Mate time is an exciting time.
For the last two years at least, Huawei has managed to surprise and delight with the Spring launch of its "power user" device, the Mate. Most of that surprise is usually centred around the impressive speed gains offered by Huawei's latest Kirin processor technology, coupled with breakthroughs in camera configuration.
This year, there's more than ever to talk about...
Let's start with the expected; it's called the Mate 20 Pro. Yes, it has the latest, most powerful Kirin processor and yes that means it's very fast.
Yes, like the Huawei P20 Pro from earlier in the year, it sports a Leica triple-lens configuration. The way this looks on the Mate 20 Pro is less predictable - arranged into a square in the same position as previous Mates instead of a single line of lenses in one corner. Of course, the real surprise about this is how few of Huawei's competitors have come out with a three-lens camera this year, even though many hinted at it along the way.
In New Zealand, the Mate 20 Pro is available in black and a unique Emerald Green, coupled with a slightly corrugated surface which not only reflects the light in an unusual way, but also keeps the glass back more fingerprint-free and less slippery.
Then, as we start to use the Mate 20 Pro, the surprises really start to flow. It's one of the first handsets in this market to feature an in-screen fingerprint sensor. Not only does this mean an improvement to the aesthetics, but it's also in a much more practical position, towards the middle of the screen which makes a lot more sense for one-handed operation than a sensor in the home button like other phones. It takes a little bit of muscle-memory training to get used to this new unlocking method - and I simply don't believe Huawei's claims the in-screen sensor is as fast as the previous external ones. It worked very well - but not as lighting quick or as consistently as the old way.
This is all kind of irrelevant though because the Mate 20 Pro's 3D face unlock is so incredible, I hardly have to use the fingerprint sensor at all. In almost any light and from almost any angle - even in sunglasses, the device unlocks straight to the home screen in an instant. It's brilliant.
This is all part of the industry-leading tech Huawei has packed in under the hood. Without getting too nerdy, the processor is divided into eight cores of three different sizes. This means not only can different parts of the Mate 20 Pro's brain work on different tasks at the same time - if it's only a little task, like displaying an email, it'll only use a little core. That means less heat and less power too.
Not that there isn't plenty of power to burn. At 4,200mAh, The Mate 20 Pro is pretty much all battery. In fact, I've never seen battery life like it. Not only can an average user crank out two full days usage out of this thing, it charges extremely quickly as well. I've found even when I'm not using the 40watt SuperCharger included in the box, the Mate 20 Pro seems to charge amazingly quickly for such a big battery. And the best news of all; wireless. Yes, at long last Huawei has joined the wireless charging club - what's more, they've turned it on it's head. You can reverse charge other wireless charging devices from the Mate 20 Pro itself. You have to activate the reverse charging in the settings menu, then the the back of the phone works just like any other wireless charger. I put another phone back to back in my pocket and it went from 75% to 100% in about an hour. Bear in mind, this is one thing that will chew through your battery more than anything else. Handy trick though.
Unfortunately, Huawei seems so obsessed with preserving battery life, the Mate 20 Pro is super-aggressive when it comes to shutting down apps running in the background. This is something I've always struggled with on Huawei devices and the Mate 20 Pro is still no exception. Don't worry - basic, essential apps like email and messaging are still super reliable. It's just certain lesser-known apps that get forgotten about after a while - things like smart watch interfaces, podcast players and security camera notifications. They'd all work well for a while then I'd have to restart the app itself to get the notifications running again. Just a little niggle that's definitely worth the pay-off of near-infinite battery life.
Another club Huawei has finally joined is the IP68 club. That's right, this phone is now toilet-proof too. Just one more little bonus to give you that extra piece of mind now that beachside photo opportunities are coming up fast.
