Surface Laptop SE review: A Chromebook competitor, but Windows 11 SE isn’t a Chrome OS

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop SE is an excellent laptop for students in a system that sees value in the Redmond firm’s ecosystem, thanks to the new Windows 11 SE OS. I know; that’s a pretty loaded statement. The key thing is that Microsoft has to sell schools on Windows, and the unique value propositions that the OS can provide that can’t be offered by Chrome OS. Otherwise, Chrome OS still has some obvious benefits when it comes to speed on lower-end hardware.

And indeed, Windows 11 SE is absolutely not Chrome OS but with Microsoft services. I’ve long thought that would be a solution for the company. A Chromium OS fork that used Edge instead of Chrome, OneDrive instead of Google Drive, and so on. But that’s not what this is. Windows 11 SE is Windows, and for the most part, it’s just a locked down version of Windows like Windows 10 S was.

That’s where the education aspect of it comes in. It’s secure, and you can’t go and install other software without permission. It’s easier to use with apps opening full-screen and taking out various parts of the OS, like Teams integration, the Microsoft Store, and widgets. Those things are fun, but it’s all about simplifying the experience. When you get down to web browsing and doing schoolwork, this starts to make a lot of sense.

And then we have the hardware, which I kind of love. White needs to become a staple in the Surface rotation, as this Surface Laptop SE is just gorgeous. It’s not gorgeous in a flamboyant way, like you’d see in an HP Spectre x360 or something. It’s just got a clean and sleek design, all while making sense for younger users with plastic hardware that can withstand a drop.

Surface Laptop SE

The Surface Laptop SE is the hero device for Microsoft's Windows 11 SE OS, which is aimed at K-8 students.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at Microsoft

Navigate this review:

• Surface Laptop SE pricing and availability
• Surface Laptop SE specs
• The laptop: The Surface Laptop SE hits just the right points
• Windows 11 SE: The new version of Windows is a step in the right direction for education
• Who should buy it, and is it good for education?

Surface Laptop SE pricing and availability

The Surface Laptop SE is available now, and it starts at $249.99. However, it’s not easily available to everyone. This PC is aimed at the educational market, so if you check out the listing on the Microsoft Store, it’s going to tell you that you need to contact a Microsoft education solutions expert.

There are a couple things to note here. First of all, that base price is not for the unit that Microsoft sent us for review. The base model has a Celeron N4020, 4GB RAM, and 64GB eMMC, whereas this review unit has a CPU with double the cores, double the RAM, and double the storage.

The other thing to note is that the price tag isn’t real. Any time you’re buying an educational PC or a business PC, you’ll be dealing with bulk discounts and such. That’s why you’re being directed toward a sales specialist for it. Sure, you can buy a Surface Laptop SE on your own as a personal laptop, but that’s not really what it’s for.

Surface Laptop SE specs

CPU	Intel Celeron Processor N4120
Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 600
Chassis	11.17” x 7.6” x 0.70” (283.70 mm x 193.05 mm x 17.85 mm), 2.45 lb (1,112.4g)
Display	Screen: 11.6” TFT Liquid Crystal Display Module Display Resolution: 1366 x 768 (135 PPI) Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Ports	1 x USB-A 1 x USB-C 1 x Barrel type DC connector 1 x 3.5 mm Headphone/Mic Jack
RAM	8GB DDR4
Storage	128GB eMMC
Cameras, video, and audio	1MP Front facing camera with up to 720p 30fps video 2W Stereo Speakers Single digital microphone
Connectivity	Wi-Fi: 802.11ac (2×2) Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 LE
Battery	Battery Capacity Nominal 35 Wh Battery Capacity Minimum: 33.9 Wh Up to 16 hours of typical device usage
Casing	Casing: All plastic body unpainted Color: Glacier Physical buttons: Power button and Volume buttons on Keyboard Hinge: 135 degrees open angle
OS	Windows 11 SE
Price	$329.99

The laptop: The Surface Laptop SE hits just the right points

• The Surface Laptop SE is the first laptop to use Windows 11 SE, a new OS that’s aimed at K-8 students.
• It’s inexpensive at $249.99 ($329.99 for this unit), so it has low-end specs like a Celeron processor, 4GB or 8GB RAM, and 64GB or 128GB storage.
• The Surface Laptop SE is gorgeous and white should be a more common color on Surface devices.

I absolutely love the clean design of the Surface Laptop SE. There’s nothing flashy or fancy about it, but the all-white colorway is minimal and stylish, with a gray Surface logo stamped in the lid. I’d really like to see some consumer Surface PCs like this.

The size, footprint, and most importantly, the weight

• At under two and a half pounds, the Surface Laptop SE literally takes a load off.

It’s also small, compact, lightweight, and also strong. It’s made out of plastic, and like most computers that are meant for kids, it can handle drops and spills.

One thing that I really want to call attention to is that the Surface Laptop SE weighs under 2.45 pounds. I remember back in junior high school, I had a teacher that predicted we’d all grow up with back problems, thanks to having to carry around what seemed like tons of books in our backpacks all day. What a difference technology can make.

A laptop that weighs so little is a game-changer, and that applies to not just the books it can replace, but other low-cost notebooks. These things, even in this compact size, can weigh over three pounds. In larger sizes, it gets heavier than that.

The display and keyboard are great at this price point

• All of the core aspects of the Surface Laptop SE exceed expectations for the price point.

Spoiler alert: since this runs Windows 11 SE and I didn’t install any external software, I didn’t do my regular display testing here, nor are you going to find any performance benchmarks. That’s OK though. This is a laptop for K-8 students, so no one over roughly 14 years of age should be using it.

