Hello and welcome to the show!
My name is Alex and this is TechFlow.
We've got a good video coming for you guys today - a good video if you love your phones.
There isn't a best product for everybody but Trusted Reviews can help find the right product
for you.
That is Trusted Reviews's website's promise.
And Trusted Reviews is a website that revolves around reviewing technology - something that
we take to heart here at TechFlow.
About a month ago, Trusted Reviews hit up TechFlow and said: Guys, we want to sponsor
a video with you guys - what, what can we do?
So, we took to our Twitter, @TechFlowTweets, and saw that you guys were saying: What phone
do I buy?
There's so many phones.
What one do I buy?
So we've teamed up with Trusted Reviews with one of their phone experts.
And we're going to go get a definitive answer to my number one favourite smartphone in 2017
and then we're also going to give it away.
This is going to be fun.
All I can ask for is cappucino.
That is a nice tea though.
MAN: Yeah, strong.
I like a strong tea though.
ALEX: It does the job. Right.
We've got about £5000 worth of phones on the table, haven't we?
MAN: Yes.
ALEX: Right.
MAN: If we get...
If these get stolen right now, I'm going to be in some trouble.
ALEX: Right, so, let's get this over and done with and get out of here.
So guys, as I've said, I want to try and find my top three phones, flagship, in 2017, so
I've invited Tom up from London, right. TOM: Hey guys.
ALEX: And he's here from Trusted Reviews and he knows a thing or two, definitely more about
me, than the phone scene.
Hopefully I'm right about that.
TOM: I hope so too.
ALEX: Good, right, so, we've got five, six thousand pounds worth of phones on the table
right now ranging from, well, my daily driver, the iPhone 7 Plus, err, to the S8 here.
TOM: Google Pixel.
ALEX: Got the Google Pixel.
TOM: HTC U11.
ALEX: Got all the latest 2017 flagships.
Even...
What are you pulling out there?
That is the one plus 5 which came out...
TOM: Pretty recently.
ALEX: ...Couple of weeks, three weeks ago.
TOM: This is a brand new phone.
ALEX: So this is a recent video.
Let's pick my top three phones and then we'll give away the number one phone that I pick
in my number one spot but if you guys want to figure out what phone we're giving away,
head over to the Trusted Reviews link where you can see us do pretty much the same thing
here but me get a definitive answer to my top favourite phone out of these ones, for
2017, and also enter the giveaway for it.
TOM: You can win one of these.
ALEX: Yeah.
TOM: Whichever one of these, actually, that is his favourite phone.
ALEX: We're going to top three here but over on Trusted Reviews, we've got my number one
which we're going to be giving, give it away, to one of you guys.
So, hopefully, you're stoked for that.
Let's do this.
The first thing I like to know about a phone is the camera.
Snapchat gaming strong..
So, everyday, 6 PM, my vlog goes out and I'm there on Snapchat and I'm like: Guys, I've
got a new video out, right, and I need my Snapchat gaming strong but I'm also on Instagram
- I've got 81,000 followers on there.
Need to be putting some good pictures up.
TOM: Just mentioning that casually.
ALEX: Yeah, just casually - 81,000 followers - you know what I'm saying.
Need a good camera, my friend.
Point at one.
Right, OK - this is going to be interesting.
You've got five seconds to point at your favourite camera on the table.
Five, four, three, two...
TOM: Pixel.
ALEX: Why?
TOM: Oh, it's just, really high quality, high megapixel, wide aperture, 4K video.
You know what - you can't go wrong with any of these.
They're all fantastic.
ALEX: They all are fantastic, aren't they?
TOM: iPhone 7, Pixel, the S8 and the HTC U11 out of these are probably the best and if
you want something fancy - dual lenses on the LG.
ALEX: Dual lenses on the LG.
So, on the LG, we're wide angle.
TOM: Wide angle on the LG.
We've got zoom lenses on the iPhone 7 Plus and the One Plus Five.
So, err, you know, they're all pretty similar.
They're all flexi-phones - they're going to be great.
ALEX: Brilliant.
OK.
So, I suppose that is what the user or consumer of the phone wants - do they want a wide angle
lens or do they want a zoom lens or aren't they bothered about that and do they just
want something really high quality, like the Pixel?
TOM: Having options is great.
ALEX: Having options is great.
So, for the camera, we can't really give a definitive answer.
Yours was the Pixel but we recommend that you go in to an actual shop and test them
out yourself.
TOM: Absolutely.
ALEX: Next thing, right.
You're holding these phones, you're using them, getting your grubby hands all over them.
What is your favourite design of phone here?
TOM: It's a bit more subjective, isn't it?
But, honestly, for me, I'm going to go with the Galaxy S8.
We have the...
ALEX: I'm going with the S8 too.
TOM: Do you agree?
ALEX: Yeah.
TOM: We've got the S8 Plus here.
That's a big ass phone.
It's 6.2 inches but look at the bezel.
There isn't one almost.
It's what they call infinity edge.
