Samsung’s Find My Mobile app is designed to help you remotely locate your device, back up data to Samsung Cloud, delete local data, and block access to Samsung Pay in case of loss or theft. However, the app requires a working network connection to perform all of the aforementioned functions. This means that if your device loses network coverage, there’s no way for you to locate it using the app. Thankfully, Samsung is now rolling out an update for the Find My Mobile app which addresses this issue.
The latest update for the Find My Mobile app (version 7.2.05.44) adds a new ‘Offline finding’ feature that will let you find your phone using someone else’s Galaxy device, even when your device isn’t connected to a network. The feature will also let other users use your phone to scan for lost Galaxy devices that may be nearby. Additionally, the feature will let you find Galaxy Watches and earbuds if they were connected to your device.
The feature was recently spotted by Max Weinbach from our team, who shared the above screenshots. As you can see in the screenshots, your phone will display a notification for the new feature as soon as you receive the latest Find My Mobile update on your Samsung Galaxy device. Tapping on the notification will instantly open up the respective settings page, where you’ll be able to enable the feature by tapping on the toggle in the top right corner. You’ll also be able to encrypt your offline location from the same settings page. Once the feature is turned on, you’ll be able to find your phone even if it’s not connected to a network.
While we can’t confirm how this feature works just yet, it appears that it’s only available in the U.S. and South Korea, according to one user who dug through the SmartThings app.
You can download version 7.2.05.44 of the Find My Mobile app from the Samsung Galaxy Store or from APKMirror. Once we confirm how this feature works, we’ll update this article with those details.
Apple Music 1 and two new stations, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country, feature exclusive original shows from the world’s top music hosts and artists
Cupertino, California — Apple today announced two new live global radio offerings on Apple Music, now available to music fans in 165 countries. Beginning today, Beats 1, the flagship global radio station, will be renamed Apple Music 1, and two additional radio stations will launch: Apple Music Hits, celebrating everyone’s favorite songs from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s, and Apple Music Country, spotlighting country music.
Since Apple Music’s launch in 2015, Beats 1 has grown into one of the most-listened-to radio stations in the world, consistently delivering the best in-depth artist interviews, more global exclusives and premieres than anywhere else, and unique programming that produces culture-moving, news-making moments year after year. Throughout its evolution, Beats 1 has established an inherent camaraderie with the artist community and championed human curation and discovery — an approach that will continue across the three stations.
“For the past five years, if ever there was a meaningful moment in music culture, Beats 1 was there bringing human curation to the forefront and drawing in listeners with exclusive shows from some of the most innovative, respected, and beloved people in music,” said Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music, Beats, and International Content. “Now, Apple Music radio provides an unparalleled global platform for artists across all genres to talk about, create, and share music with their fans, and this is just the beginning. We will continue to invest in live radio and create opportunities for listeners around the world to connect with the music they love.”
Beats 1 Now Renamed Apple Music 1
Apple Music’s flagship Beats 1 global radio station has now been renamed Apple Music 1.
With state-of-the-art studios in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, and London, Apple Music 1 is the center for pop culture conversation and artist-led programming, and the global destination for artists from around the world to release new music, break news, and speak directly to their fans. Apple Music 1 is led by cornerstone presenters Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden, Brooke Reese, Dotty, Hanuman Welch, Matt Wilkinson, Nadeska, Rebecca Judd, and Travis Mills, and offers a lineup of shows from the biggest names in music, including Action Bronson, Billie Eilish, Elton John, Joe Kay, Lil Wayne, Frank Ocean, Vince Staples, and The Weeknd, as well as new shows from Aitch, Kerwin Frost, HAIM, Lady Gaga, Nile Rodgers, Travis Scott, Charlie Sloth, Young M.A, and many more.
Apple Music 1 also features several shows dedicated to celebrating the vibrancy of Latin music around the world, including a new show from J Balvin and listener favorites “¡Dale Play! with Sandra Peña” and “La Fórmula Radio with El Guru.” The station is also home to “Africa Now Radio with Cuppy,” showcasing the very best local African music and artists.
“Apple Music is home — it’s home to artists, it’s home to fans, and it’s home to incredible music,” said Zane Lowe, Apple Music’s global creative director and host. “I’m an obsessive music nerd. I love searching for the most exciting new artists and playing them right alongside the most essential, established artists of our time, because great music does not know the difference and Apple Music fans just want to hear great music. That’s what Apple Music radio is all about.”
Introducing Apple Music Hits
Apple Music Hits offers a full catalog of the biggest songs fans know and love from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s.
Apple Music Hits offers a full catalog of the biggest songs fans know and love from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s. The station features remarkable new shows from notable artists and hosts, connecting listeners with the stories behind the most popular songs in the world.
Apple Music Hits will be helmed by daily on-air hosts Jayde Donovan, Estelle, Lowkey, Jenn Marino, Sabi, Nicole Sky and Natalie Sky, George Stroumboulopoulos (“House of Strombo”), along with special shows from Ari Melber and others. Fans can also tune in to hear new exclusive shows from artists like Backstreet Boys, Ciara, Mark Hoppus, Huey Lewis, Alanis Morissette, Snoop Dogg, Meghan Trainor, Shania Twain, and more.
Introducing Apple Music Country
Apple Music Country showcases an increasingly diverse genre with a talent roster full of country’s most exciting voices.
Radio is part of the fabric of country music culture, and Apple Music Country amplifies that experience for the modern fan. As country music evolves and expands around the world, Apple Music Country aims to be the definitive place for every lane of an increasingly diverse genre. The station offers a mix of the best music of today while introducing fans to the stars of tomorrow and reminding them of the legendary artists and tracks that have shaped and defined country music along the way.
Apple Music Country’s talent roster boasts a wide range of country’s most exciting voices, including daily on-air hosts Kelleigh Bannen, Ty Bentli, Bree, Alecia Davis, Ward Guenther, Nada, and Tiera, plus weekly shows from Ashley Eicher and Kelly McCartney. Fans can also enjoy new exclusive shows from artists like Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, BRELAND, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Morgan Evans, Florida Georgia Line, Pat Green, Willie Jones, Chrissy Metz, Midland, Rissi Palmer, The Shires, Carrie Underwood, and Morgan Wallen, alongside exclusive shows from legendary producers and songwriters like Dave Cobb, Jesse Frasure, and Luke Laird, and journalist Hunter Kelly.
Fans can enjoy Apple Music radio wherever they listen to Apple Music, including iPhone, iPad, iPod, CarPlay, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac, HomePod, and on the web at music.apple.com.They can also ask Siri to play “Apple Music 1,” “Apple Music Hits,” or “Apple Music Country.”
About Apple Music
Apple loves music. With iPod and iTunes, Apple revolutionized the music experience by putting a thousand songs in your pocket. Today, Apple Music takes this to the ultimate with over 60 million songs, thousands of playlists, and daily selections from the world’s best music experts, including all of the artists and hosts broadcasting daily across its Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country global live streams. Since 2015, Apple Music has welcomed tens of millions of subscribers in 167 countries. Streaming seamlessly to iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac, HomePod, and CarPlay, Apple Music is the most complete music experience on the planet.
Back in January, Google was testing biometric authentication support for its first-party Autofill service. Now, this feature appears to be rolling out to Google Autofill via a recent update to Google Play Services.
The new feature means that users can require successful biometric authentication before information can be filled into a form. Before, Google’s Autofill service had no additional safeguards on top of the user’s lockscreen, making it less secure than most third-party password managers.
According to Android Police, the feature appears to have become widely available for users on Google Play Services v20.33.13, but it’s also available for some on version v20.26.14. It appears this is rolling out via a server-side update, so it’s just a matter of waiting for a flag to be flipped on your device.
The new feature can be found by heading to Settings > Google > Autofill > Autofill with Google. You’ll see a new menu called Autofill Security, where you can toggle biometrics. Once toggled, users can use any biometric authentication hardware that’s supported by the BiometricPrompt API, which includes fingerprint scanners, iris scanners, or secure facial recognition hardware like on the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. Of course, you’ll also need to turn on the Autofill with Google service in Settings > System > Languages & input > Autofill service.
Adding biometric authentication not only makes logging in more secure, but it also makes it more convenient and accessible to users.
Apple has officially released iOS 14 beta 5 and iPadOS 14 beta 5 to developers. This week’s update brings a few small but notable changes to the iOS 14 experience, including the return of the scroll wheel for picking times and a new Apple News widget option.
iOS 14 beta 5 and iPadOS 14 beta 5 are fairly large updates in terms of download size, coming in at nearly 2GB and nearly 4GB respectively for most users. The updates feature the build number 18A5351d.
In addition to the fifth developer betas of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple also released watchOS 7 beta 5 to developers today. There is no new macOS 11 Big Sur developer beta quite yet, but it could come as soon as later this afternoon. Furthermore, we expect new public betas of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS 11 Big Sur, and watchOS 7 later this week.
What’s new in iOS 14 beta 5?
