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dimanche 27 février 2022

This program lets you cast YouTube videos to your TV using command line

The ability to wirelessly cast a smartphone’s screen to other devices like a TV isn’t that difficult of an endeavor these days. In fact, when it comes to casting a YouTube video from your phone or tablet to your Smart TV, the little icon takes care of everything — from device discovery to seamless context switching. But in case you’re a command-line lover, you might want to see behind the curtain and take control of the whole casting routine through CLI. This is exactly what Marco Lucidi did and came up with a handy tool called ytcast.

What is ytcast?

Marco, a self-described twenty-something years old computer science enthusiast, who goes by the alias MarcoLucidi01 on GitHub, has coded the ytcast utility as a standalone replacement of the cast button. According to the developer, anyone can use the program to replicate the functionality of the “Play on TV” button right from the command-line interface. It is written in Go and you can run it on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

How ytcast works

Under the hood, ytcast uses the DIAL (DIscovery And Launch) protocol developed by Netflix and Google to handle the device discovery and app launching events. For targets that no longer use the DIAL protocol (e.g. Chromecast), the program also offers a manual pairing option powered by the “link with code” functionality of the YouTube on TV app. Next comes the screen identification part, for which the developer relied on the reverse-engineered YouTube Lounge API. Finally, it passes the video URL from the source device to the target screen.

Limitations

Since the project is in its infancy, there are a couple of shortcomings. The session handling is sometimes a hit or miss, especially due to the usage of undocumented APIs. The developer has yet to find a reliable way to pass YouTube playlist URLs through ytcast, but there’s a workaround that involves the youtube-dl executable. Last but not least, you may not find ytcast under the Settings > Linked devices menu.

Needless to say, the ytcast project is incredibly useful for power users. There’s a ton of potential, and we have to remember that it is clearly a beta quality software at this point. Once it reaches the stable milestone, it might be the best casting option for anyone who’s into scripting and automation.

Download ytcast

You can get started with ytcast by visiting the project’s GitHub repository. There are pre-compiled binaries hosted under the “Releases” section. Be sure to provide some feedback to help Marco perfect this program.

Download ytcast

The post This program lets you cast YouTube videos to your TV using command line appeared first on xda-developers.



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RedMagic 7 Review: The ultimate smartphone hardware, with one major compromise

Generally speaking, even the flagship smartphone market is filled with compromises. If you want to pick up one of the best smartphones in the business, typically you’re going to end up foregoing something that another user may have felt was a dealbreaker. For some people, it’s the lack of a headphone jack, for some gamers, it’s the lack of game-related design choices, and for some enthusiasts, it’s compromises made in the performance. What if I told you that the RedMagic 7 is the ultimate smartphone and cuts virtually no corners?

For context, RedMagic is a gaming-oriented smartphone brand that aims to make the best gaming phones on the market, and the RedMagic 7 is the next iteration of that with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 powering the entire setup. It packs a built-in fan, shoulder triggers that can be mapped to the screen, and it even has a headphone jack atop the massive 6.8-inch 165Hz screen.

This phone really does seemingly have everything, but what’s the catch? Well as is typically the case with RedMagic phones, it’s a combination of software quality and software updates. If you don’t care about either of those things though (and it’s difficult to really get past the frustration at times), then honestly, I don’t really think there’s much of a catch at all. There’s also the lack of a physical retail distribution setup in most major markets of the world, but you should be able to buy the phone from the online store and have it shipped globally.

    RedMagic 7
    The RedMagic 7 is the latest gaming phone from RedMagic, and it packs all of the top-tier gaming hardware you'd expect.