That means that you don’t need some flashy OLED screen. This is a matte, HD display that comes in at 11.6 inches with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The pixel density is 135ppi, which is slightly lower than the 148ppi that you’d find in the Surface Laptop Go. That’s pretty good at this price point, if you ask me.

What’s even more interesting is that it’s 16:9. That makes this the first 16:9 consumer Surface product since the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 were launched back in 2013. Again, it shouldn’t make a difference for the kids that will be using this, and what they’ll be using it for.

The keyboard is pretty great too. Naturally, this isn’t a premium keyboard like you’d find on the Surface Laptop Studio, nor should it be. This is an inexpensive device, and given the price of it, this keyboard is much more comfortable and accurate than I would have expected.

The Surface Laptop SE also has an HD webcam, which is nice for this price. Microsoft has been using FHD webcams in the bulk of its Surfaces since 2014, but given the price point, 720p is what we’re getting here.

Performance and battery life

Performance on the Surface Laptop SE is surprisingly good, and so is battery life. I set the power controls to best performance, something I felt was necessary for something with a Celeron N4120, and I really don’t end up with any noticeable lag.

That doesn’t mean that you as a consumer should buy one and install Windows 11 Home on it. You won’t have the same experience, because it’s Windows 11 SE that’s making the change here. Basically, the OS isn’t running unnecessary background tasks.

While I wasn’t able to run any proper benchmarks, here’s an experiment you can try at home on a Windows 11 PC. Do into Task Manager and take a look at all of the processes that are running. You’ll find a bunch of processes from Widgets, even if you’ve never used them before, and Microsoft Teams is using up system resources as well. On top of that, just take a look at the background processes from apps that you didn’t even know were running.

I really think that’s where the key performance enhancements from Windows 11 SE come from. There are no widgets and there is no Teams integration. Apps need to be approved by an admin, so you’re not running anything that’s not necessary, and that means nothing is running without you knowing it.

It’s still worth remembering that the review unit sent out is a higher end $329.99 configuration, with a Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, and 128GB eMMC storage. The $249.99 base model comes with a Celeron N4020, which is dual-core instead of quad-core, 4GB RAM, and 64GB eMMC. This is a really big difference.

I also couldn’t run my usual battery report because you also can’t open a command prompt in Windows 11 SE. That’s right; you don’t get any of the utilities that you’re used to like the Registry Editor and more. I’m comfortable saying that the Surface Laptop SE will last through a whole school day though, even with power settings set to best performance.

This is also considering that the K-8 student isn’t doing power0intensive tasks. They won’t be doing photo or video editing, or probably even coding. This is something that’s great for taking notes in class, virtual classes with Teams or Zoom, writing reports, and so on.

Windows 11 SE: The new version of Windows is a step in the right direction for education

• Windows 11 SE is a new version of the OS that’s specifically aimed at K-8 students, and it’s only on new PCs.
• It removes a lot of the ‘extras’ in Windows 11.
• It opens apps to full screen by default, saves files directly to the cloud, and more.

Windows 11 works similarly, but different

• Apps open full-screen by default
• There are fewer Snap Layout options

Probably the two key things that work differently is that apps open full-screen, and there are fewer Snap Layout options. Starting with the latter, you’ll now only see two Snap Layout options: one for split-screen down the middle, and one for split-screen shifted to one side.

The idea is to make it simpler. That’s why apps are going to open full-screen as well. And before you say it, I can tell you that I asked even before I tried it; this is not a Windows 8 situation. The apps are just opening full-screen by default. After that, everything works normally, so you can do whatever you want. Even Calculator opens full-screen though, which is a bit weird.

It’s all about making Windows 11 easier to use. The general idea is that it should be so easy and intuitive that a kindergartner can pick it up and use it. Whether or not it succeeds at that isn’t something I can answer with authority.

Windows 11 SE is made for the cloud

• Files automatically save to the cloud be default, making it easier for kids to switch between devices.

By default, files being downloaded or saved go straight to the cloud. This is how it should be on all PCs, as it makes it easier to switch between devices. For kids using a Surface Laptop SE, they can pick up where they left off on their virus-ridden home laptop, and all of their files are right there.

Like I said, this is how it should be. I’ve used OneDrive as my file system since it was integrated into the OS with Windows 8.1. But to be clear, nothing crazy is going on here. It’s really just Known Folders backup.

You’ll find that a lot of what’s happening in Windows 11 SE is just not turning off defaults. For example, if you open a JPEG file from File Explorer, the OS doesn’t ask you what app you want to use to open it anymore. It just uses Photos. You can change the defaults as normal, of course.

Since the student isn’t the one setting up the PC, obviously Known Folders backup is turned on by default. That means that it’s going to look like you’re saving it to the Downloads folder, and you are, but that’s also being saved to OneDrive.

One thing that is noticeably different is that in File Explorer, you won’t see the C: drive or This PC. You’ll pretty much just see Quick Access and OneDrive, the former of which only provides access to those known folders like Documents, Downloads, and Pictures.

There’s a lot that’s stripped out of Windows 11 SE

• Windows 11 SE doesn’t have a Microsoft Store, Teams integration, Widgets, and more.

There’s a lot that’s stripped out of the OS here, and there are several reasons for it. These include security, performance, ease of use, and more. There’s no Microsoft Store, Widgets, or even Teams integration in Windows 11 SE, and as mentioned in the performance section, that just means fewer background processes.

It also means that you can’t go and install external apps on your own. You won’t be grabbing untrustworthy software here, or any software that’s not approved.

There’s also a Windows 10 S element to a lot of it. If you try to open an executable file, it will tell you that it doesn’t support that. And you’ll notice that that goes for system apps too. Things like the Registry Editor, Control Panel, command prompt, and more still exist, but Windows 11 SE won’t let you open them. They even come up in Windows search results.

