BlackBerry PRIV Review

Introduction

There are a handful of companies that have been undoubtedly on the decline for the last several years. The business is cutthroat, whereby things can rapidly change in a heartbeat, so if there’s no substantial progress earned, it’s feasible that the end isn’t too far away. We can count a few notable companies in this particular situation, like HTC, who has struggled to make itself noticed. Or in the case of Motorola, after years of attempting to make a turn around by itself, eventually got gobbled up by Google, then subsequently Lenovo. 

There’s also Microsoft, a company that has taken pride in its line of Windows devices, but has yet to make any sort of impact in the mobile space. You know who else in this situation? BlackBerry. Countless times already, they’ve tried to reinvent themselves for the modern times, but they, too, failed in generating any interest from consumers. Instead, it’s only the diehard BlackBerry faithfuls that have been able to keep them afloat for all this time.

Well, here we are at the tail end of 2015, and the future is still uncertain for BlackBerry. The company is still acclaimed for its unrivaled commitment to security, but rather than just build upon that with its existing platform, BlackBerry is now ready to try its luck in the Android business.

Say hello to the PRIV by BlackBerry – a charming portrait QWERTY slider that’s distinguishably BlackBerry, but powered by Android. Can this sacrilegious venture prove fruitful for the company, possibly becoming the catalyst in reestablishing their direction towards greener pastures? 

The package contains:

• BlackBerry PRIV
• microUSB cable
• Wall charger
• Headphones
• Quick start guide
• Safety & warranty information
• SIM removal tool

Design

In the world of portrait sliders, this is as good as it gets.

Phones with physical keyboards, they’ve become quite uncommon, as touch input has very well become the prime choice for today’s modern smartphones. At first glance, most people will easily mistake the PRIV as an all-touch device too, but this wouldn’t a true BlackBerry without its signature keyboard implementation.

In terms of design, the PRIV borrows heavily from the Passport, which isn’t a bad thing, seeing it exudes an industrial styling that’s attractive. Naturally, the PRIV is longer due to the larger screen, but what’s really impressive is that it achieves a profile of 9.4mm. For a phone that packs a keyboard, that’s not too shabby at all – while also sporting dimensions that are a smidgen more compact than the iPhone 6s Plus.

Attention to detail is evident with the PRIV’s design, made obvious by the materials they opted to employ. In particular, its aircraft-grade aluminum frame accents nicely against the black rubbery texture of its casing – where it sports this almost carbon-fiber-esque pattern. There’s no slippery feel to the phone thanks to this finish, but its construction isn’t as solid as that of the Passport considering there are two components that primarily make up the phone; the sliding front panel that accommodates the screen and the other for the keyboard.

The sliding mechanism is smooth and locks into position, while giving us those satisfying clicking sounds that are typical with portrait sliders. In the Android space, the PRIV’s design is undoubtedly original.

BlackBerry’s signature styling is plainly evident just looking around the PRIV. For one, it features the same volume control/mute button configuration around its right edge. The power button, however, is situated all by itself along the left edge. Yes, it’s one of the few phones that opts to place it there, but it’s merely a matter of getting acquainted before it becomes natural.

Interestingly, the speaker takes position directly below the display, in the small nook that’s there towards the bottom. While the micro dots extend throughout the entire width, because the speaker is mainly driving sound through the left-most area of the grill.

Rounding things out, there’s a multi-colored LED notification light above the display that can be adjusted for specific notifications – yet another rarity we don’t see in many phones.

Keyboard

Above all else, the keyboard merely offers convenience – a pleasant alternative to touch input.

Some of the best QWERTY smartphones come from BlackBerry’s portfolio, so it’s not shocking that the PRIV offers versatility in the form of its portrait slider keyboard. Sliding the screen upwards reveals the 4-row layout, which interestingly enough, follows very much to the styling of the Passport – as opposed to the more favorable, signature sculpted buttons in the BlackBerry Classic. The keyboard here is better than that of the Passport, due to the fact that many punctuations and numbers are accessible from this layout, whereas with the Passport, they could only be accessed via the touchscreen.

What makes it even better is the fact that additional buttons, such as shift, symbol, alt, and others, are here in the layout. Each press is accompanied with a satisfying level of tactility to ensure something has been pressed, so for those who really enjoy a physical response, it’s no doubt present here. Other features taken from the Passport include the keyboard being touch sensitive, enabling us to use it to precisely place the cursor in a passage of text, highlighting stuff, and also scrolling – all of them help to complement the experience.

