The Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Pro are pure Google smartphones. They are taking Google’s hardware and the latest Tensor processor and running Google’s latest Android 14 operating system.

You couldn’t find a more thoroughly Google experience.

In doing this, Google has taken a move from the Apple playbook where, since 2007, the company has been offering an end-to-end experience with their own hardware and software.

Google has raised the bar even further with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro with intelligent improvements to the camera and a boost in performance.

On the design side, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro have had a subtle update with more rounded edges.

There’s still the visor bar on the back that houses the camera system which gives the device a unique and unmistakable look.

The devices are powered by Google’s very own Tensor G3 chip which improves the overall performance as well as bringing AI into play so the phones can run features like Magic Eraser and Magic Editor on your pictures along with Call Screen which can answer unknown numbers through Google Assistant, for example.

The displays are stunning (6.2-inch on the Pixel 8 and 6.7-inch on the Pixel 8 Pro) and now both include 120Hz variable refresh rates – last year it was only the Pro model that included this.

The result is smooth scrolling and smoother viewing of content.

On the security side we have the in screen fingerprint reader, but face recognition has been significantly bolstered to the point where it unlocks the phone in an instant and now at a standard to be used for wider and higher level security like banking apps and other accounts.

By far the most attractive feature of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro is the camera.

The Pixel 8 Pro has a triple camera system – 50-megapixel wide-camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera with auto focus and 48-megapixel telephoto camera while the Pixel 8 has two cameras – a 50-megapixel wide camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide.

Quality is superb on both imagine and video – we knew that going in.

But the features Google is hanging its hat on are the image editing features – an improved Magic Eraser, a new Magic Editor and Best Take.

Best Take works well to ensure everyone in a group shot is smiling. It uses a series of photos taken as you are capturing your images and blends the images to give you the option of choosing everyone’s best expression.

Magic Eraser is an excellent tool to remove unwanted objects in your images. And it’s even better this time out with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

We put it to the test in a few different ways including removing a pole that ran through the centre of an image taken at Maroubra Beach.

We circled the pole and not was the pole removed but everything else that was supposed to be there was filled in precisely. This is the one of the best examples of the onboard AI.

Magic Editor takes things a step further and lets you define and move objects around to improve the composition.

You circle the object and press and hold and then you can move it to a more favourable location.

There’s also a Magic Audio Eraser which lets users single out and remove background sounds from your videos.

These features are a great gimmick – and they work well but they play to the users who want to perfect their images for share on social media.

The quality of the changes is remarkable – our complaint was it took a little while for the phone to process the changes.

Photography purists – like the enthusiasts who buy an iPhone would be rolling their eyes at these features – that’s just their opinion and probably why they opted for an iPhone over a Pixel.

Google approach to photography is a lot different to Apple.

Apple has always been loyal to the principals of photography and the camera on the iPhone as more like a regular camera than those found on most other smartphones.

Google has included some impressive hardware to produce quality images and videos with the Pixel smartphones, but they do provide an option for you to correct your mistakes – or alter the truth.

One big bonus for customers who buy the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro is the decision by Google to provide seven years of OS and security updates.

This is a big deal especially for those users who might be doing it a bit tough and who want to hang on to their device for a few years.

Apple has had this type of support for the iPhone with six year old iPhones able to run the latest updates.

This gives the iPhone even greater longevity which is exactly what Google is trying to tap into and create this sort of loyalty.

The Google Pixel 8 ($1,199) and Google Pixel 8 Pro ($1,699) are available now.

VERDICT

The Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Pro are solid updates over the previous models with improvements in performance and camera and display quality with AI features like Magic Eraser and Magic Editor that will appeal to loyal Android users.

The post Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphone review – the total Android experience appeared first on Tech Guide.

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro have taken a significant step forward in terms of power, performance, features and design.

Apple has intelligently upgraded the most popular parts of the iPhone including the camera, the display and added several convenient new features to make using the device faster, easier and more enjoyable to use.

iPhone 15 an iPhone 15 Pro have the same screen sizes 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch and start at $1499 and $1849 respectively. They go on sale on September 22.

DESIGN

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro have had subtle re-designs.

The iPhone 15 is made from durable colour infused rear glass which is finished with a colour-matched aluminium band.

The display now has a rounded top edge so it gives it a softer look than the iPhone 14’s more angular look.

Available in yellow, pink, green, blue and black, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 plus have subtle muted colours which don’t look to garish or bright.

Even the pink iPhone 15 Plus, which we received for review, is impressively understated.

The blue iPhone 15 is so light it’s almost white.

The rear panel of the iPhone 15 has more of a matte finish which prevents ugly fingerprints and makes it easier to grip.

The iPhone 15 Pro has undergone the biggest transformation with a new titanium finish.

Apple says it uses Grade 5 titanium which offers strength and durability but is noticeably more lightweight than the surgical grade stainless steel used with the iPhone 14 Pro.

In fact, the iPhone 15 Pro is 19g lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro – it might not sound like much but for a device you carry with you everywhere every day it’s a big deal.

The iPhone 15 Pro is available in natural titanium, black titanium, white titanium and blue titanium.

Gone is the shiny surface that’s a magnet for fingerprints and in its place is an impressive, brushed metal look with a matte finish.

For our review we received the Natural Titanium iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Blue Titanium iPhone 15 Pro.

The Natural Titanium has more of a grey tinge but it’s a colour we haven’t seen before with the pro model iPhones – and we’re expecting it to be the most popular.

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have the same size screens as the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max yet have dimensions that are a couple of millimetres smaller.

This is because of the display on the latest iPhone have noticeably thinner bezels which means it can fit the same size screen in a smaller space.

DISPLAY

The iPhone 15 Super Retina XDR display now includes the dynamic island first introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro last year.

Those new to the dynamic island will find it provides an interesting way of displaying your notifications and providing updates.

For example, if you booked an Uber ride, the time before the driver arrives and other information is displayed within the Dynamic Island.

Other airlines like united also use dynamic island to give passengers a countdown two boarding time add a reminder of your gate and seat number.

And that’s all provided on the main display without you even having to open the app.

The iPhone 15 Pro display includes 120Hz ProMotion technology, so your content is smooth and clear.

And there are also those thinner bezels we’ve already mentioned which gives the screen a more edge to edge look.

PERFORMANCE

The iPhone 15 is powered by the A16 bionic chip – the same silicon that was first seen with last year’s iPhone 14 Pro and this powers onboard features like computational photography, voice isolation for phone calls and power efficiency for even better battery life.

The iPhone 15 Pro introduces the new A17 Pro processor which does the heavy lifting for providing improved graphics performance that’s 20 per cent faster now thanks to its six cores.

The A17 pro incorporates 3Nm processor with 19 billion transistors on board.

It has a 2x faster neural engine with 16 cores that can perform 35 trillion operations per second.

It is powerful enough to offer hardware accelerated rate racing for the very first time so graphics and gameplay on the latest games a more fluid and lifelike than ever with lighting effects that matched the real world and immerse you even further into the game.

CAMERA

On the camera side, Apple has truly excelled itself.

The iPhone 15 camera has been upgraded to 48 megapixel main camera so you can shoot in a higher resolution than ever before and capture stunning detail.

A cool new feature on the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Pro is the ability to turn any photograph into a portrait image.

If you’re shooting a person, dog or cat, the iPhone 15 will go about capturing depth information so you can see your photo as a portrait which includes a tasteful blur effect and the ability to switch focus between two subjects in the same image.

But if you’re really into your photography then the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max should be at the top of your list.

The onboard 48-megepixel camera has a quad pixel sensor that can optimise whatever you’re shooting in real time including in low light situations while still capturing remarkable detail.

The iPhone 15 Pro camera is designed to appeal two real photographers whether they enthusiasts or professionals.

These customers would know the main focal lengths including 24mm, 28mm or 35mm because that would be lugging around these lenses with their main camera.

Now they can go into the camera settings on the iPhone 15 Pro and choose their default main camera focal length – 24mm, 28mm or 35mm thanks to the power of computational photography.

The Photonic Engine also does a fair amount of the heavy lifting to bring out the detail in your subject including in darker environments by increasing dynamic range.

The photos the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro produce a truly remarkable and it takes little effort by the user. All you need to do is aim and shoot.

It really nails skin tones and colour and is easily the best camera you’ll find on a smartphone.

What sets the iPhone camera apart from other smartphone cameras is Apple’s insistence of staying faithful to the traditional principles of photography rather than using smoke and mirrors and gimmicks to produce an exaggerated shot.

But Apple didn’t stop there.

On the iPhone 15 Pro Max they have included a Tetra Prism lens system that can bounce the light four times before hitting the sensor to achieve a 5x optical zoom to get you even closer to your subject.

Would have liked to have seen even higher zoom but in typical style, Apple kept this feature to a level where it can maintain the quality and accuracy without going overboard.

For professional photographers the new iPhone 15 Pro an iPhone 15 Pro Max now includes log encoding to make shooting in ProRes even more powerful and flexible for colour grading in post and even adding visual effects.

The iPhone 15 Pro models are the first to support ACES (Academy Colour Encoding System) which is a global colour standard used in major movie productions.

Users of the iPhone 15 Pro could also capture Spatial Video which will be able to be enjoyed on the upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset which can put you right in the middle of that moment and make those special moments even more memorable.

ACTION BUTTON

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have ditched the silent switch on the side left edge and replaced it with an Action Button which can be programmed to do things like turn on the camera, activate silent mode, open your favourite app, open the voice recorder to record your thoughts or trigger a series of shortcuts.

When pressed, the Action Button provides haptic feedback to let you know the interaction has been successful.

Users can dive into the settings to easily set the function of the Action Key.

We would have liked to have seen even more Action Button options perhaps with long presses and double presses expanding the possibilities.

USB-C CHARGING PORT

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro now have USB-C charging ports.

It’s the first time in 11 years Apple has moved away from Lightning which was introduced with the iPhone 5.

A braided USB-C to USB-C cable is provided in the box.

This move brings the iPhone into line with each other products which have already transitioned to USB-C including the iPad and iPad pro and the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

In fact, Apple made a point of saying you could now charge the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro with the same cable you would use with the iPad and the Mac.

The iPhone 15 Pro models will enjoy faster data transfers add up to 10Gbps thanks to a USB-C controller on the device’s new A17 Pro chip.

On the charging side, we found it to be slightly faster than Lightning.

The new USB-C connection can now be used for faster transfer of ProRes video and ProRaw images.

With the new port it is also possible to shoot and transfer to Mac with a cable and shoot ProRes video directly to a connected external storage drive in 4K at up to 60fps.

PRICING

The new iPhone 15 will be priced at $1,499 (128GB), $1,699 (256GB) and $2,049 (512GB).

iPhone 15 Plus is priced at $1,649 (128GB), $1,849 (256GB0 and $2,199 (512GB).

iPhone 15 Pro is priced at $1,849 (128GB), $2,049 (256GB) and $2,399 (512GB) and $2,749 (1TB).

iPhone 15 Pro Max is priced at $2,199 (256GB) and $2,549 (512GB) and $2,899 (1TB).

These prices are slightly higher than last year but that won’t stop customers flocking to it and hanging on to it for years.

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro go on sale on September 22.

