The PC hits of LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and its sequel have made their way to Android in this $6.99 combo pack. Hit up the link if you have 1.44GB free (only 735MB via PC), and may the bricks be with you!
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Asus has announced that the ZenFone 2 will be launched in New York on May 18th. They are also offering a chance to win 1 of 50 tickets to the event and one of the handsets. Check back nearer the time for a live stream link and head over to their Google+ page for the opportunity to enter the competition.
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Google Now’s “Okay Google” voice recognition turned out to be a runaway success and starting today, Google is expanding the service’s frontiers and strengthening its core by allowing third party apps to tap into it and register voice triggers of their own, one official example being “Ok Google, Shazam this song.”
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The Verge did some testing of all the major Android keyboards and came to the conclusion that Google Keyboard is the best of them all. Swiftkey came in as a close second with the rest of the bunch falling behind. However, we’d like to know what our community here at XDA thinks. Do you agree with the Verge that Google Keyboard is the best keyboard on Android? Why or why not?
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Samsung’s tablet repertoire keeps growing, this time abandoning the S for an A. The Korean giant had stated that they would be trimming and focusing their smartphone and tablet lineups by reducing the number of devices and making them more cost-effective for consumer (read, cheaper). While we still see many Samsung phones, critics agree that they do indeed feel more polished and with a clearer purpose. This is how Samsung’s Galaxy A line-up came to be, a spiritual successor to last year’s Galaxy Alpha that didn’t quite buzz around as expected, but still offered a solid package with surprising performance for a non-flagship.
The Galaxy Tab A attempts to bring a tablet to this new philosophy. It was recently announced for South Korea and Taiwan, to come out next month in Wi-Fi and LTE with an optional S-pen stylus. There are 9.7 inch and 8 inch variants , but the latter was only confirmed for Taiwan back then. What is good about the Tab A? While the Galaxy Tab S featured a vibrant and crisp AMOLED display that wowed critics and users alike, it disappointed in terms of UI responsiveness and for many it was simply not worth the exorbitant price tag. The Tab A seeks to fix that by offering a more balanced product at a very cheap price. We received an anonymous tip that showed us early pictures of this device:
So, is this tablet going to blow anyone’s socks off? No, not at all. But for the price, it remains a decent Samsung offering. Considering the Asus-made Nexus 7 was recently discontinued, the market is in dire need of strong budget alternatives. Samsung’s new solution might be a little too pricey still, but with features like multi-window the tablet gets a lot more use out of that big display that others out there can’t match. If you wanted this tablet to hit the United States, you should be pleased. For the rest of us, this is just another Samsung product we might never hear much about again.
What do you think of the Tab A? Is it affordable enough? Let us know your opinion!
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Google Malaysia has announced that the popular thumb-sized media streaming device, Chromecast, is now making its way to Malaysia. Priced at MYR170 (~$47), Chromecast is available at select Maxis carrier stores from today, with availability extending to all Maxis stores from May 5th 2015.
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Not to be outdone by LG, HTC is rolling out RAW image capture to the One M9 via an update to the camera app. Grab the new version on Google Play now, then hit the streets to finally test your sensor against the G4, Nexus 6, and other RAW-toting flagships.
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Google’s latest foray into making Android run every facet of our daily lives is their push into the car with the Android Auto initiative. While certainly not a new idea, Android Auto attempts to leave behind the wild west of previous vehicle implementations in favor of a simpler, streamlined approach. Gone are the multitude of car docks, messes of cables, shoddy Bluetooth connections, and difficult to operate software while driving, in favor of a single USB connection to your device, which can then be tossed into a center console and forgotten about. When reading about the features and implementation of Android Auto, one might consider how it’s any different from grabbing a Nexus 7 or similar device and having it permanently installed into the dashboard, or if that approach would be even more preferable to a system built around Android Auto. Exploring the key differences between these two approaches leads to the belief that the Android Auto implementation is ultimately the way to go.
