If you’ve been using Android for a while, you may have noticed that Search is slowing being overtaken by Assist in most of the operating system. It’s an integral part of the way Google wants you to use Android; search, AI, and home automation now all live in the Assistant.
However, that doesn’t mean you are stuck using Google for simpler tasks like Search. You have the option to change this default — if you know where to look.
What it does
This tutorial will show you how to change your default Assist app to something other than Google. This could be many apps but is essentially a web-browser alternative. Firefox, DuckDuckGo, and Opera can all be set to handle Assist searches in place of Chrome.
How to make it work?
As with most things Android-related, you need to find your way to the Settings app to start this journey. From there you’ll use the following steps to fully change the Assist options.
Check to make sure new option is toggled in Assist app
Congrats
There you go! You should now have your alternative app enabled for most Assist options. There are a few caveats to this change. First, many apps use custom Chrome tabs for internal web browser options. This will not change with the Assist app alteration.
Another side-effect is that dedicated Chrome options may no longer work. For instance, on the Pixels with Active Edge the squeeze is specifically designed to be used with Google Chrome. There are no APIs for this feature and it will stop working if you change the Assist function to say Firefox. Otherwise, enjoy your new defaults!
As it comes to mobile accessories, wireless earphones are all the rage. We’ve gone from cutting the tether and going Bluetooth to cutting any and all cords. Today’s consumers have an abundant array of options in the space with prices and features for all budgets.
The EOZ Air earphones, which started out as a crowd-funded project in late 2017, offer up a compelling package for the money. They play on the same field as higher-end earphones but come in with a price tag that’s more wallet-friendly.
We’ve had a chance to play with the EOZ Air for a few weeks and have put together our thoughts. Please read on for our review of the wireless earphones.
In the Box
In addition to the wireless earphones, buyers receive a USB Type-C charging cable, three pairs of silicone eartips, two pairs of memory-foam eartips, a 2200mAh charging case, and a leather leash for wearing around the neck.
Design
Thanks to the materials employed in building them, the EOZ Air have a premium look and feel to them. The nano-coated Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic and aluminum, and gold-plated charging pins provide a lightweight yet sturdy design.
The earphones are IPX6 rated which means they’ll stand up to water and sweat without effort. You’ll still wanna wipe em off or dry them but these aren’t going to deteriorate because of vigorous workouts.
The Bluetooth 5.0 technology is refreshing when many manufacturers still use 4.1 and 4.2. This is not only stronger but smarter. Automatic pairing and more consistent connection are two features we can get behind.
The EOZ Air are able to provide around 90 hours of usage; the earphones allow for about six hours at a time while the charging case packs a generous battery backup. Moreover, the case has USB Type-C charging. This area alone elevates the status of the earphone experience.
We often go with the default eartips on earphones and earbuds but appreciate having extra options. There are plenty included in the package including both silicon and memory-foam. Feel free to play around here and find a fit and feel that’s right for you.
Performance
We found the EOZ Air to be rather accomplished considering their price. Over the last few weeks we tested these in a variety of manners, ranging from audiobooks and podcasts in louder environments to thumping music in quiet scenarios.
The range seems to be fairly wide across the board but we did experience a few instances where things were generally flat. Layered music didn’t get to breathe like we’d like but we didn’t come in expecting much more. Largely, these did most music justice. Phone calls and voice sounded great.
The real draw here is the battery life. We really enjoyed having what amounts to a couple of weeks worth of juice in the earphones. Given we use them 1-2 hours per day, on average, we could imagine going an entire month without having to charge up the case.
Speaking of which, we welcome the USB Type C port with open arms. Now that most of our phones and devices are over to this standard, it’s nice to not need a separate cable.
The same could be said of Bluetooth 5.0, too. This is one of those technologies where once you have it you don’t like going backward. Connectivity, range, battery life, and general performance are all punched up with the 5.0 tech.
The IPX6 protective coating is nice but it’s not fully waterproof. It’s good for rain and splashes but they’re not intended for immersion. That’s fine for us. The sweat resistance is more of the concern and we’re glad to see that here.
Conclusion
We were impressed with the overall package and think $110 is a fair asking price. We might have liked to see Google Assistant technology but recognize that it might have added to the overall bottom line.
