Rosie Tech

Google Pixel 8 Review Could Google have finally created the perfect Pixel? I just got my hands on the brand new Google Pixel 8 and Pixel Pro, and let me tell you, these handsets might just rival the very best flagship phones around. These two hotshot mobiles just made their grand debut at Google's latest Made by Google event. But today, we're shining the spotlight on the regular Google Pixel 8. So, if you're itching to uncover all the juicy details about the non-pro Pixel 8, you've landed in the perfect spot! Down below, we've got the inside scoop on the phone's cameras, chip power, battery life, style, screen, price, and more. Plus, we've whipped up a nifty specs table to make it a breeze for you to compare the Pixel 8 with its fancier sibling, the Pixel 8 Pro. Let's dive right in… First things first, let's talk about the design. These phones are sleeker than ever, with that classic Pixel aesthetic (not too dissimilar from the Google Pixel 7). It's got that familiar camera bump on the back, a smooth glass back, a sturdy metal frame, and a tough screen protected by Gorilla Glass Victus. It's even dustproof and water-resistant with an IP68 rating. In terms of size, the Pixel 8 is a bit smaller and lighter than the Pixel 7, but it's a tad thicker. (check out the exact measurements in my cheat sheet below). Now, let's talk about the screen. The Pixel 8 sports a 6.2-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400, 428 pixels per inch, a 120Hz refresh rate (which can switch to 60Hz when you don't need that extra smoothness), a 20:9 aspect ratio, a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, and as with many of today’s flagships ,supports always-on display features. This screen is a bit smaller than the Pixel 7's 6.3-inch display (hence the smaller phone size), but it's an upgrade with a higher refresh rate and brighter peak brightness. The Pixel 8 is your everyday champ, while the Pro version feels like it's been hitting the gym – it's got a bigger display and some extra muscle under the hood. When it comes to the cameras on the Google Pixel 8, there aren't any major overhauls (again check out the exact hardware in both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro in my cheat sheet below). In terms of megapixels, it's not a big jump from the Pixel 7. However, there are some subtle tweaks. The ultra-wide camera on the Pixel 8 is a bit wider and has autofocus, and the main camera is 21% more sensitive to light, making low-light shots even better. But where things get interesting is in the software and processing department. Google is jazzing up the image processing with more advanced features and introducing cool modes like Best Take, Macro Focus, and Magic Editor. For video, whether you're filming with the front or back camera, you can shoot in up to 4K resolution at 60fps. The photos from these phones are like eye candy for your social media feeds. Performance-wise, these Pixels are like lightning bolts. Apps open in a snap, and multitasking feels like a breeze. The Pixel 8 runs on a new chip called Tensor G3, which is Google's most powerful chip yet. It's got some nifty AI tricks up its sleeve. But, just so you know, Google's chips have never quite matched up to the top ones from Qualcomm or Apple. We'll have to see how strong this new version is. For keeping your personal stuff safe, the Pixel 8 has a Titan M2 security chip. It comes with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. And check this out, it's got an under-display fingerprint sensor and Face Unlock. Plus, there are stereo speakers for great sound. But here's the real kicker – Google is promising to update the Pixel 8 for a whopping seven years! That includes system updates and security fixes. It's way longer than what most Android phones get and even more than iPhones. Google's really taking the crown in the software support department. Oh, and let's not forget about the battery life. Both phones can easily go all day without needing a pit stop at the charger. The battery inside the Google Pixel 8 is a bit bigger than its predecessor. It has a typical capacity of 4,575mAh. That's more than the Pixel 7, which had 4,355mAh. But here's the cool part – even with the bigger battery, both phones are quoted to last the same amount of time: over 24 hours, or up to 72 hours if you use the Extreme Battery Saver mode. When it's time to recharge, the Pixel 8 can juice up at speeds up to 27W, and Google says you can get around 50% battery in about 30 minutes with a 30W charger. That's just as fast as the Pixel 7, but the Pixel 8 actually has a bit more power. Wireless charging is in the mix too. You can charge it wirelessly at up to 18W using the Google Pixel Stand (2nd gen) or up to 12W with other Qi-certified chargers. It's slightly slower than the 20W wireless charging on the Pixel 7. But, hey, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. The price tag is on the steeper side, and while the Pro model offers some sweet extras, it might be overkill for some folks. Also, the design isn't a massive departure from the previous Pixel, so don't expect a jaw-dropping visual overhaul. All in all, the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel Pro are a solid pair of smartphones. If you're a Pixel fan, you won't be disappointed. But if you're coming from another camp, are they enough to make you consider switching teams? Check out the cheat sheet below to help understand some of the main differences between the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro.

