Next 4-inch iPhone to be based on the 5s, new rumor claims

  Ever since Apple decided to join its competitors in selling devices larger than 4 inches, we've heard countless rumors saying that the Cupertino company hasn't totally given up on the smaller form-factor. New 4-inch iPhones have been "imminent" quite a few times already, but none of those things actually managed to pan out.

  Today we're already at the second rumor about the next small Apple smartphone. A few hours ago we heard that an iPhone 6c was on track for release in 2016, but now a new report seems to contradict that.

  First off, it says that there will be a new 4" iPhone, yes, but it will be based on the iPhone 5s (pictured above) and not the 5c. The design of this new device should thus be extremely close to that of the iPhone 5s, while featuring some updated internals.

  We can allegedly expect to see the A8 chipset in there, along with an improved FaceTime HD camera with f/2.2 aperture, and support for both 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1. Those are all the hardware details we have for now, but one thing that will be missing will be 3D Touch, which will remain exclusive to the bigger iPhones.

  It is claimed that this smaller product is ready for production and can be launched very soon if Apple doesn't change its mind about it in the meantime. If certain past rumors are true, then this upgraded iPhone 5s should see the light of day in the first half of 2016.

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LG Nexus 5X review

Introduction

  Some think that it's time for Google to start making its own hardware, the closest we have today is the Nexus series. The Nexus 5X, co-designed by Google and LG, is the mid-range offering and a respite from the 6" Nexus last year, leaving its sibling to fill the premium, large-screen role.

  As the Android One program fizzled out, it became clear that it can't carry the load of a mid-range Nexus. So the Nexus 5 was reborn as the 5X to give users first-party software experience and Google design ideology at a reasonable price, while the 6P carries on the premium legacy of Moto's Nexus 6.

  This is LG's third Nexus (4, 5 and now 5X). The design has shifted from the LG Nexus 4 and 5 exterior to something that could have come out of Motorola's sketchbooks. Or rather this is a case of Google's design persisting between makers. That the 5X doesn't feel like it belongs in the LG lineup is a clear sign that the 5X is more Google than LG.

  The focus has been placed on enhanced security (fingerprint sensor on the back, the Nexus Imprint) that enables mobile payments (Android Pay) and a push towards a universal connector (USB Type-C). The camera was primed for low-light shooting and the more you shoot, the more you can upload to Google Photos (well, you're not going to store them on a microSD card).

Key features

·5.2" screen with 1080p resolution (424ppi)

·Android 6.0 Marshmallow and you're first in line for updates

·Dual-core Cortex-A57 at 1.82Ghz + quad-core Cortex-A53 at 1.44GHz, 2GB of RAM, Adreno 418 GPU; Snapdragon 808 chipset

·16GB or 32GB of storage

·12.3MP camera with laser autofocus and dual-LED flash; 1.55µm pixels; 5MP selfie camera

·2160p video capture

·Fingerprint reader; Android Pay

·USB Type-C

·2,700mAh Li-Po battery with fast charging (4 hours of use in 10 minutes of charging)

Main disadvantages

·Expensive outside the US

·Chipset and especially RAM not on 2015 flagship level

·No card slot and the storage options are limited

·No OIS for the camera or wireless charging like the 2013 model had

  It's strange to see lack of progress in some areas and even regressions compared to the 2013 Nexus 5. While 2GB of RAM is workable on a modern Android, we kind of expected more. No movement on the storage front either (no 64GB option, really?) Why OIS and wireless charging were dropped we're not sure.

  On the positive side, the improvements are definitely worth it. The fingerprint reader and the camera are the biggest updates. The still resolution was bumped up 50%, though we expect noticeably better quality with the big pixels and there's laser autofocus too. Also, 4K video recording is becoming more prevalent and you get much better selfies with the 5MP shooter.

    

LG Nexus 5X • Carbon color • Quartz color • Ice color

  The LG Nexus 5X boasts a slightly bigger screen, plus 64-bit processing and USB Type-C for future-proofing. The battery is bigger too, which will give the new Doze feature more to work with. Connectivity has been sped up and there's various other upgrades too.

  The Nexus 4 assassinated the idea that only flagships get great specs and the Nexus 5 cemented it. That's great legacy that the Nexus 5X has to live up to, though its goal is slightly different. It wants to revitalize the mid-range market where some of the established makers have been languishing while young companies produce great offerings, but with a heavily-skinned, Google-light software.

