Nikon D6: everything new in the flagship DSLR sports camera

DSLRs had taken a back seat to mirrorless cameras in the past few years, with many speculating they will not be resurrected by camera makers. However, Canon has put those speculations to rest, having announced the EOS 1D X Mark III in January, after releasing an enthusiast-level EOS 90D in August last year. And that's not even going to be the last if rumors are to be believed. 

Nikon, too, has just released the D780, and quickly followed it up with its professional sport shooter. And the timing couldn't have been better. 2019 marked the 20th anniversary of the Nikon single-digit D series, which launched in 1999 with the Nikon D1. And now, we have what the company calls the "the most advanced digital SLR to date".

With the 2020 Olympic Games coming up this year, we're going to see the professional, sports-focused DSLR flagships from Canon and Nikon face off again, just like the old days. In the red corner, there's the newly released Canon 1DX Mark III. And, in the opposite corner is the Nikon D6, which has only just been announced.

The Canon shooter is pretty much a hybrid of DSLR and mirrorless tech, with some of the best features we've seen from the latest mirror-free models, like advanced autofocus, alongside traditional DSLR traits like the optical viewfinder and lengthy battery life. The Nikon competition also offers similar features, in a very different package.

Nikon D6: release date and price

Like its predecessor, the Nikon D5, and its new Canon counterpart, the D6 is not going to be cheap. It will begin shipping in April 2020 and carry a hefty price tag of $6,500 / £6,299, with Australian pricing yet to come. That puts it pretty much in same territory as its main rival, the just-released Canon 1D X Mark III, which is also vying for the camera bags of professional sports photographers.

Nikon D6: design 

Nikon was kind enough to supply a small picture of the D6 in its development announcement back in September. It was presumably a mock-up, rather than a final rendering but, even then, we knew it would resemble the D5 physically.

The chassis remains that quintessential chunky design to incorporate a big battery and accommodate the dual shooting layout for both vertical and horizontal capture.

The magnesium alloy body is completely weather-sealed, making it "as tough as the professionals who use it". 

It should come as no surprise to see Nikon keep to a very similar form factor as the D5's for the D6 – after all, expecting pros to get used to a drastically new way of working is a big task. The square shape of the D5 allows it to incorporate a battery grip for extended battery life, and we expect the D6 to blow its mirrorless rivals out of the water for longevity by doing the same thing. 

Also announced as being in development at the same time as the D6 was a new 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR telephoto lens, which looks set to be a bit of a beast – the Nikon D6 will have to be large enough to balance well with such lenses, which are popular with sports and wildlife shooters.

Nikon D6: sensor and processor

The beating heart of the Nikon D6 is the 20.8MP full-frame sensor, which is lower in resolution than the D5's although marginally higher than the 1D X Mark III's 20.1MP pixel count. Despite the lower resolution, the new sensor has been designed to deliver high quality images that can be captured at a maximum speed of 14fps when shooting with E-type lenses (those with an electromagnetically controlled diaphragm). Switch to shooting via the rear LCD display – or the silent shooting mode – and you'll get a top of 10.5fps at full resolution with autofocus tracking. 

There are also the options of shooting 30fps which will restrict image sizes to 8MP, or heading higher to 60fps to get 2MP files. This burst of speed has been made possible by a brand new Expeed 6 engine.

Nikon D6: autofocus

Nikon has revamped the autofocus system from the ground up, delivering what the company promises is a much faster, more precise AF system. Instead of the older 153-point array, the D6 now features a 105-point all cross-type system with every single point now selectable individually. Each uses what Nikon calls a "triple-sensor arrangement", although details on how this works is as yet unclear.

While the centre point can focus down to -4.5EV, the others are all good for down to -4EV. With an ISO range matching its older sibling, the D6 seems set to be the new low-light king.

Nikon D6: video features

The Nikon D5 was the first Nikon DSLR to be capable of recording high-definition 4K/UHD movies in-camera, and the D6 carries on in that tradition. However, the camera was built for stills and, like the D5, offers 4K/30p video, albeit with focus peaking and an MP4 recording option.

Nikon D6: card slots and connectivity

Dual memory card slots are pretty much a given. The Nikon D5 can be bought with either 2x XQD slots, or 2x CF slots, but Compact Flash is pretty old hat now, so Nikon has made both slots in the D6 compatible with XQD and CFExpress. This backward compatibility is perfect for those who already have a stack of XQD cards in their possession, considering how expensive CFExpress cards are.

A USB-C port is available for quick wired transfer of files, while Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are also available. However, that's never really quick enough for the pros who need to deliver images with the shortest turnaround time possible. For them, there's a 1000BASE_T Ethernet port for wired transfer which, according to Nikon, is now 15% faster than the one on the D5.

On paper, the Nikon D6 doesn't sound as quick as the Canon EOS 1D X Mark III, however we're yet to test both cameras extensively and see how they do against each other in the real world. We look forward to pitting them against each other in the arena and we'll share our thoughts with your as soon as we've done so.

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Why Corsair believes in the wireless future of PC gaming

Corsair surprised us early in 2018 with its first wireless keyboard, the K63 Wireless, and while we rated it with a nearly perfect score in our review, we wanted the inside story behind it. So, we’ve traveled to Corsair headquarters in Fremont, California to hear the tale straight from the source.

Michael Grey, Senior Product Line Manager at Corsair, tells us that “what really got us started was the wireless technology, first of all, was it had gotten to the point of one millisecond latency."

“The technology had been around for a couple of years before we put the keyboard out there,” Grey explains. “But, the reason we launched when we did is because the 1ms wireless hadn't been tested and vetted properly.”

