In the meantime, more vendors have been releasing 512GB microSD cards and have caused prices to drop quite significantly. One in particular, Teamgroup, has two of the cheapest microSD cards of this capacity at Amazon and Newegg.
The first one, the 512GB Go Card ($65.99) is specifically designed for action cameras (like the popular GoPro) and supports 4K shooting and delivers read/write speeds of up to 90MBps and 45MBps (UHS-I U3). Adequate without being spectacular. Known as the TGUSDX512GU303, it is built for use and to last in extreme environments offering waterproof, dustproof, x-ray proof and cold resistant protections.
The second card is the Color, which is also a UHS-1 model with a slightly lower read and a much worse write performance (80MBps and 20MBps) costs $64.99 at Newegg. We’d rather spend an extra $1 to get the superior Go card but every cent helps.
At $126.94 per TB, it is about half the price per capacity of the Sandisk 1TB microSD card but there are far, far cheaper options if you want to go 256GB or lower; more on that next week. Teamgroup claims that it has adopted new printing technology to fulfill the goal of being an eco-friendly product; the cards come with lifetime warranty and free technical support.
Also check out our complete list of the best microSD cards on the market
Bear in mind
If you've managed to get your hands on a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.
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If you’re looking for the best Kindle your choice appears fairly straightforward. There are only three models on sale from Amazon: Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Oasis. Easy, right?
Not quite. Things are slightly more complicated with different colours, storage volumes, Wi-Fi and cellular versions and different prices whether you want ads on the lockscreen or not.
All Kindles now have a backlight but not all are waterproof, and you’ll need to spend more on a 3G or 4G if you don’t want to worry about Wi-Fi when you’re on the beach and want to download the new Stephen King novel.
The cheapest Kindle might be all you need, though the Paperwhite has a sharper display and is fully waterproof. And if you’re into the finer things in life then you might consider splurging on the Oasis, though it could be an unnecessary expense for even the most passionate bookworms.
Make sure to read our run down and click through to the reviews of each Kindle to make sure you pick the one that’s best for you.
Screen size: 6-inch | Screen type: Pearl e-paper | Storage: 4GB | Resolution: 167ppi | Weight: 161g | Backlight: yes | Touchscreen: yes | Wi-Fi: yes | 3G: no | Battery life: up to four weeks
Affordable
Improved design with back-light
Screen could be better
Not waterproof
The entry-level Amazon Kindle is the best Kindle you can by right now, with a great balance of features and price.
Launched in March 2019, its new feature was the inclusion of a back-light which now means Amazon's entire Kindle line come with illumination.
You still get the benefits of the previous model, with an adequate (and now back-lit) touchscreen display, long lasting battery and plenty of space for all your digital tomes, plus an intuitive interface, that makes navigating your books a breeze.
It's slim and light, so even though you could essentially be carrying an entire library with you it won't even feel as weighty as a single paperback.
Why should I buy it? Because you want a bargain and can live without waterproofing, the latest design and a higher resolution display.
Screen size: 6-inch | Screen type: E ink | Storage: 4GB | Resolution: 300ppi | Weight: 209g | Backlight: yes | Touchscreen: yes | Wi-Fi: yes | 3G: yes | Battery life: up to six weeks
Super-sharp screen
Improved typography
Bland design
Still missing some features
Amazon updated the Kindle Paperwhite back in 2018 to add several features from the Voyage and Oasis lines, including IPX8-rated waterproofing and support for Audible audiobooks.
The screen is still fantastic with a beautiful 6-inch HD display with 300ppi pixel density and 8GB of storage, meaning you can keep thousands of books on one device.
The Kindle Paperwhite is almost the closest you can get to real paper while getting all the benefits of an ereader. You have access to Amazon's huge library of books and you can even use the Kindle Unlimited rental service on the Paperwhite.
There's a built-in light and you're not going to get any screen glare when reading it in bright sunlight. The battery isn't as good as the last version as it only lasts between four and six weeks, but that said it's still a very good amount of time to get reading your ebooks.
