I'm not sold on LG's G5. Yes, it's metal now, but it's hideous. Seems like a step sideways, not forwards! And a 5.5" screen is still not something I'd touch.
High impedance support on the upgraded DAC would be interesting. Not $180 interesting. Especially not with cans that'd cost as much as that accessory.
Ian, given you showed up to MWC with a no-name phone, did you get any odd reactions? Did you feel out of your element at all? MWC seems odd to send you to. It'd be like sending an iPhone gamer to E3.
This is my third MWC, and the last two years were just Andrei and I on the ground. Josh and Brandon are typically busy in the last week of February, plus Andrei and I are closest to the show anyway, being on the same continent at least so it doesn't cost an ARM and a leg to send us by comparison.
For sure I'm not a smartphone reviewer by trade, but for the past few years I've covered all the launches that happen in the UK, I attend events like ARM's Tech Days on new microarchitectures because Cambridge is just up the road, Mediatek's Analyst Forum events always seem to be in London, and I have Imagination right around the corner. In that time I've written one full smartphone review and a couple of 'A month with' pieces, along with news over the years and things like our recent trip to Huawei in China.
If I had to take on smartphones full time, I could argue that it's just a stones throw away from a lot of the CPU stuff I already do, just with a different focus on mobility that requires thought I haven't necessarily put into certain things. Having been in meetings with Anand at first then Andrei, I just listen in on the technical side and absorb information, but I also ask about more marketing/sales things like reach, response, research and market. At some of these events, I'm still there plowing questions to the PR/technical about the hardware to the bemusement of most tech press.
I also play a role on the business side of things at these events, introducing new teams and contacts to who or what AnandTech is, describing our unique role in the ecosystem and how to build new bridges for different content on stuff we've either wanted to do for a while (e.g. Sony), or need to invest more resources in (e.g. Enterprise).
I wear many hats. I'm sure if I wasn't already on the PC side, I'd happily pursue the smartphone space in a more permanent role, just as Ryan probably would. However we have three super awesome and super smart editors already going above and beyond, so I'm just happy to be a minor link in that chain when needed, such as UK launches, company relations and events like MWC.
As for my no-name Cubot H1 phone, I'm actually testing another right now. I experienced interest at SuperComputing 2015/CES 2016 on the Cubot, namely the tradeoff in battery life for performance was the main question. The only people who guessed the right price and laughed were ARM executives :)
All performance SoC will run hot. Anandtech are being extremely stubborn on how efficiency is measured. It's NOT about max clocks, it's about common workloads, which "benchmarks" aren't. Both chips will be more power efficient than their last iterations, and you should have nothing to worry about.
The heat pipes Samsung are using should improve heat dissipation, and increase power efficiency as a result. There is an extremely important factor that's being ignored here: For the SAME chip, a cooler implementation runs more efficiently than a hot one under the same workload, and draws less power.
I've already preordered mine and will be testing it extensively on my own.
Correction: Sony has used heatpipes since the Z2 (which introduced the Snapdragon 801). The Z4 has severe throttling issues since it uses the Snapdragon 810. The Z5 added a second heatpipe to deal with the 810.
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Shadow7037932 - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
I always look forward to the AnandTech podcast. Gonna listen to this on the way home from work today.Space Jam - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
I had no idea Anandtech has a podcast! Or that my phone would allow me to keep listening to it from other tabs and apps."We clocked up 45.4km on foot during the week, averaging around five hours sleep and one meal a day to be able to see everyone of interest."
Was delivery not an option?! How did you stay awake, by making your blood 10% coffee?
Space Jam - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
I'm not sold on LG's G5. Yes, it's metal now, but it's hideous. Seems like a step sideways, not forwards! And a 5.5" screen is still not something I'd touch.High impedance support on the upgraded DAC would be interesting. Not $180 interesting. Especially not with cans that'd cost as much as that accessory.