In terms of photo features, it'd be hard to ask for much more. The P20 Pro was already about the best camera phone out there, so it's not like they've made this one worse. Not only has the A.I. functionality been stepped up several more notches, but there are some new gimmicks to try as well. There's now a library of live lighting effects you can apply to your portraits as you shoot them, from either forward or rear-facing cameras. My favourite is the venetian blind shadow that makes me look like a cool private eye in every location. Thanks to the the Mate 20 Pro's high-powered 3D functionality, you can even scan in your kid's favourite toy and turn it into a virtual pet. Crazy.
As you would expect from a Huawei flagship, zooming, low-light and even macro options are quite simply first-rate.
To be honest, I'm struggling to come up with something another phone does that this one doesn't. From wireless charging to unbelievable battery life to the in-screen fingerprint sensor, it really does have every feature going and here's the clincher; in the cut-throat battle for market share, Huawei has priced the Mate 20 Pro lower in New Zealand than just about anywhere in the world. At under $1500 (including bundled accessories from most retailers) it's such a good buy, it's almost an international tourist attraction.
Click here for more information and pricing on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
The peak phone debate rages on.
How good can these devices get anyway? They make them faster. Bigger. Smaller. But these days they're all pretty much the same.
Which certainly makes you question why anyone in their right mind would pay $2800 for one?
Well wouldn't you just know it... there's another new phone in town.
But this time, it's actually different...
I've been reading about the OPPO Find X for a while now - it's been available in other countries but I wasn't sure if it was coming to New Zealand. I really wanted it to, because I simply couldn't believe what I was reading about it and I had a desperate urge to find out if it was all true.
Although OPPO hasn't been selling phones in this country for very long, it's actually a successful and established brand in many markets around the world. Until now, the only OPPO handsets we've seen here have been more entry-level and mid-range devices. Nevertheless, I've been consistently impressed by their bang for back, especially in terms of camera performance. I'd never taken a selfie I liked till I took one with an OPPO phone.
The Find X is OPPO's flagship device and they're pretty proud of it. They should be - it's perhaps the most unique phone I've ever used.
You see, it has a pop-up camera.
This is such a revolutionary concept, it's actually kind of hard to describe exactly what I mean.
Let's start with how the Find X looks, straight out of the box; it's a stunner. Available in Bordeaux Red and Glacier Blue, the gradient effect on the class-covered rear casing is so subtle, it's almost breath-taking. This is not some gaudy, mirror-like blast of pink or sky-blue... it's elegant, soft, shimmering highlighted edges that hint how classy this phone really is.
Turn it over and you'll discover the Find X is pretty much all screen - well, 93.8% to be precise. No physical buttons, no fingerprint sensor and only the tiniest ear speaker right at the very top edge. Oh and that's right... no camera to be seen.
The display curves sensuously around the sides, reminiscent of a high end Samsung device. OPPO calls this its Panoramic Arc Screen and it looks and feels superb.
So where are the cameras?
Just wait.
Unusually, both top and bottom edges of the Find X are concave, not round. The bottom edge is where you'll find the main speaker and the charging port which, unlike the other mid-range and entry level OPPOs I've reviewed in the past, thankfully is USB Type-C. This accommodates the SuperVOOC charging cable, OPPO's own fast charging system.
If you thought VOOC charging was quick, try 0-100 in just 35 minutes - that's what SuperVOOC is capable of. When I tested it, it took 42 minutes because I couldn't help myself checking the screen every few minutes to see the battery percentage tick up before my eyes. It really is that quick. Alas, no wireless charging option, although the OPPO team tell me they've been researching wireless for years. They claim until they can make it work as speedily as their miraculous SuperVOOC, they'll stick with the wall charger.
No headphone jack by the way - face facts people, these days it's more likely to be bluetooth or Type-C connector earbuds like the ones included in the box.
There's one other oddity on the bottom of the Find X; the sim tray. Too ugly to blemish the slim, smooth edges of the phone and you can't bung it on the top because...
Yes, alright. That camera.
