

Wear OS fairs better than Garmin in terms of app support, but again, the Apple Watch has it beat.

Fitness tracking

For many people, the Apple Watch has become their go-to fitness tracker and there is a lot to like here.

General activity tracking on the Watch is denoted by three rings representing your calories burned, exercise, and time standing. The watch measures your heart rate roughly once every 10 minutes (though some apps will measure more frequently), and there’s an FDA-approved ECG that can alert you to potential heart conditions.

One of the most vaunted features of the current line of Apple Watches is fall detection. If you should fall while wearing the watch and then fail to move, your watch can call for help. There have already been stories of Apple Watches saving lives.

You can monitor your heart rate and activity more thoroughly during workouts, but automatic-workout detection leaves a little to be desired; you’ll probably be better off starting activities manually. The GPS is precise, and the Apple Watch Series 5 has everything you need for a run built-in — meaning you can confidently leave your phone at home. While a wrist-worn heart rate monitor will never be as accurate as a chest-worn strap (especially during weight lifting), the Apple Watch Series 5 is still one of the better options and does pair with a strap if you prefer. With GPS on, you’ll only manage around 4-6 hours, so it’s cutting it fine for a marathon (but still not bad!). To eke out the most battery possible, you’ll want to turn off the display and other connectivity, though.

There are dozens of stories about the Apple Watch saving lives.

Unfortunately, the Apple Watch doesn’t track sleep out of the box, which is presumably due to battery limitations.

Third-party options fill the gap, however. I used one called Sleep++ for a bit. When I found that app wasn’t logging my nightly wake-ups properly though (of which there are many, thanks to my 15-month-old daughter), I swapped it for another called Autosleep. Autosleep is excellent, and in many ways rivals the detail generated by dedicated hardware, such as the Oura Ring 2. You get a huge amount of information, including a readiness score that is based on HRV (heart rate variability), and resting heart rate.

And that’s the story of fitness tracking on Apple Watch. What’s there is robust, but basic. It’s the huge variety of fitness apps that make the Apple Watch such a strong contender. Apps like Gymatic offer to count your reps at the gym, Endomondo is one of the best running apps, and there are tons of great guided yoga apps, HIIT sessions, and calisthenics routines.

I really enjoyed an app called Endel, which creates relaxing soundscapes based on the time of day and personal metrics. There is a level of creativity and polish here that I simply haven’t found on other devices. If you are interested in using biofeedback to improve your health and lifestyle, the Apple Watch Series 5 has you covered.

That said, the depth of information available from a Garmin fitness tracker still trumps the Apple Watch.

An Android user’s take on Apple Watch Series 5

So, how does the Apple Watch stack up compared to what’s available on Android?

The Apple Watch Series 5 base model cost $399 with an aluminum chassis. The stainless steel case starts at $699, while the titanium model costs a hefty $799. The cellular model starts at $499 in aluminum. That makes it significantly more expensive than most of the competition. In my opinion, though, it definitely justifies that price.

While it’s true that there are some solid smartwatches for the Android platform, and Wear OS certainly has a few things going for it, the Apple Watch is a step above. There’s a reason this device has garnered so much praise: it benefits from a beautiful design, an intelligent UI, and impressive app support. It’s not perfect (battery life and sleep tracking let it down), and it’s expensive, too. Whether it’s paying for groceries with my wrist or getting reminders that I can’t possibly miss, there are countless times throughout the day I was glad to have the Apple Watch.

Another great thing about the Apple Watch is that it’s getting better all the time. Unlike Wear OS, which rarely sees updates from Google, the Apple Watch gets new features regularly and benefits from superb ongoing support.

The Apple Watch Series 5 is the first smartwatch I’ve ever used that became an essential part of my workflow, and I’ve only scratched the surface of what it can do.

OnePlus is usually praised as a manufacturer that updates its devices sooner rather than later, but our data shows that that isn’t necessarily the case for the OnePlus 7 Pro. It missed quite a few security patches in the course of the last year. The latest release continues this trend: While OnePlus 7 Pro and 7 have just received an update to OxygenOS 10.0.5 (or 10.3.2 in India), they’ve only gotten the March security patches, not the ones from April.