      Features:

      Pros:

      Cons:

The back of the RedMagic 7 with the phone sitting on a box


RedMagic 7: Specifications

Specification RedMagic 7
Dimensions and Weight
  • 170.6 x 78.3 x 9.5mm
  • 215g
Display
  • 6.8-inch AMOLED (2400 x 1080)
  • 165Hz refresh rate
  • Up to 720Hz touch sampling rate
  • 10-bit color support
  • 100% DCI-P3 wide color gamut coverage
  • DC Dimming
  • Gorilla Glass 5
SoC
  • Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
    • 1x ARM Cortex-X2 @ 3.0GHz
    • 3x ARM Cortex-A710 @ 2.50GHz
    • 4x ARM Cortex-A510 @ 1.80GHz
  • Adreno 730 GPU
  • 4nm process
RAM and Storage
  • 12GB/16GB/18GB RAM
  • 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 flash storage
Battery & Charging
  • 4,500 mAh battery
  • 65W fast charger (inside the box)
Rear Camera
  • Primary: 64MP
  • Secondary: 8MP ultra-wide
  • Tertiary: 2MP macro
Front Camera 8MP
Other features
  • Dual stereo speakers
  • Built-in active cooling fan
  • ICE 8.0 Multi-dimensional Cooling System
  • Three microphones
  • Dual shoulder trigger buttons
  • DTS sound
Connectivity
  • 5G NR
  • Bluetooth 5.2
  • NFC
  • WiFi 6
  • 2×2 MIMO
  • 3.5mm audio jack
  • USB-C
Security Under-display fingerprint scanner
Software Android 12 with RedMagic OS 5.0

About this review: I received the RedMagic 7 for review from the company on the 26th of January, 2022. RedMagic did not have any inputs into the contents of this review.


RedMagic 7: Display

  • Big and bright AMOLED display
  • 165Hz refresh rate
  • No notch, no punch holes

RedMagic 7 full 165Hz display

The RedMagic 7 features a full HD 165Hz 6.8-inch AMOLED panel, and it is huge. It’s completely unimpeded by a notch or punch hole, and it gets plenty bright. It’s fantastic for gaming or media consumption thanks to its size and the fact that nothing encroaches on the display, but it’s really hard to convey just how big it is. It makes total sense for a gaming phone though.

The RedMagic 7 is fantastic for gaming or media consumption thanks to its size and the fact that nothing encroaches on the display

As for the display quality itself, this is my first time ever experiencing 165Hz, and the difference over even a 144Hz display is slightly noticeable. There is definitely an element of diminishing returns as you increase in refresh rates, but 165Hz is great in its own right. There are also multiple options to choose from as you can choose 165Hz, 120Hz, 90Hz, or 60Hz, in order to decrease power consumption.

The display is surrounded by minimal bezel, with a small amount of space for the selfie camera and a small amount of space at the bottom of the display. It’s a completely flat panel, too, and comes with a pre-applied screen protector.


RedMagic 7: Design

  • Headphone jack
  • Shoulder triggers
  • Built-in fan

RedMagic 7 back RGB fan while switched on

The RedMagic 7 packs basically everything you could want in a gaming smartphone. There’s a headphone jack at the top, shoulder-triggers at the top and bottom of the right-hand side, and a slider on the top left that enters your phone into gaming mode. The back features a very RGB-heavy faux-transparent design, while also displaying multiple pieces of marketing information.

I'm a big fan of the RedMagic 7's design

I’m a big fan of the RedMagic 7’s design, but I can definitely understand that it’s a polarising one. The three cameras are in line with the curved back of the phone so as to not stand out which is a plus, and the phone doesn’t really rock on a table.

The one issue that I had with this phone’s design is that the fan intake on the back of the phone can still be blocked if the phone is down on a table. It’s admittedly unlikely you’d be playing games while not holding your phone upright, though. The presence of the fan also means that the phone is not IP rated for water or dust resistance, which can be a dealbreaker for people considering several smartphones in the market now tout water resistance as a marketing feature.