One other thing I want to note is that Windows 11 SE doesn’t come with Microsoft’s bloatware. What I mean by that is all of the crap that the company loads up Windows with, like Microsoft Solitaire Collection, Candy Crush Saga, and more. This is as vanilla of a Windows installation as it gets.

Who should buy it, and is it good for education?

If you’re a regular consumer looking for a new laptop, I’m not sure how you made it this far into the review. The Surface Laptop SE isn’t for you, just in case you thought that the lowest-priced Surface ever was your entry into the Microsoft hardware ecosystem. This laptop is strictly for kids in the K-8 range.

Who is the Surface Laptop SE good for?

• K-8 students in a district that wants to stay invested in Windows.

Who is the Surface Laptop SE not good for?

• Consumers have no business buying this product.
• Adults or older students that will most definitely need more complex work flows.
• K-8 students in districts that have standardized on another platform, like Chrome OS.

Windows 11 SE goes a long way toward addressing the needs of K-8 students. However, the way I see it, it does a better job of retaining school districts that already use Windows, rather than converting districts that have made the move to something like Chrome OS. The OS is more secure, it’s faster, and it gets better battery life than a regular version of Windows 11, but that’s still not an answer to why you should choose it over Google’s operating system. That’s a question that Microsoft has to answer.

One possible answer is about what happens when a student gets to ninth grade. For me, that was when I took my first programming class (it was Quick Basic, and then Visual Basic 6 the following year). Before I spiral out of control into a vortex of nostalgia, let me say that this is the age where students might need something more than Chrome OS can offer. This could be the value proposition for raising students in the Windows ecosystem.

As far as the hardware goes, it’s a lot better than I expected. Given the specs, I expected to want to break away from it as soon as I possibly could. That wasn’t the case. Working through the browser was pretty pleasant, although as I noted above, I absolutely had to have the power meter set to best performance. This is a great laptop for schools, as long as those schools want Windows 11 SE.

The post Surface Laptop SE review: A Chromebook competitor, but Windows 11 SE isn’t a Chrome OS appeared first on xda-developers.

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Huawei P50 Pro Review: A flagship to be proud of

Many years ago, Huawei was a king amongst smartphone OEMs in both China and in Europe. With fantastic devices packed with premium hardware and a decent software experience, the company’s phones were, to some, the pinnacle of what Android could be. Rocked by sanctions imposed by the US government, the company has struggled to find its footing over the years, with a pivot towards wearables and the introduction of “HarmonyOS”, the company’s answer to no longer being able to use Google Services. With the launch of the Huawei P50 Pro though, it feels like the company is finally beginning to find its footing, as we explore in this review.

Anyone who has read my previous reviews of the Huawei MatePad Pro, the Huawei MatePad 11, or even the Honor 50 will know that without Google Services, I’ve always found it hard to recommend Huawei’s devices. It’s hard to download apps, it’s annoying to try and avail of the services we all know and love on our phones, and it’s just not convenient overall. While that last part is still certainly true, a combination of a growing AppGallery, the improvement of Petal Search, and alternative app stores has meant that, for the first time in years, I’ve been able to use a Huawei phone as a daily driver — my main phone — with minimal issue.

Is it the case that, for most people, the Huawei P50 Pro will be hard to recommend? Sure, it might be. If you rely on Google services and can’t imagine yourself wanting to rely on workarounds and alternative apps to access your emails consistently, then yeah, definitely. However, if you think you might be happy to use a smartphone without Google’s services while still getting push notifications for emails and calendar events with a little bit of work, then the Huawei P50 Pro might actually be a smartphone to consider — especially if you can get it for cheap.

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Huawei P50 Pro: Specifications

Specifications	Huawei P50 Pro
Dimensions and Weight	158.8 x 72.8 x 8.5 mm 195g
Display	6.6-inch OLED FHD+ 1228 x 2700 resolution 120Hz screen refresh rate 300Hz touch sampling rate
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G: 1x Kryo 680 Prime Core @ 2.84GHz 3x Kryo 680 Performance Cores @ 2.4GHz 4x Kryo 680 Efficiency Cores @ 1.8GHz Adreno 660
RAM and Storage	8GB RAM 256GB storage
Rear Camera	Primary: 50MP f/1.8, OIS, PDAF Secondary: 64MP f/3.5 periscope, OIS 3.5x optical zoom 100x digital zoom Tertiary: 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide Quaternary: 40MP f/1.6 Monochrome camera
Front Camera	13MP f/2.4
Battery	4,360mAh 66W fast wired charging 50W fast wireless charging
Connectivity	4G LTE NFC Wi-FI 6 Bluetooth 5.2 USB Type C
Other features	Stereo speakers IP68 rating In-display fingerprint scanner
Software	EMUI 12 based on Android 11 Huawei Mobile Services (HMS)

About this review: I received the Huawei P50 Pro from Huawei on the 25th of January, 2022, in Cocoa Gold with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Huawei did not have any input into the contents of this review.

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The Huawei P50 Pro’s camera bump is certainly unique

The Huawei P50 Pro has a unique design that can't be found on any other phone

The Huawei P50 Pro has a unique design that can’t be found on any other phone, with two large circles containing the quad-camera setup on this device. It’s bold and stands out, but not in a bad way even if it takes some getting used to. The model we received is in “Cocoa Gold”, though it changes color in different lighting. Sometimes it looks gray, sometimes it looks gold, and sometimes it looks brown. This is definitely a fingerprint magnet, though aside from the smudges, it’s one of my favorite devices that I currently have in terms of looks, and it’s incredibly stylish.

Even better, the phone itself is comfortable in hand, fitting nicely for one-handed usage despite its size. The curved edges definitely help with that, but it does result in accidental touches occasionally. It’s light too and isn’t too slippery when out of the included case.

