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Tired of how bloated the Facebook app is? Try these five alternatives

Gerson Noboa
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Tired of how bloated the Facebook app is? Try these five alternatives

Oh Facebook, the app everyone loves to hate. Yet it has one billion installations only in Android. With Facebook being so ubiquitous and recognized throughout the world, many figure that it is a necessary evil. However, it is notorious in the Android world for being bloated, slow, data-intensive, and battery-hungry. It is the prime example of a “jack of all trades, master of none” situation.

With more stuff being added to it each day, such as the Explore tab, Marketplace tab, recommendations, and loads of ads, talented developers throughout the world have tried to capitalize on the huge mess by providing apps based on the mobile web version of Facebook. These apps, normally called wrappers, try to bring the Facebook experience to the essentials and leave the heavy, less useful features of Facebook behind. Let’s go throughfive of the most popular alternatives for the Facebook app.

Metal

If you ask around for a Facebook app alternative, there’s at least one person who will mention Metal. Frankly, it is easy to see why. Metal boasts a beautiful, customizable interface fully compliant with Material Design (at least, the navigation drawer and the tab bar are) that adds a dark theme for those AMOLED users out there. This app is based on the hugely popular app called Tinfoil, which is one of the most well known wrappers around. It’s full of features, stable, and constantly updated.

There’s even something called the Metal Bar, which is a persistent notification with buttons for the news feed, friend requests, messages, and notifications. One tap to these buttons opens a floating window immediately with the content you requested. No need to get into the app itself!

Finally, the developer is also delving into Twitter support, so that there’s no need to have two separate apps for the two social networks. Pretty cool stuff.

Download and install Metal from the Google Play Store.

Swipe

Another of the most widely known wrappers is Swipe. This app has so many features that it even tries to emulate the chat heads provided by Facebook Messenger (that app is another bloated mess, by the way). Even though I like Metal’s interface a bit more, the main draw of Swipe is how close it looks (and works) compared to the official Facebook app. If it wasn’t for the useless Stories feature on the top of the official app, Swipe would look almost exactly the same.

However, if you want to change the interface to your liking, you can do so. There’s the option to change the position of the tab bar, make it look a bit more like Facebook for iOS or even adopt the Google+ interface. There’s also several colors to choose from, in case you don’t fancy blue.

Also, if you are looking for a replacement of both Facebook and its Messenger counterpart, then Swipe lets you turn on (poll) notifications for both. It also has multi-account support, in case you were wondering.

Download and install Swipe from the Google Play Store.

Friendly

This app has been going up the recommendations list lately, thanks to its very nice interface (that bottom navigation bar is absolutely beautiful) and several useful features, such as multi-account support, Messenger notifications, an ad blocker, and AMOLED mode. I tested it for a few days and the app runs surprisingly smoothly, notifications are reliable, and the app overall felt like a really solid alternative.

One of the nicest things of this app is the possibility of changing the interface of Facebook instead. Remember, these apps use Facebook’s mobile site for showing your feed, so there is only so much that you can do around it. However, Friendly lets you change the color of the interface and even lets you increase/decrease the font size.

There’s also a cool option that lets you highlight (or hide) a specific word through your Facebook feed. In case you want to avoid spoilers of your favorite TV show, this feature can work wonders for you.

Download and install Friendly from the Google Play Store.

Simple

Put Metal and Swipe in a blender and you’ll get Simple. This app provides a beautiful, blazing-fast interface that closely resembles Facebook, and adds a cool navigation drawer to access your favorite sections with a couple of taps. It also lets you change the color of the app, and, similar to Friendly, lets you change the background color of the content.

Simple provides the option for removing ads, as some of the other apps, but it curiously comes with an option to remove the status update bar. That’s because it has added a floating action button to the main screen. Sure, other apps in this list also have them, but in Simple, that’s the only way of updating your Facebook status (unless you change it in the settings). Even though it is a small thing, it makes the app feel more native than the other options.

It also adds the possibility of browsing your Google+ and Twitter accounts from within the same app, although they are basically just a shortcut to the mobile page. There is no actual integration with the rest of the app.

Download and install Simple from the Google Play Store.

Facebook Lite

Oh, the irony. Facebook actually recognized that their main app is a bloated mess, so they released their own version of a lightweight Facebook app. When they called it Lite, though, they weren’t joking. This app’s download size is less than 2 MB, and is primarily aimed at low-end Android phones that can’t afford to have an app taking almost 200 MB of space. Also, it consumes very little data, ideal for those who have to micromanage their precious megabytes.

