Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit card review

Heads up! We share savvy shopping and personal finance tips to put extra cash in your wallet. Android Central may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network. Please note that the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card Overview

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is the middle of the pack when it comes to Southwest personal credit cards. While airline credit cards generally don't come with too many perks, the lack of foreign transaction fees and 6,000 anniversary bonus points should help offset this card's reasonable $99 annual fee. Card rating:*

*Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG's editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

Savvy TPG readers know that we generally don't recommend building your points strategy around a cobranded airline credit card, as they tend to offer fewer perks and less flexibility than a comparably-priced transferable points card. When it comes to the Southwest Rapid Rewards card portfolio in particular, you'll generally get better earning rates and flexible redemption options with cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which then transfer to Southwest at a 1:1 rate.

That being said, the Southwest credit cards have remained very popular among Southwest fans, especially those looking to earn the coveted Companion Pass and the year of free flights it bestows on their designated travel companion. The mid-tier version of the three personal Southwest cards — the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card — has a good balance of perks and annual fees that could make it worthy of a spot in your card collection, especially if you're aiming to pick up a Companion Pass this year. Let's take a look.

Who is this card for?

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is ideal for regular Southwest flyers, along with anyone looking to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. While all three Southwest personal credit cards — the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card — are currently offering identical sign-up bonuses of 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening, the Premier is a good choice for those looking for a cheaper annual fee than the Priority, while still enjoying perks such as no foreign transaction fees and a 6,000-point card anniversary bonus.

If you do fly with Southwest quite a bit throughout the year, the higher-tier Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card does offer a higher anniversary bonus and more perks for flying. But for most casual Southwest flyers, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier is a perfectly adequate option to supplement your other travel credit cards.

Do keep in mind that all of Southwest's cobranded cards are beholden to Chase's infamous 5/24 rule. If you've opened more than five new accounts over the past 24 months (across all issuers, not just Chase), you're almost certain to be denied for this card. Also note that because it's a personal card, it will count toward your 5/24 tally. If you are planning to apply for other Chase cards in the near future, make sure this card is worth the slot it will take up.

Current bonus

The current bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card (as well as on the Priority and Plus cards) is 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months. TPG values Rapid Rewards points at 1.5 cents each, meaning 40,000 points are worth $600.

This isn't the largest sign-up bonus we've ever seen, but it can be potentially combined with the current sign-up bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card, which is offering an up to 100,000-point sign-up bonus — 70,000 points after $5,000 in spending in the first three months and another 30,000 points after spending $25,000 with the firs six months of having the card.

The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Points from the sign-up bonuses on Southwest credit cards are Companion Pass-qualifying, meaning if you sign up for the Premier and the Performance together, you'll earn 140,000 points in bonuses, which will put you over the 125,000 points needed for the Companion Pass.

However, keep in mind that you can't earn a sign-up bonus on the Southwest Premier card if you currently have any personal Southwest card, nor are you eligible if you earned a sign-up bonus on a personal card in the past 24 months.

Main perks and benefits

While you don't expect an airline credit card with a $99 annual fee to come loaded with perks, there are a few on the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card worth mentioning. The first is the 6,000-point anniversary bonus you'll receive after renewing your card each year. Although the annual fee is not waived the first year, TPG values 6,000 Rapid Rewards points at $90, meaning that the anniversary bonus will almost entirely offset that fee from your second year on.

While the Companion Pass is technically a form of Southwest elite status, it doesn't carry most of the common airline elite perks such as bonus points, priority boarding and so on. So if you're taking the shortcut to earning the Companion Pass by combining sign-up bonuses, you may also be interested in earning Southwest A-List elite status to enhance your travels. Doing so requires 25 qualifying flights or 35,000 tier qualifying points (TQPs) in a calendar year. You can earn bonus TQPs by spending on the Premier card — 1,500 TQPs for every $10,000 spent per calendar year, up to $100,000 (or 15,000 TQPs).

While all Southwest flyers get two free checked bags, A-List status also comes with automatic priority boarding for you (Southwest recently expanded this to those traveling with you), a 25% points earning bonus, the ability do same-day standby flights, priority check-in and security lane access at participating airports, and a dedicated A-List phone line. Members of A-List Preferred, which kicks in after 50 one-way flights or 70,000 TQPs, receive all the benefits above, plus a 100% points bonus and free inflight Wi-Fi.

Like other U.S. carriers, Southwest not only extended status for A-List and A-List Preferred members through Dec. 31, 2021, but it also extended Companion Pass benefits through June 30, 2021 for eligible Rapid Rewards members.

Earning and redeeming

The earning rates on the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card follow the same standard as some other cobranded airline credit cards, although it's a standard that's slowly being usurped as other airlines improve their credit card offerings. You'll earn 2x miles on Southwest purchases (and when booking hotels or renting a car through a Southwest partner), and 1x on everything else. This gives you a return of 3% on Southwest purchases and 1.5% on everyday spending (based on TPG valuations), which isn't much to get excited about. This isn't the most rewarding card you can pick for long-term spending goals.