RedMagic 7: Performance

  • Latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset
  • Great sustained performance

RedMagic 7 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 emblazoned on the back

The Red Magic 6R packs the latest and greatest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which we would expect to see in a gaming phone. It has all the generational leaps over its predecessors and a 4nm node size for better performance without a substantial increase in power draw. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 retains the 1+3+4 configuration which Qualcomm has been running for a while, with the single Prime core being based on ARM’s new Cortex-X2.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the RedMagic 7 performs just as well as you would expect

The Kryo cores are based on the ARMv9 architecture. The first CPU designs to be announced using the new technology were the Cortex-X2, Cortex-A710, and Cortex-A510, and those are the exact CPU designs that form the basis for Qualcomm’s Kryo chips. The Cortex-A710 promises a 30% boost in efficiency and a 10% performance uplift over its predecessor, the A78. The Cortex-A710 cores are clocked at 2.5GHz. As for the three Kryo Efficiency cores, they are based on the new Cortex-A510 design. A major criticism of last year’s Efficiency cores in the Snapdragon 888 surrounded the use of the aging Cortex-A55 cores, so now we should see a nice efficiency boost this year. The Cortex-A510 boasts a 35% increase in performance over the A55, with a 20% efficiency improvement, too. These cores are clocked at 1.79GHz.

We will be analyzing the performance of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 to a greater level of detail in a future article. However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the RedMagic 7 performs just as well as you would expect, and I’ve found its performance in gaming (including in emulation through AetherSX2 and Dolphin Emulator) to be excellent.

Benchmarks: Geekbench 5 & AndroBench

RedMagic 7 AndroBench RedMagic 7 Geekbench 5

The RedMagic 7 performs well in both storage speed and in Geekbench 5. Storage speed is important for gaming as it ensures fast, consistent load times in your games, as slower storage speed will act as a bottleneck.

As for the Geekbench 5 results, they are exactly as we expect from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 according to benchmarks that we ran on the Qualcomm Reference Device.

Sustained performance

RedMagic 7 CPU Throttling Test without a fan RedMagic 7 CPU Throttling Test with a fan

Sustained performance is one of the most important metrics to pay attention to when using a gaming smartphone. If the sustained performance is poor, then you’ll have greatly reduced performance after what could potentially be a short period of time. I used the CPU Throttling Test app on the Google Play Store for half an hour to test the thermal throttling on the RedMagic 7, and I was impressed by the results. I ran the test twice; one with the fan off, and one with the fan on.

CPU Throttling Test (Free, Google Play) →

Both results were pretty good, especially with the fan enabled. The only problem was that I found the phone became too hot to touch towards the end of the test. That’s not what you want from a gaming phone, and was quite alarming even when thinking of what could potentially be the long-term health of the phone’s internals, particularly the battery.


RedMagic 7: Software

  • Bad software
  • Buggy
  • Poor translations
RedMagic 7 RedMagic OS launcher RedMagic 7 RedMagic OS notifications RedMagic 7 RedMagic OS settings

Software on RedMagic devices is where they really fall down, and this is no exception. It leaves a lot to be desired in the sense that, really, it’s just a poor experience. Inaccurate or strange translations plague the operating system and make it an interesting experience at times, and a lot of the design of the operating system is also very “gamery”. Furthermore, Google Pay doesn’t work, as it fails to pass Google’s Compatibility Test Suite when running a SafetyNet check.

The software on the RedMagic 7 leaves a lot to be desired

Despite all of that, I don’t mind a lot of the UX design of RedMagic OS, and I would be a lot more comfortable with it if it wasn’t so buggy. The launcher is terrible (and I can’t find a way to set a custom launcher of my own), I often can’t actually read notifications after unlocking my phone (it says that notifications are hidden as if I were on the lock screen), and it just feels very unpolished.

The sad thing is, this is the one major compromise I have found with the RedMagic 7. I genuinely love all of the other aspects of this phone, but somehow, it’s been completely screwed up by software. I couldn’t import my contacts in the Dialer (it told me “No vCard file found in storage”), and the always-on display can’t be set to be “always-on” — you need to choose a start time and an end time, which you can set one minute apart.

The only compliment I can really pass to the software is that it’s smooth and games run well, but that’s kind of the entire point of the phone. The most work has clearly been put into the company’s game space, which can be entered by flicking a red switch at the top left.

RedMagic OS Game Space

RedMagic 7 game space RedMagic 7 game space RedMagic 7 game space RedMagic 7 game space

While it’s still filled with dodgy translations (and the occasional bugs), RedMagic’s game space is a lot better of an experience than anything else with this phone. It generally makes sense with a lot of useful features and attention to detail, something that you’d really be looking for from a gaming phone.

