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he Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is perhaps the closest rival yet to the Apple Watch 4, as like Apple’s latest wearable it sports an ECG (electrocardiogram) – something you won’t find in many other places.

The two devices also have a full assortment of smart and fitness features, but they’re far from identical.

With that in mind we’ve put them head-to-head, so you can take a closer look at exactly how these two top smartwatches compare.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 vs Apple Watch 4 design and display

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 has a similar design to the original Samsung Galaxy Watch Active, which is to say it has a circular screen with two buttons on the right edge of the frame.

It comes in either a 44mm case size with a 1.4-inch screen, or a 40mm one with a 1.2-inch screen, and you can get it with either an aluminum body and a rubberized strap in Cloud Silver, Aqua Black and Pink Gold, or a stainless steel body with a leather strap in Silver, Black or Gold. In either case it supports interchangeable 20mm straps.

The Apple Watch 4 on the other hand has a much squarer screen, with a digital crown on the right edge. Like the Galaxy Watch Active 2 though it comes in 40mm and 44mm case sizes and can come with either an aluminum or stainless steel body.

Opt for aluminum and you can get it in Silver, Space Gray or Gold, while the stainless steel version is available in Silver, Space Black or Gold. You can also get it with a range of sporty and metal straps.

Both the Apple Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch Active 2 are also water-resistant to 50 meters, so the main design difference between them is the shape of the screen.

Speaking of the screen, it has a 360 x 360 resolution on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, and either a 324 x 394 resolution (if you opt for the 40mm model) or a 368 x 448 one (if you go for the 44mm model) on the Apple Watch 4.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 vs Apple Watch 4 fitness and features

The two big new features for the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 are things that Apple in one case already offers and in the other offers something comparable to.

First up there’s the ECG (electrocardiogram), a feature that lets the Galaxy Watch Active 2 measure the rhythm and electrical activity of your heart, to pick up things like atrial fibrillation. This is something the Apple Watch 4 has too, but is quite a big deal, as no other mainstream, on sale wearables offer it.

The other big new feature on the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is its ‘digital rotating bezel’, which is a digital bezel along the edge of the screen that you can run your finger along to move through menus. It’s essentially a digital take on the physical dial we loved so much on the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

The Apple Watch 4 doesn’t have this, but it does have a digital crown which you can use to navigate the watch, which is somewhat similar.

Both watches also come in LTE flavors, which is a big deal if you want to be able to leave your phone at home.

They also both have a heart rate monitor, GPS, NFC, and a full suite of fitness features, including the ability to track numerous sports and exercises.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 vs Apple Watch 4 OS and power

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 runs Tizen, while the Apple Watch 4 runs watchOS. Those are two of the biggest differences between these wearables, and in the Apple Watch’s case means you should only consider it if you have an iPhone, as the software isn’t compatible with Android.

Tizen on the other hand is compatible with both mobile operating systems.

As well as a differing interface and compatibility, one other difference between these operating systems is the AI assistant you can call on. You get Siri of course on the Apple Watch 4, while the Watch Active 2 relies on Bixby. That’s arguably a point in Apple’s favor, though Bixby is gradually improving.

As for core specs, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 has a dual-core Exynos 9110 chipset, 4GB of storage and either 768MB or 1.5GB of RAM, with the larger amount being reserved for the LTE model.

The Apple Watch 4 on the other hand has a dual-core Apple S4 chipset and 16GB of storage. RAM isn’t detailed.

It’s also worth mentioning battery here – the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 has a 230mAh one with life rated at up to 2 days if you opt for the 40mm model, or a 340mAh one in the 44mm version. That larger one presumably lasts longer, but we’ll be sure to properly test it in our full review.

The Apple Watch 4 meanwhile supposedly has a battery life of up to 18 hours – though in our tests we found it could last up to two days. Apple hasn’t said how big the battery is, though.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 vs Apple Watch 4 availability and price

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is going on sale on September 27, starting at $279.99 (around £230, AU$410) for the 40mm version, and $299 (around £250, AU$440) for the 44mm version. Sadly, there’s no news on pricing outside the US yet.

The Apple Watch 4 is already widely available of course, and starts at $399 / £399 / AU$599 for the 40mm model, rising to $429 / £429 / AU$649 for the 44mm one. That makes it quite a lot more expensive than the Galaxy Watch Active 2, despite being older and seemingly quite comparable in terms of features.

Takeaway

If you want an Apple Watch but don’t have an iPhone then the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 looks to be the closest thing you can get, though it’s still fairly different, most notably when it comes to the screen shape, the operating system, and its digital rotating bezel.

The name and price also position it as a less premium, more fitness-focused offering, though given that it can be bought with a leather strap, and that the Apple Watch 4 actually has a similar assortment of fitness features, that position doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny.

As to which watch is better, that’s likely to be subjective, but keep an eye out for our full Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 review to get a clearer idea.