However, one of the best things about redeeming Southwest Rapid Rewards points is the simplicity of the process. Whether you select the cheapest Wanna Get Away fares or the most expensive Business Select tickets, the cost of your award ticket is tied to the cash price of the flight. This means you don't have to worry about getting the highest possible cent-per-point redemption value; if you have Rapid Rewards points, it's almost always a good idea to redeem them for Southwest flights — including options to Hawaii and international destinations.

Southwest also gives you the option to redeem your points for gift cards, merchandise, rental cars, hotels and experiences, although these redemption options offer a much worse value. Interestingly enough, Southwest also lets you redeem your Rapid Rewards points for international flights on other airlines. The exact redemption value varies, but it's generally worse than you would get redeeming directly for Southwest flights. And remember, with your Companion Pass, your points stretch twice as far using them on Southwest-operated trips, so there isn't much reason to be looking at redemption options other than on Southwest flights.

Which cards compete with the Southwest Premier?

The most obvious competitors to the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card are the other two personal cobranded Southwest cards — the higher-end Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card and the lower-end Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card. With all three cards offering identical sign-up bonuses, this competition comes down to which card offers the best perks in exchange for its annual fee. If you're struggling to pick between the three, you can check out our head-to-head comparison.

While the Plus card only costs $69 a year, it has a 3% foreign transaction fee and a small anniversary bonus of only 3,000 Rapid Rewards points (worth $45). The Priority card, on the other hand, has a $149 annual fee but includes a $75 annual Southwest travel credit. That immediately knocks the out-of-pocket cost down to $74 a year. But remember that the Companion Pass doubles the value of your points and spending with Southwest, so for many people who have a Companion Pass, that $75 credit is actually worth $150.

This makes the Priority card essentially cost nothing out of pocket while you still get a 7,500-point anniversary bonus, four upgraded A1-A15 boardings (when available), 20% back on inflight drinks and Wi-Fi, and no foreign transaction fees. Many people who travel on Southwest even just a few times a year will be better off opting for the Priority card over the Premier — even if you can't qualify for the Companion Pass, at $74 a year (after subtracting the annual Southwest credit), the upper-tier Priority card is cheaper than the $99 Premier card.

Another card that gives the Premier card a run for its money is an old-time favorite: the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. The CSP offers a sign-up bonus of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in three months. Those points are worth anywhere from $750 if you redeem them for travel through the Chase portal (with a 25% bonus) to $1,200 (according to TPG valuations) or more if you transfer them to Chase's incredible collection of 10 airline and three hotel partners, including Southwest. But keep in mind that transferred points do not count toward the Companion Pass, so if you're aiming to pick one up while you can combine sign-up bonuses, the Chase Sapphire Preferred isn't the way to go at the moment.

Bottom line

The airline with perhaps the best public perception in the U.S. offers sign-up bonuses on all three of its personal credit cards. If you're trying to earn the coveted Southwest Companion Pass, one of the fastest routes to get there is by combining the bonuses on a personal card such as the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card and a business card like the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card. Remember, that like most Chase cards, these are subject to the 5/24 rule, so if you've opened five or more cards in the last 24 months, your application will be automatically rejected.

If you decide to pursue the Companion Pass by combining sign-up bonuses, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card is a good avenue for doing so. Even though some people will come out ahead by opting for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card and the $75 annual Southwest travel credit it carries, the Premier offers a decent return with a lower upfront cost, and that's before you even factor in the added savings that come with the Companion Pass.

Apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card here.

from Android Central - Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers https://ift.tt/3f4iNWR
via IFTTT

Does Assassin's Creed Valhalla have co-op?

Best answer: No, there is no co-op in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. With that said, there is some online functionality that will allow you aid your friends in a somewhat indirect way.

• Embark on a Norse adventure: Assassin's Creed Valhalla ($60 at Best Buy)

Does Assassin's Creed Valhalla have co-op?

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a single-player action role-playing game (RPG), where you play as Eivor, a man or woman Viking of your choosing. Over the course of the game, you'll lead a village of Vikings in raids and battles against the Saxons. While the village can be expanded with new buildings over time and will change in response to your decisions, you'll always be playing by yourself.

Assassin's Creed Unity experimented with co-op, and other past Assassin's Creed games have had online PvP modes but Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a single-player game through and through, so you won't be playing with your friends here. You can, however, aid them in their battles with an online feature featuring mercenary Vikings.

How does the online mercenary Vikings feature work in Assassin's Creed Valhalla?

In Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you can customize a unique Viking warrior as a part of your village. You can then upload and share this Viking with your friends, who will be able to bring this fighter into their raiding parties. So you can help your friends conquer the Saxons, just not directly.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is set to release in Holiday 2020 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Epic Games Store and Uplay), and Stadia.

Our pick

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

$60 at Amazon $60 at Best Buy $60 at GameStop

Conquer new lands for glory and honor

This new entry in the long-running franchise has you take control of Eivor, a man or woman of your choosing. While you can't play together with your friends, you can customize a mercenary Viking who can be recruited by your friends and aid in their battles.

from Android Central - Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers https://ift.tt/2Yt6n4Z
via IFTTT

You can now easily move your Facebook photos and videos to Google Photos

Facebook says its photo transfer tool will be available globally within the next few months.

