How to get the most of your Android Smartphone's battery

 

 Smartphone batteries don't last forever but there are lots of things you can do behind-the-scenes to make your Android last longer. Let's explore how to increase battery on your smartphone.

 

How does batteries work on Android

 

First, some background: most smartphones have either a lithium-ion battery or a lithium-polymer battery. Both are actually lithium-ion though, and as such, do not have a 'memory', which means you can charge them from any level – you don't have to fully discharge them before charging them up – and you don't have to charge them all the way to 100 percent.

 

In fact, these types of batteries suffer from low voltage problems, so it's actually better to partially charge them (say, from 20 percent to 90 percent) than to fully charge and fully drain them. Battery care is always open for debate though, so for every accepted tip there will be someone that says it makes no difference. Just find the ones that work for you and you can increase battery on your Android device.

 

Black wallpaper can increase battery

 

If your phone has an AMOLED screen (like most Samsung devices), use a dark-colored background. Black wallpaper can increase battery life because AMOLED screens only illuminate the colored pixels. Black pixels are unlit, so the more black pixels you have, or the more darker pixels, the less power is needed to light them up.

 

To download a completely black wallpaper, tap the link here. Now, save the picture and go into your Settings. From there tap Wallpaper hit Choose wallpaper and scroll down to Gallery. You should be able to find the black wallpaper you just saved. Hit set to wallpaper and lock screen.

 

Doze Mode

 

Doze mode has been around since Android Marshmallow, but with Nougat, it's been much improved. Before, Doze would only work when the smartphone has been stationary for a while. But now, it can also work when it's being moved around (in your bag or pocket while you're on the go, for example). The screen just needs to be off to work.

 

Doze mode essentially just shuts down things you're not using depending on how long it has been since you've touched your phone. Network connection is severed and syncing only happens during specific intervals. When you're away from your phone even longer, more things are stopped, like GPS, Wi-Fi scanning and all syncing.

 

Turn off Google hotwords

 

Stop your phone from always listening. Google's OK Google voice searching is a fantastic and often very functional feature. The problem is that it can wreak havoc with your battery. Especially if you don't actually use it or only use it occasionally.

 

Go into Google settings from your app drawer and tap Voice heading. On the next page, select OK Google detection. In this menu, the best option for battery life would be to untick all the boxes, but if you are a fan of OK Google, just tick the From the Google app box to ensure your device is only listening when you're in the Google app.

 Don't let your apps fall behind the times

 

Keep your apps updated. There's a reason developers constantly update apps, and most of the time it's for memory or battery optimization. Keeping your apps updated also means you have the best optimizations available. Likewise, delete old apps you no longer use, because these may be running background processes that chew up RAM and battery life.

 

 

Once you've ensured your apps are up-to-date you can go through them individually and check if they're optimized for battery life. This can be done quite quickly. Just go into your Settings and tap Battery. From there hit the menu button (three dots at the top right of your screen) and go to Battery optimization. From there you can see which apps are optimized and change them. You can only change the non-essential system apps.

 

Use the 'Lite' versions of apps

 

To save battery life, not to mention mobile data, you can take advantage of 'Lite' versions of popular apps. These are stripped down to their essential features and designed to be simpler and more economical than their full counterparts. Facebook and Messenger both have Lite apps available in the Play Store. Skype also has a Lite app in the Play Store, but it may be unstable as it is technically unreleased. For services like Gmail, Twitter and Instagram, there is no Lite app available to download.

 

Don't use adaptive/auto brightness

 

Don't use display auto-brightness. It may sound useful, but auto-brightness is usually way brighter than you really need. It's better to manually set the brightness to a level that is low but comfortable, and bump it up when necessary. This is one of the best ways to improve your battery life, because the screen is one of the biggest battery suckers.

 

To ensure your adaptive/auto brightness is off go into the Quick settings in many devices and you should see Auto with a box above and a checkmark in it. Uncheck this box and your auto will be off. With some devices you might need to go into the Settings then tap Display. From there you should see Brightness level and in it you'll find the auto settings.