 Michael Grey, Senior Product Line Manager at Corsair 

As with other wireless technology we’ve seen from Logitech and beyond, Corsair began its testing in anechoic chambers that basically absorb sound and any sort of electromagnetic waves. In this controlled environment, Corsair was able to figure out where the strongest wireless signal came from: 45 degrees to the right of the gaming keyboard’s center.

The company then took the keyboard for testing in its lab to see how various distances would affects signal strength. Grey’s team also introduced various home objects, such as routers or other wireless dongles, to add interference.

“We tested the Corsair K63 wireless in our own lab, which is really dirty with wireless signals, to come out with a product that we really feel felt comfortable with and that we could tell gamers, ‘look, this wireless now is as good as wired technology,’” Grey expounds. “It shouldn't be any different of a user experience to use this versus wired counterparts.”

Getting technical

The underlying wireless chip Corsair uses isn’t actually of its own making, but rather from a third-party supplier that Grey declined to name. However, Grey explains that Corsair works closely with its mystery supplier to customize it, put its own firmware and ‘secret sauce’ on the chip in order to optimize signal speed and integrity.

“We really like the chipset that we use because it actually gives us Bluetooth capability, which other chip sets in the market don't provide that capability,” Grey says. “So, that gives us the unique potential to have three modes of connectivity in our products with Bluetooth, one millisecond 2.4GHz and even wired USB.”

Grey tells us that a greater amount of development went into fitting everything into its existing Corsair K63 platform, which was its smallest tenkeyless keyboard.

“We had to figure out how to fit a battery in there, how to design an antenna, where to put these added chip sets,” Grey illuminates. “And then, there's all sorts of challenges with a what capacity battery, how to maximize battery life. All the tricks that people who've been making wireless keyboards for a very long time know very well.”

“Quite frankly, it was a lot more work than anyone thinks,” he says. “Everyone sees it just like ‘oh, they just put a battery in it and wireless.’ No, no, no, no. It took a lot more than that. Especially, because all of these products were Corsair's first shot at wireless products. A lot of people don't get a necessarily good reception on their first wireless products because it's very complicated to do and it's fraught with issues.”

Next level hurdles

While the Corsair K63 Wireless was designed to be as fast as wired – and it actually is in our book – getting it to work just so, especially with the lighting, continues to be a challenge.

“When you're USB mode on any of our standard wired products; iCUE, our software, takes control and sends data back to the keyboard to control all of the lighting,” Grey explains. “On wireless, we're not able to do that because the packets [sent to the Corsair K63 Wireless have to be] so small.”

“Even though we're still able to send the data out quickly, it's receiving data [on the keyboard] that's a little more challenging,” he says.

What the team ultimately had to do was bake all of the lighting options into directly into the keyboard and the software only tells the K63 Wireless when to trigger it. Grey explains that this is one of the reasons why there isn’t any RGB lighting on its wireless keyboard –  on top of the fact that it would draw three times more energy.

“RGB is always an opportunity – I mean, here we love RGB – to do in the future, but there's a few technology pieces that need to improve first before we're comfortable with that,” Grey promises.

“I've got some schools of thought on how that would be accomplished, but it wouldn't be the same as a wired keyboard where it's doing it what we call frame-by-frame,” he says. “So, every millisecond, it's sending out data on what to go play next. We wouldn't be able to do that. It would have to be a new, unique approach.”

An all wireless future?

Despite the challenges wireless technology introduces, Grey truly believes in a wireless future.

“I think you see it everywhere, that everyone is trying to figure out how to make everything go wireless,” Grey expounds. “Because wires are inconvenient and I think the future of everything is wireless.”

“We're in a society that values convenience, and throughout history,” he says. “If we can make something more convenient, and it works, great. Let's do it. Let's do it to everything, and wireless is going to be no different.”

Even on an esports level, Grey sees there being the potential of a wireless future especially when it can remove any interference for the highest level of play.

“Getting rid of the wire is actually a big thing because you no longer have drag it around,” Grey says. “[Even] if you use a mouse bungee, for instance, it can limit your mouse movement. [Wireless] just makes the experience a little bit cleaner. I mean, how would you like to go play a game of tennis with a cord strapped to your racket?”

“But again,” Grey warns, “we're just at the point where the wireless technology hit that one millisecond. Hit that sweet spot of performance. There are technologies, of course, in development down the line that are going to make that wireless signal and speed and all that stuff even better. We're just at the birth or genesis of gaming wirelessly.”

Welcome to TechRadar's PC Gaming Week 2019. We're celebrating the most powerful gaming platform on Earth with in-depth articles, exclusive interviews and essential buying guides that showcase everything PC gaming has to offer. Visit our PC Gaming Week 2019 page to see all our coverage in one place.

First published June 2018

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New Content-Aware Fill options coming soon to Photoshop

A sneak-peek presented by Photoshop Product Manager Meredith Payne Stotzner shows how Adobe will be improving its exceedingly clever Content Aware Fill tool in an upcoming update for Photoshop.

Content Aware Fill utilizes Sensei AI technology to create impressively realistic fills in a matter of seconds, with Stotzner calling it a “magical” feature. 

Joining the current Rectangular option for the tool will be new Auto and Custom options. The former will make use of the pixels immediately surrounding a selection for a better final result, automatically analyzing which would make the most sense to use to create a fill.

Alternatively, the Custom option gives the user full control over which area to use as a sample instead – this is apparently something which has repeatedly been requested by users.

See it in action

A video showing the capabilities of the new tools has been shared, showing just how useful the new tools could be for removing pesky tourists and stray objects from scenes, and re-imagining compositions. Having full control over the selection area is designed to save time, where the existing Rectangular option requires a little more input to get the exact effect you want. 

Stotzner claims that the feature is “more intelligent” and “more powerful” than ever before – and judging from the speed and seeming accuracy of the tools as showcased in the video, she’s not far wrong. 

No specific date was shared for the update, but the reference to 2019 indicates that it should be here before the end of the year.