VERDICT

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro are impressive upgrades that set a new standard with a stunning design, unrivalled performance and a camera that raises the bar for what we can expect from a smartphone. If there is a better phone on the market – we haven’t seen it yet.

The post iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro review – Apple has set a new standard for flagship smartphones appeared first on Tech Guide.

Samsung’s new fifth generation foldable smartphones – the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5 – go on sale this week and there will be many inspired to take their first bold step into the world of foldables.

Samsung, of course, has been leading the way in this growing category and these latest models represent years of development and improvement.

Tech Guide was lucky enough to go into Samsung’s design studio after the launch in Seoul and heard about the design philosophy behind the products.

These units had gone through countless versions before deciding on the versions we see today.

The design team said they wanted a product that was inspirational, functional and that solved a problem for customers. And they’ve achieved that.

And it’s not just about the design but also the materials and colours that turn the product into a thing of beauty.

The Z Flip5 and Z Fold5 are both foldable smartphones but they are aimed at totally different customers.

What they do have in common is the same design language, eye-catching colours and surprising durability.

For a folding device – that’s quite an achievement.

The other huge improvement for the Flip5 and Fold5 is with the hinge.

This has been a work in progress since the first device was introduced back in 2019.

This time out, the hinge mechanism is even smaller and more compact and, for the first time, the devices now fold completely flat.

Previously there was a slight gap close to the hinge which was there to reduce the strain on the screen.

A new waterdrop design can both now reduce that strain while still offering no gap when it’s folded.

This improvement has reduced the thickness of the devices by 2.4mm which is massive in the smartphone world.

There is no doubting the Flip5 and Fold 5’s credentials when it comes to performance – they’re both power houses thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip built just for Galaxy devices.

And being made from armour aluminium you know that despite being foldable devices, they can still take the usual knocks and scrapes from being used every single day.

SAMSUNG Z FLIP5

The product that’s going to steal the Samsung foldable limelight this year is the Flip5 which has seen the most improvement year on year in the line-up.

The biggest change is the new Flex Window which is 3.78 times larger than last year’s front screen.

It nearly takes up the entire front folded face of the phone and offers so much functionality that you can get a lot of things done, receive notifications, while taking control of your media then you can use it in the folder position for extended periods.

Users will also be able to use the Samsung wallet, scan QR codes and take selfies and videos without the need to open the device.

There is no doubting the build quality of the Flip5 – it has that solid feel in your hands and a reassuring thunk when you fold the device shut.

The Flip5 solves the biggest problem smartphones face today where customers are after a large screen but not a large phone.

Typically having a large screen means you’re lugging a large device in your pocket or your bag.

But with the Flip5 you have a glorious 6.2-inch internal display which allows you to use the phone as you would any other regular device but when it’s time to pack up you can literally fold it in half and put a much smaller product in your pocket.

The main screen is clear and bright and you’ll think you’re looking at a regular smartphone display.

The crease could be less prominent, but you’ll soon forget about it when using your apps or watching content on the screen.

The Flex hinge also adds to the product’s versatility because it allows you to position the device so you can easily and more comfortably watch your content or set up your selfies and videos.

One of our favourite features is the ability to activate the shutter for a selfie simply by raising your palm towards the lens. This sets off a three second timer so your selfies will be flawless.

The onboard cameras – a 12 megapixel wide angle and 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera – won’t match the quality of the Galaxy S23 or the Z Fold5, but they still take respectable images and videos that you can share instantly on social media platforms.

Even in low light situations Samsung ‘s Nightography sensors offer excellent results when shooting images and videos without much light.

The onboard 3700mAh battery easily got us to the end of the day when we were using this as a daily driver.

Even though we were doing everything on the device including checking emails, using apps and social media, web browsing and consuming content – there was still enough charge to take us well into the night.

SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD5

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 has the same slimmer hinge technology as the Flip5 but it’s a completely different beast to its foldable sibling.

The Fold5 has a 6.2-inch front screen that unfolds to reveal a beautiful 7.6-inch main display.

Design-wise, apart from the slimmer hinge, there really isn’t much difference to last year’s model.

But the 2.4mm saving in thickness is significant enough to attract people to the device who had previously been holding back thinking it was too bulky.

It is now noticeably thinner thanks to the trimmed down hinge and can fit in your pocket even easier.

The Fold5 customer is a high-end user who wants to create and consume content and multitask on the move.

The front screen is useful for most of your needs including calls, messaging and responding to notifications.

The Fold5 has a narrow and tall display, but we would have loved to have seen a slightly wider screen.

For us, the screen wasn’t wide enough to comfortably type and we found ourselves opening the device to complete tasks that we would have preferred to do on the front screen.

Our suggestion to the Samsung design team was adding 5mm of width to the front screen to get us to that tipping point where it was a lot easier to operate.

That added space would also allow the device to accommodate the S Pen to fit inside the chassis rather than having to carry it separately.

We understand that having a wider display would also mean a wider rear panel but it would also give us an even larger internal screen.

This would no doubt add to the cost of the device but if you’re already willing to spend more than $2500 you’d be willing to invest a little more if it offers a huge improvement and easier use.

One impressive improvement with the displays is the increased brightness of up to 1750 nits.

The difference is noticeable and really makes what you’re viewing on the display pop.

This also helps when viewing the device outdoors in direct sunlight, you’ll still able to see quite clearly on both the front and inside screens.

For multitaskers, the inside screen offers plenty of space to run up to three apps at the same time.

Another new feature we liked was the taskbar which allowed us to access the apps we use the most.

We were able to drag the apps onto the main screen and use up to three at the same time.

You don’t miss out on camera quality with the Fold5 thanks to the 50-megapixel wide angle, 10-megapixel telephoto with 3X optical zoom and 12-megapixel ultra-wide cameras on the rear panel.

These join the 10-megapixel front camera and the 4-megapixel under display camera on the main screen.

A favourite feature was the dual preview which allows the subject of your photo to see themselves on your front screen while you are framing them up from the main screen.

And if you have other Galaxy devices, Multi-control lets you use a keyboard and mouse to move across all of them.

For example, you may have the fold five and the Galaxy Tab S9 and able to link a keyboard and mouse to both devices to easily move between them and drag content to and from each device as well.

PRICING

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 is priced from $1,649 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 starts at $2,599.

These prices are higher than last year’s starting prices, but the base models now offer 256GB of storage which was actually the price of that variation last year.

VERDICT

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 bring you the future of smartphones today with stunning features, remarkable design and functionality that will suit a variety of users and offer them a completely new way of using a smartphone.

The post Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 and Fold5 review – the time to move to foldables is now appeared first on Tech Guide.

Do you need to tidy up your desktop, get yourself organised and charge your smartphone and earbuds at the same time? Then what you need is the ALTI Wireless Charging Desk Mat from Journey.

The desk mat (which is 68cm long and 37cm wide) has a magnetic edge on the left side so the charging pad (10cm x 37cm) can neatly attach itself.

The mat itself is made of felt and vegan leather and users can choose which material they prefer being on top by simply flipping it over.

It is a very generous size so it will cover most of a regular-sized desk.

The charging pad connects to power via a USB-C cable and can charge your iPhone if it has wireless charging or MagSafe, and any Android phone with wireless charging capabilities.

We tried it on our iPhone 14 Pro Max and the ALTI charging pad magnetically held it in place to ensure it was charging.

Other smartphones just need to be positioned correctly to receive a charge.

You can also charge AirPods Pro and AirPods with wireless charging cases – there’s a spot marked out so you know exactly where to put it.

Users can also charge the Galaxy Buds and other earphones that have wireless charging cases.

Having the charging pad only requires you to have a single included USB-C cable connected to a port on a wall charger.

This means no more multiple cables cluttering your workspace.

What also reduced the clutter is being able store papers and documents between the felt and vegan leather layers so they are out of sight but still literally at your fingertips.

It’s also an excellent work surface so you can still use your computer mouse accurately and it will also quieten your keyboard because it is on a softer surface rather than resting on wood.

And with the charging pad right beside you, you’re never going to miss any calls or messages.

If you would prefer your phone and earphones to be charging on your right side then you just have to turn the ALTI Wireless Charging Desk Mat upside down and attach the charging pad on the right.

The Journey ALTI Wireless Charging Desk Mat is available now in black or grey and is priced at $149.

www.journeyofficial.com.au

The post Keep your desk organised and your devices charged with the ALTI Wireless Charging Mat appeared first on Tech Guide.

The Google Pixel Tablet is a bit of an allrounder – it’s great for entertainment and running your favourite apps and, when attached to the included dock, can turn into a smart speaker, smart home hub and a mini smart TV.

The Android tablet has a 10.95-inch LCD display with a 2560 x 1600 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate and has a soft touch rear panel and edges.

It is also powered by the Google Tensor G2 chip which offers excellent performance and speed to make using the tablet a breeze. Onboard is 8GB RAM and either 128 or 256GB internal storage. There is no microSD card slot.

Included with the device is a charging dock which serves a few purposes.

First off it keeps the tablet charged when not in use. How many times have you grabbed a tablet that’s been laying around in your home and found there is no charge left?

It can also position the tablet comfortably so you can view apps and content, make and receive video calls and keep an eye on your smart home devices.

Inside the hub are four speakers that can enhance the viewing and listening experience whether you’re listening to music, watching YouTube or watching a movie.

The tablet has the same design language and look and feel of a Pixel smartphone and that applies to the Android 13 OS that’s onboard as well.

There’s a volume rocker key on the top edge alongside a lock button that also doubles as a responsive fingerprint reader.

Also onboard is a USB-C port so you’re able to charge with a cable as well as through the charging dock.

Included with the Pixel tablet is Google TV so it offers the same options in your hand as you’d see on a smart TV running Google so you can access your favourite streaming services.

It would have been nice to have a screen capable of more than 60Hz refresh rate.

The tablet has great resolution for a crisp and bright picture, but a higher refresh rate would have made things a lot smoother when watching videos and playing games.

The Pixel 7 Pro smartphone supports 120Hz refresh rate and has a much smaller screen than the Pixel Tablet.

That aside, watching video content was still enjoyable – it just could be better.

On the audio side the tablet’s speakers are impressive on its own but when you place the device back on the magnetic charge hub and watch your content you get the benefit of better speakers which instantly kick in when connected so you can enjoy even better sound including respectable bass response as well.

It was loud enough to easily fill a room.

Music also sounds great so it can also supply your background audio or the soundtrack to your next party,

And it’s a handsfree experience as well so when you don’t have access to the family TV or just want to watch things in another room or on your own, the Pixel Tablet offers a great alternative.

For video calls the front 8-megapixel camera offers full HD 1080p quality. The rear camera is also 8-megapixel, but we can’t imagine you’d be using this to take photos when you have a much better camera in your pocket with your smartphone.

The charging hub itself is small enough to carry into another room and plug it in.

We found we wanted to use the tablet attached to the dock more often than just on its own.

But like a regular tablet you can take the Pixel anywhere, but it will only connect wi-fi when you’re out and about – it’s doesn’t have a 4G/5G option.

We think the Pixel Tablet is a homebody though because of its ability to act as a smart speaker and smart home hub.

You can use Google Assistant and ask Pixel Tablet for information and to find content.

And when it’s docked, the Pixel Tablet looks just like the Nest Hub smart display and speaker.