What you need to know

• Facebook's new photo transfer tool is now rolling out to users in the U.S. and Canada.
• The tool lets you easily transfer all your Facebook photos and videos to Google Photos.
• Facebook had launched the photo transfer tool in Ireland last year, as part of the Data Transfer Project.

In December last year, Facebook began testing a new photo transfer tool to allow users to transfer their photos and videos to Google Photos. The tool was initially available only in Ireland, but has since expanded to several other markets. Nearly five months after being introduced in Ireland, Facebook is finally rolling out (via The Verge) the photo transfer tool to users in the U.S. and Canada.

To begin transferring your Facebook photos and videos to Google Photos, you will first need to go to "Your Facebook Information" in Facebook Settings. Next, select the "Transfer a Copy of Your Photos or Videos' option and verify your identity by entering your Facebook password. In the next screen, you will have to choose Google Photos as the destination from the dropdown. After you enter your Google Photos password, the transfer will begin, and you will receive a notification once the process is complete.

The photo transfer tool, which was developed as part of the Data Transfer Project, is expected to become available globally sometime later this year. Once that happens, Facebook says users will be able to transfer photos to services from Microsoft, Apple, and Twitter as well. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter had launched the Data Transfer Project in July 2018 to make it possible for users to transfer their data from one service to another seamlessly.

Facebook Gaming for Android has a lot of good, some bad

from Android Central - Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers https://ift.tt/3f8fAVW
via IFTTT

How to watch Blindspot: Stream Season 5 online from anywhere

The fifth and final season of Blindspot premieres on NBC this week. While it's been quite a while — nearly a year — since audiences last saw the thrilling crime drama air new episodes, the long wait finally comes to an end this Thursday, April 30 on NBC. It's time to finally get to the bottom of the mystery, and this 11-episode run is sure to surprise once it kicks off in just a few days.

It's easy enough to watch Blindspot Season 5 as it airs live on NBC, but if you don't have cable or an antenna hooked up to your TV, you might be wondering the best way to stream the show that night. Since NBC is a broadcast network that airs locally, you might have some trouble finding it on certain streaming services. Luckily, there are still a few ways to watch including right on the NBC website.

Blindspot Season 5: When & where

Blindspot returns to NBC on Thursday, April 30 at 10p.m. EST. This is the fifth and final season of the show, and rather than consisting of 22 episodes like the rest of the seasons, it's set to have just 11 episodes to wrap up its story. Though the show was originally supposed to air its final season over the summer, recent changes in scheduling convinced NBC to release the season sooner.

On May 7, Blindspot returns to its normal timeslot of 9p.m. EST on Thursdays.

There are a few different places to watch Blindspot, including on the NBC website, Hulu, and Sling TV, though not all offer live streaming access. While NBC's website lets you watch the show live by logging in with your cable provider's information, you can check out Sling TV if you don't have cable. Meanwhile, Hulu is the place to go to watch older episodes of the show. You can also use NBC's website to watch the five most recent episodes of Blindspot.

How to watch Blindspot Season 5 live from anywhere

The options listed below make it easy for those in the U.S. to tune in and watch Blindspot, but watching from outside the U.S. is not so easy. Luckily, using a VPN makes it simple to change your location virtually, and gives you instant access to the show. Whether you are traveling or live outside of the U.S., this is what you need to know.

VPNs are incredibly easy to use and have the added benefit of giving you a further layer of security when surfing the web. There are lots of options, and we recommend ExpressVPN as our #1 pick due to its speed, security and ease of use. It can be used on a vast array of operating systems and devices (e.g. iOS, Android, Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, Roku, games consoles, etc). Sign up for ExpressVPN now now and enjoy a 49% discount and 3 months FREE with an annual subscription. Or give it a try with its 30-day money back guarantee. Looking for other affordable options?

Here are some more options that are on sale right now.

ExpressVPN

See latest price at ExpressVPN

No matter where in the world you may be, a VPN is one of the easiest ways to watch Blindspot live. Get in on this deal now!

Live stream Blindspot season 5 in the U.S.

Blindspot Season 5 isn't the easiest show to stream live unless you can log in to NBC.com with your cable provider's information. There are several streaming services that offer access to watch NBC live, including Sling TV and Hulu with Live TV, but access is completely dependant on where you live in the U.S. You can check each service's website beforehand to see which channels will be available in your area.

Sling TV should be the first service you try out. You can do this absolutely free without needing to even put in your credit card or billing information as Sling's 'Happy Hour Across America' promotion offers free access between the hours of 5p.m. and midnight EST every single night currently. That means you could even watch some of the season completely free, though there's no telling how long this promotion will continue.

Sling TV

From $30 at Sling

Check out Sling during Happy Hour to see if NBC is available in your area. That gives you access between 5p.m. and midnight EST every night to over 45 live channels, on-demand content, and more. Plans start at $30 if you want to watch Sling whenever.

Right now, Sling TV is easily the best place to watch Blindspot when it airs, as Sling's current 'Happy Hour Across America' promotion means you don't even have to pay to stream while the show is live. You'll just have to hope the NBC channel is available in your area.

To get in on Sling's offer, all you have to do is sign up with your name, email address, and zip code. No billing information is required unless you decide to join Sling so you can watch at any time. NBC is available on both Sling Orange and Sling Blue in select regions.