Screen

  Back in 2013 when the Nexus 5 came out, LG had the G2 - a phone with a 5.2" 1080p screen. Not that we'd push for QHD resolution at this diagonal, especially at this price and with this GPU. Still, a comparison is inevitable.

  So we're pleased to report that two years of progress in display tech has brought better contrast and colors than the previous model. There are no controls for adjusting the screen colors though.

  The LG Nexus 5X is impressive even at a quick glance, and our test more than proved what our eyes saw. The maximum brightness level (455nits) may not be class leading, but the achieved contrast ratio of 1542:1 is excellent due to the nicely deep blacks.

  Another nice finding is the fact that the screen is calibrated for almost perfect color rendering right out of the box. It’s a rare sight to see a phone with an Avg. DeltaE of only 2.3 (based on the primary colors plus black&white) as anything below a deviation of 4 is considered calibration-grade color output.

  Additionally, the minimum brightness level is only 1.8nits for white content, which means that you should probably be quite comfortable using the Nexus 5X display in dark environment without any eye strain.

  The low reflectivity of Gorilla Glass 3 and high contrast of the screen allow it to remain legible even in bright sunlight. The 5.2" screen of Nexus 5X is well above average in this respect.

Connectivity

  The LG Nexus 5X comes equipped with an LTE Cat. 6 modem for speeds up to 300Mbps down and 50Mbps up. Aside from GSM, the US version of the phone will also have CDMA for compatibility with Verizon and Sprint.

  Besides that you have the usual Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac at 2.4GHz and 5GHz and Bluetooth 4.2 with A2DP. NFC is on board, naturally, to be used with the new Android Pay.

  The USB Type-C cable will transfer speeds at USB 3.1 speeds, but the provided cable is Type-C on both ends which you probably don't have on your computer. You'll either need an adapter or a whole new cable. Also, by default the phone connects to charge-only, so you have to manually enable data transfer. Google really does not want you using wired transfer.

  The USB port can be used to hook up storage and USB periphery (but again, stuff with the C plug is quite rare). As mentioned earlier, there's no TV-out - no SlimPort, MHL or anything. You're stuck with the wireless Cast method.

Battery life

  The LG Nexus 5X comes with a 2,700mAh battery, not big for its size, but a definite improvement over the 2,300mAh battery that the 2013 model got. And it has a new OS feature to make sure the battery is used efficiently.

  Doze detects when you are not using the phone and the longer that goes on, the less and less it allows apps to do work in the background - it's wasted effort that the user won't notice (other than the used up battery charge).

 The standby power draw of the Nexus 5X is pretty good, especially for this capacity. Even so the total standby rating isn't that high, the poor video playback in particular drags down the result.

  Talk time is okay at 17 hours, but the aging LG G2 did 25 hours (it also had a bigger battery though). It's a massive improvement for owners of the 2013 Nexus 5 though. Things get better - the 5 was one of the worst performers in web browsing, the 5X now lasts nearly twice as long in the same test. Still, we've seen better performing mid-rangers.

  Finally, the poor video support (more on that in the video player section) left the Nexus 5X with an unimpressive score of 6 and a half hours. Better than before, but not good for 2015.

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OnePlus X review

Introduction

  The OnePlus X is not another flagship killer, we have the OnePlus 2 for that. Instead OnePlus decided to take a break from the high profile smartphone gane and brings us a stunning mid-ranger capable of delivering on both looks and performance.

  The OnePlus X exterior is as premium as it can get - there is a metal frame with 17 etched grooves, flanked by a dual panels of glass, which they call Onyx Black.

  In case you are into exclusive editions, then OnePlus will be offering only 10,000 units of the OnePlus X with a back made out of ceramic. Each supposedly takes up to 25 days to make so that should count for something.

  The OnePlus X is built around a 5" 1080p AMOLED display and has a Snapdragon 801 as its heart coupled with 3GB RAM. The S801 chip might be aging, but it's still quite relevant and would give some eight-core setups a run for their money. The camera department includes a 13MP main snapper with hybrid phase-detection AF and a front 8MP selfie shooter. Check out the complete feature list.