 

Turn off vibrate and haptic feedback to save battery

 

Switch off vibrate. Unless you really need that added awareness, turn off vibration alerts for incoming calls. It actually takes more power to vibrate your phone than it does to ring it. Turn off haptic feedback too (that buzz you get from typing on the keyboard). Sure it feels cool, but it doesn't really add anything to your experience, and it's another battery drainer.

                                                                                                                                

Set your 'Do Not Disturb' or 'sleep' schedule

 

Set sleep times or blocking mode to switch off Wi-Fi and mobile data when you don't need them. If your phone is basically off limits at work, set your device to not ring, vibrate or connect to the internet while you're at work. Many phones have a Do Not Disturb setting for just this purpose.

 

Likewise, you can set your phone to airplane mode when you're asleep or use sleep or blocking modes to set up limits for what your phone does during certain times of the day, whether that's while you're asleep, at work or in a meeting. Cool apps such as IFTTT let you create rules that can help you save battery life too.

You don't need to be connected 24/7

 

Turn off GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi and mobile data whenever you don't need them. Turning off location data, or changing your location settings to use Wi-Fi or 3G data rather than GPS works perfectly well. This will increase battery on your Android device.

 

Only turn on Bluetooth and NFC as long as you need them (even though they consume very little power), and there's no need to have both Wi-Fi and mobile data turned on at all times, especially if you know exactly when you'll need one or the other.

 

If you use Wi-Fi a lot though, say at home and at work, then it makes sense to keep set your Wi-Fi to 'Always on during sleep' as this uses less power than to have your Wi-Fi reconnecting every time you wake your phone. Most of these can be found in your Quick settings.

 

Don't get bogged down by widgets

 

Ditch widgets you don't need, especially those connected to the internet, such as weather widgets. If you have multiple widgets across several home screens, which are constantly syncing and updating (Twitter, reddit, weather, Gmail and the like), you're not doing your battery any favors. Just hit the apps when you need them.

 

If you already have a bunch of useless widgets on your device then you just need to do a couple of things and they'll be gone. Long press on a blank space on your home screen. Now drag the widget you don't need into the trash bin at the top or bottom of your screen (it depends on the brand).

 

Explore the battery saving features on your phone

 

All ROMs, whether stock Android, OEM UIs such as TouchWiz, or custom ROMs like CyanogenMod, have various settings in the menu to help conserve or optimize battery consumption.

 

HTC has Extreme Power Saving Mode, Samsung has Ultra Power Saving Mode, Sony has STAMINA mode and so on. Find these various options for your device and ROM and make them work for you.

 

Even if your phone doesn't have layers of battery saving features like some (or you simply don't want disable so many features), at least make use of the basic battery saver mode.

 

Don't fall into the auto-sync trap

 

Turn off auto-syncing for Google accounts. If you don't need every single Google account updated every 15 minutes, just go into Settings and Google account and turn off auto-sync for those apps you don't need constantly updated.

 

Some apps – like email – let you manually refresh when you launch them, rather than running multiple auto-refreshes throughout the day when you may not need them to. The same goes for Twitter, Reddit and co. Unless you need constant updates or push notifications (like for Facebook or your calendar) just sync when you actually use the app.

 

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How to get the best sound quality out of your Android smartphone

Audible

Not all smartphones have the speaker quality or volume levels to make your stereo sound the way you want to. Here are a few ways to help you improve sound quality and increase volume on Android.

•Check your settings

•Get a better music app

•Get an EQ

•Know your speaker placement

•Check if your case is blocking a speaker

•Use headphones

•Boost speaker volume

Check your settings

You could optimize your Android audio experience through the settings. Not all Android UIs have this feature, however, so it won't work for everyone. If your device has it, the procedure is easy, though. And once you've done it for the first time you will be able to quickly enhance your audio settings in the future.

For TouchWiz, you need to plug in whichever audio device you want to use (if you're using one). Then, hop into your Settings and tap Sound. From there hit Audio settings. You should have a series of options to enhance your audio experience.

MIUI from Xiaomi, has an enhancer for headphones. Just toggle it on and pick the type you're using. You should have the choice between in-ear and normal headphones.