Game Space on the RedMagic 7 is one of the best gaming modes I've seen on a smartphone

Is it perfect? No, but it’s one of the best gaming modes I’ve seen on a smartphone. It will automatically enable the fans on your phone when you enter a game, and there are loads of features to engage with and try out while you’re gaming. It’s a pretty simple process to configure the shoulder triggers too, with special care taken towards helping users with PUBG Mobile in particular.


Is the RedMagic 7 worth your money?

Software issues are the biggest problem with the RedMagic 7, and I don’t just mean what I’ve outlined above. The company has a bit of a difficult history when it comes to consistently updating its smartphones, so you should judge the phone on what it is right now as against what it could become with a software update or two. You almost certainly will get some updates, but I would also be afraid of further bugs and other problems being introduced that it isn’t possible to roll back from. In an era when companies have polished UX and promise as many as four generations of Android updates, it is a bummer to get the experience that you get on the RedMagic 7.

As a result, unless you’re a die-hard gamer, this can be a hard phone to recommend. It’s the ultimate phone hardware — in that, it packs literally everything and the kitchen sink into one robust package — but it isn’t the ultimate phone because of that minute detail that the software is a completely poor experience. If you think you can get over that and all you want is a relatively inexpensive gaming phone, then by all means, the RedMagic 7 might well be worth your money.

    RedMagic 7
    The RedMagic 7 is the latest gaming phone from RedMagic, and it packs all of the top-tier gaming hardware you'd expect.

      Features:

      Pros:

      Cons:

The RedMagic 7 will go on sale starting March 10 from Nubia’s global website. It will be available in three colors: Obsidian, Pulsar, and Supernova. The base 12GB/128GB model is priced at $629 / €629 / £529 while the 16GB/256GB variant will set you back $729 / €729 / £619. Finally, the top model with 18GB RAM and 256GB will retail at $799 / €799 / £679. Nubia says it plans to launch the RedMagic 7 Pro globally in Q2 2022. For €629, this would be a good deal if you can get past the software, but that is a fair bit to ask.

The post RedMagic 7 Review: The ultimate smartphone hardware, with one major compromise appeared first on xda-developers.



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RedMagic 7 Review: The ultimate smartphone hardware, with one major compromise

Generally speaking, even the flagship smartphone market is filled with compromises. If you want to pick up one of the best smartphones in the business, typically you’re going to end up foregoing something that another user may have felt was a dealbreaker. For some people, it’s the lack of a headphone jack, for some gamers, it’s the lack of game-related design choices, and for some enthusiasts, it’s compromises made in the performance. What if I told you that the RedMagic 7 is the ultimate smartphone and cuts virtually no corners?

For context, RedMagic is a gaming-oriented smartphone brand that aims to make the best gaming phones on the market, and the RedMagic 7 is the next iteration of that with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 powering the entire setup. It packs a built-in fan, shoulder triggers that can be mapped to the screen, and it even has a headphone jack atop the massive 6.8-inch 165Hz screen.

This phone really does seemingly have everything, but what’s the catch? Well as is typically the case with RedMagic phones, it’s a combination of software quality and software updates. If you don’t care about either of those things though (and it’s difficult to really get past the frustration at times), then honestly, I don’t really think there’s much of a catch at all. There’s also the lack of a physical retail distribution setup in most major markets of the world, but you should be able to buy the phone from the online store and have it shipped globally.

    RedMagic 7
    The RedMagic 7 is the latest gaming phone from RedMagic, and it packs all of the top-tier gaming hardware you'd expect.