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Could we see new graphics cards from both AMD and Nvidia in October?

If you thought the graphics card rumor mill had calmed down now that the AMD Radeon RX 5700 and 5700 XT were out, well, we have news for you: it looks like both AMD and Nvidia may be planning to release new graphics cards in the near future.  

Nvidia already has a seemingly full lineup of graphics cards, bookended with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and the GTX 1650 at the high and low ends, respectively, but we might see even more GPUs anyway.

As for AMD, which only has two current-generation RDNA-based cards right now, we keep seeing rumors of a 'Navi 14' GPU, the latest of which have appeared on German site 3dCenter

Right now, all the rumors are pointing to these new graphics cards competing  with each other at the budget end of the market, probably targeting the 1080p market. And, according to the latest Steam hardware survey, this is the most popular display resolution, accounting for 62.98% of all gaming systems - though that figure is starting to go down. 

However, according to that latest leak from German site 3dcenter and spotted by TechPowerUp, the Navi 12, which has been wrapped in a veil of secrecy, might end up taking on the RTX 2080. But, we have no way to know for sure. 

It's all in the numbers

Unlike a lot of the other leaks in the past few months, we're starting to see rumored specifications for both AMD and Nvidia's next graphics cards.  

From Team Green, word on the street is that we're going to see an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super (sigh) and a GTX 1650 Ti, according to Wccftech. Note that these aren't ray tracing GPUs, and will not be super-ultra-powerhouses.

Right now, the main difference between the rumored specs of the GTX 1660 Super and the regular GTX 1660 is the VRAM - it will apparently be GDDR6, rather than GDDR5.  We don't know why Nvidia didn't include GDDR6 with the GTX 1660 to begin with, but that's neither here nor there.  

As for the alleged GTX 1650 Ti, according to the rumors it will pack the same TU117 GPU that the GTX 1650 will, but with more CUDA cores and Texture units, although not much else. 

Moving on to AMD, the rumored Navi 14 chip will be a 'Mainstream' chip, which we assume means entry-level. According to the rumors, this Navi 14 graphics processor will feature 24 shader clusters with 1,536 shader units, and feature GDDR6 VRAM. We haven't seen any information about how these shader clusters will be clocked, but we could see this give the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 a serious walloping if it is indeed real. 

We're also starting to see whispers about the Navi 12, and it looks like it will be the AMD Navi graphics card to take on the RTX 2080 Super, with 52-64 shader clusters. Now, we would take this Navi 12 rumor with a massive grain of salt, just because of how, well, numbers work.

The already-released AMD Radeon RX 5700 and 5700 XT are  based on the Navi 10 GPU, and the rumored Navi 14 is going to take on the mid-range, so you would think that the Navi 12 would sit somewhere in between them. We've seen weirder things in the PC components landscape, but something just doesn't add up here. 

Still, even if this Navi 12 GPU isn't real, we do still think AMD will eventually compete at the high end once again – we just might have to wait until RDNA2 next year to see it. Either way, because all of this is just rumor and speculation, we won't actually know what AMD and Nvidia are planning until they're ready to lift the veil.

Whatever ends up happening though, it's starting to look like the Nvidia vs AMD GPU war is about to light up in the next month or so - and bear in mind that Black Friday is beginning to appear on the horizon.

Our advice: don't buy a new graphics card until you see whether or not these new cards are real, what they can do, and how much they cost.  

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OnePlus 7T vs ASUS ROG Phone 2: Best phones under Rs 40,000 compared

The Indian smartphone market has become home to surprisingly low-priced smartphones in recent years. Manufacturers that have effectively been able to bring down their pricing have encroached upon the comfortable sales that the legacy brands would get. 

OnePlus can perhaps be called the poster child of this movement, successfully being able to win over customers who were in the market for a flagship phone. No wonder it was able to achieve the top spot in the Indian market in just five years, by being a worthy player in the premium segment.

Quite naturally, its rampant growth caught competitor’s eye, who slowly started inching towards OnePlus, both in terms of the hardware offerings and the pricing. The ASUS ROG Phone 2 (technically, the ‘ASUS ROG Phone II’) was the most recent player to enter the arena by bringing a high-end gaming-centric flagship experience to the same price segment as the OnePlus 7T. On paper, the ROG Phone 2 is the one to bring more brawn to the table, but real-life comparisons revealed a different picture.

A little bit of a history lesson which is going to tie into the final verdict: ASUS’ flagships hadn’t been selling all that well. ROG Phone was the first gaming-centric smartphone from the company. It was a power-packed beast with a big battery and great audio, with several gaming features on top. However, it failed as an overall smartphone owing to a sub-par display, poor photography experience, and a very complicated software skin. The ROG Phone 2 is just the second iteration in the lineage but seems to fix these issues while adding a lot more to the mix while drastically bringing the price down somehow.

Price in India

Let’s form the basis of this entire comparison— the price. The base variants of both these phones are priced at the same Rs 37,999. The OnePlus 7T offers 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for that price, with the 256GB variant being priced at Rs 39,999.

The base variant of the ROG Phone 2 has the same amount of RAM and storage, while the top variant with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is priced at a whopping Rs 59,999. It needs to be noted that the base variant comes with an 18W fast charger in the box and no additional gaming peripherals, which constitute a significant part of the ROG experience. More on that later.

Design

Smartphone designs are usually a pretty subjective aspect, but there are certain generally expected elements, especially in this premium segment such as a choice of materials, ergonomics, weight distribution, and even the overall size. Interestingly, both these devices follow polar opposite ideologies for their designs, reminding us about how they are targeted to very different sets of users.