Xperia UI allows you use the ClearAudio setting and has an equalizer. You can get to it through the settings. With Sense UI you can toggle BoomSound but there's really no reason to turn it off, as the audio is terrible without it on. You can't optimize your audio settings from Oxygen, Optimus or Stock Android.

Download a new music app

You have the option of replacing the stock music app with one that includes more audio control. We recommend Poweramp or Equalizer+. Both are jam-packed with audio tweaks, presets, bass boost and more. Just make sure your music folders are checked in the app settings.

Equalizer+ provides a five-band EQ, while Poweramp offers a 10-band EQ for serious tuning. You'll have to pay a couple of bucks to access all the best features but once you do you'll never look back. Check out our article for more music player apps.

Download an EQ

The default audio controls on most phones, with the exception of Sony phones and the OnePlus 2, are not exactly comprehensive. Some include a basic EQ but it often only works within the default music app and provides no control over audio not played through the music player.

It's important to note that no app works miracles when the hardware is not working properly but with a couple of simple adjustments your sound quality can be improved significantly. So hit the Play Store and get yourself a decent EQ. I can recommend both Music Volume EQ and Bass Booster.

Know your speaker placement

It may seem silly, but the first thing you need to know is where the sound is coming from on your smartphone. Lots of phones have twin speaker grills, but often only one of them produces any sound. If your speaker is blocked then the sound quality will be low or non-existent.

Test out where your sound is coming from by playing some tunes and covering the various holes on your phone until you know exactly where the audio is coming from. There shouldn't be too many places for a speaker to hide and, once you've found them, you can get started on finding the problem.

Once you know whether your speakers are front-facing, bottom-mounted or on the back, you can make more intelligent decisions about how to position your smartphone to give speakers the best chance to shine. Don't block them when holding your phone (a common mistake when gaming with bottom-mounted speakers) and point the speakers towards you, not away from you.

Check if your case is blocking a speaker

If your phone has a protective case or cover, it will affect the quality of the sound you get from the speakers. All those vibrations coming from inside your phone will be muffled by the additional layer of plastic or rubber that the manufacturer won't have taken into account when designing its speaker system.

Not all case makers understand the subtleties of your device. Some cases block essential parts of the phone like the audio jack, microphone or speaker. Before you buy a case be sure that you check to see that it won't block anything.

Use headphones

The simple fact is that most smartphone speakers are simply not good enough to get decent sound quality out of, even with a fancy music app or EQ. This is where a decent pair of headphones can help (some audio settings in your phone won't even work without headphones plugged in).

Check out our list of the best headphones and see how much of a difference a serious set of headphones can make to your smartphone audio. Not all headphones are created equally and there are different types for various situations. Make sure you look through and find the one that best suits you.

Boost speaker volume

If you are rooted, there are plenty of app options out there that can bypass the max volume of the Android system with a few simple tweaks. Check out our ultimate guide on how to root Android for more details. If you don't want to root your phone or simply aren't convinced by the distortions that most volume-booster apps in the Play Store end up producing, then there are still a few things you can do.

Get to know a little about sound waves. If you position your phone in a corner and fire the speaker output towards it, you'll get a louder, 'bassier' reverberation than if it was just shooting out into the room. The same logic applies to any object: put your phone in a box, against a bowl or in a glass (empty, of course) and you might be amazed to hear how much louder your speaker suddenly is.

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Now get Face unlock on your Oneplus 3/3T

With the new Android Oreo-based OxygenOS 5.0 update, OnePlus 3 and 3T have received the face unlock ability, which means that same will hold true when OnePlus 5 starts getting Oreo update.

 

Notably, the feature works as flawlessly as it does in the latest flagship oneplus 5T. To enable the face-unlock feature in the OnePlus 3 and 3T devices running on the Android Oreo operating system: Go to Settings and look for ‘Security & fingerprint’ option. Under ‘security and fingerprint’, there is another ‘Smart Unlock’ tab that will take you to five options including ‘Trusted face.’