As much as we’d like to say that we favor this method, we still find our pace considerably slower than touch-input via its on-screen keyboard. Nevertheless, the main selling point here is that we have the best of both worlds at our disposal.

Display

Very good AMOLED screen, with options to tweak color balance and saturation.

The PRIV comes at us with a pretty formidable screen that clearly dictates it as being an elite-oriented smartphone. Fashioned with a 5.43-inch 1440 x 2560 Plastic AMOLED screen shielded by Gorilla Glass 4, there’s certainly no shortage of crisp details with this one and its 541 ppi pixel density. What’s most peculiar, though, is the realization that they went with AMOLED technology, marking the first time we’re coming across a BlackBerry-made smartphone using the technology.

Beyond the specs, it’s the subtle sloped edges that make it unique, following in nearly the same manner as the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge/edge+. The curve is a very gentle one – nowhere as dramatic as the Galaxy S6 edge/edge+ curves.

So what about the screen’s quality, is it any good? Generally speaking, yes, it manages to produce some very favorable results. Color balance is quite natural on the whole. There's a bit of oversaturation, but it's not extreme. Interestingly, there are adjustments in the settingsfor display color balance and saturation, so it can be tweaked to the user's liking.

In the past, BlackBerry’s line of smartphones have always been known to be accompanied with the brightest of screens. Impressively enough, the BlackBerry Q5, Classic, and Passport take up the top 3 spots in our testing. Going with an AMOLED panel here for the PRIV, however, it only reaches the decent, but not great, 404 nits – far short of the blinding glows of those previous efforts. And with that, it doesn't come off as particularly easy to view outdoors.

Overall, the display here is no doubt the most ambitious to date with BlackBerry. While some of us will try to overlook the potential novelty of the dual-curved edges, the display is a good complement to the company’s footing into Android land.

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Motorola Moto Z - specs review

Motorola is back in full swing with what seems like a very compelling flagship smartphone - the Moto Z. The model-thin handset takes on the heavyweight competition by Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, and Sony with a bustling spec sheet and an innovative system of magnetic-attached accessories that upgrade its already stark potential in a variety of ways. Let's check out all the hot new hardware that Motorola has brought to the table with its newest hero phone!

Design

Introducing the world's thinnest premium smartphone – for now.

Touted as "the world's thinnest premium smartphone", the Moto Z does have a staggering 5.19mm thin frame and feels feather-light at 136 grams. Granted, this isn't the thinnest smartphone out there, for handsets by Chinese brands Oppo, Vivo, and Gionee have already crossed the 5mm threshold. None of them is a flagship model, though, and in addition to being so svelte, the Moto Z is made of aluminum and stainless steel. Motorola didn't forget to finish it with the water-repellent nano-coating it has used in previous models like the Droid Turbo – the solution doesn't provide complete waterproofing, but does repel splashes and drops of liquid. Finally, the available color schemes will be Black (with Lunar Grey trim), Black (with Rose Gold trim), and Fine Gold.

Of course, the biggest surprise is on the back, where users will find a proprietary magnet connector for attaching Moto Mods accessories. We won't discuss the swapable attachments and their functionality here, but we will point out that accessories developed for the current Moto Z are designed to work with future generations handsets as well, which makes for a welcome bit of futureproofing.

Display

Quad-HD resolution and glanceable notification for even more specs-appeal.

The Moto Z features a 5.5-inch Quad-HD resolution AMOLED display covered in scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass. With 77% more pixels than a 1080p resolution screen at this size, and at a pixel density of 535 pixels per inch, this is one exceedingly sharp display in line with current flagship smartphone trends. Moto also took advantage of the AMOLED screen to implement glanceable discrete previews of notifications and updates. It's not an Always-On feature like the one on Nokia and Samsung handsets. Rather, you must wave at your phone's screen to see new events. In addition, the functionality allows you to play and pause your music without unlocking the phone.

Hardware

A premium-tier spec sheet, but also one with a questionable battery capacity.

Motorola wanted the best it could get for its flagship phone, so it splurged on components and didn't spare cash for components shopping. Thus, the Moto Z comes tricked out with Qualcomm's reputable Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and up to 64GB of expandable UFS flash storage.