They've really shrunk the bezel around the edge to get a big screen in the phone that's
actually the same size as the iPhone 7 Plus even though it's a 0.7 inches bigger screen.
So that's pretty incredible.
ALEX: So what you're saying there is the phones are practically the same size.
I think the S8 is a little bit narrower here.
TOM: It's taller, narrower.
It's...
ALEX: Taller and narrower.
TOM: ...HDR screen if that's important to anyone.
ALEX: So you're getting a major, major step up on the screen here in resolution, in, in,
what, HDR 10?
TOM: Yep.
ALEX: So blacks are going to be really black on this thing.
TOM: Yep.
Also, on the panel, they use AMOLED displays which means really deep blacks and rich whites.
ALEX: So, media consumption - S8's your guy.
TOM: Probably.
But, again, they're all fantastic.
The LG also has Dolby vision, HDR, as does the Sony XZ Premium.
They're all brilliant phones.
The iPhone 7's got a lovely screen but I reckon the S8, the S8 Plus, has the best screen right
now.
ALEX: Right, OK.
S8 for good screen.
OK, so, as I've mentioned, I am primarily an iPhone user on the daily.
My daily driver right there.
I also have, as a business phone, a Google Pixel.
So I do know a fair bit about Android but we've talked about actually holding the phones
and we've talked about the screens.
Let's talk about what's on the screens in terms of software.
Android, iOS...
What are the different variants of Android because I can pick up an S8 and I can pick
up a Pixel - they're both running Android but they look different.
Explain that to me.
TOM: In a word, it's called "skins."
Different companies put different software on top of the base Android.
So, on the Samsung S8 we've got what we call Samsung Experience UI.
You've got an LG experience, you've got HTC Sense on the U11.
Basically, they're all Android but the companies just make a few tweaks, change the theme a
little bit, give it a different background, change the icons and also add some features,
take some away some features but basically just customise it so that it's a bit different.
The Pixel is the only phone that is pure stock Android.
The closest other ones are the One Plus Five which is fairly close but add-on Oxygen OS
on top of Android.
Of course, also, with the iPhone, you're running iOS.
Err, so you've got iOS 11 and, as you mentioned, the iPhone and the Pixel, they are both, like,
the best in terms of software because both the companies...
ALEX: Software to hardware optimisation is a key word.
TOM: Exactly, exactly.
I mean, Apple make the phone.
Apple make the software.
And Google make the Pixel.
Google make Android.
So that optimisation, as you say, is crucial for a really fast and responsive phone.
ALEX: So you'd agree with me that, obviously, most of these phones, being flagships in 2017,
they're all going to be rapid.
It's milliseconds that we're talking about here, isn't it?
TOM: Absolutely.
If you're paying six or seven hundred quid for a phone it's going to be fast.
These are all ridiculously fast - they will play any game or app from the market.
ALEX: Brilliant.
So, we've been talking about hardware to software optimisation.
So companies have been able to optimise the OS on the phones to work with the hardware
that they have made.
That affects battery life and quite significantly, right, here.
So, right, if you wanted to take a phone that was going to last you all day, you've got
five seconds again.
Go for it, Mister Phone Man.
TOM: This is difficult.
We've tested all of these on Trusted Reviews and I'm going to say probably the iPhone 7
Plus.
ALEX: Ooh, there he goes.
I agree.
TOM: And then probably the Galaxy S8 Plus after that.
ALEX: Right, you're going with S8, would you?
Right, OK.
That is very interesting.
But that is down to Android being a widely used OS on all of these phones.
iOS is only made for the iPhone so Apple have the head up on there being able to optimise
the battery performance for the hardware and the battery that they have available.
TOM: Exactly and their chips they use, the hardware inside, is a little bit more energy
efficient.
Also, their screen is a little bit lower resolution and not quite as big as some of these so,
err, actually, there's a whole bunch of things that are factors.
But, honestly, all of these will last you a day.
Some of them will get you a day and a half.
None of them are going to blow you away.
And the other thing to mention is charging times.
ALEX: Charging times.
So, we've got, what was it on this?
What's it called?
TOM: Dash Charge.
ALEX: Dash Charge.
Right - they've come up with some funky names on the One Plus Five haven't they on all of
these things.
So, we've got Dash Charge but then we've also got wireless charging on the S8, which the
iPhone doesn't have any fast charging capabilities and it also doesn't have wireless charging.
TOM: Exactly.
Whilst the iPhone 7 Plus has a great battery, we did find at Trusted Reviews when testing
it that the iPhone 7 didn't have a great battery.
All of these were pretty good.
All of these have fast charging times again except for the iPhone.
They're the only manufacturer now, pretty much, not to have any fast charging.
So the iPhone is going to get you the longest battery because of the hardware to software
optimisation...
TOM: Just.
ALEX: ...But it's not going to charge the quickest.
TOM: Exactly.
ALEX: So, it's only just going to get you the fastest battery or the longest lasting
battery but it's nowhere near going to charge as quick as any of the other phones.
TOM: Exactly.
I mean, in terms of battery life, these are all within 10%, 20% of each other.
