We took another look at cost and selfie cameras, and we thought seriously about our decision to move on the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra or ZTE Axon 40 Pro. Starting with the latter, that device appears to be an Asia exclusive device. Though it is possible to get it, there are some potential problems with going that way with it. For starters: language. Secondly, we're not really into modding anymore, so we're not trying to root the device and install a custom ROM. We like stock these days.
As for the former, outfitting the team proved challenging even at the great introductory price. To get the desired versions of the device, the costs went up significantly. We wanted at least 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage for each. 128 GB of storage just doesn't cut it anymore. This is the age of 4K and 8K video recording. That's simply not enough space for those resolutions. And for that price, we'd like to take and send some pretty impressive selfies to our loved ones [they can be such quality snobs]. So, you have the background for context. All of that considered, we gave the Pixel 6 another chance. It started reviewing well, so that means that Google has finally resolved the biggest issues with the phone, and most of the issues overall. This is fantastic news because we always wanted to try it out. Well, we can now do exactly that because we bought the entire team 256 GB versions of the standard Pixel 6! To be honest, we're quite excited about this! Does this mean that we're revoking our endorsement of ZTE's offerings this year? Nope! If you have the budget and access for either, we still recommend them. We just needed to save money and didn't have a reliable way to get the Axon 40 Pro. That's all for this one! That's right, folks! The ZTE Axon 40 Ultra is going on sale in just a few days! To be exact, it will be ready for launch on June 21. This quite a bit of hype being generated for this phone - even more than Sony's offering for the year.
To be truthful, Sony appears to be less interested in Western markets like the United States lately, which is understandable. The West hasn't exactly been the most supportive of the brand's smartphones for a number of years. It's not that they're bad, because they aren't, it's that they're presented as sleeper hits. They're actually quite good, if one can get over things like being relegated to only a power button sensor for fingerprints [we don't really like that due to the freedom that an in-display sensor offers]. ZTE gives us that freedom of use. No awkward grip to position the correct finger, just any finger on any hand, and the adaptability to unlock the device in virtually any orientation. Simple and graceful. This is a lesson that Sony needs from consumers who fall outside of the small niche of people who like the significantly inferior experience. For price per pixel, we started to lean more towards the Axon 40 Pro, however, that device is quite a bit harder to find price and release date information about. When performing the search, the Axon 40 Ultra dominates the headlines. We've tried all manner of search queries, but no luck. We can't seem to find a reputable seller of this device. We'll have to just spend the money and take the tradeoff. It's just a selfie camera, so it can't hurt, right? It's not like it's a bad camera, just not as good as others that use a notch or hole punch. We're going to do a video review of this one. Over time, we'll lean into YouTube or Odysee more, so bear with us as we get set up for that. More news on our online presence in the next one. That's it for now! So, out of curiosity, we took a look around for other mobile offerings and discovered the less mentioned ZTE Axon 40 Pro was also announced. There are few spec differences, but don't get it twisted, this one is also a beast of a device. You'll note a few powerful offerings here on the spec sheet, but we'll call out a few for you. As you can see, the device is gorgeous, even with the inoffensive hole punch display. For those worried about performance, keep in mind that the legendary OnePlus 6T had a Snapdragon 845 in it. This is the Snapdragon 870, so it's a significant step up from the 2018 mobile generation that was so solid. It's even got good reviews already, including mobile gaming.
This is our sleeper pick, and some of us on stricter budgets will be picking this one up instead. Though not yet a gaming champ (keep in mind that it's not bad at gaming though), the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra makes history. It's the first flagship without a notch in the display to satisfactorily hide the selfie camera. Very many people can't see any visual flaws when looking at the area of the display over the front-facing camera.
