Android Advisor - Issue 124 2024

INSIDE: ANDROID TIPS & TRICKS
ADVISOR
ISSUE
124
REVIEW:
PIXEL
GOOGLE’S
LATEST
INCREDIBLE
VALUE PHONE
PLUS: BEST ANDROID TABLETS

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CONTENTS
REVIEWS BUYING GUIDE

4 Google Pixel 8a 57 Best Android tablet
16 Poco F6 Pro
28 Nubia Flip AUDIO
39 OnePlus Pad Go 67 Review: Beats Solo 4
48 Xiaomi Watch 2
ANDROID TIPS & TRICKS
28 72 Goodbye, Gemini: A sanity-
saving Google Search switch
77 6 settings for a smarter Chrome
Android set-up
84 Your new Android home screen
command centre
88 An Android audio upgrade
2 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 124

Credit: Getty Images/skynesher Credit: Getty Images/pixdeluxe
84
72
88
77
57
ISSUE 124 • ANDROID ADVISOR 3

Credit: Getty Images/Milan Markovic Credit: Getty Images/RichLegg Credit: Getty Images/LaylaBird
REVIEWS
Google Pixel 8a
Price: £499 from fave.co/3yQdKri
G
oogle is back with another a storage issue and a lack of innovation
edition of its mid-range A-series in the charging department.
smartphones and the Pixel 8a Are these still problems now I’ve
has been under the microscope for been testing the Pixel 8a as my daily
many reasons. `ÀÛiÀvÀ>viÜÜiiÃ¶iÌ½Ãw`ÕÌ°
For starters, Google pushed the
price up by £50 to £499 in the UK DESIGN
meaning it’s positioned closer to the The design language of the Pixel
y>}Ã «*Ýin°Ì½ÃivÌ ivÕÀ phones has stayed largely unchanged
Ài>ÃÃÃ>`} Ìw`Ì >À`Ì for a few years now and the 8a is no
recommend the Pixel 8a when it was exception. It’s a case of small tweaks
announced, also citing the new colours, here and there, with the most obvious

being the more rounded
corners of the phone and
Google’s latest colourway
choices. You still get that
iconic camera bar across the
back, which is a bit divisive,
but I like it – even to stop the
phone sliding off things.
And it will if you leave
it to its own devices. It’s You still get that iconic camera bar across the back,
}Ì>}ÃÃiÀwÃ Ì > which is a bit divisive, but I like it.
most phones which gives a
premium feel but also makes it slippery. the normal Obsidian black and
/ ivwV>V>Ãi i«Ã>Ì Õ} Porcelain white options is Aloe green.
miss Google’s fabric ones of old), I thought this looked horribly garish
depending on what it comes into in stock images but in real life, it’s
contact with. I thought this looked really quite nice.
horribly garish in stock images but in The phone is still IP67 waterproof
real life, it’s rather quite nice. making it fully dunkable.
The 8a is a relatively compact
phone by modern standards and it’s DISPLAY
been on a diet, now just 188g – 5.5g Overall, not much has changed about
lighter than the Pixel 7a. Build quality the screen on the Pixel 8a from its
is better than many rivals and though predecessor. It’s still a tiny bit smaller
Ì iÀi½Ã>«>ÃÌVÀi>ÀVÛiÀ>ìvÀ than the regular Pixel 8 at 6.1-inch,
76 percent recycled materials), its which these days is pretty compact.
>ÌÌiwÃ >iÃÌivÌ iViÃÌ You still get an OLED panel with
plastic-backed phones I’ve tried. The an FHD+ resolution so that makes the
100 percent recycled aluminium frame pixel density marginally higher than
is strong but it’s curious that Google still Ì i y>}Ã «]ÌÌ >ÌÞÕV>ÌVi
puts Gorilla Glass 3 on the front when the difference.
that version is over 10 years old now. One key upgrade is that Google has
My review sample in Bay blue bumped the refresh rate up to 120Hz
matches the Pixel 7 Pro and alongside >}ÌÌ iwÀÃÌƂÃiÀiÃ« iÌ}

REVIEWS
LiÞ`äâÌ Õ} Ì iÕ«Ã½Ì using it indoors or out.

as big as 60- to 90Hz). It’s a welcome I just wish the screen didn’t have
change for a smoother experience but such a chunky bezel around it. A 2024
there’s no LPTO tech here so the phone phone bezel shouldn’t be this big,
can only switch between 60- and 120Hz. especially at this price. I did get used to
/ ivi>ÌÕÀiV>i`-Ì Ã«>Þ® it, but every now and then I look at the
in the settings is switched off by default 8a and think ‘wow, this looks dated’.
which feels slightly odd. Google is Within the screen details is a built-
trying to save battery life, but it feels w}iÀ«ÀÌÃV>iÀÜ V ÞÕÜÕ`
pointless having premium features like expect, of course. It works well based
this and not using them. on my extensive testing, though not
Overall the screen is high quality y>ÜiÃÃ>`Ì iÀi½Ã>Ãv>ViÕVv
once again with punchy colours, good you prefer which also works very well.
viewing angles, excellent contrast and However, it’s less secure and so can’t be
plenty of brightness. Google rates it used for the likes of Google Pay.
at 1,400 nits for HDR and 2,000 nits On the audio side, the 8a has stereo
peak. I measured it as 812 nits with speakers which punch out decent
autobrightness turned off which is quality audio just like the 7a did. There’s
impressive and I didn’t have any issues no headphone jack as usual.
PERFORMANCE
When it comes to smartphone
components and performance
you probably fall into one of
two categories: you just want
the phone to work smoothly
and you don’t care how it
happens, or you like to dive
into the details in what I like to
call smartphone Top Trumps.
If you’re in the former
camp, then there’s nothing
The screen offers punchy colours, good viewing angles, to worry about. During my
excellent contrast and plenty of brightness. multiple weeks with the Pixel

8a, the phone has run
perfectly smoothly.
One or two tiny hiccups
were app related and
therefore not inherent
to the phone.
For those in the
latter camp, the Pixel 8a
isn’t the fastest or most
exciting phone in the
mid-range category.
Sure, it has the Tensor
G3 chip found in the
y>}Ã «ìÃ]iÛi
the Pixel 8 Pro. It’s a During testing, the phone ran perfectly smoothly.
solid chip but compared
to some rivals and factoring in the Poco F6 Pro: 4,509
L>ÃVn v,Ƃ]ÞÕV>w`LiÌÌiÀ Poco F6: 4,994
elsewhere if you shop around.
Benchmarks show it’s behind some GFX Manhattan 3.1
others in CPU and graphics tests so Google Pixel 8a: 104fps
power users might want to consider Samsung Galaxy A55: 57fps
going elsewhere. However, the Google Pixel 7a: 62fps
target market for the Pixel 8a should Nothing Phone (2a): 57fps
have no problems and outpaces Redmi Note 13 Pro: 39fps
big-name competitors like the Poco F6: 115fps
Samsung Galaxy A55.
Battery life
Geekbench 6 (multi-core) Google Pixel 8a: 15 hours, 2 minutes
Google Pixel 8a: 3,955 Samsung Galaxy A55: 12 hours, 26
Samsung Galaxy A55: 3,447 minutes
Google Pixel 7a: 2,588 Google Pixel 7a: 10 hours, 49 minutes
Nothing Phone (2a): 2,602 Nothing Phone (2a): 16 hours, 16
Redmi Note 13 Pro: 2,872 minutes

REVIEWS
Redmi Note 13 Pro: 11 hours, 55 2024 including Wi-Fi 6E, NFC, GPS,
minutes Bluetooth 5.3 and 5G. It’s a dual-SIM
Poco F6 Pro: 11 hours, 2 minutes phone, albeit with one nano-SIM slot
Poco F6: 10 hours, 26 minutes and support for eSIM, rather than
two physical cards.
Charge in 30 minutes
Google Pixel 8a: 41% PHOTOGRAPHY
Samsung Galaxy A55: 52% Camera tech hasn’t changed from the
Google Pixel 7a: 38% Pixel 7a, but that’s not inherently a bad
Redmi Note 13 Pro: 87% thing. That phone got a reworked set-
Poco F6 Pro: 81% up built from the ground up, featuring a
Poco F6: 74% higher resolution 64Mp main sensor.
The rear is completed with a 13Mp
The main thing to point out to ultrawide as usual and while there’s
anyone is that there is now a 256GB Ìii« ÌÌLiiÝ«iVÌi`®]Ì½Ã
storage capacity rather than just the refreshing to see Google not try and
standard 128GB. However, you can only bump the number of cameras up with
get this in the Obsidian black colourway. something like a 2Mp macro.
In terms of other specs, the Pixel Photos from all three cameras are
8a has all the things you’d expect unsurprisingly excellent. The Pixel 8a
vÀ>>ÃÌy>}Ã « >`ÃiÌ is a great phone for point-and-shoot
situations, with plenty of
different modes to play
around with if you wish. It
doesn’t have any kind of
Pro mode, though.
You should expect
decent results from just
about any phone this
price in daylight, but
Google pulls ahead of
the pack when conditions
get trickier. The main
The Pixel 8a is a great phone for point-and-shoot situations. sensor being larger helps

As you
can see
from our
test shots,
the Pixel
8a takes
excellent
photos.

REVIEWS

REVIEWS
but it’s Google’s software

which is simply more
advanced.
Night Sight is still the
best night mode I’ve used
>`}ÛiÃÞÕVwìVi
to take shots once it gets
dark, rather than leaving
your phone in your
pocket because you know
there’s no point shooting.
You’ll want to stick to Using a 30-watt Google charger, I saw the phone charge from
the main camera really, dead to 41 percent in 30 minutes.
but the others are still
above average in this respect. battery side of things. Despite a slightly
The other advantage of having a larger 4,492mAh battery and upgrade
Pixel phone is getting Google’s latest ÌÌ i/iÃÀÎÜÌ ÌÃ«ÀÛi`
i`Ì}>}V>ÌÞÕÀw}iÀÌ«ÃÜÌ «ÜiÀivwViVÞ®]Ì iÀi½ÃÃ}wV>Ì
the likes of Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, improvement compared to the Pixel 7a.
Photo Unblur and more. You can get It will last a day but unless you’re
these on other phones – even iPhone having a particularly light day where it’s
– via Google Photos but you’ll need a mostly sat on a desk or in a pocket not
Premium Google One subscription to `}ÕV iÃÌvÞÜÀ`>ÞÃ®]
access some. it won’t go further.
The Pixel 8a also has prowess Despite this, the 8a lasted an
when you switch to video recording. impressive 15 hours and two minutes in
All three cameras can record up to our usual PCMark battery test. Based on
{ÀiÃÕÌÜÌ Èäv«ÃÌ i> this test alone, it’d be one of the best
camera), though I was happy enough battery life phones you can buy, though
with the results at Full HD. Ài>ÜÀ`ÕÃ>}iìÃ½ÌÀiyiVÌÌ >Ì°
Despite affordable phones with
BATTERY LIFE 67-, 90- or even 100+ watt charging
Sadly, there’s not much improvement being readily available, this appears
or innovation when it comes to the to be something Google is unwilling

to upgrade. You still get basic 18-watt The Android 14 interface isn’t hugely
wired charging and there is, for better different from the previous version
or worse, no adapter in the box. so it’s AI features that are causing a
Using a 30-watt Google charger, I buzz this year, of course. And Google
saw the phone charge from dead to 41 >ÃÃii}Þwi`Ì i*Ýin>ÜÌ
percent in 30 minutes. AI tricks, even though a lot of them
Wireless charging is slow at 7.5 have been around for a while, such as
watts, but I can live with it since this >}V À>ÃiÀÀiÛiLiVÌÃvÀÌ i
feature is still rare on mid-range background of any photo) and Live
smartphones and paired with a charger /À>Ã>ÌivÀÀi>ÌiVÛiÀÃ>ÌÃ
like Google’s Pixel Stand 2 makes for a multiple languages).
nice desktop or bedside set-up. My favourite new feature is Circle
to Search where a long press on the
SOFTWARE navigation bar allows you to circle any
Being the maker of Android, the Pixel part of the screen to search for whatever
phones should offer the pinnacle when it is your highlighting. This could be
it comes to software and for many users some food you want a recipe for, a
that is the case. landmark you want to visit or some
Of course, some of it is subjective sneakers you want to buy.
and although, for example, Xiaomi’s There are plenty more features to
HyperOS
vÀiÀÞ1®
has grown
on me a lot
recently, it’s a
relief to switch
back to stock
Android where
things are a
comparative
oasis of
calm, free of
bloatware and
distractions. The Android 14 interface isn’t hugely different from the previous version.

REVIEWS
discover and some are useful

like Hold for Me where the
phone sits in a phone queue
for you and lets you know
when you’re up next. There
are also security features
such as a free VPN as part of
a Google One.
In a world where so many
products, including phones,
launch with half of the main
features coming at a ‘later
date’ the Pixel 8a bucks the My favourite new feature is Circle to Search where a long
trend with its ready to go AI press on the navigation bar allows you to circle any part of
portfolio and you know you the screen to search for whatever it is your highlighting.
Ü}iÌÕ«`>ÌiÃwÀÃÌ°
Speaking of which, one of the best ÀiVi`>ÌLÕÌ½w`}Ì in>
things about buying a Pixel phone is the harder to get my head around.
>ÀiÌi>`}ÃvÌÜ>ÀiÃÕ««ÀÌÜ V In isolation, this is another decent
Þ->ÃÕ}y>}Ã «ÃV>>ÌV ®°9Õ phone from Google and I would be
get a whopping seven years of both pretty happy on the whole to carry
security and OS updates, so you’ll get on using it as my main phone. It’s got
all the way to Android 21 in theory. >ViìÃ}]>ÛiÞÃVÀiiLiâi
Whether you want to keep a aside), smooth enough performance,
phone that long, or how well it will above-average cameras, there’s wireless
ÀÕÌ >ÌÛiÀÃÓäÎ£Àv}i charging and Google’s top-notch
does indeed keep that promise) is software experience – including AI
not easy to answer but it’s the best features available out of the box.
out the right now and gives you more However, the phone is stuck in
yiÝLÌÞ Ì >>ÞÀÛ>Ã° a slightly odd position this year –
particularly with the price bump in the
VERDICT UK. It means that you should seriously
Typically, the Pixel phones, particularly consider splashing a little extra to get
the A-series, are a no-brainer Ì iy>}Ã «*ÝinÜÌ½Ã`ÃVÕÌi`

at plenty of retailers or last year’s Pixel QZSS, NavIC
7a which will still be supported up to • USB Type-C 3.2
2026 for operating system updates • }iÀ«ÀÌÃV>iÀÕìÀ`Ã«>Þ]
and 2028 for security. optical)
Then there are lots of great rivals • Non-removable 4,492mAh lithium-
from the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi and polymer battery
Motorola which have things like better • 152.1x72.7x8.9mm
raw performance, longer battery life and • 188g
faster charging. Chris Martin
SPECIFICATIONS
• È°£V Ó]{ääÝ£]änäÆ{Îä««®" ]
HDR, 120Hz display
• Android 14
• }i/iÃÀÎ{®«ÀViÃÃÀ
• >VÀi£ÝÎ°â ÀÌiÝ8Î]{Ý
2.45GHz Cortex-A715, 4x 2.15GHz
Cortex-A510) CPU
• Immortalis-G715s MC10 GPU
• 8GB RAM
• 128GB/256GB storage
• Two rear-facing cameras: 64Mp, f/1.9,
ÓÈÜì®]£É£°ÇÎV ]ä°n]
`Õ>«Ýi* Ƃ]"-Æ£Î«]vÉÓ°Ó]
£Óäì}ÀiiÕÌÀ>Üì®]£°£Ó
• -iwiV>iÀ>\£Î«]vÉÓ°Ó]Óä
ÕÌÀ>Üì®]£°£Ó
• Stereo speakers
• No 3.5mm audio jack
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual/tri-
band
• Bluetooth 5.3, A2DP, LE
• NFC
• GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS,