Android Auto’s Overview Screen
The basic operation of Android Auto is simple to explain: download the Android Auto app to a compatible device, connect the device to a compatible car or aftermarket car radio using a USB cable, review some terms and conditions before the first use, and you’re set. Your car or aftermarket stereo displays the content, so you are free to place the phone out of sight while traveling. Delving a bit further into the process reveals a lot of smart choices on Google’s part. The phone you have connected provides the processing power, internet connection, and telephony functions of Android Auto…your car or aftermarket stereo system simply outputs the UI as well as handles the other sources you have available to you (CD playback, AM/FM/Sirius XM sources, etc.). Your device automatically substantiates a Bluetooth connection to handle phone call audio, contact management, and text message functionality, while the music audio from sources such as Google Play Music and Spotify is passed over the USB connection. Navigation is handled via Google Maps, and Google Now acts as the “home screen” on your car dashboard. All of these features work seamlessly together to provide the most relevant content.
Google Maps Navigation with Lane Assistance
There are some clear, front-and-center benefits to this setup versus retrofitting a dedicated tablet into your car’s dashboard. Since the phone you have connected to Android Auto is providing the processing power and functionality, upgrading your phone can potentially provide functionality improvements as well as introduce new features down the line. This makes a lot more sense, as a car is generally kept in service a lot longer than a phone. And since Google has standardized the UI of Android Auto regardless of which app is providing content, everything is laid out to provide the driver an infotainment system with minimal visual distractions. On-screen buttons are big and function the same regardless of what you’re doing, and the driver is given a lot of voice command functionality, which can be accessed via steering wheel controls.
Android Auto’s Voice Command System
In terms of audio processing, routing, and quality, the benefits of this system are enormous, but yet often go understated. Your car stereo or any aftermarket stereo system will contain much higher-grade audio circuitry than what is commonly put into consumer devices such as tablets and smartphones, simply due to the nature of the product category. In an Android Auto system, the audio is carried as digital information over the USB connection, but the sound processing, D/A conversion, channel routing, and crossover points are handled by the stereo system itself, and then outputted to your car’s speakers. This is an important distinction: fitting a Nexus 7 or other consumer device into your dash means that, no matter how you choose to output the audio of that device, the audio quality will be comparatively compromised. Using the headphone output of the tablet into an AUX line-in port on your car means that you are instead using the cheap A/D and D/A converters and preamps built in to the tablet. Using the device’s Bluetooth connection to stream the audio to your car compromises the audio output of that system as well, as Bluetooth streaming in and of itself simply degrades the quality of audio. It is even more important to have the car stereo itself handle the audio processing when dealing with systems that have external, dedicated amplifiers to power subwoofers, or when bypassing the built-in amp of the car stereo in favor of an external amp to power the speakers. Simply put, getting the audio information out of your device as unprocessed as possible, and letting the car stereo itself handle all of that is always preferable, and necessary for the best sounding audio possible.
Google Play Music UI on Android Auto
An additional consideration that needs to be made is the longevity of the components. A factory car stereo or aftermarket stereo system is built to both handle and operate in conditions that a consumer tablet is not. Conditions such as temperature extremes and changes, humidity levels, dust, dirt, sunlight, and vibrations will all wear on the components of any system over time. A tablet is simply not meant to be subjected to these conditions for long periods of time. Fitting a tablet into a dashboard as a permanent installation is unwise in this manner; the various components inside of that tablet will not survive being left inside of a car for as many years as one usually plans to own that car. That’s not to mention the other risks of device failure in general, such as software corruption from system updates, file system slowdowns over time, or touch precision on the screen degrading…all problems which have arisen on consumer devices in the past. Additionally, some general considerations, such as having to supply a separate internet connection to the device, as well as device syncing, maintenance and upkeep, need to be made when fitting a tablet, and is simply unneeded in an Android Auto setup.
When taking all of these drawbacks into consideration, an Android Auto setup is simply the best way to go in terms of getting Android into the car. It is simpler to set up, far more intuitive to operate, leads to less road distractions, and will provide much higher audio quality to boot. While seemingly more expensive than custom-fitting a tablet into a car’s dashboard, it is truly designed to last as long as the car is on the road, and functions at a level far greater than previous ways to shape Android into a road-worthy infotainment system. It is also a very new initiative; as time moves forward, the cost of entry into the world of Android Auto will drop, and the car manufacturers of the Open Automative Alliance will be including this functionality in newer models right off of the lot. Google has indeed come a long way in this venture, and what Android Auto is now is only going to improve over time. You can read more about Android Auto on Google’s Android Auto Portal.
Do you have an Android Auto system, or do you plan on getting one installed soon? Let us know your impressions of Android Auto in the comments!