OPPO's "Stealth" 3D cameras are lying in wait, inside the phone and pop up instantly when required. The engineering behind this is so precise, the seam is practically invisible. The mechanism makes a slight noise when the cameras emerge, but it's really only noticeable in an absolutely silent room. The rear dual-camera setup sports 20MP and 16MP lenses while the selfie camera is an impressive (as always) 25MP. Once again, OPPO really delivers with its camera performance, packing a powerful A.I. punch which works mostly behind the scenes to produce consistently high quality shots, inside and out, in just about all lighting conditions.
That A.I. performance comes courtesy of a very high-spec Snapdragon 845 processor, paired up with a PC level 8GB of RAM. That kind of processing power makes this one of the fastest phones on the market and my user experience has been silky smooth, whether gaming, multi-tasking, filming or streaming. There's also a very healthy 256GB of internal storage, which is a genuinely high-end number.
The Find X's big brain means faultless 3D abilities, including facial recognition. There's no fingerprint sensor but OPPO claims their face unlock is so accurate, it's 20 times more secure than a fingerprint. I can confirm it works very well, even with my weird face. It also works in both landscape and profile which is a bonus for those of us who mount their phones sideways in their car cradles. Oh, if you thought the camera having to pop up to unlock your phone might slow things down, it doesn't. It's just really cool.
It's not just a gimmick either - there are genuine advantages to keeping your camera tucked away inside your phone when you're not using it; it's a great way to keep your lenses scratch, dust and fingerprint-free.
The obvious concern is reliability. How long can mechanical moving parts like these last? OPPO has an answer for that. They've tested these things rigorously and assure me the cameras can whiz up and down at least 300 000 times, no worries. That's about 8 years worth if you unlock your phone 100 times a day.
That's probably enough.
I've certainly yet to experience any hiccups with the slider mechanism, other than when I forget it's there and accidentally hold my finger over it. Obviously, the Find X is so clever, it doesn't try to fight my fat finger and waits till the coast is clear.
Some things can't be designed away though. While a transparent case is included with the phone, it goes without saying it doesn't fit over the top of the device to allow for the camera slider to do its thing. While OPPO says it's all been drop tested, glass covered phones can only withstand so much rough treatment. So I guess, don't treat it roughly?
While ColorOS is not my favourite Android-based operating system, I do like how stripped back it is and somehow, because of the sheer speed of the Find X's impressive processing power, I didn't find navigating around the phone as cumbersome as I have on some of OPPO's lower spec devices.
The OPPO Find X is selling for $1499. This is an interesting price point because I think that's probably about what it's worth in terms of features and performance. The questions is, can OPPO convince users to give it a go over other more well-known brands in this price bracket. Certainly, if you want a truly unique piece of hardware, Find X is the one.
Did I mention the limited edition Lamborghini version? Even more unique with more storage and a body constructed of carbon fibre, all bundled with some pretty swanky wireless ear buds. More unique means more expensive of course - but $2399 doesn't make OPPO's Lamborghini Find X the most expensive phone on the market. Not even close.
Click here for more information on the OPPO Find X
Click here for more information on the OPPO Find X Lamborghini Edition
What a golden age we're living in.
Who would have guessed, even 18 months ago you'd be able to purchase a phone for $2799?
Truly eye-watering. I've bought cars for less than that.
Presumably, unless you're one of the brainwashed Apple acolytes, like most normal people, you think nearly three-thousand bucks for one little phone is bordering on criminal.
But what's available at the other end of the scale? Some clunky old brick? Not these days...
There are some things you just don't expect from a sub-$400 phone.
You won't get a big display. You won't get much on-board storage. The camera will be average. The processor will be slow. The O.S. will be out of date. Battery life will be terrible. Oh... and it'll look cheap too.
The OPPO AX5 turns most of those preconceptions on their heads.
As you can see from the picture, I've been sent the Diamond Pink version (not sure it's my colour, but I could be wrong) The AX5 is also available in Diamond Blue - both have unique back covers with individual cut-glass sections that catch the light from different angles; a cool effect I haven't seen on any phone before, let alone one in this price bracket. The metal edge is coloured to match the back cover which is another eye-catching premium feature.