One of the changes introduced in iOS 14 is the new time picker that ditches the iconic scrolling wheel. iOS 14 beta 5 brings the wheel back…kind of. Here’s how it looks in action:
There is also a new “Tall” widget for Apple News in iOS 14 beta 5. This widget is exclusively for the “Today” screen on the far-left of iOS or iPadOS. It can’t be added to your home screen. This widget increases the number of Apple News widgets to seven and it headlines for Top Stories, For You, and Best of Apple News+.
In the Settings app, you can now disable the Hidden Album in the Photos app. Open Settings, scroll down to Photos, and look for “Hidden Album.”
Apple says: “When enabled, the Hidden album will appear in the Albums tab, under Utilities. The Hidden album is always available in the image picker.”
New “Availability Alerts” for COVID-19 Exposure Notifications
Apple says: “Receive a notification if Exposure Notifications are available in your current region. Your region is determined by your iPhone and does not leave your device.”
New on-boarding process for COVID-19 Exposure Notifications in the Settings app:
New App Clip testing options for developers in Settings
New location access request for widgets:
Shortcuts app has a new “What’s new?” splash screen upon first launch:
Widgets are now blocked when a parent app is blocked with Screen Time
Among the more modest tweaks to the iPhone’s UI with iOS 14 is a redesigned Clock app. While it is nice to see the rotating dial replaced with a more efficient number pad, there are some confusing aspects to the new interface. Read along for how to use the new iPhone alarms in iOS 14 and where the Bedtime tab has moved.
The Clock app on iPhone with iOS 14 is simpler in some ways but also a bit counterintuitive in others. Below we’ll look at how to best use iPhone alarms as well where the Bedtime tab now lives and more.
Note: iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 are available as free public betas as well as developer betas for iPhone and iPad.
How to use new iPhone alarms in iOS 14
Open the Clock app
Tap the Alarm tab at the bottom
Tap the orange “+” icon in the top right corner or hit Edit in the top left corner and tap an existing one to modify it
Use the number keypad at the bottom of the screen to enter your full alarm time (don’t tap the small orange time near the top, if you do, you’ll just be editing the hour)
You can leave out the 0 for hours between 1-9 (e.g. type 730 instead of 0730)
Don’t forget to check the AM/PM toggle (light gray box signals what is selected)
One way to opt-out of the interface is to use Siri to set your alarms
Here’s how the new UI looks and works with some more details and tips:
After you tap to add a new alarm or edit an existing one, make sure to start with the on-screen number keypad at the bottom.
Don’t forget to check the AM/PM toggle. Unfortunately, it defaults to whatever the current time is. So if you’re adding or editing alarms 12 PM or later, make sure to switch it to AM for morning alarms.
What happens when you tap the orange time
The new UI becomes confusing if you start by tapping the orange alarm time at the top of the edit/new alarm screen as it selects just the hour to be editable or just the minutes as shown below. That leads to a counterintuitive and clunky experience.
However, with the default that displays the entire time in orange (showing the current time) you can use the number pad at the bottom of your screen to quickly enter the hour and minutes for your alarm. So make sure to head straight for the number pad at the bottom.
Where’s the Bedtime tab?
You probably also noticed that the Bedtime tab that used to be in the clock app is gone. You’ll still see the Sleep | Wake Up alarm that is scheduled in the Alarm tab of the clock app but you’ll find that what used to be the Bedtime settings now live in the Health app.
Here’s what it looks like to edit your sleep schedule in iOS 14:
A big change that arrived with iOS 14 is an all-new home screen experience. This marks arguably the biggest UI update for iOS since it was first introduced. However, iPad isn’t getting all the same new features and changes as iPhone, but there are new widgets to take advantage of. Follow along for how to use the new iPad widgets in iPadOS 14.
iOS 14 on iPhone includes the ability to use the new widgets anywhere on the home screen as well as other app pages. There’s also the new App Library feature.
iPad sees a different experience in iPadOS 14 with the new widgets arriving for use only in the Today View portion of the home screen (can’t be mixed in with apps) and the new App Library feature is absent. In any case, the new widgets still offer some useful new functionality.
Note: iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 are available as free public betas as well as developer betas for iPhone and iPad.
How to use new iPad widgets in iOS 14
If it’s not turned on permanently, swipe from left to right on your iPad home screen to see the Today View
Long press on a black space of your home screen to enter Edit mode (jiggle mode)
You can tap the Keep on Home Screentoggle at the top to keep widgets available all the time
Tap, hold, and drag the existing widgets around to organize them
You can stack widgets of the same size on top of each other for swipeable widgets
Swipe to the bottom of the widgets and tap Customize to add new ones
Tap the green “+” icon to add available widgets, tap Done when finished
When not in Edit mode, you can long press a widget from your home screen to get the edit or remove option (e.g. removing stacked widgets, modify smart suggestions, etc.)
Here’s how all this looks:
Now you’ll be able to edit your widgets.
Tap the “—” icon to remove widgets or tap-hold-drag them to reorganize the layout. Swipe to the bottom to add more widgets, tap Customize.
You can add new widgets by tapping the green “+” icons and then order them by dragging the three-line icons as shown below.
Don’t forget you can stack widgets of the same size on top of each other to maximize your use of space.
And from the home screen you can long press on a widget to get edit and customization options:
What do you think of the new widgets in iPadOS 14? Are you hoping to see the same implementation as iOS 14 in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
There’s a running joke in my recent iPad reviews: I just get to say “it’s an iPad,” and everybody knows what that means. It’s a sign that the product isn’t changing year over year, sure. But more importantly, it’s a promise that it’s good, that it will do what you expect it to do, and that you don’t need to overthink how it will fit into your life.
Not very many products reach that level. Even the iPhone has ups and downs, with some years being a little more inconsistent than others. But minus a rough start and a cellular hiccup a couple of years ago, the Apple Watch has been on a very steady trajectory: slightly better every year. It starts at the same $399 price point as last year, and cellular or material upgrades will add to that cost.
Compared to the Series 4, the Series 5 has only a few minor updates. Chief among them is a new always-on screen. Compared to the rest of the smartwatch market, the Apple Watch Series 5 is in a completely different league.
GOOD STUFF
Finally, an always-on screen
Big, beautiful display
New apps round out its capabilities
BAD STUFF
Battery life hasn’t improved
Still no third-party watchfaces
Doesn’t work with Android phones
Relative to the Series 4, there are four new things on the Apple Watch Series 5. The first is that Apple is offering new materials for the casing. You can get it in the standard aluminum and steel, but you can also spend more for titanium or ceramic now.
There are some subtle weight differences on the more expensive materials, and they also have sapphire glass on the front of the Watch. But you should not spend the extra money on those more premium materials in the hope that they’ll be better from a feature perspective. They’re the same Apple Watch; you’d just be paying more for something fancier. Some people like doing that!
The second new feature is the big update this year: an always-on screen. I feel like a lot of users have been asking for this since the very first Apple Watch was announced five years ago alongside the iPhone 6 and Apple Pay. It’s something other smartwatches were already doing back then, and it was annoying that Apple didn’t figure out a way to do it.
Now it has, and in typical Apple fashion, it’s saying it was able to do so because of some slick new screen technology that mitigates the usual battery trade-offs. Specifically, Apple says it can dynamically change the screen’s refresh rate from as fast as 60Hz to as slow as 1Hz, updating just once per second.
Doing that allows the screen to draw radically less power when it’s in ambient mode. It also means that if you want an always-on display, you’re going to have to pony up for the Series 5. It’s not something that will be added to older models via software updates.
The technology that makes that possible is a low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO for short) display that Apple developed. The tech behind an LTPO version of an OLED screen is interesting — especially since it was first introduced in the Series 4 — but it’s not something you really need to understand. The screen looks identical to the Series 4; it’s just as big and bright.
What last year’s Watch lacks are the chips to control the refresh rate on that LTPO screen so it won’t be able to do always-on. Specifically, the Series 5 has an “ultra-low power display driver, efficient power management integrated circuit and new ambient light sensor,” according to Apple.
I love the always-on screen on the Series 5. Apple’s implementation is better than other smartwatches I’ve used for two reasons: it legitimately doesn’t hurt the battery life as much, and Apple keeps a little color visible in ambient mode.
For whatever reason, I’ve never been able to get earlier Apple Watches to show their screens with subtle wrist movements. I’ve always had to cartoonishly raise my arm. An always-on screen means I am a little bit less of a jerk in conversations and meetings.
AN ALWAYS-ON SCREEN WAS MY NUMBER ONE FEATURE REQUEST — IT TOOK FIVE YEARS, BUT WE GOT IT
But the big question is battery life: Apple claims it still gets 18 hours with standard use, and I have gotten that. So, box checked — except that the Series 4 usually outperformed that estimate. I won’t go so far as to say that the Series 5 gets notably worse battery life than the Series 4, but at best, it’s on par. You’ll be charging it every day.
But let’s not grade on a curve here. The Apple Watch is better than any other computer-on-your-wrist-style smartwatch by a country mile, but there are other watches with smart features that can last for days, weeks, or even months. The Garmins and Fitbits and Withings of the world are all meant for different things than the Apple Watch, but many can do some of the basics, like notifications and weather, nearly as well.