The OnePlus 7T continues the company’s design philosophy by opting for a premium frosted glass finish on the back that is slightly curved and feels just right in hand. It retains the width of the 7 but ships with an even taller display, adding to the big screen experience. It’s a pretty minimal design, with the back devoid of any interruptions and all the cameras now residing in a circular housing. OnePlus says that it adds symmetry, but I wouldn’t entirely agree with that as the cameras are still in a straight line. It’s more likely to have the 7T stand out from its siblings, to give the consumers that exclusive feeling. Regardless, it’s one of the cleanest designs on any smartphone around.

The ASUS ROG Phone 2, on the other hand, has an entirely different outlook for smartphone design; one that will definitely grab a few eyes when pulled out in public. While the back is still covered by Gorilla Glass 6, it is reminiscent of a motherboard circuitry with contrasting lines that run along the edges. There’s an unmissable perforated copper accent towards the right which is a vent for air circulation. If that wasn’t enough to make the ROG Phone stand out, there’s the iconic ROG “mask” logo in the center that also lights up!

The front is not chic or dainty either, with a big display, flanked by a thick chin and forehead which house big speaker grills. The ROG Phone 2 has a second USB Type-C port on the left side which is used to connect accessories while gaming in landscape orientation, and a headphone jack as well. 

However, all these extra ports and vents render the ASUS ROG Phone 2 non-water-resistant as even a small drop of water can make its way to the phone’s internals. The OnePlus 7T, on the other hand, is IP67-equivalent water-resistant and can survive splashes and dips with ease.

For this round, my pick would be the OnePlus 7T. I really like the flashy design of the ROG Phone 2, which would often be a conversation starter and is sure to make you feel unique, but the lack of water-resistance is not something I can risk, considering the weather in cities like Mumbai. Moreover, the weight of 240g is definitely noticeable and will tire your wrists during extended use, and feel out of place in your pocket, almost uncomfortably.

It’s pretty much like the running gaming laptop jokes, about how you shouldn’t carry one to a meeting or college. It’s refreshing to look at, but might not be suited for all environments, so consider your use scenario.

Display

Smartphone displays have come a long way in the last half-decade. AMOLED panels are not exclusive to high-end flagships now. However, all displays are not made equally, and the flagships do bring a lot more to the table with their displays. Both of our contenders are at the forefront of the recent refresh-rate revolution, thankfully not participating in the resolution wars. 

The spec sheet may make you think that these displays are going to look very similar, except for the higher 120Hz refresh rate on the ROG Phone 2. But there are some more game-changing differences that I was able to observe.

For the first time on a smartphone, we have a 120Hz AMOLED panel, on the ROG Phone 2. It is big 6.59-inch with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 (19.5:9 aspect ratio) with HDR10 capabilities. 

Similarly, the OnePlus 7T boasts of a 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. The resolution is set at 2400 x 1080, resulting in a 20:9 aspect ratio. The display supports HDR10+. 

When I held the OnePlus 7T for the first time, I was immediately impressed by the panel’s shape. An extra tall 20:9 display makes handling very convenient as the width doesn’t increase by much, but the added height continues to give you big viewing experience. Add the fact that the bezels on three sides are pretty slim, and the notch is one of the smallest on any phone, just make the experience that much more immersive. 

I genuinely feel that taller aspect ratios are the way to go for Android smartphones. One, it just improves the viewing experience by giving you more vertical real estate while scrolling or reading, and a bigger field-of-view while gaming. Secondly, the display inherently becomes less wide, helping in one-handed operations, especially with all the navigation buttons and gestures making use of the bottom edge only.

The ROG Phone is already pretty tall and owing to its aspect ratio; it’s extremely wide and unwieldy as well. But the overall bigger display footprint does add to the gaming experience too, giving you ample space for viewing without the fingers obstructing the display. 

High refresh-rate AMOLED displays are complicated to craft and were one of the main reasons for the slow adoption of this tech. The OnePlus 7 Pro was the first device actually to nail colour accuracy while crossing the 60Hz threshold. Unfortunately, the ASUS ROG Phone falls short in this regard, with a display that has a perceivable green tint and inaccurate contrast levels. It’s not very extreme and can be lived with. But when the phones are held side-by-side, the difference becomes evident. Ignore this bit if color accuracy is not a priority.

Fun fact: The OnePlus 7T has a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, which is higher than even 7 Pro. The ROG Phone 2 is no slouch either, but for the sake of this comparison, the 7T gets visibly brighter.

One of the most common questions I received was how noticeable the difference between 90Hz and 120Hz is? For starters, both are visibly smoother than regular 60Hz, and even an untrained eye should be able to spot this. Isolated testing results were inconclusive but using them alongside each other did highlight the ROG Phone’s pedigree in this field. Lesser motion blur was perceived, and content was legible even while scrolling vigorously.

I reckon this smoother feeling also has a correlation with the ASUS ROG Phone 2’s massively higher-touch sampling rate, coming in at 240Hz. It is basically how many times the touchscreen is tracking any input, making it all a lot more responsive. This feeling might be further augmented by the longer animation duration on the OnePlus 7T.

For me, the max brightness, more accurate and vivid color output, and the taller aspect ratio are more valuable than a marginally faster refresh rate. But it’s still commendable how ASUS was the first one to bring such a high-end display to the market. 

There’s also not a lot of content to make use of panels with a refresh rate of over 60Hz, and most games aren’t coded to cross 60fps anyway. But the differences are existent throughout the UI; be it scrolling through the home screens, reading, social media, etc. Can’t wait for the time when more games will support this.

Audio output

Both phones scored well on the display front, but immersion is also a function of sound. Stereo speakers are finally getting more common, and make an appearance on both of these phones, albeit in very different ways.

The primary speaker on the OnePlus 7T is downward facing, with the earpiece acting as the secondary speaker. Since both of them are on the opposite ends of the device, it technically provides a stereo experience, but only one of them will throw the sound towards you. 