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The Asus Zenfone 2 was initially released with 4 variants with different specs as far as processors, storage and RAM are considered. Asus has now added a 5th variant in the mix, with the 128GB storage variant. Priced at Rs. 29,999 ($470), it comes with a 2.3GHz processor and 4GB RAM, and is listed as coming soon on Flipkart.
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Sony Corporation has released its report for the financial year 2014-15, and the mobile situation looks pretty grim. Smartphone shipments are forecasted to be around 30 million units, ~23% lower than the previous year. This is “due to a reduction in mid-range smartphone unit sales”, hence bringing down volume.
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The LG G4 has met a lot of positive feedback since its unveiling at this past Tuesday’s event. The new device represents a lot of advancements for LG in key areas, but it also leaves behind some of the things that made their device so special in the first place. LG’s approach towards a fashionable smartphone could make for one of the most surprising releases of this year – if the cards play out right. The G3 was a marvelous device, going as far as winning Best Smartphone at the Global Mobile Awards 2015. Can the G4 live up to the hype and expectations?
The LG G3 was not particularly amazing in any regard when compared to the best of 2014: it didn’t have the absolute best camera, nor screen, nor the fastest processor nor the best battery. Its bezels grew bigger, but the device still remained rather small. Its faux metal plastic back didn’t fool anyone either, and the UI still makes Android purists cringe. Why was it so popular? The answer is the holistic panorama of the experience. A great smartphone doesn’t need to excel, and the G3’s consistency in every category made it a perfect fit for those that just want a darn good smartphone.
The G2 before it was also an amazing phone, and in many regards it was a trendsetter for 2013. It packed the mighty Snapdragon 800 (which remains speedy even by today’s standards), a very capable camera and minimal bezels that set a new trend ablaze. Since that phone was introduced, manufacturers have been paying more and more attention to screen-to-body ratios, and flagship lines have been shrinking their bezels in the past couple of years. LG’s UI was not the prettiest nor the fastest out there – especially pre-KitKat – but the SD800 managed to run it quite well on a gorgeous yet very saturated 1080p display. Two cycles from that device, how has LG’s flagship evolved?
When it comes to “design inspiration”, companies have always been rather stale. Take the Galaxy S3, for example: “inspired by Nature” was the campaign slogan, and it only ended up annoying users all over the world with the silly water sounds and the chirping bird notification tone. In this sense, TouchWiz is a disgrace – nature is more beautiful than those ugly colors (which, by the way, you’d be hard-pressed to find in nature) and cheesy sounds. LG’s inspiration and goal for the G4 is not only providing value, but also having a device that grows with you. This is something I don’t see many people discuss, but it is engraved into the core of the design and UX of this device on every level.
The LG G4 looks very, very compelling. Their inspiration is, for the first time in an Android phone, completely tangible in every aspect of the phone. LG claims that they have been designing this phone before the G3 came to be, and in some ways this sounds honest. The G4 tries to move away from simple machinery into a more personal product, a fashion statement of sorts. The many color variations, back options and ever-changing leather in the premium alternative allow for a level of personal expression not found in many other phones. The removable battery and microSD slot show that LG still listens to power users, and the emphasis on hardware innovation is just what the company needs to combat Samsung.
Sure, the processor might be underpowered compared to the Exynos 7 or even last year’s Snapdragon 805, but with good optimization that will not be a problem for most use-cases. LG claimed battery life of “over a day”, which is odd considering that the G3 could break a day and a half and the G2 could top two days… we hope they are simply understating this, as good battery life was also an LG staple. The bezel growth is a huge shame, and we would have liked to see a more refined UI. But like the G3 proved, these complaints can be overlooked: the weaker processor, decreased battery life, bigger bezels and LG UI didn’t stop the G3 from becoming a fan-favorite. Can this device pull off the big fame again? We have to wait and see.
LG plans on selling 12 million LG G4 handsets in total. Will you be helping them reach that number? Let us know below!
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Yesterday we learned that the Android 5.1 update would finally bring Guest Mode to Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, and despite Samsung’s update reputation being less than formidable, it looks like that’s taking a turn for the better as an XDA member has reportedly received the 5.1.1 OTA on a T-Mobile S6 Edge.