Why should I buy it? If you're looking for one of the best screen experiences on an ereader and you want to be able to read in bright sunlight, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is your choice.
The newest Kindle Oasis device has all the cutting-edge features
Screen size: 7-inch | Screen type: Carta E Ink | Storage: 8GB/32GB | Resolution: 300ppi | Weight: 188g | Backlight: Yes | Touchscreen: Yes | Wi-Fi: Yes | 4G: Yes | Battery life: up to six weeks
Premium reading experience
Useful screen features
Very expensive
Thicker side doesn't improve handhold
If you want the most premium ereader experience available right now, then the newest Amazon Kindle Oasis is what you're looking for – as long as you can stomach the equally high-end price.
The 2019 Kindle Oasis comes with new features like a warm light you can turn on to reduce eye strain, a more lightweight design, and improved back-lighting, to make it a more useful device to read on (although some may consider the upgrade a little small).
It also comes with all the distinct features of the Kindle Oasis range – it's got a large, high-quality display, a 'ridge' design that gives makes the ereader easy to hold at a range of angles, and it comes with plenty of storage space to save as many books as you need.
So if you're looking for an unrivaled ereader, this is the device to consider.
Why should I buy it? If you're willing to splash on the best Amazon Kindle ereader with all the latest bells and whistles in terms of tech, this is the device to consider.
Picking the best hybrid smartwatch is trickier than you might think as they are quite a few on the market.
A watch that blends classic analogue design and hands with smartwatch technology is an alluring option if you want to track basic fitness or get notifications but don’t want to have a fully digital wearable that you have to charge every day.
What is a hybrid smartwatch?
Want a deeper explanation of hybrid smartwatches? We've put together a full beginner's guide to watches with hidden tech under traditional faces so you know what to look out for.
We’ve reviewed all the latest hybrid smartwatches to rank the ten best below. The watch at number one might not be the best for you, so make sure to read the full in-depth reviews for each to see which suits your needs.
Not all the watches have the same functions. Some alert you to your phone’s notifications using mechanical hands while others have small dials for quick-glance readouts. Some have heart rate sensors, and all must link to your phone via Bluetooth and be monitored with a companion app.
Keep an eye out for other features like connected GPS to track runs, waterproofing and sleep tracking to make sure the hybrid wearable you choose is right for you.
Don't want a hybrid? Our best smartwatch guide may be for you
The top hybrid smartwatch we recommend right now is the Misfit Phase, which offers a sleek and stylish design paired with some genuinely useful functionality when it's connected to your phone.
Misfit's Phase is thick, but the design looks classic and no one will immediately realize you're wearing a smartwatch when you've got this wrapped around your wrist.
The battery life is impressive – it'll last around six months with a single watch battery inside – but the fitness features here are limited, as there's no heart-rate tracker or GPS.
Misfit's true highlight here, though, is the price: the Misfit Phase is one of the cheapest hybrids money can buy, so you'll want to get this if you're looking for an affordable watch that can buzz when you've got notifications and look great too.
Our second favorite hybrid watch is from Withings and it's the only device on this list that comes with an electrocardiogram monitor. This is a feature that gives you a reading on your likelihood to suffer from atrial fibrillation, which is a specific heart condition where you can have an irregular beat.
It's not the most accurate tech, but it has been included on watches like the Apple Watch 4 and this Withings to give you an idea of whether it's something you should investigate further with a doctor.
On top of that, you'll also get a slick looking hybrid smartwatch that is well designed and comes with a selection of impressive fitness features. Plus, it's by no means the most expensive device on this list either.
Looking for a small hybrid watch that looks fashionable but can track your heart rate and has a comfortable strap for the odd jog? The Withings Steel HR (sometimes known as the Nokia Steel HR) may be the perfect watch for you, and it sits in second place on our list of the best hybrids.
It has a small second dial so you can see your daily step count (your target can be set in the app), and there's a small screen above it to show other stats.