With Dolby Atmos onboard, it provides a rich and full sound with above-average loudness. The positioning of both the speakers also ensures that at least one grill will remain uncovered, irrespective of its orientation.

The ROG Phone 2 blows the 7T out of water thought, with dual, front-firing stereo speakers with dedicated amplifiers. With support for DTS :X Ultra, the audio output is probably the best we’ve seen on any smartphone. It was punchy, bright, directional and filling, and didn’t fall apart at higher volumes either. 

There’s also an outdoor mode which further increases the volume levels at the expense of sound quality. It matches some small dedicated Bluetooth speakers in terms of volume levels. There’s also a headphone jack which is capable of Hi-Res audio output and is located in an ideal position for gaming, in the bottom-left corner. 

Performance and Gaming

Powered by the latest Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset, both these phones are at the pinnacle of smartphone processing from the Android camp. The 855 Plus is a minor upgrade to the Snapdragon 855 which is supposed to improve the performance by about 15% with the max frequency of 2.96GHz.

OnePlus has tried to stabilize the performance by heavily optimizing it, while ASUS has added a cooling mechanism which includes an actual cooling fan inside to sustain peak performance. Unsurprisingly, both of them performed very well during the heaviest of tasks, including gaming.

Every game would run smoothly at the max settings at max framerate. There aren’t any games out there which can take full advantage of this beefy hardware package. Most games are locked to 60fps (including PUBG Mobile) which is just plain sad.

We did prolonged gaming on both phones, and the only differences we were able to notice were the fact that the ROG Phone gets a little warmer to the touch, while sustaining the peak performance for longer. Whereas, you might get an occasional frame drop on the 7T. Both of these are barely noticeable unless observed side-by-side. 

Some games open faster on the OnePlus 7T, presumably due to the inclusion of UFS 3.0 storage, but doesn’t affect the gaming later on. 

Performance is just one aspect of the gaming experience, with even the haptics, sound output, and peripherals playing a considerable role. The ASUS ROG Phone 2 has a pair of “Air Triggers” on the right side, which are two touch-sensitive areas which can be used as shoulder buttons during gaming. It is a huge tactical advantage when you can use four fingers instead of just the two thumbs, and will legitimately help your skills.

Overall, the performance can be said to be a tie, but the entire gaming experience crown goes to the ROG Phone 2 for better stereo audio, Air Triggers and loads of features built into the Armoury Crate suite, which let you tweak and monitor each aspect of the phone and the game.

Software and features

Software skins are an underrated constituent to a phone’s user experience as it affects almost every interaction. Some prefer it minimal; others like it feature-packed. It also varies according to your history with phones, if you have a soft spot for a certain kind of operating system or not.

OxygenOS is generally regarded as one of the best Android skins out there, which emphasizes on performance and speed. It’s also the one that comes with the least amount of bloatware apps. There’s a lot of customization potential too. For anyone moving to OnePlus from any other smartphone skin, OxygenOS is probably the easiest to get accustomed to. Extra points for running Android 10 out-of-the-box.

ASUS has a very different offering this time, with the ROG Phone 2 running two operating systems. There’s the gaming-centric ROG UI with lots of additional features and toggles that let you monitor and control how the phone performs, and there’s the ZenUI which is almost stock Android. The former is not a light skin but could interest those who like to toggle and control the minutiae.

For me, the simplicity and speed of OxygenOS are more valuable than being able to monitor and control vanity metrics. I prefer my smartphone to take care of that without me needing to intervene. 

Batter and charging

With all that performance and speed, you’d want your phone to last for a while. Battery life on smartphones these days is generally good, and there’s always fast charging to make up for when the battery life isn’t.

Once again, we see them opt for very different routes with battery sizes and refueling. The OnePlus 7T ships with a 3,800 mAh battery, which is suitable for a day of mixed usage involving an hour or so gaming, social media, push notifications and calls with wifi or data on throughout. Nothing exceptional, and unlikely to last you to the second day.

ASUS went with a bigger battery at the expense of slimness, managing to fit in a 6,000 mAh battery which is the biggest on any mainstream device currently, and the battery life is just bonkers. It’s almost guaranteed to last you two days on a single charge with moderate usage. If you want to push the gaming bit to its limit, the ROG Phone 2 will still not give up. In our testing, we were able to touch 7 hours of continuous PUBG Mobile at the max framerate of 60fps. For context, that’s how much screen-on-time a regular phone would give in a day of light to moderate use.

Expectedly, the tip of the table in favor of OnePlus when it comes to charging. The new Warp Charge 30T can charge to phone from 0 to full in less than an hour, with a 30 minute top up refilling about 60% of the battery. It doesn’t slow down all that much during gaming.

This base variant of the ASUS ROG Phone 2 ships with an 18W fast charger in the box, which takes about 2 hours to charge the phone from empty. Not bad, considering that the battery is so big, but pales in comparison with Warp Charge. 

The clear winner over here is the ROG Phone 2, with its two-day battery life. If the charging speeds worry you, the faster 30W “Hypercharger” can be yours for just Rs 1,999.

Camera

Smartphone photography is essential, and with the onslaught of multiple lenses at varying focal lengths, it’s only got closer to replacing point-and-shoot cameras. Heading into this round, we knew we had to have our expectations in control as gaming phones have historically not been great at photography. 

The OnePlus 7T has triple-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 48MP f/1.6 primary camera with OIS, a 16MP ultra-wide shooter with an f/2.2 aperture and a third 12MP telephoto lens with a 2x optical zoom.

The ASUS ROG Phone 2 has a dual-camera setup with the same 48MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 aperture along with a 13MP ultrawide shooter at f/2.4.

As expected, the OnePlus 7T captures better-looking shots in most of the images, thanks to the superior hardware combined with image processing. In most cases, the ROG Phone 2 gave a slightly cooler image, but even the saturation and contrast were a little lacking.

