Analysis

For longer articles that analyze trends, smartphones, companies, etc. Articles in this category are automatically placed in the “Analysis & Opinion” sidebar in the Forums.

The Definitive Guide to 5G: Everything you need to know about 5G

Idrees Patel April 16, 2021

It's fair to say that since the last couple of years, there has been no buzzword having as strong a marketing impact as the word 5G. The word signifies so much that the industry has been promoting it every nook and corner. New smartphones support 5G. New carrier deployments talk about 5G services. Chip vendors...

The Mi Mix Fold is Xiaomi making foldables more affordable and attainable

Ben Sin April 14, 2021

Xiaomi's first-ever foldable phone, the Mi Mix Fold, hasn't even gone on sale officially yet, but the crazy-fast Hong Kong phone import scene has already secured early bird retail units. One of these retailers, Trinity Electronics, was kind enough to loan us a unit to test for an afternoon. Of course, I compared it to the...

7 smartphone trends that LG pioneered and others copied

Ben Sin April 5, 2021

After weeks of rumors, LG Electronics has officially announced it is shutting down its mobile phone business. While the writing has been on the wall for a while -- LG's mobile business has been a money-loser for the otherwise very profitable South Korean tech giant -- it still leaves many of us phone enthusiasts sad. For me,...

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: Here’s what we want to see in Samsung’s next prime foldable

Ben Sin March 20, 2021

When Samsung released the Galaxy Z Fold 2 last fall, we here at XDA absolutely loved it. It was a huge improvement over the original Fold, and proved that foldables are here to stay. But that’s not to say the device is flawless — we have minor nitpicks with the device that we hope Samsung...

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Rugged Protective Case Review: Tough, but is it worth the price?

Elizabeth Henges March 16, 2021

Congratulations on your Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra purchase! No smartphone is complete without a new case though, and as you can see from our Galaxy S21 Ultra case round-up, Samsung has quite a few options available for you. One of them is the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Rugged Case, which looks to protect your flagship...

The Xiaomi Mi 11 is an excellent bang-for-buck option, and here’s why

Adam Conway March 16, 2021

The Xiaomi Mi 11 launched globally at the start of February, following a China-only launch in December. Being the first Snapdragon 888-powered device to hit the market, it seemed imperfect given a litany of thermal issues and battery complaints from reviewers globally, even if the rest of the device held up very well. I've had...

The OPPO Find X3 Pro has the best ultra wide camera I’ve used on a phone

Ben Sin March 11, 2021

As recently as a couple of years ago, you could spot the difference in a new flagship phone at first glance. The screen bezels may have shrunken drastically. Or maybe the number of cameras doubled from last year's phone. That's not the case anymore over the past couple of years, as smartphone brands have become...

Here are six things iOS 15 could learn from Android 12

Ben Sin March 6, 2021

Apple's iOS 14.5 beta has just recently gone live, and while it brings some incremental improvements to the iOS software that ran out of the box in the iPhone 12 series, we here at XDA feel iOS still has some ways to go before matching Android in usability (okay, fine, we may be just a...

Everything you need to know about HDMI standards and connectors

Kunal Khullar February 27, 2021

The HDMI port has become the standard for audio-video I/O purposes. Short for High Definition Multimedia Interface, it was introduced in the early 2000s with the sole purpose of delivering an improved and convenient way to replace existing standards for carrying HDTV signals. The founders of HDMI include Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomson,...

The Huawei Mate X2 proves that Samsung was right about foldables all along

Ben Sin February 24, 2021

This week, Huawei launched its third foldable phone, the Mate X2, and it appears to be an awe-inspiring piece of hardware, which is par for the course for Huawei. From the way the hinge folds completely flat, to the less noticeable crease, to the fact Huawei managed to cram a Periscope zoom lens into a...

Hands-on with Android 12 Developer Preview: Here are the new features

Tushar Mehta February 18, 2021

Google just dropped the first Android 12 Developer Preview a few hours ago. Even though Android 12 "Snow Cone" is still a good six months away from the stable release, the Developer Preview reveals a good deal about what stock Android is likely to look like with this iteration. The recent Android 12 leaks and...

Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 4K 55″ Review: A premium Android TV experience at a compelling price

Tushar Mehta February 12, 2021

The smartphone market is incredibly saturated. After thriving in the smartphone business, companies traditionally branch out into other consumer product categories — smart TVs being one of them — and that's exactly the trajectory that Xiaomi has followed. In India, Xiaomi has been selling smart TVs since early 2018, and in less than three years,...