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Android Authority
14 hours ago
- Android Authority
8 smartphone marketing tricks that you really shouldn't fall for
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority While plenty of great phones are out there, manufacturers aren't above a bit of spin, truth stretching, or outright lying about their products to make them stand out. Don't believe me? We covered some sketchy smartphone marketing tricks many moons ago, and we've seen plenty more questionable tactics employed since. With that in mind, I'm taking another look at a few smartphone marketing tricks you shouldn't fall for. Which marketing tactic do you hate the most? 0 votes Shady foldable phone measurements NaN % Misleading camera zoom claims NaN % Speeding up AI features NaN % Misleading protective glass claims NaN % Bragging about peak brightness NaN % Shady charging measurements NaN % Promoting features before they're ready NaN % No warranty for water damage NaN % 1. Foldable phone thickness and weight measurements Paul Jones / Android Authority This is the most recent tactic on the list, as foldable phone makers are now using two ways of measuring device thickness. The first method sees the folded device measured from cover screen to rear cover without considering the camera bump. This method isn't perfect, but it's generally accepted on conventional phones. However, HONOR measures its foldables without considering the inner screen's protective film. This came to light after a leaker on Twitter discovered that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 was thinner than the supposed world's thinnest foldable phone (the HONOR Magic V5). Furthermore, it turns out OPPO also measures its foldables using this method. That's extremely questionable, as this inner film isn't meant to be removed by consumers. As far as we can tell, Google and Samsung use the first measurement method. Either way, you can't fully trust when a manufacturer says its device is the world's thinnest foldable phone. Furthermore, HONOR, OPPO, and vivo measure the weight of their foldables without including the inner screen's protective film. Again, this is a questionable way to make your device look better to consumers. It's also disappointing because today's foldable phones are slim and light anyway. 2. Fudging optical zoom I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You really can't trust some manufacturers when they talk about camera zoom. Perhaps the most egregious recent example is HUAWEI's Pura 80 Ultra. HUAWEI says the phone has one 50MP zoom camera that switches between 3.7x and 9.4x 'optical zoom.' However, a closer look at the spec sheet all but confirms that the company is doing a 2x crop from 4.7x optical zoom. Our testing also shows we can take a full-resolution 50MP shot at 3.7x, but not at 9.4x. HUAWEI isn't alone in muddying these waters. Google and Samsung are also guilty of shady zoom claims. These two brands refer to cropped 2x zoom from their main cameras as '2x optical-quality zoom.' By saying 'optical-quality,' they're presumably trying to fool people into thinking it's 2x optical zoom or that their 2x crops are as good as 2x optical zoom cameras. These 2x images look pretty good and maintain the same resolution as 1x shots, but they lose out on pixel-binning benefits like reduced noise, increased brightness, and improved dynamic range. Either way, 'optical-quality' is a vague term that doesn't really mean anything. It's a way for manufacturers to make an impressive-sounding claim without getting sued for it. My advice? Just assume that 'optical-quality' means 'pretty good' whenever you encounter this term. If you thought these aforementioned examples were bad, then I've got news for you. Apple goes a step further and describes its 2x cropped zoom as '2x optical in' and '2x telephoto' on the iPhone 16 specs page. No, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus don't have telephoto or periscope cameras. But Apple evidently wants you to think otherwise. 3. Snappy AI features that aren't really snappy Samsung Another trend is for smartphone companies to demonstrate AI features like Circle to Search running on devices. These brands often post short clips or GIFs on their product pages, showing how easy these features are to use. However, the fine print often includes a disclaimer about these clips. More specifically, companies like OnePlus and Samsung include fine print noting that Circle to Search demonstrations are 'shortened and simulated.' That is, Circle to Search is less responsive on a real-world phone. It's not a huge deal, but it's still a curious marketing tactic. We can understand using this for brevity, but it can lead to false expectations about the performance of AI features. And it wouldn't be the first time liberties were taken with a Google AI demo. Smartphone makers also include media showing other Google AI features like Gemini, Gemini Live, and Magic Compose. However, these OEMs include fine print noting that these materials are only for 'illustrative purposes.' In other words, don't be surprised if it doesn't work quite as shown. 