If you want to know your heart rate it'll appear on the screen along with your step count and notifications such as incoming calls, messages and events coming up in your calendar.
There's a single button on the right of the watch that's sort of disguised as a crown, while the watch is waterproof, so you can wear it in the shower without ruining it.
A year of battery life, notifications and some basic fitness-tracking tech are the highlights of our third-place watch: the Misfit Command.
At first you may think this watch looks complicated to use, but it's actually quite easy once you know how it works. The days of the month are displayed on the right of the face outside the time markers, and the days on the week on the left.
When you get a notification through to your wrist the watch will vibrate, and the sub-dial will display the notification type – text message, alarm or calendar notification; this dial also displays your daily step count.
You can create contacts in the app and assign a number from 1 to 12 to each one, and the clock hands will point to the corresponding number when you get an incoming call. The two buttons on the right-hand side of the case enable you to play and pause music, among other things.
The Misfit Command also looks great – we reckon it's one of the most attractive hybrid watches you can buy.
The Withings Steel HR Sport is very similar to the Nokia Steel and Nokia Steel HR on this list (the company has recently been renamed Withings) and while the design looks similar there are some important differences.
It comes with better notifications as well as VO2 Max monitor that will be able to give you an overall fitness score that you can improve over time.
The battery is meant to last for around a month, and it has connected GPS and heart rate monitoring that means this is suitable for more fitness activities than a lot of other devices on this list.
The Misfit Path is one of the most simplistic devices on this list, and while it does track some fitness stats this is much more designed to be an elegant timepiece than a flashy smartwatch.
We love the long battery life - it should last around six months - and the fact you can customize one of the smart buttons for whatever you want from your phone.
The Misfit Path isn't as affordable as some other hybrid smartwatches, but if you're looking for a trim piece of wristwear that'll look good this would be a great choice.
The Withings Move is one of the cheapest devices on this list and you've got a great variety of different designs to choose from too. This is a good choice from you if you don't need many fitness features and you'd just like a way to track your daily step count and sleep with an attractive watch on your wrist.
You've got 18 months of battery life, according to Withings, and while the watch doesn't come with top-end features like a heart rate tracker it is capable of tracking lots of your basic stats.
The design and price are the key highlights here though, and while it won't suit fitness fanatics it may be your perfect idea of a simple hybrid smartwatch.
While this is perhaps the sportiest device on our list, don't be fooled by the fact that it carries the Garmin name. The Vivomove HR isn't going to give you high-end running watch features like the brand's Fenix 5 range.
It does, however, offer a heart rate monitor and step tracking, and there are also gym tracking features for when you're doing indoor cardio or recording reps during a weights workout.
The Vivomove HR will also work in the pool as it's waterproof, but it's not particularly great at tracking your swimming, so don't buy it specifically for that task. There are stress-monitoring features, which is something you won't get on any other hybrid watch, and we found that these worked well.
If you're after a good-looking watch with some hidden fitness features, the Vivomove HR from Garmin may be the perfect device for you.
The Withings Steel is very similar to the Steel HR higher up our list, but there are a few key differences you'll want to know about.
First off, it's a touch smaller than the Steel HR, making it a great option if you want a lighter and smaller device on your wrist. It also doesn't have a heart rate tracker, but there are features such as step counting and sleep tracking.
There's also no screen on this watch, so you'll be relying on the smaller step count dial and the app to view your stats.
The biggest difference between the two Withings (sometimes called Nokia) is the price – the Steel is quite a bit cheaper than the Steel HR, and that may encourage you to go for the smaller and more limited watch.
One of the most stylish hybrid smartwatches available right now comes from Fossil, and it's called the Q Commuter.
Fossil specializes in hybrid watches (although it makes Wear OS watches too), and this is one of the best-looking of the bunch, with a vast array of finish and strap combinations to match your look.
The Q Commuter can give you a variety of notifications – although these are sometimes hard to notice as the vibration isn't particularly strong – and there are some limited fitness features here too.