If I had to choose a word to describe this app, it would be fast. This is the fastest app out of the whole bunch. Unfortunately, you are facing a trade-off between a lightning-fast experience and a pretty one. This app is all about functionality, not looks. If you are fine with that, then this is probably your best bet, since it is frankly impressive how quickly everything loads here. I wonder why something similar is not used for the normal Facebook app.

The caveat with this app is that it’s available in some countries only. And guess what? The United States isn’t among them, unfortunately. However, if you live in one of the countries that Facebook has deemed as suitable for their Lite app, then you should give it a go.

Download and install Facebook Lite from the Google Play Store.

Bonus – Frost (Beta)

Frost is still, at the moment of writing, in beta stage. However, it already looks very promising. Its interface is kind of similar to Swipe, but with a more organized navigation drawer. One of the most advertised features of Frost is its semi-transparent interface, in which the app adopts the background picture of your phone and overlays the Facebook interface on top, with matching colors and everything. It’s an impressive feat, and, provided you have a cool background picture, looks awesome.

There are already tons of options, such as the ability to change the navigation bar’s position, Messenger support, ad blocker, and animations. A lot of animations. This is the best looking app out of the list thanks to the amount of subtle but gorgeous animations. It’s worth to keep an eye on it, since it can quickly become a contender.

Also, it’s an app currently in beta, but I haven’t experienced a single bug or crash once. Definitely a good sign.

Download and install Frost from the Google Play Store.

Create an app folder in Android [How-To]

Alexandra Arici
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If you’re like me, you love trying out new apps. I have a passion for photography, so I’m always on the lookout for new camera or photo editing apps. That’s why I tend to install a lot of apps on my device, which in turn means I run out of space on my home screen pretty fast.

The solution? You can create app folders which in turn help you organize your apps by categories. This way if you love to download both games and photo editing apps, you can make sure they won’t get mixed up. It’s quite hard to try and locate a single app when the whole screen is filled with them, especially since you can’t quite remember the name of a specific app. But if you create a few folders and assign them the proper names, it becomes much easier to the apps you’re looking for.

Note: This tutorial was written using a Samsung Galaxy phone that runs Android 7.0 Nougat

Create a folder

To create a folder simply long press on an app. Press and hold your finger on the app until you feel a slight vibration. Now drag this app onto another app (from the same category). This action will automatically prompt a folder to appear.

Keep in mind that you can’t drag folders onto apps, nor can you drag home screen widgets into apps.

Note: On older versions of Android like KitKat, you had to tap and hold an application. A “Create folder” option would then pop up and you had to drag the app to it and then let it go.

Name your folder

Once your folder has appeared tap on it. It will say “Unnamed Folder”. Tap it and name your collection of apps and then hit Done. Now you’ll see the name displayed on your home screen.

Delete the folder

 

If you are no longer using the apps in the folder and you want to get rid of them, you can easily delete the folder. Simply long tap on it until the Remove option pops up on top. Then just drag the folder there. The folder will be gone, but that doesn’t mean the apps have been uninstalled from your device. You will have to do that later (from Settings or by long pressing an app icon).

The first headphones with Google Assistant are now official for $349

Alexandra Arici
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Bose today pulled the wraps off the first Google Assistant-powered pair of noise-canceling headphones – the QuietComfort 35 II (QC35 II). As it has been previously rumored, the headphones rock a Google Assistant dedicated button on the left ear cup which, like in the case of the Bixby button on the Galaxy S8 can be used to summon the virtual assistant.

The new pair of headphones is an updated version of the company’s top noise-canceling audio product, the QuietComfort 35. But apart from the presence of the dedicated Google Assistant button, nothing else seems to be changed – the pair has the same noise canceling accuracy and boasts a battery life of up to 20 hours. Akin to the older model, the right ear cup is home to the audio volume control and multi-function button for incoming calls and using Siri.

And like in the case of most Google Assistant-powered devices, the QC35 II headphones will be able to play music, add appointments to your calendar, place a call, alert you in case of notifications and answer queries. But the headphones rely on your Android or iOS phone to do the heavy lifting – like for processing and network connectivity.

