Tag Archives: video review

Huawei P10 Plus Review – new Leica rear cameras, QHD and more

Android, Reviews, Tech News, ,

The Huawei P10 Plus review comes courtesy of Vodafone UK. who provided the handset on loan for this review. My wife Ellie provided a lot of the content for this review, along with some additional input from myself.

Before I detail the key specifications of the Huawei P10 Plus, I thought it might be useful to illustrate the differences with the P10.

The Key Differences P10 vs P10 Plus

Below are they key differences between the P10 and P10 Plus. The Plus advancements over the P10 are significant from the rear cameras, screen and more.

-P10: 145.9 x 69.3 x 7mm
-P10 Plus: 153.5 x 74.2 x 7mm

-P10: 149g weight
-P10 Plus: 165g weight

-P10: 3,200mAh battery
-P10 Plus: 3,750mAh battery

-P10: Leica Dual Camera 2.0 with f/2.2 aperture Summarit lenses
-P10 Plus: Leica Dual Camera 2.0 Pro with f/1.8 aperture Summilux lenses

-P10: 5.1-inch 1,920 x 1,080 resolution IPS LCD 1080p
-P10 Plus: 5.5-inch 2,560 x 1,440 resolution IPS LCD QHD

-P10: 4GB RAM, 64GB storage
-P10 Plus: 6GB RAM, 128GB storage

-P10 Plus only: Infrared IR controller/blaster and stereo speakers

-P10 Plus only: 4×4 MIMO (up to 600Mbit download speeds)
-Both: 2×2 MIMO Wi-Fi

As you can see there are some significant improvements over the P10 Plus over the P10 from screen, battery, cameras and connectivity.

The additional specifications of the P10 Plus are –

-OS Android 7.0 (Nougat)
-Processor HiSilicon Kirin 960,CPU Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53) GPU Mali-G71 MP8
– Rear Cameras Dual 20 MP + 12 MP, f/1.8, OIS, Leica optics, phase detection and laser autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash,
– Front camera 8 MP, f/1.9
– Stereo speakers
– IR blaster
– Front fingerprint sensor with control functions
– Fast charging

Phone Basics

The phone looks good with its thin profile and cameras that do not protrude. Call quality and signal was excellent. WiFi and bluetooth worked well. Screen viewing angles were good. Battery life was 5-6 hours screen on time with a strong standby time. This was without using any of the extensive power saving options. The 6gb of ram made this phone feel really nimble with no slow downs coming from the Kirin 960 processor.

The phone comes with a pre fitted screen protector. If you remove this, you will discover the P10 Plus does not come with an oleophobic screen covering which reduces screen fingerprint smudges. In the box was a plastic clear case too.

The phone runs on EMUI 5.1 which is vastly improved over EMUI v4. There are options to tweak nearly every aspect of the phone too.

Camera and Audio

The camera continues Huawei’s tradition of providing a full featured camera app. Loads of different shooting modes including HDR, panoramic, night, light trails as well as a full features Pro mode which allows raw capture. The photo quality is excellent from the rear cameras too. New to the P10 Plus is a Portrait mode which works well capturing people portraits. Video is good too, but not as good as the iPhone 7 Plus when it comes to stabilisation. Also its 4K video resolution is filmed using the new codec H265 which saves a lot of storage space. To upload this to YouTube or Google Photos it is necessary to convert it first using a third party app. 1080p video does not need to be altered. Below are some photo samples.

A really lovely shot of the church. Shot in auto. All photos uploaded in full size too.

Monochrome mode. A bit different for sure.

And now in full colour and in auto mode.

Some macro shots, truly amazing too.

A tree stump.

Flag pole and another monochrome shot.

Panoramic Shot.

The P10 Plus loudspeaker goes relatively loud and clear. The headphone audio is good as well as bluetooth audio. It is not at the same quality as the LG G6 though.

Video Review

Now sit back and enjoy the second part of the Huawei P10 Plus review.

Conclusion

All things considered, the Huawei P10 Plus is a good phone. I personally enjoyed using it as it was quick to unlock and very nimble to navigate. The cameras are excellent and the included IR Blaster was an added bonus. However, the flagship fight at the top of the ladder is brutal but at least there is choice.

Useful Links

Vodafone Shop UK
Huawei pricing on Amazon

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Sony Xperia XZ review – Sony’s flagship phone with a 23mp rear camera!

Android, Reviews, Tech News,

Sony Xperia XZ is Sony’s flagship phone currently available to purchase. It is available for around £530 and on various contract deals. My thanks go to Vodafone for the loan of the Sony Xperia XZ.

The Key Specifications / Features

– Android 6.0 OS – Update to Nougat soon
– 23 MP 1/2.3″ rear camera, laser autofocus, RGB-IR sensor, 4K Video, 5 x Clear Image Zoom, ISO 12800 Photo/3200 Video, video stabilisation, LED Flash
– 5.2” HD 1080p resolution IPS LCD Screen – With Triluminos and X-reality for vivid colours, 423 PPI
– Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, Adreno 530 GPU & 3GB RAM
– Bluetooth 4.2 with apt-X, A2DP, LDAC, LE
– WiFi – 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 / 5 GHz)
– 32 GB storage & micro SD support up to 256 GB
– In the box – Sony MH750 earphones & buds, 3 pin UK Sony fast charger
USB Type C Data Cable

Phone Basics

The Sony Xperia XZ has a good 1080p screen. When you watch my video review you will see how vivid it looks. Viewing angles are reasonable. Call quality is good. The loudspeaker is of average quality but doesn’t go to a high volume. This is demonstrated in the video review. Plugging in wired headphones and its a gold star for Sony. It produces a high quality output, not the loudest, but decent quality. Bluetooth audio is fantastic and the phone includes Sony’s Hi-Res bluetooth LDAC codec. The special audio features are again shown in my video review.