When the tablet is docked it can also be used a digital photo frame so you can view your favourite images all the time. Or you can choose to display the time.

But add to that the Pixel Tablet can also be your smart home hub as well to control lights, view camera feeds, set up automations and view notifications.

Automations are centred around times of the day like bedtime, when you arrive home, when you leave home and when you wake up.

The onboard battery will allow up to 12 hours of video viewing if you decide to take this with you on a flight or a road trip.

But when it’s a home – battery life isn’t an issue thanks to the dock which can recharge it or keep it powered while it’s resting there.

It’s also smart enough while on the dock to keep the charge level between 80-90 per cent to maintain the health of the battery.

The Google Pixel Tablet is priced at $899 and certainly offers plenty of versatility so you can use it on the move, in the dock, as a smart speaker and a smart hub.

VERDICT

The Google Pixel Tablet is a multi-talented product that offers the convenience of a smart speaker, the portability of a tablet, the content possibilities of a mini smart TV and a dashboard for your smart devices. And it provides an excellent experience no matter what mode you’re using.

The post Google Pixel Tablet review – a versatile device that can be used in so many ways appeared first on Tech Guide.

The Google Pixel 7a is going to win a lot of fans with its affordable price and impressive feature set that makes it more than just another Android smartphone.

The latest device from Google has a 6.1-inch FHD+ display running at up to 90Hz and is powered by Google’s very own Tensor G2 chip.

That’s the same chip you’ll find on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, so performance is up there with these more expensive devices.

On the camera side, it has a 64-megapixel main camera and 13-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 13-megapixel front camera.

And naturally the Pixel 7a is running Android 13 with all the trimmings.

By that we mean there is no additional UI (user interface) like you see with other Android smartphones.

And there are also a host of other features for the camera and for making and receiving calls and messages.

It’s a lot to take in for a Pixel 7a newbie and for some even a little overwhelming when compared to the clean and simple interface and feature set of other Android smartphones.

You’re presented with a few options that you don’t get on many other devices like screening your phone calls and getting a live transcription of your recording.

In terms of design the Google Pixel 7a carries on the same look and feel as its predecessors as well as the same camera bar on the rear panel.

There is a new colour called Sea (it’s light blue) along with old favourites Charcoal (black) and Snow (off white).

The device also has an IP67 rating so it can handle dust and a splash of water.

The 6.1-inch OLED display has a resolution of 1080 x 2400 with 429ppi (pixels per inch) and has a scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3 cover glass.

The screen has refresh rate up to 90Hz so scrolling, games and videos are smooth.

Even in bright sunlight the Pixel 7a’s screen was easy to read.

There are a couple of new features when making calls and receiving voice mails.

Call Screening lets you find out who’s calling if you don’t know the number and even find out why they’re calling.

When activated, a voice asks who they are what the call is in relation to.

The user sees these responses as messages before making the decision to answer or reject the call.

This is a good way of warding off scammers but not every unknown number is trying to rob you so it can add time for a caller who needs to reach you.

Another new feature is Voice Message Transcription which can listen to your message and type out the entire message so you can read it rather than spending time listening to it.

The Pixel 7a has an in-screen fingerprint reader which is fast and responsive along with Face Unlock.

The Google Pixel 7a camera is impressive and takes great images in good conditions as well as in low light conditions.

The main camera has 64-megapixel resolution, but we understand the sensor is smaller than the one found on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro so Pixel 7a and still takes excellent images – just not as good as its big brothers.

And to zoom the best you can get is Super Res which is digital zoom at up to 8x – but the results are good not great. It’s better when your subjects are nice and close.

Top Shot is just like the Live feature on an iPhone which, when activated, records a few seconds video as you take your photo.

Top Shot was set to auto on our Pixel 7a by default which meant we got the occasional video with the photo.

But just remember these images will take up twice the amount of a regular image.

A new feature is Long Exposure to enable a little creative blur in your image.

Google says its best with objects moving in a straight line like a train and a car or like a pet running.

Also onboard are favourite features like Magic Eraser and Real Tone.

The selfie camera also produces some good results and punches above its weight.

On the video side, the Pixel 7a can capture 4K video at up to 60 frames per second with decent stabilisation.

Pixel 7a has a 4,385mAh battery onboard which is enough to last a day although on some says during our review, we were down to 40 per cent just after lunch after being at 100 per cent at 7am.

Google has an Extreme Battery Saver which will only use essential apps you nominate to help get through the day but naturally we’d prefer a two day life.

Battery life wasn’t so bad when we were driving during the day because the device would be wirelessly charging (yes, it has wireless charging) and topping up the battery level.

But on the days we were away – there were no top ups and the battery levels were sagging by late afternoon to the point where we needed to connect the charger if we were planning to head out to dinner that night.

Thankfully the Pixel 7a charges quicky and you can get back to 100 per cent in less than an hour and a half.

The Google Pixel 7a is available now and is priced at $749.

VERDICT

The Google Pixel 7a is a capable smartphone with many intelligent features that will delight savvy Android users who are after a phone that plays above its weight.

The post Google Pixel 7a smartphone review – value, features and performance appeared first on Tech Guide.

Samsung’s Galaxy A54 5G is a mid-tier smartphone with the design, display and features that makes it feel like a flagship product.

No, Samsung isn’t trying to put itself out of business – the A54 5G is no Galaxy S23 but the mid-tier device can still hold its own.

It’s ideal for the customer who wants something better than an entry level smartphone but that doesn’t want to shell out thousands of dollars for the top of the line products.

You can describe Samsung’s A54 5G as the Goldilocks smartphone – not too cheap, not too expensive – it’s just right.

When looking to purchase a smartphone, customers want to tick four main boxes – design, camera, display and battery life.

The Samsung A54 5G delivers in all those areas.

Let’s start with design.

The A54 5G is a simple and clean look with gently rounded edges and a glass finish.

It has a nice size and shape and feels good in the hand.

The volume and power buttons are on the right edge and the SIM card slot is on the top edge.

Speaking of the SIM card slot, the tray has room for one SIM card and a microSD card so you can expand the memory. That’s a feature Samsung’s flagship phones don’t have. There is no eSIM.

The 6.4-inch FHD+ Infinity-O Super AMOLED Display (1080 x 2340 resolution) is stunning and bright and is easy to read anywhere including outside in bright sunlight.

We were checking the Samsung A54 5G on the golf course in the middle of the day waiting for the group ahead to clear.

We were able to check easily read our emails, messages and apps and see the screen clearly to line up our photos.

And with refresh rates up to 120Hz, it is a super smooth experience as well.

The device is powered by a 2.4Gh octa-core processor with 6GB RAM, 128GB of onboard storage and external storage through the MicroSD card slot.

On the camera side you’ve a 50-magepixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 5-megapixel macro camera. And for your selfies you’ve got a 32-megapixel front camera.

The quality of the images are obvious whether you’ve got plenty of light or in lowlight situations.

The pictures were bright and with punchy colours.

The onboard sensors can suck in plenty of light, not to the level of the S23 but still quite respectable.

For the price, the A54 5G’s camera definitely punches above its weight.

We shared plenty of images on social media and no one questioned the quality – it looked as good as any of the posts around it.

A feature we loved was the Object Eraser which allows users to circle and remove unwanted objects.

We took a selfie on the golf course but there was a tree in the background that looked like it was coming out of the top of my head. One quick edit on Object Eraser and it was gone in seconds.

If you’re shooting video, you can shoot 4K at up to 30 frames per second.

Bottom line, the Samsung A54 5G camera is not going to let you down.

Another strong feature is the battery life.

The battery has a capacity 5,000mAh capacity and when we we’re using it as our daily driver smartphone, we found it got us through more than day and a half before we had to think about connecting the charging USB-C cable.

What it does NOT have is wireless charging so you’re only option is to charge via cable. But luckily the solid battery life was enough to get us through.

For security, the A54 5G also has an in-screen fingerprint reader.

Also onboard is NFC (near field communication) so you can use the A54 5G to make payments with your credit cards.

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is available now and is priced at $649.

VERDICT

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is one of the best mid-tier smartphones you can buy. It ticks all the boxes for customers in terms of design, screen, camera and battery life and also delivers excellent value.

The post Samsung Galaxy A54 5G smartphone review – ticks all the boxes at an affordable price appeared first on Tech Guide.

Oppo has entered flagship territory with the release of its new Find N2 Flip foldable smartphone and it’s now rubbing shoulders with Samsung the world’s number one manufacturer.

The Oppo Find N2 Flip looks a lot like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 – but in many ways it is better.

Oppo has been working on this technology for the last four years. It goes on sale on March 16 and is priced at $1,499.

Tech Guide has been using the device for a couple of weeks as our daily driver and have found it to be a fun device that offers solid performance.

DESIGN

The Oppo Find N2 Flip has a slick design with polished aluminium sides and a fingerprint-resistant glass cover.

The hinge has a micro-etched wave pattern and features the Oppo logo.

When unfolded users have access to an impressive 6.8-inch display and the crease is hardly visible.

The Flexion Hinge is made from aircraft-grade high-strength steel and polymer to keep it thin but still strong and sturdy.

Oppo has done a great job with its hinge which, when opened, is virtually flat and hardly detectable even when you run your finger along the display.

It’s hard to see the crease even when the screen is blacked out.

And when it’s closed it closes completely flat unlike Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip4 which has a gap near the hinge.

The hinge has been tested to work for more than 400,000 folds – that’s the equivalent of opening and closing the device 100 times a day for 10 years.

Over the years, smartphone users have demanded larger displays and at the same time have said they don’t want to carry around large devices.

The Oppo Find N2 Flip presents the ideal solution with its 6.8-inch display that literally folds in half when you’ve finished using it.

But even in the folded position the front 3.26-inch display allows users to still get a lot done including making and answering calls, responding to text messages, taking photos and videos, making tap payments, checking the weather, accessing a timer and a voice recorder.

Word from Oppo is that Spotify is looking to develop a widget for the front screen so you can access and control your music.

On the right edge are volume controls and a fingerprint reader.

PERFORMANCE

The Oppo Find N2 Flip is running the ColorOS13 operating system and offers a clean layer above Android 13.

The Oppo Find N2 Flip is powered by an 8-core MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chip.

We found the device to be smooth and snappy when its folded and unfolded and switching between apps was instant.

CAMERA

On the camera side, the Find N2 Flip has a 50-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel wide angle camera along with a 32-megapixel front camera.

Images captured with the device are bright and sharp and videos also look impressive.

The main 50-megapixel camera includes the large Sony IMX890 sensor with an f/1.8 lens.

Oppo has partnered with legendary camera manufacturer Hasselblad once again to deliver an impressive imaging experience.

The device can capture pro-grade colours and includes a Professional Mode so you can really take control of your images.

It can also capture crisp 4K video even in low light.

And the foldable form factor gives users the option of holding the phone part-folded like a traditional camcorder for even steadier grip.

Another cool feature is the ability to turn on the outside screen so your subject can see themselves in the frame and get an idea of what the photo or video will look like.

BATTERY

The Oppo Find N2 Flip has a 4,200mAh battery that’s split between two cells on either side of the hinge.

We used the Find N2 Flip as our daily driver for the last two weeks and found the battery got us through an entire day.