Verdict

You might have noticed by now how different these two phones are, with similarities ending at the spec sheet. As we mentioned earlier, these phones aren’t meant for the same type of consumer, and both address vastly different preferences.

The OnePlus 7T is the right phone for those who want a phone that works well needs minimum tweaking and performs admirably in all departments. The display and the camera are significant strengths, along with one of the most refined software experiences.

The ASUS ROG Phone 2 is the best a gamer can get, with a big display, an astounding pair of speakers and battery life to keep you going. The ROG UI offers a lot of customization and monitoring while gaming but can feel a little overwhelming to some.

OnePlus has always been one of the first ones to bring the latest software version updates to the market, and the 7T is the first phone to run Android 10 out-of-the-box. Not just that, regular updates are also guaranteed to arrive in a timely fashion, increasing the overall UX of the phone with time.

It is ASUS’ only second attempt with a gaming flagship, with the first one being forgotten quickly. Software updates have also not been as timely or frequent, not just in comparison to OnePlus, but also according to industry standards.

The OnePlus 7T is bound to outsell the ROG Phone 2 manifold, which also means you will get better third-party support for repairs, services, and accessories. ASUS’ service network isn’t nearly as robust as OnePlus’, which is a factor to consider when you are about to drop 40K on the phone.

In simpler words, the 7T is better positioned to stay relevant for a more extended period and might improve over time too. ASUS’ effort with the ROG Phone 2 is commendable. It’s not often we see surprise devices get launched and steal the thunder from the latest OnePlus flagships. If they can continue this trajectory and prove that they are here for the long term, the next ROG Phone will get a much more confident recommendation.

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We might have just seen the Surface 7 with an ARM CPU in these leaked images

Microsoft is expected to launch new Surface hardware at its press event this Wednesday, October 2, and some marketing images have just leaked, allegedly giving us a glimpse – albeit a rather distant one – of the devices set to be unveiled.

The rumor mill contends that we’re going to see the new Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3 at the event, and that would seemingly be what these leaked images depict, which were posted on Twitter by prolific Microsoft leaker WalkingCat (as spotted by Windows Central).

However, there is also the prospect that, rather than the Surface Pro 7, the images could show an all-new Surface 7, which has also been the subject of speculation recently.

It’s difficult to make too much in the way of judgements, because the devices in the pictures are pretty distant in the various lifestyle images (and not even visible at all in the last one, unless that’s the new Surface Car – in which case, Microsoft really has left Apple choking on its exhaust fumes). And moreover, the purported Surface products are shown from the rear, as well as from afar.

So, if we take it as read that these are genuine leaked marketing materials from Microsoft – they certainly look convincing enough, and are from a relatively trustworthy source – there’s not all that much that can be discerned. Except, if this is a revamped Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3, the design hasn’t changed much; although that's not much of a surprise.

We can make some interesting guesses, though. First, in the image below, the device shown – presumably the Surface Laptop 3 – looks a touch thinner, and again it wouldn’t be unexpected for Microsoft to have slimmed the notebook down.

Secondly, the image at the top of this article shows what is, at first glance, presumably the Surface Pro 7 (with the kickstand). However, the device looks strangely tall compared to our Surface Pro 6.

The size of the device relative to the webcam at the top also makes it look longer – and generally larger – than the existing Surface Pro 6, although it’s difficult to make too much of a judgement on these factors from the rather distantly-pictured device.

Still, this could indicate Microsoft has something of a surprise up its sleeve…

Surface with Snapdragon?

Could this be the Surface 7 device which has popped up in fresh rumors recently? French tech site Frandroid previously reported on this alleged rebirth of the non-Pro version of the Surface tablet, which would represent a big redesign, with much thinner bezels around the screen, USB-C connectivity, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU.

So this would theoretically be Microsoft’s ‘always connected’ Surface which has been previously floating around as a rumor earlier this year, and it would be based on a modified Snapdragon 8cx chip.

As PC World reports, that chip could be completely rebranded for the device, and it further observes that it was told separately, before the Frandroid report, that the new Surface devices would include CPUs from Intel, AMD, and a modified Snapdragon chip.

Also note that the above image mentions ‘LTE service availability’ which would fit in with this being an ‘always connected’ Snapdragon-powered Surface. Although, of course the Surface Pro does have an LTE spin, and if this was the Snapdragon 8cx, wouldn’t Microsoft’s marketing spiel mention 5G?

Okay, so this is starting to become something of a minefield of guesswork, and while it’s interesting to speculate on these images, we simply can’t draw too much in the way of conclusions just yet.

Luckily, we won’t have long to wait to find out if Microsoft might just have a Surface 7, as well as a Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3, ready to rock in a couple of days.

Another rumor is that we may get a teaser for the Surface Centaurus dual-screen laptop Microsoft allegedly has in the works. We will almost certainly see the next version of Windows 10 unveiled, as well, and perhaps a new Surface Mouse and Keyboard, so this is shaping up to be quite some event.

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Oppo Reno vs Oppo Reno 10x Zoom vs Oppo Reno Z: what’s the difference?

Oppo joined the Western smartphone market in style with its Oppo Reno phone range. These weren’t the Chinese phone company’s first devices released outside Asia, but were certainly the most popular.

The base Oppo Reno has a stylish design and a fair amount of power, and the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom offers increased camera power and size. The flagship feature on both is the pop-up ‘shark fin’ section which houses the front camera and the rear flash, which brings a level of style to the pop-up camera world.

Then there’s the Oppo Reno Z, the affordable – yet equally stylish – budget device that drops the shark fin, as well as the specs, and has a lower price accordingly.

All of these are capable mid-range devices, but that means if you’re in the market for a new smartphone and Oppo’s name has caught your eye, it can be hard to decide which of the handsets you should pick up.