As for the display, it’s impeded by a singular front-facing punch hole camera and has curved edges on both the left and the right. The in-display fingerprint sensor is a little bit low on the display (though it’s fine when using the phone one-handed), and the top and bottom bezels of the 6.6-inch display are nearly completely even.

Finally, the bottom and bottom of the phone’s chassis are completely flat. There’s an IR sensor, microphone, and speaker at the top, and there’s another speaker, a USB-C port for 66W wired charging, and the SIM tray at the bottom. The right-hand side has the volume rocker and the power button.

Really, just like the Huawei MatePad 11, this is a great design and the phone looks fantastic. As far as phones go, the Huawei P50 Pro looks incredible, especially in person. I can definitely see the camera arrangement being a negative for some people, but I honestly do think that it works well here. It gives the phone a unique look and personality, different from everything else in the market right now.

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AppGallery continues to improve

Huawei’s biggest issue will always be in the software department, and just like every other Huawei device in recent memory, the Huawei P50 Pro makes use of the AppGallery to distribute apps to users. It lacks a lot of apps, and some apps have to be installed through third-party APK websites. You can’t sign in to the likes of YouTube without making use of something like YouTube Vanced and MicroG, and other apps, such as Gmail, won’t work either.

The Huawei P50 Pro is the first Huawei device that I have completely used as a daily driver since the incident, but my reliance on Google services made it difficult. I couldn’t use Gmail, so I took a look at some of the best email apps on Android and settled on Nine. It works, but push notifications are every fifteen minutes — a far cry away from receiving a notification as soon as an email comes in.

What’s more, the apps that were on AppGallery were sometimes not usable in Ireland. The Just Eat app, for example, is an app for takeaways in Ireland (some users may know it as Lieferando, GrubHub, Takeaway.com, etc), but it’s a region-specific app. The app that’s distributed in Ireland officially through AppGallery is the U.K. app, not the Irish app, and doesn’t work here. I had to sideload the Irish app on my phone, and only then would it work.

As for contactless payments, Huawei’s solution was to team up with payment provider Curve. Curve is a payment provider that you can link up your existing cards with, and it has a number of other cool features that basically mean substituting all of your cards for one card, then using the app to swap which card is currently active. It’s pretty neat and a service that I already used, so it was mostly trivial to configure on the Huawei P50 Pro. I had a couple of issues setting it up that eventually fixed themselves (possibly because the phone was unreleased at the time), but it fails to actually work for contactless payments.

Curve tells me to hold my phone to an NFC reader, but it doesn’t work. I have confirmed that it can read NFC tags, and even putting the phone against another phone launches the Huawei Wallet app.

The biggest issue with AppGallery is the lack of apps

To be honest, the biggest issue that I’ve found with AppGallery is the lack of apps. While the company’s Petal Search does the hard work for you in finding APK files to install, there are some surprising omissions. There’s no Twitter app aside from Twitter Lite (not even Petal Search can surface one, for some reason), and obviously, there are no automatic updates for apps that you install either. You may miss out on your favorite apps if you’re not going out of your way to sideload them. I installed Aurora Store, a FOSS alternative to the Google Play Store which works with most apps, but some apps that rely on Google services still don’t work. Sadly there’s no way around that, and it seems that what we currently have on Huawei phones is the best that it’s going to get.

Download Aurora Store app from XDA

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HarmonyOS? No, EMUI

Remember when Huawei was supposed to be bringing HarmonyOS to western devices, and even did so with its tablets and when upgrading some of its older phones? Yeah… about that. The Huawei P50 Pro has EMUI 12 in the west, despite looking the exact same as HarmonyOS. I compared it side-by-side to my Huawei MatePad 11, and it looks the exact same — sans the few tablet-specific changes.

To be honest, it definitely feels like EMUI, and that’s not always a good thing. Despite excluding apps from battery optimizations, some of them (such as Facebook Messenger and Slack) struggle to notify me in time when a message comes through. It can take several minutes for a message to pop up on the Huawei P50 Pro that my Google Pixel 6 Pro notified me of within five seconds of the message being sent.

I like how EMUI looks, and there are a couple of quality life improvements that I enjoy. For example, there’s a control center that can be accessed when swiping down from the right side of the display (just like on MIUI… or an iPhone), and the animations look nice. Multi-window support for apps works just fine, and I don’t really have any complaints about what’s present.

I like how EMUI looks, and there are a couple of quality life improvements that I enjoy

Sadly, a lot of the software issues aren’t really in Huwaei’s control thanks to sanctions, and it would be unfair to criticize many of the company’s software woes based on that. The company’s own AI voice translation services come preloaded on the phone, along with an AI lens that works similarly to Google Lens. You can also use it to scan items near you to purchase them online, but it always seems to give preferential treatment to websites such as AliExpress. It’s a valiant effort, but I can’t see it being used by a lot of people in Europe.

Overall, it’s the same EMUI you’ve come to expect… from HarmonyOS. It’s more or less the same experience but on a smartphone. Essentially, if you like the look of HarmonyOS, you’ll like EMUI 12.

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When it comes to cameras, Huawei’s still got it

The Huawei P50 Pro backs a quad-camera array on the back, comprised of a 50MP primary sensor, a 64MP 3.5x telephoto lens, a 13MP ultra-wide camera, and a 40MP monochrome camera. The camera system is designed in partnership with Leica — as has been the case with the company’s previous phones too — and it’s the exact type of camera system you’ve come to expect from Huawei. Crisp, clean photos.