It doesn’t have the longevity of the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it did get us to the end of the day.

But with a 4,200mAh capacity we did expect more.

But the great thing about the Oppo foldable smartphone is the fact that it comes with a charger and cable.

And not just any old charger – its the 44W SUPERVOOC PD (power delivery).

It delivers fast charging so when it’s time to charge you can go from zero to 50 per cent charge in just 23 minutes and 100 per cent in less than an hour.

PRICE

The Oppo Find N2 Flip is priced at $1,499 which puts it squarely in the flagship range.

That’s also the same price as the same Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4.

It is available in Astral Black and Moonlight Purple and goes on sale this week through JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman.

VERDICT

The Oppo Find N2 Flip is a worthy choice in the flagship and foldable category thanks to its slick design and excellent features. This device really validates Oppo as a world-class brand that can produce a world-class device.

The post Oppo Find N2 Flip review – a slick foldable smartphone that offers flagship quality appeared first on Tech Guide.

It’s that time of year again – Samsung has released the first flagship devices of 2023 and they have set the bar even higher with an impressively updated Galaxy S23 range.

We’ve been using the top-of-the-line Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra since the launch and it’s undoubtedly the best smartphone the company has produced.

We expected nothing less with most of the new features and improvements found under the hood.

At first glance there’s not much change from the S22 Ultra but when you take a closer look, you’ll find several enhancements and upgrades.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 range – the S23 (from $1,349), the S23+ (from $1649) and the S23 Ultra (from $1,949) – all go on sale this week although we’ve heard from some readers who pre-ordered the day of the launch have already received their devices a week and a half early.

DESIGN

The S23 Ultra looks almost identical to the S22 Ultra. It has the same 6.8-inch display and the same S-Pen.

But a closer inspection reveals the sides have lost their curves and have a squarer look.

This was done to make the display less curved and give back a millimetre or two of screen real estate.

An inspection rear panel showed a similar camera layout (there’s four of them) but we noticed the lenses were slightly larger and extended down the rear panel a little further than they did on the S22.

There are also different colours this year – Green, Cream, Lavender and Phantom Black.

The green S23 Ultra we received for review is a lighter green than last year’s colour.

PERFORMANCE

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip for Galaxy which provides a stunning performance, impressive speed and an all-new level of efficiency that takes the battery even further.

We’ve seen Apple produce its own silicon for its products to provide an experience that makes the software and hardware work together beautifully.

With Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy this as close as Samsung’s going to get to its own silicon that’s been personalised to enhance the Galaxy experience.

The power of the device is impressive and is demonstrated by how easily it can handle the latest games.

We played Call of Duty on the S23 Ultra and even paired a Sony PlayStation 5 controller via Bluetooth to make it feel like we were playing on the console even thought it was running on a mobile device.

And with this sort of power at your fingertips the S23 Ultra can easily handle those other applications to help you stay creative and productive on the go.

CAMERA

Without a doubt the most talked about feature of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the camera.

There are a lot of features at your fingertips to achieve a wide variety of shots.

What we like about Samsung’s approach here is that there is nothing they will get in your way to get your image – the lighting, your distance from your subject, it’s night-time – the S23 Ultra will produce a great result every time.

The big feature, of course, with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the new 200-megapixel camera with Adaptive Pixel sensor which captures images and videos in even greater detail and precision.

It uses a technology called pixel binning to support multilevel of high-resolution processing at the same time.

The S23 Ultra has a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, a 200-megapixel wide camera, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (3x optical), a 10-megapixel camera (10x optical zoom) and a 12-megapixel front camera.

The S23 and S23+ both have a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, a 50-megapixel wide camera, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (3x optical zoom) and a 12-megapixel front camera.

The front 12-megapixel selfie camera has had a boost with fast autofocus and the very first super HDR selfie camera which also goes from 30 frames per second to 60 frames per second for even better front-facing images and videos.

The 200-megapixel camera has two main benefits – you can take large images and create large prints and you can crop in on the image and still have a sharp picture.

The main camera can be set to capture 200-megapixel or 50-megapixel.

At 200-megapixel the maximum zoom is 6x while at 50-megapixel you can go all the way to 100x zoom.

We took a 200-megapixel shot of the Anzac Bridge and it offered the typical warm tones and sharpness of a Samsung image.

And even when we cropped or zoomed in on the image it was still sharp and clear with plenty of detail.

With the 100x zoom you can get similar high-quality results even when you zoom all the way in.

We gave this a try in San Francisco with a shot of Alcatraz Island from Fisherman’s Wharf and a shot of the Oakland Bay Bridge from the Ferry Building.

And as you can see from these images – you can still get in really close to your subject and still have a quality image.

A feature shared across the S23 range is the Adaptive Pixel technology which can combine up to 16 pixels into one which allows the lens to draw in even more light so that your night-time images will look brighter than ever.

Shots taken at night look incredibly bright.

Photographers who want even more control can also choose to shoot in RAW which opens up the capabilities and editing options.

Another camera feature that has got us excited is the new astrophotography mode which can allow you to take longer exposures of the night sky.

What it actually does is take hundreds of images during that exposure and stacks them together for an even sharper and brighter image.

And to compensate for the rotation of the earth and prevent star trails, the S23 camera uses an algorithm and notes your location on the globe via GPS and compensates for this slow movement so that your images still turn out sharp and clear.

Our shots, which were taken on a tripod, showed some amazing detail even after 10 seconds and under city lights.

Outside the city under dark skies you can achieve some truly stunning results.

On the video side, the S23 Ultra also has some incredible credentials including the ability to shoot 8K at 30fps. It has better OIS (optical image stabilisation) so your videos will look crisp and steady.

BATTERY

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 5000mAh battery – the same as last year’s S22 Ultra – but what’s different this year is the Snapdragon for Galaxy which creates a remarkable power efficiency while still powering all the amazing features, including the gorgeous 6.8-inch display and amazing experiences like the games and apps.

As a result we were able to get through two days using the Samsung S23 Ultra as our daily driver – and that was making and receiving calls, connecting to wi-fi, taking photos and shooting videos and using apps.

That’s a very impressive result given the size and power of the device.

And when it’s time to charge you can get back to 100 per cent even faster.

With a 45W adaptor, S23 Ultra can get up to 65 per cent charge in 30 minutes.

PRICING

Galaxy S23 Ultra

12GB + 1TB: $ 2,649

12GB + 512GB: $2,249

8GB + 256GB: $1,949

Galaxy S23+

8GB + 512GB: $1,849

8GB + 256GB: $1,649

Galaxy S23

8GB + 256GB: $1,449

8GB + 128GB: $1,349

The Galaxy S23 series will come in four nature inspired colours: Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender.

VERDICT

Samsung has knocked it out of the park with the Galaxy S23 Ultra flagship smartphone with a new level of power and performance and a range of features and a stunning camera to make this one of the best smartphones money can buy.

The post Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review – setting a new standard for smartphones appeared first on Tech Guide.

Kindle Scribe is not only the biggest Kindle ever produced but you can also write on the screen with the included pen with a feel like you’re writing on paper.

For customers who still enjoy the tactile experience of writing and prefer to read their eBooks, the Kindle Scribe is ideal.

The 10.2-inch Paperwhite glare-free 300ppi (pixel per inch) screen is sharp and clear and has an adjustable built-in light to suit your writing/reading environment.

Kindle Scribe is much larger than the previous Kindles.

One of the advantages of a Kindle is its small and light form-factor which makes it easier to hold and lighter than a printed book.

With the Kindle Scribe that’s a different story.

But while it’s larger, it’s also heavier at 433g – that’s about the same weight as a tablet.

If you’re not interested in writing and you’re only interested in reading, the Kindle Scribe might not be for you.

But that large 10.2-inch screen can fit a lot more text so you’re turning the page less often than you would on a smaller Kindle.

The Kindle Scribe comes with a Basic or Premium Pen.

The difference is the Premium has a programmable shortcut button and a dedicated eraser.

The writing experience with the Kindle Scribe is excellent and feels just like writing on paper.

There is a slight roughness you can feel on the screen that gives it nearly the same texture and feel of writing with a pencil on paper.

It is instantly responsive – as much as writing on a physical page with a pen or pencil.

You can change the thickness of pen and even switch to a thicker highlighter pen mode.

And when you’ve finished using the pen, it can be attached magnetically on the side of the Kindle Scribe with the narrower bezel.

Kinde Scribe also comes with several spare pen nibs to place them when they wear out, but it will take a lot of writing before you need to switch it out.

There are few ways you can write on the Kindle Scribe.

You can use the device to create and store all your notes.

Users can name and create a folder and then fill it with notebooks.

So imagine a binder with all the loose pages inside – that’s what you get with the Kindle Scribe folder and notebooks.

You can also choose a notebook template which can be either a blank page, a ruled page with various options on the line spacing and margins along with checklists, music sheets, to-do lists and calendars.

Writing text is a breeze and, if you have the Premium pen, you can simply flip it over like you would a regular pencil and eraser and rub out what you just wrote.

Being able to create and name different folders means organising your notes and accessing them is really easy.

And when you go back to the Home screen, all your folders and individual notebooks are there right beside the books in your library for easy access when you need to open the files again.

The other way of writing is making notes inside a Kindle book you’re reading.

Many people like to read with a pen in their hand to highlight passages and make notes.

Kindle Scribe sort of does that.

Unfortunately you can’t underline passages and circle words and sentences.

What you can do is create a handwritten or typed sticky note that you can come back to it and open it later.

That sticky note appears as a small icon just above the text which can opened again by tapping it with your pen or your finger.

Kindle says they, and the authors we imagine, don’t want your scribble cluttering up the page.

All the sticky notes are organised by book, and you can also easily navigate and export all your notes.

But this only works on books downloaded from the Kindle Store.

If you’ve uploaded epub format books to the device, you can still read them, but you can put the pen away because there is no way to make notes on those books.

When you touch your pencil to the screen with those books it simply turns the page.

You can send your own documents the device via the kindle app using the share button from your iOS or Android device or via the Amazon Send-To-Kindle site.

But you can only add sticky notes.

If you want to go to town and write all over a document – you need to send it as a PDF to the Kindle Scribe.

Once it’s in the library you can write on the PDF and underline and circle words and add your own that will stay visible rather than being hidden away like a sticky note.

From next year, users will also be able to send documents to kindle scribe directly from Microsoft Word.

As a reading device, the Kindle Scribe is excellent because of its adaptive light and larger screen which let you read a lot more text between page turns.

It is heavier than a regular Kindle so might get tired holding it in your hand.

There are covers available for the Kindle Scribe that can also act as a stand so you can rest the device on a surface and angle it comfortably for easy reading.

And, of course, you also have the Kindle Store at your fingertips so you can find and buys books in seconds on the device.

Battery life is amazing and a full charge can last for weeks. We’ve been using the Kindle Scribe every day for a week and the battery only went down to 80 per cent.

Kindle Scribe is available in three memory variants – 16GB, 32GB and 64GB – and your choice of a Basic pen or the Premium pen.

It starts at $549 for the 16GB with the Basic pen and $599 with the Premium pen.

The 32GB and 64GB variants include the Premium pen are priced at $629 and $679 respectively.