On top of the Google Assistant, the QC35 II packs new settings options to control the noise cancellation, so users will be allowed to set it high/low/off from the Bose Connect App. From there, they will also be able to change the Google Assistant button’s functionality so that they can control noise settings from the ear cup if they want.

The Bose QC35 II comes in Black or Silver and should become available for purchase later today for $349.95. Customers in the US, Canada, Germany, France and the UK will be able to grab one.

The next Google Glass might come from Amazon, with Alexa in tow

Alexandra Arici
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2017 may well be the year you switch from tapping or typing on your touchscreen to simply voicing out your commands. Many platforms, including Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, Samsung’s Bixby or the Google Assistant want you to talk to them, but Alexa easily leads the race.

Alexa is virtually everywhere – from smart speakers and phones to desk lamps and …soon a pair of smart glasses. Google Glass nostalgics will be happy to hear that according to industry insiders who shared their knowledge with the Financial Times, Amazon is working on a pair of Alexa-powered smart glasses.

The sources revealed that while Amazon’s upcoming smart glasses will look pretty much like a regular pair of spectacles, they allow wearers to summon Alexa at any time or place. The glasses will pair with a smartphone and should feature a bone-conduction audio system which lets users hear Alexa without having to insert headphones into their ear canal.

The Vue smartglasses look like regular glasses

What’s more – we’re told the Amazon spectacles won’t feature a camera (or a display) – which could a wise move given that the Google Glass got blacklisted from restaurants, bars, cinemas and other public places exactly for this reason. Privacy advocates worried that Google Glass owners would secretly start recording patrons or movies without permission.

But despite not being a market disruptor, Google Glass’ legacy continues to live on at Amazon. The retail giant hired Google Glass founder, Babak Parviz back in 2014 who is now overseeing the Alexa spectacles project. What’s more, several other engineers, researchers, and designers who worked on the Google Glass projects have also jumped ship to Amazon, according to a LinkedIn analysis.

The report goes on to speculate that Amazon is targeting the “augmented reality” (AR) googles emerging market with its fair pair of smart glasses. Apple is also rumored on working on its own pair of spectacles that could see the light of day in 2019, so interest for this niche is definitely on the rise.

Google inks non-exclusive $1.1B deal with HTC

AndroidGuys
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Google on Thursday announced that it has entered into a $1.1 billion cooperation with Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC.

Under the arrangement, Google gains a team of HTC employees, a number of which had already worked together on the Pixel smartphone.  Moreover, Google receives non-exclusive licenses to some of HTC’s intellectual property.

As a pioneer of the smartphone market, we are very proud of our history of innovation. Our unmatched smartphone value chain, including our IP portfolio, and world-class talent and system integration capabilities, have supported Google in bolstering the Android market – Cher Wang, Chairwoman and CEO of HTC

The agreement formally cements a relationship that started nearly a decade ago with the first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1. What’s more, it helps Google and its endeavors in the hardware space; phones and virtual reality are two areas where Google really wants to make headway.

Rumors of a potential partnership have circulated for some time, including a few last minute details surfacing today that HTC has halted sales of its stock.

HTC at one point commanded a sizable slice of the Android and smartphone pie with around ten percent of the market. However, the market share has fallen over the last few years, all the way down to where it sits today at less than two percent.

Google has done its part to keep HTC afloat over time, turning to them for some of the Nexus tablets and the Pixel. It’s hard to say where the company might be had Google not tapped the phone maker for help these last two years.

Regardless of the money involved, Google inherits a company in desperate need of some help, if not a complete turnaround. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Google’s hardware plans going forward and whether they’ll rely solely on HTC’s smarts and IP for future phones.

Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL could see 3.5mm headphone jack removed

Dan Bartram
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In what seems as a trend in the industry right now with manufacturers removing the headphone jack from smartphones, it seems Google may be following suit with the Pixel 2.

Yesterday we saw leaks of the rear of the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL. The renders were only the back of the devices that didn’t reveal a whole lot about what to expect but a new image that has emerged could give an insight into at least one feature, or lack of.

In what may seem like just a whole lot of blur, what you’re looking at here is the bottom of the Pixel 2. The source blurred the majority of the image to protect the leaker but what is instantly noticeable is the lack of 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s also no speaker grill on the bottom of the device backing up claims that the front-facing speakers will remain.

While it is completely possible that the headphone jack is at the top of the Pixel 2, it does support claims that Google is exploring removing the jack as many others have done.