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There are lots of good looking dark themes for CyanogenMod Theme Engine, but Metalz by XDA Senior Member deuce_biggins is, by all means, one of the best. Over 10 themed applications including ROM-specific OTAs are just a small sample of what this theme has to offer.
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In this game by member Degineth, you aim is to fire a ball from A to B using platforms and walls to avoid a series of moving traps. It’s a great way to burn through vast amounts of free time without realizing. You have been warned.
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Many people say that the best thing about Android is the ability to have custom launchers. Custom Launchers let you configure your device to be exactly how you want it. Do you want a sea of icons or a simple desktop with only one or two icons and the time? It doesn’t matter you can do whatever you want!
XDA Forum Member junaid558 offers up the latest version of custom launchers. In this video, XDA TV Producer TK reviews Launcher 10. TK shows off the application and shares his thoughts, so check out this app review.
Be sure to check out other great XDA TV Videos
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Google released a developer version of the Chrome browser. Chrome Dev is the bleeding edge release that shows what will be implemented in the next two releases. Download it to get familiar with new features.
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Samsung’s 5.1 update may finally add multi-user support to the company’s latest flagships. There is no word yet about which other devices will include the feature, but Sam Mobile’s early reporting does bring us stills of Guest Mode in the wild; check them out after the jump.
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Microsoft has now revealed that their upcoming Windows 10 OS will be able to run iOS and Android apps. While iOS will need to be compiled with a special tool that requires minimal code modifications from the developers, Android APKs will run normally through an included Android runtime. Who called that?
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Tag Heuer’s attempt to create its own smartwatch in partnership with Google and Intel will be a digital replica of the original Tag Heuer Black Carrera. The device will be powered by Android Wear and will reportedly feature a 40-hour battery life. It is expected to launch around October with an estimated tag of $ 1400.
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Despite Xiaomi’s many glaring issues, the Chinese manufacturer has managed to become the third largest smartphone maker in the world. Our main issue with Xiaomi at XDA has always been about the company’s GPL infringements, but it’s clear that the manufacturer obviously still has a lot of appeal around the world. So, we want to hear from the community: Would you ever buy a phone from Xiaomi? Why or why not?
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Steve Kondik has explained some of the issues and successes they have had whilst rolling out Cyanogen OS 12. Believing it to possibly be the most troublesome OTA they’ve done yet, this is the second time they have started over using a clean AOSP.
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This theme by XDA Senior Member sweetbinodray employs a unique blend of light and dark palettes along with orange hues to give a cool and pleasant look to your CM12 and CM12.1 user interface. If you like trying out something new, give it a swirl!
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Google Now is arguably the single biggest “wow factor” of Android, and if $300 notification bands (aka smartwatches) are solutions in search of a problem, Now is certainly their saving grace. After all, Google’s virtual assistant serves up answers, launches apps, sets reminders, takes dictation, and forms the central pillar around which the entire Wear platform is built. Without that red bubble pulsing with intelligence, Android smartwatches are nothing more than one-way notifiers – products that are handily beaten by $15 fitness bands from China on everything from battery life to sleep tracking & price. Therefore, if Wear is to find purchase and prosper in this growing world of wearables, it is vital that Google Now gives us its all. Unfortunately, the watch-mounted version of Now comes up short – 36.5% short – of even its smartphone counterpart. Where does this leave potential customers? Should we even buy Android watches when our phones beat the bands at their own game? Here is a peek into the voice actions of Google Now on phones, desktops, and smartwatches, with an emphasis on Wear’s room for improvement, and the apps tackling the issue head on.
For the lazy, here are a few quick links to for jumping right to the heart of the story.
Wear will always deliver phone notifications as-is, so in this regard there is absolutely no difference between the two mobile versions of Now. The issue at hand is summoning the Google genie with that familiar phrase: “Okay Google.” All platforms respond, but the commands they recognize are shockingly unequal. With this in mind, let’s begin.
Second, the value of each voice command is a product of how often it is used, and how much we care about the information we receive. For example, using the watch to set reminders and alarms without pulling out an over-sized phone is only marginally convenient, but I call on this feature many times each day. For me, this is a big deal. Conversely, what about flight delays and gate changes being delivered to the wrist in a crowded airport? I only fly a few times per year, but knowing how long I have to sprint from terminal A to Z while my hands are full of luggage is an under appreciated asset. However, these value judgments are subjective and have been omitted in the results. I implore you to instead find your own rubric when looking at the raw data below.