VERDICT

The Kindle Scribe is an excellent all-round device with responsive and fluid writing and handy organisation of your notes while offering one of the best reading experiences you’ll find.

The post Kindle Scribe review – an impressive reading and writing experience appeared first on Tech Guide.

We already know Oppo for its smartphones but the company has now released its first tablet in Australia – the Pad Air – which is a handy companion for work, play and travel.

Yes, the name of the product sounds almost exactly like a popular Apple tablet, but that’s where the similarity ends.

Priced at $379, the Oppo Pad Air is certainly affordable. And the cover is an extra $79.

On the design side, the device certainly punches above its weight and includes a two-tone metal splicing design with 3D texture on the rear panel which helps prevent those ugly fingerprints.

And the Pad Air is just 6.94mm thick and weighs just 440g.

The 10.36-inch display has a resolution of 2000 x 1200 with a screen to body ratio of 83.5 per cent.

It also has a 60Hz refresh rate and can display more than a billion colours.

The Pad Air screen has a wider aspect ratio that’s perfect for viewing movies and other video content like YouTube.

But it’s not the best shape for viewing websites or reading documents but turn it on its side to portrait mode and you have an oversized smartphone-shaped screen.

This makes viewing websites and social media apps like Instagram and TikTok even easier as well.

Our content on the Pad Air looked impressive.

It also sounded good as well through the built-in quad Dolby Atmos speakers.

Now we’ve heard better quality audio on a tablet but, given the affordable price, the Pad Air delivered a surprisingly good result.

The Pad Air is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 (CPU) and the Adreno 610@1115MHz (GPU) so performance well above an entry level tablet.

It is running Android with Oppo’s ColorOS 12.1 which gives it a clean and minimal look while still offer easy navigation of the system and the tablet’s features.

Realistically, the Pad Air won’t challenge the iPad Pro in terms speed and power, but it will give you enough grunt for basic tasks like creating and editing documents, playing games, reading eBooks and watching movies.

On the battery side, the Pad Air has 7,100mAh capacity which provides days of power with light usage of a full day of video viewing.

That’s another plus for the tablet at this price point.

It also supports fast charging as well when it’s time to power up again – but you’re not getting the legendary Oppo faster VOOC charging.

Onboard is 64GB of storage but the good news is you can expand the memory with a microSD card.

It has a front 5-megapixel camera and rear 8-megapixel camera which will do the job for basic images and full high-definition video calls.

There are a few limitations with the Pad Air including its lack of a stylus and any clear ability to write on the screen.

It doesn’t have a headphone jack, but it has Bluetooth 5.1 to easily pair earphones and headphones to listen to your music and enjoy your video content.

The Oppo Pad Air is ideal for the customer looking for an affordable tablet with a view of consuming more content than they create.

The Oppo Pad Air is available now and is priced at $379. The cover for Pad Air is available separately for $79.

VERDICT

The Oppo Pad Air is an affordable entry level tablet that delivers quality, features and performance you’d usually find on more expensive devices.

The post Oppo Pad Air review – the affordable tablet that punches above its weight appeared first on Tech Guide.

Tom Cruise summed it up best in Top Gun – I feel the need, the need for speed! And that’s exactly what you get with the new Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro portable 5G hotspot.

Available exclusively through Telstra for use on its impressive 5G network, the Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro can connect to both the regular Sub6 5G band and the faster mmWave as well with theoretical speeds of up to 8Gbps.

We didn’t get anywhere near that but it’s nice to know there’s that amount of headroom in the future.

mmWave is already being deployed by Telstra in Australian CBDs and other busy places like airports, train stations and stadiums and, while offering shorter range than Sub6, it has greater capacity to handle more users and can give customers much faster speeds.

The unit itself can fit in the palm of your hand and has a 2.8 colour touchscreen so you can monitor data used, connected devices and the battery level.

The battery has a capacity of 5040mAh which is enough to get you through most of the day.

On the rear is a USB-C port to charge the battery and a 2.5G Ethernet port so you can link the M6 Pro to a device with a cable or to an Ethernet switch so you can connect multiple devices.

And it can also handle connecting up to 32 devices wirelessly at the same time.

The Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro offers Wi-Fi 6E compatibility so the latest compatible smartphones, tablets and laptops can connect at up to 2.9Gbps on 5Ghz and up to 700Mbps on 2.4Ghz.

The ideal customer for the Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro is a mobile professional who needs a fast and reliable connection anywhere or someone who wants a backup or replace their current fixed broadband at their home or office.

Naturally you need to have good Telstra 5G reception where you’re using the M6 Pro and thankfully the network’s footprint is growing.

At last count, the Telstra 5G network was within reach of 80 per cent of Australia’s population with a projected 95 per cent coverage by 2025.

It’s also possible to connect an external MIMO SMA antenna to improve your reception in fringe network areas. It can be used in buildings and even in vehicles.

For our testing we tried the M6 Pro in the Sydney CBD (near Telstra’s office) and in the suburbs.

Near the Telstra building we achieved 986Mbps and 1.1Gbps (on mmWave) but other parts of the city (on Sub6) we had 247Mbps and 197Mbps.

Out in the eastern suburbs on Sub6 it was common to exceed 140Mbps and sometimes greater than 200Mbps.

All these results are more than adequate to get things done – and get them done fast.

And with mmWave expanding and being available in more places it’s good to know the M6 Pro is also future proof as well.

We did notice on the odd occasion it took a couple of attempts to connect to the hotspot from our MacBook Air and smartphone.

But the old “turn it off and on again” method seemed to correct the situation.

Now let’s talk price.

The Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro is $749 which isn’t cheap and is far more expensive than other options from other networks.

But it also has many more features and capabilities than these other options so it’s basically like comparing a Porsche with a Toyota.

The Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro is available now.

VERDICT

The Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro – which runs on the powerful Telstra network – is the ultimate mobile hotspot that can keep connected at the fastest available speeds and that will be useful well into the future.

The post Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro review – the 5G hotspot that meets your need for speed appeared first on Tech Guide.

If you thought the M1 iPad Pro was powerful, then wait till you get a load of the brand new model powered by Apple’s M2 processor – it really takes things to the next level.

While the design of the new iPad Pro hasn’t changed, there are some exciting developments under the hood that will make this product even more valuable and versatile to professionals who rely on high-level performance anywhere.

Available with either 11-inch and 12.9-inch Liquid Retina displays, the iPad Pro can now deliver incredible performance and power through even the most demanding workflows thanks to that new M2 chip.

This latest generation processor from Apple is built on second generation 5-nanometer process with more than 20 billion transistors.

The chip derives its power from the 8-core CPU, which includes four high performance cores and four high efficiency cores and this makes it up to 15 per cent faster than the M1 powered iPad Pro released last year.

And remarkably, it still housed in a thin and light chassis.

On the graphics side, the iPad Pro’s 10-core GPU means up to 35 per cent faster graphics performance than the M1.

This means working with multiple layers in Adobe Photoshop, editing 4K videos and retouching photos is remarkably smooth and responsive.

Blackmagic Design’s Da Vinci Resolve video editing software has also just been released for the iPad Pro with M2.

And it’s a case of having to see it to believe it when editing videos, colour grading and managing HDR workflows – on a tablet.

This will be music to the ears of high-end video editors who can now do their work on the go.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which Tech Guide received for this review, has a gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1600 nits of peak brightness and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

The larger iPad Pro also has native support for Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG to offer a mobile cinematic viewing experience.

Not much has changed on the camera side with the 12-megapixel wide camera that can shoot 4K video at up to 60 frames per second as well as capturing HD at up to 240 frames per second for slo-mo videos.

The other 10-megapixel ultra-wide camera lets you zoom out 2x and capture images or 4K video with a much larger field of view.

With the new M2 processor, it turns the iPad Pro into a complete movie studio that accelerates ProRes encode and decode so you’re able to convert video projects to ProRes up to three times faster.

And thanks to the image signal processor in the M2 chip, the iPad Pro can now capture ProRes video.

It also has five studio-quality microphones on board as well as a four-speaker audio system with support for Dolby Atmos so you can not only record theatre quality sound but also enjoy it when it’s time to relax with a movie.

The front 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the iPad Pro not only enables Face ID but also has portrait mode and 122-degree field of view which enables Centre Stage to keep you front and centre in your video calls and on FaceTime.

Apple Pencil users will enjoy an all-new feature with the iPad Pro called Apple Pencil Hover.

This feature allows users to preview what they’re about to write or draw before actually pressing Apple Pencil to the screen.

For example, if you’re using different colours on the display, you can select the colour and visualise what that colour will look like just by keeping Apple Pencil up to 12mm away from the screen.

It’s like a try before you buy feature so you’re not using the wrong colour.

This is a feature powered by M2 so it can interpret the signals from Apple Pencil in three dimensions and approximate where the tip will touch the screen.

On the connectivity side, the iPad Pro with M2 provides 5G connectivity on the cellular models.

And it’s also the first Apple device to offer Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.

But there is a small catch with the iPad Pro Wi-Fi 6E operating only two bands – 2.4 GHz and 5GHz.

What’s missing here is its ability to operate on the 6GHz band which makes it operate even faster on Wi-Fi 6E networks.

The 11-inch iPad Pro with M2 is priced at $1,399 (128GB, wi-fi), $1,579 (256GB, wi-fi), $1,929 (512GB, wi-fi), $2,639 (1TB, wi-fi), $3,329 (2TB, wi-fi), $1,649 (128GB, wi-fi + cellular), $1,829 (256GB, wi-fi + cellular), $2,179 (512GB, wi-fi + cellular), $2,879 (1TB, wi-fi + cellular), $3,579 (2TB, wi-fi + cellular).

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro with M2 is priced at $1,829 (128GB, wi-fi), $2,079 (256GB, wi-fi), $2,429 (512GB, wi-fi), $3,129 (1TB, wi-fi), $3,829 (2TB, wi-fi), $2,149 (128GB, wi-fi + cellular), $2,329 (256GB, wi-fi + cellular), $2,679 (512GB, wi-fi + cellular), $3,399 (1TB, wi-fi + cellular), $4,099 (2TB, wi-fi + cellular).

VERDICT

The iPad Pro with M2 is an absolute game changer when it comes to a tablet being able to power through your tasks and maintaining a high level of productivity with some of the most intense applications. It is in a class of its own.

The post iPad Pro with M2 review – stunning performance that’s gone to the next level appeared first on Tech Guide.

The humble iPad has taken a huge leap forward with the release of the 10th generation of the popular device which features a new look and an all-screen design.

Since the release of the iPad back in 2010, it has defined the tablet market and this latest iteration is its biggest upgrade.

Not only does it look different but is also running the A14 bionic chip which certainly upgrades its capabilities to do things like edit 4K videos, play the latest graphics-heavy games and last all day on a single charge.

On the design side, this is the iPad’s biggest change.

Gone is the home button and the large forehead and chin above and below the display and in its place is a stunning 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with a resolution of 2360 X 1640.

That’s 264PPI (pixels per inch) and with 500 nits of brightness.

And the good news is despite having a larger 10.9-inch display over the previous generation’s 10.2-inch screen, the device itself is still basically the same size.

The increased screen real estate has been gained by going edge to edge with the screen and moving the Touch ID to the top of the device.

Now the button on top is where you simply rest your finger to unlock the device with your fingerprint.