At the Huawei Developer Conference today, Huawei unveiled HarmonyOS, a new microkernel-based, distributed operating system that can be used across a wide range of devices.

“We’re entering a day and age where people expect a holistic intelligent experience across all devices and scenarios. To support this, we felt it was important to have an operating system with improved cross-platform capabilities,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group. “We needed an OS that supports all scenarios, that can be used across a broad range of devices and platforms, and that can meet consumer demand for low latency and strong security.”

“These were our goals with HarmonyOS,” he continued. “HarmonyOS is completely different from Android and iOS. It is a microkernel-based, distributed OS that delivers a smooth experience across all scenarios. It has trustworthy and secure architecture, and it supports seamless collaboration across devices. You can develop your apps once, then flexibly deploy them across a range of different devices.”

HarmonyOS will first be used for smart devices like smart watches, smart screens, in-vehicle systems, and smart speakers. However, if the company is banned from using the Android operating system, it claims to be able to quickly switch to HarmonyOS.

“If we cannot use it in the future, we can immediately switch to HarmonyOS,” Yu said.

At this point, Huawei says it’s still “unclear” as to whether they will be able to use Android moving forward. “We are waiting on an update,” said Yu.

You can learn more about the features of HarmonyOS below :

HarmonyOS – Four distinct technical features
An all-scenario, intelligent experience sets a high bar for connectivity, so HarmonyOS was designed with four distinct technical features to deliver on its promise to consumers.

1. Seamless: First-ever device OS with distributed architecture, delivering a seamless experience across devices
By adopting distributed architecture and distributed virtual bus technology, HarmonyOS offers a shared communications platform, distributed data management, distributed task scheduling, and virtual peripherals. With HarmonyOS, app developers won’t have to deal with the underlying technology for distributed apps, allowing them to focus on their own individual service logic. Developing distributed apps will be easier than ever before. Apps built on HarmonyOS can run on different devices while delivering a seamless, collaborative experience across all scenarios.

2. Smooth: Deterministic Latency Engine and high-performance IPC
HarmonyOS will address underperformance challenges with a Deterministic Latency Engine and high-performance Inter Process Communication (IPC). The Deterministic Latency Engine sets task execution priorities and time limits for scheduling in advance. Resources will gravitate toward tasks with higher priorities, reducing the response latency of apps by 25.7%. The microkernel can make IPC performance up to five times more efficient than existing systems.

3. Secure: Microkernel architecture that reshapes security and trustworthiness from the ground up
HarmonyOS uses a brand-new microkernel design that features enhanced security and low latency. This microkernel was designed to simplify kernel functions, implement as many system services as possible in user mode outside the kernel, and add mutual security protection. The microkernel itself provides only the most basic services like thread scheduling and IPC.

Harmony OS’s microkernel design uses formal verification methods to reshape security and trustworthiness from the ground up in a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). Formal verification methods are an effective mathematical approach to validate system correctness from the source, while traditional verification methods, such as functional verification and attack simulation, are confined to limited scenarios. Formal methods, by contrast, can use data models to verify all software running paths.

HarmonyOS is the first OS to use formal verification in device TEE, significantly improving security. In addition, because the HarmonyOS microkernel has much less code (roughly one-thousandth the amount of the Linux kernel), the probability of attack is greatly reduced.

4. Unified: Multi-device IDE allows apps to be developed once and deployed across multiple devices
Powered by a multi-device IDE, multi-language unified compilation, and a distributed architecture kit, HarmonyOS can automatically adapt to different screen layout controls and interactions, and support both drag-and-drop control and preview-oriented visual programming. This allows developers to more efficiently build apps that run on multiple devices. With a multi-device IDE, developers can code their apps once and deploy them across multiple devices, creating a tightly integrated ecosystem across all user devices.

The HUAWEI ARK Compiler is the first static compiler that can perform on par with Android’s virtual machine, enabling developers to compile a broad range of advanced languages into machine code in a single, unified environment. By supporting unified compilation in multiple languages, the HUAWEI ARK Compiler will help developers greatly improve their productivity.

HarmonyOS 1.0 will first roll out to smart screen products then be improved and adopted across wearables, HUAWEI vision, and in-vehicle entertainment system over the next three years. To build an ecosystem of apps and developers, the operating system will be open-sourced.

As expected, China will be the first market to get HarmonyOS. Other global markets will follow.

“We believe HarmonyOS will revitalize the industry and enrich the ecosystem,” said Richard Yu. “Our goal is to bring people a truly engaging and diverse experience. We want to invite developers from around the world to join us as we build out this new ecosystem. Together, we will deliver an intelligent experience for consumers in all scenarios.”

Because 64MP apparently wasn’t enough

Samsung handsets have rarely been the best camera phones, but many of the cameras that other brands use come from Samsung, and the company has just unveiled another sensor – one with an enormous megapixel count.