iOS 17 Review The latest iPhone update has finally arrived – iOS 17. This isn't just any run-of-the-mill update; it's got some awesome new features and a bunch of improvements that make your iPhone experience smoother than ever, especially when you're connecting with your fellow iPhone users. Now, you might remember how iOS 16 jazzed up our lock screens last year, giving them a fresh new look. Well, Apple has gone and sprinkled some of that magic dust on our phone calls and contact lists this time around, showing off your friends and family in their best-light yet. More on Contact Posters later… Supported Devices iOS 17 is now compatible with a whopping 20 different iPhone models, including the trusty old iPhone XR from all the way back in 2018! And here's the good news: even if you're rocking one of the older supported iPhones, you’ll get the vast majority of the new features as these older iPhones age gracefully. Contact Posters and FaceTime In iOS 17, the standout visual feature that steals the show is the Contact Posters. You will have to patiently wait for your pals with iPhones to get on board with the update so you can appreciate this swanky new upgrade, as it requires users to create their own poster. The Contact Posters have got this cool mix of different profile pics, fonts, and colours, and they pop up when someone gives you a ring, FaceTimes you, or when you're on a contact hunt. Gone are the days of manually updating your contact list with photos, everyone is now responsible for their own poster only - making the burden much less all around. Oh, and guess what? These same images make an appearance when you're trying out NameDrop – Apple's fresh take on contactless contact sharing. The best part is you don't need a Portrait mode photo for that slick cutout effect between the image and text. StandBy Mode If your iPhone is horizontal while getting a charge, iOS 17 will go all-out in StandBy mode. Say goodbye to your regular wallpaper and icons – they'll be replaced by oversized clocks, handy calendar details, ‘What's Playing’ widgets, some of your most delightful photos, and more. (Just one tiny head-scratcher: they forgot to throw in an email widget!) To enjoy StandBy in all its always-on glory, you'll need an iPhone 14 Pro or the brand new iPhone 15 Pro – that's where it really shines. Now, for all the other devices in the iPhone lineup, you'll have to give the screen a gentle tap to wake it up and get your info, which kinda takes away from the whole always-on vibe. Oh, and here's a neat tidbit – StandBy plays nicely with the same iOS widget Smart Stacks, so you can effortlessly swipe between various nuggets of information. With the arrival of iOS 17, we're in for a treat – interactive widgets are finally making their debut! Now, you can effortlessly tweak your smart home lights or check off tasks on your to-do list without the hassle of launching a whole app. It's like having shortcuts right at your fingertips. For all you list-makers out there, Reminders is getting a nifty upgrade. It'll automatically create a grocery list for you when it detects that you're putting together a shopping list. Plus, it'll gather items typically found in the same grocery store aisle. Shopping just got a whole lot easier! Live Voicemail and voice note transcription With this voicemail upgrade, your iPhone can turn spoken words into text in real-time. This way, you can read what the caller is saying before deciding whether to answer the call or let them leave a message. It's like having a sneak peek before you make a decision! If your phone is locked when the call comes in, the system prompts you to unlock to read live. In iOS 17, when someone leaves you a message, you can read a live transcript of it. You can decide to stop them and leave your message or simply understand what they're saying by getting the ‘gist’ of the message. It's different from Google's method, where people know they're being screened, which I'm not a fan of. Another improved feature- when someone sends you a voice message in Messages, your iPhone can automatically turn the spoken words into written text, as long as the sound is clear enough. Messaging improved? Apple has given its sticker game a serious boost, and it's all about those nifty Live Stickers – animated stickers plucked straight from your Live Photos! In iOS 17, they've neatly gathered all my canine cutouts, selfies, and baby pics into a single drawer. But wait, there's more – this treasure trove is also home to memoji, emoji, and stickers from third-party sources. It's like sticker heaven in there! Remember how you used to lift subjects out of your photos with those static cutout stickers? Well, now you can do the same magic trick in iOS 17 – just long-press on the subject in the Photos app, and voila! And here's the kicker: you can jazz up your stickers with cool effects like "shiny" and "puffy" that mimic faux light when you wiggle your phone. Talk about fancy! But that's not all – stickers have levelled up. You can now use them straight from the sticker drawer and slap them onto your photos, documents, and screenshots using Markup. Just look for that little pencil tip icon, and you're good to go! One feature I particularly appreciate (and all those safety conscious people will too) iOS 17 introduces a nifty Check In feature right within Messages. It's designed to make life a bit easier when you reach your destination. Here's the scoop: You can set it up to automatically let someone know that you've made it to your intended spot. But here's where it gets even cooler – if you don't arrive by the time you said you would, your trusty iPhone will check in on you and ask if everything's okay. If you don't respond, it'll send an alert to the person you initially notified. And that's not all – the recipient can also see your signal strength and how much juice is left in your battery. Want to take it a step further? You can even share the route you're taking if you're feeling extra generous with your location info! Round up iOS 17 brings some big visual changes that you can easily notice. But there are also lots of small improvements, especially for folks who chat with other iPhone users a lot. If you're into FaceTime, now you can leave video messages or do some fun augmented reality tricks. And when you're calling or texting other iOS 17 folks, you've got cool stuff like Live Stickers, Check In, Contact Posters, NameDrop, and voice note transcription – which, by the way, I think is the coolest feature this year! But you will need to patiently wait for more of your friends to update their iPhones so you can have more fun with these features. Besides making typing and Messages better in everyday life, Apple is also working on making iPhones more accessible. They haven't given us a journaling app or some other features we're hoping for yet. But don't worry, they've still got some pretty cool changes this year, like StandBy and better predictive typing. So, your iPhone stays exciting without needing to buy a whole new one.

