Bucket Tech: Samsung Galaxy S24 Series

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., has proudly unveiled the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24, unleashing new mobile experiences with Galaxy AI. This ground-breaking Galaxy S Series is paving the way into a new era that will forever change how mobile devices empower users.

AI amplifies nearly every experience on Galaxy S24 series, from enabling barrier-free communication with intelligent text and call translations, to maximizing creative freedom with Galaxy’s ProVisual Engine, to setting a new standard for search that will change how Galaxy users discover the world around them.

The global electronics giant is also thrilled to announce the pre-order availability of its highly anticipated AI-powered Galaxy S24 Series. Officially hitting the South African market on Friday, 14 February 2024, local customers can secure their Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24+, or Galaxy S24 during the pre-order offer period, which opens on January 31 and runs through to 29 February 2024. Customers who pre-order any device from the Galaxy S24 Series through participating mobile operators can get a Galaxy Tab S9 FE, starting from just R99 per month.

“The Galaxy S24 Series transforms our connection with the world and ignites the next decade of mobile innovation,” said: TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "Galaxy AI is built on our innovation heritage and deep understanding of how people use their phones. We are excited to see how our users around the world empower their everyday lives with Galaxy AI to open up new possibilities.”   

 Make Every Day Experiences Epic

Galaxy AI introduces meaningful intelligence aimed at enhancing every part of life, especially the phone’s most fundamental role: communication. When you need to defy language barriers, Galaxy S24 makes it easier than ever.

Chat with another student or colleague from abroad. Book a reservation while on vacation in another country. It is all possible with Live Translate, two-way, real-time voice and text translations of phone calls within the native app. No third-party apps are required, and on-device AI keeps conversations completely private.

With Interpreter, live conversations can be instantly translated on a split-screen view so people standing opposite each other can read a text transcription of what the other person has said. It even works without cellular data or Wi-Fi. For messages and other apps, Chat Assist can help perfect conversational tones to ensure communication sounds as it was intended: like a polite message to a co-worker or a short and catchy phrase for a social media caption.

AI built into Samsung Keyboard can also translate messages in real-time in 13 languages. In the car, Android Auto will automatically summarise incoming messages and suggest relevant replies and actions, like sending someone your ETA, so you can stay connected while staying focused on the road.

Organisation also gets a big boost with Note Assist[vi] in Samsung Notes, featuring AI-generated summaries, template creation that streamlines notes with pre-made formats, and cover creation to make notes easy to spot with a brief preview. For voice recordings, even when there are multiple speakers, Transcript Assist[vii] uses AI and Speech-to-Text technology to transcribe, summarise and even translate recordings.

Communication is not the only way Galaxy S24 Series takes the fundamental benefits of the phone into the future. Online search has transformed nearly every aspect of life. Galaxy S24 marks another milestone in the history of search as the innovative phone to debut intuitive, gesture-driven Circle to Search[viii] with Google. To give Galaxy users an incredible new tool, Galaxy turned to one of the worldwide trailblazers of search, Google, and opened up new forms of discovery with a simple gesture.

With a long press on the home button, users can circle, highlight, scribble on, or tap anything on Galaxy S24’s screen to see helpful, high-quality search results. Seeing a beautiful landmark in the background of a friend’s social media post or a surprising fun fact on YouTube Shorts can quickly become an accurate search to learn more – without having to leave that app. And depending on a user‘s location, for certain searches, generative AI-powered overviews can provide helpful information and context pulled together from across the web, and users can ask more complex and nuanced questions. It is that easy. And that epic.

 

Unleash Creativity to Discover the World in New Ways

Galaxy S24 Series’s ProVisual Engine is a comprehensive suite of AI-powered tools that transform image capturing abilities and maximise creative freedom every step of the way, from setting up a shot all the way to sharing it on social. Gone are shaky, pixelated images taken from far away. Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Quad Tele System, with new 5x optical zoom lens, works with the 50MP sensor to enable optical-quality performance at zoom levels from 2x, 3x, 5x to 10x magnification thanks to Adaptive Pixel Sensor. Images also show crystal clear results at 100x with enhanced digital zoom.

With upgraded Nightography capabilities, photos and videos shot on Galaxy S24 Space Zoom are brilliant in any conditions, even when zoomed in. Capture more light in dim conditions with Galaxy S24 Ultra’s larger pixel size, now 1.4 μm, which is 60% bigger  compared to the previous model. Blur is reduced on Galaxy S24 Ultra with wider optical image stabiliser (OIS) angles and enhanced hand-shake compensation.