At least the devices aren’t stuck with the January patches any longer, which they’ve received as part of their previous OxygenOS release. Other than the security update, OnePlus says that it has optimized RAM management and improved system stability. The camera has also picked up a more stable slow-mo video recording mode, and a bug that made screenshots disappear randomly in the Gallery has been fixed.

Changelog OxygenOS 10.0.5 (EU and Global) and 10.3.2 (India) System

Optimized the RAM management

Improved system stability and fixed known issues

Updated Android Security Patch to 2020.03

Gallery

Improved stability for recording videos in slow-mo

Fixed the random disappearance of screenshots in Gallery

Synced video playback speed with audio

As always, the new software is rolling out in stages. You can check your system settings for updates, but if you haven’t received a notification yet, it’ll likely take some time until the OxygenOS release reaches you.

UPDATE: 2020/04/05 11:41AM PDT BY CORBIN DAVENPORT OnePlus 7 and 7T too

OxyenOS 10.0.5 (or 10.3.2 in India) is now rolling out to the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro with the same exact changelog — improved RAM management, slow-mo updates, and so on. Sadly, the security patch level is still fixed at March.

If there’s one device that I look forward to every year, it’s Huawei’s P-series smartphones. It’s the one where Huawei introduces its latest camera innovations, and the company has done some truly wonderful things.

The P20 Pro introduced the 40-megapixel main sensor, with a 3x zoom lens. It was the first real focus that we’ve seen on a high-resolution sensor and lossless zoom since the days of Nokia’s Lumia 1020. I remember asking someone from Huawei how the firm could possibly improve upon that.

The P30 Pro didn’t disappoint with a new RYYB camera sensor. Using yellow instead of green, the sensor allowed in 40% more light. Low-light performance was so amazing that it hasn’t been matched by any non-Huawei smartphones in the past year.

And now we have the P40 series. The main sensor is larger with a higher resolution. The telephoto lens is still 5x, but now that sensor is RYYB just like the main sensor. The ultra-wide lens has been jacked up too at 40 megapixels.

Design

Huawei sent me the black model of the P40 Pro, which is obviously the most boring color of any smartphone. It comes in several other colors and finishes, and design is another area where Huawei has really gone above and beyond its competition over the last few years, introducing gradient colors and such. In fact, the Shenzhen firm has gone from emulating the design that other companies have used, to creating smartphone designs that other companies are emulating.

The device is a glass sandwich with a metal frame, as is the standard these days. The black model that Huawei sent me is so glossy and sort of mirrored that it actually reminds me of hematite.

The camera module is placed in the top-left corner, and there’s a reason for this. In fact, you might have noticed that the P-series always has it in the top-left corner, while the Mate series has it in the center. It’s because the P-series is meant to be more camera-centric, so the phone is meant to be held in landscape mode while taking a picture.

Huawei went for the rectangular with rounded corners camera module design, which is weirdly common over the past year. It’s like everyone had the same idea at once. Apple, Google, Samsung, and Huawei are all doing it, although Apple’s and Google’s designs are square.

On the bottom of the device, there’s a USB Type-C port that can charge the device with the included 40W charger. There’s also a speaker grille. As you should expect at this point from any company that’s not LG, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack.

There’s also a dual-SIM slot on the bottom, so you can either use one SIM and an NM card, or two SIM cards. If you’re unfamiliar with NM storage, I was too. It’s Huawei’s expandable storage solution. Think about it like a microSD card that’s shaped like a nano-SIM card.

On the right side, there’s a power button and a volume rocker. There’s no dedicated button for a virtual assistant on this device, which is always nice. Normally, you could hold the power button to launch a virtual assistant, but since there aren’t any Google services, there’s no Google Assistant. It does feel strange though, because you still have to hold the power button for extra-long to power down the phone or to reboot.