Huawei has always had camera smarts, and their phones have been capable of some of the best shots in the business

Huawei has always had camera smarts, and their phones have been capable of some of the best shots in the business. This time around it’s no different, as the Huawei P50 Pro can produce excellent shots that are sharp with accurate colors, completely effortlessly. It’s a true point-and-shoot camera. My one major gripe is that it’s not great with moving animals and people, but it handles everything else superbly. What makes the P50 Pro’s cameras shine is the new XD Optics camera algorithm that debuted with this phone. Essentially, XD Optics is Huawei’s version of computational photography and it does a magnificent job of producing punchy colors that remain true to life.

On a software note, another issue I’ve found (though certainly not a dealbreaker) is that with the Huawei P50 Pro, night mode doesn’t turn on automatically and that it needs to be enabled manually. Nearly every phone that I use nowadays will automatically enable night mode when taking photos in darker settings, but the Huawei P50 Pro is an exception to that rule. It’s definitely a small issue, though.

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Snapdragon 888, but make it 4G

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 is the last generation’s flagship chipset. It’s obviously a bit behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but it’s a perfectly viable chipset that many people will be using for years to come yet. However, the reason Huawei has to use Snapdragon chipsets is that the company’s Kirin-made chipsets can no longer be manufactured by TSMC. The Kirin 9000 was the last Huawei chipset that we saw powering a flagship device, but since then, we’ve seen a mixture of Snapdragon and Kirin chips being used.

That’s another problem though, too. Qualcomm can only sell 4G chipsets to Huawei, not 5G chipsets. It seems a bit nonsensical for this to be the case considering it likely doesn’t even make a huge amount of difference for the value of the smartphones that Huawei sells, but it’s yet another measure taken to make the company’s phones as unappealing as possible. I don’t have a 5G data plan, so it made no difference to me. When it comes to mobile data, phone calls, texts, signal reception, etc, it just felt like a normal smartphone to me.

Where Huawei phones have particularly shone in the past is their battery life, but this time around, it’s just the middle of the road. The battery lasts me about the day, but it’s not as if it’s a world-beater like previous Huawei phones were capable of. That’s likely in part due to the Qualcomm chipset being used, but it’s yet another downgrade that Huawei can’t really get around. I’m surprised Huawei didn’t use its Kirin 9000 chipsets in global versions of this phone as it did in China, especially as it did so with the MatePad Pro that it launched last year.

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Huawei as a daily driver in Google-land

As I’ve said previously, Huawei is trapped. Even as a tech enthusiast who is able to get around restrictions imposed on the installation of Google apps, it is pretty difficult for me to use the Huawei P50 Pro. Aurora Store and Petal Search work fine for installing apps outside of Google’s ecosystem, but anything belonging to or relying on Google is pretty much never going to work.

It can only buy 4G chips from Qualcomm, it can’t produce its own HiSilicon Kirin chipsets anymore, and without Google, it’s hard to sell these products in a market outside of China. Even in China, Huawei’s influence has been slowly dropping, which is why we’ve seen a pivot to excellent fitness bands and the like in recent years.

It’s a shame because the Huawei P50 Pro has the potential to be one of the best phones of the year. It performs well, it looks fantastic, and the company provides great hardware in its phones. If not for software woes, this would be such an easy smartphone to recommend.

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Conclusion

Huawei is yet again in a pretty tough spot, and I’m not sure what the company can really do to overcome the hurdles that it faces in software. This is the first Huawei phone I’ve ever been able to use as an actual daily driver since the sanctions, and while it was doable, it’s not convenient. If you don’t use a lot of Google services or even want to move away from Google then the Huawei P50 Pro might even be a convenient purchase, but otherwise, it’s hard to recommend this device.

To make matters worse, the price tag on this device shows that Huawei isn’t ready to let go of its premium pricing. Even the Huawei P50 Pocket is more expensive than the Galaxy Z Flip 3 despite having less to offer. The Huawei P50 Pro comes in at €1199 in Europe, a rather steep asking price for the last generation’s mobile chipset, and a lack of software services that many consumers rely on.

Huawei P50 Pro

The Huawei P50 Pro is the latest and greatest flagship smartphone from Huawei. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G chipset, a 120Hz OLED panel, and the company's best cameras yet.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

Buy at Huawei

The Huawei P50 Pro is a fantastic smartphone in its own right, and with Google services,  I could only imagine it being one of the top phones of 2022. In its current state though, I’m not really in a position to recommend it to basically anyone. I can’t use it long-term as a daily driver for the reasons that I’ve already stated, and if you’re in any way like me — a western-based user who makes use of a ton of Google apps — then you’re likely going to be in the same boat.

Having said all of that, I truly believe that this is the best phone the company has ever released since sanctions were imposed. Sadly, the best is not enough for what so many users based outside of China rely on. Nevertheless, the Huawei P50 Pro is a flagship smartphone that Huawei can be proud of. It’s the best smartphone that it could have been, and the company is restricted from tapping into some of the features that consumers really need and want.

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Save up to $700 on LG TVs during BestBuy’s ongoing Super Bowl sale

Thinking of getting a new TV to catch Super Bowl LVI? You’re in luck. BestBuy is currently offering some great deals on LG TVs right now and you can save up to $700 on a brand new OLED TV. LG makes some of the best TVs on the market today and we can assure you that you won’t be disappointed, no matter which model you go with. Here are some of our top picks across various price points that you can consider.

Top-of-the-line picks over $1,500

For those who want the best TV money can buy, the following options should be right up your alley.

LG 55-inch Class G1 Series OLED evo 4K UHD TV

Want a statement piece in your living room that doubles up as a great OLED TV? The 55-inch Class G1 Series LG evo OLED TV is the one you should go with.

$1599 at BestBuy

LG 65-inch Class C1 Series OLED 4K UHD TV

Calling all gamers with an unlimited budget, this 65-inch LG Class C1 OLED TV is a great pick at its current discounted price.

