Sunday, September 25, 2016

Mobile Nations Weekly: Sequels and successors

iPhone 7 takes the world by storm, Forza races onto consoles everywhere, and yet another chat platform says Allo.

If there's only one iPhone 7 review you read, make it Rene's at iMore. Diving deep into what makes the new iPhone, both good and bad, it's everything you need to know about the phone you're going to start seeing everywhere. Oh, and there's also a whole new version of tvOS and even an updated and renamed Mac operating system.

The HP Elite x3 is the best Windows phone that Dan's ever used, but it's not yet ready. It's an awkward position. Forza Horizon 3 is one of the best racing games ever, if not the best — and the best Xbox One game. And Gears of War 4, coming in October is shaping up to be one heck of a game, and as an Xbox Play Anywhere title it'll work on both Xbox One and PC with one purchase.

After a few months of gestation, Google's anticipated chat app slash smart assistant Allo has launched. It's Google's latest attempt at a communications platform, and it's mostly stripped down the messaging side and seriously ramped up on the artificial intelligence. But if you're more into the hardware side of things, Google's next Nexus Pixel phones are coming on October 4. Probably.

If VR's your thing, Sony's PlayStation VR appears to be threading the needle between the accessible and affordable options that lack power (Samsung Gear VR) and the super powerful versions that demand an expensive PC to even function (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift). You might have heard of Sony — they've been doing the whole console gaming thing for a few years now — so it's no surprise that PlayStation VR has an impressive list of games lined up for launch.

Which smartphone camera do YOU think is the best?

Android Central — Say Allo to new Pixels

It was a big week in Google land, where we got confirmation that there's an event happening on October 4 with a big teaser that phones will be launched. Leaks show off some sleek hardware for the supposed Pixel and Pixel XL, and we're also expecting even more hardware announcements.

Google also launched its much-anticipated chat app Allo, with new group messaging features and integrated Google Assistant intelligence. There's a lot going on in Allo — mostly good, but some puzzling — and it's going to take a while before we're all up to speed on it.

In hardware news, Sony and Moto both unleashed very expensive U.S. unlocked models of their phones. The Xperia XZ and Moto Z are both out, and they'll each set you back $699.

CrackBerry — Android and Argon

A bit of an odd week for BlackBerry ahead of their earnings results on Sept. 28. Their, presumably, upcoming Android device better known as Argon made a brief appearance. They announced Caravan Transport Group Inc. has deployed BlackBerry Radar, and one of their rare test devices appeared for sale. On top of that, they forged a new partnership with Zimperium to provide mobile threat protection for Enterprise and Government.

iMore — What kind of week has it been

It's been a busy seven days at iMore HQ, with new iPhones, new versions of macOS, camera tests, and more. We took a first look at the AirPods, reviewed tvOS and macOS Sierra, and, of course, reviewed the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus — and recommended some must-have iPhone accessories.

We chatted with readers and each other about iOS 10 features, asking what you would change, as well as providing an alternate solution for unlocking your iPhone if you really hate the way it works in iOS 10. And for camera-inclined iOS 10 users, we wrote a guide to shooting RAW on your iPhone.

That's not the only thing iPhoneography lovers had to look forward to this week, however: We've been doing a battery of comparison tests, including zoom tests between the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, 4.7-inch iPhone comparisons, and pitted the iPhone 7 Plus's upcoming Portrait mode against a pro DSLR camera.

We've got lots more about iPhone, iOS, macOS, and camera features coming soon — as well as our Apple Watch review next week — so stay tuned for more excitement!

VR Heads — All things PlayStation VR

Sony is continuing their incredible PlayStation VR promotion efforts at trade shows and demo stations around the world, and that means lots of new games to play. With mere weeks before the official launch, we took a look back at what we've learned from these experiences so far.

Windows Central — A new Horizon

This week we took a deep dive into the new HP Elite x3, which is slowly hitting markets around the world. Although the phone has some rough edges that are to be patched in an update the phone's hardware and quality is the best we've ever seen.

Gears of War 4 is the long awaited sequel to the gaming franchise due in October. We spent a few days up at The Coalition getting a sneak peek at the campaign and even interviewed studio head, Rod Fergusson.

Speaking of games, Forza Horizon 3 is one of the best racing games we have ever tried and we gave it a perfect rating in our review. You can learn more in our ultimate buyer's guide.

Finally, the AT&T Microsoft Lumia 950 picked up the long awaited firmware update enabling double-tap to wake and many other features.