When recording videos, both front and rear cameras are equipped with Dedicated ISP Block for noise reduction, and Galaxy S24 analyses gyro information to distinguish between the filmer’s movement and the subject’s. This allows more effective noise removal and clear videos in the dark, even from far away.

After great shots are captured, innovative Galaxy AI editing tools enable simple edits like erase, re-compose, and remaster. For easier and more efficient optimisations, Edit Suggestion uses Galaxy AI to suggest perfectly suitable tweaks for each photo. To give users even more creative control and freedom, Generative Edit can fill in parts of an image background with generative AI. When a picture is crooked, AI will fill in the borders.

When an object needs to be slightly moved to be in the perfect position, AI lets users adjust the position of the subject and generates a blended background in its original spot. Anytime Galaxy S24 deploys generative AI to amplify an image, a watermark will appear on the image and in metadata. And if an action-packed video needs to be slowed down, new Instant Slow-mo can generate additional frames based on movements to smoothly slow down action-packed moments for a more detailed look.

To ensure every image stuns at every stage, Super HDR reveals lifelike previews before the shutter is ever pressed. And while capturing memories is an essential phone feature, sharing memories with the world is just as meaningful. Now, third-party social apps make the most of Galaxy’s AI-powered camera system.

Premium Galaxy S Series camera features now integrate directly with mobile apps in HDR to level up social sharing. When it is time to find an image in Gallery or Instagram feed and reels, photos and videos are also shown in Super HDR for a more lifelike range of brightness, colour and contrast by analysing highlighted section of the images.

Galaxy’s Most Intelligent Experience Ever, Powered by Premium Performance

As AI becomes a more prominent part of everyday life, performance power must excel to meet the demands. Gaming. Heavy-duty video recording and editing. Jumping between five apps to plan a trip. Whatever the task, Galaxy S24 provides an incredible experience thanks to enhancements in its chipset[xv], display and more. Every Galaxy S24 Ultra is equipped with Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy.

Optimised especially for Galaxy users, this chipset delivers remarkable NPU improvement for incredibly efficient AI processing. In all three Galaxy S24 models, 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rates also improve performance efficiency. Galaxy gaming is more powerful thanks to hardware and software improvements. Galaxy S24 Ultra boast an optimal thermal control system with a1.9 times larger vapor chamber, improving device surface temperature, while also maximising sustained performance power.

Ray tracing enables lifelike visuals with superior shadow and reflection effect. And through collaboration with formidable gaming partners, Galaxy S24 let users enjoy more optimised, popular global mobile games. Visuals are more vibrant and captivating on the brightest Galaxy display ever. Galaxy S24 reaches 2,600nit peak brightness and delivers improved outdoor visibility with Vision Booster.

On the display, Corning® Gorilla® Armor on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is optically enhanced and strives to demonstrate superior durability against damage caused by every day scratches. It delivers dramatically reduced reflection by up to 75% in a wide range of lighting conditions, ensuring a smooth, comfortable viewing experience. Across the Galaxy S24 Series, design enhancements with slimmer and even bezels make it easier to immerse in any viewing experience and enable larger screen sizes on Galaxy S24+’s 6.7-inch and Galaxy S24’s 6.2-inch displays within nearly the same size specifications. Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 6.8-inch flatter display, optimised not just for viewing but also for productivity. Plus, Galaxy S24+ now supports the same level of QHD+ found on Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Advanced Security and Privacy Empowers User Choice and Trust

Secured by Samsung Knox, Galaxy’s defense-grade, multi-layer security platform, Galaxy S24 safeguards critical information and protects against vulnerabilities with end-to-end secure hardware, real-time threat detection and collaborative protection. Samsung’s long-standing commitment to provide users choice and control over their device continues in the era of AI. Galaxy S24 users have full controllability over how much they allow their data to enhance AI experiences, through Advanced Intelligence settings, which can disable online processing of data for AI features.

The Knox Matrix vision of a secure, connected and password-less future is also advanced with passkeys. Passkeys enable convenient and secure access to a users’ registered websites and apps across all their trusted devices through digital credentials, helping protect against phishing attacks.

Enhanced Data Protection offers end-to-end encryption when users backup, sync or restore their data with Samsung Cloud, allowing Galaxy S24 users to connect to other devices while staying synchronised and secure. This is in an effort to ensure that data can only be encrypted or decrypted on a user’s devices, meaning nobody can see it but the user, even if a server is compromised or account details are stolen. And if access to a trusted device is lost, a recovery code can help prevent loss of data.

Galaxy S24 is also protected with Samsung’s expansive list of innovative security and privacy features including Knox Vault, Security & Privacy Dashboard, Auto Blocker, Secure Wi-Fi, Private Share, Maintenance Mode and more.