The Snapdragon 820, which features a quad-core CPU (up to 2.2GHz) and a powerful Adreno 530 GPU is in the company of a natural language and contextual computing processors. The latter are used for two convenient features you might have experienced on older Motorola phones. You can use voice commands to ask for directions, search for information, or get answers to your questions without touching your phone. Likewise, Moto Actions is a system for motion and gesture control. In this case, twisting your wrist opens the camera, two chops downward give you a flashlight, and place your phone face down enables Do Not Disturb modes for calls and notifications.

Producing a smartphone this thin naturally meant Motorola had to chip away at the battery to make it fit the 5.2mm chassis. Thus, the unit that powers the Moto Z is a 2600 mAh one which is supposed to be good for "a day" of use. Realistically, we don't expect this battery to satisfy the phone's cream of the crop display and processor's energy cravings for too long. But Moto knew what it was doing and included a TurboPower™ charger that nearly tops up the battery in only 15 minutes of charging to offset the inevitable battery life woes.

Other notable parts in the Moto Z's heavyweight spec sheet include a fingerprint scanner on the front panel, an USB Type C port, and four microphones for superior sound reproduction and noise cancellation. That's a lot of hardware packed in this thin shell, but battery capacity isn't the only victim in Moto's quest for finesse. The 3.5mm audio jack had to go, too. To take the edge off from the realisation that your new phone has rendered your favorite pair of buds useless, Motorola sensibly included an USB Type C to 3.5mm jack adapter in the box. Plug in and enjoy the music!

Camera

A 13MP camera that seems ready to handle anything standing in front of it.

It's often the cameras that separate the men from the boys among smartphones. Thus, Motorola came up with a seriously busy camera setup that promises cutting-edge mobile photography. Its centerpiece is the 13MP rear camera whose bag of goodies includes a wide f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilization, laser autofocus, and a color-correlated temperature flash with dual LEDs. Flipping to the front side, the 5 MP selfie cam comes with a wide-angle lens, f/2.2 aperture, and a dedicated flash – one of the very few selfie cameras to have one.

With this camera setup, the Moto Z is capable of recording 1080p/60FPS and 4K/30FPS resolution videos, as well as slow motion videos and Video HDR

Expectations

The Moto Z Droid Edition will be sold exclusively on Verizon's store shelves, coming somewhere in the summer. A Moto Z Unlocked Edition will go on sale late this year. September should see the device make its global debut. The prices haven't been made clear yet, but we certainly don't expect this Moto to run cheap.

At first glance, the Moto Z has it all – fine looks, a big and sharp display, a cutting edge processor, powerful cameras, and everything else you'd expect from a full-fledged flagship smartphone. Then there's the Moto Mods series of accessories, which will let you enhance the smartphone's capabilities in some clever ways. If Moto puts those voice and contextual computing processors to good work, the Moto Z could be remembered as one of 2016's most compelling packages. Let's hope the handset will deliver on the potential visible in it.

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Microsoft Lumia 650 Review

Introduction

Last November, Microsoft launched the Lumia 950 and 950 XL to debut Windows 10 on smartphones. With muscular spec sheets, the duo took aim at the higher-end price segment, leaving Windows 10 out of reach for budget-minded buyers. Six months later, Redmond introduced an affordable option, the Lumia 650. Featuring a slim design and markedly lean hardware, we're intrigued whether the handset is compromised in any way, punches above its weight, or simply delivers the essentials and nothing more. The answer might surprise you.

Design

A simple, understated Lumia phone that's a bit taller than needed.

The Lumia 650 has borrowed understated, rectangular-shaped DNA strands from the design gene pool. Its unassuming looks aren't ones to fall head over heels with, but they don't irritate with any excess, annoyances, or baffling choices. It features a glass front, a metal frame, and a removable plastic back plate.

Removing and re-attaching the back panel is easy and secure, providing access to the battery, nanoSIM tray, and microSD card slot. The metal frame is sturdy and it won't torment your palms with sharp edges. The phone itself isn't feather-light, but its weight is evenly distributed. It handles fairly well for a 5-incher, although the top and bottom bezels are long-ish, making the handset taller than desirable. The power and volume keys are placed on the right and respond tightly, without wobbling or mushing it up.