At this point, you have to evaluate what Google would gain from removing the headphone jack. Unless the company will be accompanying the release of the Pixel 2 with its own Bluetooth headphones there doesn’t seem too much to gain from removing the jack.

Personally, I make use of both Bluetooth and wired speakers so I for one would like to see the port stay. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

MGCool Explorer Pro review

AndroidGuys
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The concept of an action camera is not new; it’s a market that’s dominated by GoPro and its Hero line of products. People have been using them for years to capture footage of motorcycle rides, skiing, skateboarding, swimming, and more.

Although the quality of video from action cameras might not be on par with what you’ll get from a DSLR or even a phone, most users will accept this. They’d rather trade the overall video quality with “in the moment” first person footage only achievable from durable and waterproof action cameras.

The problem with GoPro, for a lot of people, is that they often cost more than they can afford to part with. While an older model could run $150, a brand new one might fetch $300-$400.

What do you if you’re looking for a similar experience but don’t have a few hundred bucks worth of disposable income? As is the case with nearly all types of tech, it’s possible to go “generic” or pick up a knock-off product. Or, as we’ve seen with phones, you look for something that’s from a brand you’re not familiar with. Such is the case with the MGCool Explorer Pro.

Priced less than $40 at most outlets, the Explorer Pro is a more than worthy starter action camera. It’s capable of recording 4K video, 1080p video at 60 frames per second, and slo-motion, too. With an internal 1,050mAh battery, it gives users 80-100 minutes of recording when shooting at the highest setting.

Specs

  • 1/3.2 inch IMX 179 CMOS sensor
  • 4K / 15FPS video resolution, ultra high definition video shooting for a clear image
  • 170 degree wide angle
  • 2 inch screen
  • WiFi connection, up to 10m WiFi distance
  • Support max 64G extended TF card ( not included )
  • Waterproof housing case, up to 30m water resistance
  • Removable 1050mAh rechargeable Li-ion battery, support about 80 minutes working time

We were pleasantly surprised by the number of accessories that come with the Explorer Pro. In addition to the camera, we found brackets and clips to attach to helmets, handlebars, selfie sticks, and tripods. The waterproof case snugs the camera up nicely, but, at the same time, still giving us buttons to press. Out of the box we felt like we had everything we needed to get going.

Package Contents

  • MGCOOL Explorer Action Camera
  • Waterproof Case
  • Camera Bracket
  • Clip
  • USB Data Cable
  • Bicycle Stand
  • 2X Helmet Base
  • Connector + Screw

If you’re the type of person who likes to execute tricky or intricate moves, you’ll appreciate being able to record in slo-motion. What’s more, this mode can be helpful for everyday sports such as analyzing your golf swing or baseball at bats.

Snapping on the waterproof case takes all of a few seconds and leads to some incredible footage. We handed the camera off to a few people and asked them to take it swimming, bike riding, and just out and about.

Diving in and out of a pool, we found the camera to work quite well, save for some occasionally poor audio. It’s worth noting that audio is one of those trade-offs you tend to get with an action camera.

Often, the cool footage captured with these cameras is dubbed over with a song and/or narration. That’s probably going to be the case here, but not necessarily any worse than older GoPros. The same, unremarkable audio came from holding the camera out a car window when driving around 20mph and faster, and when riding a bike at high speeds. The footage, though, was as good as anything we’d expect.

There’s an official companion application that you can install on your smartphone. Using the app, it’s possible to watch your footage as it’s being recorded live. Additionally, you can tweak the settings of the camera directly from your phone. We liked this better than playing with the limited number of buttons on the camera. The 2-inch display on the back is just okay but you’re not going to be focusing on it when playing hard. If you need to see what’s going on, definitely go for the app.

The app also includes the ability to download and browse photos and videos, sharing to social networks and other apps. It’s not vital that you have the app, but we enjoyed using it; if anything, it helps to have a larger or secondary screen when the camera is locked in place (think: snowboarding or surfing). You don’t want to continually mount and dismount the camera, right? Just pull up the phone and be done with it.

 

Generally speaking, the MGCOOL Explorer Pro operates and functions exactly as you might expect it to, if not a little better. If you’re looking for a “Fisher Price: My first action camera”, this one more than fits the bill. You won’t want to do any head-to-head comparisons with the pricier stuff on the market, though, because that’s when the light exposes the blemishes.