In its newsroom Samsung unveiled a 108MP camera sensor, designed for use in smartphones, and that’s the highest resolution we’ve ever seen in a smartphone camera.

In May 2019, Samsung unveiled a 64MP smartphone sensor, but although we’ve heard it rumored to debut on many phones from brands like Xiaomi, Realme and Redmi, nothing has actually released with the camera yet.

In fact, the smartphones with the highest resolution out now are all capped at 48MP, although it won’t be long before a device breaks that barrier.

One of the highlights of Samsung’s 108MP camera sensor is that it can take in lots of light, so in low-light settings the camera can still take relatively bright 27MP images. On top of that it can record in lossless 6K, at 30 frames per second.

Which smartphone will use Samsung’s 108MP camera?

Unlike Samsung’s 64MP camera, which was an open playing field, the 108MP sensor seems to have already been promised to a company: Xiaomi.

In Samsung’s announcement of the sensor, it talks about “close collaboration between Xiaomi Corp. and Samsung,” and while that doesn’t confirm a Xiaomi phone will have the tech first, it seems pretty likely anyway.

We could see the Xiaomi Mi Mix 4 come with the sensor, as Xiaomi previously teased, or perhaps even the Mi 10. We haven’t heard too much about either device though, so both could be some way off.

After that we can expect to see the sensor in other phones – probably not the Samsung Galaxy S11 or Note 11, as Samsung tends to prefer low megapixel counts in its home-grown devices, but we can expect brands like Realme to jump on board as soon as possible.

Mac, iPad and Apple Watch now covered for $1m prize

Apple is expanding the scope and the financial rewards of its bug bounty programme, offering up to $1 million to security researchers that find flaws in its full range of products.

The company launched a bug bounty programme for iOS three years ago, offering up to $200,000 to ethical hackers that responsibly reported vulnerabilities.

Now, the programme has been extended to cover Mac OS, Apple TV, Apple Watch and iPad OS. At present, iPads run iOS, but a new operating system will be rolled out to compatible tablets later this year.

Apple bug bounty

For all devices, the maximum $1 million bounty will be available to those who find advanced security flaws, while $500,000 will be given for reporting flaws that could potentially result in the loss of user data. There will also be a 50 per cent bonus if the vulnerability is discovered in a beta version of any software.

According to Bloomberg, Apple’s head security engineer Ivan Krstic told the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas that it would expand the number of researchers who can participate and would hand out special versions of the iPhone.

These iPhones will apparently disable certain cybersecurity features and enable deeper access to the platform. The programme expansion is scheduled to start early next year.

The moves go some way to addressing criticism that the monetary rewards on offer were too low given the importance that Apple places on the security features of its devices.

Rival Google started its own bug bounty scheme way back in 2010, while several other major technology companies also offer financial rewards. Microsoft paid out $2 million to researchers last year as part of its own efforts.

Because it doesn’t support Gear VR

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus have just been announced, and while these phones impress in many ways, one thing they’re lacking is compatibility with Samsung’s Gear VR headset.

Samsung confirmed this to tech analyst Anshel Sag and to Engadget, with a spokesperson saying: “The Gear VR is not compatible with Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+. We remain committed to innovating in VR and AR to deliver incredible new experiences to our consumers.”

So if you have a Gear VR or were planning to get one, these aren’t the phones for you. At least not right now – there’s no guarantee that a new Gear VR model won’t be released with support for the Note 10 range, but it doesn’t sound especially likely.

Don’t count VR out

That said, with the company claiming to remain committed to innovating in the VR space, we may well see some new VR products from it at some point, be they headsets that connect to a phone, standalone ones, or something else entirely. We just wouldn’t count on them working with the Galaxy Note 10 range.

But it’s also very possible that Samsung is just covering its bases with this comment, and actually isn’t particularly invested in VR anymore. Impressive as VR can be, it has had a bumpy road and has so far failed to find mainstream success in any form.

That’s not to say no companies are still trying though. There remains a constant stream of impressive games for the likes of PlayStation VR, while recent hardware releases like the Oculus Quest provide a relatively affordable all-in-one VR option.

• The Samsung Galaxy S11 is already on the horizon

Samsung today announced the Galaxy Watch Active2, its newest smartwatch.

The Galaxy Watch Active2 lets users live better through small, yet meaningful, daily changes—from reaching wellness goals such as sleep, fitness, and stress management to completing tasks efficiently. Whether you want to take time to meditate, be notified of every update, or fall somewhere in between, Galaxy Watch Active2 complements your lifestyle and delivers on what makes a difference—all while looking sleek and stylish in the process.

“The smartwatch market is rapidly growing, and we at Samsung are excited to continually expand our presence in new and visionary ways,” said DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “With Galaxy Watch Active2, we have created a device that will enable consumers to take control of their health and wellness, and seamlessly flow between their devices and connect across the Samsung Galaxy ecosystem, making their lives easier and better.”