One of the real highlights is the battery life, which can run to a year or more.
Everyone knows what a watch is and nowadays most of us can identify a smartwatch too. But what’s a hybrid smartwatch and why are so many brands making them?
Put simply, a hybrid smartwatch blends a traditional, mechanical watch design with modern smartwatch technology that can track fitness, send notifications, monitor your heart rate and much more.
That’s why it’s called a hybrid, because it sits somewhere between a regular watch and a smartwatch. Although, some are more smart than others.
For example, the Garmin Vivomove HR is a hybrid smartwatch with a discreet display, activity tracking sensors and a heart rate monitor packed into a minimal design.
In contrast, the Fossil Q Accomplice looks much more like a regular, high-end watch. Although it has some fitness tracking, it’s basic and much more aimed at those who want a vibrating notification sent to their wrist rather than much else.
The Fossil Q Accomplice could be mistaken for a traditional, mechanical watch rather than a hybrid smartwatch.
As you can tell, just because a device is a hybrid smartwatch, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily packed with tech. Some devices have just one or two smartwatch features, whereas others might resemble smartwatches more than their hybrid equivalents.
One of the biggest differences between a hybrid smartwatch and a regular smartwatch is in the design. Generally, a hybrid smartwatch doesn’t have a bright touchscreen and looks much more like a regular watch than all-out smartwatches like the Apple Watch 4 or the Fitbit Ionic.
There’s no denying the Apple Watch 3 is a smartwatch through and through. See the difference?
The other big difference is battery life. Without a whole host of smart features and a screen that’s throwing out 1,000 nits of brightness whenever it's on, hybrid watches tend to last much longer than their smarter counterparts before they need charging - and some don’t even need charging at all.
Some people are bound to miss the bright screen, super modern design and added smarts of a smartwatch. But for many others, the longer battery life, traditional watch face and, more often than not, way more stylish design is very appealing.
Meet the Misfit Command, a subtle and stylish wearable with notifications, fitness tracking and a battery that lasts a whole year.
Why are hybrid smartwatches good?
One of the biggest differences between a smartwatch and a hybrid smartwatch is in their design. Because most resemble traditional watches, they tend to be more stylish and less obviously a piece of tech.
This is really appealing to some, especially those who want to try out some smart features but love a traditional watch design and buying their wrist candy from traditional watch manufacturers.
For example, Fossil, a brand that’s been creating traditional watches for decades, has been creating a number of smartwatches and hybrids over the past few years. Many people are likely to feel more at home with a Fossil-branded hybrid watch and trust its accuracy and design more than a tech company that’s new to them.
The design is appealing to those who like their watches to strictly look like watches, whether that’s because they’re used to that design or feel they better compliment their outfits or lifestyle.
There are also plenty of other benefits to a design that resembles a regular watch. For example, most hybrid smartwatches are water resistant, the standard size means you can pick and choose from a huge range of straps and often the designs are more appealing to those with smaller wrists.
Next up, the biggest pro of a hybrid smartwatch over a smartwatch is the battery life. Because hybrid smartwatches are packing less tech and don’t have a bright touchscreen, their battery life is way more impressive.
The Fossil Q Commuter is a great-looking watch with subtle smarts
For example, the hybrid Misfit Command and Fossil Q Commuter have batteries that should last a year. Whereas another hybrid with HR tracking, like the Garmin Vivomove HR has a battery that will last 4 days with all its smart features on and around 2 weeks with them off.
There’s a big difference between how smart the hybrid smartwatches are, and therefore how long their battery is likely to last. But regardless, they still fare better than more standard smartwatches.
For example, in our review the Apple Watch 3 had a battery that lasted 2 days without LTE and some fitness tracking, just over 24 hours with LTE and some fitness tracking. The Fitbit Ionic smartwatch lasted about 4 days.
That means hybrid smartwatches, on the whole, win in the battery stakes. But it really does depend on how much you’re using your device.