Ian, given you showed up to MWC with a no-name phone, did you get any odd reactions? Did you feel out of your element at all? MWC seems odd to send you to. It'd be like sending an iPhone gamer to E3.
Ian Cutress - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
This is my third MWC, and the last two years were just Andrei and I on the ground. Josh and Brandon are typically busy in the last week of February, plus Andrei and I are closest to the show anyway, being on the same continent at least so it doesn't cost an ARM and a leg to send us by comparison.For sure I'm not a smartphone reviewer by trade, but for the past few years I've covered all the launches that happen in the UK, I attend events like ARM's Tech Days on new microarchitectures because Cambridge is just up the road, Mediatek's Analyst Forum events always seem to be in London, and I have Imagination right around the corner. In that time I've written one full smartphone review and a couple of 'A month with' pieces, along with news over the years and things like our recent trip to Huawei in China.
If I had to take on smartphones full time, I could argue that it's just a stones throw away from a lot of the CPU stuff I already do, just with a different focus on mobility that requires thought I haven't necessarily put into certain things. Having been in meetings with Anand at first then Andrei, I just listen in on the technical side and absorb information, but I also ask about more marketing/sales things like reach, response, research and market. At some of these events, I'm still there plowing questions to the PR/technical about the hardware to the bemusement of most tech press.
I also play a role on the business side of things at these events, introducing new teams and contacts to who or what AnandTech is, describing our unique role in the ecosystem and how to build new bridges for different content on stuff we've either wanted to do for a while (e.g. Sony), or need to invest more resources in (e.g. Enterprise).
I wear many hats. I'm sure if I wasn't already on the PC side, I'd happily pursue the smartphone space in a more permanent role, just as Ryan probably would. However we have three super awesome and super smart editors already going above and beyond, so I'm just happy to be a minor link in that chain when needed, such as UK launches, company relations and events like MWC.
As for my no-name Cubot H1 phone, I'm actually testing another right now. I experienced interest at SuperComputing 2015/CES 2016 on the Cubot, namely the tradeoff in battery life for performance was the main question. The only people who guessed the right price and laughed were ARM executives :)
Space Jam - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
"Doesn't cost an ARM and a leg"OH HO HO HO
Thank you for the detailed response!
Ian Cutress - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
By being ill-ish for the next two days :) I'm almost back to normal... whatever normal is...Space Jam - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
Ooh my sympathies! Thanks for suffering through MWC to the delight of a grateful readership!Space Jam - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
I am really worried about the Snapdragon 820 and it's prevalence. The 810 was mediocre and the 820 seems no different.Sammy's 7420 on the other hand is one helluva SoC (if charitably called lackluster in GPU performance) and it sold me on big.LITTLE configs.
The S6(e) to S7(e) could end up an SoC downgrade, and that's a big concern for me.
Space Jam - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
(7420 to 820 could be a downgrade)tuxRoller - Monday, February 29, 2016 - link
Both the snapdragon 820 and the exynos 8890 look to be running hot from AT's early coverage.lilmoe - Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - link
All performance SoC will run hot. Anandtech are being extremely stubborn on how efficiency is measured. It's NOT about max clocks, it's about common workloads, which "benchmarks" aren't. Both chips will be more power efficient than their last iterations, and you should have nothing to worry about.The heat pipes Samsung are using should improve heat dissipation, and increase power efficiency as a result. There is an extremely important factor that's being ignored here: For the SAME chip, a cooler implementation runs more efficiently than a hot one under the same workload, and draws less power.
I've already preordered mine and will be testing it extensively on my own.
andrewia - Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - link
Correction: Sony has used heatpipes since the Z2 (which introduced the Snapdragon 801). The Z4 has severe throttling issues since it uses the Snapdragon 810. The Z5 added a second heatpipe to deal with the 810.hans_ober - Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - link
I think Sony had a heatpipe in the Z2/Z3.. before S810.