The other big change is the move to USB-C with the charging port.

There is no longer a Lightning connection to this iPad.

Apple will still offer the 9th generation iPad with its Lightning connection for sale for those customers who are invested in charging multiple Lightning iPads like schools and businesses.

But for those who purchase the new iPad, they need to embrace USB-C for the first time.

The one issue here though, is that the Apple Pencil, which customers love and will still want to use with this latest iPad has a Lightning connector and requires a Lightning port for charging.

And it’s not like you can move up to the second-generation Apple Pencil, this won’t work with the new iPad because there is no magnetic connection on the top edge as seen on the iPad Air and the iPad Pro to pair in charge Apple Pencil.

So you’re really stuck with the original Apple Pencil on this new iPad.

But apple has come to the rescue with a small USB-C to Apple Pencil adapter that connects the Apple Pencil at one end and the included USB C cable at the other end which can then connect to the device’s port for charging.

On the performance side, the new iPad is very impressive thanks to the A14 Bionic chip which offers a 20 per cent improvement over the previous iPad as well as improvements on the graphics side as well.

The iPad can easily perform advanced tasks like video editing, photo editing with large files an even run the most complex games and high-end applications.

In fact, we think the iPad is powerful enough for those customers looking to buy a laptop for basic use like browsing, email and running applications.

We’ve often suggested to our readers and listeners asking for advice on a new laptop to consider the iPad as their device of choice because it can easily handle the tasks and applications they want to run.

The front facing camera, a very popular feature on the iPad, has now been moved to the landscape edge of the device which makes it easier when you’re on a FaceTime call or recording yourself for a social media post.

This new position means you’ll always be looking at the camera.

The other addition is support for Centre Stage which means the camera will automatically pan and zoom and keep you in the middle of the frame even if you’re moving about.

The front camera can shoot up to 1080p at 60 frames per second while the 12-megapixel wide rear camera can capture 4K video and HD video at 240 frames per second to create some stunning slo-mo videos.

Again, the A14 Bionic chip is doing the heavy lifting here and delivers improved dynamic range, more accurate and truer colour and less noise in your images.

Both capturing and listening to audio has taken a step forward with the new iPad.

For recording, the onboard dual microphone system captures quality audio and adjusts depending on the camera that’s being used, either front or rear.

The speakers are now configured in landscape which widens the sound quality to give you an even more immersive experience when watching movies.

Customers who will opt for the wi-fi plus cellular models will be pleased to know the new iPad now features 5G connectivity to get even faster connections on the move.

Apple has also released a new Magic Keyboard Folio with a full keyboard that offers the same typing mechanism seen on its other products.

It also includes a trackpad so you can really increase your productivity and use the iPad just like a laptop.

Also available is a Smart Folio which attaches magnetically to the back and covers the screen to give your iPad maximum protection while still providing a stand for viewing, making FaceTime calls, reading or typing.

The new 10th generation iPad is available in four colours – silver, yellow, pink and blue in either 64GB or 256GB memory variants.

The iPad 10th generation is priced at $749 (64GB – wi-fi only), $999 (256GB wi-fi only), $999 (64GB wi-fi + cellular) and $1,249 (256GB wi-fi + cellular).

VERDICT

The new iPad 10^th Generation is a stunning improvement across the board not only in its sleek new design but its impressive performance and capabilities as well. The iPad has just become even more versatile and even more irresistible.

The post iPad 10th Generation review – a new look, more powerful and even more attractive appeared first on Tech Guide.

The new Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones live up to their expectations as flagship devices with impressive performance and a camera that not only takes great pictures but will improve the ones you’ve already taken.

The new Google Pixel phones have had a slight design refresh with the Pixel 7 Pro (6.7-inch display) sporting a polished aluminium frame and camera bar.

The Pixel 7 (6.3-inch display) has an anodized aluminium frame and camera bar and echoes the same design as the Pixel 7 Pro but just slightly smaller.

The Pixel 7 Pro, apart from a larger screen and more premium design, has an extra lens to make up its three-camera system.

Design-wise, we liked the new distinctive style with some bold new colours including the hazel for the Pixel 7 Pro which we received for our review.

One thing that’s still part of the design is that signature large camera bar which juts out a few millimetres from the rear panel.

This is Google’s version of a camera bump, and you can’t miss it. You can smooth it out by putting a case on the device to make the rear panel all the same level.

Both the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 are powered by the latest Google Tensor G2 processor which offers smooth and slick performance.

Google hasn’t mentioned what sort of performance improvement the new chip provides and, to be honest, we couldn’t pick any obvious speed improvements.

But we do know the Tensor G2 processor does the heavy lifting when it comes to the computational demands and AI that’s required to make the raft of features possible including Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur and Audio Message Transcription.

The Google Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 are both running the Android 13 operating system which allows you to personalise your device so it looks how you want and you receive the notifications you want.

We liked the clean and minimal look to the software which provided a fast and smart performance.

Users able to select their wallpaper and style and choose from basic colour collections so that your home and lockscreen are personalised to your taste and preference.

The displays are sharp and clear and offer adaptive brightness which adjusts the screen to suit the ambient lighting conditions.

We also found it interesting that the Pixel 7 Pro screen resolution had been set to full high definition by default despite the screens capability of 1440p QHD+.

Google says this full resolution uses more of your battery, but we didn’t notice too much of an impact.

One feature we love on the Pixel smartphones is the Recorder app that allows you to not only record someone but also receive a full transcription of the audio.

Audio Message Transcription is also on board and allows you to read the transcription of an audio message in those situations where you are unable to listen to the message directly.

Google Assistant also lends a hand with voice typing so you can speak rather than typing and add emojis just by asking for them as well.

On the security side, the Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro have any screen fingerprint reader as well as face unlock.

The fingerprint reader worked almost instantly most of the time while face unlock managed to recognise us to unlock the device.

Interestingly, face unlock cannot be used for things like signing into apps or making payments which suggests to us it isn’t the strongest security for your device.

But let’s get real – the absolute standout feature of the new Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro is without a doubt the camera.

And they do not disappoint. in fact, we go so far as to say they’re not far off the dizzy heights and standards set by Apple and Samsung with their devices.

And it’s not just the quality of the photos and videos that you can capture, but also how you can improve them with one of the many built-in features.

The Pixel Pro 7 has a triple rear camera system made up of a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 50-megapixel wide lens and a 48-megapixel telephoto lens.

Aboard the Pixel 7 is a dual camera system with a 50-megapixel wide and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide.

Both new Pixel phones also have a 10.8-megapixel fixed focus ultrawide front facing camera.

And there are plenty of new camera features including Super Res zoom – up to 8x on Pixel 7 and up to 30x on Pixel 7 Pro.

The Super Res zoom, especially at 30X on the Pixel 7 Pro, is remarkable.

Not only are you able to zoom right in on a subject but you’re able to position it in the frame thanks to the guide window which shows what part of the image you are zoomed in on.

We tested this with a couple of pigeons on our roof and couldn’t believe the detail in the 30x zoomed image.

And there are no worries for capturing images in low light conditions thanks to Night Sight.

This is a feature Google has been famous for with its Pixel phones and this time out you’ll be amazed how much light the camera can find in near dark situations.

Magic Eraser is back and allows users to eliminate unwanted objects in the background.

And it’s pretty easy – you just circle the object or person you want to eliminate, and the phone gets to work.

Now not all results are smooth as you’d expect but, on most occasions, and with less complicated backgrounds, it did work very well.

Photo Unblur can also come to the rescue if your images, including older images you already have on your camera roll, are not quite as sharp as you would like.

We had mixed results with this – on some occasions it cleared the image noticeably and other times it didn’t do much at all.

The Pixel 7 Pro also has a macro camera so you can get right up close and photograph things like raindrops and flowers and other smaller objects from as close as 3cm.

On the video side, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are capable of shooting 4K at up to 60 frames per second.

Pixel 7 Pro users can also capture incredible colours with 10-bit HDR (high dynamic range).

We were pleased with the battery life of the Pixel 7 and the Pixel 7 Pro which easily got us through an entire day and with plenty left in the tank.

There are settings to help you get even more out of your battery including extreme battery saver which helps uses extend your battery life when you’re running low.

When this is engaged it does things like turn off wi-fi and other network connections along with background operations.

The Pixel 7 starts at $999 and the Pixel 7 Pro from $1,299.

They are available now from the Google Store, JB Hi-Fi, Telstra, Vodafone, Officeworks and Harvey Norman and coming soon to Optus.

VERDICT

Google has done it again with the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro and produced a value product that offers excellent performance and includes one of the best cameras you’ll find on a smartphone.

The post Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphone review – quality, value and a brilliant camera appeared first on Tech Guide.

TCL already knows a thing or two about display technology and it has just released the NXTPAPER 10s colour tablet with a screen that’s designed to look like paper that’s a lot friendlier to your eyes.

The TCL NXTPAPER 10s has a 10-inch full high-definition paper-like display which has 73 per cent blue light reduction which reduces the impact of screen time on eye health for both children and adults.

The device, which is running Android 11, also has an anti-glare finish so you’re not getting any reflections.

Yet the TCL NXTPAPER 10s display still manages to deliver impressive bright and natural colours just like a tablet with a regular screen.

The difference here Is the screen is a lot easier on your eyes and is also remarkably fingerprint free.

When we were viewing websites, including our own, and using applications we could still appreciate the colours – they just didn’t have the gloss of a regular display.

Think of it like this – the TCL NXTPAPER 10s is like looking at a colourful book with regular matte pages.

A tablet with a normal screen is like looking that same book but printed on glossy paper.

You’re still getting all the same information, the same look and feel and range of colours but the TCL NXTPAPER 10s just lacks the shine and glow that comes with a regular backlit screen.

The TCL NXTPAPER 10s is TUV-certified with a 73 per cent reduction in blue light passing through.

This is a huge advantage if you spend a lot of time looking at a screen.

Looking at a backlit screen on a computer or tablet will lead to sore or tired eyes.

In fact, Optometry Australia’s 2022 Vision Index Report said 88 per cent of surveyed Australians experienced eye fatigue while 86 per cent believed their child’s eyesight was also being impacted by constant screen time.

Health fund HCF Australia says there has been a 28.8 per cent increase in school aged children who require glasses or contact lenses between 2015 and 2020.

Even the World Health Organisation has recognised the fact that short sightedness is on the increase and predicted that half the population maybe myopic by 2050.

The surface of the TCL NXTPAPER 10s display has a slightly different texture then a regular tablet which comes in handy when typing, scrolling and writing on the screen.

So it not only looks like paper it also makes it feel slightly more paper-like as well.

The other remarkable feature is the clear viewing angle.

Even if you’re looking at the tablet sideways it has the same brightness and clarity as if you were looking at it front on.

That’s something that can’t be said for regular tablets because of the nature of the backlit screen and the reflections.

Design-wise the TCL NXTPAPER 10s is thin (8.3mm) and light (490g) and the screen has a narrow aspect ratio.

The bezels around the display are quite large when compared to the current crop of regular tablets.

On the performance side, the TCL NXTPAPER 10s is powered by an octa-core chipset with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage which can be expanded through the onboard microSD card slot.

The device could be a little more responsive, but it certainly didn’t detract from our enjoyment and use of the product.