For example, using all of the Garmin Vivomove HR’s features and taking it for long runs will see you use a similar amount of battery life to the Fitbit Ionic if you don’t take it for long runs. There’s a difference, but it’s not always big, depending on which watch you go for.
Another benefit is that the notifications you receive to a hybrid smartwatch are often subtle. The method differs depending on which watch you go for. For example, some Fossil hybrid smartwatches notify you by moving the hands round to a specific number and other hybrid smartwatches may have another small LCD screen specifically for alerts.
This is appealing to those who are happy to be alerted of a notification, but might find a WhatsApp message displayed on their wrist on a smartwatch too intrusive. Essentially, it's for those who want to be alerted, not bombarded.
Finally, because hybrid smartwatches aren’t packing as much advanced tech as standard smartwatches, they can be cheaper. Although given some are focused on high-end design, that’s not always the case.
The Nokia Steel hybrid is an achingly simple hybrid that’s perfect for those who want just a few smart features.
What are the negatives of hybrid smartwatches?
Put simply, they’re not smartwatches. If you’ve been toying with the idea of investing in a smartwatch because it’s jam-packed full of features and apps, a hybrid smartwatch may fall short for what you need.
This is particularly the case if you’ve been after a bright screen, you’re serious about fitness and want best-in-class tracking or you’d like to actually read notifications from your wrist rather than just being alerted with a vibration.
The Garmin Vivomove HR has solid gym tracking features, despite being a hybrid.
Of course design plays a big part too. Many hybrid smartwatch fans boast about how they’re better designed and resemble traditional, mechanical smartwatches. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll appeal to everyone.
The Apple Watch 3’s super modern, minimal design has already had mainstream appeal. And for those who don’t like the fact it’s rectangular can opt for a whole host of other circular smartwatches, such as the Ticwatch E and the Misfit Vapor.
It really all comes down to a matter of taste and what matters to you.
Telstra has updated its range of mobile plans to meet our data hungry expectations, giving customers more gigabytes across the board, but it’ll come at a cost.
Prices have risen by AU$5 per month for the Small, Medium and Large plans, while the Extra Large plan has increased by AU$15 each time.
The trade-off is that you’ll be getting extra data in each tier. The Small plan has had the lowest increase, going from 30GB to 40GB of data, and now costing AU$55 a month.
On the other hand, the Medium and Large plans have added an additional 20GB of data, jumping from 60GB to 80GB and 100GB to 120GB respectively. You’ll now pay AU$65 for the Medium plan, or AU$85 for the Large.
The Extra Large plan has gained the most, getting a hefty data increase of 30GB – that’s going from 150GB to 180GB, though this plan will now set you back AU$115 a month.
If you’re already a Telstra customer, the telco says you’ll have three months to update to a new plan, and if you do so before September 30, your phone bill won’t increase to the new price for 12 months.
This is something you’ll want to take advantage of, as customers who don’t move to a new plan will be automatically migrated to a corresponding plan after September 30, and will have to start paying the new prices.
Interestingly, Telstra has also chosen not to charge a separate fee for 5G on its new Medium, Large and Extra Large month-to-month plans. This differs from its previous plans, which included a free trial of 5G on its Small and Medium plans, and inclusion on the others.
If you’re on a Small plan, you’ll no longer have access to the telco’s 5G network.
Perhaps to tempt customers over to its new plans, Telstra has now included a free, three-month subscription to the new streaming service Binge on all its revised plans.
Finding the best phones for music in 2020 is a little tricky when many high-end phones don’t have headphones jacks. But the good news is that some still do, and even those that don’t can still have superior mobile audio.
The audio you’re after might also not be headphone based, and the phones we’ve ranked here also have decent speaker set-ups if you want to use your phone as a radio or podcast player in the kitchen.
Bluetooth audio is becoming the norm for many of us now, so we’ve also taken into account which phones are for this, even though every phone is capable of it. With most phones you can also use a USB-C or Lightning adapter to plug in regular headphones, but that adapter might not come with the phone.