Display

The Huawei P40 Pro has a 6.58-inch 2640×1200 OLED display, which is gorgeous. It has a 90Hz refresh rate, so everything feels a bit smoother. Smartphones with screens that have higher than the normal 60Hz refresh rate have become pretty common over the past year, and it’s a welcome change.

Note that some are using 120Hz panels, such as with Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series. I really think that 90Hz is the sweet spot here. Remember, just as with a higher resolution display, a higher refresh rate will take a toll on the battery. I don’t think that there’s enough of a visual distinction between 90Hz and 120Hz to make it worthwhile. The difference between 60Hz and 90Hz, on the other hand, is totally worth it.

The screen is curved on all four edges, and it’s inspired by the surface tension of water. The curve is meant to be the same as a cup of water that’s just about to overflow. Huawei is always fond of saying that its designs are inspired by nature, so that’s the example for the P40 Pro series.

Another thing to note about the screen is that it’s OLED, which is particularly meaningful on Huawei devices. With OLED, pixels can be turned off, which is why blacks are true blacks. Huawei actually limits some of its EMUI features to OLED displays, such as dark mode and the always-on display. Luckily, with the P40 Pro, you get both of those things.

The display uses a hole-punch cut-out for the front-facing camera and the depth sensor, and it’s the first time we’ve seen this technique from a Huawei flagship. Once again, there’s no speaker on the screen, as the sound during calls comes through the glass.

Camera

The camera on the P40 Pro is an evolution of the P30 Pro. If you want something more revolutionary, go for the P40 Pro+, which is where Huawei packed some crazy camera innovations. The Pro+ has two telephoto lenses, one of which is 3x and one of which is 10x.

As for the P40 Pro itself, several things have changed. For one thing, the main sensor is larger, and it offers a higher resolution at 50MP. It still uses the RYYB technology found in last year’s P30 Pro, so it can still work that low-light magic. The telephoto lens is still 5x, but it’s RYYB now with a higher 12MP resolution.

Finally, the ultra-wide lens is now 40 megapixels, which is a much higher resolution than before. It’s not RYYB though. What’s interesting is that with the Kirin 990 chipset, you can now record 4K 60fps video, and that works with all camera lenses, including the ultra-wide, or even the front-facing camera.

Huawei first introduced 4K 60fps video capture in the Mate 30 series, and it was the last to do so. Apple first had it on the iPhone 8/X, and Qualcomm introduced the feature in the Snapdragon 845. While Huawei was late on this, at least when it introduced the feature, it did it right, offering 4K 60fps video capture at all levels of zoom.

Gallery: Huawei P40 Pro samples

Most of the pictures that I took were at night, because I really wanted to try out the low-light photography on the P40 Pro. I want to note again that the main sensor can still take low-light pictures that show more than I can actually see.

The first time I went out at night, I took the P40 Pro to the darkest spot I could find in my apartment complex (yes, I am limited in where I can roam around thanks to COVID-19), which ended up being an area with a bunch of trees. You’ll notice some clear inconsistencies between the main lens and when zoomed, as it’s much darker at 5x zoom. This disappointed me, as I was really hoping that the RYYB sensor would make a big difference there.

I did notice some inconsistencies between how those photos were handled in the software though, which gives me hope that this can be resolved via a software update. Speaking of software, I did notice that the ultra-wide sensor does pretty well in low-light, and Huawei told me that it’s using software to try and make the three lenses more consistent.

In the first few images, I did max out the zoom at 50x, just to see what it can do. It’s not really any different than 50x zoom was on the P30 Pro. One thing I will say is that 30x zoom looks way better than it does on the Samsung Galaxy S20+. A lot of companies these days are boasting about the max zoom on their smartphone, but this still isn’t meant to be something that you use regularly. There’s never been a phone where max zoom looks good.

Ultimately, I still love Huawei’s camera-making abilities. While I wish there was more consistency with the 5x zoom lens at night, this is still the best camera around, in my opinion. When I go on a trip, when I got married and went on my honeymoon, or any other time where I want to capture memories in the best possible images, I take a Huawei phone. They’re the only phones where people comment on social media how good the pictures look.