Purposeful Design, Customized to Your Life

The Galaxy Watch Active2 is masterfully designed to be both beautiful and customizable to your life. The Galaxy Watch Active2 comes in two different sizes—44mm and 40mm in diameter—and two styles: lightweight aluminum with a casual Fluoroelastomer (FKM) Band, and premium solid stainless steel with a leather strap. The smartwatches can be personalized with a range of additional stylish strap and watch-face options.

The Galaxy Watch Active2 features a brand new upgrade to our signature rotating bezel—and turns it digital to make it even more convenient to navigate while maximizing the screen size. Now directly on the beautifully curved Super AMOLED screen, the rotating touch bezel turns both clockwise and counter-clockwise to advance screens so you can easily select favorite apps. Plus, the upgraded One UI offers a simple, clear and natural user experience for navigation.

And for those users who want a watch as stylish as they are, you can now customize your Galaxy Watch Active2 face to your outfit with the My Style1 color extraction algorithm. Available in the Galaxy Wearable app, simply take a photo of your outfit, choose from five different color patterns, and your watch face changes in seconds. You can match your personal style each and every day—or save a favorite style for later.

The Perfect Companion for Your Wellness Goals
The Galaxy Watch Active2 also serves as your guide to improved health and wellness, providing actionable insights that can help you make positive lifestyle choices in your diet, exercise, mental health, sleep and more.

With exercise, for example, the smartwatch can manually track more than 39 workouts with seven of them automatically activated—including running, walking, cycling, swimming, rowing machine, elliptical machine and dynamic workouts. With an updated Running Coach, you can monitor your running pace in real-time and enjoy seven different running programs to help meet your goals. The Galaxy Watch Active2 even incorporates innovative new health sensors on the back, which take in readings faster, so you know you’re getting insights quickly to maximize your fitness routine and stay on track.

The Galaxy Watch Active2 also helps you track real-time stress levels through Samsung Health, our signature and popular health and wellness app2. It also provides access to guided meditation programs through an integration with the leading sleep and meditation app, Calm, now available in English, German and Spanish. And enhanced sleep analysis algorithms help you work toward healthy sleep patterns (through the four sleep stages), aiding recovery at night and getting you ready for the next day.

Seamlessly Expand Your Connected Lifestyle, Better with Galaxy family
The Galaxy Watch Active2 makes it easy to stay connected to your life, and your other devices, even while you’re away or on-the-go. The Galaxy Watch Active2 with LTE connectivity allows you to make and receive calls freely from the watch, while apps like social media viewers are accessible with just a tap of the finger, and offer more interaction with your content. Now you can like a social post, and even watch a short video clip right from your wrist. You can even travel across the globe with greater confidence, as Galaxy Watch Active2 now supports convenient real-time voice and text translation in over 16 languages.

Another way we’re making it even easier to stay connected is through our partnership with Spotify4. Sign into your Samsung account with single sign-on from your phone or Galaxy Watch Active2, and easily browse through your music, podcasts on Spotify and enjoy a continuous listening experience. The Galaxy Watch Active2 brings you seamless device interaction experiences, and makes access to music, podcasts and multimedia access even easier.

Integral Part of the Galaxy Ecosystem
As part of the Galaxy family, the Galaxy Watch Active2 brings the best of Samsung’s Galaxy ecosystem to the smartwatch for those who want to do it all. When the Galaxy Watch Active2 is paired to your Galaxy smartphone,, for example, the Watch Camera Controller5 on the Galaxy Watch Active2 allows you to take photos, start recording a video, preview footage on the watch, switch between front and rear lenses, set a timer and then check the final photo or video — all from your wrist. You can also use Wireless PowerShare on your Galaxy smartphone to charge your smartwatch in an easy and intuitive way.

Plus, all the Samsung services you get with Galaxy ecosystem—like Samsung Health, SmartThings, Samsung Pay,6 and more—are seamlessly integrated with your watch and across your devices. You can use, for example, Bixby to navigate your watch, start a workout or check the weather. And of course, everything you do on your watch is protected by Knox technology.

Google’s jumped the gun and shown us the Pixel 4

The Google Pixel 4 is no longer a secret. We know the Pixel 4’s design, cameras, and some features – because Google itself has shown us.

That’s not because the Google Pixel 4 release date is close by – we still fully expect the Pixel 4 to launch in October – but seemingly because the search giant doesn’t want months of inane speculation around the look and features in its next flagship phone.

It does, however, take away some of the excitement building up to the launch and annihilates the ‘will it, won’t it’ debate regarding the squared-off camera bump on the rear, which is bound to be a divisive design – but one which might end up being popularized by the iPhone 11 a month before the Pixel 4’s announcement.

