# Smartphone camera test: Google Pixel vs iPhone 7 vs Samsung S7 vs HTC 10 vs Sony Xperia XZ vs LG G5



## editor (Dec 13, 2016)

This is an interesting comparison. The Pixel seems to have a really good camera and outdid the dSLR on close ups. HTC and Xperia were disappointing.


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## editor (Dec 13, 2016)

Here's a companion battery test


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## editor (Sep 8, 2017)

This guy has fixed the Apple iPhone 7 'no headphone jack' problem:


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## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 8, 2017)

editor said:


> This guy has fixed the Apple iPhone 7 'no headphone jack' problem:



Well, kinda. You still can't charge and listen to music at the same time apparently. Clever bodging though


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## editor (Sep 8, 2017)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Well, kinda. You still can't charge and listen to music at the same time apparently. Clever bodging though


It really is a step backwards. On long train journeys I'm often charging and listening to music. Not being able to do that would be fucking annoying.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 8, 2017)

editor said:


> It really is a step backwards. On long train jpurneys I'm often charging and listening to music. Not being able to do that would be fucking annoying.


I get why they did it. It's where things will end up. But, like so many Apple products, the first version is somewhat of a line in the sand that we've not quite reached yet.

See also the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Macbook Air...


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## editor (Sep 8, 2017)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> I get why they did it. It's where things will end up.


I really hope not. It's possible to have USB-C *AND* a headphone hack. Not being able to charge your phone while listening to music is a massive step backwards: and fuck forking out for expensive bluetooth earphones that have to be charged to work and might conk out half way on a trip. It's shit.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 8, 2017)

In a few years time we won't have any wired headphones with our smartphones, they'll all be wireless, it's inevitable. They'll be cheap and work fine with long battery life.

Until then however, it's a pain. But Apple are right in saying this is where things are heading.


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## editor (Sep 8, 2017)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> In a few years time we won't have any wired headphones with our smartphones, they'll all be wireless, it's inevitable..


All headphones will be wireless "in a few years?" Nah. No fucking chance. Not everyone can afford - or wants - expensive earphones with a shit battery life, and there'll still be plenty of amps, audio gear and DJ equipment with headphone sockets about.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 8, 2017)

editor said:


> All headphones will be wireless "in a few years?" Nah. No fucking chance. Not everyone can afford - or wants - expensive earphones with a shit battery life, and there'll still be plenty of amps, audio gear and DJ equipment with headphone sockets about.


The ones that come with your phone will be. Which for the vast majority of people will be all they need.


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## editor (Sep 8, 2017)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> The ones that come with your phone will be. Which for the vast majority of people will be all they need.


I sincerely hope not. Hopefully Android will continue to offer more choice and I have NEVER stuck with the headphones that come with my phone because they're always shit.

Even the Apple co-founder isn't too keen:


> “I would not use Bluetooth,” Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak declared in August. “I don’t like wireless. I have cars where you can plug in the music, or go through Bluetooth, and Bluetooth just sounds so flat for the same music.” From the tech press to alt-weeklies, qualms about Bluetooth audio quality seem to be hardening into conventional wisdom.
> Does Bluetooth Really Sound Worse? | Pitchfork





> If you listen to song you know well side-by-side on Bluetooth versus a properly wired setup, you’ll notice an unmistakable drop in quality, Greco and other experts tell me. “You don’t have to be an audiophile to hear the difference,” he says. Anyone who has heard a classic record at a high-end audio store and who also uses a Bluetooth device can probably recognize this as true.


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## cybershot (Sep 8, 2017)

Bluetooth headphones arn't expensive thou are they, I've just gone onto Amazon and there's plenty for £20 or less. My hearing is shite so I doubt I'd even notice the difference between a £20 pair and a £90 pair, but appreciate the audiophiles will, and yes it's inevitable, like batteries that can't be replaced all vendors will eventually follow suit.


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## Saul Goodman (Sep 8, 2017)

editor said:


> It really is a step backwards. On long train journeys I'm often charging and listening to music. Not being able to do that would be fucking annoying.


It's almost as if the guys in the Apple think tank are sat around an apple-shaped table, with a single goal, and that goal is to see how far they can push their fanboys and how much shit they can give them whilst still retaining their custom.
I think they're doing an amazing job


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## Saul Goodman (Sep 8, 2017)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> In a few years time we won't have any wired headphones with our smartphones, they'll all be wireless, it's inevitable. They'll be cheap and work fine with long battery life.
> 
> Until then however, it's a pain. But Apple are right in saying this is where things are heading.


Not a chance. Nobody in their right mind (non Apple users ) will put up with this.
No doubt bluetooth headphones are here to stay, but they're shit, and most people don't want them. They'll end up hidden at the back of peoples drawers, along with their smart watches and sandwich toasters.


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## editor (Sep 8, 2017)

cybershot said:


> Bluetooth headphones arn't expensive thou are they, I've just gone onto Amazon and there's plenty for £20 or less. .


And those £20 Bluetooth headphones will sound like a crock of shit compared to a decent wired pair of £20 earphones. But, as you say, if your hearing is fucked then it makes no odds apart from the ease in which you can lose those separate wireless earpads.


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