It's a stock-like Android experience, so most of the re-standardized bloat and fragmentation is out of the way. That's something to be very excited about! Furthermore, the rear cameras are rated as pretty good as well. Furthermore, the selfie camera shows great improvement from previous devices. However, it must be noted that they aren't quite as sharp as they could be, there's some haloing, and color tones are not as accurate as we would like. Under poor lighting conditions, it's a grainy mess. So, be sure to learn some lighting tricks to deal with that. Note: that doesn't make it bad! Unfortunately, there's no 3.5 mm headphone jack or expandable storage option, but we'll have to make concessions somewhere. The device is otherwise beautiful and sleek, and offers a lot for the price on its specs sheet - including some 8k recording with the rear shooters. The device is launching this month with a $50 coupon, and starts at $799 USD for the base model. We all are going for a 256+ GB storage version (these are pre-release prices, so they may not yet be final). Yes, WE WANT THIS PHONE!!!! The Not So GoodWe tried the Philips Wired Gaming Keyboard and Mouse Combo because it looked so good, however, we ended up a bit disappointed. The problem was that all of the impressive angles and beautifully edited photos sold this product as something that it isn't: a gaming and office keyboard. It's purely a gaming keyboard - and that's fine. But it shouldn't mention anything about office use. Does it occupy less game area than many full-sized keyboard competitors? Sure. Is it technically slim? Well, yeah, technically. Is it RGB? Of course. But is it good at being an office keyboard? Absolutely not. This keyboard does an excellent job at being a flat gaming peripheral. We have some issues with the mouse, but this short review isn't about that. Still, we will highlight that the RGB on the keyboard doesn't match the color profile or brightness of the mouse. It's MUCH brighter and far more vivid. That's a good thing. However, there's no option to change the color position, change the color pattern, or change to a specific color. You can make it blink or pulse, or turn it off, but that's it. As for the soft type feature? What soft type feature? By comparison to a traditional mechanical keyboard, it's quiet. But compared to a traditional office keyboard, it's still quite loud. In fact, we could only hear the difference when comparing to a mechanical keyboard. The keys are also pretty tall, like a mechanical keyboard, and that warrants changing the angle of approach to get good presses. If not, it'll miss presses quite regularly and feel pretty uncomfortable. We could feel the keys sliding against the chassis. If you really need to do a lot of typing, this isn't the keyboard you'll want. We'll keep it just for the sake of gaming, but we won't use it for anything else. It's quality as a gaming keyboard saves it. Rating: 5 / 10Now For the Good StuffWe also tried the Seenda Multi-Device Bluetooth Backlit Keyboard - keyboard manufacturers need to come up with shorter names - and had a grand ol' time. Now THIS is an office keyboard! They really packed a lot into a small package. For starters, it's a compact mid-sized design. They took out all of the wasted space and focused on utility. That's just a good idea. They took it a step farther by including a tray to hold mobile devices. That works quite well. And to add insult to the injuries of their competitors, they allow four Bluetooth connections, it connects QUICKLY, there are indicator lights for each channel that double as key lock indicators, and it's compatible with multiple operating systems. We've got it connected to a Windows PC, a Chromebook, AND an Android phone! It works very well with all three. Pairing is quick and easy. We're typing up this review and switching to hold a text conversation with it right now. It's a wonderful experience because it only takes about a second to connect to other devices. It charges with the included USB Type C cable, but it doesn't have a pass through. Not a favorite but definitely bad. We had to choose our battles with that. It also provides battery stats so that the charge can be tracked on the devices using it. If THAT'S not enough, it conserves power by turning off the RGB backlights when it doesn't detect a keypress for a short while. This thing is QUIET and feels just like a laptop keyboard. It's the slimmest keyboard that any of us have ever owned, it's quite attractive, the backlights are bright enough to be seen clearly, the brightness can be adjusted, the color can be set [though it doesn't do a full spectrum or pattern], and the keys have this satisfying tactile feel when pressed. All of the buttons work, the support is stellar, it can be switched off for faster charging and power savings, and it's fully functional. Does it hit every mark? Well, no, nothing is perfect. We only wish there was a corded version, or one with a pass through, but that's about it. Check it out, then buy it. Rating: 9 / 10 |
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