The last two new features on the Apple Watch Series 5 are a built-in compass and cellular bands that can work internationally. The former could be useful for day hikers, while the latter really only allows the cellular version to make emergency calls anywhere in the world. To get service in more places, you’ll need to wait for Apple to make more carrier deals.
So to sum up: new case materials, new always-on screen, a compass, and more cellular bands. All in all, that’s a very minor update. But the truth is that Apple could have done literally nothing, and the Apple Watch would still have been the best smartwatch for iPhone users by far.
If you have a current Apple Watch and are thinking of upgrading, I strongly recommend you wait for watchOS 6 to arrive for your current Watch. It might be good enough for you to hang on to what you have or, more rarely, these updates can make older Watches feel slower. Either way, it’s worth it to wait a bit.
The big headline feature for watchOS 6 is that it has an independent App Store that allows you to download and install apps without needing your iPhone. It does exactly that, but make sure you have your iPhone handy the first time to enter some passwords. There will be other times when some of the apps will not work on your Watch until they can communicate with a paired app on your iPhone. Apple tells me that after watchOS 6 launches, many fully independent Watch apps will be available and featured on the main page of the Watch version of the App Store.
I think the hope is that an onboard App Store may spur more usage and make supporting the Apple Watch more worthwhile to third-party developers. We’ll see, but I’m not holding my breath just yet. So far, it’s been a moneymaker mainly for Apple. Apple has done a decent job of curating apps for the main page on the App Store, but otherwise, it’s not as easy to browse as it is on your phone.
The new App Store on the Watch doesn’t make it any more independent from the iPhone, however. You still need an iPhone to set up and use the Apple Watch, even if you have a Watch with an LTE connection and its own version of the App Store. This is still an accessory to the iPhone and not a truly independent device. Though, with watchOS 6, you can start to see the hazy outlines of that path.
Alongside the App Store are a few new and updated apps directly from Apple. The most important in my mind is the new Cycle Tracking app for tracking menstrual cycles. It took Apple longer than it should have to prioritize features designed for the health of people who have periods. But now that it’s here, it seems as though the company has done a good job.
Apple has taken a cautious approach. The complication doesn’t show information, for example, and it won’t be overconfident in guessing the dates for your predicted periods and fertility windows. If you’re planning on using this to gather data for family planning purposes, you should talk to your doctor before acting on any of the data this app collects.
Apple also has put some thought and care into whether and when to show various Cycle Tracking options, depending on the age and gender information it knows. You can also turn certain types of tracking (like fertility) off if you want. There’s a specific onboarding flow that happens on the phone only because it’s better able to communicate information and nuance than your tiny Watch screen.
And if you’d like to remove the Cycles app entirely, for the first time, watchOS 6 will allow users to delete some of Apple’s own apps from the Watch. (To do that, you need to have your app view set in the hexagonal grid view. Then, long-press any app to go into jiggly mode, at which point, you’ll be able to tap an X to uninstall.)
Other new apps include an updated Reminders app and a Voice Memos app, both of which sync automatically with their paired apps on the iPhone. There’s also a Calculator app. (Why the Apple Watch has a first-party Calculator app while the iPad does not is a riddle for all iPad users.)
The Apple Watch can now also detect ambient noise. If it gets too loud, it will warn you, and it will also track your overall ambient noise level over time. It confirmed that the BART trains in San Francisco are ridiculously loud.
Apple put in a few new watchfaces, as usual. And as usual, I find them to be nice but always a few degrees off from what I actually want. I respect that Apple is opinionated about the aesthetics of the Apple Watch, but I’m increasingly annoyed that it won’t allow third-party watchfaces.
However, Apple has finally made a change that I’m over the moon about: on most watchfaces, when you set a custom color, it sets all of the complications to monochrome to match that color. I found too many of them to be garishly colorful before, and now I can tone them down to my preferred color.
Last and (given its reputation) possibly least, Siri has a few small updates. It’s able to recognize music when you ask for it, and it can present answers to questions with web links now, too. Yes, you can still open webpages on the Apple Watch. And yes, it’s still as adorable as ever. Fortunately, it also still defaults to opening specific articles in Safari Reader Mode.
If you’re interested in the cellular version, I can report that it works about the same in watchOS 6 as it did before, which is to say everything works, but it all feels just a little slower and worse than it would if you had your phone with you. Calls aren’t as crisp, latency is a bit higher when using data, and, of course, it’ll ding your battery more. But again, slightly worse than ideal for the Apple Watch is still many multiples better than most of the competition.
It is about time that Apple added an always-on screen to the Apple Watch Series 5, but that’s not the best thing about it. Nor is it the LTPO technology that enables it or the new compass or the noise meter or any single one of the features I’ve brought up in this review.
The best part of the Apple Watch is that I’m able to talk about those features at all. Every other smartwatch I have used in the past few years (and, reader, I have used a lot) has failed to cross very basic thresholds of usability. Some don’t last more than 12 hours, some can’t seem to open apps in fewer than 10 seconds, some are hard to navigate, and some have really buggy software.
The lion’s share of the blame for those issues lies with the various companies that have tried and failed to make great smartwatches. But I want to save some portion for Apple because it allows the Apple Watch to have deeper and better integrations with the iPhone than it will give to third parties. It automatically “just works” with Apple’s apps, notification frameworks, and — critically — iMessage.
That Apple integration cuts both ways. Because it’s tied so closely to the iPhone, the possibility that it will ever be an option for Android users seems to be getting smaller. That’s a shame because there are many, many more Android users, all of whom don’t have great smartwatch options.
In fact, look closer at the Android world, and you will see just how far ahead the Apple Watch truly is. Google’s Wear OS platform is in the midst of its umpteenth strategic reboot, and it’s not going well. Samsung’s Tizen platform is better, but it has struggled to gain wider adoption among anybody but Samsung users. Fitbit has hung on to a loyal following for its basic fitness trackers, but its attempts at more advanced smartwatches have been disappointing.
It’s as if the Apple Watch is in high school and taking AP courses while everybody else is repeating the 7th grade for the third time. Sure, the Apple Watch Series 5 hasn’t reached anything close to its full potential yet, but right now, this thing is an overachiever.
Oprah’s Book Club connects readers around the world by celebrating selections on Apple Books and author interviews on Apple TV+.
“Caste” is now available on Apple Books; Winfrey narrates an exclusive excerpt in a new video and will be the first-ever guest editor for Apple News
Winfrey’s conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author Isabel Wilkerson will debut this fall for free, exclusively on Apple TV+
In partnership with Apple, Oprah Winfrey is unveiling the newest selection for Oprah’s Book Club, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” by Isabel Wilkerson. The book is available now on Apple Books in both ebook and audiobook formats at apple.co/OBCCaste, and customers can enjoy it across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and CarPlay.
Publisher Penguin Random House calls “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” a masterful portrait ofthe unspoken caste system that has shaped America. Through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, Wilkerson explores how America has been defined by a rigid hierarchy of human rankings throughout its history and even today.
“This might be the most important book I’ve ever chosen for my book club,” said Oprah Winfrey. “‘Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents’ provides a new way of seeing racial inequality, giving rise to countless aha moments and helping us truly understand America as it is now and how we hope it will be.”
“I am honored and thrilled that ‘Caste’ has been chosen for Oprah’s Book Club and that its humanitarian insights will now reach a wider audience,” said Isabel Wilkerson. “This work shows that the term racism may be insufficient in our current era. We need new language, a new framework for understanding our divisions and how we got to where we are. ‘Caste’ gives us this language. ‘Caste’ allows us to see ourselves through a different lens and the chance to work toward healing from the wounds of artificial hierarchy. We must first see it to begin to resolve it.”
“Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” is available now on Apple Books in both ebook and audiobook formats.
Customers can read and listen to an exclusive excerpt of “Caste” on Apple News and further explore the themes highlighted in “Caste” in curated collections on Apple Books and Apple Podcasts. Next week, customers can listen to Apple Music’s Beats 1 host Ebro Darden interview Wilkerson about how her book is reflective of the times. Later this month, customers can also read a collection of related articles on Apple News, curated by Winfrey as the app’s first-ever guest editor, and next month, they can enjoy a “Caste” discussion guide on Apple Books to helphost their own conversations around the book and the important issues it explores.
Apple Books gives readers an easy way to discover ebooks and audiobooks, and the Reading Goals feature helps make reading a daily habit more easily.
Oprah’s Book Club connects a worldwide community of readers to stories that truly matter by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Readers around the world can easily discover Oprah’s Book Club through the Apple Books app on iPhone and iPad (apple.co/OprahsBookClub), learn more about the latest selection, and browse previous selections. Customers can also follow Oprah’s Book Club on Apple Books for updates.
Apple Books makes discovering and enjoying ebooks and audiobooks effortless on iPhone and iPad. Customers can tap on the Book Store tab to browse all available titles, top charts, editorially curated collections, and books by genre, as well as the dedicated Audiobooks tab to find great new stories to listen to, including ones narrated by celebrities and popular narrators. The Reading Now tab makes it easy for customers to get right to their latest book or audiobook, or uncover a new favorite with personalized recommendations, and they can track their progress by using the Reading Goals feature and make reading a daily habit. Customers can also enjoy Apple Books on Mac, or listen to their audiobook library on Apple Watch and CarPlay.
Audiences can watch all “Oprah’s Book Club” episodes for free exclusively on Apple TV+.
Customers can also enjoy Oprah’s Book Club through the “Oprah’s Book Club” series available for free exclusively on Apple TV+, where they can watch all of Winfrey’s discussions with Book Club authors. In the “Caste” episode, which will premiere this fall, Winfrey will speak with Wilkerson for an important and insightful discussion about the book and the history it explores. Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, Mac, select Samsung and LG smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices, as well as at tv.apple.com.
About “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” (Penguin Random House)
Drawing parallels between the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson outlines a revolutionary framework for understanding how caste plays out across civilizations, both historically and today. Backed by years of research, she identifies eight ideological pillars that underlie all caste systems. Using riveting stories from the lives of Martin Luther King Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, an ordinary single father and his toddler son, and many others, Wilkerson shows how the insidious undertow of caste is experienced by each of us every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their debasement of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.
A 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display, 14nm Exynos chipset, a body made out of a glass/metal combo, IP68 certification, 16MP f/1.9 cameras front and back – it sure sounds like Samsung’s next flagship. Only it’s not the flagship we’re talking about, but the Galaxy A5 (2017) premium mid-ranger.
Of course, we are guilty of hand-picking that selection of specs to prove a point, and there are other fields in that spec sheet that would give away the A5’s lower position in the Galaxy universe. Display resolution is one (1080p), and the chipset is another (Exynos 7880). Even though it’s made on a cutting-edge 14nm fabrication process, it’s still only mainstream Cortex-A53 cores inside and not hard-hitting Mongooses or Kryos. And then the cameras lack OIS and 4K video recording, even if they both offer higher resolution than the Galaxy S7.
Connectivity: nano SIM (dual SIM version available); LTE (Cat. 6); Wi-Fi ac; Bluetooth 4.2; FM Radio; USB Type-C; 3.5mm jack
Battery: 3,000mAh
Misc: Fingerprint reader, IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, Samsung Pay
Main shortcomings
Somewhat expensive – the Galaxy S6 can be had for less, the S7 is slightly pricier, but will certainly dip in a couple of months when the S8 comes out.
Android is still Marshmallow, though an update is coming.
No 4K video recording at a price point, where you can find plenty of phones that support it.
It’s not exactly what you call a bargain, the A5 (2017), unfortunately. Its price tag makes a pretty solid case for the Galaxy S6, and why not even the S7 when the time is right? It’s also not looking good that Samsung is putting out a new premium product with good ol’ Marshmallow, and no shiny fresh Grace UX can make up for that.
None of that means we don’t like the premise of a premium full-featured (or thereabout) smartphone positioned a notch below the flagships – quite the opposite. We’ll be looking into just how much the A5 (2017) deserves its place in the world on the following pages, starting (not unusually) with a hardware overview.
The Galaxy A5 (2017) measures 146.1 x 71.4 x 7.9 mm which is standard for a 5.2-inch phone – most other devices with the same diagonal are within a millimeter in each direction
As for weight, the A5 (2017) is on the heavy side of average. Its 157g aren’t really an issue, but the similarly sized Huawei P9, for example, tips the scales at just 144g. The brand new HTC U Play is even a notch lighter at 143g, though admittedly it is severely battery-deprived (2,500mAh).
Hardware overview
If there’s one area where the Galaxy A5 (2017) can stand up to flagship-grade scrutiny it’s build and looks. To a non-discerning eye the A5 can easily pass for an S7 – the aluminum frame, the dual-glass sandwich, the shapes and proportions – it’s all top-shelf material.
What’s been missing on the A-series for a while now and hasn’t made an appearance on the Galaxy A5 (2017) either is a notification LED. That one seems to be a flagship-only feature as of late. The top bezel of the midranger does contain all the other usual stuff though – earpiece, proximity/ambient light sensors, and selfie camera.
More importantly, and unlike any previous non-flagship or non-rugged phone, the A-series for this year have IP68 certification for dust and water resistance.
We do tend to compare the Galaxy A5 (2017) to both the existing S7 and the projected S8 and while the S7 is so last year with its 3.5mm jack, the S8 may be one of the trendsetters to lose it. So there – the Galaxy A5 (2017) is on par with the current top model in this respect, and possibly better than the upcoming one.
The Galaxy A5 (2017)‘s wired interface is in fact more up-to-date than the current flagship S7. The Type-C USB port only made it on a Samsung phone with the Note7, but we all know how that ended. Other than a somewhat obscure C9 Pro, the A-series remain the only Samsung handsets with a Type-C port. Beat that, S7.
One odd design decision sees the loudspeaker placed on the right side of the phone, right above the power button. For ringtones that’s as good as any other position and in a way it’s better for video viewing when holding the display in landscape orientation than the prevalent bottom placement. There are no stereo speakers, but there aren’t any on Samsung flagships either. Not yet, at least.
As with a few other previous A-series models, the A5 (2017) has a couple of card slots. The one on the side accommodates one nanoSIM, while the slot on top takes a microSD card. The latter can also fit an additional nanoSIM card on dual SIM versions of the A5 (2017) and in this case the microSD slot remains available – it’s a dedicated solution and not a hybrid one and we can’t stress enough just how much we prefer it this way.
On the back, the S-series have been having all sorts of sensors, but not the A’s – it’s the bare minimum here with just the camera module and the LED flash.
Your palms will undoubtedly appreciate the curves on the back, which make the A5 a joy to handle. Some people tend to complain that glass is slippery, but we’ve had more issues in this respect with satin-finished aluminum on some phones, so it’s probably down to the individual’s skin properties. What’s not debatable is that on glass backs smudges reign.
Display
The Galaxy A5 (2017) like all self-respecting Galaxies packs a Super AMOLED display. The A5 in particular is smack in the middle between the 4.7-inch A3 (2017) and the 5.7-inch A7 (2017) in terms of diagonal, and its 5.2-inch panel has FullHD resolution. That amounts to a 424ppi density but the Diamond Pixel arrangement makes that less sharp than a competing LCD with equal number of subpixels for each color. It’s still plenty sharp though.
The display can give you that AMOLED punch that’s become synonymous with the tech, at the expense of color accuracy. In Adaptive mode average DeltaE is 5.3 with Red waaay off at 11.2, but also quite inaccurate whites. Switch to basic mode, however, and you’re treated to an excellently calibrated display with an average DeltaE of just 2.0 and a maximum of 3.2. Cinema and Photo modes are somewhere in between – whatever floats your boat.
Maximum brightness is excellent, particularly if you engage the Auto mode, in which case the display gets a healthy boost in bright conditions. That said, last year’s model could pump out more nits in Auto mode. Even so, the A5 (2017)‘s numbers are right up there with the S7 flagship – excellent. Contrast is infinite, it’s Super AMOLED’s treat for you. With a minimum brightness of just 1.8 nits night-time scrolling sessions won’t strain your eyes either.
Display test
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
0
421
∞
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) max auto
0
601
∞
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
0
413
∞
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) max auto
0
559
∞
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
0
408
∞
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) max auto
0
518
∞
Samsung Galaxy S7
0
391
∞
Samsung Galaxy S7 max auto
0
563
∞
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
0
392
∞
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge max auto
0
610
∞
Samsung Galaxy S6
0
363
∞
Samsung Galaxy S6 max auto
0
619
∞
Huawei Honor 8
0.34
374
1101
Huawei Honor 8 (Max auto)
0.34
395
1161
Honor 8
0.37
460
1243
Huawei nova
0.25
385
1540
Huawei P9
0.46
500
1094
OnePlus 3
0
433
∞
OnePlus 3T
0
447
∞
As for sunlight legibility, the AMOLED A5 for 2017 is on par with last year’s model, and slightly better than the A3 (2017), but none of them is a match for this or last year’s flagships. In fact, the A5 (2017) sunlight contrast ratio is virtually identical to the budget J7 (2016) – sounds great from that phone’s perspective, not as flattering from the A5’s. That said, only top-of-the-line LCD-equipped phones can post such results (the likes of the iPhone 7 and Xperia XZ), and it’s not them that the A5 is facing, pricey as it may be.
Connectivity
The Galaxy A5 (2017) is well-stocked on connectivity options. Samsung specifies Cat.6 LTE (300Mbps downlink, 50Mbps uplink), with a disclaimer that it may vary by region and carrier, and since the Exynos 7880 itself supports Cat.7 you may want to check locally if the 100Mbps DL speed is of such crucial importance to you (you know who you are).
There are single SIM and dual SIM versions, each of them with two card slots. In each case there’s a dedicated microSD slot as well – on single SIM models (such as the one we had) there’s no cutout for the second SIM in the top slot (presumably, no contacts and hardware, maybe?).
There is also dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v4.2 (but no detail on aptX for high-quality audio), NFC and MST (for Samsung Pay, where available), and an FM radio receiver. There is no IR transmitter, though.