The Next Phase of Samsung’s Environmental Journey

Establishing a new category of mobile experiences also means re-imagining how Galaxy technology is designed and packaged to do more with less for people and the planet. Galaxy S24 continues to scale the variety of recycled materials in Galaxy devices by applying recycled plastics, glass and aluminium to internal and external components.

It also takes these efforts one step further. For the first time, Galaxy S24 features components made with recycled cobalt and rare earth elements. In Galaxy S24 Ultra, a minimum of 50% recycled cobalt was used in the battery, and 100% recycled rare earth elements were incorporated into the speakers. Galaxy S24 is also the first Galaxy S Series to be designed with recycled steel and Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU). Galaxy S24 Ultra features a minimum of 40% recycled steel in the speakers, and it includes a minimum of 10% pre-consumer recycled TPU in the side and volume keys. Additionally, every Galaxy S24 comes in a packaging box made from 100% recycled paper material.

The latest flagship continues Samsung’s commitment to extending the product lifecycle, offering seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates to help users reliably experience the optimised performance of their Galaxy devices for even longer[xxviii]. Lastly, Galaxy S24 is UL ECOLOGO® certified, and its carbon footprint has been measured and verified by The Carbon Trust.

Galaxy S24 is a demonstration of progress against Samsung MX’s environmental roadmap. Samsung remains steadfast in delivering on its set of goals to be achieved by the end of 2025. At the end of 2022, Samsung achieved the first of these goals by incorporating recycled materials in all mobile products, from Galaxy smartphones and tablets to PCs and wearables. Today, the company is setting a new recycled material goal. By 2030, Samsung will incorporate at least one recycled material in every module of every mobile product.

Precision Technology and Elegance in Every Detail

Galaxy S24 Ultra is the first-ever Galaxy phone to feature a titanium frame[xxxiii], enhancing device durability and longevity. Galaxy S24 Ultra’s significantly thinner body enables better on-the-go experience with more comfortable grip. On Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24, a streamlined One-mass design satisfies a more aesthetic standard with seamless connection between the device’s rear cover and side frame.

The Galaxy S24 series comes in Earth mineral-inspired colour tones. On Galaxy S24 Ultra, colours include: Titanium Gray, Titanium Black, Titanium Violet and Titanium Yellow. On Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 colours include: Onyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet and Amber Yellow. All three models will come with additional colours available online only.

Additionally, Samsung is offering a trade-in option. Customers who pre-order any device through retail or cash channels, including the Samsung eStore, Samsung Brand Stores, Incredible Connection, Game, Makro, will Take-A-Lot, and receive a generous R4000 in-store voucher or an impressive R10,000 trade-in cash back.

As part of the special-pre-order offer, customers can opt for one year of Samsung Care Plus at a reduced rate of R499. This exclusive offer includes one screen replacement within a year from the date of purchase, providing customers with peace of mind. Activation of the Samsung Care Plus offer must occur within 30 days of purchase

Bucket Seat: Audi A3 35 TFSI

Audi's A3 has always been an important model in its line-up for the brand, it's one of the most preferred medium sized premium car in its class. Offered in both a sportback and sedan, both variants seem to do fairly well in the local market and its really difficult to say which one outsells the other. The latest generation in the A3 was launched in Q3 of last year and I had the chance to sample the S3 which I reviewed in October 2021, which really did whet ones appetite as to what we can expect from the much anticipated Audi RS3 but while these performance versions of the A3 are the ones that draw all the attention and limelight, with the ongoing increase in fuel prices, it's models like the one I'm reviewing today that might start to be appealing to many. Also what is interesting to note, that VW have opted not to bring their full engine line-up for the new Golf 8 and are sticking to just the GTI and R might see prospective buyers cast their eyes onto Audi for models like the 35 and 40 TFSI's. 

DESIGN

The design of the new generation A3 is superb, its bold and striking with the new grille being the focal point of the car and the edgy headlamps with its matrix LED system that adds the aesthetics to capture the eyes of people as it cruises past. This particular model in Turbo Blue and the S Line kit exudes sportiness, side profile of the car is extremely sleek, keeping that low stance exuding that sporty look. Being the sportback model there is no boot, and it tapers off to the the hatch shape with rear almost as striking as the front, with the rear light also featuring a LED design that includes the welcome dance when unlocking and locking the car. The S Line kit gives the rear bumper a menacing diffuser with imitation vents either side finished off in that honeycomb grille styling. On the wheels, 18" Y-Spoke graphic grey, diamond-turned rims adorned the car, while there is a 19" rim on offer, I think this would be the preferred choice. On the inside, the entire design and feel of this interior seems on a class of its own when compared to other cars in this segment, it's very modern, mature, full of tech but minimalistic in its own right. Everything is driver cockpit centric and fits the new Audi design language to the T. 