As a whole, build quality is solid on the Lumia 650, although the utilitarian look won't win fashion awards.

Display

A strong, though not exceptional showcase of what an AMOLED screen can do in an affordable device.

The Lumia 650 presents a 5-inch AMOLED screen with a 720 x 1280 resolution that falls short in some aspects. Images look crisp and colors are reasonably accurate right off the bat, save for the seriously skewed greens. Thankfully, the phone lets you tune the display's color temperature and color saturation to your liking, so tweak at will! The peak brightness output of 340 nits isn't anything to write home about, but using the Lumia 650 under bright light poses no issue. The minimum brightness of 5 nits is okay for not searing your retinas during bed reading. Viewing angles are fine, with no noticeable color, brightness, or contrast distortions. There's also an 'Always-On' feature that shows you the current time, date, and event notifications. As a whole, the display is of good quality.

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Microsoft Surface 3 LTE Review

Introduction

Remember Windows RT? We certainly do, but we don’t miss it at all. Microsoft tried to do something different when they first introduced its Surface tablets by reserving the full-blown desktop experience to its Pro line – and the tablet-optimized experience with its standard, non-Pro versions of the Surface. It resulted in the first Microsoft Surface, and subsequently, its successor in the Surface 2. Apparently, consumers didn’t take too kindly of Windows RT’s limiting experience, especially when other PC makers eventually offered cheaper tablets that ran the full Windows experience. For its latest offering, the Surface 3 ditches Windows RT altogether and takes nearly everything we love about Surface Pro 3, but presents itself as a more affordable package.

The package contains:

• Microsoft Surface 3 LTE
• microUSB power supply
• Quick start guide
• Safety & warranty documents

Design

Staying true to the Surface lines’ foundational design traits, it’s a full-blown PC in a liberating, compact package.

Microsoft didn’t change up the recipe with the Surface 3, as it employs the same angular design language of its predecessors. It’s seriously a design we all know and associate with the Surface line, evident in its magnesium chassis and adjustable kickstand. While it’s far more liberating to carry around than other laptops and ultrabooks, it’s still thicker and heavier than some of today’s prized tablets. To its credit, though, we’re gladly accepting of its size considering it attempts to be more of a hybrid mobile computing device running full Windows 10, than say, your ordinary touchscreen-only tablet. 

The kickstand continues to give the Surface 3 more versatility than some other tablets, since it provides us with a hands-free video watching experience, but there are now offers 3 preset angles – with one of them giving us the necessary angle to use it in our lap comfortably. One notable change to the design is the decision to go with a standard microUSB port for its charging, as opposed to the proprietary magnetic connections we’ve come to see in the series. The good in this is that it’s an easy replacement in the event it goes bad or goes missing, but it doesn’t offer the same safety protection as the magnetic connection if it’s accidentally yanked off. With the LTE version, there’s a SIM slot located on the bottom left area of the tablet.

Type Cover

Transforming the Surface 3 from a tablet to a hybrid laptop is achieved by picking up the any of the Type Covers, which is great if you prefer the usual typing experience over touch interaction. The chicklet styled keys might make the layout cramped, but it at least offers reasonable tactility and travel to make typing very smooth and natural. And oh yeah, it’s back-lit too!

At the same time, the Type Cover doubles as a useful protective cover for the screen, and automatically turns off the screen when it’s closed over. However, it costs an additional $130 to pick it up, which undoubtedly jacks up the Surface 3’s ownership cost if you choose to go with this traditional typing experience.

Surface Pen

And there’s also the Surface Pen! Aside from being a useful thing for jotting down notes, its other purpose is to act almost like a mouse with its hovering and right click functions.

Now that the magnetic connection for the charging port is no more with the Surface 3, it means that we’ll have to be extra cognizant where we place the Surface Pen when it’s not being used – or just attach it to the Type Cover by fastening it into the small groove on the keyboard. Just know you’ll need to dish out an additional $50 to pick it up. 

Display

Aside from its weak brightness output, the screen actually carries several high-quality characteristics.

Even though it adopts the same 3:2 screen aspect ratio as the Surface Pro 3, it’s been whittled down in size and resolution. So, the result here is a 10.8-inch ClearType 1920 x 1080 display. On the numbers side, it isn't the sharpest thing with its 214 ppi pixel density, but in practical use, it’s still effective for everyday use such as typing up reports and surfing the web using the tablet, just as long it’s being used within reasonable distance. Its details deficiency only manifests if we’re to get very up close and personal to the screen.