Key features

·Metal frame + glass/ceramic back

·5" AMOLED display with 1080p resolution; 441ppi; Corning Gorilla Glass 3

·Snapdragon 801 chipset; CPU: quad-core 2.3GHz Krait 400; Adreno 330 GPU; 3GB of RAM

·13MP main camera with a LED flash, phase-detection auto-focus; 1080p video capture at 30fps

·8MP front-facing camera, 1080p at 30fps video recording

·Oxygen 2.1 OS based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop

·16GB of built-in storage; microSD expansion slot

·Dual SIM, LTE Cat.4, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, FM radio, microUSB

·Dual-microphone active noise canceling

·Attractive price tag

·2,525mAh non-removable battery

Main disadvantages

·Non-removable battery and no quick charging support

·Connectivity lacks dual-band Wi-Fi and NFC

·No 64-bit processor

  The lack of 64-bit support is the only possible complaint we may have towards the Snapdragon 801 chip today, but we wouldn't say this feature is indispensable, at least not for a few more years. The connectivity package took the biggest hit - it lacks support for 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks, there is no NFC, and no support for quick charging. None of those are deal breakers but you should consider those.

 

OnePlus press shots in Onyx Black back

  

OnePlus press shots with Ceramic back

  So, is the OnePlus X ready to perform great in the vast market out there? Only one way to find out and it starts with the thing getting unboxed.

Display

  The OnePlus X packs a 5-inch AMOLED display, which is a great treat for such an affordable mid-ranger. It's a high-quality panel of 1080p resolution, which delivers 441ppi of pixel density. While not record-breaking numbers, individual pixels are nonetheless indistinguishable to the naked eye and so is the Diamond PenTile matrix.

  You're not going to see pixels on this screen and thanks to the AMOLED tech that's built-in, the panel enjoys inky-deep blacks and unmatched vividness to colors.

  When it comes to maximum brightness, the OnePlus X wouldn't go as high as some other AMOLED phones but it's quite alright and only flagship segment phones do better. It's actually around the same level as the HTC One A9 and this one while not very bright to begin with, has twice the price tag.

  The minimum brightness on the OnePlus X is only 3.3nits, which is to say that using it in dimly lit environments will be easy on your eyes.

  AMOLED has inherently superb viewing angles and those of the OnePlus X don't disappoint. The panel retains its contrast and colors even in extreme angles and is one of the least reflective screens we've ever tested.

  However the AMOLED on the HTC One A9 and Samsung's own Super AMOLED found in the Galaxy Note 4, Note5 and Galaxy S6 line easily top the OnePlus X's display in outdoor performance (though these are a lot more expensive phones to begin with).

  Usually makers skimp on some of the essentials when building a lower-cost smartphone and many times the display is the first compromise. Luckily OnePlus didn't compromise with the X's display, which delivers on all points except its brightness, which is still acceptable.

  More importantly the 5" display is sharp and a joy to consume media on.

OnePlus X battery life

  The OnePlus X packs a non-removable 2,525mAh battery, which is about average capacity for a 5-inch 1080p smartphone. The Oppo R7 has a 2,320mAh cell, the recently reviewed HTC One A9 with its 2,150mAh is noticeably underpowered compared to OnePlus' model, while the Xiaomi Mi 4c has a generous 3,080mAh battery. The slightly larger 5.2-inch Nexus 5X has a, well, slightly larger 2,700mAh powerpack.

  The OnePlus X didn't prove as a miracle worker and pairing an average capacity with an older chipset yields unimpressive results. While 16 hours of call times is a good performance, short of 7 hours in the video playback test and even less in web browsing are not numbers anyone would be happy with.

  It's the frugal standby power consumption (which we measure, but don't include in the scorecard) that saves the OnePlus X and helps it achieve its 54-hour endurance rating in our proprietary test.

  The Xiaomi Mi 4c outlasts the OnePlus X in all three disciplines, which measure actual usage. And it's not a marginal difference - more than 3 hours in each test, though it's let down by less than optimal standby performance. The Oppo R7 is ahead in all three tests as well, but also in overall rating, despite its lower capacity. That said, the One A9 is trailing miserably, but not quite unexpectedly.

  The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Connectivity

  Thanks to the on-board modem of the Snapdragon 801 chipset, the OnePlus X supports lots of LTE bands and covers the specs for LTE Cat. 4 (up to 150Mbps downlink, up to 50Mbps uplink). It also offers quad-band GSM connectivity and quad or penta-band (market dependent) 3G connectivity with HSPA support.

  The rest of the wireless connectivity features include dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n support and Wi-Fi Direct. There is no dual-band Wi-Fi support, unfortunately.

  There is also support for Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and GLONASS, plus an FM radio. Wireless screen mirroring is available via the Miracast protocol. NFC is not available though.