REVIEWS
Poco F6 Pro
Price: £369 from fave.co/3KvwKxO
I
f you’ve never heard of Poco, you’re the best possible experience on a more
certainly not alone. The Chinese affordable device.
company began life as a sub- The F6 Pro continues that tradition,
brand of Xiaomi back in 2018, before offering several high-end features yet
LiV} >ì«iìÌwÀÌÜ retaining a mid-range price. Does that
years later. However, it retains deep make it a no-brainer if you’re shopping
ties to its former parent company, around this price point? Yes, but only if
including using the same HyperOS ÞÕ >Ûi>Ã«iVwVÃiÌvÀiµÕÀiiÌÃ°
software on its phones.
Poco has never released what most DESIGN
«i«iÜÕ`ìwi>Ã>y>}Ã « The Poco F6 Pro is one of the best-
smartphone, choosing instead to offer looking phones I’ve ever tested. That’s

not an exaggeration – the frosted
glass on the white model I tested
looks surprisingly stunning in person.
Usually, I don’t like white-backed
phones due to their tendency to
quickly accumulate dirt, but the F6
Pro still looked good as new after a
week of testing. I imagine the same
will be true of the black version,
which is your only other colour option.
It feels like a shame to cover
the phone with a case, though you
might need the extra grip it provides.
Without it, I was worried about the The white-backed F6 Pro still looked good as
phone falling off a table or out of my new after a week of testing.
pocket. The silicone case included
in the box is above average, adding possible – it doesn’t affect the under-
the usual extra protection while looking `Ã«>Þw}iÀ«ÀÌÃiÃÀ°
good in the process. The Poco F6 Pro also has an IP54
However, even without it, durability rating, meaning it’s mostly protected
isn’t a major concern. Unlike most against dust but can only survive
}>ÃÃL>Vi`« iÃ]½VwìÌ Ã«>Ã iÃvÜ>ÌiÀ°Ì½LiwiÌ i
that the F6 Pro would survive any of the beach or if you get caught in the rain,
bumps and drops you might associate but don’t drop it in a swimming pool.
with everyday usage. It’s a key downgrade compared
The phone isn’t exactly lightweight ÌÌ i*ÈnvÕ`>Þy>}Ã «
at 209g, but it’s not too heavy and some phones, but also a step down from the
weight adds to the premium feel. IP64 on the regular Poco F6.
"vVÕÀÃi]ÞÕ½>Ãw`}>ÃÃ Overall, the curved edges of the
the display. It feels relatively robust, device make it easier to hold than some
LÕÌÌ½ÃÌ>Ã«iVwVÀ>>ÃÃ other big smartphones.
version for toughness. As a result, I’d It’s also worth mentioning the
recommend you leave the pre-applied vibration motor here, which offers subtle
screen protector on for as long as clipped haptic feedback while typing,

REVIEWS
moving between apps and charging. That applies even in bright outdoor
However, it’s off by default, so make environments, where a dedicated
sure you enable it in settings. ‘Sunlight mode’ enables an impressive
maximum brightness of 712 nits by my
DISPLAY measurement with a colorimeter. I had
The display on the Poco F6 Pro no problems with visibility regardless
Ã>ÃÌ >Ã}`>Ã>Þy>}Ã « of the situation, which can’t be said
phone. It’s a 6.67-inch AMOLED for all smartphones.
panel, complete with high WQHD+ ÕÃÌiÃÌy>}Ã «Ã]ÞÕ>Ã}iÌ
Î]ÓääÝ£]{{ä®ÀiÃÕÌ° a 120Hz refresh rate. However, the F6
/ >Ì½Ã } iÀÌ >>Þy>}Ã «Ã] Pro lacks LTPO technology, meaning
though you will have to manually enable it can’t drop down to 1Hz to preserve
it in settings. Even the default FHD+ battery life. Instead, you can manually
offers great detail and clarity, but the full set it to 60- or 120Hz, or switch between
resolution takes it to the next level. the two in the ‘default mode’.
And as an OLED panel, you get This is by no means a dealbreaker,
rich, vibrant colours and deep blacks. but the F6 Pro could do with some extra
That makes it particularly well-suited L>ÌÌiÀÞviÀiÌ >Ì>ÌiÀ®°
to watching videos and gaming, but all 7Ì Ì iÃVÀii]ÞÕ½w`>
types of content look great. «ÌV>w}iÀ«ÀÌÃiÃÀ° iÃ«Ìi>
relatively small target
area, I found it to be
easy to set up and
generally fast and
reliable. It’s also much
more secure than the
face unlock, which uses
only the front-facing
camera here.
In terms of audio,
the device boasts the
usual combination of a
Ã}i`ÜÜ>À`wÀ}
As an OLED panel, you get rich, vibrant colours and deep blacks. speaker the earpiece

strength of all Snapdragon
8 Gen 2 phones, and
that’s no different here
despite its age.
With an impressive
£ÓÀ£È v,ƂÞ
review unit has the latter),
you can expect superb
performance in pretty
much any scenario. If your
daily usage is anything
like mine, consisting of
web browsing, messaging,
emails, social media,
/ iÈ*À½Ã`Ã«>ÞÃ>ÃÌ>Ã}`>Ã>Þy>}Ã «« i° video streaming and
taking photos, the F6
for a stereo set-up. The sound is entirely Pro handles it all with ease.
unremarkable, offering decent clarity Further evidence of this can be
but lacking any of the bass required to found while gaming. I tried three of
make music feel immersive. Calls are
very clear, though.
PERFORMANCE
The F6 Pro is powered by the
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. This
isn’t Qualcomm’s latest and greatest
– that award goes to the 8 Gen 3 at
the time of writing – but it’s a smart
move by Poco.
Remember, this is the same chip
found in many of 2023’s best Android
phones, including the Samsung
Galaxy S23 Ultra, OnePlus 11 and You can expect superb performance in pretty
Xiaomi 13 Pro. Performance is a key much any scenario.

REVIEWS
the most demanding titles on the Play Poco F5 Pro: 50%

Store in Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile Poco X6 Pro: 81%
and Asphalt 9: Legends. Gameplay Samsung Galaxy A55: 52%
remained smooth and responsive Redmi Note 13 Pro+: 100%
throughout – it was indistinguishable Google Pixel 7a: 38%
from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones
I’ve tried. While there’s no support for
I did notice some slight slowdown iÝ«>`>LiÃÌÀ>}iÌ½Ã`Õ>-
when quickly switching between apps, only), you still get plenty of choice
but that seems to be more of a software with regards to internal storage. The
issue than a lack of power. F6 Pro is available with either 256GB,
512GB or 1TB of space.
Geekbench 6 (multi-core) Even the smallest capacity will
Poco F6 Pro: 5,235 be enough for most people, though
Poco X6 Pro: 4,509 it’s worth noting that around 28GB
Samsung Galaxy A55: 3,447 ÃÌ>i Õ«LÞÃÞÃÌiwiÃÜ V
Redmi Note 13 Pro+: 2,596 cannot be uninstalled. The Snapdragon
Google Pixel 7a: 2,588 8 Gen 2 chip supports 5G and it’s
Nothing Phone (2a): 2,6024 joined in the connectivity department
by Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 and NFC
Battery life vÀ}i*>Þ®°9ÕiÛi}iÌ>,
Poco F6 Pro: 10 hours, 47 minutes blaster, allowing you to control your TV
Poco F5 Pro: 12 hours, 32 minutes >`Ì iÀìÛViÃ®vÀÞÕÀ« i
Poco X6 Pro: 11 hours, 2 minutes which can be very handy.
Samsung Galaxy A55: 12 hours, 26
minutes PHOTOGRAPHY
Redmi Note 13 Pro+: 11 hours, 53 Judging by the back of the Poco F6 Pro,
minutes you’d think it’s all about the cameras.
Google Pixel 7a: 10 hours, 49 minutes The rear module takes up around a
Nothing Phone (2a): 16 hours, 16 quarter of the back, though the set-
minutes up here isn’t as impressive as it might
seem on the surface.
Charge in 30 minutes Firstly, one of the four rings is just a
Poco F6 Pro: 100% Ài}Õ>Ày>Ã °Ƃ`vÀÌ iÌ iÀÌ Àii]

there’s a huge variation in
quality between them.
Let’s start with the 50Mp
main lens, which is the most
impressive by far. In good
lighting, the primary rear
camera takes impressive,
true-to-life shots that are
brimming with detail.
Dynamic range and colour
accuracy are both strong.
Unlike some mid-range The rear module takes up around a quarter of the back.
phones, you can tap the
Ã ÕÌÌiÀLÕÌÌ>`LiVwìÌÌ >Ì In darker environments, the long-
you’ll get a clear well-exposed picture. exposure night mode comes into
And the minimal shutter lag helped me its own. I was impressed with how it
capture the moment as soon as I saw it. brightened a dimly lit concert hall while
This is the camera you’ll be using for still preserving key details and without
portrait-style shots, which are a pleasant }>ÀÌwV>°
surprise. Edge detection isn’t perfect, You might’ve noticed I haven’t
but it creates a realistic background blur mentioned the third rear camera yet.
which can be adjusted both before and That’s because it’s a 2Mp macro, which
after you take the shot. makes an all-too-common appearance
The main lens is well-suited to on cheaper phones to cheaply
shots of architecture and landscapes bump the number of cameras up. It’s
too, though you might be tempted to functionally useless – even close-up
switch to the 8Mp ultrawide for the shots are still blurry. Sadly, that means
>ÌÌiÀÌwÌÀi°ÜÕ`½ÌLÌ iÀ° there’s no room for a telephoto camera,
The decline in quality is so steep that it so zoomed shots are entirely reliant on
ÕÌÜi} Ã>ÞLiiwÌÃvÀÌ iÜìÀ `}Ì>âÕ«Ì£äÝ®°ƂÌ>ÞÌ }
wi`vÛiÜ° Ý«ÃÕÀi]VÕÀ>VVÕÀ>VÞ beyond 2x, the shots are so blurry that
and dynamic range are all severely they’re practically unusable.
compromised, to the extent that I The good news is that the 16Mp
was reluctant to ever use it. front-facing camera is much more

REVIEWS
The main
lens is
well-suited
to shots of
architecture
and
landscapes.

In darker
environments,
the long-
exposure
night mode
comes into its
own.

REVIEWS
We weren’t
impressed
with the
macro
camera.
Provided
the lighting
is good,
ÃiwiÃ
are crisp
and well-
exposed.

impressive. Provided the lighting During a full day of testing the
Ã}`]ÃiwiÃ>ÀiVÀÃ«>`Üi phone in Dubai, I left my hotel room
exposed. Portrait mode here is just as at 9am with a full battery and got
good as the rear camera, too. back around 12 hours later with just
It’s another case of a mid-range 20 percent remaining. While high
phone only having two good cameras. brightness, GPS and mobile data were
The Poco F6 Pro supports video all enabled, I was only actually using the
capture up to 4K at 30fps, though the phone occasionally, which is a concern.
ìv>ÕÌ£änä«>ÌÎäv«ÃÜLiÕÃÌwi "ÕÀL>ÌÌiÀÞLiV >ÀÃii«>}i
for most people. Footage looks decent, 20), which aims to simulate real-
ÜÌ «ÌV>>}iÃÌ>Lâ>Ì"-® world tasks, recorded 10 hours and
the main lens ensuring it remains mostly 47 minutes. That’s around average,
steady with some movement. albeit only at FHD+ resolution and with
However, the audio side here was adaptive refresh rate turned on.
very disappointing. In videos I took of Battery life isn’t bad per se, but I was
a concert, the singer’s voice sounded expecting better from the Poco F6 Pro.
washed out and lost a lot of the impact However, charging is almost as good
that was very much there while listening as it gets. Not only does the phone
in person. Compared to one my friend support 120-watt fast charging, but the
took with his iPhone 14, the results were necessary adapter is also included in
night and day. the box. It went from 0- to 65 percent in
just 15 minutes and was fully charged in
BATTERY LIFE under half an hour – outpacing the likes
The Poco F6 Pro is equipped with a of Samsung and Google by miles.
5,000mAh battery. That’s a common There’s no wireless charging, but
capacity for a modern smartphone with these wired speeds, I didn’t miss it.
– even one with such a large, high-
resolution display. SOFTWARE
Sadly, battery life isn’t quite as good While the Poco F5 Pro ran MIUI 14 out
as I was hoping. You will be able to get of the box, the F6 Pro switches it out
through a full day on a single charge for HyperOS. However, this is just a
most of the time, but not without rebranding of Xiaomi’s Android skin,
worrying about it in the evening or and frustratingly little has changed.
enabling battery saver mode. It is at least now based on Android

REVIEWS
£{Ì i>ÌiÃÌÛiÀÃ>ÌÌ i
time of writing), but Xiaomi’s
tweaks to the experience
are a step back for ease of
use compared to phones
from the likes of Google,
Samsung and OnePlus.
Undoubtedly the most
annoying thing is the
bloatware, with dozens of
extra pre-installed apps that
you’ll probably never use.
It doesn’t seem right that
the likes of Block Puzzle
Guardian, Bigo Live, Tile
Fun and many others are The F6 Pro doesn’t have the out of box slick user
added, whether you want experience you get with some other Android phones.
them or not. Most can be
uninstalled, but many of Xiaomi’s own get with some other Android phones.
stock apps can’t be removed, despite Although AI is all the rage right now,
many of them being duplicates of the the F6 Pro doesn’t come with anything
ones superior Google makes. standout at launch. However, things
Elsewhere, with every wallpaper you like subtitles, smarter gallery search,
choose, Xiaomi asks to add a carousel removal of background objects in
of news articles that you probably don’t « ÌÃ]}iiÀ>ÌÛiwiÝ«>ì`>}iÃ
care about. The bright, vivid colours and generated portraits are on the way.
>`Ã«ÌÌwV>ÌÃ >ìÌwV>ÌÃ Poco is supporting the phone with
from left, quick settings from right) take three years of OS updates and four years
some getting used to. of security patches, meaning it should
HyperOS is by no means unusable, get Android 17 and be safe to use until
and with some tweaking, you can get 2028. That’s not bad, but Samsung and
it to look and perform how you want it Google both offer more on their mid-
to. But the F6 Pro doesn’t have the out range phones, with the £499 Pixel 8a
of box slick user experience that you getting seven years of both.