PERFORMANCE

While only powered by a 1.4-litre turbo-charge motor, you won't find this car struggling with performance. It's pretty nippy with the engine output coming in at 110kW and 250Nm of torque, all this is controlled by an 8-speed tiptronic gearbox which is sublime. I know its not the S tronic box that many are used to on the higher end models but is better suited to this smaller engine. It offers better gear ratios in the various driving modes, ensuring maximum power delivery while still being economical. Mind you when driving in dynamic mode, fuel economy isn't the first thing on your mind and experiencing what this engine can offer, you'll soon forget about what your fuel average is as this car can deliver on performance, fast acceleration with a 0-100km/h time of 8.2 seconds, minimal turbo-lag and with the low center of gravity you get from the cockpit, it just makes the whole experience quite exciting. This model didn't have the four-wheel Quattro drive system but still felt very planted and quite easy to control around the bends. Composed driving with this car gave me an average fuel consumption of around 7.8L per 100km, almost bang on with what the brochure claims for urban use. 

COMFORT

This car is much lower than I expected it to be, given that it is a sporty hatchback, but even with you being so low the ride quality was still quite soft and comfy, I think the 18" rims played a big role with that as you would experience a bit more bumpiness had it been fitted with the 19" options. The car has dual-zone climate control for the driver and passengers, with the large panoramic sunroof, keeping the temperature regulated while the hot Durban sun beamed down onto that glass roof with the curtain open isn't easy but the A3's coped quite well to keep the interior cool. Being fitted with the S Line kit, the interior options included a leather arm rest, "Dark Aluminum Spektrum" finish on the dash, outlines and doors. Audi S Line emblems on the door plates and seats, pedals and foot rest in stainless steel and sport seats for the driver and front passenger with the option of having the seats fully electric and memory settings. The steering wheel was the famous leather-wrapped multi-function plus wheel with paddle shift for that 8-speed gearbox and the signature flat-bottom. The car comes with Audi's latest MMI touch screen interface with Audi Connect, which has built-in mobile applications, a virtual cockpit for the drivers instrument cluster and that Bang & Olufsen Premium Sound System with 3D sound which made cruising around town all that more enjoyable while listening to your favourite tracks. 

VERDICT 

Overall the Audi A3 was nothing short of sublime in my books, spending a week with it really opened my eyes as to why this model has been so particular well received by many in the past. It's so much more than just a premium hatchback or sportback as they like to call it now. It's definitely grown and matured to be quite a versatile car where it could be appealing to a youngster looking to upgrade to a more premium car, an ideal vehicle for a small family with ever the option to get it in a sedan format. The level of technology that this car comes with is similar to that on the higher end models so you know you're getting the best of what is on offer from the brand and that is something I really like that from Audi. Like I said at the beginning of this review, with VW opting not to introduce lower end engines to their line-up, this might be worth a look for others, yes pricing will be a bit steeper than what you'd expect a Golf to be but given the base price of R601,000 that still is R80,000 cheaper than the GTI so it is definitely an option to consider. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	1.4L TFSI
Gear Box	8-Speed Tiptronic
Torque	250Nm
Power	110kW
Top Speed	219km
Price	R601,000*

*base price, price as tested R800,000

 

Bucket Tech: Samsung Galaxy Note 10+

Last week global electronic giants Samsung dropped their all-new flagship business device, the Galaxy Note 10 range. Samsung say it's "designed to bring passions to life with next level power" and given that the Note has been the ultimate business companion over the past few years, one would expect nothing less with this new model. The Galaxy Note is a premium smartphone that combines elegant design with powerful performance productivity tools to help users make the most of the every moment. For the first time the Galaxy Note has been introduced in two sizes, the Note which comes with a 6.3" cinematic infinity display and the Note 10+ which features the biggest display on a Note device to date, a 6.8" cinematic display which Samsung say is on a device that is still easy to hold and use. 

Samsung have pushed to the edge in terms of design, as the Galaxy Note 10 features an almost bezel-less design, giving the user an optimal screen to body ratio which also helps with the overall size of the device. It creates the most immersive display as a seamless experience between thought and action, viewing and creating. The screen is the best in quality, as it features the award winning dynamic AMOLED display with HDR10+ certification. It also has dynamic tone mapping which makes photos and videos brighter than previous Note devices. Eye Comfort was an important factor in the display and it reduces blue light without affecting colour quality for comfortable viewing. 