But again, this is more or less an evolution of the P30 Pro. There are definitely improvements here, but both the P20 Pro and P30 Pro were mind-blowing improvements. If you want revolution, look to the P40 Pro+.

Huawei Mobile Services

As I’m sure you know, there are no Google services on Huawei devices, and Huawei is using its own Huawei Mobile Services. When I reviewed the Honor 9X Pro, the point that I made is that it’s possible to live without Google services, but the hardware has to be good enough to be willing to deal with a few workarounds.

And when I say the hardware needs to be good enough, I’m actually talking about a Mate-series or P-series flagship. In this case, I absolutely do think that it’s worth the workarounds, so let’s break down how this can work.

There’s no Google Play Store or Google apps. That means no Chrome, Gmail, Google Calendar, and so on.

As for the Google Play Store, you need an alternative. Huawei’s AppGallery is there, but many of the apps you’ll want are missing. There’s no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on. Some Microsoft apps are there, which was a nice surprise, but I still installed the Amazon Appstore, where I found most of what I need.

You can also use Huawei’s Phone Clone app. That will bring over most of your apps from another device, and it doesn’t need to be a Huawei device either.

OK, you’ve got the bulk of your apps, and you might need to sideload a couple, but you’re there. Now, on to things like Chrome, Gmail, Google Calendar, and YouTube. Huawei has its own browser, Opera is available from AppGallery, and I was able to use Edge just from bringing it over through Phone Clone. You won’t have your synced data from Chrome, but that’s all your missing out on.

There are tons of ways to use Gmail without a Gmail app. Huawei’s stock Email app is fine, or you can use something like Outlook. You can even just pin the Gmail web app to your home screen. The same goes for Google Calendar and YouTube, although for some reason, the Google Calendar mobile website looks like it’s a decade old. For Google Maps, you can use something like HERE WeGo, which is a fantastic navigation app.

Now for the last item, which is that some apps won’t work correctly, such as Twitter notifications. I didn’t have any problems, but I would also rather throw my phone against a brick wall than receive Twitter notifications. A friend of mine drives for DoorDash, and that’s an app that wouldn’t work because it relies on Google Maps.

It took me a day or so to get things just the way that I like them, but once I did, I was fine without Google services. For the apps that I actually use, and for how I use them, everything worked fine.

Performance and battery life

The Huawei P40 Pro uses the company’s in-house HiSilicon Kirin 990 chipset, which first debuted in the Mate 30 series. All you really need to know is that it’s a flagship chipset, which means that it gets the job done. It also comes with 8GB RAM, which is plenty, so it doesn’t get choked up.

Battery life is phenomenal as well. At the end of the day, I never had less than 30% left, and that’s with the high refresh rate and Smart Resolution turned on. Smart Resolution will automatically lower the screen resolution at times to save power. You can manually set it to 2460×1200 or 1760×800 if you’d like, and you can adjust the refresh rate between 60Hz or 90Hz. My setting of 90Hz and Smart Resolution is the default.

The P40 Pro comes with a 40W charger, so it charges really fast if you need it in a pinch. Note that if you get the regular P40, it only supports 22.5W charging. This device also gets you 27W wireless charging if you’ve got a Huawei SuperCharge Wireless Charger, and it’s life-changing.

For benchmarks, I used Geekbench 4, AnTuTu, and GFXBench. First up is Geekbench 4, which tests the CPU.

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 865 does come out on top of this. Samsung’s Galaxy S20+ 5G scored 4,294 on single-core and 13,140 on multi-core. This isn’t surprising though. Remember, Huawei’s flagship chipsets launch in the fall while Qualcomm’s launch in the spring, so there’s going to be a back-and-forth. The Galaxy S10+ scored 3,520 and 11,177, respectively.

Next up is AnTuTu, which is an all-in-one test.

Both the iPhone 11 Pro and the Galaxy S20+ outperform the P40 Pro on the AnTuTu test, which again is no surprise. Finally, GFXBench tests the GPU.