 

While this feature works under most lighting conditions and is as swift as OnePlus 5T, it doesn’t take you to home screen after unlocking your phone which means you will have to swipe up from the lock screen to get there.

OnePlus 3 and 3T have already got notifications for Android Oreo update, OnePlus 5 got its first Oreo beta on Monday, which you can grab directly from the company right now. As for the just-announced OnePlus 5T, it should get the update early next year.

 

In case you haven’t received the update you can get it done by installing a vpn like turbo vpn and preferably choose a server from Canada and check for system updates and your phone should be notifying you one.

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Automatic transmission- types and which is the best type of automatic transmission

Audible

Automatic transmissions have gone through many changes since being introduced by Oldsmobile for 1940. There are four types of Automatic transmission.



1. Torque converter(Conventional automatic)
2.Continuously variable transmission(CVT)
3.Automated manual  
4.Dual-clutch automated manual(DSG)

Torque converter(Conventional automatic)

The current generation of conventional automatics use a torque converter to transfer power from the engine to the transmission. The transmission itself typically contains several sets of gears, and the different “speeds” are chosen by engaging electronically controlled, hydraulically operated clutch packs. Most earlier automatics worked much the same way but didn’t have as many speeds and lacked electronic controls.

Conventional automatics tend to be very smooth in operation—both upon starting from a stop and in gear changes—but lose some efficiency (and thus fuel economy) due to the slight “slip” of the fluid-filled torque converter and driving the hydraulic pump that operates the clutch packs.

Continuously variable transmission(CVT)

Rather than sets of gears, CVTs use a belt that runs between two variable-diameter pulleys to give a wide range of ratios and a smooth transition between them. In automotive applications, some CVTs use a fluid-filled torque converter (as with a conventional automatic) to transfer power from the engine to the transmission, others a clutch similar to that used for a manual transmission, but with automatic activation (there is no clutch pedal).

The advantage of a CVT is that the engine can be kept at its most efficient speed while the transmission adjusts to changes in load or road speed. Under brisk acceleration, for example, the engine revs up to where it produces the most power and is held there as the transmission constantly adjusts to the increasing speed of the car. Under cruise conditions, the transmission can adjust for small changes in road speed while the engine is kept at a consistent rpm for best fuel economy. A limiting factor is that because CVTs rely on friction between the belt and the pulleys, they haven’t yet been designed to handle a lot of power.

Automated manual  

There are two types of automated manual transmissions in use, with the more modern one (which is now far more common) being called a “Dual Clutch Automated Manual”; it’s described below. Both are essentially manual transmissions where the clutch and shift actions are carried out by computer-controlled, electronically activated mechanisms, so they work without driver interaction, just like a conventional automatic transmission. However, they can also be shifted manually (though still without the driver using a clutch) via a conventional gear lever or steering-column-mounted “paddles.”

Automated manuals are more efficient than conventional automatics because there’s no “slip” of a torque converter and no losses from driving an internal hydraulic pump. The earliest versions – which were found primarily in European performance cars – were based on a conventional manual transmission with a single clutch, but the only car still using this kind is the very non-performance-oriented Smart ForTwo.

Dual-clutch automated manual(DSG)

It gets its name from the fact that there are two gear shafts – one for the odd-numbered gears (1, 3, 5, 7), another for the even-numbered gears (2, 4, 6) – each having its own clutch. When the car moves off from a stop, 1st gear is already selected, and the “odd” clutch is engaged to start the car moving. While this is going on, the computer puts the other gear shaft into 2nd gear. When it comes time to shift to second, the “odd” clutch disengages and the “even” clutch engages, and presto; you’re in second gear. It does the same with the higher gears, which are “preselected” before the clutch for that shaft is engaged. This results in much quicker – and usually much smoother – gear changes than with a “single clutch” automated manual.

Automated manuals are often used in performance cars today because they’re more efficient than a conventional automatic transmission, and can handle much more power than a CVT.