Hulu with Live TV

From $55 at Hulu

Just like with Sling TV, NBC at Hulu with Live TV access is dependant on where you live in the U.S. You can check the availability before signing up. While it may not be as affordable as Sling, you get access to all of Hulu's live TV channels for one singular monthly cost. You'll also find it available on a few more devices than Sling TV, such as the Nintendo Switch.

Fubo TV

From $55 at Fubo

Tune in and watch Blindspot as it airs live this Thursday at 10p.m. EST on NBC with Fubo TV. Your subscription gets you access to over 100 live channels including NBC, and cloud DVR access so you can watch whenver's convenient.

Fubo TV is focused on providing the best live sports streaming package there is, but there's also a number of channels for those hoping to watch something else, like Blindspot. If you're unsure of whether it's the right move for your household, Fubo offers a free 7-day trial so you can give the service a shot without paying a cent. If you decide it's not for you, you can end the service without being charged before the week has ended.

How to watch Blindspot in the U.K.

Though Blindspot Season 5 doesn't current have an airdate in the U.K., it's likely we'll see it air sometime within the coming months on the Sky Living/Sky Witness channel. You can find seasons two and three streaming on-demand on Sky and its streaming counterpart, Now TV. Meanwhile, those looking to buy Blindspot outright can shop at iTunes or Amazon Prime Video to add to your digital library. Then again, a VPN like we mentioned above could be the easiest choice of them all.

Stream Blindspot in Canada

There's no known premiere date for Blindspot's final season for Canadian audiences just yet. However, that just means you have more time to catch up on the show before the very end. The streaming service Crave offers the entire show up to this point, seasons one through four, so you can binge-watch the series whenever you'd like. Plus, with its 30-day free trial, you might even be able to watch it all before you're charged for the service.

Another option is to use a VPN like ExpressVPN so you can use NBC's site to watch Blindspot episodes when they're made available for free viewing the day after they air in the U.S.

How to watch older Blindspot seasons

Though Blindspot might be a bit more difficult to stream live, it's still simple enough to find past seasons to watch online. You could join Hulu to binge-watch the show or buy the episodes digitally on services like iTunes, Vudu, or Amazon Prime Video.

If you're not looking to buy the episodes outright, you can watch some of the episodes on streaming services like:

• Hulu - Seasons 1 through 4 are available to stream
• NBC - Five most recent episodes only, no login required

Hulu

From $5.99 at Hulu

Hulu's base plan may not offer NBC streaming access, but it does have all past seasons of Blindspot available to watch with your membership. If you need to get caught up before watching the new season, this is where you need to go.

from Android Central - Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers https://ift.tt/2VPaExz
via IFTTT

eero 3.19 update adds Dynamic Frequency Selection and WPA3 support

More security, more channels, more bug fixes.

What you need to know

• eero is rolling out a new update that adds DFS and WPA3 support.
• Update 3.19 will be automatically installed for all eero routers.
• Additional stability improvements and bug fixes included.

eero is rolling out a new software update to its series of mesh Wi-Fi routers that adds support for the latest security protocol and channel selection technology. The 3.19 update which applies to all of eero's routers, is only available through automatic updates for now due to the influx of network usage and new users over the past few months.

Security improvements in the new update include support for Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) under a beta label found in the eero Labs portion of the company's app. WPA3 was introduced in 2018 as the successor to the entrenched WPA 2 standard and adds stronger security through encryption upgrades, and makes connections to devices without a display easier to manage.

Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) is the latest standard for wifi encryption. Enabling WPA3 on your eero network provides added security for devices that support the WPA3 standard. This includes a new encryption method, SAE (Simultaneous Authentication of Equals), and MFP (Management Frame Protection).

Many modern smart devices, including Apple's iPhones, and iPads running iOS 12 and later, already support the standard. eero's implementation of the feature comes in the form of a "transition mode" which allows compatible devices to use the new standard, while older devices can still remain on WPA2.

The new update also adds Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) for owners of eero Pro systems. DFS enables eero routers to search for and operate over 5ghz Wi-Fi channels that are used by other industries, such as Radar.

Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) allows eero to operate in channels shared with RADAR that are typically much less congested than other 5 GHz channels. Less congestion means better performance and reliability for your network.

eero Pro routers will automatically switch to these channels which are often less congested, and does not require any user intervention. As with most updates, version 3.19 also includes several stability and bug fixes, which include HomeKit Secure Router updates, Port Forwarding and UPnP.