      Features:

      Pros:

      Cons:

The back of the RedMagic 7 with the phone sitting on a box


RedMagic 7: Specifications

Specification RedMagic 7
Dimensions and Weight
  • 170.6 x 78.3 x 9.5mm
  • 215g
Display
  • 6.8-inch AMOLED (2400 x 1080)
  • 165Hz refresh rate
  • Up to 720Hz touch sampling rate
  • 10-bit color support
  • 100% DCI-P3 wide color gamut coverage
  • DC Dimming
  • Gorilla Glass 5
SoC
  • Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
    • 1x ARM Cortex-X2 @ 3.0GHz
    • 3x ARM Cortex-A710 @ 2.50GHz
    • 4x ARM Cortex-A510 @ 1.80GHz
  • Adreno 730 GPU
  • 4nm process
RAM and Storage
  • 12GB/16GB/18GB RAM
  • 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 flash storage
Battery & Charging
  • 4,500 mAh battery
  • 65W fast charger (inside the box)
Rear Camera
  • Primary: 64MP
  • Secondary: 8MP ultra-wide
  • Tertiary: 2MP macro
Front Camera 8MP
Other features
  • Dual stereo speakers
  • Built-in active cooling fan
  • ICE 8.0 Multi-dimensional Cooling System
  • Three microphones
  • Dual shoulder trigger buttons
  • DTS sound
Connectivity
  • 5G NR
  • Bluetooth 5.2
  • NFC
  • WiFi 6
  • 2×2 MIMO
  • 3.5mm audio jack
  • USB-C
Security Under-display fingerprint scanner
Software Android 12 with RedMagic OS 5.0

About this review: I received the RedMagic 7 for review from the company on the 26th of January, 2022. RedMagic did not have any inputs into the contents of this review.


RedMagic 7: Display

  • Big and bright AMOLED display
  • 165Hz refresh rate
  • No notch, no punch holes

RedMagic 7 full 165Hz display

The RedMagic 7 features a full HD 165Hz 6.8-inch AMOLED panel, and it is huge. It’s completely unimpeded by a notch or punch hole, and it gets plenty bright. It’s fantastic for gaming or media consumption thanks to its size and the fact that nothing encroaches on the display, but it’s really hard to convey just how big it is. It makes total sense for a gaming phone though.

The RedMagic 7 is fantastic for gaming or media consumption thanks to its size and the fact that nothing encroaches on the display

As for the display quality itself, this is my first time ever experiencing 165Hz, and the difference over even a 144Hz display is slightly noticeable. There is definitely an element of diminishing returns as you increase in refresh rates, but 165Hz is great in its own right. There are also multiple options to choose from as you can choose 165Hz, 120Hz, 90Hz, or 60Hz, in order to decrease power consumption.

The display is surrounded by minimal bezel, with a small amount of space for the selfie camera and a small amount of space at the bottom of the display. It’s a completely flat panel, too, and comes with a pre-applied screen protector.


RedMagic 7: Design

  • Headphone jack
  • Shoulder triggers
  • Built-in fan

RedMagic 7 back RGB fan while switched on

The RedMagic 7 packs basically everything you could want in a gaming smartphone. There’s a headphone jack at the top, shoulder-triggers at the top and bottom of the right-hand side, and a slider on the top left that enters your phone into gaming mode. The back features a very RGB-heavy faux-transparent design, while also displaying multiple pieces of marketing information.

I'm a big fan of the RedMagic 7's design

I’m a big fan of the RedMagic 7’s design, but I can definitely understand that it’s a polarising one. The three cameras are in line with the curved back of the phone so as to not stand out which is a plus, and the phone doesn’t really rock on a table.

The one issue that I had with this phone’s design is that the fan intake on the back of the phone can still be blocked if the phone is down on a table. It’s admittedly unlikely you’d be playing games while not holding your phone upright, though. The presence of the fan also means that the phone is not IP rated for water or dust resistance, which can be a dealbreaker for people considering several smartphones in the market now tout water resistance as a marketing feature.