The battery life is among the best we’ve seen in truly wireless earbuds/earphones and it’s a huge selling point. Sound was good and on par with expectations and the selection of eartips made for the perfect comfortable fit.
Suffice it to say, finding the right headphones for your needs or budget doesn’t require much effort in 2019. Truth be told, it’s a fairly crowded space with seemingly endless options.
While some headphone makers focus on price point others may care more about comfort or battery life. Then there are brands like House of Marley, whose values center around mindfully sourced materials, sustainability, and being environmentally conscious. At the same time, it produces quality audio products.
We’ve had a pair of the Exodus headphones in our possession for a couple of weeks and are happy to share our impressions.
Design
The Exodus are what House of Marley refer to as a flagship product and offer up 30 hours of playtime per charge. With Bluetooth 5.0 and USB charging they have rotating and folding ear cups with 50mm drivers.
The eco-friendly wood and aluminum design is both practical and fashionable. The cups slide up and down independently with a self-tightening leather strip across the top. These, coupled with the memory foam in each cup, lead to a comfortable and personable fit.
We found these headphones to be soft and inviting and each time we put them on felt like slipping on a pair of brand new socks and shoes. Even longer listening sessions were enjoyable with no fatigue on the temples, ears, or crown of the head.
The buttons are easy to identify once you’ve worn the headphones a time or two. They’re low enough profile that you might shoot pass them the first couple of times you wear them; however, once you come understand how they’re configured they work well. Each of them responds nicely to touch with solid feedback and audible clicks.
The wood grain is a nice departure from other headphones. Often we see plastic or aluminum employed and/or other materials susceptible to smudges, oil, and fingerprints. Wood doesn’t do that whatsoever.
Similarly, the foam on the ear cups also take things in stride. We didn’t detect any noticeable oils or sweat marks on the pads in our few weeks of testing. To be fair, we’ve not taken these out on a hot day or for extended use in warmer air.
In tossing the headphones in a bag, on the desk, and just giving them the normal wear and tear we did not see any hints of weakness. That is to say that the hinges and materials feel just the same three weeks later and that nothing has gotten sloppy or loose.
Performance
The House of Marley Exodus headphones provide a sound that is a little bit heavy on bass. For most people that doesn’t exactly sound like a problem – and it’s really not. And, to be fair, it’s not the same when you listen using the wired connection.
When listening to music via Bluetooth connection the bottom feels thicker with a somewhat muddy midrange. At the top, you get a clear sound but it’s not as crisp or refined as other models. This isn’t exclusive to this model, though, as it’s common with Bluetooth headphones.
Going through the (tangle-free!) wired connection things even out quite a bit. Nearly every bit of the experience gets “tighter” and cleaner. As much as we like the convenience of wireless headphones, it makes more sense to use the 3.5mm cable if you’re going for an extended playlist.
A lot of what we listened to sounded as good, if not better, than expected. In both Bluetooth and tethered connections, the experience was a delight, treating all genres pretty much equally.
Battery life was fantastic with upwards of 30 hours of playback promised per charge. As a general rule we like to charge up our headphones every few days/listens just to be safe. Not once in our time with the Exodus did we worry about the battery running out.
Put the headphones on a charge (USB-C) for just a few minutes and you’ll get an hour’s worth of music. We understand that a two-hour charge is all that’s required to fully replenish the battery.
Conclusion
At $200 the headphones aren’t just an impulse purchase. Get into this price range and you have to be a little more measured or deliberate in your buying decisions.
We appreciate that the Exodus offer flexibility in having both wired and wireless connections as well as a more than generous battery. The sound quality is on par with expectations, if not a little higher.
The wood, aluminum, and leather are not only sharp looking, but they’re environmentally responsible, too. They look unlike most cans and you’re doing good things by Mother Earth in the process.
Headphones like these are in investment, and this isn’t the sort of money that everyone wants to spend. But, for those who have a little extra set aside for an audio experience, the House of Marley Exodus are worth the price. With graduation season underway these would make a great gift for students heading off to college this fall.
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When it comes to headphones and earphones we think of the space as an embarrassment of riches. Everywhere you look you find new players entering the game, hoping to compete with older, more established brands. It’s not hard to find something that fits your budget and feature set.