• These are the best camera phones you can buy
• This is what we thought of the Pixel 3
• This is what we thought of the Pixel 3 XL

Since its launch in 2016, the Pixel line has become a reliable tent-pole in the smartphone release calendar. Offering a suite of features with an almost unmatched level of software polish, the handsets have done a lot to earn the adoration of the tech community at large.

That’s not to say the competition is resting however, and Google in 2019 really needs to keep on its feet if the Pixel line is to meet expectations with its next iteration. Could it reach the top of our list of the best Android phones, or best camera phones as the Pixel 3 did before it? Only time will tell.

Read on for the most up-to-date list of rumors regarding its design and pricing, and a full breakdown of what we’d like to see feature-wise from Google’s upcoming pocket rocket.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next photo and AI powerhouse from Google
• When is it out? Likely October 2019
• What will it cost? Possibly close to $1,000/£1,000

Google Pixel 4 price and release date

For years now, Google has opted to release its Pixel lineup in the latter half of the year, after the usual roller coaster of smartphone releases from the first half of the year has died down.

More specifically, we expect a Google Pixel 4 launch date sometime in early October based on past form, with it likely that Google will take the opportunity to launch a few other hardware options at the same time, such as the long-rumored Pixel Watch.

Following the announcement, it’s likely that the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL release date will be in early November, if past years are anything to go by.

In terms of the Google Pixel 4 price, the cost of Pixel handsets have been climbing for years now. 

With the extra features now included and the general emphasis on a premium fit and finish, the Pixel 4 – or at least the XL model – could be the first of the line to break the $1,000/£1,000/AU$1,500 mark.

We’ll probably also see multiple different storage capacities offered at different prices. More information will arrive closer to the launch, so watch this space.

Google Pixel 4 leaks and rumors

We’ve heard a few leaks and rumors about the upcoming Pixel 4 smartphone, so we’ve collected them below so you can find out what we know.

Google Pixel 4 design

We know what the Google Pixel 4 will look like (on the back at least), thanks to Google itself posting a tweet with a picture of its upcoming handset.

It confirms that the Google Pixel 4 design will feature a large, square camera bump on the rear – which we’d seen in multiple rumors before Google posted its tweet.

On closer inspection, it appears the bump houses two cameras – which would be a first for the Pixel line of phones, which have stuck to just a single rear snapper to date – along with a camera flash below them (with a sensor to its right) and another sensor at the top of the square.

Another key point we can glean from the official Google Pixel 4 image is the lack of a fingerprint scanner. Every Pixel handset to date has had a rear fingerprint scanner, which points towards the Google Pixel 4 coming with an in-display scanner instead or potentially no scanner.

This theory co-insides nicely with leaked renders claiming to be of the Pixel 4, showing a square camera block which supposedly houses either two or three lenses.

There also appears to be a notch or bezel on the front, bottom-firing speakers, and possibly an in-screen fingerprint scanner.

The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL may not have fingerprint scanners at all though, if Google opts to go all-in on face, retina or voice recognition instead, as has also been rumored.

While the front design isn’t totally clear, it’s also rumored that the Pixel 4 range might have a full bezel at the top, rather than a notch or punch-hole.

That’s a claim that someone who seemingly snapped a Pixel 4 in the wild also makes (though the front isn’t visible in the photo).

Whatever design the phone has, it might come in some new colors, as a mint green shade has leaked alongside the expected black and white models.

We’ve also seen leaked renders of the Pixel 4 XL, giving us a close look at the possible bezel.

Another Google Pixel 4 XL leak with case renders supports this top-bezel design and gives more angles to see the phone’s potential design. Sadly, if this render is true, there’s no return of the 3.5mm audio jack that we surprisingly saw in the Google Pixel 3a.  

Google Pixel 4 camera

The aforementioned Pixel 4 XL images also show bottom-firing speakers, a dual-lens camera on the front, and a triple-lens camera on the back. We don’t know for sure what specs the camera will have yet, but rumors suggest it will include a 16MP telephoto lens and improved color capture.

Despite the images above, another leak, this time in the form of case renders, suggests the Pixel 4 might have a notch after all, one housing two cameras. The renders also show a big bezel below the screen housing a speaker, and the same square camera on the back as the leaks above.

There’s also alternatively a chance the Pixel 4 might arrive toting the punch-hole design used by the Honor View 20 and then brought into the mainstream by the Samsung Galaxy S10 line.

At least, that’s what an image for a screen protector seemingly designed for the phone shows, along with stereo speakers and virtually no bezel.

We’ve also similarly seen a leaked image below, supposedly showing the Google Pixel 4 XL with a dual-lens camera cut into the top right corner of the screen – although as we now know the rear design it suggests is incorrect, it pours cold water on the rest of the claims made here.

Indeed, it’s since been rumored that three Pixel 4 designs were in the works before Google settled on the one with the square camera block, so the images above may have once been in consideration.