$1799 at BestBuy

LG 65-inch Class G1 Series OLED evo 4K UHD TV

If a 55-inch panel just doesn't make enough of a statement for you, the 65-inch LG Class G1 Series OLED evo TV is your best bet.

$2299 at BestBuy

Premium options over $1,000

In case you can’t afford to stretch your budget over $1,500, you can go with either of these options. Priced between $1,000 and $1,500, these TVs offer some of the premium features that you get with the more expensive models without breaking the bank.

LG 55-inch Class A1 Series OLED 4K UHD TV

Not satisfied with a 48-inch OLED panel? Get the 55-inch LG A1 Series 4K OLED TV for a little over $1000.

$1099 at BestBuy

LG 55-inch Class C1 Series OLED 4K UHD TV

LG's Class C1 Series OLED TVs rank at the top on our list of best TVs and for good reason. It's a great pick for gamers, thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate panel and HDMI 2.1 support.

$1299 at BestBuy

LG 65-inch Class A1 Series OLED 4K UHD TV

In case you're not a gamer and would much rather have a larger panel than 120Hz refresh rate support, this 65-inch LG OLED TV is a decent pick.

$1399 at BestBuy

Affordable options under $1,000

If you’re limited by a tight budget, you can go with either of these options. For under $1,000, these TVs offer the best bang for your buck. Sadly, there’s just one OLED option in this price range. The others feature LED panels.

LG 55-inch Class UP7000 Series LED 4K UHD TV

This 4K LED TV from LG is a great pick for those who don't want to spend more than $500 on a TV but still want a large 55-inch panel.

$399 at BestBuy

LG 65-inch Class UP8000 Series LED 4K UHD TV

Want a 65-inch 4K LED TV without breaking the bank? This option from LG should fit right up your alley.

$599 at BestBuy

LG 48-inch Class A1 Series OLED 4K UHD TV

For those who value a small OLED panel more than a large LED panel, this 48-inch LG A1 Series 4K OLED TV is a great pick.

$799 at BestBuy

Do any of these LG TV deals catch your fancy? Which one would you pick and why? Let us know in the comments section below. Also, make sure you check out our roundup of the best TVs to buy in 2022 for more options from other manufacturers. We have some great picks from brands like Sony, Vizio, Hisense, Samsung, and TCL.

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Google was working on a radically different “At A Glance” widget that never saw the light of day

With the Pixel 6 series, Google introduced a redesigned At A Glance widget. The updated widget can show your calendar events, your flight boarding pass, workout stats, and more. But it appears, there was an even more powerful and smarter version of the At A Glance widget in the works, which unfortunately never saw the light of day.

According to a new finding by our friends over at Android Authority, Google was internally working on a radically different At A Glance widget. As you can see in the UI mock-ups below, Google’s vision was to integrate the widget into the lock screen and Always-on Display, going beyond the simple home screen integration.

Screenshots suggest that users would see a chip on the lock screen or AOD which, when tapped, would bring up various contextual suggestions and actions. For example, at bedtime, users would see a Good Night chip that shows toggles for controlling lights, thermostat reading, and cards for setting up an alarm, playing sleep sounds, and meditation sounds from Headspace. The idea here was to make it easier to perform daily tasks right from the lock screen without having to unlock the phone or dig into individual apps.

There was also a plan to provide smart context-based suggestions and deep integration with third-party apps and services. The attached screenshots show that when a user connected headphones, the widget would display media and calling suggestions, allowing users to play music from Spotify, listen to podcasts from Pocketcasts, or watch something from YouTube or Netflix. Similarly, if the user is at a store, the widget would bring up a shopping list, loyalty cards, barcode scanner, a Pay with G Pay shortcut, and coupons.

This At A Glance widget would probably have debuted first on Pixel phones, just like the current widget. However, Google also planned to share it with other OEMs, according to Android Authority. The report notes that Google began working on this feature during the Android 11 development cycle. However, it never made it past the prototyping stage.

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Modified AirTags with disabled anti-stalking speakers are a thing now, because of course

We’ve already established that AirTags are a privacy nightmare — bound to be misused. In the latest horror story of our increasingly creepy world, these trackers are being sold with reduced anti-stalking measures. That’s right, modified AirTags with disabled speakers are being sold on Etsy and eBay (possibly on other platforms as well) for more than double their original price. Of course, a malicious person who desperately wants to stalk others (for whichever reasons) wouldn’t mind paying around 77 bucks. It is small, convenient, and now comes without speakers to alert the victims.

As per a PCMag report, “Silent AirTags” are now showing up on online shopping platforms, such as Etsy and eBay. The modified AirTags don’t have a sticker covering the speaker. They are, in fact, physically modified to disconnect the speaker from the battery. An unsuspecting victim with an Android phone or an iPhone running an outdated version of iOS would have no way to find out they’re being stalked – unless they coincidentally spot the tiny device.

AirTags were designed with two privacy measures in mind — audible alerts when they’re separated from their owners for a long time and iOS notifications that alert people about unknown AirTags following them around. With the former now being disabled and the latter requiring certain conditions not met by all people, these modified AirTags have become an easily accessible, convenient stalking tool.

The merchant on Etsy — JTEE3D — took the listing down following the raised concerns and stated:

The intent of this modification was to cater to the several requests of buyers interested in my other AirTag product who were interested in fitting an AirTag to their bikes, pets and power tools. These requests led me to listing it as a product on Etsy, albeit without a great deal of traction. The vast majority of sales shown on my Etsy profile are from sales on my modified slim AirTag, designed to unobtrusively fit inside a purse or wallet.

The eBay listing from another merchant claims that these modified AirTags were created for noble reasons:

This [is] so it doesn’t keep beeping when away from you, e.g if left in car or bike or with a family member! … Reduces chance of a thief being notified of its hidden location!