The screen is a very respectable 6.2inches, although the device itself still fits easily in one hand as there are no physical home or navigation buttons on the front so it's basically all screen. This impressive screen-to-body ratio is further enhanced with the use of a notch around the top speaker and front-facing camera. Don't worry, if you're not into notches, you can blank out the whole notification bar to disguise it (unlike some other notchy phones that seem happy to cut out the left side of your display when you're gaming in landscape mode)
There are other surprisingly large and respectable numbers built into the AX5 - like 64GB of on-board storage - which can be added to with a microSD in the hybrid dual-sim+SD tray. That's right, dual sim and memory expansion on a $399 phone.
3GB isn't a massive number, but when you're talking processing power on a phone, it's not too shabby. While the AX5 isn't lightning fast, it's certainly smooth to operate. As I've remarked when reviewing other OPPO devices, I'm no fan of the stripped-down Color O.S. home-screen. I need a nice, tidy app drawer and preferably the ability to rotate from portrait to landscape - all easily fixed with a third-party launcher of course. What I am a fan of is a lack of pre-installed bloatware, which is certainly what you get (or don't get) with the AX5. I still find it weird OPPO doesn't have a native email app though, instead relying on the standard Gmail app.
Every time I try a new OPPO phone, Color O.S. gets a little more user-friendly, but I did struggle to access some settings I wanted to change - particularly in terms of keeping apps running in the background.
That brings me to battery life which, quite frankly, is astounding. OPPO has packed a whopping 4230mAh battery into the AX5 and it simply never runs out. I can't emphasise this enough; if battery life is your major bugbear with your current phone, throw it away and get one of these. I've been using this phone for a while and most days I struggle to go below 70% by the time I go to bed. That includes streaming and bluetooth connectivity with my earbuds and smart watch. There is a "however" here though... As I just mentioned, the AX5 seems to have a particularly aggressive hunt-and-kill policy when it comes to background apps. No matter how hard I tried, there were some apps I couldn't persuade the phone to receive push notifications from (like my home security system) even though other messages like emails and Instagram posts arrived with no problems. This seems to be an issue with less well-known apps so maybe it's something OPPO will address with software updates over time.
Weirdly, the thing I was least impressed with was camera performance. That's not to say the pictures I've taken with the AX5 have all been fails, it's just that I'm used to OPPO making it all about the camera and the photo quality is usually the feature that outshines everything else on the phone. At least it's a dual-lens configuration for the rear-facing camera so you can still achieve some nice mixed-focus portrait effects and the 8MP selfie cam is pretty much up to OPPO's usual high standards. However, shots taken from long distance or in low light were pretty average, even for a photographic know-nothing like me.
On the other hand, the selfie-cam does facial recognition very well, opening straight to your home screen pretty much as soon as you take the device out of you pocket and glance at it. That's right; facial recognition - yet another premium feature for only $399.
Don't misunderstand me, the AX5 is not in the same league as the $1000+ (or even $2000+) superphones out there, it certainly has its limitations. No wireless charging, no IP water-resistance rating, no NFC for contactless payments. But added-extras like those are definitely nice-to-haves rather than must-haves.
Other than my slight camera disappointment, the AX5 is a solid performer especially in terms of battery life where I think it'd probably beat just about any phone in any price range.
It looks good too... although maybe the blue one would've been a slightly better match for my wardrobe.
Click here for more information on the OPPO AX5
Early this year, I confidently (and admittedly, somewhat hastily) predicted the Samsung Galaxy S9+ could well be the phone of 2018. I made that prediction after playing with one for only an hour or so and weirdly, I copped a bit of flack for it.
As it turns out, so far I've been absolutely right.
There are other handsets that are slightly stronger in certain areas... maybe a higher-spec camera... a bit more processing power... bigger storage... but none of these come close to offering the complete package the GS9+ does.
Till now...