As for the front-facing camera, well, it seems we’re down to one – at least in the base Pixel 4. In a seeming bid to get ahead of leaks, Google announced two new features, the hand gesture control Motion Sense and Face Unlock (detailed below). Both require a full suite of sensors located in the big top bezel, though that might have edged out the second selfie camera.

Google Pixel 4 display

Elsewhere, we’ve heard that the Pixel 4 could have a 5.6-5.8-inch screen, while the Pixel 4 XL could have a 6.2-6.4-inch one (compared to the 5.5-inch Pixel 3 and 6.3-inch Pixel 3 XL).

That same source says the Pixel 4 will be roughly 147.0 x 68.9 x 8.2mm (or 9.3mm thick including the rear camera bump), and the Google Pixel 4 XL will be around 160.4 x 75.2 x 8.2mm (rising to 9.3mm at the camera bump).

Google Pixel 4 specs

We’ve seen a Geekbench benchmark possibly for the Google Pixel 4. It lists a top-end Snapdragon 855 chipset, along with 6GB of RAM – up from 4GB in the Pixel 3 range. It also, unsurprisingly, lists the phones as running Android Q.

The benchmark includes a single-core score of 3,296 and a multi-core one of 9,235, which are solid but unexceptional results for a top-end phone. Of course, this would be pre-release hardware and software, so results at launch might be better.

We’ve heard from multiple sources, in fact, that the Pixel 4 could launch with 6GB RAM. So far all the Pixel phones have had 4GB RAM, so this would be a long-overdue step up in terms of processing power.

In more unusual news we’ve heard that the Google Pixel 4 might have capacitive buttons rather than mechanical, clickable ones – however the image Google has shared appears to go against this, with raised buttons on the side of the handset suggesting mechanical ones.

It’s possible that this change would be made to allow Active Edge (the ability to launch Google Assistant by squeezing the frame, as found on previous Pixels) to work along the full length of the phone’s frame, and it could also help improve the design of the phone. Though notably image leaks still show physical buttons, so take this with a pinch of salt.

The same source added that the Pixel 4 will have front-facing speakers and a punch-hole camera.

Finally, code added to the open source foundation of Android suggests that the Google Pixel 4 might have improved dual-SIM support, letting you use both a normal SIM and an eSIM at the same time.

Throughout the year more leaks will continue to arrive, so keep checking back here for all of the latest developments.

Google Pixel 4 features

In an apparent bid to get ahead of leaks, Google itself revealed two big features coming to the Pixel 4: a type of hand gesture control called Motion Sense and the appropriately-named Face Unlock.

Motion Sense uses the Google Pixel 4’s whole new suite of sensors alongside its front-facing camera – specifically Soli, a motion-sensing radar concept – to track hand gestures for theoretically easy, no-touch controls. Ostensibly, these will be used to perform simple actions like skipping music tracks and swapping apps.

Face Unlock seems to do what it says – though achieved through multiple sensors, including a dot projector, IR camera, and flood illuminator. For the privacy-concerned, Google assured in its blog post that all processing would be done on the Pixel 4 and no images or recognition data would be shared through its services.

What we want to see

Not much is known yet about the Google Pixel 4, but we know what we’d like to see – our suggestions can be found below.

1. Multiple rear cameras

Since the beginnings of the Pixel line back in 2016, Google has not only defined what is possible with a single camera sensor, but for smartphone cameras overall.

With tricks such as super-res zoom, night shot and more, the Pixel 3 in particular outcmatched the likes of Huawei, Apple and Samsung in 2018, all seemingly without br

eaking a sweat. The competition isn’t resting on its laurels however, with the Huawei P30 Pro in particular turning up the heat.

We wouldn’t be surprised if a left-field, potentially game-changing software feature is added to the Pixel 4, but to really exceed expectations a second, third or even fourth sensor on the rear would give it an edge.

Ultra-wide-angle, telephoto zoom, monochrome, there are lots of options, so we would like Google to experiment with the options available to it – the results could be spectacular.

2. No notch

To anyone watching smartphone design evolve, 2018 was the year of the notch. No matter the size of the display, every manufacturer followed the trend set most strongly by the Apple iPhone X with a slew of copycat efforts.

Google’s Pixel 3 XL is a particularly infamous example of egregious notch design, as it’s larger than most.

We would like to see the firm completely avoid the notch this year, without resorting to the large bezels of the standard Pixel 3, either by using a pinhole camera in the display or with a sliding mechanism.

3. More RAM

Despite generally providing a solid software experience for those using it, the Google Pixel 3 line wasn’t without controversy, particularly with regards to RAM management.

Many users reported that in the first weeks of use, the camera app in particular used up so much available memory that any other apps then open would be force-closed.

In a budget phone with only a smattering of RAM available, this might have been forgivable, but for a flagship it certainly is not. For the Pixel 4 we would like to see at least 6GB of RAM, along with a suitably powerful chipset – hopefully this then will remove any accusations of poor performance.