You certainly aren’t going to get the overall build quality and feature set that comes with a $300 camera, but you aren’t sacrificing 5/6 of the experience. Pictures are so-so and the audio isn’t great at all, however, the price is perfect for starting out. And, while 4K video is perhaps going to be around 15 frames per second, it’s just enough to merit the price tag.

We’ve had a fun time playing with the camera and look forward to using it in more interesting scenarios. As we’re at the end of summer we’re not hitting the beach or biking as much as we’d like. But, with snow only a few months away, we’re anxious to take the Explorer Pro with us when we hit the slopes. We’ll just look forward to dubbing over the audio and leaving things at 1080p.

You can purchase the MGCOOL Explorer Pro from a number of retailers with most places asking around $40-$50. Gearbest has it for as low as $37.99 at the time of publishing this review; Amazon has it for $50.

Project Fi gets its first Android One phone; Moto X4 available for $399

Scott Webster
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Google today confirmed that it will begin offering the Motorola Moto X4 as part of its Project Fi-ready smartphones. Moreover, it also formally introduces the Android One initiative to the United States.

Available in Super Black and Sterling Blue color options, the Android One Moto X4 is available for $399. Interested parties can begin placing pre-orders on the Project Fi website immediately. It is not clear when the phone will ship.

For those of you who have an existing Nexus smartphone, Google is introducing a new trade-in program. Simply send in your Nexus device and Google will give you up to $165; start the trade-in before October 5 and Google will grant you an extra $50 credit toward Fi.

Dovetailing with rumors that surfaced earlier this summer, the Moto X4 brings Fi customers a device that costs considerably less than some of the current models. The Pixel and Pixel XL run $650 and $769, respectively. And, while there are others available, the Motorola brings more modern specs to consumers but with a price tag that has wider appeal.

As is the case with other Android One and Pixel devices, the Moto X4 will be a pure Android experience, running the clean and lean OS. Whereas it will launch with Android Nougat, Google says an Android Oreo update will be here before the end of the year. Moreover, the Moto X4 is already promised to be “among the first to receive an upgrade to Android P.”

Project Fi utilizes networks from T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular, giving customers a large nationwide footprint of service. Rate plans start at $20 for unlimited calls and messages, unlimited international texting in 135+ countries & territories, and 24/7 support. Data costs $10 per gigabyte (GB) with customers being billed the same rate for overages. Any unused data is refunded to subscribers at the same rate, too.

Niantic wants to help you celebrate the Equinox, announces Double Stardust Pokemon Go event

Alexandra Arici
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Niantic wants to help Pokemon Go enthusiasts celebrate the upcoming Equinox, so it is offering players the option to earn some extra goodies soon.

So starting from 1 PM PDT / 9 PM BST on September 22 until 1 PM PDT / 9 PM BST on October 2, you’ll be rewarded for every Pokemon catch and egg hatch with double Stardust.

On top of that, new special 2km eggs will be available from Pokestops and Gyms. Be sure to visit them for a chance to hatch rare Pokemon such as Chansey, Mareep, Larvitar and more.

A rare Chansey Pokemon

But wait there’s more. During the period outlined above, the in-game shop will offer items such as Lucky Eggs, Lure Modules, and all-new Super Incubators that can hatch eggs 1.5 times faster.

Registering a new Pokemon to the Pokedex during the event will earn players triple the XP. This comes just in time as you prepare to battle against the Legendary Pokemon. Don’t forget that Raikou, Entei or Suicune will be in a different parts of the world on September 30, so don’t miss the chance to confront the Legendary Pokemon while it is in your area.

Don’t forget the festivities begin in two days. Until then, make sure to update your Pokemon Go to version 0.75.0 if you are on Android and version 1.45.0 if you’re an iOS user.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 vs LG V30 (Smartphone Showdown)

Alexandra Arici
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As you have probably already noticed – this year’s biggest trend in phone design is slimming down the bezels around the screen as much as possible. Even since the Xiaomi Mi MIX was unveiled last year, we’ve seen a parade of high-end phones from Samsung, LG, and Essential that have basically taken the same approach to design.

This year, Xiaomi unveiled a successor to the first bezel-less smartphone which amazed the Android crowd last year. It’s called the Mi MIX 2 and in this article, we’re going to pit it against LG’s latest flagship effort, the V30. Both are sleek devices that impress by virtue of their +premium designs, but also powerhouses brimming with features. So, if you were given a choice which one would you choose? Keep reading to get an idea which model is more exciting.