While eero has provided a small recap of the changes via a support document, a developer from the company has shared a more detailed list via Reddit:

• Major new features:
• DFS support for eero Pro in US and Canada; this provides access to tons of almost entirely unused channels
• WPA3 Transition Mode support in eero Labs
• Major bug fixes:
• Fixed UPnP and port forwarding (port mappings should no longer go missing when upstream IP addresses change)
• Several memory leaks whomped
• Mesh stability improvements
• Channel selection improvements
• iPhone 10 compatibility workarounds
• Better throughput through code improvements
• Fixes to internal stuff to improve memory usage
• Better automatic channel selection improves channel selection, automatically
• Tons of fixes to HomeKit Router
• Also lots of fixes to the client management service, improving accuracy of app device information
• Race conditions in client roaming fixed
• mahoosive updates to DNS and eero secure, including some I'm not allowed to talk about yet
• literally several dozen other bits and pieces, none of which are individually sufficiently important to call out, but all of which go towards making this a substantial update

DFS and WPA3 compatible

eero Pro Mesh WiFi System

$299 at Amazon

New security, new channels

The eero Pro Mesh WiFi System has everything you need for a reliable, whole home, network that can be set up in minutes. This router supports WPA3 (in beta) and Apple's HomeKit for enhanced security, as well as DFS for a congestion-free connection.

from Android Central - Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers https://ift.tt/2ycT2Tv
via IFTTT

Save up to $50 on AncestryDNA and AncestryHealth testing kits

AncestryDNA's genetic testing kits are a fantastic way to learn more about yourself, your family, and where you originate from. For a limited time, the kits are available from just $59 at Ancestry's site offering you the opportunity to save as much as $50. The Mother's Day sale there is also being matched at Amazon.

The AncestryDNA genetic testing kit uses your saliva to collect and analyze your DNA. After you send in your sample, the AncestryDNA lab will analyze it and uncover your ethnic mix. It's based on a DNA network that is six million strong and growing and covers more than 165 regions worldwide. It's down to $59 which is $40 off its regular price.

The enhanced AncestryHealth kit tells you quite a bit more than the standard ethnicity test from AncestryDNA. Where the standard kit aims to discover where you're from and your "Ethnicity Estimate", the AncestryHealth kit takes things a step further by looking at your DNA and how it may influence certain health conditions, which could be important to know about early. You'll also receive health and wellness reports and carrier status reports, as well as access to genetic counseling resources and a Family Health History Tool.

There are tons of DNA testing kits out there, but AncestryDNA's are some of the most popular and for good reason. They excel at genealogy and matching you up with your ancestors in comparison to others, and today's prices are a no-brainer for the level of in-depth knowledge it will bring, especially if you're looking for a more interesting Mother's Day gift.

The deals are only available until May 10 when prices will rise.

from Android Central - Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers https://ift.tt/2Wf3sK6
via IFTTT

Xiaomi launches the Redmi Note 9 series in the UK

The Redmi Note 9 is the first phone to feature MediaTek's new Helio G85 processor.

What you need to know

• Xiaomi has launched the Redmi Note 9 series phones in the UK.
• The Redmi Note 9 and Note 9 Pro come with quad rear cameras and pack a large 5,020mAh battery.
• Both phones will go on sale in Europe and the UK starting mid-May.

Xiaomi's Redmi sub-brand today announced the global debut of the Redmi Note 9 series at an online launch event. While the global Redmi Note 9 Pro made its debut in India last month as the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, the Redmi Note 9 is an all-new device.

The new Redmi Note 9 sports a 6.53-inch FHD+ IPS display with a hole-punch cutout in the top-left corner. As a recent leak had suggested, the Redmi Note 9 is the world's first phone to be powered by MediaTek's Helio G85 chipset. It has a quad-camera array at the rear, featuring a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle snapper, 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. It also features a 13MP selfie camera, an IR blaster, and a large 5,020mAh battery with 18W fast charging.

Redmi Note 9 Pro, on the other hand, sports a slightly larger 6.67-inch FHD+ display with a centered hole-punch cutout. It is powered by Qualcomm's 8nm Snapdragon 720G chipset, paired with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB UFS 2.1 storage. The phone has a quad-camera setup on the back, with a 64MP main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, 5MP macro shooter, and a 2MP depth sensor for portrait shots. Some of the other key features of the budget phone include a 32MP selfie camera, an IR blaster, and a 5,020mAh battery with 33W fast charging.

The Redmi Note 9 has been priced at €199 for the 3GB/64GB version, while the 4GB/128GB version will retail for €249. While no specific launch date has been confirmed for the UK yet, Xiaomi says the phone will go on sale in select markets starting mid-May. Redmi Note 9 Pro, on the other hand, has been priced at €269 for the 6GB/64GB version and €299 for the 6GB/128GB version.

Redmi Note 9 Pro preview: The battery life champion of 2020

from Android Central - Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers https://ift.tt/3cYEh5x
via IFTTT

Motorola Edge+ review: Slippery slope

Life, and Motorola, finds a way.

I didn't expect to be saying this, but the Motorola Edge+ is my favorite phone of the year so far. It's probably not the best phone of the year, at least for most people, but that doesn't matter. It's a triumph, not just in spite of its flaws but because of them. This is a phone that owns its quirks, that leans into its differences, and that, for better or worse, puts Motorola back on the map in the flagship space.

But it's also going to prove divisive, the least of which because it's only available on one carrier in the U.S., Verizon. At $999, this is by no means the most expensive phone Motorola has released this year — that title belongs to the thoroughly over-engineered and mediocre RAZR — but it's a true flagship, a brand representative, in the way the DROID was back in 2009, the Moto X was all the way back in 2013, and the Moto Z tried to be back in 2016.

Except that we're in a very different time for smartphones than we were in those cycles, and today's challenges are more subtle and ephemeral: when every phone is at least pretty good, and few companies have the marketing budgets of Apple or Samsung, how exactly does one justify releasing a phone like this one?