ALEX: Brilliant, OK.
So, you can't really go wrong with any of that either.
Speaking of that dreaded iPhone...
TOM: What?
ALEX: You know what I'm going to say, don't you?
TOM: I don't...
ALEX: Headphone jack.
TOM: What do you think about it?
ALEX: Ooh.
I have a pair of Bose QC 35's right and I love them, right.
The Bluetooth headphones - QC 35's.
But I was on the train at one point and I had some in-ear headphones and my phone was
on 20% and I bought my portable charger with me.
I got it out, put it on the desk and got my headphones out and put my headphones in and
I was like...
Plug my phone in.
And I had my lightning thing with me so I could have plugged my headphones in but there's
not two lightning ports.
You can't do two at the same time.
TOM: Exactly.
It's controversial, in a word, isn't it?
They've gotten rid of the headphone jack.
I mean, it makes you either use a lightning port adapter or wireless headphones which,
often, can be better quality, but most people just want to plug their 3.5 mm jacks in when
they're at the gym, walking around town...
ALEX: That's a bold move.
That's a bold move.
TOM: It is.
ALEX: But that, again, comes down to if someone has some wireless headphones lying around
or that like to use a pair of wired cans.
TOM: There's ways around it and it's not the end of the world but it's frustrating.
ALEX: One question - do you use your phone in the pool?
TOM: I do.
No, of course I don't.
No one does.
ALEX: Why would you do that?
Who cares?
Right, OK.
We've got a little bit of water-proofing on a few of these phones.
I know that the iPhone does have a water-proofing capability.
TOM: Yes.
ALEX: Any you can point out?
TOM: Galaxy S8.
Err, LG G6, I believe.
Most of these have some level of water resistance, at least.
They talk about IP ratings.
67, 68, IP 67, IP 68.
ALEX: But, of course, here at TechFlow and Trusted Reviews, we don't recommend using
your phone near water anyway.
TOM: I wouldn't have a shower with my phone.
I'm not weird.
ALEX: No.
Who would do that?
I suppose it's for if you accidentally...
TOM: And it is pouring outside so...
ALEX: Oh yeah, and you want to use it in the rain.
Fair enough, right.
But, water-proofing on phones.
I wouldn't even really take that in to consideration when buying.
TOM: It's important for some people.
Go to the shop.
Ask if the phone that you're interested in has it.
Don't make that a deal breaker.
ALEX: No, definitely don't make it a deal breaker.
But what you should make a deal breaker is cost to performance.
Right, we're looking at the One Plus Five, right here.
This is the cheapest phone out of the lot.
TOM: Out of these flagships, yeah.
These start at £449 which is just an awful lot of money.
Obviously, on contract, we're talking probably £30, £35 depending on when you get it.
But this is like £250 cheaper than the Galaxy S8 Plus.
So, I mean, they're both flagships.
They're both very similar in terms of performance.
Yes, the S8 has a few more bells and whistles - HTR screen, wireless charging - err, things
like that, but, honestly, for value for money, One Plus have always been at the forefront
and the One Plus Five...
ALEX: Really good phone for the value that, isn't it?
TOM: Little bit more expensive than the last one but still pretty good value.
ALEX: Brilliant.
Right.
That is an absolutely brilliant phone.
I, I agree with you on that.
That is absolutely brilliant.
TOM: Pay £50 more and you get double the storage with 2 gigs of RAM as well.
ALEX: So, we've talked about a lot.
We've talked about everything all the way from water-proofing to the screen and using
the phone in the hand to battery life to the camera.
TOM: There's a lot to think about.
ALEX: There's a lot to think about.
And a lot of that is down to personal preference.
So, I'm going to ask you this.
We've kept the five second theme running throughout this.
Your the phone expert at Trusted Reviews.
Tell me - five seconds.
Pick your top three phones.
TOM: If you love iPhones, go with the iPhone 7 Plus.
That's the one you want to go for right now until the iPhone 8.
But for me, I would probably go with the Galaxy S8 Plus as the top one, followed by the Google
Pixel and then the iPhone 7 Plus.
ALEX: And then the iPhone 7 Plus.
TOM: Yep.
But, it's a tight one.
It's close.
But this is the important bit.
You've got to give me your top three because we're going to give away one of these.
Five seconds as well.
Go.
ALEX: OK.
I'm going with the S8, err, I'm going with the Pixel and I'm going with the iPhone.
That was the same as you, wasn't it?
TOM: Pretty much exactly the same.
ALEX: OK.
Well, definitive answers right there.
TOM: Top three phones.
TOM: But which one are we going to give away?
ALEX AND TOM: Find out at Trusted Reviews.
TOM: Trusted Reviews.
ALEX: And you're going to win one of these badgers.
You won't know which one until you go and check it out.
TOM: Alex, has that helped?
ALEX: Yes, it has.
You've been a brilliant help.
Thank you for, err, well, mainly broadening my knowledge on Android.
I appreciate that.
TOM: No problem.
ALEX: I think I like Android a little bit more now.