Right off the bat I want to be quite clear in declaring the Samsung Galaxy Note9 is not my phone of the year... but only because it's a bit ugly. Call me shallow, but compared to most other flagship devices out there, the Note9 is decidedly square and brick-like. The team from Samsung tried to tell me this was a deliberate design choice to differentiate it from the S9 and S9+. Are they suggesting there's a market out there for big, heavy, block things? They're probably right. I mean, they also decided to make the S-Pen for the blue Note9 yellow, so what would I know?
The Note9 is in fact available in 3 colours, the mandatory Midnight Black, the aforementioned Ocean Blue and a very classy Metallic Bronze. Depending on the deal you choose, there seems to be the option of a lavender S-Pen floating around too. Talk about being spoilt for choice.
I think the real implication is Note users are traditionally more interested in functionality over form, with the Galaxy Note range usually being one of the biggest handsets on the market. That's not necessarily true this time round because although the screen is a whopping 6.4 inches, (Samsung's largest Infinity display to date) the device is practically bezel-free so the Note9 isn't actually that much bigger than the GS9+.
The main point of the Note9 is what's under the hood. I'm not usually one to get bogged down with tech specs, facts and figures, but you can't help but be impressed by the sheer brute force of this device. There are two variants available, the 128GB and the 512GB. What's significant here is they both have microSD expansion slots so the 512GB version can accommodate another 512GB in flash memory, effectively making this the world's first terabyte smart phone. That's literally millions of selfies you can store on there... so much for us all moving to the cloud.
The processor has been upgraded since the S9 and there's now a stunning 8GB of RAM available on the 512GB variant. I was only sent the 128GB version to review, which has a mere 6GB of RAM, but even then there was a noticeable bump in speed. Nothing causes this phone to slow down, pause or stutter. Gaming, streaming, multi-tasking, downloading and installing apps - the Note9 is easily one of the fastest phones I've used with most functions happening instantly. Whether you unlock via fingerprint or facial recognition, your homescreen now appears before you really have time to think about it.
Even if those memory numbers don't mean much to you, just compare them to your work laptop. There aren't too many people walking around with that much storage and power on their computers, let alone their phones. That's why Samsung has now taken DeX mode a step further. Previous devices required a DeX dock to create a desktop experience on a large screen. Now you can plug the Note9 into any HDMI display directly, using a single USB Type-C to HDMI cable. Then you can really use it like a full-sized PC, presenting and even creating documents, PowerPoints, slideshows or other multi-media projects. Only high-end Huawei devices offer anything approaching this kind of functionality and the Note9 takes it a step further with its new S-Pen.
The S-Pen has been the most full-featured stylus around for generations, letting you take notes, screen write, capture images, translate and create live animations. Now its bluetooth connectivity means you can also use the S-Pen as a remote control. That's right, we're no longer faced with the prospect of a projector we don't know how to use, with a clicker that doesn't work properly anyway. Just plug your Note9 in (or share the screen wirelessly) pop the S-Pen out and your presentation'll run just the way you planned it. You can also use the S-Pen as a media-controller, playing and pausing your content.
Camera-wise, we have a same-but-different situation. In terms of hardware, it's the same camera configuration as the GS9+, although the rear camera looks different because the dual lenses are now side-by-side instead of one above the other. However, because of all the extra processing grunt, there's a host of new AI capabilities and Bixby lens features available, including live object recognition and live online shopping link suggestions. Although the camera is no major leap forward, just remember, the GS9 cameras were already stunning, especially in low light.
I also continue to be impressed by the stereo sound tuned by AKG... now with the inclusion of Dolby Atmos, you can legitimately enjoy your Netflix and the like without headphones or other speakers. It's not surround sound home theatre, but it certainly packs plenty of aural punch.
At 4000mAh, the Note9 boasts the biggest battery in a Galaxy phone to date, so as you'd expect you'll coast through a whole day on a single charge with no problems, even if you're doing a lot of streaming or bluetooth connecting. The S-Pen's charge doesn't last anywhere near as long, but it charges itself every time you slot it back into the handset.
Just on charging; one of Samsung's innovative line of new accessories includes the Duo wireless charging pad - a double-sized charger with a space for your phone and an extra spot for your smart watch. There's also a nifty flip cover that folds out to a triangle shape for a surprisingly stable instant tripod. Group selfies up the mountain? No longer a problem. Plonk the Note9 on a rock, pop out the S-Pen and use it as your camera remote. Come on, that's clever.
It's that sort of functionality that warrants the Note9's $1699-$1999 price tag - it really is more than just a phone (a fantastic phone)... it's a cool camera... but most significantly of all, it's probably more powerful and has more storage than your computer. All this, and it still fits in your pocket.
Oh, and it's not actually that ugly either. I just said that so I wouldn't be wrong about the phone-of-the-year thing.
Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Note9
Huawei makes great phones. The tri-lens camera on this year's P20 Pro is probably the finest camera ever seen on a smart phone. Combined with the awesome power of Huawei's Kirin chipset technology, it's an extremely nice device.
But the question is; why have three cameras when you can have four?... ...for less than half the price?...
Okay, the four camera thing is slightly misleading - but only slightly.
The Huawei nova 3i only has a dual lens rear-facing camera as opposed to the P20 Pro's unique tri-lens setup. I say only, but truth is, very few phones in this price range sport dual lens cameras. What even fewer phones at any price have is a dual lens forward-facing camera. This means the nova 3i offers you the same features for your selfies you can access for the rest of your pics.
The camera innovation doesn't stop there. AI object recognition has been popping up in a lot of flagship devices, now you get it in the nova 3i - both front and back. Not only does this help you take way better photos in a range of environments and lighting conditions, but it also gives you the option of shopping for things you take pictures of. If the phone can recognise it, it can link you to an online store that sells it.
Of course, the other thing you get when you combine powerful AI with cool cameras is 3D facial recognition. Not only does this mean fast and accurate face unlock functionality, but also silly live animations you can superimpose over your own face. Huawei calls these QMojis. I call them too much time on your hands.
But the nova 3i is so so much more than just pretty pictures. It's also extremely pretty itself. While it is available in black, no-one in their right mind would choose anything other than Iris Purple. Iris Purple is only partly purple, quite a lot of blue and all the colours in between. It's kind of hypnotic to look at... like a double rainbow. This is all encased in glass with a metal mid-frame. It's super light, super slim and super slippery. It feels luxurious in your hand... but only if you can actually manage to grip its near frictionless surface. It could well be the slipperiest phone I've ever encountered - at one stage it worked its way out of my pocket onto the floor, while I was sitting on the couch. The glass seems pretty tough... no damage to report.
The 6.3inch display sounds too big but because it's edge-to-edge, the phone really isn't over the top size-wise and you want maximum display real-estate for streaming and gaming - two things the nova 3i does very well again, due in large part to the built-in AI. Combined with the impressive processing power of the Kirin 710 chipset, the nova 3i even offers a dedicated Gaming Mode which commits maximum resources to graphics and sound while blocking pesky notifications.
There's a more-than-ample 128GB of built-in storage, and the 4GB of RAM once again puts this lower-mid-range device up with the big boys.
The only real sign of the budget price-tag is the microUSB connection instead of the more user-friendly USB Type-C all high-end phones now support. Still no wireless charging here either which is slightly mysterious because in other markets Huawei does have a phone available with wireless charging capability.
A slightly old fashioned plug. That's really the only thing wrong with the nova 3i. So actually, there's nothing wrong with it at all. Plus it takes incredible photos from both cameras. PLUS plus it's amazing to look at.
But here's what I don't understand... why offer a phone that's almost as good as your flagship device for less than half the price?
The nova 3i is currently available for just $499 - and that's not even including the nice bonus pressies most retailers are bundling in with it. So surely it makes no sense to pay $1200 for a P20 Pro, just to get a 3 lens rear facing camera?