For me, it comes down to one word: fun. The Motorola Edge+ is fun to use, which makes me want to use it more.

At a glance

Motorola Edge+

Bottom line: Motorola brings its A-game to the traditional smartphone design space, creating a solid, beautiful, and flawed phone in the process.

Pros

• Beautiful, striking waterfall display with 90Hz refresh rate
• Narrow body makes it easy to use with one hand
• Top-notch specs for mid-2020
• Excellent, day-plus battery life
• Moto Display and Moto Action on a modern phone is revelatory

Cons

• Palm rejection is very bad for a waterfall display
• Camera is good but doesn't hold up to competition
• Some lingering software bugs
• Lacks waterproofing
• Motorola doesn't have a great software update track record

$1000 at Verizon

Motorola Edge+ Performance, Design & Software

Category	Motorola Edge+
Operating System	Android 10
Display	6.7-inch OLED Full HD+ 90Hz refresh rate
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
RAM	12GB LPDDR5
Storage	256GB UFS 3.0
Rear Camera 1	108MP primary camera f/1.8 OIS
Rear Camera 2	16MP ultra-wide & Macro Vision camera f/2.2 117-degree field-of-view
Rear Camera 3	8MP f/2.4 3x optical zoom OIS
Rear Camera 4	Time-of-flight sensor
Front Camera	25MP f/2.0
Battery	5,000 mAh
Charging	18W wired charging 15W wireless charging 5W wireless power sharing
Dimensions	161.07 x 71.38 x 9.6mm
Weight	203g

The first and most obvious way the Motorola Edge+ is different than the majority of other smartphones is right there in the name: its edge display. It takes the curved OLEDs that Samsung debuted six years ago and stretches them to nearly-absurd levels, leaving little room for traditional buttons. But Motorola figured it out, placing long stick-like tabs on the right side and giving the power button a nice bit of texture to easily distinguish them.

The phone's top and bottom purposefully contrast with the sloped display by laying flat, decked out with a slightly concave interior that adds a bit of cushion for whatever finger's resting on it. The bottom houses the SIM tray and USB-C port, while the top sports what is now a beleaguered legacy, the 3.5mm headphone jack.

The phone wobbles on a table something fierce, though, owing to the massive left-mounted camera bump. More on that later, but it's a blessing and a curse for this extremely slippery phone — it fell off more than one table, and I had to swap out my bedside charging pad for a stand because it kept falling off the former. In fact, it's so slippery that even in my hand, on a phone call, it felt precarious. Problem is that I don't think the Edge+ would look very good in a case — and every case I've seen for a phone with a waterfall display doesn't work that well, anyway — so I'd recommend just being as gentle as possible with this 203-gram monolith.

This phone's narrow 71mm body, coupled with its 9.6mm thickness, makes it feel dense in a way few phones do anymore. It also tricks you into perceiving a compactness that isn't really there. When I'd only seen this phone in photos, it appeared highly conventional. After using it for a week, it's anything but.

Motorola has also leaned hard into the sheer numbers that its $1000 cost would suggest: a Snapdragon 865, 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage, and a 5,000mAh battery. There's also a really good in-display fingerprint sensor — based on my digging, it's the same one that's found in the OnePlus 8 Pro and Huawei P40 Pro — and best-in-class haptics. Typing on this thing is honestly a dream.

This is one of the smoothest, most enjoyable Android experiences you can find outside a Pixel.

So it's no surprise that the Edge+ blazes through Android 10, aided by a 90Hz refresh rate no one should mourn for its lack of three digits. This is a really nice 1080p panel — surely not the best, especially at low brightness, where it crushes blacks — but it's easily visible in direct sunlight, has outstanding touch response, and even with the visual aberrations from the curved edges, is a joy to use. Most of the time.

Motorola's done what it can to mitigate aberrant touches on the sides, but by virtue of a few questionable software decisions, it's far from flawless. For instance, merely holding the phone and scrolling through a Twitter feed or a webpage is usually fine, but every once in a while the screen will just stop responding and you'll wonder if the phone locked up or the app crashed. Nope, it's just the fleshy part of your palm making the slightest connection with the very fringe of the edge display registering a touch and preventing your thumb from fulfilling its destiny.

To its credit, Motorola has thought of this problem, and the fix is pretty ingenious. It's called Edge Touch, and when enabled, adds a thin bar to the right (or left) curve, which works as a multi-function button of sorts. By default, double-tapping the bar shrinks the display so it fits within the narrower confines of the non-curved glass. Best of both worlds, right? Except that occasionally, as with the camera app or the launcher, you can't do it; at other times, as with Instagram, it reforms the layout and cuts off text. Most of the time, though, it just makes me wonder what the point of the edge is in the first place.

But then I remember to take advantage of the other Edge Touch features, and my doubts fade away. Swiping down on the tab brings down the notification shade; swiping up, the multitasking drawer. Swiping in brings up a list of six app shortcuts. You can also change the double-tap functionality to quickly switch between the two previous apps.

You can see the difference in screen scaling when the edge display is enabled (left) and when it is disabled (right). Notice the text is cut off and many of the objects are in the wrong position when the edges are disabled.