Conclusion

The first Huawei phone that I got my hands on was the P10, and I fell in love with the Leica camera. It’s been a love affair since then, especially with the P-series (although I do love the designs in the Mate series). The thing about smartphone cameras is that this isn’t something that you’ll be able to fix later on. You won’t be able to go back in time and take a better picture.

So yes, when I’m going somewhere where I want to make sure that I take photos that I’ll cherish forever, I bring a Huawei phone. To be perfectly honest, it would probably be a P40 Pro+ though, with its dual telephoto lenses.

The P40 Pro is an amazing device with an amazing camera. I do hope that a software update fixes some of the nighttime issues I had with the 5x zoom lens, but as it stands, this feels like mostly an incremental update from the P30 Pro. If you’ve got a P20 Pro, you should totally buy the P40 Pro. If you’ve already got a P30 Pro, you’re probably good unless you go all out on the P40 Pro+.

But the P40 Pro is another winner from Huawei. The rest of the market still can’t touch the low-light performance of last year’s P30 Pro, let alone this year’s model. This company is light years ahead of its competition, setting standards in camera technology and design.

Next-gen gaming laptops are the big news of the day, and MSI reckons that it could be one of the only manufacturers who actually has stock right now. That means your best chance of picking up a new Intel Comet Lake-H or Nvidia Super gaming notebook could rest with the Taiwanese tech giant.

With the announcement of Intel’s 10th Gen H-series gaming laptop CPUs. We’ve been looking forward to putting these gen-ten laptops through their paces but, due to global supply chain shortages, our most significant question is when?

Earlier this month, we reported how the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak had impacted both supply chain and manufacturing, affecting everything from game development to hardware manufacturing. The ripple effect of this is that some manufacturers might have issues fulfilling orders of 10th Gen H-series gaming laptops due to release this month except MSI.

“Since we have our factories, we have better control in the production and shipping.” an MSI representative told us recently. “For sure, we will have some of the 10th gen laptops available to the market on 4/15 (sales embargo date).” 

Essentially the fact that MSI pretty much owns its entire supply chain (factories, testing, etc.), which remain seemingly unaffected, means it can still continue to manufacture and ship product to the US and the rest of the world.

A source at Intel also suggested that MSI might be our best shot at getting hold of 10th Gen laptops, seemingly supporting that statement. Such a manufacturing lead would give them a huge leg up on the competition as other companies adjust to supply chain issues and other manufacturing shortages in China and the rest of the world. 

MSI isn’t the only company to have a good grasp on its supply chain, however, and it will be interesting to see where the likes of Asus and Gigabyte figure in this assessment. But MSI still seems confident that it’s got the stock in place right now, while others haven’t.

“From the information we received,” our MSI source concluded, “most of the other brands will receive inventory in late April, or even May or June timeframe.”

Google Assistant’s predecessor was generically known as “voice search” and activated with the “Ok Google” hotword. Despite being several years old, the capability still exists today in the Google app on Android. However, the most recent beta removes that old voice search UI.

For the past several years, tapping the microphone icon in the Google app’s search field or homescreen widget would launch a fullscreen interface with four pulsating dots at the top listening for your query. When inactive, Google’s four-colored mic icon is formed.

Regular searches return web results, while voice commands — like “set an alarm” or “turn on the flashlight” — would perform the command directly inside the Google app. This old UI has persisted despite the widespread availability of Assistant today.

With Google app 11.3 earlier this week, the company removed the old UI for voice search. Tapping the microphone now opens the default voice input interface across Android.

Respecting your device theme, the panel has a Google logo, vibrating icon, “Listening…” prompt, and notes your set language. There’s also a toast message on every use reminding you that audio is sent to Google to be processed.

Despite the old voice search UI being replaced, the underlying Google app functionality remains today. An A/B test last year saw Google replace it with Assistant, but that has yet to become widely available. The transition is inevitable given the duplicated functionality and as Assistant becomes more advanced.

This change is part of Monday’s Google app beta, with version 11.3 not yet rolled out to the stable channel.