A trademark and key feature of the Galaxy Note has been it's S Pen, while controversial to some as pen's on smart devices have become obsolete over the past decade due to the evolution of the touch screen, Samsung still make it work. The S Pen is Bluetooth enabled and has low energy usage so it won't die on you when you need it the most, like the Note 9, the S Pen on the Note 10 allows air actions, allowing you to control certain aspects of the device using gestures, with the S Pen. This can be uses in applications, as playing games. The key feature however is the handwriting to text feature where you jot down notes, and have it converted to text instantly on your device in Samsung Notes and export it to other applications including Microsoft Word.  

The Galaxy Note 10 makes use of a triple lens camera, with the Note 10 having a 16MP Ultra wide angle lens, a 12MP wide angle and a 12MP telephoto lens. While the Note 10+ features the same but with an added depth vision camera. The camera's allow you to take pictures in low light which make photos at night all that more better to take as well as low light situations. Video recording has been upgraded on this device with premium video technology that has live focus video which adds depth of field adjustments, and has an improved super steady stabilizes to make sure the footage isn't shaky or blurry. 

The Note 10 is 5G ready but with our networks still only supporting LTE, it's nice to know your device is ready when the switch will come about. Battery wise the Note comes with a 3,500mAh battery while the Note 10+ has a 4,300mAh battery which has super fast charging, wireless charging  and wireless power share capabilities. Overall, The Galaxy Note and Note 10+ aren't here to play games, these are Samsung's premium flagship devices, not only do they look great but performance and features speak for them self. Both devices will be available locally from the 30th of August in Aura Glow, Aura White and Aura black. For more news you can visit the Samsung Mobile website.

Bucket Seat: Honda CR-V 1.5T Exclusive AWD

Starting off the year with a new manufacturer is always good, and this time we would like to introduce a name that is synonymous for their reliability, strong brand reputation and undeniably great cars, it is none other than Honda. For long Honda played second fiddle to the other major motor manufacturer from Japan, but while they both maybe from the same country, there is a distinct difference in the type of motor vehicle being produced but one thing they do share is their strong reliability. Honda has prided itself on their service and after sales service, there was a point where they said the spares room at a Honda service center had a lot of dust in there since hardly any one went in there. Take from that what you may, but moving on to the car at hand, the all new CR-V, when I took delivery of it, I was quite surprised by its size. It has grown a lot from the original which started off as a mid-size SUV, now it's put on some bulk and really looking great.

STYLE

The overall design of the car is on point, keeping the uniformed shape of the front from Honda with the elongated grille tying in to the long and slanted headlights, the car does look rather intimidating from the front. With the 1.5T Exclusive which I was driving, it came with LED fog lamps which added to its character. Chrome finishing on the grille and the large Honda emblem gave the car a premium look. From the side, the car looked meticulous, with all the right lines and edges, all looked like they were ironed out and leveled, then moving to the back, the large rear lights were continue up following the length and slope of the rear window brings out the Japanese design element to the car. If you look at the back from straight on, it actually looks like the  Transformers logo.  Again, finishing on the exterior is class, with chrome in all the right places, stainless steel dual exhaust pipers, and those rims look like blender blades. Moving onto the inside, again great quality of finishes with the whole dash setup quite nicely. Steering controls gave you access to pretty much everything apart from the aircon, the digital instrumental panel allowed you to choose what you'd like displayed and the large infortainment touch screen made up for all the rest. 

PERFORMANCE

The CR-V is a big car and when I told people it has a 1.5 liter engine powering it, they were a bit skeptical and with good reason too. With big cars like this, fitted with smaller engines with turbo's, the turbo's tend to take strain over time but with the CR-V it's a bit different thanks to the DOHC setup and the CVT automatic gearbox. The engine pushes our 140kW with 240Nm of torque, while it at times feels like the car is under-powered, it's just the lag from the boost build up of the turbo. The car is a bit thirsty if you're heavy on the foot but for normal cruising, it should just fine as they boast a claimed fuel consumption of 7L/100km. I got close to that at times, but most of the time not. I blame my timing since I was always in a rush to go places. 

COMFORT

While the CR-V is big, it's still a 5 seater SUV, and not 7, plus the seats are larger than normal so cramming another 2 in the boot might be an overkill. It's suffice how it is, and boy is it roomy! From the driver and front passenger to the rear, there is more than enough space and leg room. The seats as mentioned previously are quite big and ultra comfy and fully adjustable with the driver getting memory seats as well as lumbar support. It also has heated seats for the people in the front. The CR-V comes with dual climate control as well, perfect for the Durban humidity and if you want some fresh air the full glass panoramic roof opens to allow some of that natural oxygen in. 