RedMagic 7: Performance

  • Latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset
  • Great sustained performance

RedMagic 7 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 emblazoned on the back

The Red Magic 6R packs the latest and greatest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which we would expect to see in a gaming phone. It has all the generational leaps over its predecessors and a 4nm node size for better performance without a substantial increase in power draw. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 retains the 1+3+4 configuration which Qualcomm has been running for a while, with the single Prime core being based on ARM’s new Cortex-X2.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the RedMagic 7 performs just as well as you would expect

The Kryo cores are based on the ARMv9 architecture. The first CPU designs to be announced using the new technology were the Cortex-X2, Cortex-A710, and Cortex-A510, and those are the exact CPU designs that form the basis for Qualcomm’s Kryo chips. The Cortex-A710 promises a 30% boost in efficiency and a 10% performance uplift over its predecessor, the A78. The Cortex-A710 cores are clocked at 2.5GHz. As for the three Kryo Efficiency cores, they are based on the new Cortex-A510 design. A major criticism of last year’s Efficiency cores in the Snapdragon 888 surrounded the use of the aging Cortex-A55 cores, so now we should see a nice efficiency boost this year. The Cortex-A510 boasts a 35% increase in performance over the A55, with a 20% efficiency improvement, too. These cores are clocked at 1.79GHz.

We will be analyzing the performance of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 to a greater level of detail in a future article. However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the RedMagic 7 performs just as well as you would expect, and I’ve found its performance in gaming (including in emulation through AetherSX2 and Dolphin Emulator) to be excellent.

Benchmarks: Geekbench 5 & AndroBench

RedMagic 7 AndroBench RedMagic 7 Geekbench 5

The RedMagic 7 performs well in both storage speed and in Geekbench 5. Storage speed is important for gaming as it ensures fast, consistent load times in your games, as slower storage speed will act as a bottleneck.

As for the Geekbench 5 results, they are exactly as we expect from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 according to benchmarks that we ran on the Qualcomm Reference Device.

Sustained performance

RedMagic 7 CPU Throttling Test without a fan RedMagic 7 CPU Throttling Test with a fan

Sustained performance is one of the most important metrics to pay attention to when using a gaming smartphone. If the sustained performance is poor, then you’ll have greatly reduced performance after what could potentially be a short period of time. I used the CPU Throttling Test app on the Google Play Store for half an hour to test the thermal throttling on the RedMagic 7, and I was impressed by the results. I ran the test twice; one with the fan off, and one with the fan on.

CPU Throttling Test (Free, Google Play) →

Both results were pretty good, especially with the fan enabled. The only problem was that I found the phone became too hot to touch towards the end of the test. That’s not what you want from a gaming phone, and was quite alarming even when thinking of what could potentially be the long-term health of the phone’s internals, particularly the battery.


RedMagic 7: Software

  • Bad software
  • Buggy
  • Poor translations
RedMagic 7 RedMagic OS launcher RedMagic 7 RedMagic OS notifications RedMagic 7 RedMagic OS settings

Software on RedMagic devices is where they really fall down, and this is no exception. It leaves a lot to be desired in the sense that, really, it’s just a poor experience. Inaccurate or strange translations plague the operating system and make it an interesting experience at times, and a lot of the design of the operating system is also very “gamery”. Furthermore, Google Pay doesn’t work, as it fails to pass Google’s Compatibility Test Suite when running a SafetyNet check.

The software on the RedMagic 7 leaves a lot to be desired

Despite all of that, I don’t mind a lot of the UX design of RedMagic OS, and I would be a lot more comfortable with it if it wasn’t so buggy. The launcher is terrible (and I can’t find a way to set a custom launcher of my own), I often can’t actually read notifications after unlocking my phone (it says that notifications are hidden as if I were on the lock screen), and it just feels very unpolished.

The sad thing is, this is the one major compromise I have found with the RedMagic 7. I genuinely love all of the other aspects of this phone, but somehow, it’s been completely screwed up by software. I couldn’t import my contacts in the Dialer (it told me “No vCard file found in storage”), and the always-on display can’t be set to be “always-on” — you need to choose a start time and an end time, which you can set one minute apart.

The only compliment I can really pass to the software is that it’s smooth and games run well, but that’s kind of the entire point of the phone. The most work has clearly been put into the company’s game space, which can be entered by flicking a red switch at the top left.