Regardless of the descriptions, alleged reasons, justifications, and other nonsense, online shopping platforms should actively take down similar listings in the future. Modified AirTags are a serious privacy and security risk that could put people in actual danger.

If you’re an Android user, do you actively use Apple’s Tracker Detect app to check if someone is stalking you? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Download YouTube Vanced APK [Non-Root] for your Android smartphone

YouTube Vanced is a popular modded version of YouTube. It adds a number of features to the official YouTube app, including built-in adblocking, background playback, black/dark themes, and much more. This page has installation instructions and download links for non-rooted devices. YouTube Vanced for rooted devices can be found here.

Navigate this article:

• Latest version
• How to install
  • Using Vanced Manager
  • Manual Installation
• YouTube Vanced Features
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Latest version of YouTube Vanced

The latest version of YouTube Vanced is 16.29.39.

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How to install YouTube Vanced Non-root variant

Using Vanced Manager

The YouTube Vanced team has created a new, easier method for getting Vanced up and running. Users can now simply install the Vanced Manager app and it will facilitate the process of installing MicroG and YouTube Vanced. Support for Vanced Music, i.e., a similarly modded version of YouTube Music has also been there since version 1.3.0. The app makes it easy to choose which theme you want and to install future updates.

Steps:

1. Download the latest Vanced Manager from here on your Android device.
2. Install the app and open it.
3. Make sure to select “nonroot” during the initial configuration wizard.
4. Tap “Install” next to MicroG.
5. Follow the instructions to allow installing from unknown apps.
6. MicroG will download and then you’ll tap “Install” when it’s ready.
7. Next, tap “Install” next to Vanced.
8. Select your preferred theme and tap “NEXT”.
9. Select your preferred language and tap “FINISH”.
10. Vanced will download and you’ll tap “Install” when it’s ready.
11. Success!

Vanced Manager Downloads

Title	Latest Version	Codename	MD5 Checksum
Vanced Manager	2.6.2	Crimson	02a2ff9e69d85de4dad105213f620382

Manual Installation

While Vanced Manager is always the recommended method for installing and managing the modded YouTube instance, power users may like to have more control over the installation process. In case you want to install YouTube Vanced without using Vanced Manager, you need to follow the steps mentioned below:

How To Install without Vanced Manager

1. Install the latest Vanced MicroG APK if you want to log in with your YouTube/Google account.
2. Find the suitable YouTube Vanced APK components for the target device and download them.
3. Install the set of APKs using Split APKs Installer (SAI). You can download SAI from its GitHub repo, F-Droid, or Google Play Store.

Vanced MicroG Downloads

Title	Latest Version	MD5 Checksum
Vanced MicroG	0.2.23.220217	0a5c910ba3fd430736112f6e9ba166a9

Non-Root Versions

Note that you may not find newer versions of YouTube Vanced as separately downloadable Split APKs.

YouTube Vanced Version	APK Components
15.05.54	Architecture Language Theme

Note for Huawei/Honor users

Starting from v0.2.12-203316, Vanced MicroG has a special “Huawei” button in the login wizard. If you are running a Huawei (and Honor) device that doesn’t come with Google Play Services by default but you sideloaded them later, you can still log in to your YouTube/Google account while using Vanced modded apps using that option.

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YouTube Vanced Features

Main features

• Ability to blocks all videos ads.
• Optional AMOLED black theme to reduce eye and battery strain.
• Allows you to play videos in the background or in Picture in Picture (only on Android 8.0 Oreo and up).

• Swipe controls allow you to control brightness and volume like how it is in other video player apps (with configurable padding).
• Auto-repeat feature to enjoy videos like tiktoks/vines or simply continue playing a song on loop.

Customizability

• Vanced allows you to override codec options (such as forcing H.264 for old devices)
• You can also force HDR playback or turn off 60fps if you prefer a cinematic experience with custom device configs.
• Force the default video resolution as high or low as you want and even override your screen resolution (e.g. 4K playback on any device).
• Change the default playback speed to anywhere between 0.25x to 2x.
• Allows you to toggle home ads, most UI ads, merchandise ads, community posts, movie upselling, compact banner info, remove comments entirely, compact movie, movie shelf removal and many more!

SponsorBlock

• Full integration with SponsorBlock so that you can skip sponsor segments, i.e. a YouTuber advertises a service or product in the middle of a video.

• Supports skipping other categories, such as intros, outros, and reminders to subscribe.
• Complete control over whether to automatically skip a segment category or show a button for skipping, or simply just not skipping it at all.
• Highlights the segment in the specific color based on its category in the playback timeline.
• Possible to submit your own segments to the SponsorBlock API and contribute to the wider community.

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YouTube Vanced: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you plan on ditching the stock YouTube app in favor of Vanced, you might have some doubts about certain aspects of this mod that you want to be clarified. Listed below are several frequently asked questions about Vanced — right from the difference between the non-root and the root variants to downloading videos. If you don’t find the answer to your question here, feel free to leave it in the comments section below and if it’s relevant, we’ll answer it and add it to this section.

Which Vanced variant should I choose: Root or Non-root?

In terms of user experience, there is virtually no difference between the root and the non-root builds.

Root variant: The root variant of Vanced seamlessly replaces the official YouTube app. As a result, you can directly open YouTube links or call them using Google assistant through the modded app.

Non-root variant: However, if you have a device that is difficult to root, or you don’t want to root your daily driver in the first place, you should opt for the non-root variant. It can be installed on a rooted device as well. Since the package name of the non-root variant is different from the stock YouTube app, they can co-exist.