TECHNOLOGY

Being the top of the range model, the CR-V 1.5T Exclusive is packed with cool tech. From Bluetooth streaming to multiple USB ports for both front and rear passengers, heck its even got an HDMI port! It has integrated Satellite Navigation and is Apple CarPlay compatible. The coolest feature for me though had to be the cameras. While it had the standard reverse camera, it also came with another two more, one mounted on the spoiler so you could get an aerial view of exactly how far away you are from an object and the kicker for me was the side mirror camera mounted on the left side mirror which came on every time you indicated left, it is meant for you to use when changing lanes so you can see on the TFT screen if there isn't any cars there but it just looked so damn cool that I kept indicating left for no damn reason!

VERDICT

The Honda CR-V has certainly come a long way over the years and this current model is a stunner. With a base price of R422 900 for the 2,0 Comfort, is rather impressive for a car of this size. There are a few things I didn't like about the one I had but it is really minor, for starters, the gears, its very easy to slot the selector into Sports instead of Drive, which explains why my fuel usage was a bit high since I always put it in Sports gear, and some of the interior trimmings felt a bit too plastic but other than that, the CR-V really impressed me and being my first test car from Honda, I look forward to seeing what comes next. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	1.5 liter, 4 Cylinder, VTEC Turbo
Gear Box	7 Speed CVT gearbox with paddle shift
Power	140kW
Torque	240Nm
Top Speed	200km/h
Economy	7 L/100km
Price	R626,900

Pictures by YuviK Photography & Avish_Karr

Bucket Tech: iPhone X - First Impressions

The lead up to this week's Apple Event was all about the new iPhone, with the current available model on the market being the 7, in natural Apple progression, the next model to be released would be the 7s but with the 10 year anniversary of the iPhone being this year many in the know said that Apple would skip the S model and unveil the 8. They were bang on the money with that prediction but in true Steve Jobs fashion, Tim Cook and Apple had "One More Thing" up his sleeve for the night... the iPhone X.

Now I know many, when I say many I mean people other than fans of Apple, might be thinking what is this all about? Well, essentially the iPhone X is the iPhone 10, it pays tribute to 10 years of iPhone and it is the baddest one they've made to date. I mean I normally am a bit skeptical of the products they make, sure they're built well, work well but it's more often over hyped and more likely to cost you an arm and both legs. I'm pretty sure the same could be said about the X but the technology being showcased in this phone is great. Fair enough most Android phones have had these features for a while now and when the iPhone 7 was launched I spoke about how we were so used to Apple coming up with these great features but now it's time for them to play catch and that isn't always a bad thing. Sure the technology is out there but with anything, there will be problems, so if someone has invented it, you can borrow and perfect it. I'm pretty sure that is what Tim and his staff did. Lets take a look at some of the key features into this ultimate iPhone.

First thing that strikes you is the display, in previous generations of the iPhone, the displays always have had borders around them and the standard home key which doubled as a finger print reader. Well with the iPhone X, that got tossed out. The entire front of the device is a screen, yip, with a minimalistic frame which houses the 5.8inch super retina display, only a small portion at the top houses some sophisticated tech which includes sensors, a front facing camera and face ID technology. I know what you're thinking, what does it need face ID recognition for? Well remember how I said they phased out the home button, that button also served as a finger print reader for the phone, now with this gone, the iPhone X uses face recognition software to unlock your phone! Now while there have been many memes that's done the rounds making fun of this feature, you got to admit, that is pretty cool. 

Lets talk about the build quality now, I think we can all agree that the iPhones are made pretty well. Can't say the same about the screens but overall when you hold an iPhone is feels like a well made device, not some cheap tacky mobile you bought from a dodgy corner shop. The iPhone X will be manufactured with surgical stainless steel, yes normal steel just wasn't good enough, that they using a high grade class steel to made this device. Here's the kicker though, both the front and the back of the phone will have "durable" glass on the front and the back. Not sure they're going to be using Corningware Gorilla Glass for this or they've developed their own but for the sake of prospective buyers, I hope it's pretty strong stuff. The glass front and back does give the device a super premium look if I could say so oh and the iPhone X will be dust and splash proof, just in case you spill some Apple juice on it. 

Now the most important feature on an iPhone, the camera! The iPhone X like the 7 and 8 will have a dual lens camera configuration but Apple wanted to make it different and rotated the lens, how this helps, I don't really know but long as it takes awesome pictures of food, sunsets and craft beer right? The camera is a larger and faster 12MP sensor. A new colour filter with deeper pixels and new telephoto camera with OIS. It has depth-sensing cameras and precise facial mapping creating striking studio quality lighting effects. Both rear cameras have optical image stabilization and fast lenses for outstanding photos and videos even in low light. With the wide angle and telephoto cameras on the device, this enables optical zoom as well as digital zoom of up to 10 x for photos and 6 x for videos. 

Overall this phone looks the business and really outshone the iPhone 8 which was also launched on the same night, was that a stupid move from Apple though? Killing off their own product with another one of theirs? Well yes and no, the iPhone X is a special device, so it will have a special price tag. It also has the fastest chipset and CPU than any other of their devices so it really depends on what the consumer needs and how much they can afford. Pricing has only been made available in dollars which is pretty useless to us because simply converting it won't give us a true indication of how much the phone will cost us. We will just have to wait and see along with when it will reach our shores. 

Bucket Seat: The new BMW 7 Series

Couple weeks back BMW lifted the covers on the much anticipated new 7 series, being the flagship model from the German manufacturer, a lot of what the car has to offer now will be filtered into future models. The car has changed a lot from concept stages which is sad as I quite liked the look of the Vision, it was bold and different where as the new 7 doesn't look that much different from its predecessor, okay it is slightly bigger and bolder but not striking like the concept. Guess I'm just upset about that part. 

But its good to see BMW didn't drop most of the gadgets and cool stuff, hand gestures are a real thing, touch control aircon, laser lights, remote control park which is damn cool! The body structure is made from a new carbon fibre re-inforced plastic compound that has reduced weight of the car significantly, almost by 130kgs! An all new engine line up which includes a 740e plug in hybrid.

Being bigger, the cars comforts levels have been improved with increased space for passengers. Staying on the inside, as always there will be a host of interior trims, colours and textures to chose from. There is an executive lounge option for the car that comes with automatic 4 zone air conditioning, electrically adjustable seats with massage functionality with a foot rest. Other features include a fold out table, extra cup holders and a removable 7" tablet that fits onto the center console and controls all the functions stated.

Anyway as cool as the back may sound, its up front is where the action is. Gesture control as mentioned before is a big one, for now it's limited to things such as audio control and phone calls. The infotainment screen is now touch sensitive so you can control it like an iPad. Standard iDrive toggles will still be available if you chose to still do things the old school way.

There's still loads to this car that I haven't even begun to talk about and I'm sure there's more we will learn about it as we wait for local launch which could be early next year. As much as I am disappointed with the cars exterior design, there's no denying that they have made up for it in abundance every where else. Like I said, most of what we seeing here will be phased into the BMW's of the future as BMW Group's Senior Vice President, Adiran van Hooydonk said "At BMW we believe the future can be predicted most effectively if we're helping to shape it. The primary objective in the development of the new car was to create a vision of modern luxury and to exceed our customers expectations."

                     

Bucket Tech: LG G3 - Review

Even the box is fancy

When people are due for an upgrade for their smart phone, natural instincts will direct them to the internet to read reviews on the latest gadgets that's thrown out their by the various brands. Most reviews are long and filled with technical mumbo jumbo that you don't understand but boast to your friends anyway because it makes your phone sound cool. A few weeks ago I was given the LG G3 to review but I'm putting a twist to this one, instead of regurgitating what everyone else is writing about, I'm going to take a leaf from the brand's marketing slogan for the phone "simple is the new smart" and give you a simplified, first hand experience with the phone and how it will affect your life on a daily basis.

Looks

Having attended the launch and seeing what the phone was capable of, I was pretty excited to get this phone for reviewing purposes. Playing with it for 30 minutes is one thing but having it a part of your daily routine makes a big difference and that is where the true test comes in. Lets start of with the cosmetics, the phone definitely looks the part, with its brushed aluminium finish available in various colours, 5.5" LCD screen and no buttons on the front make the phone sleek and sexy in appearance. The main power button and volume buttons are quote oddly located on the back of the phone, LG says it makes them more accessible when using the phone with one hand...yeah, didn't really do it for me. There are also flap covers available for the phone with a first of its kind round cut out for a display interface. I highly recommend the cover as I found the phone if dropped, can scratch easily.

Quad HD display is phenomenal

Display

Undoubtly one of the main talking points about the LG G3 is its screen, I kid you not when I say this, it will leave you speechless. It's the first phone to use Quad HD technology, what is Quad HD? Well precisely what the name says, four times HD. The screen has pixel density of 538ppi, which basically means the quality of the images view are true-to-life. LG is setting the standard with this one for future brands to follow and I'm glad they're settled for a 5,5" screen. It seems the norm size but it keeps the phones physical size to a respectable level and you won't feel like you're carrying around a phablet. Of course there is a catch to this phenomenal screen, with the clarity and brightness being so high, it uses a massive amount of battery life. Just over 30% to be exact!