The edges do serve some purpose. Motorola's Gametime app puts shoulder buttons on the curved portion of the display, letting you map various on-screen controls to two regions — great for first-person shooters or racing games. But it's just two buttons, so most games will still require a hybrid setup. I played some Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, and Asphalt 9 and never felt quite like the shoulder buttons enhanced my gameplay, but with a bit of tweaking I think they'll be useful for some people.

The curves perform one last visual trick, too: like Samsung's configurable edge display, the Edge+ can light up, runway-style, when you receive a notification or a call. It's great when you have your phone on silent but still want to be informed, but unlike on a Samsung phone, neither the colors nor the intensity is configurable.

It's really fun looking back at a few years of Motorola design evolution.

So far I've talked about new Motorola features, but the real reason I was excited to use this phone was for the old standbys, the ones I've been evangelizing going on seven years now. Moto Display is still a game-changing benefit, the marriage of notification triage and always-on-display whose usefulness has not been surpassed, or lessened, since its debut on the original Moto X in 2013. Motorola's made minor tweaks to the formula, and made it easier to respond to notifications quickly, but its endearing success is a testament to how forward-thinking the original design was back in the day.

While the phone lacks the sensors to pick up remote movement — no more waving your hand above the screen to activate — the Edge+ does have a higher-quality proximity sensor, making it trivial to bring your hand close to the screen to quickly check the time or see if you've received a notification.

And like those old Motorola phones, twisting your wrist twice opens the camera, and chop-chopping turns on the flashlight. Most of the time, at least. Gesture inconsistency is but one of a few notable software bugs that lingered on my review unit — another is dismally frustrating auto-brightness — that I'm hoping Motorola squares away before this phone's release in mid-May.

I have lower expectations for this phone's longevity. Motorola claims that the phone will receive two years of bi-monthly security updates and one platform update, which just isn't good enough. Every time I've pushed the company on why it can't promise more than one platform update, it points to the number of app-based updates it's pushing through the Play Store. And while perhaps you could forgive the fact that the $299 Moto G Stylus will only get one update to Android 11 next year, the same isn't true of a $1000 flagship.

Motorola Edge+ Cameras

If Motorola phones have historically had an Achilles' Heel, it's been in the camera department, so I was gratified when I heard the company was pulling no expense in making the Edge+ its best camera yet. And the good news is that it's true — by a mile. The Edge Plus's 108MP primary sensor is mostly fantastic, working with the image signal processor to spit out 27MP — that's quad-binned, for those keeping count — photos.

We saw pixel binning of a similar sort on the Galaxy S20 Ultra, though in that case, Samsung used a sensor that did nona-binning, resulting in 12MP photos. We also know how those turned out — sometimes great, and sometimes pretty disappointing — and that's true here, too.

This is easily the best camera ever put on a Motorola phone — but the bar was pretty low to begin with.

First, the good news: in well-lit situations, the Motorola Edge+ captures beautiful shots, with the organically shallow depth of field naturally afforded by the massive 1/1.3" sensor. This is among the biggest sensors you'll find in a phone right now, and it's able to eke out incredible detail, especially when utilizing all 108 megapixels. In good lighting, this is one of the finest shooters on the market, and that's high praise.

Problems arise when shooting indoors, or in low light, or when engaging portrait mode, where detail is crushed and smoothed out, all in the service of reducing grain, and you're often left with a blotchy mess that's hard to appreciate. This is a conscious decision on Motorola's part, too, since many of the photos I took at night go as high as ISO14000 but there's barely more than a hint of grain. In return, any semblance of detail is obliterated, too. The company's Night Vision mode doesn't salvage any detail, either; it merely succeeds in raising the exposure.

A low-light shootout

Motorola Edge+ (left) | Samsung Galaxy S20+ (center) | Huawei P40 Pro (right) — Above: A very dark room taken without night mode. Below: a very dark room taken with night mode.

You can see from this brief low-light comparison that while the Motorola Edge+ does retain some detail in challenging low-light environments, it doesn't come close to that of the Galaxy S20+ or Huawei P40 Pro in the same environment. The above shot was taken in a nearly pitch dark room, lit only by a nearby computer monitor.

The other two rear cameras are great: the 16MP ultra-wide performs double duty as a macro lens, and I had a lot of fun with both. The 8MP 3x telephoto, too, while outputting fairly soft and "digital"-looking photos, does an admirable job in most situations. Similarly, the 25MP selfie camera captures plenty of detail.

The phone also forgoes the 8K video capture of the Galaxy S20 and LG V60, settling on a less resource-intensive 6K resolution. Video quality is good, and stabilization equally so, though I'm not happy with the lack of a 4K60 mode — that should be standard on every phone released this year, in my opinion.

Overall, I'm impressed with the Edge Plus's cameras. While nowhere near the top of the heap, photos taken by the primary 108MP sensor win far more often than they lose, and it makes it clear that Motorola's phones are no longer good in spite of their cameras, but because of them.

Motorola Edge+ Battery, Audio & 5G

The 5,000mAh battery in the Edge+ lasts two days. That's about as good as you can expect from a modern phone, and I'm not going to write a whole bunch of extra words just to fill up space. If you use your phone like a regular person, you'll probably end the day with just under 50%, like I did, consistently.