The LG V60 is our current best phone for music pick because of its superior headphone jack. But there’s also great audio choices from Samsung, Apple, Google, Sony and Razer to choose from depending on your budget and needs.
(Image credit: LG)
1. LG V60 ThinQ
The best headphone jack on a phone
Release date: March 2020 | Weight: 218g | Dimensions: 169.3 x 77.6 x 8.9 mm | OS: Android 10 | Screen size: 6.8-inch | Resolution: 1080 x 2460 | CPU: Snapdragon 865 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 128GB | Battery: 5,000mAh | Rear camera: Dual 16MP + 13MP | Front camera: 10MP
Has a headphone jack, and a good one
Excellent EQ settings
Hard to buy outside the US
A huge phone
While it may not be as popular with consumers or tech press as its Korean rival Samsung, LG is the leading smartphone manufacturer when it comes to wired audio. The LG V60 still has a headphone jack unlike many competing high-end flagships which already makes it better, but the company also includes a Quad-DAC (digital-to-analog) component that drives the audio to an even better level of detail.
What’s the point? Does this somehow make the sound four times better, or louder? Not quite. The DAC turns the digital signal into the analog one your headphone drivers can be fed. Bluetooth headphones have a DAC, even some USB-C to 3.5mm cables do.
The LG V60 has a ‘quad’ DAC because it lets the phone analyze the digital signal four times in parallel. These four interpretations are then combined and cross-checked, to eliminate errors. This in turn increases the signal-to-noise ratio, giving us purer sound.
It also has an unusually powerful headphone amp that, when used in the Quad DAC mode, offers higher volume output than most. This is useful for naturally quieter headphones.
We tested the V60 with high quality in-ear and over-ear headphones and the audio quality is much improved over other wired smartphone outputs, as well as wireless. The external dual stereo speakers aren’t the best on the market, but with wired audio this good, it doesn’t matter to us.
LG also does a whole bunch else with its tech, incorporating the most wonderfully geeky sound customization of any phone. You can alter the ‘digital filter’, which changes the shape of the impulse response. This is like EQ that affects the character of the sound stage rather than the tonal make-up.
There’s normal parametric EQ too, and a DTS:X 3D Surround mode. But we don’t recommend the latter for music.
Samsung slips to second place in 2020 thanks to the loss of the headphone jack. That doesn’t mean it loses many of its audio chops, but it does mean that LG bests Samsung for pure sound quality through wired headphones.
Samsung puts a pair of in-ear AKG-tuned USB-C earbuds in the box with the Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus and they’re very good for a bundled set but a little thin on some details. Samsung doesn’t ship the phone with a 3.5mm headphone jack dongle, so you’ll have to fork out $14.99 for one if you don’t want to go wireless.
The S20’s all around sound reproduction is above average though thanks to some beefed up internals, and it can even support ultra-high-end formats like DSD 64/128 and 32-bit PCM. But, no, you won’t find that on Spotify.
The phone also has Dolby Atmos audio. In the cinema this usually means there are speakers across the ceiling for advanced spatial audio. At home it might mean having extra ‘height channel’ speakers. In a phone it involves psychoacoustic processing used to increase the sense of size and scale in audio.
We find it works better for movies than music when using headphones, though, as it can also add a little too much weight to the mid-bass, and this may clog up the separation in a high-performing headphone. When we review headphones, we turn off all these sound-coloring extras. But trust your ears on this one and use whatever makes your tunes more fun and engaging.
The Samsung Galaxy S20’s speakers are good too, with plummy-sounding lower mids that give podcasts, lower register vocals and bass instruments a bit more weight. They also benefit from Dolby Atmos enhancement, and you can tweak the sound with a few different Dolby modes.
Don’t groan. The iPhone has always been a great choice for audio, even if moving your music files to one has never been as easy has it has on Android.
The iPhone 11 Pro’s excellent speakers are the main draw here, as well as the bespoke wireless experience you get when you buy a pair of headphones with an Apple H1 or W1 chipset. This include the Beats Solo Pro and Apple’s own AirPods Pro (yes, we know Apple owns Beats too these days).