Has your flash drive been malfunctioning lately? Or have you experienced any lags or corrupted data that has turned you a bit skeptical towards the performance of your flash drive? As portable as flash drives can be, they are also prone to such problems over the course of time but, fortunately, a format is all that you need to set things straight.

The reason why you should know about all the four simple ways to format flash drive on Windows 10 is that the File Explorer method might not always work out and you might have to format your flash drive via the Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell.

Here’s how you can format your flash drive on Windows 10 multiple ways:

Using the File Explorer:

Open the File Explorer on your PC by pressing the Windows key + E. Your USB flash drive would be listed with the hard drive partitions of your PC.

Right-click on your flash drive and select Format to continue.

Click on Start to begin the formatting process. In the Format menu, you can also reprogram the file system of your flash drives such as change it from NTFS to FAT32 or exFAT. NTFS is partition friendly and uses data compression.

The system will prompt that this will erase all the data on the flash drive. Select OK to proceed.

You will be notified once the formatting process has been completed. Click on OK to finish.

Using the Disk Management System:

Open the Start menu and type diskmgmt.msc in the search bar. Click on the diskmgmt.msc option to proceed.

In the Disk Management system, you need to locate your flash drive listed along with the other drives of your PC. Right-click on the flash drive and select Format.

The system would ask for your permission to proceed as this would clear out all the data on the drive. Click on Yes to continue.

After you have set up an appropriate Volume label for your flash drive, simply select the File system, and make sure that the quick format box is checked if you wish to perform a quick format. Click on OK.

The system will prompt a final warning that your flash drive will be wiped clean during this process. Select OK to finalize the process.

Once the formatting is complete, you can view the formatted drive in the Disk Management System’s listing.

Using Command Prompt:

Open the Start menu and type cmd in the search bar. Right-click on the Command Prompt app and select Run as Administrator.

Type the command below where you need to replace the VOLUME with the assigned letter of your drive which in this case is H. FLASHDRIVE-LABEL will be replaced by the name that you wish to give your flash drive, and FILE-SYSTEM is replaced by NTFS, FAT32 or exFAT. Once you are done replacing the necessary values, simply enter the command into the Command Prompt window and press Enter.

format VOLUME: /v:FLASHDRIVE-LABEL /fs:FILE-SYSTEM /q

If you wish to perform a full format of your flash drive instead of a Quick Format, simply remove the /q from the above-mentioned command, this will make it:

format VOLUME: /v:FLASHDRIVE-LABEL /fs:FILE-SYSTEM

Please note that a full format can take up from 10 to 15 minutes based on your system’s performance because it also scans for bad sectors in your flash drive as opposed to a Quick Format.

The system will ask you to insert the drive that you wish to format. If the flash drive is already plugged in then simply press Enter again.

The format would take 10 to 15 seconds as it is Quick Format and then you can view the complete overview of your drive’s specifications as soon as the format finishes.

Using Windows PowerShell:

Open the Start menu and type powershell in the search bar. Right-click on the Windows PowerShell app and select Run as Administrator.

Type the command below where you need to replace the VOLUME with the assigned letter of your drive which in this case is H. FLASHDRIVE-LABEL will be replaced by the name that you wish to give your flash drive, and FILE-SYSTEM is replaced by NTFS, FAT32 or exFAT. Once you are done replacing the necessary values, simply enter the command into the Command Prompt window and press Enter.

format VOLUME: /v:FLASHDRIVE-LABEL /fs:FILE-SYSTEM /q

If you wish to perform a full format of your flash drive instead of a Quick Format, simply remove the /q from the above mentioned command, this will make it:

format VOLUME: /v:FLASHDRIVE-LABEL /fs:FILE-SYSTEM

Note that a full format can take up from 10 to 15 minutes based on your system’s performance because it also scans for bad sectors in your flash drive as opposed to a Quick Format.

The system will ask you to insert the drive that you wish to format. If the flash drive is already plugged in then simply press Enter again.

The format would take 10 to 15 seconds as it is Quick Format and then you can view the complete overview of your drive’s specifications as soon as the format finishes.

