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.

Apple’s software feature exclusivity on the Watch 7 is disappointing, especially after the scrapped redesign

Apple’s software feature exclusivity on the Watch 7 is disappointing, especially after the scrapped redesign

October 16, 2021
Apple revealed the all-new Apple Watch Series 7 along with the iPhone 13 lineup and new iPad models in mid-September. The announcement was made during its California Streaming virtual event. Apart from not releasing the rumored AirPods 3rd Gen, I was disappointed by a few other things. I was frustrated the most by the fact that...
Apple iPhone 13 Pro vs Google Pixel 5: These cameras shouldn’t be so competitive

Apple iPhone 13 Pro vs Google Pixel 5: These cameras shouldn’t be so competitive

October 14, 2021
The recently-released iPhone 13 Pro has had an incredible amount of praise bestowed upon it, with some deeming it the best smartphone camera on the market. Given that the Google Pixel 5 has managed to hang on with arguably outdated camera hardware for so long, we figured that we should put it to the test...
Three new macOS Monterey features that we love, and three changes that we’re still waiting for

Three new macOS Monterey features that we love, and three changes that we’re still waiting for

October 13, 2021
Apple unveiled macOS 12 Monterey along with iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8 during WWDC21, back in June. While they're not the biggest, most packed updates we've seen from Apple, they do include some interesting changes and features that supercharge the Mac. macOS 12 Monterey will be released later this fall, potentially along...
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Vivo X70 Pro Plus: Battle for the Crown of the Best Camera on Android

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Vivo X70 Pro Plus: Battle for the Crown of the Best Camera on Android

October 12, 2021
Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra has held the throne of the best overall smartphone camera for most of 2021. But a new challenger has arrived in the form of the Vivo X70 Pro Plus, and it's a major contender after having beaten the iPhone 13 Pro in our previous camera shootout. I took both of these...
Android 12’s Fabricated Overlay API brings back rootless themes

Android 12’s Fabricated Overlay API brings back rootless themes

October 11, 2021
The full stable Android 12 release is right around the corner, and Google has even posted the source code to its AOSP repo. There’s a lot that’s new in Android 12, including an addition to resource overlays called Fabricated Overlays. What was meant as an API to help the system manage the dynamic changes used...
Want to import a phone to the U.S.? Here’s why you should reconsider

Want to import a phone to the U.S.? Here’s why you should reconsider

October 10, 2021
It seems like every time someone in the United States reviews a phone, half of the comments on the article, video, whatever, will be about how expensive the phone is. They'll say something like "in Europe, no one would buy this phone. We can get a Xiaomi that does the same stuff for half the...
OnePlus Nord N200 vs Samsung Galaxy A32: Which budget 5G phone is better?

OnePlus Nord N200 vs Samsung Galaxy A32: Which budget 5G phone is better?

October 9, 2021
The mid-range value smartphone markets have never really been good in the U.S. As much as some of us would love to import a cheap phone from Europe, that isn't really an option. Thankfully, it seems like we're starting to get some of the value that most of the rest of the world has been...
Apple iPhone 13 Pro vs Vivo X70 Pro Plus: Battle of the Pro-sumer Cameras

Apple iPhone 13 Pro vs Vivo X70 Pro Plus: Battle of the Pro-sumer Cameras

October 8, 2021
Much praise has been bestowed on the iPhone 13 Pro’s camera system in the past weeks, with some reputable outlets calling it the best smartphone camera. But what if I told you there was another smartphone released recently, one that has unfortunately been buried by the onslaught of iPhone media coverage, that can go head-to-head...
Windows 11 for gamers: Should you expect a performance hit?

Windows 11 for gamers: Should you expect a performance hit?

October 6, 2021
Microsoft's Windows 11 is now available and you can get it up and running on your PC by simply following a few easy steps. As detailed in our full review of Windows 11, there are a lot of improvements this time around that deserve your attention and we highly recommend upgrading your PCs to the...
Why Facebook’s outage shut many employees out of their own offices

Why Facebook’s outage shut many employees out of their own offices

October 5, 2021
Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp all went down yesterday. You probably heard about it, given that not only did those three massive services get taken offline for six hours, but a few other websites gotten taken down with it too. It also led to some humorous tidbits of information coming out of Facebook, including the fact...
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 vs Pixel Slate: Which should you buy?

Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 vs Pixel Slate: Which should you buy?

October 5, 2021
Lenovo recently unveiled the Chromebook Duet 5 at Lenovo Tech World 2021. The Chromebook Duet 5 is one of the many new Chrome OS tablets we've been tracking lately. It looks like a compelling product, but it's always a good idea to consider all available options. Even though it had a short-lived product cycle, Google's Pixel...
Surface Laptop Studio review: The ultimate creator laptop from Microsoft

Surface Laptop Studio review: The ultimate creator laptop from Microsoft

October 5, 2021
The Surface Laptop Studio is the newest entry to Microsoft's Surface lineup. Well, technically it takes the place of the Surface Book as Microsoft consolidates its laptop branding. But while this is called the Surface Book 4 in some other dimension, it's absolutely a new product, coming in an all-new form factor. It fixes the...