4. Stereo speakers

The humble stereo speaker, usually front-facing, has faced an odd existence. Although popular with fans on any handset graced with their presence, they tend to be the first victim of space-saving measures.

Case in point, 2019 has seen the elimination of the feature from many popular handsets, with it sometimes being replaced by a speaker underneath the display.

But for the quality of audio offered, and the improved listening experience, we would like to see stereo speakers remain on the Pixel 4 as they did on the Pixel 3 – standing out from the competition in all the right ways.

5. Longer battery life

Packing in huge batteries has become the done thing for most flagships in 2019. Nearly all sport packs the size of which would have been unheard of only a few years ago.

Google though – claiming improved efficiencies with each passing year – has so far not massively improved the size of the battery packs included with its devices.

And although early signs are promising that the new Snapdragon 855 is significantly more efficient than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 845, we would like to see Google go the whole hog.

We want to see a Pixel which can measure its life in days, rather than hours. Here’s hoping that Google can deliver on this.

6. Stadia-sized ambitions

Earlier in 2019, Google ‘surprised’ the world with the announcement of its game-streaming platform ‘Stadia’, which utilizes compression technology in an attempt to make a service accessible to all.

It has been promised that the service will reach a plethora of devices, mobile, console or otherwise. The question of mobile is a little more complex however, for although expanding the service to all Android devices will likely be a future ambition, for the moment the word is that availability will be restricted solely to Pixel devices.

With this in-mind, we’d like to see Google take this concept as far as it can go – but what would this mean? In practice, what we want is improved focus on network performance (to combat potential latency issues) and, more importantly, a dedicated peripheral.

This would ideally be in line with what Xiaomi has helped to pioneer with its Black Shark gaming handsets – touch controls are not suited to complex control systems and a dedicated peripheral would help to bridge the gap.

7. More color options

In most settings, from the boardroom to the bedroom, black or white options are a solid choice for phones. They add a touch of class and don’t stand out in a crowd.

The Pixel line certainly caters to this subset of the population, however in the past it has taken slightly wild strides, mostly notably the original ‘Really Blue’ model (which was indeed very blue). 

In the vein of this original, we’d like to see the Pixel 4 come in more than one slightly unconventional color, following the example set by the iPhone XR and the Samsung Galaxy S10e. Whether green, blue, yellow or whatever else, the new option needs to stand out from the similarly colorful opposition.

8. A sturdier construction

The Pixel 3, in no uncertain terms, is a better constructed phone than its predecessor. Boasting tight lines and a glass rear, it has really been a match to the likes of the various iPhone models released in 2018.

No amount of truth twisting could lead to accusations of it being damage-proof however – quite the opposite in reality. The stone-like finish applied to the glass on the rear has shown the tendency to scratch easily, far more so than might have been expected. 

This meant that those shelling out hundreds for their shiny new Google devices found that it didn’t take long before they regretted not slapping a case on instantly.

As such, whether via an all-metal build or through something a little different (even a different kind of glass or treatment) we would like to see Google embrace a little utilitarianism into its design, creating something which anyone can use at any time, any day.

• Mobile gaming is going to change with Google Stadia

The Note 10 Plus shot on an iPhone 11R

This is a bit of an unusual one – we may have just seen actual photos of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, with the iPhone 11R apparently reflected in the screen.

Shared by @UniverceIce, who obtained the shots from an “unknown leaker”, we can be fairly confident at least of the Galaxy Note 10 Plus part, as the name of the phone is actually visible on the screen.

We’d still take it with a pinch of salt, but this close to the handset’s August 7 announcement, and with the images – complete with a punch-hole camera and seemingly hardly any bezel – matching previous leaks, it’s very likely this is the real deal.

• The Google Pixel 4 is also on the way
• See what we thought of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
• Read our full Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review

The iPhone 11R bit we’re less sure about, as that’s further from launch and we can’t make it out super clearly in these images, though whatever phone it is does appear to have the rumored square camera block, along with something covering the spot that would probably house an Apple logo.

If this is the iPhone 11R – or whatever it launches as – then the main thing to be taken from the image, beyond the redesigned camera, is the gold shade it appears to be in, suggesting that’s likely to be one of the launch colors.

That launch is still a while away though, as the iPhone 11 range probably won’t land until September. In the meantime though there’s plenty of Samsung stuff on the way, not just the Galaxy Note 10 range, but also the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2.

Our wishlist for Microsoft’s 7th Surface

Microsoft has been regularly designing some of the best Windows tablets and 2-in-1 laptops for a long time with its Surface lineup. When the Surface Pro 6 launched unfortunately, back in October 2018, there were limited improvements over the 2017 model. So, we were starting to think we weren’t going to see more meaningful improvements to the Surface Pro formula.

Now comes the Surface Pro 7. We’re beginning to see all kinds of patents for the new Surface Pro coming out of the woodwork that could change the game for how we use Microsoft’s tablets.