These four ways to format your flash drive on Windows 10 are not only easy to follow but also ensure that any loose ends are tied up on the performance side. You can also shuffle between file systems to suit your requirements and repair any damaged sectors of your flash drive via a full format.

I’ve liked Huawei’s watch efforts since the original Huawei Watch. It’s only since the epic two-week battery life of the Watch GT series though that Huawei watches have become a staple on my wrist. I’ve long appreciated the classic watch design of the GT series, but now there’s a cheaper, sportier version. Today, we’re going hands-on with the Huawei Watch GT 2e.

When I reviewed the original Watch GT, I called it a fitness tracker in smartwatch clothing. The much-improved Huawei Watch GT 2 looked much the same — essentially a fitness tracker that looked like a traditional watch. The brand-new Huawei Watch GT 2e breaks free of the suit-and-tie of traditional watch styling and slips into something a little more… athleisure.

Design

46mm

1.39-inch AMOLED touchscreen

454 x 454, 326ppi

43g (without strap)

The biggest difference between the €199 Watch GT 2e and its GT 2 predecessor is apparent on the outside. The GT 2e swaps the traditional watch crowns for more sporty-looking buttons. Beyond looking more contemporary, they also look to me like they won’t dig into the back of your hand during certain types of exercise.

The Watch GT 2e switches up the lug area, opting for a solid lug that transitions seamlessly into the watch strap. Depending on what color you get, you’ll either get a fluoroelastomer strap (Graphite Black, Icy White) or a TPU strap (Lava Red, Mint Green). In keeping with its fitness DNA, the GT 2e strap is perforated for increased airflow. The GT 2e is water-resistant up to 5ATM so is sweat-proof and can handle the pool as well.

There’s also a subtle change in the way the stainless steel bezel area has been treated. On the Watch GT 2, the diver’s watch markings are on the angled outer part only, leaving an unused bezel area on the flat part of the watch’s face. The GT 2e makes better use of this area, bringing the diver’s watch markings onto the front as well (see image below). There’s no extra screen or smaller bezel here but the GT 2e arguably makes better use of the same amount of space.

Software and hardware

Kirin A1 wearable chip

4GB ROM, 32MB RAM

455mAh battery

We can’t say too much about the Watch GT 2e’s software because the unit we got access to is awaiting a final software update in mid-April. Stay tuned for our full Huawei Watch GT 2e review for more on that.

What we can tell you is that the Watch GT 2e pairs to your phone via Huawei Health, a comprehensive but easy-to-navigate fitness companion you can install from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store if you’re on an iPhone. The Watch GT 2e is compatible with devices running Android 4.4 or newer or iOS 9.0 and newer.

Fitness tracking

The Huawei Watch GT 2e has 85 custom workout modes for tracking activities like parkour, skateboarding, yoga, and rock-climbing. There are also 15 professional workout modes for more precise tracking. The GT 2e can detect six common activities and automatically prompt you to start tracking them: indoor/outdoor walking, elliptical, rowing, and indoor/outdoor running. GPS and GLONASS ensure accurate positioning data no matter where you exercise.

Blood oxygen saturation level monitoring (SPO2) has been added via a dedicated IR sensor and the heart rate sensor has been upgraded. Stress levels, sleep patterns, and music playback are also supported, although the GT 2e doesn’t have a microphone or speaker so you can’t use a voice assistant with it or receive calls (alarms are handled by vibration so that’s not a problem). The GT 2e can store up to 500 songs on its 4GB of storage if you want to stream music to a pair of wireless earbuds over Bluetooth 5.1.

The two-week 455mAh battery ensures that no matter how long you can exercise, the GT 2e will outlast you. One of the upshots of the epic battery life the GT series promises is you can even have a live watch face on your GT 2e. Additional watch faces can be downloaded from Huawei Health if you’re not feeling the dozen that are pre-loaded (only with EMUI 10 or newer, not available on iOS). Switching the always-on display on will cut your battery life roughly in half and in my experience, it isn’t really worth it seeing you can just use raise-to-wake when you need the time.