One company hoping to make an impression, Origem, thinks it has a solution worth your time and money. Its latest model, the HS-3, is billed as the world’s first HDR (high dynamic range) of earbuds. They cost $100 and are offered in three color options. We’ve had a pair of these in our office for a few weeks and are happy to share our impressions.
The Origem HS-3 feature Bluetooth 5.0 and offer IPX5 waterproof protection. These two features are welcome details in 2019 and mean peace of mind. With quicker pairing, better connectivity, and more efficient battery, the Bluetooth tech leads to a pretty smart experience.
The waterproof coating is nice as it protects against splashes, rain, and even sweat. You won’t be able to fully submerge these in water, but you aren’t wearing them in the pool anyhow. But, rest easy knowing that pool splashes and and heavy workouts won’t mess things up.
Audio sounds great on the Origem HS-3, thanks largely to the HDR settings. In essence, the earphones can intuitively adapt to various environments and sound pressure to deliver a clear aural experience.
We tested the earphones in number of scenarios, including quiet offices, ambient neighborhood noises, and moderate traffic. Our findings were that sound is detailed across the entire range with strong bass and clear highs. These aren’t the most powerful earphones we’ve seen but they largely performed within expectation.
The Origem HS-3 come with a number of eartips so feel free to play around with them and find the perfect fit. The adjustable earhooks are light and flexible and didn’t lead to any fatigue or soreness. We didn’t see any signs of wear or weakness in the few weeks we tested them, but were surprised at how thin the wire is.
We would like to see USB Type C charging but it’s not really a deal-breaker. There are still plenty of accessories around the house that employ the old standard, but the sooner we can make that cutoff, the better. In a related note, the charging is very fast with only a half hour needed to get about 5-6 hours of music.
The voice features are really one of the standout details in the Origem HS-3 earphones. Wearers can use voice to control things such as playback, taking calls, and triggering your digital assistant. It’s not quite the same as saying “Okay Google” but the “Hello VoiceQ” is all that’s required to kick it on.
Generally speaking this was a pretty flawless experience but it might take a little bit of time to learn the ropes. For instance, you’ll have to pause music if you want to trigger the assistant.
Speaking of controls, there are but a few to worry about. The buttons, which are located fairly close to the right ear, each perform multiple functions. A single press does one thing while holding down does something else. These might also take some time for familiarization.
Conclusion
For $99 the Origem HS-3 are a solid package worthy of a look. Our quibbles were minor and fairly easy to overlook. The carrying case, for instance, was a little too snug for our liking. Learning buttons and voice commands also took a few wears before we felt comfortable, too.
The earphones are comfortable, sound great, and have decent battery life. We can’t say whether it’s placebo effect or not, but we did like the HDR feature, too. Bonus points are awarded for the Bluetooth 5.0 and voice features.
While they don’t have noise cancellation they do a solid job of keeping outside sounds from interfering with the audio. We suggest playing with different eartips to find the perfect fit.
You might consider it a gamble to purchase products from brands you’ve never heard of, and we can appreciate that perspective. For what it’s worth, Origem already has a couple of other models in its portfolio so it has been under our radar, too. With that said, we like what we see here and look forward to checking out other models in the future.
Availability
You can learn more about the Origem HS-3 headphones at the company’s website where you can also purchase them in three color options. Choose from Gunmetal, Red, or Silver. They’re also available at Amazon where, as of today, they are sold in Gunmetal and Red. Retail price is $99 at both locations.
Blu Products on Wednesday introduced its latest phone, the G9. At just $180 the price tag suggests an entry-level experience, but the specifications tell a slightly different story.
Running Android 9 Pie, the Blu G9 (READ OUR REVIEW OF THE G9 HERE) offers up a large screen, generous battery life, and an unexpected design language. That is, rather, that it seems to punch above its weight class.
With a 6.3-inch display and a 4,000mAh battery, it ticks two of the most important boxes for today’s consumer. It’s the first phone from Blu to feature the V-notch, or water drop-like cutout display.
Powering the phone are a 2.0GHz octa-core processor with 4GB RAM. Storage is pegged at 64GB, but a microSD expansion card slot allows for extra (up to 128GB) media.