For instance, there’s a brand new USB-C magnetic Surface charger, which we really hope comes to fruition. Pair that with Intel’s new Ice Lake processors that should hopefully come sometime this year, that is if Microsoft doesn’t pack it with new ARM processors, and the Surface Pro 7 may end up being the most powerful model yet.

However, because nothing has been confirmed, these are all educated guesses. Still, we will continue to update this article with any new information that we get.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next Surface Pro tablet
• When is it out? Late 2019 at the earliest
• What will it cost? Probably around $899 (£879, AU$1,349) to start.

Surface Pro 7 release date

Because the Surface Pro 6 just recently came out, it’s unlikely that we’ll see the next one land before the end of 2019.

The Surface Pro 4 and Surface Pro 6 both launched in October 2015 and 2018, respectively. However, the Surface Pro 2017 did see a June release date. It’s possible that the Surface Pro 7 could launch in October 2019, but the release schedule for Surface Pro devices seems to be approximately every 16 to 18 months.

In other words, there might not be a Surface Pro 7 until Spring or Summer 2020. But we could see it hit the streets in October, if Microsoft wants to target that annualized release, but we’ll believe that when we see it.

Don’t worry, as we’ll update this article just as soon as we hear any word – official or otherwise – on the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 release date.

Surface Pro 7 price

The Surface Pro 6 launched at $899 (£879, AU$1,349) for the base configuration, a noticeable price increase over the Surface Pro 2017, the base model of which was $799 (£799, AU$1,199). So, the pricing of the Surface Pro 7 could turn in one of two directions: either it will get another price increase of $100, or stay the same price as before. We doubt the price will drop, though.

If the price does rise by another $100, and starts at $999 (about £770, AU$1,380), it’ll put the Surface Pro 7 at a similar price point as devices like the Dell XPS 13 and the HP Spectre x360 – not to mention the new iPad Pro.

Like anything else we’ve listed, we won’t know the actual pricing of the Surface Pro 7 until Microsoft is willing to share it. But, we’ll update this article as soon as that happens.

What we want to see

Because the release of the Surface Pro 7 is so far away right now, it’s hard to predict what exactly could be in the next Surface device. However, based on all the patents that Microsoft has filed recently, like an update to the Surface Pen that would make it more accurate, we have come up with a wish list of updates we’d like to see.

Blazing Speed
Back at CES 2019, Intel shared Ice Lake, the first 10nm Sunny Cove architecture for laptops. And, while we don’t know that much about the processors’ performance, the smaller manufacturing process should undoubtedly lead to better performance and efficiency.

However, we’ve come across some rumors that Qualcomm Snapdragon-equipped Surface devices are “floating around”. It’s unlikely that the top-end Surface Pro 7 would implement an ARM processor like this, as there would probably be problems with software emulation of x86 apps.

However, we could see an entry-level Surface device utilizing these ARM chips.

If the Surface Pro 7 does include these new processors, you can expect greatly improved performance and battery life across the board.

Thunderbolt 3, please
Microsoft, for obvious reasons not worth discussing here, has been hesitant in implementing Thunderbolt 3 in its Surface Products. And, while this was forgivable in the early days, it’s getting harder and harder to disregard with each Surface release.

Luckily, we have reason to believe that Microsoft will unveil the Surface Pro 7 with Thunderbolt 3 support, or at the very least basic USB-C charging. Microsoft has patented a new magnetic charger with a USB-C input that would function like the current Surface charger.

We’re really unsure of whether Surface Pro 7 will support Thunderbolt 3, as it depends upon Microsoft’s openness to trading its proprietary technology for Thunderbolt 3, which it has to pay Intel to license.

An improved Type Cover
The Surface Pro 6’s Type Cover is already one of the best tablet keyboard peripherals out there. It’s not only incredibly responsive, but gives plenty of feedback and is made of solid materials. However, we haven’t seen any marked improvements to it since the Surface Pro 2017. We don’t think there’s any such thing as a perfect product, so we want to see how Microsoft might improve on the formula moving forward.

Like the charging capabilities, we might have an idea of what the next generation Type Cover could look like. Microsoft has patented a thinner Type Cover that should reduce the footprint of the device all around. It looks like Microsoft is planning on doing this by employing a trackpad that’s integrated right into the printed circuit board.

It might also use haptic feedback in the keys, to improve the tactile response of typing, which would be necessary on a thinner keyboard cover.

It’s a peculiar move, but we’re intrigued nonetheless – if Microsoft can make the Type Cover slimmer without making the same mistake as Apple’s Butterfly keyboards, it could be a game-changer.

We’ve also come across a patent that would make the fabric covering the Type Cover smarter. It would feature touch sensitivity, so you could swipe through news stories and photos without having to find the touchpad or the touchscreen. We’re not sure who was asking for this tech, but it’s still a cool idea.