Picture taken at night, on Auto mode with low light

Camera

With many of our current smart phones, the camera's are good but not great. The guys at LG took this into consideration when deciding on the camera that came with the G3. In the end what they've created is nothing short of magical, a 13 megapixel camera with optical image stabilizer and laser focus which translates to the end user take almost perfect pictures all the time, every time, anytime, anywhere and in any lighting conditions. Laser focus enables the phone to focus on the object in milli seconds, allowing the user to snap almost real time pictures, therefore not missing a second of the action. Couple this with the optical image stabilizer and blurred pictures are a thing of the past. There are occasions it does take a while to focus but when I say a while, its still way faster than any phone out there. It also has dual flashes which make pictures much more clearer and adds more detail to whats being captured. 

Taking selfies with help from Chia of the Socialite

Selfies Made Easy

The front camera is pretty decent at 2.1 megapixels, the clarity difference is very noticeable but one of the key features of it has to be the selfie detection. We live in an era where taking a selfie is becoming as important as breathing for some and with one having to press a button to capture it, it often moves the phone and you end up taking 50 selfies before chosing one to post to instagram. With the LG G3, it has a built in gesture control to activate the camera. It's quite neat to use as I demonstrated with many during the time in which I had the phone, simply activate the front facing camera, get everyone in the frame, open your palm and make sure it is visible in the screen, when ready to take a picture, clench your first to capture. It will give you a 3 second countdown and capture the perfect selfie every time. This will save you plenty of time in the future and make you look less of a nana. 

Smart Notice

Operating System

The make or break thing for me on a phone is the OS, Android has flooded the market with the various brands but many of them choose not to customise it too much which leaves me and others feeling that there is just too much to the thing. Not saying that it's bad, some people do feel like they want to be operating the Starship Enterprise when using their smart phone but for others, they just want something simple to operate, hence they keep going back to Apple. LG however have taken the step to customise Android's KitKat v4.4.2 to their phone. Simplifying the OS to the devices needs and cutting out all the other junk that you would find on a standard Android device. It makes the device much more user friendly to operate for everyone. I guess that's what they meant by "simple is the new smart" because at the end of the day, your cellphones primary use is to make and receive phone calls, well and now to receive whatsapp messages. 

Google Now tracking my where abouts

Google Intergration

Being Android, the phone is fully Google functional, what I found pretty cool was the voice activated Google search, by use of a trigger sentence "Okay Google", it will open up the search menu, awaiting your search instruction. So you can search for something on the internet without having to type anything! Google has integrated itself well and the phone also comes with Google Now, which pretty much is like a PA for you, or a creepy stalker that tracks your every move. No really it does, it will gather that the place you stayed at over night is home, and track your daily travel routes, notifying you if there are any delays on the route. It even tracks your location to bring you precise weather reports of the area you're in! The phone has access to Google's play store which has thousands of applications to chose from, besides the social media apps, one can find almost anything that they might find interesting. LG also have a store of their own but that is mainly for applications realted to the phone. 

Accessories

As mentioned before, the phone will have LG covers available for it, LG have also released a wireless charging mat for the G3, the downside to it is that is has to be plugged in to charge, so I don't really see the point. With Nokia's it worked as a portable battery pack. The main accessory for the G3 would have to be it's watch, what makes it different and miles apart from its competitors devices is that you can use it on any android device and is not limited to LG products. The watch also makes use of Googles voice activated menu which makes usability effortless. 

Verdict

While there may be some flaws with the phone, such as build quality and battery life, there is no phone out there at the moment that is perfect but I'd like to say that this one is almost near perfect. Most of the features and key aspects of the phone is revolutionary which is basically setting standards for others to follow. Add to that the good looks and simplified Android user interface LG have modified and you really do have a winning phone. The only other phone that came come close to this is the Oneplus Plus but with limited stock and only available to purchase via invite, LG is sure to have that part of the market sorted. Many times I get asked the question on which is the best phone on the market and I always tell people that the answer is based on user preference because we were flooded with similar devices but at long last there is a device that stands out from the rest of the crowd and while LG might not be very popular with the main crowd, they sure do have a great product out.

Specifications

Processor: Quad-core 2.5GHz Krait 400

Memory: 16gig onboard with 2 gigs of RAM

Screen: 5.5" Quad HD LCD, 16 million colours, 1440 x 2560 resolution

Camera: Back - 13 megapixel with optical image stabiliser & laser autofocus, Front - 2.1 megapixel

Battery life: Talk time - 19 hours, Standby - 565 hours

Some pics taken with the phone