Wear’s “Okay Google”: great with simple questions, passable with simple apps, but terrible at using your apps, emails, or contacts for things the phone can answer with ease.
Wear’s version of Google Now excels at general knowledge questions like “how far away is the moon,” “who is Nikola Tesla,” and “what time is it in London?” These types of queries have always been a strength of Google’s, thanks in part to the acquisition of Metaweb and its knowledge graph project back in 2010, and they are heavily integrated into Google’s core search. This plays right into Wear’s strength as a platform as well – quick answers to everyday questions for which pulling out a phone is a bother.
Single-serving tools like calculators, currency converters, and weather widgets are a logical extension of the simple search queries above. These are generally displayed as interactive cards on the desktop and phone, offering condensed information alongside a few sliders. For the most part, they are faithfully represented on the watch alongside their text-based counterparts, but one or two have slipped through the cracks. Most notably, tip calculation is conspicuously absent on Wear.
The biggest categorical let-down, however, is a lack of app integration. Google has a wealth of user data at its disposal, from emails to contact details, to location info, and more. Google Search plays butler to this data, serving it to us on request in exchange for valuable marketing insights. Forget your flight number? Google is quick to respond with “American Airlines flight 321,” along with local weather, gate changes, and maybe a target ad. What about the bills you have coming due this month? Desktop and smartphone search pulls an itemized summary from Gmail as if by magic, just as it does with hotel reservations and shipment trackers. Unfortunately, the digital butler is left stammering out a generic Google search when asked these same things on Wear. No birthdays, no flights, no package tracking. Nothing that you couldn’t find on Ask.com.
Going beyond answering questions, it seems that asking apps to do things also falls on deaf ears. These aren’t difficult requests, either; both phone & desktop search have no trouble. Still, setting calendar events, sending Hangouts messages, calling businesses, and opening the camera by saying “take a picture/selfie/video,” are all beyond Wear’s grasp.
Okay, Google’s grasp on its own apps may be shaky when it comes to Android Wear, but what about integrating with third-party apps and services? So far the picture is much the same, but efforts are at least being made to bring developers on board. Let’s start with a few basics:
Both commands work flawlessly on mobile, but not Wear; a real shame. However, it should be noted that these types of commands are still uncommon on Android’s Google Now. “Post to Twitter” and “post to Google+” may succeed, but “post to Facebook” falls flat. It’s unclear how much corporate rivalry has to do with Facebook’s absence, but the takeaway is that integration is an app-by-app process, and it’s nowhere near complete.
In October, Google expanded Now’s voice search with an API for third-party developers so that anyone with an app and a dream can let users query their service with Google.
“Okay Google…”
Android? Check. Wear? I’m sorry, did you mean “run a Google search?”
To be fair, this isn’t entirely Google’s fault, nor is it the fault of developers. On the phone, these searches open Eat24, TripAdvisor, Tumblr, etc. directly, then perform the search. This has no “card UI” analog, and even though Google opened up card creation to devs in January, searches were not its intended use. Therefore, Wear’s Now may understand app-specific queries, but it has no way to respond. This is forgivable, but closer app integration is still a pipe dream worth having.
Below is the comparison list as it stands now. If you see anything out of place, or wish to contribute additional voice actions, let us know via PM or the comments below!
Google Now’s built-in forecasts are a work of art, but Wear frustratingly limits its knowledge to the next four days. This means that if you’re looking for the weekend’s weather on a Tuesday night, you’re flat out of luck. Same goes for asking about specific dates one week in advance; desktop and smartphone Now have no trouble, but Wear is left in the dust. While these next two suggestions don’t fill the voice-action void, they do offer superb forecasts (and radar) to ease your weather woes.
If you would rather stick to the weather apps you already use, read on for our section on Wearable Widgets to give existing widgets a new home on your wrist.
“Take a picture.” Despite the action-oriented phrase, this does nothing of the sort on phone or watch. The best you will see is the default camera app and rear camera load into view (even if you shout “take a selfie”). On the watch, not even this works. For a supercharged remedy, check out Wear Camera Remote. The app both opens your camera, and allows for full watch-based control including snapping a photo, switching cameras, toggling flash, and (of course) viewing a live preview.
