Table of contents for 58 in Android Advisor

A year ago, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 845, the brains behind flagship smartphones like the Google Pixel 3, the US version of the Samsung Galaxy S9, OnePlus phones, and others. Now, the firm’s next-generation Snapdragon 855 promises those platforms even more enhancements: dedicated logic blocks for digital assistants, revamped camera logic for computer vision, specific gaming boosts. It also gives the JPEG file format the boot. According to Qualcomm executives, the goal for the Snapdragon 855 is to “unlock” AI and XR (mixed reality), with the new 5G capabilities leading the way. The company claims that it’s offering the first commercial mobile platform to support this. The next-generation 855 is due to ship during the first half of 2019, meaning that phone makers will be able to design and announce…

Price: £440 inc VAT from fave.co/2PLwKek If 2017 was the year of the notch, then 2018 was the year of phone manufacturers desperately trying anything they can to avoid or minimize it. We’ve had teardrop notches, side notches, pop-up cameras, second screens, and now the Honor Magic 2 offers a simple slider. That’s right, Honor’s latest hides its selfie cameras behind a sliding mechanism to help make sure the front of the phone is all-screen, all the time, but that’s not its only selling point: how about the latest Kirin 980 processor, six (count ‘em) camera lenses, and super-fast 40W charging? Here’s how it all stacks up. Design Still, for all that, none of those phones have the Magic 2’s most distinctive feature: a manual screen slider. Honor isn’t the…

Google makes Android freely available to phone manufacturers so they can tweak and contort the OS to suit their needs. Nonetheless, Google does have its own idea of what Android should be. That’s on display with its Pixel 3 and 3 XL handsets, which include some cool software extras you won’t get on other Android devices. These phones offer the best Android experience available, but your experience can be even better if you know about all the best features. Without further ado... 1. Use Call Screen to intercept spam voice calls Spam calls have become so common, they might make up the majority of the voice calls you receive some days. But now the Pixel 3 has an ingenious and almost life-changing way to deal with spam. Using the Call…

Qualcomm gave Android users an early Christmas present in the form of a sneak peek at the Snapdragon 855 processor, the chip that will power 2019’s flagship phones. We already know it’s going to be faster and more power efficient than the 845, but what really matters is how it’s going to change your next phone beyond the speed and battery boosts. Here are five things to look forward to. 1. Download speeds will be way faster You’re going to hear a lot about 5G in 2019, and Qualcomm will be leading the revolution with its X50 modem. However, the 855 will have some serious speed improvements of its own, thanks to a directly integrated 2Gb/s LTE modem. The 855 is also 802.11ax ready for up to 14Gbit/s Wi-Fi, nearly…

Price: £338 inc VAT from fave.co/2A5YWDL Elephone’s U Pro follows on from the Elephone S8 and S7 before it, and while those phones were obviously clones of Samsung’s same-name S-series flagships, for the U Pro it has moved away from that theme – in name, if nothing else. From the front the U Pro looks almost exactly like a Galaxy S9, right down to the curved edges and 18:9 Infinity Display. When you consider that the Elephone is significantly cheaper than Samsung’s flagship, thanks to some slimmed down but still capable internals, it looks to be a cracking deal. Design The U Pro is a seriously good-looking phone. From the front it’s mostly all screen, with a large 5.99in panel adopting a tall 18:9 aspect ratio that makes it feel…

Price: £779 inc VAT from fave.co/2R09MVB When the first Razer Phone was unveiled it pretty much invented the concept of the gaming phone. People had played games on phones for years, of course, but the idea of designing a phone specifically with gamers in mind was a novelty not seen since the days of the Nokia N-Gage. Since then, imitators have come along from the likes of Xiaomi, Asus, and Honor, but Razer is ready to meet the challenge with the Razer Phone 2. We’ve spent a bit of time gaming on the second-gen Razer Phone, and here’s what we think. Design The first thing you’re likely to notice about the Razer Phone 2 is that it looks very similar to the original model (see below). From front-on, the phones…

The past year has seen the release of some cracking Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S9, OnePlus 6T, Pixel 3 and Huawei P20 Pro. However, choosing one can be tricky. They come in all shapes, sizes, colours and each has selling points – whether it’s a sleek waterproof design, a massive display or no less than three cameras. Sometimes, you might get all of this in one phone. Since you’re often paying in excess of £600 for these phones, you can expect to get tip-top build quality and the latest hardware and software features. Differences between devices can be minimal so a lot will likely come down to personal preference. We’ve done our best to rank the phones in order taking into account build, value, performance and features.…