Note that you need to install an additional companion app (MicroG) to be able to log in with your YouTube/Google account. Moreover, you have to manually set Vanced as the default app for opening YouTube links. However, the non-root variant is simply easier to live with, so our recommendation is to stick with the non-root variant unless you really need to replace the stock YouTube app on your phone.

Are Vanced and YouTube Premium the same?

No! YouTube Premium (formerly known as YouTube Red) is a subscription-based service offered by Google that provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to premium YouTube Originals, downloading videos and background playback of videos on mobile devices, and access to the YouTube Music music streaming service.

Vanced, on the other hand, is a highly modded version of the stock YouTube app which doesn’t require any kind of subscription. However, it does come with a lot of features like ad blocking, background playback, and many more that are otherwise not accessible without a YouTube Premium subscription.

Can I download videos using Vanced?

Google officially allows downloading videos from YouTube for offline viewing in these countries. Thereby, you need to purchase YouTube Premium or use a third-party app to download videos if you’re not in one of the supported countries.

Vanced itself doesn’t modify the downloader YouTube implemented. As a result, you might not get the download option for some videos, depending on your region and the restrictions imposed by the video publisher.

How do I disable battery optimization for Vanced and MicroG for Vanced?

There’s no standard method to disable battery optimization for a particular app on Android, as different OEMs implement the module in their skins in different ways. Since the steps and workflow vary from OEM to OEM, it would be better to check out our forums to find a suitable guide for your device.

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YouTube Vanced is no doubt a very useful mod, and we’re glad to see the community enriching its features from time to time. It is fairly simple to use and you can have access to a multitude of exciting extra functionality to your YouTube viewing experience.

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OPPO Reno 7 series lands in India alongside the OPPO Watch Free

As expected, OPPO today officially unveiled the Reno 7 series in India. While the Reno 7 series in China featured three models, the company is only bringing the regular Reno 7 and Reno 7 Pro to India, skipping the Reno 7 SE. Alongside new smartphones, OPPO has also launched the OPPO Watch Free in India. Here’s what you need to know.

OPPO Reno 7 series: Specifications

Specification	OPPO Reno 7 Pro	OPPO Reno 7 5G
Dimensions & Weight	158.2 x 73.2 x 7.5mm 180g	NA 173g
Display	6.55-inch AMOLED FHD+ (1080 x 2400) 90Hz refresh rate 180Hz touch sampling rate HDR10+ support 99.94% DCI-P3 coverage 920nit peak brightness	6.43-inch AMOLED FHD+ (1080 x 2400) 90Hz refresh rate 180Hz touch sampling rate HDR10+ support DCI-P3 wide color gamut 800nit peak brightness
SoC	MediaTek 1200-MAX Octa-core (up to 3.0GHz) ARM G77 MC9 GPU	Mediatek Dimensity 900 2x ARM Cortex-A78 @up to 2.4GHz 6x ARM Cortex-A55 @up to 2GHz ARM Mali-G68 MC4 GPU TSMC 6nm process
RAM & Storage	12GB RAM 256GB UFS 3.1 storage	8GB RAM 256GB UFS 2..2 storage
Battery & Charging	4,500mAh battery 65W fast charging	4,500mAh battery 65W fast charging
Security	In-display fingerprint scanner	In-display fingerprint scanner
Rear Camera(s)	Primary: 50MP Sony IMX766 main camera Secondary: 8MP f/2.2, ultra-wide Tertiary: 2MP macro	Primary: 64MP f/1.7 main camera Secondary: 8MP f/2.2, ultra-wide Tertiary: 2MP macro
Front Camera(s)	32MP f/2.2	32MP f/2.2
Port(s)	USB Type-C	USB Type-C 3.5mm audio jack
Connectivity	5G NR NFC Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 USB Type C	5G NR NFC Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 USB Type C
Software	Android 11 with ColorOS 12	Android 11 with ColorOS 12

Reno 7 Pro

The Reno 7 Pro is the most powerful of the duo and packs a 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate in an iPhone 13-style boxy design. Under the hood, the phone is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200 MAX chipset, which is paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 flash storage. A triple camera setup is on the back, featuring a 50MP Sony IMX766 1/1.56-inch primary shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP macro lens. Over on the front, there’s a 32MP Sony IMX709 camera that handles the selfie and video calling duties.

The Reno 7 Pro packs a 4,500mAh battery and supports fast charging via a 65W charger. Other notable highlights include an “X-Axis Linear Motor” for improved haptics, an in-display fingerprint reader, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and Wi-Fi 6. The phone runs ColorOS 12 based on Android 11 out of the box.

Reno 7 5G

The regular Reno 7 5G in India is different than the one launched in China. For one, it’s powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 900 chipset instead of the Snapdragon 778. Secondly, it offers a slightly faster charging speed at 65W compared to the Chinese model which tops out at 60W. Barring these differences, the rest of the specifications are identical. You get a 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate and up to 180Hz touch sampling rate. On the back, we have a triple camera setup, featuring a 64MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP macro lens. Rounding up the rest of the specs is an in-display fingerprint scanner, NFC, a 3.5mm audio jack, and Wi-Fi 6 support.

OPPO Watch Free

The OPPO Watch Free is an entry-level smartwatch. It offers a 1.64-inch AMOLED color display, 100+ workout modes, 24/7 heart rate monitoring, an optical blood oxygen sensor, sleep monitoring, and up to 14 days of battery life.

Pricing & Availability

The OPPO Reno 7 series goes on sale in India starting February 17 from Flipkart. The Reno 7 Pro comes in Startrails Blue and Starlight Black colors and will be available at ₹39,999 for the single 12GB/256GB model. Meanwhile the regular Reno 7 5G comes in a single 8GB/256GB model and is priced at ₹28,999. Finally, the OPPO Watch Free will retail for ₹5,999 but no sale date has been provided by OPPO yet.

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