VERDICT vÉ£°È]Üì®]£É£°xxV ]£°ä]
Possibly, but only if performance, ÕÌ`ÀiVÌ>* Ƃ]"-Æn«]
display and charging speeds are the vÉÓ°Ó]ÕÌÀ>Üì®ÆÓ«]vÉÓ°{]>VÀ®
most important things to you. • -iwiV>iÀ>\£È«]Üì®
The Poco F6 Pro excels at all three, • Stereo speakers
matching or even surpassing most other • No 3.5mm audio jack
mid-range phones in these areas. • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7, tri-band,
However, impressive main and Wi-Fi Direct
ÃiwiV>iÀ>Ã>ÀiiÌ`ÜLÞ«À • Bluetooth 5.3, A2DP, LE, aptX HD,
supporting lenses, while battery life LHDC
itself could be better. • NFC
You’ll also have to contend with • *-£³x®] - £³ £V³ Ó>®]
Xiaomi’s HyperOS Android skin, which is Ƃ " £³ x>®]+<--£³x®]
an acquired taste to say the least. >Û x®]" Ƃ--
The F6 Pro offers a lot for your • USB Type-C 2.0, OTG
money, but it’s not a great all-round • }iÀ«ÀÌÃV>iÀÕìÀ`Ã«>Þ]
« i]>}Ì`vwVÕÌÌÀiVi` ultrasonic)
to most people. Anyron Copeman • Non-removable 5,000mAh battery
• 160.9x75x8.2mm
SPECIFICATIONS • 209g
• È°ÈÇV Î]ÓääÝ£]{{äÆxÓÈ««®
AMOLED, 68B colours, 120Hz, Dolby
Vision, HDR10
• Android 14, HyperOS
• Qualcomm SM8650-AB Snapdragon 8
iÎ{®«ÀViÃÃÀ
• "VÌ>VÀi£ÝÎ°Óâ ÀÌiÝ8]ÎÓÝ
2.8GHz Cortex-A715, 2x 2.8GHz
Cortex-A710, 3x 2GHz Cortex-A510)
CPU
• Adreno 740 GPU
• 12GB/16GB RAM
• 256GB/512GB/1TB storage
• Three rear-facing cameras: 50Mp,

REVIEWS
Nubia Flip
Price: £499 from fave.co/3V2wywe
M
ìÀy«« iÃ >ÛiiÛiÀ technology but have been held back by
appealed to me for one simple those eye-watering costs, the Nubia Flip
reason: the price. I never saw 5G may just be enough to convert you
Ì i«ÌvÃ«i`}y>}Ã «iÞ ÌÌ iy«Ãì°
on a foldable that often has camera
downgrades compared to similarly DESIGN
priced classic slab handsets. If you’re a big fan of 2000s tech,
ƂÌ}>ÃÌ]Ì iÀi½Ã>y«« i the Nubia Flip 5G will be right up
on sale for a mid-range price. Sure, it your street. It folds in half, meaning
doesn’t have all the bells and whistles it’s smaller to hold and put in your
like the latest Galaxy Z Flip phone. pocket. It’s a godsend for women’s
But if you’re simply after that folding jeans, where typically phones end up

sticking out of the top, making them The phone’s outer display is inspired
fodder for thieves. LÞ>ÛÞÀiVÀ`Ãii««ÃÌi®]>`
This phone uses waterdrop hinges certainly stands out from competitor
and appears almost gapless – I can slip phones, giving this handset a distinctive
Þw}iÀ>]LÕÌÌ iÀÜÃi]ÌVÃiÃ design. The only notable Nubia
without a hitch. It measures 7mm thick branding is on the rectangular hinge on
when closed shut, which is by no means the rear of the phone.
the slimmest foldable on the market. >«ÌVÃ>ÀiµÕÌiÜi>>`yÃÞ]
However, the retro-inspired design with no option to change the strength of
works with its slightly chunkier nature. them: they’re either on or off. Biometrics
It’s also on the heavier side at 209g, are a treat, as face recognition works
though still lighter than many non- both with and without glasses, and
folding phones. w}iÀ«ÀÌÀiV}ÌÛ>Ì iÃiÃÀ
I tested out the Sunshine Gold built into the red power button) has
colour. This is a shimmering neutral always been successful.
wÃ ]Ü V Ã«iÀviVÌvÞÕ½Ài>v> Be careful about using the Nubia
of a clean aesthetic. Nubia also offers Flip 5G around water, though, as
the phone in Cosmic Black and Flowing there’s no IP rating for water and dust
Lilac, which also have that touch of resistance. It’ll probably survive being
sparkle. It’s made from Starlight AG caught in the rain or a trip to the beach,
etched glass with an aluminium frame. but you can’t be sure of that.
Despite the material, it’s
not super slippery and
reasonably robust. I had
>viÜ>VVìÌ>®`À«Ã
and the Flip survived
without a scratch.
The volume rocker
and power button sit on
the right-hand side of the
Nubia Flip 5G, with the
USB-C port on the bottom.
There’s also support for If you’re a big fan of 2000s tech, then the Nubia Flip 5G will
dual-SIM included. be right up your street.

REVIEWS
will feel a difference between this

and a glass screen. Swipes aren’t
as smooth, and taps feel spongier.
Alas, that’s one of the pitfalls of a
folding device. On its website, Nubia
claims that it will last over 200,000
folds, though.
Indoors, the screen is good
vÀÛìÃ>`Ü>ÌV } iÌyÝ°
However, it doesn’t hold up under
bright sunlight. I got a lot of glare,
The volume rocker and power button sit on the and even the maximum brightness
right-hand side of the phone. wasn’t quite enough to be able to
view my messages without squinting.
DISPLAY Granted, I did move to it from the
There are two displays to play around phone with the brightest display on the
with on the Nubia Flip 5G. Let’s deal market, but it’s worth noting.
ÜÌ Ì i>]iÀiwÀÃÌ° We also need to talk about the
When unfolded, the Flip 5G sports crease. Yes, it’s there and it’s noticeable.
a 6.9-inch AMOLED screen with a You can feel the ridge in the middle of
resolution of 2,790x1,188 and 95.4 the screen, and whether you’ll see it or
percent screen-to-body
ratio. This has up to a
120Hz refresh rate, but
you can also opt for
60Hz, 90Hz and Auto,
which switches between
Ì iÃiw}ÕÀiÃ°ÜiÛiÀ]
there’s no LTPO tech to
allow it to drop below
60Hz and save battery
life when not needed.
The display is made You can feel the ridge in the middle of the screen, and whether
from plastic, and you you’ll see it or not depends on the angle.

not depends on the angle. For example, / ÃÃ>ÀiyiVÌi`ÕÀ
from this photo below you’d barely even benchmarking scores, with the Nubia
be able to tell this is a folding phone. Flip achieving similar scores to the rivals
The outer display is a 1.43-inch mentioned above.
OLED, with a thick bezel and a
resolution of 466x466. The circular Geekbench 5 (multi-core)
shape is a departure from what we’ve Nubia Flip 5G: 2,722
ÃiivÀÌ iÀy«ÀÛ>Ã]>`Ü ÃÌÌ Motorola Razr 40: 2,892
doesn’t maximise on space it doesn’t Motorola Razr 40 Ultra/Razr+: 3,249
necessarily need to, as it has limited Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: 4,760
functions, which I’ll talk about more in Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: 3,659
the software section below. Oppo Find N2 Flip: 3,090
The Nubia Flip 5G includes
stereo speakers with support for Geekbench 6 (multi-core)
DTS: X surround sound. The audio is Nubia Flip 5G: 2,775
surprisingly punchy and clear. However, Motorola Razr 40 Ultra/Razr+: 3,600
I wouldn’t rely on it for any ground- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: 5,205
breaking cinematic sound. Oppo Find N2 Flip: 3,232
PERFORMANCE GFX Aztec Open (High)

The Nubia Flip 5G runs on a Nubia Flip 5G: 18fps
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor, the Motorola Razr 40: 21fps
same chip seen in the Motorola Razr Motorola Razr 40 Ultra/Razr+: 43fps
40 and the Honor 90. This is paired Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: 77fps
with either 8- or 12B RAM and 128- or Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: 57fps
256GB worth of storage. Oppo Find N2 Flip: 59fps
This is a mid-tier Qualcomm chip,
and performance is about in line with GFX Aztec Open (Normal)
what you’d expect from a phone of this Nubia Flip 5G: 28fps
price. It’s nippy enough for daily tasks Motorola Razr 40: 34fps
and switching between apps, but not Motorola Razr 40 Ultra/Razr+: 56fps
the handset for demanding games and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: 91fps
heavy-duty apps. It’s also a little sleepy Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: 81fps
Ü iwÀÃÌLÌ}Õ«° Oppo Find N2 Flip: 60fps

REVIEWS
Battery life one of the trade-offs when opting for a

Nubia Flip 5G: 9 hours, 6 minutes cheaper handset.
Motorola Razr 40: 10 hours, 15 minutes The Nubia Flip 5G has all the
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra/Razr+: 9 hours, connectivity options you need, with
4 minutes support for Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6E,
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: 7 hours, 42 >`xvÌ i>i``½ÌVÕi
minutes you in already).
Charge in 30 minutes PHOTOGRAPHY

Nubia Flip 5G: 76% Cameras on the Nubia Flip 5G aren’t as
Motorola Razr 40: 60% strong as other mid-range competitors
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra/Razr+: 55% at this price, but compromises were
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: 40% always likely at this price.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: 48% The main camera is a 50Mp snapper,
Oppo Find N2 Flip: 59% which also comes with an accompanying
>`Ã} ÌÞ`Ã>««Ì}®Ó«ì«Ì
As you can see, it’s eclipsed by the sensor. You get the option to shoot
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, but that’s in either 26- or 50mm focal lengths,
Here’s a
comparison
of the two
different
focal
lengths.

and you can digitally zoom up to x10. However, this front screen is
But there’s no telephoto lens, so no quite sensitive to indirect swipes.
optical zoom. For example, I had the phone in my
Shots taken in bright daylight pocket and didn’t touch it for about
perform the best. Textures have some 20 minutes. I then noticed that the
pop, and shadows are accurately phone felt radioactive hot, and when I
recreated. However, like other cheaper took the handset out I saw that a video
phone cameras, this device has a had started recording – most likely
tendency to blow out some tones, the phone jostled against my leg and
especially bright colours. Warmer tones somehow activated the camera.
also have a yellow tinge to them. 7Ì "-«ÌV>>}i
"ivÌ iiÞLiiwÌÃvÕÃ}> stabilization), the Flip isn’t strong enough
y«« iÃÌ >ÌÞÕV>iÃÃiÌ>Þ to capture moving subjects easily, and
use the more powerful rear camera its performance is diminished indoors.
ÜÌ >ÃiwiÜ`Ü]ÃÞÕV>Ãii } ÌììÃvÌìÌ>Ã]LÕÌwi
what you’re doing. You can see how lines can appear soft and blurred.
ÌV>«ÌÕÀiÃÌ iwivÕÀÌ iÌÌi Portrait mode has a strong bokeh
this snap: effect by default, but this can be
adjusted accordingly. There’s no wide-
>}iV>iÀ>L>À`>ÃÞÕ½w`
the Razr 40, nor is there a dedicated
>VÀìÌ Õ} ½Ì>Ã
precious about the latter).
The 16Mp interior camera captures
a good level of skin detail, but the
portrait effect is pretty darn poor. I took
several photos, and every single one
ended up blurring some of my hair. If
you’re using this camera, I’d stick with
the standard mode.
½>ÃÞiÌ>}>®Li}}}« i
companies to stop putting the dystopian
¼Li>ÕÌÞ½wÌiÀV>iÀ>Ã>ÕÌ>ÌV>Þ°
This blurred out my freckles and made

REVIEWS
Here’s a
selection
of photos
taken
with the
Nubia Flip.

REVIEWS
Above are examples of the ‘Beauty’ feature on (left) and off (right).
me look like I was wearing more make- the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. In typical
up than I was. It perpetuates the idea usage, I’d say this gets me around a day
Ì >ÌwÌiÀÃ>Àiiiì`Ì>ÌÌÀ>VÌÛi] and a half worth of usage. That includes
and it absolutely should not be on the taking calls, snapping photos, listening
camera as standard. to Spotify, watching videos and having
For video, the Nubia Flip 5G can
record in 1080p at both 30fps and
60fps. You can also opt for 720p or 4K,
but these formats only record at 30fps.
There’s also a feature built-in to stabilize
against shakes, though this does leave a
LÌv>ÜiÀ`>`vÀVi`wÃ °
BATTERY LIFE
The Nubia Flip 5G has a 4,310mAh The phone charged from 0- to 76 percent in
battery, which is bigger than the cell in 30 minutes.

the always-on display turned
on. Considering this device is
powering two displays, I was
quite impressed.
Charging isn’t
groundbreaking, with only
support up to 33 watts. The
necessary charger is included
in the box, and got the phone
ÌÇÈ«iÀViÌvÀy>ÌÎä
minutes. No wireless charging You can check your calendar on the outer display.
support is offered.
The outer display has limited
SOFTWARE functions that you can use it for. This
The Nubia Flip 5G runs on MyOS 13, includes the camera, a timer, voice
Nubia’s skin that’s based on Android 13 recorder, limited Spotify playback,
rather than the latest Android 14. It’s weather, step count and calendar.
disappointing that there’s still no sign There’s also the option to have a virtual
of an update to the latest version of animated ‘pet’, which may appeal to
Google’s operating system. younger users.
But without a doubt, the most You can also quickly read missed
annoying thing about the Nubia Flip 5G ÌwV>ÌÃ>ìÃÃ>}iÃ]>ìÛi
is the excessive bloatware. Some apps, take calls with the display closed. The
like Booking.com, can be uninstalled – phone will prompt you to open when
but not all. I have a whole folder of ‘hot you try and do something that requires
games’, which I can’t say earns its title the main display.
because I’ve not heard of a single one. Some video apps such as YouTube
Otherwise, navigation is close to and Messenger automatically adjust
Ü >ÌÞÕ} Ìw`« iÃvÀ the format when the phone is folded,
Honor and Oppo. There are all your giving you an alternative angle for
standard Google apps, plus support for watching videos, just like Samsung’s
all the big social media sites such as ‘Flex Mode’. Sadly there isn’t the same
WhatsApp, TikTok, and Instagram via ÃÕ««ÀÌvÀ iÌyÝ>` ÃiÞ³>ÌÌ i
the Google Play Store. time of writing.

REVIEWS
The folded mode can also be used • Android 13

to take hands-free photos using the • Qualcomm SM7450-AB Snapdragon 7
timer, which is a nice touch. i£{®«ÀViÃÃÀ
The major question around this • "VÌ>VÀi£ÝÓ°{â ÀÌiÝƂÇ£ä]
phone is the lack of guaranteed 3x 2.36GHz Cortex-A710, 4x1.8GHz
software and security updates. A Cortex-A510) CPU
spokesperson for Nubia told me that • Adreno 644 GPU
the team is looking into this, but at the • 8GB/12GB RAM
time of writing, we don’t know how • 128GB/256GB/512GB storage
many Android upgrades it will get. That • Two rear-facing cameras: 50Mp,
will be a dealbreaker for many people. Üì®]* ƂÆÓ«]ì«Ì ®
• -iwiV>iÀ>\xä«]Üì®
VERDICT • Stereo speakers
Selling a folding phone for £499 is a • No 3.5mm audio jack
huge milestone for Nubia. This price of • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band
the Flip 5G is so much more accessible • Bluetooth 5.1, A2DP, LE
than many other rivals, and it’s not just • NFC
a copycat of other clamshell builds, with • GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
its signature circular outer display and • USB Type-C
bold colourways. As with all mid-range • }iÀ«ÀÌÃV>iÀÃìÕÌi`®
« iÃ]Li«Ài«>Ài`Ì>iÃ>VÀwViÃ • Non-removable 4,310mAh battery
– the camera is a mixed bag, and the • Unfolded: 170x75.5x7mm. Folded:
software is not as clean as what you’ll 87.6x75.5x15mmm
w`->ÃÕ}>`ÌÀ>ìÃ° • 214g
It’s also unclear how long it will be
supported for. Nonetheless, if folding
tech on a budget is what you’re after,
then this is the smartphone for you.
Hannah Cowton
SPECIFICATIONS
• È°V Ó]ÇäÝ£]£nnÆ{În««®
Foldable OLED, 1B colours, 120Hz
display

OnePlus Pad Go
Price: £299 from fave.co/4bIPZQ3
L
ess than a year on from the It’s another full-sized media-focused
OnePlus Pad, which introduced the tablet, but one that makes judicious
brand to the cut-throat world of cuts to the core specs in order to hit a
Ƃ`À`Ì>LiÌÃ]Ì i¼ iÛiÀ-iÌÌi½wÀ sub-£300 price tag.
is back with the OnePlus Pad Go.
Interestingly, this isn’t a direct follow- DESIGN
on from the original Pad, and it doesn’t OnePlus has broadly stuck to a similar
seem to be trying to do anything design language as the OnePlus Pad
massively different to the OnePlus Pad. for the Pad Go. This is another sage-
Rather, the OnePlus Pad Go tries to do }Àii¼/ÜÌ½]v>VÌ®Ì>LiÌ
a similar at a cheaper price. with rounded corners and a centrally

REVIEWS
placed camera module that’s way including a SIM tray on its left-hand
bigger than it needs to be. edge. This means you can access the
It’s a pleasant looking piece of kit, Internet whilst out and about simply by
albeit not as premium feeling as its dropping a SIM card in.
big brother. New to the Go is a split What you don’t get is the OnePlus
between a classic aluminium frame Pad’s pogo connector, meaning there’s
and a shiny plastic strip along the top, no keyboard cover option this time
where the camera is. around. Nor do you get a 3.5mm
/ i>ÌÌiÀÃwiÀ} ÌÕ«ÕÌ headphone jack, just the usual USB-C
ÞÕwÀÃÌÌÕV ÌÜÌ ÞÕÀw}iÀÃ] port on the right-hand edge.
at which point it turns into a greasy Given that the original Pad ditched
nightmare. Why do manufacturers Ì iw}iÀ«ÀÌÃiÃÀ]Ì½Ã«iÀ >«Ã
persist with this sort of thing, I wonder? no surprise to learn that the Pad Go
At 532g, it’s a little lighter than the doesn’t have one either. It’s no less of
OnePlus Pad, though still not what a bummer, though, as the alternatives
you’d call lightweight – especially given – an insecure face unlock or a laborious
that its 11.35-inch display is ever-so- pin code system – are unsatisfactory.
slightly smaller. It’s a tad thicker at 6.9mm.
The OnePlus Pad Go lives up to its DISPLAY
name and one-ups the pricier Pad by OnePlus has gone a little smaller and
less smooth with the Pad
Go’s display, but it’s still a
decent effort.
You get an 11.35-inch
2,408x1,720 IPS LCD panel,
with the same unusual 7:5
aspect ratio as before.
It feels well-suited to a
broader range of media than
your average widescreen
Android tablet, and it means
that the tablet feels way
OnePlus has broadly stuck to a similar design language as more natural and usable in
the OnePlus Pad for the Pad Go. portrait orientation too.

