Month: May 2020

Leaks to date surrounding the Google Pixel 4a have told us a lot about the upcoming phone’s design and performance, but very little regarding its camera quality. This past weekend, one blogger got their hands on a pre-release model and went on a photo-taking spree, giving us a complete picture of the Pixel 4a’s imaging capabilities.

The post comes courtesy of TecnoLike Plus out of Cuba. We originally covered impressions from TecnoLike’s Julio Lusson a few days back, though the site has since updated their initial camera review with many more samples and a YouTube video that dives even deeper into the new collection of images.

Overall, this early analysis of the Pixel 4a’s camera seems to be a favorable one. Judging from the photos TecnoLike has shared, it’s easy to see why.

First, the specs. Just as many had anticipated, the Pixel 4a repurposes the same 12.2-megapixel sensor and ƒ/1.78 wide-angle lens first used in the Pixel 3, then the Pixel 3a and Pixel 4. On the front, an 8-MP, ƒ/2.0 shooter handles selfie duties.

You’ll miss out on the additional telephoto shooter for improved hybrid zoom and portraits that the Pixel 4 has, but even so — getting the very same rear camera as Google’s flagship in a device that costs just $400 made last year’s Pixel 3a quite a steal, and it seems history is about to repeat itself. 

But the photos speak for themselves. Some of the shots in TecnoLike’s report are jaw-dropping — especially the one above, overlooking a forest. There are flagship phone cameras that will set you back twice or even three times what the Pixel 4a will probably cost that fail to deliver the kind of dynamic range you see here. Even details deep within the shadows of the trees in the foreground are clear, yet somehow not artificially over-brightened at the expense of contrast. It’s truly an impressive scene.

Also impressive is what the Pixel 4a can do at night. Google’s closest competitor here, Apple’s brand-new iPhone SE 2020, lacks a comparable night mode, meaning the Pixel 4a has an advantage here simply by showing up. But lots of other handsets have low-light modes these days, and Google’s implementation has always been one of the best. Behold how sharp those stars are up above, the gradient of the sky and the crisp focus on those trees immediately ahead.

Despite only having one rear lens, the Pixel 4a can capture excellent shallow depth-of-field bokeh shots as well, judging from this example taken next to a pool. The subject is clearly in focus and isolated from the blur behind; the bokeh itself is high-quality; and you can even make out the droplets of water suspended in mid-air in the background. Nothing is blown out or underexposed, and once again, this is simply an expertly-balanced image that you typically don’t see from cheap phones.

Overall, it’s hard not to be impressed with what Google’s apparently been able to pull off yet again with the Pixel 4a. This phone might not have a dazzling 108-MP sensor or a time-of-flight optic to suss out depth, but then, it seemingly doesn’t need one. It’s a reminder that one well-crafted camera can beat several, if you know what you’re doing.

And you shouldn’t have to wait long to get your hands on one. Leaked internal documents from European carrier Vodafone hint that Google’s next budget Pixel could arrive by the end of this month — May 22, to be exact. When it does drop, you can be sure we will put that camera through its paces, not to mention head-to-head against the iPhone SE’s. When was the last time cheap phones were this exciting?

The XPS 13 has become the gold standard for 13-inch laptops but I had two gripes that Dell has finally fixed: sound and face ID.

Two things that needed fixing:

—Sound:

The XPS 13 9300 now has a solid sound system (and same for the Dell XPS 13 7390 and 7390 2-in-1). Both the XPS 13 and XPS 15 for too long had tinny sound that was, to be blunt, awful.

The XPS 13 9300 now has both good bass and mid-range and gets loud without distortion.

And the Waves MaxxAudio equalizer, which was preinstalled on my system, is a essential part of getting great sound from the XPS. Make sure this is running on your XPS 13.

—Face ID:

The XPS 13 has been a thin-display-bezel trend setter. That’s important because it reduces the overall size of the laptop making it more portable as well as more aesthetically appealing.

But there was one thing missing: a Windows Hello Face ID (facial recognition) camera in the top bezel. That’s there now without sacrificing any thinness. (The 9300 also has a fingerprint reader built into the power button.)

Everything else:

Dell is in an enviable position of pursuing perfection with the XPS 13. It’s a gorgeous laptop that equals or exceeds everything you expect in a best-of-the-best laptop on every metric including performance, display, and keyboard.

Now that Dell has mastered the 13-inch laptop, it is apparently aiming to do the same thing with the upcoming 2020 15-inch XPS 9500 and 17-inch XPS 9700, which are reportedly imminent.

Some users who have installed recent Windows 10 updates including KB4549951 have reported that their user profile with all the data, customizations and documents weren’t loading when they logged in. After the updates are applied, Windows 10 boots with a mysterious temporary user profile bug and it could move your data or even delete them.