Available in Black and Gradient Blue colors, the Blu G9 comes with dual-rear (13-megapixel, 2-megapixel) cameras, and a front-facing 13-megapixel camera. Using AI and software, the camera enhances things for portraits, night, panoramas, group selfies, and more. Moreover, it can create 52-megapixel shots by boosting the 13-megapixel picture by for times.
The Blu G9 is an unlocked phone that works with AT&T, T-Mobile, and their respective GSM brands. Whereas it normally retails for $180, a limited time sale sees it going for just $130 at Amazon while supplies last.
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Blu Products is back with another smartphone for mid-2019, this time offering up the G9 as part of its portfolio. After what felt like an almost monthly product launch in previous years, the brand has slowed to a more methodical and deliberate pace. As such, the Blu G9 is just the second release this year.
The G9 is a big-screen, big-battery experience with a mirror metallic finish and upper-end hardware. As the first Blu phone to feature a V-notch cutout display, the unlocked handset comes in Back and Gradient Blue.
We were fortunate enough to receive an early look at the phone as Blu sent us a G9 to review over the last week or so. Here’s what we think of the device after having used it as a secondary phone for about seven days.
EDITOR NOTE
For a limited time Amazon is offering the Blu G9 for just $130, or $50 less than its standard price. We’ll go ahead and spoil the review, but at that price you really ought to consider it as an unlocked GSM phone. Read on to learn more about it and whether it’s worth the $180.
Design
The first thing we notice about the look and feel of the Blu G9 is that doesn’t much resemble other phones in the Blu lineup. The Gradient Blue is eye-catching and sharp, looking right at home with today’s modern handsets. The fading effect reminds us of much pricier models and we like the shades of blue.
This marks the first device from Blu to have its stylized ‘B’ on it, where it resides at the bottom rear. For what it’s worth, we also have the branded ‘BLU’ on the back, essentially giving us two markings.
The front of the phone houses a 6.3-inch display, one of the largest Blu has offered thus far. With a V-notch, or waterdrop, cutout, it packs a high (89%) screen to body ratio.
There’s a front-facing 13-megapixel camera at the top center of the phone with a small speaker sitting just above it. Around back is a 13-megapixel main sensor and a 13-megapixel depth sensor camera. The main camera is capable of creating 52-megapixel images.
The power button and volume rocker are found in the expected places on the right side of the screen with a USB C, 3.5mm headphone jack, and speaker at the bottom. The fingerprint reader is in the back approximately two-thirds of the way up the center. The microSD expansion card slot and dual-SIM card slot is on the left edge.
Although it appears to be comprised of metallic materials, it’s actually closer to a plastic or polycarbonate. Nevertheless, it looks like a pricier device and that’s cool with us.
Software
The Blu G9 runs Android 9 Pie with very little customization or add-ons. We’re a fan of this experience as there’s not much more that you can add to Android without it feeling like an agenda. Phone makers and carriers will sometimes sprinkle in a few apps or services and that’s not bad. But, when it’s a whole host of things that can’t be removed, we get irritated.
Aside from the default suite of Google apps the Blu G9 only has two other titles installed. At least that was how our review unit arrived. One, the FM radio is practical if that’s your thing. The other, Opera, is a quality alternative to Chrome.
Out of the box our phone had used just 12 percent of the storage used, leaving nearly 56GB of space left. The phone had a security patch from April 5, 2019 on it so things were very current.
We won’t hold our breath over an Android Q update, but we do hope to see semi-regular security patches. For what it’s worth Blu did commit to updates on its VIVO XI+ where it promised Android 9 Pie on a phone that launched with Android 8. Here’s hoping the more measured phone releases help keep things moving on the software front.
We synchronizes a couple of Google accounts on the phone, adding in a smattering of games, and a few social media clients. Our aim was to mimic the everyday stuff as quickly as we could in the first few days, yet understanding that it’s often a few weeks or months into living with a device that we see how things stack up.
We didn’t have any issues with the performance of the G9 in our time with the phone. In fact, we found it to be somewhat of a joy. It’s sleek and modern design language and thin profile made the handset easy to pick up and use.
Truth be told, as much as we don’t mind when companies make sacrifices on aesthetics, we kinda notice it over time. That cheap plastic, dimpled battery cover, or somewhat thicker bezel is passable in the early days. Long term, however, we start to feel those corners that were cut.