Pad Pro’s screen refresh
rate and that it’ll
automatically select the
appropriate refresh rate
for the task. You can’t
choose to force this,
though you can select to
wÝÌÌÈäâvL>ÌÌiÀÞvi
is a priority.
This is a reasonably
colour-accurate display
too, particularly if you
The Pad Go has a decent 11.35-inch display. switch away from the
default Vivid mode and
The Pad Go’s display doesn’t get activate Natural. True to its name, it
as bright as the regular Pad’s, with reigns in the extra pop and makes
a stated top brightness of 400 nits everything look a lot more, well, natural.
ÛiÀÃÕÃ xääÌÃ®°1Ã}>VÀiÌiÀ] OnePlus makes a point of
I recorded it at 382 nits with highlighting the Pad Go’s eye care
autobrightness off, which is a good 100 credentials, with intelligent brightness
nits short of our OnePlus Pad reading. and Low Blue Light technology
It’s also nowhere near as smooth promising to reduce eye strain. Given
as its big brother, with a 90Hz refresh its positioning as a tablet to curl up in
rate dropping well short
of the Pad’s 144Hz. The
latter always felt a little
like overkill, however,
especially in a less-than-
Pro tablet, and the Pad
Go feels plenty smooth
enough in general use.
It’s worth noting that
this is the maximum
setting for the OnePlus Audio output is handled by a healthy set of four speakers.

REVIEWS
>`>Àii`ÀÜÌ >`Ü>ÌV >w] RAM stops this being a serious issue.

Ì½Ã>Ã>ÀÌvv>ÀvÀÕµÕi®VÕÃ° Ideally, the OnePlus Pad Go should
Audio output is handled by a be treated as a single media app kind
healthy set of four speakers, two on of a tablet. It’s got enough power to
either edge as you hold it in landscape run most applications adequately, and
mode. With Dolby Atmos support, high you can even run lighter apps side by
quality movie content from the likes of side without too much of a hit, but
Disney+ sounds good – loud, clear, and you wouldn’t want to rely on it for
spacious, if not the best with bass. intensive multitasking.
Similarly, while it’ll handle simple
PERFORMANCE games like Slay the Spire perfectly well,
OnePlus has scaled back on more advanced 3D titles like Wreckfest
performance for the Pad Go, switching will require you to drop the graphical
Ì> ÕLi>`>}i}®i`>Ìi settings to medium or low if you want
Helio G99 chip. This is the same Ì iÌÀÕÀi>Ã>LÞyÕ`Þ°
processor that can be found in the Poco In storage terms, you get 128GB
M5, an affordable smartphone from a as standard. There is also a dedicated
couple of years ago. More recently, Acer microSD card slot.
plumped for this chip in the Iconia P11,
a £249 Android tablet. Geekbench 6
As that suggests, it’s not a OnePlus Pad Go: 1,826
particularly impressive performer, Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+: 2,010
dropping well short of the Xiaomi Pad
6 with its Snapdragon 870 and the GFX Manhattan 3.1
Google Pixel Tablet with its Tensor G2 OnePlus Pad Go: 13fps
in benchmark tests. Naturally, it’s much Honor Pad: 23fps
slower than the OnePlus Pad with its Xiaomi Pad 6: 39fps
MediaTek Dimensity 9000, too. Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+: 33fps
There’s no escaping this limited OnePlus Pad: 50fps
performance in use, with tiny halts and
ÃÌÕÌÌiÀÃÜ iyV}LiÌÜii i Battery life
screens and delays when jumping OnePlus Pad Go: 7 hours, 57 minutes
into apps. It’s nothing too severe, Honor Pad: 8 hours, 30 minutes
however, and the provision of 8GB of Xiaomi Pad 6: 8 hours, 15 minutes

Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+: 8 hours, 32 Even in good daytime lighting, snaps
minutes taken with this camera betray a critical
OnePlus Pad: 10 hours, 43 minutes lack of sharpness and pop, with notable
graininess in blue skies and poor
Charge in 30 minutes dynamic range. The 8Mp front camera
OnePlus Pad Go: 34% is similarly underwhelming, completely
Honor Pad: 32% failing to make subjects pop.
Xiaomi Pad 6: 40% Of course, none of this is remotely
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+: 16% surprising, and such things can be
OnePlus Pad: 18% said of virtually every cheap tablet
in existence. I don’t expect even
PHOTOGRAPHY adequate camera provisions from such
I should only make a quick mention of devices, so I’ll move on.
the camera set-up here, as such things
are rarely a priority in a tablet. On the BATTERY LIFE
rear, you have an 8Mp sensor that The OnePlus Pad Go comes with a
perfectly suits the term ‘bog standard’. relatively small 8,000mAh battery. It’s
Here’s a
selection
of photos
taken with
the OnePlus
Pad Go.

REVIEWS

certainly a good deal smaller than the The charging provision isn’t as
OnePlus Pad’s 9,510mAh cell. impressive as the full OnePlus Pad,
Sure enough, the Go scored much maxing out at 33 watts. You don’t get
worse than its brother in our usual a charger in the box either.
PCMark Work 3.0 Battery test, falling You’ll need to be particular about
almost three hours short at seven hours the charger you choose for it. Using a
and 57 minutes. 33-watt Xiaomi charger, it only got to
In practical terms, however, I have a 10 percent from empty in 15 minutes
few complaints. Across two and a half and to 21 percent in 30 minutes.
days of light to moderate usage, with Hooking up the OnePlus 12R‘s 100-
>ÌÌ>vwÛi ÕÀÃ>`ÓäÕÌiÃ watt charger, however, got it to 19-
of screen time, the tablet was still and 34 percent respectively.
going – albeit with a mere 7 percent
left. It generally lasts days and days on SOFTWARE
standby, which is what you want from a If there’s parity with the OnePlus Pad in
casual tablet such as this. one area, it’s software. You get the same

REVIEWS
you’ll get pertinent news

stories and articles, as well
as media recommendations
from your selected
streaming apps.
None of this is
particularly innovative,
but it doesn’t need to be.
If you’re looking to do
anything more productive,
know that Android
The tablet lasts days and days on standby. still trails iPadOS for
properly tablet-optimized
custom OxygenOS 13.2 UI layered on apps, and that the OnePlus Pad Go
top of Android 13. isn’t quite powerful enough to run
Yes, that’s Android 13, not the advanced tasks anyway.
current Android 14 which has been One other downer is the promise of
available since October 2023. just two years of updates. Given that
Still, OnePlus’s tablet software one of those will presumably involve
offering is pretty strong. The OS itself the belated switch to Android 14, that
isn’t the prettiest, based, as it is, on doesn’t offer a lot of hope for long-
Oppo’s busy ColorOS, but it’s functional. standing support.
You can run two apps
side by side, and another
>Ã>y>Ì}Ü`ÜÜÌ
performance limitations as
mentioned earlier). There’s
also a side menu, accessed
by swiping in from the top
right edge, which grants quick
>VViÃÃ Ì ÀiViÌwiÃ>`>««Ã°
Swiping left gets you
to Google’s always-useful
Discover feed screen, where The OnePlus comes with Android 13.

VERDICT
The OnePlus Pad Go
doesn’t so much offer
something different to the
original OnePlus Pad as
it does offer something
broadly similar at a
cheaper price.
It’s another stylish full-
sized tablet with a focus on
media playback, including
a nice sharp 11-inch You can run two apps side by side.
display and a capable set
of quad speakers. • Mali-G57 MC2 GPU
Other than cellular connectivity, it • VÀ- 8 ì`V>Ìi`ÃÌ®
offers similar drawbacks too – including • 8GB RAM
only offering one storage option and • 128GB/256GB storage
v>}ÌVÕì>w}iÀ«ÀÌÃiÃÀ° • Single rear-facing camera: 8Mp, 1080p
Performance and battery life have also at 30fps
taken a hit. • -iwiV>iÀ>\n«]£änä«>ÌÎäv«Ã
All in all, this is a solid pick for • Stereo speakers
anyone looking for a neat and tidy • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
tablet for media streaming and web • Bluetooth 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
browsing, but there are plenty of great • USB Type-C 2.0
options at similar or cheaper prices to • Non-removable 8,000mAh battery
consider. Jon Mundy • 255.1x188x6.9mm
• 532g
SPECIFICATIONS
• ££°ÎxV Ó]{änÝ£]ÇÓäÆÎnn««®*-
LCD, 90Hz, 400 nits display
• Android 13, OxygenOS 13.2
• i`>ÌiiÈ®«ÀViÃÃÀ
• "VÌ>VÀiÓÝÓ°Óâ ÀÌiÝƂÇÈ]ÈÝ
2GHz Cortex-A55) CPU

REVIEWS
Xiaomi Watch 2
Price: £169 from fave.co/3V6AElE
H
ow much should you spend on >`LÛ/V7>ÌV *ÀxËÎÓ®>Ài
a smartwatch? There are tons all more expensive.
of cheap options out there, but Currently, the best affordable option
if you want Android compatibility and is Xiaomi’s Watch 2 Pro, which starts at
access to third-party apps, the answer is just £239.99. But the non-Pro version
usually a lot. takes things to the next level. For just
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 is one £169.99, the only things you really need
of the cheapest Wear OS watches out to give up are a stainless-steel frame
there with a £289 starting price, while and cellular connectivity.
Ì i*Ýi7>ÌV ÓËÎ{®]>>ÝÞ7>ÌV Does that make the Xiaomi Watch
È >ÃÃVËÎÈ®]"i*ÕÃ7>ÌV ÓËÓ® 2 a no-brainer if you’re looking for an

affordable smartwatch? Unfortunately, as {Ç°xÝ{x°Ý££°n®]ÃÌ i7>ÌV ÓÃ
extensive testing shows, not quite, but still a chunky smartwatch. Even with a
it’s still a solid option in many ways. comfortable band, I couldn’t ever forget
it was there and didn’t enjoy wearing it
DESIGN while sleeping.
Xiaomi is on to a winner with the design The bezel around the 1.43-inch
of the Watch 2. It’s a little plain, with screen looks good, but doesn’t rotate
small clock indicators on the bezel like on some smartwatches. Your only
around the screen the only splash of alternatives to touch are two physical
personality, but I don’t mind that. buttons on the right side, though
/ Ã>ÃÌÌ iL>V they’re very easy to use and customize,
you see here or silver) makes it suitable so it doesn’t feel like you’re missing out.
for any occasion, and you can easily Despite the shift to an aluminium
switch things up when it comes to the build, the Watch 2 still feels durable.
ÃÌÀ>«Ã°/ iyiÝLi/*1iVÕì` I wasn’t worried about the screen
in the box is great for working out, getting damaged either, even without
but not particularly comfortable for >Þ«ÀÌiVÌvÀÌ iy>ÌLiâiÀ>
everyday usage. Ã«iVwVÀ>>ÃÃvÀÌÕ} iÃÃ°
However, it’s easy to swap out for / iÜ>ÌV >ÃLiiwÌÃvÀxƂ/
8>½ÃvwV>i>Ì iÀÀLÀ>ì` water resistance, meaning it can
straps, which were much more to my withstand pressure equal to around 50m
liking. In fact, any 22mm band should underwater. Most people won’t take it
be compatible, so there are
almost endless possibilities for
customization.
The build quality is a slight
step down from the Watch 2
Pro, with Xiaomi opting for an
aluminium frame rather than
stainless steel. But it still looks
and feels premium, and I prefer
the lighter 36.8g chassis.
All the other dimensions Your only alternatives to touch are two physical
are practically the same buttons on the right side.