A Type-C port is in charge of charging, but only adheres to USB 2.0 spec, so you’re limited to a ‘measly’ 480Mbps theoretical maximum transfer speeds. USB OTG is supported for attaching peripherals, but there’s no MHL support for wired video output. Thankfully, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) battery life
The Galaxy A5 (2017) is powered by a 3,000mAh battery – oh, look, it’s the same capacity as the Galaxy S7. And this one has fewer pixels to render, plus a chipset that should be more frugal than the thirsty flagship number-crunchers.
Well, indeed it is. The Galaxy A5 (2017) only fell short of the S7’s time in the voice call test, and just by an hour and a quarter. At close to 22h its result is still perfectly acceptable.
It gets better in the screen-on disciplines. It takes 14 and a half hours of our Wi-Fi web browsing test to deplete the A5’s battery – a remarkable feat, even if the smaller A3 (2017) does outlast it by an hour. The S7, on the other hand, can’t even make it to 10h.
In video playback the A5 crosses the 16-hour mark before calling it quits – another superb performance. The flagship is closer here, but still falls short by an hour and a half.
As for standby, we’ve tested the phone both with the Always On Display feature engaged and then turned off. While it does take a massive toll on standby time (and consequently on the overall endurance rating), you should bear in mind that our testing can’t account for the phone turning off the display completely when it’s in a pocket, for example. So, presumably, actual real-world standby with the AOD on should be much better.
The overall endurance rating of 95h is an excellent result and is a testament to the inherent benefits of having a 14nm chipset on board – be it an Exynos or a Snapdragon.
Software
Remember the Note7? The Galaxy flagship phablet (that wasn’t meant to be) introduced a redesigned Samsung user interface called Grace UX. The Note7 being absent, the 2017 A-series are the only phones to come with the updated Android overlay out of the box, but it is also being seeded as we speak with the Nougat update for the S7 and S7 edge. Mind you, in the A5 (2017)‘s case it’s on top of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, though a bump to Android 7 is in the works.
This generation of A-series is the first to feature Always On Display (AOD). Three main views are available – Clock, Calendar and Image, with some customization available. Notifications from third-party apps show up (something that didn’t work when the S7 launched, but was added later).
The Always On Display dims when ambient light is low and will shut off when the Galaxy A5 is in your pocket. This saves energy, but you can be more explicit about it and put AOD on a schedule (or it may just be that you don’t like the extra light while you sleep).
The lockscreen can be secured with the fingerprint reader. It’s not the fastest we’ve seen, but it’s no slower than the readers that flagship Samsungs use.
The fingerprint reader can do more than that. Web sign-in remembers the passwords you use for sites and can automatically fill them in when you touch the fingerprint reader. You can also secure your Samsung account (more on that in a bit).
The Homescreen has the Briefing pane on the left (which you can disable) and supports themes and icon packs. More interestingly, it supports sort of a 3D Touch feature, not unlike the one found on the Google Pixel phones – you tap and hold on an app and a contextual menu appears. However, it offers just basic app handling actions and is not tied to the actual functionality of app.
The notification area should be quite familiar as well. A line of quick toggles is available above the notifications. Pulling the shade further down reveals all toggles, a brightness slider and a handy search field (Google prefers to put the search field on the homescreen instead).
We like the idea of the Block notifications button, it allows you to quickly mute notifications from pushy apps (games are often guilty of crying for attention when you haven’t played them in a while). Still, we don’t like the aesthetics of it.
The app switcher is the usual rolodex, but unlike the A3 here it offers split-screen multitasking (standard on Nougat, but this is Samsung’s implementation in Marshmallow). The apps that can go in multi-window have an icon next to the X, and that’s one way of doing it – the other is to hold the task switcher capacitive key.
The App drawer has a search field that looks through the apps you have installed, but also suggests apps from Galaxy Apps (you can search the Play Store if you prefer).
Being a somewhat larger phone than the A3, the A5 also gets a one-handed operation mode. It’s part of the Advanced features menu where you can also enable other actions like double press on the Home button to launch the camera and screenshot capture with a palm swipe.
Secure folder creates a separate zone so sensitive files (photos, documents, etc.) and apps can be locked away from prying eyes. Once you enter the Secure folder, taking a photo with the camera or snapping a screenshot places the file in the Secure folder. To access those from the regular gallery, you’ll first have to move them.
The reason you want to secure your Samsung account with your fingerprint is that you get 15GB of cloud storage for free. Everything from contacts to photos can be synced and you get to choose which files are synced over LTE and which are left for when Wi-Fi is available (contacts, calendar and notes don’t use much data, but photos do).
Camera
The Galaxy A5 (2017)‘s primary camera is based on a 16MP sensor that sits behind a 27mm-equiv. lens with an f/1.9 aperture. It’s lost the optical stabilization, unfortunately – last year’s model had that. Autofocus is also contrast-detect only – or at least no phase detection is being advertised. There is a single-LED flash, but that’s been Samsung’s treatments of its flagships, so why should the A-series be any better.
The camera interface has not received substantial changes. Grace UX has brought only minor refinements like swipe gestures.
As usual for Samsung smartphones, you can launch the camera with a quick double press on the Home key. The viewfinder greets you with only a flash mode toggle and a shortcut to settings.
From here you can swipe down to switch between the front and rear cameras, which is much appreciated even if not very original (LG says hi!). Swiping to the left gives you a panel with color filters, while in the other pane you get access to the shooting modes.
That’s where HDR mode resides – there is no Auto HDR like on flagships and the HDR mode is a swipe and a tap away, instead of just a tap. A Pro mode is present too, though that’s clearly a huge overstatement – you get control over exposure compensation, ISO and white balance presents, plus a metering mode selector, but no manual focus and no manual shutter speed. We gather the ‘pro’ could pass for ‘program’, but not ‘professional’, really.
Image quality is quite good, with low noise and minimal signs of noise reduction. Colors are pleasingly vivid too, without being over the top – in this weather it’s mostly the iPhone graffiti in the second image that can testify to that, but it’s enough (also the Photo compare tool down below). Dynamic range is good, though in extreme cases like the 4th and 5th sample you’re bound to end up with blown highlights.
HDR needs to be engaged manually, there’s no Auto and certainly no live preview like on the flagships. In high-contrast scenarios you might be wise to take a shot in normal and HDR mode, just in case. It does what it promises without much drama – shadows get a modest boost, and some detail in the highlights is salvaged, adding up to a very natural-looking image. Some might prefer a little less subtlety here.
We’ve seen better panoramas than the ones coming out of the Galaxy A5 (2017), but then again, we’ve seen better weather too, though certainly not lately. Anyway, the A5’s panoramas are about 1,800px tall, detail is about average, and stitching is very good, of course provided there are no moving objects.
Selfie camera
The selfie camera on the Galaxy A5 (2017) is another 16MP f/1.9 unit, though naturally not of the same caliber as the rear one with the same numbers. For one, the front-facer lacks autofocus, and you’d think that’s a non-issue for a cam used almost exclusively at arm’s length. It would have been, had the focus distance been tuned to arm’s length shooting, and that’s not the case.
Which is sad, because at the proper distance the results are superb, only that means just your face is in the frame, and presumes some serious interest in your pores. At arm’s length everything’s a blur.
The evenly matched pixel count prompted us to make a comparison between the front and rear cameras, and… well… makes you wonder just how crucial composition needs to be for it to make such a trade-off in quality worth it.
Video camera
The Galaxy A5 (2017) captures video up to 1080p/30fps, so no 4K recording out of this one. We’ve sort of grown used to expecting a phone in this price range to be able to do it – damn you, OnePlus 3.
The A5’s videos are encoded with a 17Mbps bitrate, the usual number, while audio gets a generous 256Kbps, stereo.
The FullHD video output is good, with nice levels of detail and low noise. Colors are rendered quite well too, though once again you’re better off looking at the Video compare tool to get a better idea. Audio, by the way, is surprisingly clear, and it can’t be down to just the bitrate.
Final words
One thing is clear from this review – Samsung has got the alphabet wrong. A has never been as close to S as it is with the A (2017) series. The Galaxy A5 (2017) carries more than a passing resemblance to the reigning Galaxy S7 flagship – let’s just say that if the S7 were to stumble into the A5, they’d take a selfie together.
It’s hard to split the two for looks and build quality, and that includes the IP68 certification. Only now making it outside of a select group of flagship or rugged Samsungs, the dust and water proofing is shared across the entire ‘A’ lineup this year. Same for the Home button with a fingerprint reader, complete with Samsung Pay capabilities, but that’s old news – it was already available on last year’s As.
Another thing to trickle down into the upper midrange is the cutting-edge internals. The 14nm chipset at the heart of the A5 (2017) may not outperform the top-end silicon of the day, but its efficiency is immediately evident – the battery life of the A5 is just marvelous.
The 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display is equally great – gone are the days of dim AMOLEDs with colors all over the place. This one is bright, it can be accurate if you want it to be, and it is well visible in the sun. Flagships retain the QHD resolution as a trump card, but the A5 is perfectly okay with its FullHD.