Branded examples of dual-clutch automated manual transmissions include Ford’s “PowerShift” available in the Fiesta and Focus, and Porsche’s “PDK” available in several of the maker’s vehicles

Conclusion

Although the four types of automatic transmissions —conventional, CVT, automated manual, and dual clutch automated manual — all operate without a clutch pedal and can be set to shift for themselves, they each exhibit slightly different driving characteristics. You’re probably already familiar with how a conventional automatic “feels,” so we’ll compare the others to that.

Closest in terms of perception to a conventional automatic is the dual clutch automated manual. One difference can often be felt when you’re barely moving. If you’re stopped on a slight upward incline, a conventional automatic will “hold” you there without having your foot on the brake; likewise, your car will creep forward on level ground if you are stopped and take your foot off the brake. Automated manuals often won’t hold you on an upward incline, and may not creep forward on flat ground quite as smoothly as a conventional automatic does. This is most noticed in stop-and-go traffic.

Many automated manuals also feel different if you floor the throttle, either from a stop or when cruising down the road. From a stop, they sometimes lurch a bit where a conventional automatic is smoother. If you’re cruising down the road and floor the throttle to pass, an automated manual can often be felt “stepping down” one gear at a time rather than dropping from, say, sixth gear straight down to second. As a result, the time that passes between flooring the throttle and the car actually accelerating is sometimes a bit longer.

These all sound like negative traits, so why do some manufacturers use automated manuals? Efficiency. Automated manuals are often credited with about a 10-percent increase in fuel economy. And they’re usually better from a performance standpoint, as there’s less power loss through an automated manual, and under hard acceleration, they are often quicker to upshift into the next gear.

A CVT exhibits even more of a difference, notably under acceleration. The objective of a CVT is to have the transmission make most of the adjustments necessary to maintain different road speeds while letting the engine turn at a fairly constant speed—which results in about 10 percent better fuel economy. Under even moderate throttle applications from a stop, however, a CVT maximizes engine power by letting the engine quickly rev up to where it makes more power and then holds it there while the transmission adjusts to the car’s increasing road speed. This means the engine is held at a steady, high-revving speed where it usually makes a lot of noise and sometimes is rather ragged, and this is what is most obvious — and annoying — to many drivers.

It used to be that nearly every car that offered both a manual and an automatic transmission scored significantly better EPA fuel-economy numbers with the manual. Not anymore. Although there are a few examples where the manual is still thriftier, many of today’s cars score better with an automatic. Part of this is due to the greater number of “speeds” now used even in conventional automatics — which allow the engine to run more efficiently at any given road speed — and to the use of automated manuals and CVTs.

Currently, most manufacturers still rely on conventional automatic transmissions, but the use of CVTs and particularly dual clutch automated manuals is growing. In their best applications, CVTs and dual clutch automated manuals behave much the same as conventional automatics in everyday driving, and the goal is to make them nearly indistinguishable — except for a noticeable boost in fuel economy.

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Razer launches its Gamer centric smartphone

                

The Razer Phone comes with a solid spec list, an emphasis on mobile gaming, an audio experience that any audiophile can appreciate, as well as what seems to be a justified price. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Razer’s acquisition of Nextbit paid off quite well in terms of this initial launch, but let’s dive into the details to see just how this device stacks up against established Android manufacturers.

 

Specs

 

Razer Phone is no chump on specs, with Razer obviously taking the “spare no expense” expression quite seriously. The device features a 5.7″ QHD IGZO LCD UltraMotion display (2560 x 1440, 120Hz refresh rate), Snapdragon 835 processor, 8GB RAM, 64GB storage (expandable supported), dual rear-facing cameras (12MP f/1.75 Wide + 13MP f/2.6), 4,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 4+, Dolby Atmos-branded dual front-facing speakers, NFC, fingerprint reader, and Android 7.1+ Nougat.

 

For a company’s first attempt at an Android smartphone, this is quite the impressive sheet. While I’m not giddy about dual camera setups (ex: Google does better with just one camera) or even 8GB RAM, Razer actually did something innovative with regard to specs, which is the LCD display capable of a 120Hz refresh rate. That’s something we’re not seeing from any other maker at the moment, so for Razer to bring it on their first attempt, well, that’s very welcomed.