On the outside

The new Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 boasts a sleek metal/ceramic design. While it has managed to keep the bezels on top and sides as minimal as possible, Xiaomi also shrunk down bottom bezel (12% less chin size according to the company) which also accommodates the frontal camera and the ultrasonic proximity sensor. But unlike the original Mi MIX, the successor swapped out the piezoelectric acoustic driver for a standard earpiece which now sits at the top of the phone. The device is 7.7mm thin and weighs 185 g.

Moving on to the display, Xiaomi also switched to an 18:9 display ratio this year, following the trends imposed by LG and Samsung. The phone boasts a 5.99-inch screen with 2160 x 1080 resolution and includes a handy sunlight mode, which selectively boosts contrast when outdoors to improve readability in harsh sunlight conditions.

What about the LG V30? The phone rocks a metal/glass sandwich design with minimal bezels just like the company’s previous flagship the LG G6. However, the V30 takes advantage of a more spacious 6-inch OLED display with 1440 x 2880 resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. The LG V30 supports HDR effects that make videos and pictures look more vibrant and colorful.

Unlike the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, the LG flagship also offers IP68 water and dust resistance, as well as MIL-STD-810G drop protection.

The LG V30 is a bit sleeker and lighter than the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, as it’s only 158g in weight and 7.6mm thin. The phone also has a USB Type-C port located at the bottom and a 3.5mm headphone jack on top (which is missing on the Mi MIX 2).

On the inside

Both handsets are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor, but while the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 offers a choice between 6GB of RAM and 8GB of RAM (available only with the Special Edition) in combination with 64GB/128GB/256GB storage, the LG V30 only includes 4GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage. Just the latter offers a microSD card slot for memory expansion.

What about batteries? With this year’s model, Xiaomi is using a 3,400 mAh battery (last year’s model included a 4,400 mAh one), while the LG V30 relies on an even smaller 3,300 mAh one. So big chances are you won’t be able to go through a full day without needing to pop these devices in for a charge.

Photography

LG flagships are well-known for their advanced photographic qualities and the LG V30 is no different. The phone includes a dual-camera setup that pairs a main 16-megapixel sensor with massive f/1.6 aperture and a 71-degree field of view with a 13-megapixel wide-angle lens with f/1.9 aperture and a 120-degree field of view. Unlike the Galaxy Note 8, the V30 only has OIS (optical image stabilization) on the main lens.

The phone also includes a host of additional features for photography and videography fans like Graphy or Cine Log. A series of manual controls are also available.

Unlike most flagships launching this year, the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 goes against the grain as it doesn’t feature a dual-camera setup on the back, but only takes advantage of a singular 12-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture and dual-LED flash.

Both phones include a 5-megapixel selfie snapper. In the case of the LG V30, it’s a wide-angle sensor with f/2.2.

Other features

The LG V30 has a leg up when it comes to audio, as it ships with Hi-Fi Quad DAC on board that was tuned by B&O Play engineers. A pair of B&O Play headphones will ship out alongside the LG V30 as part of the bundle, although we’re not sure at this point whether US customers will be able to take advantage of this freebie or not.

What’s more, the V30 is the first phone to support MQA, which means users will be able to store hi-res audio files more easily.

We should also note that the LG V30 will ship as a Daydream-ready phone out of the box, while the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 doesn’t offer this feature (just yet?). The LG phone also offers iris scanning and runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat with LG’s UX 6.0+, but the device will probably be among the first LG models to receive the Android 8.0 Oreo update. The same can be said of the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 which also ships with Android 7.1 Nougat of the box with MIUI 9 on top.

Last but not least, we should mention that unlike last year’s LG V20, the V30 doesn’t take advantage of a secondary ticker display. Instead, LG is using a software alternative dubbed the Floating Bar which gives you quick access to things like Settings, Notes and so on.

Cost

LG hasn’t officially revealed the pricing for the V30 in the US just yet. However, we expect the phone will start selling in the country for $750 and up. The phone will be available in Aurora Black, Cloud Silver, Moroccan Blue and Lavender Violet.

As for the Mi MIX 2, it’s a little bit more affordable as you’d normally expect a Xiaomi device to be. The 6GB of RAM/64GB storage version was announced with a price tag of approx. $500. The standard version is only available in Black.

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