The G9 is one of the first Blu phones in the last few years that really surprised us in performance and usage. Why, you ask? It’s not as if the hardware was necessarily any stronger than its other models. And the materials aren’t quite as “premium” as those found in other Blu devices. It all comes down to price, really. The Blu G9 costs just $180.
Sure, you can stack this one up against other $200 phones and draw comparisons. But that’s what’s great here. It’s the fact that you can compare it to other models.
When it comes to phones it’s often easy to look at what’s not present in the overall package. Why did they cut out wireless charging? Where’s the waterproof protection? Those are valid questions in this device. If those are important to you, look elsewhere. If neither feature is all that important, then you’ll like the rest of this kit.
Battery
Battery life was excellent, thanks to the 4,000mAh power source and its quick charging. Over the years we’ve become conditioned to charging our phones at night. It’s just what we do and we accept it, regardless of where the battery level is at bedtime. To that end, we routinely found that the G9 had more than enough in the tank to go a few more hours.
We suspect that once the average G9 user settles into a routine that they’ll get around two days of basic usage. That’s not counting when you put it on the charger for a half hour or so every once in awhile. Do that, and you’ll find the phone gets 2-3 days. Or so we imagine.
Camera
As for the camera experience, we were impressed with it considering the price. You won’t get the depth of field that you might expect when dealing with two sensors. At least, that’s what we’ve found so far in our time with it.
Switching to the different shooting modes is similar to what you get in the Google Camera experience. Among the modes are HDR, photo, video, beauty, pro, night, and 52MP. Indeed, that last one snaps pictures of 52-megapixels, or 8,320 x 6,240 pixels.
We found that taking a picture at that resolution was a really slow process. This should be expected when dealing with 20MB files, though. Instead of the rapid fire “tap, tap, tap, tap, tap” over the span of two seconds it’s more like “tap. pause. pause. tap”.
We back our photos up to Google Photos and don’t often use the full resolution. Given how we tend to share our images on social media or view them directly from a phone, it matters little to us if we get the entire picture as it was originally taken. To that end, Google turned 52-megapixel images into 16-megapixel shots. And, when looking at them on a phone or PC, we could hardly discern a difference.
Note that the samples here were initially uploaded to Google Photos and then resized to 1920px wide. No other treatment was applied to the photos.
It’s too early in our testing to say exactly how great all of the different modes are as we’ve only snapped a few images per day and had not taken any at night. We’ll update this post with more information and samples as we gather them.
Suffice it to say, we’ve seen far worse images on more expensive phones. Even today, people routinely take blurred, out of focus, shots and share them on social media. Nobody seems to bat an eye when your aunt uploads hastily taken pictures with smudged lens. As we’ve shown this phone and some of its pictures to other people the response seems to be generally impressed with it.
Display
We had to look up the resolution of the display to see how many pixels the phone offers up. At 720 x 1,520 it’s certainly on the low end of what’s available in 2019, but don’t let that deter you.
Given that we didn’t know it was as low as it is might actually be telling. Pictures were crisp enough for our taste and text was more than just discernible. There’s that whole idea of the human eye not being able to tell the difference above a certain threshold to keep in mind.
If you don’t plan to use the phone for VR and aren’t into extreme gaming, you will be just fine with the Blu G9 screen. If both of those mattered to you, then you would have already set your on a much pricier phone.
As for the notch or waterdrop cutout, we’re beyond thinking about those as we use our phones. It’s a non-starter for us and we truly don’t think about it after a day or so.
Sure, we’re glad that the next-generation phones look to be working around notches with interesting cameras but we’re still happy with where we are today. If you have issue with them and can’t wrap your head around one, keep the phone you have. Oh, and good luck buying a new phone over the next year or so because it’s kinda tough.
If there’s one aspect to the screen where we feel the phone falls (very) short, it’s the brightness. Outside, on a partly cloudy day, you might have trouble picking up details in the display.
We had to check a couple of times to make sure that brightness was all the way up. Moreover, the reflective glass on the phone didn’t help its cause. You can see in the image here that it’s pretty damn bad.
As much as we like the gradient and metallic-like appearance of the battery cover, we have to admit that it’s a fingerprint magnet. Smudges, oils, and the like are attracted to it and you’ll make it messy in no time. Luckily, a quick wipe against the pants or sleeve takes care of a lot of the smears.
Conclusion
We feel like a broken record when it comes to Blu phones. Why? More often than not, they offer up compelling devices with attractive price tags. That is certainly the case here as the G9 is a fine package.
Considering the $180 cost of the phone you get a handset that delivers the goods in areas that matter to a lot of consumers. That is a large screen, generous battery, and a modern design. The USB Type C port and headphone jack are both welcome features, too.
As an unlocked phone that works with AT&T, T-Mobile, and their respective GSM brands the Blu G9 is definitely worth a look. We’d love to see one of the prepaid brands or MVNOs offer a Blu phone as part of their portfolio because we think it would do well.
French phone manufacturer Wiko on Tuesday announced it has begun selling its products in the US. Up first for the OEM is the Wiko Ride, an entry-level handset for prepaid buyers.
The Wiko Ride is a wallet-friendly phone that finds its home at Boost Mobile, a prepaid carrier under the Sprint umbrella. It’s an $80 device that gives consumers just enough to get going in the world of smartphones.
Powered by Android 9 Pie, the Wiki Ride features a 5.45-inch display at 18:9 aspect ratio. Inside is a quad-core 2GHz processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. Should one need more space for media, the microSD expansion card slot allows for up to 32GB.
Wiko Ride
It’s not clear which processor is at work here, but we suspect it matters little. Considering its price and target demographic, the average user won’t really care. The same might be said of the display resolution.
The Wiko Ride is currently offered with a discount from Boost Mobile where buyers can get the phone for just $40. It’s not clear how long the promotional price will be valid.
Other specifications in the Wiko Ride include a rear 5-megapixel camera, front-facing 2-megapixel camera, 2500mAh battery, and 3.5mm headphone jack.
If all of this sounds like an old outdated phone or something you’d never use, you’re not the user Wiko and Boost has in mind.
Wiko is based in France with more than 5,000 employees and is among the top four smartphone brands in Western Europe. As part of its expansion in the US market we can soon expect offices in Texas and Georgia.
Boost Mobile is a prepaid carrier that operates on Sprint’s network. It offers its own rate plans and customer service as well a portfolio of phones to compliment its network.
In our first impression post on the LG G8, we ask whether LG is finally ready to take on Samsung and its Galaxy lineup. LG has been releasing phones that take on Samsung for years but has been seen as an also-ran, a cheaper alternative to its South Korean rival. Does the G8 change that?
Most people find that the G devices have inferior displays, inferior cameras, or an inferior build. These, along with some smart marketing, have led to Samsung crushing LG in sales.
After a few weeks with the device, I finally feel ready to answer that question and give a few more insights on just what the LG G8 brings to the table.
Hardware and design
I have one admission to make: LG has long made the phone I find perfect for my hand. In a world of expanding screens, shrinking bezels, and slippery materials, LG seems to strike a balance between the three that few others can. The LG G8 is another in a long line of comfortable devices — but I do have a few gripes.
Much like every other premium phone on the market, the G8 is a glass and metal sandwich. The glass on the front and back of the device lend to a premium feel but come at a cost. This is the most slippery device I’ve ever had the pleasure of using.
That title used to be held by the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, but the G8 ups the ante by seemingly sliding off completely flat surfaces. This has led to multiple falls. Even though the device has mostly held up through it all, it’s frustrating to find my phone on the ground.
If you’re going to buy a G8, plan on picking up a case too. It’s almost mandatory unless you want to risk the out-of-pocket expense to replace a broken screen or back glass. Luckily, as JerryRigEverything pointed out, those are pretty cheap and can be replaced somewhat easily.
What cannot be replaced easily is the battery. Another revelation from the excellent video above is that LG used glue to hold down the battery in the G8. Other companies use pull tabs or glue that easily comes off, but not LG. This is an anti-consumer practice that forces users to upgrade their device instead of replacing a degraded battery and it’s unacceptable.
If you’re picking up a phone to use for three or more years, something that the LG would normally be good for, this is a hard pass due to this battery issue. Frankly, I’ve had my issues with some of the choices LG has made in the past but I’m incredibly disappointed in this one and hope LG reconsiders this practice in the future.
The G8 uses largely the same design language as the LG G6 and LG G7. Whether that’s a good thing is really in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I love it and think that the G8 is one of the best looking phones on the market. If you were hoping for a refresh, you didn’t get it but I don’t think that’s a reason to look in another direction.
The reason LG keeps coming back to this design is that it looks great and it’s functional. I get frustrated with the curved display edges of the Samsung Galaxy series and LG offers an excellent alternative.
The only problem for LG is now the Galaxy S10e is a thing and is both cheaper and offers a flat display for everyone who doesn’t like curved displays. The displays on the Galaxy S lineup are both better and more power-efficient too. Not that this is a bad display. In fact, I quite like how it looks, but seeing the Galaxy S10e and LG G8 next to each other in a carrier store will tell you everything you need to know.
Going back to those falls, I’m actually pretty surprised how well the G8 has held up. The glass that covers the display is still in perfect condition, despite lacking a screen protector. The rear has only seen minor scratches.
If you want your phone pristine from the time you leave the store with it, you’re probably going to put it in a case anyway so this is more for those who would rather have naked phone. You do run the risk of cracks and scratches, but overall I’m pretty pleased how the G8 looks almost a month after using the device.
Battery
During our initial hands-on, I was not impressed with the battery life with our review unit. I complained that the device was run by the power-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, a chip that uses battery at a slower clip than last year’s Snapdragon 845.
In my early testing I would top out at around four hours of daily screen on time and occasionally have to charge up before bed. This falls behind other class leaders like the Galaxy S10, OnePlus 6T, and Huawei P30 Pro.A
A funny thing happened when LG switched out my Verizon-branded unit for a factory unlocked version; my battery life skyrocketed. Despite LG assuring me that there were no real differences between the devices, the proof is in the pudding.
Perhaps it was the pre-loaded Verizon apps killing the battery in the background, but I now routinely get more than five hours of screen on time and a day to a day and a half of usage.
After using the OnePlus 6T as my daily driver and not needing to worry about charging up at night, the LG G8 was disappointing to say the least. Now. I’m back to loving the battery life on this phone and charging up during the day while I’m doing other tasks instead of searching for a charger before bed.
Heavy users and gamers will still have some trouble. There have been rumblings for years that LG’s displays are rather power inefficient and I think there’s probably some merit to that. Standby time and battery usage, while the screen is off (streaming media, mostly), is great, but you can watch the battery percentage drop quickly while using the phone to stream video or play games.
Luckily, there are plenty of options to keep you topped up. Quick Charge 3.0 is on board as well as fast wireless charging. LG wins here over both the Samsung Galaxy S10 and the OnePlus 6T. The Galaxy lineup only supports Quick Charge 2.0 and the OnePlus devices might charge faster, but require a proprietary charger to do so.
I remarked that the LG G8 isn’t my first choice for an endurance champ and that hasn’t changed, but the picture is far prettier than I had once seen.
Camera
For years smartphone makers relied on higher megapixel counts to try and sell their phones to customers who assumed more equals better. We have seemingly moved past this phase but smartphone photography remains one of the more important aspects of buying a phone.
While LG isn’t normally thought of as one of the leaders in this area, that doesn’t mean you’re going to suffer if you pick up an LG G8. We’re not going to recommend the device over something like the Google Pixel 3 or even the cheaper Google Pixel 3a, but it does a great job and produces pictures you’ll be proud to post on social media or send to friends and family members.
One disappointing aspect of the G8 sold in the US is that there are only two camera sensors on the rear of the phone. We saw three on last year’s LG V40 and we see the same on the Korean model of the G8. For some reason LG decided to just go with a standard lens and wide-angle lens, opting not to include a zoom or depth sensing lens here. It’s disappointing but not a reason you should skip the G8.
We found the wide-angle lens a lot of fun to shoot with. As you can see in the camera samples you do get quite a bit more in your picture and it can lead to some interesting shots. This was a feature that you could really only find on LG phones for the past couple of years but other phone makers have caught on and included wide-angle lenses in their devices, too. This is just another reason to consider other options beyond the G8.
Where LG suffers most, in my opinion, is its computational photography. That’s really just a fancy way of saying how the LG G8 processes the pictures you take once you hit the shutter button. You can see just how far ahead Google is when you install the Google Camera application and snap comparison pictures. If you do decide to pick up the LG G8, we suggest you do just that.
For me, LG’s software skin has always been one of the biggest downsides of its devices. I don’t love the approach, colors, or way features are displayed, but I can fully recognize that I’m not the target market.
If you’re moving over from a different Android device or an iPhone, I can see the logic on hiding some features the way that they’re hidden and the (seemingly) constant reminders about moving over your data and not replacing your battery when you first set up the phone.
One of the indefensible software choices is sticking with a launcher that does not feature an app tray as the default launcher. Honestly LG, stop it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the app tray is one of the single biggest advantages Android has over iOS. There’s no flexibility in iOS to put your icons where you want and hide the lesser-used ones from sight. Why would you get rid of that here?
Luckily, you can change the launcher and I would encourage owners to install a Pixel launcher clone or Nova to get an even better experience.
One of the other big issues I had with my Verizon review unit went away on the unlocked unit too — laggy software. This thing now hums along with no dropped frames or stutters in sight.
Loading times are fast and I never have to think about what the phone is doing or wait on it to function. That’s the sweet spot of performance. I still occasionally have an issue with the multitasking button bringing up my last used app when I double tap it, but that could be more down to me missing it than it acting up.
One of the big features LG has been pushing has been using the Time-of-Flight sensor on the front of the phone to operate it hands-free in some situations. Once the phone recognizes your hand, you can unlock it, change music tracks, turn the volume up and down, and more. I like the ambition to try something a little different, but the experience falls flat.
It takes time for the ToF sensor to pick the gesture, it takes time to perform the action, and it takes time to get back into whatever you were doing. Again, cool feature, and maybe there’s some use for it in the future but it just takes longer to do these actions than if you’d press a button on your phone. Not sure why anyone would use this beyond a cool party trick, but it doesn’t cost you anything by being on the phone, I guess.
I think the software experience is going to be fine for the vast majority of potential customers but I don’t know why I’d recommend it over something from Samsung or Google. LG doesn’t do anything vastly better in software than either of those companies and they certainly don’t update their software any faster. If you want the LG G8, I say go for it but don’t do it because of the software experience.
Conclusion
The LG G8 is a good, but not top-tier phone. If you’re going to go out and spend a paycheck or two on a phone, I think there are probably better options out there. But, if you can find it cheaper than the $800 initial asking price, you might be in business. And with the quick price drop on LG devices, that’s a pretty good bet if you’re looking right now. I still wouldn’t pick it over the OnePlus 6T or 7 unless you have to have wireless charging or a high-quality DAC, but it’s a close race right now.
It can’t be said enough just how comfortable this phone is, though. It fits perfectly in my perfectly average hands and besides being a damn slippery device, I don’t really have any qualms with the build. LG even found a way to get rid of the camera hump, something that is under-appreciated but makes a difference to someone who is as particular as I am. Plus, this thing is damn slim and I love that.
Are we over the notch hate yet? Because I really am. I know there a lot of phones that will come out with more attractive options like the full-screen display on the OnePlus 7 Pro, the water drop notch on the OnePlus 7 and the cutouts on Samsung and Huawei devices, but I never noticed the notch on the LG G8 — except when it decided to scroll some icons in the top right when I was looking for the battery percentage. Even then, I waited for about two seconds and got what I was eventually after.
Where I think the G8 is really held back is in software. It’s not that it’s bad, but it’s just not better than anything else out there. Samsung phones have more features that make a difference in day-to-day use. Google has quick software updated and free full resolution photo backups for its Pixel 3 and 3 XL owners (unfortunately, this is not available on the 3a and 3a XL).
I’ve seen a lot of hate for the G8 and demonizing on the internet with people wondering why LG even tries anymore. Why? Because they make damn good phones. They make the best alternative to those who don’t like what’s out there from Samsung and Google here in the US.
A lot of people don’t know whether to trust OnePlus or not since its a relatively new name. LG is safe. LG makes a really good phone with some compelling features that won’t frustrate you for the next couple of years. Unless you want fast software updates.