4. Comparing protective glass to tempered glass OnePlus We've noticed more smartphone makers creating alternatives to Corning Gorilla Glass. That's no easy task, as Corning's products are considered the best protective glass solutions on the market. However, some companies don't help themselves by comparing their solutions to tempered glass. This is a problem because tempered glass has largely fallen out of favor on mid-range and flagship phone screens. It's also the weakest type of protective glass solution. That doesn't stop some brands from claiming their custom protective solutions are 2x, 5x, or even 10x tougher than tempered glass. Oh wow, your in-house glass protection is tougher than a $3 screen protector. Get outta here. A more appropriate comparison would be to pit a custom glass solution against one of Corning's Gorilla Glass products. It only makes sense as Gorilla Glass is the most popular solution and the most obvious point of reference for consumers. To HONOR's credit, it told us that its own NanoCrystal Shield glass, which is ceramic-based, should outperform chemically tempered glass like Gorilla Glass Victus. So it's a good bet that all ceramic-based glass solutions should be more durable than older Gorilla Glass products like Gorilla Glass Victus and 7i. I'm sure these manufacturers don't want to risk their relationship with Corning, but I'd argue that customers are more important. 5. Bragging about peak brightness OPPO This smartphone marketing tactic has become increasingly popular in recent years. Many phone makers now promote the peak brightness of their phone screens. For example, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has 2,600 nits of peak brightness while the OnePlus 13 enjoys 4,500 nits. However, peak brightness is a gimmick for the most part. Peak brightness only refers to a very small area of the screen, often triggered for HDR content, but has no real impact on how bright a display looks for general viewing. A more important measurement is high-brightness mode, sometimes called HBM or full-screen brightness. I've also seen Google refer to HDR brightness. Either way, this measurement applies to the entire screen and is the maximum auto-brightness you'll experience when you're in the sun. This maximum brightness level only kicks in for a few minutes before the phone turns things down to save battery life. But it's still handy when you're stepping outdoors. Some brands like Apple, OnePlus, Google, and Motorola list full-screen brightness on their product and/or spec pages. However, Samsung only seems to list peak brightness. In any event, you should check reviews and third-party websites if you can't find full-screen brightness figures for a specific phone. 6. Some shady charging measurements Ryan Haines / Android Authority One marketing tactic we've previously covered is fuzzy logic around 100% charging. Many smartphones will show 100% capacity but will continue to charge until that 100% figure becomes 'fully charged.' This makes sense if you don't want to stress the battery, but sneaky OEMs can also do this to make more impressive claims about charging times. For example, some brands might say their phone takes under 30 minutes to reach 100%, but the truth is that the device might have to charge for 10 more minutes to finish up charging the final bit of the battery. Another charging-related marketing trick is to measure the phone's charging time from 1% instead of zero. This does make some sense, as many people plug in when their battery is low rather than when it hits zero. Nevertheless, going from 1% instead of zero allows OEMs to shave a fraction more off their promoted charging time. Needless to say, a completely dead phone will take a little longer to charge than officially claimed. 