Impressively, Microsoft has fashioned on a high-quality display onto its Surface 3 – one that achieves favorable marks in various categories. In particular, its ~6300K color temperature and gamma value of 2.17 both indicate that. Even better, the screen is able to reproduce all colors accurately in the sRGB color spectrum chart, showing us that it’s been perfectly calibrated. The only area of opportunity with it, though, is the fact that it only achieves a maximum luminance of 359 nits, which makes for a daunting challenge using it outdoors where the sun poses some issues with its visibility.

And it’s also incredibly accurate with its 10 point multi-touch detection. We really can’t complain about the screen aside from its weak brightness output, so it goes to show that the love didn’t just stop at the Surface Pro 3.

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Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) Review

Introduction

Being obsessed top tech brands’ flagship devices, we sometimes forget that not all people need a phone with a gigantic screen, the fastest processor, or the latest camera technologies. In reality, there are still folks who look for a simpler phone – one that just works, one that fits in any pocket, one that doesn’t cost a small fortune to own. TheSamsung Galaxy A3 (2016) aims to be one such phone, but how well does it match the description? Well, I used it for a week to find out!

In the box:

• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016)
• Wall charger (5V, 1.55A)
• Micro USB cable
• SIM card ejector
• Wired stereo in-ear headset (Model EHS64AVFWE)
• Quick start guide and warranty information

Design

The new Galaxy A3 is very attractive, pleasant to use, and its size makes it ideal for single-handed operation.

When I took the 2016-edition Samsung Galaxy A3 out of its box, I checked again to make sure I had received the right smartphone. I was expecting it to be a humble low-tier device, but it didn’t look like one. Pleasantly surprised, I found myself holding a phone akin to the company’s top-tier models – one built of glass, held together by a sturdy metal frame, with rounded corners and chamfered edges for a comfortable, reassuring feel when held. The easy-to-reach volume, power, and home buttons are great as well, responding with a satisfying click when pressed. And with a screen size of 4.7-inches, the new Galaxy A3 can be easily operated with a single hand – a trait fewer and fewer phones can brag with.

Alas, the appealing design of the 2016-edition Galaxy A3 has its downsides. The handset’s flat, smooth glass body gives it the tendency to slip off of flat surfaces even at the slightest angle. And that’s actually a big deal – I’m not convinced that the phone’s otherwise beautiful glass front and back plates would withstand more than a few drops from a table’s edge. 

Display

Sufficiently detailed and bright, the Galaxy A3’s Super AMOLED screen gets the job done. Color accuracy in Basic Mode is great overall.

It doesn’t take a trained eye to notice that the Galaxy A3’s 4.7-inch display is special. Built on Super AMOLED technology, it draws attention from afar with its intense, saturated to the point of exaggeration colors. I’m guessing that many people would actually find this kind of color reproduction quite appealing, yet folks who value color accuracy (such as myself) have the freedom of switching from Adaptive Mode, which set as default, to Basic Mode. The latter option, found in the Display Settings menu, produces almost ideally faithful colors across the entire spectrum, as our measurements confirm. 

Colors aside, the phone’s screen delivers 720 by 1280 pixels of resolution (312 pixels per inch), meaning that graphics and text are sharp enough. I’ve seen much more detailed screens on phones of this tier, but even on the new Galaxy A3, I’ve almost never found image detail to be insufficient or text to be difficult to read.

Before I proceed, I must say that the Galaxy A3 (2016) is perfectly usable outdoors. Its screen not only has a high brightness output of nearly 500 nits, but it also has an outdoor display mode that kicks in automatically and boosts readability even further. At night, the screen brightness goes down to 1 nit so it is easy on the eyes.

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Sony Xperia X vs Samsung Galaxy S7

Introduction

Sony is on an aggressive timeline: it’s releasing new phones every 6 months or so, but this time it’s different.

The Sony Xperia X is one of three new X series smartphones and the change from the Sony Xperia Z naming communicates that there is something more than just a slight bump in specs here. Indeed, there is: the Xperia X brings a reformulated design, a new camera sensor and a few other important changes.