This one is a bizarre omission on Wear. As long as you’ve come to terms with talking to your phone in public, asking Google to calculate tips is downright useful. Yes, Google is a bit stingy – 15% by default – but running these numbers on the watch as well should be a no-brainer. Luckily another Now command has you covered: math.
Bonus – foreign currency conversion!
Using Wear for voice activated texting has been around since day one, but unfortunately users of Google Voice / Hangouts have been limited to strict replies; starting a conversation from scratch is simply not possible. This was the case on Android smartphones as well up until last month, but now the Android side is finally up to speed. When will watches catch up? Nobody knows for sure, but the hope is “soon.”
Thankfully, impatient messengers can already fill the gap with a handful of apps and a some petty cash. The workaround is called “Start Hangouts from Watch,” and relies on four paid apps: AutoContacts, AutoWear, AutoInput, and Tasker. The first three cost around $4.50, or a lower monthly rate of $1.35 using the AutoApps market, but you’ll want to pick up the associated Tasker profile from the forums to avoid an additional fee. Tasker itself will set you back about $3, though it’s an incredibly versatile package.
Once payments are out of the way and the downloaded Tasker profile is in hand, it’s time to set up your new communication hub!
Hangout_From_Watch.prj.xml to Hangout_From_Watch.prf.xml, and import into Tasker (tap “Profiles” and select “Import”).Note: none of this works with an active lock screen, but using Wear as a trusted device is a simple fix.
Obviously paying $7 and disabling your lock screen is a hassle, but it’s the imperfect remedy at hand until Google gets its act together. Perhaps Wear 5.1 will be better.
Few apps come with Wear support out of the box, but widgets are nearly universal. We can exploit this. Wearable Widgets adds all the widgets you know and love to your wrist for one-tap access.
Wearable Widgets supports one widget at a time in the free version, but a $2 upgrade lifts this restriction.
Previously mentioned AutoApps may be a playground of pre-built modules and tools of elaborate customization, but there’s something about the straightforward voice actions of Commander that make it an immensely satisfying alternative.
Commander comes bundled with a suite of voice actions to supplement Google Now (including actual picture/selfie taking), along with Tasker support for creating as many custom actions as your heart desires. There’s only one catch – you have to say “take a note” before issuing commands on Wear. The Xposed framework can bypass this limitation, but remember that not all versions of Lollipop have support just yet.
Google Now’s voice actions are central to the Wear experience. Not only do they provide quick answers and a reason to drop $300 on a watch, but these spoken keywords define much of Wear’s scope as a utility. What’s more, the familiar pulsing red dot links all Google products with a common thread, seamlessly transitioning users from one platform to the next. Need an answer? Look for the red microphone and speak your mind. Unfortunately, not all red dots are created equal (as we have seen above). Straight “google searches” work as expected, including math questions and anything involving the people, places, and things in Google’s database. On the other hand, the finer details of your contacts, emails, bills, orders, and apps are beyond reach. There are a few well placed exceptions, such as the flawless composition of SMS messages, but on the whole, Now doesn’t play well with others (including Google’s very own Hangouts).
Petty differences aside, Wear’s version of Google Now feels like the complete package – a testament to how well the existing command list fills our needs. It’s disappointing that not every action is present, and we hope this changes in the near future, but this is hardly a deal-breaker. At the end of the day, setting reminders and searching Google are far more useful than looking up menus on a postage-stamp screen. And who knows? Maybe feature parity is right around the corner with Wear version 5.1.2. In the mean time, load up the apps above and regain some of the features you never knew you were missing.
Wear-ers of the world, what do you think of your Google Now experience? Do you notice or miss the commands above? Did we leave out one of your favorite voice actions? Let us know in the comments below, and we will update this post as new information (and OS updates) come to light!
The post In-Depth Look at Google Now for Android Wear appeared first on xda-developers.
The Xiaomi Mi 4i is all set to star in its own flash sale for a price of Rs. 12,999 ($205). Scheduled for April 30th 2015 at 2pm IST on Flipkart, the registrations for this flash sale are open until midnight. As always with Xiaomi, the product is expected to be sold out within seconds.
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In the official unveiling event, LG spent a lot of time focusing on the G4’s camera prowess. This post by ace photographer Colby Brown gives an in-depth view on LG’s claim. The results demonstrate that indeed, smartphone cameras have reached their golden age.