  An MHL-enabled micro-USB 2.0 port sits on the bottom of the phone and lets you stream video to compatible TVs via an appropriate MHL HDMI dongle. USB host is enabled, for connecting external storage. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack lets you plug in your headphones of choice.

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Moto X Pure Edition to receive Marshmallow update as well

  Motorola received a lot of heat when people found out their beloved Moto E from last year was not going to receive any more software updates. Those who had a US carrier branded2014 Moto X were also upset to learn their phone of just over a year of age was yet to be confirmed for a Marshmallow update.

  At one point, Motorola was the quickest to push updates to Android. Particularly, the Verizon Moto X was the very first device to get the Kitkat update even before some Nexus devices. Unfortunately, Motorola hasn't been as quick this time around.

  While the Brazilian and Indian Moto X Style and Moto X 2014 have already begun the update deployment process, the Moto X Pure Edition has begun the approval process and will begin rolling out “in the next few weeks”.

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Gionee GN8001 with 6-inch display and 3GB RAM receives TENAA certification

  The Gionee GN8001 - which along with the Gionee GN5001L and GN5002 was certified by China's 3C earlier this month - has now passed through the country's Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center (TENAA).

  The listing on TENAA's website reveals that the device is powered by a 1.3 GHz octa-core processor, and sports a large 6.0-inch (1920 × 1080 pixel resolution) AMOLED display. It has 3GB RAM and 32GB expandable internal memory.

  In terms of camera, the listing says the Gionee GN8001 would feature at-least 8MP rear unit (could also go up to 13MP) and a 5MP front shooter. Weighing in at 206 gms and measuring 160.7×81.0×8.2 (mm), the handset runs Android 5.1 out-of-the-box. Connectivity options reportedly include 4G LTE, 3G, Bluetooth, GPS, and USB, while color options include silver.

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Asus Zenfone Selfie review

Introduction

  The Asus Zenfone Selfie has got to be the company's most straightforward attempt at product naming. Sure, it does have the mandatory 7-symbol alphanumeric model string at its tail, which means zip to the uninitiated, but unlike the piles of different Zenfone 2's, in this case a simple Selfie will suffice to describe the specific model.

  The title does well to advertise the smartphone's headline feature and in person the handset isn't shy showing it off either. Selfie could very well come before Zenfone with this one, as the front 13MP shooter has pushed the earpiece out of its customary central position.A dual-tone front facing flash further emphasizes the device's priorities and is a bit of an exclusive feature. Setting aside rotating camera trickery like on the Oppo N3 and Honor 7i, you'd be hard pressed to find a smartphone with more than a single LED to shine at your face. The HTC Desire Eye is one, the only one perhaps.

  At this point you'd be forgiven to think that the Zenfone Selfie is a one-hit wonder, but you'd be wrong. It can take on most any midrange competitor - after all, in 2015 the majority of those are equipped with the same Snapdragon 615 chipset anyway. Up to 3GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch FullHD display and a 13MP primary camera mean that the Selfie won't be shorthanded against all but the best-equipped rivals.

Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL key features

·Dual-SIM, Dual Standby capability

·5.5-inch IPS capacitive touchscreen with 1080p resolution and 403ppi density, Gorilla Glass 4 protection

·64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset; quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.1 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU; Adreno 405 GPU

·2/3GB of RAM, 16/32GB of storage and a microSD slot for further expansion, 5GB free lifetime ASUS WebStorage

·13MP main camera with f/2.0 lens, laser autofocus, dual-LED dual-tone flash, 1080p@30fps video recording

·13MP front camera with 88-degree wide-angle f/2.2 lens, contrast detection autofocus, dual-LED dual-tone flash, 1080p@30fps video recording

·Android 5.0.2 Lollipop out of the box with Asus ZenUI overlay

·LTE Cat.4, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; NFC; Bluetooth; GPS with A-GPS; GLONASS; microUSB 2.0 port, USB host

·3,000mAh user-replaceable battery

·Plastic build, back covers in a choice of colors and textures

Main disadvantages

·No 2160p video recording

·Rather large and hefty

  For the record, the model number of the Zenfone Selfie is ZD551KL. We have here the version with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, and there's a lesser 2GB/16GB option and surprisingly, both share the same model number. We're not big fans of the concept that the two numbers should be interdependent, but let's say that it allows for a more affordable base model, and that's a good thing where the Zenfone Selfie is positioned.