Sony's New Handheld PlayStation: The Future of Portable Gaming It's been a long, long 12 years since Sony las entered the portable gaming segment. The follow-up to the PSP, the Vita in 2011/2012, was the last time that Sony made a concerted effort to entice gamers away from their TV screens and living rooms and back into their palms. Now, arguably off the back of the success of Valve's Steam Deck, and with the hype that Asus's ROG Ally is creating, Sony seems to be experiencing FOMO and wants back-in to the portable gaming market. Enter "Project Q". Before you get too excited, however, beware that the Project Q is set to be a steaming hand-held. Not a full-fledged independent console. In essence it will steam your PS5 gameplay over your WiFi, or what's colloquially becoming known as 'Cloud Gaming'. It has it's pro's and con's for sure, but ultimately this won't be a high-powered console that you can take on a long flight and let off some steam. You'll need a strong WiFi connection, as with all streaming devices, and you can expect input lag that can be the difference between life and death in fast-paced titles. Which begs the question, what's the real market for these types of devices? At the crux of the issue, you ideally need to be at home, on the same WiFi connection as the console you're streaming from to get the best results. When these restrictions are imposed, I feel like 9 times out of 10 the player would rather just turn on their console and sit in front of their TV in the comfort of their living room, right? For this author personally, the real benefit of a handheld is to leave the house and play games were you couldn't have dreamed of playing AAA titles before: on public transport, on a plane, on vacation. On the plus side, due to not needing heavyweight hardware, these types of devices typically have much longer battery lives their full-fat brothers such as the Steam Deck, AyaNeo's, GPD Win's etc etc. So it's rumoured that the Project Q will provide upwards of 4 hours of gaming on a single charge. That's good. But back to the negatives, you will need to own a PS5 to be able to use the Project Q. That's bad. You also won't be able to stream or leverage PS VR titles, which, may have been a given but we thought we'd mention that too. Release Date: Sony are staying tight-lipped for now, other than saying that it will launch later this year. Whether that means August or December is anyones guess, however we'd imagine this to be a holiday release. I'm sure, despite my reservations around what the size of the market is for streaming devices like this, that it could be a holiday hit for the younger, less discerning audience. Project Q Price: Also TBC is the price for the Project Q - given that cloud gaming consoles typically command a lower price than their 'dedicated rendering' counter-parts, we'd expect the Project Q to launch at less than $500 US. This is an educated guess based off of comparable devices. For example, the Steam Deck starts from $500 and can be used anywhere, sans WiFi whilst Logitech's G Cloud console is sub-$400. Factor in the 'Sony Premium' and we think it will land squarely in the $400-500 starting range.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Leaked images of the supposed Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and S23 Plus have surfaced online, much to the delight of Samsung Galaxy enthusiasts. These alleged pictures show the placement of the cameras, chosen colours and a sleek curved edge display. The leaked images also suggest that the device may feature a stylus and a fingerprint sensor under the screen - akin to the Note series discontinued a few years ago. A metal frame and glass cover design seems to be a shared feature of both the S23 Ultra and Plus this year. What colours do these both come in you ask? The standard Phantom Black, Cotton Flower (cream), Botanic Green and for the slightly more voguish phone owners a Misty Lilac (pink or lavender). WinFuture had recently leaked these colours which seems to suggest that all S23 series models will have the same colour options. But how might this phone differ from its predecessor? Whilst they both have a similar five camera set up, the S23 Ultra’s back appears flatter and with side buttons sitting slightly lower than that of the S22 ultra’s. Another feature that will excite Samsung Galaxy connoisseurs is the rumour circulating that the Ultra will have a 200-megapixel main camera, an exciting first for the Galaxy lineup. On top of that, the Ultra is said to have better autofocus and stabilisation than the S22 Ultra (the Insta crowd are sure to love that). Both the S23 Ultra and S23 Plus and likely to run on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipsets globally. This is a slight deviation from Samsung’s usual approach of using Snapdragon processors in the US and Exynos chips in Asia and Europe. Snapdragon who? To understand why this is beneficial (more so to the Samsungs being shipped to Asia and Europe) is to understand the difference between Snapdragon and Exynos processors. Simplified, Exynos is an in-house chip made by Samsung engineers whilst Snapdragon chips are made by Qualcomm, a powerhouse in the global chips business. The Qualcomm Snapdragon variant performs (15%) better than the Exynos with Snapdragon’s image segmentation being far more adept than the Exynos’ due to the powerful Adreno GPU. An exciting new change for Samsung products and one that I certainly look forward to. However, it's important to note that these images have not been confirmed by Samsung and should be taken with a grain of salt until an official announcement is made. Samsung is likely to announce all of the S23 Ultra and S23 Plus details in its Galaxy Unpacked event on February 1st. The countdown begins!