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The one debate that we often find discussed on Android forums and websites at every new superphone release is “do benchmarks matter?” The response is usually something that implies that benchmarks don’t have a correlation with the resulting user-experience. Believing any of both extremist notions – that is, that benchmarks are an absolute indicator or that they do not correlate to real world UX – is a myopic practice that often leads to disinformation in whichever discussion is taking place. With both the Galaxy S6 and the One M9, the debate took place once more.
First, let’s remember the context: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 was reported to have overheating issues way before its prime time, and these were followed by rumors that, for this very reason, Samsung would opt for their inhouse Exynos 7420 SoC instead. This is what ended up happening, and the Snapdragon 810 suffered from intense throttling that resulted in some issues for consumers. We originally took a look at early benchmarks that indicated that the Snapdragon 810 was behind the Exynos 7420 by a landslide in a variety of ways. But, like we predicted, the Snapdragon 810 actually featured very good real-world performance.
So, what is the aftermath? Which device won? How does the Snapdragon 810 really compare to the Exynos 7420, and its predecessors too, in the real world and in that of synthetic benchmarks? Are there differences when gaming, multi-tasking or simply launching apps? And why? In this feature we will begin exploring these questions, and hopefully come up with some answers.
The Snapdragon 810 was first analyzed in the MDP/T model where it showed extremely promising CPU performance. In many ways, it matched the astoundingly powerful Tegra K1 processor found in the Nexus 9, but at the time it was expected that this chipset would circumvent heat and battery constraints (something Nvidia couldn’t do, and thus the K1 is strictly a tablet chipset) to deliver that kind of performance. Sadly, the Snapdragon 810’s overheating reports were true, and in both the G Flex 2 and M9 we see a significant drop in CPU performance due to system throttling. Now that a thorough analysis of the M9 has been conducted, we can piece together what is truly happening to HTC’s flagship and its overheating Snapdragon.
According to AnandTech, the CPU of the SoC has clear throttle constraints, and the processor’s listed frequency of 2.0GHz is actually limited to a maximum of around 1.6GHz for regular use. It is only when HTC’s systems detect a benchmark that this cap is lifted, to allow for enhanced scores that, due to
the nature of the downgrade, can not represent real-world performance. This is something that some apologists called “a non-issue” – and claimed it was so as long as the real-world performance didn’t suffer. The SD810 here shows remarkably worse performance in virtually every metric than what the reference MDP/T model featured, but we don’t know the exact reason for this. Looking at the benchmarks is enough to tell that the device under-performed in this regard.
When it comes to the Exynos, its CPU and system performance is simply excellent. If you head over to this benchmark breakdown and analysis, you will see that it consistently makes it to the top spots, in most cases outclassing all other smartphones. The only room for improvement is in GPU system performance, and that’s something we’ll touch on below.
The Adreno 430 in the Snapdragon 810 was expected to be a “beast” of a graphics processor, and it indeed was at release. Unlike the CPU, the GPU still features good performance and is more or less in-line with expectations. As a result, the graphics output of the M9 is actually rather excellent, and unlike many thought, things like video games or GPU-intensive tasks perform excellently on the M9. In fact, when you compare the graphics-intensive benchmark scores to those of the S6, you see that the S6 falls in behind in many tests. The reason should be obvious to many, but we’ll touch on it shortly nonetheless.
The fact 
The devices are out and we’ve gotten plenty of comparison articles and videos, as well as deeper look at the benchmarks of these devices. It turns out that the M9 has very good performance for real world use, particularly due to its light software. The Sense UI in the M8 made for one of the smoothest and speediest experiences on any Android flagship of 2014, and the trend remains in the M9. Reviewers have reported some stutters in certain areas of the UI – some more consistent than others – but when it comes to getting things done, the M9 does the trick just fine. There are many text and video comparisons that tell the story, but we’ll limit this article to two that we think are worth dissecting:
This video shows the strengths and weaknesses of each device flawlessly. As it turns out, however, the weaknesses of the S6 have little to do with its hardware and more with its software. In the first “lap” of the video, we see that the S6 greatly outspeeds the competition at opening apps and games The faster memory solutions for storage and RAM as well as the processor show off in this segment. On the second lap, the S6’s weakness kicks in: its memory management is atrocious, and despite having the same amount of RAM, many of its apps had to be reloaded. This allowed the M9 to overtake the S6 and “win the race”. On a superficial level, it would appear that the S6 is indeed faster, but the M9 has better/more reliable multitasking. Both devices are still very fast and speedy enough to satisfy any user.
There is something that I want to note here, and that is that I too have noticed that Samsung devices have terrible memory management, specially on Lollipop. This is apparent when leaving apps unused for long – even without opening many more – as they have to be reloaded anyway. On a personal note, when the Note 3 launched with 3GB of RAM I was enticed to get it to enjoy better multi-tasking, but we all know how Android’s memory manager is. When I upgraded to Lollipop, the problem became much worse and apps would disappear simply by idling for too long. The Note 4 on Lollipop suffers from a similar problem when I directly compare it to AOSP devices, and shows similar behavior to my Note 3. In fact, this problem is something that I frequently ran into when doing a side-by-side comparison of my Note 3 and my Nexus 5 for the Note 3’s Lollipop performance analysis… 1GB differential and all. Sammobile reported on this problem in the S6, but it is not limited to Samsung’s latest hardware, just the software (Lollipop) as I do not have this problem on 5.1 AOSP ROMs. We do not know if it has to do with Lollipop’s memory leaks, but nevertheless it is quite annoying.
In this test we see the S6 put against the M9 using Gamebench, an application that records metrics during videogames such as frames-per-second, a processor frequency log and battery drain. Here you can see that the S6 actually performs worse than the M9 in games like Asphalt 8. In this particular game, the S6 shows around 29 frames per second while the M9 surpasses it with 41 frames per second. Further testing might reveal variations in these numbers, but is this really surprising? I would argue that, in many ways, it is not. For all the flak that the Snapdragon 810 received, its Adreno 430 GPU remains excellent for graphics-intensive tasks such as games. But the biggest difference is the resolution, which is the last thing I want to touch on.
Resolution is by far one of the determining factors in this comparison. As we’ve seen earlier, the off-screen benchmarks show that the S6 actually surpasses the M9 in raw GPU output, but when it needs to put graphics on the 1440p screen, the performance is lowered dramatically. When you consider that the M9 is powering up a 1080p screen, you also run into the surprise that the GPU is not substantially more powerful than what was found in the Snapdragon 805. I want to demonstrate this with my own device:
My Note 4 has a default resolution of 1440p, but I used a terminal emulator on it to reduce the resolution to 1080p. As far as UI fluidity goes, the changes were minimal if not placebo. But I can attest that GPU-intensive tasks such as gaming and synthetic benchmarks showed quite the increase in performance and stability. While Gamebench is seemingly not compatible with my build of TouchWiz, the framerate on Asphalt 8 has improved from 28 FPS (on KitKat) to what I can only describe as ultra smooth. I will do a full feature where I will quantify the difference that the lower resolution made, but for now I think these benchmarks will give you a general idea of the kind of improvements I’ve seen.
Both chipsets can offer good performance, and the S6, G Flex 2 and M9 all flex a good amount of muscle. When it comes to the hardware winner, the S6 is undoubtedly superior. But the software of the S6 holds it back from achieving the real-world UX that we all wanted from Samsung – that is, one that is as good as the hardware can muster. Sadly, there are still clear issues with the memory management, even despite Samsung’s efforts to trim and debloat their TouchWiz ROM. The device is fast, but as the video showed, having to reload an application from scratch can ultimately cost you the race.
When it comes to future-proofing, the S6 has a severe edge (heh): the memory management can be improved through software updates to truly exploit the faster RAM, and you can manually lower the resolution of the display for better graphics performance (I really don’t think anyone needs 1440p in a 5.1 inch display anyway). The M9’s chipset will eventually show its age, but luckily its GPU is strong enough to handle current games with such a surplus that you might find yourself gaming on HTC’s latest for quite a while. Both feature a great real-world user experience as far as performance goes, but it would still have been nice to see the Snapdragon 810 live to its full potential. The upcoming Samsung custom cores and their new factory (which Qualcomm might end up fabbing in) coupled against the Snapdragon 820’s Kyro custom cores might make for quite the chipset battle. Manufacturers are now going for the Snapdragon 808, which might not even fare as well as the 805 either. This semiconductor war might not determine which approach is right, but it could certainly determine which competitor is left. May the best chip win!
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