We’ve been reporting about this bug for months and it appears that the issue is still there, and it could affect anyone. It’s not clear why or how Windows 10 loads with an entirely new user profile.

A number of users also reported that their data including documents or pictures disappeared after they installed Windows 10 KB4549951, which was released on April 14.

After the update is applied, Windows renames normal user profile folder, then creates and loads a temporary user profile when the PC boots up.

The original profile is renamed when Windows 10 update is installed and data including system customizations magically disappear, but the good news is, the bug does not permanently delete profile or data for most of the users.

The original profile should still be in C: > Users, but your data would be in a file ending with “.ooo” or “.bak”.

Fortunately, there are ways to get it back. If you restart Windows for at least 6 to 8 times, the user profile and the data should return.

It’s not clear how many restarts are needed, nor whether it works for everyone. For example, some users reported that their files completely disappeared and they’re unable to find or restore it.

Some users also reported the problem after updating to Windows 10 version 1909 from 1903

According to multiple Microsoft support staff, you can also resolve the problem by setting up a new account and then manually transferring the data from the temporary account over to it.

The more consistent option is to just backup the files stored in the system drive before installing the updates. You should always maintain the backup of the data which are on the same partition as your operating system.

Huawei introduced its updated Mate Xs foldable smartphone during an event in Barcelona that was supposed to be part of MWC 2020. Even if it feels like a decade ago, back when social distancing wasn’t a thing, it actually happened just two months ago. Now, the phone arrived with us where it will undergo our lengthy process of tests for the full review.

We already have a hands-on video and an actual hands-on review, but this time we get to spend more quality time with the Huawei Mate Xs putting it through our full review process. We’ll examine its camera in detail, do all the benchmarks and give our thoughts on how the Huawei Mobile Services are doing.

The Huawei Mate X was a first-gen device, and the Mate Xs here should tell us how much progress the company made in the half year between the market releases of the two phones. Huawei obviously likes its chances as it’s selling the new phone virtually everywhere (aside from this one country that rhymes with Erica).

The Mate Xs comes with a 4,500 mAh battery and 55W SuperCharge power block in the retail box – this isn’t strictly new but remains the fastest available on Huawei phones and we can’t wait to test it and see how it stacks against other fast-charging solutions. The company advertises that it can give you an 85% charge in 30 minutes and we will definitely put these claims to the test.

Another improvement Huawei made with its second generation foldable phone is the software – it comes with a modification of EMUI 10 that allows picture-in-picture apps, and some of them even can be opened twice with a certain feature called App Multiplier. The company reveals plenty of app developers are creating their products with this solution in mind, and Booking.com is already working in this direction – you can open two windows at the same time and easily navigate between them.

The Huawei Mate Xs is selling for €2,499, which is as high as smartphone go these days, not counting those coated in pure gold and precious stones. It might sound like a hard sell, but this is a novelty phone with plenty of unique features, not something you’d gift your mother for her birthday. Stay around for our verdict whether the Mate Xs is worth its massive price tag.

Google’s Pixel 4a is the company’s upcoming (and much leaked) budget phone for 2020. In typical Google hardware release fashion, we know pretty much everything about the phone before its official unveiling.

Now, to add to that already heaping pile of leaks, the Pixel’s camera has been reviewed by Cuban tech blog TecnoLike Plus in partnership with the folks over at XDA Developers.

Speaking on the full resolution photos, XDA comments:

The photos are characteristically Pixel-like in look. This means they have excellent detail, balanced noise reduction with visible luminance noise, adequate (but not best in class) dynamic range, and great color accuracy. Night Sight is just as good as ever—I feel these photos are better than the Galaxy S20+’s night mode photos in a few respects. The Pixel 4a’s camera will continue to excel when it comes to having a balanced noise reduction system, which will resolve more detail compared to competitors.

The one weakness is exposure. Compared to phones like the S20 or the OnePlus 7 Pro, these photos aren’t as bright, resolving less shadow detail. On the other hand, facial detail continues to remain a particular strength for all Pixels. And finally, the Pixel’s portrait mode is better than most implementations.

To my eye, the Pixel 4a’s pictures appear a bit better than those of my 3a. Most of that is due to them sharing the same hardware and software. Google could have opted for a secondary camera (and rumors indicate it was planning that for a while), but ultimately chose not to. In the end, the 4a will be a better camera phone than the iPhone SE, and modern aesthetics will appeal to users on a visual level.

The Pixel 4a is expected to be an upgrade over the 3a in every other way, including looks, base storage, and processor. Google just needs to release it, and additional rumors indicate that it may be coming sooner rather than later.