That’s why we’ve made this handy guide to help you work out which Oppo Reno smartphone is best for you.

Oppo Reno series price

The Oppo Reno series launched in most regions, but not the US. We’ve converted the pricing to give you an idea of how much it costs in US dollars anyway, but you’re going to have to import the Oppo Reno phones if you want them.

Oppo Reno

The Oppo Reno Z is the most affordable device in the Reno line. You can pick it up for £299 / AU$499 (which converts to roughly $360), so it definitely won’t break the bank, and it straddles the line between mid-range and budget pricing.

Next, the base Oppo Reno will set you back £449 (around $570, AU$820), however it’s not actually available in Australia or the US, so if you’re desperate for that pop-up shark fin, it’s the 10x Zoom you’re after.

The most premium device of the range, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom, costs £699 / AU$1,199 (around $889). That’s more than twice the price of the Reno Z, and while it’s certainly not a ‘high-end’ device by any means, it’s the most powerful and specced-out handset in the Oppo Reno line.

Design and display

The Oppo Reno series of phones clearly share a design bone, as all of the devices look rather similar.

The Oppo Reno, Oppo Reno 10x Zoom and Oppo Reno Z all have smooth backs with the rear cameras arranged vertically down the back – there’s no camera bump, but to protect the lenses from getting scratched there’s the O-Dot, which is a little bump to keep the cameras elevated when you put them down on a surface.

Oppo Reno Z

While the handsets look the same, the Reno and Reno Z have plastic bodies while the Reno 10x Zoom is aluminium, so it'll be a little sturdier if you're prone to dropping your device.

The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is alone in the trio by being the only handset without a 3.5mm headphone jack, but they all use USB-C ports and have power buttons on the right of the phone and a volume rocker on the left.

So now all the design features are mentioned except the main one: the pop-up shark fin camera, which the Oppo Reno and Oppo Reno 10x Zoom have but the Oppo Reno Z doesn’t. It’s certainly a novel feature, and it saves display space (the Reno Z has a small notch instead) – it’s also pretty durable and quick to use, so it’s a decent replacement for the front-facing camera and one of the most reliable pop-ups we’ve seen.

Oppo Reno 10x Zoom

Speaking of the display, the Oppo Reno and Oppo Reno Z both have 6.4-inch screens, while the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom’s display is 6.6 inches – you could consider it the plus-sized device of the trio.

Each device has the same AMOLED display though, so there’s not a huge difference in quality when you’re viewing content. In fact, other than the Oppo Reno Z having a small notch, you’re getting basically the same experience when using any of the phones.

Camera

When it comes to the Oppo Reno cameras, once again, the Oppo Reno and Oppo Reno Z have exactly the same specs – in this case, that consists of a 48MP main snapper and 5MP depth sensor used for improved bokeh background blur in portrait shots. That means the phones are great for taking profile snaps and close-up shots, but it’s not great for zoom or wide pictures.

The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom has the same 48MP main sensor, but it’s joined by an 8MP camera with ultra-wide angle lens, and 13MP camera with periscope lens – that’s a more standard combination of camera lenses for a smartphone.

The latter snapper is what gives the device its name, as it facilitates 5x optical and 10x hybrid zoom (as well as 60x digital zoom, but unless you want your pictures to be a pixelly mess, you’ll avoid this one). 

Oppo Reno 10x Zoom

With its three adaptable cameras, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom gives the best photography potential of the three devices, but the other two are nothing to turn your nose up at if you just want to take the odd profile snap.

On the front of the device (well, on the shark fin for two of the devices), the Oppo Reno and Oppo Reno 10x Zoom both have 16MP selfie cameras, while the Oppo Reno Z has a 32MP snapper. Yes, it’s curious that the affordable device has by far the most powerful selfie camera, but if you’re just taking the odd Instagram story or checking your hair, high resolution selfies aren’t vital.

Battery life

There’s not a huge variation in terms of battery size between the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom and Oppo Reno Z – in fact, at 4,065mAh and 4,035mAh respectively, it’ll probably take you as long to read this sentence as it would to burn that extra 30mAh! 

The base Oppo Reno has a slightly lower power pack capacity at 3,765mAh, but since its screen is a smaller size than the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom, the two phones have about the same battery life. With its smaller display, the Oppo Reno Z can last just a tiny bit longer.

Oppo Reno Z

Each of the handsets has 20W fast charging, so they'll power up at the same rates, but none of them having wireless charging, which is understandable for the budget Reno Z but a missing feature from the Reno 10x Zoom.

Features

In terms of software, the Oppo Reno, Reno 10x Zoom and Reno Z all run Android 9, with ColorOS 6, a user interface from Oppo, laid over the top. This is mostly an aesthetic change.

There are a few spec differences between the devices though, such as in the chipset. While the Reno 10x Zoom uses the Snapdragon 855, which is a cutting-edge processor that provides great power, the Reno has a mid-range Snapdragon 710 and the Reno Z has a Mediatek Helio P90, which is a chipset you find mostly in budget devices.

Oppo Reno

In terms of RAM, depending on the region and which storage option you choose for the handset, there's a huge range of memory you can find. All the phones are available with 6GB or 8GB RAM, with 128GB or 256GB storage, although the Reno Z also has a 4GB / 128GB option.

If you like playing audio out loud on your smartphone, the Reno 10x Zoom and Reno Z both have dual Dolby Atmos stereo speakers – however the middle child of the series, the Reno, misses out on this.

The three phones also all have NFC if you're a fan of using your smartphone to make payments.

Takeaway

In general, you can view the Oppo Reno series this way: the Reno Z is the 'lite' phone, while the Reno 10x Zoom is the most premium device.