16MP cameras front and back – we can see smiles lighting up the faces of Samsung’s marketing team. The front cam can be super-detailed, only you need to keep the phone a foot away from your face, and that barely fits our grown-up mugs. We don’t know about you, but that’s not how we like our selfies. The rear camera is a lot more balanced and a capable overall performer. Its images are detailed and exhibit mature detail rendering, pleasing colors, and dynamic range is quite wide.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) key test findings
Build quality and materials are flagship-grade (IP68 rating, too), but the glass back is inevitably prone to fingerprints.
The high-quality Super AMOLED display has excellent maximum brightness and infinite contrast and can put out punchy or spot-on colors depending on your preference. Sunlight legibility is not quite up there with the best, but it’s still better than any LCD.
Battery life is superb – the phone’s endurance rating is 95h, and it posted excellent numbers in all our individual tests.
Grace UX or TouchWiz, Samsung’s interface is functional and feature-rich, now also sleeker. It’s still based on Android Marshmallow, which is less than ideal in 2017.
The Exynos 7880 performs great if you take into account its efficiency. In absolute terms, it’s an average midrange SoC that’s not greatly suited to the most demanding tasks. Then again, Game launcher could help you alleviate that by lowering the resolution at which games are rendered so you get all the special effects.
The loudspeaker posts a Good rating for loudness, it’s nice and clear at maximum volume too.
Image quality from the main camera is good – there’s sufficient detail, colors are nicely saturated, and dynamic range is pretty wide.
1080p video quality is very good, so is the audio that accompanies it.
The 16MP selfie camera produces spectacular results, but its focus is fixed way too close, so you’re forced to choose between narrow coverage or images that are simply not in focus.
The Galaxy A5 (2017) may look like the (still) current flagship S7, but it is the S6 that it will give it the hardest time. The previous-gen top model boasts a higher-grade camera with 4K video recording and OIS, a higher-res display and a superior chipset. We’d even cautiously suggest that the much more versatile 5MP selfie shooter of the S6 wins over the 16MP one of the A5. The A5 (2017) fights back with its IP68 rating (the S6 carries none), a microSD slot, a FM radio and longer battery life, plus a Type-C port if that’s a decider for you.
Oh, we almost forgot – the S6 is one of the best choices if you want to take advantage of Samsung’s Gear VR platform. The A5 (2017) stays quietly in the corner when the big boys talk VR.
Then there are the other As from this year. Maybe you’re eyeing the A3 (2017) for its pocketability, just beware that it’s got a lower-res (and lower pixel density) display, a slower chipset, less RAM and storage and lower-res cameras. It does keep a lot of the important stuff like the microSD slot (though hybrid on the dual-SIM version), IP68 rating, and superb display and battery life. It’s also cheaper, duh.
Or, you could go one up and pick the 5.7-inch Galaxy A7 (2017) if that’s available near you. Much fewer trade-offs here – the hardware is almost identical, only you’d be paying a little more for a larger diagonal and more battery (so possibly better battery life). The one caveat – Samsung won’t be selling the A7 in Europe – a decision which is beyond us.
There’s yet another option that needs to be mentioned, and it’s none other than the Galaxy S7. Of course, it’s considerably more expensive right now, but it’s due for replacement in three months, so if you could wait, the S7 will certainly be a much better deal then. The A5 (2017) has nothing on the flagship – all the advantages over the S6 vanish (alright, there’s the FM radio), and the S7 is hands-down the better phone altogether.
The Xperia X Performance goes for Galaxy A5 (2017) money in most markets. It’s a model that’s close to being a year old if you count from the announcement or half that if you consider the actual launch.
The X Performance is among a select few devices to offer an IP68 rating for dust and water protection, so the A5 has found its match on this front. Not regarding battery life, though – the Sony is nowhere near. It does boast a Snapdragon 820 chipset, which it chooses not to use for UHD video, but its advantages for mobile gaming remain – it’s much better suited to the task than the A5’s Exynos 7880.
Huawei has a couple of phones to compete with the A5 (2017) for your affection. Another flagship due for replacement, the P9 is a bit pricier but has a lovely dual 12MP camera (color+monochrome) on its back and a more powerful chipset (that still doesn’t support 4K video recording, mind you). The A5 is dust and water resistant, though, and makes much better use of its 3,000mAh battery than the P9.
Going for the Huawei nova instead, you’d save a few notes, but still get a premium midranger – this one made of metal. Unlike the P9, the nova has a single rear camera (but then so does the A5), only it can record 4K video. Battery life isn’t half bad, but it’s no match for the marathon runner that the A5 is and the Samsung handset’s display is superior in all respects. Did we mention the A5’s IP68 rating? Well, now we have.
Priced identically to the Galaxy A5 (2017), the OnePlus 3T deserves a spot here. Sure, you can’t find it in a store, and claiming a warranty might be a minor pain in the…hassle, but it’s hard to beat it in bang-for-buck ratio. Packing one of the most powerful chipsets available, the 3T also comes with more RAM and storage. The latest from OnePlus packs 2x16MP cameras too, and both are arguably slightly better than the A5’s, plus the main one can capture 2160p video.
The A5 has its strengths – the 32GB of memory may look modest next to OnePlus’ 64GB or 128GB (has anyone actually gotten one of those), but a 256GB microSD card can easily dwarf that, as the 3T offers no option for expansion. Perhaps you’re tired of reading about the A5’s water-resistance and excellent battery life, but that’s only because no other phone manages to match it on both of those counts, most not even on one. The OnePlus 3T certainly can’t.
Going through the numbers that define the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) it’s all too easy to focus on the negative stuff. No 2160p video recording. £400/€430. Android 6.0.1. Even that name is a bit too much – A5 (2017).
Those numbers can easily be countered with a few others that ring much more nicely, but let’s not get so hung up on the digits. The facts are that the Galaxy A5 (2017) is beautifully-built; it will live through a downpour; it packs a screen that’s only bested by flagships, and has battery life to spare. Of course, it’s not ideal, and it’s not cheap, but you’re also unlikely to find a better match for the description in the previous sentence. Well, not unless you dig even deeper into your pocket.
Few brands can boast such a monumental legacy as Motorola – one of the original forefathers and titans on the mobile scene. And it’s not just the brick-like phones of the past that contribute to this special status either. You only need to turn the clock back five years or so from now to see the original Moto G at the forefront of a budget smartphone revolution. One that is continuing to this day, compelling manufacturers to constantly push the envelope on what is possible with a budget device.
Of course, financial turmoils, several buyouts, management and business changes later, these historic Motorola glory days appear to be in the past. But even so, Moto lives on and so does the Moto G. Now in its sixth generation and a sprawling family of three – the G6, G6 Plus and last, but not least, the G6 Play.
All that being said, at $200, the latter can’t really hope for the instant recommendation, many of its predecessors got back in the day. Especially in 2018, with good quality value offers flying in left and right and seriously mounting competition from the likes of Xiaomi, Huawei and even a resurrected Nokia.
Motorola Moto G6 Play
Body: Plastic back; 154.4×72.2x9mm; 175 grams; p2i water repellent nano coating on some markets
Screen: 5.7-inch, 18:9, HD+, IPS LCD, MAX Vision
Rear Camera: 13MP, f/2.0 lens; Secondary 5MP; LED flash; 1080p@30fps video recording
Front Camera: 8MP, 1080p@30fps video recording; LED selfie flash
However, don’t do kicking the Moto G6 Play to the side quite so hastily. The proverbial runt in the Moto G litter still has a lot going for it, besides a legendary reputation. Lenovo managed to cram a massive 4,000 mAh battery, inside the 9mm thin handset and even throw in snappy 15W fast charging support in the mix.
Just like its bigger sibling, the G6 Play has an extra-tall Max Vision display. It’s even complete with rounded corners, for a truly contemporary look. All the while, the Moto G6 Play remains a lot truer to the original Moto G spirit than the rest of the family.
A clean front, with no controls and only on-screen navigation and a the familiar “M” dimple on the back, make for a rather classic experience, that long-time fans of the series might actually prefer. Of course, that’s also complimented by the traditional Vanilla approach to Motorola‘s Android ROMs. Another integral and well-known part of the Moto G mix.
Join us on the following pages, as we explore the new, yet familiar Moto G6 Play in more detail.
Back in the day, the Motorola Moto G had a pretty clear angle going for it. It was the go-to, budget and vanilla Android device of choice for many. Since then, things have become a bit more complicated within the Motorola lineup. Now, there’s a sprawling Moto E family, a growing Moto C and even a Moto E, all filling up the proverbial nooks and crannies of the budget niche as best they can.
While choice is hard to complain about, this new-found market saturation and segmentation do require some involved choices on the user’s end. Thankfully, for the most part, the Moto G6 Play brings a balanced mix of design and features to the table. Just like its older predecessors, the G6 Play is plastic all around and it still works just as well.
There are plenty of advantages to using the relatively light and less dent-prone material. Lenovo has even put in the extra effort to coat the central frame in a metal-like fashion. We’ve seen more believable finishes out there, but still, a good effort.
In place of the more traditional unibody approach, Motorola decided to go for a modern look this time around and a glossy, curved back surface. Naturally, just like the rest of the body, it’s plastic as well, but actually does a pretty convincing job of imitating metal.