RedMagic OS Game Space

RedMagic 7 game space RedMagic 7 game space RedMagic 7 game space RedMagic 7 game space

While it’s still filled with dodgy translations (and the occasional bugs), RedMagic’s game space is a lot better of an experience than anything else with this phone. It generally makes sense with a lot of useful features and attention to detail, something that you’d really be looking for from a gaming phone.

Game Space on the RedMagic 7 is one of the best gaming modes I've seen on a smartphone

Is it perfect? No, but it’s one of the best gaming modes I’ve seen on a smartphone. It will automatically enable the fans on your phone when you enter a game, and there are loads of features to engage with and try out while you’re gaming. It’s a pretty simple process to configure the shoulder triggers too, with special care taken towards helping users with PUBG Mobile in particular.


Is the RedMagic 7 worth your money?

Software issues are the biggest problem with the RedMagic 7, and I don’t just mean what I’ve outlined above. The company has a bit of a difficult history when it comes to consistently updating its smartphones, so you should judge the phone on what it is right now as against what it could become with a software update or two. You almost certainly will get some updates, but I would also be afraid of further bugs and other problems being introduced that it isn’t possible to roll back from. In an era when companies have polished UX and promise as many as four generations of Android updates, it is a bummer to get the experience that you get on the RedMagic 7.

As a result, unless you’re a die-hard gamer, this can be a hard phone to recommend. It’s the ultimate phone hardware — in that, it packs literally everything and the kitchen sink into one robust package — but it isn’t the ultimate phone because of that minute detail that the software is a completely poor experience. If you think you can get over that and all you want is a relatively inexpensive gaming phone, then by all means, the RedMagic 7 might well be worth your money.

    RedMagic 7
    The RedMagic 7 is the latest gaming phone from RedMagic, and it packs all of the top-tier gaming hardware you'd expect.

      Features:

      Pros:

      Cons:

The RedMagic 7 will go on sale starting March 10 from Nubia’s global website. It will be available in three colors: Obsidian, Pulsar, and Supernova. The base 12GB/128GB model is priced at $629 / €629 / £529 while the 16GB/256GB variant will set you back $729 / €729 / £619. Finally, the top model with 18GB RAM and 256GB will retail at $799 / €799 / £679. Nubia says it plans to launch the RedMagic 7 Pro globally in Q2 2022. For €629, this would be a good deal if you can get past the software, but that is a fair bit to ask.

The post RedMagic 7 Review: The ultimate smartphone hardware, with one major compromise appeared first on xda-developers.



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samedi 26 février 2022

These are the Best Wired Chargers for the Samsung Galaxy S22 series in 2022

Buying a new phone charger used to be something most of us didn’t expect to do, since we all got a charger in the box when we bought the phone. Now that premium phones are starting to ship without a charging brick, it’s more of a necessity for many of us. That’s also the case with the Samsung Galaxy S22, but we’re here to help. We’ve rounded up the best wired chargers you can buy for the Galaxy S22 family. If you want to charge wirelessly, we’ve also rounded up the best wireless chargers for the Galaxy S22 series in a separate article.

Before buying a charger, you should know the maximum power input that your phone supports. The standard Samsung Galaxy S22 supports up to 25W fast charging, while the Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S22 Ultra support up to 45W charging. On the face of it, 45W charging seems logically faster than 25W charging. But we’ve noticed some oddities in our Galaxy S22 Plus review, wherein the 45W fast charging not only failed to offer quicker charging, but it was also actually slower than the 25W charger. So at least on the Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S22 Ultra, you’d get no tangible benefit opting for a 45W charger. However, it may be well worth it to future-proof yourself for your other devices. Buying a more powerful charger than your phone needs isn’t a problem, and it can actually help you be ready for the future when you eventually switch phones again. But you can save some money with a lower-power charger, so it’s up to your needs.