And I didn't exclusively use the phone on Wi-Fi, either. I took it out with me on errands, and tried to mimic (within reason) the types of daily routines one would perform when there was no pandemic or quarantine. You know, like six weeks ago.

The one caveat is that I was in an area without Verizon's 5G network, so I wasn't able to test that particular feature — and that's a big one for the company. Motorola told me that the Edge+ should have the fastest 5G performance on the planet right now, as it worked hand-in-hand with Verizon to achieve Ultra Wideband speeds consistently above a gigabit per second.

I did ask my friend Michael Fisher to send me a few photos of his 5G tests done in Brooklyn, New York City, and he told me that when in range of a millimeter-wave node, he'd usually get in the range of 600 to 700Mbps, but peaked at 1.2Gbps a few times — far greater speeds than what you'd find on Verizon's LTE network today. If you'll allow me, I'd like to quote directly from Michael's video to convey a practical advantage of having a millimeter-wave 5G connection today:

Testing this phone gave me my first opportunity to actually use [5G] for a practical purpose. See, World of Warships is a big game: about 1.4GB, which took just over three and a half minutes to download over Verizon's 4G network. When I tried the same thing on the 5G node down the street, it came down in a minute and twenty seconds.

Of course, two things to note about that:

• It's still incredibly difficult to find and keep a 5G connection on millimeter-wave even when you're within reach of a tower.
• Verizon's 5G network is still sparsely populated enough that you're statistically unlikely to be within range of it yet.

So while I'd admonish anyone for explicitly seeking out a 5G phone right now, the reality is that if you're buying a high-end phone in the U.S. this year, you're buying a 5G phone (and paying the Snapdragon 865 tax as a result). The good news is that you fall back to Verizon's excellent, and still-speedy LTE network all over the country, and when the company does start spitting out 5G signal in the sub-6Ghz space, the Motorola Edge+ will be ready — it supports every major 5G band right now, making it reliably future proof.

Back to the battery for a moment. While the cell is big, the charging speeds aren't; you're getting 18W wired charging and 15W wireless, along with 5W reverse wireless charging. I wasn't a huge proponent of super-fast charging until I realized just how much time it saves in a crunch; being able to top up a Galaxy S20 at 25W, or a OnePlus 8 Pro at 30W makes a meaningful difference when you're in a hurry.

The Edge+ nails the fundamentals, including a great screen, excellent haptics, awesome sound quality — and a headphone jack.

The good news here, though: a full top-up takes just over 90 minutes from start to finish, and the phone supports standard USB Power Delivery, so most of your existing USB-C to C cables will work just fine (though the in-box adapter is USB-A to C because everything is terrible). The 15W wireless charging is also standard Qi, though there's still a dearth of high-quality pads and stands to choose from.

Finally, audio. Again, this doesn't need much setup: the dual speakers are incredible, among the best you'll find on a phone today. Similarly, there's a headphone jack, which, if you're the kind of person who cares, you'll be happy to know it's here. It's nowhere near the quality of the LG V60's Quad DAC — I spent quite a bit of time comparing the two with a pair of Sennheiser HD6xx headphones — but it's there.

And Motorola does this without sacrificing waterpr — oh, wait, that's not true. Like the company's other phones, there's a nano-coating around the internal components to protect them from damage, but it's not an official IP rating. In fact, here's what Motorola's fine print says about it:

Water-repellent design creates a barrier to help protect against moderate exposure to water, such as accidental spills, splashes or light rain. Not designed to be submersed in water, or exposed to pressurized water, or other liquids; may diminish over time. Not waterproof.

There you go. It's honestly one of the few major knocks against this $1000 phone, mainly because I just don't want to have to worry about it. Now that the OnePlus 8 Pro is IP68-certified, it's difficult to find a flagship phone from any manufacturer that isn't up to the task of getting accidentally dunked in the sink.

Motorola Edge+ So should you get it?

There are two groups of people who should consider this phone: Motorola loyalists, and Verizon customers. For the tiny Venn diagram that creates, buy this as soon as it goes on sale next month.

If you're already a Verizon customer and think the phone looks neat, you should definitely give this a look over the more expensive Galaxy S20+ or slightly cheaper LG V60. It's more striking than the former and less clunky than the latter, and it's easier to use with one hand than both.

If you're not on Verizon but just miss Motorola's unique value proposition, here's what I'll say, because I'm in this boat: how striking do you need your phone to be? Because the Edge+ is stunning to look at and, for the most part, to use. Every time I pick it up, I feel like I'm rekindling a romance — a troubled one, perhaps, but it's true love nonetheless.

4 out of 5

It's also fun, and many of the software affordances, from Moto Display to Edge Touch to Gametime, add considerable value to the experience.

Or maybe I'm just happy to be using a great high-end Motorola phone again. Either way, I'll take it.

Going all the way

Motorola Edge+

Motorola brings its A-game to the traditional smartphone design space, creating a solid, beautiful, and flawed phone in the process.

$1000 at Verizon

from Android Central - Android Forums, News, Reviews, Help and Android Wallpapers https://ift.tt/2Wb0Ih8
via IFTTT