From a hardware design point of view, I really like the look and style of the phone. It is easy to hold one handed too.

The camera hardware on paper is awesome. Unfortunately Sony has a record of not having the best software processing on its phone cameras. The better news is that this is the first Sony phone where I got some exceptional photos, the best from all Sony smartphones I have tested and reviewed. In fact, on the day I tested the Sony Xperia ZX, it took better outdoor shots than my iPhone 7 Plus. However, indoor and low light shots don’t fair as well. Also, the camera seems to take some dud shots amongst the great ones. In other words the auto mode is not as good as other competing flagship phones. I have shown the camera app interface in more depth in my video below. The front camera is just average.

Camera Samples

Sun & Stormy Weather - sub zero, bitter winds & heavy rain all at once

The above shot in one of my favourite. Dynamic colours picking up the sun, rain and hail storm.

In a line - Fury, George & Tiggy sprinting up to Great Mis Tor

The above photo shows my 3 dogs running which the Sony Xperia XZ captured fairly decently.

Little Mis Tor & Great Mis Tor - High up on Dartmoor in stormy conditions

The above shot is of Little & Great Mis Tor on Dartmoor. A good shot again from the Xperia XZ.

Video Review

For the next part of my review, watch my video review which details even more information and thoughts.

Conclusion

The Sony Xperia XZ has a lot of positive aspects. Great headphone audio using wired or wireless headphones. A design which I personally like. Easy to use one handed. The weakness is the camera which despite its huge hardware specification is let down by software processing, meaning its not up with current flagship standards.

Useful Links

Latest pricing & more info on Amazon UK
Vodafone Shop
More reviews from gavinsgadgets

Xiaomi Mi Max – Review – A Giant of a Phone

Android, Reviews, Tech News,

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Welcome to my review of the Xiaomi Mi Max.

Key Features

Yesterday my Xiaomi Mi Max arrived. It is a monster.

– Dimensions – 173.1 x 88.3 x 7.5 mm
– Weight – 203g
– SIM Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by / or combo with micro SD)
– Screen 6.44 inch , 342 ppi , 1080p IPS
– Gorilla Glass 4
– 3/4gb ram 32/64/128gb storage
– IR Blaster
– Gorilla Glass 4
– 16 MP, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 5mp front
– FM Radio
– 4,850 mAh battery

Phone Basics

I have the 3gb 32 storage, Snapdragon 650 Mi Max. There are larger storage options along with 4gb ram and also a Snapdragon 652. In day to day use the Mi Max has been fluid with no hickups. Screen viewing angles are excellent and sunlight visibilty reasonable too. I have no bluetooth, wifi or other issues either.

The Mi Max comes a Chinese rom. Hopefully, it won’t be long for a Global rom. With the Chinese firmware, despite selecting English in the language menu, Chinese text does appear in certain apps and menus. This hasn’t stop me setting up the FM Radio channels, the Mi Remote (infra red blaster) for my TV and a lot more. The loudspeaker is mono, goes fairly loud and sounds quite good. Headphone audio is excellent. My Sennheiser HD598se were powered with relative ease.

To make this work with Google services, you will need to install Google Play Services APK. This is available from the Xiaomi forums within the Mi5 section. After installing this, you will need to go to the Download app and change WiFi limit size to unlimited, go to the security app and allow all permissions for all the Google apps and services, and allow all the Google apps and services to auto start. Then reboot. Obviously, once a global rom arrives, Google Play services will come preinstalled and minus a lot of the Chinese bloat.

MIUI v7.3 is installed and this will be upgraded to the new MIUI v8.

Battery life is wonderful. Full brightness. Everything on. And still loads of juice left at the end of the day. Every phone should have a 4,850mAh battery! Viewing media on the 6.44 inch screen is fantastic too.

Camera

Both the front and rear cameras take good photos. The front has several selfie options and I was pleased with the results. The rear camera took great photos in good light. The quality dropped in lower light. In its manual mode it only has a maximum shutter of 0.25 seconds. The camera has lots of different shooting modes shown in my video review further down. It is worth noting that optical image stabilisation is not present.

Camera Samples

Views around Princetown, Dartmoor #Xiaomi #MiMax

Lovely colours with this shot above.

Views around Princetown, Dartmoor #Xiaomi #MiMax

My local church above with HDR off.

Views around Princetown, Dartmoor #Xiaomi #MiMax

Now with HDR on.

Views around Princetown, Dartmoor #Xiaomi #MiMax

The camera is able to focus on specific areas with relative ease.

Video Review

 

 

Conclusion

At around £250 this is an amazing piece of hardware and once the global rom arrives will be even better. It also is a giant of a phone yet still manageable.