Included with the TCL NXTPAPER 10s is it full keyboard cover If you prefer typing on a keyboard.

When you insert the tablet into the keyboard cover it asks if you want to enter PC mode – a new desktop that allows you to focus in on your files and notes while still being able to access productivity apps and a file manager.

There are also dedicated reading and writing apps so you can take full advantage of this paper like screen.

It has an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera and has two speakers and two microphones if you need to take part in a video call or enjoy some content.

The TCL NXTPAPER 10s has an 8000mAh battery which will last a day or two because it doesn’t have to power a regular backlit screen.

So whether you’re using it for learning, entertainment, creativity or productivity – the TCL NXTPAPER 10s gives you plenty of time between charges.

The TCL NXTPAPER 10s is available now for $499 from Big W, Target, Mobileciti and other online retailers

VERDICT

The TCL NXTPAPER 10S Is a refreshing new device that takes your eye health into account while still providing an impressive and colourful experience whether you’re using it to work, learn or play. It is an ideal choice if you’re buying a tablet for a child and want to protect their eyes.

The post TCL NXTPAPER 10s review – a tablet with a paper-like screen that’s easy on the eyes appeared first on Tech Guide.

The new 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus is an ideal choice for the user who wants to enjoy the iPhone experience with a larger screen and even better battery life.

In the last few years, the only way a customer could have larger screen iPhone would be to pay for the most expensive Pro Max model.

But now Apple has responded to customer’s suggestion and re-introduced the Plus model to the iPhone 14 line-up.

Having a bigger iPhone means you can either see the contents of the screen even larger (good for people like me who now needs glasses to read their screen) or you can fit even more content on the display.

And of course a larger Super Retina XDR display makes watching content and playing games even better as well.

Like the iPhone 14, the iPhone 14 Plus is made from durable aerospace aluminium and has a ceramic shield over the display so there’s no arguing about toughness of the product.

It is also water resistant to a depth of up to 6m for up to 30 minutes so casual spills with drinks should be no issue.

For our review we received the new purple iPhone 14 Plus – an impressive new colour.

Under the hood, the iPhone 14 Plus is running the A15 bionic which still makes it one of the fastest smartphone chips on the market.

The result is impressive performance whether you’re scrolling between apps, browsing the web, playing a game or viewing content on the go.

iPhone 14 Plus has a new 12-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera plus a larger sensor and larger pixels, so the resulting images and videos are even better quality.

The faster f/1.5 aperture on the main camera dramatically improves lowlight performance by 49 per cent.

Images we took even in low light still looked stunning.

Another thing we noticed was images taken with a strong backlight were also clearer thanks to the Photonic Engine, the new image pipeline, that can radically improve lowlight performance for your images

And on the front, the TrueDepth camera now has autofocus so your image – whether it’s just a selfie or group selfie – is going to look even sharper and clearer.

Action Mode is another excellent new edition which can stabilise your videos (up to 2.8K resolution at 60 frames per second) to a point where people will think you are shooting with a gimbal.

And like the iPhone 14, the iPhone 14 Plus now has crash detection and emergency SOS.

on the battery side, the iPhone 14 plus offers the best battery life ever on an iPhone, according to Apple.

And we have to wholeheartedly agree.

A bigger iPhone means a larger battery and that’s exactly what you get with the iPhone 14 Plus.

But why has the iPhone 14 Plus been singled out by Apple for superior battery performance and not the iPhone 14 Pro Max?

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a similar size battery and capacity, but it is powering a ProMotion display which runs adaptive frame rates of up to 120 Hertz.

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have 60Hz displays and might not look as smooth as the iPhone 14 Pro but are far less taxing on the battery.

That’s why the iPhone 14 Plus is in that sweet spot when it comes to battery performance.

For our review we used iPhone 14 Plus as our daily driver from morning till night.

We started with 100 per cent at 8am and usually still had 50 per cent in the tank by 6pm.

The lowest it was at the end of the day when were out and about was 42 per cent.

One thing we would have liked to see was the newest Wi-Fi 6E standard. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro both have Wi-Fi 6 and don’t offer that extra speed if you have a Wi-Fi 6E router in your home or office.

Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 all have Wi-Fi 6E.

The iPhone 14 Plus is priced at $1,579 (128GB), $1,749 (256GB) and $2,099 (512GB) and are available in blue, purple, midnight, starlight and PRODUCT(Red).

VERDICT

The iPhone 14 Plus will be very popular with customers and offers a tantalising sweet spot with a larger screen, sleek design and the best battery life on an iPhone. It’s now more affordable to go big or go home.

The post iPhone 14 Plus review – hits the sweet spot with a large screen and great battery life appeared first on Tech Guide.

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro are without a doubt the most advanced iPhones Apple has ever produced. But that’s what we’ve come to expect every year since the first iPhone was released 15 years ago.

This year there are some key improvements that are common for each new iPhone while the iPhone 14 Pro differentiates itself with its own set of premium new features.

In fact, we think this year there is there is a bigger gap between the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro.

DESIGN

On the design side, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro look almost identical to the previous models.

They have the same flat edge look with Ceramic Shield displays and water and dust resistance.

iPhone 14 is made from durable aerospace aluminium while the iPhone 14 Pro has a more premium and glossier look and feel with surgical grade stainless steel.

And once you get then in your hands you can feel the excellent build quality that Apple is famous for.

For our review we used the new blue iPhone 14, the space grey iPhone 14 Pro and the new deep purple iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro both have 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR displays while the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max takes the size up to 6.7-inches.

The difference here is the iPhone 14 Pro models also have adaptive frame rates of 120Hz for super smooth motion.

And this time Apple is offering a 6.7-inch entry level iPhone with the iPhone 14 Plus for those customers who prefer a larger iPhone but couldn’t afford an iPhone Pro Max.

The changes from the iPhone 13 to iPhone 14 in terms of design are almost indistinguishable.

The only difference we could see was the slightly higher and wider camera bump on the iPhone 14. As a result, the cover for the iPhone 13 wouldn’t fit on the iPhone 14.

It’s the same story with the iPhone 14 Pro which has a noticeably larger camera area with taller lenses than the iPhone 13 Pro.

PROCESSOR

The iPhone 14 has inherited the same A15 Bionic as the iPhone 13 but with an additional GPU core which enables several features.

This is still one of the fastest smartphones chips on the market and provides impressive performance.

iPhone 14 Pro, meanwhile, has the new A16 Bionic – the first built on a 4-nanometer process. What does mean? It means faster performance, more memory bandwidth while still offering a remarkable power efficiency so the battery lasts even longer.

Whether it’s switching between apps, watching a movie, capturing great images and video, playing games with cutting edge graphics and longer battery life – it’s all because of the A15 and A16 Bionic chips.

DYNAMIC ISLAND

One of the biggest changes to the iPhone 14 Pro is the fact the notch is no more.

In its place is a new feature called the Dynamic Island.

And it’s like an optical illusion.

There is a pill-shaped cut-out for the front camera and sensors that is always there.

But, unlike other brands who do nothing with this space and don’t do anything to disguise it, Apple has taken a different approach.

With Dynamic Island, that area now serves as a notification space that appears to change shape depending on the notification.

Naturally all of Apple’s native apps like Apple Music, Apple Podcast, Face ID and many more have taken advantage of Dynamic Island and some third-party apps like Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and many more are already compatible.

This is a feature that we think other phone makers will copy.

ALWAYS-ON DISPLAY

The iPhone 14 Pro has Always-On Display which means even when the iPhone locks you can still view the time and your other widgets.

The screen in this mode drops the refresh rate to just 1Hz so it’s hardly using any power.

A lot of users are rightly claiming that this has been a featured on Android phones for some time – but for the millions of iPhone users who purchase the iPhone 14 Pro – it is a first.

CAMERAS

Both the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 pro have improved cameras on the front and back.

The iPhone 14 has new 12-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera Along with a larger sensor and larger pixels for taking even better images and videos.

The main camera has a faster f/1.5 aperture which means a 49 per cent improvement in low light situations

Both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro have improved front TrueDepth cameras and now with autofocus so you can achieve sharp focus at all distances. So next time you try a group selfie – everyone will be sharp and clear.

But the big leap with the camera comes with the iPhone 14 Pro and the new 48-megapixel with quad-pixel sensor that’s 65 per cent larger than the one aboard the iPhone 13 Pro.

This increases image quality significantly and works wonders with low light conditions.

The iPhone already took amazing images but the iPhone 14 Pro takes that to another level.

If you enjoy your photography and want to see quality results, then the new iPhone 14 Pro is the device for you.

With the middle 12-megapixel camera, Apple has added a 2x zoom option.

Users can also shoot ProRaw and capture image files that are more than 80MB In size which really opens up the editing options.

On the video side, Apple has added Cinematic Mode in 4K to both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro with automatic focus changes from one subject to another.

Another excellent new addition is Action Mode which can dramatically stabilise your videos even when not shooting with a gimbal.

It supports up to 2.8K video at up to 60 frames per second and achieves rock steady footage by using an increased overscan and applying advanced roll correction.

CRASH DETECTION

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro both have crash detection – a feature customers will hope they’ll never use.

Crash Detection employs a range of new sensors and the accelerometer to detect sudden force, loud noises and air pressure changes that characteristic of a car accident.

If detected, the iPhone will automatically dial emergency services and play a voice loop reporting there has been a crash and provide the location.

EMERGENCY SOS

This safety feature allows users to send an emergency text message via satellite when they are out of cellular or Wi-Fi range.

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro can even tell you where to point the device to pick up the best satellite connection.

This is a feature currently only available in the US and Canada but it’s sure to be deployed in Australia in the coming months.

But if you were to travel to the US with an iPhone 14 purchased in Australia, this feature will still work because it’s based on your location not the device.

BATTERY

The other big winner for customers with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro is the excellent battery life which easily powered through the day with 45 per cent battery remaining when we sat down to dinner.

This impressive battery performance is a result of the outstanding power efficiency created by the A15 Bionic and A16 Bionic processor in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro respectively.

PRICE AND CAPACITIES

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will have 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB memory variants.

The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be offered in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB capacities.

The iPhone 14 Pro is priced from $1,749 with the iPhone 14 Pro Max starting at $1,899

The iPhone 14 will be priced from $1,399.

iPhone 14 Plus will be released in October.

VERDICT

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro offer class leading design and features Plus one of the best cameras you’ll find on a smartphone. It all adds up to an irresistible package for anyone already invested in the Apple ecosystem – and those who want to dive in for the first time.

The post iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro review – setting a new benchmark for smartphones appeared first on Tech Guide.

Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 4 uses a similar hinge and technology as the Z Fold 4 to make it a foldable smartphone – but it a vastly different device and a different customer that it’s designed for.

While Z Fold 4 is a workhorse device designed for the high-end users, the Z Flip 4 has a different demographic – a regular user who wants the features they know and love but with a head-turning form factor that’s made flip phones trendy again.

But it’s a flip phone with a huge difference to the ones we used almost 20 years ago.

The foldable display which, when unfolded, is 6.7-inch but when the users is done using that screen, they can fold it half and they are no longer carrying a large device but a much smaller more pocketable device.

Until now, having a large phone screen meant you had to carry around a large device.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 changes all of that.