This could potentially spell out trouble if you tend to bang and slap your phone around a lot. Plus, chances are you’ll never get to see the surface fingerprint-free from the moment you first pick up the Moto G6 Play. Still, it does make for a decent hand feel.
On a more positive note, the signature Motorola splash-resistant nano coating on the electronics inside is still part of the mix. We are kind of hesitant to get the phone deliberately wet to test it out. But then again, that’s missing the point entirely. It’s just meant to be the extra piece of mind in case of rainy weather or an accidental splash of water.
Hardware overview
In many ways, the Moto G6 Play has a traditional setup on the front – no capacitive navigation keys or fingerprint reader, a fairly wide bottom chin, with the entire surface covered by an undisclosed version of Gorilla Glass.
At the same time, however, the new Moto G look is trendier than ever, mostly thanks to an extra-tall, 18:9, LCD panel, shared by all three siblings. It even has rounded corners, in keeping with the trends of the day. Just like the regular Moto G6, the G6 Play gets a decently sized 5.7-inch display – fairly large for a “Play” device.
The only real difference in the display department between the two devices is the resolution – it’s 720 x 1440 pixels on the G6 Play. However, fewer pixels mean less strain on the GPU for on-screen rendering task. A bonus that is sure to shine through in the benchmark section of the review.
We can’t fail to mention that Motorola didn’t find it necessary to fit a notification LED on the front of the G6 Play, but there is still an LED selfie flash.
Like we mentioned earlier, the curved back side of the Moto G6 Plus is plastic and thus not necessarily the most sturdy surface out there. We would definitely recommend using the provided case, which also offers the bonus of not having to deal with the almost unnatural amount of dirt and grease the back accumulates.
The camera module protrudes a bit, but it’s nothing major. One would hope so, considering the G6 Play is 9mm thick. It has this watch dial effect going for it and the lack of a second camera module allowed Motorola to go for a vertical arrangement. So, there are no shocked and surprised smiley configurations on this one.
Right underneath the familiar circular camera module is an even more familiar and traditional “M” dimple. Long-term fans will remember the little signature detail was mostly for show back in the day. Now, it also doubles as a home for the fingerprint reader. Getting the dimple once again looks retro fancy in just the right way. Resting your index finger there during calls feels right.
The fingerprint reader itself is pretty reliable, but not exactly what we would consider speedy. It is more versatile than before now that Motorola can use it as an authentication to manage and auto-fill passwords in apps and websites and even log-on to Windows devices.
There’s not a lot to mention about the sides of the Moto G6 Play. The bottom is almost entirely empty, housing only the dated microUSB port and the main microphone. So, where are the speakers then you ask? Well, turns out the phone only has one and it’s the earpiece. It’s pretty quiet as well, but more on that later.
The top is equally barren, with a pair of holes – one for the secondary, noise-canceling microphone and the other the tried and true 3.5mm audio jack. The left-hand side has a single cut-out for the card tray. Motorola could have done a better job slicing it out and then dampening it since it doesn’t really sit flush and rocks in place a little bit when nudged. However, these are all petty complaints that get dwarfed by the fact that the tray has three whole slots (two in the Single SIM models). Two for SIM cards and a dedicated microSD one. That means you don’t have to choose between another phone line and memory – always a plus in our book.
All the buttons sit pretty high up on the right side of the device. Perhaps a bit too high for comfort, if you have smaller hands. Other than that, they are nice and clicky and well-defined. The power button, while on the slim side, even has an edged pattern going for it, so its very easy to feel around.
Overall, as far as controls go, no real complaints. It seems Motorola has handled the transition to a new extra-tall aspect ratio pretty well.
Display
Extra-tall displays are an increasingly common sight on budget devices nowadays. Even though the new aspect ratios typically leave you with less horizontal real estate, it is still hard to complain or argue against the practical benefits of more vertical room for most everyday tasks. Especially, when the deal does not include a notch.
Just like many of its competitors, Motorola decided to hunker down and bring 18:9 to the masses, including as part of the affordable Moto G6 Play package.
Users looking to same a few bucks from the regular Moto G6 won’t have to sacrifice on screen diagonal at all.
The Play does come with a slight bump down in resolution. But, 720 x 1440 pixels and a density rating of 282ppi is still pretty decent for an entry-level phone.
Display test
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Motorola Moto G6 Plus (Max Auto)
0.564
776
1376
Motorola Moto G6 Plus
0.418
610
1459
Motorola Moto G5S (Max Auto)
0.415
582
1402
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
0.548
555
1013
Motorola Moto G6 Play (Max Auto)
0.419
554
1321
Xiaomi Mi A1
0.351
551
1570
Huawei P Smart
0.356
531
1492
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) max auto
0
518
∞
LG Q6
0.288
510
1771
Xiaomi Redmi 5
0.378
503
1331
Nokia 6 (Global version)
0.364
484
1330
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) Max Auto
0
482
∞
Motorola Moto G6 Play
0.339
476
1404
Huawei Honor 7X
0.236
458
1941
Motorola Moto G5S
0.266
415
1560
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
0
408
∞
Huawei P8lite
0.45
362
802
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
0
348
∞
The IPS LCD panel Moto managed to acquire and fit inside the G6 Play budget is decent, if not particularly impressive. Under normal conditions, its brightness tops off at 476 nits, with respectable enough contrast. Max Auto allows it to shine at up to 554 nits, at the cost of some contrast.
The Moto G6 Play offers a less than stellar experience under strong sunlight, but it’s still usable in most cases.
On a more positive note, color accuracy is surprisingly good, if a few conditions are met. In it’s default mode, the whites on the G6 Play screen have a distinct blue hue. Switching between the Standard and Vivid color modes does little to correct that. The maximum deltaE sits at 6.4, with a maximum of 13.3 in the blue.
However, setting the color temperature from the default setting to Warm does yield tangible results. This way, you can get the color deviation down to a respectable average deltaE of 3.8 and a maximum of 6.5. Almost what we would consider color-accurate.
Moto G6 Play Battery Life
At 9mm thick, the Motorola Moto G6 Play is quite a chunky phone, no question about it. Still, it does compensate for it’s girth, at least to some extent, with a large 4,000 mAh battery. Sure, you could justifiably argue that a lot of the juice end up kind of wasted on the inefficient 28nm Snapdragon chipset. Undoubtedly, something newer, like the Snapdragon 450 would do a better job, with its 14nm node. Failing that, the older and now likely more affordable Snapdragon 625 is tried and true and still a solid choice.
But, we might be getting a bit too picky. The Snapdragon 430 (non-US) review unit, we tested at the office still did a solid job, stretching the 4,000 Mah battery pack to its full extent.
It scored an overall endurance rating of 92 hours – more than respectable.
Looking at the particular numbers in detail, Motorola appears to have done a bang-up optimization job all-around. The near-vanilla Android OS definitely helps a fair bit and as a result, the Moto G6 Play easily breaks the 200-hour barrier in standby.
Even with its older 28nm development process, the Snapdragon 430 and its X6 LTE modem, in particular, manage to clock in over 30 hours of call time. Google’s Chrome browser and File app/video player don’t disappoint either. Both manage to keep pushing content on the HD+ display for over 14hours on a single charge. Overall, while the Moto G6 Play is a bit on the chunky side, it feels quite comfortable away from a power outlet for prolonged periods of time.
Motorola was also considerate enough to include support for its own Turbo power fast charging standard in the Moto G6 Play. It is actually one of the cheapest phones out there, with quick top-off support.
The Moto G6 Play is, theoretically capable of sucking in power at up to 15W. However, we can’t really confirm is a compatible Turbo Power charger will be provided in the box. Package contents frequently differ from market to market and Lenovo has a pretty bumpy track record in this area. So, the best way to go about it is to check with your local retailer of choice.
Loudspeaker
Motorola was definitely generous in the battery department, but the loudspeaker setup is a whole other story. The Moto G6 Play only has a single speaker – the earpiece, above the display. It is powered to pump out some volume and that’s about it.
Speakerphone test
Voice, dB
Pink noise/ Music, dB
Ringing phone, dB
Overall score
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
64.1
65.3
68.5
Below Average
Motorola Moto G6 Play
62.6
68.0
71.0
Average
Moto M
64.5
72.9
72.0
Good
Motorola Moto G6 Play (Dolby audio)
66.1
70.0
76.2
Good
Nokia 2
66.7
70.6
75.0
Good
LG Q6
67.0
69.3
76.1
Good
Xiaomi Redmi 5
66.1
68.4
82.1
Good
Huawei P Smart
65.9
70.8
85.8
Very Good
Huawei Honor 7X
66.4
71.1
85.1
Very Good
Motorola Moto G5S
76.1
72.7
81.0
Excellent
Sony Xperia L2
67.4
72.2
91.6
Excellent
Motorola Moto G5S Plus
91.5
74.9
86.9
Excellent
The G6 Play is a bit quiet, especially in its default mode, with the audio equalizer turned off. Speaking of which, it’s a bit odd that Motorola decided to provide a really in-depth audio equalizer, for the single, underwhelming speaker. It even bears the Dolby audio branding.