Click here for more information and pricing on the Huawei nova 3i
At the beginning of the year, OPPO was one of the first cabs off the rank with its latest flagship device, the R11s.
It was a major progression for one of Asia's biggest phone brands, because while last year's phones took pretty great pics, especially selfies, the user experience left a little to be desired.
Well, it's only August and OPPO has taken another giant leap forward...
The R15s PRO is a thing of beauty - and not just because it comes in Ruby Red, although the way it catches the light is truly mesmerising. You can choose Cosmic Purple if that's more your style and to be frank, it looks pretty damn fine too.
Whereas previous OPPO's seemed to make a deliberate effort to imitate the latest iPhone, the R15s Pro finally seems to have its own personality and it truly is stunning to look at. The glass back and steel bezels all feel like pure luxury.
Given all this, it seems quaintly retro to find both a headphone jack and a microUSB charging port instead of the USB Type-C version pretty much every new release phone has moved to now. Apparently, OPPO's amazingly fast VOOC flash charger is only designed for microUSB, so probably worth it for the impressively quick top-up. In saying that, can't the VOOC designers just redesign it?
On the subject of headphone jacks, I'm pretty relaxed either way although I know some people think forcing customers to use bluetooth connected listening devices is some kind of crime against humanity, so having that hole there will be good news for them.
The other controversial issue for high-end phone users right now is the notch. This is where the massive 6.28 inch screen stretches past the camera and speaker at the top of the phone to make the most of the forward-facing real estate. It's great to have your notification banner up there out of the way... when you're using the phone in portrait mode. Turn the phone sideways and things get a bit screwy. Some notched phones figure out you're watching full screen content and blank out the notch bar accordingly - not so with the R15s Pro. That means if you're watching movies or TV, there'll literally be a notch out of the picture on one side. Hard to know if these issues are up to OPPO or the app developers to solve, I just hope someone does, because other than that, this phone is one of the best looking in town.
The launcher/home screen setup is still a bit of an iOS throwback - no app drawer, just pages of icons. This is always easily remedied with my favourite launcher, Nova. However, once you actually start using this device, prepare to be impressed with its speed and power. The specs compare extremely favourably with just about every other phone on the market. A more than healthy 2.2GHz octa core processor, a whopping 6GB of RAM and 128GB is plenty of storage.
While I had run into a few stuttering issues on previous models, I experienced none of that this time round. Apps opened quickly and ran reliably - especially when I figured out how to ignore battery optimisation settings for the ones I wanted to keep running in the background.
The R15s Pro introduces a new range of gesture controls, a combination of swipes from different places on the screen instead of the more traditional home and go back buttons. While quite different to other phones, these didn't take long to get used to and I actually found them pretty intuitive. The operating system, ColorOS 5.0, is a major upgrade and a real breath of fresh air, although I was often disappointed to find the app I was using didn't support split-screen use - perhaps another opportunity for OPPO and developers to sit down and improve the functionality.
In short, the R15s Pro is the first OPPO that hasn't made me feel like I'm using a phone developed for a completely different market that's forcing itself to fit with New Zealand conditions.
What I've never had an issue with is OPPO's photographic functionality. OPPO has consistently impressed me with its forward facing cameras and it was using an OPPO when I first discovered I could take a self portrait that wasn't totally hideous. the R15s Pro steps things up yet again, with lots of AI doing some hard work behind the scenes to produce extremely clear and vivid shots from both front and rear (dual lens) cameras, even in poor light.
I mean, tell me that's not the best picture of beans you've ever seen.
The 20MP selfie-cam introduces a new level of 3D facial recognition, which not only enables a damn fast face unlock feature, but also means you can do those silly live AR stickers if that's your jam. More importantly, you can now shoot selfies in HDR which makes bad light much less of an issue.
Perhaps the camera configuration on the R15s Pro isn't technically the best around, but for a pictorial numbskull like me, it's certainly the best available for the price.