7. Selling features long before they're ready Ryan Haines / Android Authority Another shady marketing trick is to promote features long before they're ready for prime time. Perhaps the most infamous example was Apple announcing an overhauled Siri assistant in June 2024. Guess what? This upgraded Siri has been delayed and is reportedly scheduled to launch in 2026. That's almost two years after the initial reveal. Apple isn't alone in promoting features before they're ready. Google is also guilty of this, as it announced the Zoom Enhance feature at the Pixel 8 series launch in October 2023. At the time of the reveal, Google said this feature would come to the Pixel 8 Pro via a 'future' Pixel Drop. Unfortunately, Pixel 8 Pro owners had to wait until August 2024 and the Pixel 9 series launch to receive this feature. That's a long time to wait for a feature that was used as one of the phone's selling points. 8. It's water-resistant, but your warranty says otherwise Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority One of the most enduring marketing tactics involves the promotion of water-resistant phones. Scroll down to the fine print, though, and you'll see that the phone's warranty doesn't cover water damage. This isn't a new tactic, either. I remember Sony coming under fire in the mid-2010s for refusing to honor water damage to its water-resistant Xperia models. In fact, Sony even described its phones as 'waterproof' during this time. There is some logic to this tactic, as phones gradually lose their water resistance over time due to rubber seals, gaskets, and water-repellent coatings wearing down. Dropping your phone can also result in cracks and other forms of damage that compromise the IP rating. Nevertheless, it still feels like a copout for manufacturers to promote IP67, IP68, and even IP69 ratings but refuse to put their money where their mouth is. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice. Follow
Phone Arena
17 hours ago
- Phone Arena
Galaxy S26 Ultra might be Samsung's sleekest power move yet
Recently, we've heard a lot about Samsung's next year's flagship. Rumors are somewhat conflicting on some aspects of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and it's still early to know for sure, but a new leak hints that the Galaxy S26 Ultra may be one serious upgrade. Reputable tipster IceUniverse is now saying on X that the Galaxy S26 Ultra may have a thinner and lighter body, new tech for its display, multiple camera upgrades, and even faster charging speeds. According to the tipster, first of all, the Galaxy S26 Ultra may have a thickness of under 7mm. They also claim the phone may be a few grams lighter than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which, if true, would make it one of the thinnest and lightest premium smartphones on the IceUniverse also claims that the phone may be taller and wider while sporting the same display size. It's not clear if this would mean wider bezels around the display, but I'm skeptical of that, as it would be unnatural for Samsung to backpedal on the bezel aspect. IceUniverse's post on X. | Screenshot by PhoneArena The tipster corroborates an earlier rumor that the screen will have a "CoE depolarizer technology" and third-party anti-reflective glass, which should cut down on reflections on the screen and make it appear clearer and brighter in light. Additionally, the tipster claims the primary camera of the Galaxy S26 Ultra may feature the ISOCELL HP2 (2026) sensor, another rumor that we've already heard. The camera system of the Ultra is expected to offer ultra-large aperture, a new 3x telephoto camera, and a 5x periscope camera sporting a larger aperture as well. Now, for the interesting part: the Galaxy S26 Ultra 's charging speeds and battery. Here, previous rumors are conflicting. Now, IceUniverse claims a 5,000mAh battery for the Ultra and 60W wired charging. Yep, 60. Earlier rumors pointed to 45W (which is the current one, so no upgrade), or even 65W, which would be a notable upgrade. Now, we have a third possible number: 60W. As expected, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is said to come with the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, while Samsung's own Exynos 2600 is under testing, according to the leaker. All in all, if all these pan out, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be one serious upgrade and an impressive contender for the best phone of 2026. It will have to rival the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which is expected to be unveiled in the fall, and also potentially the iPhone 18 Pro Max. But nonetheless, keep in mind that all of those are early rumors and leaks at this point, so I'd take them with a grain of salt, personally. I'd love for Samsung to be prepping a serious upgrade, and it might just be doing that, but I need to see more substantial evidence to believe it at this point.