REVIEWS
It’s also an
OLED panel, so
you get the usual
combination
of bright, vivid
colours and rich,
deep blacks. I
really can’t fault
the display on
the Watch 2.
The Xiaomi can withstand pressure equal to around 50m underwater. I’m also
pleased to see
to those extremes, but you don’t have audio hardware built into the watch.
to worry about it in the swimming pool The built-in speaker is nothing special,
or shower. LÕÌÃ>VÀwViÃ>ÃÌ>L>ÃÃv>ÛÕÀv
clarity, which I think is the right move on
DISPLAY such a small device. However, I do wish
The Xiaomi Watch 2 has the exact same the maximum volume was higher.
display as the Watch 2 Pro, which is Of course, the Google Assistant
great news. This is undoubtedly one support relies on the built-in
vÌ iwiÃÌÃVÀiiÃÞÕ½w`>Þ microphone. It can be a little show to
smartwatch, though you
will have to be a fan of a
larger display.
At 1.43 inches, it’s by
no means compact, which
will put some people off.
However, the 466x466
resolution is high for a screen
of this size and means clarity
is excellent in all conditions.
That includes direct sunlight,
with the display able to get / ÃÃÕ`ÕLÌi`ÞivÌ iwiÃÌÃVÀiiÃÞÕ½w`
plenty bright enough. any smartwatch.

recognise what you’re saying
at times, but accuracy was
excellent. If you want to take
calls directly on the watch, the
other person will be able to
hear you without any issues.
PERFORMANCE
Under the hood, the Xiaomi
Watch 2 is powered by the
Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 Performance is very good, and in line with almost all
processor, which remains y>}Ã «7i>À"-Ü>ÌV iÃ°
Qualcomm’s latest and
greatest for smartwatches. to your phone to receive calls and
The resultant performance is very ÌwV>ÌÃ]LÕÌÌÃÌÜÀÃ>Ã>
}`]>ìÜÌ >ÃÌ>y>}Ã « standalone device for tracking workouts
Wear OS watches, but it won’t blow with the built-in GPS. That connection
you away. Just 2GB of RAM means it to your phone is via Bluetooth 5.2,
can feel a little sluggish at times, and which maintained a reliable connection
it’s slow to become fully responsive throughout my testing time.
after being switched on which could And 32GB of on-device storage
be a pain if you’re hurriedly leaving is plenty for most people. You can
the house. However, this is nothing we download a few playlists, podcasts and
haven’t seen before, including from audiobooks and still have more than
many more expensive watches. enough room left.
The Watch 2 is powerful enough
for easy day-to-day usage, which is the SOFTWARE
ÃÌ«ÀÌ>ÌÌ }°1Ì>ÌiÞ]Ìw` Out of the box, the Xiaomi Watch 2
something that feels totally smooth, you runs Wear OS 3.5. Frustratingly, there’s
probably have to ditch Wear OS. still no word on when it might get the
The one thing you do miss out on update to Wear OS 4, despite it being
here compared to the Watch 2 Pro is released by Google in 2023.
the option for cellular connectivity. With It’s also unclear how long Xiaomi
only Wi-Fi, you’ll need to be connected plans to support the watch for with

REVIEWS
The selection of third-

party apps available is
smaller than on the Apple
Watch, but it’s still the best
alternative if you don’t want
an iPhone. The likes of
WhatsApp, Audible, Amazon
ÕÃV-«ÌvÞ>`9Õ/ÕLi
Music also available) and
the meditation app Calm all
Out of the box, the Xiaomi Watch 2 runs Wear OS 3.5. run very well, and more are
being added all the time.
software updates. Nonetheless, there’s As for the general navigation
still a lot to like here. Xiaomi’s tweaks experience, it’s about as slick as you’ll
to the usual Wear OS experience are get on a watch. From the main watch
limited to several of its own apps, and v>ViÜ V V>i>ÃÞLiVÕÃÌâi`
unlike on its smartphones, none of them via a press and hold), a swipe up
are annoying. reveals quick settings and swipe down
In fact, I preferred Xiaomi’s apps for Ã ÜÃÌwV>ÌÃqÌ i««ÃÌiv
wÌiÃÃ] i>Ì ÌÀ}>`Ãii«Ì the Pixel Watch.
the Google equivalents, all of which are Swipe left or right to move between
available via the Play Store. widgets, or access a range of key
"i>««ÞÕÜ½Ìw`>8> functions via the physical buttons on
version of is Google Maps, though I’m the right side.
not convinced by its implementation The top one allows you to quickly
here. Even on Wi-Fi, it’s totally reliant on >VViÃÃÌ i>««`À>ÜiÀi«ÀiÃÃ®]Ãii
your phone to start navigation, which ÀiViÌ>««Ã`ÕLi«ÀiÃÃ®ÀÌÀ}}iÀ
doesn’t always trigger properly. And the Ì i}iƂÃÃÃÌ>Ì«ÀiÃÃ>` `®°
turn-by-turn directions are sometimes The bottom one opens your most
unclear, meaning I had to squint at the ÀiViÌ >««i«ÀiÃÃ®]}i*>Þ
tiny on-screen map instead. `ÕLi«ÀiÃÃ®À«ÜiÀ«ÌÃ«ÀiÃÃ
->ÀÞ]}i*>ÞÛ> ® and hold). These can be customized,
is very convenient but requires an but the defaults are easy to learn
annoying screen lock to work. and feel intuitive.

FITNESS & TRACKING tracking, you’ll have to start each one
Like almost all modern smartwatches, manually. I did this for three different
the Xiaomi Watch 2 is primarily a health types of workouts, and swimming was
>`wÌiÃÃìÛVi° undoubtedly my favourite.
It has no fewer than six dedicated Not only was the watch more
sensors: heart rate, blood oxygen, comfortable to wear in the pool than
V«>ÃÃ]>VViiÀiÌiÀÌÌÀ>V on dry land, but the level of data it
movement and distance covered), provided was impressive. It recognised
}ÞÀÃV«ivÀÃVÀiiÀÌ>Ì>`Ài my main stroke and length of the pool,
accurate movement) and barometer then gave me a detailed overview of
vÀ>ÌÃ« iÀV«ÀiÃÃÕÀi®°Ì½Ã> «>Vi]ÃÌÀiÀ>Ìi>`-7">ÛiÀ>
comprehensive suite and enables a i>ÃÕÀivivwViVÞ®°
wide range of health-related data to be As with all types of workout, it was
collected. But how good is it? i>ÃÞÌÃiÌ>}>ÌiÀ`ÃÌ>Vi®>`
Let’s start with workouts. The Watch LiÌwi`Ü iÀi>V i`Ì°
2 can track more than 160 different However, the swim tracking isn’t
types of exercise, including various pre- particularly reliant on heart rate data,
ìwi`VÕÀÃiÃ°ÜiÛiÀ]Ì i>VÌÕ> which I found to be the weakest aspect
data you get varies considerably in of the Watch 2. A 20-minute run
terms of accuracy and usefulness. «À`ÕVi`>`ÃvÕÃivÕ`>Ì>>LiÌ
With no automatic workout with no clear explanations why it was
The app
displays a
range of
workout data.

REVIEWS
important), but I couldn’t trust the bpm do that, you can’t completely trust the
scores it was showing me. heart rate data. Given its reliance on
Even during a run, I noticed the your heart rate, I was concerned that
reading on the watch jump around a sleep tracking would suffer badly. And
lot, despite a similar level of exertion. while I can’t be sure of the accuracy, the
While I don’t have fully accurate data overall ‘sleep score’ seemed to largely
to compare it to, this didn’t seem right. match how I felt the night went.
The discrepancies were even more This metric uses a combination of
dramatic while walking, which saw my the total time you were asleep and how
heart rate jump from 85 to 150 and then long you spent in each of the three
slowly back down again. I wasn’t even >ÃÌ>}iÃ} Ì]ìi«], ®Ì}Ûi
walking that quickly. you a score out of 100. The advice on
These problems could potentially improving it is rather generic, though.
be avoided by tightening the watch If you enable advanced monitoring,
ÃÌÀ>«]LÕÌÌ >ÞiÜÕ`w` the Watch 2 can also monitor your
that clamping of their wrist to be very blood oxygen levels to provide a
uncomfortable. However, unless you ‘breathing score’. Breathing issues
can be linked to
conditions such as
sleep apnea, so it’s
useful to know.
After wearing the
Watch 2 to bed for
seven nights, you’ll
even be assigned a
‘sleep animal’ which
your sleep style is
supposedly closely
matched to.
BATTERY LIFE
Poor battery life
If you enable advanced monitoring, the Watch 2 can also monitor is something that
your blood oxygen levels to provide a ‘breathing score’. affects many Wear

OS watches. But there
are outliers if you look
hard enough, such as
the OnePlus Watch 2
and Xiaomi’s own Watch
S3, though that runs on
HyperOS instead. So,
can the Xiaomi Watch
2 consider battery life
a strength?
Unfortunately not. In
fact, poor battery life is
one of the main reasons To get good battery life from the Watch 2, you’ll have to either
not to buy the Watch 2. barely use it during the day or make do without some features.
It has the same
495mAh battery as the Watch 2 Pro, USB-A, and it went from 0- to 100
which is a decent capacity on paper, but percent in just under 35 minutes. If
I still only just about made it through you need a quick top-up, it reached 54
one day on a full charge. If you plan to percent in just 15 minutes.
track a workout and your sleep, there’s a
real chance it’ll run out of charge before VERDICT
you wake up the next morning, leading Possibly, but only if you can put up
to incomplete data. ÜÌ ÌÃÌÜ>Ày>ÜÃ\«À i>ÀÌÀ>Ìi
Xiaomi claims up to 65 hours of tracking and underwhelming battery life.
battery life, but that’s presumably with The Xiaomi Watch 2 has got a lot
brightness kept low and key settings }}vÀÌ]vÀi>Ày>}Ã «iÛi
such as GPS turned off. Basically, to performance to an excellent 1.43-inch
get good battery life from the Watch 2, display. Google’s Wear OS software
you’ll have to either barely use it during runs very smoothly overall, offering
the day or make do without some access to Google and other third-party
features. Both are far from ideal. apps that you simply don’t usually get
However, one redeeming quality on a cheap smartwatch.
is that charging is so fast. Xiaomi uses Tons of workouts and sleep can be
a proprietary magnetic charger with ÌÀ>Vi`Ì Õ} Ì>ÕÌ>ÌV>Þ®]>`

REVIEWS
there’s an impressive amount of data

available via the intuitive companion
app. I just wish I could trust all the
results I was presented with – so much
of it relies on heart rate data.
vÞÕi>Ü>ÌV ÌwÌÃÕ}ÞÌ
your wrist and don’t mind charging it
regularly, the Watch 2 is a good choice
– especially at this price. But if that’s
not the case, you’re better off spending
just a bit more for a better all-round
experience. Anyron Copeman
SPECIFICATIONS
• £°{ÎV {ÈÈÝ{ÈÈÆÎÓÈ««®Ƃ"
always-on display
• Android Wear OS
• Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1
{®«ÀViÃÃÀ
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB storage
• Loudspeaker
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
• Bluetooth 5.2, A2DP, LE
• NFC
• *-£³x®]" Ƃ--]Ƃ "]
BDS, QZSS
• -iÃÀÃ\ƂVViiÀiÌiÀÆ}ÞÀÆ
V«>ÃÃ]L>ÀiÌiÀÆ i>ÀÌÀ>ÌiÆ-«"Ó
• Non-removable 495mAh lithium-
polymer battery
• 47.5x45.9x11.8mm
• 36.8g

Credit: Getty Images/LaylaBird
Best Android tablet
10 tablets that are worth your time. ANYRON COPEMAN reports
W
hen buying a tablet, which issue on Android, the situation is much
operating system it runs will better than it once was.
«ÀL>LÞLiÞÕÀwÀÃÌV Vi° If you own an Android phone,
And while there are a few Windows there’s really no reason not to pair it
££Ì>LiÌÃ]Ì½Ã«ÀL>LÞ>ÃÌÀ>} Ìw} Ì with an Android tablet in 2024. This
between iPadOS and Android. article proves it, with 10 great tablets
Traditionally, Android tablets have that we’ve tested and can actually
been seen as inferior to the iPad and recommend. Samsung devices are the
its wide range of dedicated apps. And LÛÕÃV Vi]LÕÌÞÕ½>Ãw`
while truly optimized software is still an slates here from the likes of Google,

BUYING GUIDE
Xiaomi, OnePlus and Lenovo. Oppo, sure you buy the biggest capacity you
Nokia and Honor also make good can afford, as videos and some apps
budget tablets, though they haven’t can use up an awful lot of storage in a
made the grade here. single hit. And don’t forget that the big
One company you won’t see here number on the box – 32GB, say – is the
though is Amazon. Fire tablets run a total amount. The usable amount, in
`wi`ÛiÀÃvƂ`À`]LÕÌ >Ûi other words the amount which is empty
no access to the Google services we’ve and available for you to use after the
come to expect. Android OS itself is installed, can be
µÕÌi>ÌiÃÃÌ >Ì >Ì i>ìw}ÕÀi°
SIZE
/ iwÀÃÌÌ }ÌVÃìÀ>«>ÀÌvÀ DISPLAY
budget) is screen size. This ranges from Few tablets these days have poor-
around 7- to 13 inches, although for quality screens, but some do. Look
most, an 8- or 9-inch tablet represents vÀ>*- ÀLiÌÌiÀÞiÌ®" É
the best compromise between usability AMOLED screen and avoid anything
and portability. With bigger screens with a ‘TN’ screen as these have
comes more weight. Aim for a maximum poor viewing angles. In terms of
of around 450g, as anything heavier resolution, higher is better, but the
can be uncomfortable to hold for long more important number relates to pixel
«iÀ`Ã]ÃÕV >ÃÜ iÜ>ÌV }>w° density. Aim for 300 pixels per inch
That said, if you intend for your new vÌi>LLÀiÛ>Ìi`Ì¼««½®À } iÀ]>Ã
slate to spend most of its life propped this will ensure a sharp-looking image
up on your lap or on a desk, weight isn’t that’s not jagged or blocky.
likely to be so much of an issue.
FEATURES
STORAGE Most Android tablets feature Wi-Fi
Ideally, you should aim for 32GB of and Bluetooth as their primary means
internal storage as a minimum, but more of connectivity, and some have NFC
is better for downloading media. Many, as well. NFC may come in handy for
but not all, Android tablets feature a pairing to other compatible devices
microSD card slot, so you can add more quickly, but it’s by no means essential.
storage when you need it. If you’re What’s more useful is a video output
going for a tablet with no slot, make so you can connect your tablet to your

PERFORMANCE
If you want to know
if a particular model
is great for gaming
or too slow for web
browsing, then
Credit: Getty Images/Ivan Pantic
read our reviews,

which include
benchmark results
for a more empirical
V«>ÀÃÆ
you can’t rely on
Ã«iVwV>ÌÃÃÕV
Anything heaver than 450g will be uncomfortable to hold for long as processor speed
«iÀ`Ã]ÃÕV >ÃÜ>ÌV }>w° or number of cores
it possesses to
/6ÕÃÕ>ÞÛ> ®°ÜiÛiÀ]ÞÕV> guarantee good performance.
use most Android tablets with Google’s We also test battery life, to
Chromecast for watching catch-up give you an accurate idea of how
TV, YouTube and other Internet video long each tablet should likely last
services that are supported. between charges. The best tablets
Some tablets have GPS – which last around ten hours or more, while
makes them useful for navigation – but Ì i ÜÀÃÌÞ>>}ivÕÀÌwÛi
not all do. Another thing to watch for is hours on a charge.
a SIM slot. This is useful if you want to The same applies to cameras, and as
get online when you’re travelling or out with performance, you shouldn’t judge
of Wi-Fi range. by the number of megapixels. Instead,
However, you’ll usually pay more check out our test photos in each review
vÀ>ViÕ>ÀÎÉ{Éx®Ì>LiÌ]>` to see whether you’re happy with the
you will need a dedicated SIM card quality on offer. Few Android tablets
with a data-only plan to enable in. In have great cameras, and quite a few
truth, it’s better to tether your tablet to have awful ones, so if photos, videos
your smartphone, if your mobile plan/ and video calls are important, don’t buy
carrier allows this. before you’ve read this.