And while the Xperia X does not feature the latest and most powerful Snapdragon 820 system chip, its premium price still puts it in about the same category as the best phones out there. Among those competitors, without a doubt, is the Samsung Galaxy S7: a phone of similar size and with similarly premium aesthetics. So how do the two compare? Let’s find out.

Design

Both have a stylish and beautiful design with no obvious flaws: the tapered back on the S7 makes it a slightly better in-hand fit, plus it has water-protection. Also, button placement on the Xperia X is terrible.

Sony has long been known for its excellent, stand-out designs: the Sony brand name itself is a synonym for high quality and elegance for many. However, the company’s last flagships from the Xperia Z series had very sharp edges and were a bit on the thick side.

Luckily, Sony went to the drawing board with the Xperia X: it’s not a radical re-design, but it addresses some of the nuisances of the Xperia Z5 design. It features beautifully smooth glass on the front, a stylish and durable metal back with the Xperia brand name etched, and all of that in a phone with no sharp edges that fits well in the hand. With no annoying visible antenna lines and all finished in one, unified color theme - from the back to the side and the front - the Xperia X is a true gem of modern smartphone design, balanced in every way.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 also features a very refined exterior. With a metal frame and glass on the back and the front, it’s beautiful, but maybe a tad less practical: the mirror-like finish of the back catches fingerprints very easily.

Then we have the buttons, so let’s start with the elephant in the room: the terrible button placement on the Xperia X. We don’t know who at Sony thought it was a good idea to put the volume rocker towards the bottom end of the side, but this awkward position makes it quite the annoying stretch to reach out for the volume keys. While the buttons on the Xperia X are a bit mushy (especially the lock key), the Galaxy S7 has very clicky and easy to press buttons. It shows attention to detail and that’s important. Speaking of buttons, one minor nuisance is that the Galaxy S7 home key on the front gets signs of wear and tear, even after about just a week of use. For all else, the S7 has a great design, with slight curves and tapered edges for great in-hand feel.

It’s also worth saying that the Xperia X and Galaxy S7 are very similar in size and weight. 

Surprisingly, the Xperia X lacks one important feature – a fingerprint scanner. Sony has confirmed that the Xperia X won’t have fingerprint security in its U.S. version, while the international version is said to actually feature a fingerprint reader on the lock key on the side. The Galaxy S7 has a quick and accurate fingerprint scanner embedded in its home button up front. Naturally, the S7 is also a step ahead in the mobile payments game with Samsung Pay that work via the fingerprint scanner of the phone.

Then, there is waterproofing: the Galaxy S7 can take a short plunge in water and survive it, and that’s a great thing to have, while the Xperia X lacks such protection.

Display

The Xperia X has a 5” Full HD display with oversaturated colors and bluish whites, while the Galaxy S7 offers a 5.1” Quad HD screen that looks very good in Basic mode.

Here’s the deal with displays: we’ve reached a point where most devices these days have sufficient sharpness and the main difference in display quality comes from the way they show colors. Needless to say, both the Xperia X with its 5” LCD screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and the Galaxy S7 with its 5.1” Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels meet that sharpness criteria. The extra pixels in the Galaxy S7 make a difference only if you use the phone for virtual reality, or when you stare at it from very up close.

Both are also very bright screens that are easy to read outdoors even on a sunny day.

When it comes to the way the two deal with colors, though, there are some important differences. The Xperia X comes with colors that are overblown and lean towards the colder side. Sony allows you to select two other modes (go to Settings > Display > under Quality, tap on Image Enhancement) that seem to boost color even further and add contrast to images, but that does not make colors accurate, quite the opposite. You also have the option to manually tweak red, green and blue channels (go to Settings > Display > under Quality, tap on White Balance), which may come in useful. We recognize the fact that Sony has achieved high brightness and it’s worth pointing out how well finished and laminated the screen is, so that it appears nearly flush with the cover glass, but color reproduction is disappointing.

As to the Galaxy S7, its default Adaptive mode provides similarly inaccurate colors, but Samsung provides the useful Basic screen mode (go into Settings > Display > Display Mode, and change it there), that makes all the colors on the phone appear very well balanced to the sRGB mode. We recommend using this mode. It has the slight downside of whites appearing just a bit on the green side, but for all else, it gives a very well-balanced look to colors.

The Galaxy S7 also has the neat Always-on Display feature that shows you the time plus notifications, while the Xperia X lacks such extras.

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