Still, we can’t complain too much, unlike most smartphone audio tuning suit, this one did not reduce the overall output volume. On the contrary, it increased it slightly, while also managing to open up the soundstage noticeably. If configured correctly, that is.
If you spend enough time tweaking the sliders and toggles, for your content of choice, you can actually achieve tangible results, like a clearer voice in movies or richer simulated bass, if that’s your thing.
Audio quality
Motorola Moto G6 Play matched the splendid clarity of its Plus sibling in the active external amplifier part of the test. Its loudness fell seriously short though, giving away its lower standing.
Loudness remained below average when we hooked up our headphones too, but the clarity was downright impressive. The Moto G6 Play delivered a performance that would be worthy of a device with a much higher price tag. Unless you have high impedance headphones and the volume is actually a deal-breaker, you really can’t wish for much more than that.
Test
Frequency response
Noise level
Dynamic range
THD
IMD + Noise
Stereo crosstalk
Motorola Moto G6 Play
+0.06, -0.03
-89.0
86.6
0.0052
0.019
-87.3
Motorola Moto G6 Play (headphones)
+0.06, -0.03
-90.5
87.1
0.0054
0.028
-77.3
Motorola Moto G6 Plus
+0.00, -0.03
-93.6
93.5
0.0050
0.011
-94.6
Motorola Moto G6 Plus (headphones)
+0.02, -0.02
-93.5
93.4
0.0067
0.033
-81.0
Oppo F7
+0.01, -0.10
-92.5
92.7
0.0019
0.0077
-91.2
Oppo F7 (headphones)
+0.50, -0.20
-91.4
91.8
0.0079
0.402
-51.5
Nokia 6 (2018)
+0.10, -0.20
-37.5
80.4
0.0018
4.735
-93.3
Nokia 6 (2018) (headphones)
+0.05, -0.03
-94.3
90.2
0.0027
0.019
-58.6
Nokia 7 Plus
+0.02, -0.31
-38.8
81.7
0.0013
4.690
-95.9
Nokia 7 Plus (headphones)
+0.25, -0.23
-93.3
90.4
0.0045
0.227
-53.9
Honor View 10
+0.02, -0.01
-92.6
92.6
0.0021
0.012
-94.4
Honor View 10 (headphones)
+0.17, -0.03
-92.0
92.1
0.0023
0.092
-52.8
Synthetic benchmarks
The Motorola Moto G6 Play was never meant to be a performance powerhouse in any way, shape or forms. Still, in 2018, we are finally a bit past the days when you had to take anything you could get for $200, or so. That being said, we approached the Snapdragon 430, 3GB RAM review unit with clear expectations of a smooth overall experience. Definitely not unreasonable, especially considering the near-stock Moto Android ROM.
To our surprise, however, the Moto G6 Play experiences some noticeable performance dips, even when dealing with everyday tasks.
Frankly, it’s an odd position to find a current Moto G device in. While far from ideal, we know for a fact that the Snapdragon 430 has plenty of power to drive a fluent UI experience, if nothing else. The raw performance numbers out of the Moto G6 Play indicate the same as well. So, we can only surmise, the occasional hiccups and dropped animation frames while browsing the menus and opening apps are due to some odd optimization issue. Hopefully one that gets cleared up quickly.
Before we move on to the actual scores, it is worth noting that certain US carriers and retailers will be offering the Moto G6 Play with an even less-powerful Snapdragon 427 chipset. You should probably stay away from it, if possible. It only has four Cortex-A53 cores and the GPU is downgraded from the Adreno 505 to the Adreno 308. Definitely not ideal.
Speaking of the CPU, the non-US Moto G6 Play, we are testing, has eight Cortex-A53 cores at its disposal, clocked at 1.4 GHz. While that overall configuration is pretty popular in the budget market segment, 1.4 GHz is a pretty low clock.
Single 13MP camera
Unlike its two bigger siblings, the Moto G6 Play doesn’t get the privilege of a fancy dual-camera setup. It is stuck with a single 13MP snapper, with 1.12µm pixels. It sits behind an f/2.0 lens. Nothing really too spectacular. There are still a couple of extras sprinkled in, like phase detection autofocus and a surprisingly decent EIS stabilization for video.
While on the subject, not only does the stabilization work surprisingly well, but it even comes with a real-time preview during capture.
Just like the stills, the 1080p clips, themselves, are actually quite usable. These get recorded in a standard AVC, plus AAC stream, inside an MP4 file, with a bit rate of about 18 Mbps and stereo audio. A bit more detail wouldn’t hurt and the same goes for the dynamic range. Still, we can’t nitpick too much.
Competition
The original Moto G from some 5 years ago was a real game-changer in terms of value and an easy instant recommendation. A lot has changed since then. The legendary American brand has been changing ownership quite a bit over the last few years. Internal turmoil and brand-identity aside, the sprawling budget scene the phone launches on looks quite different in 2018.
There are a lot more options to explore. Perhaps even too many. Even Motorola‘s own lineup now features a trio of Moto G devices. And that’s on top of other viable affordable devices, like the Moto E line. Which brings us to our first couple of contenders – the Moto G5S and G5S Plus. Sure, neither features a trendy new 18:9 display, but other than that, specs-wise the Moto G5S is an almost perfect match to the G6 Play. Its bigger brother – the G5S Plus is even more alluring, complete with a much more-potent and power-efficient Snapdragon 625 chipset, as well as a dual 13MP camera setup.
Samsung has some well-rounded devices up on offer around the $200 mark as well. The budget Galaxy J7 (2017) pairs a sizeable battery, with another battery-efficient chipset – the Exynos 7870 and a Super AMOLED panel – sharp, colorful and also easy on the battery. There are some interesting accompanying options as well, like the option for the more compact and slightly more premium Galaxy A3 (2017) instead. Or even saving a few bucks with the older J7 (2016), which still offers most of the models highlights.
The resurrected Nokia has been soaking up quite a bit of attention lately and rightfully so. HMD is putting a lot of effort into build quality and producing reasonably priced devices with a great bill of material and overall durability. The original Nokia 6 from last year seems to match the Moto G6 Play almost spec to spec even down to the overall clean approach to Android. Price-wise the two aren’t far apart either.
Moto G5S Plus • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) • Nokia 6 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro • Huawei Honor 9 Lite
Of course, we can’t glance over Xiaomi’s constantly growing lineup for affordable models. The trendy Chinese brand has become amazingly quick in adopting new tech in its products. The most obvious competitor to the Moto G6 Play would be the Android One running Mi A1. A Snapdragon 625 and dual camera setup make for a more potent hardware platform for pretty much the same price tag. The soon-to-hit-markets Mi A2 looks even more enticing but might be a little outside the budget. Currently, the Redmi Note 5 Pro seems to offer the best value for your buck, with a trendy exterior and pretty potent internals.
Last, but not least, Huawei and its Honor sister-brand have a stable finger on the pulse of the market and some really competitive devices to offer. You can pretty much match the Moto G6 Play spec for spec with the new Huawei Y7 Prime (2018) and potentially even save a few bucks in the process. However, devices like the Huawei P smart and the Honor 9 Lite arguably have even more value to offer, within roughly the same budget.
Verdict
It’s really hard to make any noticeable dent in today’s highly-competitive and overcrowded budget smartphone scene. Adapting as you go seems to be the only path to survival and Motorola has been doing plenty of it lately. The company’s excellent reputation backed by Lenovo’s distribution network helps it along its way too.
Pros
Combines a classic Moto control layout with a trendy new extra-tall display on the cheap
There’s a dedicated MicroSD cars slot on the SIM tray, so you can have to SIM cards and and SD at the same time.
Display has decent brightness, contrast and sunlight legibility. It is surprisingly color-accurate, when set propperly. The only thing you are really loosing compared to the regular G6 is resolution.
Great battery endurance at 92 hours. Quick top-offs, thanks to Turbo Power charging support, up to 15W.
Good, clean audio quality through the 3.5mm jack. A bit quiet, though.
A fine blend of vanilla Android and just the right amount of useful proprietary customizations
Good photo and video quality. Full-featured manual mode. LED selfie flash. EIS for video is a great little bonus and it works surprisingly well.
Cons
No notification LED and MotoDisplay isn’t quite like an always on display (not that it automatically renders the LED redundant)
The speaker is not particularly loud or clear. Audio output though the 3.5mm jack is also on the quiet side.
Some noticeable performance dips (skipped transition animation frames and micro-stutters) are observable even while just browsing the UI. Likely an optimization issue that should get fixed, since the Snapdragon 430 can drive a smoother experience.
Video capture is limited to 1080p@30fps.
The selfie fixed focus sweet spot is a bit distant, which resuts in the faces getting blurry at times.
Despite the few minor issues we found with the Moto G6 Play, it definitely won’t steer you wrong. It’s a dependable phone with a nice feature set. However, in this price range you can (and should!) get hardware that provides hiccup-free performance. So if you shop around a bit, there is more value to be had elsewhere. We hope Lenovo sorts things out with the Moto G6 Play performance, otherwise as things stand right now, it’s hard for it to get the recommendation it deserves.