The pairing experience is cleaner, and wireless stability is generally flawless.
The Apple iPhone 11 Pro's internal speakers have stereo drivers for a more immersive experience and are auto-enhanced with Dolby Atmos. This helps make the sound seem much wider, and more expansive.
Earlier in this article we were a bit sniffy about using Atmos for high-quality headphones, but it can work wonders for much more limited phone speakers.
How about the headphone output? Well, there isn’t one really. The Lightning port does not have an analog audio output. It fires out the digital signal as-is, leaving the job of audio quality to your headphones.
Even the Lightning to 3.5mm cable you may end up buying to use your old favorite earphones has its own DAC chip, so choose your headphones wisely.
Release date: October 2018 | Weight: 220g | Dimensions: 158.5 x 79 x 8.5mm | OS: Android 9 | Screen size: 5.72-inch | Resolution: 1440 x 2560 | CPU: Snapdragon 845 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 64GB | Battery: 4,000mAh | Rear camera: 12MP + 12MP | Front camera: 8MP
Forceful speakers
Proper stereo balance between drivers
No headphone jack
May look ugly to some eyes
The Razer Phone 2 is one of the masters of flat-out loud phone speakers, alongside its arch-rival the Asus ROG Phone 2.
There’s space above and below the screen to allow for more room for these speakers. And both of them sit on the front, rather than using the common strategy of having one on the bottom, one up front.
Driver size isn’t actually the crucial bit here, but rather an extra chunk of cabinet space in the plastic speaker enclosure. Sometimes all you need is a little fresh air to let the sound breathe.
At maximum volume, the Razer Phone 2 doesn’t exactly sound super-relaxed and unstrained. But when it’s competing with the noise of your showering or frying onions, volume matters more.
These speakers really project.
There’s no headphone jack on the Razer Phone 2, which loses it major points. However, you do get a 3.5mm adapter in the box, which incorporates a 24-bit DAC.
Release date: May 2019 | Weight: 147g | Dimensions: 151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2mm | OS: Android 10 | Screen size: 5.6-inch | Resolution: 1080 x 2220 | CPU: Snapdragon 670 | RAM: 4GB | Storage: 64GB | Battery: 3,000mAh | Rear camera: 12.2MP | Front camera: 8MP
Solid speaker quality
Has a headphone jack
Not the greatest wired audio output
Plastic body
In one crucial sense the Google Pixel 3a is a better phone for music than the more expensive Pixel 4. Why? It has a headphone jack, so you can use it with those great older pairs the tech giants want you to bin.
Its wired output does not have the sonic purity of the best around, but this is a relatively affordable mobile, so we’re not going to rule it out completely for not having quite as lively audio as the LG V50 ThinQ.
The Pixel 3a’s speakers are solid too. We compared them directly to the Pixel 4’s for this piece. The Pixel 4 has slightly better bass and mid-bass warmth, but they are not in completely different leagues.
We think of the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL as satisfying all-rounders. They have clean software, solid design, good screens and just about the best cameras you’ll find at the price.
What else should we include? As we get further away from the front-runners, there are many other phones we could have put in this position. Huawei, Honor and Oppo have all put some decent speakers into their mid-range phones, many of which are hard to get hold of in some countries. And let’s not even get into the Huawei/Honor US issue.
The Sony Xperia 1 is one safe place to land. This top-end Sony phone does not have a headphone jack, which disappointed many fans. However, it does have stereo speakers and an unusual feature called dynamic vibration.
This acts a bit like the rumble function in a game controller, making the phone vibrate in time with the beat. It is, you guessed it, a bit of a gimmick.
The speakers are solid, though. There’s one on the front and one on the bottom, for a stereo effect when the phone is in front of your face. However, unlike the best stereo pairs, the front speaker is mostly there for treble information. All mid and bass sound is provided by the bottom driver.