BUYING GUIDE
1. BEST OVERALL there’s a high-quality OLED screen

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+ with dynamic 120Hz refresh rate. It
Price: £999 from fave.co/3Xdu8fz means the Tab S9 Plus is more high-
Pros:>ÃÌiÃÌƂ`À`Ì>LiÌÆ}Ài>Ì end than some laptops.
ÃVÀii>`ÃÕ`ÆÛiÀÃ>ÌiÌiÀv>Vi Samsung also includes the S Pen
>`VÌÀÃÆÌ >`Ü>ÌiÀ«Àv stylus and there’s decent sound by
Cons: Apps and performance behind AKG, long software support and lots
*>`*ÀÆiÝ«iÃÛi more to like. Price is the only real thing
that counts against it.
Those looking for a high-end Android
tablet won’t be disappointed with 2. BEST BUDGET
the Galaxy Tab S9+, the middle child ANDROID TABLET
of the 2023 range. At 12.4-inch, it’s Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
ViÀÌ>ÞÌÃ>]LÕÌÃ}wV>ÌÞ Price: £169 from fave.co/3VtZ4Hc
more manageable than the 14.6-inch Pros:-ii]V«>VÌìÃ}ÆÃ`
Tab S9 Ultra. But it’s still wafer thin at «iÀvÀ>ViÆ>ÌÌÀ>VÌÛi`Ã«>ÞÆÃÕ«iÀL
just 5.7mm and features full IP68 dust value for money
>` Ü>ÌiÀ«Àw}q>À>Àiw`Ì i Cons:-ÜV >À}}ÆÌiÀÀLiV>iÀ>ÃÆ
tablet world. blurry scrolling
There are plenty of premium specs
elsewhere, including an overclocked If you’re on a strict budget, you can’t
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and no go wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Tab
less than 12GB of RAM. Furthermore, A9. It starts at just £169 in the UK, yet
offers everything most
people are looking for
in a cheap tablet.
That includes
the fundamentals
of a great tablet:
solid performance,
a decent 8.7-inch
display and impressive
battery life. You also
1.
get Samsung’s slick

3. BEST MID-RANGE
ANDROID TABLET
Xiaomi Pad 6
Price: £319 from fave.co/3VuCKNG
Pros: ÝViiÌ£{{âÃVÀiiÆ
«ÀiÃÃÛi«iÀvÀ>ViÆ«ÀiÕ
LÕ`ÜÌ *xÎÆ}`Ã«i>iÀÃ
Cons:``}L>ÌÌiÀÞviÆ
w}iÀ«ÀÌÃiÃÀÆÃvÌÜ>Ài
update commitment
If your budget is a little higher

2.
but you still don’t want to pay
premium prices, look no further
One UI software, all within a compact than the Xiaomi Pad 6. Despite only
yet premium design. costing £319, it looks and performs
However, it’s not all great news. like a much more expensive tablet.
Charging is annoyingly slow and the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 was a
cameras are very basic, while scrolling y>}Ã «V «ÃiÌÌ}>}]>`Ì
pages and menus can leave a blurry shows – expect great performance,
‘ghosting’ effect. including while gaming.
But none of those should be A silky-smooth 144Hz refresh rate
dealbreakers, especially
at this price. The Tab
A9 is simply superb
value for money – if
you need a device for
the basics, you won’t
regret buying one.
If you’re looking
for something bigger
>`Ã} ÌÞÀi
expensive), consider the
3.
11-inch Galaxy Tab A9+.

BUYING GUIDE
makes the 11-inch

LCD display feel
much more premium,
while quad speakers
deliver an immersive
audio experience.
Build quality is also
good, and Xiaomi’s
version of MIUI for
tablets is much more
intuitive than the
4.
smartphone version.
Battery life is
the big compromise, and it’s weird to iÝ«iÃÛivÀË£]£®vÀÃÌ«i«i
Ãiiw}iÀ«ÀÌÃiÃÀ°Ì½Ã>ÃÌ to consider, and even with the keyboard
clear how long the Pad 6 will continue cover it probably won’t replace your
ÀiViÛ}Õ«`>ÌiÃvÀ]ÜÌ Ã«iVwV laptop.
commitment from Xiaomi. But if money and size are no objects,
But those are small negatives for an it’s a stunning device. The 2,960x1,848
otherwise excellent tablet. OLED screen is a joy to use, especially
with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate.
4. BEST ANDROID TABLET FOR Performance from an overclocked
PRODUCTIVITY Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip is almost
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra as good as it gets, and an IP68 rating
Price: £1,199 from fave.co/4c7xlBC ensures adequate protection from
Pros:-ÌÕ}£Óäâ`Ã«>ÞÆ}Ài>Ì water and dust.
«iÀvÀ>ViÆVÕì`-*iÆ*Èn The included S Pen is also very
À>Ì}ÆxÃÕ««ÀÌ good, though it doesn’t dock into the
Cons:6iÀÞiÝ«iÃÛiÆÌ>Þ tablet like on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. But
optimized apps that’s hardly surprising, given it’s just
234g and 8.9mm thick.
The Tab S9 Ultra represents the Aside from price, the lack of Android
absolute pinnacle of Android tablets. apps designed for such a big screen
Ì½ÃÌL}£{°ÈV `Ã«>Þ®>` remains its biggest limitations.

5. BEST ANDROID of entertainment in a premium and
6#$.'6|52'#-'45 affordable package.
OnePlus Pad It’s not perfect though, with only one
Price: £449 from fave.co/4cbPj5Q ÃÌÀ>}i«Ì]w}iÀ«ÀÌÃV>iÀ
Pros:ƂÜiÃi£{{â`Ã«>ÞÆÃÕ«iÀL and the need to spend extra if you want
Ã«i>iÀÃÆ«ÀiÃÃÛi«iÀvÀ>ViÆÃ` Ì ivwV>v>ÃÌV >À}iÀ°°
battery life
Cons:Ì>`ÃÃÃvÌÜ>ÀiÆÞi 6. GREAT BUDGET
ÃÌÀ>}i«ÌÆViÕ>À«ÌÆnä #0&41+&|6#$.'6
watt charger sold separately Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE
Price: £199 from fave.co/4ec8BKa
It’s taken OnePlus a long time to launch Pros:} ÌÜi} Ì]>ÌÌÀ>VÌÛiìÃ}Æ
>Ì>LiÌLÕÌÌ iwÀ½ÃwÀÃÌivvÀÌÃ> }Ài>Ì>Õ`Æäâ`Ã«>ÞÆiÝViiÌ
solid one and particularly impressive in battery life
some areas. Cons:-ÜV >À}}ÆÞÌÜ"-
The display is one of the best Õ«`>ÌiÃÆ>Þ}iÝÌÀ>>««Ã
features with a market-leading 144Hz
refresh rate and the speakers are The Redmi Pad SE offers value for
incredible. Combining these with money that can’t be matched by
long battery life means the OnePlus any tablet – Android or otherwise.
Pad is an excellent choice for all kinds It costs just £199 at full price in the
UK, yet delivers all
the fundamentals of a
great tablet.
That includes an
attractive design, despite
thick bezels around
the display. It’s an 11-
inch FHD+ LCD panel
here, but the 90Hz
refresh rate makes it feel
much more premium.
Alongside impressive
5.
quad speakers, it’s a

BUYING GUIDE
Samsung has long been the

go-to company for premium
Android tablets, but the
Tab P12 Pro is a worthy
alternative. The 12.6-inch
display is its main selling
point, as an attractive OLED
with 120Hz refresh rate. The
included stylus is one of the
best around, and charges
while magnetically attached
to the side of the tablet.
With good speakers and
6
ÃiViiÛÃ«iVwV
tweaks to Android, it’s a
great tablet for content consumption. great choice for media consumption.
With two-day battery life for most However, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870
people, this an excellent tablet for the delivers only middling performance,
price. But you will have to put up with while battery life could be better for the
slow charging, while the combination price. The Tab P12 Pro is a good tablet,
of bloatware and limited software but it’s not quite best in class.
support are frustrating.
7. A GREAT PREMIUM
ANDROID TABLET
Lenovo Tab P12 Pro
Price: £619 from fave.
co/4a3Yi8U
Pros:Ài>Ì£Ó°ÈV `Ã«>ÞÆ
«ÀiÃÃÛi VÕì`ÃÌÞÕÃÆ
}`Ã«i>iÀÃÆ«i>Ã>Ì
software experience
Cons:-ÕL«>ÀL>ÌÌiÀÞviÆ
7.
average performance

Hub Max. However, it runs
full Android and magnets
mean you can take it on
and off the stand easily,
«ÕÃÌ½ÃÌ iwÀÃÌiÛiÀÌ>LiÌ
with Chromecast. The smart
home software isn’t as
good as the Nest Hubs and
additional docking stations
are expensive but it’s an
attractive hybrid option if
8.
that’s what you’re looking for.
8. MOST VERSATILE 9. SOLID BUDGET

#0&41+&|6#$.'6 #0&41+&|6#$.'6
Google Pixel Tablet Oppo Pad Air
Price: £499 from fave.co/3yUir3l Price: £239 from fave.co/3GpRmFJ
Pros:-ii>`ÃÌÞÃ ìÃ}ÆÃ` Pros: >ÃÃÞìÃ}ÆìViÌÃÌiÀi
«iÀvÀ>ViÆ}`L>ÌÌiÀÞviÆ ÞLÀ` Ã«i>iÀÃÆÃÌÀ}L>ÌÌiÀÞvi
use Cons: w}iÀ«ÀÌÃiÃÀÆ``}
Cons: V >Ãi`VÀi>Õ`ÆV>½Ì «iÀvÀ>ViÆ ÕÀ"-ÌÌ iLiÃÌ1
LÕÞÌ>LiÌ>iÆÃÃ} iÃÌÕL
vi>ÌÕÀiÃÆÃÜV >À}} Excellent budget tablets are hard to
come by, but Oppo has done a great
Google’s latest Android tablet is a bit of job of offering something well worth
an odd one in various ways meaning it VÃìÀ>ÌÜÌ ÌÃwÀÃÌ7iÃÌiÀ
might be perfect for you, or not really tablet. The Pad Air has a stylish and
make much sense. svelte all-metal design with quad
The tablet itself is very good, albeit speakers and its IPS display is better
not outstanding in any particular than the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8. It
way but you can’t buy it on its own. also has strong battery life making it a
The device comes with the Charging reliable device for various tasks.
Speaker Dock turning the slate into a Where it falls behind its main rival is
smart display very similar to the Nest in the performance department where

BUYING GUIDE
Cons:i`VÀi«iÀvÀ>ViÆ
`Ã«>Þ>VÃLÀ} ÌiÃÃÆ
included charger
On the whole, Android tablets

are relatively large. And while the
10.3-inch Nokia T21 isn’t quite
iPad Mini level, it is one of the
more compact devices around.
That display is a 2K IPS LCD
9.
panel, meaning it offers plenty
of detail, albeit without enough
it’s mediocre and the Pad Air could brightness for comfortable outdoor
>Ã`ÜÌ vi>ÌÕÀiÃi>w}iÀ«ÀÌ viewing. But battery life is very good,
scanner to make it more attractive. and the software is refreshingly close
to ‘stock’ Android.
10. BEST ANDROID With a sleek design that makes the
TABLET SOFTWARE Nokia T21 look like a more premium
Nokia T21 device, there’s a lot to like here.
Price: £199 from fave.co/3uHd6KJ It’s just a shame about the lack of
Pros:ƂÌÌÀ>VÌÛiìÃ}Æ«ÀiÃÃÛi performance from the Unisoc T612
L>ÌÌiÀÞviÆVi>]ÃVÃvÌÜ>Ài chipset and lack of charger in the box.
It’s a solid choice at this
price, but not at the level of
the Oppo Pad Air.
10.

Review: Beats Solo 4
Price: £199 from fave.co/3yOadtz
T
he Beats Solo 3 were released of modern features for both Apple
in late 2016, and 7.5 years is and Android devices. Sound quality
ìwÌiÞÌ}ÌÜ>ÌvÀ> is improved and the battery lasts 25
refresh of the ‘affordable’ on-ear model percent longer.
of one of the world’s most popular But they still look like Beats, and
headphone brands. sound like Beats, and do very little to
As you would expect, a lot has move the brand or category forward.
changed. Gone is the ancient Apple There’s nothing wrong with the Solo 4
W1 chip in favour of a proprietary headphones – they’re good. But with
technology platform that supports lots such a long gap from the prior model,

AUDIO
I don’t expect Beats

to abandon its design
entirely, but it’s time
for a refresh, and the
thought that we might
be stuck with this same
look and feel for the
next seven years makes
me cringe.
As with the Solo 3,
w`Ì i i>`« iÃ
don’t contract enough
for my small head,
As with most Beats headphones, the Solo 4 fold up for storage. and just a couple
of millimetres less
they only just meet expectations rather headband on each side would be more
Ì >ÃÕÀ«>ÃÃÀÀiìwiÌ i° comfortable. The earpads are soft
enough but the spring tension makes
SAME OLD BEATS the pressure a little uncomfortable after
LOOK AND FEEL long listening periods when I wear my
Beats headphones have a certain look. glasses. That’s a common problem with
The vibrant plastic, lower-case ‘b’
logo on each side, and the general
shape of the earpieces. When you
see someone wearing Beats, you
know it.
Having said that, the new Solo
4 look and feel just a little too
familiar. Outside of the new Slate
Blue and Cloud Pink colours, you’d
be hard-pressed to recognize this
model from the one designed
almost eight years ago, without Its nice that these come with a carry case, basic
taking a close look at the ports. though it may be.

on-ear headphones and another reason Beats hasn’t changed the way you
why I prefer over-the-ear cans. control the Solo 4, though. There’s a
As before, the Beats Solo 4 fold up power button on the bottom of the
ÌwÌÌ>ÌÌiV>ÀÀÞL>}°v>VÌ]Ì i À} Ì i>À«iVii>ÀìÌiVÌ
bag is nearly identical to that of the means you have to power them on
Beats Studio Pro. I had to do a close and off by hand), and the left earpiece
ÃìLÞÃìV«>ÀÃÌVwÀ has a big button where the ‘b’ logo is
that the Solo 4’s bag is just a tiny bit that is used for play/pause/forward/
smaller. They come with a USB-C reverse and to trigger the voice
cable and 3.5mm audio cable, but assistant. Pressing above or below that
no power adapter. button changes the volume.
Gone is the annoying Micro-USB
NEW FEATURES plug in favour of USB-C. You’ll be
Of course, we would expect the Solo glad to know it’s not just for charging,
4 to have a big update to their feature too. The Solo 4 supports USB-C audio
set after almost eight years, and they output and input, and can even charge
do. This is true for Apple users, who and play USB-C audio at the same
get personalized spatial audio with time. Over USB-C or 3.5mm you can
head tracking and hands-free “Hey ÃÌiÌÃÃiÃÃ>Õ`]iÛiÌÌ >Ì
Siri” support in addition
to all the older stuff
iÌÕV «>À}]
iCloud pairing, and
Find My support).
The move away
from Apple’s W1 chip
to Beats’ much newer
electronics now supports
Google Fast Pair, cloud
pairing with your Google
account, Find My
Device and multi-point
pairing for seamless
audio switching. USB-C and 3.5mm audio input are great options.

AUDIO
the sound reproduction

of these headphones is
anywhere close to good
enough to tell).
All this and better battery
life, too. Beats claims 50
hours of battery life, up 25
percent from the Solo 3. I
certainly haven’t had long
enough listening sessions to
verify that, but modest drop
in battery life over several
days of testing makes me Beats Solo 4 are a good buy on sale, but not at full price.
think it’s a reasonable claim.
It’s just fantastic battery life, enough to Beats says they’ve done a lot
take you through an entire weekend trip to improve the acoustics, lowering
without plugging in. distortion, tuning output, and
Of course, that’s partly because improving voice call quality with
the Solo 4 offers no active noise LiÌÌiÀ VÀ« iÃ°Ì½ÃìwÌiÞ>
cancellation, and ANC is what really step up from the Beats Solo 3, but it’s
stresses battery life in modern 2024 and we expect more.
headphones and earbuds. But the sound quality is what I
would only consider good for this
MID-TIER SOUND price range, not great. Nothing is way
FOR A MID-TIER PRODUCT out of balance or anything like that,
That’s right, there’s no ANC, which is there’s just a general lack of crispness
just barely on the cusp of acceptable for and punch to it all.
£199 wireless headphones these days. To some degree that can be
It’s a feature that is rapidly becoming expected from on-ear headphones,
expected on all but the cheapest which don’t have the larger diaphragms
earbuds and headphones, and the price of over-the-ear models or the tight
of the Solo 4 is right about where you i>ÀwÌvi>ÀLÕ`Ã°>Ã}i"
might start to expect it. Any more and Go’s This Too Shall Pass, they just can’t
they’d have to have ANC. keep up with the booming bass, which

instead sounds a little mushy. The
bright mids on Stevie Ray Vaughan’s
Tin Pan Alley are crisp and clean, but
a ‘crank it all to 11’ metal song like
Kickstart My Heart starts to lose clarity
in some of the instruments.
VERDICT
None of these things are dealbreakers,
not in a £199 pair of wireless
headphones. But it’s not impressive,
iÌ iÀ°Ì½ÃÕÃÌowi°`]iÛi° ÕÌ
not great. That’s not very much fun to
write about, but some things are just
}`]>`Ì i i>ÌÃ-{wÌÃÌ iL°
At the £199 price, they’re only a
good buy if you’re in love with your
aging Solo 3 headphones and have
been dying to update them. For
everyone else, wait for a sale. The
Beats Solo 4 are inoffensive at the list
price, but a steal at £150 or less. If
you’re willing to spend a little more,
you’ll get a lot more out of the Beats
Studio Pro. If you’re willing to wait,
the Beats Solo 4 will be a great buy
by Black Friday. Jason Cross

Credit: Getty Images/pixdeluxe

Goodbye, Gemini: A sanity-
saving Google Search switch
Take a step back in time to a simpler, less bloated form of search without
all the unreliable AI poppycock. JR RAPHAEL reports
I
t may or may not have hit you yet, for something within Google, whether
but brace yourself: It’s coming. As on your phone or on a computer and
we speak, Google’s in the midst Ü iÌ iÀ>ÌÌ ivwViÀÌ i}]ÞÕ½
of bringing its Gemini-powered get AI-powered answers in place of the
generative-AI obsession into its most familiar blue links.
prominent and powerful product – and That’s all well and good in theory,
that’s search. Soon, anytime you search but unless you like your search results

to be unreliable and littered with It’s a new web-only mode for
shoddily sourced inaccuracies, it isn’t Google Search results that lets you
Ì iÃÌ«À>VÌV>«ÛÌ°Ƃ`Ì >Ì½ÃÌ eliminate all AI elements, knowledge
say nothing of the broader impact on panels and also – for the moment, at
publishers, content creators, and the least – ads from the page, and focus
very idea of an open web in general – only on the most relevant results from
an unsustainable paradox that doesn’t the web for your query.
seem like it can possibly end well.) Google didn’t make any big
That may be the default search announcements about the option, and
experience for most people moving you’d really have to know it’s there
forward, but with about 60 seconds of Ìw`Ì° ÕÌÌ½Ã>VÀi`LiiÜ
effort, you can give yourself a simpler, resource to tap into, and with some
Ã>ÀÌiÀ]>`ÀiivwViÌÃi>ÀV simple set-up, you can bring it up to the
ÃiÌÕ«Ì >ÌiÌÃÞÕw`Ü >ÌÞÕÜ>Ì surface and make it available at your
from sources you trust. It’s a return to w}iÀÌ«ÃvÀ >ÃÃivÀii}}ÕÃi°
a purer-seeming, more straightforward The option is typically buried within
form of search – something closer the ‘More’ menu that pops up alongside
to the web-wading prowess Google ‘Images’, ‘Videos’, and other such
gave us originally, way back in its early options at the top of Google Search
days, before all the other stuff started results – right beneath the search box
creeping into the mix. at the top of the screen. If you want
With the way things are shaping up to dig it up and try it out to see how it
around Gemini and other such large- works, you can do so there without any
language model AI systems right now, commitment or lasting changes.
it may be the most important and Here, meanwhile, is how to make
impactful upgrade you make all year. that option your default search set-up
– no matter what kind of device you’re
GOOGLE’S GEMINI-FREE WEB working on at any given moment.
SEARCH OPTION
Amidst all the AI hullabaloo coming THE WEB-ONLY GOOGLE
out of Google’s I/O gala, the company SEARCH SWITCH FOR ANDROID
quietly rolled out an out-of-sight feature First, on the Android front, you curiously
Ì >ÌÃiiÃiÌ iÃÌÃ}wV>Ì can’t set just anything to be your default
search improvement of all. search engine in most browsers right off

This new option makes all the difference.
Ì iL>ÌqÃÜi½ÛiwÀÃÌ}ÌÌÃ ÜÞÕÀ
browser such a search set-up in action
and let it know that it exists.
• First, open this link within your

Ƃ`À`LÀÜÃiÀ\v>Ûi°VÉ{xÈ Ý°Þ
instructions from here on out will be
Ã«iVwVÌ Ài]ÃViÌ >Ì½ÃÌ i
de facto default Android web browser Search results from the web.
and what the vast majority of people
rely on, but most other Android It’s worth noting that this change
browsers should offer similar – if won’t affect searches started in other
occasionally slightly shifted around and places – such as within the Google
reworded – options of their own.) Android app or any Google-associated
• Next, open up a new tab and search search boxes on your home screen,
for something. for example. But you can always add a
• Once you’ve done that, tap the ÀiÃ«iVwVÃi>ÀV LÝÀ>Ãi>ÀV
three-dot menu icon in the browser’s box connected to any other browser
upper-right corner and select ‘Settings’ you’re using) onto your home screen for
followed by ‘Search Engine’. even easier on-demand access:
• Look for the newly added ‘Google
Web’ option beneath the ‘Recently •*ÀiÃÃ>` `>w}iÀÌ>ÞL>
visited’ heading. Tap it to select it, then Ã«>ViÞÕÀ iÃVÀii>`w`Ì i
back your way out of that menu. option to add a new widget.

THE WEB-ONLY GOOGLE
SEARCH SWITCH FOR
&'5-612|%1/276'45
No matter what kind of computer
you’re using – Windows, ChromeOS,
Linux or Mac – you can make Google’s
new web-only search mode accessible
in your desktop browser via a custom
Chrome address bar action. The same
sort of thing is possible in most other
browsers, too, so if you aren’t using
Chrome, poke around a bit.
The idea is that you create your own
custom search engine within Chrome’s
The Chrome Android widget makes it easy to settings, using a specially formatted
start a web-only search in Google. URL that leads you to the Google
web-only search set-up. You can then
• Scroll through the list of choices until either summon that command by typing
ÞÕÃii¼ Ài½À]>ÌiÀ>ÌÛiÞ] a series of letters into the browser’s
another browser – if you’d rather). address bar, or you can go a step further
• Tap that and look for the browser’s and set it as the default search engine
search widget. With Chrome, you can for all of your browser-based searching.
choose from either a traditional search Either way, it takes surprisingly little
bar or a series of icons that includes a legwork to accomplish:
browser-based search as well as a voice
search, an incognito tab search and • First, type chrome:settings into
even a visual search via Google Lens. Chrome’s address bar to pull up the
• Tap or press and hold the widget to browser’s settings.
wÃ >``}ÌÌÞÕÀ iÃVÀii° • Click ‘Search engine’ in the main
left-of-screen menu, then click ‘Manage
Now, any of those options will take search engines and site search’.
you directly into your browser with • See the section in the screen’s main
ÞÕÀiÜÞÀiwi`ÜiLÞÀiÃÕÌÃvÀ area called ‘Site search’? Click the Add
whatever you’re searching. button alongside it.

• If you’d like to make the web-only

search your browser-wide default, so
that any terms you type into the address
bar automatically get sent into that
ÜiLÞÀiÃÕÌÃvÀ>Ì]wÀÃÌw`ÞÕÀ
newly created shortcut within the same
‘Site search’ section of the Chrome
This will initially look like gibberish. settings that we were just looking at.
9Õ} Ì >ÛiÌVV>¼Ƃ``Ì>
• Now, in the box that comes up, type sites’ link at the bottom of that section
Google Web Search into the ‘Name’ to see it.). Click the three-dot menu icon
wi`]gwsÌÌ i¼- ÀÌVÕÌ½wi`]>` to the right of the shortcut’s line and
Ì i¼1,½wi`]«>ÃÌiÌ ivÜ} click ‘Make default’ in the menu that
string of text: https://www.google. pops up.
com/search?q=%s&udm=14
All that’s it. You’ve successfully
Now, click the Add button – and eliminated Gemini’s inconsistently
think about how you’d like this to work. inaccurate answers from your search
results and injected a whole slew of
• If you’d like to keep the standard extra sanity into your information-
ÃÌLiƂ«ÜiÀi`®}i-i>ÀV w`}ÜÀyÜ°
approach as your default, remember the
shortcut gws. You can now type those
three letters into your browser’s address
bar and then hit the Tab key anytime to
initiate a web-only search without all the
other elements.
The easy-to-miss command that changes everything.

Credit: Getty Images/RichLegg
6 settings for a smarter
Chrome Android set-up
Supercharge your browsing experience with these powerful options for
Google’s Chrome Android app. JR RAPHAEL reports
T
he six settings on this page will settings are connected to Chrome’s
make your Android-based web y>}ÃÃÞÃÌi]Ü V Ã> ivÀ
browsing more powerful, more under-development options that are
ivwViÌ]>`Ài«i>Ã>Ì° still actively being worked on and aren’t
Before we go any further, though, technically intended for mainstream use.
one quick word of warning: all of these / iy>}ÃÃÞÃÌiÃi>ÌvÀiÝ«iÀÌ

users and other similarly informed

people who want to get an early look at
advanced items. It also evolves pretty
regularly, so it’s entirely possible some
of the settings mentioned here may look
different from what I’ve described or
even be gone entirely at some point in
the not-so-distant future.
7 >Ì½ÃÀi] Ài½Ãy>}Ã
system has loads of advanced
options within it, some of which could
potentially cause websites to look
weird and Chrome itself to become The Chrome Android app’s custom toolbar
unstable. So proceed with caution, shortcut in action.
follow these instructions carefully, and
don’t mess with anything else you the currently opened page into your
encounter in this area of the browser browser bookmarks.
unless you actually understand it and You can also opt to have Chrome
know what you’re doing. decide for you and dynamically change
that button based on which of those
1. YOUR CUSTOM actions it thinks you’re most likely to use
WEB STEP-SAVER at any given moment. The customizable
One of my favourite tucked-away button is available without any under-
Chrome features is the addition of a the-hood tinkering. If you already have
custom button for the browser’s toolbar. it, you can dig up the option and take
It adds an extra shortcut into your total control of it by tapping the three-
browser’s top bar – and what makes it dot menu icon in Chrome’s upper-right
especially handy is that it can be for corner, selecting ‘Settings’, followed by
whatever function you use the most. ‘Toolbar shortcut’, and then activating
At this point, you can set the button the toggle at the top of the screen that
to serve as a one-tap command for comes up next.
sharing a page, starting a new tab, If you aren’t seeing that section in
ÃÌ>ÀÌ}>iÜÛViÃi>ÀV ]wÀ}Õ« your Chrome Android settings, don’t
an instant page translation or adding worry as there is a simple solution.

• Tap the blue Relaunch button at the
bottom of the screen.
2. A DARK MODE UPGRADE

Android’s Dark Theme is a delightful
way to make your virtual world a little
easier on the eyes. But oddly, using the
system-wide Dark Theme toggle doesn’t
affect the web. Most sites still show up
LÀ} Ì>Ã`>Þ°iÀi½ÃÌ iwÝ\
• Once again, type EJTQOGƃCIU into

your browser’s address bar.
Ài½Ãč`À`Ã«iVwVÌL>ÀÃ ÀÌVÕÌ • Now type dark into the search box on
has lots of useful options to choose from. the screen that comes up.
• See the line that says ‘Darken websites
• First, type EJTQOGƃCIU into your in themes settings’? Change its setting
Chrome Android app’s address bar. from ‘Default’ to ‘Enabled’.
• Next, type adaptive button into the • Tap Relaunch button at the bottom of
search box on the screen that comes up. the screen.
• See the line labelled ‘Adaptive button
in top toolbar customization’? Tap the Once your browser restarts, head
box beneath that and change its setting L>VÌÌÃÃiÌÌ}ÃÛ>Ì >ÌÌ Àii`Ì
from ‘Disabled’ to ‘Enabled’. menu icon in the upper-right corner).
A simple checkbox can make a big difference.

Chrome Android app’s dark mode setting. The app’s hidden zoom feature
Tap ‘Theme’, and you should see a device, but the reality is that text size
new checkbox beneath the ‘System isn’t always the same from one virtual
default’ option. stomping ground to the next. And
Make sure that box is checked on the web in particular, one site’s
and active. Then, all that’s left is to annoyingly small text standard might
activate your device-wide Dark Theme live alongside another site’s perfectly
– either via the Quick Settings toggles wiÜÀ`ÃâiV ViÃ°
ViVÌi`ÌÞÕÀÌwV>Ì«>iÀ Thankfully, Google’s Chrome Android
within your system settings – and go app has an option that makes it easy to
pull up a website. You’ll see the site adjust text size on a site by site basis.
transformed into a dark motif.
• Start by typing EJTQOGƃCIU into your
3. ZIPPIER ZOOMING browser’s address bar.
Android has plenty of options for • Next, type zoom into the search box
increasing text size on a browser- on the screen that comes up.
wide basis or even across your entire • Find the line labelled ‘Accessibility

Page Zoom’ and change its setting
to ‘Enabled’.
•Ƃ`w>Þ]Ì>«Ì i,i>ÕV LÕÌÌ>Ì
the bottom of the screen.
Once your browser comes back,

you can open up any site, anywhere
on the web, and look in Chrome’s main
Ì ÀiiiiÕVÌw`>iÜ
‘Zoom’ option. Tap it and you’ll get a
y>Ì}âL>ÀÀ} Ì>Ì«Ü >ÌiÛiÀ
page you’re viewing.
Whatever changes you make to that
site’s zoom settings should stick and
Ì iVÌÕiÌ>««ÞvÀÌ >ÌÃ«iVwV
site and that site only moving forward.
Any article can be converted into a podcast
4. ON-DEMAND with Chrome’s ‘Read Aloud’ setting.
PODCASTIFICATION
The Chrome Android app now has an • Tap the line labelled ‘Read Aloud’ and
integrated option for transforming any change its setting from ‘Disabled’ to
page you’re viewing into an on-demand ‘Enabled’.
personal podcast, so you can hear the • Click the Relaunch button at the
text read aloud. Once activated, you’ll bottom of the screen.
w`Ì i«Ì ÜÌ Ì i> Ài
menu to listen to any compatible After your browser restarts, just
page. All you’ve got to do is tap it and open up an article and tap that three-
Chrome will read all the text out loud to dot menu icon in Chrome’s upper-right
you. Here’s how to make it happen: corner. You should see the new ‘Listen
to this page’ option there and waiting.
• Type EJTQOGƃCIU into your browser’s As an added bonus, you can also
address bar. Üw`Ì iÀi>`>Õ`V>`>Ã
• Type read aloud into the search box an option within the custom address
on the screen that comes up. bar button we went over earlier – if you

One-time permissions.
want easier on-demand access to it. you want the advantage of that added
And don’t forget, too, about yiÝLÌÞÌ i ÀiƂ`À`vÀÌ°
Android’s system-wide Reading Mode, Luckily, it’s easy to do:
which lets you load an entire reading-
optimized interface for practically • Type EJTQOGƃCIU into your browser’s
anything on your device – on the web address bar.
or beyond – and then optionally have it • Next, type one time permission into
read aloud to you from there, too. the search box at the top of the screen.
• Find the ‘One time permission’ line
5. SMARTER WEBSITE and change its setting from ‘Default’ to
PERMISSIONS ‘Enabled’.
Over the years, Android’s become • Tap the Relaunch button at the
much smarter about sensitive device bottom of the screen.
permissions by introducing more nuance
into the equation. When it comes to Now, the next time a site asks to
things such as location, you can opt to access your location, mic or camera, you
allow an app only limited access – for can opt to allow it to do so only that
a single session – rather than having one time – without granting it eternal
to make an all-or-nothing, never-or- permission to that level of access.
forever-style decision.
Amazingly, this same concept is only 6. LIMITLESS SCREENSHOTS
just now starting to make its way to the Last but not least is a subtle but
web. And as of this moment, the onus Ã}wV>Ì«ÀÛiiÌÌ >Ì½Ã>ì
is still on you to manually activate it if >ìwÌi`vviÀiViÞ`>ÞÌ`>Þ

web doings. It’s a 10-second tweak that
lifts a long-standing limitation around
when you can capture screenshots on
Ì iÜiLqÃ«iVwV>Þ>Ü}ÞÕÌ
snag a screenshot while viewing a site
in Chrome’s incognito mode, if you’re
ever so inspired.
I tend to use incognito mode
anytime I want to see a page without
being signed into the associated site,
whether that’s Google or a company-
connected web page. And I’ve found
myself frustrated more than a few times
when I try to capture a screenshot in
that scenario and end up with a blank,
useless image as the result.
- iÀi½ÃÌ iwÝ\
• One last time, type EJTQOGƃCIU into

your browser’s address bar.
• Type incognito into the search box at
the top of the next screen.
• Find ‘Incognito Screenshot’ and
change its setting from ‘Default’ to
‘Enabled’.
• Finally, tap the Relaunch button at
the bottom.

Credit: Getty Images/skynesher

Your new Android home
screen command centre
*ÕÌiÛiÀi«À`ÕVÌÛÌÞ>ÌÞÕÀw}iÀÌ«ÃÜÌ Ì ÃViÛiÀƂ`À`
enhancement. JR RAPHAEL reports
Y
our Android phone’s home screen style of getting stuff done or even
is your window to the world and, supplementing the standard Android
unlike iOS, you can make it look app drawer with one that’s accessible
and work any way you want. from anywhere.
That can mean replacing your stock But it can also mean tapping into
home screen interface with something interesting tools for adding important
completely customized for your own information into whatever manner of

home screen set-up you’re using – one relevant to our focus today. We’ll be
because Android makes it possible for looking at an Android app that lets you
developers to pull off some crafty and expand your home screen to showcase
creative feats that other smartphone some of the most pressing incoming
ecosystems simply don’t allow. And information in any smartphone scenario.
that’s precisely where the idea I’d like to And that information is all about your
share with you here comes into play. « i½ÃÌwV>ÌÃ°
/ iÜ`}iÌ>ÌÌ iÌ«Ãii
AN INFORMATION-DENSE screenshot below) is Google’s widely
ANDROID HOME SCREEN available Android At a Glance widget,
One of the things I’ve always which shows the weather along with
appreciated about Android is how a information connected to your calendar
home screen can be so many different LÌ «iÀÃ>>`ÜÀ«Àwi
things to so many different people, and associated), optimal departure times
how Google’s ecosystem offers up so vÀÕ«V}iÛiÌÃL>Ãi`ÞÕÀ
many opportunities to transform that VÕÀÀiÌV>Ì>ì>ÀLÞÌÀ>vwV`>Ì>®]
space into whatever makes the most in-advance warnings about your next
sense for you. VÕÌiL>Ãi`ÌÞ«V>«>ÌÌiÀÃ
For some, that might
mean making a home
screen into simple
collection of key shortcuts
to apps, contacts, and
other frequently accessed
items. For others, it might
be establishing a sprawling
series of grouped icons
for every app imaginable.
And for others yet, it might
be concocting a carefully
curated command centre
for seeing and swiftly acting
on important information. The Android home screen command centre in action, with
That last approach is the Ì i«ÜiÀvÕ«>À}vÌ i>Vi>` ÌwV>ÌÜ`}iÌÃ°

observed over time), and updates THE ANDROID NOTIFICATION

Ài>Ìi`Ì>ÞÕ«V}ÌÀ>ÛiL>Ãi` WIDGET SET-UP
on information available within your First, we need to make sure the
Gmail inbox). foundational basics are all in place:
Beneath it you’ll see a nifty new
VÀi>ÌV>i` ÌwV>Ì7`}iÌ°Ì • Ü>` ÌwV>Ì7`}iÌvÀ
LÀ}Ã>ÞÕÀ>VÌÛiÌwV>ÌÃÀ} Ì Ì i*>Þ-ÌÀiv>Ûi°VÉ{>,}£Ç®°Ì½Ã
onto your home screen, so you can see free, in its base form, and it doesn’t
and interact with them easily – without require any disconcerting permissions
having to swipe down from the top of À`>Ì>>VViÃÃVÕ`}Ì i>LÌÞÌ
Ì iÃVÀiiwÀÃÌÌÃÕÌ i°Ƃ` access the Internet at all, giving some
it’s the perfect pairing for Google’s At a extra-hefty assurance to its promise
Glance offering. So rather than keeping not to collect or share any sort of
that out of sight and a persistent swipe personal information).
away, this set-up puts it front and • Open the app once. If you see a
centre – where you’ll always see it and prompt to allow it the ability to send
can respond or mark things as done, as ÞÕÌwV>ÌÃ]Ì>«¼ƂÜ½°
needed, right alongside the contextual • On the app’s main screen, tap
intelligence Google’s At a Glance ¼ iV>VViÃÃÌÌwV>ÌÃ½]Ì i
widget gives you.
/ i>«ÌÞ>i` ÌwV>Ì
Widget also provides on-
demand, one-tap access to an
expanded view of Android’s
ÌwV>Ì ÃÌÀÞqÜÌ >
V«iÌiÃÌv>ÌwV>ÌÃ
from the past hour, in the app’s
regular free version, or the past
three days if you pay £3.99 for
its premium version. That can be
supremely handy when you swipe
something away only to realize
later you still need to reference it. 9Õ½ii`Ì`Ü>` ÌwV>Ì7`}iÌvÀÌ i
Setting all of this up is easy. Play Store.

w`¼ ÌwV>Ì7`}iÌ½Ì iÃÌv ÃiÌ }ÞÕV>>Ü>ÞÃV >}i
options that appears, tap it, and tap the later, too, by pressing and holding the
Ì}}iÌ}À>ÌÌ i>««Ì >Ì>LÌÞvÀ widget again).
reasons that I hope are obvious). If you want the At a Glance widget
above it for the full effect, like I showed
Now, make your way back to that >LÛi]«ÀiÃÃ>` `ÞÕÀw}iÀÌ
main set-up screen, and: any open space on your home screen
again, select the option to add a widget
• Tap ‘Add new widget’. once more, and look for ‘At a Glance’
• Tap ‘Header’, then uncheck the boxes within the ‘Google’ section of options –
next to ‘Show’ beneath the ‘Time’, then tap or hold it to put it into place.
‘Date’ and ‘Battery level’ headers. This And that’s it. Your Android home
will clean up the widget’s appearance. ÃVÀiiV>`ViÌÀiÃvwV>ÞÜ
• On a related note, return to the main open for business. Information should
set-up screen and tap ‘Appearance’, automatically appear within the At a
then tap ‘Buttons’. Glance widget at the top as it becomes
• Uncheck the box next to ‘Buttons on ÀiiÛ>Ì]>`ÌwV>ÌÃÜ>««i>À
bottom of the widget’ and uncheck the ÜÌ Ì i ÌwV>Ì7`}iÌ]Ü`}iÌ
box next to ‘Hide button’ beneath the as they arrive.
‘Pin button’ header. 9ÕV>`ÃÃÃ>ÞÌwV>Ì
• Last but not least, on that main set-up in the list by tapping the red ‘x’ in its
screen, scroll all the way down to the upper-right corner. And you’ll see any
bottom and tap ‘OK’. available options for interacting with
an alert, such as replying to a message
Then, if you don’t already see the or marking a task as done, as a button
widget on your home screen, press and ÜÌ Ì i>ÃÃV>Ìi`ÌwV>Ì½Ã
`ÞÕÀw}iÀÌ>Þ«i>Ài> card. If you ever want to get to your
and select the option to add a widget ÌwV>Ì ÃÌÀÞ]i>Ü i]ÞÕV>
qÌ iw`¼ ÌwV>Ì7`}iÌ½Ì i just tap the little clock-circle icon at the
list of choices and either tap or press widget’s bottom edge.
>` `ÞÕÀw}iÀÌÌÌÃiiVÌ
it. From there, you should be able to
place it wherever you want and resize
it to whatever dimensions you prefer

Credit: Getty Images/Milan Markovic

An Android audio upgrade
You’ve never experienced sound like this. JR RAPHAEL reports
E
very now and then, I come across you’re using, no matter who made it or
an Android customization concept how old it may be. And it’ll take you less
so clever and useful that I just than a minute to set up.
can’t wait to share it with you. Today is
one of those days. MEET YOUR ANDROID AUDIO
The concept in question is a hefty ENHANCEMENT
and exceptionally practical upgrade The upgrade of which we speak may
for your Android audio experience. It seem simple on the surface, but don’t
brings a boost to the way you interact be fooled. This nifty tip will affect
with sound on whatever Android device all aspects of your Android-using

experience and make your life easier ÃiÌÌ}Ã>ÞÃ«iVwVÜ>Þ>ÞÌi>
– even saving you time and increasing particular app is opened, whenever a
ÞÕÀivwViVÞqVÕÌiÃÃÌiÃ>`>Þ° Ã«iVwV ÕiÌÌ ÀÜÀi`ìÛViÃ
It’s a completely new take on the connected, or even when a certain time
Android volume panel – the little slider of day arrives.
that shows up whenever you tap your
phone’s physical volume keys. For most 3. It expands the standard system
people, that’s probably a part of the volume sliders to make them much
Android interface you haven’t spent more precise, with a visible 0 to 100
much time thinking about. But believe scale that lets you gives you greater
you me, once you see how much of a control over the exact volume level you
meaningful difference this improvement want for any given moment or purpose.
introduces, you’ll wonder how you went You can even increase that scale, if you
so long without it. want extra control beyond that, and
Our upgrade comes by way of an make your volume sliders operate on a
>««V>i`*ÀiVÃi6ÕiÓ°äv>Ûi° âiÀÌ£]äääÃÌi«VÀiiÌÃiÌÕ«À
co/45irjvK). In essence, it replaces your any other measure you like).
standard volume panel interface with
a different, much more customizable 4. It includes simple equalizer settings,
and feature-rich alternative. It has six which can make any audio you’re
iÃ«iV>ÞÌiÜÀÌ ÞLiiwÌÃÌ >Ì½` hearing sound noticeably better and can
encourage you to consider: also be included in those presets and
automations we just went over. These
1. It empowers you to create all sorts of settings can even make your phone’s
VÕÃÌ«ÀiÃiÌÃqÃ«iVwVÃiÌÃvÛÕi >ÝÕÛÕi } iÀ]vÞÕw`
iÛiÃvÀi`>]À}>`ÌwV>Ì things are occasionally too quiet.
noises, call and alarm chimes, and
even general system sounds – and then 5. It adds in an Android 15-style volume
activate those with a single swift tap panel expansion that makes all your
from your regular volume panel pop-up. audio controls even easier to manage
from anywhere.
2. The app also includes easy options
for automation, so you can instantly 6. Finally, Precise Volume 2.0 brings
have your phone change its volume that simple, standard Android design

into the volume panel on any device – 60 SECONDS TO SMARTER

delivering quite an improvement over ANDROID AUDIO
the murky mess present on phones • Download Precise Volume 2.0 from
by Samsung and other heavy-handed Ì i*>Þ-ÌÀiv>Ûi°VÉ{xÀÛ®°
companies by default. • Open it up and accept the couple
For the full set of features, including v«iÀÃÃÃÌÀiµÕiÃÌÃ°/ iÞ½Ài
the volume panel replacement, you’ll completely innocuous and required for
have to pay £5.49 as an in-app purchase parts of the app’s operation.)
for Precise Volume’s Pro version. But • Explore the app’s tabs and the options
you can play around with some of the within them to play around with the
features even in the app’s free version. presets and other features.
Ƃ`vÞÕiÜ >ÌÞÕw`]ÞÕ½
iÞw`Ì >ÌiÌi«ÕÀV >ÃiÌLi ÀÌ ivÕyi`}i`ÛÕi
very worth its weight. replacement panel at the heart of this
article, meanwhile:
• Tap the Settings tab at

the bottom of the Precise
Volume interface.
• Tap ‘Volume Button
Override’.
• Flip the toggle next to
‘Enabled’, then follow the
prompts to upgrade to the
app’s Pro version.
• Once that’s done, tap
that toggle again, then
follow the prompt to allow
Precise Volume the ability
to display itself over other
apps. That’s needed for
reasons that should be
The app’s volume panel in its initial form (left) and fully obvious, and there’s no
expanded (right). harm in allowing it.

• Next, tap that toggle one more
time, and this time, follow the prompt
to enable the app as an Android
accessibility service. That may sound
scary, but it’s required for an app to be
able to process your physical button
presses in this way and effectively
replace a part of the system interface.
And Precise Volume is extremely upfront
about the exact reasons for all of its
permission requirements and the fact
that it doesn’t collect, store or share any
form of personal data.
• After you select the app’s name,
LiÃÕÀiÌy«Ì iÌ«ÃÌÌ}}iÌ
turn its accessibility service on – not
the lower toggle to activate it as an
accessibility shortcut. Precise Volume’s presets make it possible
• And note that on a Samsung phone, to create complete audio settings for any
this part of the process is unnecessarily Ã«iVwVÃVi>À°
convoluted. After selecting the option
to enable the accessibility service, you’ll dot icon within the regular side-of-
have to tap ‘Installed apps’ and then screen panel.
w`*ÀiVÃi6ÕiÓ°äÌ iÃÌLivÀi Beyond that, you’ll want to spend
you’ll see the relevant option. a bit of time in the ‘Manage Volume
Presets’ area of Precise Volume’s
And that’s it. Head back to your Settings tab. That’s where you can
home screen and then press your create those one-tap presets we talked
phone’s physical volume-up or volume- about a minute ago.
down key, and you should see the new The ‘Automation’ area of that same
Precise Volume panel appear in place of Ì>LÃÜ iÀiÞÕV>Vw}ÕÀiÃ«i
the standard volume pop-up. You can automations for what happens when
then get to the expanded bottom-of- Ã«iVwV>««Ã>Ài«ii`]Ã«iVwV
screen interface by tapping the three ìÛViÃ>ÀiViVÌi`]ÀÃ«iVwV`>ÞÃ

Precise Volume’s automations open the door

to all sorts of step-saving smartness.
and times occur – if, say, you want

your media volume to bump up and
ÞÕÀÌwV>ÌÛÕiÌ}>Ì i The Equalizer area is full of simple but
way down whenever you open Google effective enhancements.
iiÌÀ>ÞLiÞÕÀÌwV>Ì>`
ring volume to bump up during the The ‘Behaviour’ section within that
workday but then drop back down in same tab is where you can control
the evenings. the precise nuance level of your
volume slider, if you want to make
Ì iVÌÀ iÛiwiÀÌ >Ì iìv>ÕÌ
zero to 100 scale.
And the Equalizer tab at the
bottom of the Precise Volume app is
the place where features such as the
volume booster reside.
Make your volume control as nuanced as you

want with the ‘Steps’ setting.

INSIDE: ANDROID TIPS & TRICKS
ADVISOR
ISSUE
123
INTRODUCING
ANDROID 15

Android Advisor - Issue 124 2024

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Android Advisor - Issue 124 2024

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INSIDE: ANDROID TIPS & TRICKS

PLUS: BEST ANDROID TABLETS

REVIEWS BUYING GUIDE

2 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 124

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LiÞ`äâ­Ì Õ} Ì iÕ«Ã½Ì using it indoors or out.

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but it’s Google’s software

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discover and some are useful

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the most demanding titles on the Play Poco F5 Pro: 50%

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will feel a difference between this

30 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 124

PERFORMANCE GFX Aztec Open (High)

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Battery life one of the trade-offs when opting for a

Charge in 30 minutes PHOTOGRAPHY

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The folded mode can also be used • Android 13

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>`>Àii`ÀÜÌ >`Ü>ÌV >w] RAM stops this being a serious issue.

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you’ll get pertinent news

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The selection of third-

52 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 124

LiÞ`äâÌ Õ} Ì iÕ«Ã½Ì using it indoors or out.

>`>Àii`ÀÜÌ >`Ü>ÌV >w] RAM stops this being a serious issue.

• Once again, type EJTQOGƃCIU into

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