 

While you won’t find a headphone jack or water resistance, the price for all of this is $699, which seems incredibly reasonable if high-end mobile gaming and audio performance is what you’re concerned about.

 

Display

 

Considering such a fuss was made about this display during Razer’s unveiling,  the 5.7″ QHD IGZO LCD display is great, offering sharp contrast, an accurate portrayal of colors, plenty of brightness whether you’re indoor or outdoor the 120Hz refresh rate ability does play a factor into the overall experience.

 

Inside of the settings menu, the user can select which refresh rate they want the display to run at. You can opt between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. Your typical Android display has a refresh rate of 60Hz (Galaxy S8, Pixel 2 XL, etc.), so for these options to be available, we’re talking an instant upgrade in user customization.

 

In case you aren’t familiar with refresh rate, it’s a number based on how quickly a display changes the image on screen. A lot of high-end computer monitors have a 144Hz refresh rate, while pro gamers can use monitors with up to a 240Hz refresh rate. Essentially, higher equals better (there is argument out there that anything over 100Hz isn’t necessary), but Razer is making this a new spec in the Android industry that we once never concerned ourselves with. We used to bicker about resolution (FHD vs. QHD), but refresh rate could be the next area of improvement for all mobile display makers. It plays directly into VR implementations, and with Google and Samsung battling it out in that arena, maybe we could see more emphasis placed on refresh rate.

 

As for Razer Phone, you do notice a change in the scrolling effect when toggling between 60Hz and 120Hz. When cranked up, there is less stutter and animations are very fluid. When playing mobile games, gameplay also looked and felt better, which I’ll never argue against. For those interested in overall brightness it should not be an issue when in direct sunlight with the screen cranked up to 100%.

 

Performance

 

Thanks to a Snapdragon 835, 8GB RAM, plus that 120Hz refresh rate, everything you do on this phone seems smooth. Whether you’re playing games, diving in and out of apps, or scrolling through a webpage, it’s all good. Also aiding this experience is a pretty barebones stock Android experience, but I’ll get into that shortly.

 

Topping off the experience is Razer’s Game Booster app, which comes in quite handy for those who really plan on putting in some hours of gaming. With this app, you can select customizable settings for individual game titles. The app allows you to set CPU clock speeds, refresh rates, whether you receive notifications when in fullscreen, as well as an anti-aliasing toggle. For games like Stranger Things, where it’s a pretty pixelated game, you don’t need massive performance, so throttling down your CPU and refresh rate can extend your battery life while playing. Games like Gear Club want all of your juice, though, so setting your CPU and refresh rate to the max leads to the best performance.

 

Software

 

The Razer Phone comes with Android 7.1+ out of the box, with no custom OEM skin atop it. This makes for a very familiar experience, but as a cherry on top, every phone is shipped with Nova Launcher Prime as its default launcher. Talk about really trying to make the Android fanboys happy, am I right? With Nova Launcher, you can customize basically all aspects of your home screen and beyond, complete with custom icon pack support and more. With that being said, now would be a good time to brush up on the icon packs we think are hot.

 

Going beyond just your launcher, Razer built in a theme manager for the software, which makes customizing the phone’s color scheme and even notification sounds a breeze. When a theme is applied, and there’s plenty to choose from, you’ll have a custom-colored notification pulldown, calculator, phone app, as well as ringtones and alarm sounds. It’s a snazzy effort on Razer’s part, one that I appreciate as someone who gets bored with the same ol’ white UI on most phones.

 

  While the software is pretty barebones, it doesn’t really lack anything. Inside the settings, you’ll find access to Smart Lock, Gestures (quick unlock to Camera), storage management settings, an Ambient Display mode for incoming notifications, Night Light, and other settings. It’s similar to the approach taken by OnePlus, where they give you all of the essentials, then toss in a few extras that make it a more customizable experience. For me, that’s fine, because when we start having features piled on top of features, it’s easy for many things to get lost deep inside of the Settings menu.