Best 25W chargers for the Samsung Galaxy S22

Starting with the standard Galaxy S22, we have a handful of chargers that support 25W charging. And based on our testing, 25W charging is better than 45W for the Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S22 Ultra too. Here are our recommendations:

    Samsung 25W USB-C Fast Charger

    The official one

    If you want the official charger straight from Samsung, this is it. It can deliver up to 25W of power to the Galaxy S22 and it comes in black or white options.
    Anker PowerPort III 25W

    Foldable prongs

    This Anker charger supports 25W charging with PD and PPS support, plus Anker's PowerIQ technology. The prongs can also fold to be extra compact for travelling.
    Belkin 25W USB-C Charger

    Basic but reliable

    The Belkin 25W USB-C charger is a fairly stanndard charging brick with 25W of power delivery and PPS support for the Galaxy S22. It has a clean look and it's cheaper than Samsung's charger.
    Spigen ArcStation Super Mini

    Compact and affordable

    Ideal for travel, this compact Spigen charger supports up to 25W charging with PPS support for Samsung's Galaxy S22 series. It's super small so you can easily fit it anywhere.
    Anker Nano II 30W

    Extra small

    If a compact charger is your top priority, then the Anker Nano II 30W is another great option. It's even smaller than the Spigen ArcStation, and it can provide just as much power to your Galaxy S22.
    DiHines 25W USB-C PD charger

    Two for one

    If you need a pair of chargers, this set of two might just do the trick. The chargers deliver 25W of power to the Galaxy S22 and they should work with just about any smartphone with the right cable.

Best 45W chargers for the Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S22 Ultra

If you bought the more expensive Samsung Galaxy S22 models, whether that’s the Galaxy S22 Plus or Galaxy S22 Ultra, you might want to get a 45W charger instead. However keep in mind that you may not get any tangible benefit, but if you’re making a purchase, you as well future-proof yourself for your other devices.

    Samsung 45W USB-C Fast Charger

    Straight from the source

    Once again, you can't go wrong with the official Samsung charger. This model offers 45W charging for the Galaxy S22 Plus and S22 Ultra, and it still comes in your choice of black or white colors.
    Spigen ArcStation Pro

    Cable included

    Spigen makes some great phone chargers, and the ArcStation Pro icomes with 45W of power delivery in a relatively compact design. Plus, a cable is included in case you don't have yours anymore.
    Anker PowerPort III Pod Lite

    Extra compact and powerful

    Packing a lot of power in a compact package, this Anker charger can deliver 45W of power to your Galaxy S22 Plus or S22 Ultra, but it can go up to 65W for devices like laptops. Despite that, it's very compact.
    Nekteck 45W USB-C Wall Charger

    Built-in cable

    This sleek Nekteck charger can provide up to 45W of power to the Galaxy S22 Plus and S22 Ultra, and it comes with PPS support, too. The cable is built-in so you can't lose it easily.
    Hyphen-X 100W GaN Charger

    Charge all your devices

    Have multiple devices to charge? This Hyphen-X charger has four ports and up to 100W of power. It supports PPS, so it can deliver 45W to the Galaxy S22 Plus and S22 Ultra through the USB-C ports. The prongs are foldable, too.
    Baseus USB-C Car Charger

    Charge on the road

    If you need to kee your phone powered up during a trip, the Baseus charger can deliver up to 45W of power to the Galaxy S22 Plus and S22 Ultra, or up to 65W for supported devices. It even has two charging ports.

And those are some of the best chargers for the Samsung Galaxy S22 series, including the regular model, the Galaxy S22 Plus, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra. If you’re looking for other accessories for your shiny new smartphone, we also have lists of the best cases for the Galaxy S22 family, as well as the best screen protectors.

If you haven’t made a decision on which phone to buy yet, check out our Galaxy S22 Ultra hands-on if you want the top-tier model. And if you’re ready to buy one, you can use the links below or check out our roundup of the best deals on the Galaxy S22 series.

    Samsung Galaxy S22

    Samsung's Galaxy S22 is powered by high-end specs, and the 3,700mAh battery supports 25W wired charging.
    Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus

    The Galaxy S22 Plus has a larger 4,5000mAh battery, and it can charge faster at 45W.
    Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

    The Galaxy S22 Ultra has an even bigger 5,000mAh battery and it can also charge at up to 45W.

The post These are the Best Wired Chargers for the Samsung Galaxy S22 series in 2022 appeared first on xda-developers.



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