Phone Arena
18 hours ago
- Phone Arena
Galaxy A17 leak suggests Samsung isn't fixing what's not broken
Galaxy A16 5G. | Image credit – PhoneArena Samsung's next budget bestseller is on its way – yep, the Galaxy A17 is expected to drop soon. Every year, Samsung refreshes its A-series lineup like clockwork, and now, we are already getting an early look at the next entry-level champ – a phone that might once again outsell every other Galaxy out renders of the Galaxy A17 just leaked, showing a design that borrows heavily from its more expensive siblings – the Galaxy A36 and A56. That means the same blacked-out camera module is coming to the A17. However, the bezels are still uneven, with a chunky chin and a teardrop notch that feels a bit dated in 2025. Most of the leaked images show the A17 in a dark gray or black finish, with just one render hinting at a different color option. The model in question here might be the 5G version, and it's still unclear if Samsung will also launch a 4G-only variant like it did last year. This is how the upcoming Galaxy A17 5G should look like. The leak doesn't just reveal the design – it spills the specs, too. And by the sound of it, Samsung isn't making huge changes this year. The rear camera setup is basically a copy-paste from the A16: 50 MP main 5 MP ultrawide 2 MP macro But one key upgrade could be in the works – a previous rumor said the A17 will include OIS (optical image stabilization) on the main sensor, something we haven't seen in Samsung phones at this price point before. Speaking of price, expect the A17 to land around $200 again – which explains why it consistently tops Samsung's sales charts, even beating the flagship Galaxy S phones. It's not flashy on the inside, but it's reliable and gets the job done. It does the basics well, and clearly, people love that. Samsung's Galaxy AX phones have consistently been the company's top sellers year after year. The biggest under-the-hood change might be the chip. This year's model is rumored to run on the Exynos 1380, a step up from the Exynos 1330 in the A16, but still, a chip that is a couple of years old now. It is the same chip found in the Galaxy A35 5G and A54 5G and if you've used the A54, you'll know performance is generally decent, though not always butter-smooth. Occasional stutters do happen. Samsung Galaxy A54 Review: Good Value For Money, But Stuttery Performance As for the rest of the hardware, it looks like Samsung is sticking with a 6.7-inch AMOLED display and possibly the same physical dimensions as the A16. Galaxy A17 5G expected dimensions: 164.4 x 77.9 x 7.9mm. Expect a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging, roomy for the price range storage options and likely the same six years of software support Samsung's been promising on its A-series you're not in a rush, holding off for the A17 might be worth it – even if the changes are minimal. But if you need a new phone right away, the Galaxy A16 5G still holds up just fine. Samsung Galaxy A16 5G Review: Some improvements, but one red flag remains Of course, if you're open to other brands, there are some interesting alternatives. The CMF Phone 2 Pro from Nothing's budget line is packed with personality – it offers modular customization, smooth performance, and even a telephoto camera at a surprisingly low price. CMF Phone 2 Pro Review: The (almost) perfect budget phone Then there is the Moto G (2025), which hasn't changed much from the previous gen but still looks stylish. Just be prepared to settle for a 720p LCD that can't really compete with Samsung's AMOLED screens in terms of sharpness and color. Moto G (2025) Hands-on Review: Low cost, but is that enough? When you switch to Total Wireless, keep your number & grab 3 mo. of 5G We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Phone Arena
19 hours ago
- Phone Arena
CPU on the current iPhone line performs 385 times better than the one that powered first iPhone
The iPhone has undoubtedly come a long way since it was first released more than five years ago. There is no question that the world changed with the launch of the iPhone on June 29, 2007. As the proud owner of the OG iPhone in 2007, I could see that once Apple replaced the iPhone's connectivity with AT&T's slow-as-molasses EDGE with cutting-edge 3G speeds, the device would become a mobile monster. Things were so slow with EDGE connectivity that the only way to watch a YouTube video clearly was when you could find a Wi-Fi connection around you. Even worse, if you were using the Safari browser, you could not make or receive a call at the same time. If someone tried to call you while you were checking out the New York Times website, for example, your incoming calls went right to voicemail. In the case of an emergency, that is not good. The A18 Pro powers the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. | Image credit-Apple Since the release of the OG iPhone, Apple has greatly improved the battery capacity from 1400mAh to 4685mAh (with the iPhone 16 Pro Max). The OG iPhone was also equipped with 128MB of RAM compared to 8GB on all iPhone 16 models (for Apple Intelligence purposes). The rear camera on the OG iPhone was 2MP compared to the 48MP Wide camera on the iPhone 16 Pro Max (along with the 48MP Ultra-wide camera and the 12MP Telephoto camera). What about the processor? The original iPhone was powered by an