 

  It would have been nice to see the Razer Phone launch with Android 8.0 Oreo, too, only because it’s already November and that means this device launches behind the Android update schedule, if that makes sense. On the plus, this will be a good test to see how well Razer intends to support the software on this phone. If we see Oreo come later this year or very early in 2018, that’s a good thing. If we somehow creep into February or March, though, that will be a bad sign and I wouldn’t blame anyone for being disappointed. We’ll just have to wait and see how that plays out.

 

Audio

 

On the frontside of the Razer Phone are dual Dolby Atmos speakers, both individually amplified for improved sound. Via the USB Type-C port, you can utilize the accompanied audio adapter with a THX certified DAC for your headphones.

 

To sum it up, the sound on this phone, whether it comes from the speakers or your headphones, is remarkable. The speakers get stupid loud and the sound when plugged in is rich and full. No other phone has offered this much audio goodness in a while, so it’s nice to have a player back in the game who is taking not just headphone sound quality, but external audio propulsion seriously, too. While LG has great audio via headphones with its Quad DAC, the Razer Phone takes it to another level with these external speakers, getting nearly as loud as my MacBook Pro, which is pretty impressive to me.

 

If I could make one tweak, though, it would be to have better control over the lows on the front speakers via the Dolby Atmos app. Inside this app, you can customize the EQ to suit your needs, but even in there, I can’t get quite as much bass as I’d desire coming from the speakers. They are very high and mid heavy, which is fine for the spine tingling guitar riffs I listen to, but I still want more bass.

 

Battery

 

In a world where it seems like the most we ever get from the high-end Android makers is 3,500mAh, Razer brought the heat in the Razer Phone’s battery department. The phone features a whopping 4,000mAh battery, capable of providing me with way more than a day’s worth of usage, even with heavy testing and gaming.

 

Each night, I hit the hay around 10:30-11PM. At that time, the Razer Phone would still show 40%+ of juice left, meaning I could easily leave it unplugged and pick up right where I left off without having to do my overnight charging routine. For screen on time, I’m getting my usual 4 hours, which is my typical day.

 

Now, you may also want to know if the display’s refresh rate ability has any affect on the battery. From what I can tell, that’s a “no,” and Razer specifically mentioned this during its press event. According to them and its work with Qualcomm on the UltraMotion display, users should actually see “significant battery life improvement.” While I wouldn’t go so far as to say I saw improvements, what I did see was a battery that was getting me through lots of gaming without a ton of juice being used, so at the end of the day, I’m a happy user who still has plenty of battery life left.

 

  Conclusion

The Razer Phone is an absolute tank, being one of the heaviest phones I’ve ever had in my pocket. It weighs in at nearly 200 grams, compared to the Galaxy S8+ at 173g, Pixel 2 XL at 175g, and the LG V30 at 158g. The Razer Phone is large in-hand, heavy, and frankly, kinda boring to look at. While I appreciate its tankiness at times, when it comes to leaving the house with it, it can be kinda daunting depending on the type of pants I’m wearing. I know that’s weird to read, but bear with me here.

 

Even inside of the settings menu for the camera, the only options you’ll find are for resolutions and shutter sounds. Really, I know you might be having a hard time believing this, but it’s true. In terms of shooting, the only thing you can do is toggle your flash and the HDR mode, which consistently needs to be enabled because the camera handles many lighting environments poorly.

 

 On the bright side, much of what I’m talking about can be changed via an update to Razer’s camera app. All of those modes I mentioned are done purely on the software side, so there’s no reason Razer can’t address this. As of right now, though, there’s no telling if they will.

 

The Razer Phone isn’t missing much, but there are just a few things I’d have loved to see in this $699 smartphone. For starters, water resistance would be cool. Now, I’m not docking points or anything from this phone because it doesn’t have it, I’m just saying that it would be cool if it did. Also, this phone is certainly large enough for a 3.5mm headphone jack. I don’t know why Razer decided to exclude it, but seriously, there’s plenty of room. On the other hand, I do appreciate that they included a fancy dongle with its own DAC to help me get over the fact that left out the 3.5mm port. Lastly, and I know this is nitpicking, but it would have been appreciable had it been launched with Oreo.

This phone is only for audio philes and gamers if you aren’t one give this one a skip.

 

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