There are some exceptions to this rule, however, like the powerful selfie camera on the Reno Z, and the fact the base Reno misses out on the Reno Z and Reno 10x Zoom's dual speakers.

The three phones are all clearly variations on the same theme, so if you buy one you're getting a similar experience to the others. If you're looking for a new affordable device the Reno Z is perfect for you, but if you really want to splash out on a powerful smartphone the Reno 10x Zoom is for you. 

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Google’s next-gen Nest Wi-Fi router arrives at the FCC

We first got hints that Google was working on an improved version of its mesh router system last month, and now devices that seem to fit that description have shown up at the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) in the US.

As 9to5Google reports, the regulatory agency has received filings for the catchily named A4R-H2D and A4R-H2E gadgets, described as "interactive internet streaming device(s)" in the documentation.

That sounds very much like a Wi-Fi router to us, and it's also similar to the labels Google puts on its smart displays and Google Home speakers, suggesting these new devices could come with some extra smarts on board.

According to inside sources speaking to 9to5Google, the new system will come with smaller extender beacons that double up as Google Assistant smart speakers, and a larger main router that doesn't.

Building a Nest

It's not much of a surprise that a second-gen version of Google's mesh networking kit is on the way – the original Google Wifi products launched in October 2016, so they're arguably overdue an update if Google wants to keep at the cutting edge of home networking tech.

Add in Google's eagerness to gather all of its smart home gadgets under the Nest name and it seems likely that a Nest Wifi router pack is going to be launched sooner rather than later.

Google has a hardware event booked in for October 15, when it's going to be showing off the Pixel 4 phones among other goodies, so it's possible that this new mesh router system will make an appearance there.

Unfortunately we don't know much about it from the FCC filing, beyond the fact that it's on the way, and that it supports Google's wireless Thread protocol (keeping all its smart home devices happily communicating with each other).

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Virgin Media’s new Gigabit broadband is UK’s fastest, costs £62 per month

Virgin Media has officially launched its new Gig1 broadband service, which offers blazing 1.1Gbps speeds and comes with an all-new Hub 4 router. To begin with it’s only available in Southampton, but another UK city will follow shortly.

The Gigabit broadband service comes with a claimed average peak-time download speed of 1,104Mbps – the fastest in the UK, and over 20 times faster than the UK’s average connection going by Ofcom figures.

Gig1 offers an upload speed of 52Mbps – not the fastest in the UK, by a long shot, but still likely plenty speedy enough for most.

A broadband-only subscription starts at £62 per month, on an 18-month contract (that includes a price freeze for at least two years, the company notes).

Broadband and phone costs £67 a month, and prices go up from there, with various bundles being available:

  • Big Bundle (Mixit TV, broadband, phone) - £72 per month
  • Bigger Bundle (Maxit TV, broadband, phone) - £89 per month
  • Bigger Bundle + movies (Maxit TV + Sky Cinema HD, broadband, phone) - £99 per month
  • Bigger Bundle + sports (Maxit TV + Sky Sports HD, broadband, phone) - £105 per month
  • Bigger Bundle + sports and movies (Maxit TV + Sky Sports HD and Sky Cinema HD, broadband, phone) - £109 per month
  • Ultimate Oomph Bundle (All the TV, broadband, phone and an unlimited SIM) - £119 per month

Broader rollout

As mentioned, to begin with the Gig1 service is live for around 100,000 homes in Southampton, and another major UK city will get to join in the ultrafast fun in the “coming weeks” according to Virgin Media.

The overarching plan is to deliver the Gigabit service to almost 15 million households (the entire Virgin Media network) by the end of 2021.

The new Hub 4 will only be made available to Gig1 subscribers, and will (obviously) be a Gigabit-capable router featuring improved Wi-Fi hardware, with more antennae than the Hub 3, which will also mean it’s more capable of dealing with multiple devices connected simultaneously.

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Norway won’t ban Huawei as Telenor launches Scandinavia’s ‘largest’ 5G pilot

Norway has said it won’t ban its mobile operators from using Huawei equipment in their 5G networks.

An exclusion had been touted by the country’s former justice minister, but the government appears to have reconsidered, paving the way for Telenor to use Huawei's kit in its pilot. 

“We have a good dialogue with the companies on security, and then it is up to the companies themselves to choose suppliers. We haven’t got any bans against any suppliers in Norway,” Nikolai Anstrup, cabinet minister responsible for Norway’s digital strategy told Reuters.

Norway 5G Huawei

Such a position puts Norway at odds with the US – a key NATO ally. Earlier this year, the Department of Commerce effectively blacklisted the Huawei on national security grounds, preventing US-based firms from doing business with the Chinese mobile giant.

The ruling has impacted both Huawei’s smartphone and networking divisions, while the US is urging its allies to ban the company from participating in the rollout of 5G. Huawei has denied any allegations of wrongdoing, while the US has not provided any evidence to support its claims.

There is little support among European mobile operators for a ban on Huawei kit, which is often cheaper and more innovative than the competition. Meanwhile, the cost of stripping out Huawei equipment could run into the billions.

State-owned Telenor signed its first agreement with Huawei in 2009, a deal which was a major milestone in the company’s international expansion. Telenor is Norway’s largest operator and has a presence in both Europe and Asia.

It has just launched what it claims is Scandinavia’s largest pilot of 5G in the municipality of Elverum and plans to reach several locations by the end of the year. This includes the capital Oslo and the estimated 3,000-strong polar bear population of Svalbard, an island in the Arctic Ocean.

Telenor is using Ericsson kit for the time being, but Norway’s revised stance means it will be free to use Huawei equipment when it launches a commercial 5G service in 2020.

“Exploring this technology here in Norway means that we can learn, test and continuously improve as we gradually introduce 5G to our markets,” said Sigve Brekke, Telenor Group President and CEO.”

Via Reuters

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