At $899, it's far from the cheapest OPPO ever released, but that's probably because there's absolutely nothing cheap about it. The feel, the user experience, the power and the cameras, all genuinely first class.
Oh, and did I mention you can get it in red? Oh boy.
As for the photos, just look at the beans and get back to me.
Click here for more information on the OPPO R15s Pro
I've been slack.
I've always heard good things about Sony Xperias, but I've never actually tried one.
So I thought I'd make up for it... by trying two at once...
The Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact from Sony are all class. They are smooth, black and sexy. They have Sony written on the front and Xperia on the back and everything else is minimalistic, stylish and cool.
To look at, the full-sized XZ2 is perhaps slightly more classy than the Compact, because it's encased in glass, front and back. The Compact's rear casing is a brushed-metal feel plastic, which has its own advantages because it's nowhere near as slippery as the all-glass finish.
The unusual thing about Sony's latest combo is that in terms of specifications, other than screen size (and obviously, actual size) these two phones are almost identical.
The screens themselves, although one is 5.7" and one just 5" are otherwise identical - and they might be the most sensitive to the touch I've ever... touched. It's hard to put into words exactly why I found the experience of swiping, pinching and pressing these displays so pleasant. It's almost as though they felt soft, like there was some give. Maybe this is exactly what Sony is going for with its "TRILUMINOS" technology. If anything, the screens were almost too responsive and I did occasionally open the wrong app by mistake with my fat fingers.
They don't just feel nice, of course - the displays display superbly, which is what you would expect from an outfit like Sony, famous for cool tellies and even cooler gaming consoles. It's that sort of behind-the-scenes techie know-how that also shines through in terms of sheer processing grunt and smooth operation generally.
The Xperia O.S. is very close to a stock Android experience, with only a few native Sony apps pre-installed. As usual, the home or lock screens don't rotate into landscape mode, but hardly anyone's ever does. There's a familiar app-drawer and on-screen navigation key set-up. All this stuff is the same for both handsets.
One big difference is charging - the larger, glassier XZ2 offers, wait for it, WIRELESS CHARGING! Thank the lord and hallelujah! Finally someone other than Samsung and Apple have come to my wireless charging party. In saying that, battery life on both models is good without being outstanding, again with a similar performance from both phones, despite the Compact's smaller battery. (Smaller display means less drain, I guess)
Good work on the wireless charging Sony, but I have to pull you up on your stupid little light. I'm begging all phone makers out there... if you MUST ruin your beautiful design with a charging LED, at least give me the option to turn it off if I don't want it! And believe me; I don't want it. Even tiny little lights illuminate dark bedrooms in the middle of the night. At least I can stop it blinking for notifications.
The XZ2's are certainly not cheap; $1299 and $1049... so you would expect premium performance and features, which is indeed what you get, for the most part. Although both only offer 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, as I've already pointed out, these phones really fizz along.
The only obvious downside is the camera. Neither phone offers a dual lens set-up, either front or back, so there are nowhere near the photo features many other phones in this price range have to offer. That's not to say the XZ2's don't take good pics... generally I found the results sharp and detailed, but perhaps a little dull colour-wise, especially in dark conditions.
There are a few tricks though, including the option to render 3D portraits of yourself or your friends, although it wasn't exactly clear what I was supposed to use the 3D me for once I'd created him. Fun though.
So a slightly underwhelming camera experience is probably all that keeps these two phones from being genuine flagship heavyweight contenders - but then again, that's probably why they're a few hundred dollars cheaper than those dual and even tri-lens options.
Conversely, sound quality is right back up there with the best I've tried - again, what else would you expect from a major AV brand like Sony?
Other than that, the choice is really between sizes; unless, like me, wireless charging is an essential requirement, both phones function so similarly, how big a screen you need becomes the deciding factor - that and the $250 price difference of course.
Click here for more information and pricing on the Sony Xperia XZ2
Click here for more information and pricing on the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