And in its fourth iteration, the Flip 4 is better than ever with an improved camera, slimmer hinge, faster performance and longer battery life.

It also has an IPX8 rating which makes it water resistant.

It’s also made from Armor Aluminium so it can handle solid daily use and doesn’t need to be handled with kid gloves.

THE EXPERIENCE

Having a folding smartphone for the first is a novelty but that’s not going to last forever.

What will last forever is the convenience of having a full-sized device that can be literally folded in half and slipped inside your pocket.

People were fascinated by it when we showed it to them – to them it was like a party trick.

The larger outside screen – it’s now 1.9-inch – is also a lot more functional and you can still do a lot as well like check your messages and notifications and control your media without opening the phone.

It can also be used to access your digital wallet so you can pay for things while its closed as well.

Users can also frame photos using the smaller screen and shoot video through the main cameras beside the front display.

When it is unfolded with the larger screen it’s just like a regular phone – until you decide to fold it and put it away.

DESIGN

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 has had a slight redesign – and by redesign we mean a couple of millimetres to give the inside and outside screen a little more room.

It also has a slimmer hinge which has a smaller protrusion when it’s closed.

The cameras used to be flush with the front surface but now the two lenses protrude slightly.

There are also some new colours including Bora Purple.

Samsung has a Bespoke mode which allows users to choose their own panel and frame colours to make it truly their own.

SCREEN

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 has a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate.

The colours and clarity are remarkable – with the same glass-like appearance of a regular screen.

The Flip 4 display is actually covered with a razor thin layer of glass. And the touchscreen also works like any other smartphone you’ve ever used.

There is a slight indentation where the hinge is located but you quickly forget about that when you’re using the phone, taking your images and viewing your content.

FLEX MODE

Flex Mode is the feature that really sets the Z Flip 4 apart and enables so many features and capabilities.

And it is enabled by the hinge when the device is half open and able to be rested on surfaces.

Users can take advantage of Flex Mode mainly when taking photos, viewing content and when on video calls.

The most obvious use, and one that’s tailor-made for the typical Z Flip 4 user, is taking selfies.

Users can rest the phone on a flat surface and align the camera and then simply hold up an open palm activate the three-second shutter timer.

The result are perfectly framed selfies that are ready to share.

CAMERA

The Z Flip 4 has two main 12-megapixel cameras – a wide and ultrawide – as well as a front 10-megapixel camera on the main screen.

The camera is not the same quality as you’ll find on the Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but it still holds its own with sharp images that capture natural colours.

It has inherited the Nightography capabilities so low light images are really impressive and manage to find light and make the picture remarkably brighter.

Even the selfie camera, the one you use in Flex Mode, will have you looking your best.

Flex Mode allows you to do a lot more with the camera.

The fact you can bend the phone at a right angle makes it possible to do things like taking top-down images or low angle shots and videos.

The level of versatility is only limited by your imagination.

Considering the user of the Z Flip 4 is more likely to take and share images on social media and with friends, it’s a shame the quality of the camera is not better.

The camera on the Z Fold 4 is a lot better but the typical user is less likely to use the camera in the same way as the Z Flip 4 user.

We think the Z Flip 4 user would appreciate a higher quality camera than the Z Fold 4 user.

What that would do to the design, we don’t know – it could make it a little bigger, but we think that would be an acceptable trade-off for many customers.

BATTERY

One of the biggest improvements of the Z Flip 4 is the battery life.

It now has a larger 3,700mAh battery which easily gets you through the day.

When we were using it as our main phone there was still about 20 per cent battery remaining by the evening.

The previous model would be lucky to get you through to mid-afternoon on a busy day before needing a recharge, so this is a welcome upgrade.

PRICE

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 will be priced at $1,499 (256GB), $1,649 (256GB), $1,849 (512GB) $1,729 (Bespoke – 256GB). These are the same prices as last year.

VERDICT

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 is a fun and approachable foldable smartphone that has a slick design and a swathe of features to attract upgrading Flip users and those keen to take their first step into the new foldable world.

The post Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 foldable smartphone review – the flip phone is back appeared first on Tech Guide.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a new and exciting foldable smartphone that promises to reinvent the way we interact with our device and create new possibilities and experiences.

Now in its fourth iteration, the Z Fold 4 has well and truly established itself as a jewel in the Samsung mobile devices crown.

The company is positioning the Z Fold 4 and its other new foldable device – the Z Flip 4 – as flagship devices that will sit side by side with its already popular Galaxy S Series.

The Z Fold 4 has inherited a better camera, a faster processor, S Pen compatibility and a more robust build.

And Samsung has also kept the device at the same price as last year’s model despite the worldwide market difficulties.

Tech Guide has been using the Galaxy Z Fold 4 for a couple of weeks.

THE EXPERIENCE

If you’re new to a foldable smartphone, you’ll find any excuse to open the Z Fold 4.

People stopped us to take a closer look and there was no shortage of fascination for the device.

And it is one of those products that you appreciate (despite the high quality of this review) even more once you get it in your hands.

In the time we’ve been using it, every single person who asked to look at it was impressed.

But why would you want the Z Fold 4?

If you’re an avid smartphone user who creates content, consumes content and wants to stay productive on the go, then the Z Fold 4 is right for you.

It is a lot of phone – it has a front screen and front and rear cameras and a larger inside screen and an internal camera as well.

Casual smartphone users will probably steer clear but those who want this sort of versatility and power in their hands will grow to love the Z Fold 4.

DESIGN

Design-wise, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 hasn’t changed too much. It looks almost the same as last year’s Fold 3.

It is slightly shorter than the Fold 3 and a few millimetres wider but the look and feel of the product is pretty much the same.

You can notice it is smaller and lighter and the reduction on the overall bulk of the device.

Samsung says the hinge has been completed re-engineered and is also slightly slimmer as well and is noticeably smaller when the phone is closed.

The device still has a slight gap closer to the hinge, so the Z Fold 4 retains its wedge shape.

But, despite its greater thickness than a regular smartphone, it was still easy to carry around in our pocket or hold in our hand.

It should also be noted the Z Fold 4 is made of durable Armor Aluminium to handle day-to-day use and the cover screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus to resist scratches.

It also has an IPX8 rating which makes it water resistant so it can handle any accidental spills.

SCREEN

The Z Fold 4 has a 6.2-inch front screen and a 7.6-inch inside display – both with a 120Hz refresh rate so whatever you’re watching or whatever game you’re playing it is as smooth as silk.

The front screen is slightly larger than the previous model and now provides the room to get even more done.

Previously many of the tasks we needed to complete required us to stop and open the phone but now the Z Fold 4 allows you to still do those things without opening the phone.

Opening the Z Fold 4 to reveal that larger screen is now mainly for us to enjoy content and to multitask rather than replying to a text message.

It is a luxury to open that large screen on the Z Fold 4 rather than a necessity.

We don’t always have the chance to stop everything, take everything out of our hands and open the phone which is what made it frustrating to use the earlier models with the smaller front screens.

With the larger front screen, which gets its increased size from reducing the thickness of the bezels, you can easily type messages and use it one handed to scroll through emails and apps.

The inside screen itself has a slightly less prominent crease which can be seen in the right light, but you quickly stop noticing it when viewing content on the screen.

MULTITASKING

The large inside screen of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 presents a large canvas for not only consuming your content but also for getting things done.

Users can run up to three different apps on the 7.6-inch display to take your multitasking game to the next level.

When you open an app on the inside screen, a small Taskbar appears and allows you to drag the icon up to the main screen so you can run the two apps side-by-side or one on top of the other.

And it’s easy to change that orientation.

And you can even run a third app by dragging it from that Taskbar to have all the information you need there at your fingertips.

You can drag and drop pictures and text between the open apps as well.

You can also give apps more space by dragging the border in the right direction.

Users can even save this combination of apps, if they use them often, so they can be opened simultaneously on the larger screen rather than having to drag them individually every time.

No other phone on the market can match the Z Fold 4 in this department.
If you are a power user who relies on multitasking to get the job done, the Z Fold 4 can potentially take the place of your laptop when it comes time to complete those tasks.

S PEN

The S Pen is another vital feature for the Z Fold 4 and only works on the larger inside screen.

It is more responsive and allows you to write and draw and sketch like you’re using pen and paper.

The S Pen also has a text extraction tool so you can easily identify and select text to copy and share and use it in other documents.

All you need to do is draw a box around the text you want and then choose what you want to do with it.

Whether it’s taking notes or jotting down thoughts, annotating a document or photograph, the S Pen really does give high-end users another excuse to make the Z Fold 4 their next device.

That larger inside screen can be quite a canvas. Usually writing on a screen that size would require the user to carry around a separate tablet.

But with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, you can simply open the device and get to work.

One thing we wished we could be able to do is store the S Pen within Z Fold 4 rather than having to carry it separately or inside a special case.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra has space for the S Pen to be stored internally but unfortunately there was no room for the S Pen in the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

This was one of the very few negative features we could find on the device.

We would also like to have seen expandable memory. Imagine being able to load a microSD card full of all your favourite content to enjoy on that large screen.

CAMERA

There is no shortage of cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 starting with the three lenses on the rear panel which include a 12-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel telephoto and a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera.

On the front is a 10-megapixel camera and there’s also a 4-megapixel under screen camera on the main display inside.

This is one area we are happy to report has improved significantly with the Z Fold 4 which has inherited the camera quality of the flagship Galaxy S series.

Simply put, images taken with the Z Fold 4 are stunning.

Our images were sharp and bright with punchy, warm colour.

The other great feature was the 30x space zoom and 3x optical zoom which allowed us to get even closer to our subject.

But we found we used the ultrawide camera even more which allowed us to fit even more into our image.

For example, we took a group shot of about 10 people standing side by side and we only had to stand couple of metres away from them and were still able to fit them in.

This also helped taking shots outside and allowing us to fit even more into our images.

Another example was when we were in New York where we were able to fit one of the reflecting pools at Ground Zero and still frame the top of the Freedom Tower in the image as well.

The camera also does a great job in low light situations and can take images taken in near total darkness and fill them with light.

We really enjoyed being able to use the entire main screen as our viewfinder which made it even easier to frame our images and get the right results.

And when it comes to taking selfies there is a mode that allows you to turn on the main camera and view yourself on the front screen to really nail the image.

BATTERY

Now you’d think a device with two screens would really drain the battery, but we’re pleased to report in our daily usage we had enough power for nearly two days of use.

If the 4400mah was fully charged at 8am on Monday we were still going strong at lunchtime on Tuesday and beyond.

And this is when we were using the phone every day as our daily driver.

This battery performance is a huge win for Samsung and takes out any remaining doubt for a potential customer thinking of purchasing the device.

PRICE

It was quite an achievement for Samsung to keep the Z Fold 4 at the same price as last year’s model.

There were certainly market pressures that could have seen the price increase but the company said it worked very hard to maintain the price point from last year to hopefully make the decision easier for customers considering entering the foldable market.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is priced at $2,499 (256GB), $2,699 (512GB) and $2,999 (1TB – Samsung store exclusive).

VERDICT

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a stunning foldable smartphone that will be even more appealing to the savvy customer who wants to do more with their device and enjoy a whole new experience that hasn’t been possible until now.

The post Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review – the smartphone experience re-invented appeared first on Tech Guide.