ARM11-based SoC from Samsung with a clock speed of 412MHz. For the iPhone 3GS released in 2009, Apple used an ARM Cortex-A8 core Samsung CPU (APL0298C05). Apple moved to a 64-bit architecture for the first time with the A7 chipset used to power the iPhone 5S in 2013. The chip was built by Samsung. The next year, Apple made a shift to TSMC for the A8 chipset used on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. This SoC was built on TSMC's 20nm process node. The A9 was a bit unusual since both Samsung and TSMC built the chipset for Apple. The latter built it on its 16nm process node while Samsung used its 14nm process. Despite Samsung's use of a slightly more advanced process node, one benchmark test revealed that TSMC's version of the A9 SoC provided iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users as much as two additional hours of battery life. This led to the so-called "Chipgate" scandal, and some of those buying new iPhones were demanding a model using TSMC's chipset. We even showed you how to determine which SoC was inside your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus. Apple said the actual variation in battery life between the two chipsets was 2%-3% in TSMC's favor and this was actually backed up by benchmark tests. According to Japanese tech blog PC Watch, using Geekbench to monitor the performance of iPhone CPUs, starting with the OG model in 2007, there is an annual improvement rate of 40%. Overall, from the OG iPhone to the iPhone 16 series, the iPhone CPU has increased in performance by 384.9x. With the improvements we could see with the A19/A19 Pro application processors, the improvement from the OG iPhone to the latest iPhone series could take the improvement to 500x or higher. The A19/A19 Pro will both be built using TSMC's third-generation 3nm process node. Next year's A20 application processor should be the first A-series chips built by TSMC using its 2nm process node. As the process node gets smaller, so does the size of the transistors used on a chip. That increases the transistor density, which measures the number of transistors that can be packed into a specific area of a chip. This number is expressed as millions of transistors per square millimeter (MTx/mm²). A higher transistor density means a chip is, in theory, more powerful and energy efficient than chips with a lower transistor density. After 2nm, TSMC is expected to start mass production of 1.4nm chips during the second half of 2028.
Forbes
19 hours ago
- Forbes
Porn Ban—New Threat For Millions Of Smartphone Users
Do not put yourself at risk. Here we go again. Millions of iPhone and Android users are suddenly at risk as the latest porn ban comes into effect. But it turns out the most serious threat to all those smartphone users is not the content, but the dangerous workarounds. In the U.S., as state after state has passed porn ban legislation, users have turned to virtual private networks (VPNs) to maintain their adult content fix. These apps tunnel web traffic via remote servers. And if those servers are located in a different state or country, the porn site thinks the phone is there as well. The porn ban is bypassed. Now the U.K. has enacted its own version of this leaky, pointless legislation, resulting in VPNs suddenly dominating app download charts. One app developer told BBC News, 'it had seen an 1,800% spike in downloads' and many others have experienced the same. Similar surges have been seen in the U.S. as each new ban comes into effect. The reality is that the bans or requirement for age verification — which amount to the same when users don't want to associate real-world identifies with porn sites — do not work. Much worse though, these countermeasures are dangerous and are putting millions at risk. To run a VPN, a developer needs to operate expensive infrastructure — the servers and network capacity to route traffic between devices and websites. Good VPNs offer a menu of locations, enabling users to pick the country or state where they will seem to be. Porn sites take your IP address at face value. If there's a ban or restriction in your location but your IP address suggests you're somewhere else, you will be granted access. It would be very easy for the websites to check if you're using a VPN. A clash between your IP address and your browser fingerprints for example. But they don't. The risk is that users don't need a complex, fully-featured VPN to beat the bans. Any app will do. And China's free app industry is happy to oblige. Using a free VPN without good security and data protection is very much worse than using no app at all. Researchers have even found many free VPNs are linked to the Chinese government and its military. The Tech Transparency Project warns 'millions of Americans have downloaded apps that secretly route their internet traffic through Chinese companies.' Top10VPN's Simon Migliano says this means 'the risks are too great,' and 'in light of these findings, I strongly urge users to avoid Chinese-owned VPNs altogether." You should actually avoid any free VPN. Either use one you subscribe to, or one from a bluechip provider which is an add-on to its other services. As BeyondTrust's James Maude points out, 'if you aren't paying for a product, you are the product; these VPN services are a perfect example of the hidden costs of free apps.' My advice on VPNs is simple:
