Table of contents for 90 in Android Advisor

The excellent Pixel 5 is Google’s current flagship phone, but time stands still for no device, so we take a look forward at what to expect when its successors – the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro – arrive. In this article, we’ll explore the expected release date, price and the new specs suggested to appear on Google’s next flagship phones. RELEASE DATE Google officially announced the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro in a press release published in August – see fave.co/3grDv53. While it didn’t make mention of a specific release date, it repeatedly promised an autumn arrival, in line with past Pixel releases. PRICE Pricing is a bit less reliable when looking at past releases. Back in 2018, the Pixel 3 cost £739, but when the Pixel 4 came along,…

Price: £1,199 from fave.co/2WgLI5j When Sony unveiled its Xperia Mark III line-up earlier this year, the company showcased what looked like an unmistakably familiar face. While the new flagship Xperia 1 III may resemble its predecessor, however, it promises a handful of notable upgrades and additions that stand out from the status quo. Sony has occupied a relatively tiny corner of the smartphone market in recent years, further tailoring its Xperia smartphones to brand loyalists who value the company’s technical expertise and distinct style of hardware and software above all else. The Xperia 1 line serves as the pinnacle of its smartphone portfolio; each new revision offers a tighter and more refined experience than the last, leaning heavily on the company’s expertise and technologies within other product categories; like its Alpha cameras,…

Price: £219 from fave.co/3sG1wds Oppo’s 5G upgrade to the A54 also brings with it a sharper, more vibrant display and better cameras. While that adds a slightly higher price, it still remains affordable at £219. But where exactly does Oppo compromise to keep the price so low? We tested out the handset to see how it performs day to day, and whether its humble price tag offers enough value to cut through the crowd. DESIGN The A54 5G may be a budget all-plastic handset, but it doesn’t look cheap. The model I tested in Fluid Black has a gorgeous iridescent finish that changes from dark grey to silver depending on the angle of the light. You can pick it up in an eye-catching Fantastic Purple too. The only downside is…

One of the best parts of using a Pixel is the way tasty little specks of Google intelligence get sprinkled all throughout the experience. Those small but significant morsels show off the value of having Google’s greatest ingredients integrated right into your phone’s operating system, without any competing forces or awkwardly conflicting priorities at play. And that certainly makes a world of difference. The features in question may not always be the most eye-catching or marketing-friendly advantages, but they’re incredibly practical touches that can make your life easier in some pretty powerful ways. Here we zoom into the Android Overview area. The interface for switching between recently used apps is overflowing with advanced actions on a Pixel phone, and once you discover (or maybe just remind yourself) what’s there, you’ll be…

Well, it looks like the brightly coloured cat is out of the metaphorical bag. The feline in question is none other than two Pixel 6 phones. Google pulled off its new trick and let the air out of the rapidly leaking balloon by announcing its Pixel 6 and 6 Pro months ahead of their actual debuts. And these new models are pretty different from Pixels past, too. As had been widely expected, they’re the first Google-made phones to feature a Google-made processor – a distinction we’ve been talking about for quite a while and one that could go a long way in separating the phones from the rest of the Android pack. We’ve already taken a look at the new phones design and specs (page 6). Here, I want to focus…

Price: £599 from fave.co/3kjYgki The Asus ZenFone 8 was released alongside the ZenFone 8 Flip (see Android Advisor 88) and went on sale globally just a few months ago. This handset boasts flagship features, but is a fraction of the price of phones from leading manufacturers such as Samsung and Apple – and it’s smaller too. But does the lower cost mean that there’s some big compromises? I’ve spent some time with the ZenFone 8 to see if this is a phone worth investing in.  DESIGN As Goldilocks would say, this phone is not too big, nor too small – it’s just right. It can be used one-handed easily and will slip inside most pockets comfortably, but the screen is still large enough to enjoy videos on and you can play games without feeling…

Price: £159 from fave.co/3zrrlAV Reviewing the Moto G30 feels very much like Groundhog Day. If you’ve read my review of the G9 Play (Android Advisor 82), you’ll know what to expect here. But feel free to stick around for my charming personality.  The G30 launched alongside the Moto G10, marking a shift in Motorola’s naming convention where higher numbers indicate higher capability. The ultra-affordable Moto G10 didn’t really impress, so does the higher-specified G30 do better? Let’s find out. DESIGN Motorola sticks to its guns when it comes to the G30’s design. You get the same template as past G-series phones: a teardrop camera, the round fingerprint reader on the back, the Google Assistant button above the volume rocker, and a 3.5mm audio jack at the top. In many ways, the…

If there’s one thing we take for granted, it’s just how good we’ve got it when it comes to typing out text on our pocket-sized phone machines. It’s all too easy to lose sight of over time, but typing on Android is an absolute delight. And all it takes is 10 seconds of trying to wrestle with the on-screen keyboards on that other smartphone platform to appreciate our advantage. There are plenty of exceptional keyboard choices, but Google’s Gboard keyboard has really risen up as the best all-around option for Android input as of late. That’s in large part because of its top-notch typing basics and its seamless integration of tasty Google intelligence, but it’s also because of all the clever little shortcuts it has lurking beneath its surface. 1. ONE…

Samsung has a fever and more foldable phones are the only prescription. And thus today the biggest name in Android phones announced the third generation of its foldable Galaxy smartphones: the Galaxy Z Fold3, a flagship model that opens like a book, and the smaller Z Flip3, a less expensive model that opens vertically and harkens back to the flip phones of the early 2000s. Both phones include new features to improve durability, which may help mitigate public perception that foldable phones just can’t withstand the rigours of, well... repeated, incessant folding. And you’re going to want a sturdier phone, given Samsung’s price tags: £1,599/£1,699 for the Galaxy Z Fold3 and £949 for the Galaxy Z Flip3. GALAXY Z FOLD3 5G: FEATURES The Z Fold3 comes with S Pen support, and with…

Price: £399 from fave.co/387fxaI The OnePlus Nord 2 has a lot to live up to. Last year’s debut Nord was my favourite mid-range phone of 2020, a near-flawless blend of design and performance that genuinely made it difficult to justify spending more – even on OnePlus’s own flagships. With a more competitive midrange market this year – driven by mounting pressure from Xiaomi and Realme – OnePlus would have to pull out all the stops to impress as much this time around. The Nord 2 doesn’t quite pull it off, which is only to say: the Nord 2 is good, and maybe even great, but not quite the all-singing, all-dancing spectacular it felt like the first time round. DESIGN While the first OnePlus Nord took some inspiration from the flagship that preceded it,…

Price: £399 from /fave.co/2WcMIYj Nokia might just have hit the ‘affordable rugged phone’ sweet spot with the Nokia XR20. It’s a reasonably priced, super-tough phone that isn’t awful to use. That might sound like I’m damning it with faint praise, but I’m not. Rugged phones are typically very good at the ‘rugged’ bit and not so good at the ‘phone’ bit, and with very good reason. As a rugged phone manufacturer, the sheer investment required to make your smartphone atypically drop, heat, dust and water-resistant is surprisingly high. That means you have to cut corners with the internal specifications, at least if you want your rugged phone to come in at a price that hard-working people are willing to pay. Case in point: the recent Motorola Defy. Built like a tank and…

Android 12 sure is an onion of an update. Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not suggesting it’s fragrant, likely to make you cry, or positively delicious when cooked in a stir-fry. I just mean that it has lots of layers to it, including some that are beneath the surface and impossible to see when you’re only glancing from afar. Android 12 is full of changes both big and small, in fact – and while many of its most noticeable external elements will be limited to Google’s own Pixel phones, some of the improvements tucked away in those sticky lower layers are arguably the most important changes of all. That’s particularly true when it comes to the realm of privacy. Android 12 has a whole host of helpful privacy enhancements.…