     

Asus Zenfone Selfie press images

  We are happy that the Zenfone Selfie has a few features, which are slowly going into oblivion in the high end segment. The smartphone takes microSD cards for expansion, and it also has an easy-to-access swappable battery - batteries on Zenfone 2's have so far been guarded by a dozen screws despite the misleading removable back.

  So as you see, the Asus Zenfone Selfie is an intriguing handset and we all but ready to put it through our customary review routine, with unboxing and hardware overview first up on the next page.

Color-accurate 5.5-inch IPS panel

  The Asus Zenfone Selfie comes with a 5.5-inch display with 1080p resolution, and that translates to a density of 403ppi. It uses an IPS LCD panel, which our microscope shot revealed to have a standard RGB subpixel arrangement, unsurprisingly.

  The Asus Zenfone Selfie has very accurate color rendition with the average DeltaE being the impressive number of 4.2 (for the primaries plus black and white). The max DeltaE is 7.7 and that's mainly the rendition of white, which is slightly on the bluish side.

  The offered display tuning sliders allow you to improve that even further and by adding just a slight warmness to the display output we were able to achieve exceptional color accuracy - average deltaE of 3.3 and a max DeltaE of only 4.4.

    

Asus Splendid display tweaking app

  The maximum brightness of the LCD panel (333nits) is not a good as it could be, but the relatively deep blacks (not as good as on the Lenovo K3 Note, but certainly in the top-tier among LCDs) allow the Zenfone Selfie to offer good contrast ratio of about 928:1.

  At the middle of the brightness slider, the brightness level is less than a third of the maximum brightness level, but that is also true for many other phones.

  The minimum brightness level is 22nits, which a lot more than the best we've seen so bear that in mind if you intend to use it frequently in pitch dark environment - this sort of light level might be unpleasant for the eyes in such conditions.

  The Zenfone Selfie performed poorly in our sunlight legibility test perhaps due to the low maximum brightness. It's certainly far from good AMOLED screens in this respect (even the budget-minded Galaxy J7, for that matter), but the score is quite low even for an LCD panel, especially in 2015. Even the Zenfone 2 does somewhat better, and we're not quite sure why that is. The panels look very much the same, though the Selfie is indeed a bit dimmer, just not as much as to make that much of a difference in the sun.

Connectivity

  The Zenfone Selfie is well stocked on connectivity options. First off, there's quad-band 2G/GPRS/EDGE on both SIM cards and that's where the second card is capped. SIM 1 also gets quad-band 3G and a multitude of LTE bands, which are region dependent.

  Dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac radios are on board as well, with Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot support.

  Bluetooth is in its 4.0 version, there's a GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS and also NFC.

  The microUSB port comes with USB host support for attaching your choice of peripherals and MHL support. The headphone jack is the standard 3.5mm affair, allowing you to plug in just about any set of headphones out there.

  There's also a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion, which takes cards up to 128GB.

  An FM radio receiver is provided for listening to music on the go without generating data traffic.

Asus Zenfone Selfie battery life

  The Asus Zenfone Selfie comes with a 3,000mAh battery - a user-replaceable lithium polymer unit. The powerpack might very well be the same exact one as in the Zenfone 2, so we expected comparably unimpressive results. We weren't entirely right, it turned out.

  It all starts with the twenty and a half hours of 3G call times - a good 4 and a half hours longer than the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML and a solid result on its own. It gets even better in the video playback test, where the Zenfone Selfie is good for 11 and a half hours of movie watching.

  The good impression so far is marred by the web browsing longevity. When using the built-in browser, the Zenfone Selfie manages a lowly 6 and a half hours. Switch to Chrome, and the situation isn't as grim, but 7:43 hours is still only an average result. It's virtually the same number as the Zenfone 2 posted.

  All in all, the Zenfone Selfie does okay in the battery department, noticeably better than the Zenfone 2. Its overall rating of 63 hours in our proprietary test is far from record-breaking but it's not disappointing either.

  The Samsung Galaxy J7, for example, would last you a full 5 hours longer in video watching and a little over an hour longer in web browsing, but loses to the Selfie in call times. Another selfie specialist, the HTC Desire Eye, does about ten hours in both screen-on activities, but comes shorter in call endurance, too. Meanwhile, the Sony Xperia C5 Ultra trails the Selfie in all test disciplines.

  Make note that our proprietary score also includes a standby battery draw test, which is not featured in our test scorecard but is calculated in the total endurance rating.

  The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

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